Chinese EFL students' response to an assessment policy change

In light of its documented potential for enhancing learning, formative assessment has been adopted across a range of educational contexts to improve the quality of education. The assessment innovation that the Chinese Ministry of Education (CMoE) proposed to College English in 2007 via the College English Curriculum Requirements (CECR) (CMoE, 2007), is an initiative of this kind. Considering the acknowledged influence of assessment on students’ learning, it is instructive to explore the ways in which Chinese university students respond to an assessment policy change of this magnitude, particularly as it positions them as more active learners, having the potential for increased agency and engagement in their English language learning and assessment practices. In order to explore the response of students to this assessment initiative, a case study was conducted in the context of a College English classroom. Data included an interview with a College English teacher and four students from her classes, and classroom observations and a survey of her two classes of 100 students. Analysis of the data reveals that Chinese students’ responses to the assessment policy change are influenced by a variety of sociocultural factors, including their previous English language learning and assessment experience and the extent to which they are willing to play the ‘assessment game’. These findings have implications for policy and practice.

Intersectionality, rural criminology, and re-imaging the boundaries of critical criminology

One of the significant shortcomings of the criminological canon, including its critical strands – feminist, cultural and green – has been its urbancentric bias. In this theoretical model, rural communities are idealised as conforming to the typical small-scale traditional societies based on cohesive organic forms of solidarity and close density acquaintance networks. This article challenges the myth that rural communities are relatively crime free places of ‘moral virtue’ with no need for a closer scrutiny of rural context, rural places, and rural peoples about crime and other social problems. This challenge is likewise woven into the conceptual and empirical narratives of the other articles in this Special Edition, which we argue constitute an important body of innovative work, not just for reinvigorating debates in rural criminology, but also critical criminology. For without a critical perspective of place, the realities of context are too easily overlooked. A new criminology of crime and place will help keep both critical criminology and rural criminology firmly anchored in the sociological and the criminological imagination. We argue that intersectionality, a framework that resists privileging any particular social structural category of analysis, but is cognisant of the power effects of colonialism, class, race and gender, can provide the theoretical scaffolding to further develop such a project.

Comparison of the gate drive parameter space for driving power MOSFETs using conventional and cascode configurations

Conventional voltage driven gate drive circuits utilise a resistor to control the switching speed of power MOS-FETs. The gate resistance is adjusted to provide controlled rate of change of load current and voltage. The cascode gate drive configuration has been proposed as an alternative to the conventional resistor-fed gate drive circuit. While cascode drive is broadly understood in the literature the switching characteristics of this topology are not well documented. This paper explores, through both simulation and experimentation, the gate drive parameter space of the cascode gate drive configuration and provides a comparison to the switching characteristics of conventional gate drive.

The effect of topical adrenergic and anticholinergic agents on the choroidal thickness of young healthy adults

The human choroid is capable of rapidly changing its thickness in response to a variety of stimuli. However little is known about the role of the autonomic nervous system in the regulation of the thickness of the choroid. Therefore, we investigated the effect of topical parasympatholytic and sympathomimetic agents upon the choroidal thickness and ocular biometrics of young healthy adult subjects. Fourteen subjects (mean age 27.9 ± 4 years) participated in this randomized, single-masked, placebo-controlled study. Each subject had measurements of choroidal thickness (ChT) and ocular biometrics of their right eye taken before, and then 30 and 60 min following the administration of topical pharmacological agents. Three different drugs: 2% homatropine hydrobromide, 2.5% phenylephrine hydrochloride and a placebo (0.3% hydroxypropyl methylcellulose) were tested in all subjects; each on different days (at the same time of the day) in randomized order. Participants were masked to the pharmacological agent being used at each testing session. The instillation of 2% homatropine resulted in a small but significant increase in subfoveal ChT at 30 and 60 min after drug instillation (mean change 7 ± 3 μm and 14 ± 2 μm respectively; both p < 0.0001). The parafoveal choroid also exhibited a similar magnitude, significant increase in thickness with time after 2% homatropine (p < 0.001), with a mean change of 7 ± 0.3 μm and 13 ± 1 μm (in the region located 0.5 mm from the fovea center), 6 ± 1 μm and 12.5 ± 1 μm (1 mm from the fovea center) and 6 ± 2 μm and 12 ± 2 μm (1.5 mm from the fovea center) after 30 and 60 min respectively. Axial length decreased significantly 60 min after homatropine (p < 0.01). There were also significant changes in lens thickness (LT) and anterior chamber depth (ACD) (p < 0.05) associated with homatropine instillation. No significant changes in choroidal thickness, or ocular biometrics were found after 2.5% phenylephrine or placebo at any examination points (p > 0.05). In human subjects, significant increases in subfoveal and parafoveal choroidal thickness occurred after administration of 2% homatropine and this implies an involvement of the parasympathetic system in the control of choroidal thickness in humans.

