Teaching Teachers for the Future (TTF) : building the ICT in education capacity of the next generation of teachers in Australia

The Teaching Teachers for the Future (TTF) project is a unique nationally significant project funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations (DEEWR, Au$8.8 million) and the Information and Communication Technology Innovation Fund (ICTIF). This 2011-2012 project has ambitiously attempted to build the ICT education (ICTE) capacity of the next generation of Australian teachers through its focus on pre-service teachers, teacher educators and the new Australian Curriculum. This paper will provide an overview of the project including a description of its genesis in a changing educational and political landscape, its structure and operations, its grounding in contemporary theory, the research opportunities it has engendered and its tangible outcomes.

A new approach for trip generation estimation for use in traffic impact assessments

Findings from an online survey conducted by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) shows that Australia is suffering from a lack of data reflecting trip generation for use in Traffic Impact Assessments (TIAs). Current independent variables for trip generation estimation are not able to create robust outcomes as well. It is also challenging to account for the impact of the new development on public and active transport as well as the effect of trip chaining behaviour in Australian TIA studies. With this background in mind, research is being implemented by QUT to find a new approach developing a combined model of trip generation and mode choice with consideration of trip chaining effects. It is expected that the model will provide transferable outcomes as it is developed based on socio-demographic parameters. Child Care Centres within the Brisbane area have been nominated for model development. At the time, the project is in the data collection phase. Findings from the pilot survey associated with capturing trip chaining and mode choice information reveal that applying questionnaire is able to capture required information in an acceptable level. The result also reveals that several centres within an area should be surveyed in order to provide sufficient data for trip chaining and modal split analysis.

Effective planning approach to interconnect bulk quantities of wind generation

Over the past few years, the Midwest ISO has experienced a surge in requests to interconnect large amounts of wind generation, driven largely by a favorable political environment and an abundant wind resource in the Midwestern US. This tremendous influx of proposed generators along with a highly constrained transmission system adversely impacted interconnection queue processing, resulting in an unmanageable backlog. Under these circumstances, Midwest ISO successfully reformed the interconnection tariff to improve cycle times and provide increased certainty to interconnection customers. One of the key features of the reformed queue process is the System Planning and Analysis (SPA) phase which allows integration of the interconnection studies with regional transmission planning. This paper presents a brief background of the queue reform effort and then delves deeply in to the work performed at the Midwest ISO during the first SPA cycle - the study approach, the challenges faced in having to study over 50,000 MWs of wind generation and the effective solutions designed to complete these studies within tariff timelines.

A new approach for trip generation estimation for TIA

Transport Impact Assessment (TIA) -Generally a short range transport planning activity -Assess transport impacts of new developments or expansions -Present solutions to mitigate impacts Problems with TIA Process -Private vehicles focus (i.e. Veh Trip Ends) -Proxy variables (e.g. 100sqm GFA) -Trip generation rates (e.g. VTE/proxy) -Little info/guidance on trip chaining effects -Little info/guidance on non-PV modes Requires significant professional judgment

Dual-frequency decoupling for two distinct antennas

Constant development of new wireless standards increases the demand for more radiating elements in compact end-user platforms. A decrease in antenna separation gives rise to increased antenna coupling, resulting in a reduction of the signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio (SINR) between transmitter and receiver. This paper proposes a decoupling network which provides dual band port isolation for a pair of distinct antennas. A prototype has been fabricated to verify the theory.

A framework for cost-aware process management : generation of accurate and timely management accounting cost reports

Organisations are constantly seeking efficiency improvements for their business processes in terms of time and cost. Management accounting enables reporting of detailed cost of operations for decision making purpose, although significant effort is required to gather accurate operational data. Business process management is concerned with systematically documenting, managing, automating, and optimising processes. Process mining gives valuable insight into processes through analysis of events recorded by an IT system in the form of an event log with the focus on efficient utilisation of time and resources, although its primary focus is not on cost implications. In this paper, we propose a framework to support management accounting decisions on cost control by automatically incorporating cost data with historical data from event logs for monitoring, predicting and reporting process-related costs. We also illustrate how accurate, relevant and timely management accounting style cost reports can be produced on demand by extending open-source process mining framework ProM.

Surface effects on the dual-mode vibration of <110> silver nanowires with different cross-sections

Dual-mode vibration of nanowires has been reported experimentally through actuation of the nanowire at its resonance frequency, which is expected to open up a variety of new modalities for the NEMS that could operate in the nonlinear regime. In the present work, we utilize large scale molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the dual-mode vibration of <110> Ag nanowires with triangular, rhombic and truncated rhombic cross-sections. By incorporating the generalized Young-Laplace equation into Euler-Bernoulli beam theory, the influence of surface effects on the dual-mode vibration is studied. Due to the different lattice spacing in principal axes of inertia of the {110} atomic layers, the NW is also modeled as a discrete system to reveal the influence from such specific atomic arrangement. It is found that the <110> Ag NW will under a dual-mode vibration if the actuation direction is deviated from the two principal axes of inertia. The predictions of the two first mode natural frequencies by the classical beam model appear underestimated comparing with the MD results, which are found to be enhanced by the discrete model. Particularly, the predictions by the beam theory with the contribution of surface effects are uniformly larger than the classical beam model, which exhibit better agreement with MD results for larger cross-sectional size. However, for ultrathin NWs, current consideration of surface effects is still experiencing certain inaccuracy. In all, for all different cross-sections, the inclusion of surface effects is found to reduce the difference between the two first mode natural frequencies. This trend is observed consistent with MD results. This study provides a first comprehensive investigation on the dual-mode vibration of <110> oriented Ag NWs, which is supposed to benefit the applications of NWs that acting as a resonating beam.

Development of a food frequency questionnaire for Sri Lankan adults

Abstract (provisional) Background Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQs) are commonly used in epidemiologic studies to assess long-term nutritional exposure. Because of wide variations in dietary habits in different countries, a FFQ must be developed to suit the specific population. Sri Lanka is undergoing nutritional transition and diet-related chronic diseases are emerging as an important health problem. Currently, no FFQ has been developed for Sri Lankan adults. In this study, we developed a FFQ to assess the regular dietary intake of Sri Lankan adults. Methods A nationally representative sample of 600 adults was selected by a multi-stage random cluster sampling technique and dietary intake was assessed by random 24-h dietary recall. Nutrient analysis of the FFQ required the selection of foods, development of recipes and application of these to cooked foods to develop a nutrient database. We constructed a comprehensive food list with the units of measurement. A stepwise regression method was used to identify foods contributing to a cumulative 90% of variance to total energy and macronutrients. In addition, a series of photographs were included. Results We obtained dietary data from 482 participants and 312 different food items were recorded. Nutritionists grouped similar food items which resulted in a total of 178 items. After performing step-wise multiple regression, 93 foods explained 90% of the variance for total energy intake, carbohydrates, protein, total fat and dietary fibre. Finally, 90 food items and 12 photographs were selected. Conclusion We developed a FFQ and the related nutrient composition database for Sri Lankan adults. Culturally specific dietary tools are central to capturing the role of diet in risk for chronic disease in Sri Lanka. The next step will involve the verification of FFQ reproducibility and validity.

How males and females define speeding and how they’d feel getting caught for it : some implications for anti-speeding message development

Speeding represents a major contributor to road trauma, increasing crash frequency and severity. Antispeeding campaigns represent a key strategy aimed at discouraging individuals from speeding. This paper investigated salient beliefs underpinning male and female drivers’ travel speed behaviour, with the view to use such insight to, ultimately, inform the content of targeted anti-speeding messages. A survey of N = 751 (579 males, 16-79 years) drivers assessed what they regarded as speeding in 60km/hr and 100km/hr zones and their beliefs about how they would respond to receiving a speeding infringement. Participants responded to scales which extended up to 20km/hr above each respective speed limit, the lowest speed that they considered was speeding and the speed at which they would be willing to drive and still feel in control. For analyses, to enable greater scrutiny of potential gender differences regarding the speeds identified, participants’ responses to these items were categorised into 5km/hr increments and chi-square analyses conducted. For their responses to (beliefs about) the possibility of being caught speeding, drivers were asked how applicable various beliefs were to them (e.g., feeling unlucky). These beliefs were analysed via MANOVA. The results revealed that there was considerable variability in the speeds identified, thus supporting the value of categorising speeds. Within the 100km/hr zone, based on the categories, a significant difference was found regarding the speed that males would be willing to drive (and still feel in control) relative to females. Specifically, the greatest proportion of males (30.4%) identified speeds within the 106-110km/hr category whereas the greatest proportion of females (38.1%) identified a lower speed, within the 101-105km/hr category, as the speed they would be willing to drive. No other significant differences emerged, however, either in relation to the definition of speeding reported for 100km/hr zones (i.e., males and females tended to identify a similar speed as indicative of speeding) nor for these same items as assessed in relation to the 60km/hr zones. For their responses to the possibility of being caught, males were significantly more likely than females to report that, if caught, a likely response they would have would be to think that they had still been driving safely. In contrast, females were significantly more likely than males to report thinking that their speeding had been unsafe and that they should not have been speeding. Females were also significantly more likely to report feeling embarrassed to tell important others about having received a speeding infringement than males. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for developing well-targeted advertising messages aimed at discouraging drivers’ from speeding.

