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BackgroundPleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB) is the most common lung cancer of infancy and early childhood. Type I PPB is a purely cystic lesion that has a microscopic population of primitive small cells with or without rhabdomyoblastic features and may progress to type II or III PPB, whereas type Ir lacks primitive small cells.MethodsChildren with suspected PPB were enrolled in the International PPB/DICER1 Registry. Pathology was centrally reviewed, and follow-up was ascertained annually.ResultsBetween 2006 and 2022, 205 children had centrally reviewed type I or Ir PPB; 39% of children with type I and 5% of children with type Ir PPB received chemotherapy. Outcomes were favorable, although 11 children (nine with type I and two with type Ir PPB) experienced progression to type II/III (n = 8) or regrowth of type I PPB at the surgical site (n = 3), none of whom received chemotherapy before progression. Age and cyst size in combination were more suitable than either factor alone in predicting whether a particular lesion was type I or Ir PPB.ConclusionsFor young children with type I PPB, outcomes are favorable, but complete resection is indicated because of the risk for progression. Chemotherapy may be useful in a subset of children at increased risk for recurrence/progression. Efforts to risk stratify children with type I PPB to optimize outcomes while reducing treatment-related side effects are underway.

PurposePleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB) is the most common primary lung neoplasm of infancy and early childhood. Type II and type III PPB have historically been associated with a poor prognosis.MethodsPatients with known or suspected PPB were enrolled in the International PPB/DICER1 Registry. Medical records were abstracted with follow-up ascertained annually. All PPB diagnoses were confirmed by central pathology review. Beginning in 2007, the IVADo regimen (ifosfamide, vincristine, actinomycin-D, and doxorubicin) was recommended as a potential treatment regimen for children with type II and type III PPB. This regimen was compared with a historical control cohort.ResultsFrom 1987 to 2021, 314 children with centrally confirmed type II and type III PPB who received upfront chemotherapy were enrolled; 132 children (75 with type II and 57 with type III) received IVADo chemotherapy. Adjusted analyses suggest improved overall survival for children treated with IVADo in comparison with historical controls with an estimated hazard ratio of 0.65 (95% CI, 0.39 to 1.08). Compared with localized disease, distant metastasis at diagnosis was associated with worse PPB event-free survival and overall survival with hazard ratio of 4.23 (95% CI, 2.42 to 7.38) and 4.69 (95% CI, 2.50 to 8.80), respectively.ConclusionThe use of IVADo in children with type II and type III PPB resulted in similar-to-improved outcomes compared with historical controls. Inferior outcomes with metastatic disease suggest the need for novel therapies. This large cohort of uniformly treated children with advanced PPB serves as a benchmark for future multicenter therapeutic studies for this rare pediatric tumor.

This study investigates and compares elements of creativity in secondary schools and classrooms in Australia and Singapore. Statistical analysis and qualitative investigation of teacher, student and leadership perceptions of the emergence, fostering and absence of creativity in school learning environments is explored. This large-scale international study (n=717) reveals the impact of teacher behaviours, teaching environments and school leadership approaches that promote and impede the enhancement of creative, critical, and innovative thinking, organisation, and curriculum structures. Implications for Australian schools and teaching urge for secondary education to challenge current, practices, pedagogies and environments, arguing for school-based strategies and considerations that enhance creativity and critical thinking and the fostering of creative ecologies within Australian schools.

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One of the most effective measures to reduce crashes amongst young drivers is the implementation of a comprehensive Graduated Licensing Scheme (GLS). Yet while all Australian jurisdictions have some form of GLS in place, young drivers remain over-represented in crashes on Australian roads. This indicates that improvements to GLS models in each jurisdiction would be beneficial. The Centre for Road Safety in Transport for New South Wales, on behalf of the Austroads Road Safety Taskforce, commissioned road safety consultants Eric Howard and Anne Harris to develop an evidence-informed GLS policy framework that can be applied across all Australian jurisdictions. The project involved a review of current Australian GLS arrangements, a discussion paper outlining key research findings and extensive consultation with road safety and licensing representatives from all jurisdictions. The framework identifies fundamental GLS components to guide, rather than prescribe, the implementation of increasingly effective GLS models across Australia. The GLS components relate to key areas of focus that contribute to young driver crashes including age, experience, risk taking and licensing access and support. The framework outlines the features of progressively more comprehensive GLS models that address these issues (i.e. standard, enhanced and exemplar models) to account for the varied starting points across Australia and enable jurisdictions to make improvements gradually. The Australian GLS Policy Framework was approved by the Transport Ministers of every jurisdiction. The success of this project demonstrates how policy agencies can take action together to reduce Australian road trauma, even when jurisdictions’ current policies differ considerably

