High-stakes literacy tests and local effects in a rural school

High-stakes literacy testing is now a ubiquitous educational phenomenon. However, it remains a relatively recent phenomenon in Australia. Hence it is possible to study the ways in which such tests are reorganising educators’ work during this period of change. This paper draws upon Dorothy Smith’s Institutional Ethnography and critical policy analysis to consider this problem and reports on interview data from teachers and the principal in small rural school in a poor area of South Australia. In this context high-stakes testing and the associated diagnostic school review unleashes a chain of actions within the school which ultimately results in educators doubting their professional judgments, increasing the investment in testing, narrowing their teaching of literacy and purchasing levelled reading schemes. The effects of high-stakes testing in disadvantaged schools are identified and discussed.

Aerosol mass spectrometric analysis of the chemical composition of non- refractory PM1 samples from school environments in Brisbane, Australia

Long term exposure to vehicle emissions has been associated with harmful health effects. Children are amongst the most susceptible group and schools represent an environment where they can experience significant exposure to vehicle emissions. However, there are limited studies on children’s exposure to vehicle emissions in schools. The aim of this study was to quantify the concentration of organic aerosol and in particular, vehicle emissions that children are exposed to during school hours. Therefore an Aerodyne compact time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (TOF-AMS) was deployed at five urban schools in Brisbane, Australia. The TOF-AMS enabled the chemical composition of the non- refractory (NR-PM1) to be analysed with a high temporal resolution to assess the concentration of vehicle emissions and other organic aerosols during school hours. At each school the organic fraction comprised the majority of NR-PM1 with secondary organic aerosols as the main constitute. At two of the schools, a significant source of the organic aerosol (OA) was slightly aged vehicle emissions from nearby highways. More aged and oxidised OA was observed at the other three schools, which also recorded strong biomass burning influences. Primary emissions were found to dominate the OA at only one school which had an O:C ratio of 0.17, due to fuel powered gardening equipment used near the TOF-AMS. The diurnal cycle of OA concentration varied between schools and was found to be at a minimum during school hours. The major organic component that school children were exposed to during school hours was secondary OA. Peak exposure of school children to HOA occurred during school drop off and pick up times. Unless a school is located near major roads, children are exposed predominately to regional secondary OA as opposed to local emissions during schools hours in urban environments.

Spatial variation of particle number concentration in school microscale environments and its impact on exposure assessment

It has not yet been established whether the spatial variation of particle number concentration (PNC) within a microscale environment can have an effect on exposure estimation results. In general, the degree of spatial variation within microscale environments remains unclear, since previous studies have only focused on spatial variation within macroscale environments. The aims of this study were to determine the spatial variation of PNC within microscale school environments, in order to assess the importance of the number of monitoring sites on exposure estimation. Furthermore, this paper aims to identify which parameters have the largest influence on spatial variation, as well as the relationship between those parameters and spatial variation. Air quality measurements were conducted for two consecutive weeks at each of the 25 schools across Brisbane, Australia. PNC was measured at three sites within the grounds of each school, along with the measurement of meteorological and several other air quality parameters. Traffic density was recorded for the busiest road adjacent to the school. Spatial variation at each school was quantified using coefficient of variation (CV). The portion of CV associated with instrument uncertainty was found to be 0.3 and therefore, CV was corrected so that only non-instrument uncertainty was analysed in the data. The median corrected CV (CVc) ranged from 0 to 0.35 across the schools, with 12 schools found to exhibit spatial variation. The study determined the number of required monitoring sites at schools with spatial variability and tested the deviation in exposure estimation arising from using only a single site. Nine schools required two measurement sites and three schools required three sites. Overall, the deviation in exposure estimation from using only one monitoring site was as much as one order of magnitude. The study also tested the association of spatial variation with wind speed/direction and traffic density, using partial correlation coefficients to identify sources of variation and non-parametric function estimation to quantify the level of variability. Traffic density and road to school wind direction were found to have a positive effect on CVc, and therefore, also on spatial variation. Wind speed was found to have a decreasing effect on spatial variation when it exceeded a threshold of 1.5 (m/s), while it had no effect below this threshold. Traffic density had a positive effect on spatial variation and its effect increased until it reached a density of 70 vehicles per five minutes, at which point its effect plateaued and did not increase further as a result of increasing traffic density.

