Developing e-assessment using the quiz activity within Moodle: empowering student learning

Using formative assessment within Moodle has been shown to encourage self-directed learning (Bromham & Oprandi, 2006). Our experience of using formative assessment quizzes as stand alone entities, as well as within Moodle lessons, has been used to introduce Moodle assessment quizzes over the past year in Level 1 and Level 2 Life Sciences courses. This experience has been distilled to inform the content of this workshop. Some advantages of incorporating assessments in the form of Moodle quizzes are that they allow for quick, reproducible and flexible assessment with a relatively small initial set-up cost, and substantial long-term staff and administration savings. One significant advantage is that staff and room pressures can be reduced as students can attempt the assessment at a time and location of their choice within a specified time period. This flexibility can help to reduce student stress associated with completion of a continuous assessment for their course. It is also a relatively simple process to account for students entitled to extra time during assessments. Providing clear instructions beforehand and at the start of the quiz ensures that students understand their responsibilities for completion of this assessment and ultimately the course. There are some disadvantages and limitations to the system as it currently exists, for example there is the perceived ability for students to “cheat” by completing the assessment as a group, accessing books and the internet. Strategies to account for these can be put in place and will be discussed in detail during the workshop. This workshop aims to take the participants through the initial set up of a quiz, highlighting the various question types and how these can be used to create a challenging assessment that can be quickly graded and prove informative for staff and course development. Reference Bromham L. & Oprandi P. (2006) Evolution online: developing active and blended learning by using a virtual learning environment in an introductory biology course. Journal of Biological Education 41 (1): 21-25

Cathedrals, Hats and Selfies

As tourism to religious sites increases, visitor management at such sites is an issue that is both complex and fraught with difficulties. While the visitor experience is a matter that concerns the management of the religious site, it must be considered within the wider context of the many stakeholders of the site such as worshippers, guides and clergy. This paper is based on a case study of St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral in Melbourne, which in turn, is part of a larger study. An interview was conducted with the Dean of the cathedral in relation to matters including facilities for visitors and the costs involved in providing those facilities, interactions between visitors and the congregation, issues evolving from in the interactions between visitors and the congregation and security concerns for both the building and those within. The importance of providing a welcoming environment for visitors has been recognized while measures have been put in place to minimize any negative impacts that the visitors have on worshippers while delivering them with a worthwhile experience

How the location of roads and protected areas affects deforestation in North Thailand

Using plot-level data, the authors estimate a bi-variate probit model to explain land clearing, and the siting of protected areas in North Thailand in 1986. Their model suggests that protected areas (national parks, together with wildlife sanctuaries) did not reduce the likelihood of forest clearing, but wildlife sanctuaries may have reduced the probability of deforestation. Road building, by reducing the impedance-weighted distance to market, has promoted clearing, especially near the forest fringe. The authors stimulate the impact of further road building to show where road building is likely to have the greatest impact on forest clearing, and where it is likely to threaten protected areas.Wetlands,Climate Change,Earth Sciences&GIS,Environmental Economics&Policies,Water Conservation,Climate Change,Wetlands,Earth Sciences&GIS,Environmental Economics&Policies,Forestry

Roads, population pressures, and deforestation in Thailand, 1976-89

Tropical deforestation is considered one of the major environmental disasters of the 20th century, although there have been few careful studies of its causes. This paper examines the causes of deforestation in Thailand between 1976 and 1989, a period when the country lost 28% of its forest cover. This paper takes the perspective that, in the long run, the determinants of deforestation are the determinants of land use change. While logging and fuelwood gathering may remove forest cover, regrowth will occur, at least in moist tropical forests. For an area to remain deforested, it must be profitable to convert the land to another use, and this use is usually agricultural. In Thailand, for example, agricultural land increased between 1961 and 1988; during the same period, forest land decreased. This paper focuses on what, in equilibrium, determines the amount of land cleared for agriculture. The authors emphasize the quantitative impact of two forces--roads and population pressures--that increase the profitability of converting forest land to agriculture. As aerial maps show, development follows road networks. The magnitude of the impact of roads on commercial and subsistence agriculture depends on soil quality along the road. In this case the Thailand government undertook a road-building program in the Northeast section in the 1970's to encourage settlement of that region as a bulwark against Communist encroachment from Laos. Road building very likely spurred deforestation in the Northeast during the 1970's and 1980's, although the magnitude of its impact is not known. Thailand also experienced rapid population growth during this same period, which may have contributed to deforestation in two ways: the growing population demanding more food, increased the demand for agricultural land; and more importantly, in rural areas where other economic opportunities are limited and squatters are permitted on forest lands, a growing population increased the demand for land for subsistence agriculture. The authors conclude that population pressures play less of a role in deforestation than was found in earlier studies on Thailand. Affecting the amount of deforestation are other factors, such as the profitability of converting the land to another use, natural protection for forests like poor soil and steep slopes, and agricultural price variations.Environmental Economics&Policies,Climate Change,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Land Use and Policies,Agribusiness,Agricultural Trade,Environmental Economics&Policies,Forestry,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Climate Change

Management Practices for the Development of Religious Tourism Sacred Sites: Managing expectations through sacred and secular aims in site development; report, store and access

Through a distillation of practices reflective of the extant literature and socio-economic approaches to inclusive development of sites of religious experiences and worship, we posit that there are seven core conceptual approaches to support evolving site management needs. Therefore, developing sites of special significance necessarily requires the dissemination and sharing of both intellectual and practical contributions to meet those needs in a planned and stakeholder-driven approach. Traditional approaches to development emerged half a century ago with a focus on core competencies and the agreed understanding that open and fair competition would raise quality and assure reasonable profit margins. Creating awareness of services and products and mapping those to our marketing practices are the first two tools in the toolkit. Analysis and synthesis through primary research enables cleric and manager to grasp visitors’ and worshippers’ needs and develop audiences for sites. Fourthly we present the importance of maintenance and plans for developing sites to accommodate factors in both internal and external environments that acknowledge the requirement to remain competitive. Next, the importance of networks, grappling with the wider community and perhaps establishing a wider, even global, reach, is appraised as important. In seeking to tap into resources traditionally not employed in managing religious and pilgrimage sites we elevate the need for an enterprise culture (this enterprise culture is seen in the other papers in this special issue). The final offer includes dimensions of volunteering, nontraditional support networks, altruism and philanthropy which we name as ‘the third way'

Serialisation and the use of Twitter:Keeping the conversation alive in public policy scenario projects

Scenario planning projects have been used in a variety of organisational settings to explore future uncertainty. The scenario process is often a participative one involving heterogeneous stakeholder groups from multiple organisations, particularly when exploring issues of wider public concern. Facilitated workshops are a common setting for scenario projects, typically requiring people to be physically present in order to participate and engage with others for the duration of the project. During workshops, participants progress through the stages of the process, generating content relevant to each stage and ultimately the scenarios themselves. However, the periods between workshops and other episodes of activity (e.g. interviewing stakeholders) are rarely mentioned in such accounts. Thus we know very little about what activities take place between such activities, when they occur and who is involved. This is a particular issue for larger scale scenario projects that run over a period of weeks or months and involve multiple workshops; in such cases organisers and facilitators have to consider how to maintain the interest and levels of engagement of participants throughout the duration of the project. A variety of social media exist which allow people to interact with each other virtually, both in real time and asynchronously. We reflect on the use of social media within a project to develop scenarios for the future of the food system around Birmingham, UK, in the year 2050. We explore how a particular social media, namely Twitter, can be used effectively as part of a scenario planning project, for example to engage participants and encourage contributions to the project. We suggest that Twitter can support the serialisation of strategic conversations between the face-to-face workshops. The paper considers the implications of these reflections for both the scenario process and scenario projects more generally

Extracellular Matrix Synthesis in the Mammalian Liver

The role of the extracellular matrix in the liver is complex, and this thesis will study both the structure and role of normal hepatic extracellular matrix, and how these are affected in liver disease. In order to do this, it was necessary to develop new techniques as well as using methods already available. In Chapter 1, the basic structure of the liver is described. It also identifies the different types of liver cells which are present, and their known functions. Liver injury is examined in Chapter 2 and this covers both the possible responses of the hepatic cells to injury, and the patterns of injury found in different disease entities. Chapter 3 identifies the different component groups of the extracellular matrix, and their general structure and function. The largest of these groups is the collagen family, and this is studied in greater detail in Chapter 4. The remaining components of the extracellular matrix are individually described in Chapter 5. The previous three chapters looked at the components found in all extracellular matrices, and in Chapter 6 the hepatic extracellular matrix is described in greater detail. This chapter covers both the composition of the extracellular matrix and the cells which are believed to be responsible for their synthesis. It summarises the knowledge of the hepatic extracellular matrix that was available at the beginning of the study. In Chapter 7, the different techniques available for the ultrastructural examination of liver tissue are described and compared. This chapter also includes the development of novel techniques for the ultrastructural study of the hepatic extracellular matrix. The materials and methods are detailed in Chapter 8, including the types of liver tissue used. The techniques described in Chapters 7 and 8 were used to map the distribution of the extracellular matrix in normal human liver in Chapter 9. It was necessary to identify the normal distribution of the extracellular matrix in a number of biopsies in order to identify any changes in the distribution which may occur during disease processes. A range of components were examined, including collagen types I, III, IV, V, and VI, laminin, vitronectin and fibronectin. At this stage, it was decided which antibodies used in the study of normal liver were suitable for continuing studies in diseased liver. It was decided to examine the effects of liver disease on the distribution of collagen types I, III, IV, and VI, as well as on fibronectin. These are illustrated in Chapter 10. In the last chapter, a number of points arising from this study are discussed. These include the validity of the techniques used, technical problems with the immunolabelling techniques used, the altered distribution of the extracellular matrix in diseased liver, the novel description of type VI collagen distribution and the possible cellular origin of the extracellular matrix proteins. Finally, the overall, and extremely complex role of the extracellular matrix is examined, both in normal and diseased liver. The most important aspects of this work fall into two categories. The first is the development of the ultracryomicrotomy techniques which were necessary in order to carry out the immunocytochemical studies. Once this part of the work had been completed, it was possible to study new aspects of the hepatic extracellular matrix in great detail, including the distribution of type VI collagen, and the development of basement membranes in the space of Disse

