Diesel engine condition monitoring and simulated diesel knock

This paper discusses diesel engine condition monitoring (CM) using acoustic emissions (AE) as well as some of the commonly encountered diesel engine problems. Also discussed are some of the underlying combustion related faults and the methods used in past studies to simulate diesel engine faults. The initial test involved an experimental simulation of two common combustion related diesel engine faults, namely diesel knock and misfire. These simulated faults represent the first step towards a comprehensive investigation and analysis into the characteristics of acoustic emission signals arising from combustion related diesel engine faults. Data corresponding to different engine running conditions was captured using in-cylinder pressure, vibration and acoustic emission transducers along with both crank angle encoder and top-dead centre (TDC) signals. Using these signals, it was possible to characterise the effect of different combustion conditions and hence, various diesel engine in-cylinder pressure profiles.

A regulatory on-board mass monitoring application for heavy vehicles in Australia

This paper reports on the development of specifications for an on-board mass monitoring (OBM) application for regulatory requirements in Australia. An earlier paper reported on feasibility study and pilot testing program prior to the specification development [1]. Learnings from the pilot were used to refine this testing process and a full scale testing program was conducted from July to October 2008. The results from the full scale test and evidentiary implications are presented in this report. The draft specification for an evidentiary on-board mass monitoring application is currently under development.

Who has rights to what? Inclusion in Australian early childhood programs

In early childhood settings prior to school and in the early years of primary school, debate continues over the meaning of inclusion and its scope in terms of the groups under consideration. The genealogies of early childhood education and care, early primary school, special education and cultural education were examined to identify recurring and emerging approaches to inclusion within Australian programs for children aged birth to eight years. Approaches to inclusion encompassing multiple forms of diversity co-exist in the Australian educational literature with targeted approaches focused on disabilities or risk. These differing approaches reflect underlying ideological divisions and varying assumptions about diversity. Multiple approaches, including the expansion of early childhood services, reflect tensions over children’s rights, conceptualisations of inclusion, expectations of teachers, system coordination, economic constraints and political pressure to cater for a complex range of young children in varied settings. The paper incorporates discussion on underlying philosophical tensions within the early childhood field.

When sparks fly : developing formal mentoring programs for the career development of young and emerging artists

Formal mentoring programs are accepted as a valuable strategy for developing young and emerging artists. This thesis presents the results of an evaluation of the SPARK National Young Artists Mentoring Program (SPARK). SPARK was a ten-month formal mentoring program managed by Youth Arts Queensland (YAQ) on behalf of the Australia Council for the Arts from 2003-2009. The program aimed to assist young and emerging Australian artists between the ages of 18-26 to establish a professional career in the arts. It was a highly successful formal arts mentoring program that facilitated 58 mentorships between young and emerging artists and professional artists from across Australia in five program rounds over its seven year lifespan. Interest from other cultural organisations looking to develop their own formal mentoring programs encouraged YAQ to commission this research to determine how the program works to achieve its effects. This study was conducted with young and emerging artists who participated in SPARK from 2003 to 2008. It took a theory-driven evaluation approach to examine SPARK as an example of what makes formal arts mentoring programs effective. It focused on understanding the program’s theory or how the program worked to achieve its desired outcomes. The program activities and assumed responses to program activities were mapped out in a theories of change model. This theoretical framework was then used to plan the points for data collection. Through the process of data collection, actual program developments were compared to the theoretical framework to see what occurred as expected and what did not. The findings were then generalised for knowledge and wider application. The findings demonstrated that SPARK was a successful and effective program and an exemplar model of a formal mentoring program preparing young and emerging artists for professional careers in the arts. They also indicate several ways in which this already strong program could be further improved, including: looking at the way mentoring relationships are set up and how the mentoring process is managed; considering the balance between artistic and professional development; developing career development competencies and networking skills; taking into account the needs of young and emerging artists to develop their professional identity and build confidence; and giving more thought to the desired program outcomes and considering the issue of timeliness and readiness for career transition. From these findings, together with principles outlined in the mentoring and career development literature, a number of necessary conditions have been identified for developing effective mentoring programs in the career development of young and emerging artists.

Advances in vegetation management for power line corridor monitoring using aerial remote sensing techniques

This paper presents a comprehensive discussion of vegetation management approaches in power line corridors based on aerial remote sensing techniques. We address three issues 1) strategies for risk management in power line corridors, 2) selection of suitable platforms and sensor suite for data collection and 3) the progress in automated data processing techniques for vegetation management. We present initial results from a series of experiments and, challenges and lessons learnt from our project.

