A constraints-led approach to talent development in cricket

The aim of this chapter is to increase understanding of how a sound theoretical model of the learner and learning processes informs the organisation of learning environments and effective and efficient use of practice time. Drawing on an in-depth interview with Greg Chappell, the head coach at the Centre of Excellence—the Brisbane-based centre for training and development in cricket of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and Cricket Australia—it describes and explains many of the key features of non-linear pedagogy. Specifically, after backgrounding the constraints-led approach, it deals with environmental constraints; the focus of the individual and the implications of self-organisation for coaching strategies; implications for the coach–athlete relationship; manipulating constraints; representative practice; developing decision-makers and learning design including discovery and implicit learning. It then moves on to a discussion of more global issues such as the reactions of coaches and players when a constraints-led approach is introduced, before finally considering the widely held belief among coaches that approaches such as Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) ‘take longer’ than traditional coaching methods.

On the consistency of multiclass classification methods

Binary classification methods can be generalized in many ways to handle multiple classes. It turns out that not all generalizations preserve the nice property of Bayes consistency. We provide a necessary and sufficient condition for consistency which applies to a large class of multiclass classification methods. The approach is illustrated by applying it to some multiclass methods proposed in the literature.

On the consistency of multiclass classification methods

Binary classification is a well studied special case of the classification problem. Statistical properties of binary classifiers, such as consistency, have been investigated in a variety of settings. Binary classification methods can be generalized in many ways to handle multiple classes. It turns out that one can lose consistency in generalizing a binary classification method to deal with multiple classes. We study a rich family of multiclass methods and provide a necessary and sufficient condition for their consistency. We illustrate our approach by applying it to some multiclass methods proposed in the literature.

An FPGA-based approach to multi-objective evolutionary algorithm for multi-disciplinary design optimisation

This paper investigates the field programmable gate array (FPGA) approach for multi-objective and multi-disciplinary design optimisation (MDO) problems. One class of optimisation method that has been well-studied and established for large and complex problems, such as those inherited in MDO, is multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs). The MOEA, nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II), is hardware implemented on an FPGA chip. The NSGA-II on FPGA application to multi-objective test problem suites has verified the designed implementation effectiveness. Results show that NSGA-II on FPGA is three orders of magnitude better than the PC based counterpart.

Development and validation of novel methods for microbial source tracking based on Escherichia coli as an indicator of water quality

Microbial pollution in water periodically affects human health in Australia, particularly in times of drought and flood. There is an increasing need for the control of waterborn microbial pathogens. Methods, allowing the determination of the origin of faecal contamination in water, are generally referred to as Microbial Source Tracking (MST). Various approaches have been evaluated as indicatorsof microbial pathogens in water samples, including detection of different microorganisms and various host-specific markers. However, until today there have been no universal MST methods that could reliably determine the source (human or animal) of faecal contamination. Therefore, the use of multiple approaches is frequently advised. MST is currently recognised as a research tool, rather than something to be included in routine practices. The main focus of this research was to develop novel and universally applicable methods to meet the demands for MST methods in routine testing of water samples. Escherichia coli was chosen initially as the object organism for our studies as, historically and globally, it is the standard indicator of microbial contamination in water. In this thesis, three approaches are described: single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) screening using high resolution melt analysis (HRMA) methods and phage detection development based on CRISPR types. The advantage of the combination SNP genotyping and CRISPR genes has been discussed in this study. For the first time, a highly discriminatory single nucleotide polymorphism interrogation of E. coli population was applied to identify the host-specific cluster. Six human and one animal-specific SNP profile were revealed. SNP genotyping was successfully applied in the field investigations of the Coomera watershed, South-East Queensland, Australia. Four human profiles [11], [29], [32] and [45] and animal specific SNP profile [7] were detected in water. Two human-specific profiles [29] and [11] were found to be prevalent in the samples over a time period of years. The rainfall (24 and 72 hours), tide height and time, general land use (rural, suburban), seasons, distance from the river mouth and salinity show a lack of relashionship with the diversity of SNP profiles present in the Coomera watershed (p values > 0.05). Nevertheless, SNP genotyping method is able to identify and distinquish between human- and non-human specific E. coli isolates in water sources within one day. In some samples, only mixed profiles were detected. To further investigate host-specificity in these mixed profiles CRISPR screening protocol was developed, to be used on the set of E. coli, previously analysed for SNP profiles. CRISPR loci, which are the pattern of previous DNA coliphages attacks, were considered to be a promising tool for detecting host-specific markers in E. coli. Spacers in CRISPR loci could also reveal the dynamics of virulence in E. coli as well in other pathogens in water. Despite the fact that host-specificity was not observed in the set of E. coli analysed, CRISPR alleles were shown to be useful in detection of the geographical site of sources. HRMA allows determination of ‘different’ and ‘same’ CRISPR alleles and can be introduced in water monitoring as a cost-effective and rapid method. Overall, we show that the identified human specific SNP profiles [11], [29], [32] and [45] can be useful as marker genotypes globally for identification of human faecal contamination in water. Developed in the current study, the SNP typing approach can be used in water monitoring laboratories as an inexpensive, high-throughput and easy adapted protocol. The unique approach based on E. coli spacers for the search for unknown phage was developed to examine the host-specifity in phage sequences. Preliminary experiments on the recombinant plasmids showed the possibility of using this method for recovering phage sequences. Future studies will determine the host-specificity of DNA phage genotyping as soon as first reliable sequences can be acquired. No doubt, only implication of multiple approaches in MST will allow identification of the character of microbial contamination with higher confidence and readability.

