Load flow studies on stand alone microgrid system in Ranau, Sabah

This paper presents the power flow or load flow analysis of Ranau microgrid, a standalone microgrid in the district of Ranau,West Coast Division of Sabah. Power flow for IEEE 9 bus also performed and analyzed. Power flow is define as an important tool involving numerical analysis applied to power system. Power flow uses simplified notation such as one line diagram and per-unit system focusing on voltages, voltage angles, real power and reactive power. To achieved that purpose, this research is done by analyzing the power flow analysis and calculation of all the elements in the microgrid such as generators, buses, loads, transformers, transmission lines using the Power Factory DIGSilent 14 software to calculate the power flow. After the analysis and calculations, the results were analysed and compared

Security and computer forensics in web engineering education

The integration of security and forensics into Web Engineering curricula is imperative! Poor security in web-based applications is continuing to cost organizations millions and the losses are still increasing annually. Security is frequently taught as a stand-alone course, assuming that security can be 'bolted on' to a web application at some point. Security issues must be integrated into Web Engineering processes right from the beginning to create secure solutions and therefore security should be an integral part of a Web Engineering curriculum. One aspect of Computer forensics investigates failures in security. Hence, students should be aware of the issues in forensics and how to respond when security failures occur; collecting evidence is particularly difficult for Web-based applications

A Worker Dialogue: Improving Health Safety and Security at DOE

During the summer of 2010, the Department of Energy Office of Health, Safety and Security (HSS) partnered with the National Academy of Public Administration to host an online dialogue to solicit ideas from front line union workers at DOE sites on how to improve worker safety across the DOE complex. Based on the results of the Dialogue, an expert Panel of the National Academy identified several themes that emerged from workers' suggestions and offered recommendations for HSS in following up on the issues raised as well as continuing to build its capacity for employee engagement.Key FindingsBased specifically on the Dialogue results, the Panel recommended HSS further investigate several issues and claims discussed by workers as well as assess the current state of reporting processes in DOE to determine if changes are necessary. In addition, the Dialogue revealed many knowledge gaps among workers regarding the substance of worker health and safety regulations in DOE, which should prompt HSS to consider expanding efforts to educate workers about these regulations.The Panel also issued several recommendations for HSS to build its capacity to engage union workers. These recommendations included considering alternate channels of reaching front-line workers and continuing engagement with workers by articulating and undertaking concrete next steps with the input received

Use of online discussion groups to increase student understanding of global social and technical issues

Most engineering programs at University of Southern Queensland are offered in both on-campus and distance education modes. The Faculty of Engineering and Surveying student cohort has consisted of approximately 25 percent on-campus and 75 percent distance education students for more than a decade. In recent years, the proportion of international students has increased markedly and now approximately 30 percent of students in both modes are from a non-Australian background. This paper describes how the national and cultural diversity of the student cohort has been utilized in an engineering course to increase student awareness and understanding of global social and technical issues. The method employed has been to use a component of the assessment scheme to require students to participate in an on-line discussion group where they share local information about issues relating to transport, a commodity which all students use in one form or another. The information the students are asked to research and share is factual knowledge drawn from their own experience and web research of local sites. The method was introduced after finding that many students in both modes of study had a fairly restricted understanding of many of the social and technical issues outside their own direct experience. The method has been well received by students and could be used in a variety of other courses where the student cohort features a range of social and cultural backgrounds

Distance, multimedia and web delivery in surveying and GIS courses at the University Of Southern Queensland

[Abstract]: The University of Southern Queensland has been involved with the distance education of surveying courses for over 25 years. In recent times, staff of the Surveying and Land Information Discipline, and the University as a whole, have embarked on multimedia enhancement and web delivery of curricula. This paper examines some of the initiatives undertaken to enhance the delivery of educational materials and discusses some of the issues involved in the effective delivery of distance education materials. The significant experience in the delivery of traditional educational materials has proven to be an advantage in the repackaging and enhancement of teaching materials. Delivery of education to off-campus students requires a significant support infrastructure which is often not recognised by new entrants into the flexible delivery arena. Traditional support mechanisms such as phone, fax and standard media (eg. videos, audio tapes etc) are being replaced by email, ‘electronic’ discussion groups, CDs and internet resources. These enhancements, when developed professionally, require a significant commitment of resources and expertise and often require a team approach to their design and development. Access by off-campus students to internet services and affordable software packages also require careful consideration in the design and offering of distance education materials

A comparison of production processes for OER

In most cases the initial production and publication of OER is undertaken by a University and funded through a special project with grants from external bodies. In this phase, OER are developed both from scratch or derived from existing Higher Education courses. After this project phase, the ongoing development and publication of OER continues and the question of the management and upgrading of the OER comes into focus. The costs of producing and upgrading OER are an important factor in devising a sustainable process. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an efficient process for the continuing production, publication and maintenance of OER. To learn more about influencing factors of production process efficiency we have compared the production processes of two institutions, the Open University UK (OU-UK) and the Open Universiteit Netherlands (OU-NL), both in the initial project phase (OpenLearn for OU-UK and OpenER for OU-NL) and the post initial phase. We aim to identify the differences and commonalities and the influence of these on the efficiency of the production processes. The main difference between the two Universities is the adoption of state-of-the-art (XML) standard to deliver to different channels at OU-UK. At OU-NL this adoption has just started. Valuable lessons learned in the project phase for the post initial phase are clear specification of requirements for selection of an open course and utilization of technologies already being used for regular materials production. Both institutions firstly drew upon the existing expertise and capabilities for educational resource production being used for regular courses. But rather than strictly follow exactly the same process and possibly compromise the more mission critical development of resources for students both institutions chose to experiment or adapt this process to help provide lessons that might be taken back into regular materials production. Once these lessons and experiences had been gained both open universities sought to reduce the costs of dealing with legacy or de novo educational resources by integrating identification, production and publication within the regular curriculum and course development processes

Design Your Career - Design Your Life

This research investigates the current plague of unemployment and underemployment that nearly half of qualified individuals in the field of Visual Communications are met with after graduation. Students who major in this field dedicate a tremendous amount of time, money, and energy toward developing a broad skillset that resolves critical matters of communication through visual solutions. Research has demonstrated that despite conditions that are subject to ongoing change of economy, industry, and marketplace there are contributing factors that must be addressed to overcome un/underemployment regardless of circumstances. These include an underdeveloped network of professional contacts, deficiency in recognizing or responding to changing conditions, and a limited ability to customize one’s career around their unique specialization. The purpose of this study is to provide students who major in Visual Communications the information and tools needed to incorporate their ability to adapt and problem solve from their skillset into their search for work. To explore this issue, information was gathered through secondary research that involved data from federal databases, case studies, literature review, and secondary research in general. Return on investment for one’s education is measured in consideration of three primary themes: job satisfaction, income, and quality of life, which may provide hopeful opportunity for professionals in Visual Communications to overcome un/underemployment through career customization

Fiscal Update, October 5, 2005

The Fiscal Division newsletter, published weekly during session and periodically during the interim