Task profiling : A task-Based approach to measuring the integration of ICT in the classroom

The measurement of ICT (information and communication technology) integration is emerging as an area of research interest with such systems as Education Queensland including it in their recently released list of research priorities. Studies to trial differing integration measurement instruments have taken place within Australia in the last few years, particularly Western Australia (Trinidad, Clarkson, & Newhouse, 2004; Trinidad, Newhouse & Clarkson, 2005), Tasmania (Fitzallen 2005) and Queensland (Finger, Proctor, & Watson, 2005). This paper will add to these investigations by describing an alternate and original methodological approach which was trialled in a small-scale pilot study conducted jointly by Queensland Catholic Education Commission (QCEC) and the Centre of Learning Innovation, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in late 2005. The methodology described is based on tasks which, through a process of profiling, can be seen to be artefacts which embody the internal and external factors enabling and constraining ICT integration.

Perceptions of Integration: What the Literature Says and What Stakeholders See

This paper compares perceptions of integrated marketing communication (IMC) to establish whether consumers perceive integration in the same way as the literature. It begins by reviewing the literature to identify shared assumptions about integration and factors thought to contribute to the integration of marketing communication and, in an experiment, compares these with the perceptions of consumers. Many of the shared assumptions in the literature have been supported by the findings of this study. Integration has been demonstrated to be both a strategy and a tactic. The strategic side is part of a management process and is unable to be observed by consumers from the marketing communication output. Consumers can, however, identify the tactics and are able to recall a number of integration factors such as logo, corporate colours and image. Consumers in the total message integration groups perceived the messages they received as more integrated than those in partial integration or no integration groups.

Characterization of commercial double-walled carbon nanotube material : composition, structure, and heat capacity

A purified commercial double-walled carbon nanotube (DWCNT) sample was investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetry (TG), and Raman spectroscopy. Moreover, the heat capacity of the DWCNT sample was determined by temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry in the range of temperature between -50 and 290 °C. The main thermo-oxidation characterized by TG occurred at 474 °C with the loss of 90 wt% of the sample. Thermo-oxidation of the sample was also investigated by high-resolution TG, which indicated that a fraction rich in carbon nanotube represents more than 80 wt% of the material. Other carbonaceous fractions rich in amorphous coating and graphitic particles were identified by the deconvolution procedure applied to the derivative of TG curve. Complementary structural data were provided by TEM and Raman studies. The information obtained allows the optimization of composites based on this nanomaterial with reliable characteristics.

Work integrated learning for design : a scholarship of integration

Within an action research framework, this paper describes the conceptual basis for developing a crossdisciplinary pedagogical model of higher education/industry engagement for the built environment design disciplines including architecture, interior design, industrial design and landscape architecture. Aiming to holistically acknowledge and capitalize on the work environment as a place of authentic learning, problems arising in practice are understood as the impetus, focus and ‘space’ for a process of inquiry and discovery that, in the spirit of Boyer’s ‘Scholarship of Integration’, provides for generic as well as discipline-specific learning.

Professional development for the integration of biotechnology education

Views on the nature and relevance of science education have changed significantly over recent decades. This has serious implications for the way in which science is taught in secondary schools, particularly with respect to teaching emerging topics such as biotechnology, which have a socio-scientific dimension and also require novel laboratory skills. It is apparent in current literature that there is a lack of adequate teacher professional development opportunities in biotechnology education and that a significant need exists for researchers to develop a carefully crafted and well supported professional development design which will positively impact on the way in which teachers engage with contemporary science. This study used a retrospective case study methodology to document the recent evolution of modern biotechnology education as part of the changing nature of science education; examine the adoption and implementation processes for biotechnology education by three secondary schools; and to propose an evidence based biotechnology professional development model for science educators. Data were gathered from documents, one-on-one interviews and focus group discussions. Analysis of these data has led to the proposal of a biotechnology professional development model which considers all of the key components of science professional development that are outlined in the literature, as well as the additional components which were articulated by the educators studied. This research is timely and pertinent to the needs of contemporary science education because of its recognition of the need for a professional development model in biotechnology education that recognizes and addresses the content knowledge, practical skills, pedagogical knowledge and curriculum management components.

A quasi stationary approach to drying kinetics of cylindrical food particulates in a heat pump asisted fluid bed dryer

Experiments were undertaken to study drying kinetics of moist cylindrical shaped food particulates during fluidised bed drying. Cylindrical particles were prepared from Green beans with three different length:diameter ratios, 3:1, 2:1 and 1:1. A batch fluidised bed dryer connected to a heat pump system was used for the experimentation. A Heat pump and fluid bed combination was used to increase overall energy efficiency and achieve higher drying rates. Drying kinetics, were evaluated with non-dimensional moisture at three different drying temperatures of 30, 40 and 50o C. Numerous mathematical models can be used to calculate drying kinetics ranging from analytical models with simplified assumptions to empirical models built by regression using experimental data. Empirical models are commonly used for various food materials due to their simpler approach. However problems in accuracy, limits the applications of empirical models. Some limitations of empirical models could be reduced by using semi-empirical models based on heat and mass transfer of the drying operation. One such method is the quasi-stationary approach. In this study, a modified quasi-stationary approach was used to model drying kinetics of the cylindrical food particles at three drying temperatures.