Samurai in the surf : the arrival of the Japanese on the Gold Coast in the 1980s

Samurai in the Surf explores the history of Japanese investment in the 1980s, following a money-trail that leads back to a ballooning Japanese economy and a colorful array of investment sources. The book also explores the local community's views of this unprecedented stream of foreign investment and provides a convincing illustration of the links between 1980s Queensland and Pauline Hanson's One Nation movement of the 1990s.

City-to-surf - a peer-to-peer model of on-line professional development: a collaborative mentoring model

This project explores the potential of electronic communications to support peer-to-peer interaction between separate whole-school communities as a means of providing both authentic, situated, professional development for teachers, concurrent with the development of enhanced student learning outcomes, and the intentional sharing of school 'culture'.  The intense use of telecommunications by both teacher and students in a 'many-to-many' manner provides rich opportunities for teachers to rethink their pedagogy, reconceptualise their classroom culture, and for students to see teachers as learners 'in situ'.  An extensive trial between two schools some 120km apart has demonstrated the basic functionality of the model.  This paper discusses the origins of the project, findings from the trial, and the nature of the changes to be made to the model to enhance its effects.

Spherical harmonics descriptor for 2D-image retrieval

In this paper, spherical harmonics are proposed as shape descriptors for 2D images. We introduce the concept of connectivity; 2D images are decomposed using connectivity, which is followed by 3D model construction. Spherical harmonics are obtained for 3D models and used as descriptors for the underlying 2D shapes. Difference between two images is computed as the Euclidean distance between their spherical harmonics descriptors. Experiments are performed to test the effectiveness of spherical harmonics for retrieval of 2D images. Item S8 within the MPEG-7 still images content set is used for performing experiments; this dataset consists of 3621 still images. Experimental results show that the proposed descriptors for 2D images are effective

A composite descriptor for shape retrieval

In this paper, a composite descriptor for shape retrieval has been proposed. The proposed descriptor is obtained from Generic Fourier Descriptors (GFD) for the shape region and the shape contour. A composite descriptor derived from GFD of the shape region and the shape contour is used for indexing and retrieval of shapes. Difference between two images is computed as the Euclidean distance between their composite descriptors. Experiments are performed to test the effectiveness of the proposed descriptor for retrieval of 2d images. Sets of composite descriptors, obtained by assigning different weights to the region component and the contour component, are also evaluated. Item S8 within the MPEG-7 Still Images Content Set is used for performing experiments; this dataset consists of 3621 still images. Experimental results show that the proposed descriptor is effective.

Design of reduced-order state/unknown input observers: a descriptor system approach

This paper addresses the problem of estimating simultaneously a linear function of both the state and unknown input of linear system with unknown inputs. By adopting the descriptor system approach, the problem can be conveniently solved. Observers proposed in this paper are of low-order and do not include the derivatives of the outputs. New conditions for the existence of reduced-order observers are derived. A design procedure for the determination of the observer parameters can also be easily derived based on the derived existence conditions

Effects of human activities on rocky shores of the Surf Coast Shire: scientific basis for management at the regional level

The Surf Coast Shire in regional Victoria contains some of the most spectacular coastline in Australia, running from Point Impossible in the east to just west of the resort town of Lorne. The Surf Coast Shire council is committed to ecologically sustainable tourism based on its coastal assets, including the important intertidal environments. The challenge for the Shire is to protect and enhance the biodiversity of its intertidal areas whilst allowing for their sustainable use as a critical component of the local economy. In order to do this the Council needed to identify the conservation values of intertidal areas within the shire and assess the impacts that current human use has on these values. The impacts of shellfish collecting on rocky shores were identified as an issue of particular concern. We have conducted a research project with the Shire to provide a scientific basis for management decisions. The principal aims of this project were to: (1) determine the patterns of human use of intertidal habitats; (2) measure the impacts of human usage on biological communities and species populations; and (3) to identify intertidal sites of regional conservation significance for the Surf Coast Shire. Surveys of human usage identified reef walking, looking in rock pools and fossicking as major uses of rocky shores within the Surf Coast. This poster reports the effects of this usage on gastropod populations of rocky shores within the Surf Coast Shire. A small proportion of visitors collected intertidal organisms. Shores were categorized as high or low use based on total numbers of people observed at each shore over the first year of the project. Mean size and catch per unit effort were compared for several gastropod species between high use and low use shores. The results presented here show that the populations of some gastropod species are of smaller mean size and less abundant on high use shores than on low use shores. There was also a noticeable difference in degree of effect detected between sandstone and mudstone shores. The implications of these results are briefly discussed in terms of management options available to the Shire.

