Factors affecting success in undergraduate computer programming

The aim of the research is to investigate factors that may explain success in elementary computer programming at the tertiary level. The first phase of the research included the identification of possible explanatory factors through a literature review, a survey of students studying introductory computing, a focus-group session with teachers of computer programming and interviews with programming students. The second phase of the research that was called the main study, involved testing the identified factors. Two different groups of programming students - one group majoring in business computing and another majoring in computer science - completed a survey questionnaire. The findings of the research are as follows. Gender is of little significance for business students but there is an adverse gender penalty for females in computer science. Secondary school assessment is inversely related to outcomes in business computing but directly influences outcomes in the first programming unit in the computer science course. As in prior research, previous knowledge and experience were demonstrated to matter, A range of other variables was found to be of little importance. The research suggests that different problem-solving techniques might be relevant in business compared with those of use in computer science.

Comparison of the work of psychologists in rural and urban settings : implications for professional training

To compare the work practices and training needs of rural and urban psychologists, 774 surveys were sent to psychologists throughout Australia. The psychologists were selected from the Australian Psychological Society (APS) Directory of Psychologists, 1992- 1993. A total of 86 rural psychologists and 282 urban psychologists responded to the survey. The survey comprised of four sections with questions asking respondents their demographic and employment background, past and current training activities, work experience, and relations with community. Results showed that the decision to practice and remain in a rural area was influenced by psychologists’ childhood experience and professional training in a rural setting, A substantial proportion of rural psychologists (28%) had been working in rural practice for five years or less. These rural psychologists were identified as a group that had a demographic and training profile more similar to urban psychologists than their rural colleagues. The employment conditions and training background of rural and urban psychologists were similar, though rural psychologists were more likely to be working in private practice and have undertaken their studies in a rural setting. Rural and urban psychologists rated their undergraduate and postgraduate training in psychology as only somewhat adequate. Training in rural health and community issues received the lowest ratings from both groups of psychologists. The work practices of rural and urban psychologists were also similar. There were some differences in the demographic profile of the client groups seen by the two groups. Rural psychologists reported the type of relations with their communities that are conducive to rural practice. The main evidence of this was that rural psychologists were collaborating with the natural helpers of their communities, and expressed willingness to formally train natural helpers to assist in the provision of psychological services. There were several conclusions drawn from this study. The first conclusion was that rural psychologists with urban demographic and training backgrounds are a group that is likely to migrate from rural practice to urban practice, Secondly, training needs to be specialised for rural practice if there is to be an improvement in the number of psychologists practicing in rural settings. Thirdly, rural psychologists were conducting the type of relations with their communities that are important to the requirements of rural practice.

Doctoral research and scholarly communication : candidates, supervisors and information literacy

This study investigates information literacy and scholarly communication within the processes of doctoral research and supervision at a distance. Both doctoral candidates and supervisors acknowledge information literacy deficiencies and it is suggested that disintermediation and the proliferation of information may contribute to those deficiencies. Further to this, the influence of pedagogic continuity—particularly in relation to the information seeking behaviour of candidates—is investigated, as is the concomitant aspect of how doctoral researchers practise scholarly communication. The well-documented and enduring problem for candidates of isolation from the research cultures of their universities is also scrutinised. The contentious issue of more formally involving librarians in the doctoral process is also considered, from the perspective of candidates and supervisors. Superimposed upon these topical and timely issues is the theoretical framework of adult learning theory, in particular the tenets of andragogy. The pedagogical-andragogical orientation of candidates and supervisors is established, demonstrating both the differences and similarities between candidates and supervisors, as are a number of independent variables, including a comparison of on-campus and off-campus candidates. Other independent variables include age, gender, DETYA (Department of Education, Training & Youth Affairs) category, enrolment type, stage of candidature, employment and status, type of doctorate, and English/non-English speaking background. The research methodology uses qualitative and quantitative techniques encompassing both data and methodological triangulation. The study uses two sets of questionnaires and a series of in-depth interviews with a sample of on-campus and off-campus doctoral candidates and supervisors from four Australian universities. Major findings include NESB candidates being more pedagogical than their ESB counterparts, and candidates and supervisors from the Sciences are more pedagogical than those from Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, or Education. Candidates make a transition from a more dependent and pedagogically oriented approach to learning towards more of an independent and andragogical orientation over the duration of their candidature. However, over tune both on-campus and off-campus candidates become more isolated from the research cultures of their universities, and less happy with support received from their supervisors in relation to their literature reviews. Ill The study found large discrepancies in perception between the support supervisors believed they gave to candidates in relation to the literature review, and the support candidates believed they received. Information seeking becomes easier over time, but candidates face a dilemma with the proliferation of information, suggesting that disintermediation has exacerbated the challenges of evaluation and organisation of information. The concept of pedagogic continuity was recognised by supervisors and especially candidates, both negative and positive influences. The findings are critically analysed and synthesised using the metaphor of a scholarly 'Club' of which obtaining a doctorate is a rite of passage. Recommendations are made for changes in professional practice, and topics that may warrant further research are suggested.

