Tilings of Annular Region

We present our summer research on mathematical tiling. We classified which rectangular annular regions are tileable by the set of T and skew tretrominoes. We present a partial proof of this result, and discuss some of the context for this problem

Competitive Tiling

Competitive tiling consists of two players, a tile set, a region, and a non-negative integer d. Alice and Bob, our two players, alternate placing tiles on the untiled squares of the region. They play until no more tiles can be placed. Alice wins if at most d squares are untiled at the end of the game, and Bob wins if more than d squares are untiled. For given regions and tile sets we are interested in the smallest value of d such that Alice has a winning strategy. We call this the game tiling number. In this project, we focus on finding the game tiling number for the game played with dominoes on 2 x n rectangles, modified 2 x n rectangles, and rectangular annular regions

Financial system inquiry: final report

Executive summary This report responds to the objective in the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference to best position Australia’s financial system to meet Australia’s evolving needs and support economic growth. It offers a blueprint for an efficient and resilient financial system over the next 10 to 20 years, characterised by the fair treatment of users.   The Inquiry has made 44 recommendations relating to the Australian financial system. These recommendations reflect the Inquiry’s judgement and are based on evidence received by the Inquiry. The Inquiry’s test has been one of public interest: the interests of individuals, businesses, the economy, taxpayers and Government.   Australia’s financial system has performed well since the Wallis Inquiry and has many strong characteristics. It also has a number of weaknesses: taxation and regulatory settings distort the flow of funding to the real economy; it remains susceptible to financial shocks; superannuation is not delivering retirement incomes efficiently; unfair consumer outcomes remain prevalent; and policy settings do not focus on the benefits of competition and innovation. As a result, the system is prone to calls for more regulation.   To put these issues in context, the Overview first deals with the characteristics of Australia’s economy. It then describes the characteristics of and prerequisites for a well-functioning financial system and the Inquiry’s philosophy of financial regulation.   The Inquiry focuses on seven themes in this report (summarised in Guide to the Financial System Inquiry Final Report).   The Overview deals with the general themes of funding the Australian economy and competition.   The Inquiry has also made recommendations on five specific themes, which comprise the next chapters of this report: Strengthen the economy by making the financial system more resilient. Lift the value of the superannuation system and retirement incomes. Drive economic growth and productivity through settings that promote innovation. Enhance confidence and trust by creating an environment in which financial firms treat customers fairly. Enhance regulator independence and accountability and minimise the need for future regulation. These recommendations seek to improve efficiency, resilience and fair treatment in the Australian financial system, allowing it to achieve its potential in supporting economic growth and enhancing standards of living for current and future generations.   Financial system inquiry committee   Mr David Murray AO (Chair) Mr David Murray AO (Sydney) was most recently the inaugural Chairman of the Australian Government’s Future Fund Board of Guardians between 2006 and 2012. Mr Murray was previously the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia between 1992 and 2005. In this time, Mr. Murray oversaw the transformation of the Commonwealth Bank from a partly privatised bank to an integrated financial services company. In 2001, he was awarded the Centenary Medal for service to Australian society in banking and corporate governance, and in 2007 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his service to the finance sector, both domestically and globally, and service to the community.   Professor Kevin Davis Professor Kevin Davis (Melbourne) is currently a Professor of Finance at the University of Melbourne, Research Director at the Australian Centre for Financial Studies and a Professor of Finance at Monash University. Professor Davis is also a part-time member of the Australian Competition Tribunal and Co-Chair of the Australia–New Zealand Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee.   Mr Craig Dunn Mr Craig Dunn (Sydney) was most recently Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of AMP. Mr Dunn led AMP through the global financial crisis and has extensive experience in the financial sector. He was a member of the Australian Government\u27s Financial Sector Advisory Council and the Australian Financial Centre Forum, and an executive member of the Australia Japan Business Co-operation Committee. Mr Dunn is a director of the Australian Government’s Financial Literacy Board.   Ms Carolyn Hewson AO Ms Carolyn Hewson AO (Adelaide) served as an investment banker at Schroders Australia for 15 years. Ms Hewson has over 30 years’ experience in the finance sector and currently serves on the boards of BHP Billiton Ltd and Stockland. Ms Hewson was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for her services to the YWCA and to business. Ms Hewson has served on both the boards of Westpac and AMP and retired from the board of BT Investment Management Ltd and as the Chair of the Westpac Foundation upon her appointment to the Financial System Inquiry Committee.   Dr Brian McNamee AO Dr Brian McNamee AO (Melbourne) served as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of CSL Limited from 1990 to 30 June 2013. During that time, CSL transitioned from a Government-owned enterprise to a global company with a market capitalisation of approximately $30 billion. He has extensive experience in the biotech and global healthcare industries. Dr McNamee was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his service to business and commerce. &nbsp

Quality Assurance of Learning Assessments in Large Information Systems and Decision Analysis Courses

As Information Systems courses have become both more data-focused and student numbers have increased, there has emerged a greater need to assess technical and analytical skills more efficiently and effectively. Multiple-choice examinations provide a means for accomplishing this, though creating effective multiple-choice assessment items within a technical course context can be challenging. This study presents an iterative quality improvement framework based on Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) quality assurance cycle for developing and improving such multiple-choice assessments. Integral to this framework, we also present a rigorous, reliable, and valid measure of assessment and item quality using discrimination efficiency and the KR-20 assessment reliability measure. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach across exams developed and administered for two courses — one, a highly technical Information Systems introductory course and the other, an introductory data analytics course. Using this approach, we show that assessment quality iteratively improves when instructors measure items and exams rigorously and apply this PDSA framework

IUB Libraries Video Streaming Service: A Technical Overview

A recording is not available for this presentation.The IUB Libraries Video Streaming Service received its soft launch in the Fall 2008 semester, allowing staff in Wells Library Media and Reserve Services to make both locally-digitized video and digital video files licensed from vendors available for online streaming by members of the IU community. This service was developed by the Digital Library Program in consultation with Media and Reserve Services, based in part upon previous pilots and prototypes supported by both DLP and Library Information Technology. In this presentation, we will demonstrate the functionality of the Video Streaming Service both from the perspective of a student or faculty member viewing a video and a library staff member loading a new video into the system. We will then discuss the technologies used to implement the service, including Adobe Flash Media Server, theffmpeg audio/video encoder, and locally-developed video drop box, content management, and workflow tools

Assessing Smartphone Ease of Use and Learning from the Perspective of Novice and Expert Users: Development and Illustration of Mobile Benchmark Tasks

Assessing usability of device types with novel function sets that are adopted by diverse user groups requires one to explore a variety of approaches. In this paper, we develop such an approach to assess usability of smartphone devices. Using a three-stage Delphi-method study, we identify sets of benchmark tasks that can be used to assess usability for various user types. These task sets enable one to evaluate smartphone platforms from two perspectives: ease of learning (for those unfamiliar with smartphone use) and ease of use (for experienced users). We then demonstrate an approach for using this task set by performing an exploratory study of both inexperienced smartphone users (using a convenience sample) and experienced users (using the keystroke model). Our exploration illustrates the methodology for using such a task set and, in so doing, reveals significant differences among the leading smartphone platforms between novice and expert users. As such, we provide some preliminary evidence that ease of use is indeed significantly different from ease of learning