Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Librarians Professional ethics Australia'

The thesis examines those students in the department of Information Studies at Curtin University of Technology who have articulated into the Bachelor of Applied Science (Information and Library Studies) through holding an Associate Diploma which qualifies them as paraprofessional library technicians.An analysis of students in the department over a period of ten years examines the number and characteristics of library technicians upgrading their qualifications and compares the academic performance of articulating students with those who have no previous qualifications in librarianship. This examination reveals little difference in the academic performance of the two groups. Interviews with academic staff and students reveal attitudes towards articulation, articulating students, education and the relationship between the professional and paraprofessional levels in librarianship which will need to be taken into account in future curricula and course development.

The thesis examines those students in the department of Information Studies at Curtin University of Technology who have articulated into the Bachelor of Applied Science (Information and Library Studies) through holding an Associate Diploma which qualifies them as paraprofessional library technicians.An analysis of students in the department over a period of ten years examines the number and characteristics of library technicians upgrading their qualifications and compares the academic performance of articulating students with those who have no previous qualifications in librarianship. This examination reveals little difference in the academic performance of the two groups. Interviews with academic staff and students reveal attitudes towards articulation, articulating students, education and the relationship between the professional and paraprofessional levels in librarianship which will need to be taken into account in future curricula and course development.

Presentation. Critical Librarianship & Pedagogy Symposium, February 25-26, 2016, The University of Arizona.
While critical practice involves challenging systems and structures, many librarians function in the “messy middle” - making choices in everyday practice which may both support and challenge privileged academic structures. This workshop will take participants through a series of questions based on privilege as a lens for reflection on our choices, limitations, and opportunities as librarians within academic systems. The aim of the workshop is to help identify points of friction or frustration in our practice, areas for closer examination or opportunities for change, and to provide a more intentional understanding of our values and how they relate to practice.

Digital file includes the first chapter from The Librarian Stereotype: Deconstructing Presentations and Perceptions of Information Work, edited by Nicole Pagowsky and Miriam Rigby; digital file also includes foreword by James V. Carmichael, Jr., Embracing the Melancholy: How the Author Renounced Moloch and the Conga Line for Sweet Conversations on Paper, to the Air of "Second Hand Rose

This bachelor's thesis aims to shed light on the professional ethical dilemmas that may arise in public libraries, what tools the librarians use, and what role experience plays in ethical thinking. With a theoretical framework based on Dreyfus and Dreyfus, as well as Säljö, we paint a picture of how ethical learning takes place in accordance with the five-step model, as well as how different tools can be used at the different levels of learning. Our findings suggest that experience is not equal to be an ethical expert, and that the tools that the librarians uses are useful on the lower levels of awareness, but that the librarians tends to act with more intuition when he/she grows more in their experience, although there are some cases where the expert still uses rules.

This -study identifies how language usage and culture affect international PR practitioners in three Western cultures-- America, England and Australia. Likewise, this study examined how language usage and culture affect three major PR organizations-- PRSA in America, CIPR in England and PRIA in Australia. Content analysis and in-depth interviews were conducted with PR practitioners and members of all three PR organizations to address the following three research questions: (1) What is the impact of language usage on the ethics and professional practice of professional public relations? (2) What is the impact of culture on the ethics and professional practice of professional public relations? and (3) How does language usage and culture effect the professional practice of international organizations?

This thesis considers the role of professional regulation in disciplining lawyer dishonesty. It defines dishonesty as acts done, whether at the suggestion of a partner, a client or another lawyer, that enable a client to act dishonestly. In particular, it focuses upon the professional norms, practices and rules that regulate large firm lawyer misconduct in Australia. As the size and sophistication of law firms has grown, so too has evidence of lawyers being complicit in the dishonest actions of their clients. This thesis examines how lawyers working within these environments navigate the practical and psychological challenges of acting honestly for their clients. It undertakes a theoretical inquiry into both the importance of lawyer honesty and the often conflicting norms and pressures of large firm practice . It also draws upon research in cognitive and social psychology to develop an empirically-grounded framework for lawyers' decisions to act dishonestly. In particular, it focuses upon the role of rationalisations in encouraging a pragmatic approach to clients' dishonest acts, especially in the context of the complexities and ambiguities of commercial legal practice. In the continuing absence of a national regulatory scheme governing the legal profession in Australia, the thesis focuses upon the disciplinary system operating in New South Wales and undertakes a theoretical inquiry into the importance of regulating lawyer dishonesty and an empirical study of NSW disciplinary cases to understand how lawyer dishonesty is dealt with by the professional and regulatory bodies in that state. It shows that significant gaps exist in the current regulatory scheme, particularly in the context of "who" disciplinary actions are brought against, "what" misconduct actions are for and "how" practitioners are dealt with. It argues that these gaps undermine the legitimacy of the regulatory anddisciplinary systems, which have as their goal providing a consistent scheme for the regulation of lawyers and the enforcement of standards of competence and honesty across the legal professlon. Finally, the thesis considers whether the regulatory regime governing professional misconduct in NSW can be effectively used to improve the standard of large firm lawyer honesty. It argues "yes" and suggests that three regulatory responses are required: firstly, normative issues need to remain at the centre of the regulation of professional misconduct; secondly, all law firms should be subject to the requirement to implement appropriate management systems and finally, specific provisions should be introduced to impose liability on large firm lawyers who assist their clients to act dishonestly.

This Doctoral thesis has arisen from a developing interest in the synergy between leadership, culture and ethos in schools, and particularly how this is manifested in the generation of quality curriculum, effective school organization and excellent outcomes for students. It particularly explores how the leadership of the Principal can empower others to effect change. Early interest in the empowering role of leadership arose through experience at Head of Department level, extended by system contribution beyond the school. The conception of the interface between leadership, culture and ethos was cemented by appointment as Foundation Principal of a new Government high school. A passionate commitment to exploring the unique opportunities, and to attempting to resolve the very specific problems of a new school led to collaboration with other Foundation Principals. Subsequently, I undertook a review of the literature and research into the specific issues inherent in the establishment of a school. Data was collected in situ through visits to new schools, across four States in eastern Australia. This research led to positions of system leadership in new schooling, and to advocacy for a “new deal” for establishing schools. The research led to a growing portfolio of articles, two of which have been published in refereed journals. The desired outcome of the research and published papers was to document some initiatives which could be undertaken by leadership teams in schools as they sought to establish effective culture and ethos in the early years of their schools. My experience in schools identified the position of Head of Department as a critical, gatekeeping position for the cultivation or resistance of desired change in schools. Accordingly, I was part of a research study which employed a Grounded Theory methodology (Strauss and Corbin, 1990) and gathered data through telephone interviews. The research found Heads of Department typically distracted, by the sheer weight of tasks endemic to their role, from the major focus on curriculum and quality teaching and learning. Three refereed journal articles to which I contributed, one as lead author, sought to reconceptualise the role. Educational systems have shown considerable interest in this research. A focus on Heads of Department led fairly naturally to an attempt to identifying other agencies within a school which could lead to cultural change. Specifically, further research sought to identify initiatives available to the leadership team as it sought to enhance curriculum provision and student outcomes. This represented an attempt to apply the very considerable literature to develop some cutting edge initiatives, and led to further journal contributions, one of which was refereed. Other schools have shown considerable interest in these initiatives. A change of situation from the Government to the Independent schooling system provided a new practical and research challenge: how to undertake Christian education which was authentic, in the sense that it was truly educative and not indoctrinative, and was effective in transmitting Christian values. The literature in the field was not encouraging in terms of the efficacy of schools’ Christian education programs in effecting values change, or of the ethical integrity of their pedagogy. The apparent deficits in models of Christian education presented in schools, as revealed in the literature, gave rise to a number of research studies in my own school, which, as an outcome, has sought to reconceptualise the school’s approach to Christian education. This attempted reconceptualisation has been documented in a number of journal articles and publications, two co-authored and refereed, in an attempt to provide some exemplars which may be influential in other schools. The overall thesis of this dissertation is that when the Principal seeks to empower and mobilize other members of the school leadership team, including key teachers and parents, effective change can occur in the school’s culture and ethos. These changes in turn can feature a range of initiatives which substantially improve learning outcomes for students.
Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

This thesis investigates a perceived gap between the medical profession’s rhetoric that the welfare of the patient is the medical practitioner’s first priority, and the reality of patient experience. The Medical Board of Australia’s Good Medical Practice: A Code of Conduct for Doctors in Australia mandates the duty of medical practitioners to make the care of their patients their first priority. This code also confirms that good medical practice is patient-centred. Patient-centred care should therefore be central to patient experience. However, despite promotion of this goal by medical professional authorities, patient-centred care is not always being achieved as well as it might in practice. This thesis is an attempt to understand the reasons why this divergence between rhetoric and practice is occurring, paying particular attention to the role of the law as a potential and actual promoter of, and barrier to, practices which are recognised components of patient-centred care, and consequently of good medical practice. This aim is developed through two case studies, the way valid advance directives are observed or not, and the responses of medical practitioners to injuries to patients sustained during medical treatment. The methodology used includes analysis of hard law regulatory processes together with the development of and increasing reliance on the soft law documented in codes, guidelines and other regulatory standards which reflect the evolving ideals of medical professionalism. In turn, an examination of disciplinary cases of tribunals and courts shows how conduct is interpreted in accordance with what is or is not professional behaviour. There is evidence that observance by medical practitioners of patient-centred care is often being overwhelmed by the scientific and technical aspects of medical practice and other pressures on medical practitioners, such as concerns about legal liability. The necessity for the observance of respect for the human being who is the patient is discounted to these priorities despite extensive evidence of improved outcomes for patients when patient-centred principles are implemented. The reasons for this discount are complex but a major contributor to the less than optimum observance of patient-centred principles is medical professionalism as fostered by the current methods of socialisation and training of medical practitioners. Bullying and humiliation of medical students in their training leads to desensitisation and a consequent lack of attention by medical practitioners to the necessity for patient-centred approaches to practice. An exploration of the direct and indirect impacts of the law upon the medical profession shows the domination of medical practitioner interests over the interests of their patients. Therefore, this thesis considers whether the existing Australian legislative regime can be applied to achieving the promotion of the observance of quality, patient-centred practices by medical practitioners to the mutual benefit of doctor and patient. It argues that medical disciplinary authorities can use the provisions of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law together with soft law regulation to more completely embed a patient-centred culture in medical practitioner behaviour.

Preventable patient harm and medical error occur frequently in health care. Despite the apparent widespread commitment to the “First do no harm” aphorism in medicine, it has proved difficult to get prompt, effective and sustained action to detect and prevent these. The existence of preventable patient harm and medical error has been well established over the past 50 years and its high frequency has been confirmed in many international studies over the past two decades. The thesis used a secondary source research methodology across a wide range of disciplines that have looked at medical error, preventable harm and doctor behaviour to explore possible explanations for these phenomena. The thesis concludes that there is an alternative plausible explanation for why action on identification and action on these issues by doctors, as leaders in health care, have been so slow and inconsistent. The thesis provides evidence in support of three hypotheses that form part of this explanation. Hypothesis 1: the occurrence of patient harm and medical error can be perceived psychologically by a doctor as a fundamental threat to his or her identity; Hypothesis 2: a serious threat to identity causes a range of psychological defences, often rooted in the biological responses of the brain to threats to existence, and these defences can make it hard for a doctor to recognise, identify or accept the risk of patient harm; Hypothesis 3: elements of the Doctor Identity deny ordinary human psychological responses and physical limitations, and thus promote unrealistic self or group perceptions. This creates risks to both doctors and patients. Many of these risks may be avoidable through modifying these perceptions and developing more realistic self-and professional schemas. The thesis concludes that these hypotheses provide potential new ways to address the issues, and reduce harm caused to both patients and doctors.