Collaborative CoVE Projects for Digital Design in FE Teaching and Learning

The Batley School of Art & Design CoVE in Digital Design is a catalyst for collaboration between local schools, colleges and the creative industries. The digital CoVE bridges a regional skills gap in learning and teaching digital imaging technology. The paper discusses two aspects of current FE learning and teaching development. Firstly, the way in which the CoVE digital resource has impacted on the level 2 and 3 student learning experience within the college. Secondly, a case study outlines the fashion and digital textiles design collaboration between London College of Fashion, Chesterfield College and Batley School of Art & Design CoVe’s. The case study provides details of the CoVE project setup and illustrates student and academic experiences during the project

Security models for trusting network appliances

A significant characteristic of pervasive computing is the need for secure interactions between highly mobile entities and the services in their environment. Moreover,these decentralised systems are also characterised by partial views over the state of the global environment, implying that we cannot guarantee verification of the properties of the mobile entity entering an unfamiliar domain. Secure in this context encompasses both the need for cryptographic security and the need for trust, on the part of both parties, that the interaction is functioning as expected. In this paper we make a broad assumption that trust and cryptographic security can be considered as orthogonal concerns (i.e. cryptographic measures do not ensure transmission of correct information). We assume the existence of reliable encryption techniques and focus on the characteristics of a model that supports the management of the trust relationships between two devices during ad-hoc interactions

Developing a Methodology for Analyzing Educational Offerings Using Competency Descriptors

The United States Air Force needs to ensure its Airmen are receiving the best possible education so that they can perform their jobs as effectively as possible. One way to improve the evaluation and development of its Airmen is to incorporate the use of competencies to develop standards for performance and use competency-based education principles to improve the quality of education delivered to the Airmen. One of the educational centers of the United States Air Force is The Civil Engineer School. However, The Civil Engineer School needs a way to evaluate its current coursework on how well it develops competencies in Airmen and a way to create curriculums for future educational programs that focus on development of a particular competency profile. This research accomplishes both of those tasks by using the building block of competency models, descriptors. By deriving from the principles of competencies and competency-based education evaluation criteria, a methodology for determining competency development from a course is created by relating the coursework to the competency model’s descriptors. Once the descriptors have been related to coursework, an optimization tool can be used to develop curriculums based on a given competency The Civil Engineer School desires to develop. This research provides one such tool, using Microsoft Excel to determine the curriculum that meets the desired competency development in the shortest time using existing coursework or to build a new course that accomplishes the desired competency development in the shortest time using existing coursework

Physicochemical and structural studies of ferrocene schiff base derivatives and some associated adducts : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Massey University

The results reported in this thesis are an investigation into the synthesis, characterisation, and coordination ability of some new Schiff base ferrocenyl derivatives. Chapter One gives a brief overview of the practical applications that ferrocene based compounds have been put to, since ferrocenes first synthesis in 1951. Chapter Two outlines the preparation and characterisation of six new Schiff base ferrocenyl derivatives, along with a new synthesis and full characterisation of a ferrocenyl thiosemicarbazide derivative which was first synthesised in 1968. The X-ray structure of bis-N-(0-hydroxybenzylidene) ferrocenylimine,(L11), was established, showing relatively strong intramolecular hydrogen bonding between the Schiff base nitrogen and the hydrogen of the hydroxy group on the phenol. In Chapter three reduction attempts of the ferrocene derivatives in Chapter 2 are reported. The synthesis and characterisation of a borane adduct of the N-(o-hydrazonylpyridine) ferrocenimine ligand, (L2.BH3 ), is studied. Its single crystal X-ray structure is determined and the adduct is compared to the parent L2 ligand. Chapter Four contains the preparation and characterisation of the complex [Zn(L1)Cl]2 , which is based on the N-(o-hydroxybenzylidene) ferrocenylimine ligand, (L1). Five new metal complexes are reported, [Co(L2)Cl 2 ], [Ni(L2)Br2 ], [Cu(L2)Cl2 ], [Co(L2)Br2 ] and [Zn(L2)Cl2 ] based on the L2 ligand, and these are characterised by mass and infra-red spectroscopies. In Chapter Five the ligands are studied by cyclic voltammetry and Mossbauer spectroscopies, with further cyclic voltammetry studies undertaken on the complexes. The electrochemical oxidation trends observed in the cyclic voltammetry studies on the Schiff base derivatives are in parallel with the Mossbauer studies, which have the results rationalised in terms of electron population movements within the 57 Fe d-orbitals and the p-orbitals of the cyclopentadienyl rings