Analysis of acoustic emission data for structural health monitoring applications

Acoustic emission (AE) is the phenomenon where high frequency stress waves are generated by rapid release of energy within a material by sources such as crack initiation or growth. AE technique involves recording these stress waves by means of sensors placed on the surface and subsequent analysis of the recorded signals to gather information such as the nature and location of the source. It is one of the several diagnostic techniques currently used for structural health monitoring (SHM) of civil infrastructure such as bridges. Some of its advantages include ability to provide continuous in-situ monitoring and high sensitivity to crack activity. But several challenges still exist. Due to high sampling rate required for data capture, large amount of data is generated during AE testing. This is further complicated by the presence of a number of spurious sources that can produce AE signals which can then mask desired signals. Hence, an effective data analysis strategy is needed to achieve source discrimination. This also becomes important for long term monitoring applications in order to avoid massive date overload. Analysis of frequency contents of recorded AE signals together with the use of pattern recognition algorithms are some of the advanced and promising data analysis approaches for source discrimination. This paper explores the use of various signal processing tools for analysis of experimental data, with an overall aim of finding an improved method for source identification and discrimination, with particular focus on monitoring of steel bridges.

Application of acoustic emission technology in monitoring structure integrity of bridges

Bridges are an important part of a nation’s infrastructure and reliable monitoring methods are necessary to ensure their safety and efficiency. Most bridges in use today were built decades ago and are now subjected to changes in load patterns that can cause localized distress, which can result in bridge failure if not corrected. Early detection of damage helps in prolonging lives of bridges and preventing catastrophic failures. This paper briefly reviews the various technologies currently used in health monitoring of bridge structures and in particular discusses the application and challenges of acoustic emission (AE) technology. Some of the results from laboratory experiments on a bridge model are also presented. The main objectives of these experiments are source localisation and assessment. The findings of the study can be expected to enhance the knowledge of acoustic emission process and thereby aid in the development of an effective bridge structure diagnostics system.

The hydrodynamic and capture/retention performance of a gross pollutant trap

This research shows that gross pollutant traps (GPTs) continue to play an important role in preventing visible street waste—gross pollutants—from contaminating the environment. The demand for these GPTs calls for stringent quality control and this research provides a foundation to rigorously examine the devices. A novel and comprehensive testing approach to examine a dry sump GPT was developed. The GPT is designed with internal screens to capture gross pollutants—organic matter and anthropogenic litter. This device has not been previously investigated. Apart from the review of GPTs and gross pollutant data, the testing approach includes four additional aspects to this research, which are: field work and an historical overview of street waste/stormwater pollution, calibration of equipment, hydrodynamic studies and gross pollutant capture/retention investigations. This work is the first comprehensive investigation of its kind and provides valuable practical information for the current research and any future work pertaining to the operations of GPTs and management of street waste in the urban environment. Gross pollutant traps—including patented and registered designs developed by industry—have specific internal configurations and hydrodynamic separation characteristics which demand individual testing and performance assessments. Stormwater devices are usually evaluated by environmental protection agencies (EPAs), professional bodies and water research centres. In the USA, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Environmental Water Resource Institute (EWRI) are examples of professional and research organisations actively involved in these evaluation/verification programs. These programs largely rely on field evaluations alone that are limited in scope, mainly for cost and logistical reasons. In Australia, evaluation/verification programs of new devices in the stormwater industry are not well established. The current limitations in the evaluation methodologies of GPTs have been addressed in this research by establishing a new testing approach. This approach uses a combination of physical and theoretical models to examine in detail the hydrodynamic and capture/retention characteristics of the GPT. The physical model consisted of a 50% scale model GPT rig with screen blockages varying from 0 to 100%. This rig was placed in a 20 m flume and various inlet and outflow operating conditions were modelled on observations made during the field monitoring of GPTs. Due to infrequent cleaning, the retaining screens inside the GPTs were often observed to be blocked with organic matter. Blocked screens can radically change the hydrodynamic and gross pollutant capture/retention characteristics of a GPT as shown from this research. This research involved the use of equipment, such as acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADVs) and dye concentration (Komori) probes, which were deployed for the first time in a dry sump GPT. Hence, it was necessary to rigorously evaluate the capability and performance of these devices, particularly in the case of the custom made Komori probes, about which little was known. The evaluation revealed that the Komori probes have a frequency response of up to 100 Hz —which is dependent upon fluid velocities—and this was adequate to measure the relevant fluctuations of dye introduced into the GPT flow domain. The outcome of this evaluation resulted in establishing methodologies for the hydrodynamic measurements and gross pollutant capture/retention experiments. The hydrodynamic measurements consisted of point-based acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) measurements, flow field particle image velocimetry (PIV) capture, head loss experiments and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The gross pollutant capture/retention experiments included the use of anthropogenic litter components, tracer dye and custom modified artificial gross pollutants. Anthropogenic litter was limited to tin cans, bottle caps and plastic bags, while the artificial pollutants consisted of 40 mm spheres with a range of four buoyancies. The hydrodynamic results led to the definition of global and local flow features. The gross pollutant capture/retention results showed that when the internal retaining screens are fully blocked, the capture/retention performance of the GPT rapidly deteriorates. The overall results showed that the GPT will operate efficiently until at least 70% of the screens are blocked, particularly at high flow rates. This important finding indicates that cleaning operations could be more effectively planned when the GPT capture/retention performance deteriorates. At lower flow rates, the capture/retention performance trends were reversed. There is little difference in the poor capture/retention performance between a fully blocked GPT and a partially filled or empty GPT with 100% screen blockages. The results also revealed that the GPT is designed with an efficient high flow bypass system to avoid upstream blockages. The capture/retention performance of the GPT at medium to high inlet flow rates is close to maximum efficiency (100%). With regard to the design appraisal of the GPT, a raised inlet offers a better capture/retention performance, particularly at lower flow rates. Further design appraisals of the GPT are recommended.

Monitoring and regulatory role of the balanced scorecard in controlling organisational identities

This thesis employs the theoretical fusion of disciplinary knowledge, interlacing an analysis from both functional and interpretive frameworks and applies these paradigms to three concepts—organisational identity, the balanced scorecard performance measurement system, and control. As an applied thesis, this study highlights how particular public sector organisations are using a range of multi-disciplinary forms of knowledge constructed for their needs to achieve practical outcomes. Practical evidence of this study is not bound by a single disciplinary field or the concerns raised by academics about the rigorous application of academic knowledge. The study’s value lies in its ability to explore how current communication and accounting knowledge is being used for practical purposes in organisational life. The main focus of this thesis is on identities in an organisational communication context. In exploring the theoretical and practical challenges, the research questions for this thesis were formulated as: 1. Is it possible to effectively control identities in organisations by the use of an integrated performance measurement system—the balanced scorecard—and if so, how? 2. What is the relationship between identities and an integrated performance measurement system—the balanced scorecard—in the identity construction process? Identities in the organisational context have been extensively discussed in graphic design, corporate communication and marketing, strategic management, organisational behaviour, and social psychology literatures. Corporate identity is the self-presentation of the personality of an organisation (Van Riel, 1995; Van Riel & Balmer, 1997), and organisational identity is the statement of central characteristics described by members (Albert & Whetten, 2003). In this study, identity management is positioned as a strategically complex task, embracing not only logo and name, but also multiple dimensions, levels and facets of organisational life. Responding to the collaborative efforts of researchers and practitioners in identity conceptualisation and methodological approaches, this dissertation argues that analysis can be achieved through the use of an integrated framework of identity products, patternings and processes (Cornelissen, Haslam, & Balmer, 2007), transforming conceptualisations of corporate identity, organisational identity and identification studies. Likewise, the performance measurement literature from the accounting field now emphasises the importance of ‘soft’ non-financial measures in gauging performance—potentially allowing the monitoring and regulation of ‘collective’ identities (Cornelissen et al., 2007). The balanced scorecard (BSC) (Kaplan & Norton, 1996a), as the selected integrated performance measurement system, quantifies organisational performance under the four perspectives of finance, customer, internal process, and learning and growth. Broadening the traditional performance measurement boundary, the BSC transforms how organisations perceived themselves (Vaivio, 2007). The rhetorical and communicative value of the BSC has also been emphasised in organisational self-understanding (Malina, Nørreklit, & Selto, 2007; Malmi, 2001; Norreklit, 2000, 2003). Thus, this study establishes a theoretical connection between the controlling effects of the BSC and organisational identity construction. Common to both literatures, the aspects of control became the focus of this dissertation, as ‘the exercise or act of achieving a goal’ (Tompkins & Cheney, 1985, p. 180). This study explores not only traditional technical and bureaucratic control (Edwards, 1981), but also concertive control (Tompkins & Cheney, 1985), shifting the locus of control to employees who make their own decisions towards desired organisational premises (Simon, 1976). The controlling effects on collective identities are explored through the lens of the rhetorical frames mobilised through the power of organisational enthymemes (Tompkins & Cheney, 1985) and identification processes (Ashforth, Harrison, & Corley, 2008). In operationalising the concept of control, two guiding questions were developed to support the research questions: 1.1 How does the use of the balanced scorecard monitor identities in public sector organisations? 