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STEM education in primary classrooms: Unravelling contemporary approaches in Australia and New Zealand
No full textPfeiffer, LG ORCiD: 0000-0002-5419-4053If you were to peer into a primary school classroom somewhere across Australia and New Zealand, you would be forgiven for thinking that science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education is synonymous with coding and digital technologies. However, while these aspects are important, technology alone does not reflect the broad learning opportunities afforded by STEM.
In countering this narrow approach, STEM Education in Primary Classrooms offers a platform for research that innovates, excites and challenges the status quo. It provides educators with innovative and up-to-date research into how to meaningfully and authentically embed STEM into existing classroom practices. It incorporates accurate explanations of STEM as an integrated approach to solving real-world problems, including social issues, along with case studies and stories to bring practice to life in evidence-informed ways.
This book showcases the impact of a broader approach to STEM in the primary classroom through Australian-based and New Zealand-based research that will challenge current teaching practices. Thus, this book will be of interest to pre- and in-service primary school teachers, along with researchers and postgraduate students in the STEM education field
Examples of authentic assessments in engineering education
No full textUllah, S ORCiD: 0000-0002-5522-5341Paper-based assessment in engineering education is a widely accepted way of assessing student learning. This type of assessment typically involves answers to discipline specific problems, that may require some use of equations, methods and concepts, and short or long answer to theoretical questions that require a deep conceptual understanding of the topic. It has been reported that assessments that are practice-oriented and have similarities with real-world situations and context, benefits student learning. Such real-world problems are generally termed as- “authentic”. While some disciplines may have difficulties in designing assessments that are practically relevant, the engineering discipline has little problems in handing out high fidelity assessments. This is since engineering curricula worldwide is carefully designed to meet industry demands i.e. create work-ready graduates (WRG). Along with this, the undergraduate engineering program operates within a shorter time frame (usually 3-5 years). Hence, in engineering, most problems are practice oriented. It appears that real-world relevance is only one of the key criteria required when designing authentic assessments and there is an overall misunderstanding of what constitutes an authentic assessment and how to efficiently prepare them. In a rapidly changing higher education sector, an added dimension to authentic assessments is that they must be safeguarded against widespread contract cheating. This paper discusses the essential components of an authentic assessment and provides several examples of such assessments, suitable for undergraduate civil engineering students. More traditional assessments are discussed with developed authentic assessments. Built-in contract cheating safeguarding mechanisms are discussed in some detail
The effect of visual hindsight bias on radiologist perception
No full textLittlefair, S ORCiD: 0000-0001-9175-1624Objectives: To measure the effect of visual hindsight bias on radiologists’ perception during chest radiograph pulmonary nodule detection. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective multi-observer study to assess the effect of hindsight bias on radiologists’ perception. Sixteen radiologists were asked to interpret 15 postero-anterior chest images containing a solitary lung nodule each consisting of 25 incremental levels of blur. Participants were requested initially to detect the nodule by reducing the blur of the images (foresight). They were then asked to increase the blur until the identified nodule was undetectable (hindsight). Participants then repeated the experiment, after being informed of the potential effects of hindsight bias and asked to counteract these effects. Participants were divided into two groups (experienced and less experienced) and the nodules were given different conspicuity ratings to determine the effect of expertise and task difficulty. Eye tracking technology was also utilised to capture visual search. Results: Wilcoxon analysis demonstrated significant differences between foresight and hindsight values of the radiologists (p = 0.02). However, after being informed of hindsight bias, these differences were no longer significant (p = 0.97). Friedman analysis also determined overall significance in the hindsight ratios between nodule conspicuities for both phases (phase 1: p = 0.02; phase 2: p = 0.02). There was no significance difference between the experienced and less experienced groups. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that radiologists exhibit hindsight bias but appeared to be able to compensate for this phenomenon once its effects were considered. Also, visual hindsight bias appears to be affected by task difficulty with a greater effect occurring with less conspicuous nodules. © 2019 The Association of University Radiologists Rationale an
Modeling the microstructure at steel: Concrete interface in reinforced concrete
No full textThe microstructure at the steel–concrete interface can significantly affect corrosion of steel and corrosion-induced cracking of reinforced concrete (RC). This paper aims to model the thickness of porous band around the steel–concrete interface as a function of concrete design parameters. Both the maximum (d0,max) and equivalent uniform thickness ((Formula presented.) 0) of the porous band are thoroughly examined. The developed model is robust in predicting the thickness around the steel–concrete interface, the maximum and equivalent uniform thickness of the porous band. It is found in the paper that water to cement ratio and concrete cover show strong correlations with the porous band (d0) while aggregate size shows no correlation. The contribution of the paper is that the developed models for porous band around the steel–concrete interface can improve the prediction of corrosion-induced cracking of RC and hence prevent premature and avoidable failures of corrosion affected concrete structures. © 2019 fib. International Federation for Structural Concret
Student perceptions of a blended learning approach to paramedic education
No full textDistance education has been used in various forms since the 1800s. The progression of distance education has seen the paper-based system replaced by modern computing technology for a more effective approach. CQUniversity has a long history of offering distance education across a wide range of disciplines. The Bachelor of Paramedic Science is one of the health-related undergraduate courses offered by distance since 2011. At the time, CQUniversity was the only Australian university that offered an entire pre-employment undergraduate course in paramedicine in a distance mode. Currently, there remain only two universities offering a distance course.
