What does the review of the Australian Curriculum mean for Senior Modern History?

In this paper we briefly explore some of recommendations of the Review of the Australian Curriculum Final Report (Australian Government, 2014a), henceforth referred to as the Review, with reference to Modern History in the senior secondary Australian Curriculum. We also refer to the invited papers provided by history subject matter specialists, Professor Gregory Melleuish and Mr Clive Logan, published as the Review’s Supplementary Material (Australian Government, 2014b). In doing so, we note that both documents devote most of their attention to critiquing the Australian Curriculum: History in the compulsory years from Foundation (F) to Year 10.

Teaching manufacturing engineering at tertiary institutions in conjunction with engineering design and engineering materials

Tertiary institutions now face serious challenges. Modern industry requires engineering graduates with strong knowledge of modern technologies, highly practical focus, management skills, ability to work individually and in a team, understanding of environmental issues and many other skills and graduate attributes. Institutions in the tertiary sector change courses and modify curriculum to reflect challenges of the modern industry and make engineering graduates better prepared for the “real world”. Queensland University of Technology in the recent years introduced an innovative structure of engineering courses with a common core for Bachelor of Engineering Mechanical, Infomechatronics and Medical, where manufacturing is taught in conjunction with engineering design and engineering materials. In this paper we discuss the innovative curriculum structure, teaching and learning approaches of coherent delivery of manufacturing in conjunction with engineering design and

What’s best for our lymphoedema patients? Have we lost the patient as an individual in the quest for good science?

In a recent issue of the Journal of Lymphoedema, Nickolaidis and Karlsson (2013) indicated that most of the standard treatments for lymphoedema patients were explored and developed early last century, and suggested that holistic assessment of the individual is critical for good outcomes, but that perhaps “less emphasis should be placed on manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) and more on compression, exercise and weight reduction.”

Curriculum movements in science education

"The Latin meaning of the word “curriculum” as the race course for athletic sports is a good place to start to describe the use of this word in science education. It conjures up senses of contest and of challenge that have been part of the science curriculum since its earliest beginnings in schooling. Curriculum also had a Latin meaning associating it with the “deeds and events for developing a child to an adult” that also finds resonance in how the teaching and learning of science has in some places and some occasions been conceived. It is this sense of the prescription of an intended curriculum – what is to be taught and learnt in science – that this entry discusses the science curriculum’s movement over time. Others in education, and indeed in science education, use the word “curriculum” much more widely to include the pedagogies in classroom practice, the many other explicit and implicit experiences that ..."--Publisher website

Biomechanical analyses of the performance of Paralympians: From foundation to elite level

Biomechanical analysis of sport performance provides an objective method of determining performance of a particular sporting technique. In particular, it aims to add to the understanding of the mechanisms influencing performance, characterization of athletes, and provide insights into injury predisposition. Whilst the performance in sport of able-bodied athletes is well recognised in the literature, less information and understanding is known on the complexity, constraints and demands placed on the body of an individual with a disability. This paper provides a dialogue that outlines scientific issues of performance analysis of multi-level athletes with a disability, including Paralympians. Four integrated themes are explored the first of which focuses on how biomechanics can contribute to the understanding of sport performance in athletes with a disability and how it may be used as an evidence-based tool. This latter point questions the potential for a possible cultural shift led by emergence of user-friendly instruments. The second theme briefly discusses the role of reliability of sport performance and addresses the debate of two-dimensional and three-dimensional analysis. The third theme address key biomechanical parameters and provides guidance to clinicians, and coaches on the approaches adopted using biomechanical/sport performance analysis for an athlete with a disability starting out, to the emerging and elite Paralympian. For completeness of this discourse, the final theme is based on the controversial issues on the role of assisted devices and the inclusion of Paralympians into able-bodied sport is also presented. All combined, this dialogue highlights the intricate relationship between biomechanics and training of individuals with a disability. Furthermore, it illustrates the complexity of modern training of athletes which can only lead to a better appreciation of the performances to be delivered in the London 2012 Paralympic Games

