Sustainable assessment for large science classes : non-multiple choice, randomised assignments through a Learning Management System

This paper reports on the development of a tool that generates randomised, non-multiple choice assessment within the BlackBoard Learning Management System interface. An accepted weakness of multiple-choice assessment is that it cannot elicit learning outcomes from upper levels of Biggs’ SOLO taxonomy. However, written assessment items require extensive resources for marking, and are susceptible to copying as well as marking inconsistencies for large classes. This project developed an assessment tool which is valid, reliable and sustainable and that addresses the issues identified above. The tool provides each student with an assignment assessing the same learning outcomes, but containing different questions, with responses in the form of words or numbers. Practice questions are available, enabling students to obtain feedback on their approach before submitting their assignment. Thus, the tool incorporates automatic marking (essential for large classes), randomised tasks to each student (reducing copying), the capacity to give credit for working (feedback on the application of theory), and the capacity to target higher order learning outcomes by requiring students to derive their answers rather than choosing them. Results and feedback from students are presented, along with technical implementation details.

Design and development of automatic visual inspection system for PCB manufacturing

Inspection of solder joints has been a critical process in the electronic manufacturing industry to reduce manufacturing cost, improve yield, and ensure product quality and reliability. This paper proposes two inspection modules for an automatic solder joint classification system. The “front-end” inspection system includes illumination normalisation, localisation and segmentation. The “back-end” inspection involves the classification of solder joints using the Log Gabor filter and classifier fusion. Five different levels of solder quality with respect to the amount of solder paste have been defined. The Log Gabor filter has been demonstrated to achieve high recognition rates and is resistant to misalignment. This proposed system does not need any special illumination system, and the images are acquired by an ordinary digital camera. This system could contribute to the development of automated non-contact, non-destructive and low cost solder joint quality inspection systems.

School system as axiological medium : the state's primary macro-proposing context and its expanding moral role in Australia

This paper analyses the Australian Values Education Program (VEP) within the framework of late-classical political economy. using analytical methods from systemic functional linguistics and critical discourse analysis, we demonstrate that the VEP is an unwitting restatement of the principles of ideology as developed by the likes of Destutt de Tracy and the Young Hegelians. We conclude that the sudden shock of globalisation and the post-national cultures this has entailed is in many ways similar to the shock of formal nationalism that emerged in the late-Seventeenth and early- Eighteenth centuries. The overall result of the VEP for the Australian school system is a massive procedural burden that is unlikely to produce the results at which the program is aimed.

An efficient public key management system : an application in vehicular ad hoc networks

The major purpose of Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) is to provide safety-related message access for motorists to react or make a life-critical decision for road safety enhancement. Accessing safety-related information through the use of VANET communications, therefore, must be protected, as motorists may make critical decisions in response to emergency situations in VANETs. If introducing security services into VANETs causes considerable transmission latency or processing delays, this would defeat the purpose of using VANETs to improve road safety. Current research in secure messaging for VANETs appears to focus on employing certificate-based Public Key Cryptosystem (PKC) to support security. The security overhead of such a scheme, however, creates a transmission delay and introduces a time-consuming verification process to VANET communications. This paper proposes an efficient public key management system for VANETs: the Public Key Registry (PKR) system. Not only does this paper demonstrate that the proposed PKR system can maintain security, but it also asserts that it can improve overall performance and scalability at a lower cost, compared to the certificate-based PKC scheme. It is believed that the proposed PKR system will create a new dimension to the key management and verification services for VANETs.

An assessment of Georgia's National Integrity System : the GNISA project

Georgia’s ‘National Integrity Systems’ are the institutions, laws, procedures, practices and attitudes that encourage and support integrity in the exercise of power in modern Georgian society. Integrity systems function to ensure that power is exercised in a manner that is true to the values, purposes and duties for which that power is entrusted to, or held by, institutions and individual office-holders. This report presents the results of the Open Society Institute / Open Society – Georgia Foundation funded project Georgian National Integrity Systems Assessment (GNISA), conducted in 2005–2006 by Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development, Transparency International Georgia, Georgian Young Lawyers Association, in close cooperation with Griffith University Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law (Australia), and Tiri Group (UK), into how different elements of integrity systems interact, which combinations of institutions and reforms make for a strong integrity system, and how Georgia’s integrity systems should evolve to ensure coherence, not chaos in the way public integrity is maintained. Nevertheless all participants of the research may not share some conclusions given in the GNISA report.

Sustainability criteria for Industrialised Building System (IBS) in Malaysia

As the sustainability awareness rises globally, the construction industry is under increasing pressure to improve efficiency and project delivery. The implementation of Industrialised Building Systems (IBS), for which utility components are built offsite, has the potential of promoting sustainability deliverables. This can be achieved by better control of production environment, minimising construction waste, using efficient building material energy, and stabilising work conditions. As a unique building technology, IBS has not been effectively implemented in Malaysia. Possible reasons may include limited understanding among stakeholders on the IBS potential and its relevance to sustainability. This warrants studies on the sustainability issues of IBS design, construction, operation and maintenance, A framework is being developed through research to assess performance criteria related to sustainability, which should be considered during IBS design and application in the most consistent and systematic way. This paper discusses how these sustainability performance criteria are examined in a continuing research project and the processes conducive to implementing sustainable IBS in Malaysia. Existing tools, indicators and guidelines are reviewed, analysed and grouped according to characteristics and application. The research also hopes to produce guidelines for stakeholders to incorporate sustainability issues and concepts into IBS applications.

Sustainability factors in Industrialised Building System

In Malaysia, Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) are being promoted as a potential to enhance sustainability by the building industry and government. Known elsewhere as prefabricated construction, IBS employs a combination of ready-made components in the construction of buildings that promote quality of production, enhance simplification of construction processes and minimise on-site work. The components are manufactured in a factory either on or off site. They are then positioned and assembled into building structures. The unique characteristic of IBS has the potential to respond well to the sustainability challenge facing the construction industry. Despite the promises however, IBS has yet to be effectively implemented in Malaysia. There are often misconceptions among key stakeholders about IBS applications and some of the rating schemes fail to assess IBS towards sustainability deliverables. A holistic approach to improving IBS implementation is necessary to consider sustainability perceptions on IBS among key stakeholders. As IBS design is one of the most important development phases to incorporate sustainability requirements and expectations, a framework of embedding sustainability factors into IBS design is being developed through research. This paper presents an improved IBS design process focused on sustainability, showing where and how sustainability should be assessed to improve IBS construction. The framework being developed can provide guidance and decision making assistance to not only design consultants but all relevant stakeholders by integrating sustainability concepts into IBS applications. Outcome of the research will also provide a benchmark for developing countries in adopting prefabricated construction systems.