Best assessment practices of final year engineering projects in Australia

Sustainable planning and design of large-scale metropolitan development projects

Actors in the built environment are increasingly considering environmental issues alongside functional and economic aspects of development projects. However, to date in Australia and internationally, there have been few practical examples of integrated applications of sustainability principles in the built environment across all lifecycle phases. In response to this gap, this paper proposes a conceptual framework based on the principal that early intervention is the most cost-effective and efficient means of implementing effective strategies for sustainability. A strategic environmental assessment (SEA) approach is forwarded as an umbrella analytical framework, assembled from analytical methods which are strategically 'tiered' to inform stages of the project decision-making process. Practically applied and timed accordingly, the framework can allow assessments to be targeted towards appropriate decision making levels and enable better decision-making and more efficient resource allocation for major infrastructure development projects.

How significant is partnership formation in area-based projects to increase parental attendance at maternal and child health services

Objectives: 

Subjective risk assessment for planning conservation projects

Conservation projects occur under many types of uncertainty. Where this uncertainty can affect achievement of a project's objectives, there is risk. Understanding risks to project success should influence a range of strategic and tactical decisions in conservation, and yet, formal risk assessment rarely features in the guidance or practice of conservation planning. We describe how subjective risk analysis tools can be framed to facilitate the rapid identification and assessment of risks to conservation projects, and how this information should influence conservation planning. Our approach is illustrated with an assessment of risks to conservation success as part of a conservation plan for the work of The Nature Conservancy in northern Australia. Risks can be both internal and external to a project, and occur across environmental, social, economic and political systems. Based on the relative importance of a risk and the level of certainty in its assessment we propose a series of appropriate, project level responses including research, monitoring, and active amelioration. Explicit identification, prioritization, and where possible, management of risks are important elements of using conservation resources in an informed and accountable manner

Unfolding projects: Afghan and Australian artist’s books collaborations

In August 2009 an email was circulated to a number of Australian women artists with an offer to participate in a project of dialogue with women in Afghanistan. The project grew as a response to the dire situation of many women in Afghanistan, particularly in relation to education; many women are illiterate because they were and often still are, forbidden, restricted, or discouraged from attending school. By April 2010, 53 artists’ books by 14 women artists from various parts of Australia were delivered to Afghanistan, thereby beginning a process of creative collaboration between women situated in different places, cultures, and languages, attempting a productive connection through image and text. Each artist had created a small series of concertinas of imagery consistent with her current studio practice, which were then delivered to Afghanistan and distributed amongst women participating in literacy education. The women were asked to relate to the images by writing their own words directly within. The general intent was for the concertinas to be sent back to Australia, then bound and exhibited to raise public awareness, and possibly sold to raise funds. The artistic intent, however, was not the fundraising aspect as much as to take part in a process of support and dialogue with women in Afghanistan. It was a manoeuvre that said 'you are not alone'. The aim was to mobilise a conversation of sorts through the visuality and materiality of the artist’s book, despite the limitations of cultural, experiential, and physical distance. Just over six months from their delivery to Afghanistan, 36 of the 53 books returned to Australia, each marked with handwritten stories and poems in Dari and Pashto. This paper discusses the processes and considerations involved in the project, and the partnership formed with SAWA-Australia (Support Association for the Women of Afghanistan).

An evaluation of the impact of using authentic design and build industry projects in project-based learning

BACKGROUNDChisholm’s ‘first year experience’ is a significant feature of the new industry focused Bachelor of Engineering Technology program delivered in association with the South East Melbourne Manufacturers’ Alliance (SEMMA). This conceive-design-implement-operate (CDIO Initiative) program commenced as a full time program in first semester 2012. Whereas it is common for CDIO Initiative programs to have a first year experience program containing a project typical of the type of industry project they would complete as a graduate engineer or engineering technologist, this goes further by using real industry projects provided by SEMMA members.This design-and-build industry project runs across both semesters supporting project-based learning in three first year subjects. A concern is that the industry involvement of the projects adds substantially to an already heavy student workload. This has been further increased by the addition of two additional first year initiatives: writing workshops, and training in, and substantial use of, student oral presentations. It is recognised that an excessive workload could lead students to adopt surface learning approaches in other subjects.PURPOSEThe goal of the project is to evaluate student perceptions of the value and work load impact of the industry project and the other new first year initiatives.DESIGN/METHODCentral to this project is a student survey-based evaluation of the industry project based learning that is the core of the ‘first year experience’. The participants were limited to the small group of students who, in a single year, completed all three subjects that comprise the ‘first year experience’. To avoid compromising the results the survey was administered by Chisholm Institute’s Department of Strategy and Planning with no engineering technology degree program staff present. The survey included questions to enable responses to be linked with specific student demographics without identifying any of the respondents.RESULTSThe study showed the industry project-based learning had worthwhile outcomes but placed considerable time pressures on most respondents. For some, this also impacted on their other subjects. A first year oral presentation program was also shown to have worthwhile outcomes. However no conclusions could be reliably drawn on the third initiative – writing workshops.CONCLUSIONSThe results confirm that the authentic industry project is considered a worthwhile initiative but contributes significantly to student overload. This applies also – to a lesser extent – to the first year oral presentation program. Both also require new approaches to delivery as student numbers increase. Strategies to address these issues are discussed.

'Peer learning' as pedagogic discourse for research education

Research education has been dominated in recent years by policy-driven preoccupations with doctoral completions, funding and contributions to the economy. This has led universities to focus on enhanced institutional support for research degrees, with an emphasis on supervision, in particular the training of supervisors, and provision of a richer environment for students. This article uses examples from interviews with research students to show how the provision of a rich environment is not in itself sufficient. A new discourse is needed so that students are able to take up opportunities that are available. The article questions the current emphasis and argues that a new focus on pedagogy is explicitly needed. It challenges the dominant focus on supervision and 'provisionism' and suggests that a more appropriate pedagogic discourse should draw on the familiar notion of 'peer' from the world of research. It argues that peer learning, appropriately theorized and situated within a notion of communities of research practice, might be a productive frame through which to view research education. © 2005 Society for Research into Higher Education.