Making it Rich and Personal: crafting an institutional personal learning environment

Many of the communities interested in learning and teaching technologies within higher education now accept the view that a conception of personal learning environments provides a the most realistic and workable perspective of learners’ interactions with and use of technology. This view may not be reflected in the behaviour of those parts of a university which normally purchase and deploy technology infrastructure. These departments or services are slow to change because they are typically, and understandably, risk-averse; the more so, because the consequences of expensive decisions about infrastructure will stay with the organisation for many years. Furthermore across the broader (less technically or educationally informed) academic community, the awareness of and familiarity with technologies in support of learning may be varied. In this context, work to innovate the learning environment will require considerable team effort and collective commitment. This paper presents a case study account of institutional processes harnessed to establish a universal personal learning environment fit for the 21st century. The challenges encountered were consequential of our working definition of a learning environment, which went beyond simple implementation. In our experience the requirements became summarised as “its more than a system, it’s a mindset”. As well as deploying technology ‘fit for purpose’ we were seeking to create an environment that could play an integral and catalytic part in the university’s role of enabling transformative education. Our ambitions and aspirations were derived from evidence in the literature. We also drew on evidence of recent and current performance in the university; gauged by institutional benchmarking and an extensive student survey. The paper presents and analyses this qualitative and quantitative data. We provide an account and analysis of our progress to achieve change, the methods we used, problems encountered and the decisions we made on the way

Developing a communications architecture based on WCF for use in nuclear power plant simulators

Communications play the main role in the development of system architectures where their different parts have to continually exchange data. Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) has been designed to offer a manageable approach to distributed computing, broad interoperability and direct support for service orientation. It allows the communication among systems from any platform across intranets, extranets or the Internet, supporting at the same time a safety and reliable service. This paper presents the use of WCF in the context of distributed nuclear power plant simulators. In these simulators, communication plays a main role since they are intrinsically distributed systems. We have defined a communication architecture for the simulators using WCF for the data exchange between the different applications that compose the simulator. We also present an application developed with Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO). This application uses our architecture, developed with WCF, to communicate with a simulator. It has the appearance and behaviour of an Excel sheet together with some new added features and it allows us to test the communication architecture

The evolutionary biology of pollination: studies in a genus of australian sexually deceptive orchids

There are few other structures in nature from which evolution has generated such wide diversity as the flower or inflorescence, and this diversity is commonly attributed to the influence of their animal visitors. By outsourcing their mate choice to pollinators, plants have left themselves - and especially their flowers - subject to the selective forces imposed by the behaviour, cognition and perception of the pollinators that serve them. The orchids provide some of the most remarkable and extreme examples of adaptations to specific animal pollinators. Perhaps one of the most peculiar of these strategies is sexual deception, whereby male insects are lured to the flower by mimicry of the female sex pheromone. This seemingly unlikely strategy has evolved multiple times independently on different continents in different parts of the orchid phylogeny which raises the question of what adaptive advantages might underlie such a strategy. This multidisciplinary thesis studies gene flow and pollinator behaviour in two sympatric sexually deceptive orchids in the genus Chiloglottis. The two species attract their specific wasp pollinators through emission of distinct species - specific semiochemicals. Since floral volatiles play a pre-eminent role in pollinator attraction, Chiloglottis provides an excellent case study for examining the interaction between floral volatile chemistry, pollinator behaviour and the evolutionary dynamics of populations. The thesis begins with a review of floral volatiles and their role in pollinator attraction and plant speciation. The literature is used to develop a research framework of six testable hypotheses under which we might productively explore the influence of floral volatiles on plant evolution. These hypotheses are then explored in the study system over the following chapters. A study of pollinator specificity, neutral genetic differentiation and floral chemistry demonstrates that the chemical mimicry crucial to sexual deception is responsible for reproductive isolation and potentially even speciation. Mating system and paternity analysis provide the first genetic evidence for multiple paternity in orchid broods. Extensive outcrossing is found to predominate and paternity assignment shows evidence for long distance pollen flow supporting the hypothesis that sexual deception promotes outcrossing and so minimizes the potentially deleterious effects of selfing. Lastly, an innovative new method is developed for tracking wasps in the field. Application of this technique to a population of orchid-pollinating wasps reveals detailed information about their movement and mating behaviour. The findings support the conclusion that sexual deception is a superb adaptive solution to the problem flowers face of simultaneously attracting pollinators and persuading them to leave quickly

