A two-Dimensional finite volume method for variable density flow and solute transport through saturated-unsaturated media

Extensive groundwater withdrawal has resulted in a severe seawater intrusion problem in the Gooburrum aquifers at Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia. Better management strategies can be implemented by understanding the seawater intrusion processes in those aquifers. To study the seawater intrusion process in the region, a two-dimensional density-dependent, saturated and unsaturated flow and transport computational model is used. The model consists of a coupled system of two non-linear partial differential equations. The first equation describes the flow of a variable-density fluid, and the second equation describes the transport of dissolved salt. A two-dimensional control volume finite element model is developed for simulating the seawater intrusion into the heterogeneous aquifer system at Gooburrum. The simulation results provide a realistic mechanism by which to study the convoluted transport phenomena evolving in this complex heterogeneous coastal aquifer.

Literacies in place : teaching environmental communications

Reports on the work of a group of primary educators who participated in the collaborative practitioner inquiry stage of River Literacies, and explores what happened when a group of teachers made a serious commitment to rethink and extend the repertoires ofmulti- modal literacy for use with their students.

Railway junction conflict resolution by local search method

This study investigates the application of local search methods on the railway junction traffic conflict-resolution problem, with the objective of attaining a quick and reasonable solution. A procedure based on local search relies on finding a better solution than the current one by a search in the neighbourhood of the current one. The structure of neighbourhood is therefore very important to an efficient local search procedure. In this paper, the formulation of the structure of the solution, which is the right-of-way sequence assignment, is first described. Two new neighbourhood definitions are then proposed and the performance of the corresponding local search procedures is evaluated by simulation. It has been shown that they provide similar results but they can be used to handle different traffic conditions and system requirements.

“Diving into reading” : revisiting reciprocal teaching in the middle years

This paper reports on a project that was designed to support teachers to introduce reciprocal teaching and student-generated questioning in the middle years. It began as a solution to teachers expressing a concern that there was a lack of professional development related to the teaching of reading in the middle years.

Teaching parallel computing concepts with a desktop computer

Parallel computing is currently used in many engineering problems. However, because of limitations in curriculum design, it is not always possible to offer students specific formal teaching in this topic. Furthermore, parallel machines are still too expensive for many institutions. The latest microprocessors, such as Intel’s Pentium III and IV, embody single instruction multiple-data (SIMD) type parallel features, which makes them a viable solution for introducing parallel computing concepts to students. Final year projects have been initiated utilizing SSE (streaming SIMD extensions) features and it has been observed that students can easily learn parallel programming concepts after going through some programming exercises. They can now experiment with parallel algorithms on their own PCs at home. Keywords

Levels of awareness of professional ethics used as a sensitizing method in project-based learning

There is a need for educational frameworks for computer ethics education. This discussion paper presents an approach to developing students’ moral sensitivity, an awareness of morally relevant issues, in project-based learning (PjBL). The proposed approach is based on a study of IT professionals’ levels of awareness of ethics. These levels are labelled My world, The corporate world, A shared world, The client’s world and The wider world. We give recommendations for how instructors may stimulate students’ thinking with the levels and how the levels may be taken into account in managing a project course and in an IS department. Limitations of the recommendations are assessed and issues for discussion are raised.

The impact of socialisation on graduates’ public service motivation : a mixed method study

There is a renaissance of interest in public service motivation in public management research. Moynnihan and Pandey (2007) assert that public service motivation (PSM) has significant practical relevance as it deals with the relationship between motivation and the public interest. There is a need to explore employee needs generated by public service motivation in order to attract and retain a high calibre cadre of public servants (Gabris & Simo, 1995). Such exploration is particularly important beyond the American context which has dominated the literature to date (Taylor, 2007; Vandenabeele, Scheepers, & Hondeghem, 2006; Vandenabeele & Van de Walle, 2008).

Mentors report on their own mentoring practices

There are only two ways to implement reform in an education system, namely through inservice education of existing teachers and preservice teacher education. Implementing the Australian Curriculum will require targeting both teachers and preservice teachers. Classroom teachers in their roles as mentors have a significant role to play for developing preservice teachers. What mentors do in their mentoring practices and what mentors think about mentoring will impact on the mentoring processes and ultimately reform outcomes. What are mentors’ reports on their mentoring of preservice teachers in science and mathematics? This mixed-method study presents mentors’ reports on their mentoring of primary preservice teachers (mentees) in mathematics (n=43) and science (n=29). Drawing upon a previously validated instrument (Hudson, 2007), this instrument was amended to allow mentors to report on their perceptions of their mentoring. A questionnaire elicited extended written responses that focused on: (1) the mentors’ rapport with their mentees, (2) successful mentoring strategies, (3) aspects that may lead the mentee to feel unsuccessful, and (4) ways to enhance their mentoring skills. Mentors claimed they mentored teaching mathematics more than science. However, 20% or more indicated they did not provide mentoring practices for 25 out of 34 survey items in the science and 9 out of 34 items in the mathematics. Educational reform will necessity mentors to be educated on effective mentoring practices so the mentoring process can be more purposeful. Indeed, mentors who have knowledge of such practices may address the potential issues of more than 20% of mentees not receiving these practices. These mentors also claimed that professional development on effective mentoring can enhance their skills. To ensure the greatest success for an Australian Curriculum will require targeting mentors for professional development in order to assist mentees’ development into the profession.

Educating EFL preservice teachers for teaching astronomy

Malaysia’s Vision 2020 for enhancing its education system includes the development of scientific literacy commencing at the primary school level. This Vision focuses on using English as the Medium of Instruction (EMI) for teaching primary science, as Malaysia has English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in its curriculum. What changes need to occur in preservice teacher education programs for learning about primary science using EMI? This paper investigates the education of Malaysian preservice teachers for learning how to teach one strand in science education (i.e., space, primary astronomy) in an English-language context. Ninety-six second-year preservice teachers from two Malaysian institutes were involved in a 16-week “Earth and Space” course, half the course involved education about primary astronomy. Seventy-five of these preservice teachers provided written responses about the course and their development as potential teachers of primary astronomy using EMI. Preservice teacher assessments and multimedia presentations provided further evidence on learning how to teach primary astronomy. Many of these preservice teachers claimed that learning to teach primary astronomy needs to focus on teaching strategies, content knowledge with easy-to-understand concepts, computer simulations (e.g., Earth Centered Universe, Stellarium, Celestia), other ICT media, and field experiences that use naked-eye observations and telescopes to investigate celestial bodies. Although generally proficient in using ICT, they claimed there were EFL barriers for learning some new terminology. Nevertheless, powerpoints, animations, videos, and simulations were identified as effective ICT tools for providing clear visual representations of abstract concepts and ways to enhance the learning process.

Towards a unified method for the knowledge based urban development framework

Purpose–The growing debate in the literature indicates that the initiative to implement Knowledge Based Urban Development (KBUD) approaches in urban development process is neither simple nor quick. Many research efforts has therefore, been put forward to the development of appropriate KBUD framework and KBUD practical approaches. But this has lead to a fragmented and incoherent methodological approach. This paper outlines and compares a few most popular KBUD frameworks selected from the literature. It aims to identify some key and common features in the effort to achieve a unified method of KBUD framework. Design/methodology/approach–This paper reviews, examines and identifies various popular KBUD frameworks discussed in the literature from urban planners’ viewpoint. It employs a content analysis technique i.e. a research tool used to determine the presence of certain words or concepts within texts or sets of texts. Originality/value–The paper reports on the key and common features of a few selected most popular KBUD frameworks. The synthesis of the results is based from a perspective of urban planners. The findings which encompass a new KBUD framework incorporating the key and common features will be valuable in setting a platform to achieve a unified method of KBUD. Practical implications –The discussion and results presented in this paper should be significant to researchers and practitioners and to any cities and countries that are aiming for KBUD. Keywords – Knowledge based urban development, Knowledge based urban development framework, Urban development and knowledge economy

Information transfer for multi-trauma patients on discharge from the emergency department : mixed-method narrative review