1.2 How does the use of the balanced scorecard regulate identities in public sector organisations? This study adopts qualitative multiple case studies using ethnographic techniques. Data were gathered from interviews of 41 managers, organisational documents, and participant observation from 2003 to 2008, to inform an understanding of organisational practices and members’ perceptions in the five cases of two public sector organisations in Australia. Drawing on the functional and interpretive paradigms, the effective design and use of the systems, as well as the understanding of shared meanings of identities and identifications are simultaneously recognised. The analytical structure guided by the ‘bracketing’ (Lewis & Grimes, 1999) and ‘interplay’ strategies (Schultz & Hatch, 1996) preserved, connected and contrasted the unique findings from the multi-paradigms. The ‘temporal bracketing’ strategy (Langley, 1999) from the process view supports the comparative exploration of the analysis over the periods under study. The findings suggest that the effective use of the BSC can monitor and regulate identity products, patternings and processes. In monitoring identities, the flexible BSC framework allowed the case study organisations to monitor various aspects of finance, customer, improvement and organisational capability that included identity dimensions. Such inclusion legitimises identity management as organisational performance. In regulating identities, the use of the BSC created a mechanism to form collective identities by articulating various perspectives and causal linkages, and through the cascading and alignment of multiple scorecards. The BSC—directly reflecting organisationally valued premises and legitimised symbols—acted as an identity product of communication, visual symbols and behavioural guidance. The selective promotion of the BSC measures filtered organisational focus to shape unique identity multiplicity and characteristics within the cases. Further, the use of the BSC facilitated the assimilation of multiple identities by controlling the direction and strength of identifications, engaging different groups of members. More specifically, the tight authority of the BSC framework and systems are explained both by technical and bureaucratic controls, while subtle communication of organisational premises and information filtering is achieved through concertive control. This study confirms that these macro top-down controls mediated the sensebreaking and sensegiving process of organisational identification, supporting research by Ashforth, Harrison and Corley (2008). This study pays attention to members’ power of self-regulation, filling minor premises of the derived logic of their organisation through the playing out of organisational enthymemes (Tompkins & Cheney, 1985). Members are then encouraged to make their own decisions towards the organisational premises embedded in the BSC, through the micro bottom-up identification processes including: enacting organisationally valued identities; sensemaking; and the construction of identity narratives aligned with those organisationally valued premises. Within the process, the self-referential effect of communication encouraged members to believe the organisational messages embedded in the BSC in transforming collective and individual identities. Therefore, communication through the use of the BSC continued the self-producing of normative performance mechanisms, established meanings of identities, and enabled members’ self-regulation in identity construction. Further, this research establishes the relationship between identity and the use of the BSC in terms of identity multiplicity and attributes. The BSC framework constrained and enabled case study organisations and members to monitor and regulate identity multiplicity across a number of dimensions, levels and facets. The use of the BSC constantly heightened the identity attributes of distinctiveness, relativity, visibility, fluidity and manageability in identity construction over time. Overall, this research explains the reciprocal controlling relationships of multiple structures in organisations to achieve a goal. It bridges the gap among corporate and organisational identity theories by adopting Cornelissen, Haslam and Balmer’s (2007) integrated identity framework, and reduces the gap in understanding between identity and performance measurement studies. Parallel review of the process of monitoring and regulating identities from both literatures synthesised the theoretical strengths of both to conceptualise and operationalise identities. This study extends the discussion on positioning identity, culture, commitment, and image and reputation measures in integrated performance measurement systems as organisational capital. Further, this study applies understanding of the multiple forms of control (Edwards, 1979; Tompkins & Cheney, 1985), emphasising the power of organisational members in identification processes, using the notion of rhetorical organisational enthymemes. This highlights the value of the collaborative theoretical power of identity, communication and performance measurement frameworks. These case studies provide practical insights about the public sector where existing bureaucracy and desired organisational identity directions are competing within a large organisational setting. Further research on personal identity and simple control in organisations that fully cascade the BSC down to individual members would provide enriched data. The extended application of the conceptual framework to other public and private sector organisations with a longitudinal view will also contribute to further theory building.

Channel-aware routing in MANETs with route handoff

In wireless mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs), packet transmission is impaired by radio link fluctuations. This paper proposes a novel channel adaptive routing protocol which extends the Ad-hoc On-Demand Multipath Distance Vector routing protocol (AOMDV) to accommodate channel fading. Specifically, the proposed Channel Aware AOMDV (CA-AOMDV) uses the channel average non-fading duration as a routing metric to select stable links for path discovery, and applies a preemptive handoff strategy to maintain reliable connections by exploiting channel state information. Using the same information, paths can be reused when they become available again, rather than being discarded. We provide new theoretical results for the downtime and lifetime of a live-die-live multiple path system, as well as detailed theoretical expressions for common network performance measures, providing useful insights into the differences in performance between CA-AOMDV and AOMDV. Simulation and theoretical results show that CA-AOMDV has greatly improved network performance over AOMDV.

Which components of heart failure programs are effective? A meta-analysis of the outcomes of structured telephone support or telemonitoring as the primary component of heart failure management in 9,560 patients (Abridged Cochrane Review)

Aims--Telemonitoring (TM) and structured telephone support (STS) have the potential to deliver specialised management to more patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), but their efficacy is still to be proven. Objectives To review randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of TM or STS on all- cause mortality and all-cause and CHF-related hospitalisations in patients with CHF, as a non-invasive remote model of specialised disease-management intervention.--Methods and Results--Data sources:We searched 15 electronic databases and hand-searched bibliographies of relevant studies, systematic reviews, and meeting abstracts. Two reviewers independently extracted all data. Study eligibility and participants: We included any randomised controlled trials (RCT) comparing TM or STS to usual care of patients with CHF. Studies that included intensified management with additional home or clinic visits were excluded. Synthesis: Primary outcomes (mortality and hospitalisations) were analysed; secondary outcomes (cost, length of stay, quality of life) were tabulated.--Results: Thirty RCTs of STS and TM were identified (25 peer-reviewed publications (n=8,323) and five abstracts (n=1,482)). Of the 25 peer-reviewed studies, 11 evaluated TM (2,710 participants), 16 evaluated STS (5,613 participants) and two tested both interventions. TM reduced all-cause mortality (risk ratio (RR 0•66 [95% CI 0•54-0•81], p<0•0001) and STS showed similar trends (RR 0•88 [95% CI 0•76-1•01], p=0•08). Both TM (RR 0•79 [95% CI 0•67-0•94], p=0•008) and STS (RR 0•77 [95% CI 0•68-0•87], p<0•0001) reduced CHF-related hospitalisations. Both interventions improved quality of life, reduced costs, and were acceptable to patients. Improvements in prescribing, patient-knowledge and self-care, and functional class were observed.--Conclusion: TM and STS both appear effective interventions to improve outcomes in patients with CHF.

Who makes the news : Australia : global media monitoring project 2010 national report

The Australian report for the Global Media Monitoring Project 2010 (GMMP 2010) involved a study of 374 stories that were sampled from 26 Australian newspapers, radio and television stations, and internet news services on 10 November 2009. This snapshot of reporting on that day suggests that women are under-represented in the Australian news media as both the sources and creators of news. Females made up only 24% of the 1012 news sources who were heard, read about or seen in the stories that were studied. Neglect of female sources was particularly noticeable in sports news. Women made up only 1% of the 142 sources who were talked about or quoted in sports stories. Female sources of news were disproportionately portrayed as celebrities and victims. Although women made up only 24% of sources overall, they comprised 44% of victims of crimes, accidents, war, health problems, or discrimination. Unsurprisingly, women made up 32% of sources in stories about violent crimes and 29% in stories about disasters, accidents or emergencies – usually in the role of victim. Females were commonly defined in terms of their status as a mother, daughter, wife, sister or other family relationship. Family status was mentioned for 33% of women quoted or discussed in the news stories compared to only 13% of male sources. Women also made up 75% of sources described as homemakers or parents. The Australian GMMP 2010 study also indicates a gender division among the journalists who wrote or presented the news. Only 32% of the stories were written or presented by female reporters and newsreaders. The gender inequality was again most evident in sports journalism. Findings from the Australian report also contributed to the GMMP 2010 Global Report and the Pacific GMMP 2010 Regional Report, which are available at http://whomakesthenews.org/gmmp/gmmp-reports/gmmp-2010-reports

