Designing for engagement : building IT systems

Context The School of Information Technology at QUT has recently undertaken a major restructuring of their Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT) course. Some of the aims of this restructuring include a reduction in first year attrition and to provide an attractive degree course that meets both student and industry expectations. Emphasis has been placed on the first semester in the context of retaining students by introducing a set of four units that complement one another and provide introductory material on technology, programming and related skills, and generic skills that will aid the students throughout their undergraduate course and in their careers. This discussion relates to one of these four fist semester units, namely Building IT Systems. The aim of this unit is to create small Information Technology (IT) systems that use programming or scripting, databases as either standalone applications or web applications. In the prior history of teaching introductory computer programming at QUT, programming has been taught as a stand alone subject and integration of computer applications with other systems such as databases and networks was not undertaken until students had been given a thorough grounding in those topics as well. Feedback has indicated that students do not believe that working with a database requires programming skills. In fact, the teaching of the building blocks of computer applications have been compartmentalized and taught in isolation from each other. The teaching of introductory computer programming has been an industry requirement of IT degree courses as many jobs require at least some knowledge of the topic. Yet, computer programming is not a skill that all students have equal capabilities of learning (Bruce et al., 2004) and this is clearly shown by the volume of publications dedicated to this topic in the literature over a broad period of time (Eckerdal & Berglund, 2005; Mayer, 1981; Winslow, 1996). The teaching of this introductory material has been done pretty much the same way over the past thirty years. During this period of time that introductory computer programming courses have been taught at QUT, a number of different programming languages and programming paradigms have been used and different approaches to teaching and learning have been attempted in an effort to find the golden thread that would allow students to learn this complex topic. Unfortunately, computer programming is not a skill that can be learnt in one semester. Some basics can be learnt but it can take many years to master (Norvig, 2001). Faculty data typically has shown a bimodal distribution of results for students undertaking introductory programming courses with a high proportion of students receiving a high mark and a high proportion of students receiving a low or failing mark. This indicates that there are students who understand and excel with the introductory material while there is another group who struggle to understand the concepts and practices required to be able to translate a specification or problem statement into a computer program that achieves what is being requested. The consequence of a large group of students failing the introductory programming course has been a high level of attrition amongst first year students. This attrition level does not provide good continuity in student numbers in later years of the degree program and the current approach is not seen as sustainable.

Publishing Engineering Education Resources: A Collaborative Web Project.

Web is a powerful hypermedia-based information retrieval mechanism that provides a user-friendly access across all major computer platforms connected over Internet. This paper demonstrates the application of Web technology when used as an educational delivery tool. It also reports on the development of a prototype electronic publishing project where Web technology was used to deliver power engineering educational resources. The resulting hyperbook will contain diverse teaching resources such as hypermedia-based modular educational units and computer simulation programs that are linked in a meaningful and structured way. The use of Web for disseminating information of this nature has many advantages that cannot possibly be achieved otherwise. PREAMBLE The continual increase of low-cost functionality available in desktop computing has opened up a new possibility in learning within a wider educational framework. This technology also is supported by enhanced features offered by new and ...

Science and technology supervision resources

This document is an adaptation of a report submitted to the ALTC in 2009, with additional data collected through subsequent interviews with science supervisors. The organisation of the contents also reflects a development of thought since the original project. The framework presented in this document is intended to provide science and technology supervisors with a range of options with respect to supervisory pedagogy. It has been developed to highlight different aspects of thinking about supervision as a teaching and learning practice; as well as approaches, strategies and roles associated with supervision. It will enable science and technology supervisors to become aware of the diverse options available to them and provide systematic ways of thinking about supervisory practices. Use of this framework will encourage supervisors to make choices based on broader, rather than more limited, repertoires. It will also encourage thinking about supervision as a teaching and learning practice.

