Learning to use information : informed learning in the undergraduate classroom

“Informed learning” is a pedagogy that focuses on learning subject content through engaging with academic or professional information practices. Adopting the position that more powerful learning is achieved where students are taught how to use information and subject content simultaneously, the research reported here investigated an informed learning lesson. Using phenomenographic methods, student’s experiences of the lesson were compared to what the teacher enacted in the classroom. Based on an analysis of student interviews using variation theory, three ways of experiencing the informed learning lesson emerged. Some students understood the lesson to be about learning to use information, i.e., researching and writing an academic paper, while others understood it as focusing on understanding both subject content and information use simultaneously. Although the results of this study are highly contextualized, the findings suggest criteria to consider when designing informed learning lessons.

Informed use of patients' records on trusted health care services

Health care is an information-intensive business. Sharing information in health care processes is a smart use of data enabling informed decision-making whilst ensuring. the privacy and security of patient information. To achieve this, we propose data encryption techniques embedded Information Accountability Framework (IAF) that establishes transitions of the technological concept, thus enabling understanding of shared responsibility, accessibility, and efficient cost effective informed decisions between health care professionals and patients. The IAF results reveal possibilities of efficient informed medical decision making and minimisation of medical errors. Of achieving this will require significant cultural changes and research synergies to ensure the sustainability, acceptability and durability of the IAF

Thermal performance of load bearing cold-formed steel walls under fire conditions using numerical studies

Cold–formed Light gauge Steel Frame (LSF) wall systems are increasingly used in low-rise and multi-storey buildings and hence their fire safety has become important in the design of buildings. A composite LSF wall panel system was developed recently, where a thin insulation was sandwiched between two plasterboards to improve the fire performance of LSF walls. Many experimental and numerical studies have been undertaken to investigate the fire performance of non-load bearing LSF wall under standard conditions. However, only limited research has been undertaken to investigate the fire performance of load bearing LSF walls under standard and realistic design fire conditions. Therefore in this research, finite element thermal models of both the conventional load bearing LSF wall panels with cavity insulation and the innovative LSF composite wall panel were developed to simulate their thermal behaviour under standard and realistic design fire conditions. Suitable thermal properties were proposed for plasterboards and insulations based on laboratory tests and available literature. The developed models were then validated by comparing their results with available fire test results of load bearing LSF wall. This paper presents the details of the developed finite element models of load bearing LSF wall panels and the thermal analysis results. It shows that finite element models can be used to simulate the thermal behaviour of load bearing LSF walls with varying configurations of insulations and plasterboards. Failure times of load bearing LSF walls were also predicted based on the results from finite element thermal analyses. Finite element analysis results show that the use of cavity insulation was detrimental to the fire rating of LSF walls while the use of external insulation offered superior thermal protection to them. Effects of realistic design fire conditions are also presented in this paper.

Land use conflict across the airport fence : competing urban policy, planning and priority in Australia

Land use planning within and surrounding privatised Australian capital city airports is a fragmented process as a result of: current legislative and policy frameworks; competing stakeholder priorities and interests; and inadequate coordination and disjointed decision-making. Three Australian case studies are examined to detail the context of airport and regional land use planning. Stakeholder Land Use Forums within each case study have served to inform the procedural dynamics and relationships between airport and regional land use decision-making. This article identifies significant themes and stakeholder perspectives regarding on-airport development and broader urban land use policy and planning. First, it outlines the concept of the “airport city” and examines the model of airport and regional “interfaces.” Then, it details the policy context that differentiates on-airport land use planning from planning within the surrounding region. The article then analyses the results of the Land Use Forums identifying key themes within the shared and reciprocal interfaces of governance, environment, economic development and infrastructure. The article concludes by detailing the implications of this research to broader urban planning and highlights the core issues contributing to the fragmentation of airport and regional land use planning policy.

Cultural impact on e-service use in Saudi Arabia

This research investigated the cultural impacts affecting e-service use in Saudi Arabia. Using a mixed-method approach, four new identified cultural values namely: Nepotism, fear of a lack of Interaction with other Humans, Service oriented Culture, and Employee Commitment were found to positively or negatively impact e-service use in Saudi Arabia. This research provides a road map for e-service implementers (both individuals and agencies) to achieve successful e-service usage.

The use of 'queer' in criminal justice discourses

Within criminological literature, there are growing references to a 'queer/ed criminology'. To date, ‘queer criminology’ remains a loose collection of studies and criminal-justice related commentary that uses the term 'queer'. Amid the growing calls for the more substantial development of these criminological studies, it is timely to reflect on the ways that the term ‘queer’ has been used in these discourses, to what ends, and with what effects. This paper considers the manner in which the term 'queer' has been used in these criminological and criminal justice discourses. It suggests that ‘queer’ has been used in two dominant ways: as an 'umbrella' term for lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, and queer-identified people; and to signify the use of theoretical tools with which to represent sexuality- and gender-diverse people more effectively within criminological research. The paper will argue that these ways of using ‘queer’ have a variety of implications and effects. Specifically, using ‘queer’ as an umbrella term has the potential to reinforce identity categories and the politics that surround identities (a critique that has often appeared in queer contexts), while using it as a theoretical tool potentially reproduces various investments in criminology and criminal justice institutions. Both uses may preclude other productive avenues for critique opened up by the term ‘queer’. The paper will conclude by suggesting that using ‘queer’ as a verb to signify a more deconstructive project directed towards criminology is a possible direction for these discussions. While this approach has its own effects, and articulates with existing deconstructive approaches in criminology, it is important to explore these possibilities at this point in the development of a ‘queer/ed criminology’ for two reasons: it highlights that multiple, and often competing, ‘queer/ed criminologies’ exist; and it expands the diverse possibilities heralded by the notion of ‘queer’.

Primary classroom teachers' use of social and emotional wellbeing programs and the factors influencing program use

There has been a rapid escalation in the development and evaluation of social and emotional well-being (SEW) programs in primary schools over the last few decades. Despite the plethora of programs available, primary teachers’ use of SEW programs is not well documented in Australian schools, with even less consideration of the factors influencing program use. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken with primary classroom teachers across twelve schools in the Brisbane and Sunshine Coast Education Districts in Queensland, Australia, during 2005. A checklist of SEW programs and an audit of SEW practices in schools were employed to investigate the number, range and types of SEW programs used by primary classroom teachers and the contextual factors influencing program use. Whilst the majority of implementation studies have been conducted under intervention conditions, this study was designed to capture primary classroom teachers’ day-to-day use of SEW programs and the factors influencing program use under real-world conditions. The findings of this research indicate that almost three quarters of the primary classroom teachers involved in the study reported using at least one SEW program during 2005. Wide variation in the number and range of programs used was evident, suggesting that teachers are autonomous in their use of SEW programs. Evidence-based SEW programs were used by a similar proportion of teachers to non-evidence-based programs. However, irrespective of the type of program used, primary teachers overwhelmingly reported using part of a SEW program rather than the whole program. This raises some issues about the quality of teachers’ program implementation in real-world practice, especially with respect to programs that are evidence-based. A content analysis revealed that a wide range of factors have been examined as potential influences on teachers’ implementation of health promotion programs in schools, including SEW programs, despite the limited number of studies undertaken to date. However, variation in the factors examined and study designs employed both within and across health promotion fields limited the extent to which studies could be compared. A methodological and statistical review also revealed substantial variation in the quality of reporting of studies. A variety of factors were examined as potential influences on primary classroom teachers’ use of SEW programs across multiple social-ecological levels of influence (ranging from community to school and individual levels). In this study, parent or caregiver involvement in class activities and the availability of wellbeing-related policies in primary schools were found to be influential in primary classroom teachers’ use of SEW programs. Teachers who often or always involve parents or caregivers in class activities were at a higher odds of program use relative to teachers who never or rarely involved parents or caregivers in class activities. However, teachers employed in schools with the highest number of wellbeing-related policies available were at a lower odds of program use relative to teachers employed in schools with fewer wellbeing-related policies available. Future research should investigate primary classroom teachers’ autonomy and motivations for using SEW programs and the reasons behind the selection and use of particular types of programs. A larger emphasis should also be placed upon teachers not using SEW programs to identify valid reasons for non-use. This would provide another step towards bridging the gap between the expectations of program developers and the needs of teachers who implement programs in practice. Additionally, the availability of wellbeing-related school policies and the types of activities that parents and caregivers are involved with in the classroom warrant more in-depth investigation. This will help to ascertain how and why these factors influence primary classroom teachers’ use of SEW programs on a day-to-day basis in schools.

Intra-specific variation for host plant use in Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) (Lepidoptera : Noctuidae) : implications for management

The polyphagous moth Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) is one of the world's most important agricultural pests. A number of existing approaches and future designs for management of H. armigera rely on the assumption that moths do not exhibit either genetically and/or non-genetically based variation for host plant utilization. We review recent empirical evidence demonstrating that both these forms of variation influence host plant use in this moth. The significance of this variation in H. armigera in relation to current and future pest management strategies is examined. We provide recommendations on future research needs and directions for sustainable management of H. armigera, under a framework that includes consideration of intra-specific variation for host use relevant in this and other similar pest species.