Provision of customer knowledge to supply chains

Knowledge about customers is vital for supply chains in order to ensure customer satisfaction. In an ideal supply chain environment, supply chain partners are able to perform planning tasks collaboratively, because they share information. However, customers are not always able or willing to share information with their suppliers. End consumers, on the one hand, do not usually provide a retail company with demand information. On the other hand, industrial customers might consciously hide information. Wherever a supply chain is not provided with demand forecast information, it needs to derive these demand forecasts by other means. Customer Relationship Management provides a set of tools to overcome informational uncertainty. We show how CRM and SCM information can be integrated on the conceptual as well as technical levels in order to provide supply chain managers with relevant information.

Empowering the school community for change : an evaluation of participation in the Ashgrove Healthy School Environment Project

The purpose of this study was to evaluate aspects of participation in a participatory action research project, the Ashgrove Healthy School Environment Project. Participatory action research is a form of research that creates change as an explicit part of the research process and requires the active participation of those by and for whom the research is being conducted. This study arose from concems by this researcher, who is also a co-facilitator of the project, that levels of participation were not as extensive as one might have hoped and that this seemingly low level would have a negative impact on the continuing participation of those already involved. Specifically. this evaluation sought to uncover the reasons that prompted participation, to identify structural barriers to initial involvement and to uncover participants' perceptions of the process, including barriers and opportunities. It also sought to record evidence of any shift in decision making and to draw implications about the findings that could assist the project, the school, other schools and the wider community. This evaluation involved focus group discussions and interviews with participants actively involved in the school project. The purpose was to uncover their views, feelings and perceptions about their participation and the participatory processes in use generally. It also included some examination of school documents and newsletters and as also drawn on the reflections of this 'insider' researcher, based on two years of involvement in facilitating the project. The findings that emerge from this study are heartening. Rather than feeling anxious about the long-term sustainability of the project, this researcher now feels more confident about its achievements, both in terms of the changes that have occurred in the school and about the participatory processes and levels of participation. Whilst the evaluation has identified a number of barriers, both institutional, personal and project related, it has also identified several key factors that serve to promote participation.

Brownfield re-development : Perceptions and risk mitigation strategies

Scarcity of large parcels of land in well-serviced areas has motivated people to re-develop brownfield land. Most of brownfield land has high risk of contamination from wide range of industrial activities such as gas works, factories, railway land and waste tips. In addition, people who live in brownfield re-development areas may be exposed to health hazards. This paper discusses public perceptions on the brownfield sites and also the risk and mitigation strategy to promote brownfield re-development. Data is gathered from face to face survey of fifty respondents who work in Brisbane Central Business District (CBD) and interview with an expert on remediation of contaminated land. From this preliminary study, it is found that majority of the population are not aware of any brownfield sites near their residence and those who are aware showed very little concern on their proximity to the site. Further discussion on the paper based on a simple cross tabulation analysis. The main risk mitigation strategy of re-development of brownfield site is by updating the registration through Environmental Management Register (EMR) and Contaminated Land Register (CLR). In addition, insurance may offer to cover cost overruns on remediation cost.

Linking Karumba : Creating Sustainable Connections

Linking Karumba: Creating Sustainable Connections This exhibition showcases the work of 3rd -4th year undergraduate landscape architecture, architecture, Industrial Design, Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering students in response to issues of sustainability in the Gulf of Carpentaria town of Karumba. It presented the work to the Karumba and Carpentaria Shire community. 16 students and four staff set off on a 2488km journey to undertake the first half of the Carpentaria Project: a fortnight-long strategic planning project entitled Linking Karumba to encourage social, economic, environmental and cultural linkages across the town. Karumba, along with the nearby town of Normanton, is one of Queensland’s most remote settlements. Its economy is based on fishing, tourism, and mining. It has two centres, 2.5km apart by river, or 9km by road. This physical disconnect was identified by Carpentaria Shire Council (CSC) and the Karumba Progress Association (KPA) as a source of socio-cultural disconnection, which formed the basis of our project brief. Student designs were highly responsive to the character of Karumba’s culture and environment, indicating remarkable levels of immersion, and attracting $830 000 in Qld. state government funding for implementation. The Exhibition Four groups of four students produced four strategic planning and design options toward this future: Make the Switch: Alice Anonuevo, Michael Marriott, Carla Priestley & Grant Harvey Realigning the Systems: Claudia Bergs, Rebecca Stephens, Anna Coulson & Lois Kerrigan Diversification of Experience: Rebecca North, Kyle Bush, Debra Sullivan & Jenna Green The River is the Main Street: Ashley Nicholson, Monica Kuiken, Dean Bowen & Bill Schild

