Improving daylighting performance of mirrored light pipes

This paper assesses and compares the performances of two daylight collection strategies, one passive and one active, for large-scale mirrored light pipes (MLP) illuminating deep plan buildings. Both strategies use laser cut panels (LCP) as the main component of the collection system. The passive system comprises LCPs in pyramid form, whereas the active system uses a tiled LCP on a simple rotation mechanism that rotates 360° in 24 hours. Performance is assessed using scale model testing under sunny sky conditions and mathematical modelling. Results show average illuminance levels for the pyramid LCP ranging from 50 to 250 lux and 150 to 200 lux for the rotating LCPs. Both systems improve the performance of a MLP. The pyramid LCP increases the performance of a MLP by 2.5 times and the rotating LCP by 5 times, when compared to an open pipe particularly for low sun elevation angles.

The place of writing in first grade Kuwaiti english education : a sociological case study

A hybridized society, Kuwait meshes Islamic ideologies with western culture. Linguistically, English exists across both foreign language and second language nomenclatures in the country due to globalization and internationalization which has seen increasing use of English in Kuwait. Originally consisting of listening, speaking, reading and writing, the first grade English curriculum in Kuwait was narrowed in 2002 to focus only on the development of oral English skills, and to exclude writing. Since that time, both Kuwaiti teachers and parents have expressed dissatisfaction with this curriculum on the basis that this model disadvantages their children. In first grade however, the teaching of pre-writing has remained as part of the curriculum. This research analyses the parameters of English pre-writing and writing instruction in first grade in Kuwaiti classrooms, investigates first grade English pre-writing and writing teaching, and gathers insights from parents, teachers and students regarding the appropriateness of the current curriculum. Through interviews and classroom observations, and an analysis of curriculum documents, this case study found that the relationship between oral and written language is more complex than suggested by either the Kuwaiti curriculum reform, or international literature concerning the delayed teaching of writing. Intended curriculum integration across Kuwait subjects is also far more complex than first believed, due to a developmental mismatch between English pre-writing skills and Arabic language capabilities. Findings suggest an alternative approach to teaching writing may be more appropriate and more effective for first Grade students in the current Kuwait curriculum context. They contribute also to an emerging interest in the second and foreign language fields in the teaching of writing to young learners.

On this Writing : An Autotheoretic Account

An invited chapter that provides an autobiographical account of 'critical incidents' in becoming an academic writer.

Preservice EFL teachers’ beliefs about teaching writing and learning to teach writing before their practicum : a case study in Vietnam

The standard of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education has prompted calls for reform to preservice EFL teacher education. Field experiences are central to their professional development and for implementing reform measures. This study aims to examine preservice EFL teachers’ attitudes, needs, and experiences about learning to teach writing in English before their practicum in Vietnamese high schools. An open-ended questionnaire collected data from 97 preservice EFL teachers at the beginning of their final practicum. The data suggested that these preservice EFL teachers were motivated to learn to teach English in general and teaching writing in particular but required mentors to model effective teaching practices and share their teaching experiences. They also needed their mentors to be enthusiastic and supportive, and provide constructive feedback. These findings may assist teacher educators and school mentors for motivating and developing preservice EFL teachers’ practices.

Further evidence of a relationship between explaining, tracing and writing skills in introductory programming

This paper reports on a replication of earlier studies into a possible hierarchy of programming skills. In this study, the students from whom data was collected were at a university that had not provided data for earlier studies. Also, the students were taught the programming language Python, which had not been used in earlier studies. Thus this study serves as a test of whether the findings in the earlier studies were specific to certain institutions, student cohorts, and programming languages. Also, we used a non–parametric approach to the analysis, rather than the linear approach of earlier studies. Our results are consistent with the earlier studies. We found that students who cannot trace code usually cannot explain code, and also that students who tend to perform reasonably well at code writing tasks have also usually acquired the ability to both trace code and explain code.

Writing together, learning together : the value and effectiveness of a research writing group for doctoral students

The high level of scholarly writing required for a doctoral thesis is a challenge for many research students. However, formal academic writing training is not a core component of many doctoral programs. Informal writing groups for doctoral students may be one method of contributing to the improvement of scholarly writing. In this paper, we report on a writing group that was initiated by an experienced writer and higher degree research supervisor to support and improve her doctoral students’ writing capabilities. Over time, this group developed a workable model to suit their varying needs and circumstances. The model comprised group sessions, an email group, and individual writing. Here, we use a narrative approach to explore the effectiveness and value of our research writing group model in improving scholarly writing. The data consisted of doctoral students’ reflections to stimulus questions about their writing progress and experiences. The stimulus questions sought to probe individual concerns about their own writing, what they had learned in the research writing group, the benefits of the group, and the disadvantages and challenges to participation. These reflections were analysed using thematic analysis. Following this analysis, the supervisor provided her perspective on the key themes that emerged. Results revealed that, through the writing group, members learned technical elements (e.g., paragraph structure), non-technical elements (e.g., working within limited timeframes), conceptual elements (e.g., constructing a cohesive arguments), collaborative writing processes, and how to edit and respond to feedback. In addition to improved writing quality, other benefits were opportunities for shared writing experiences, peer support, and increased confidence and motivation. The writing group provides a unique social learning environment with opportunities for: professional dialogue about writing, peer learning and review, and developing a supportive peer network. Thus our research writing group has proved an effective avenue for building doctoral students’ capability in scholarly writing. The proposed model for a research writing group could be applicable to any context, regardless of the type and location of the university, university faculty, doctoral program structure, or number of postgraduate students. It could also be used within a group of students with diverse research abilities, needs, topics and methodologies. However, it requires a group facilitator with sufficient expertise in scholarly writing and experience in doctoral supervision who can both engage the group in planned writing activities and also capitalise on fruitful lines of discussion related to students’ concerns as they arise. The research writing group is not intended to replace traditional supervision processes nor existing training. However it has clear benefits for improving scholarly writing in doctoral research programs particularly in an era of rapidly increasing student load.

Introduction of a short writing task to measure and develop academic literacy in first year health undergraduates

This paper describes an initiative in the Faculty of Health at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia, where a short writing task was introduced to first year undergraduates in four courses including Public Health, Nursing, Social Work and Human Services, and Human Movement Studies. Over 1,000 students were involved in the trial. The task was assessed using an adaptation of the MASUS Procedure (Measuring the Academic Skills of University Students) (Webb & Bonanno, 1994). Feedback to the students including MASUS scores then enabled students to be directed to developmental workshops targeting their academic literacy needs. Students who achieved below the benchmark score were required to attend academic writing workshops in order to obtain the same summative 10% that was obtained by those who had achieved above the benchmark score. The trial was very informative, in terms of determining task appropriateness and timing, student feedback, student use of support, and student perceptions of the task and follow-up workshops. What we learned from the trial will be presented with a view to further refinement of this initiative.

Reading and writing PE-files with PERWAPI

PERWAPI is a component for reading and writing .NET PE-files. The name is a compound acronym for Program Executable – Reader/Writer – Application Programming Interface. The code was written by one of us (Diane Corney) with some contributions from some of the early users of the tool. PERWAPI is a managed component, written entirely in safe C#. The design of the writer part of the component is loosely based on Diane Corney’s previous PEAPI component. It is open source software, and is released under a “FreeBSD-like” license. The source may be downloaded from “http://plas.fit.qut.edu.au/perwapi/” As of the date of this document the code has facilities for reading and writing PEfiles compatible with the latest (beta-2) release of the ”Whidbey” version of .NET, that is, the Visual Studio 2005 framework. An invocation option allows earlier versions of the framework to be targeted.

Thermal tweezers for manipulation of adatoms and nanoparticles on surfaces heated by interfering laser pulses

We conduct the detailed numerical investigation of a nanomanipulation and nanofabrication technique—thermal tweezers with dynamic evolution of surface temperature, caused by absorption of interfering laser pulses in a thin metalfilm or any other absorbing surface. This technique uses random Brownian forces in the presence of strong temperature modulation (surfacethermophoresis) for effective manipulation of particles/adatoms with nanoscale resolution. Substantial redistribution of particles on the surface is shown to occur with the typical size of the obtained pattern elements of ∼100 nm, which is significantly smaller than the wavelength of the incident pulses used (532 nm). It is also demonstrated that thermal tweezers based on surfacethermophoresis of particles/adatoms are much more effective in achieving permanent high maximum-to-minimum concentration ratios than bulk thermophoresis, which is explained by the interaction of diffusing particles with the periodic lattice potential on the surface. Typically required pulse regimes including pulse lengths and energies are also determined. The approach is applicable for reproducing any holographically achievable surfacepatterns, and can thus be used for engineering properties of surfaces including nanopatterning and design of surface metamaterials.