Near knowledge : inductive learning systems in law

Induction is an interesting model of legal reasoning, since it provides a method of capturing initial states of legal principles and rules, and adjusting these principles and rules over time as the law changes. In this article I explain how Artificial Intelligence-based inductive learning algorithms work, and show how they have been used in law to model legal domains. I identify some problems with implementations undertaken in law to date, and create a taxonomy of appropriate cases to use in legal inductive inferencing systems. I suggest that inductive learning algorithms have potential in modeling law, but that the artificial intelligence implementations to date are problematic. I argue that induction should be further investigated, since it has the potential to be an extremely useful mechanism for understanding legal domains.

eHealth-as-a-Service (eHaaS) : a data-driven decision making approach in Australian context

A commitment in 2010 by the Australian Federal Government to spend $466.7 million dollars on the implementation of personally controlled electronic health records (PCEHR) heralded a shift to a more effective and safer patient centric eHealth system. However, deployment of the PCEHR has met with much criticism, emphasised by poor adoption rates over the first 12 months of operation. An indifferent response by the public and healthcare providers largely sceptical of its utility and safety speaks to the complex sociotechnical drivers and obstacles inherent in the embedding of large (national) scale eHealth projects. With government efforts to inflate consumer and practitioner engagement numbers giving rise to further consumer disillusionment, broader utilitarian opportunities available with the PCEHR are at risk. This paper discusses the implications of establishing the PCEHR as the cornerstone of a holistic eHealth strategy for the aggregation of longitudinal patient information. A viewpoint is offered that the real value in patient data lies not just in the collection of data but in the integration of this information into clinical processes within the framework of a commoditised data-driven approach. Consideration is given to the eHealth-as-a-Service (eHaaS) construct as a disruptive next step for co-ordinated individualised healthcare in the Australian context.

Australian screen content in education

Our presentation today will introduce our current ARC Linkage project on Australian screen content in education. We will then go on to discuss our initial research, which is attempting to quantify the use of screen content in Australian education. The presentation concludes with a brief discussion of some of the emerging video on demand services available to schools and universities.

Embedded creative workers and creative work in education

This article is concerned with the many connections between creative work and workers, and education work and industries. Employment in the education sector has long been recognised as a significant element in creative workers’portfolio careers. Much has been written, for exam- ple, about the positive contribution of ‘artists in schools’ initiatives. Australian census analyses reveal that education is the most common industry sector into which creative workers are ‘embedded’, outside of the core creative industries. However, beyond case studies and some survey research into arts instruction and instructors, we know remarkably little about in which education roles and sectors creative workers are embedded, and the types of value that they add in those roles and sectors. This article reviews the extant literature on creative work and workers in education, and presents the findings of a survey of 916 graduates from creative undergraduate degrees in Australia. The findings suggest that education work is very common among creative graduates indeed, while there are a range of motivating factors for education work among creative graduates, on average they are satisfied with their careers, and that creative graduates add significant creative-cultural and creative-generic value add through their work.

MITIE C-Arm - Advanced innovation in education

Aim: In 2013 QUT introduced the Medical Imaging Training Immersive Environment (MITIE) as a virtual reality (VR) platform that allowed students to practice general radiography. The system software has been expanded to now include C-Arm. The aim of this project was to investigate the use of this technology in the pedagogy of undergraduate medical imaging students who have limited to no experience in the use of the C-Arm clinically. Method: The Medical Imaging Training Immersive Environment (MITIE) application provides students with realistic and fully interactive 3D models of C-Arm equipment. As with VR initiatives in other health disciplines (1–2) the software mimics clinical practice as much as possible and uses 3D technology to enhance 3D spatial awareness and realism. The application allows students to set up and expose a virtual patient in a 3D environment as well as creating the resultant “image” for comparison with a gold standard. Automated feedback highlights ways for the student to improve their patient positioning, equipment setup or exposure factors. The students' equipment knowledge was tested using an on line assessment quiz and surveys provided information on the students' pre-clinical confidence scale, with post-clinical data comparisons. Ethical approval for the project was provided by the university ethics panel. Results: This study is currently under way and this paper will present analysis of initial student feedback relating to the perceived value of the application for confidence in a high risk environment (i.e. operating theatre) and related clinical skills development. Further in-depth evaluation is ongoing with full results to be presented. Conclusion: MITIE C-Arm has a development role to play in the pre-clinical skills training for Medical Radiation Science students. It will augment their theoretical understanding prior to their clinical experience. References 1. Bridge P, Appleyard R, Ward J, Phillips R, Beavis A. The development and evaluation of a virtual radiotherapy treatment machine using an immersive visualisation environment. Computers and Education 2007; 49(2): 481–494. 2. Gunn T, Berry C, Bridge P et al. 3D Virtual Radiography: Development and Initial Feedback. Paper presented at the 10th Annual Scientific Meeting of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy, March 2013 Hobart, Tasmania.

Early maternal deprivation reduces prepulse inhibition and impairs spatial learning ability in adulthood: No further effect of post-pubertal chronic corticosterone treatment

Prolonged maternal deprivation leads to long-term alterations in hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activity, disturbances of auditory information processing and neurochemical changes in the adult brain, some of which are similar to that observed in schizophrenia. Here we report the adult behavioural effects of maternal deprivation (12 h on postnatal days 9 and 11) in Wistar rats on paradigms of auditory information processing (prepulse inhibition), sensitivity to dopamimetics (amphetamine-induced hyper-locomotion) and cognition (T-maze delayed alternation and Morris water-maze). In addition, we examined the long-lasting effect of chronic 21-day corticosterone treatment during the post-pubertal period (i.e., postnatal days 56–76) on each of these behavioural paradigms in maternally deprived and control rats. Behavioural testing commenced 2 weeks after the termination of corticosterone treatment. Maternal deprivation led to a significant reduction in PPI and impaired spatial learning ability in adulthood, but did not affect the behavioural response to amphetamine. Post-pubertal chronic corticosterone treatment did not have any major long-lasting effects on any of the behavioural measures in either maternally deprived or control rats. Our findings further support maternal deprivation as an animal model of specific aspects of schizophrenia.

A behavioural economics inquiry into inequality in education: Three empirical essays

This thesis investigates behavioural processes for inequality in education and solutions to mitigate such effects, applying conceptual and methodological insights from behavioural and experimental economics. It explores relative age differences in economic preferences of young individuals, the influence of stereotypes and positive discrimination on performance, and evaluates a program that offers strong encouragement for educational achievement of indigenous high school students.

Team building activities in dance and discoveries from reflective essays

The purpose of this study was to determine if using team building activities within a university Latin dance course enhances cohesion. Students (N=30) completed the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ; Carron, Widmeyer, & Brawley, 1985), which measures group integration (individuals’ perceptions of the closeness, similarity, and bonding within the group as a whole) and individual attractions to the group in terms of both task and social cohesion. Students also completed an evaluation of the team building activities and wrote reflective essays about their experiences in the course. The course consisted of twenty 90-minute classes. In the third class students were provided an information sheet describing the research. In the fourth class the students completed a demographics questionnaire and the GEQ. The students completed the GEQ again during the ninth class. In classes 10 to 14 team building activities took up roughly the first third of each class. The students completed the GEQ again in classes 15 and 20. In class 16 the students completed the evaluation. The reflective essays were submitted two weeks after the last class. There were no significant differences across time in social cohesion. Group integration task, however, was significantly higher at times 3 and 4 compared to time 1. Students agreed that the team-building activities helped to bond class members, and felt it was valuable for these activities to be included in the unit in the future. The reflective essays indicated the students felt the team building activities improved social factors, and interpersonal, dance, and personal mental skills.

Using Bourdieu in education research: Theory and methods

This workshop will snapshot Bourdieu's sociology. In recognition of Bourdieu's work as a powerful theoretical instrument to speculate the reproduction of social orders and cultural values, the workshop will firstly discuss the core concepts of habitus, capital, and field – the foundational triad of Bourdieu's sociology. Although Bourdieu's original work was built on some quantitative studies, his sociology has been largely qualitatively used in education research. Different from the bulk of extant research, the workshop will secondly showcase some quantitative and mixed methods research that uses a Bourdieusian framework. Mindful of such a framework helping understand social practice at a macro level, the workshop will then make an attempt to think through the macro and the micro by weaving together Bourdieu's sociology with Garfinkel's ethnomethodology. The workshop will conclude with some reflections and communications in terms of how to better realise the full value of Bourdieu in education research.

Adolescent sexual behavioral intentions measurement: A gender approach in the Colombian Caribbean region [Medición de la Intención en la Actividad Sexual en Adolescentes: una Aproximación de Acuerdo al Género del Caribe Colombiano]

The study of 1777 male and female adolescent students of 11-19 years in the Colombian Caribbean had two objectives: development and validation of two reproductive health intention scales and analyze gender differences. The pilot of the scale consisted of 8 items and was reduced to 6, to check the reliability and validity using factor analysis and principal components with VARIMAX rotation yielded two factors: Intention and Intention Risk Protection, explained between 69.4% and 70% respectively. In the male Protection Intent (M = 3.87 and SD = 1.29) and risk (M = 2.56 and SD = 1.18) obtained an alpha between 0.74 and 0.86, and in Protection of Intent to female (M = 3.49 and SD = 1.35) and risk (M = 1.50 and SD = 0.89) ranged between 0.78 and 086. In conclusion, the reliability and structural stability are adequate and there are gender differences in the scales.

“What are they really doing?” An exploration of student learning activities in field placement

Social work students consistently identify their field placement as having the most impact on their learning. Despite this, research on learning activities used during placement and the impact on practice competency and social work identity is limited. This is the second paper from a research study exploring student experiences of learning on placement. Data were gathered from 263 social work students about 14 key learning activities they experienced during placement. The more regularly students engaged in learning activities with their social work supervisor, the more likely they were to report a sense of social work identity and feelings of practice competence. However, the regular use of learning activities varied widely between placements. Surprisingly, approximately half the students did not regularly have the opportunity to observe social work practice, have their practice observed, or to link social work theory and the Code of Ethics to their practice with their social work supervisor.

Investigating early childhood teachers’ understandings of and practices in education for sustainability in Queensland: A Japan-Australia research collaboration

In a study undertaken in Queensland, Australia, analysis of a survey that included both qualitative and quantitative questions revealed that, like their Japanese counterparts, early childhood teachers do not have well-developed ideas and practices in education for sustainability (EfS). Instead, they mainly practise traditional nature-based activities, such as gardening or playing outdoors, and teaching about resource conservation through books, posters or fact sheets. Teachers’ understandings of nature education, environmental education, and education for sustainability seem to influence their educational practices. Deeper understandings about sustainability are necessary to extend beyond such traditional practices. Even though national curriculum frameworks and guidelines point to the importance of sustainability within early childhood curriculum, these appear to be insufficient in strengthening early childhood teachers’ ideas of sustainability and how to practise it effectively. We suggest that it would be beneficial for early childhood teachers, both preservice and inservice, to have professional development opportunities that build deeper understandings of sustainability and its implementation in their settings.