Challenges of Measuring Learning Outcomes for Property Students Engaged in Work Integrated Learning

Work integrated learning (WIL) or professional practice units are recognised as providing learning experiences that help students make successful transitions to professional practice. These units require students to engage in learning in the workplace; to reflect on this learning; and to integrate it with learning at university. However, an analysis of a recent cohort of property economics students at a large urban university provides evidence that there is great variation in work based learning experiences undertaken and that this impacts on students’capacity to respond to assessment tasks which involve critiquing these experiences in the form of reflective reports. This paper highlights the need to recognise the diversity of work based experiences; the impact this has on learning outcomes; and to find more effective and equitable ways of measuring these outcomes. The paper briefly discusses assessing learning outcomes in WIL and then describes the model of WIL in the Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). The paper elaborates on the diversity of students’ experiences and backgrounds including variations in the length of work experience, placement opportunities and conditions of employment.For example, the analysis shows that students with limited work experience often have difficulty critiquing this work experience and producing high level reflective reports. On the other hand students with extensive, discipline relevant work experience can be frustrated by assessment requirements that do not take their experience into account. Added to this the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has restricted both part time and full time placement opportunities for some students. These factors affect students’ capacity to a) secure a relevant work experience, b) reflect critically on the work experiences and c) appreciate the impact the overall experience can have on their learning outcomes and future professional opportunities. Our investigation highlights some of the challenges faced in implementing effective and equitable approaches across diverse student cohorts. We suggest that increased flexibility in assessment requirements and increased feedback from industry may help address these challenges.

Second Life machinima enhancing the learning of law : Lessons from successful endeavours

A traditional approach centred on weekly lectures, perhaps supported by a tutorial programme, still predominates in modern legal education in Australia. This approach tends to focus on the transmission of knowledge about legal rules and doctrine to students who adopt a largely passive role. Criticisms of the traditional approach have led to law schools expanding their curricula to include the teaching of skills, including the skill of negotiation and an appreciation of legal ethics and professional responsibility. However, in a climate of limited government funding for law schools in Australia, innovation in legal education remains a challenge. This paper considers the successful use of Second Life machinima in two programs, Air Gondwana and Entry into Valhalla and their part in the creation of engaging, effective learning environments. These programs not only engage students in active learning but also facilitate flexibility in their studies and other benefits. The programs yield important lessons concerning the use of machinima innovations in curricula, not only for academics involved in legal education but also those in other disciplines, especially those that rely on traditional passive lectures in their teaching and learning approaches.

Rapid prototyping framework for visual control of autonomous micro aerial vehicles

Rapid prototyping environments can speed up the research of visual control algorithms. We have designed and implemented a software framework for fast prototyping of visual control algorithms for Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAV). We have applied a combination of a proxy-based network communication architecture and a custom Application Programming Interface. This allows multiple experimental configurations, like drone swarms or distributed processing of a drone's video stream. Currently, the framework supports a low-cost MAV: the Parrot AR.Drone. Real tests have been performed on this platform and the results show comparatively low figures of the extra communication delay introduced by the framework, while adding new functionalities and flexibility to the selected drone. This implementation is open-source and can be downloaded from www.vision4uav.com/?q=VC4MAV-FW

High-voltage modular power supply using parallel and series configurations of flyback converter for pulsed power applications

To cover wide range of pulsed power applications, this paper proposes a modularity concept to improve the performance and flexibility of the pulsed power supply. The proposed scheme utilizes the advantage of parallel and series configurations of flyback modules in obtaining high-voltage levels with fast rise time (dv/dt). Prototypes were implemented using 600-V insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) switches to generate up to 4-kV output pulses with 1-kHz repetition rate for experimentation. To assess the proposed modular approach for higher number of the modules, prototypes were implemented using 1700-V IGBTs switches, based on ten-series modules, and tested up to 20 kV. Conducted experimental results verified the effectiveness of the proposed method

Influence of plate bending stiffness on mechanical properties of healing fracture, mouse femora

Mechanically well-defined stabilization systems have only recently become available, providing standardized conditions for studying the role of the mechanical environment on mouse bone fracture healing. The aim of this study was to characterize the time course of strength recovery and callus development of mouse femoral osteotomies stabilized with either low or high flexibility (in bending and torsion) internal fixation plates. Animals were euthanized and femora excised at 14, 21, and 28 days post-osteotomy for microCT analysis and torsional strength testing. While a larger mineralized callus was observed in osteotomies under more flexible conditions at all time points, the earlier bridging of the mineralized callus under less flexible conditions by 1 week resulted in an earlier recovery of torsional strength in mice stabilized with low flexibility fixation. Ultimate torque values for these bones were significantly higher at 14 and 21 days post-osteotomy compared to bones with the more flexible stabilization. Our study confirms the high reproducibility of the results that are achieved with this new implant system, therefore making it ideal for studying the influence of the mechanical environment on murine fracture healing under highly standardized conditions.

Flexible airport terminal design : towards a framework

Flexibility is a key driver of any successful design, specifically in highly unpredictable environment such as airport terminal. Ever growing aviation industry requires airport terminals to be planned and constructed in such a way that will allow flexibility for future design, alteration and redevelopment. The concept of flexibility in terminal design is a relatively new initiative, where existing rules or guidelines are not adequate to assist designers. A shift towards flexible design concept would allow terminal buildings to be designed to accommodate future changes and to make passengers’ journey as simple, timely and hassle free as possible. Currently available research indicates that a theoretical framework on flexible design approach for airport terminals would facilitate the future design process. The generic principles of flexibility are investigated in the current research to incorporate flexible design approaches within the process of an airport terminal design. A conceptual framework is proposed herein, which is expected to ascertain flexibility to current passenger terminal facilities within their corresponding locations as well as in future design and expansion.

The heart of quality teaching : a values-based pedagogy for pre-service teacher education

In an ever changing world the adults of the future will be faced with many challenges. To cope with these challenges it seems apparent that values education will need to become paramount within a child.s education. A considerable number of research studies have indicated that values education is a critical component within education (Lovat & Toomey, 2007b). Building on this research Lovat (2006) claimed that values education was the missing link in quality teaching The concept of quality teaching had risen to the fore within educational research literature in the late 20th century with the claim that it is the teacher who makes the difference in schooling (Hattie, 2004). Thus, if teachers make such a difference to student learning, achievement and well-being, then it must hold true that pre-service teacher education programmes are vital in ensuring the development of quality teachers for our schools. The gap that this current research programme addressed was to link the fields of values education, quality teaching and pre-service teacher education. This research programme aimed to determine the impact of a values-based pedagogy on the development of quality teaching dimensions within pre-service teacher education. The values-based pedagogy that was investigated in this research programme was Philosophy in the Classroom. The research programme adopted a nested case study design based on the constructivist-interpretative paradigm in examining a unit within a pre-service teacher education programme at a Queensland university. The methodology utilised was qualitative where the main source of data was via interviews. In total, 43 pre-service teachers participated in three studies in order to determine if their involvement in a unit where the focus was on introducing pre-service teachers to an explicit values-based pedagogy impacted on their knowledge, skills and confidence in terms of quality teaching dimensions. The research programme was divided into three separate studies in order to address the two research questions: 1. In what ways do pre-service teachers perceive they are being prepared to become quality teachers? 2. Is there a connection between an explicit values-based pedagogy in pre-service teacher education and the development of pre-service teachers. understanding of quality teaching? Study One provided insight into 21 pre-service teachers. understandings of quality teaching. These 21 participants had not engaged in an explicit values-based pedagogy. Study Two involved the interviewing of 22 pre-service teachers at two separate points in time . prior to exposure to a unit that employed a values-explicit pedagogy and post this subject.s lecture content delivery. Study Three reported on and analysed individual case studies of five pre-service teachers who had participated in Study Two Time 1 and Time 2, as well as a third time following their field experience where they had practice in teaching the values explicit pedagogy. The results of the research demonstrate that an explicit values-based pedagogy introduced into a teacher education programme has a positive impact on the development of pre-service teachers. understanding of quality teaching skills and knowledge. The teaching and practice of a values-based pedagogy positively impacted on pre-service teachers with increases of knowledge, skills and confidence demonstrated on the quality teaching dimensions of intellectual quality, a supportive classroom environment, recognition of difference, connectedness and values. These findings were reinforced through the comparison of pre-service teachers who had participated in the explicit values-based pedagogical approach, with a sample of pre-service teachers who had not engaged in this same values-based pedagogical approach. A solid values-based pedagogy and practice can and does enhance pre-service teachers. understanding of quality teaching. These findings surrounding the use of a values-based pedagogy in pre-service teacher education to enhance quality teaching knowledge and skills has contributed theoretically to the field of educational research, as well having practical implications for teacher education institutions and teacher educators.

Towards determining soft tissue properties for modelling spine surgery : current progress and challenges

Current complication rates for adolescent scoliosis surgery necessitate the development of better surgical planning tools to improve outcomes. Here we present our approach to developing finite element models of the thoracolumbar spine for deformity surgery simulation, with patient-specific model anatomy based on low-dose pre-operative computed tomography scans. In a first step towards defining patient-specific tissue properties, an initial 'benchmark' set of properties were used to simulate a clinically performed pre-operative spinal flexibility assessment, the fulcrum bending radiograph. Clinical data for ten patients were compared with the simulated results for this assessment and in cases where these data differed by more than 10%, soft tissue properties for the costo-vertebral joint (CVJt) were altered to achieve better agreement. Results from these analyses showed that changing the CVJt stiffness resulted in acceptable agreement between clinical and simulated flexibility in two of the six cases. In light of these results and those of our previous studies in this area, it is suggested that spinal flexibility in the fulcrum bending test is not governed by any single soft tissue structure acting in isolation. More detailed biomechanical characterisation of the fulcrum bending test is required to provide better data for determination of patient-specific soft tissue properties.

The role of markup in the digital humanities

The digital humanities are growing rapidly in response to a rise in Internet use. What humanists mostly work on, and which forms much of the contents of our growing repositories, are digital surrogates of originally analog artefacts. But is the data model upon which many of those surrogates are based – embedded markup – adequate for the task? Or does it in fact inhibit reusability and flexibility? To enhance interoperability of resources and tools, some changes to the standard markup model are needed. Markup could be removed from the text and stored in standoff form. The versions of which many cultural heritage texts are composed could also be represented externally, and computed automatically. These changes would not disrupt existing data representations, which could be imported without significant data loss. They would also enhance automation and ease the increasing burden on the modern digital humanist.

As trajetorias de carreiras tradicionais estao dando passegem as proteanas? Um estudo com gereentes no setor public Australiano com foco em diferencas quanto ao genero ( Have traditional career paths given way to protean ones?: Evidence from senior managers in the Australian public sector)

Purpose – This mixed-method study aims to determine the extent to which the career paths of senior managers conform with the traditional versus protean elements described in the careers literature and whether these paths vary by gender. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 15 senior managers (seven women and eight men) in a large public sector agency in Australia were interviewed about their career trajectories to date. Data were coded according to four major areas which characterise and distinguish between traditional and protean careers: development, orientation of the employee, definition of success, and organisational environment. A total of 81 managers (34 women and 47 men) from the same organisation were also surveyed. Variables of interest were those that could be triangulated with qualitative data such as the availability of career opportunities. Findings – Results suggest that, contrary to much existing literature which proposes that all careers have been fundamentally altered, the traditional career which relies on length of service, geographic mobility and a steady climb up the corporate ladder, is still the dominant model in some organisations. However, the trend towards protean careers is evident and is more pronounced for women than for men. Research limitations/implications – The specific nature of the organisation (large, male-dominated, public sector) may limit the generalisability of results. Practical implications – The framework used to explore career paths according to traditional/ protean elements in this study may assist human resource practitioners to develop appropriate strategies which maximise the professional development of employees. Originality/value – The results of this research challenge the universality of change in the nature of careers, particularly in public sector environments.

A general method to determine sampling windows for nonlinear mixed effects models with an application to population pharmacokinetic studies

Optimal design methods have been proposed to determine the best sampling times when sparse blood sampling is required in clinical pharmacokinetic studies. However, the optimal blood sampling time points may not be feasible in clinical practice. Sampling windows, a time interval for blood sample collection, have been proposed to provide flexibility in blood sampling times while preserving efficient parameter estimation. Because of the complexity of the population pharmacokinetic models, which are generally nonlinear mixed effects models, there is no analytical solution available to determine sampling windows. We propose a method for determination of sampling windows based on MCMC sampling techniques. The proposed method attains a stationary distribution rapidly and provides time-sensitive windows around the optimal design points. The proposed method is applicable to determine sampling windows for any nonlinear mixed effects model although our work focuses on an application to population pharmacokinetic models.

Early years activities for NLNW 2012 - Pearl Barley & Charlie Parsley

This Early Years unit is designed to engage students in a sequence of activities that use a range of literacies which explore feelings, friendships and personality traits. The text, Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley, is the focus of this unit. Suggested activities promote participation through simple and effective strategies, using technology, process drama, graphic ogranisers and critical literacy. This unit allows for flexibility so teachers can select activities that best suit time, resources and students' needs and interests. Students are asked to make connections between the text and their own friendships, understanding that the best of friends can be different in almost every way.

Bayesian hierarchical models in statistical quality control methods to improve healthcare in hospitals

Quality oriented management systems and methods have become the dominant business and governance paradigm. From this perspective, satisfying customers’ expectations by supplying reliable, good quality products and services is the key factor for an organization and even government. During recent decades, Statistical Quality Control (SQC) methods have been developed as the technical core of quality management and continuous improvement philosophy and now are being applied widely to improve the quality of products and services in industrial and business sectors. Recently SQC tools, in particular quality control charts, have been used in healthcare surveillance. In some cases, these tools have been modified and developed to better suit the health sector characteristics and needs. It seems that some of the work in the healthcare area has evolved independently of the development of industrial statistical process control methods. Therefore analysing and comparing paradigms and the characteristics of quality control charts and techniques across the different sectors presents some opportunities for transferring knowledge and future development in each sectors. Meanwhile considering capabilities of Bayesian approach particularly Bayesian hierarchical models and computational techniques in which all uncertainty are expressed as a structure of probability, facilitates decision making and cost-effectiveness analyses. Therefore, this research investigates the use of quality improvement cycle in a health vii setting using clinical data from a hospital. The need of clinical data for monitoring purposes is investigated in two aspects. A framework and appropriate tools from the industrial context are proposed and applied to evaluate and improve data quality in available datasets and data flow; then a data capturing algorithm using Bayesian decision making methods is developed to determine economical sample size for statistical analyses within the quality improvement cycle. Following ensuring clinical data quality, some characteristics of control charts in the health context including the necessity of monitoring attribute data and correlated quality characteristics are considered. To this end, multivariate control charts from an industrial context are adapted to monitor radiation delivered to patients undergoing diagnostic coronary angiogram and various risk-adjusted control charts are constructed and investigated in monitoring binary outcomes of clinical interventions as well as postintervention survival time. Meanwhile, adoption of a Bayesian approach is proposed as a new framework in estimation of change point following control chart’s signal. This estimate aims to facilitate root causes efforts in quality improvement cycle since it cuts the search for the potential causes of detected changes to a tighter time-frame prior to the signal. This approach enables us to obtain highly informative estimates for change point parameters since probability distribution based results are obtained. Using Bayesian hierarchical models and Markov chain Monte Carlo computational methods, Bayesian estimators of the time and the magnitude of various change scenarios including step change, linear trend and multiple change in a Poisson process are developed and investigated. The benefits of change point investigation is revisited and promoted in monitoring hospital outcomes where the developed Bayesian estimator reports the true time of the shifts, compared to priori known causes, detected by control charts in monitoring rate of excess usage of blood products and major adverse events during and after cardiac surgery in a local hospital. The development of the Bayesian change point estimators are then followed in a healthcare surveillances for processes in which pre-intervention characteristics of patients are viii affecting the outcomes. In this setting, at first, the Bayesian estimator is extended to capture the patient mix, covariates, through risk models underlying risk-adjusted control charts. Variations of the estimator are developed to estimate the true time of step changes and linear trends in odds ratio of intensive care unit outcomes in a local hospital. Secondly, the Bayesian estimator is extended to identify the time of a shift in mean survival time after a clinical intervention which is being monitored by riskadjusted survival time control charts. In this context, the survival time after a clinical intervention is also affected by patient mix and the survival function is constructed using survival prediction model. The simulation study undertaken in each research component and obtained results highly recommend the developed Bayesian estimators as a strong alternative in change point estimation within quality improvement cycle in healthcare surveillances as well as industrial and business contexts. The superiority of the proposed Bayesian framework and estimators are enhanced when probability quantification, flexibility and generalizability of the developed model are also considered. The empirical results and simulations indicate that the Bayesian estimators are a strong alternative in change point estimation within quality improvement cycle in healthcare surveillances. The superiority of the proposed Bayesian framework and estimators are enhanced when probability quantification, flexibility and generalizability of the developed model are also considered. The advantages of the Bayesian approach seen in general context of quality control may also be extended in the industrial and business domains where quality monitoring was initially developed.

A holistic blended design studio model : Exploring and expanding learning opportunities

This book involves a comprehensive study of the learning environment by adopting Grounded Theory methodology in a qualitative comparative way.It explores the limitations and benefits of a face-to-face and a virtual design studio as experienced by architecture students and educators at an Australian university in order to find the optimal combination for a blended environment to enhance the students’ experience. The main outcome:holistic multidimensional blended learning model,that through the various modalities,provides adaptive capacity in a range of settings.The model facilitates learning through self-determination,self-management,and the personalisation of the learning environment. Another outcome:a conceptual design education framework,provides a basic tool for educators to evaluate existing learning environments and to develop new learning environments with enough flexibility to respond effectively to a highly dynamic and increasingly technological world.The provision of a practical framework to assist design schools to improve their educational settings according to a suitable pedagogy that meets today’s needs and accommodates tomorrow’s changes.

Factors influencing health behaviours of younger women after menopause-inducing cancer treatment

Objective To investigate the health promotion and risk reduction behaviors of younger women previously treated for cancer. Design and Sample Guided by the Precede-Proceed framework, a mixed-method descriptive investigation of the health behaviors of younger women with cancer treatment-induced menopause in one health jurisdiction in Australia was undertaken. Measures This article reports the results of the qualitative interview component of the study. Results Of the 85 women who responded to surveys that quantified their health behaviors, 22 consented to interviews that explored how and why these behaviors might occur. Conclusions Several predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors that influenced participants will or ability to engage with health-promoting behaviors after cancer treatment were identified in the interviews. These include entrenched precancer diagnosis health behaviors, the disabilities resulting from cancer treatments, perceptions of risk, focused intervention by health professionals and the nature of participants social support. The results indicate a need for flexibility when planning public health initiatives to prepare this cohort for a healthy life after cancer, which accounts for their developmental, knowledge and posttreatment needs.