Macquarie University Research Articles

A bibliometric analysis of accounting education literature in the digital era: current status, implications and agenda for future research

Purpose This study aims to identify and discuss influential aspects of accounting education literature in the digital era, such as key streams, themes, authors, keywords, journals, affiliations and countries. It also constructs agendas for future research. Design/methodology/approach The current study uses a bibliometric approach to analyze 287 studies indexed by the Scopus Database from 1982 to 2023. Findings The analysis reveals three themes: “the impact of emerging technologies on the accounting profession,” “the essential skills for modern accountants” and “the integration of technology into the accounting curricula.” Beyond this, the analysis points out that Macquarie University and the Queensland University of Technology were the most productive institutions. Furthermore, the leading journal was the Accounting Education Journal. The USA and Australia were leading in total citations and publications, while 2023 was the peak publishing year. Research limitations/implications The study acknowledges that alternative search keywords, databases and research categories may reveal unexplored relationships. The present study’s findings have crucial theoretical and practical implications for researchers in the accounting domain, higher education institutions and policymakers. Originality/value The study contributes to the extant accounting literature by presenting a holistic view of the impact of emerging technologies on accountants’ skills, profession and accounting curriculum, identifying gaps in the literature and proposing a research agenda.

Building a culture of safety in Australian residential aged care facilities: protocol for a longitudinal mixed methods research programme

IntroductionThe quality and safety of care within residential aged care facilities (RACFs) have been linked to their organisational culture. However, evidence for understanding and improving culture in this setting is...

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals melanoma cell state-dependent heterogeneity of response to MAPK inhibitors

Melanoma is a heterogeneous cancer influenced by the plasticity of melanoma cells and their dynamic adaptations to microenvironmental cues. Melanoma cells transition between well-defined transcriptional cell states that impact treatment response and resistance. In this study, we applied single-cell RNA sequencing to interrogate the molecular features of immunotherapy-naive and immunotherapy-resistant melanoma tumours in response to exvivo BRAF/MEK inhibitor treatment. We confirm the presence of four distinct melanoma cell states - melanocytic, transitory, neural-crest like and undifferentiated, and identify enrichment of neural crest-like and undifferentiated melanoma cells in immunotherapy-resistant tumours. Furthermore, we introduce an integrated computational approach to identify subsets of responding and nonresponding melanoma cells within the transcriptional cell states. Nonresponding melanoma cells are identified in all transcriptional cell states and are predisposed to BRAF/MEK inhibitor resistance due to pro-inflammatory IL6 and TNFɑ signalling. Our study provides a framework to study treatment response within distinct melanoma cell states and indicate that tumour-intrinsic pro-inflammatory signalling contributes to BRAF/MEK inhibitor resistance. This work was supported by Macquarie University, Melanoma Institute Australia, and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC; grant 2012860, 2028055).

Transition from rehabilitation hospital to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for people with brain injury and spinal cord injury: a data linkage protocol

IntroductionTraumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury (SCI) are both major contributors to permanent disability globally, with an estimated 27 million new cases of TBI and 0.93 million new...

Protocol for a longitudinal study examining the trajectory of COVID-19, post-COVID, multidimensional disadvantage and health-related quality of life in India: the IndiQol Project

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns about the persistence of symptoms after infection, commonly referred to as ‘post-COVID’ or ‘long-COVID’. While countries in high-resource countries have highlighted the increased risk...

Intentional Imperfection Program: A pilot randomised controlled trial to help university students manage perfectionism