QUT Linking Karumba Project

QUT Linking Karumba Project This exhibition showcases the work of 3rd -4th year undergraduate landscape architecture, architecture, Industrial Design, Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering students in response to issues of sustainability in the Gulf of Carpentaria town of Karumba. It presented the final, polished set of work to the Karumba and Carpentaria Shire community, following revisions in line with feedback from the 2008 exhibition. 16 students and four staff set off on a 2488km journey to undertake the first half of the Carpentaria Project: a fortnight-long strategic planning project entitled Linking Karumba to encourage social, economic, environmental and cultural linkages across the town. Karumba, along with the nearby town of Normanton, is one of Queensland’s most remote settlements. Its economy is based on fishing, tourism, and mining. It has two centres, 2.5km apart by river, or 9km by road. This physical disconnect was identified by Carpentaria Shire Council (CSC) and the Karumba Progress Association (KPA) as a source of socio-cultural disconnection, which formed the basis of our project brief. Student designs were highly responsive to the character of Karumba’s culture and environment, indicating remarkable levels of immersion, and attracting $830 000 in Qld. state government funding for implementation. The Exhibition Four groups of four students produced four strategic planning and design options toward this future: Make the Switch: Alice Anonuevo, Michael Marriott, Carla Priestley & Grant Harvey Realigning the Systems: Claudia Bergs, Rebecca Stephens, Anna Coulson & Lois Kerrigan Diversification of Experience: Rebecca North, Kyle Bush, Debra Sullivan & Jenna Green The River is the Main Street: Ashley Nicholson, Monica Kuiken, Dean Bowen & Bill Schild

Impacts of foreign direct investment on China’s construction industry

China’s national construction industry is now preparing to face the challenges, and to seize the opportunities, resulting from China’s entry to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). With the foreign direct investment (FDI) hitting a record high of around US$52.7 billion in 2002, China is believed to have now surpassed the USA as the world’s favorite destination for foreign investment. This fact, coupled with the huge potential for infrastructure development, indicates that the relatively large proportion of FDI flowing into the national construction industry will continue to increase in the foreseeable future. Positive aspects of FDI flowing will definitely help forging new industrial capabilities for China’s construction industry, thus helping it to achieve the ambitious strategic targets set by the Government for exporting construction goods and services. To shed some light on the position of the national industry in the global economy, this paper briefly presents the current international standing of China’s construction industry and qualitatively appraises potential positive influences of, and challenges associated with, FDI on the national industry.

Labor market reform and the changing structure of wage determination in China's state sector during the 1980s

China's market-oriented labor market reform has been in place for about one and a half decades. This study uses individual data for 1981 and 1987 to examine the success of the first half of the reform program. Success is evaluated by examining changes in the wage setting structure in the state-owned sector over the reform period. Have the market reforms stimulated worker incentives by increasing the returns to human capital acquisition? Has the wage structure altered to more closely mimic that of a market economy? In 1987, there is evidence of a structural change in the system of wage determination, with slightly increased rates of return to human capital. However, changes in industrial wage differentials appear to play the dominant role. It is argued that this may be due to labor market reforms, in particular the introduction of the profit related bonus scheme.J. Comp. Econom.,December 1997,25(3), pp. 403–421. Australian National University, Canberra, ACT0200, Australia and University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, and University of Aberdeen, Old Aberdeen, Scotland AB24 3QY.

Bearing fault prognosis based on health state probability estimation

In condition-based maintenance (CBM), effective diagnostic and prognostic tools are essential for maintenance engineers to identify imminent fault and predict the remaining useful life before the components finally fail. This enables remedial actions to be taken in advance and reschedule of production if necessary. All machine components are subjected to degradation processes in real environments and they have certain failure characteristics which can be related to the operating conditions. This paper describes a technique for accurate assessment of the remnant life of bearings based on health state probability estimation and historical knowledge embedded in the closed loop diagnostics and prognostics system. The technique uses the Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier as a tool for estimating health state probability of machine degradation process to provide long term prediction. To validate the feasibility of the proposed model, real life fault historical data from bearings of High Pressure-Liquefied Natural Gas (HP-LNG) pumps were analysed and used to obtain the optimal prediction of remaining useful life (RUL). The results obtained were very encouraging and showed that the proposed prognosis system based on health state probability estimation has the potential to be used as an estimation tool for remnant life prediction in industrial machinery.

