A new take on the assessment of first-year art projects

In a search for fresh forms of formative assessment that promotes student learning and encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning, a reflective study was conducted after two assessment instruments were applied in the evaluation of first-year B Ed students in Art Education. The first assessment was designed to assist students to overcome their apprehension about mark-making (drawing) and with the second, consideration was given to whether assessments prepared students for a lifetime of learning. Many first-year students entering their teacher training have not done any art since primary school. As part of the B Ed course they are required to produce a practical portfolio where they apply the art elements. For some students, this is a daunting task because they have very little confidence in their own creative ability. As a strategy to overcome their initial fear of drawing, a River of Life (Fisher & White 2014) exercise was introduced to set off their practical work. The theoretical component of the B Ed 1 course in Art Education comprises of a) the didactics of the subject and b) basic background knowledge of South African art and artists. A component of this work is assessed by means of a written test, but in the past the outcome was very poor. In an attempt to improve their lack of knowledge in this regard, instead of a written test, students were required to come to class with prepared notes and using that, had to design a flowchart as if in preparation for a slide show of a particular component of the work.  Some examples of the end results of the River of Life drawings were analysed and will be discussed to establish whether it could be considered a reliable instrument to assess the ability of B Ed 1 students in the practical application of the elements of art. Results of the flowcharts as part of the theory assessment have been analysed to ascertain whether it has been a reliable assessment tool for this particular component of their course, enabling students to source and apply knowledge about art and artists of South Africa. Results of this research could suggest guidelines to forms of assessment other than the traditional, as reliable instruments in Art Education

Thermal degradation of diamond compacts: a TEM investigation

Diamond compacts consist of fine diamond grains bonded together by using high pressure and high temperature. In this study transmission electron microscopy (TEM)was used to study thermal degradation of diamond compacts. Three different types of diamond compacts – namely cobalt polycrystalline diamond (PCD), calcium carbonate PCD, and diamond-SiC composites – were investigated with TEM to understand the processes that occur during synthesis. These compacts were then heated in inert atmospheres and the chemical changes studied with TEM. It was found that PCD, using cobalt as a bonding agent, will degrade after exposure to temperatures above 750ºC. The cobalt pools contain tungsten in solid solution. During heat treatment above 700ºC the solid solution tungsten combines with cobalt and dissolved carbon to form η-phase particles at the cobalt/diamond interface. At higher temperatures or insufficient tungsten levels the rate of dissolved carbon, into the cobalt pool, is too high and the excess carbon will form as graphite in the cobalt pool. Increased levels of solid solution tungsten, in the cobalt, is expected to delay the onset of graphitization in the diamond compact, thereby increasing the thermal stability of the diamond compact. Non-metallic PCD using calcium carbonate as a bonding agent was successfully sintered in this study. TEM revealed similar micro-structural features as in cobalt based PCD. No signs of thermal degradation were found after exposure to 1200ºC in vacuum for this PCD. Contaminants introduced during processing prevented a detailed study of the binder in this system. The effect of substitutional metal atoms and plastic deformation of diamond on the thermal stability of diamond-SiC composites were investigated. A piston cylinder press was developed and used to synthesize diamond-SiC composites with different levels of plastically deformed diamond. It was concluded that substitutional metal atoms and plastic deformation of diamond grains play no role in the thermal degradation of diamond compacts at 750ºC. The thermal degradation of cobalt PCD is therefore completely determined by the cobalt/diamond interaction at 750ºC

Deepening visual literacy through the use of metacognitive reading instruction strategies

Art education develops literacy through the ‘reading’ of visual texts. This entails the exploration of images, how they were produced and the experience of those who view and interpret them. Multi-literacies such as the skills, knowledge and the ability to interpret varying texts and artefacts and the negotiating of meaning generated by texts develops in the process. Social semiotics explores the potential of art to develop literacy practices in which thinking through sign systems is necessary to read and produce a semiotic system or text. Learning through sign systems enables students to perceive their world in new ways, solve problems, read and write, and create interesting texts. Visual literacy studies prove to be a problem for many students. Undergraduates often find it difficult to read and interpret visual information and produce an art appreciation and analysis assignment on that information. Many education students find it difficult to analyse the art elements and visual symbols. The use of metacognitive reading strategies deepens the experience and improves the visual literacy of B.Ed. students, enabling them to present assignments of a higher  quality. This achievement can positively affect their entire academic performance due to the intensification of the learning process and acuity of perception

A Model for Crime Management in Smart Cities

The main research problem addressed in this study is that South African cities are not effectively integrating and utilising available, and rapidly emerging smart city data sources for planning and management. To this end, it was proposed that a predictive model, that assimilates data from traditionally isolated management silos, could be developed for prediction and simulation at the system-of-systems level. As proof of concept, the study focused on only one aspect of smart cities, namely crime management. Subsequently, the main objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a predictive model for crime management in smart cities that effectively integrated data from traditionally isolated management silos. The Design Science Research process was followed to develop and evaluate a prototype model. The practical contributions of this study was the development of a prototype model for integrated decision-making in smart cities, and the associated guidelines for the implementation of the developed modelling approach within the South African IDP context. Theoretically, this work contributed towards the development of a modelling paradigm for effective integrated decision-making in smart cities. This work also contributed towards developing strategic-level predictive policing tools aimed at proactively meeting community needs, and contributed to the body of knowledge regarding complex systems modelling