Optimisation of Banana streak virus (BSV) diagnostic assays

Bananas are one of the world�fs most important crops, serving as a staple food and an important source of income for millions of people in the subtropics. Pests and diseases are a major constraint to banana production. To prevent the spread of pests and disease, farmers are encouraged to use disease�] and insect�]free planting material obtained by micropropagation. This option, however, does not always exclude viruses and concern remains on the quality of planting material. Therefore, there is a demand for effective and reliable virus indexing procedures for tissue culture (TC) material. Reliable diagnostic tests are currently available for all of the economically important viruses of bananas with the exception of Banana streak viruses (BSV, Caulimoviridae, Badnavirus). Development of a reliable diagnostic test for BSV is complicated by the significant serological and genetic variation reported for BSV isolates, and the presence of endogenous BSV (eBSV). Current PCR�] and serological�]based diagnostic methods for BSV may not detect all species of BSV, and PCR�]based methods may give false positives because of the presence of eBSV. Rolling circle amplification (RCA) has been reported as a technique to detect BSV which can also discriminate between episomal and endogenous BSV sequences. However, the method is too expensive for large scale screening of samples in developing countries, and little information is available regarding its sensitivity. Therefore the development of reliable PCR�]based assays is still considered the most appropriate option for large scale screening of banana plants for BSV. This MSc project aimed to refine and optimise the protocols for BSV detection, with a particular focus on developing reliable PCR�]based diagnostics Initially, the appropriateness and reliability of PCR and RCA as diagnostic tests for BSV detection were assessed by testing 45 field samples of banana collected from nine districts in the Eastern region of Uganda in February 2010. This research was also aimed at investigating the diversity of BSV in eastern Uganda, identifying the BSV species present and characterising any new BSV species. Out of the 45 samples tested, 38 and 40 samples were considered positive by PCR and RCA, respectively. Six different species of BSV, namely Banana streak IM virus (BSIMV), Banana streak MY virus (BSMYV), Banana streak OL virus (BSOLV), Banana streak UA virus (BSUAV), Banana streak UL virus (BSULV), Banana streak UM virus (BSUMV), were detected by PCR and confirmed by RCA and sequencing. No new species were detected, but this was the first report of BSMYV in Uganda. Although RCA was demonstrated to be suitable for broad�]range detection of BSV, it proved time�]consuming and laborious for identification in field samples. Due to the disadvantages associated with RCA, attempts were made to develop a reliable PCR�]based assay for the specific detection of episomal BSOLV, Banana streak GF virus (BSGFV), BSMYV and BSIMV. For BSOLV and BSGFV, the integrated sequences exist in rearranged, repeated and partially inverted portions at their site of integration. Therefore, for these two viruses, primers sets were designed by mapping previously published sequences of their endogenous counterparts onto published sequences of the episomal genomes. For BSOLV, two primer sets were designed while, for BSGFV, a single primer set was designed. The episomalspecificity of these primer sets was assessed by testing 106 plant samples collected during surveys in Kenya and Uganda, and 33 leaf samples from a wide range of banana cultivars maintained in TC at the Maroochy Research Station of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI), Queensland. All of these samples had previously been tested for episomal BSV by RCA and for both BSOLV and BSGFV by PCR using published primer sets. The outcome from these analyses was that the newly designed primer sets for BSOLV and BSGFV were able to distinguish between episomal BSV and eBSV in most cultivars with some B�]genome component. In some samples, however, amplification was observed using the putative episomal�]specific primer sets where episomal BSV was not identified using RCA. This may reflect a difference in the sensitivity of PCR compared to RCA, or possibly the presence of an eBSV sequence of different conformation. Since the sequences of the respective eBSV for BSMYV and BSIMV in the M. balbisiana genome are not available, a series of random primer combinations were tested in an attempt to find potential episomal�]specific primer sets for BSMYV and BSIMV. Of an initial 20 primer combinations screened for BSMYV detection on a small number of control samples, 11 primers sets appeared to be episomal�]specific. However, subsequent testing of two of these primer combinations on a larger number of control samples resulted in some inconsistent results which will require further investigation. Testing of the 25 primer combinations for episomal�]specific detection of BSIMV on a number of control samples showed that none were able to discriminate between episomal and endogenous BSIMV. The final component of this research project was the development of an infectious clone of a BSV endemic in Australia, namely BSMYV. This was considered important to enable the generation of large amounts of diseased plant material needed for further research. A terminally redundant fragment (.1.3 �~ BSMYV genome) was cloned and transformed into Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain AGL1, and used to inoculate 12 healthy banana plants of the cultivars Cavendish (Williams) by three different methods. At 12 weeks post�]inoculation, (i) four of the five banana plants inoculated by corm injection showed characteristic BSV symptoms while the remaining plant was wilting/dying, (ii) three of the five banana plants inoculated by needle�]pricking of the stem showed BSV symptoms, one plant was symptomless while the remaining had died and (iii) both banana plants inoculated by leaf infiltration were symptomless. When banana leaf samples were tested for BSMYV by PCR and RCA, BSMYV was confirmed in all banana plants showing symptoms including those were wilting and/or dying. The results from this research have provided several avenues for further research. By completely sequencing all variants of eBSOLV and eBSGFV and fully sequencing the eBSIMV and eBSMYV regions, episomal BSV�]specific primer sets for all eBSVs could potentially be designed that could avoid all integrants of that particular BSV species. Furthermore, the development of an infectious BSV clone will enable large numbers of BSVinfected plants to be generated for the further testing of the sensitivity of RCA compared to other more established assays such as PCR. The development of infectious clones also opens the possibility for virus induced gene silencing studies in banana.

