Written numeracy assessment in the early years: The challenges of pronouns and noun groups

We examine the challenges of pronouns and noun groups in the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority’s (ACARA) Year 3 National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) Numeracy Example Test (ACARA, 2015a). Framed by discourses of Literacy as a General Capability (ACARA, 2015b) in the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics (ACARA, 2015c), the pronouns and noun groups used in the Example Test are mapped onto the Australian Curriculum: English Content Descriptions (ACARA, 2015d). The findings are that some of the pronouns and noun groups used in the Example Test are more complex than what Year 3 children are expected to achieve in the Australian Curriculum: English. We thus stress the need for early years teachers of mathematics to account for the unique mathematical register of written mathematics problems so that young children are not only prepared for high-stakes written numeracy assessments, but are also enabled as a numerically literate citizen.

Water bottles from China: Decoding visual grammar

On the ALEA Study Tour to China, Beryl Exley and her roomie Kathryn O’Sullivan pondered over their first night dilemma whilst staying at a hotel in Beijing. They read the room service guide (in English) which advised against drinking the tap water and confirming the supply of one bottle of complementary water per guest per day. The room service guide listed ‘special’ bottled water was the equivalent of $AUS7 per bottle. However the dilemma was this: sitting on the shelf above the fridge were three different kinds of water-like bottles. Each had a different label, written mainly in Chinese characters. Not wanting to mistake the bottles, Beryl and Kathryn set about decoding the text of the three bottles in question.

Author-Illustrator

This essay investigates the concept author-illustrator by drawing on two influential essays – ‘Death of the Author’ by Roland Barthes and ‘What is an Author?’ by Michel Foucault. By engaging with the key points of debate that emerge from these positions, this essay argues that the notion of author-illustrator is part of a wider discursive field that is embedded in a complex, commodified, multimedia public sphere where the author is paradoxically reinscribed and erased. This environment is changing the nature of the text, authorship, and reader-text interaction, but until now the concept author-illustrator has been largely absent from these discussions.

Literacy, security, governmentality: Defining spaces, managing populations – How has education become part of whole of government security strategy?

In this paper I conduct a Foucauldian discourse analysis of a political speech given by Brendon Nelson in 2006 when the Australian Minister for Defence in the Howard Coalition Government. The speech connects conceptualisations of terror, globalization, education and literacy as part of a whole of government security strategy. The analysis examines this speech as an example of a liberal way of governing the conduct of diverse and unpredictable populations. My analysis suggests that the apparatus of government has been strategically used in order to biopolitically contain the rise of complex social forces and protect a set of homogenous cultural values. The purposes of education and uses of literacy are seen as instruments for the inscription of a coded set of values understood to be synonymous with civil society.

Educating to secure the national interest

In this paper I examine how one political actor–former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd–proposes to use education for the purpose of securing national productivity and foreign policy. I work with Foucault’s suggestion that the apparatus of security is the essential technical instrument of governmentality and that the production of milieu, made up of human, spatial, temporal and cultural objects, and the government of risk are key strategies in the bio-politicisation of security. The discourse analysis also draws on Bacchi to problematise statements that (a) represent both the nation and regional neighbours as governable milieu within the ambit of a whole of government approach, and (b) locate literacy and education as both risk and solution in a security apparatus. My examination of the emergence of literacy and education as security technologies, takes account of the discursive effects of Rudd’s representation of the spaces and scale of national, geopolitical and global policy problems. I argue that in these examples of policy texts, education is used as a discursive tool to secure education workers and youth as subjects of economic interest and sovereign rule.

Governing literacies: Securing literate subjects

This review of literacy research explores ways in which literacy has come to be understood as a problem about human populations. I describe connections between literacy education and the biopolitical government of population, especially the relationship between liberal forms of government and the administration of human freedom. The review takes into account ways in which literacy is implicated in the cultivation of civil society by attending to the interests, as well as to the conduct, of human subjects. I draw on research available in English from across the globe, which provides an overview of how literacy has been rethought and conceptualised through ethnographic, historical and classroom based studies. I discuss claims made for literacy, the way that human populations have been made visible in relation to their literacy practices and the social contexts of their use. The review informs research of representations of literacy as a tool for securing national interests.

Critical Discourse Analysis research methods for the English classroom

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is an approach to analysing the discourses that operate in social contexts, such as classrooms in schools, and their material effects on people, such as teachers and learners. CDA offers a range of ways of engaging with the relationship between texts in context and the power they exercise. In this article, I overview key approaches and provide detail of Fairclough’s (1992, 2003) textually-oriented, linguistic method of CDA, with an example from my own research. I offer a challenge for English teachers, as researchers, to ‘make strange’ the familiar world of their classroom work, and in so doing, identify possibilities for productive change.

Crossing literacy and informed learning boundaries with Manga

This research investigated high school students’ experiences of informed learning in a literacy development workshop. It was conducted in the library of an Australian high school with a low socio-economic population. Building upon students’ fascination with Manga fiction and artwork, the workshop was part of a larger university-community engagement project Crossing Boundaries with Reading which aimed to address widespread literacy challenges at the school. The paper first provides a brief literature review that introduces the concept of informed learning, or the experience of using information to learn. In practice, informed learning fosters simultaneous learning about using information and learning about a topic. Thus, information is a transformative force that extends beyond functional information literacy skills. Then, the paper outlines the phenomenographic methodology used in this study, the workshop context and the research participants. The findings reveal three different ways that students experienced the workshop: as an art lesson; as a life lesson; and as an informed learning lesson. The discussion highlights the power of informed learning as a holistic approach to information literacy education. The study’s findings are significant as students from low socio-economic backgrounds are often at risk of experiencing disadvantage throughout their lives if they do not develop a range of literacies including the ability to use information effectively. Responding to this problem, the paper provides an empirically-based example of informed learning to support further research and develop professional practice. While the research context is limited to one high school library, the findings are of potential value for teacher-librarians, educators and information professionals elsewhere.

An Input Triggered Polymorphic ASIC for H.264 Decoding

This paper reports the design of an input-triggered polymorphic ASIC for H.264 baseline decoder. Hardware polymorphism is achieved by selectively reusing hardware resources at system and module level. Complete design is done using ESL design tools following a methodology that maintains consistency in testing and verification throughout the design flow. The proposed design can support frame sizes from QCIF to 1080p.

Learning to write: Analysing writing samples as part of considering how children become writers

This chapter draws on a large data set of children's work samples collected as part of a five-year school reform project in a community of high poverty. One component of the data set from this project is a corpus of more than 2000 writing samples collected from students across eight grade levels (Prep to year 7) annually, across four years of the project (2009-2013). This paper utilises a selection of these texts to consider insights available to teachers and schools through a simple process of collecting and assessing writing samples produced by children over time. The focus is on what samples of writing might enable us to know and understand about learning and teaching this important dimension of literacy in current classrooms.

Asia literate schooling in the Asian century [Book review]

In her introduction to this edited collection, Christine Halse lays out the purpose of the book as being about addressing three questions for education in contemporary times: What does Asia literacy mean?; Why is it important?; and How might or ought schools do Asia literacy? As a literacy educator it was these three questions that led to my interest in first reading and then reviewing the book. On numerous occasions I’ve felt the expectation that an expertise in Asia literacy should be a part of my toolbox. And yet I’ve always considered Asia literacy to be the responsibility of those who profess to know about – or have some expertise in – history, politics, or studies of society. But here was an edited collection with chapters from a variety of scholars who have informed my work over many years, framing schooling as a noun that could be described qualitatively as more or less Asia literate. As such, I took on the challenge to open up to these ideas and to the opportunity to think again about literacy and the use of this term in pairings such as Asia literacy. I had my own question to add to those of the editor. Can, or even should, literacy be used to describe the skills, capacities and understandings required for citizens to “reflect and explore cultural differences in the Asian region” (Asia Literacy Teachers’ Association of Australia, n.d.) in ways that support engagement within and with Asian peoples and their cultures?

基于最终用户开发的表格数据分析关键技术研究

“最终用户开发（End-User Development，EUD）”研究如何使作为非专业软件开发者的软件系统用户，在一定程度上开发或修改软件。EUD的研究主要有三类，即EUD的理论研究、通用的EUD技术研究和面向领域的EUD技术研究。作为一个面向领域的EUD研究，本文以电子政务中常见的表格数据分析问题为背景，研究表格数据分析的EUD方法和技术。 表格数据分析是一种广泛存在的日常应用问题，除了各种业务系统中的表格分析系统，工业界也引入了EUD，比如“电子表格（Spreadsheet）”，但无论专用分析系统，还是Spreadsheet，都不足以应对表格数据分析问题在规模和复杂度方面的迅速增长。 本文在对表格数据分析问题进行建模的基础上，提出一种基于EUD的表格数据分析方法（Methodology of EUD-Enabled Tabular-data Analysis，META），并就META方法的应用和所需的关键支撑技术开展了研究，其贡献包括以下七个方面： 1）在Spreadsheet模型的基础上，对大规模表格数据分析问题进行了建模，该模型以数据层、逻辑层和表示层的分离为特征，对表格数据、表格展示和表格数据分析计算的表达能力，都超过已有的各种模型。 2）提出一种以EUD为核心的表格数据分析方法（META），该方法有三种应用模式，分别适用于不同的用户熟练程度和需求复杂度，既适用于简单的表格数据生成问题，也能支持复杂的EUD生命周期过程。 3）在对表格数据分析问题进行建模的基础上，通过扩展传统Spreadsheet语言，设计了一种支持最终用户开发的表格数据分析语言ESL（EUD-Enabled Spreadsheet Language），该语言继承了Spreadsheet语言的最终用户可编程性，同时，在表格数据分析方面的表达能力优于已有的其他语言。 4）在将ESL公式依赖关系建模的基础上，深入研究了影响Spreadsheet计算性能的各种因素。提出了基于拓扑排序的重算消减算法，解决了传统算法中存在的重算问题；以拓扑排序算法为基础，提出了ESL语言的并行计算方法；针对大规模表格数据访问，实现了能够显著降低SQL数据访问代价的缓存机制。这些研究，经实验验证，提高了ESL语言的执行效率。 5）为降低EUD中SQL编程的复杂度，通过引入领域语义和上下文（Context）配置的方法，解决了SQL自动生成中连接选择的二义性问题，实现了精确查询的SQL自动生成。其结果也可用于其他访问关系数据库的EUD系统。 6）有效性是ESL编程中的重要问题，由于缺乏合适的研究对象和用户群体，EUD有效性研究受到限制。在社会关系网络上开发Web插件，是一种典型的EUD活动，其中的“发行前错误”问题是一种重要的风险来源。本文提出的Release-Waiting Farm（RWF）技术，能够有效地引导最终用户对Web插件进行测试，并规范最终用户的开发过程。 7）本文总结了RWF技术在社会关系网络中得以成功的关键因素，基于RWF技术，为META方法设计了支持最终用户开发的协作环境和测试环境，并在全国组织系统软件框架开发项目中进行了实现和验证。

Studies on lignan constituents from Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill. fruits using high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization multiple-stage tandem mass spectrometry

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector-electrospray ionization multiple-stage tandem mass spectrometry (RP-HPLC-DAD-ESl-MSn) method has been developed for the detection and analysis of lignan constituents in the methanol extract from the fruits of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill. RP-HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn and electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance multiple-stage tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-FT-TCR-MSn) have been applied to investigate the characteristic product ions of four lignan reference compounds. Then, the logical fragmentation pathways of the lignans have been proposed. By comparing the retention time (t(R)) of HPLC, the ESI-MSn data and the structures of analyzed compounds with the data of reference compounds and in the literature, 11 peaks in HPLC have been unambiguously identified and another 5 peaks have been tentatively identified or deduced. Also, in the present paper, the extracted ion chromatograms (EIC) have been used to analyze the lignan isomers. The experimental results demonstrate that RP-HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn is a specific and useful method for the identification of the lignan constituents and their isomers.

