Testing times for the implementation of curriculum change: Analysis and extension of a curriculum change model

School curriculum change processes have traditionally been managed internally. However, in Queensland, Australia, as a response to the current high-stakes accountability regime, more and more principals are outsourcing this work to external change agents (ECAs). In 2009, one of the authors (a university lecturer and ECA) developed a curriculum change model (the Controlled Rapid Approach to Curriculum Change (CRACC)), specifically outlining the involvement of an ECA in the initiation phase of a school’s curriculum change process. The purpose of this paper is to extend the CRACC model by unpacking the implementation phase, drawing on data from a pilot study of a single school. Interview responses revealed that during the implementation phase, teachers wanted to be kept informed of the wider educational context; use data to constantly track students; relate pedagogical practices to testing practices; share information between departments and professional levels; and, own whole school performance. It is suggested that the findings would be transferable to other school settings and internal leadership of curriculum change. The paper also strikes a chord of concern – Do the responses from teachers operating in such an accountability regime live their professional lives within this corporate and globalised ideology whether they want to or not?

Employee perceptions of alcohol and drug policy effectiveness: Policy features, concerns about drug testing, and the key role of preventative measures

As negative employee attitudes towards alcohol and other drug (AOD) policies may have serious consequences for organizations, the present study examined demographic and attitudinal dimensions leading to employees’ perceptions of AOD policy effectiveness. Survey responses were obtained from 147 employees in an Australian agricultural organization. Three dimensions of attitudes towards AOD policies were examined: knowledge of policy features, attitudes towards testing, and preventative measures such as job design and organizational involvement in community health. Demographic differences were identified, with males and blue-collar employees reporting significantly more negative attitudes towards the AOD policy. Attitude dimensions were stronger predictors of perceptions of policy effectiveness than demographics, and the strongest predictor was preventative measures. This suggests that organizations should do more than design adequate and fair AOD policies, and take a more holistic approach to AOD impairment by engaging in workplace design to reduce AOD use and promote a consistent health message to employees and the community.

Learning to lead: The development and testing of a model of leadership learning

Drawing upon an action learning perspective, we hypothesized that a leader’s learning of project leadership skills would be related to facilitative leadership, team reflexivity, and team performance. Secondly, we proposed that new and experienced leaders would differ in the amount they learn from their current and recent experience as project managers, and in the strength of the relationship between their self-reported learning, facilitative leadership, and team reflexivity. We conducted a 1-year longitudinal study of 50 R&D teams, led by 25 new and 25 experienced leaders, with 313 team members and 22 project customers, collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. We found evidence of a significant impact of the leader’s learning on subsequent facilitative leadership and team performance 8 and 12 months later, suggesting a lag between learning leadership skills and translating these skills into leadership behavior. The findings contribute to an understanding of how leaders consolidate their learned experience into facilitative leadership behavior.

Testing and modifying a tool to measure nurses’ beliefs about aromatherapy

Aromatherapy has been found to have some effectiveness in treating conditions such as postoperative nausea and vomiting, however unless clinicians are aware of and convinced by this evidence, it is unlikely they will choose to use it with their patients. The aim of this study was to test and modify an existing tool, Martin and Furnham’s Beliefs About Aromatherapy Scale in order to make it relevant and meaningful for use with a population of nurses and midwives working in an acute hospital setting. A Delphi process was used to modify the tool and then it was tested in a population of nurses and midwives, then exploratory factor analysis was conducted. The modified tool is reliable and valid for measuring beliefs about aromatherapy in this population.

Structural complexity in structural health monitoring: Preliminary experimental modal testing and analysis

Many researchers in the field of civil structural health monitoring have developed and tested their methods on simple to moderately complex laboratory structures such as beams, plates, frames, and trusses. Field work has also been conducted by many researchers and practitioners on more complex operating bridges. Most laboratory structures do not adequately replicate the complexity of truss bridges. This paper presents some preliminary results of experimental modal testing and analysis of the bridge model presented in the companion paper, using the peak picking method, and compares these results with those of a simple numerical model of the structure. Three dominant modes of vibration were experimentally identified under 15 Hz. The mode shapes and order of the modes matched those of the numerical model; however, the frequencies did not match.

Remaining useful life prediction of rotating equipment using covariate-based hazard models : industry applications

The ability to estimate the expected Remaining Useful Life (RUL) is critical to reduce maintenance costs, operational downtime and safety hazards. In most industries, reliability analysis is based on the Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) and lifetime distribution models. In these models, the lifetime of an asset is estimated using failure time data; however, statistically sufficient failure time data are often difficult to attain in practice due to the fixed time-based replacement and the small population of identical assets. When condition indicator data are available in addition to failure time data, one of the alternate approaches to the traditional reliability models is the Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM). The covariate-based hazard modelling is one of CBM approaches. There are a number of covariate-based hazard models; however, little study has been conducted to evaluate the performance of these models in asset life prediction using various condition indicators and data availability. This paper reviews two covariate-based hazard models, Proportional Hazard Model (PHM) and Proportional Covariate Model (PCM). To assess these models’ performance, the expected RUL is compared to the actual RUL. Outcomes demonstrate that both models achieve convincingly good results in RUL prediction; however, PCM has smaller absolute prediction error. In addition, PHM shows over-smoothing tendency compared to PCM in sudden changes of condition data. Moreover, the case studies show PCM is not being biased in the case of small sample size.

Applications of real-time machine vision to the control of mining equipment

The mining industry presents us with a number of ideal applications for sensor based machine control because of the unstructured environment that exists within each mine. The aim of the research presented here is to increase the productivity of existing large compliant mining machines by retrofitting with enhanced sensing and control technology. The current research focusses on the automatic control of the swing motion cycle of a dragline and an automated roof bolting system. We have achieved: * closed-loop swing control of an one-tenth scale model dragline; * single degree of freedom closed-loop visual control of an electro-hydraulic manipulator in the lab developed from standard components.

Reliability of point-of-care testing of INR in acute stroke

Background In the emergency department, portable point-of-care testing (POCT) coagulation devices may facilitate stroke patient care by providing rapid International Normalized Ratio (INR) measurement. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability, validity, and impact on clinical decision-making of a POCT device for INR testing in the setting of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Methods A total of 150 patients (50 healthy volunteers, 51 anticoagulated patients, 49 AIS patients) were assessed in a tertiary care facility. The INR's were measured using the Roche Coaguchek S and the standard laboratory technique. Results The interclass correlation coefficient and 95% confidence interval between overall POCT device and standard laboratory value INRs was high (0.932 (0.69 - 0.78). In the AIS group alone, the correlation coefficient and 95% CI was also high 0.937 (0.59 - 0.74) and diagnostic accuracy of the POCT device was 94%. Conclusions When used by a trained health professional in the emergency department to assess INR in acute ischemic stroke patients, the CoaguChek S is reliable and provides rapid results. However, as concordance with laboratory INR values decreases with higher INR values, it is recommended that with CoaguChek S INRs in the > 1.5 range, a standard laboratory measurement be used to confirm the results.

Statistical, electrical and mathematical analysis of water treed cross-linked polyethylene cable insulation

This work examined a new method of detecting small water filled cracks in underground insulation ('water trees') using data from commecially available non-destructive testing equipment. A testing facility was constructed and a computer simulation of the insulation designed in order to test the proposed ageing factor - the degree of non-linearity. This was a large industry-backed project involving an ARC linkage grant, Ergon Energy and the University of Queensland, as well as the Queensland University of Technology.

A comparison land-water environment of maximal voluntary isometric contraction during manual muscle testing through surface electromyography

Background The aim of this study was to compare through surface electromyographic (sEMG) recordings of the maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) on dry land and in water by manual muscle test (MMT). Method Sixteen healthy right-handed subjects (8 males and 8 females) participated in measurement of muscle activation of the right shoulder. The selected muscles were the cervical erector spinae, trapezius, pectoralis, anterior deltoid, middle deltoid, infraspinatus and latissimus dorsi. The MVC test conditions were random with respect to the order on the land/in water. Results For each muscle, the MVC test was performed and measured through sEMG to determine differences in muscle activation in both conditions. For all muscles except the latissimus dorsi, no significant differences were observed between land and water MVC scores (p = 0.063–0.679) and precision (%Diff = 7–10%) were observed between MVC conditions in the muscles trapezius, anterior deltoid and middle deltoid. Conclusions If the procedure for data collection is optimal, under MMT conditions it appears that comparable MVC sEMG values were achieved on land and in water and the integrity of the EMG recordings were maintained during wáter immersion.

The Step approach to Message Design and Testing (SatMDT): A conceptual framework to guide the development and evaluation of persuasive health messages

This paper provides an important and timely overview of a conceptual framework designed to assist with the development of message content, as well as the evaluation, of persuasive health messages. While an earlier version of this framework was presented in a prior publication by the authors in 2009, important refinements to the framework have seen it evolve in recent years, warranting the need for an updated review. This paper outlines the Step approach to Message Design and Testing (or SatMDT) in accordance with the theoretical evidence which underpins, as well as empirical evidence which demonstrates the relevance and feasibility, of each of the framework’s steps. The development and testing of the framework have thus far been based exclusively within the road safety advertising context; however, the view expressed herein is that the framework may have broader appeal and application to the health persuasion context.

The life of data: Evolving national testing

To this point, the collection has provided research-based, empirical accounts of the various and multiple effects of the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) in Australian schooling as a specific example of the global phenomenon of national testing. In this chapter, we want to develop a more theoretical analysis of national testing systems, globalising education policy and the promise of national testing as adaptive, online tests. These future moves claim to provide faster feedback and more useful diagnostic help for teachers. There is a utopian testing dream that one day adaptive, online tests will be responsive in real time providing an integrated personalised testing, pedagogy and intervention for each student. The moves towards these next generation assessments are well advanced, including the work of Pearson’s NextGen Learning and Assessment research group, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) move into assessing affective skills and the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority’s (ACARA) decision to phase in NAPLAN as an online, adaptive test from 2017...

National testing from an Australian perspective

Introduction This book examines a pressing educational issue: the global phenomenon of national testing in schooling and its vernacular development in Australia. The Australian National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), introduced in 2008, involves annual census testing of students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 in nearly all Australian schools. In a variety of ways, NAPLAN affects the lives of Australia’s 3.5 million school students and their families, as well as more than 350,000 school staff and many other stakeholders in education. This book is organised in relation to a simple question: What are the effects of national testing for systems, schools and individuals? Of course, this simple question requires complex answers. The chapters in this edited collection consider issues relating to national testing policy, the construction of the test, usages of the testing data and various effects of testing in systems, schools and classrooms. Each chapter examines an aspect of national testing in Australia using evidence drawn from research. The final chapter by the editors of this collection provides a broader reflection on this phenomenon and situates developments in testing globally...

Local experiences, global similarities: Teacher perceptions of the impacts of national testing

Since 2008, Australian schoolchildren in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 have sat a series of tests each May designed to assess their attainment of basic skills in literacy and numeracy. These tests are known as the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). In 2010, individual school NAPLAN data were first published on the MySchool website which enables comparisons to be made between individual schools and statistically like schools across Australia. NAPLAN represents the increased centrality of the federal government in education, particularly in regards to education policy. One effect of this has been a recast emphasis of education as an economic, rather than democratic, good. As Reid (2009) suggests, this recasting of education within national productivity agendas mobilises commonsense discourses of accountability and transparency. These are common articles of faith for many involved in education administration and bureaucracy; more and better data, and holding people to account for that data, must improve education...