Designing online assessment tools for disengaged youth

This article reports on the development of online assessment tools for disengaged youth in flexible learning environments. Sociocultural theories of learning and assessment and Bourdieu’s sociological concepts of capital and exchange were used to design a purpose-built content management system. This design experiment engaged participants in assessment that led to the exchange of self, peer and teacher judgements for credentialing. This collaborative approach required students and teachers to adapt and amend social networking practices for students to submit and judge their own and others’ work using comments, ratings, keywords and tags. Students and teachers refined their evaluative expertise across contexts, and negotiated meanings and values of digital works, which gave rise to revised versions and emergent assessment criteria. By combining social networking tools with sociological models of capital, assessment activities related to students’ digital productions were understood as valuations and judgements within an emergent, negotiable social field of exchange.

Development and use of risk adjusted statistical process control tools for the monitoring and improvement of clinical outcomes in interventional cardiology

This thesis explored the development of statistical methods to support the monitoring and improvement in quality of treatment delivered to patients undergoing coronary angioplasty procedures. To achieve this goal, a suite of outcome measures was identified to characterise performance of the service, statistical tools were developed to monitor the various indicators and measures to strengthen governance processes were implemented and validated. Although this work focused on pursuit of these aims in the context of a an angioplasty service located at a single clinical site, development of the tools and techniques was undertaken mindful of the potential application to other clinical specialties and a wider, potentially national, scope.

Tools of the trade: quick measures and validated tools for assessing health and wellness. How you can better help your clients/employees help themselves

Worksite wellness efforts can generate enormous health-care savings. Many of the methods available to obtain health and wellness measures can be confusing and lack clarity; for example it can be difficult to understand if measures are appropriate for individuals or population health. Come along and enjoy a hands-on learning experience about measures and better understanding health and wellness outcomes from baseline, midway and beyond.

Social Media in the Media: How Australian Media Perceive Social Media as Political Tools

Social media are becoming increasingly integrated into political practices around the world. Politicians, citizens and journalists employ new media tools to support and supplement their political goals. This report examines the way in which social media are portrayed as political tools in Australian mainstream media in order to establish what the relations are between social media and mainstream media in political news reporting. Through the close content-analysis of 93 articles sampled from the years 2008, 2010 and 2012, we provide a longitudinal insight into how the perception by Australian journalists and news media organisations of social media as political tools has changed over time. As the mainstream media remain crucial in framing the public understanding of new technologies and practices, this enhances our understanding of the positioning of social media tools for political communication.

Candidate gene association studies : a comprehensive guide to useful in silico tools

The candidate gene approach has been a pioneer in the field of genetic epidemiology, identifying risk alleles and their association with clinical traits. With the advent of rapidly changing technology, there has been an explosion of in silico tools available to researchers, giving them fast, efficient resources and reliable strategies important to find casual gene variants for candidate or genome wide association studies (GWAS). In this review, following a description of candidate gene prioritisation, we summarise the approaches to single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) prioritisation and discuss the tools available to assess functional relevance of the risk variant with consideration to its genomic location. The strategy and the tools discussed are applicable to any study investigating genetic risk factors associated with a particular disease. Some of the tools are also applicable for the functional validation of variants relevant to the era of GWAS and next generation sequencing (NGS).

Transparency tools in gene patenting for informing policy and practice

In the recent decision Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics1, the US Supreme Court held that naturally occurring sequences from human genomic DNA are not patentable subject matter. Only certain complementary DNAs (cDNA), modified sequences and methods to use sequences are potentially patentable. It is likely that this distinction will hold for all DNA sequences, whether animal, plant or microbial2. However, it is not clear whether this means that other naturally occurring informational molecules, such as polypeptides (proteins) or polysaccharides, will also be excluded from patents. The decision underscores a pressing need for precise analysis of patents that disclose and reference genetic sequences, especially in the claims. Similarly, data sets, standards compliance and analytical tools must be improved—in particular, data sets and analytical tools must be made openly accessible—in order to provide a basis for effective decision making and policy setting to support biological innovation. Here, we present a web-based platform that allows such data aggregation, analysis and visualization in an open, shareable facility. To demonstrate the potential for the extension of this platform to global patent jurisdictions, we discuss the results of a global survey of patent offices that shows that much progress is still needed in making these data freely available for aggregation in the first place.