Content-based video indexing for sports applications using integrated multi-modal approach

To sustain an ongoing rapid growth of video information, there is an emerging demand for a sophisticated content-based video indexing system. However, current video indexing solutions are still immature and lack of any standard. This doctoral consists of a research work based on an integrated multi-modal approach for sports video indexing and retrieval. By combining specific features extractable from multiple audio-visual modalities, generic structure and specific events can be detected and classified. During browsing and retrieval, users will benefit from the integration of high-level semantic and some descriptive mid-level features such as whistle and close-up view of player(s).

An approximate Bayesian computation approach for estimating parameters of complex environmental processes in a cellular automata

Modelling an environmental process involves creating a model structure and parameterising the model with appropriate values to accurately represent the process. Determining accurate parameter values for environmental systems can be challenging. Existing methods for parameter estimation typically make assumptions regarding the form of the Likelihood, and will often ignore any uncertainty around estimated values. This can be problematic, however, particularly in complex problems where Likelihoods may be intractable. In this paper we demonstrate an Approximate Bayesian Computational method for the estimation of parameters of a stochastic CA. We use as an example a CA constructed to simulate a range expansion such as might occur after a biological invasion, making parameter estimates using only count data such as could be gathered from field observations. We demonstrate ABC is a highly useful method for parameter estimation, with accurate estimates of parameters that are important for the management of invasive species such as the intrinsic rate of increase and the point in a landscape where a species has invaded. We also show that the method is capable of estimating the probability of long distance dispersal, a characteristic of biological invasions that is very influential in determining spread rates but has until now proved difficult to estimate accurately.

Using Bayesian methods for the estimation of uncertainty in complex statistical models