The use of electronic portal imaging to verify patient position during intensity-modulated radiotherapy delivered by the dynamic MLC technique

Purpose: The precise shape of the three-dimensional dose distributions created by intensity-modulated radiotherapy means that the verification of patient position and setup is crucial to the outcome of the treatment. In this paper, we investigate and compare the use of two different image calibration procedures that allow extraction of patient anatomy from measured electronic portal images of intensity-modulated treatment beams. Methods and Materials: Electronic portal images of the intensity-modulated treatment beam delivered using the dynamic multileaf collimator technique were acquired. The images were formed by measuring a series of frames or segments throughout the delivery of the beams. The frames were then summed to produce an integrated portal image of the delivered beam. Two different methods for calibrating the integrated image were investigated with the aim of removing the intensity modulations of the beam. The first involved a simple point-by-point division of the integrated image by a single calibration image of the intensity-modulated beam delivered to a homogeneous polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) phantom. The second calibration method is known as the quadratic calibration method and required a series of calibration images of the intensity-modulated beam delivered to different thicknesses of homogeneous PMMA blocks. Measurements were made using two different detector systems: a Varian amorphous silicon flat-panel imager and a Theraview camera-based system. The methods were tested first using a contrast phantom before images were acquired of intensity-modulated radiotherapy treatment delivered to the prostate and pelvic nodes of cancer patients at the Royal Marsden Hospital. Results: The results indicate that the calibration methods can be used to remove the intensity modulations of the beam, making it possible to see the outlines of bony anatomy that could be used for patient position verification. This was shown for both posterior and lateral delivered fields. Conclusions: Very little difference between the two calibration methods was observed, so the simpler division method, requiring only the single extra calibration measurement and much simpler computation, was the favored method. This new method could provide a complementary tool to existing position verification methods, and it has the advantage that it is completely passive, requiring no further dose to the patient and using only the treatment fields.

Use of thermal imaging in sports medicine research : a short report

The assessment of skin temperature (Tsk) in athletic therapy and sports medicine research is an extremely important physiological outcome measure.Various methodsof recording Tsk, including thermistors, thermocouples and thermocrons are currently being used for research purposes. These techniques are constrained by their wires limiting the freedom of the subject, slow response times, and/or sensors falling off. Furthermore, as these products typically are directly attached to the skin and cover the measurement site, their validity may be questionable.This manuscript addresses the use and potential benefits of using thermal imaging (TI) in sport medicine research.Non-contact infrared TI offers a quick, non-invasive, portable and athlete-friendly method of assessing Tsk. TI is a useful Tsk diagnostic tool that has potential to be an integral part of sport medicine research in the future. Furthermore, as the technique is non-contact it has several advantages over existing methods of recording skin temperature

From concept to capability : developing design thinking within a professional services firm

Corporate business and management are embracing design thinking for its potential to deliver competitive advantage through helping them be more innovative, differentiate their brands, and bring more customer centric products and services to market (Brown, 2008). As consumers continue to expect more personalisation and customisation from their service providers, the use of design thinking for innovation within organisations is a logical progression. To date however, there is little empirical literature discussing how organisations are setting about integrating design thinking into their culture and innovation practices. This paper is a first step in initiating a scholarly discussion on the integration of design thinking within organisational culture. Deloitte Australia is a large professional services firm employing over 5700 staff in 12 offices across Australia. The company provides a range of services to clients in the areas of audit, tax, financial advisory and consulting. In early 2011 the company made a strategic commitment to introducing design thinking into the organisation’s practices. While it already maintains a strong innovation culture, to date it had largely been operating within an analytical business environment. For Deloitte, design thinking is an opportunity to create better outcomes for the people they serve – both internal and external stakeholders (Brown and Wyatt, 2010). Research was conducted using case study methodology and ethnographic methods from June to September 2011 at the Melbourne Deloitte office. It involved three methods of data collection: semi structured interviews, participant observation and artifact analysis. This paper presents preliminary case study findings of Deloitte’s approach to building awareness and a consistent understanding of design thinking, as well as large scale capability, across the firm. Deloitte’s commitment to transforming its culture to one of design thinking poses significant potential for understanding how design thinking is comprehended, enabled and integrated within a complex organisational environment.

Role of land use and seasonal factors in water quality degradation

Surface water and groundwater are the most important water sources in the natural environment. Land use and seasonal factors play an important role in influencing the quality of these water sources. An in-depth understanding of the role of these two influential factors can help to implement an effective catchment management strategy for the protection of these water sources. This paper discusses the outcomes of an extensive research study which investigated the role of land use and seasonal factors on surface water and groundwater pollution in a mixed land use coastal catchment. The study confirmed that the influence exerted on the water environment by seasonal factors is secondary to that of land use. Furthermore, the influence of land use and seasonal factors on surface water and groundwater quality varies with the pollutant species. This highlights the need to specifically take into consideration the targeted pollutants and the key influential factors for the effective protection of vulnerable receiving water environments.