Response of segmented bored transit tunnels to surface blast

Increasing threat of terrorism highlights the importance of enhancing the resilience of underground tunnels to all hazards. This paper develops, applies and compares the Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) and Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) techniques to treat the response of buried tunnels to surface explosions. The results and outcomes of the two techniques were compared, along with results from existing test data. The comparison shows that the ALE technique is a better method for describing the tunnel response for above ground explosion with regards to modeling accuracy and computational efficiency. The ALE technique was then applied to treat the blast response of different types of segmented bored tunnels buried in dry sand. Results indicate that the most used modern ring type segmented tunnels were more flexible for in-plane response, however, they suffered permanent drifts between the rings. Hexagonal segmented tunnels responded with negligible drifts in the longitudinal direction, but the magnitudes of in-plane drifts were large and hence hazardous for the tunnel. Interlocking segmented tunnels suffered from permanent drifts in both the longitudinal and transverse directions. Multi-surface radial joints in both the hexagonal and interlocking segments affected the flexibility of the tunnel in the transverse direction. The findings offer significant new information in the behavior of segmented bored tunnels to guide their future implementation in civil engineering applications.

Securing Australia's future: The role of science, research and technology in lifting Australian productivity

A three-year research program funded by the Australian Research Council and conducted by the four Learned Academies through the Australian Council of Learned Academies for PMSEIC, through the Office of the Chief Scientist. Securing Australia’s Future delivers research-based evidence and findings to support policy development in areas of importance to Australia’s future.

Climate change, sustainability and science education

The world and its peoples are facing multiple, complex challenges and we cannot continue as we are (Moss, 2010). Earth‘s “natural capital” - nature‘s ability to provide essential ecosystem services to stabilize world climate systems, maintain water quality, support secure food production, supply energy needs, moderate environmental impacts, and ensure social harmony and equity – is seriously compromised (Gough, 2005; Hawkins, Lovins & Lovins, 1999). To further summarize, current rates of resource consumption by the global human population are unsustainable (Kitzes, Peller, Goldfinger & Wackernagel, 2007) for human and non-human species, and for future generations. Further, continuing growth in world population and global political commitment to growth economics compounds these demands. Despite growing recognition of the serious consequences for people and planet, little consideration is given, within most nations, to the social and environmental issues that economic growth brings. For example, Australia is recognised as one of the developed countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Yet, to date, responses (such as carbon pricing) have been small-scale, fragmented, and their worth disputed, even ridiculed. This is at a time referred to as ‘the critical decade’ (Hughes & McMichael, 2011) when the world’s peoples must make strong choices if we are to avert the worst impacts of climate change.

Proceedings of the 3rd International Subtropical Cities Conference 2011 Subtropical Cities: Subtropical Urbanism -Beyond Climate Change

