QTL analysis for growth and wood properties across multiple pedigrees and sites in Eucalyptus globulus

Eucalyptus globulus is the most widely planted species for pulpwood production in temperate regions of the world and there are breeding programs in numerous countries. There is interest in molecular approaches to breeding, particularly marker assisted selection of wood properties. QTL analysis has an important role in identifying positional candidate genes responsible for variation in wood properties. This is one approach to targeting genes which may harbour functional allelic variants (SNPs). The objective of this study was to detect and validate QTL across multiple sites and pedigrees, in order to identify genomic regions and genes affecting growth and wood properties with wide applicability in the species. We also aimed to determine the proportion of QTL which were stable in their expression across sites of contrasting productivity. Such information will be important to exploit the full potential of the impending Eucalyptus genome sequences. [Oral Presentation

GWAS meta-analysis of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy implicates multiple hepatic genes and regulatory elements

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy-specific liver disorder affecting 0.5–2% of pregnancies. The majority of cases present in the third trimester with pruritus, elevated serum bile acids and abnormal serum liver tests. ICP is associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes, including spontaneous preterm birth and stillbirth. Whilst rare mutations affecting hepatobiliary transporters contribute to the aetiology of ICP, the role of common genetic variation in ICP has not been systematically characterised to date. Here, we perform genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and meta-analyses for ICP across three studies including 1138 cases and 153,642 controls. Eleven loci achieve genome-wide significance and have been further investigated and fine-mapped using functional genomics approaches. Our results pinpoint common sequence variation in liver-enriched genes and liver-specific cis-regulatory elements as contributing mechanisms to ICP susceptibility

Teaching Teachers for the Future (TTF): Building the ICT in education capacity of the next generation of teachers in Australia

The Teaching Teachers for the Future (TTF) project is a unique nationally significant project funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations (DEEWR, Au$8.8 million) and the Information and Communication Technology Innovation Fund (ICTIF). This 2011-2012 project has ambitiously attempted to build the ICT education (ICTE) capacity of the next generation of Australian teachers through its focus on pre-service teachers, teacher educators and the new Australian Curriculum. This paper will provide an overview of the project including a description of its genesis in a changing educational and political landscape, its structure and operations, its grounding in contemporary theory, the research opportunities it has engendered and its tangible outcomes

Positioning ICT in teachers' career path: ICT competency as an integral part of teacher standards (Australia) [pp.21-43 in Diverse approaches to developing and implementing competency-based ICT training for teachers: A case study, Volume 1]

Twenty-first century teachers need the technical, pedagogical and content skills to use information and communication technologies (ICT) to create meaningful learning experiences for their students. In Australia, Standards have been developed and operationalised at the national level and steps have been taken to ensure that both beginning and practising teachers demonstrate appropriate ICT competencies. Firstly, the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2011a, 2011b) describes what a teacher should know and do at four career stages: Graduate, Proficient, Highly Accomplished, and Lead. One such Standard is simply entitled ‘Information and Communication Technology’, and requires individual teachers to demonstrate increasing capacity and leadership in ICT pedagogy. Second, teacher education institutions must show national accreditation panels, through the Initial Teacher Accreditation Programme Standards (AITSL, 2012a), how preservice teachers have opportunities to gain and demonstrate the relevant Australian Professional Standards for Teachers at Graduate Level; and, also, how institutions themselves are using ICT in their own teaching and in the resources they make available to their students. This case study will detail the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and Initial Teacher Education Programme Accreditation Standards relating to ICT pedagogy. This study will build on the ambitious large scale 2011-2012 ‘Teaching Teachers to the Future’ (TTF) project (ACDE, 2012) that involved all major teacher education providers in Australia and provided an important step in building the capacity necessary for effective ICT pedagogy. Both national Standards and the TTF project have helped to ensure that Standards are enacted in the daily practice of classrooms across the nation

Teaching teachers for the future: how, what, why, and what next?

This paper contextualises the Teaching Teachers of the Future (TTF) Project and acts as a preamble for the TTF stream of papers at ACEC2012. It discusses the aims and objectives of the project, its genesis in a changing educational and political landscape, the use of TPACK as a theoretical scaffold, and briefly report on the operations of the various components and partners. Further, it will discuss the research opportunities afforded by the project including a national survey of all pre-service teachers in Australia gauging their TPACK confidence and the use of the Most Significant Change (MSC) methodology. Finally the paper will discuss the outcomes of the project and its future

Teaching Teachers for the Future: An Australian Government national project

This paper describes the Teaching Teachers of the Future (TTF) Project – a national project funded ($8.8mil AUD) by the Australian Government. The project was aimed at building the capacity of student teachers to use technology to improve student learning outcomes. It discusses the aims and objectives of the project, its genesis in a changing educational and political landscape, the use of TPACK as a theoretical scaffold, and briefly reports on the operations of the various components and part-ners. Further, it discusses the research opportunities afforded by the project includ-ing a national survey of all PSTs in Australia gauging their TPACK confidence and the use of the Most Significant Change (MSC) methodology. Finally the paper dis-cusses the outcomes of the project and its future

Positioning ICT in Teachers’ Career Path: ICT Competency as an Integral Part of Teacher Standards (Australia)

Twenty-first century teachers need the technical, pedagogical and content skills to use information and communication technologies (ICT) to create meaningful learning experiences for their students. In Australia, Standards have been developed and operationalised at the national level and steps have been taken to ensure that both beginning and practising teachers demonstrate appropriate ICT competencies. Firstly, the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2011a, 2011b)\ud describes what a teacher should know and do at four career stages: Graduate, Proficient, Highly Accomplished, and Lead. One such Standard is simply entitled ‘Information and Communication Technology’, and requires individual teachers to demonstrate increasing capacity and leadership in ICT pedagogy. Second, teacher education institutions must show national accreditation panels, through the Initial Teacher Accreditation Programme Standards (AITSL, 2012a), how preservice teachers have opportunities to gain and demonstrate the relevant Australian Professional Standards for Teachers at Graduate Level; and, also, how institutions themselves are using ICT in their own teaching and in the resources they make available to their students. This case study will detail the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and Initial Teacher Education Programme Accreditation Standards relating to ICT pedagogy. This study will build on the ambitious large scale 2011-2012 ‘Teaching Teachers to the Future’ (TTF) project (ACDE, 2012) that involved all major teacher education providers in Australia and provided an important step in building the capacity necessary for effective ICT pedagogy. Both national Standards and the TTF project have helped to ensure that Standards are enacted in the daily practice of classrooms across the nation

The Virtual Display Case

Abstract so that the display can be updated to maintain the illusion. Looking at a picture on a screen is very different from looking at a solid object. But ifthe picture changes correctly as the observer moves, we can create the illusion that there is a solid object “just behind ” the screen. We have built such a display using only a domestic quality video camera and a Macintosh PowerPC computer The user wears a pair of special “glasses ” that can easily be recognised in the image of the tracking camera. The display provides a starting pointfor a series of experiments in VR and latency issues. 1