Aim. This paper is a report of a review conducted to identify (a) best practice in information transfer from the emergency department for multi-trauma patients; (b) conduits and barriers to information transfer in trauma care and related settings; and (c) interventions that have an impact on information communication at handover and beyond. Background. Information transfer is integral to effective trauma care, and communication breakdown results in important challenges to this. However, evidence of adequacy of structures and processes to ensure transfer of patient information through the acute phase of trauma care is limited. Data sources. Papers were sourced from a search of 12 online databases and scanning references from relevant papers for 1990–2009. Review methods. The review was conducted according to the University of York’s Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guidelines. Studies were included if they concerned issues that influenced information transfer for patients in healthcare settings. Results. Forty-five research papers, four literature reviews and one policy statement were found to be relevant to parts of the topic, but not all of it. The main issues emerging concerned the impact of communication breakdown in some form, and included communication issues within trauma team processes, lack of structure and clarity during handovers including missing, irrelevant and inaccurate information, distractions and poorly documented care. Conclusion. Many factors influence information transfer but are poorly identified in relation to trauma care. The measurement of information transfer, which is integral to patient handover, has not been the focus of research to date. Nonetheless, documented patient information is considered evidence of care and a resource that affects continuing care.

Enhancing agrobacterium-mediated transformation efficiency of sugarcane : progress towards an efficient, genotype-independent method

Several key issues need to be resolved before an efficient and reproducible Agrobacterium-mediated sugarcane transformation method can be developed for a wider range of sugarcane cultivars. These include loss of morphogenetic potential in sugarcane cells after Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, effect of exposure to abiotic stresses during in vitro selection, and most importantly the hypersensitive cell death response of sugarcane (and other nonhost plants) to Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Eight sugarcane cultivars (Q117, Q151, Q177, Q200, Q208, KQ228, QS94-2329, and QS94-2174) were evaluated for loss of morphogenetic potential in response to the age of the culture, exposure to Agrobacterium strains, and exposure to abiotic stresses during selection. Corresponding changes in the polyamine profiles of these cultures were also assessed. Strategies were then designed to minimize the negative effects of these factors on the cell survival and callus proliferation following Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Some of these strategies, including the use of cell death protector genes and regulation of intracellular polyamine levels, will be discussed.

David Hicks and Cathie Holden (eds.) (2007). Teaching The Global Dimension. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 212 pages.

Teaching The Global Dimension (2007) is intended for primary and secondary teachers, pre-service teachers and educators interested in fostering global concerns in the education system. It aims at linking theory and practice and is structured as follows. Part 1, the global dimension, proposes an educational framework for understanding global concerns. Individual chapters in this section deal with some educational responses to global issues and the ways in which young people might become, in Hick’s terms, more “world-minded”. In the first two chapters, Hicks presents first, some educational responses to global issues that have emerged in recent decades, and second, an outline of the evolution of global education as a specific field. As with all the chapters in this book, most of the examples are drawn from the United Kingdom. Young people’s concerns, student teachers’ views and the teaching of controversial issues, comprise the other chapters in this section. Taken collectively, the chapters in Part 2 articulate the conceptual framework for developing, teaching and evaluating a global dimension across the curriculum. Individual chapters in this section, written by a range of authors, explore eight key concepts considered necessary to underpin appropriate learning experiences in the classroom. These are conflict, social justice, values and perceptions, sustainability, interdependence, human rights, diversity and citizenship. These chapters are engaging and well structured. Their common format consists of a succinct introduction, reference to positive action for change, and examples of recent effective classroom practice. Two chapters comprise the final section of this book and suggest different ways in which the global dimension can be achieved in the primary and the secondary classroom.

Culture-fair assessment : challenging Indigenous students through effortful mathematics teaching

This paper reports on a mathematics education research project centred on teachers’ pedagogical practices and capacity to assess Indigenous Australian students in a culture-fair manner. The project has been funded by the Australian Research Council Linkage program and is being conducted in seven Catholic and Independent primary schools in north Queensland. Our Industry Partners are Catholic Education and the Association of Independent Schools, Queensland. The study aims to provide greater understanding about how to build more equitable assessment practices to address the issue of underperforming Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) students in regional and remote Australia. The goal is to identify ways forward by attending to culture-fair assessment practice. The research is exploring the attitudes, beliefs and responses of Indigenous students to assessment in the context of mathematics learning with particular focus on teacher knowledge in these educational settings in relation to the design of assessment tasks that are authentic and engaging for these students in an accountability context. This approach highlights how teachers need to distinguish the ‘funds of knowledge’ (González, Moll, Floyd Tenery, Rivera, Rendón, Gonzales & Amanti, 2008) that Indigenous students draw on and how teachers need to be culturally responsive in their pedagogy to open up curriculum and assessment practice to allow for different ways of knowing and being