Promoting student learning with online videos : a research agenda

Gen Y students are digital natives (Prensky 2001) who learn in complex and diverse ways, with a variety of learning styles apparent in any given course. This paper proposes a web 2.0 conceptual learning solution–online student videos–to respond to different learning styles that exist in the classroom.

Reduction of environmental effects of civil aircraft through multi-objective flight plan optimisation

With rising environmental alarm, the reduction of critical aircraft emissions including carbon dioxides (CO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) is one of most important aeronautical problems. There can be many possible attempts to solve such problem by designing new wing/aircraft shape, new efficient engine, etc. The paper rather provides a set of acceptable flight plans as a first step besides replacing current aircrafts. The paper investigates a green aircraft design optimisation in terms of aircraft range, mission fuel weight (CO2) and NOx using advanced Evolutionary Algorithms coupled to flight optimisation system software. Two multi-objective design optimisations are conducted to find the best set of flight plans for current aircrafts considering discretised altitude and Mach numbers without designing aircraft shape and engine types. The objectives of first optimisation are to maximise range of aircraft while minimising NOx with constant mission fuel weight. The second optimisation considers minimisation of mission fuel weight and NOx with fixed aircraft range. Numerical results show that the method is able to capture a set of useful trade-offs that reduce NOx and CO2 (minimum mission fuel weight).

The pitfalls of publicizing ethics research

What happens to our research once it hits the popular media? Do marketers know how to promote our research in a way that is understandable and complete, while still capturing an audience? This case study follows the dissemination of the results of a consumer ethics study via a single press release, along with the resulting media coverage, interviews and audience comments. Perhaps in their quest for a touch of controversy, the story picked up by the popular press was not the one intended by the authors. If getting the public story right is important, marketing academics need to spend as much time carefully crafting their press releases as they do writing journal manuscripts – they may not be able to rely on the ethics of media sub-editors who choose controversial headlines.

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for the treatment of co-occurring depression and substance use : current evidence and directions for future research

Issues and Approach: The high rates of co-occurring depression and substance use, and the negative impact of this on illness course and outcomes have been well established. Despite this, few clinical trials have examined the efficacy of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). This paper systematically reviews these clinical trials, with an aim of providing recommendations for how future research can develop a more robust evidence base for the treatment of these common comorbidities. Leading electronic databases, including PubMed (ISI) and PsychINFO (CSA), were searched for peer-reviewed journal articles using CBT for the treatment of co-occurring depression and substance use. Of the 55 articles identified, 12 met inclusion criteria and were included in the review. ---------- Key Findings: There is only a limited evidence for the effectiveness of CBT either alone or in combination with antidepressant medication for the treatment of co-occurring depression and substance use. While there is support for the efficacy of CBT over no treatment control conditions, there is little evidence that CBT is more efficacious than other psychotherapies. There is, however, consistent evidence of improvements in both depression and substance use outcomes, regardless of the type of treatment provided and there is growing evidence that that the effects of CBT are durable and increase over time during follow up. ---------- Conclusions. Rather than declaring the ‘dodo bird verdict’ that CBT and all other psychotherapies are equally efficacious, it would be more beneficial to develop more potent forms of CBT by identifying variables that mediate treatment outcomes.

Prospective bus rapid transit scenarios for pilot corridor in Dhaka

Dhaka doesn’t have a mature transport system. Lacking in institutional arrangements, policy and planning, and law enforcement, the transport system operates has developed ad hoc and is situationally problematic. Absence of proper coordination between modes, poor public transport system, inadequate pedestrian facilities, and environmental degradation justify full consideration of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Dhaka. BRT centres on sustainable transport principles. BRT is a system, which is capable to mitigate Dhaka’s transport problem if properly planned. In Strategic transport plan of Dhaka three BRT transport corridor has been proposed and BRT pre-feasibility study came up with one pilot corridor for early implementation of BRT. This paper first reviews international best practices then explores various BRT system packages and evaluates the suitability of these BRT packages by analyzing current bus service condition and physical and geometric configuration along the BRT pilot corridor. It concludes by proposing some BRT scenarios, which can be considered for further evaluation with respect to speed, delay, travel time and environmental pollution.

Enhancing the use of Internet and Web services for quality learning : an action research

Internet and Web services have been used in both teaching and learning and are gaining popularity in today’s world. E-Learning is becoming popular and considered the latest advance in technology based learning. Despite the potential advantages for learning in a small country like Bhutan, there is lack of eServices at the Paro College of Education. This study investigated students’ attitudes towards online communities and frequency of access to the Internet, and how students locate and use different sources of information in their project tasks. Since improvement was at the heart of this research, an action research approach was used. Based on the idea of purposeful sampling, a semi-structured interview and observations were used as data collection instruments. 10 randomly selected students (5 girls and 5 boys) participated in this research as the controlled group. The study findings indicated that there is a lack of educational information technology services, such as e-learning at the college. Internet connection being very slow was the main barrier to learning using e-learning or accessing Internet resources. There is a strong relationship between the quality of written task and the source of the information, and between Web searching and learning. The source of information used in assignments and project work is limited to books in the library which are often outdated and of poor quality. Project tasks submitted by most of the students were of poor quality.

