Western Australia and the evolving regional order: challenges and opportunities

Executive Summary: 21st century Asia is a powerhouse in the contemporary global economy. In a short period of time it has closed the development gap between the Region and the rest of the world. All indications suggest that this growth performance will continue into the foreseeable future.Australia’s high levels of economic growth over the last decade are directly related to Asia’s ‘economic miracle,’ with Western Australia playing a lead role in Australia’s regional economic engagement. Indeed, the State has accounted for nearly 50 per cent of Australia’s commodity export trade in recent years, concentrated overwhelmingly in Asia. In this sense Australia, and Western Australia in particular, are becoming increasingly ‘hard wired’ into the Region. This presents many opportunities but also challenges.The First Murdoch Commission was established to identify how these opportunities may be pursued and how the challenges may be addressed. The initial impetus was that future prosperity required well-informed strategies and policy settings to optimise potential benefits and sustainable gains.The broad context of the inquiry was the contemporary rise of Asia. This rise is a story of success, yet it is success accompanied by significant challenges. Deepening regional integration is an essential part of the story, with the effect of distributing risks as well as benefits. The ongoing performance of the Region is thus also a question about addressing major problems including rapid urbanisation, resources security, demographic burdens and environmental pressures.This insight underpinned the deliberations of the Commission and its investigation of how economic engagement and the growing interdependency of Western Australia, Australia and the Region can be pursued to enhance mutual benefit and long-term resilience.A distinct feature of the Commission’s investigations was its regional approach. This included the composition of the Commission’s membership, and a series of meetings and consultations with various stakeholder groups and individuals in major regional centres. This approach was taken precisely because Australia’s core interests are now closely intertwined with Asia’s continuing prosperity and stability.The Commission found that there is a strategic choice to be taken by Australia: whether to remain a mere exporter to the Region or to become a more active participant engaging in the Region. The former choice leaves Australia susceptible to the volatilities of a game that it has little capacity to influence. By contrast, the latter offers Australia far greater potential influence, opportunity and long-term benefit for its economic prosperity and wider future. Efforts in this space should not underestimate the major challenges confronting both the Region and the Australian economy, and how regional cooperation can provide ways to address these challenges.Western Australia provided a fertile case for the Commission to examine regional opportunities and challenges from the standpoint of a sub-national unit. There is potential for Western Australia to develop a more prominent role in the Region, and the Commission identified various possibilities at hand.The Commission concluded that greater regional engagement offered many benefits. This includes opportunities for Australia to contribute to addressing some of the major challenges in the Region, especially in areas such as food security and capacity building. Western Australia in particular has a lot to offer and a lot to gain in this respect

Compensation of thermal nonlinearity effect in optical resonators

Thermal nonlinearity is known to cause bistability in Whispering Gallery Mode (WGM) resonators and to destabilize the red slope of the Lorentzian resonant curve. We demonstrate an optical technique that allows compensation of the thermal effect and forces the resonances to appear linear with both red and blue slopes stable

Design of \u3ci\u3eIn Vivo\u3c/i\u3e Assays for Study of Transport, Biocompatibility and Toxicity of Nanoparticles

This dissertation focuses on the design of new in vivo assays for study of transport, biocompatibility and toxicity of nanoparticles (NPs) in zebrafish embryos. We synthesized and purified spherical silver (Ag) NPs with diameters, ranging from 12 to 95 nm, that are stable (non-aggregated) in egg-water media. We developed new imaging approaches to characterize the sizes of single Ag NPs in zebrafish embryos at nanometer resolution by measuring their size-dependent plasmonic spectra and scattering intensity using dark-field optical microscopy and spectroscopy (DFOMS). We used single Ag NPs because they exhibit the high quantum yield (QY) of Rayleigh scattering and resist photobleaching and blinking, allowing to be continuously monitored in vivo for any desired amount of time. These unique optical properties make them better than traditional imaging probes, such as fluorescence probes (e.g., fluorophores and semiconductor quantum dots), that are currently used for in vivo imaging and widely used in life science. With no need of fluorescence excitation, Ag NPs can be used to monitor transport in a living in vivo system and effectively avoids auto-fluorescence of the living organism, allowing us to monitor it in real-time in the developing embryo. Using different properties of Ag NPs, size-dependent optical properties and charge-dependent surface properties, we studied transport and toxicity in living embryos in real-time for better understanding of biocompatibility of NPs in a living in vivo model system. Using Ag NPs, we continuously imaged nano-environments of developing zebrafish embryos for hours and discovered their transport patterns through the chorion and into the chorion space of the different stages of embryos. We demonstrated that the different types of Ag NPs caused a wide variety of deformities and caused an increase in death, and both in a concentration dependent manner in living zebrafish embryos. This determined that zebrafish embryos are a powerful in vivo assay to use to study the transport, biocompatibility and toxicity of nanomaterials

Encouraging learner interaction, engagement and attention in the virtual classroom (an investigation into the phenomenon of multitasking)

The use of virtual classrooms (VC) in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector is becoming increasingly popular due to the ability for learners from any location to access education online in real time with a teacher, and to participate in an environment that simulates a face to face classroom. However, a major area of concern that has emerged is the tendency for learners to multitask (task switch) rather than remain attentive and focused on the content being delivered. This study was designed to investigate whether learners are task switching while participating in a VC and whether this affects the teaching and learning that occurs. Using Moore’s (1993) transactional distance theory as the theoretical framework, this study explored whether a teacher’s design of the VC session, selection and use of the VC tools and management of activities can encourage learners to focus on the relevant learning activity without task switching. The study was conducted at the Canberra Institute of Technology and twelve individual case studies were analysed, each comprising one teacher and their learner cohort. A design based methodology involving two iterations was conducted, with the first being held in semester 2, 2011 and the second in semester 1, 2012. A mixed methodology was selected to ensure the richness of the data. Instruments for data collection included an entry and exit survey for teachers and learners, an end of session poll from the learners, a blog journal from the teachers, an e-diary from the researcher, a Wimba analytic tracking log, a detailed session observation tool and interviews from support staff. Findings from the study suggest that learners do task switch while participating in VC sessions and that this can have a negative effect on the teaching and learning that occurs. It is therefore critical to ensure support is provided for teachers to design, develop and deliver sessions that encourage maximum attention and therefore reduce the opportunity for learners to task switch. The study also found that, while there is no exact formula for the level of structure and autonomy needed to reduce the potential for learners to experience transactional distance, high levels of structure and low levels of autonomy work best for a VC session to maintain the attention of the learners. A further finding was that the nine types of dialogic interactions that occur in a VC amongst teachers, learners, content and interface should all be considered and facilitated for the success of a session. An outcome of this research was the development of a set of strategies to support both teachers and learners when using a VC, including the importance of institutional support and effective, timely training for teachers and learners. A further outcome of this research was the suggestion for the creation of guides for teachers and learners and the importance of ensuring adequate support is provided for both teachers and learners. This research concluded that there is significantly more research required in the use of VCs and, in particular, around the issue of task switching. While the findings from this study have been directed to assist teachers and learners in the Vocational Education Sector, findings can be transferred to other educational sectors including both K-12 and the university sector. It is hoped that these findings will lead to additional discussion and research on the use of VCs and in particular to the issue of how to retain the attention of learners while they are participating in a VC session

Biodiversity and the role of bioturbating invertebrates in nutrient cycling in stormwater ponds

Stormwater retention ponds are typically constructed to manage stormwater in commercial and residential areas, thereby reducing flooding and erosion and improving downstream water quality. Although auxiliary ecosystem services of stormwater ponds are less often recognized, these small aquatic ecosystems may also serve as habitat for aquatic flora and fauna and can be hotspots for biogeochemical cycling. This study examined the biological communities and physicochemical environment of 9 stormwater ponds in Rochester, New York, USA to assess their role in supporting biodiversity and facilitating carbon and nutrient cycling in developed landscapes. A field study revealed that pond age and vegetation cover were important facilitators of benthic macroinvertebrate diversity. The most dominant and abundant taxa were tolerant of low oxygen and high salinity environments including Oligochaeta, Chironomidae and pulmonate snails. These benthic organisms are also important bioturbating infauna that may influence biogeochemistry at the sediment-water interface. In a laboratory microcosm experiment, Chironomus sp. and Lumbriculus variegatus, were both found to increase oxygen consumption and inorganic nitrogen fluxes in stormwater sediments through excretion, respiration and bioturbation. Benthic macroinvertebrates in stormwater ponds enhance decomposition of organic material and nutrient recycling, ultimately influencing water quality in stormwater ponds. Thus, stormwater ponds typically recognized as structures for flood control provide important secondary benefits and act as hotspots for diversity and nutrient cycling in developed landscapes

L'emploi de Screencastify pour fournir un feedback audio-visuel et collaboratif aux débutants en FLE sur la production écrite et orale.

With the aim of improving the provision of online feedback on written and oral formative tasks within the field of Foreign Language French, the effectivity of screencasts to create audiovisual feedback is investigated throughout this study. Learning practitioners are looking to enhance ICT tools for the development of online learning programmes in response to changes in our learning environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although much research has been focussed on remote teaching techniques, this study aims to focus on the provision of useful audio-visual feedback in the form of screencasts. The first-year students learning French at the University of Cape Town were selected as participants for this study. Two activities, one written and one oral activity, were created using the university's learning platform namely Vula. The students completed and submitted these tasks using the upload and recording tools available to them on Vula. Audio-visual feedback was then created and provided to each student for their tasks. The audio-visual feedback was sent in the form of screencasts which were created using Screencastify, available for free download as a Google Chrome extension. These screencasts were embedded in the assignments and digitally returned to the students via Vula. Students then completed a subsequent questionnaire, using Google Documents, encouraging them to share their perceptions of the audio-visual feedback in terms of its effectivity, ability to make them notice their mistakes and the pause and rewind functions. The aim was to draw a comparison between the written and oral feedback traditionally provided in the classroom and the audio-visual feedback in the form of screencasts, as well as to determine if audio-visual feedback is able to put learners at ease. The results of this research indicated that communicating and making mistakes caused students to experience anxiety. Secondly, traditional written feedback can be effective, but oral feedback in the classroom is often provided too quickly for many students to pay attention or to take notes. Furthermore, students showed a preference towards receiving correction from their teacher rather than from their peers. The audio-visual feedback in the form of screencasts proved to be useful to most of the students some of whom indicated that it was a more memorable and interactive. Some students felt more at ease when receiving the audio-visual feedback because it was sent to them on their personal devices and other students found the pause and rewind functions useful for practicing their pronunciation or for revision. Screencastify or similar tools can therefore be considered useful for the provision of audiovisual feedback as part of an online learning programme

Screening for Psychopathology in Individuals with Autism using the Vineland - II

Research has consistently shown that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in combination with an intellectual disability are at greater risk for developing psychopathology than are typically developing individuals. Individuals with ASD and intellectual disability are also at increased risk of psychopathology compared to those who have an intellectual disability alone. Given this risk, accurate monitoring and screening of psychopathology in this population is critical. However, there are few well validated measures of psychopathology designed specifically for this population. The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales – Second Edition (Vineland – II; Sparrow, Cicchetti, & Balla, 2005) is a commonly used measure of adaptive skills, and includes an optional Maladaptive Behavior Domain. The Maladaptive Behavior Domain consists of four sections, Internalizing, Externalizing, Other, and Critical Items. The Vineland-II has been used extensively with individuals who have an intellectual disability as well as with individuals who have ASD. However, the Maladaptive Behavior Domain has been overlooked in the literature and little information on its reliability, validity, or clinical utility exists. The utility of the Maladaptive Behavior Domain as a screening tool for psychopathology in individuals with ASD and intellectual disability was examined. The Vineland-II was administered to the parents/caregivers of 231 individuals between the ages of 3 and 41 years (M = 10 years 4 months) with ASD and intellectual disability. A factor analysis of the items within the maladaptive domain revealed a solution composed of six factors, which were labelled Acting Out, Social Regulation, ASD, Emotion Regulation, Socially Inappropriate, and Self-Regulation. Five of the six new factors are substantially different from the original sections. The Externalizing scale was the only original Vineland-II scale that remained relatively intact. These results suggest that for individuals with ASD and intellectual disability the Internalizing, Other, and Critical Items scales do not measure any well-defined constructs and thus do not yield meaningful information. The new factors appear to better categorize the Maladaptive Behavior Domain of the Vineland – II for individuals with ASD and intellectual disability. The reorganization of the Maladaptive Behavior Domain will allow for better detection of different forms of psychopathology in ASD and intellectual disability

Direct determination of the ambipolar diffusion length in strained InxGa1−xAs/InP quantum wells by cathodoluminescence

The ambipolar diffusion length is measured in strained InxGa1−xAs/InP quantum wells for several mole fractions in the interval 0.3<x<0.8 by cathodoluminescence. The ambipolar diffusion length is found to have a significantly higher value in the lower indium mole fraction samples corresponding to tensile-strained wells. This longer diffusion length for the tensile samples is consistent with results of carrier lifetime experiments by M. C. Wang, K. Kash, C. E. Zah, R. Bhat, and S. L. Chuang [Appl. Phys. Lett. 62, 166 (1993)]

Cascaded wavelength conversions using four-wave mixing in semiconductor optical amplifiers

Wavelength conversion in wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) communication systems would provide significant network performance improvement. Optoelectronic, cross-gain saturation, and cross phase saturation wavelength converters are candidate technologies that have been well characterized, however, they are not “transparent” to either bit-rate or modulation format. Complete transparency is offered only by ultrafast wave mixing techniques-in the present case four-wave mixing (FWM) in semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs)