Using decision-tree to automatically construct learned-heuristics for events classification in sports video

Automatic events classification is an essential requirement for constructing an effective sports video summary. It has become a well-known theory that the high-level semantics in sport video can be “computationally interpreted” based on the occurrences of specific audio and visual features which can be extracted automatically. State-of-the-art solutions for features-based event classification have only relied on either manual-knowledge based heuristics or machine learning. To bridge the gaps, we have successfully combined the two approaches by using learning-based heuristics. The heuristics are constructed automatically using decision tree while manual supervision is only required to check the features and highlight contained in each training segment. Thus, fully automated construction of classification system for sports video events has been achieved. A comprehensive experiment on 10 hours video dataset, with five full-match soccer and five full-match basketball videos, has demonstrated the effectiveness/robustness of our algorithms.

The conceptualisation of operational risk management models

Operational risk is evolving as a specialist field of risk management that must be practiced within all organisations, but currently has a particular relevance to banks. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has circulated a consultative paper which, if adopted by nation-state bank supervisors, will impose an operational risk capital charge on banks as part of a new Capital Accord. The definition of operational risk is wide-ranging and creates some unique issues related to the development of appropriate risk management models. This paper conceptualises two distinct operational risk management models; being a predictive model that will result in a known outcome upon its implementation, and a pre-emptive operational risk management model which prepares an organisation in the event that a future risk occurrence results in a disruption to critical business operations.

Managing ethics in marketing

This paper provides suggestions, based upon empirical research, about how marketers can manage ethical conflict in organizations. It proposes actions that can be taken by managers to reduce the level and extent of ethical conflict experienced by employees. It examines those managerial activities that can be conducted in the functional areas of recruitment, training, education, supervision and performance evaluation. Previous studies have not provided marketing managers with a comprehensive statement of specific management practices that can assist in the alleviation of ethical conflict.

Educational research in a global economy of knowledge production : what troubles a traveling textworker?

The first (and most specific) postcolonial intersection to which this paper refers was constituted initially by an Australian-South African institutional links project (funded by the Australian federal government) and subsequent collaborations and partnerships between Australian and South African academics arising (directly or indirectly) from this project. In this paper I will focus on activities that were intended to enhance research capacity in educational leadership and in environmental education, with particular reference to appropriate methodologies and supervision practices. Other postcolonial intersections to which this paper will refer include those that have been formed as a result of international students from various locations in Africa and Asia studying at Deakin (either on-campus or by distance modes). My purposes in the paper are (i) to examine, through cases and examples, some ways in which difference (with particular reference to race, ethnicity, language and location) might be linked to individual and/or community dispositions to take up (or to reject) specific research methodologies and epistemologies, and (ii) to consider the implications of such differences and dispositions for academic practices directed towards developing 'communities of understanding' at postcolonial intersections.

Abstract art or the politics and pedagogies of getting read

The writing of academic abstracts is more than a tiresome necessity of scholarly life. It is a practice which goes beyond genre and technique to questions of identity and the promotional economies of academic work. In this paper we deconstruct a series of abstracts from a variety of refereed journals and conferences and develop a set of questions that allow us to 'read' the representation of data, argument, methodology and significance. We argue that the rules of abstract engagement are fluid and increasingly important with the advent of online journals and global citation indices. We suggest that abstract art is now an obligatory aspect of postgraduate supervision.

Changing universities, changing work : a consideration of diversity, change and the (re)organisation of work in higher education

This paper considers some of the issues relating to diversity for those working in Australian universities as teachers, managers and support staff. It considers the impacts of social, economic and technological change on the organisation of universities as sites of teaching, learning, supervision and research. The consequences of these changes on the ways universities are traditionally organised and operate is considered, and some of the major tensions which occur as a result are discussed. Examples in the areas of professional doctorates, new technology and libraries are explored briefly. Some suggestions are offered for reconceptualising the work of academic and general staff, as are the relationship between these changes in universities and those occurring in TAFE and VET.

The failure of dissertation advice books : toward alternative pedagogies for doctoral writing

Anxious doctoral researchers can now call on a proliferation of advice books telling them how to produce their dissertations. This article analyzes some characteristics of this self-help genre, including the ways it produces an expert–novice relationship with readers, reduces dissertation writing to a series of linear steps, reveals hidden rules, and asserts a mix of certainty and fear to position readers "correctly." The authors argue for a more complex view of doctoral writing both as text work/identity work and as a discursive social practice. They reject transmission pedagogies that normalize the power-saturated relations of protégé and master and point to alternate pedagogical approaches that position doctoral researchers as colleagues engaged in a shared, unequal, and changing practice

Bringing pedagogy to doctoral publishing

This article explores the role of publication in taking forward the work of the doctorate. Low publication rates from doctoral degrees have been noted as a problem in the quality of doctoral education for preparing students to participate in research cultures. At the same time there is ambivalence and some resistance among doctoral supervisors and candidates about the place of publication in doctoral work. This article argues that issues of writing and publication need to be systematically addressed within doctoral pedagogy. In a climate of increasing pressure to publish during and after candidature, pedagogies need to take up a more explicitly outward-looking stance, developing a stronger orientation to induction and participation in the world of peer-reviewed publication. These arguments are developed through two case studies that illustrate ways of supporting doctoral researchers to effectively recontextualise their dissertation writing for wider audiences.

The fine line between harm reduction and harm production - development of a clinical policy on femoral (groin) injecting

The femoral region ('groin') appears to be increasingly commonly used by injecting drug users in the UK. With the advent of Britain's first supervised prescribed injectable opioid treatment clinic, unprecedented decisions and judgements were required about the safe supervision of this practice, or whether to permit this behaviour on site at all. This paper reports the reasons for, and outcome of, development of a clinical policy on injecting into the deep femoral vein (groin injecting)

Fear and loathing in public policy : ethical issues in laws for sex offenders

Laws intended to increase protection from sex offenders are often prompted by sensational crimes that provoke public outrage. As public policy, questions have been raised about the legality and effectiveness of these legislative initiatives as enacted in North America, Australasia and the UK since the early 1990s. Mental health professionals involved in the implementation of these laws are faced with ethical concerns that distinguish this area of forensic practice from other clinical roles. This article presents a brief description of the impetus for specific laws allowing for involuntary civil commitment, extended supervision and community notification of sex offenders in different jurisdictions. A model of human rights is then used to consider the ways in which these laws threaten the rights of offenders, and provides a framework for identifying ethical concerns inherent in professional practice in this area.

Pilot study of an innovative model for clinical education in dietetics

Aim: To pilot and evaluate a new model of clinical dietetics education to address the sustainability of dietetic placements in the clinical setting.

Methods: Final-year dietetics students (n = 14) completed all nine weeks of clinical placement in the pilot program at two large tertiary referral and teaching health services in metropolitan Melbourne. Staff and students completed surveys about their experience within a week of completing placement. Data collected included paid and unpaid staff working hours, hours in clinical and teaching activity, hours of student attendance and student clinical work hours. Data for the last month of the placement programs in the preceding three years were used for comparison with the pilot program.

Results: Combined data for the two providers showed that the model reduced the amount of supervision hours per student hour on placement by 16% while maintaining quality indicators during the pilot compared with previous years. Students in the pilot program were more positive about their experience compared with students in the existing program. The overall trend of responses in the staff surveys was positive for the pilot program, but the trend was not as marked as that of student responses.

Conclusion: The new model of clinical dietetics education was successfully piloted and demonstrated the potential to increase student training capacity without a negative impact on student achievement or major resource demands. Refinements to the model and opportunities to enhance integration into the dietetics degree program were identified during the project. The learning needs of non-English-speaking background students require further scrutiny.

Innovative model for clinical education in dietetics

Aim: Professional practice placement programs in dietetics face a number of challenges in respect of quantity, quality and sustainability. The aim of the present study is to report on the development of an innovative placement model based on a variety of training and supervision approaches to address these aforementioned challenges.

Methods: The model was developed following an investigation of existing practice and the literature with approaches that were identified as important to the requirements and constraints of dietetics clinical training incorporated into the model.

Results: Although one-on-one supervision is the predominant approach in Australian dietetic education, the educational literature and the authors' experience showed that a variety of approaches are represented in some form. The model developed involves the pairing of two students with one supervisor with students changing peer partners and supervisors every three weeks during the nine-week placement to diversify exposure to working and learning styles. The model integrates four customised approaches: incremental exposure to tasks; use of a clinical reasoning framework to help structure student understanding of the methods and judgements involved in patient care; structured enquiry in group discussions; and peer observation and feedback.

Conclusions: The model has potential to achieve efficiencies in supervisors' involvement by coordinating the skill development activities of students as a group and promoting peer-assisted learning.

Sex offender risk assessment : consideration of human rights in community protection legislation

ObjectivesRisk assessments provided to judicial decision makers as a part of the current generation of legislation for protecting the public from sexual offenders can have a profound impact on the rights of individual offenders. This article will identify some of the human rights issues inherent in using the current assessment procedures to formulate and communicate risk as a forensic expert in cases involving civil commitment, preventive detention, extended supervision, or special conditions of parole. MethodBased on the current professional literature and applied experience in legal proceedings under community protection laws in the United States and New Zealand, potential threats to the rights of offenders are identified. Central to these considerations are issues of the accuracy of current risk assessment measures, communicating the findings of risk assessment appropriately to the court, and the availability of competent forensic mental health professionals in carrying out these functions. The role of the forensic expert is discussed in light of the competing demands of protecting individual human rights and community protection. ConclusionActuarial risk assessment represents the best practice for informing judicial decision makers in cases involving sex offenders, yet these measures currently demonstrate substantial limitations in predictive accuracy when applied to individual offenders. These limitations must be clearly articulated when reporting risk assessment findings. Sufficient risk assessment expertise should be available to provide a balanced application of community protection laws.

Reviewing the reviewers : has the education review unit contributed to improved student learning outcomes?

This article looks at the contribution the South Australian Education Review Unit (ERU). It provides a perspective from a secondary school that has undergone and ERU review. It describes ERU procedures and methodology, explains what happened with the Le Fevre High School review, and 'reviews the reviewers' and answer the question posed in the article title.

Skill shortages in health : innovative solutions using vocational education and training

Introduction: This article reports findings of a project funded by the Australian National Council for Vocational Education Research. The project explores solutions to current and projected skills shortages within the health and community services sector, from a vocational education and training perspective. Its purpose is to locate, analyse and disseminate information about innovative models of health training and service delivery that have been developed in response to skill shortages.

Methods: The article begins with a brief overview of Australian statistics and literature on the structure of the national health workforce and perceived skill shortages. The impact of location (state and rurality), demographics of the workforce, and other relevant factors, on health skill shortages is examined. Drawing on a synthesis of the Australian and international literature on innovative and effective models for addressing health skill shortages and nominations by key stakeholders within the health sector, over 70 models were identified. The models represent a mixture of innovative service delivery models and training solutions from Australia, as well as international examples that could be transposed to the Australian context. They include the skill ecosystem approach facilitated by the Australian National Training Authority Skill Ecosystem Project. Models were selected to represent diversity in terms of the nature of skill shortage addressed, barriers overcome in development of the model, healthcare specialisations, and different customer groups.

Results: Key barriers to the development of innovative solutions to skills shortages identified were: policy that is not sufficiently flexible to accommodate changing workplace needs; unwillingness to risk take in order to develop new models; delays in gaining endorsement/accreditation; current vocational education and training (VET) monitoring and reporting systems; issues related to working in partnership, including different cultures, ways of operating, priorities and timelines; workplace culture that is resistant to change; and organisational boundaries. For training-only models, additional barriers were: technology; low educational levels of trainees; lack of health professionals to provide training and/or supervision; and cost of training. Key enhancers for the development of models were identified as: commitment by all partners and co-location of partners; or effective communication channels. Key enhancers for model effectiveness were: first considering work tasks, competencies and job (re)design; high profile of the model within the community; community-based models; cultural fit; and evidence of direct link between skills development and employment, for example VET trained aged care workers upskilling for other health jobs. For training only models, additional enhancers were flexibility of partners in accommodating needs of trainees; low training costs; experienced clinical supervisors; and the provision of professional development to trainers.

Conclusions: There needs to be a balance between short-term solutions to current skill shortages (training only), and medium to longer term solutions (job redesign, holistic approaches) that also address projected skills shortages. Models that focus on addressing skills shortages in aged care can provide a broad pathway to careers in health. Characteristics of models likely to be effective in addressing skill shortages are: responsibility for addressing skills shortage is shared between the health sector, education and training organisations and government, with employers taking a proactive role; the training component is complemented by a focus on retention of workers; models are either targeted at existing employees or identify a target group(s) who may not otherwise have considered a career in health.