Complementing a region descriptor for shape retrieval

In this paper, we propose to complement a region descriptor for shape retrieval with a contour descriptor; the descriptor thus obtained is a composite descriptor. We use a combination of a region descriptor and contour descriptor to obtain the proposed descriptor. A contour extraction technique is also proposed; it is required for extracting the contour of the image prior to applying a contour descriptor. Normalization of descriptors is required before disparate descriptors can be combined into a single descriptor. Hence, we test the performance of two common methods for normalization of descriptors and adopt the better performing method. Experiments are performed to test the effectiveness of the proposed descriptor for retrieval of 2d images. Sets of composite descriptors, obtained by assigning different weights to the region component and the contour component, are also evaluated. Item S8 within the MPEG-7 Still Images Content Set is used for performing experiments; this dataset consists of 3621 still images. Experimental results show that the proposed descriptor is effective.

Corners-based composite descriptor for shapes

In this paper, a composite descriptor for shape retrieval is proposed. The composite descriptor is obtained based upon corner-points and shape region. In an earlier paper, we proposed a composite descriptor based on shape region and shape contour, however, the descriptor was not effective for all perspective and geometric transformations. Hence, we modify the composite descriptor by replacing contour features with corner-points features. The proposed descriptor is obtained from Generic FourierDescriptors (GFD) of the shape region and the GFD ofthe corner-points. We study the performance of the proposed composite descriptor. The proposed method is evaluated using Item S8 within the MPEG-7 Still Images Content Set. Experimental results show that the proposed descriptor is effective.

Helping teachers surf the information and communication technology tsunami

A range of factors, both internal and external, is creating changes in teaching and teachers’ professional lives. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is just one of the major changes impacting on the teaching profession. As teachers face intense pressure to adapt to this tsunami, this study aims to investigate ways in which teachers can be helped. In South Australia, where this study is set, all teachers in Government schools are expected to be "ICT Smart", i.e. able to use appropriate forms of ICT to enhance the teaching and learning environment of their classrooms. From the researcher’s involvement for over a decade in professional development for teachers, and from visits to many schools, it appears that numerous teachers have not reached this standard. The greatest need is in Reception to Year 7 schools where the average age of teachers is nearly 50. Because no state-wide data exists, this study is intended to establish if there is a problem and if there is, to identify specific needs and offer possible solutions. The study is comprised of four parts: Part A, the Introduction gives an overview of the inter-relationships between these parts and the overall Folio. It establishes the setting and provides a rationale for the study and its focus on Professional Development in Information and Communication Technology. Part B, the Elective Research Studies, follows the writer’s involvement in this field since the 1980s. It establishes the theme of "Moving best practice in ICT from the few to the many" which underlies the whole study. Part C, the Dissertation, traces the steps taken to investigate the need for professional development in ICT. This is achieved by analysing and commenting on data collected from a state-wide survey and a series of interviews with leading figures, and by providing a review of the relevant literature and past and existing models of professional development. Part D, Final Comments, provides an overview of the whole Folio and a reflection on the research that has been conducted. The findings are that there is widespread dissatisfaction with existing models and that there is an urgent need for professional development in this area, because nearly 20% of teachers either do not use computers or are considered to be novice users. Another 25% are considered to be below not yet "ICT Smart". Less than 10% of ICT co-ordinators have a formal qualification in the field but more than 85% of them are interested in a Masters program. The study offers solutions in Part B where there is a discussion of a range of strategies to provide on-going professional development for teachers. Chapter 9 provides an outline of a proposed Masters level program and offers suggestions on how it could be best delivered. This program would meet the identified needs of ICT co-ordinators. The study concludes with a series of recommendations and suggestions for further research. The Education Department must address these urgent professional development needs of teachers, particularly those in the more remote country regions. There needs to be a follow-up survey to establish to what extent teachers in South Australia are now "ICT Smart ".