The rise and fall of the key competencies : a study of education policy making with specific reference to vocational education and training in Australia

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Education.This study of education policy making opens a fascinating window into the contested terrain of education at the end of the 20th century, one that sheds light on the challenges that society faces in determining the purposes and responsibilities presumed of education for the future. The thesis analyses the policy trajectory of generic skills within Australian VET, and considers a range of policy contexts at the micro, meso and macro levels in order to consider the implications for our understanding of policy making. It involves a critical assessment of the development, trailing and implementation of the Key Competencies and an analysis of the emerging Employability Skills framework. The research shows that the Key Competencies emerged as a result of various key policy drivers at the end of the 1980’s, forces that continued to exert influence to varying degrees across the policy trajectory of generic skills and Australian VET from 1986-2005. Whilst industrial indifference, educational federalism and conceptual uncertainties came close to scuttling the initiative, key policy actors and supplementary funding ensured that the Key Competencies featured in one of the country’s largest ever educational trials. Despite this platform, the Key Competencies were a policy initiative that came to be overlooked and bypassed, relegated to a second order priority by more pressing policy concerns and the inherent conceptual and operational difficulties they posed as a reform initiative. Whilst the emergence of Employability Skills has reinvigorated interest in generic skills, their progress to date illustrates that generic skills no longer hold the promise of being a vehicle for cross-sectoral articulation, nor the passport for entree into high performance workplaces. This study has illustrated how educational federalism, policy actors and policy institutions play a major role in shaping the policy process, and has suggested a new force-field model of policy making in vocational education that warrants further examination

Clinical outcomes of ranibizumab treatment in diabetic eye disease

Background: The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor ranibizumab is emerging as an efficacious treatment for diabetic macular oedema. Large clinical trials have shown improvements in visual acuity and reduced central retinal thickness. Details of its effect on other retinal functional parameters are lacking. There is a concern that repeated ranibizumab treatment could exacerbate macular ischaemia or lead to global retinal dysfunction by inhibiting physiological isoforms of VEGF. Outcomes of surgery for advanced proliferative retinopathy remain variable and post-operative complications including recurrent haemorrhage can limit visual recovery. VEGF is strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of advanced retinopathy, so VEGF inhibition prior to surgery may improve outcomes. Trials have failed to demonstrate a clear benefit for bevacizumab, so investigation of the licensed intraocular agent ranibizumab represents a logical next step. Aims: To investigate the effects of ranibizumab and laser treatment in diabetic macular oedema on the following parameters: visual acuity, protan and tritan colour contrast sensitivity, 4° and 12° macular sensitivity by microperimetry, electrophysiological indices from pattern and full field electroretinograms. To report structural retinal changes following ranibizumab and laser treatment in terms of qualitative and quantitative optical coherence tomography outcomes, and to quantify macular ischaemia by fluorescein angiography. To investigate the effect on visual acuity at three months post-surgery of ranibizumab pre-treatment in patients undergoing vitrectomy for advanced proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Methods: Randomised clinical trial of intravitreal ranibizumab vs. laser in 36 subjects with centre-involving diabetic macular oedema (The LUCIDATE study). Randomised clinical trial of pre-operative intravitreal ranibizumab vs. subconjunctival saline injection in 30 subjects undergoing vitrectomy-delamination for advanced proliferative diabetic retinopathy (The RaDiVit study). Results: Thirty six subjects with diabetic macular oedema were recruited and 33 completed the trial. Ranibizumab treated subjects gained a mean of 6 letters compared with 0.9 letter loss for laser at 48 weeks. Retinal sensitivity improved in the central macular 4° and 12° in both groups but to a greater extent with ranibizumab. There was no evidence of worsening global retinal dysfunction by electroretinograms in either group. Retinal thickness decreased in both groups: there was a 132 µm reduction in central macular thickness with ranibizumab compared with 103 µm for laser. Fluorescein angiography showed no evidence of significantly increased macular ischaemia in either group. Thirty subjects with advanced proliferative diabetic retinopathy were recruited, underwent surgery, and completed the study. At three months post-surgery, visual acuity in the ranibizumab group was 53 letters compared with 47 letters in the control group. Conclusion: In diabetic macular oedema, there is evidence that ranibizumab leads to greater improvements in visual acuity and retinal sensitivity than laser, with a corresponding greater reduction in retinal thickness. There is no evidence that it worsens macular ischaemia or indices of global retinal electrophysiological function, but larger trials designed to address each of the outcomes investigated here would be required to confirm these findings. In proliferative diabetic retinopathy, there is evidence from this small pilot study that ranibizumab treatment leads to better visual acuity at 3 months post-surgery. An appropriately powered trial would be required to confirm this

Colonial and Anticolonial Credit: The Native Lands Acts and Te Peeke o Aotearoa

In the 1860s and 1870s the Native Lands Acts facilitated the colonial appropriation of huge amounts of Māori land. The acts, as is commonly known, were explicitly implemented to destroy the ‘communism’ identified as foundational to Māori society, and sought to achieve this by ‘individualising’ Māori land title. However, in addition to this movement of individualisation, the acts fundamentally enacted and relied upon the financialisation of Māori lands, their transformation into securities against debts. This paper examines the colonial weaponisation of credit as a means of division and seizure and contrasts this with the anticolonial deployment of credit by Māori in the form of Te Peeke o Aotearoa. Founded in 1885, and situated within a broader politics of unification and the defence of land, Te Peeke o Aotearoa was an exclusively Māori alternative to prevailing colonial financial institutions that not only reasserted Māori economic autonomy but threatened to weaken the fabric of the colonial project

Combining Objects with Rules to Represent Aggregation Knowledge in Data Warehouse and OLAP Systems

Data warehouses are based on multidimensional modeling. Using On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) tools, decision makers navigate through and analyze multidimensional data. Typically, users need to analyze data at different aggregation levels (using roll-up and drill-down functions). Therefore, aggregation knowledge should be adequately represented in conceptual multidimensional models, and mapped in subsequent logical and physical models. However, current conceptual multidimensional models poorly represent aggregation knowledge, which (1) has a complex structure and dynamics and (2) is highly contextual. In order to account for the characteristics of this knowledge, we propose to represent it with objects (UML class diagrams) and rules in Production Rule Representation (PRR) language. Static aggregation knowledge is represented in the class diagrams, while rules represent the dynamics (i.e. how aggregation may be performed depending on context). We present the class diagrams, and a typology and examples of associated rules. We argue that this representation of aggregation knowledge allows an early modeling of user requirements in a data warehouse project.Aggregation; Conceptual Multidimensional Model; Data Warehouse; On-line Analytical Processing (OLAP); Production Rule; UML

Combining Objects with Rules to Represent Aggregation Knowledge in Data Warehouse and OLAP Systems

Les entrepôts de données reposent sur la modélisation multidimensionnelle. A l'aide d'outils OLAP, les décideurs analysent les données à différents niveaux d'agrégation. Il est donc nécessaire de représenter les connaissances d'agrégation dans les modèles conceptuels multidimensionnels, puis de les traduire dans les modèles logiques et physiques. Cependant, les modèles conceptuels multidimensionnels actuels représentent imparfaitement les connaissances d'agrégation, qui (1) ont une structure et une dynamique complexes et (2) sont fortement contextuelles. Afin de prendre en compte les caractéristiques de ces connaissances, nous proposons de les représenter avec des objets (diagrammes de classes UML) et des règles en langage PRR (Production Rule Representation). Les connaissances d'agrégation statiques sont représentées dans les digrammes de classes, tandis que les règles représentent la dynamique (c'est-à-dire comment l'agrégation peut être effectuée en fonction du contexte). Nous présentons les diagrammes de classes, ainsi qu'une typologie et des exemples de règles associées.Agrégation ; Entrepôt de données ; Modèle conceptuel multidimensionnel ; OLAP ; Règle de production ; UML

A drift chamber array for the measurement of electron trajectories

This thesis describes an array of eight multi-cell drift chambers, of novel design, user! in the (g-2) Muon Storage Ring at CKUN. The array detected decay electrons traversing an inhomogeneous magnetic field ranging from 14.75 kG to 4 kG over the lengh of the chambers. Data analysis aimed to reconstruct the circulating muon beam profile and determine the decay electron energies. Results from the (g-2) experiment are outlined. The development of drift chambers, the principle of operation and their future uses are discussed. The design considerations and operating parameters of the (g-2) chambers are explained. A gas mixture of argon-methane (90:10) was used in the chambers. The computerized data acquisition system developed at CERN is described in detail. It incorporated a new Drift Time Digitizer system. The data were analysed to produce chamber drift velocity calibrations. Electric equipotential plots were derived to enable the computation of theoretical drift velocities. The existence of variable drift velocities throughout the drift spaces was revealed. Particles traversing the chambers near the cell boundaries were observed to produce recorded drift times at both adjacent sense wires. Analysis of the data in these dual detection regions produced better estimates of the drift velocities which were in good agreement with the theoretical values. An experimental scanning system is outlined which would provide accurate drift velocity calibrations in such complex fields. The performance of the drift chamber array is evaluated and the principles of the track reconstruction outlined. The analysis produced underestimates of the radius of curvature of the circulating muons and the decay electron energies. It is demonstrated that low spatial resolutions due to inaccuracies in the drift velocity calibrations produced such errors. Improvements to the drift chamber design and operating parameters are suggested that would increase the attainable spatial resolution

In situ X-ray diffraction of CaO based CO2 sorbents

In situ X-ray diffraction coupled with Rietveld refinement has been used to study CO2 capture by CaO, Ca(OH)2 and partially hydrated CaO, as a function of temperature. Phase quantification by Rietveld refinement was performed to monitor the conversion to CaCO3 and the results were compared to those derived using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). It was found that Ca(OH)2 converted directly to 100% CaCO3 without the formation of a CaO intermediate, at ca. 600 °C. Both pure CaO and partially hydrated CaO (33.6 wt% Ca(OH)2) reached the same capture capacity, containing approximately 65 wt% CaCO3 at 800 °C. It was possible to provide direct evidence of the capture mechanism. The stresses in the Ca(OH)2 phase of the partially hydrated CaO were found to be more than 20 times higher than its strength, leading to disintegration and the generation of nano-sized crystallites. The crystallite size determined using diffraction (75 × 16 nm) was in good agreement with the average crystallite size observed using TEM (of 83 × 16 nm). Electron diffraction patterns confirmed coexistence of CaO and Ca(OH)2. The analysis provides an explanation of the enhanced capture/disintegration observed in CaO in the presence of steam

Visual Pathologies: The Semiotics of the Patient and the Practitioner in Comics

Newspapers have been a stronghold news source for centuries covering a wide range of topics. Though reporting is meant to be unbiased and only fact, stories produced are inevitably entwined with the author’s cultural values—news content ranging from sports to healthcare, including articles, advertisements, and editorial cartoons provide valuable insight into the lives of society. Voices, or narratives, are a huge part of how culture is created and maintained. In healthcare, patients can feel like their voices are not heard. In an attempt to bridge the gap between medical and humanities research and to gain insight into doctor-patient interactions, this analysis asks what ideologies and beliefs are present in medical contexts and how are they represented within the editorial cartoon. Recent studies suggest that mass media as societal discourse may frame or position participants within a society. In this theory of framing, culture is formed from discourse through a reflexive process. Using Kress and Van Leeuwen’s research on meaning making, this study will perform a discursive analysis on medical-themed editorial cartoons from Carpe Diem, Rhymes with Orange, The Lockhorns, to Bizarro. Through this close reading, explicit and implicit cultural beliefs held about medicine, including practitioners and patients, have been revealed, including the portrayal of the doctor’s power over the patient and patient distrust in doctors. Taking into consideration media theory and the analysis of the comics, medical associations and practices may find valuable insight from the opinions and beliefs of not just the authors of these comics but society as a whole, which may prove important as debates over healthcare are ongoing

Roundtrip engineering of NoSQL databases

International audienceIn this article we present a framework describing a roundtrip engineering process for NoSQLdatabase systems. This framework, based on the Model Driven Engineering approach, is composed of aknowledge base guiding the roundtrip process. Starting from a roundtrip generic scenario, we proposeseveral roundtrip scenarios combining forward and reverse engineering processes. We illustrate ourapproach with an example related to a property graph database. The illustrative scenario consists ofsuccessive steps of model enrichment combined with forward and reverse engineering processes. Futureresearch will consist in designing and implementing the main components of the knowledge base

Temperature Dependence of Domain Contributions as a Function of Ageing in Soft and Hard Lead Zirconate Titanate Piezoelectric Ceramics

The stress and temperature dependence of three different lead zirconate titanate ceramics have been measured at 48 h and 1 month after poling. The data were fit to a modified Rayleigh law in which a negative quadratic stress term accounts for a saturation of the domain wall contributions at higher stress. The relative changes to the fitting parameters can be explained by the materials possessing differences in the concentration of orientable defect dipoles, but with similar distributions of relaxation time constants