Technological tools for science classrooms : choosing and using for productive and sustainable teaching and learning experiences

In this age of rapidly evolving technology, teachers are encouraged to adopt ICTs by government, syllabus, school management, and parents. Indeed, it is an expectation that teachers will incorporate technologies into their classroom teaching practices to enhance the learning experiences and outcomes of their students. In particular, regarding the science classroom, a subject that traditionally incorporates hands-on experiments and practicals, the integration of modern technologies should be a major feature. Although myriad studies report on technologies that enhance students’ learning outcomes in science, there is a dearth of literature on how teachers go about selecting technologies for use in the science classroom. Teachers can feel ill prepared to assess the range of available choices and might feel pressured and somewhat overwhelmed by the avalanche of new developments thrust before them in marketing literature and teaching journals. The consequences of making bad decisions are costly in terms of money, time and teacher confidence. Additionally, no research to date has identified what technologies science teachers use on a regular basis, and whether some purchased technologies have proven to be too problematic, preventing their sustained use and possible wider adoption. The primary aim of this study was to provide research-based guidance to teachers to aid their decision-making in choosing technologies for the science classroom. The study unfolded in several phases. The first phase of the project involved survey and interview data from teachers in relation to the technologies they currently use in their science classrooms and the frequency of their use. These data were coded and analysed using Grounded Theory of Corbin and Strauss, and resulted in the development of a PETTaL model that captured the salient factors of the data. This model incorporated usability theory from the Human Computer Interaction literature, and education theory and models such as Mishra and Koehler’s (2006) TPACK model, where the grounded data indicated these issues. The PETTaL model identifies Power (school management, syllabus etc.), Environment (classroom / learning setting), Teacher (personal characteristics, experience, epistemology), Technology (usability, versatility etc.,) and Learners (academic ability, diversity, behaviour etc.,) as fields that can impact the use of technology in science classrooms. The PETTaL model was used to create a Predictive Evaluation Tool (PET): a tool designed to assist teachers in choosing technologies, particularly for science teaching and learning. The evolution of the PET was cyclical (employing agile development methodology), involving repeated testing with in-service and pre-service teachers at each iteration, and incorporating their comments i ii in subsequent versions. Once no new suggestions were forthcoming, the PET was tested with eight in-service teachers, and the results showed that the PET outcomes obtained by (experienced) teachers concurred with their instinctive evaluations. They felt the PET would be a valuable tool when considering new technology, and it would be particularly useful as a means of communicating perceived value between colleagues and between budget holders and requestors during the acquisition process. It is hoped that the PET could make the tacit knowledge acquired by experienced teachers about technology use in classrooms explicit to novice teachers. Additionally, the PET could be used as a research tool to discover a teachers’ professional development needs. Therefore, the outcomes of this study can aid a teacher in the process of selecting educationally productive and sustainable new technology for their science classrooms. This study has produced an instrument for assisting teachers in the decision-making process associated with the use of new technologies for the science classroom. The instrument is generic in that it can be applied to all subject areas. Further, this study has produced a powerful model that extends the TPACK model, which is currently extensively employed to assess teachers’ use of technology in the classroom. The PETTaL model grounded in data from this study, responds to the calls in the literature for TPACK’s further development. As a theoretical model, PETTaL has the potential to serve as a framework for the development of a teacher’s reflective practice (either self evaluation or critical evaluation of observed teaching practices). Additionally, PETTaL has the potential for aiding the formulation of a teacher’s personal professional development plan. It will be the basis for further studies in this field.

A comparative analysis of risk stratification tools for emergency department patients with chest pain

Background: Appropriate disposition of emergency department (ED) patients with chest pain is dependent on clinical evaluation of risk. A number of chest pain risk stratification tools have been proposed. The aim of this study was to compare the predictive performance for major adverse cardiac events (MACE) using risk assessment tools from the National Heart Foundation of Australia (HFA), the Goldman risk score and the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction risk score (TIMI RS). Methods: This prospective observational study evaluated ED patients aged ≥30 years with non-traumatic chest pain for which no definitive non-ischemic cause was found. Data collected included demographic and clinical information, investigation findings and occurrence of MACE by 30 days. The outcome of interest was the comparative predictive performance of the risk tools for MACE at 30 days, as analyzed by receiver operator curves (ROC). Results: Two hundred eighty-one patients were studied; the rate of MACE was 14.1%. Area under the curve (AUC) of the HFA, TIMI RS and Goldman tools for the endpoint of MACE was 0.54, 0.71 and 0.67, respectively, with the difference between the tools in predictive ability for MACE being highly significant [chi2 (3) = 67.21, N = 276, p < 0.0001]. Conclusion: The TIMI RS and Goldman tools performed better than the HFA in this undifferentiated ED chest pain population, but selection of cutoffs balancing sensitivity and specificity was problematic. There is an urgent need for validated risk stratification tools specific for the ED chest pain population.

Tools for successful NRM in the Lake Eyre Basin : achieving effective engagement

This chapter was developed as part of the ‘People, communities and economies of the Lake Eyre Basin’ project. It has been written for communities, government agencies and interface organisations involved in natural resource management (NRM) in the Lake Eyre Basin (LEB). Its purpose is to identify the key factors for successful community engagement processes relevant to the LEB and present tools and principles for successful engagement processes. The term ‘interface organisation’ is used here to refer to the diverse range of local and regional organisations (such as Catchment Committees or NRM Regional Bodies) that serve as linkages, or translators, between local communities and broader Australian and State Governments. The importance of fostering and harnessing effective processes of community engagement has been identified as crucial to building a prosperous future for rural and remote regions in Australia. The chapter presents an overview of the literature on successful community engagement processes for NRM, as well as an overview of the current NRM arrangements in the LEB. The main part of the chapter presents findings of the series of interviews conducted with the government liaison officers representing both state and federal organisations who are responsible for coordinating and facilitating regional NRM in the LEB, and with the members of communities of the LEB.

QUT Library advances the use of open public tools to navigate genetic inventions and builds research networks

Many emerging economies are dangling the patent system to stimulate bio-technological innovations with the ultimate premise that these will improve their economic and social growth. The patent system mandates full disclosure of the patented invention in exchange of a temporary exclusive patent right. Recently, however, patent offices have fallen short of complying with such a mandate, especially for genetic inventions. Most patent offices provide only static information about disclosed patent sequences and even some do not keep track of the sequence listing data in their own database. The successful partnership of QUT Library and Cambia exemplifies advocacy in Open Access, Open Innovation and User Participation. The library extends its services to various departments within the university, builds and encourages research networks to complement skills needed to make a contribution in the real world.

Improved molecular tools for sugar cane biotechnology

Sugar cane is a major source of food and fuel worldwide. Biotechnology has the potential to improve economically-important traits in sugar cane as well as diversify sugar cane beyond traditional applications such as sucrose production. High levels of transgene expression are key to the success of improving crops through biotechnology. Here we describe new molecular tools that both expand and improve gene expression capabilities in sugar cane. We have identified promoters that can be used to drive high levels of gene expression in the leaf and stem of transgenic sugar cane. One of these promoters, derived from the Cestrum yellow leaf curling virus, drives levels of constitutive transgene expression that are significantly higher than those achieved by the historical benchmark maize polyubiquitin-1 (Zm-Ubi1) promoter. A second promoter, the maize phosphonenolpyruvate carboxylate promoter, was found to be a strong, leaf-preferred promoter that enables levels of expression comparable to Zm-Ubi1 in this organ. Transgene expression was increased approximately 50-fold by gene modification, which included optimising the codon usage of the coding sequence to better suit sugar cane. We also describe a novel dual transcriptional enhancer that increased gene expression from different promoters, boosting expression from Zm-Ubi1 over eightfold. These molecular tools will be extremely valuable for the improvement of sugar cane through biotechnology.