Rather than using a standard approach of on-campus lectures and tutorials, CQUniversity uses a blended learning mode which incorporates online (distance) and face-to-face components to the unit. A student enrolled in the blended mode of study views all lectures and resources through a learning management system in an online environment at a time and in a place that suits the student’s personal circumstances. In addition to the online management system, blended learning students travel to a university campus to attend an intensive teaching block known as a residential school for several days during the study term. The residential school activities include tutorials to learn and practise clinical skills, simulated paramedic scenarios and practical assessments.
This research is concerned with the perceptions of the end user of this non-traditional blended learning approach to paramedic education, the students undertaking the ‘Foundations of Paramedic Clinical Practice’ unit. The unit is the first of the clinical units in the undergraduate course and teaches basic patient care assessments and life-saving skills and procedures. It is essential students can gain the knowledge and skills in this unit as it provides an integral foundation for more advanced skills and procedures later in the course
Signaling protocols for local area networks of drones
No full textSingh, PJ ORCiD: 0000-0001-8549-174XUnmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or drones have become extremely popular and are used in various commercial applications. When multiple UAVs communicate and work together, they form a UAV network.
A private UAV network or Local Area Network of Drones (LoDs) is a special type of UAV network which has the minimum number of UAVs to carry out a certain task. All UAVs in a LoD use the wireless medium
to send and receive the data as well as the control signals. An organization or a single owner will be more interested in this type of network, where they want multiple UAVs to scan an area, communicate with each other, and send all the images and live video streams to a single ground station. The currently available commercial UAVs Can send the video signals to and receive control signals only from their own ground
station controllers. However, in an LoD network where UAVs are connected in tandem, the UAVs that are in the middle of the network have to carry the control and video signals of other UAVs. Given the limited
processing power and dynamic memory capacity of UAVs, this would increase the queuing delays and performance.
In this paper, we study the frame formats of existing control, feedback, and data messages of commercial AR UAVs and propose a new approach to construct the payloads of control and feedback frames that are
suitable for an LoDs. We compare the performance of our approach of single control and feedback frame for all UAVs in a LoD branch with that of separate control and feedback frames for each UAV. We calculate and compare the UAV node processing delay in both types of signaling mechanisms and show that the single control and feedback frame signaling has less delay on the average
The rise of spiritual tourism in South Asia as business internationalization
No full textMedhekar, A ORCiD: 0000-0002-6791-4056Globalization and digitization are motivating organizations around the world to manage and internationalize their products and services. Adaptively, most Asian companies are internationalizing their businesses with respect to various industries; one obvious example is the tourism industry. The global tourism industry can be segmented into niche types such as heritage tourism, dark tourism, medical tourism, including spiritual tourism. The objective of this paper is to analyze the rise of spiritual tourism in South Asian countries and discusses its operations that are internationalized rather than being region-centric or locally focused. It is argued that that public and private tourism operators in South Asia have realized that spiritual tourism presents an attractive product to invest and market based on people, places, and events. However, the challenge is to internationalize multi-faith spiritual tourism in the context of people, places, and events that would be the only way to develop and sustain this niche segment of the tourism business. It is argued that there are various factors that could enable South Asian countries to effectively internationalize their spiritual tourism destinations. The paper concludes that business internationalization of South Asian spiritual tourism, will not only achieve economic development objectives, but also social and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and bi-lateral diplomatic goals for regional peace and prosperityAssociated Grant:N/AAssociated Grant Code:N/
Understandings of dementia in low and middle income countries and amongst indigenous peoples: A systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis
No full textPreston, RG ORCiD: 0000-0003-4700-1521OBJECTIVES: Dementia is a growing health priority, particularly in less resourced countries and amongst indigenous populations. Understanding cultural meanings ascribed to dementia is an important aspect of policy development and the provision of culturally congruent care and support for people with dementia, their families and the caring professions. This review investigates conceptualizations of dementia amongst indigenous peoples and populations living in low and middle income countries (LMIC), who experience limited diagnosis and formal care for dementia, and how these shape responses to dementia. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted for qualitative studies, reported in English, that investigated the perceptions, attitudes or understandings of dementia in LMIC and amongst indigenous populations. A qualitative analysis and meta-synthesis was carried out. FINDINGS: Nineteen articles were included in the review following quality assessment. Dementia was rarely conceptualized as a defined, pathological condition characterized by progressive cognitive decline. Rather, notions of dementia existed within conceptualizations of aging, mental illness, traditional cultural beliefs and the trauma of colonization. Responses to dementia were influenced and perpetuated by community and health providers, and cultural norms for caregiving. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to understand conceptualizations of dementia from the perspective of all stakeholders within a setting, and the dynamic responses that exist between key stakeholders. Community knowledge systems could facilitate understanding about appropriate and acceptable health and community care responses to dementia, and approaches to stigma reduction. Inclusive discussions about dementia are essential if awareness campaigns are to improve the wellbeing of people with dementia and caregivers
Developing a sociocultural framework of compliance: An exploration of factors related to the use of early warning systems among acute care clinicians
No full textBrowne, M ORCiD: 0000-0002-2668-6229; Dwyer, TA ORCiD: 0000-0001-8408-7956; Flenady, TM ORCiD: 0000-0002-5286-4789; Le Lagadec, MD ORCiD: 0000-0003-0114-8552; Signal, TD ORCiD: 0000-0001-5677-9496Background: Early warning systems (EWS) are most effective when clinicians monitor patients' vital signs and comply with the recommended escalation of care protocols once deterioration is recognised. Objectives: To explore sociocultural factors influencing acute care clinicians' compliance with an early warning system commonly used in Queensland public hospitals in Australia. Methods: This interpretative qualitative study utilised inductive thematic analysis to analyse data collected from semi-structured interviews conducted with 30 acute care clinicians from Queensland, Australia. Results: This study identified that individuals and teams approached compliance with EWS in the context of 1) the use of EWS for patient monitoring; and 2) the use of EWS for the escalation of patient care. Individual and team compliance with monitoring and escalation processes is facilitated by intra and inter-professional factors such as acceptance and support, clear instruction, inter-disciplinary collaboration and good communication. Noncompliance with EWS can be attributed to intra and inter-professional hierarchy and poor communication. Conclusions: The overarching organisational context including the hospital's embedded quality improvement and administrative protocols (training, resources and staffing) impact hospital-wide culture and influence clinicians' and teams' compliance or non-compliance with early warning system's monitoring and escalation processes. Successful adoption of EWS relies on effective and meaningful interactions among multidisciplinary staff. © 2020 The Author(s)
Effects of diet on sleep: A narrative review
No full textGupta, CC ORCiD: 0000-0003-2436-3327; Khalesi, S ORCiD: 0000-0002-8208-2518; Vincent, GE ORCiD: 0000-0002-7036-7823Many processes are involved in sleep regulation, including the ingestion of nutrients, suggesting a link between diet and sleep. Aside from studies investigating the effects of tryptophan, previous research on sleep and diet has primarily focused on the effects of sleep deprivation or sleep restriction on diet. Furthermore, previous reviews have included subjects with clinically diagnosed sleep-related disorders. The current narrative review aimed to clarify findings on sleep-promoting foods and outline the effects of diet on sleep in otherwise healthy adults. A search was undertaken in August 2019 from the Cochrane, MEDLINE (PubMed), and CINAHL databases using the population, intervention, control, outcome (PICO) method. Eligible studies were classified based on emerging themes and reviewed using narrative synthesis. Four themes emerged: tryptophan consumption and tryptophan depletion, dietary supplements, food items, and macronutrients. High carbohydrate diets, and foods containing tryptophan, melatonin, and phytonutrients (e.g., cherries), were linked to improved sleep outcomes. The authors posit that these effects may be due in part to dietary influences on serotonin and melatonin activity. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland