New Commonwealth and Queensland workplace relations legislation : an overview

I seem to have heard a lot about thresholds lately. In fact, I sometimes feel as though I am standing at the edge of an abyss. Certainly the industrial relations systems we have come to know and love are in the process of metamorphosis but that process began a decade ago. So what is all the fuss about..

Marking complex assignments using peer assessment with an electronic voting system and an automated feedback tool

The work described in this paper relates to the development and use of a range of initiatives in order to mark complex masters' level assignments related to the development of computer web applications. In the past such assignments have proven difficult to mark since they assess a range of skills including programming, human computer interaction and design. Based on the experience of several years marking such assignments, the module delivery team decided to adopt an approach whereby the students marked each other's practical work using an electronic voting system (EVS). The results of this are presented in the paper along with statistical comparison with the tutors' marking, providing evidence for the efficacy of the approach. The second part of the assignment related to theory and documentation. This was marked by the tutors using an automated feedback tool. It was found that the time to mark the work was reduced by more than 30% in all cases compared to previous years. More importantly it was possible to provide good quality individual feedback to learners rapidly. Feedback was delivered to all within three weeks of the test submission datePeer reviewe

The use of electronic voting and peer assessment to encourage the development of higher order thinking skills in learners

In the research reported here, electronic voting and peer assessment were used with 215 first year computer science and information technology undergraduates undertaking an electronic media design module. In previous years it proved difficult for learners following this module to develop good quality practical skills resulting in poor results in practical tests. In this study, the module delivery team used electronic voting and a form of peer assessment in order to motivate learners and to engage them more deeply in learning. It was hypothesised that this would improve higher order thinking skills and lead to improved performance in practical work. A significant improvement in performance of 6% was achieved (p<0.001) as compared to previous years. We were able to show that the most likely reason for this was the use of electronic voting systems and peer assessment. In the concluding section of the paper we discuss some issues related to this finding and our teaching approachPeer reviewe

Termination And Discipline Procedures, Disputes Procedures & Work Evaluation

This series of paper examines industrial issues from a nonprofit management perspective

MalStone: Towards A Benchmark for Analytics on Large Data Clouds

Developing data mining algorithms that are suitable for cloud computing platforms is currently an active area of research, as is developing cloud computing platforms appropriate for data mining. Currently, the most common benchmark for cloud computing is the Terasort (and related) benchmarks. Although the Terasort Benchmark is quite useful, it was not designed for data mining per se. In this paper, we introduce a benchmark called MalStone that is specifically designed to measure the performance of cloud computing middleware that supports the type of data intensive computing common when building data mining models. We also introduce MalGen, which is a utility for generating data on clouds that can be used with MalStone

Special Problems for Prosecutors in Public Corruption Prosecutions

The focus of this panel is not so much on the academic part of McDonnell, the case law. Of course, you’ll hear the name McDonnell and we’ll talk about that. But we’re trying to talk a little more broadly about public corruption prosecutions in general. Some of these are unique issues. You heard a little bit about them from the former people who have done them, what special unique problems are involved in them and challenges the prosecutors face and what effect, if any

Towards a properly web 2.0 way of creating and sharing questions

The promise held by ideas like item banking and question repositories do not seem to have borne spectacular fruit in UK Higher Education. Projects have come and gone but a real culture of sharing of question content does not seem to have been established. This is in spite of the very real benefits such an approach ought to bring. This paper argues that the major hindrances to this are the complexity of existing xml standards, the difficulty of browsing of questions and the inability to embrace web 2.0 ideas. It offers some results from the JISC funded MCQFM project as pointing in the direction this activity needs to go in order to facilitate greater collaboration among the community. It also believes that the actions of question and test sharing are so different from that of test deployment that potentially we need two standards not one: one for the exchange of questions, and one for their deployment

The Complex Eco-Epidemiology of Tick Borne Disease: Ticks, Hosts and Pathobiomes in an Urbanizing Environment

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. September 2017. Major: Environmental Health. Advisors: Craig Hedberg, Katey Pelican. 1 computer file (PDF); ix, 122 pages.Emerging infectious diseases have become a rapidly increasing public health threat over the past 4 decades with the majority of pathogens being zoonotic or vector borne. Ticks are the second most important vector of disease globally, behind mosquitoes, and transmit a more diverse group of pathogens of medical importance than any other vector. Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) represent the most common vector-borne disease threats in North America, impacting both human and animal health. In Minnesota, the Lyme disease agent, Borrelia burgdorferi, emerged in 1980 and over the past two decades, incidence has risen over 700%. In order to better understand the local eco-epidemiology of these pathogens in the Twin Cities metro area a holistic approach to their ecology must be taken into account. The pathobiome concept has been introduced to ecological research to move beyond the ‘one pathogen= one disease’ principle. Pathogens must be evaluated within the framework of the microbial communities in which they exists. The impact of these communities can significantly drive disease transmission and vector competence. There are many gaps in data that currently exist in regards to the Ixodes scapularis pathobiome. To fill existing knowledge gaps, data were collected from the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District which had been trapping rodents and collecting ticks in the metro area since 1991. First, the pathobiome of Ixodes scapularis ticks was described. The analysis revealed significant changes depending upon the year ticks were collected. Next, tick and mammal population changes from 1993-2013 were analyzed to determine host vector relationships as well as vector range expansion. Ixodes scapularis have greatly expanded their range around the twin cities; however, urban development may have impacted that expansion. Additionally, the role of the Eastern chipmunk was shown to be important in local TBD ecology, and there is evidence of possible competition between tick species. Lastly, the impact of host blood meal and pathogen acquisition on the pathobiome of I. scapularis was examined. Both pathogens and host meal had a significant impact on tick pathobiome. The results from these studies are a step towards better understanding tick and TBD ecology and hopefully predicting and mitigating future transmission risk