Drawing on the philosophies and writings of Paulo Freire regarding education as activism, this paper will explore the history and activities of the Popular Education Network of Australia (PENA). The network, founded in 2009, involves educators, academics and community workers, working together on issues relating to critical pedagogy and social change in schools, communities and adult education contexts. Two symposia have been organised on critical education in Australia. In 2010, ‘Teaching and Learning for Social Justice and Action’ was the inaugural gathering. In 2012, ‘Freire Reloaded: Learning and Teaching to Change the World’ featured a diverse range of workshops and Professor Antonia Darder as keynote speaker and observer. Through the perspectives and experiences of five academics involved in PENA, this paper will explore the group’s activities and reflect on the inspiration drawn from the work of Freire, Darder and others. Creating spaces for discussion of critical pedagogy affords opportunities for academics, educators, teachers and activists to reflect on their practice and also leads to further spontaneous networking and planning of action. In this paper we argue that there is continuing importance, in fact urgency, in producing places and spaces for conscientisation to occur, and for examples of critical education to be shared amongst 21st century educators.

This article argues that African women migrants in Australia are increasingly enrolling in and successfully completing tertiary study, usually at high emotional and financial cost. While this qualitative study has shown that both refugee-background and non-refugee African Australian women’s enrolment in higher education is enabling new forms of participation and belonging in resettlement, it continues to challenge the women’s more traditional cultural roles and identities. This article argues that these gendered negotiations are noted only cursorily (if at all) within education and health contexts, and, importantly, form a primary obstacle facing African Australian women in migration and refugee resettlement transition.

The number of higher education providers implementing a post-entry English Language Assessment (PELA) has increased exponentially in the past six years. This uptake has been driven largely by the “Good Practice Principles”, the TEQSA Act 2011, and TEQSA’s Quality Assessment on English Language Proficiency. Evidence suggests that at least 50% of Australian universities now offer some form of PELA, but few compel students to complete it. This paper discusses four years of learning that took place in one university, beginning with trialling a range of PELAs through to the endorsement of a short written task in all undergraduate courses. It addresses potential matters of contention, analyses why the initial university-wide roll-out was problematic and highlights the need to link PELA outcomes with effective language and academic skills support. The paper puts forward a case for the continued adoption of a PELA and suggests how this can be achieved in a cost-effective and sound pedagogical manner.

"In the Faculty of Business and Law at Edith Cowan University, the percentage of international students enrolling in both undergraduate and postgraduate courses is increasing rapidly. The vast majority of these students come from backgrounds where English is not their main language of communication and a number come from regions where English is barely spoken. In order to assist these students in the most effective manner, at the beginning of first semester in 2009, the Faculty initiated the Business Literacy and Numeracy Project. This paper delves into the literacy aspect of this project. It charts why such a project was established, outlines various actions taken, and proposes some likely outcomes."

In Australian universities, student demographics over the past decade have changed markedly. The main shift is an increase in the number of students who have English as an additional language or are the first in their family to enter higher education. As student populations diversify, many universities are recognising that language and academic support programs require different emphases. For years, the fundamentals of learning support revolved around centrally run workshops and individual consultations but recently, a number of universities have moved towards contextualised in-course support. This paper looks at a similar shift. In 2010, learning support at Edith Cowan University moved from a centralised model to being faculty based. The Faculty of Business and Law established a new Academic Skills Centre to service its diverse student population. Aiming to offer best practice, several methods have been adopted, the most successful of which is the integration of academic skills and English language support within targeted units in the School of Management.