Participatory action research card set

These cards are designed as a resource for implementing participatory action research (PAR) in social programs. Each card covers one of the five key stages of PAR as outlined in the manual 'On PAR- Using participatory Action Research to Improve Early Intervention' (Crane and O'Regan 2010).

Do ontological deficiencies in modeling grammars matter?

Conceptual modeling grammars are a fundamental means for specifying information systems requirements. However, the actual usage of these grammars is only poorly understood. In particular, little is known about how properties of these grammars inform usage beliefs such as usefulness and ease of use. In this paper we use an ontological theory to describe conceptual modeling grammars in terms of their ontological deficiencies, and formulate two propositions in regard to how these ontological deficiencies influence primary usage beliefs. Using BPMN as an example modeling grammar, we surveyed 528 modeling practitioners to test the theorized relationships. Our results show that users of conceptual modeling grammars perceive ontological deficiencies to exist, and that these deficiency perceptions are negatively associated with usefulness and ease of use of these grammars. With our research we provide empirical evidence in support of the predictions of the ontological theory of modeling grammar expressiveness, and we identify previously unexplored links between conceptual modeling grammars and grammar usage beliefs. This work implies for practice a much closer coupling of the act of (re ) designing modeling grammars with usage-related success metrics.

A measurement instrument for process modeling research : development, test and procedural model

Process modeling is an emergent area of Information Systems research that is characterized through an abundance of conceptual work with little empirical research. To fill this gap, this paper reports on the development and validation of an instrument to measure user acceptance of process modeling grammars. We advance an extended model for a multi-stage measurement instrument development procedure, which incorporates feedback from both expert and user panels. We identify two main contributions: First, we provide a validated measurement instrument for the study of user acceptance of process modeling grammars, which can be used to assist in further empirical studies that investigate phenomena associated with the business process modeling domain. Second, in doing so, we describe in detail a procedural model for developing measurement instruments that ensures high levels of reliability and validity, which may assist fellow scholars in executing their empirical research.

Customers behaving badly : a state of the art review, research agenda and implications for practitioners

The purpose of this paper is to highlight important issues in the study of dysfunctional customer behavior and to provide a research agenda to inspire, guide, and enthuse. Through a critical evaluation of existing research, the aim is to highlight key issues and to present potentially worthy avenues for future study.

Implementing the international : challenges and approaches

This paper documents some preliminary findings arising from our Creative Industries Faculty’s invitation to academics to submit suitable proposals for Internationalising the Curriculum, an initiative that aligns with the University’s recognition of the importance of “building international components into their teaching programs” Our research project involves revisiting the literature on internationalising the curriculum with a view to implementing pedagogic and assessment strategies that respect and encourage intercultural and international understandings and competencies. The paper addresses the problems in designing such a unit; in this case an American Literature unit which will be taught and studied in Australia at QUT in 2011. The challenges inherent in the task of internationalising the curriculum stem from the ‘traditional’ and accepted ways of structuring and delivering such units. While the content may be international, the problem remains as to how to go about teaching and assessing the unit to achieve a global approach. How can it be taught in a way that steps outside the borders of our national teaching practices and understanding of western epistemology and becomes far more inclusive of other modes of knowledge?

How do public librarians constitute information literacy?

To date, much work has been done to examine the ways in which information literacy – a way of thinking about, existing alongside and working with information- functions in an academic setting. However, its role in the non-academic library professions has been largely ignored. Given that the public librarian is responsible for designing and delivering services and programmes aimed at supporting the information literacy needs of the community-at-large there is great value to be had from examining the ways in which public libraries understand and experience IL. The research described in this paper investigates, through the use of phenomenography; the ways in which public librarians understand and experience the concept of Information Literacy.

Tips for generating a media release and media coverage : how the media ate up my research on Aussie horror movies

The focus of this paper is preparing research for dissemination by mainstream print, broadcast, and online media. While the rise of the blogosphere and social media is proving an effective way of reaching niche audiences, my own research reached such an audience through traditional media. The first major study of Australian horror cinema, my PhD thesis A Dark New World: Anatomy of Australian Horror Films, generated strong interest from horror movie fans, film scholars, and filmmakers. I worked closely with the Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) public relations unit to write two separate media releases circulated on October 13, 2008 and October 14, 2009. This chapter reflects upon the process of working with the media and provides tips for reaching audiences, particularly in terms of strategically planning outcomes. It delves into the background of my study which would later influence my approach to the media, the process of drafting media releases, and key outcomes and benefits from popularising research. A key lesson from this experience is that redeveloping research for the media requires a sharp writing style, letting go of academic justification, catchy quotes, and an ability to distil complex details into easy-to-understand concepts. Although my study received strong media coverage, and I have since become a media commentator, my experiences also revealed a number of pitfalls that are likely to arise for other researchers keen on targeting media coverage.