The application of learning analytics to improve learning: Questions from the academy

Since 2007, close collaboration between the Learning and Teaching Unit’s Academic Quality and Standards team and the Department of Reporting and Analysis’ Business Objects team resulted in a generational approach to reporting where QUT established a place of trust. This place of trust is where data owners are confident in date storage, data integrity, reported and shared. While the role of the Department of Reporting and Analysis focused on the data warehouse, data security and publication of reports, the Academic Quality and Standards team focused on the application of learning analytics to solve academic research questions and improve student learning. Addressing questions such as: • Are all students who leave course ABC academically challenged? • Do the students who leave course XYZ stay within the faculty, university or leave? • When students withdraw from a unit do they stay enrolled on full or part load or leave? • If students enter through a particular pathway, what is their experience in comparison to other pathways? • With five years historic reporting, can a two-year predictive forecast provide any insight? In answering these questions, the Academic Quality and Standards team then developed prototype data visualisation through curriculum conversations with academic staff. Where these enquiries were applicable more broadly this information would be brought into the standardised reporting for the benefit of the whole institution. At QUT an annual report to the executive committees allows all stakeholders to record the performance and outcomes of all courses in a snapshot in time or use this live report at any point during the year. This approach to learning analytics was awarded the Awarded 2014 ATEM/Campus Review Best Practice Awards in Tertiary Education Management for The Unipromo Award for Excellence in Information Technology Management.

Learning experiences in a giant interactive environment: Insights from The Cube

In November 2012, Queensland University of Technology in Australia launched a giant interactive learning environment known as The Cube. This article reports a phenomenographic investigation into visitors’ different experiences of learning in The Cube. At present very little is known about people’s learning experience in spaces featuring large interactive screens. We observed many visitors to The Cube and interviewed 26 people. Our analysis identified critical variation across the visitors’ experience of learning in The Cube. The findings are discussed as the learning strategy (in terms of Absorption, Exploration, Isolation and Collaboration); and the content learned (in terms of Technology, Skills and Topics). Other findings presented here are dimensions of the learning strategy and the content learned, with differing perspectives on each dimension. These outcomes provide early insights into the potential of giant interactive environments to enhance learning approaches and guide the design of innovative learning spaces in higher education.

Enhancing the learning experiences through Industry-Based Learning from Indonesian university perspective

This paper investigates how students’ learning experience can be enhanced by participating in the Industry-Based Learning (IBL) program. In this program, the university students coming into the industry to experience how the business is run. The students’ learning media is now not coming from the textbooks or the lecturers but from learning by doing. This new learning experience could be very interesting for students but at the same time could also be challenging. The research involves interviewing a number of students from the IBL programs, the academic staff from the participated university who has experience in supervising students and the employees of the industry who supported and supervised the students in their work placements. The research findings offer useful insights and create new knowledge in the field of education and learning. The research contributes to the existing knowledge by providing a new understanding of the topic as it applied to the Indonesian context.

A survey of indian logic from the point of view of computer science

Indian logic has a long history. It somewhat covers the domains of two of the six schools (darsanas) of Indian philosophy, namely, Nyaya and Vaisesika. The generally accepted definition of Indian logic over the ages is the science which ascertains valid knowledge either by means of six senses or by means of the five members of the syllogism. In other words, perception and inference constitute the subject matter of logic. The science of logic evolved in India through three ages: the ancient, the medieval and the modern, spanning almost thirty centuries. Advances in Computer Science, in particular, in Artificial Intelligence have got researchers in these areas interested in the basic problems of language, logic and cognition in the past three decades. In the 1980s, Artificial Intelligence has evolved into knowledge-based and intelligent system design, and the knowledge base and inference engine have become standard subsystems of an intelligent system. One of the important issues in the design of such systems is knowledge acquisition from humans who are experts in a branch of learning (such as medicine or law) and transferring that knowledge to a computing system. The second important issue in such systems is the validation of the knowledge base of the system i.e. ensuring that the knowledge is complete and consistent. It is in this context that comparative study of Indian logic with recent theories of logic, language and knowledge engineering will help the computer scientist understand the deeper implications of the terms and concepts he is currently using and attempting to develop.

Evaluation of GODAS Using RAMA Mooring Observations from the Indian Ocean

We present a comparison of the Global Ocean Data Assimilation System (GODAS) five-day ocean analyses against in situ daily data from Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction (RAMA) moorings at locations 90 degrees E, 12 degrees N; 90 degrees E, 8 degrees N; 90 degrees E, 0 degrees N and 90 degrees E, 1.5 degrees S in the equatorial Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal during 2002-2008. We find that the GODAS temperature analysis does not adequately capture a prominent signal of Indian Ocean dipole mode of 2006 seen in the mooring data, particularly at 90 degrees E 0 degrees N and 90 degrees E 1.5 degrees S in the eastern India Ocean. The analysis, using simple statistics such as bias and root-mean-square deviation, indicates that standard GODAS temperature has definite biases and significant differences with observations on both subseasonal and seasonal scales. Subsurface salinity has serious deficiencies as well, but this may not be surprising considering the poorly constrained fresh water forcing, and possible model deficiencies in subsurface vertical mixing. GODAS reanalysis needs improvement to make it more useful for study of climate variability and for creating ocean initial conditions for prediction.

Outputs from the Manchester Metropolitan University distance learning think tank event

An overview of, and the emergent themes from, the Manchester Metropolitan University distance learning think tank event which took place on 10th July 2014 and aimed to provide a forum to explore and discuss some of the key issues for colleagues across the university involved in planning, setting-up and delivering such programmes at MMU.

Poster: Outputs from the Manchester Metropolitan University online distance learning think tank event

Poster from the overview of, and the emergent themes from, the Manchester Metropolitan University distance learning think tank event which took place on 10th July 2014 and aimed to provide a forum to explore and discuss some of the key issues for colleagues across the university involved in planning, setting-up and delivering such programmes at MMU.

Good Morning, America! The explosive U.S. awakening to the need for adaptation

Since the early years of the 21st century, and in particular since 2007, the U.S. has been awakening rapidly to the fact that climate change is underway and that even if stringent efforts are undertaken to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation to the unavoidable impacts from the existing commitment to climate change is still needed and needs to be begun now. This report provides an historical overview of the public, political, and scientific concern with adaptation in the United States. It begins by briefly distinguishing ongoing, historical adaptation to environmental circumstances from deliberate adaptation to human‐induced climate change. It then describes the shift from the early concerns with climate change and adaptation to the more recent awakening to the need for a comprehensive approach to managing the risks from climate change. Ranging from the treatment of the topic in the news media to the drafting of bills in Congress, to state and local government activities with considerable engagement of NGOs, scientists and consultants, it is apparent that adaptation has finally, and explosively, emerged on the political agenda as a legitimate and needed subject for debate. At the same time, the current policy rush is not underlain by widespread public engagement and mobilization nor does it rest on a solid research foundation. Funding for vulnerability and adaptation research, establishing adequate decision support institutions, as well as the building of the necessary capacity in science, the consulting world, and in government agencies, lags far behind the need. (PDF contains 42 pages)

Doenças emergentes e condições de trabalho de enfermagem: um estudo de caso durante a pandemia de H1N1 no Rio de Janeiro

As doenças infecto-parasitárias, ainda hoje, em pleno século XXI são responsáveis por uma quantidade generosa de morbidade e mortalidade no Brasil e no mundo. Muitas delas são amplamente influenciadas pelas mudanças climáticas que estão ocorrendo em todo o planeta fazendo com que sua incidência e distribuição geográfica aumentem. A dengue é considerada a principal doença reemergente nos países tropicais e subtropicais. A malária tem forte incidência nos países ao sul do deserto do Saara na África, ocorrendo também em vários países da América do Sul que possuem parte da região Amazônica em seu território. Várias doenças voltam a assolar a população de vários locais como as leishmanioses, a Doença de Lyme, erlichioses entre outras. Em março de 2009 começam a ocorrer os primeiros casos de uma nova doença inicialmente denominada Influenza suína, a qual, levou alguns indivíduos a óbito em Oaxaca, uma cidade mexicana localizada a 400 quilômetros da capital. Rapidamente, a doença se espalhou pelo país e posteriormente, no começo do mês de abril de 2009 já, existiam relatos de casos em vários países. O objetivo geral desta pesquisa é verificar em que medida o cuidado de enfermagem realizado expressou um maior ou menor grau de controle do enfermeiro sobre seu trabalho, apontando para os potenciais riscos (biológicos) de adoecimento e impactos negativos na saúde deste trabalhador. O presente estudo foi desenvolvido por meio de uma abordagem quantitativa com desenho longitudinal e observacional, delineamento de pesquisa não experimental e caráter descritivo. Foi feita a análise observacional nas tendas quanto a sua infraestrutura e posteriormente foi passado um questionário aos enfermeiros pautado em questões sobre o risco biológico que estes estavam sendo submetidos. Faz-se necessário que a cultura do improviso acabe e comece a se pensar em uma nova realidade: as doenças transmissíveis são uma realidade, elas existem e há de ser feito um adequamento de tudo que esteja ligado à área de saúde pensando em um novo contexto. É imperioso que tanto as autoridades como os profissionais revejam e reflitam sobre o que aconteceu, para que os erros do passado possam ficar para trás e não se repitam.