Genetic resources in wild and cultured stocks of the Asian mud crab, Scylla paramamosain

The mud crab (Scylla spp.) aquaculture industry has expanded rapidly in recent years in many countries in the Indo - West Pacific (IWP) region as an alternative to marine shrimp culture because of significant disease outbreaks and associated failures of many shrimp culture industries in the region. Currently, practices used to produce and manage breeding crabs in hatcheries may compromise levels of genetic diversity, ultimately compromising growth rates, disease resistance and stock productivity. Therefore, to avoid “genetic pollution” and its harmful effects and to promote further development of mud crab aquaculture and fisheries in a sustainable way, a greater understanding of the genetic attributes of wild and cultured mud crab stocks is required. Application of these results can provide benefits for managing wild and cultured Asian mud crab populations for multiple purposes including for commercial production, recreation and conservation and to increase profitability and sustainability of newly emerging crab culture industries. Phylogeographic patterns and the genetic structure of Asian mud crab populations across the IWP were assessed to determine if they were concordant with those of other widespread taxa possessing pelagic larvae of relatively long duration. A 597 bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA COI gene was amplified and screened for variation in a total of 297 individuals of S. paramamosain from six sampling sites across the species’ natural geographical distribution in the IWP and 36 unique haplotypes were identified. Haplotype diversities per site ranged from 0.516 to 0.879. Nucleotide diversity estimates among haplotypes were 0.11% – 0.48%. Maximum divergence observed among S. paramamosain samples was 1.533% and samples formed essentially a single monophyletic group as no obvious clades were related to geographical location of sites. A weak positive relationship was observed however, between genetic distance and geographical distance among sites. Microsatellite markers were then used to assess contemporary gene flow and population structure in Asian mud crab populations sampled across their natural distribution in the IWP. Eight microsatellite loci were screened in sampled S. paramamosain populations and all showed high allelic diversity at all loci in sampled populations. In total, 344 individuals were analysed, and 304 microsatellite alleles were found across the 8 loci. The mean number of alleles per locus at each site ranged from 20.75 to 28.25. Mean allelic richness per site varied from 17.2 to 18.9. All sites showed high levels of heterozygosity as average expected heterozygosities for all loci ranged from 0.917 – 0.953 while mean observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.916 – 0.959. Allele diversities were similar at all sites and across all loci. The results did not show any evidence for major differences in allele frequencies among sites and patterns of allele frequencies were very similar in all populations across all loci. Estimates of population differentiation (FST) were relatively low and most probably largely reflect intra – individual variation for very highly variable loci. Results from nDNA analysis showed evidence for only very limited population genetic structure among sampled S. paramamosain, and a positive and significant association for genetic and geographical distance among sample sites. Microsatellite markers were then employed to determine if adequate levels of genetic diversity has been captured in crab hatcheries for the breeding cycle. The results showed that all microsatellite loci were polymorphic in hatchery samples. Culture populations were in general, highly genetically depauperate, compared with comparable wild populations, with only 3 to 8 alleles recorded for the same loci set per population. In contrast, very high numbers of alleles per locus were found in reference wild S. paramamosain populations, which ranged from 18 to 46 alleles per locus per population. In general, this translates into a 3 to 10 fold decline in mean allelic richness per locus in all culture stocks compared with wild reference counterparts. Furthermore, most loci in all cultured S. paramamosain samples showed departures from HWE equilibrium. Allele frequencies were very different in culture samples from that present in comparable wild reference samples and this in particular, was reflected in a large decline in allele diversity per locus. The pattern observed was best explained by significant impacts of breeding practices employed in hatcheries rather than natural differentiation among wild populations used as the source of brood stock. Recognition of current problems and management strategies for the species both for the medium and long-term development of the new culture industry are discussed. The priority research to be undertaken over the medium term for S. paramamosain should be to close the life cycle fully to allow individuals to be bred on demand and their offspring equalised to control broodstock reproductive contributions. Establishing a broodstock register and pedigree mating system will be required before any selection program is implemented. This will ensure that sufficient genetic variation will be available to allow genetic gains to be sustainably achieved in a future stock improvement program. A fundamental starting point to improve hatchery practices will be to encourage farmers and hatchery managers to spawn more females in their hatcheries as it will increase background genetic diversity in culture stocks. Combining crablet cohorts from multiple hatcheries into a single cohort for supply to farmers or rotation of breeding females regularly in hatcheries will help to address immediate genetic diversity problems in culture stocks. Application of these results can provide benefits for managing wild and cultured Asian mud crab populations more efficiently. Over the long-term, application of data on genetic diversity in wild and cultured stocks of Asian mud crab will contribute to development of sustainable and productive culture industries in Vietnam and other countries in the IWP and can contribute towards conservation of wild genetic resources.

