Embedding information and communication technologies in the early childhood classroom

New technologies and the pace of change in modern society mean changes for classroom teaching and learning. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) feature in everyday life and provide ample opportunities for enhancing classroom programs. This article outlines how ICTs complement curriculum implementation in one year two classroom. It suggests practical strategies demonstrating how teachers can make ICTs work for them and progressively teach children how to make ICTs work for them.

Caught on camera

The emergence of shopping malls in Europe, the UK and Australia over the last thirty years or so, raises questions about the disruptive effects of such capital intensive developments on local area shopping facilities, transport and other infrastructures and the maintenance of artificially high prices for goods, whereby the promised greater choice of shops and prices is rarely a genuine free market of competition leading to lower prices. A central question to be addressed is whom these centres represent and belong to. While many claim to exist to ‘serve the community’ almost all malls and centres are private property and the community of shoppers has few, if any rights compared with the conventional high street, which is a public thoroughfare. This permits the management of the centres through their own private security staff, to observe, follow, eject and refuse further admission to anyone considered to be ‘undesirable’. What is different about the newest shopping centres is the routine use of increasingly sophisticated CCTV surveillance equipment to observe and record, for later evidential and entry restriction use, the movements of centre visitors.

A preliminary analysis of convective windstorm environments across Australia

This manuscript documents a preliminary analysis of convective windstorm environments across Australia. It combines radiosonde, reanalysis and severe weather observations to achieve this objective. Severe weather observations across Australia are revealed to have significant issues with stationarity, even when only the past thirty years are considered. Radiosonde and reanalysis observations are shown to agree relatively well for several cities in Australia. In addition, significantly different environments are documented to generate severe wind and tornado events in a sub-tropical environment such as Brisbane compared with a more mid-latitude-like environment such as Perth. The potential to extend this analysis for the remainder of Australia is also briefly discussed.

How do you ‘teach’ sustainability to engineers? introducing the engineering sustainable solutions program

Environmental engineers are increasingly being required to have knowledge about sustainability in their professional careers. Accreditation mechanisms for including sustainability in degree program requirements exist and are gradually being implemented by Engineers Australia. However, true integration of sustainability material into higher and vocational education curricula is still low, particularly outside the environmental engineering degree programs. In addition to environmental engineering, it is crucial for engineering across the specialisations, to be exposed to sustainability concepts and theories. This paper will demonstrate how sustainability as a ‘critical literacy’ can be designed for teaching within mainstream engineering education, using a current Australian project as a case study. The project demonstrates that sustainability education for all engineers is not only possible, but that there is international interest in collaborating in such an educational initiative. A pilot trial of the Introductory Module was undertaken in Semester 1 2004 and Version 2 trials are now proceeding with a number of universities and organisations nationally and internationally. Further modules are currently being developed in collaboration with Engineers Australia and UNESCO. The program is a finalist in the 2005 Banksia Awards (Category 11, Environmental Leadership Education and Training).

Wind speed measurements of land-falling tropical cyclones using SWIRLnet, a portable anemometer network

Wind speed measurement systems are sparse in the tropical regions of Australia. Given this, tropical cyclone wind speeds impacting communities are seldom measured and often only ‘guestimated’ by analysing the extent of damage to structures. In an attempt to overcome this dearth of data, a re-locatable network of anemometers to be deployed prior to tropical cyclone landfall is currently being developed. This paper discusses design criteria of the network’s tripods and tie down system, proposed deployment of the anemometers, instrumentation and data logging. Preliminary assessment of the anemometer response indicates a reliable system for measuring the spectral component of wind with frequencies of approximately 1 Hz. This system limitation highlights an important difference between the capabilities of modern instrumentation and that of the Dines anemometer (around 0.2 seconds) that was used to develop much of the design criteria within the Australian building code and wind loading standard.

Keynote address : aligning HR with a changing business landscape

"Firstly, I thank you sincerely for your kind invitation and warm welcome to Sri Lanka and to this national HR conference, I particularly acknowledge the initiative of Chairman of the Technical Committee, Dr Asoka Jinadasa in making it possible for me to be here, and to offer this contribution to your conference. I congratulate you on assembling such an impressive array of talent to aid your discussions. I hope I can add usefully to your conversations. In particular I congratulate you on developing such a good definition of HRM: “A strategic and integrated approach in acquisition, development and engagement of talent using relevant tools, with proper policies, products and processes in creating a conducive climate towards achieving organizational excellence and societal well-being” To me, that means that HR has to add value to the organisation, through an integrated set of tools, competencies, and policies, which are all consistent with the business model..."

Community arts in early childhood

Community arts can take many forms, including murals, installations, festivals and performances. The work can be produced by artists solely, by artists working with community groups, or by community groups. Community arts can be on a grand-scale covering whole streets, parks or even towns, or small- scale, such as a mosaic in the corner of a play area. It can be extremely impacting and a permanent fixture, or fragile and small and designed to blow away in the wind. But, common to all these different forms of community arts are the criteria that community arts are made in, for and/or by, the local community.