"-we are not competing with bigger papers - we are doing a different job" : a study of country Australian news values

[No Abstract]

Undergraduate public relations education in Malaysia : a case study

Public relations worldwide often restricts itself to the bounds of an American context. This thesis argues that Malaysian public relations education and its professional practice should create its own unique model of public relations education and its professional practice due to its differences in politics, culture and the media environment.

On representation and construction in a tectonic design studio

The study compares the roles of representation and construction in enhancing students' learning in a tectonic design studio by investigating issues of representational media use in the conception, development and communication of design processes and relating these to real-scale construction as a means of understanding tectonic design.

Innovation in accounting education

An exploration of a distinctive inter-disciplinary, problem-based, team-based and student centred learning environment: the Inter-disciplinary Industrial Project. Goal-free evaluation shows the IDIP successfully prepares students for the workplace. Case study narratives and outcome oriented conceptual models elaborate a Grounded Theory of Team-based Problem Solving.

Rules and orders relating to a Professor of the Mathematicks, of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, in Harvard College, 18 January 1726

This folder contains a single document describing the "rules and orders" of the Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. The document begins by defining the subjects to be taught by the Hollis Professor including natural and experimental philosophy, elements of geometry, and the principles of astronomy and geography. It then outlines the number of public and private lectures to be given to students, how much extra time the professor should spend with students reviewing any difficulties they may encounter understanding class subject matter discussed, and stipulates that the professor's duties shall be restricted solely to his teaching activities and not involve him in any religious activities at the College or oblige him to teach any additional studies other than those specified for the Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. Furthermore, the rules establish the professor's salary at £80 per year and allow the professor to receive from students, except those students studying theology under the Hollis Professor of Divinity, an additional fee as determined by the Corporation and Board of Overseers, to supplement his income. Moreover, the rules assert that all professorship candidates selected by the Harvard Corporation must be approved by Thomas Hollis during his lifetime or by his executor after his death. Finally, the rules state that the Hollis professor take an oath to the civil government and declare himself a member of the Protestant reformed religion. This document is signed by Thomas Hollis and four witnesses, John Hollis, Joshua Hollis, Richard Solly, and John Williams.

John Winthrop's proposal respecting electrical globes and jars, ca. 1758

In this proposal, John Winthrop explains the need to replace damaged "electric globes" used in the College's collection of scientific apparatus. He states that Benjamin Franklin, at the time residing in London, was willing to seek replacement globes for the College's collection. Winthrop then proceeds to assert that the College should acquire "square bottles, of a moderate size, fitted in a wooden box, like what they call case bottles for spirits" instead of the large jars included in the scientific apparatus, because those jars cracked frequently.

Mathematical notebook attributed to Thaddeus Mason Harris, ca. 1787

Hardcover notebook containing handwritten transcriptions of rules, cases, and examples from 18th century mathematical texts. The author and purpose of the volume is unclear, though it has been connected with Thaddeus Mason Harris (Harvard AB 1787). Most of the entries include questions and related answers, suggesting the notebook was used as a manuscript textbook and workbook. The extracts appear to be copied from John Dean's " Practical arithmetic" (published in 1756 and 1761), Daniel Fenning's "The young algebraist's companion" (published in multiple editions beginning in 1750), and Martin Clare's "Youth's introduction to trade and business" (extracts first included in 1748 edition).

Treatise on mathematics and astronomy: written about the year 1680, in Boston

Bound volume containing a late 17th century handwritten mathematical and astronomical text in one hand. The text is separated into mathematical and astronomical sections with rules, instructions for performing calculations, tables, and drawings. The subjects include arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and trigonometry, and segments have titles such as "Subtraction," "A decimal table of English coince," "Logarithes & their use," and "To find the true place of the sun." The text is undated and unattributed but references Briggs, Oughtred, Ramus, and Apollonius. Certain tables are calculated from latitudinal and longitudinal numbers associated with Boston, and many of the examples use dates in the 1670s and 1680. The manuscript pages are mounted onto unruled pages, and some of the manuscript pages are fragments.

John Warren's copy of votes from a meeting of the Boston Medical Society, 1784 May 3

This document lists the eleven votes cast at a meeting of the Boston Medical Society on May 3, 1784. It was authorized as a "true coppy" by Thomas Kast, the Secretary of the Society. The following members of the Society were present at the meeting, all of them doctors: James Pecker, James Lloyd, Joseph Gardner, Samuel Danforth, Isaac Rand, Jr., Charles Jarvis, Thomas Kast, Benjamin Curtis, Thomas Welsh, Nathaniel Walker Appleton, and doctors whose last names were Adams, Townsend, Eustis, Homans, and Whitwell. The document indicates that a meeting had been held the previous evening, as well (May 2, 1784), at which the topics on which votes were taken had been discussed. The votes, eleven in total, were all related to the doctors' concerns about John Warren and his involvement with the emerging medical school (now Harvard Medical School), that school's relation to almshouses, the medical care of the poor, and other related matters. The tone and content of these votes reveals anger on the part of the members of the Boston Medical Society towards Warren. This anger appears to have stemmed from the perceived threat of Warren to their own practices, exacerbated by a vote of the Harvard Corporation on April 19, 1784. This vote authorized Warren to apply to the Overseers of the Poor for the town of Boston, requesting that students in the newly-established Harvard medical program, where Warren was Professor of Anatomy and Surgery, be allowed to visit the hospital of the almshouse with their professors for the purpose of clinical instruction. Although Warren believed that the students would learn far more from these visits, in regards to surgical experience, than they could possibly learn in Cambridge, the proposal provoked great distrust from the members of the Boston Medical Society, who accused Warren of an "attempt to direct the public medical business from its usual channels" for his own financial and professional gain.

Mathematical notebook, and commonplace book, circa 1689-1769

Manuscript notebook, possibly kept by Harvard students, containing 17th century English transcriptions of arithmetic and geometry texts, one of which is dated 1689-1690; 18th century transcriptions from John Ward’s “The Young Mathematician’s Guide”; and notes on physics lectures delivered by John Winthrop, the Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Harvard from 1738 to 1779. The notebook also contains 18th century reading notes on Henry VIII, Tudor succession, and English history from Daniel Neal’s “The History of the Puritans” and David Hume’s “History of England,” and notes on Ancient history, taken mainly from Charles Rollin’s “The Ancient History of the Egyptians, Carthaginians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes and Persians, Macedonians and Grecians.” Additionally included are an excerpt from Plutarch’s “Lives” and transcriptions of three articles from “The Gentleman’s Magazine, and Historical Chronicle,” published in 1769: “A Critique on the Works of Ovid”; a book review of “A New Voyage to the West-Indies”; and “Genuine Anecdotes of Celebrated Writers, &.” The flyleaf contains the inscription “Semper boni aliquid operis facito ut diabolus te semper inveniat occupatum,” a variation on a quote of Saint Jerome that translates approximately as “Always good to do some work so that the devil may always find you occupied.” In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Harvard College undergraduates often copied academic texts and lecture notes into personal notebooks in place of printed textbooks. Winthrop used Ward’s textbook in his class, while the books of Hume, Neal, and Rollin were used in history courses taught at Harvard in the 18th century.