Given that perfectionism has been associated with interpersonal, academic, and mental health difficulties in university students, helping them manage their perfectionism is crucial. This pilot trial examined the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of an online perfectionism program designed to target the mechanisms that link perfectionism to psychological distress. Seventy first-year psychology students from Macquarie University with high levels of perfectionism were recruited into this two-arm pilot trial and randomised to either the intervention (i.e., perfectionism program) or attention placebo control (i.e., lifestyle program) condition. We assessed indicators of feasibility and acceptability, as well as measures related to perfectionism, psychological distress, emotion regulation skills, interpersonal and academic functioning at baseline, one-month post treatment, and three-month follow-up (blinded outcome assessment). Our analyses revealed that, while participants expressed overall satisfaction with the program, there was low engagement with it (Mcompletion rate=36.23%), and retention in the study was low (response rates for post-treatment: 65.71% and follow-up: 48.57%). Bearing this in mind, our linear mixed model analyses revealed greater reductions in perfectionistic traits and cognitions, interpersonal hostility, and loneliness, as well as increases in self-compassion in the intervention group compared to the control group at post-treatment and/or follow-up. However, we did not observe statistically significant changes in other important treatment outcomes (e.g.,psychological distress). Given these findings, adjustments to improve engagement and retention should occur before proceeding with a larger, definitive trial. This trial was retrospectively registered on the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (no. ACTRN12622000960752).

A learning analytics pilot in Moodle and its impact on developing organisational capacity in a university

Moodle is used as a learning management system around the world. However, integrated learning analytics solutions for Moodle that provide actionable information and allow teachers to efficiently use it to connect with their students are lacking. The enhanced Moodle Engagement Analytics Plugin (MEAP), presented at ASCILITE2015, enabled teachers to identify and contact students at-risk of not completing their units. Here, we discuss a pilot using MEAP in 36 units at Macquarie University, a metropolitan Australian university. We use existing models for developing organisational capacity in learning analytics and to embed learning analytics into the practice of teaching and learning to discuss a range of issues arising from the pilot. We outline the interaction and interdependency of five stages during the pilot: technology infrastructure, analytics tools and applications; policies, processes, practices and workflows; values and skills; culture and behaviour; and leadership. We conclude that one of the most significant stages is to develop a culture and behaviour around learning analytics.

Characterisation of a Novel Osmosensitive Pathway from the Supraoptic Nucleus to the Median Preoptic Nucleus

The Supraoptic Nucleus (SON) is well regarded for the neuroendocrine release of vasopressin and oxytocin through the posterior pituitary gland. Evidence also exists for extra-pituitary efferent projections of SON neurons, mainly collaterals to the lateral hypothalamus and central amygdala. The objective of this study was to examine the existence of a central SON projection to the median preoptic nucleus (MnPO) of the hypothalamus. Microinjections of the retrograde tracer Cholera Toxin B Subunit (CTb) into the MnPO of male Wistar rats (n = 3) retrogradely labelled SON neurons. Fluorescence immunohistochemistry revealed equal involvement of vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OXT) — producing SON neurons (n = 107 AVP+/CTb+, n = 110 OXT+/ CTb+, n = 417 total CTb+ neurons). This major collateral projection was also examined in an animal model of Polycystic Kidney Disease, the Lewis Polycystic Kidney (LPK) rat (n = 3 animals; n = 104 AVP+/CTb+, n = 41 OXT+/CTb+, n = 372 total CTb+ neurons) and its healthy Lewis control (n = 3 animals; n = 115 AVP+/CTb+, n = 100 OXT+/CTb+, n = 430 total CTb+ neurons). Although the function of this projection is currently unclear, preliminary data in a subset of LPKs shows these SON neurons with MnPO collateral projections are activated by osmotic stressors (e.g., hypertonic saline). In summary, we report a major collateral projection from the SON to MnPO that is activated by osmotic stress. Given the well-known role of the MnPO in drinking behaviour, we suggest this SON-MnPO circuit may be involved in the coordination of fluid regulation and drinking behaviour. This project was funded by Macquarie University. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

From image to identity icon: Discourses of organizational visual identity on Australian university homepages

This article explores how universities construe organizational identities and engage digital audiences through images on web homepages. Combining visual content analysis and a discourse-analytic approach informed by social semiotics, I interpret the discourses of identity in 400 images from organizational homepages of four top-tier public universities in Sydney, Australia – University of Sydney, University of New South Wales, University of Technology Sydney, and Macquarie University. Based on the social semiotic interpretation of images, I identify eight identity icons, each deploying a combination of semiotic resources to represent a specific organizational identity. The analysis suggests that universities prioritize featuring people, which results in an augmented sense of social presence on the homepage. Lastly, four identified strategies for digital audience engagement in images – proximation, alignment, equalization, and subjectivation – point to how these are instrumental in representing university life as both individual and shared experiences.