An overview of 1000 years of tropical climatic variability from ice cores from the Andes of southern Peru [abstract]

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): Each summer between 1976 and 1984 research was conducted on the Quelccaya Ice Cap with one central objective, to recover an ice core to bedrock from which an approximate 1000 year climatic history for tropical South America could be reconstructed. In 1983 that central objective was accomplished by recovering one core 155 meters in length containing 1350 years and a second core of 163.6 meters containing more than 1500 years of climatic history. ... The most significant climatic event in tropical South America over the last 1500 years was the "Little Ice Age" which is recorded between 1490 to 1880 A.D. in these ice core records. Records from the summit of the Quelccaya Ice Cap show that during the "Little Ice Age" period there was (1) a general increase in particulates (both insoluble and soluble, starting around 1490 A.D. and ending abruptly in 1880 A.D.; (2) an initial increase in net accumulation (1500-1720 A.D.) followed by a period of decreased net accumulation (1720-1860 A.D.); (3) more negative delta-O-18 values beginning in the 1520's and ending around 1880 A.D. The "Little Ice Age" event is evident as a perturbation in all five ice core parameters.

Climatic indicators in an ice core from the Yukon [abstract]

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): Stable isotope data obtained from snow and ice cores retrieved from an altitude of 5340m on Mt. Logan (60°30'N; 140°36'W) indicate that "isotopic seasons" are not generally in phase with calendar seasons. The former are phase lagged with respect to the latter by up to several months and appear to be correlated with SST'S and ocean heat transfer curves and/or the position of the Aleutian low rather than with air temperature or the temperature difference between the ocean surface and the core site.

Tropical forest history of the Ecuadorian Andes over the last 34,000 years: preliminary results from pollen and oxygen isotope analyses of Trident 163-13 from the eastern equatorial Pacific [abstract]

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): Pollen from the upper 2.75 m of a core taken 200 km west of the Golfo de Guayaquil, Ecuador (Trident 163-13, 3° S, 84° W, 3,000 m water depth) documents changes in Andean vegetation and climate of the Cordillera Occidental for ~17,000 years before and after the last glacial maximum.

Paleoenvironmental records from the Quelccaya ice cap, Peru and preliminary results from the Dunde ice cap, China [abstract]

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): The 1000 year records of particulate deposition (soluble and insoluble), oxygen isotopic ratios, and net accumulation from the Quelccaya ice cap are presented. The net accumulation record from Quelccaya is shown to serve as a reasonable proxy for the water levels in Lake Titicaca. ... The ice core record from the Dunde ice cap offers the potential to reconstruct a very detailed history of environmental conditions on the Tibetan Plateau for the last 3000 years.

A modern pollen record from the central Gulf of California

As one facet of an effort to tie the pollen record of central Gulf of California deep cores to modern analogs, pollen was analyzed in the uppermost 150-200 years of varved core 7807-1410 taken nearby. Sampling at 2- to 8-year resolution yielded a noncomplacent record, suggesting pollen in these sediments may be a potential high resolution proxy record of short-term climatic events. The pollen spectrum as a whole matches that of upper-most DSDP Site 480 (means of all samples). Lack of a ratio or influx shift following damming of local rivers and a surplus of low-spine Compositae pollen relative to mainland sites support Baumgartner's theory that terrigenous influx to the site is largely aeolian and also suggest that a significant fraction of the pollen influx may come from Baja California.