Tyrosine monitoring in children with early and continuously treated phenylketonuria: Results of an international practice survey

Investigations into the biochemical markers associated with executive function (EF) impairment in children with early and continuously treated phenylketonuria (ECT-PKU) remain largely phenylalanine-only focused, despite experimental data showing that a high phenylalanine:tyrosine (phe:tyr) ratio is more strongly associated with EF deficit than phe alone. A high phe:tyr ratio is hypothesized to lead to a reduction in dopamine synthesis within the brain, which in turn results in the development of EF impairment. This paper provides a snapshot of current practice in the monitoring and/or treatment of tyrosine levels in children with PKU, across 12 countries from Australasia, North America and Europe. Tyrosine monitoring in this population has increased over the last 5 years, with over 80% of clinics surveyed reporting routine monitoring of tyrosine levels in infancy alongside phe levels. Twenty-five percent of clinics surveyed reported actively treating/managing tyrosine levels (with supplemental tyrosine above that contained in PKU formulas) to ensure tyrosine levels remain within normal ranges. Anecdotally, supplemental tyrosine has been reported to ameliorate symptoms of both attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression in this population. EF assessment of children with ECT-PKU was likewise highly variable, with 50% of clinics surveyed reporting routine assessments of intellectual function. However when function was assessed, test instruments chosen tended towards global measures of IQ prior to school entry, rather than specific assessment of EF development. Further investigation of the role of tyrosine and its relationship with phe and EF development is needed to establish whether routine tyrosine monitoring and increased supplementation is recommended.

European advanced driver training programs : reasons for optimism

Post license advanced driver training programs in the US and early programs in Europe have often failed to accomplish their stated objectives because, it is suspected, that drivers gain self perceived driving skills that exceed their true skills—leading to increased post training crashes. The consensus from the evaluation of countless advanced driver training programs is that these programs are a detriment to safety, especially for novice, young, male drivers. Some European countries including Sweden, Finland, Austria, Luxembourg, and Norway, have continued to refine these programs, with an entirely new training philosophy emerging around 1990. These ‘post-renewal’ programs have shown considerable promise, despite various data quality and availability concerns. These programs share in common a focus on teaching drivers about self assessment and anticipation of risk, as opposed to teaching drivers how to master driving at the limits of tire adhesion. The programs focus on factors such as self actualization and driving discipline, rather than low level mastery of skills. Drivers are meant to depart these renewed programs with a more realistic assessment of their driving abilities. These renewed programs require considerable specialized and costly infrastructure including dedicated driver training facilities with driving modules engineered specifically for advanced driver training and highly structured curricula. They are conspicuously missing from both the US road safety toolbox and academic literature. Given the considerable road safety concerns associated with US novice male drivers in particular, these programs warrant further attention. This paper reviews the predominant features and empirical evidence surrounding post licensing advanced driver training programs focused on novice drivers. A clear articulation of differences between the renewed and current US advanced driver training programs is provided. While the individual quantitative evaluations range from marginally to significantly effective in reducing novice driver crash risk, they have been criticized for evaluation deficiencies ranging from small sample sizes to confounding variables to lack of exposure metrics. Collectively, however, the programs sited in the paper suggest at least a marginally positive effect that needs to be validated with further studies. If additional well controlled studies can validate these programs, a pilot program in the US should be considered.

Enhancing pathways for ACE learners : Building the capacity of Adult and Community Education (ACE) providers to offer non-accredited courses and VET modules with pathways into VET programs.

This report presents findings from a project that considered a) the current capacity of Adult and Community Education (ACE) providers to offer non-accredited courses and single modules of accredited learning that provide pathways into full scale accredited VET programs, and b) the factors that aid and inhibit this from occurring. Based on the findings, suggestions are made as to what needs to be done to extend this capacity and thereby to achieve the goals outlined in the 2008 Ministerial Declaration on Adult Community Education.