Cartels – What are they and how to avoid being part of one : the implications of University fee deregulation

Universities supply a range of services to students. These include most obviously, tuition services in relation to undergraduate and postgraduate courses; research supervision services in relation to research degrees; as well as consultancy services in relation to Government and industry work. For the purposes of the CCA, universities are trading corporations. They engage in trade or commerce through the provision of a range of services for reward. As such Universities are subject to the same rules and regulations that govern the conduct of other trading corporations, such Coles and Woolworths. As senior officers and managers of a trading corporation you need to acquire some basic understanding of the rules that govern competition in the education sector. In other sectors, companies generally undertake a risk assessment of those areas where they are most at risk of contravening the CCA; to ascertain in advance how problems might arise so that they can put in place strategies to mitigate the risk of inadvertent contraventions.

Using the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire to predict crashes and demerit point loss : does it get better with larger sample sizes?

The Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) continues to be the most widely utilised self-report scale globally to assess crash risk and aberrant driving behaviours among motorists. However, the scale also attracts criticism regarding its perceived limited ability to accurately identify those most at risk of crash involvement. This study reports on the utilisation of the DBQ to examine the self-reported driving behaviours (and crash outcomes) of drivers in three separate Australian fleet samples (N = 443, N = 3414, & N = 4792), and whether combining the samples increases the tool’s predictive ability. Either on-line or paper versions of the questionnaire were completed by fleet employees in three organisations. Factor analytic techniques identified either three or four factor solutions (in each of the separate studies) and the combined sample produced expected factors of: (a) errors, (b) highway-code violations and (c) aggressive driving violations. Highway code violations (and mean scores) were comparable across the studies. However, across the three samples, multivariate analyses revealed that exposure to the road was the best predictor of crash involvement at work, rather than DBQ constructs. Furthermore, combining the scores to produce a sample of 8649 drivers did not improve the predictive ability of the tool for identifying crashes (e.g., 0.4% correctly identified) or for demerit point loss (0.3%). The paper outlines the major findings of this comparative sample study in regards to utilising self-report measurement tools to identify “at risk” drivers as well as the application of such data to future research endeavours.

The influence of fleet safety climate on occupational driver behaviours

The concepts of traffic safety culture and climate hold considerable impact on road safety outcomes. Data sourced from four Australian organisations revealed a five factor structure that was consistent with previous research, which were: management commitment; work demands; relationships; appropriateness of rules; and communication. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to identify which aspects of fleet safety climate were related to driver behaviours. The findings suggest that organisations may be able to reduce the likelihood of employees engaging in unsafe driving behaviours as a result of fatigue or distractions through increasing aspects of fleet safety climate, including: management commitment; level of trust; safety communication; appropriateness of work demands; and appropriateness of safety policies and procedures. To assist practitioners in enhancing fleet safety climate and managing occupational road risks, recommendations are made based on these findings, such as fostering a supportive environment of mutual responsibility.

Roundabout design and cycling safety

Roundabouts reduce the frequency and severity of motor vehicle crashes and therefore the number installed has increased dramatically in the last 20 years in many countries. However, the safety impacts of roundabouts for bicycle riders are a source of concern, with many studies reporting lower injury reductions for cyclists than car occupants. This paper summarises the results of a project undertaken to provide guidance on how cyclist safety could be improved at existing roundabouts in Queensland, Australia, where cyclist crashes have been increasing and legislation gives motor vehicles priority over cyclists and pedestrians at roundabouts. The review of international roundabout design guidelines identified two schools of design: tangential roundabouts (common in English-speaking countries, including Australia), which focus on minimising delay to motor vehicles, and radial roundabouts (common in continental Europe), which focus on speed reduction and safety. While it might be expected that radial roundabouts would be safer for cyclists, there have been no studies to confirm this view. Most guidelines expect cyclists to act as vehicle traffic in single-lane, typically low-speed, roundabouts. Some jurisdictions do not permit cyclists to travel on multi-lane roundabouts, and recommend segregated bicycle facilities because of their lowest crash risk for cyclists. Given that most bicycle-vehicle crashes at roundabouts involve an entering vehicle and a circulating cyclist, the greatest challenges appear to be reducing the speed of motor vehicles on the approach/entry to roundabouts and other ways of maximizing the likelihood that cyclists will be seen. Lower entry speeds are likely to underpin the greater safety of compact roundabouts for cyclists and, conversely, the higher than expected crash rates at two-lane roundabouts. European research discourages the use of bike lanes in roundabouts which position cyclists at the edge of the road and contributes to cyclists being less likely to be noticed by drivers.

Developing an international survey of bicycle and helmet usage

The European Union‐funded collaborative network, COST Action TU1101: Towards safer bicycling through optimization of bicycle helmets and usage, aims to increase scientific knowledge about bicycle helmets in regards to traffic safety and to disseminate this knowledge to stakeholders, including cyclists, legislators, manufacturers, and the scientific community. The COST research team has developed a uniform international survey to better understand attitudinal and other factors that may influence bicycle and helmet usage, as well as crash risk. The online survey is being distributed by project partners in Europe, Israel, Australia, and potentially the US and Canada. The survey contains four types of questions: (1) biographical data, (2) frequency of cycling and amount of cycling for different purposes (e.g., commuting, health, recreation) and in different environments (e.g., bicycle trails, bike lanes, on sidewalks, in traffic), (3) frequency and circumstances for use and non‐use of helmets, attitudes and reasons for it, and; (4) crash involvement and level of reporting to the police. While the potential value of comparative data across countries with very different cycling cultures and safety levels is substantial, there are numerous challenges in developing, conducting, and analyzing the results of the survey. This presentation will focus on the scope of the international study, methodological issues and pitfalls of such a collaborative effort, and on initial results from one country (Israel). To illustrate, two findings from the preliminary Israeli survey indicate that: (1) none of the crashes were reported to the police including the ones involving hospital admission. Although underreporting of bicycle crashes by police is well documented in all countries the extent is unknown, and can be extreme. (2) Older riders tend to ride more for health/exercise reasons, while younger riders tend to ride more for commuting. Thus there is an interaction between riders’ age and the place and times of riding.

Tuning in to a deeper wisdom

In 2005, natural sequence farming founder Peter Andrews was featured on ABC TV’s Australian Story, since voted one of the top five episodes of the last 10 years. His book Back from the Brink is a national bestseller. Why are Andrews’ ideas attracting so much attention?

A taste of best practice in engineering sustainable solutions

This paper asks the question to what scale and speed does society need to reduce its ecological footprint and improve resource productivity to prevent further overshoot and return within the ecological limits of the earth’s ecological life support systems? How fast do these changes need to be achieved? The paper shows that now a large range of studies find that engineering sustainable solutions need to be roughly an order or magnitude resource productivity improvement (sometimes called a Factor of 10, or a 90% reduction) by 2050 to achieve real and lasting ecological sustainability. This marks a significant challenge for engineers – indeed all designers and architects, where best practice in engineering sustainable solutions will need to achieve large resource productivity targets. The paper brings together examples of best practice in achieving these large targets from around the world. The paper also highlights key resources and texts for engineers who wish to learn how to do it. But engineers need to be realistic and patient. Significant barriers exist to achieving Factor 4-10 such as the fact that infrastructure and technology rollover and replacement is often slow. This slow rollover of the built environment and technology is the context within which most engineers work, making the goal of achieving Factor 10 all the more challenging. However, the paper demonstrates that by using best practice in engineering sustainable solutions and by addressing the necessary market, information and institutional failures it is possible to achieve Factor 10 over the next 50 years. This paper draws on recent publications by The Natural Edge Project (TNEP) and partners, including Hargroves, K. Smith, M. (Eds) (2005) The Natural Advantage of Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovation and Governance for the 21st Century, and the TNEP Engineering Sustainable Solutions Program - Critical Literacies for Engineers Portfolio. Both projects have the significant support of Engineers Australia. its College of Environmental Engineers and the Society of Sustainability and Environmental Engineering.

Loading compliance of static load bearing exercises performed by transfemoral amputees fitted with an osseointegrated implant

Background To date bone-anchored prostheses are used to alleviate the concerns caused by socket suspended prostheses and to improve the quality of life of transfemoral amputees (TFA). Currently, two implants are commercially available (i.e., OPRA (Integrum AB, Sweden), ILP (Orthodynamics GmbH, Germany)). [1-17]The success of the OPRA technique is codetermined by the rehabilitation program. TFA fitted with an osseointegrated implant perform progressive mechanical loading (i.e. static load bearing exercises (LBE)) to facilitate bone remodelling around the implant.[18, 19] Aim This study investigated the trustworthiness of monitoring the load prescribed (LP) during experimental static LBEs using the vertical force provided by a mechanical bathroom scale that is considered a surrogate of the actual load applied. Method Eleven unilateral TFAs fitted with an OPRA implant performed five trials in four loading conditions. The forces and moments on the three axes of the implant were measured directly with an instrumented pylon including a six-channel transducer. The “axial” and “vectorial” comparisons corresponding to the difference between the force applied on the long axis of the fixation and LP as well as the resultant of the three components of the load applied and LP, respectively were analysed Results For each loading condition, Wilcoxon One-Sample Signed Rank Tests were used to investigate if significant differences (p<0.05) could be demonstrated between the force applied on the long axis and LP, and between the resultant of the force and LP. The results demonstrated that the raw axial and vectorial differences were significantly different from zero in all conditions (p<0.05), except for the vectorial difference for the 40 kg loading condition (p=0.182). The raw axial difference was negative for all the participants in every loading condition, except for TFA03 in the 10 kg condition (11.17 N). Discussion & Conclusion This study showed a significant lack of axial compliance. The load applied on the long axis was significantly smaller than LP in every loading condition. This led to a systematic underloading of the long axis of the implant during the proposed experimental LBE. Monitoring the vertical force might be only partially reflective of the actual load applied, particularly on the long axis of the implant.