Stealing a car to be a man : the importance of cars and driving in the gender identity of adolescent males

Nationally vehicle theft is associated with approximately 40 fatalities per year with an estimated annual cost of one billion dollars. During 2000 - 2001 almost 139,000 motor vehicles (cars, motor cycles, campervans, and trucks) were stolen across Australia. Vehicle theft is an overwhelmingly adolescent male crime yet gender has not been considered in either policy or program initiatives.----- This thesis used Spence's Multifactorial Gender Identity theory to examine the relationships between vehicle theft, offending, and adolescent male gender identity. Four central research questions were posed:----- 1. Is vehicle theft a gendered behaviour, that is, do some adolescent males engage in vehicle theft to create a particular adolescent male gender identity?----- 2. Do vehicle theft offenders engage in other offending behaviours?----- 3. Are these other offences also used to create a particular adolescent male gender identity and----- 4. Will the use of a variety of gender-related scales to measure gender identity support Spence's Multifactorial Gender Identity Theory that gender identity is multifactorial?----- Study One Parts A and B provided the empirical basis for Studies Two and Three. Part A of Study One examined the &quotmaleness" of vehicle theft and two other problem behaviours: problem drinking and traffic offence involvement. Cross-sectional and longitudinal methodologies were used to investigate a representative sample of 4,529 male high school students in relation to vehicle theft, problem drinking, and traffic offence involvement as a novice driver. Results indicated that &quotmaleness" was significantly related to vehicle theft, problem drinking, and traffic offence involvement. Subsequent analyses, based on Jessor's Problem Behaviour Theory, found a significant relationship between vehicle theft offenders and problem drinking. Study One Part B examined the relationship between masculinity as measured by the Australian Sex Role Scale (ASRS) and problem drinking in a rural sample of 1,248 male high school students. Using a cross sectional methodology, Masculine students were more likely than students in the other gender trait groups to report a range of problem drinking behaviours. Contrary to previous research, both socially desirable and socially undesirable masculine traits were significantly related to most problem drinking behaviours.----- Having established significant relationships between &quotmaleness" and vehicle theft and masculinity and the adolescent problem behaviour of underage drinking, Study Two qualitatively examined the perceptions of adolescent males with histories of vehicle theft in relation to &quotdoing masculinity". Using semi-structured interviews, 30 adolescent males, clients of the juvenile justice system were asked &quotwhat do you have to do to be a man?" Vehicle theft was clearly identified as a masculine defining behaviour as were other offending behaviours. Overall, participants nominated very traditional behaviours such as having a job and providing financially for families as essential behaviours in &quotdoing masculinity". It was suggested that in the absence of legal options for creating a masculine gender identity, some adolescent males adopted more readily accessed illegal options. Study Two also canvassed the driving behaviour of adolescent males in stolen vehicles. Crash involvement was not uncommon. Speed, alcohol, and the presence of other adolescent males were consistent characteristics of their driving behaviour. Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants were similar in their responses.----- Study Three compared the gender identity of offender and non-offender adolescent males as measured by three gender-related measures: the ASRS, the Toughness Subscale of the Male Role Norm Scale (TSMRNS) and the Doing Masculinity Composite Scale (DMCS). While the ASRS measured gender traits, the TSMRNS measured masculinity ideology. The DMCS was developed from the responses of participants in Study Two and sought to measure how participants &quotdo masculinity". Analyses indicated vehicle theft was endorsed by just over a third of the sample as a masculine defining behaviour. Overall, offenders were again very traditional in the behaviours they endorsed. When compared to non-offenders, offenders were more likely to endorse illegal behaviours in &quotdoing masculinity" while non-offenders were more likely to endorse legal behaviours. Both offenders and non-offenders strongly endorsed having a car and the ability to drive as masculine defining behaviours.----- In relation to gender traits, non-offenders were more likely than offenders to be classified as Masculine by the ASRS. Surprisingly offenders were more likely to be classified as Androgynous. In relation to masculinity ideology, offenders and non-offenders were similar in their results on the TSMRNS however offenders were more likely to endorse beliefs concerning the need to be tough. Overall Indigenous and non-Indigenous offenders were similar in their responses though Indigenous males were more likely to endorse beliefs concerning the need to be tough. Spence's Multifactorial Gender Identity theory was supported in that the relations between the three gender-related measures were significant but low.----- Results confirmed that vehicle theft was endorsed by a minority of participants as a gendered behaviour. Other offending behaviours were also endorsed by some adolescent males as means to create masculine gender identity. Importantly though both offenders and non-offenders endorsed very traditional behaviours in relation to &quotdoing masculinity". The implications for policy and program initiatives include the acknowledgement of gender identity as an important component in relation to vehicle theft and offending and the desire of adolescent male offenders to engage in legal, traditional male behaviours. In the absence of legal avenues however, some adolescent males may use illegal behaviours to create gender identity. Cars and driving also feature as important components of gender identity for both offenders and non-offenders and these needs to be considered in relation to road safety initiatives

The role of supraglacial snowpack hydrology in mediating meltwater delivery to glacier systems

This thesis investigates the role that superglacial snowpack hydrology plays in mediating meltwater delivery to glacier systems. The movement of water through glaciers is of fundamental importance as a control on proglacial hydrograph amplitude and timing, subglacial and proglacial geomorphic processes, the hydrochemistry of glacial runoff, and glacier dynamics, and as such has been the subject of considerable research effort. Although studies in non-glacial environments have shown that meltwater waves are both dampened and delayed by passage through snow, the role of supraglacial snowcover in mediating water inputs to the rest of the glacier system ahs received limited attention in studies of glacier hydrology to date. It has been suggested, however, that the varying thickness, and ultimately removal, of the superglacial snowpack may play a role in controlling the timing and magnitude of ice velocity events. Despite this suggested importance there have been few field observations of the hydrological behaviour of supraglacial snowpacks or of the way in which this behaviour evolves during the melt season. A thorough assessment of the linkages between supraglacial snowpack conditions and glacier dynamic events has therefore not been possible. This study helps fill this gap in our knowledge by explicitly investigating the hydrological behaviour of the supraglacial snowpack at an alpine glacier and its evolution during the summer melt season. Field data was collected during two summer field seasons (2003 and 2004) at Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Valais, Switzerland. Dye tracing experiments were used as the primary method of obtaining information about water flow through the snowpack. Dye was used both qualitatively, to give a visual impression of flow patterns through the snowpack, and quantitatively, with return curves detected by fluorometer providing detailed information about rates of dye movement and dispersion through the snowpack. Physically-based modelling representations of water flow through snow also informed consideration of the characteristics of snowpack runoff. Experiments were designed to determine: i) the nature of water flow through the supraglacial snowpack; ii) if, and in what way, this evolves over the course of the melt season; and iii) what factors control water movement, and the importance of their roles. In order that links between supraglacial snowpack hydrology and other parts of the glacier system could be considered, season-long records of glacier dynamics, proglacial meltwater discharge, and water quality parameters indicating subglacial conditions were also collected

The rise of flexible electronics in neuroscience, from materials selection to in vitro and in vivo applications

Neuroscience deals with one of the most complicate system we can study: the brain. The huge amount of connections among the cells and the different phenomena occurring at different scale give rise to a continuous flow of data that have to be collected, analyzed and interpreted. Neuroscientists try to interrogate this complexity to find basic principles underlying brain electrochemical signalling and human/animal behaviour to disclose the mechanisms that trigger neurodegenerative diseases and to understand how restoring damaged brain circuits. The main tool to perform these tasks is a neural interface, a system able to interact with brain tissue at different levels to provide a uni/bidirectional communication path. Recently, breakthroughs coming from various disciplines have been combined to enforce features and potentialities of neural interfaces. Among the different findings, flexible electronics is playing a pivotal role in revolutionizing neural interfaces. In this work, we review the most recent advances in the fabrication of neural interfaces based on flexible electronics. We define challenges and issues to be solved for the application of such platforms and we discuss the different parts of the system regarding improvements in materials selection and breakthrough in applications both for in vitro and in vivo tests

Behaviour Investigation of Sma-Equipped Bar Hysteretic Dampers Using Machine Learning Techniques

Most isolators have numerous displacements due to their low stiffness and damping properties. Accordingly, the supplementary damping systems have vital roles in damping enhancement and lower the isolation system displacement. Nevertheless, in many cases, even by utilising additional dampers in isolation systems, the occurrence of residual displacement is inevitable. To address this issue, in this study, a new smart type of bar hysteretic dampers equipped with shape memory alloy (SMA) bars with recentring features, as the supplementary damper, is introduced and investigated. In this regard, 630 numerical models of SMA-equipped bar hysteretic dampers (SMA-BHDs) were constructed based on experimental samples with different lengths, numbers, and cross sections of SMA bars. Furthermore, by utilising hysteresis curves and the corresponding ideal bilinear curves, the role of geometrical and mechanical parameters in the cyclic behaviour of SMA-BHDs was examined. Due to the deficiency of existing analytical models, proposed previously for steel bar hysteretic dampers (SBHDs), to estimate the first yield point displacement and post-yield stiffness ratio in SMA-BHDs accurately, new models were developed by the artificial neural network (ANN) and group method of data handling (GMDH) approaches. The results showed that, although the ANN models outperform GMDH ones, both ANN-and GMDH-based models can accurately estimate the linear and nonlinear behaviour of SMA-BHDs in pre-and post-yield parts with low errors and high accuracy and consistency

Reducing Global Warming and Adapting to Climate Change: The Potential of Organic Agriculture

Climate change mitigation is urgent and adaptation to climate change is crucial, particularly in agriculture, where food security is at stake. Agriculture, currently responsible for 20-30% of global greenhouse gas emissions counting direct and indirect agricultural emissions), can however contribute to both climate change mitigation and adaptation. The main mitigation potential lies in the capacity of agricultural soils to sequester CO2 through building organic matter. This potential can be realized by employing sustainable agricultural practices, such as those commonly found within organic farming systems. Examples of these practices are the use of organic fertilizers and crop rotations including legumes leys and cover crops. Mitigation is also achieved in organic agriculture through the avoidance of open biomass burning and the avoidance of synthetic fertilizers and the related production emissions from fossil fuels. Common organic practices also contribute to adaptation. Building soil organic matter increases water retention capacity, and creates more stabile, fertile soils, thus reducing vulnerability to drought, extreme precipitation events, floods and water logging. Adaptation is further supported by increased agro-ecosystem diversity of organic farms, due to reduced nitrogen inputs and the absence of chemical pesticides. The high diversity together with the lower input costs of organic agriculture is key in reducing production risks associated with extreme weather events. All these advantageous practices are not exclusive to organic agriculture. However, they are core parts of the organic production system, in contrast to most non-organic agriculture, where they play a minor role only. Mitigation in agriculture cannot be restricted to the agricultural sector alone, though. Consumer behaviour strongly influences agricultural production systems, and thus their mitigation potential. Significant factors are meat consumption and food wastage. Any discussion on mitigation climate change in agriculture needs to address the entire food chain and needs to be linked to general sustainable development strategies. The main challenges to climate change mitigation and adaptation in organic agriculture and agriculture in general concern a)the understanding of some of the basic processes, such as the interaction of N2O emissions and soil carbon sequestration, contributions of roots to soil carbon sequestration and the life-cycle emissions of organic fertilizers such as compost; b) approaches for emissions accounting that adequately represent agricultural production systems with multiple and diverse outputs and that also encompass ecosystem services; c) the identification and implementation of most adequate policy frameworks for supporting mitigation and adaptation in agriculture, i.e: not putting systemic approaches at a disadvantage due to difficulties in the quantification of emissions, and in their allocation to single products; d) how to assure that the current focus on mitigation does not lead to neglect of the other sustainability aspects of agriculture, such as pesticide loads, eutrophication, acidification or soil erosion and e) the question how to address consumer behaviour and how to utilize the mitigation potential of changes in consumption patterns

The central place system of the Thessaly region of Greece

The settlement system of Thessaly is examined within the framework provided by central place theory. The adoption of a systems approach to the research determines the organization of the work. Firstly, there is an analysis of the sectoral structure of the Greek economy with particular reference to retail trade. The importance of tertiary activity in the economy is indicated and the traditional nature of most Greek retailing is considered. Next, the physical, historical, economic and demographic background of Thessaly is described. The region consists of a fertile plain surrounded on all sides by mountains. The economy is dominated by agriculture and the secondary and tertiary sectors are strongly oriented to it. In the post-war period the population of the area has stagnated because of heavy rural emigration focussed primarily on Athens, The analysis of the settlement system then falls into three parts. The functional regions of Thessaly are identified by subjecting an interaction matrix of bus traffic flows to factor analysis. These describe the general structure of the settlement system and allow the subsequent detailed analysis of the settlement system of West Thessaly to be placed within a wider context. This detailed analysis is based primarily on data collected in the field. It consists of a study of the hierarchical and spatial structure of the system and the aggregate relationships between its components. A well developed hierarchical structure is found, and its historical evolution is examined. Following this, a study of consumer movements in West Thessaly is made which is based on data collected from questionnaires circulated in the region. The behaviour of the settlement system as revealed by this analysis accords closely with the structure of the system. A composite assessment of the settlement system is then made which relates its structure and behaviour to the theoretical framework of the research, and comparisons are made with other studies of settlement systems in-Greece. Finally, the Greek regional problem is examined, one element in which is the nature and role of the provincial settlement system, and the implications of this research for future planning strategies are outlined

Playing Charades in the fMRI: Are Mirror and/or Mentalizing Areas Involved in Gestural Communication?

Communication is an important aspect of human life, allowing us to powerfully coordinate our behaviour with that of others. Boiled down to its mere essentials, communication entails transferring a mental content from one brain to another. Spoken language obviously plays an important role in communication between human individuals. Manual gestures however often aid the semantic interpretation of the spoken message, and gestures may have played a central role in the earlier evolution of communication. Here we used the social game of charades to investigate the neural basis of gestural communication by having participants produce and interpret meaningful gestures while their brain activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging. While participants decoded observed gestures, the putative mirror neuron system (pMNS: premotor, parietal and posterior mid-temporal cortex), associated with motor simulation, and the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), associated with mentalizing and agency attribution, were significantly recruited. Of these areas only the pMNS was recruited during the production of gestures. This suggests that gestural communication relies on a combination of simulation and, during decoding, mentalizing/agency attribution brain areas. Comparing the decoding of gestures with a condition in which participants viewed the same gestures with an instruction not to interpret the gestures showed that although parts of the pMNS responded more strongly during active decoding, most of the pMNS and the TPJ did not show such significant task effects. This suggests that the mere observation of gestures recruits most of the system involved in voluntary interpretation