An inquiry-based learning approach to teaching information retrieval

The study of information retrieval (IR) has increased in interest and importance with the explosive growth of online information in recent years. Learning about IR within formal courses of study enables users of search engines to use them more knowledgeably and effectively, while providing the starting point for the explorations of new researchers into novel search technologies. Although IR can be taught in a traditional manner of formal classroom instruction with students being led through the details of the subject and expected to reproduce this in assessment, the nature of IR as a topic makes it an ideal subject for inquiry-based learning approaches to teaching. In an inquiry-based learning approach students are introduced to the principles of a subject and then encouraged to develop their understanding by solving structured or open problems. Working through solutions in subsequent class discussions enables students to appreciate the availability of alternative solutions as proposed by their classmates. Following this approach students not only learn the details of IR techniques, but significantly, naturally learn to apply them in solution of problems. In doing this they not only gain an appreciation of alternative solutions to a problem, but also how to assess their relative strengths and weaknesses. Developing confidence and skills in problem solving enables student assessment to be structured around solution of problems. Thus students can be assessed on the basis of their understanding and ability to apply techniques, rather simply their skill at reciting facts. This has the additional benefit of encouraging general problem solving skills which can be of benefit in other subjects. This approach to teaching IR was successfully implemented in an undergraduate module where students were assessed in a written examination exploring their knowledge and understanding of the principles of IR and their ability to apply them to solving problems, and a written assignment based on developing an individual research proposal

Local Governments as 'Place-shapers': Exposition, Critique and Investigations in Australian Politics

Australian local government continues to struggle to find a distinctive role in Australia's federal democracy, being conceptualised as an instrumental, rather than a political institution by both state and federal tiers of Australian government. This thesis argues that, by way of comparative analysis, place-shaping as developed by the Lyons Inquiry into local government in England points the way to a reinvigorated Australian local government sector, entailing not merely instrumental responsibilities and roles of political representation, but also ideational roles in the forms of history, locale and identity which can significantly assist in local government fulfilling it potential. This does not necessary entail that in searching out options for reform, state and federal government ought to pursue all avenues for increased leadership at the local level, nor increased devolution to the local level of political authority. On the contrary: As the analysis of the thesis suggests, there is room for caution, if not conservativism, in this regard. Further, as the thesis demonstrates, reforms to Australian local government have seen it move toward incorporating some elements of place-shaping as a mode of local government reform, as developed here. Nevertheless, it is the ideational and symbolic elements of local government which need to be encouraged if its promise is to be realised

Local Government Amalgamation in Queensland: A Case Study of the Moreton Bay Regional Council

Local government in Australia has been the subject of significant reform since the early 1990s. New local government legislation has been introduced, the types of services provided by councils have changed, and local government financial sustainability has been the subject of debate at both state and national levels. Whilst these changes have been significant, it has been structural reform of local government that has transformed the political landscape at the local level through involuntary amalgamations. This thesis reviews the various policy approaches to local government reform in Australia, with a particular focus on forced amalgamation as a method of structural reform. State and territory governments appear to be inextricably drawn to the idea that 'bigger is better' in local government. This thesis considers the merits of this proposition from theoretical and empirical viewpoints, and critically evaluates the Queensland experience of involuntary amalgamation in 2008

REAPERTURA DE PLANTA TEPEYAC

Resumen de Memorias de Trabajo Se tomó el proyecto de la reapertura de planta Gamesa Tepeyac del cual fui parte como líder del área de Ingeniería Industrial y Almacén, este consistió en la reapertura en 2 fases de las Unidades de Negocio de Gamesa Tepeyac, siendo la primera fase la reapertura de la línea de IQO’s y la segunda la apertura de las 4 líneas de Galleta, Equipo 1, Equipo 2, Equipo 3 y Merengue. Considerándose como reapertura todo el proceso de preparación y planeación, la reapertura en sí y el seguimiento a la operación e Indicadores Clave de Desempeño. Esto se llevó a cabo con un apoyo por parte de todas las áreas soporte, Gerencia, Seguridad, Calidad, Inocuidad, Producción, Mejora Continua, Mantenimiento, Recursos Humanos, Contraloría, Lean Six Sigma, Abastecimientos, Capacitación e Ingeniería Industrial y Almacén, creando una serie de pasos críticos a seguir para garantizar que no hubiera problemas antes, durante y después de la reapertura, así mismo el apoyo y disposición de todo el personal. Esta reapertura se requirió por 2 temas, el primero fue la alta demanda de sobres de avena instantánea y que los maquiladores de este producto no alcanzaron a cumplir con los objetivos de producción necesarios para cumplir con la demanda, el segundo tema, y más crítico, fue que debido al sismo del 19 de septiembre de 2017 la planta de Gamesa Vallejo, la cual es la principal productora de galleta en México para grupo PepsiCo, sufrió graves daños estructurales en su edificio, situación que obligó a la compañía a cerrar la planta hasta que se repararán estos daños y se pudiera afianzar la seguridad de todo el personal que ahí labora. Debido a este cierre de Vallejo Gamesa se decidió reabrir la planta de Gamesa Tepeyac, junto con otras medidas que incluían aumentar el volumen de las demás plantas de galleta de grupo PepsiCo, y así poder disminuir la falta de producto en puntos de venta, sin embargo para Gamesa Tepeyac también se planteó el objetivo de hacer una reapertura limpia y operar con los estándares de desempeño que se manejaron antes del cierre. Desafortunadamente muchas plantas no pudieron alcanzar los nuevos objetivos de volumen que se les plantearon, sin embargo planta Gamesa Tepeyac no solo tuvo una reapertura limpia y sin incidentes mayores, si no que también alcanzó y superó los estándares de operación que manejaba anteriormente volviéndose una planta mucho más eficiente en la administración de la misma debido a la reducción de personal así como el aumento de volumen en galleta como en IQO’s; pasando de un máximo de producción de 2,649 toneladas mensuales a 2,925 toneladas mensuales y de 6.5 toneladas por turno a 7 toneladas por turno en galleta e IQO’s respectivamente

Can agricultural cultivation methods influence the healthfulness of crops for foods

The aim of the current study was to investigate if there are any health effects of long-term consumption of organically grown crops using a rat model. Crops were retrieved over two years from along-term field trial at three different locations in Denmark, using three different cultivation systems(OA, organic based on livestock manure; OB, organic based on green manure; and C, conventional with mineral fertilizers and pesticides)with two field replicates. The cultivation system had an impact on the nutritional quality, affecting γ-tocopherol, some amino acids, and fatty acid composition. Additionally, the nutritional quality was affected by harvest year and location. However, harvest year and location rather than cultivation system affected the measured health biomarkers. In conclusion, the differences in dietary treatments composed of ingredients from different cultivation systems did not lead to significant differences in the measured health biomarkers, except for a significant difference in plasma IgGl evels

Protocol: the effects of flipped classrooms to improve learning outcomes in undergraduate health professional education: a systematic review

[Extract] The teaching and learning activities of any undergraduate curriculum will have a specific set of learning outcomes that should be successfully achieved by the students. The balance between the workload of a student and the available time to achieve the learning outcomes plays a major role in achieving these learning outcomes, as well as a good student satisfaction score and excellent final grades for that particular module (Whillier & Lystad, 2013). In a traditional educational experience, a teacher stands in front of the classroom, delivers a lecture to a group of students, who sit in rows, quietly listening to the lecture and taking notes. At the end of the lecture, students are given homework or an assignment to be completed outside of the classroom environment. This characterises the principle of “sage‐on‐the stage”, and is synonymous with the present day term of teacher‐centered learning. This is also referred to as the transmittal model (King, 1993), which assumes that the students are passive note‐takers, receivers of the content or accumulators of factoids (Morrison, 2014). Usually, the teacher does not have time to interact with the students individually during the class (Hamdan, McKnight, McKnight & Arfstorm, 2013), thus neglecting those students who do not understand the lecture. The traditional didactic way of teaching is primarily unidirectional and consists of limited interactions between the source of knowledge (teacher) and the passive recipients (students)