Perceptions of online learning in an Australian university : Malaysian students’ perspectives-usability of the online learning tools

This study set out to investigate the kinds of learning difficulties encountered by the Malaysian students and how they actually coped with online learning. The modified Online Learning Environment Survey (OLES) instrument was used to collect data from the sample of 40 Malaysian students at a university in Brisbane, Australia. A controlled group of 35 Australian students was also included for comparison purposes. Contrary to assumptions from previous researches, the findings revealed that there were only a few differences between the international Asian and Australian students with regards to their perceptions of online learning. Recommendations based on the findings of this research study were applicable for Australian universities which have Asian international students enrolled to study online.

Sharpening our tools – translating research into practice

Providing culturally appropriate health communication tools at a community level, whilst meeting funding objectives set by Government led initiatives, can be challenging. Literature states that a translational research framework fostering community communication can encourage the development of appropriate communication tools to facilitate transfer of health information between community and researchers. Reflections from initial Need for Feed cooking and nutrition education program trials in remote Indigenous communities across Cape York indicated program resources were neither meeting community nor researchers needs. In response, a translational research framework was modelled with collaborative partnerships formed between researchers and community with the aim of modifying current resources. Local working groups were established to facilitate communication and guide continual remodelling and retrial of resources for successive programs. Feedback from working groups indicated community members wanted resources with more pictures and less words. Partnership with Chronic Disease Resources Online (CDRO) led to the development of pictorial resources including 3 evaluation tools, 27 recipe sets and 10 education support materials. Between June to December 2012 resources were trialled across 4 Cape York communities with 69 school aged children and 4 community elders. Qualitative data has indicated high satisfaction with modified pictorial resources, proving pictorial resources to be an effective and culturally appropriate method to both communicate health messages to community and facilitate flow of evaluation data to researchers. A translational research framework fostering communication between community and researchers can potentially enhance the quality of health communication tools.

Development of descriptor tools for the characterisation of Australian sugar mill evaporator scale

Cleaning of sugar mill evaporators is an expensive exercise. Identifying the scale components assists in determining which chemical cleaning agents would result in effective evaporator cleaning. The current methods (based on x-ray diffraction techniques, ion exchange/high performance liquid chromatography and thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis) used for scale characterisation are difficult, time consuming and expensive, and cannot be performed in a conventional analytical laboratory or by mill staff. The present study has examined the use of simple descriptor tests for the characterisation of Australian sugar mill evaporator scales. Scale samples were obtained from seven Australian sugar mill evaporators by mechanical means. The appearance, texture and colour of the scale were noted before the samples were characterised using x-ray fluorescence and x-ray powder diffraction to determine the compounds present. A number of commercial analytical test kits were used to determine the phosphate and calcium contents of scale samples. Dissolution experiments were carried out on the scale samples with selected cleaning agents to provide relevant information about the effect the cleaning agents have on different evaporator scales. Results have shown that by simply identifying the colour and the appearance of the scale, the elemental composition and knowing from which effect the scale originates, a prediction of the scale composition can be made. These descriptors and dissolution experiments on scale samples can be used to provide factory staff with an on-site rapid process to predict the most effective chemicals for chemical cleaning of the evaporators.

Tools for Mobile Multimedia Programming and Development

Mobile devices are rapidly developing into the primary technology for users to work, socialize, and play in a variety of settings and contexts. Their pervasiveness has provided researchers with the means to investigate innovative solutions to ever more complex user demands. Tools for Mobile Multimedia Programming and Development investigates the use of mobile platforms for research projects, focusing on the development, testing, and evaluation of prototypes rather than final products, which enables researchers to better understand the needs of users through image processing, object recognition, sensor integration, and user interactions. This book benefits researchers and professionals in multiple disciplines who utilize such techniques in the creation of prototypes for mobile devices and applications. This book is part of the Advances in Wireless Technologies and Telecommunication series collection.