Water's edge : And the water's edge writing

Water's Edge, and The Water's Edge Writing, is a work of practice-led research in the field of creative writing. Practice-led research, which refers to research undertaken in the process of making a creative artwork, has become a significant and innovative type of research particularly in the disciplines of the creative arts. This book consists of two parts in dialogue with one another. These include Water's Edge, a novel, and The Water's Edge Writing, an exegetical component. Water's Edge is the story of Serena, a midnight-to-dawn radio announcer, who discovers information about her family's past and future via the act of creative writing. The Water's Edge Writing addresses issues of practice-led research, including a teasing out of the nexus between creative arts practice and higher research in universities. This book represents an important example of how creative arts practice can constitute the discovery of new knowledge, in the form of practice-led research.

Developing mathematical concepts in Australian pre-school settings : the background

The SIMERR project Mathematical Thinking of Pre-school Children in Rural and Regional Australia: Research and Practice included a review of relevant research literature with the aim of making this accessible to researchers as well as early childhood teachers and educators. This paper introduces the methods used in the project and provides a brief summary of the literature pertaining to the development of mathematical concepts.

Wireless sensor networks for in-situ image validation for water and nutrient management

Water and Nitrogen (N) are critical inputs for crop production. Remote sensing data collected from multiple scales, including ground-based, aerial, and satellite, can be used for the formulation of an efficient and cost effective algorithm for the detection of N and water stress. Formulation and validation of such techniques require continuous acquisition of ground based spectral data over the canopy enabling field measurements to coincide exactly with aerial and satellite observations. In this context, a wireless sensor in situ network was developed and this paper describes the results of the first phase of the experiment along with the details of sensor development and instrumentation set up. The sensor network was established based on different spatial sampling strategies and each sensor collected spectral data in seven narrow wavebands (470, 550, 670, 700, 720, 750, 790 nm) critical for monitoring crop growth. Spectral measurements recorded at required intervals (up to 30 seconds) were relayed through a multi-hop wireless network to a base computer at the field site. These data were then accessed by the remote sensing centre computing system through broad band internet. Comparison of the data from the WSN and an industry standard ground based hyperspectral radiometer indicated that there were no significant differences in the spectral measurements for all the wavebands except for 790nm. Combining sensor and wireless technologies provides a robust means of aerial and satellite data calibration and an enhanced understanding of issues of variations in the scale for the effective water and nutrient management in wheat.

Mid-Holocene vertebrate bone Concentration-Lagerstätte on oceanic island Mauritius provides a window into the ecosystem of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus)

Although the recent history of human colonisation and impact on Mauritius is well documented, virtually no records of the pre-human native ecosystem exist, making it difficult to assess the magnitude of the changes brought about by human settlement. Here, we describe a 4000-year-old fossil bed at Mare aux Songes (MAS) in south-eastern Mauritius that contains both macrofossils (vertebrate fauna, gastropods, insects and flora) and microfossils (diatoms, pollen, spores and phytoliths). With >250 bone fragments/m2 and comprising 50% of all known extinct and extant vertebrate species (ns = 44) of Mauritius, MAS may constitute the first Holocene vertebrate bone Concentration-Lagerstätte identified on an oceanic volcanic island. Fossil remains are dominated by extinct giant tortoises Cylindraspis spp. (63%), passerines (10%), small bats (7.8%) and dodo Raphus cucullatus (7.1%). Twelve radiocarbon ages [four of them duplicates] from bones and other material suggest that accumulation of fossils took place within several centuries. An exceptional combination of abiotic conditions led to preservation of bones, bone collagen, plant tissue and microfossils. Although bone collagen is well preserved, DNA from dodo and other Mauritian vertebrates has proved difficult. Our analysis suggests that from ca 4000 years ago (4 ka), rising sea levels created a freshwater lake at MAS, generating an oasis in an otherwise dry environment which attracted a diverse vertebrate fauna. Subsequent aridification in the south-west Indian Ocean region may have increased carcass accumulation during droughts, contributing to the exceptionally high fossil concentration. The abundance of floral and faunal remains in this Lagerstätte offers a unique opportunity to reconstruct a pre-human ecosystem on an oceanic island, providing a key foundation for assessing the vulnerability of island ecosystems to human impact.

Differences in student engagement : investigating the role of the dominant cognitive processes preferred by engineering and education students

This paper reports on a study of the differences in the dominant cognitive processes preferred by groups of engineering and education students and examines the implications of these differences for the assessment of student engagement with university courses. Concern is expressed that the items commonly used to capture student engagement data do not adequately cover the full range of the dominant cognitive processes preferred by tertiary students. The paper sets out a brief overview of student engagement along with the theory of dominant and auxiliary cognitive processes, as developed by Jung and later by Myers. Evidence is presented of the differing frequencies of the eight cognitive processes, as assessed by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, that are preferred by cohorts of students undertaking courses in engineering and education. The implications of these differences are discussed in the context of subject disciplines in university environments.

Warrock collection: original line drawings by fourth year Deakin University architecture students of the Warrock Homestead, a local heritage listed property in Victoria

This collection includes the original line drawings by fourth year Deakin University architecture students of a well known local heritage listed property, the Warrock homestead. The Warrock homestead consisted of detailed original timber structures of the 19th century. The drawings are the result of a conservation project funded by the Commonwealth Government of Australia National Estate Grants program. In 1999 a further deposit of original reports relating to individual buildings on the property was received. The collection consists of monographs, photographs and photograph negatives, architectural drawings, VHS tapes and ephemera.

Mid-Holocene (4200 kyr BP) mass mortalities in Mauritius (Mascarenes): insular vertebrates resilient to climatic extremes but vulnerable to human impact

In the light of the currently increasing drought frequency and water scarcity on oceanic islands, it is crucial for the conservation of threatened insular vertebrates to assess how they will be affected. A 4000 yr old fossil assemblage in the Mare Aux Songes (MAS), southwest Mauritius, Mascarene Islands, contains bones of 100 000+ individual vertebrates, dominated by two species of giant tortoises Cylindraspis triserrata and C. inepta, the dodo Raphus cucullatus, and 20 other vertebrate species (Rijsdijk, Hume, Bunnik, Florens, Baider, Shapiro et al. (2009) Mid-Holocene vertebrate bone Concentration-Lagerstätte on oceanic island Mauritius provides a window into the ecosystem of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus). Quaternary Science Reviews 28: 14–24). Nine radiocarbon dates of bones statistically overlap and suggest mass mortality occurred between 4235 and 4100 cal. yr BP. The mortality period coincides with a widely recognized megadrought event. Our multidisciplinary investigations combining geological, paleontological and hydrological evidence suggests the lake was located in a dry coastal setting and had desiccated during this period. Oxygen isotope data from a Uranium-series dated stalagmite from Rodrigues, an island 560 km east of Mauritius, supports this scenario by showing frequently alternating dry and wet periods lasting for decades between 4122 and 2260 cal. yr BP. An extreme drought resulted in falling water-tables at MAS and elsewhere on the island, perhaps deprived these insular vertebrates of fresh water, which led to natural mass mortalities and possibly to extirpations. In spite of these events, all insular species survived until at least the seventeenth century, confirming their resistance to climatic extremes. Despite this, the generally exponential increase of combined human impacts on islands including loss of geodiversity, habitats, and stocks of fresh water, there will be less environmental safe-haven options for insular endemic and native vertebrates during future megadrought conditions; and therefore will be more prone to extinction.