Visitor Profiles and Motivations for Visiting an Australian Wine Festival

The purpose of this paper is to profile visitors who attended Winter Wine Fest (WWFest) 2003 and their motivations for visiting the festival, as a basis for informing marketing and management recommendations aimed at improving the festival experience of visitors as well as contributing to the literature on special events in the wine tourism industry. The paper also provides a foundation for further research, including replication of this study's methods at other festivals and wine tourism events and suggestions for exploring variables not included in this study. In order to do this the study adopted a cross-sectional survey strategy, using a 35-item on-site self-completing questionnaire. The instrument included slightly adapted versions of existing motivational scales and subscales, as well as measured social group membership and several other socio-demographic variables, many of which were designed to facilitate comparisons with Bureau of Tourism Research data. Based on the 273 respondents to the survey, the paper provides a socio-demographic profile of the average respondent together with frequencies and percentages on a number of variables, with some multivariate analysis of motivational differences based on social group membership. The profile of the 'average' WWFest visitor was found to be female, working full-time, aged between 45 and 64 years old, and living in a household that has an annual income between $78,000 and$103,999. These demographics reflect the profile of the `average' wine enthusiast. The visitor, in all likelihood, is attending the festival for the first time, having decided to visit it only a week out from the event after hearing about it via word-of-mouth recommendations. Travelling from metropolitan Melbourne, the average visitor is primarily attending the festival to gain knowledge and expand his/her intellect about wine (that is, for cultural exploration purposes), and to a lesser extent, to socialise and because of the festival's novel premise. Visitors can be segmented based on the social group within which they visit the festival, the largest proportion visiting with friends (48%), followed by couples (33%), families (15%) and only four percent attending solo. There were significant differences between these segments in the motivations to attend the festival, with family groups more likely to be driven by kinship-related motives (e.g. the opportunity to do something the family could do together) in contrast to those who visited with friends, who were more likely to be express motives associated with known-group socialisation (e.g. to be with others who enjoy similar things). The visitor profile data together with the motivational results suggest that festival organisers should find ways to differentiate their product and improve their marketing to provide themselves with a competitive advantage over the plethora of leisure and recreation activities available to consumers. In order to survive the increasingly competitive tourism industry, festival marketing should be informed by an understanding of the consumer (target market). If a festival organiser can design a festival that targets particular markets based on their distinct differences (for example, targeting the differences between the social groupings of couples versus friendship groups versus families), then they are better positioned to facilitate favourable experiences and repeat visitation amongst its target audiences

Feasibility of direct discharge from the coronary/intermediate care unit after acute myocardial infarction

AbstractOBJECTIVESThis investigation was designed to determine the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of direct discharge from the coronary/intermediate care unit (CICU) in 497 consecutive patients with an acute myocardial infarction (AMI).BACKGROUNDAlthough patients with an AMI are traditionally treated in the CICU followed by a period on the medical ward, the latter phase can likely be incorporated within the CICU.METHODSAll patients were considered for direct discharge from the CICU with appropriate patient education. The 6-week postdischarge course was evaluated using a structured questionnaire by a telephone interview.RESULTSThere were 497 patients (men = 353; women = 144; age 63.5 ± 0.6 years) in the study, with 29 in-hospital deaths and a further 11 deaths occurring within 6 weeks of discharge. The mode length of CICU stay was 4.0 days (mean 5.1 ± 0.2 days): 1 to 2 (12%), 3 (19%), 4 (21%), 5 (14%), 6 to 7 (19%) and ≥7 (15%) days, respectively with 87.2% discharged home directly. Of the 425 patients surveyed, 119 (28.0%) indicated that they had made unscheduled return visits (URV) to a hospital or physician’s office: 10.6% to an emergency room, 9.4% to a physician’s office and 8.0% readmitted to a hospital. Of these URV, only 14.3% occurred within 48 h of discharge. Compared to historical controls, the present management strategy resulted in a cost savings of Cdn. $4,044.01 per patient.CONCLUSIONSDirect discharge from CICU is a feasible and safe strategy for the majority of patients that results in considerable savings