Climate has been, throughout modern history, a primary attribute for attracting residents to the “Sunshine States” of Florida (USA) and Queensland (Australia). The first major group of settlers capitalized on the winter growing season to support a year-­‐round agricultural economy. As these economies developed, the climate attracted tourism and retirement industries. Yet as Florida and Queensland have blossomed under beneficial climates, the stresses acting on the natural environment are exacting a toll. Southeast Florida and eastern Queensland are among the most vulnerable coastal metropolitan areas in the world. In these places the certainty of sea level rise is measurable with impacts, empirically observable, that will continue to increase regardless of any climate change mitigation.1 The cities of the subtropics share a series of paradoxes relating to climate, resources, environment, and culture. As the subtropical climate entices new residents and visitors there are increasing costs associated with urban infrastructure and the ravages of violent weather. The carefree lifestyle of subtropical cities is increasingly dependent on scarce water and energy resources and the flow of tangible goods that support a trade economy. The natural environment is no longer exploitable as the survival of the human environment is contingent upon the ability of natural ecosystems to absorb the impact of human actions. The quality of subtropical living is challenged by the mounting pressures of population growth and rapid urbanization yet urban form and contemporary building design fail to take advantage of the subtropical zone’s natural attributes of abundant sunshine, cooling breezes and warm temperatures. Yet, by building a global network of local knowledge, subtropical cities like Brisbane, the City of Gold Coast and Fort Lauderdale, are confidently leading the way with innovative and inventive solutions for building resiliency and adaptation to climate change. The Centre for Subtropical Design at Queensland University of Technology organized the first international Subtropical Cities conference in Brisbane, Australia, where the “fault-­‐lines” of subtropical cities at breaking points were revealed. The second conference, held in 2008, shed a more optimistic light with the theme "From fault-­‐lines to sight-­‐lines -­‐ subtropical urbanism in 20-­‐20" highlighting the leadership exemplified in the vitality of small and large works from around the subtropical world. Yet beyond these isolated local actions the need for more cooperation and collaboration was identified as the key to moving beyond the problems of the present and foreseeable future. The spirit of leadership and collaboration has taken on new force, as two institutions from opposite sides of the globe joined together to host the 3rd international conference Subtropical Cities 2011 -­‐ Subtropical Urbanism: Beyond Climate Change. The collaboration between Florida Atlantic University and the Queensland University of Technology to host this conference, for the first time in the United States, forges a new direction in international cooperative research to address urban design solutions that support sustainable behaviours, resiliency and adaptation to sea level rise, green house gas (GHG) reduction, and climate change research in the areas of architecture and urban design, planning, and public policy. With southeast Queensland and southern Florida as contributors to this global effort among subtropical urban regions that share similar challenges, opportunities, and vulnerabilities our mutual aim is to advance the development and application of local knowledge to the global problems we share. The conference attracted over 150 participants from four continents. Presentations by authors were organized into three sub-­‐themes: Cultural/Place Identity, Environment and Ecology, and Social Economics. Each of the 22 papers presented underwent a double-­‐blind peer review by a panel of international experts among the disciplines and research areas represented. The Centre for Subtropical Design at the Queensland University of Technology is leading Australia in innovative environmental design with a multi-­‐disciplinary focus on creating places that are ‘at home’ in the warm humid subtropics. The Broward Community Design Collaborative at Florida Atlantic University's College for Design and Social Inquiry has built an interdisciplinary collaboration that is unique in the United States among the units of Architecture, Urban and Regional Planning, Social Work, Public Administration, together with the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the College of Science, and the Center for Environmental Studies, to engage in funded action research through design inquiry to solve the problems of development for urban resiliency and environmental sustainment. As we move beyond debates about climate change -­‐ now acting upon us -­‐ the subtropical urban regions of the world will continue to convene to demonstrate the power of local knowledge against global forces, thereby inspiring us as we work toward everyday engagement and action that can make our cities more livable, equitable, and green.

Art and science as creative catalysts

Science, Art and Science Art collaborations are generally presented and understood in terms of their products. We argue that the process of Science art can be a significant, even principal benefit of these collaborations, even though it may be largely invisible to anyone other than the collaborators. Hosting the Centenary of Canberra Science Art Commission at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has shown us that while Science and Art pursue orthogonal dimensions of creativity and innovation, collaborators can combine these directions to access new areas of imagination and ideas.

Visible light photocatalytic synthesis of fine organic chemicals with new photocatalysts

This project was a step forward in developing new recyclable photocatalysts for chemical reactions. These new photocatalysts can facilitate reactions by using visible light under moderate reaction conditions which is suitable for a sustainable, green and eco-friendly modern chemical industry. The outcome of the study greatly extended our understanding in metal nanoparticle photocatalysis, which reveals new photocatalytic mechanisms for the controlled transformation of chemical reactions. The prospect of sunlight irradiation driving chemical reactions may provide opportunity for the organic synthesis via a more controlled, simplified, and greener process in the future.

Evolution of self-reporting methods for identifying discrete emotions in science classrooms

Emotion researchers have grappled with challenging methodological issues in capturing emotions of participants in naturalistic settings such as school or university classrooms. Self-reporting methods have been used frequently, yet these methods are inadequate when used alone. We argue that the self-reporting methods of emotion diaries and cogenerative dialogues can be helpful in identifying in-the-moment emotions when used in conjunction with the microanalysis of video recordings of classroom events. We trace the evolution of our use of innovative self-reporting methods through three cases from our research projects, and propose new directions for our ongoing development and application of these methods in both school and university classrooms.