Building academic resilience: A longitudinal study of Master of Teaching students’ perceptions of written feedback on high stakes assessment

This paper reports on a two-year study of tertiary education students&rsquo; perceptions of written feedback on assessment. Contextualised in a regional Australian university and drawing on a cohort of Master of Teaching pre-service teachers, a survey approach was used to collect data from participants in both years of their graduate-level entry program. The paper contributes to the emerging body of literature on students&rsquo; perceptions of written feedback on assessment by discussing four themes that emerged from the study. It concludes with a number of recommendations for teacher educators to enhance current feedback practices.<br /

An efficient sampling algorithm for Variational Monte Carlo

We propose a new algorithm for sampling the $N$-body density $|\Psi({\bf R})|^2/\int_{\mathbb{R}^{3N}} |\Psi|^2$ in the Variational Monte Carlo (VMC) framework. This algorithm is based upon a modified Ricci-Ciccotti discretization of the Langevin dynamics in the phase space $({\bf R},{\bf P})$ improved by a Metropolis acceptation/rejection step. We show through some representative numerical examples (Lithium, Fluorine and Copper atoms, and phenol molecule), that this algorithm is superior to the standard sampling algorithm based on the biased random walk (importance sampling).Comment: 23 page

A computational assessment of the independent contribution of changes in canine trabecular bone volume fraction and microarchitecture to increased bone strength with suppression of bone turnover

This study addressed the effects of changes in trabecular microarchitecture induced by suppressed bone turnover—including changes to the remodeling space—on the trabecular bone strength–volume fraction characteristics independent of changes in tissue material properties. Twenty female beagle dogs, aged 1–2 years, were treated daily with either oral saline (n=10 control) or high doses of oral risedronate (0.5 mg/kg/day, n=10 suppressed) for a period of 1 year, the latter designed (and confirmed) to substantially suppress bone turnover. High-resolution micro-CT-based finite element models (18-μm voxel size) of canine trabecular bone cores (n=2 per vertebral body) extracted from the T-10 vertebrae were analyzed in both compressive and torsional loading cases. The same tissue-level material properties were used in all models, thus providing measures of tissue-normalized strength due only to changes in the microarchitecture. Suppressed bone turnover resulted in more plate-like architecture with a thicker and more dense trabecular structure, but the relationship between the microarchitectural parameters and volume fraction was unaltered (p>0.05). Though the suppressed group had a greater tissue-normalized strength as compared to the control group (p0.13) or torsion (p>0.09). In this high-density, non-osteoporotic animal model, the increases in tissue-normalized strength seen with suppression of bone turnover were entirely commensurate with increases in bone volume fraction and thus, no evidence of microarchitecture-related or “stress-riser” effects which may disproportionately affect strength were found

Age and Growth of Spotted Sand Bass, Paralabrax maculatofasciatus, in Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja California, Mexico, with Age Validation using Otolith Edge Analysis

Spotted sand bass, Paralabrax maculatofasciatus, were collected from Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja California, Mexico covering as wide a size range as possible over four seasons (spring, summer, fall, and winter). Age was estimated and growth parameters calculated from growth zones counted in transverse otolith sections. An otolith edge analysis indicated an opaque growth zone was deposited once per year during the summer, validating the annual periodicity. Spotted sand bass from this region are fast growing with a relatively short life span of up to 11 years. Growth differs from the disjunct Pacific coast population by having a higher growth rate and a shorter longevity

Influenza epidemiology, vaccine coverage and vaccine effectiveness in sentinel Australian hospitals in 2013: the Influenza Complications Alert Network

The National Influenza Program aims to reduce serious morbidity and mortality from influenza by providing public funding for vaccination to at-risk groups. The Influenza Complications Alert Network (FluCAN) is a sentinel hospital-based surveillance program that operates at 14 sites in all states and territories in Australia. This report summarises the epidemiology of hospitalisations with confirmed influenza, estimates vaccine coverage and influenza vaccine protection against hospitalisation with influenza during the 2013 influenza season. In this observational study, cases were defined as patients admitted to one of the sentinel hospitals, with influenza confirmed by nucleic acid testing. Controls were patients who had acute respiratory illnesses who were test-negative for influenza. Vaccine effectiveness was estimated as 1 minus the odds ratio of vaccination in case patients compared with control patients, after adjusting for known confounders. During the period 5 April to 31 October 2012, 631 patients were admitted with confirmed influenza at the 14 FluCAN sentinel hospitals. Of these, 31% were more than 65 years of age, 9.5% were Indigenous Australians, 4.3% were pregnant and 77% had chronic co-morbidities. Influenza B was detected in 30% of patients. Vaccination coverage was estimated at 81% in patients more than 65 years of age but only 49% in patients aged less than 65 years with chronic comorbidities. Vaccination effectiveness against hospitalisation with influenza was estimated at 50% (95% confidence interval: 33%, 63%, P<0.001). We detected a significant number of hospital admissions with confirmed influenza in a national observational study. Vaccine coverage was incomplete in at-risk groups, particularly non-elderly patients with medical comorbidities. Our results suggest that the seasonal influenza vaccine was moderately protective against hospitalisation with influenza in the 2013 season. This work i

2,3,4-Tribromo­thio­phene

In the title compound, C4HBr3S, there are two essentially planar mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit. In the crystal structure, bifurcated C—H⋯Br hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into chains. Weak Br⋯Br inter­actions [Br⋯Br = 3.634 (4)–3.691 (4) Å] then lead to undulating sheets in the bc plane

Effects of suppression of bone turnover on cortical and trabecular load sharing in the canine vertebral body

The relative biomechanical effects of antiresorptive treatment on cortical thickness vs. trabecular bone microarchitecture in the spine are not well understood. To address this, T-10 vertebral bodies were analyzed from skeletally mature female beagle dogs that had been treated with oral saline (n=8 control) or a high dose of oral risedronate (0.5 mg/kg/day, n=9 RIS-suppressed) for 1 year. Two linearly elastic finite element models (36-μm voxel size) were generated for each vertebral body—a whole-vertebra model and a trabecular-compartment model—and subjected to uniform compressive loading. Tissue-level material properties were kept constant to isolate the effects of changes in microstructure alone. Suppression of bone turnover resulted in increased stiffness of the whole vertebra (20.9%, p=0.02) and the trabecular compartment (26.0%, p=0.01), while the computed stiffness of the cortical shell (difference between whole-vertebra and trabecular-compartment stiffnesses, 11.7%, p=0.15) was statistically unaltered. Regression analyses indicated subtle but significant changes in the relative structural roles of the cortical shell and the trabecular compartment. Despite higher average cortical shell thickness in RIS-suppressed vertebrae (23.1%, p=0.002), the maximum load taken by the shell for a given value of shell mass fraction was lower (p=0.005) for the RIS-suppressed group. Taken together, our results suggest that—in this canine model—the overall changes in the compressive stiffness of the vertebral body due to suppression of bone turnover were attributable more to the changes in the trabecular compartment than in the cortical shell. Such biomechanical studies provide an unique insight into higher-scale effects such as the biomechanical responses of the whole vertebra

Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness against Hospitalisation with Confirmed Influenza in the 2010-11 Seasons: A Test-negative Observational Study

Immunisation programs are designed to reduce serious morbidity and mortality from influenza, but most evidence supporting the effectiveness of this intervention has focused on disease in the community or in primary care settings. We aimed to examine the effectiveness of influenza vaccination against hospitalisation with confirmed influenza. We compared influenza vaccination status in patients hospitalised with PCR-confirmed influenza with patients hospitalised with influenza-negative respiratory infections in an Australian sentinel surveillance system. Vaccine effectiveness was estimated from the odds ratio of vaccination in cases and controls. We performed both simple multivariate regression and a stratified analysis based on propensity score of vaccination. Vaccination status was ascertained in 333 of 598 patients with confirmed influenza and 785 of 1384 test-negative patients. Overall estimated crude vaccine effectiveness was 57% (41%, 68%). After adjusting for age, chronic comorbidities and pregnancy status, the estimated vaccine effectiveness was 37% (95% CI: 12%, 55%). In an analysis accounting for a propensity score for vaccination, the estimated vaccine effectiveness was 48.3% (95% CI: 30.0, 61.8%). Influenza vaccination was moderately protective against hospitalisation with influenza in the 2010 and 2011 seasons

Post-earthquake Reconnaissance Report on Transportation Infrastructure Impact of the February 27, 2010, Offshore Maule Earthquake in Chile

This report documents the findings and lessons learned from the February 27, 2010, M8.8 offshore Maule earthquake in Chile. Fewer than 0.15 percent of the bridges in Chile\u27s inventory, most built after 1995, collapsed or suffered damage that rendered them useless. Many spans of precast prestressed discontinuous girder bridges with continuous decks fell off their supports, probably due to significant in-plane rotation of the superstructure as a result of severe shaking. Lateral steel stoppers used to provide both vertical and lateral restraints on girders were largely unsuccessful due to their inadequate connection detail to cap beams and abutments. Reinforced concrete shear keys performed well as fuses limiting the transfer of excessive seismic loads from the superstructure to the foundation of bridges even though they could be optimized for maximum energy dissipation as part of the lateral restraint system at the bottom flange of girders. Vertical seismic bars were widely used to restrain the vertical motion of decks, and they also performed well. Bridge substructures (foundation, column, and cap beam) generally behaved satisfactorily except for two columns that suffered shear failure due to ground settlement and lateral spreading. All mechanically stabilized earth walls exceeded the expected performance