The transition to university is a well recognised challenge, especially for non-traditional students. This paper presents a student-focused model for the transition to university, developed through an extensive literature review, discussions with a range of professionals nationally and internationally, and first year teaching practice. The model was applied to the development of a range of strategies to be implemented at one institution. The use of the model may facilitate the development of a university-wide approach to the issues of student transition to university and the first year in higher education experience. The model will allow a balanced approach to be developed.

A growing body of research into the provision of learning support suggests that good practice is exemplified by the integration of language and academic skills (LAS) into specifically targeted core discipline units. There are many reasons offered: that contextualised support picks up weaker students who commonly fail to self-select for voluntary workshops; that students favour contextualised workshops over general workshops, often perceiving the latter to have little relevance to them; that the number of students in Australian universities with English as an additional language (EAL) has increased markedly over the past decade; and that in some units the delivery of contextualised support serves to “up-skill” academic staff. The authors of this paper argue that integrated learning support makes good use of limited resources for all stakeholders: discipline academics, learning advisors and students. The paper explores the experiences of these stakeholders in a core management unit of the MBA at Edith Cowan University over a period of three semesters. It outlines the various tasks involved in this innovative embedding project both in terms of team meetings for the discipline staff and learning advisor, and class time allocated to LAS development. It also evaluates the benefits through student feedback and interviews with members of the embedding team. The authors conclude that the approach taken in this project was effective in supporting incremental, discipline-specific LAS development for students and in raising awareness among discipline teaching staff of the importance of LAS development.

The Good Practice Principles have provided the higher education sector with a framework for action in the area of academic language and learning (ALL); and the imprimatur of DEEWR has ensured that they have been nationally disseminated and are now widely recognised. Yet, while they have been nationally acknowledged as appropriate and desirable, the means by which they might be achieved is by no means certain. In order to realise these principles, ALL educators and colleagues in Australian institutions must grapple with major issues that arise chronologically over students’ academic careers. These issues include: how can we know whether students have sufficient English language proficiency to participate effectively in their academic studies, how can we best help them to develop their language use in an academic context, and how can we know that they are sufficiently proficient for graduate employment? By systematically addressing these issues, universities will be more able to achieve greater parity in participation, progression and professional outcomes for all students. The Good Practice Principles, while not a silver bullet in ensuring equity, can nevertheless serve as a useful launching point for discussions aimed at substantive change. Indeed, they served as a starter gun for an AALL-sponsored symposium in January 2011 in Perth. This paper draws on symposium themes and discusses their relevance in the broader Australian context.

This research investigates the relationship between emotional literacy and bullying. Much time, money and resources have been invested in trying to combat the ongoing problem of bullying in our schools. However, research suggests that only fifty per cent of anti-bullying programs are effective in trying to stop the bullying that is being experienced by as many as one in six school children (Rigby, 1997). Many of the programs have focused on such approaches as making students aware of what bullying behaviours are and why they are not appropriate. Anti-bullying programs work with bullies to try and teach empathy, teach bystanders not to be part of the problem or focus on conflict resolution and peer mediation. Very little research has addressed the role that emotional literacy may play in helping a student avoid being the victim of bullying behaviours. A mixed method approach was undertaken to investigate the relationship between emotional literacy and bullying with data gathered from two hundred and ninety five participants from Years 8 – 10. The students completed a questionnaire regarding peer relations and a checklist developed to measure emotional literacy. The initial data were then used to identify a small group of students that represented a range of emotional literacy levels and experience of bullying. These students participated in interviews using vignettes designed around social situations involving bullying. Parents and teachers of the interviewed students were also asked to complete checklists measuring the students’ emotional literacy. Analysis showed a moderately strong statistical relationship between students who have a lower than average level of emotional literacy and the likelihood they will be victims of bullying. Of the students rating themselves below average emotional literacy, nearly half reported being bullied. On the other hand, of the students who rated themselves above average in emotional literacy, only one in ten reported being bullied.

