Institutional ethics review procedures aim -- in principle -- to minimise harm and evaluate risks, providing an important space to consider the safety of participants and researchers. However, literature has questioned the effectiveness of the process, particularly for reviewing 'risky' topics in a risk-averse environment. This article reports the…

Student evaluation of teaching (SET) surveys are the most widely used tool for collecting higher education student feedback to inform academic quality improvement, promotion and recruitment processes. Malicious and abusive student comments in SET surveys have the potential to harm the wellbeing and career prospects of academics. Despite much…

In this paper we explore methodological considerations for recruiting stigmatised populations online. Advertising for research participants via social networking sites (SNS) has increasingly become a tool of choice for both quantitative and qualitative researchers. However, such recruitment practices pose a range of challenges for researchers,…

This article sets out discursive issues surrounding bullying and harassment against teachers. This problematic phenomenon of teachers being bullied by students does not have the discursive policy framework to realistically and even-handedly enable discussion in the public arena or political and policy environments. This discussion chronicles our…

Within higher education student evaluations of teaching (SET) are used to inform evaluations of performance of courses and teachers. An anonymous online survey was constructed and implemented using Qualtrics. This study was situated within a more extensive study investigating the impact of narrative SET comments on teaching quality and the health…

It is generally accepted that hearing homophobic language can be detrimental to the well-being of same-sex attracted young people. "Writing Themselves In 3," a survey of Australian same-sex attracted young people, found that almost half of the respondents reported hearing such language on a regular basis, and considered it offensive.…

This qualitative study investigated the role of competition in the success and distress of law students. Participants from an Australian law faculty attended one of four focus groups (undergraduate, postgraduate, academic staff and administrative staff). They discussed their perceptions of competition, the competitive behaviours in law students,…

Education is state-run in Australia, and within each of the eight states and territories there are both government and independent schooling systems. This paper details the position of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (GLBTIQ) students within Australian education policy documents nationally, focusing on the three largest…

School suspensions are commonly used in schools to address challenging student behaviours, often on the understanding that suspensions send a clear message to the school community about what is acceptable behaviour. However, there is a growing body of evidence that school suspensions have a range of unintended negative consequences including…

We are delighted to welcome you to the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends 2013, taking place in Madrid, Spain, from 26 to 28 of April. Our efforts and active engagement can now be rewarded with these three days of exciting new developments about what we are passionate about: Psychology and its connections. We take pride…