Polydispersity of ethylene sequence length in metallocene ethylene/alpha-olefin copolymers. I. Characterized by thermal-fractionation technique

In this article, the polydispersity of the ethylene sequence length (ESL) in ethylene/alpha-olefin copolymers was studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the thermal-fractionation technique. The crystal morphology observation by AFM showed that morphology changed gradually with decreasing average ESL from complete lamellae over shorter and more curved lamellae to a granular-like morphology, and the mixed morphology was observed after stepwise crystallization from phase-separated melt. This result indicated that the ethylene sequence with different lengths crystallized into a crystalline phase with a different size and stability at the copolymer systems. The thermal-fractionation technique was used to characterize the polydispersity of ESL. Three of the following statistical terms were introduced to describe the distribution of ESL and the lamellar thickness: the arithmetic mean (L) over bar (n), the weight mean (L) over bar (w), and the broadness index I = (L) over bar (w)/(L) over bar (n). It was concluded that the polydispersity of ESL could be quantitatively characterized by the thermal-fractionation technique. The effects of temperature range, temperature-dependent specific heat capacity C-p of copolymer, and the molecular weight on the results of thermal fractionation were discussed,

孤北洼陷沙三-沙四段隐蔽油藏形成机制及其预测

Based on the study of sequence stratigraphy, modern sedimentary, basin analysis, and petroleum system in Gubei depression, this paper builds high resolution sequence stratigraphic structure, sedimentary system, sandbody distribution, the effect of tectonic in sequence and sedimentary system evolution and model of tectonic-lithofacies. The pool formation mechanism of subtle trap is developed. There are some conclusions and views as follows. 1.With the synthetic sequence analysis of drilling, seismic, and well log, the highly resolution sequence structure is build in Gubei depression. They are divided two secondary sequences and seven three-order sequences in Shahejie formation. They are include 4 kinds of system traces and 7 kinds of sedimentary systems which are alluvial fan, under water fan, alluvial fan and fan-delta, fan-delta, lacustrine-fan, fluvial-delta-turbidite, lakeshore beach and bar, and deep lake system. Sandbody distribution is show base on third order sequence. 2.Based on a lot of experiment and well log, it is point out that there are many types of pore in reservoir with the styles of corrosion pore, weak cementing, matrix cementing, impure filling, and 7 kinds of diagenetic facies. These reservoirs are evaluated by lateral and profile characteristics of diagenetic facies and reservoir properties. 3.The effect of simultaneous faulting on sediment process is analyzed from abrupt slope, gentle slope, and hollow zone. The 4 kinds of tectonic lithofacies models are developed in several periods in Gubei depression; the regional distribution of subtle trap is predicted by hydro accumulation characteristics of different tectonic lithofacies. 4.There are 4 types of compacting process, which are normal compaction, abnormal high pressure, abnormal low pressure and complex abnormal pressure. The domain type is normal compaction that locates any area of depression, but normal high pressure is located only deep hollow zone (depth more than 3000m), abnormal low pressures are located gentle slope and faulted abrupt slope (depth between 1200~2500m). 5.Two types dynamic systems of pool formation (enclosed and partly enclosed system) are recognized. They are composed by which source rocks are from Es3 and Es4, cap rocks are deep lacustrine shale of Esl and Es3, and sandstone reservoirs are 7 kinds of sedimentary system in Es3 and Es4. According to theory of petroleum system, two petroleum systems are divided in Es3 and Es4 of Gubei depression, which are high or normal pressure self-source system and normal or low pressure external-source system. 6.There are 3 kinds of combination model of pool formation, the first is litholgical pool of inner depression (high or normal pressure self-source type), the second is fault block or fault nose pool in marginal of depression (normal type), the third is fault block-lithological pool of central low lifted block (high or normal pressure type). The lithological pool is located central of depression, other pool are located gentle or abrupt slope that are controlled by lithological, faulting, unconfirmed. 7.This paper raise a new technique and process of exploration subtle trap which include geological modeling, coring description and logging recognition, and well log constrained inversion. These are composed to method and theory of predicting subtle trap. Application these methods and techniques, 6 hydro objects are predicted in three zone of depression.