Metabolic and ecological study of environmental pentose utilizing bacteria (E-PUB)

Lignocellulosic materials, such as sugar cane bagasse, a waste product of the sugarcane processing industry, agricultural residues and herbaceous crops, may serve as an abundant and comparatively cheap feedstock for largescale industrial fermentation, resulting in the production of marketable end-products. However, the complex structure of lignocellulosic materials, the presence of various hexose and pentose sugars in the hemicellulose component, and the presence of various compounds that inhibit the organisms selected for the fermentation process, all constitute barriers that add to the production costs and make full scale industrial production economically less feasible. The work presented in this thesis was conducted in order to screen microorganisms for ability to utilize pentose sugars derived from the sugar mill industrial waste. A large number of individual bacterial strains were investigated from hemi-cellulose rich material collected at the Proserpine and Maryborough sugar mills, notably soil samples from the mill sites. The research conducted to isolation of six pentose-capable Gram-positive organisms from the actinomycetes group by using pentose as a sole carbon source in the cultivation process. The isolates were identified as Corynebacterium glutamicum, Actinomyces odontolyticus, Nocardia elegans, and Propionibacterium freudenreichii all of which were isolated from the hemicellulose-enriched soil. Pentose degrading microbes are very rare in the environment, so this was a significant discovery. Previous research indicated that microbes could degrade pentose after genetic modification but the microbes discovered in this research were able to naturally utilize pentose. Six isolates, identified as four different genera, were investigated for their ability to utilize single sugars as substrates (glucose, xylose, arabinose or ribose), and also dual sugars as substrates (a hexose plus a pentose). The results demonstrated that C. glutamicum, A. odontolyticus, N. elegans, and P. freudenreichii were pentose-capable (able to grow using xylose or other pentose sugar), and also showed diauxie growth characteristics during the dual-sugar (glucose, in combination with xylose, arabinose or ribose) carbon source tests. In addition, it was shown that the isolates displayed very small differences in growth rates when grown on dual sugars as compared to single sugars, whether pentose or hexose in nature. The anabolic characteristics of C. glutamicum, A. odontolyticus, N. elegans and P. freudenreichii were subsequently investigated by qualitative analysis of their end-products, using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). All of the organisms produced arginine and cysteine after utilization of the pentose substrates alone. In addition, P. freudenreichii produced alanine and glycine. The end-product profile arising from culture with dual carbon sources was also tested. Interestingly, this time the product was different. All of them produced the amino acid glycine, when grown on a combination substrate-mix of glucose with xylose, and also glucose with arabinose. Only N. elegans was able to break down ribose, either singly or in combination with glucose, and the end-product of metabolism of the glucose plus ribose substrate combination was glutamic acid. The ecological analysis of microbial abundance in sugar mill waste was performed using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and also the metagenomic microarray PhyloChip method. Eleven solid samples and seven liquid samples were investigated. A very complex bacterial ecosystem was demonstrated in the seven liquid samples after testing with the PhyloChip method. It was also shown that bagasse leachate was the most different, compared to all of the other samples, by virtue of its richness in variety of taxa and the complexity of its bacterial community. The bacterial community in solid samples from Proserpine, Mackay and Maryborough sugar mills showed huge diversity. The information found from 16S rDNA sequencing results was that the bacterial genera Brevibacillus, Rhodospirillaceae, Bacillus, Vibrio and Pseudomonas were present in greatest abundance. In addition, Corynebacterium was also found in the soil samples. The metagenomic studies of the sugar mill samples demonstrate two important outcomes: firstly that the bagasse leachate, as potentially the most pentose-rich sample tested, had the most complex and diverse bacterial community; and secondly that the pentose-capable isolates that were initially discovered at the beginning of this study, were not amongst the most abundant taxonomic groups discovered in the sugar mill samples, and in fact were, as suspected, very rare. As a bioprospecting exercise, therefore, the study has discovered organisms that are naturally present, but in very small numbers, in the appropriate natural environment. This has implications for the industrial application of E-PUB, in that a seeding process using a starter culture will be necessary for industrial purposes, rather than simply assuming that natural fermentation might occur.

