629 research outputs found
Pedagogy! iPadology! Netbookology! Learning with mobile devices
This paper explores two different schoolsâ approaches to implementing an iPad program and a Netbook program to a year level of students. The aim of the study was to determine how these mobile devices were being used in the classroom and whether they enhanced teaching and learning. The experiences of students and parents were obtained through questionnaires and the teacherâs reflections were obtained through interviews. The data were triangulated to determine how iPads and Netbooks were utilised in the classroom, and if there were any concerns about the use of each device. The research findings are presented in a thematic style, and provide an insight into how each device is used in a variety of subjects and at home. The paper concludes with some recommendations to inform school principals and leaders about the effectiveness of these devices as an educational tool.
Authors:
Therese Keane(Swinburne University of Technology)
Catherine Lang(Swinburne University of Technology)
Chris Pilgrim(Swinburne University of Technology)
 
Evaluation of the United Nations Mine Action Programme in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The team found that mid to long term planning was insufficient to meet the changing context of the country. There team felt that there was a clear lack of congruence between mine action strategies and the countrywide priorities and strategic direction. The team believes that there is currently too much emphasis placed on creating a functional national mine action structure to the detriment to mid to long term planning for actual clearance activities in the country. The team also found that limited consideration has been placed on ensuring a long term solution to dealing with any residual mine and UXO remaining in the DRC after 2012
Hand hygiene techniques:Still a requirement for evidence for practice?
Introduction Two hand hygiene techniques are promoted internationally: the World Health Organisationâs 6 step and the Centre for Disease Controlâs 3 step techniques; both of which may be considered to have suboptimum levels of empirical evidence for use with alcohol based hand rub (ABHR). Objectives The aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness of the two techniques in clinical practice. Methods A prospective parallel group randomised controlled trial (RCT) was conducted with 1:1 allocation of 6 step versus the 3 step ABHR hand hygiene technique in a clinical setting. The primary outcome was residual microbiological load. Secondary outcomes were hand surface coverage and duration. The participants were medical and nursing participants (n=120) in a large teaching hospital. Results The 6 step technique was statistically more effective at reducing the bacterial count 1900cfu/ml (95% CI 1300, 2400cfu/ml) to 380cfu/ml (95% CI 150, 860 cfu/ml) than the 3 step 1200cfu/ml (95% CI 940, 1850cfu/ml) to 750cfu/ml (95% CI 380, 1400cfu/ml) (p=0.016) but even with direct observation by two researchers and use of an instruction card demonstrating the technique, compliance with the 6 step technique was only 65%, compared to 100% compliance with 3 step technique. Further those participants with 100% compliance with 6 step technique had a significantly greater log reduction in bacterial load with no additional time or difference in coverage compared to those with 65% compliance with 6 step technique (p=0.01). Conclusion To our knowledge this is the first published RCT to demonstrate the 6 step technique is superior to the 3 step technique in reducing the residual bacterial load after hand hygiene using alcohol based hand rub in clinical practice. What remains unknown is whether the residual bacterial load after the 3 step technique is low enough to reduce risk of transmission from the hands and whether the 6 step technique can be adapted to enhance compliance in order to maximise reduction in residual bacterial load and reduce duration
Imaging through turbulence with a quadrature-phase optical interferometer
We present an improved technique for imaging through turbulence at visible wavelengths using a rotation shearing pupil-plane interferometer, intended for astronomical and terrestrial imaging applications. While previous astronomical rotation shearing interferometers have made only visibility modulus measurements, this interferometer makes four simultaneous measurements on each interferometric baseline, with phase differences of Ï/2 between each measurement, allowing complex visibility measurements (modulus and phase) across the entire input pupil in a single exposure. This technique offers excellent wavefront resolution, allowing operation at visible wavelengths on large apertures, is potentially immune to amplitude fluctuations (scintillation), and may offer superior calibration capabilities to other imaging techniques. The interferometer has been tested in the laboratory under weakly aberrating conditions and at Palomar Observatory under ordinary astronomical observing conditions. This research is based partly on observations obtained at the Hale Telescope
Are housebuilders' production strategies a barrier to offsite construction uptake in the UK?
More than three-quarters of all new UK housing is currently delivered by the private sector using predominantly traditional, site-based, construction methods. Recently, the house-building industry has found itself under increasing pressure to raise production output to alleviate a shortage in housing supply and reduce house price inflation. Within this setting, there has been much interest in the potential offered by off-site construction (OSC). The production strategies employed by private house-building firms however, are a direct response to their operational environment, and the adoption of OSC would arguably alter the way that they deliver their developments. Hence, there is a clear need to understand the relationship between production strategy and construction methods. Based on a case study of one of the largest private house-building firms in the UK, the potential impacts of OSC on current production strategies have been explored. The results indicate that the adoption of OSC approaches may alter the manner in which house-building firms are able to manage their production process, reducing their control and restricting the very flexibility on which their own success relies. The findings have implications for the housebuilding industry, OSC manufacturers and construction research, given the ongoing interest in OSC as a means to address the UKâs housing supply issues
(1-Ferrocenyl-4,4,4-trifluoroÂbutane-1,3-dionato-Îș2 O,O)bisÂ(triphenylÂphosphane)copper(I)
In the title mononuclear coordination complex, [CuFe(C5H5)(C9H5F3O2)(C18H15P)2], the CuI ion is coordinated by the chelating ÎČ-diketonate 1-ferrocenyl-4,4,4-trifluoroÂbutane-1,3-dione ligand through two O atoms and the two datively bonded triphenylÂphosphane ligands resulting in a distorted tetraÂhedral coordination sphere. The CuI ion, together with its chelating butane-1,3-dione group, is mutually coplanar [greatest displacement of an atom from this plane = 0.037â
(1)â
Ă
], and the CuI ion lies slightly above [0.013â
(1)â
Ă
] the plane. The overall geometry, including the bond distances and angles within the complex, corresponds to those of other reported copper(I) ÎČ-diketonÂates featuring organic groups at the ÎČ-diketonate ligand
Green choices: the influence of socio-technical parameters on householder decision making in green retrofit projects
Although the uptake of green retrofit measures (GRM) in the UK is increasing,
empirical data often reveals significant shortfalls in the energy performance realised
by domestic green retrofit projects. Such results pose a threat to UK emissions targets
and are particularly problematic for the credibility of the governmentâs flagship
scheme: The Green Deal. The energy performance of a dwelling may be influenced
by both its physical properties and the energy behaviours of its occupants and, whilst
the retrofitting of GRM seeks to improve energy performance through physical
alteration, the way in which users interact with these measures is likely to influence
the extent of that performance. It is theorised that greater consideration for these
socio-technical factors by those selecting GRM may yield more predictable energy
performance in-use whilst better accommodating the needs and expectations of the
occupants. A series of qualitative interviews were used to explore the decisionmaking
processes and in-use practices of early adopters of domestic GRM. The
research concludes that those currently realising exemplary energy performance
demonstrate a level of technical understanding and interest which is not representative
of social norms. Furthermore, acknowledging that the installation of multiple,
interoperating GRM may lead to higher energy performance, it is evident that a lack
of technical understanding may currently inhibit the effective operation and
maintenance of such systems, regardless of usersâ willingness to interact with them.
As such, a better understanding of the technical abilities and in-use expectations of
UK householders is required to aid the development of more intuitive and intelligent
green retrofit solutions. Where this could be achieved, improved predictability and
superior energy performance would likely follow
Design Within Complex Environments: Collaborative Engineering in the Aerospace Industry
The design and the industrialization of an aircraft, a major component, or
an aerostructure is a complex process. An aircraft like the Airbus A400M is composed
of about 700,000 parts (excluding standard parts). The parts are assembled
into aerostructures and major components, which are designed and manufactured in
several countries all over the world. The introduction of new Product Lifecycle
Management (PLM) methodologies, procedures and tools, and the need to reduce
time-to-market, led Airbus Military to pursue new working methods to deal with
complexity. Collaborative Engineering promotes teamwork to develop product, processes
and resources from the conceptual phase to the start of the serial production.
This paper introduces the main concepts of Collaborative Engineering as a new
methodology, procedures and tools to design and develop an aircraft, as Airbus
Military is implementing. To make a Proof of Concept (PoC), a pilot project,
CALIPSOneo, was launched to support the functional and industrial design process
of a medium size aerostructure. The aim is to implement the industrial Digital
Mock-Up (iDMU) concept and its exploitation to create shop fl oor documentation
21-cm synthesis observations of VIRGOHI 21 - a possible dark galaxy in the Virgo Cluster
Many observations indicate that dark matter dominates the extra-galactic
Universe, yet no totally dark structure of galactic proportions has ever been
convincingly identified. Previously we have suggested that VIRGOHI 21, a 21-cm
source we found in the Virgo Cluster using Jodrell Bank, was a possible dark
galaxy because of its broad line-width (~200 km/s) unaccompanied by any visible
gravitational source to account for it. We have now imaged VIRGOHI 21 in the
neutral-hydrogen line and find what could be a dark, edge-on, spinning disk
with the mass and diameter of a typical spiral galaxy. Moreover, VIRGOHI 21 has
unquestionably been involved in an interaction with NGC 4254, a luminous spiral
with an odd one-armed morphology, but lacking the massive interactor normally
linked with such a feature. Numerical models of NGC 4254 call for a close
interaction ~10^8 years ago with a perturber of ~10^11 solar masses. This we
take as additional evidence for the massive nature of VIRGOHI 21 as there does
not appear to be any other viable candidate. We have also used the Hubble Space
Telescope to search for stars associated with the HI and find none down to an I
band surface brightness limit of 31.1 +/- 0.2 mag/sq. arcsec.Comment: 8 pages, accepted to ApJ, uses emulateapj.cls. Mpeg animation (Fig.
2) available at ftp://ftp.naic.edu/pub/publications/minchin/video2.mp
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