Physiotherapy students'attitudes toward the use of telehealth in clinical practice: A cross-sectional survey.

Provision of physiotherapy services using telehealth has drastically increased since the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to be utilized in clinical practice suggesting telehealth in physiotherapy will become common practice. Prior research has explored the attitudes of physiotherapists with many years of in-person clinical experience toward telehealth. However, little is known about the emerging workforce'sattitudes. This study aims to explore physiotherapy students'attitudes toward the use of telehealth in clinical practice. A cross-sectional online survey of physiotherapy students enrolled in the Doctor of Physiotherapy program at Macquarie University between November 2022 and February 2023. Participants rated their level of agreement across 11 statements regarding telehealth use in physiotherapy clinical practice using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree."Participants answered two open-ended questions regarding when they might use telehealth in clinical practice as a physiotherapist and why they believe physiotherapists might be reluctant to use telehealth in clinical practice. A total of 118 participants completed the survey (response rate 53%). Overall, most participants believed telehealth would continue being offered post-Covid-19 (86%, n = 101), participants would use some form of telehealth in clinical practice (82%, n 96), believe a blended approach would be beneficial for patients (84%, n = 99), and were interested in further training in telehealth (90%, n = 107). We identified six broad themes, including accessibility, subsequent consultations, inability to provide manual therapies, limited training/education, perceived ineffectiveness, and digital literacy of the patient. Overall physiotherapy students believe telehealth will continue being offered in clinical practice, form part of contemporary physiotherapy practice, and are interested in further training to upskill in the delivery of care via telehealth. Given the continued use and students'demand for future training, it may be time to reimagine the inclusion of telehealth education and training in the entry-level physiotherapy curriculum.

“We Need to Run Our Own Communities”

Australian Indigenous student participation rates in higher education are consistently lower than non-Indigenous students, especially in remote contexts. This has manifested in the usurpation of remote Aboriginal community control by ‘more qualified’ external staff. Here we present a reflexive assessment of the development, delivery, outcomes and challenges of the Wuyagiba Bush Uni that was designed to address the paucity of university education in remote Aboriginal communities of Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. From 2018 to 2022, 66 Indigenous students graduated with Wuyagiba Micro-credentials (accredited by Macquarie University), and 28 students proceeded to enrol in Bachelor level degrees at Macquarie University in Sydney, with the first graduate in 2023. Furthermore, the Wuyagiba model has created a successful remote Indigenous business that employs about 50 local Indigenous people annually and is working towards empowering endogenous community development in remote Arnhem Land. Nevertheless, many challenges remain including sustainable funding, remote service delivery, university and bureaucratic structural barriers, and lateral violence in remote communities. Several enabling factors of success are identified, such as the cross-cultural curriculum, strong Indigenous control and leadership, wrap-around support, and longstanding relationships between University staff and community leaders. Such reflections can be used by other remote Aboriginal communities who wish to replicate this model or create their own on-Country higher education programs to empower locally trained leaders of the future.

Pelvic Exenteration Surgery Outcomes Following Establishment of a Complex Pelvic Surgery Multidisciplinary Tertiary Unit

Background: Pelvic exenteration surgery (PES) is a complex operation associated with significant morbidity. PES requires sub-specialised multidisciplinary input along with expertise in complex pelvic surgery and anatomy. The majority of published data on PES comes from high volume units, however there is emerging evidence of comparable short and long-term outcomes in lower volume units where dedicated multidisciplinary teams are established. This study reports outcomes of PES in a lower volume centre with a collaborative multidisciplinary surgical approach. Methods: A retrospective review of patients who underwent PES for benign or malignant pathology at Liverpool and Macquarie University Hospitals between September 2015 and June 2022. Descriptive statistics were performed and KaplanMeier survival analysis for patients treated for malignancy with curative intent. Results: A total of 67 patients undergoing pelvic exenteration were included (53.8% female; with mean age 59 years). Indications for PES were colorectal cancer (56.7%), gynaecological cancer (22.4%), other malignancy (9.0%) and complex benign pathology (11.9%). Posterior or total pelvic exenteration was performed in 88.1%. Median hospital stay was 16 days. Clavien-Dindo grade III or IV complications occurred in 34.3%. There were two post-operative deaths (3.0%; one palliative intent). For patients treated with curative intent (n=51), R0 resection margin was achieved in 92.2%, and R1 margin in 7.8%. Estimated five-year disease-free survival was 57.1%, and five-year overall survival was 65.5%. Conclusion: Short and long-term outcomes of PES in a low volume unit with appropriate multidisciplinary expertise are comparable to published data on pelvic exenteration from higher volume units.

The Growth of Tourism and ‘Development’ in an Indigenous Setting: Exploring a Case of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh

Summary This case study examines the process of tourism development in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, where multidimensional concerns related to Indigenous communities are coming to the fore. This area contains valuable natural resources that provide huge potential for the growth of tourism. However, accounts of discrimination and violations by the state towards Indigenous peoples indicate the potential for inequality and exploitation while developing tourism. Eleven Indigenous groups live in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, a historically conflict-ridden area where there is tension between the dominant ethnic Bangalee and the Indigenous groups due to the latter's limited control over their way of life and the environment. Structurally, the state endorses mass tourism, where powerful actors – government, military, politically influential individuals, and companies – are engaged in determining the ‘development’ for the Indigenous people and modernising the place as a part of capitalist ventures to gain profits. Given that state actors or private investors wield power and control over tourism, exploitation ranges from Indigenous peoples' lack of control over the planning to limited participation in tourism. Therefore, this case study explores the implications of tourism development for Indigenous peoples, analysing the state’s economic intervention in favour of the Bangalee people, who are an ethnically dominant group in Bangladesh. Moreover, this case study raises questions about how the ‘development’ is taking place and identifies the practice of ‘development’ in an Indigenous setting and how the Indigenous peoples are situated in this capitalistic venture in a post-conflict setting. The case study is based on empirical findings collected through an ethnographic study as part of a PhD. The study followed ethical guidelines approved by the Macquarie University Ethics Committee in 2017. Information © The Author 2024

Authenticity, Provenance, and Chronology of an Unpublished Black-topped Pot (MU5060) from Macquarie University History Museum, Sydney, Australia

Authenticity, Provenance, and Chronology of an Unpublished Black-topped Pot (MU5060) from Macquarie University History Museum, Sydney, Australia

The application of the Resilience Assessment Grid in outpatient clinics: A validation study

The Resilience Assessment Grid (RAG) has gained increasing traction in healthcare discourse for its effectiveness in understanding and assessing the potential resilient performance of healthcare organisations. RAG is intended to be tailored for the specific organisation. However, developing a context specific RAG questionnaire can be time-consuming, limiting its widespread implementation. The current study aimed to investigate whether an existing Danish RAG questionnaire for outpatient clinics could be successfully content validated and applied in another outpatient clinic context.A modified Delphi method was used to content validate the Danish RAG questionnaire in the Australian outpatient clinic setting, using interviews and expert panel reviews. The 29-item English version of the RAG questionnaire was administered in 2023 to nine managers and five healthcare professionals responding on a five-point Likert scale, who work across 34 hospital outpatient clinics at Macquarie University (MQ) Health Clinics. The questionnaire was also employed during managerial and departmental meetings in a collaborative learning format. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data, which was then presented using radar charts to facilitate the interpretation of the resilient profiles of MQ Health Clinics.The translation and validation of the Danish RAG questionnaire was successful. The English language RAG questionnaire was perceived as useful by managers to assess their clinics’ resilient strengths and weaknesses and identify areas for improvement within their clinic.While the RAG methodology highlights the importance of context-specificity, this study’s findings suggest that the content validated RAG questionnaire has the potential for application in other outpatient settings with minimal adaptation.

Preface

the 3rd International Conference on Law, Economics, and Governance (ICOLEG 2023) organized by the Law Faculty, Universitas Diponegoro. This year ICOLEG held on July 11-12, 2023 at Patra Semarang Hotel & Convention. This international conference is divided into two forms of agenda as follows: Plenary Sessions; and Scientific Sessions which separated into three chambers. Faculty of Law, Universitas Diponegoro organizes this conference every two years (biannual international conference) as a forum to exchange ideas and experiences on law, economics, and governance issues. This conference invites speakers whose international reputation and call for papers to national or international law lectures, undergraduate and postgraduate law students from national or abroad, practitioners, government officers, and environmental activists or staff of Non-Government Organizations (NGO) to present their papers according to ICOLEG Theme in 2023, namely “Progressive Law in The Midst of Climate Change” with the topic :1. Environmental Law, Economic, and Governance2. Climate Justice and Sustainable Development3. Blue and Green EconomicWe invited several reputable speakers from various universities to discuss these issues. They are: Prof. Dr. Petra Minnerop (Professor of International Environmental Law and Climate Change, Durham Law School, British), Assoc Prof. Constatinos Yiallourides (Macquarie University, Sidney), Assoc. Prof Salawati Mat Basir (Faculty of Law, Universitas Kebangsaan, Malaysia), Assoc Prof. Dr. Johan Shamsudin bin Sabarudin (Faculty of Law, University of Malaya), Prof. M.R. Andri Gunawan Wibisana (Faculty of Law, Universitas Indonesia), Prof. Dr. F.X. Adji Samekto (Faculty of Law, Universitas Diponegoro), Dahliana Hasan, Ph. D (Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada) and Iman Prihandono (Faculty of Law, Universitas Airlangga).This conference provided an academic opportunity for dialogue among the academician, officers, NGO, and other parties to solve the environmental issue. Every submitted paper has reviewed by our Scientific Committee who consists of ten experts from several universities around the world, namely : (1) Taylor’s Law School, Malaysia; (2) Australian Catholic University, Australia; (3) Universitas Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia; (4) Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia and (5) Universitas Diponegoro, Indonesia. The Scientific Committee will select the paper based on high quality standard to be published on proceeding.We would like to express our sincere gratitude and immense appreciation the honorable speakers, the participants, and also many people who are involved. We realize that the international conference would not be successfully conducted without their contribution.Hopefully this proceeding could provide the new insights and solutions regarding the climate change issues from the scientific perspective. The Editorial Team ICOLEG 2023 List of COMMITTEE are available in this pdf.

Learning analytics with iLearn Insights

iLearn Insights is an innovative online application to address the challenge of engaging, motivating and supporting students with automated personalised email for those at risk of failure. It allows academics to identify students who are engaging or otherwise with the Learning Management System (LMS) content, thus allowing early intervention, and ultimately improved retention in units by providing targeted support to a student cohort. In contrast to systems that provide only static data reports, this vendor-independent innovation was built in-house to analyse and visualise student learning data in relation to access patterns, forum activity, learning activity submission and grades to identify a student cohort that needs support, as well as enabling teaching staff to send personalised emails to students on the basis of their level of engagement and/or performance. Feedback has a powerful impact on learning, but students frequently highlight it as an area that can be improved in tertiary education (Dawson and Henderson, 2019). iLearn Insights provides graphical representation of LMS data that enables visual personalised feedback to students. Within three mouse clicks, academic staff can trigger a range of automated communications to commend high-achieving students, offer additional assistance to lower performing students or to recapture disengaged students. These emails can be a targeted to a group of students and configured by the unit convenor to contain motivating information including the top five resources accessed by classmates; a student’s mark in comparison to the class average; number or percentage of students that have already submitted an assignment; clickable links; and support resources for students falling behind. ILearn Insights was developed based on four principals of learning analytics design knowledge: integration, agency, reference frame and dialogue (Wise, 2014). It has been observed that targeted visual feedback with clickable links is the most effective way to engage students quickly.?The positive impact of iLearn Insights is demonstrated by its rapid uptake by teaching staff across Macquarie University. When it launched in Session 1, 2020, after 18 months of piloting, there were 478 users across 763 units (subjects) who sent 125334 targeted personalised emails. In Session 1, 2023 iLearn Insights was used by approximately 808 users across 40 departments and learning support areas and 1237 units, sending over 316576 targeted emails to encourage students to engage with learning activities or offer support. That represents an increase of 169% of users, 162% of units and 253% of emails in three years. These personalised email exchanges have led to enhanced student engagement, which is critical for student success (Kahu and Nelson, 2018; De Villiers and Werner, 2018; McClenney et al, 2012; Klem and Connell, 2004).

A new species of Lorrettina (dokimocephalid trilobite) from the Iverian (Cambrian, Jiangshanian) of the Amadeus Basin, Northern Territory, Australia

A previously unreported dokimocephalid trilobite, Lorrettina waterhousei sp. nov., is described herein from the Iverian (Jiangshanian, Cambrian) upper Goyder Formation, Amadeus Basin, central Australia. This is the first definitive biostratigraphic evidence for rocks of an Iverian (Jiangshanian) age in the Amadeus Basin. Correlation is made with the Chatsworth Limestone (=Gola beds) of the neighbouring Georgina Basin in Australia, as well as internationally to China, based on the generic occurrence. The biostratigraphic age of the unit is also supported by previous carbon isotope chemostratigraphy, further strengthening the interpretation. Patrick M. Smith [Patrick.Smith@austmus.gov.au], Palaeontology Department, Australian Museum Research Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, 2010, Australia and, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, 2109, Australia.

Griffinite, Al2TiO5: A New Oxide Mineral from Inclusions in Corundum Xenocrysts from the Mount Carmel Area, Israel

Griffinite (IMA 2021-110), ideally Al2TiO5, is a new mineral from inclusions in corundum xenocrysts from the Mount Carmel area, Israel. It occurs as subhedral crystals, ~1–4 μm in size, together with Zr-rich rutile within a corundum grain. In this study, a mean of eight electron probe microanalyses gave TiO2 44.41 (24), Al2O3 55.13 (18), FeO 0.47 (5), and MgO 0.37 (2), totaling 100.38 wt%, which corresponded, on the basis of a total of five oxygen atoms, to (Al1.97Mg0.02Fe0.01)Ti1.01O5. Electron back-scatter diffraction studies revealed that griffinite is orthorhombic and in the space group Cmcm, with a = 3.58 (2) Å, b = 9.44 (1) Å, c = 9.65 (1) Å, and V = 326 (2) Å3 with Z = 4. The six strongest calculated powder diffraction lines [d in Å (I/I0) (hkl)] are 3.347 (100) (110); 2.658 (90) (023); 4.720 (77) (020); 1.903 (57) (043); 1.790 (55) (200); and 1.688 (44) (134). In the crystal structure, Al3+ and Ti4+ are disordered into two distinct distorted octahedra, which form edge-sharing double chains. Griffinite is a high-temperature oxide mineral, formed in melt pockets in corundum-aggregate xenoliths derived from the upper mantle beneath Mount Carmel, Israel. The new mineral is named after William L. Griffin, a geologist at Macquarie University, Australia.

New Considerations on the Relationship between Predynastic Spiral-Patterned D-Ware Pottery and Breccia Vessels. The Contribution of an Unpublished Vessel from the Macquarie University History Museum (MU5038)

Abstract Based on a comparable color scheme, Naqada II decorated pottery (D-ware) with spiral motifs is often described as an imitation of breccia stone vessels. Using MU5038 as an example, this article traced the time line of development for both during Naqada II. Results indicated that pottery with spiral motifs did not appear as an imitation of stone vessels, as previously thought. This article proposed that they appeared earlier with breccia vessels following as luxurious versions. The latter point could be justified by the need of the rising elite of the period to use raw materials, whose sources they controlled. Stone quarries being located outside of the Nile Valley allowed for this control. In an attempt to explain the sudden occurrence and significance of spiral motifs on D-ware pottery, this article uses analogy and “ethnographic imagination” (Lane 2005) to shed light on the origins of spiral motifs in different cultures.