The 'Theology of Struggle' is the name adopted in 1982 by a significant group of socially concerned Christians in the Philippines who, after experiencing conversion as a result of living and working among the poor, found themselves committed to a new way of 'being' Christian. This new way of being Christian saw church people, over a period of almost three decades, construct new identities, act collectively, and challenge established religious, social, political and cultural understandings. The designation, 'Theology of Struggle' is, however, a misnomer, as the Theology of Struggle is not theological discourse in the traditional sense. The stress is invariably on practical struggle rather than academic theology. Those who joined the struggle felt themselves called to a radical form of commitment: "Makibaka, huwag matakot ": "Dare to struggle, be not afraid"! My thesis is that the Theology of Struggle is, in fact, a movement of social, religious and political consequence. Social movement theory is employed in this study to analyse and elucidate the development and significance of the Theology of Struggle: why it arose; what networks and recruitment practices led to the production of shared beliefs; how did collective action and cycles of protest emerge and dissipate; and what were its outcomes? In the process, this study also grapples with broader related issues: the construction of identity and meaning; the patterns of domination and resistance; and the importance of religion within collective action. Drawing on interviews and the writings of those involved in the Theology of Struggle as well as social movement theory, this study examines the role played by this group of activist Christians in the ongoing struggle for social justice in the Philippines and, in doing so, aims to demonstrate the significance and limitations of the Theology of Struggle as a social movement.

Arkoudis S., Harris A. (2019) EALD students at university level: Strengthening the evidence base for programmatic initiatives. In: Gao X. (eds) Second Handbook of English Language Teaching. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. Available here

Harris, Anne (04.2016). "Integrating written communication skills: working towards a whole of course approach". Teaching in higher education (1356-2517), 21 (3), p. 287. Article here

This paper characterizes thermal and reliability performance of a SiC MOSFET power module with embedded decoupling capacitors and without anti-parallel diodes. Active and passive temperature cycling, supported by transient thermal impedance characterisation and scanning acoustic microscopy, are used to evaluate key degradation mechanisms. The forward voltage drop of the body diode is used as a thermo-sensitive electrical parameter to estimate the junction temperature and the thermal structure function is analysed to elucidate the degradation in the heat flow path inside the module. Comparisons are made with commercial Si IGBT power modules.

Integration of decoupling capacitors in SiC MOSFET modules is an advanced solution to mitigate the effect of parasitic inductance induced by module assembly interconnects. In this paper, the switching transient behavior is reported for a 1.2kV SiC MOSFET module with embedded DC-link capacitors. It shows faster switching transition and less overshoot voltage compared to a module using an identical package but without capacitors. Active power cycling and passive temperature cycling are carried out for package reliability characterization and comparisons are made with commercial Si and SiC power modules. Scanning acoustic microscopy images and thermal structure functions are presented to quantify the effects of package degradation. The results demonstrate that the SiC modules with embedded capacitors have similar reliability performance to commercial modules and that the reliability is not adversely affected by the presence of the decoupling capacitors.

Integration of decoupling capacitors in SiC MOSFET modules is an advanced solution to mitigate the effect of parasitic inductance induced by module assembly interconnects. In this paper, the switching transient behavior is reported for a 1.2kV SiC MOSFET module with embedded DC-link capacitors. It shows faster switching transition and less overshoot voltage compared to a module using an identical package but without capacitors. Active power cycling and passive temperature cycling are carried out for package reliability characterization and comparisons are made with commercial Si and SiC power modules. Scanning acoustic microscopy images and thermal structure functions are presented to quantify the effects of package degradation. The results demonstrate that the SiC modules with embedded capacitors have similar reliability performance to commercial modules and that the reliability is not adversely affected by the presence of the decoupling capacitors.

This paper characterizes thermal and reliability performance of a SiC MOSFET power module with embedded decoupling capacitors and without anti-parallel diodes. Active and passive temperature cycling, supported by transient thermal impedance characterisation and scanning acoustic microscopy, are used to evaluate key degradation mechanisms. The forward voltage drop of the body diode is used as a thermo-sensitive electrical parameter to estimate the junction temperature and the thermal structure function is analysed to elucidate the degradation in the heat flow path inside the module. Comparisons are made with commercial Si IGBT power modules.

Integration of decoupling capacitors in SiC MOSFET modules is an advanced solution to mitigate the effect of parasitic inductance induced by module assembly interconnects. In this paper, the switching transient behavior is reported for a 1.2kV SiC MOSFET module with embedded DC-link capacitors. It shows faster switching transition and less overshoot voltage compared to a module using an identical package but without capacitors. Active power cycling and passive temperature cycling are carried out for package reliability characterization and comparisons are made with commercial Si and SiC power modules. Scanning acoustic microscopy images and thermal structure functions are presented to quantify the effects of package degradation. The results demonstrate that the SiC modules with embedded capacitors have similar reliability performance to commercial modules and that the reliability is not adversely affected by the presence of the decoupling capacitors.