Providing a better work environment for competitive advantage – conceptual considerations linking commitment and firm-specific human resources

Managing for uncertain futures is a major concern in the area of strategic management with environmental stability fading and increasing global impacts on local decisions. One critical resource that has attained special interest lies in talented and qualified employees. It is a challenge to motivate such employees to invest in firm-specific assets that may form a valuable basis for competitive advantage. Short term contracts and a lack of care for employees make it hard to establish a committed workforce. The aim of the paper is the elaboration of a conceptual framework showing the links and contributing to a better understanding of how the alignment of interests of employees and firms maybe a valuable contribution to the understanding of competitive advantage.

A test of the job demands : resources model with HIV/AIDS volunteers

Burnout has been identified as a significant factor in HIV/AIDS volunteering. It has been associated with depression, anxiety and the loss of volunteers from the health care delivery system. The aim of this study was to test the independence of the health and motivational processes hypothesized within the Job Demands – Resources model of burnout in HIV/AIDS volunteers. Participants were 307 HIV/AIDS volunteers from state AIDS Councils throughout Australia who completed self-report measures pertaining to role ambiguity and role conflict, social support, burnout, intrinsic and organizational satisfaction, and depression. Findings suggested that the independence of the dual processes hypothesized by the model was only partially supported. These findings provide a model for burnout which gives a framework for interventions at both the individual and organizational level which would contribute to the prevention of burnout, depression, and job dissatisfaction in HIV/AIDS volunteers.

The Law and Governance of Water Resources : The Challenge of Sustainability

To achieve the sustainable use and development of water resources is a daunting challenge for both the global and local communities. It requires commitments by all groups within the international, national and local communities from their own particular, possibly conflicting, perspectives. Without a set of coherent legal arrangements designed to ensure effective governance of water resources, their sustainable use and development are unlikely to be achieved. This study looks at how the legal arrangements for managing water resources have evolved across the continents over hundreds of years; their relevance for contemporary society; how the norms of current international and national legal regimes are responding; and, most importantly, how legal rights and duties should be structured so as to achieve sustainability in the future.

Towards an effective IT governance structure for organizations in developing economies

The pervasive use of IT is prominent amongst organizations in developing economies. However, there is growing evidence that these economies fail to capitalize on their IT investment to transform their organizations to be competitive both locally and globally. IT-related benefits are possible with appropriate governance of the IT-related resources, and we need to broaden our understanding on the IT governance mechanics suitable for organizations in the developing economies. In this study, we adopted an initial interpretive design to obtain a deeper understanding of the IT governance (ITG) environment and conceptions of the stakeholders on effective IT governance structures for the developing economies. We found that the presence of an IT Strategic Planning Committee, Multiple level of authority, and a Forum for informal discussions as the crucial components of an ITG structure in developing economies.

Resources to assist research student supervision

This document is an adaptation of a report submitted to the ALTC in 2009, with additional data collected through subsequent interviews. The organisation of the contents also reflects a development of thought since the original project. The framework presented in this document is intended to provide supervisors with a range of options with respect to supervisory pedagogy. It has been developed to highlight different aspects of thinking about supervision as a teaching and learning practice; as well as approaches, strategies and roles associated with supervision. It will enable supervisors to become aware of the diverse options available to them and provide systematic ways of thinking about supervisory practices. Use of this framework will encourage supervisors to make choices based on broader, rather than more limited, repertoires. It will also encourage thinking about supervision as a teaching and learning practice.

Family literacy practices and home literacy resources : an Australian pilot study

The combined impact of social class, cultural background and experience upon early literacy achievement in the first year of schooling is among the most durable questions in educational research. Links have been established between social class and achievement but literacy involves complex social and cognitive practices that are not necessarily reflected in the connections that have been made. The complexity of relationships between social class, cultural background and experience, and their impact on early literacy achievement have received little research attention. Recent refinements of the broad terms of social class or socioeconomic status have questioned the established links between social class and achievement. Nevertheless, it remains difficult to move beyond deficit and mismatch models of explaining and understanding the underperformance of children from lower socioeconomic and cultural minority groups when conventional measures are used. The data from an Australian pilot study reported here add to the increasing evidence that income is not necessarily related directly to home literacy resources or to how those resources are used. Further, the data show that the level of print resources in the home may not be a good indicator of the level of use of those resources.

What would it take to optimise young people’s sexual health? A conversational journey with youth workers

Marginalised young people have been consistently identified as a high risk group in relation to sexual health. This research, undertaken through the Youth Affairs Network of Queensland, seeks to explore impacts on youth workers’ ability to provide effective interventions around sexual health? What knowledge,skills, resources, value and ethics, training and support is available to youth workers? What do youth workers identify that they need and what workforce development strategies are recommended to enable the youth sector to respond more effectively? This project report provides a snapshot and introduction to the key themes raised by youth workers and other key stakeholders in Queensland Australia.