Ecological taxation and South Africa's agricultural sector : international developments and local implications

The study focussed on the research question namely: “How will the introduction of new ecological taxes impact the South African agricultural sector?” To answer the question, eight international eco-taxes were selected and further investigated. The nature and history of each eco-tax was examined. The effects or expected effects (where implementation have not yet taken place) of the eco-taxes on the agricultural sectors of the foreign countries, were then considered. The study continued by considering the possible impact on South African agriculture, should these taxes be implemented in South Africa. This was accomplished by extrapolating the foreign effects previously investigated. Mindful of findings, recommendations were then made of what eco-taxes could be implemented which will not impede South African agriculture. It was concluded that the British Climate Change Levy and Climate Change Agreement scheme, Australian Carbon Farming Initiative and Swedish meat consumption tax could be considered for implementation.Financial AccountingM. Phil (Accounting Science

An evaluation of social team building intervention on MBA group formation

Teamwork and the ability to work effectively in a team is a critical skill in a technologically complex workplace where no individual can possess all the knowledge and skills. MBA programmes, therefore, require students to work in collaborative learning groups in order to not only share their knowledge and skills, but also to develop the needed team-based competencies. However, collaborative learning groups are prone to many pitfalls that could result in intra-group conflict and inefficiencies such as social loafing, where the group performance is less than the sum of the output of the individual members when working alone. Team development interventions (TDI) aim to improve team-based competencies of a team. One type of TDI that is often employed is social team building. It typically consists of a one-day extra-mural excursion involving some non-work-related tasks performed by teams to improve interpersonal relationships. The MBA groups are pre-allocated at the start of the academic programme and team building interventions are therefore needed to facilitate group formation. The main research question in this study deals with the effectiveness of these social team building TDI’s to promote group formation. The literature of teams and the factors that influence team effectivity were reviewed. Input-Process-Output models relate the factors that drive team performance. Three team viability measures critical to a teams’ performance were identified namely, group cohesion, group communication and goal-setting. There is strong empirical evidence that these factors contribute positively to the performance of the team. The influence of team building interventions on each of these factors were discussed. There is empirical evidence for the impact of team building interventions on these affective outcomes. However, empirical evidence for the link to objective performance measures is still lackin

Small-angle neutron scattering quantification of phase separation and the corresponding embrittlement of a super duplex stainless steel after long-term aging at 300°C

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) was applied to quantify the nanostructural evolution during spinodal decomposition in a 25Cr-7Ni (wt.%) super duplex stainless steel isothermally aged at 300 °C, for up-to 48,000 h. Prior to the application on the 25Cr-7Ni alloy, the SANS methodology was validated by comparing results from SANS measurements on binary Fe-Cr alloys with atom probe tomography results. SANS results on the 25Cr-7Ni alloy indicated that decomposition wavelength decreased from 5.1 nm to 4.5 nm, whereas the amplitude increased from 15.0 to 33.4 at.%. This quantitative nanostructural evolution correlated to a hardening of the ferrite phase by 190 HV and a reduction of the sub-size Charpy-V impact toughness from 60 J to 25 J

A new take on the assessment of first-year art projects

In a search for fresh forms of formative assessment that promotes student learning and encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning, a reflective study was conducted after two assessment instruments were applied in the evaluation of first-year B.Ed. students in Art Education. The first assessment was designed to assist students to overcome their apprehension about mark-making (drawing) and with the second, consideration was given to whether assessments prepared students for a lifetime of learning. Many first-year students entering their teacher training have not done any art since primary school. As part of the B.Ed. course they are required to produce a practical portfolio where they apply the art elements. For some students, this is a daunting task because they have very little confidence in their own creative ability. As a strategy to overcome their initial fear of drawing, a River of Life (Fisher and White 2015) exercise was introduced to set off their practical work. The theoretical component of the B.Ed. 1 course in Art Education comprises of a) the didactics of the subject and b) basic background knowledge of South African art and artists. A component of this work is assessed by means of a written test, but in the past the outcome was very poor. In an attempt to improve their lack of knowledge in this regard, instead of a written test, students were required to come to class with prepared notes and using that, had to design a flowchart as if in preparation for a slide show of a particular component of the work. Some examples of the end results of the River of Life drawings were analysed and will be discussed to establish whether it could be considered a reliable instrument to assess the ability of B.Ed. 1 students in the practical application of the elements of art. Results of the flowcharts as part of the theory assessment have been analysed to ascertain whether it has been a reliable assessment tool for this particular component of their course, enabling students to source and apply knowledge about art and artists of South Afric

Mentoring educators in art education

CPUT Research Da

The endangered subject of quality visual arts education

Quality and meaningful Visual Art education provides opportunities for learning and holistic development to all children at school. Research projects in this regard highlight the problems that teachers experience in this field. The contribution of higher education in the training of educators to provide for teachers in Visual Art education is important. Curricula of four local and one overseas university for the BEd training in the Arts are compared and discussed. The importance of literacy and numeracy at schoollevel is not disregarded, but the fact that visual literacy is an important part of being literate is emphasised. The current shortage of well-trained Visual Art educators is a challenge. Overcoming this challenge will provide all members of future generations in schools with the learning opportunities that are available through quality Visual Art education. The impact of several reviews of the South African Educational system and the effect thereof on Visual Art education are discussed