Observing privacy, modesty and hospitality in the home domain : three case studies of Muslim homes in Brisbane, Australia

A home embodies a sensorial space that is layered with personal memories and traces of history. The success of a home in providing a strong sense of place depends on various factors such as geographical location, climatic conditions, and occupants’ world-views and perceptions. This paper explores Muslims’ perceptions of privacy, modesty and hospitality within their homes through their lived experiences. This case study focuses on three Muslim families living in Australian designed homes within the same suburb of Brisbane, Australia. The study provides prefatory insight into the ways in which these families perform their daily activities and entertain their guests without jeopardizing their privacy needs. The study examines the significance of modesty in the design of Muslim homes as a means by which family members are able to achieve optimum privacy while simultaneously extending hospitality to guests inside and outside their homes. The findings of this study provide opportunities too, for expanding research into culturally adaptable housing systems to help meet the changing needs of Australian multicultural society.

Onset of transition in mixed convection of a lid-driven trapezoidal enclosure filled with water-Al2O3 nanofluid

A numerical study is carried out to investigate the transition from laminar to chaos in mixed convection heat transfer inside a lid-driven trapezoidal enclosure. In this study, the top wall is considered as isothermal cold surface, which is moving in its own plane at a constant speed, and a constant high temperature is provided at the bottom surface. The enclosure is assumed to be filled with water-Al2O3 nanofluid. The governing Navier–Stokes and thermal energy equations are expressed in non-dimensional forms and are solved using Galerkin finite element method. Attention is paid in the present study on the pure mixed convection regime at Richandson number, Ri = 1. The numerical simulations are carried out over a wide range of Reynolds (0.1 ≤ Re ≤ 103) and Grashof (0.01 ≤ Gr ≤ 106) numbers. Effects of the presence of nanofluid on the characteristics of mixed convection heat transfer are also explored. The average Nusselt numbers of the heated wall are computed to demonstrate the influence of flow parameter variations on heat transfer. The corresponding change of flow and thermal fields is visualized from the streamline and the isotherm contour plots.

Localization and place recognition using an ultra-wide band (UWB) radar

This paper presents an approach to mobile robot localization, place recognition and loop closure using a monostatic ultra-wide band (UWB) radar system. The UWB radar is a time-of-flight based range measurement sensor that transmits short pulses and receives reflected waves from objects in the environment. The main idea of the poposed localization method is to treat the received waveform as a signature of place. The resulting echo waveform is very complex and highly depends on the position of the sensor with respect to surrounding objects. On the other hand, the sensor receives similar waveforms from the same positions.Moreover, the directional characteristics of dipole antenna is almost omnidirectional. Therefore, we can localize the sensor position to find similar waveform from waveform database. This paper proposes a place recognitionmethod based on waveform matching, presents a number of experiments that illustrate the high positon estimation accuracy of our UWB radar-based localization system, and shows the resulting loop detection performance in a typical indoor office environment and a forest.

