Pedagogy! iPadology! Netbookology! Learning with mobile devices

This paper explores two different schools’ 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 teacher’s 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) &nbsp

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 Organisation’s 6 step and the Centre for Disease Control’s 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 π/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 UK’s housing supply issues

(1-Ferrocenyl-4,4,4-trifluoro­butane-1,3-dionato-κ2 O,O)bis­(triphenyl­phosphane)copper(I)

In the title mononuclear coordination complex, [CuFe(C5H5)(C9H5F3O2)(C18H15P)2], the CuI ion is coordinated by the chelating β-diketonate 1-ferrocenyl-4,4,4-trifluoro­butane-1,3-dione ligand through two O atoms and the two datively bonded triphenyl­phosphane ligands resulting in a distorted tetra­hedral 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 = 0.037 (1) Å], and the CuI ion lies slightly above [0.013 (1) Å] the plane. The overall geometry, including the bond distances and angles within the complex, corresponds to those of other reported copper(I) β-diketon­ates featuring organic groups at the β-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 government’s 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 users’ 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