The social mechanism of political deliberation and citizen participation in Guangdong China

Many studies have focused on why deliberative institutions should be established in order to develop Chinese people’s citizenry skills; however few focus on the social conditions and public sentiments that shape the development of deliberative mechanisms. Skills and awareness of citizenry is not only brought into being by deliberative institutions that are set up by the government, but evolve through interplays between technologies and social changes. As a test-bed for economic reform Guangdong is increasingly identified by translocality and hybrid culture. This is framed by identity conflict and unrests, much of which is due to soaring wealth polarisation, high volumes of population movement, cultural collisions and ongoing linguistic contestations. These unrests show the region’s transformation goes beyond the economic front. Profound changes are occurring at what anthropologists and philosophers call the changing social conciseness or moral landscape (Ci, 1994; Yan, 2010). The changing social moralities are a reflection of the awareness of individuals’ rights and responsibilities, and their interdependencies from dominant ideologies. This paper discusses Guangdong’s social and cultural characteristics, and questions how existing social conditions allow the staging of political deliberation by facilitating political engagement and the formation of public opinion. The paper will investigate the tragedy of Xiao Yueyue in Foshan, Guangdong, where ‘right’ and ‘responsibility’, ‘self’ and ‘other’ define the public sentiments of deliberation and participation.

Road Pricing - Is it Acceptable for a Developing Country?

Dhaka, which is the capital of Bangladesh, is facing serious traffic congestion and whole traffic situation in Dhaka is in chaos. Government has initiated some projects; such as BRT, MRT and elevated expressway; to improve the situation. Road pricing is very popular concept, which can be implemented in Dhaka with BRT and MRT as an integrated manner. Even though it is very popular concept not many countries except some developed countries implemented road pricing practically. None of the developing countries adopted this policy. For success of road pricing it has to be acceptable among the stakeholders. Public are the main stakeholders for road pricing. This paper will explore whether road pricing will be acceptable in Dhaka considering only work trip in Dhaka. A sample of workers had been surveyed randomly. They were asked some demographic questions, such as age, gender, income and educational qualification; how they travelled to work; and whether they would accept road pricing; and if they would not accept road pricing the reasons behind that. Also respondents were given several hypothetical choices to see how respondents react with different road charge by choosing travel mode for their work trip. The methodological approach taken for analysis is qualitative and quantitative analysis. For quantitative analysis Binary Logit Regression analysis was carried out to find out the significant factors for accepting or not accepting road pricing.

Pre-service teachers' pedagogical relationships and experiences of embedding Indigenous Australian knowledge in teaching practicum

This paper argues from the standpoint that embedding Indigenous knowledge and perspectives in Australian curricula occurs within a space of tension, ‘the cultural interface’ (Nakata, 2002), in negotiation and contestation with other dominant knowledge systems. In this interface, Indigenous knowledge (IK) is in a state of constancy and flux, invisible and simultaneously pronounced depending on the teaching and learning contexts. More often than not, IK competes for validity and is vexed by questions of racial and cultural authenticity, and therefore struggles to be located centrally in educational systems, curricula and pedagogies. Interrogating normative western notions of what constitutes authentic or legitimate knowledge is critical to teaching Indigenous studies and embedding IK. The inclusion (and exclusion) of IK at the interface is central to developing curriculum that allows teachers to test and prod, create new knowledge and teaching approaches. From this perspective, we explore Indigenous Australian pre-service teachers’ experiences of pedagogical relationships within the teaching habitus of Australian classrooms. Our study is engaged with the strategic transgressions of praxis. We contend that tensions that participant Indigenous Australian pre-service teachers experience mirror the broader (and unresolved) political status of Indigenous people and thus where and why IK is strategically deployed as ‘new’ or ‘old knowledge within Australian liberal democratic systems of curriculum and schooling. It is significant to discuss the formation and transformation of the pedagogical cultural identity of the teaching profession within which Indigenous and non-Indigenous pre-service teachers are employed.

Hybrid game evolutionary algorithm for mission path planning of aerial survey tasks

The aim of this paper is to implement a Game-Theory based offline mission path planner for aerial inspection tasks of large linear infrastructures. Like most real-world optimisation problems, mission path planning involves a number of objectives which ideally should be minimised simultaneously. The goal of this work is then to develop a Multi-Objective (MO) optimisation tool able to provide a set of optimal solutions for the inspection task, given the environment data, the mission requirements and the definition of the objectives to minimise. Results indicate the robustness and capability of the method to find the trade-off between the Pareto-optimal solutions.

An evolutionary computation approach to three-dimensional path planning for unmanned aerial vehicles with tactical and kinematic constraints

This paper presents a novel evolutionary computation approach to three-dimensional path planning for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with tactical and kinematic constraints. A genetic algorithm (GA) is modified and extended for path planning. Two GAs are seeded at the initial and final positions with a common objective to minimise their distance apart under given UAV constraints. This is accomplished by the synchronous optimisation of subsequent control vectors. The proposed evolutionary computation approach is called synchronous genetic algorithm (SGA). The sequence of control vectors generated by the SGA constitutes to a near-optimal path plan. The resulting path plan exhibits no discontinuity when transitioning from curve to straight trajectories. Experiments and results show that the paths generated by the SGA are within 2% of the optimal solution. Such a path planner when implemented on a hardware accelerator, such as field programmable gate array chips, can be used in the UAV as on-board replanner, as well as in ground station systems for assisting in high precision planning and modelling of mission scenarios.

A Reliability test system for educational purposes-basic data

The IEEE Subcommittee on the Application of Probability Methods (APM) published the IEEE Reliability Test System (RTS) [1] in 1979. This system provides a consistent and generally acceptable set of data that can be used both in generation capacity and in composite system reliability evaluation [2,3]. The test system provides a basis for the comparison of results obtained by different people using different methods. Prior to its publication, there was no general agreement on either the system or the data that should be used to demonstrate or test various techniques developed to conduct reliability studies. Development of reliability assessment techniques and programs are very dependent on the intent behind the development as the experience of one power utility with their system may be quite different from that of another utility. The development and the utilization of a reliability program are, therefore, greatly influenced by the experience of a utlity and the intent of the system manager, planner and designer conducting the reliability studies. The IEEE-RTS has proved to be extremely valuable in highlighting and comparing the capabilities (or incapabilities) of programs used in reliability studies, the differences in the perception of various power utilities and the differences in the solution techniques. The IEEE-RTS contains a reasonably large power network which can be difficult to use for initial studies in an educational environment.

A Reliability test system for educational purposes-basic data

The IEEE Reliability Test System (RTS) developed by the Application of Probability Method Subcommittee has been used to compare and test a wide range of generating capacity and composite system evaluation techniques and subsequent digital computer programs. A basic reliability test system is presented which has evolved from the reliability education and research programs conducted by the Power System Research Group at the University of Saskatchewan. The basic system data necessary for adequacy evaluation at the generation and composite generation and transmission system levels are presented together with the fundamental data required to conduct reliability-cost/reliability-worth evaluation

A Reliability test system for educational purposes-basic results

A set of basic reliability indices at the generation and composite generation and transmission levels for a small reliability test system are presented. The test system and the results presented have evolved from reliability research and teaching programs. The indices presented are for fundamental reliability applications which should be covered in a power system reliability teaching program. The RBTS test system and the basic indices provide a valuable reference for faculty and students engaged in reliability teaching and research

Glider path-planning for optimal sampling of mesocale eddies

Ocean gliders constitute an important advance in the highly demanding ocean monitoring scenario. Their effciency, endurance and increasing robustness make these vehicles an ideal observing platform for many long term oceanographic applications. However, they have proved to be also useful in the opportunis-tic short term characterization of dynamic structures. Among these, mesoscale eddies are of particular interest due to the relevance they have in many oceano-graphic processes.

The ‘Russian doll’ approach : developing nested case-studies to support international comparative research in education

International comparison is complicated by the use of different terms, classification methods, policy frameworks and system structures, not to mention different languages and terminology. Multi-case studies can assist in the understanding of the influence wielded by cultural, social, economic, historical and political forces upon educational decisions, policy construction and changes over time. But case studies alone are not enough. In this paper, we argue for an ecological or scaled approach that travels through macro, meso and micro levels to build nested case-studies to allow for more comprehensive analysis of the external and internal factors that shape policy-making and education systems. Such an approach allows for deeper understanding of the relationship between globalizing trends and policy developments.

The financial life well-lived: psychological benefits of financial planning

As the financial planning industry undergoes a series of reforms aimed at increased professionalism and improved quality of advice, financial planner training in Australia and elsewhere has begun to acknowledge the importance of interdisciplinary knowledge bases in informing both curriculum design and professoinal practice (e.g. FPA2009). This paper underscores the importance of the process of financial planning by providing a conceptual analysis of the six step financial planning process using key mechanisms derived from theory and research in cognate disciplines such as psychology and well-being. The paper identifies how these mechanisms may operate to impact client well-being in the financial planning context. The conceptual mapping of th emechanisms to process elements of financial planning is a unique contribution to the financial planning literature and offers a further framework in the armamentarium of researchers interested in pursuing questions around the value of financial planning. The conceptual framework derived from the analysis also adds to the growing body of literature aimed at developing an integrated model of financial planning.

