WRITING YOUR EXAM BEFORE SEMESTER STARTS: AN IMPORTANT PARADIGM SHIFT FOR TACKLING ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

It is not uncommon for the final examination in undergraduate science and maths courses to be created well after the teaching semester has commenced. Throughout the era of paper-based exams, printing deadlines have historically defined the timeframe for crafting the final assessment piece itself. However the disruptions in 2020 associated with COVID-19 have abruptly shifted us into the next era, where practitioners have suddenly found themselves creating online exams, which have accordingly thrown up a number of complications around format, method of invigilation, and academic integrity. For as long as our students were locked in a room without access to Google, Chegg or CourseHero we did not have an issue, however it would seem those days are over. This presentation seeks to prosecute the idea that the creation of exam-based assessment should occur simultaneously and in concert with all other pre-semester preparation. It has never been more important for educators to generate creative and unique exam questions that are tethered strongly to their own curricula and learning materials, if we hope to circumvent the rise of cheating websites and the surge in academic integrity issues in higher education. Several ideas and approaches will be presented for discussion

Diagnosing magnetars with transient cooling

Transient X-ray emission, with an approximate t^{-0.7} decay, was observed from SGR 1900+14 over 40 days following the the giant flare of 27 Aug 1998. We calculate in detail the diffusion of heat to the surface of a neutron star through an intense 10^{14}-10^{15} G magnetic field, following the release of magnetic energy in its outer layers. We show that the power law index, the fraction of burst energy in the afterglow, and the return to persistent emission can all be understood if the star is composed of normal baryonic material.Comment: 9 pages, 1 eps figur

The Phillips Curve in Australia

In this paper we discuss the development of Phillips curves in Australia over the forty years since Phillips first estimated one using Australian data. We examine the central issues faced by researchers estimating Australian Phillips curves. These include the distinction between the short and long-run trade-offs between inflation and unemployment, and the changing level of the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU), particularly in the 1970s. We estimate Phillips curves for prices and unit labour costs in Australia over the past three decades. These Phillips curves allow the NAIRU to change through time, and include a role for import prices and ‘speed-limit’ effects. The paper concludes by presenting an extended discussion of the changing role of the Phillips curve in the intellectual framework used to analyse inflation within the Reserve Bank of Australia over the past three decades.Phillips curve; inflation; unemployment; monetary policy

A Cross-Institutional Perspective of Pre Laboratory Activities in Undergraduate Chemistry

Pre-laboratory exercises may help reduce cognitive load in the laboratory, boost confidence, develop theoretical understanding and skills, and improve grades on assessment tasks. This study compared pre-laboratory activities at two institutions, Go8-1 and Go8-2, to evaluate which attributes of pre-laboratory activities were perceived by students to best prepare them for laboratory classes. Students were surveyed towards the end of their laboratory course, and were asked a series of Likert-style and open response questions. Factor analysis was used to construct three scales, incorporating items relating to performance and understanding, items relating to affective and personal laboratory experience, and items relating to requiring support with laboratory equipment. No difference between cohorts was observed between the two institutions regarding requiring support with equipment. While Go8-1 students rated performance and understanding more highly than Go8-2 students, the opposite result was observed for affective and personal factors. The factor analysis results and responses to the open response questions indicated that students felt most prepared for laboratory exercises when the pre-class activities touched upon all aspects of the laboratory class. It is recommended that quizzes and video be used in pre-laboratory activities, with these resources covering theory, aims, methods, calculations and data analysis

Gravitational instability in two-phase disks and the origin of the moon

Two-phase disks may be gravitationally unstable at temperatures or surface densities at which a disk composed of either single phase would be highly stable. It is argued that two-phase disks can achieve a marginally unstable state (in addition to a highly unstable state that leads to fragmentation), limited by the ability of the photosphere to radiate the energy dissipated in the disk. A self-consistent prescription for the viscosity induced by the slow instabilities is provided. Two-phase disks are more centrally condensed than single-phase disks, and their secular cooling time may be comparable to their spreading time. A circumterrestrial disk of sufficient mass to form the moon provides a detailed example of all the preceding points. Its stability, structure, and dynamical evolution are investigated, and it is concluded that its spreading time is short (about ~100 yr); the moon is formed molten, or partially molten; the moon's initial orbit lies in the earth's equatorial plane; and only a small fraction of the disk mass is lost in a wind, although this may represent a substantial fraction of volatiles. Most of these conclusions are independent of how the disk was formed, e.g., from a giant impact

Modelling the value of external networks for knowledge realisation, innovation, organisational development and efficiency in SMEs

<p>Source publication: Hassall, C., Watts, P.C., Sherratt, T.N., Thompson, D.J. (2015) Live fast, die old: no evidence of reproductive senescence or costs of mating in a damselfly (Odonata: Zygoptera), Jounal of Animal Ecology.</p> <p>These R scripts contain the backbone of the code used in the analysis for the paper. The data are presented in a simplified form elsewhere on Figshare, and so the code cannot be run directly. However, linking the methods in the paper with the code here and the data on Figshare will enable the reader to replicate the analysis. There are four groups of analysis, as outlined in the published paper:</p> <p>1) The first deals with a simplified "cohort" analysis, where capture histories are pooled for animals of particular ages. We then calculate the numbers mating or not mating on each day and use a binomial mixed effects model to investigate age-related patterns. The data for this analysis are available ready for analysis in R from Figshare.<br>2) A simple analysis using RMark to look for an effect of breeding stratum on survival, resighting, and transition probability. This can be seen below. As with 1), some data processing is required to obtain the chdata format required by RMark. Details can be found on the RMark website: http://www.phidot.org/software/mark/rmark/.<br>3) An extension of 2) demonstrating the best fit of time, age, and stratum in each of the models.<br>4) An extention of 3) adding climate (as time-varying covariates) and mites (as individual covariates) to the models.</p> <p> </p> <p>Associated data are also available (see link in manuscript).</p

Extreme asteroids in the Pan-STARRS 1 Survey

Using the first 18 months of the Pan-STARRS 1 survey we have identified 33 candidate high-amplitude objects for follow-up observations and carried out observations of 22 asteroids. 4 of the observed objects were found to have observed amplitude $A_{obs}\geq 1.0$ mag. We find that these high amplitude objects are most simply explained by single rubble pile objects with some density-dependent internal strength, allowing them to resist mass shedding even at their highly elongated shapes. 3 further objects although below the cut-off for 'high-amplitude' had a combination of elongation and rotation period which also may require internal cohesive strength, depending on the density of the body. We find that none of the 'high-amplitude asteroids' identified here require any unusual cohesive strengths to resist rotational fission. 3 asteroids were sufficiently observed to allow for shape and spin pole models to be determined through light curve inversion. 45864 was determined to have retrograde rotation with spin pole axes $\lambda=218\pm 10^{\circ}, \beta=-82\pm 5^{\circ}$ and asteroid 206167 was found to have best fit spin pole axes $\lambda= 57 \pm 5^{\circ}$, $\beta=-67 \pm 5^{\circ}$. An additional object not initially measured with $A_{obs}>1.0$ mag, 49257, was determined to have a shape model which does suggest a high-amplitude object. Its spin pole axes were best fit for values $\lambda=112\pm 6^{\circ}, \beta=6\pm 5^{\circ}$. In the course of this project to date no large super-fast rotators ($P_{rot} < 2.2$ h) have been identified.Comment: 31 pages; accepted by A

A Small Model of the Australian Macroeconomy

This paper presents a small model of the Australian macroeconomy. The model is empirically based, aggregate in nature and consists of five estimated equations – for non-farm output, the real exchange rate, import prices, unit labour costs and consumer prices. The stylised facts underlying each equation are discussed and estimation results are presented. The model’s primary use is to examine macroeconomic developments over the short to medium term, although it also has a well-defined steady state in the longer run with appropriate theoretical properties. Dynamic responses of the model to monetary policy changes and selected shocks are illustrated in the paper.Australian economy; macroeconomic model; monetary policy