Automated Feedback for 'Fill in the Gap' Programming Exercises

Timely feedback is a vital component in the learning process. It is especially important for beginner students in Information Technology since many have not yet formed an effective internal model of a computer that they can use to construct viable knowledge. Research has shown that learning efficiency is increased if immediate feedback is provided for students. Automatic analysis of student programs has the potential to provide immediate feedback for students and to assist teaching staff in the marking process. This paper describes a “fill in the gap” programming analysis framework which tests students’ solutions and gives feedback on their correctness, detects logic errors and provides hints on how to fix these errors. Currently, the framework is being used with the Environment for Learning to Programming (ELP) system at Queensland University of Technology (QUT); however, the framework can be integrated into any existing online learning environment or programming Integrated Development Environment (IDE

Pseudo-transient computational fluid dynamics analysis of an underbonnet compartment during thermal soak

Underbonnet simulations are proving to be crucially important within a vehicle development programme, reducing test work and time-to-market. While computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of steady forced flows have been demonstrated to be reliable, studies of transient convective flows in engine compartments are not yet carried out owing to high computing demands and lack of validated work. The present work assesses the practical feasibility of applying the CFD tool at the initial stage of a vehicle development programme for investigating the thermally driven flow in an engine bay under thermal soak. A computation procedure that enables pseudo time-marching CFD simulations to be performed with significantly reduced central processing unit (CPU) time usage is proposed. The methodology was initially tested on simple geometries and then implemented for investigating a simplified half-scale underbonnet compartment. The numerical results are compared with experimental data taken with thermocouples and with particle image velocimetry (PIV). The novel computation methodology is successful in efficiently providing detailed and time-accurate time-dependent thermal and flow predictions. Its application will extend the use of the CFD tool for transient investigations, enabling improvements to the component packaging of engine bays and the refinement of thermal management strategies with reduced need for in-territory testing

Below the parapet: a phenomenological exploration of adult inter-personal relationships for individuals who grew up with a sibling with a severe mental illness

Siblings of those with severe mental health illness (SMI) have long been overlooked in research and, what interest there has been, seems to have been borne out of the desire to establish how best to engage them in providing care and support for their mentally ill brother or sister when their parents are no longer able to. The present study looks beyond this to how siblings themselves may have been impacted by their childhoods and what support they may need outside of any caregiving role. In particular, the current study focuses on how their childhood experiences may impact their inter-personal relationships in adulthood. Six adult participants gave accounts of their experiences, participating in semistructured interviews. The interview transcripts were then analysed, using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Four superordinate themes are identified: The Stabiliser, The “Me,” The “I” and Surviving and Striving. The superordinate themes explore the experiences of the participants in regards to self and relationships. Many of the siblings in this study display signs of chronic anxiety and insecure avoidant attachment style. In addition, they display a very real difficulty in holding compassion for themselves, having recognition of their needs or managing conflictual situations. Furthermore, an entirely new finding has come out of this research, that these siblings display signs of defence mechanisms of binary thinking, omnipotent control and the creation of a false-self. The present study draws on attachment theory, parentification and post traumatic growth, to highlight clinical and research implications for Counselling Psychology. These include suggestions for supporting siblings in addressing their own suffering in order to restore trust in themselves, in their inter-personal relationships and in the life process itself

Experimental Animal Decompressions to a Near-Vacuum Environment

Rapid decompression of dogs to near vacuum environment to estimate times of consciousness, collapse, and surviva

Nearest neighbour analysis and spatial relationships of Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Puffinus pacificus (Aves: Procellariiformes), burrow entrances at Radar Reef, Rottnest Island, Western Australia

The spatial distribution of Wedge-tailed Shearwater burrow entrances on Rottnest Island, Western Australia, was investigated using the single- and two-sector nearest neighbour methods ofpoint pattern analysis. Both analyses yielded similar results. Mean burrow density was 0.32 ±0.02 SE burrows m-2, burrow entrances were not distributed at random and entrances tended towards an even distribution. Evenness ofdistribution was positively correlated with burrow density. Social and structural factors are likely to be important in determining burrow entrance distribution by Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and there appears to be a density-dependent trade-off between social benefit (aggregated burrow entrances at low densities) and colony stability (evenly distributed burrow entrances at high densities)

An evaluation of planned exercises in meaningful writing situations as an aid to transfer of spelling ability

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit