An extended CDIO syllabus framework with preparatory engineering proficiencies

The CDIO Initiative has been globally recognised as an enabler for engineering education reform. With the CDIO process, the CDIO Standards and the CDIO Syllabus, many scholarly contributions have been made around cultural change, curriculum reform and learning environments. In the Australasian region, reform is gaining significant momentum within the engineering education community, the profession, and higher education institutions. This paper presents the CDIO Syllabus cast into the Australian context by mapping it to the Engineers Australia Graduate Attributes, the Washington Accord Graduate Attributes and the Queensland University of Technology Graduate Capabilities. Furthermore, in recognition that many secondary schools and technical training institutions offer introductory engineering technology subjects, this paper presents an extended self-rating framework suited for recognising developing levels of proficiency at a preparatory level. The framework is consistent with conventional application to undergraduate programs and professional practice, but adapted for the preparatory context. As with the original CDIO framework with proficiency levels, this extended framework is informed by Bloom’s Educational Objectives. A proficiency evaluation of Queensland Study Authority’s Engineering Technology senior syllabus is demonstrated indicating proficiency levels embedded within this secondary school subject within a preparatory scope. Through this extended CDIO framework, students and faculty have greater awareness and access to tools to promote (i) student engagement in their own graduate capability development, (ii) faculty engagement in course and program design, through greater transparency and utility of the continuum of graduate capability development with associate levels of proficiency, and the context in which they exist in terms of pre-tertiary engineering studies; and (iii) course maintenance and quality audit methodology for the purpose of continuous improvement processes and program accreditation.

The role of self-efficacy in dental patients’ brushing and flossing: Testing an extended Health Belief Model

Objective: In an effort to examine the decreasing oral health trend of Australian dental patients, the Health Belief Model (HBM) was utilised to understand the beliefs underlying brushing and flossing self-care. The HBM states that perception of severity and susceptibility to inaction and an estimate of the barriers and benefits of behavioural performance influences people’s health behaviours. Self-efficacy, confidence in one’s ability to perform oral self-care, was also examined. Methods: In dental waiting rooms, a community sample (N = 92) of dental patients completed a questionnaire assessing HBM variables and self-efficacy, as well as their performance of the oral hygiene behaviours of brushing and flossing. Results: Partial support only was found for the HBM with barriers emerging as the sole HBM factor influencing brushing and flossing behaviours. Self-efficacy significantly predicted both oral hygiene behaviours also. Conclusion: Support was found for the control factors, specifically a consideration of barriers and self-efficacy, in the context of understanding dental patients’ oral hygiene decisions. Practice implications: Dental professionals should encourage patients’ self-confidence to brush and floss at recommended levels and discuss strategies that combat barriers to performance, rather than emphasising the risks of inaction or the benefits of oral self-care.

Towards a reference model for SOA governance (extended version)

Although the lack of elaborate governance mechanisms is often seen as the main reason for failures of SOA projects, SOA governance is still very low in maturity. In this paper, we follow a design science approach to address this drawback by presenting a framework that can guide organisations in implementing a governance approach for SOA more successfully. We have reviewed the highly advanced IT governance frameworks Cobit and ITIL and mapped them to the SOA domain. The resulting blueprint for an SOA governance framework was refined based on a detailed literature review, expert interviews and a practical application in a government organisation. The proposed framework stresses the need for business representatives to get involved in SOA decisions and to define benefits ownership for services.

Three-dimensional hydrogen-bonded structures in the 1:1 proton-transfer compounds of L-tartaric acid with the associative-group monosubstituted pyridines 3-minopyridine, 3-carboxypyridine (nicotinic acid) and 2-carboxypyridine (picolinic acid).

The 1:1 proton-transfer compounds of L-tartaric acid with 3-aminopyridine [3-aminopyridinium hydrogen (2R,3R)-tartrate dihydrate, C5H7N2+·C4H5O6-·2H2O, (I)], pyridine-3-carboxylic acid (nicotinic acid) [anhydrous 3-carboxypyridinium hydrogen (2R,3R)-tartrate, C6H6NO2+·C4H5O6-, (II)] and pyridine-2-carboxylic acid [2-carboxypyridinium hydrogen (2R,3R)-tartrate monohydrate, C6H6NO2+·C4H5O6-·H2O, (III)] have been determined. In (I) and (II), there is a direct pyridinium-carboxyl N+-HO hydrogen-bonding interaction, four-centred in (II), giving conjoint cyclic R12(5) associations. In contrast, the N-HO association in (III) is with a water O-atom acceptor, which provides links to separate tartrate anions through Ohydroxy acceptors. All three compounds have the head-to-tail C(7) hydrogen-bonded chain substructures commonly associated with 1:1 proton-transfer hydrogen tartrate salts. These chains are extended into two-dimensional sheets which, in hydrates (I) and (III) additionally involve the solvent water molecules. Three-dimensional hydrogen-bonded structures are generated via crosslinking through the associative functional groups of the substituted pyridinium cations. In the sheet struture of (I), both water molecules act as donors and acceptors in interactions with separate carboxyl and hydroxy O-atom acceptors of the primary tartrate chains, closing conjoint cyclic R44(8), R34(11) and R33(12) associations. Also, in (II) and (III) there are strong cation carboxyl-carboxyl O-HO hydrogen bonds [OO = 2.5387 (17) Å in (II) and 2.441 (3) Å in (III)], which in (II) form part of a cyclic R22(6) inter-sheet association. This series of heteroaromatic Lewis base-hydrogen L-tartrate salts provides further examples of molecular assembly facilitated by the presence of the classical two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded hydrogen tartrate or hydrogen tartrate-water sheet substructures which are expanded into three-dimensional frameworks via peripheral cation bifunctional substituent-group crosslinking interactions.

Extended GNSS ambiguity resolution models with regularization criterion and constraints

This paper firstly presents an extended ambiguity resolution model that deals with an ill-posed problem and constraints among the estimated parameters. In the extended model, the regularization criterion is used instead of the traditional least squares in order to estimate the float ambiguities better. The existing models can be derived from the general model. Secondly, the paper examines the existing ambiguity searching methods from four aspects: exclusion of nuisance integer candidates based on the available integer constraints; integer rounding; integer bootstrapping and integer least squares estimations. Finally, this paper systematically addresses the similarities and differences between the generalized TCAR and decorrelation methods from both theoretical and practical aspects.

Phenyl-ring disorder in the two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded structure of the 1:1 proton-transfer salt of the diazo-dye precursor 4-(phenyldiazenyl)aniline (aniline yellow) with L-tartaric acid

The structure of the 1:1 proton-transfer compound from the reaction of L-tartaric acid with the azo-dye precursor aniline yellow [4-(phenylazo)aniline], 4-(phenyldiazenyl)anilinium hydrogen 2R,3R-tartrate C12H12N3+ . C4H6O6- has been determined at 200 K. The asymmetric unit of the compound contains two independent phenylazoanilinium cations and two hydrogen L-tartrate anions. The structure is unusual in that all four phenyl rings of both cations have identical 50% rotational disorder. The two hydrogen L-tartrate anions form independent but similar chains through head-to-tail carboxylic O--H...O~carboxyl~ hydrogen bonds [graph set C7] which are then extended into a two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded sheet structure through hydroxyl O--H...O hydrogen-bonding links. The anilinium groups of the phenyldiazenyl cations are incorporated into the sheets and also provide internal hydrogen-bonding extensions while their aromatic tails layer in the structure without significant interaction except for weak \p--\p interactions [minimum ring centroid separation, 3.844(3) \%A]. The hydrogen L-tartrate residues of both anions have the common short intramolecular hydroxyl O--H...O~carboxyl~ hydogen bonds. This work has provided a solution to the unusual disorder problem inherent in the structure of this salt as well as giving another example of the utility of the hydrogen tartrate in the generation of sheet substructures in molecular assembly processes.

Low-dimensional hydrogen-bonded structures in the 1:1 and 1:2 proton-transfer compounds of 4,5-dichlorophthalic acid with the aliphatic Lewis bases triethylamine, diethylamine, n-butylamine and piperidine

The structures of proton-transfer compounds of 4,5-dichlorophthalic acid (DCPA) with the aliphatic Lewis bases triethylamine, diethylamine, n-butylamine and piperidine, namely triethylaminium 2-carboxy-4,5-dichlorobenzoate C~6~H~16~N^+^ C~8~H~3~Cl~2~O~4~^-^ (I), diethylaminium 2-carboxy-4,5-dichlorobenzoate C~4~H~12~N^+^ C~8~H~3~Cl~2~O~4~^-^ (II), bis(n-butylaminium) 4,5-dichlorophthalate monohydrate 2(C~4~H~12~N^+^) C~8~H~2~Cl~2~O~4~^2-^ . H~2~O (III) and bis(piperidinium) 4,5-dichlorophthalate monohydrate 2(C~5~H~12~N^+^) C~8~H~2~Cl~2~O~4~^2-^ . H~2~O (IV)have been determined at 200 K. All compounds have hydrogen-bonding associations giving in (I) discrete cation-anion units, linear chains in (II) while (III) and (IV) both have two-dimensional structures. In (I) a discrete cation-anion unit is formed through an asymmetric R2/1(4) N+-H...O,O' hydrogen-bonding association whereas in (II), one-dimensional chains are formed through linear N-H...O associations by both aminium H donors. In compounds (III) and (IV) the primary N-H...O linked cation-anion units are extended into a two-dimensional sheet structure via amide N-H...O(carboxyl) and ...O(carbonyl) interactions. In the 1:1 salts [(I) and (II)], the hydrogen 4,5-dichlorophthalate anions are essentially planar with short intramolecular carboxylic acid O-H...O(carboxyl) hydrogen bonds [O...O, 2.4223(14) and 2.388(2)A respectively]. This work provides a further example of the uncommon zero-dimensional hydrogen-bonded DCPA-Lewis base salt and the one-dimensional chain structure type, while even with the hydrate structures of the 1:2 salts with the primary and secondary amines, the low dimensionality generally associated with 1:1 DCPA salts is also found.

Predicting adolescents’ use of social networking sites from an extended theory of planned behaviour perspective

The popularity of social networking sites (SNSs) among adolescents has grown exponentially, with little accompanying research to understand the influences on adolescent engagement with this technology. The current study tested the validity of an extended theory of planned behaviour model (TPB), incorporating the additions of group norm and self-esteem influences, to predict frequent SNS use. Adolescents (N = 160) completed measures assessing the standard TPB constructs of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control (PBC), and intention, as well as group norm and self-esteem. One week later, participants reported their SNS use during the previous week. Support was found for the standard TPB variables of attitude and PBC, as well as group norm, in predicting intentions to use SNS frequently, with intention, in turn, predicting behaviour. These findings provide an understanding of the factors influencing frequent engagement in what is emerging as a primary tool for adolescent socialisation.

Labour rights as human rights : workers' safety at work in Australian-based supply chains

The increase of buyer-driven supply chains, outsourcing and other forms of non-traditional employment has resulted in challenges for labour market regulation. One business model which has created substantial regulatory challenges is supply chains. The supply chain model involves retailers purchasing products from brand corporations who then outsource the manufacturing of the work to traders who contract with factories or outworkers who actually manufacture the clothing and textiles. This business model results in time and cost pressures being pushed down the supply chain which has resulted in sweatshops where workers systematically have their labour rights violated. Literally millions of workers work in dangerous workplaces where thousands are killed or permanently disabled every year. This thesis has analysed possible regulatory responses to provide workers a right to safety and health in supply chains which provide products for Australian retailers. This thesis will use a human rights standard to determine whether Australia is discharging its human rights obligations in its approach to combating domestic and foreign labour abuses. It is beyond this thesis to analyse Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) laws in every jurisdiction. Accordingly, this thesis will focus upon Australian domestic laws and laws in one of Australia’s major trading partners, the Peoples’ Republic of China (China). It is hypothesised that Australia is currently breaching its human rights obligations through failing to adequately regulate employees’ safety at work in Australian-based supply chains. To prove this hypothesis, this thesis will adopt a three- phase approach to analysing Australia’s regulatory responses. Phase 1 will identify the standard by which Australia’s regulatory approach to employees’ health and safety in supply chains can be judged. This phase will focus on analysing how workers’ rights to safety as a human right imposes a moral obligation on Australia to take reasonablely practicable steps regulate Australian-based supply chains. This will form a human rights standard against which Australia’s conduct can be judged. Phase 2 focuses upon the current regulatory environment. If existing regulatory vehicles adequately protect the health and safety of employees, then Australia will have discharged its obligations through simply maintaining the status quo. Australia currently regulates OHS through a combination of ‘hard law’ and ‘soft law’ regulatory vehicles. The first part of phase 2 analyses the effectiveness of traditional OHS laws in Australia and in China. The final part of phase 2 then analyses the effectiveness of the major soft law vehicle ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ (CSR). The fact that employees are working in unsafe working conditions does not mean Australia is breaching its human rights obligations. Australia is only required to take reasonably practicable steps to ensure human rights are realized. Phase 3 identifies four regulatory vehicles to determine whether they would assist Australia in discharging its human rights obligations. Phase 3 then analyses whether Australia could unilaterally introduce supply chain regulation to regulate domestic and extraterritorial supply chains. Phase 3 also analyses three public international law regulatory vehicles. This chapter considers the ability of the United Nations Global Compact, the ILO’s Better Factory Project and a bilateral agreement to improve the detection and enforcement of workers’ right to safety and health.