Knee flexor strength and bicep femoris electromyographical activity is lower in previously strained hamstrings

The aim of this study was to determine if athletes with a history of hamstring strain injury display lower levels of surface EMG (sEMG) activity and median power frequency in the previously injured hamstring muscle during maximal voluntary contractions. Recreational athletes were recruited, 13 with a history of unilateral hamstring strain injury and 15 without prior injury. All athletes undertook isokinetic dynamometry testing of the knee flexors and sEMG assessment of the biceps femoris long head (BF) and medial hamstrings (MH) during concentric and eccentric contractions at ± 180 and ± 600.s-1. The knee flexors on the previously injured limb were weaker at all contraction speeds compared to the uninjured limb (+1800.s-1 p = 0.0036; +600.s-1 p = 0.0013; -600.s-1 p = 0.0007; -1800.s-1 p = 0.0007) whilst sEMG activity was only lower in the BF during eccentric contractions (-600.s-1 p = 0.0025; -1800.s-1 p = 0.0003). There were no between limb differences in MH sEMG activity or median power frequency from either BF or MH in the injured group. The uninjured group showed no between limb differences in any of the tested variables. Secondary analysis comparing the between limb difference in the injured and the uninjured groups, confirmed that previously injured hamstrings were mostly weaker (+1800.s-1 p = 0.2208; +600.s-1 p = 0.0379; -600.s-1 p = 0.0312; -1800.s-1 p = 0.0110) and that deficits in sEMG were confined to the BF during eccentric contractions (-600.s-1 p = 0.0542; -1800.s-1 p = 0.0473) Previously injured hamstrings were weaker and BF sEMG activity was lower than the contralateral uninjured hamstring. This has implications for hamstring strain injury prevention and rehabilitation which should consider altered neural function following hamstring strain injury.

Analysis of indirect message injection for MAC generation using stream ciphers

This paper presents a model for generating a MAC tag with a stream cipher using the input message indirectly. Several recent proposals represent instances of this model with slightly different options. We investigate the security of this model for different options, and identify cases which permit forgery attacks. Based on this, we present a new forgery attack on version 1.4 of 128-EIA3. Design recommendations to enhance the security of proposals following this general model are given.

