The development of a new signal processing program at the Queensland University of Technology

The School of Electrical and Electronic Systems Engineering at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia (QUT), offers three bachelor degree courses in electrical and computer engineering. In all its courses there is a strong emphasis on signal processing. A newly established Signal Processing Research Centre (SPRC) has played an important role in the development of the signal processing units in these courses. This paper describes the unique design of the undergraduate program in signal processing at QUT, the laboratories developed to support it, and the criteria that influenced the design.

E-portfolios : developing nurse practitioner competence and capability

Objective: This paper aims to integrate nurse practitioner literature on competence and capability with post graduate and nursing literature on e‑portfolios in order to demonstrate the potential merits of e‑portfolios in nurse practitioner education for competence and capability development. Primary Argument In the Nurse Practitioner Standards Project, competence and capability were proposed as key criteria to assess candidates in nurse practitioner educational courses. Portfolios have traditionally been used to demonstrate competence in nursing and are integral to nursing education as well. An examination of the portfolio and electronic portfolio literature in postgraduate nursing education and professional practice indicates that these portfolios fall under two main structures, each with different purposes: 1) A spinal column structure, with evidence and reflective pieces aligned to competency standards or course objectives, for the purposes of meeting prescribed competencies, professional development planning and showcasing evidence for authorisation or potential employers; and 2) A cake mix structure, which consists of a reflective narrative tying evidence together, which enables a greater focus on personal learning journeys, reflection and the development of personal qualities. Finally, evidence from the general nursing literature suggests the complexity of e‑portfolios in assessment and evaluation can be overcome by using qualitative research methods. Conclusion: To meet the competence and capability needs of nurse practitioners, portfolios could be used, for competence and showcasing and for learning and capability. Further research would be useful to refine and explore the use of e‑portfolios to meet the needs of NP candidates and their educators, clinical mentors, authorisation personal and employers. The current evidence on nurse practitioner education, competence, capability and e‑portfolios points to the integration of the use of an e‑portfolio into current nurse practitioner curriculum models to meet the unique needs of nurse practitioner candidates.

The role of laboratory exercises in modern power engineering education at the University of Queensland

The University of Queensland (UQ) has extensive laboratory facilities associated with each course in the undergraduate electrical engineering program. The laboratories include machines and drives, power systems simulation, power electronics and intelligent equipment diagnostics. A number of postgraduate coursework programs are available at UQ and the courses associated with these programs also use laboratories. The machine laboratory is currently being renovated with i-lab style web based experimental facilities, which could be remotely accessed. Senior level courses use independent projects using laboratory facilities and this is found to be very useful to improve students' learning skill. Laboratory experiments are always an integral part of a course. Most of the experiments are conducted in a group of 2-3 students and thesis projects in BE and major projects in ME are always individual works. Assessment is done in-class for the performance and also for the report and analysis.

Sentidos e significados sobre o choro das crianças nas creches públicas do Município de Juiz de Fora/MG

O objetivo desta tese consistiu em saber se os sentidos compartilhados e os significados construídos sobre o choro das crianças nas creches públicas do município de Juiz de Fora, durante as sessões reflexivas com as coordenadoras/diretoras, produzem espaços de reflexão teórica sobre as práticas capazes de criar uma prática de reflexão. Pelo tipo de problema formulado optei por trabalhar a perspectiva metodológica a partir do paradigma crítico de pesquisa, concretizado na modalidade de pesquisa crítica de colaboração, com enfoque sócio-histórico-cultural. Isto se justifica porque busco compreender o lugar do choro das crianças nas práticas das coordenadoras/diretoras, procurando identificar se a consciência das ações institucionalizadas pode produzir mudanças nas práticas no interior das creches. O corpus discurso da tese constitui-se de 10 sessões reflexivas, cujos dados produzidos foram organizados e analisados a partir da perspectiva teórico-metodológica dos Núcleos de Significação de Aguiar e Ozella (2006). O campo teórico está circunscrito no diálogo entre Vigotski, Bakhtin e Wallon. Isso porque estes autores contribuíram, sobremaneira, para a discussão sobre sentido, significado; linguagem e consciência, zona de desenvolvimento proximal, além do estudo da emoção, em especial, sobre a manifestação do choro da criança no contexto da creche. A arquitetura dos Núcleos de Significação revelou a necessidade de aprofundar questões relacionadas aos diversos olhares para o choro da criança; estratégias para lidar com o choro a partir da visão das coordenadoras/diretoras; o controle/descontrole/não controle do choro; a inter-relação do choro, da creche e da família e, finalmente, a reflexão teórico-prática como possibilidade de reverberação no cotidiano da creche. As análises confirmaram três premissas básicas: a) que a emoção constitui-se como o primeiro recurso de interação com o outro, que antecede a própria representação simbólica e por isso é valioso o aprofundamento deste assunto em cursos de formação; b) quando tornamos a cena vivida mais clara, essa clareza pode trazer elementos para outras possíveis intervenções, para outros possíveis diálogos sobre o choro da criança. A perspectiva de transformação pode acontecer exatamente no diálogo entre o cotidiano, a história e espaços de reflexão; c) que o fundamental, nos contextos de formação, é não focalizar apenas o conteúdo a ser transmitido sem possibilidade de reflexão sobre o próprio contexto a que se destina porque é pelo possível distanciamento e necessário estranhamento das práticas rotineiras, esporadicamente ou quase nunca questionadas, que a reflexão e a crítica se estabelecem.

extending the boundary of spreadsheet programming: lessons learned from chinese governmental projects

ICSE

O formador em meio prisional

Trabalho de projeto de mestrado, Ciências da Educação (Formação de Adultos), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Educação, 2013

The diversity of critical care nursing education in Australian universities

A range of critical care nursing educational courses exist throughout Australia. These courses vary in level of award, integration of clinical and academic competence and desired educational outcomes; this variability potentially leads to confuson by stakeholders regarding educational and clinical outcomes. The study objective was to describe the range of critical care nursing courses in Australia. Following institutional ethics approval, all relevant higher education providers (n=18) were invited to complete a questionnaire about course structure, content and nomenclature. Information about desired professional and general graduate characteristics and clinical competency was also sought.

A total of 89% of providers (n=16) responded to the questionnaire. There was little consistency in course structure in regard to the proportion of each programme devoted to core, speciality or generic subjects. In general, graduate certificate courses concentrated on core aspects of critical care, graduate diploma courses provided similar amounts of critical care core and speciality content, while master's level courses concentrated on generic nursing issues. The majority of courses had employment requirements, although only a small proportion specified the minimum level of critical care unit required for clinical experience. The competency standards developed by the Australian College of Critical Care Nurses (ACCCN) were used by 83% of providers, albeit in an adapted form, to assess competency. However, only 60% of programmes used personnel with a combined clinical and educational role to assess such competence.

In conclusion, stakeholders should not assume consistency in educational and clinical outcomes from critical care nursing education programmes, despite similar nomenclature or level of programme. However, consistency in the framework for speciality nurse education has the potential to prove beneficial for all stakeholders.

Teaching digital forensics to undergraduate students

Digital forensics isn't commonly a part of an undergraduate university degree, but Deakin University in Australia recently introduced the subject as part of an IT security course. As instructors, we've found that digital forensics complements our other security offerings because it affords insights into why and how security fails. A basic part of this course is an ethics agreement signed by students and submitted to the unit instructor. This agreement, approved by Deakin University's legal office and consistent with Barbara Endicott-Popovsky's approach, requires students to maintain a professional and ethical attitude to the subject matter and its applications. Assignments regularly cast students in the role of forensic professional. Our teaching team emphasizes throughout the course that professional conduct establishes credibility with employers and customers as well as colleagues, and is required to perform the job effectively. This article describes our experiences with this course.

Student learning orientations : are there differences between age and gender?

The increasing diversity and mobility of students have challenged universities, world over, to review educational courses and delivery to provide a more satisfying learning environment to students. The continuous improvement of the 'quality' of teaching and learning is one of the key goals of universities endeavouring to fulfil their obligations as learning institutions. Using a revised SPQ2F instrument (Biggs, 2003, Biggs and Leung, 2001), this exploratory study undertakes a comparative analysis of the age and gender differences in the learning orientations of two groups of tertiary students in an Australian University. The results indicate that there are no significant differences in the learning orientations of students but on average they seem to demonstrate deep learning than surface learning although they may differ in terms of the learning contexts.

Environmental sustainability awareness and academic curriculum improvements: the case of a business and law faculty in an Australian university

Climate change, global warming, rising sea levels, ice cap melting, carbon taxes and trading schemes etc. are all major environmental issues that confront the modern world. Universities are now trying to ensure that their students graduate with an understanding of environmental sustainability regardless of their field of expertise. 

Fonoaudiologia: epistemologia, implicações pedagógicas e educacionais

Tendo em vista os atuais preceitos socioconstrutivistas da Ciência e da Educação em Ciências, neste estudo, o nosso objetivo foi analisar a vertente epistemológica em artigos científicos que tratam de linguagem escrita. Para tanto, analisamos o conteúdo de seis desses artigos, baseando-nos em indicadores educacionais: concepções de ciência, de sujeito, de linguagem e de intervenção fonoaudiológica. A análise destas concepções, em seu conjunto, nos permitiu o enquadramento do conteúdo desses artigos em uma vertente epistemológica mais ou menos técnica ou humanista, lógico-positivista ou pós-positivista, e, ainda, inferir sobre as implicações dessas vertentes na construção de um conhecimento pedagógico e educacional no campo da Fonoaudiologia, para a formação continuada e em serviço de um profissional fonoaudiólogo capaz de atuar também na escola. Os resultados mostraram que as visões dos autores dos artigos analisados se enquadram em uma vertente predominantemente lógico-positivista, o que aponta para a importância de reestruturar os cursos formadores desses profissionais com base em preceitos de Educação em Ciência e à luz de uma nova Filosofia da Ciência.

Oral Health Experiences of Social Workers Serving Children in the Foster Care System: Assessing the Feasibility of a Social Worker-Driven Oral Health Intervention

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

O crescimento urbano e a problemática da conservação das características do acervo arquitectonico: O caso das alçadas da Rua Grande, São Luís-Maranhão-Brasil

Esta dissertação estuda a problemática da conservação dos alçados da Rua Grande, localizada no Centro antigo da cidade de São Luís, capital do Estado do Maranhão, Brasil, a partir do crescimento urbano ocorrido principalmente a partir do século XIX à atualidade, com interferências devido às alterações do uso do solo. Iniciado com pesquisa in loco e nos departamentos de preservação do património arquitetónico do Município, Estado e Governo Federal, este estudo busca elaborar estratégias de intervenção adaptadas às necessidades locais, visando a participação da população, com cursos de educação patrimonial e consultas públicas. Esta proposta foi possível a partir da realização de diversas etapas de trabalho, partindo do enquadramento geral e histórico de São Luís, com foco específico na Rua Grande, discorrendo sobre a importância desta via ao desenvolvimento urbano da cidade. Desta forma, com vistas a possibilitar um melhor entendimento da morfologia urbana do Centro da cidade, analisou-se a malha delimitada pelo Anel Viário, importante via perimetral à zona central. Posteriormente, seguiu-se com a caracterização do acervo arquitetónico, com pesquisa acerca dos materiais e sistemas construtivos, permitindo o entendimento das diversas anomalias observadas a partir de análise laboratorial das amostras coletadas em algumas edificações. A elaboração de Cartas Temáticas permitiu um melhor entendimento de situações como uso do solo, gabarito, estilos arquitetónicos e dos estados de conservação e preservação, contando com o estudo da legislação local, o que permitiu, posteriormente, delinear-se as estratégias de intervenção. /SUMMARY: This dissertation examines the problems related to the conservation of the facades of the Grande street, located in the old city center of São Luis, capital of the northeastern state of Maranhão, Brazil, caused by the extensive urban growth that occurred from the XIX century to the current days, with numerous interferences due to changes in the building codes. The study began with a research in the federal, state and municipal departments of architectural heritage. The main objective was to suggest strategies of intervention adapted to the local needs, with community participation such as educational courses and public consultations. This proposal was made possible after completing several phases of work, starting with the general framing and historical background of São Luis, focusing on the Grande street, portraying the important role played by this street in the urban development of the city. Thus, with the intention of allowing a better understanding of the urban morphology in the city center, an analysis was made within the area limited by the road ring that surrounds the center. The study continued with the characterization of the architectural estate, with a research about the materials and construction systems, allowing the understanding of the several anomalies observed in the laboratorial analysis on the samples gathered from some buildings. The elaboration of the Thematic Charts allowed for a better understanding of the situation, such as land use, building codes, architectural styles and level of conservation and preservation, taking into account the local regulations, which made possible to set out some strategies of intervention.

An international experiment with eRubrics : an approach to educational assessment in two courses of the early childhood education degree

Resumen basado en el de la publicaci??n

Key stakeholders' expectations of educational outcomes from Australian critical care nursing courses: a Delphi study

Background
Educational preparation for critical care nursing in Australia varies considerably in terms of the level of qualification resulting in a lack of clarity for key stakeholders about student outcomes.

Objectives
The study aim was to identify and reach consensus regarding the desired learning outcomes from Australian post-registration critical care education programs as demonstrated through the graduate's knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Design
A Delphi technique was used to establish consensus between educators, managers, clinicians and students regarding learning outcomes expected of graduates with a Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and Master level qualification in critical care nursing.

Participants
A total of 164 critical care nurses (66 clinicians, 48 educators, 32 managers and 18 students) participated and 99 questionnaires were returned in the first round (response rate 60%). Fifty-seven questionnaires were returned for Round 2 (response rate 58%).

Methods
Learning outcomes were obtained from the Australian College of Critical Care Nurses Competency Standards for Specialist Critical Care Nurses. Some statements included more than one characteristic, and these were split to create learning outcomes with one characteristic per item. A survey of Australian higher education providers of critical care education provided additional learning outcomes, for a total of 73 learning outcomes for the first Delphi round.

Results
Findings suggest that patient comfort, safety, professional responsibility and ethical conduct are deemed most important for all three levels of educational preparation. There was a lack of emphasis on clinical practice issues for all levels. Participants placed higher emphasis on learning outcomes related to complex decision-making, leadership, supervision, policy development and research for Graduate Diploma and Master level programs.

Conclusion
The findings have implications for curriculum development and the profession with regards to the level of educational preparation required of critical care nurses and suggest that further work is required before clear recommendations can be made for desired educational outcomes from critical care nursing programs in Australia.