The research objectives of this thesis were to contribute to Bayesian statistical methodology by contributing to risk assessment statistical methodology, and to spatial and spatio-temporal methodology, by modelling error structures using complex hierarchical models. Specifically, I hoped to consider two applied areas, and use these applications as a springboard for developing new statistical methods as well as undertaking analyses which might give answers to particular applied questions. Thus, this thesis considers a series of models, firstly in the context of risk assessments for recycled water, and secondly in the context of water usage by crops. The research objective was to model error structures using hierarchical models in two problems, namely risk assessment analyses for wastewater, and secondly, in a four dimensional dataset, assessing differences between cropping systems over time and over three spatial dimensions. The aim was to use the simplicity and insight afforded by Bayesian networks to develop appropriate models for risk scenarios, and again to use Bayesian hierarchical models to explore the necessarily complex modelling of four dimensional agricultural data. The specific objectives of the research were to develop a method for the calculation of credible intervals for the point estimates of Bayesian networks; to develop a model structure to incorporate all the experimental uncertainty associated with various constants thereby allowing the calculation of more credible credible intervals for a risk assessment; to model a single day’s data from the agricultural dataset which satisfactorily captured the complexities of the data; to build a model for several days’ data, in order to consider how the full data might be modelled; and finally to build a model for the full four dimensional dataset and to consider the timevarying nature of the contrast of interest, having satisfactorily accounted for possible spatial and temporal autocorrelations. This work forms five papers, two of which have been published, with two submitted, and the final paper still in draft. The first two objectives were met by recasting the risk assessments as directed, acyclic graphs (DAGs). In the first case, we elicited uncertainty for the conditional probabilities needed by the Bayesian net, incorporated these into a corresponding DAG, and used Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) to find credible intervals, for all the scenarios and outcomes of interest. In the second case, we incorporated the experimental data underlying the risk assessment constants into the DAG, and also treated some of that data as needing to be modelled as an ‘errors-invariables’ problem [Fuller, 1987]. This illustrated a simple method for the incorporation of experimental error into risk assessments. In considering one day of the three-dimensional agricultural data, it became clear that geostatistical models or conditional autoregressive (CAR) models over the three dimensions were not the best way to approach the data. Instead CAR models are used with neighbours only in the same depth layer. This gave flexibility to the model, allowing both the spatially structured and non-structured variances to differ at all depths. We call this model the CAR layered model. Given the experimental design, the fixed part of the model could have been modelled as a set of means by treatment and by depth, but doing so allows little insight into how the treatment effects vary with depth. Hence, a number of essentially non-parametric approaches were taken to see the effects of depth on treatment, with the model of choice incorporating an errors-in-variables approach for depth in addition to a non-parametric smooth. The statistical contribution here was the introduction of the CAR layered model, the applied contribution the analysis of moisture over depth and estimation of the contrast of interest together with its credible intervals. These models were fitted using WinBUGS [Lunn et al., 2000]. The work in the fifth paper deals with the fact that with large datasets, the use of WinBUGS becomes more problematic because of its highly correlated term by term updating. In this work, we introduce a Gibbs sampler with block updating for the CAR layered model. The Gibbs sampler was implemented by Chris Strickland using pyMCMC [Strickland, 2010]. This framework is then used to consider five days data, and we show that moisture in the soil for all the various treatments reaches levels particular to each treatment at a depth of 200 cm and thereafter stays constant, albeit with increasing variances with depth. In an analysis across three spatial dimensions and across time, there are many interactions of time and the spatial dimensions to be considered. Hence, we chose to use a daily model and to repeat the analysis at all time points, effectively creating an interaction model of time by the daily model. Such an approach allows great flexibility. However, this approach does not allow insight into the way in which the parameter of interest varies over time. Hence, a two-stage approach was also used, with estimates from the first-stage being analysed as a set of time series. We see this spatio-temporal interaction model as being a useful approach to data measured across three spatial dimensions and time, since it does not assume additivity of the random spatial or temporal effects.

Methods used in cross-cultural comparisons of psychological symptoms and their determinants

This paper is the second in a series of reviews of cross-cultural studies of menopausal symptoms. The goal of this review is to compare and contrast methods which have been previously utilized in Cross-Cultural Midlife Women's Health Studies with a view to (1) identifying the challenges in measurement across cultures in psychological symptoms and (2) suggesting a set of unified questions and tools that can be used in future research in this area. This review also aims to examine the determinants of psychological symptoms and how those determinants were measured. The review included eight studies that explicitly compared symptoms in different countries or different ethnic groups in the same country and included: Australian/Japanese Midlife Women's Health Study (AJMWHS), Decisions At Menopause Study (DAMeS), Four Major Ethnic Groups (FMEG), Hilo Women's Health Survey (HWHS), Penn Ovarian Aging Study (POAS), Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), Women's Health in Midlife National Study (WHiMNS), and the Women's International Study of Health and Sexuality (WISHeS). This review concludes that mental morbidity does affect vasomotor symptom prevalence across cultures and therefore should be measured. Based on the review of these eight studies it is recommended that the following items be included when measuring psychological symptoms across cultures, feeling tense or nervous, sleeping difficulty, difficulty in concentrating, depressed and irritability along with the CES-D Scale, and the Perceived Stress Scale. The measurement of these symptoms will provide an evidence based approach when forming any future menopause symptom list and allow for comparisons across studies.

Methods used in cross-cultural comparisons of sexual symptoms and their determinants

This is the fourth in a series of reviews of cross-cultural studies of menopausal symptoms. The purpose of this review is to examine methods used in cross-cultural comparisons of sexual symptoms among women at midlife, and to examine the determinants of sexual symptoms and how those determinants were measured. The goal of this review is to make recommendations that will improve cross-cultural comparisons in the future. The review included nine studies that explicitly examined symptoms in different countries or different ethnic groups in the same country and included: Australian/Japanese Midlife Women's Health Study (AJMWHS), Decisions At Menopause Study (DAMeS), Four Major Ethnic Groups (FMEG), Hilo Women's Health Survey (HWHS), Mid-Aged Health in Women from the Indian Subcontinent (MAHWIS), Penn Ovarian Aging Study (POAS), Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), Women's Health in Midlife National Study (WHiMNS), and Women's International Study of Health and Sexuality (WISHeS). Although methods used for assessing sexual symptoms across cultures differed between studies, statistically significant differences were reported. Cross-cultural differences in sexual symptoms exist, and should be measured by including the following symptoms: loss of interest in sex, vaginal dryness, and the Females Sexual Function Index which covers desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain on intercourse. The measurement of these symptoms will provide an evidence-based approach when forming any future menopause symptom list and allow for comparisons across studies.

