The Beacon, July 12, 2004

Vol. 16, Issue 2, 12 pages

The Beacon, July 1, 2004

Vol. 16, Issue 1, 8 pages

Sistemas y Telemática - No. 4 - Julio/Diciembre 2004

El Sistema de Evaluación de Proficiencias en Educación Superior -SERESpermite: a) La valoración integral de suficiencia del saber, del hacer y del ser, de los estudiantes durante cada una de las etapas en la formación profesional en Ingeniería; y, b) La gestión de conocimiento que puede aplicarse, sistémica y sistemáticamente, en los procesos de docencia, investigación y extensión. El SERES es un producto de investigación que está en fase de prueba y ha sido desarrollado por el Centro de Innovación y Desarrollo para la Investigación en Ingeniería del Software -CIDLIS- en el marco del proyecto: «Modelo de Gestión de Conocimiento y Calidad en Educación Superior» -MGCES- de la E3T de la Universidad Industrial Santander. Este sistema anida tres subsistemas: El modelo organizacional, el modelo funcional y el modelo neuronal. SERES es parte del modelo neuronal. El SERES está estructurado para funcionar integralmente en los diversos cursos de un programa de ingeniería, sean estos básicos o avanzados, con el requisito de formalizarlos en actividades estructuradas de práctica, investigación formativa y seguimiento y control, sustentadas en un plan de calidad, fundamentado en el trabajo disciplinado individual y en equipo, la autoevaluación, la coevaluación, la evaluación y la heteroevaluación. La evaluación de competencias en SERES es una deducción lógica del modelado del perfil profesional (saberes), el perfil ocupacional (competencias para hacer) y el perfil cultural (valores como persona, ciudadano e ingeniero). Dicho modelo se despliega en guías de contenido, evaluación y gestión de conocimiento en cada uno de los cursos de un programa de formación. A partir de dichas guías, se definen los contenidos sobre el sabe, el hacer y el ser, disponibles, luego, para los profesores, en el desarrollo de sus prácticas docentes. Como cierre de este proceso de aprendizaje se establece la valoración de los productos de la enseñanza y del desempeño y la competencia de los alumnos. Este patrón de valoración cuantitativa y cualitativa es el instrumento principal de SERES, con el que sustentan las evidencias de cumplimiento de estándares de calidad, los objetivos de aprendizaje y el logro de las competencias del alumno.

TAG & RELEASE Volume 9, No. 4 July 2004

Tag & Release is the newsletter for the South Carolina Governor's Cup Billfishing Series, an official program of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism and the Harry R.E. Hampton Memorial Wildlife Fund.

Bulletin number 2004-08

The South Carolina Department of Insurance issues periodic bulletins explaining different aspects and rule interpretations of state insurance.

A structured return to the 'Fourth Estate': interviews and inquiry that challenge entrenched authorities' 'knowledge'

Contemporary debates on the role of journalism in society are continuing the tradition of downplaying the role of proactive journalism - generally situated under the catchphrase of the Fourth Estate - in public policy making. This paper puts the case for the retention of a notion of a proactive form of journalism which can be broadly described as "investigative ", because it is important to the public policy process in modern democracies. It argues that critiques that downplay the potential of this form of journalism are flawed and overly deterministic. Finally. it seeks to illustrate how journalists can proactively inquire in ways that are relevant to the lives ofpeople in a range of settings, and that question elite sources in the interests ofthose people.

Construction planning workbench

This report is an attempt to present the current state of product and process modelling in the building industry in general, and in construction planning and scheduling in particular. This report endeavours to describe what has been achieved by the Construction Planning Workbench (CPW) project.

E-business adoption in construction : international review on impediments

The adoption of e-business by the Australian construction industry lags other service and product industries. It is assumed that slow adoption rate does not reflect the maturity of the technology but is due to adoption impediments peculiar to the nature of construction. This chapter examines impediments to the uptake of e-business nationally and internationally. A systematic and extensive literature search of impediments (also referred to as obstacles, impediments or hindrances) to adoption has been undertaken and the findings discussed in this chapter. This review included more that 200 documents and these have been published in a searchable database as part of a larger research initiative funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Construction Innovation. The influence of levels of e-business maturity seen in other sectors such as retail, tourism and manufacturing was also captured and a number of major impediments were identified some including: privacy, trust, uncertainty of financial returns, lack of reliable measurement, fraud, lack of support and system maintenance. A total of 23 impediments were assessed in terms of impact to organisational type and size across reviewed documents. With this information it was possible to develop a reference framework for measuring maturity levels and readiness to uptake e-business in construction. Results have also shown that impediments to e-business adoption work differently according to organisational type and culture. Areas of training and people development need to be addressed. This would include a more sensitive approach to the nature of construction organisations, especially to those small and medium enterprises. Raising levels of awareness and creating trust for on-line collaboration are other aspects that need attention, which current studies confirm as lacking. An empirical study within construction, to validate these findings, forms the subsequent phase of this research.

Lawful withdrawal: The video

When should a person who has a heart attack not be resuscitated? When should a patient no longer be kept alive on a ventilator, or be provided with food and water by a tube? When should a person not be given a blood transfusion they need to stay alive? The answers to these questions depend on a number of factors including the mental or physical condition of the patient and any wishes they have expressed prior to losing the ability to make this decision, as well as the requirements of good medical practice. This video is a record of a public lecture held on 7 July 2004 by the Faculty of Law at the Queensland University of Technology, in association with the Faculty of Health, the Centre for Palliative Care Research and Education, and Palliative Care Queensland.

Comparison between ACI 440 and FIB 14 design guidelines in using CFRP for strengthening of a concrete bridge headstock

This paper compares and reviews the recommendations and contents of the guide for the design and construction of externally bonded FRP systems for strengthening concrete structures reported by ACI committee 440 and technical report of Externally bonded FRP reinforcement for RC structures (FIB 14) in application of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites in strengthening of an aging reinforced concrete headstock. The paper also discusses the background, limitations, strengthening for flexure and shear, and other related issues in use of FRP for strengthening of a typical reinforced concrete headstock structure such as durability, de-bonding, strengthening limits, fire and environmental conditions. A case study of strengthening of a bridge headstock using FRP composites is presented as a worked example in order to illustrate and compare the differences between these two design guidelines when used in conjunction with the philosophy of the Austroads (1992) bridge design code.

The journey to delivered value in Australian procurement

In line with developments overseas Australian clients are turning to considerations of value in project procurement. Until the 1980s the industry operated in a largely traditional manner however the extremely adversarial behaviour exhibited during towards the end of the decade led to a number of significant events and initiatives including the publication of “No Dispute”, the Gyles Royal Commission into the Building Industry, the Construction Industry Development Agency (CIDA) and the work of the Australian Procurement and Construction Council (APCC). A number of research projects in progress in the CRC for Construction Innovation (CRC CI) are focussing on the assessment of value and methodologies to support the delivery of value in the procurement and management of engineering and construction projects. This paper charts the emergence of several key drivers in the process and illustrates how they can be integrated into a comprehensive Decision Support System that balances value to stakeholders with project imperatives and incorporates a lessons learned data base which enriches the decision making process to optimise delivery method design and selection.

Paid maternity leave

Access to paid maternity leave is a major issue on our current social, political and policy agenda. Better paid maternity leave provisions are seen as one of the ways to address the inequality experienced by women as a result of the gendered nature of family responsibilities. One Brisbane kindergarten is leading the way in providing maternity leave to its employees. The Director of Campus Kindergarten, Megan GIBSON, explains how, through staff input, the centre has developed a comprehensive parental leave policy that sits hand in hand with their professional development policy.