Trust dynamics for collaborative global computing

Recent advances in networking technology have increased the potential for dynamic enterprise collaborations between an open set of entities on a global scale. The security of these collaborations is a major concern, and requires novel approaches suited to this new environment to be developed. Trust management appears to be a promising approach. Due to the dynamic nature of these collaborations,dynamism in the formation, evolution and exploitation of trust is essential. In this paper we explore the properties of trust dynamics in this context. Trust is formed and evolves according to personal experience and recommendations. The properties of trust dynamics are expressed through a formal model of trust. Specific examples, based on an e-purse application scenario are used to demonstrate these properties

Blood Flow Restriction and Various Intensity Exercise in the Upper Extremity

Purpose: To determine if using Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) combined with low-load exercise can elicit an increase in strength and tendon size of the distal biceps tendon when compared to high-load exercise protocol. Methods: Twenty-one participants (11 M, 10 F; 2 Left-handed: 19 Right-handed; Age range 18-25yoa) were randomized to either the treatment group (BFR + low load exercise) or the control group (high load exercise). Participants were enrolled in a 7-week exercise protocol, with exercise sessions held twice weekly. The first week included measurements of each participant\u27s 1 repetition maximum (1RM) and ultrasound measurements of the dominant distal bicep’s tendon. Participants in the experimental group performed seated biceps curls with the BFR cuff (Smart Tools) placed over the deltoid tuberosity, with the limb occlusion set to medium intensity. The Smart Tools device occluded the limb fully, then released down to 20% occlusion rate. BFR participants performed 4 sets of the exercise with 30 reps performed for the first set followed by 15 reps for sets 2 through 4 using a weight that was 40% of their predicted 1RM. Participants in the high-load group performed the same exercise for a duration of 4 sets with 10 reps for the first set followed by 8 for set 2 and 6 for sets 3 and 4, at 80% of their predicted 1RM. At the midpoint ultrasound measurements were taken. At the conclusion of the 7-week protocol final 1 repetition maximum and ultrasound imaging on the distal bicep’s tendon was performed. Results: There was a significant increase in muscle strength as measured by 1RM (p=.003). Within subject contrast revealed an increase in tendon size at each data point that was taken throughout the 7-week training period (p\u3c.001). Conclusion: Both groups demonstrated increased tendon thickness over the 7-week protocol. However, exercise with the BFR cuff applied to the upper extremity did not elicit a greater increase in tendon thickness when compared to the control group. The data analysis does demonstrate that using low-load BFR can elicit similar effects as performing high-load training. Further data collection is ongoing, as more research is still needed on the topic

Western Australian music teachers and the WACE Music syllabus five years down the track: Where are we now?

Western Australia introduced a new Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) Music course for Year 11 and 12 students in 2009. The construction of the course was protracted due to political interference at the ministerial level, input from vested interests within the music teaching community and adverse publicity in the wider community. The result has been the creation of a long and potentially confusing syllabus document. This paper reports on music teacher experiences with the WACE music course five years after its initial implementation. A questionnaire was distributed to all WACE music teachers asking them to respond to 27 statements drawn from a literature review relating to course design in music education, and the WACE syllabus document. At the end of the questionnaire, participants were invited to provide extended responses regarding the new course. Extended responses were frequently negative and sometimes contradictory, leading the researchers to conclude that after five years, the WACE music syllabus document, as a driver of ‘curriculum’, is creating a degree of discontent and confusion in the minds of many music teachers. The lessons here are obvious: for any curriculum to achieve a desired educational outcome, the syllabus document needs to be clear and consistent, be guided by a philosophy which is coherent and transparent to teachers, and drawn from the relevant literature on the subject