Presentation book label, inscribed: "This book was given to Miss Anne Harris, \ by John L. Harris, (on leaving England), in remembrance of his love."

This paper characterizes thermal and reliability performance of a SiC MOSFET power module with embedded decoupling capacitors and without anti-parallel diodes. Active and passive temperature cycling, supported by transient thermal impedance characterisation and scanning acoustic microscopy, are used to evaluate key degradation mechanisms. The forward voltage drop of the body diode is used as a thermo-sensitive electrical parameter to estimate the junction temperature and the thermal structure function is analysed to elucidate the degradation in the heat flow path inside the module. Comparisons are made with commercial Si IGBT power modules.

Integration of decoupling capacitors in SiC MOSFET modules is an advanced solution to mitigate the effect of parasitic inductance induced by module assembly interconnects. In this paper, the switching transient behavior is reported for a 1.2kV SiC MOSFET module with embedded DC-link capacitors. It shows faster switching transition and less overshoot voltage compared to a module using an identical package but without capacitors. Active power cycling and passive temperature cycling are carried out for package reliability characterization and comparisons are made with commercial Si and SiC power modules. Scanning acoustic microscopy images and thermal structure functions are presented to quantify the effects of package degradation. The results demonstrate that the SiC modules with embedded capacitors have similar reliability performance to commercial modules and that the reliability is not adversely affected by the presence of the decoupling capacitors.

Integration of decoupling capacitors in SiC MOSFET modules is an advanced solution to mitigate the effect of parasitic inductance induced by module assembly interconnects. In this paper, the switching transient behavior is reported for a 1.2kV SiC MOSFET module with embedded DC-link capacitors. It shows faster switching transition and less overshoot voltage compared to a module using an identical package but without capacitors. Active power cycling and passive temperature cycling are carried out for package reliability characterization and comparisons are made with commercial Si and SiC power modules. Scanning acoustic microscopy images and thermal structure functions are presented to quantify the effects of package degradation. The results demonstrate that the SiC modules with embedded capacitors have similar reliability performance to commercial modules and that the reliability is not adversely affected by the presence of the decoupling capacitors.

Integration of decoupling capacitors in SiC MOSFET modules is an advanced solution to mitigate the effect of parasitic inductance induced by module assembly interconnects. In this paper, the switching transient behavior is reported for a 1.2kV SiC MOSFET module with embedded DC-link capacitors. It shows faster switching transition and less overshoot voltage compared to a module using an identical package but without capacitors. Active power cycling and passive temperature cycling are carried out for package reliability characterization and comparisons are made with commercial Si and SiC power modules. Scanning acoustic microscopy images and thermal structure functions are presented to quantify the effects of package degradation. The results demonstrate that the SiC modules with embedded capacitors have similar reliability performance to commercial modules and that the reliability is not adversely affected by the presence of the decoupling capacitors.

This paper characterizes thermal and reliability performance of a SiC MOSFET power module with embedded decoupling capacitors and without anti-parallel diodes. Active and passive temperature cycling, supported by transient thermal impedance characterisation and scanning acoustic microscopy, are used to evaluate key degradation mechanisms. The forward voltage drop of the body diode is used as a thermo-sensitive electrical parameter to estimate the junction temperature and the thermal structure function is analysed to elucidate the degradation in the heat flow path inside the module. Comparisons are made with commercial Si IGBT power modules.

This paper characterizes thermal and reliability performance of a SiC MOSFET power module with embedded decoupling capacitors and without anti-parallel diodes. Active and passive temperature cycling, supported by transient thermal impedance characterisation and scanning acoustic microscopy, are used to evaluate key degradation mechanisms. The forward voltage drop of the body diode is used as a thermo-sensitive electrical parameter to estimate the junction temperature and the thermal structure function is analysed to elucidate the degradation in the heat flow path inside the module. Comparisons are made with commercial Si IGBT power modules.