Free surface flow past topography : a beyond-all-orders approach

The problem of steady subcritical free surface flow past a submerged inclined step is considered. The asymptotic limit of small Froude number is treated, with particular emphasis on the effect that changing the angle of the step face has on the surface waves. As demonstrated by Chapman & Vanden-Broeck (2006), the divergence of a power series expansion in powers of the square of the Froude number is caused by singularities in the analytic continuation of the free surface; for an inclined step, these singularities may correspond to either the corners or stagnation points of the step, or both, depending on the angle of incline. Stokes lines emanate from these singularities, and exponentially small waves are switched on at the point the Stokes lines intersect with the free surface. Our results suggest that for a certain range of step angles, two wavetrains are switched on, but the exponentially subdominant one is switched on first, leading to an intermediate wavetrain not previously noted. We extend these ideas to the problem of flow over a submerged bump or trench, again with inclined sides. This time there may be two, three or four active Stokes lines, depending on the inclination angles. We demonstrate how to construct a base topography such that wave contributions from separate Stokes lines are of equal magnitude but opposite phase, thus cancelling out. Our asymptotic results are complemented by numerical solutions to the fully nonlinear equations.

A rebirth of physical activity in parents : applying a theory-based approach

Physical inactivity is a serious concern both nationally and internationally. Despite the numerous benefits of performing regular physical activity, many individuals lead sedentary lifestyles. Of concern, though, is research showing that some population sub-groups are less likely to be active, such as parents of young children. Although there is a vast amount of research dedicated to understanding people.s physical activity-related behaviours, there is a paucity of research examining those factors that influence parental physical activity. More importantly, research applying theoretical models to understand physical activity decision-making among this at-risk population is limited. Given the current obesity epidemic, the decline in physical activity with parenthood, and the many social and health benefits associated with regular physical activity, it is important that adults with young children are sufficiently active. In light of the dearth of research examining parental physical activity and the scant research applying a theory-based approach to gain this understanding, the overarching aim of the current program of research was to adopt a mixed methods approach as well as use sound theoretical frameworks to understand the regular physical activity behaviour of mothers and fathers with young children. This program of research comprised of three distinct stages: a qualitative stage exploring individual, social, and psychological factors that influence parental regular physical activity (Stage 1); a quantitative stage identifying the important predictors of parental regular physical activity intentions and behaviour using sound theoretical frameworks and testing a single-item measure for assessing parental physical activity behaviour (Stage 2); and a qualitative stage exploring strategies for an intervention program aimed at increasing parental regular physical activity (Stage 3). As a thesis by publication, eight papers report the findings of this program of research; these papers are presented according to the distinct stages of investigation that guided this program of research. Stage One of the research program comprised a qualitative investigation using a focus group/interview methodology with parents of children younger than 5 years of age (N = 40; n = 21 mothers, n = 19 fathers) (Papers 1, 2, and 3). Drawing broadly on a social constructionist approach (Paper 1), thematic analytic methods revealed parents. understandings of physical activity (e.g., requires effort), patterns of physical activity-related behaviours (e.g., grab it when you can, declining physical activity habits), and how constructions of social role expectations might influence parents. physical activity decision making (e.g., creating an active family culture, guilt and selfishness). Drawing on the belief-based framework of the TPB (Paper 2), thematic content analytic methods revealed parents. commonly held beliefs about the advantages (e.g., improves parenting practices), disadvantages (e.g., interferes with commitments), barriers (e.g., time), and facilitators (e.g., social support) to performing regular physical activity. Parents. normative beliefs about social approval from important others or groups (e.g., spouse/partner) were also identified. Guided by theories of social support, Paper Three identified parents. perceptions about the specific social support dimensions that influence their physical activity decision making. Thematic content analysis identified instrumental (e.g., providing childcare, taking over chores), emotional (e.g., encouragement, companionship), and informational support (e.g., ideas and advice) as being important to the decision-making of parents in relation to their regular physical activity behaviour. The results revealed also that having support for being active is not straightforward (e.g., guilt-related issues inhibited the facilitative nature of social support for physical activity). Stage Two of the research program comprised a quantitative examination of parents. physical activity intentions and behaviour (Papers 4, 5, 6, and 7). Parents completed an extended TPB questionnaire at Time 1 (N = 580; n = 288 mothers, n = 292 fathers) and self-reported their physical activity at Time 2, 1 week later (N = 458; n = 252 mothers, n = 206 fathers). Paper Four revealed key behavioural (e.g., improving parenting practices), normative (e.g., people I exercise with), and control (e.g., lack of time) beliefs as significant independent predictors of parental physical activity. A test of the TPB augmented to include the constructs of self-determined motivation and planning was assessed in Paper Five. The findings revealed that the effect of self-determined motivation on intention was fully mediated by the TPB variables and the impact of intention on behaviour was partially mediated by the planning variables. Slight differences in the model.s motivational sequence between the sexes were also noted. Paper Six investigated, within a TPB framework, a range of social influences on parents. intentions to be active. For both sexes, attitude, perceived behavioural control, group norms, friend general support, and an active parent identity predicted intentions, with subjective norms and family support further predicting mothers. intentions and descriptive norms further predicting fathers. intentions. Finally, the measurement of parental physical activity was investigated in Paper Seven of Stage Two. The results showed that parents are at risk of low levels of physical activity, with the findings also revealing validation support for a brief single-item physical activity measure. Stage Three of the research program comprised a qualitative examination of parents. (N = 12; n = 6 mothers, n = 6 fathers) ideas for strategies that may be useful for developing and delivering an intervention program aimed at increasing parental physical activity (Paper 8). Parents revealed a range of strategies for what to include in a physical activity intervention designed for parents of young children. For example, parents identified persuasion and information type messages, problem-solving strategies that engage parents in generating a priority list of their lifestyle commitments, and behavioural modification techniques such as goal setting and incentives. Social intervention strategies (e.g., social comparison, counselling) and environmental approaches (e.g., community-based integrative parent/child programs) were also identified as was a skill-based strategy in helping parents generate a flexible life/family plan. Additionally, a range of strategies for how to best deliver a parental physical activity intervention was discussed. Taken as a whole, Paper Eight found that adopting a multifaceted approach in both the design and implementation of a resultant physical activity intervention may be useful in helping to increase parental physical activity. Overall, this program of research found support for parents as a unique group who hold both similar and distinctive perceptions about regular physical activity to the general adult population. Thus, these findings highlight the importance of targeting intervention strategies for parents of young children. Additionally, the findings suggest that it might also be useful to tailor some messages specifically to each sex. Effective promotion of physical activity in parents of young children is essential given the low rate of activity in this population. Results from this program of research highlight parents as an at-risk group for inactivity and provide an important first step in identifying the factors that influence both mothers. and fathers. physical activity decision making. These findings, in turn, provide a foundation on which to build effective intervention programs aimed at increasing parents. regular physical activity which is essential for ensuring the health and well-being of parents with young children.

An ontology-based mining approach for user search intent discovery

Discovering proper search intents is a vi- tal process to return desired results. It is constantly a hot research topic regarding information retrieval in recent years. Existing methods are mainly limited by utilizing context-based mining, query expansion, and user profiling techniques, which are still suffering from the issue of ambiguity in search queries. In this pa- per, we introduce a novel ontology-based approach in terms of a world knowledge base in order to construct personalized ontologies for identifying adequate con- cept levels for matching user search intents. An iter- ative mining algorithm is designed for evaluating po- tential intents level by level until meeting the best re- sult. The propose-to-attempt approach is evaluated in a large volume RCV1 data set, and experimental results indicate a distinct improvement on top precision after compared with baseline models.

A child led participatory approach for technology-based intervention

There is significant interest in Human-computer interaction methods that assist in the design of applications for use by children. Many of these approaches draw upon standard HCI methods,such as personas, scenarios, and probes. However, often these techniques require communication and kinds of thinking skills that are designer centred,which prevents children with Autism Spectrum Disorders or other learning and communication disabilities from being able to participate. This study investigates methods that might be used with children with ASD or other learning and communication disabilities to inspire the design of technology based intervention approaches to support their speech and language development. Similar to Iversen and Brodersen, we argue that children with ASD should not be treated as being in some way “cognitively incomplete”. Rather they are experts in their everyday lives and we cannot design future IT without involving them. However, how do we involve them Instead of beginning with HCI methods, we draw upon easy to use technologies and methods used in the therapy professions for child engagement, particularly utilizing the approaches of Hanen (2011) and Greenspan (1998). These approaches emphasize following the child’s lead and ensuring that the child always has a legitimate turn at a detailed level of interaction. In a pilot project, we have studied a child’s interactions with their parents about activities over which they have control – photos that they have taken at school on an iPad. The iPad was simple enough for this child with ASD to use and they enjoyed taking and reviewing photos. We use this small case study as an example of a child-led approach for a child with ASD. We examine interactions from this study in order to assess the possibilities and limitations of the child-led approach for supporting the design of technology based interventions to support speech and language development.