Spaces for Solidarity and Individualism in Educational Contexts

Foreword For children and youth, as citizens in a society, being a part of educational systems means being involved in a community. Through participation in educational systems, there is important learning about the self and others, both for individual development and social solidarity. Individual development and social solidarity are interrelated. These are important values in education at all levels. Individuals are social beings and are necessarily interdependent on others. Nevertheless, individualism and social solidarity are values that sometimes can diverge and come into conflict. These values can be defined and interpreted in various ways. In a time of neo-liberalism, for example, where individual choices and rights are put at the forefront of the societal and educational discourses in many countries it is relevant to raise questions on how issues of solidarity and individualism are interpreted and negotiated in education. What kind of shape and definitions do these concepts take when schools and preschools live under the intense pressures for the accountability of educational outcomes(Biesta, 2009)? Under what conditions can values, such as solidarity and individualism, co-exist and develop in multicultural and globalized societies, without one dominating the other...

Games for change and transformative learning : an ethnographic case study

This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of how serious games/games for change function as learning frameworks for transformative learning in an educational setting. This study illustrates how the meaning-making processes and learning with and through computer gameplay are highly contingent, and are significantly influenced by the uncertainties of the situational context. The study focuses on SCAPE, a simulation game that addresses urban planning and sustainability. SCAPE is based on the real-world scenario of Kelvin Grove Urban Village, an inner city redevelopment area in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The game is embedded within an educational program, and I thus account for the various gameplay experiences of different school classes participating in this program. The networks emerging from the interactions between students/players, educators, facilitators, the technology, the researcher, as well as the setting, result in unanticipated, controversial, and sometimes unintended gameplay experiences and outcomes. To unpack play, transformative learning and games, this study adopts an ecological approach that considers the magic circle of gameplay in its wider context. Using Actor-Network Theory as the ontological lens for inquiry, the methods for investigation include an extensive literature review, ethnographic participant observation of SCAPE, as well as student and teacher questionnaires, finishing with interviews with the designers and facilitators of SCAPE. Altogether, these methods address my research aim to better understand how the heterogeneous actors engage in the relationships in and around gameplay, and illustrate how their conflicting understandings enable, shape or constrain the (transformative) learning experience. To disentangle these complexities, my focus continuously shifts between the following modes of inquiry into the aims „h To describe and analyse the game as a designed artefact. „h To examine the gameplay experiences of players/students and account for how these experiences are constituted in the relationships of the network. „h To trace the meaning-making processes emerging from the various relations of players/students, facilitators, teachers, designers, technology, researcher, and setting, and consider how the boundaries of the respective ecology are configured and negotiated. „h To draw out the implications for the wider research area of game-based learning by using the simulation game SCAPE as an example for introducing gameplay to educational settings. Accounting in detail for five school classes, these accounts represent, each in its own right, distinct and sometimes controversial forms of engagement in gameplay. The practices and negotiations of all the assembled human and non-human actors highlight the contingent nature of gameplay and learning. In their sum, they offer distinct but by no means exhaustive examples of the various relationships that emerge from the different assemblages of human and non-human actors. This thesis, hence, illustrates that game-based learning in an educational setting is accompanied by considerable unpredictability and uncertainty. As ordinary life spills and leaks into gameplay experiences, group dynamics and the negotiations of technology, I argue that overly deterministic assertions of the game¡¦s intention, as well as a too narrowly defined understanding of the transformative learning outcome, can constrain our inquiries and hinder efforts to further elucidate and understand the evolving uncertainties around game-based learning. Instead, this thesis posits that playing and transformative learning are relational effects of the respective ecology, where all actors are networked in their (partial) enrolment in the process of translation. This study thus attempts to foreground the rich opportunities for exploring how game-based learning is assembled as a network of practices.

Transmission system expansion planning considering combined operation of wind farms and energy storage systems

An energy storage system (ESS) can provide ancillary services such as frequency regulation and reserves, as well as smooth the fluctuations of wind power outputs, and hence improve the security and economics of the power system concerned. The combined operation of a wind farm and an ESS has become a widely accepted operating mode. Hence, it appears necessary to consider this operating mode in transmission system expansion planning, and this is an issue to be systematically addressed in this work. Firstly, the relationship between the cost of the NaS based ESS and its discharging cycle life is analyzed. A strategy for the combined operation of a wind farm and an ESS is next presented, so as to have a good compromise between the operating cost of the ESS and the smoothing effect of the fluctuation of wind power outputs. Then, a transmission system expansion planning model is developed with the sum of the transmission investment costs, the investment and operating costs of ESSs and the punishment cost of lost wind energy as the objective function to be minimized. An improved particle swarm optimization algorithm is employed to solve the developed planning model. Finally, the essential features of the developed model and adopted algorithm are demonstrated by 18-bus and 46-bus test systems.