The impact of fatigue caused by sprint running on the median power frequency of the hamstring muscle group

Hamstring strain injuries (HSI) are the predominant non-contact injury in many sports. Intermittent running has been shown to result in preferential reductions in eccentric hamstring strength, which increase the risk of sustaining a HSI. The eccentric specific nature of this decline in hamstring function implicates central mechanisms, as peripheral fatigue mechanisms tend to impact upon both concentric and eccentric contractions modes. However, neural function of the hamstrings, such as the median power frequency (MPF) of the surface electromyography signal has yet to be examined in the fatigued hamstring following intermittent sprint running. AIM: To determine the impact of fatigue induced by intermittent sprinting on the MPF of the medial and lateral hamstring muscles. METHODS: Fifteen recreationally active males completed 18 × 20m overground sprints. Maximal strength (concentric and eccentric knee flexor and concentric knee extensor) was determined isokinetically at the velocities of ±180.s-1 and ±60.s- while hamstring muscle activation was assessed using surface electromyography, before and 15 minutes after the running protocol. RESULTS: Overground intermittent running caused a significant reduction in eccentric knee flexor strength (27.2 Nm; 95% CI = 11.2 to 43.3; p=0.0001) but not concentric strength (9.3 Nm; 95% CI = -6.7 to 25.3; P=0.6361). Following the overground running, MPF of the lateral hamstrings showed a significant decline eccentrically (0.86; 95% CI = 0.59 to 1.54; P=0.038) and concentrically (0.76; 95%CI = 0.66 to 0.83; P=0.039). Similar declines in MPF were also noted in the medial hamstrings eccentrically (1.54; 95% CI = 0.59 to 7.9; P=0.005) and concentrically (1.18; 95% CI = 0.44 to 6.8; P=0.040). CONCLUSION: Whilst sprint running induced fatigue led to a eccentric specific reduction in knee flexor torque, MPF was suppressed across both contraction modes. This would indicate that factors associated with the decline in MPF do not appear to explain the contraction mode-specific loss of strength after intermittent sprints. This would implicate other central mechanisms, such as declines in voluntary activation, in explaining the eccentric specific decline in strength seen following sprint running.

Knee flexor strength and biceps femoris activation deficits following hamstring strain injury

Background: Hamstring strain injuries (HSI) are prevalent in sport and re-injury rates have been high for many years. Maladaptation following HSI are implicated in injury recurrence however nervous system function following HSI has received little attention. Aim: To determine if recreational athletes with a history of unilateral HSI, who have returned to training and competition, will exhibit lower levels of voluntary activation (VA) and median power frequency (MPF) in the previously injured limb compared to the uninjured limb at long muscle lengths. Methods: Twenty-eight recreational athletes were recruited. Of these, 13 athletes had a history of unilateral HSI and 15 had no history of HSI. Following familiarisation, all athletes undertook isokinetic dynamometry testing and surface electromyography assessment of the biceps femoris long head and medial hamstrings during concentric and eccentric contractions at ± 180 and ± 60deg/s. Results: The previously injured limb was weaker at all contraction speeds compared to the uninjured limb (+180deg/s mean difference(MD) = 9.3Nm, p = 0.0036; +60deg/s MD = 14.0Nm, p = 0.0013; -60deg/s MD = 18.3Nm, p = 0.0007; -180deg/s MD = 20.5Nm, p = 0.0007) whilst VA was only lower in the biceps femoris long head during eccentric contractions (-60deg/s MD = 0.13, p = 0.0025; -180deg/s MD = 0.13, p = 0.0003). There were no between limb differences in medial hamstring VA or MPF from either biceps femoris long head or medial hamstrings in the injured group. The uninjured group showed no between limb differences with any of the tested variables. Conclusion: Previously injured hamstrings were weaker than the contralateral uninjured hamstring at all tested speeds and contraction modes. During eccentric contractions biceps femoris long head VA was lower in the previously injured limb suggesting neural control of biceps femoris long head may be altered following HSI. Current rehabilitation practices have been unsuccessful in restoring strength and VA following HSI. Restoration of these markers should be considered when determining the success of rehabilitation from HSI. Further investigations are required to elucidate the full impact of lower levels of biceps femoris long head VA following HSI on rehabilitation outcomes and re-injury risk.