Optical gas sensing properties of nanoporous Nb2O5 films

Nanoporous Nb2O5 has been previously demonstrated to be a viable electrochromic material with strong intercalation characteristics. Despite showing such promising properties, its potential for optical gas sensing applications, which involves the production of ionic species such as H+, has yet to be explored. Nanoporous Nb2O5 can accommodate a large amount of H+ ions in a process that results in an energy bandgap change of the material, which induces an optical response. Here, we demonstrate the optical hydrogen gas (H¬2) sensing capability of nanoporous anodic Nb2O5 with a large surface-to-volume ratio prepared via a high temperature anodization method. The large active surface area of the film provides enhanced pathways for efficient hydrogen adsorption and dissociation, which are facilitated by a thin layer of Pt catalyst. We show that the process of H2 sensing causes optical modulations that are investigated in terms of response magnitudes and dynamics. The optical modulations induced by the intercalation process and sensing properties of nanoporous anodic Nb2O5 shown in this work can potentially be used for future optical gas sensing systems.

Remaking Guangzhou: Political engagement and place-making on Sina Weibo

This study uses the concept of ‘place-making’ to consider political engagement on Sina Weibo, one of the most popular microblogging services in China. Besides articulating statepublic confrontation during major social controversies, Weibo has been used to recollect and renarrate the memories of a city, such as Guangzhou, where dramatic social and cultural changes took place during the economic reform era. The Chinese government’s ongoing project to create a culturally indifferent ‘national identity’ triggers a defensive response from local places. Through consuming news and information about leisure and entertainment in Guangzhou, the digital narration of the city becomes an important source for Guangzhou people to learn about their geo-identity, and the kind of rights and responsibility attaching to it.

Privacy, modesty, hospitality and the design of Muslim homes in Australia

The home environment is conceptualised in prolific ways within the academic literature. A home is an unparalleled base for human settlement and habitation that embodies a sensorial space that is layered with personal memories and traces of history. The success of a home in providing a strong ‘sense of place’ depends on various factors such as geographical location, monetary funds or personal perceptions. A home too, is an influential medium that allows its dwellers to express, perform and continue their cultural traditions and religious faiths. Traditional Islamic teachings and practices involve guidelines that apply directly to the domestic space. The principles of privacy, modesty and hospitality are paramount to these guidelines and each has a significant influence upon the design of Muslim homes and the home owners’ or dwellers’ domestic behaviours. Despite a significant increase of Muslim population in Australia over the last decade, very little is known about their perceptions of domestic life and their use of domestic spaces within an Australian context. This research investigated on how Muslims in Brisbane live and adapt within their Australian homes and if these homes meet their personal and familial needs to perform their daily activities, as well as maintaining and practising their Islamic faiths and traditions. Specific attention has been given to their perceptions on tripartite principles of privacy, modesty, and hospitality (PMH) and how they achieve these three objectives. A qualitative case study approach was used to investigate six Muslim families living in four Brisbane suburbs, consisting of: a) Case Study 1: three Muslim families residing in one suburb of Brisbane and, b) Case Study 2: three international Muslim students living in three different Brisbane suburbs. This research indicates that apart from minor ‘design-related’ difficulties, case study participants were able to continue to perform their daily activities within their current homes through minor changes to the use of the available interior spaces. Above all, case study participants opined that their current Australian homes provide them with adequate safety and privacy for their families without any major disturbances. Insight gained from these cases suggests that greater research attention needs to be given to the potential development of Australian home designs that are adaptable to the ever-changing needs of the Australian multicultural society. Awareness of the multifactorial nature of the influences on Muslims’ perceptions of home and their use of domestic space is needed if architects, building designers, engineers and builders are to be properly equipped to meet the needs of their Muslim clients.