Child sexual abuse prevention education : A review of school policy and curriculum provision in Australia

The past four decades have seen increasing public and professional awareness of child sexual abuse. Congruent with public health approaches to prevention, efforts to eliminate child sexual abuse have inspired the emergence of prevention initiatives which can be provided to all children as part of their standard school curriculum. However, relatively little is known about the scope and nature of child sexual abuse prevention efforts in government school systems internationally. This paper assesses and compares the policies and curriculum initiatives for child sexual abuse prevention education in primary (elementary) schools across state and territory Departments of Education in Australia. Using publicly available electronic data, a deductive qualitative content analysis of policy and curriculum documents was undertaken to examine the characteristics of child sexual abuse prevention education in these school systems. It was found that the system-level provision of child sexual abuse prevention education occurs unevenly across state and territory jurisdictions. This results in the potential for substantial inequity in Australian children’s access to learning opportunities in child abuse prevention education as a part of their standard school curriculum. In this research, we have developed a strategy for generating a set of theoretically-sound empirical criteria that may be more extensively applied in comparative research about prevention initiatives internationally.

Organisational innovativeness : the role of strategic orientation and environmental scanning

This study examined the effects of strategic orientation and environmental scanning on a firm’s propensity to innovate (organisational innovativeness). Previous research has mostly proposed descriptive and theoretical relationships between strategic orientation, environmental scanning and organisational innovation adoption (Beal, 2000; Jennings & Lumpkin, 1992; Raymond, Julien, & Ramangalahy, 2001). However, strategic orientation and environmental scanning, as distinct constructs, have not been empirically examined directly before in relation to organisational innovativeness. Furthermore the directionality of the relationship between strategic orientation and environmental scanning on organisational innovation adoption is still unclear (Hagen, Haile, & Maghrabi, 2003). For example, does scanning the environment result in certain types of organisational strategies, and these strategies in turn influence levels of organisational innovativeness? Or do certain types of strategic orientations pre-determine the levels of environmental scanning, and then this environmental scanning influences an organisation’s propensity to innovate? Therefore, this study using a more nuanced measure of strategic orientation; the Venkatraman’s (1989) STROBE framework of analysis, defensiveness, futurity, proactiveness, aggressiveness and riskiness, examined the directional effects of strategy and environmental scanning on organisational innovativeness Specifically, two competing models of directionality between strategic orientation and environmental scanning in relation to organisational innovativeness were proposed. Model 1 (Behavioural View) proposed that certain strategic orientation dimensions affect levels of environmental scanning, which in turn influences organisational innovativeness. In contrast, Model 2 (Open Systems view) proposed that environmental scanning affects the emphasis on certain strategic orientation dimensions, which in turn influences organisational innovativeness. Data was collected from 117 industrial firms and path analyses were used to test the two competing models. The results supported both models, suggesting a bi-directional relationship, as both models had adequate fit indices and significant paths with the data. However, overall Model 2 – the Open Systems Model had the stronger fit indices and stronger indirect effect compared to Model 1 – the Behavioural Model, suggesting that overall environmental scanning does not exert a strong direct effect on innovativeness but has more of a stronger indirect effect through the analysis and proactiveness strategic orientation dimensions. In sum, the thesis results suggest that firms’ that emphasise environmental scanning – that is continually seeking information from the environment about customers, markets, industry and new technology - are more likely to emphasise strategic orientations such as proactiveness – being innovative - and also analysis – being analytical and comprehensive in decision making - and both these strategic orientations in turn greatly influence these firms’ propensity to innovate. Discussion is given to these findings and implications are drawn for organisations and future research.

Desalination by a solar thermally driven distillation process

Desalination processes to remove dissolved salts from seawater or brackish water includes common industrial scale processes such as reverse osmosis, thermal processes (i.e. multi-stage flash, multiple-effect distillation) and mechanical vapour compression. These processes are very energy intensive. The Institute for Future Environments (IFE) has evaluated various alternative processes to accomplish desalination using renewable or sustainable energy sources. A new process - a solar, thermally driven distillation system . based on the principles of a solar still – has been examined. This work presents an initial evaluation of the process.