Optimising COBIT 5 for IT governance : examples from the public sector

Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT) has grown to be one of the most significant IT Governance (ITG) frameworks available and also the best suited for audit, as it provides comprehensive guidance around IT processes and related business goals. However, given the constraints of both time and resources within which the Australian public sector is forced to operate, implementing an audit framework the size of COBIT in its entirety is often considered too large a task. As an alternative to full implementation it is not uncommon for the public sector to “cherry pick” controls from the framework in an effort to reduce its size. This paper reports on research undertaken to evaluate the potential to use an optimised sub-set of COBIT 5 for ITG audit in Australian public sector organisations. A survey methodology was employed to determine the control-objectives considered to be the most important to a selection of public sector organisations. Twelve control-objectives were identified as being most important to Queensland public sector organisations. As ten of these were also identified by previous studies, it appears possible to derive an optimised sub-set from COBIT 5 that would be both enduring and relevant across geographical and organisational contexts.

Engineering across cultures : new learning resources for intercultural competency in engineering

BACKGROUND The work described in this paper has emerged from an ALTC/OLT funded project, Exploring Intercultural Competency in Engineering. The project indentified many facets of culture and intercultural competence that go beyond a culture-as-nationality paradigm. It was clear from this work that resources were needed to help engineering educators introduce students to the complex issues of culture as they relate to engineering practice. A set of learning modules focussing on intercultural competence in engineering practice were developed early on in the project. Through the OLT project, these modules have been expanded into a range of resources covering various aspects of culture in engineering. Supporting the resources, an eBook detailing the ins and outs of intercultural competency has also been developed to assist engineering educators to embed opportunities for students to develop skills in unpacking and managing cross-cultural challenges in engineering practice. PURPOSE This paper describes the key principles behind the development of the learning modules, the areas they cover and the eBook developed to support the modules. The paper is intended as an introduction to the approaches and resources and extends an invitation to the community to draw from, and contribute to this initial work. DESIGN/METHOD A key aim of this project was to go beyond the culture-as-nationality approach adopted in much of the work around intercultural competency (Deardorff, 2011). The eBook explores different dimensions of culture such as workplace culture, culture’s influence on engineering design, and culture in the classroom. The authors describe how these connect to industry practice and explore what they mean for engineering education. The packaged learning modules described here have been developed as a matrix of approaches moving from familiar known methods through complicated activities relying to some extent on expert knowledge. Some modules draw on the concept of ‘complex un-order’ as described in the ‘Cynefin domains’ proposed by Kurtz and Snowden (2003). RESULTS Several of the modules included in the eBook have already been trialled at a variety of institutions. Feedback from staff has been reassuringly positive so far. Further trials are planned for second semester 2012, and version 1 of the eBook and learning modules, Engineering Across Cultures, is due to be released in late October 2012. CONCLUSIONS The Engineering Across Cultures eBook and learning modules provide a useful and ready to employ resource to help educators tackle the complex issue of intercultural competency in engineering education. The book is by no means exhaustive, and nor are the modules, they instead provide an accessible, engineering specific guide to bringing cultural issues into the engineering classroom.

Stratospheric dust collections : valuable resources for space and atmospheric scientists

Collections of solid particles from the Earths' stratosphere have been a significant part of atmospheric research programs since 1965 [1], but it has only been in the past decade that space-related disciplines have provided the impetus for a continued interest in these collections. Early research on specific particle types collected from the stratosphere established that interplanetary dust particles (IDP's) can be collected efficiently and in reasonable abundance using flat-plate collectors [2-4]. The tenacity of Brownlee and co-workers in this subfield of cosmochemistry has led to the establishment of a successful IDP collection and analysis program (using flat-plate collectors on high-flying aircraft) based on samples available for distribution from Johnson Space Center [5]. Other stratospheric collections are made, but the program at JSC offers a unique opportunity to study well-documented, individual particles (or groups of particles) from a wide variety of sources [6]. The nature of the collection and curation process, as well as the timeliness of some sampling periods [7], ensures that all data obtained from stratospheric particles is a valuable resource for scientists from a wide range of disciplines. A few examples of the uses of these stratospheric dust collections are outlined below.