Spatial governance: The metalanguage of spatiotemporal information and its infrastructure

‘Spatial governance’ involves a large number of situations where knowledge of place and time is important in achieving acceptable organisational outcomes. This paper argues that spatial governance calls for information-intensive activity in three main areas. The first establishes ‘authority’ in a legal entity to decide issues regarding resources within a territorial jurisdiction. The second involves planning the future use of resources. It engages a language of design, purpose, modeling, visualization, expectations and risk. The third involves monitoring of outcomes to see if expectations are met; and whether changes to authority and planning regimes need to be made in the light of experience. This engages a language of observing, recording, accounting, auditing, statistical indicators and accountability. ‘Authority’, ‘planning’ and ‘monitoring’ regimes can be constructed using a relatively small number of elements, in much the same way that a large number of words with recognisable meanings can be created using a relatively few standardised letters of the alphabet. Words can combine in a similar process of combinatorial explosion to create any message that can be imagined. Similarly, combining authority, planning and monitoring regimes can create a metalanguage of ‘spatial governance’ to give purpose, meaning and value to any spatiotemporal information system that can be imagined, described, interpreted and understood.

Place recognition with ConvNet landmarks: Viewpoint-robust, condition-robust, training-free

Place recognition has long been an incompletely solved problem in that all approaches involve significant compromises. Current methods address many but never all of the critical challenges of place recognition – viewpoint-invariance, condition-invariance and minimizing training requirements. Here we present an approach that adapts state-of-the-art object proposal techniques to identify potential landmarks within an image for place recognition. We use the astonishing power of convolutional neural network features to identify matching landmark proposals between images to perform place recognition over extreme appearance and viewpoint variations. Our system does not require any form of training, all components are generic enough to be used off-the-shelf. We present a range of challenging experiments in varied viewpoint and environmental conditions. We demonstrate superior performance to current state-of-the- art techniques. Furthermore, by building on existing and widely used recognition frameworks, this approach provides a highly compatible place recognition system with the potential for easy integration of other techniques such as object detection and semantic scene interpretation.

Corresponding geographies: Remapping work and workplace in the age of digital media

This essay makes three related claims about digital media creative clusters through a case study of the Hub in Glasgow, Scotland. First, online social networking platforms are an increasingly “common sense” feature that property developers include to attract media workers to purpose-built properties. Second, integrating and managing professional identities through the construction of place are considered necessary to promote that place to a larger audience. Finally, reorganizing place in this way refashions creative work as a more nebulous concept, a process that integrates formerly distinct aspects of our work and nonwork lives into the common pursuit of innovation for economic gain.

A social licence to operate: Corporate social responsibility, local communities and the constitution of global production networks

This article contributes to the theorization of the role of informal regulation (undertaken by leading firms) in the ongoing organization of global production networks. It does so through a qualitative case study of BHP Billiton's Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation (RNO) in the rural Shire of Ravensthorpe in Western Australia. This less tangible, and to date under-researched, dimension of global production networks is foregrounded through a focus on the corporate social responsibility strategy implemented by RNO in the service of achieving and/or demonstrating a broader ‘social licence to operate’. This ‘licence’ functions – beyond the corporation – as a legitimated and legitimating multi-scalar mechanism through which to gain and maintain access to mineral resources and thus to establish viable and ongoing global production networks. Further, this informal regulation is shown to shape social relations and qualities of place conducive to competitive global mineral extraction and to facilitate the positioning of local communities and places in mineral global production networks.

The development and refinement of the practice domain framework as a conceptual tool for understanding and guiding social care practice

This study identified the common factors that influence social care practice across disciplines (such as social work and psychology), practice fields, and geographical contexts and further developed the Practice Domain Framework as an empirically-based conceptual framework to assist practitioners in understanding practice complexities. The framework has application in critical reflection, professional supervision, interdisciplinary understanding, teamwork, management, teaching and research. A mixed-methods design was used to identify the components and structure of the refined framework. Eighteen influential factors were identified and organised into eight domains: the Societal, Structural, Organisational, Practice Field, Professional Practice, Accountable Practice, Community of Place, and Personal.