Digital Commons Network^™

Managing The Transition To Online Teaching: The Role Of Project Management Methodology In The Learning Organisation, Renata Phelps, Toni Ledgerwood, Liz Bartlett

Dr Renata Phelps

This paper examines the application of project management methodology to the development and delivery of online units within University environments. While project management is acknowledged as having advantages as a methodology in certain circumstances, it can be argued that it is culturally and ideologically inappropriate for managing academic development. Online development which occurs within an institution-wide context presents significant challenges in terms of cultural change and staff development. Furthermore it is argued that online units should not be viewed as a "product" - there is no beginning or end to the process of online unit development and the pedagogical and …

A Statistical Framework For The Analysis Of Chip-Seq Data, Pei Fen Kuan, Dongjun Chung, Guangjin Pan, James A. Thomson, Ron Stewart, Sunduz Keles

Sunduz Keles

Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-Seq) has revolutionalized experiments for genome-wide profiling of DNA-binding proteins, histone modifications, and nucleosome occupancy. As the cost of sequencing is decreasing, many researchers are switching from microarray-based technologies (ChIP-chip) to ChIP-Seq for genome-wide study of transcriptional regulation. Despite its increasing and well-deserved popularity, there is little work that investigates and accounts for sources of biases in the ChIP-Seq technology. These biases typically arise from both the standard pre-processing protocol and the underlying DNA sequence of the generated data.

We study data from a naked DNA sequencing experiment, which sequences non-cross-linked DNA after deproteinizing and …

Evaluating Forest Growth Models, Jerome K. Vanclay, J P. Skovsgaard

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Effective model evaluation is not a single, simple procedure, but comprises several interrelated steps that cannot be separated from each other or from the purpose and process of model construction. We draw attention to several statistical and graphical procedures that may assist in model calibration and evaluation, with special emphasis on those useful in forest growth modelling. We propose a five-step framework to examine logic and bio-logic, statistical properties, characteristics of errors, residuals, and sensitivity analyses. Empirical evaluations may be made with data used in fitting the model, and with additional data not previously used. We emphasize that the validity …

Mobilizing Expert Knowledge Of Tree Growth With The Plantgro And Infer Systems, C Hackett, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

PLANTGRO can provide estimates of plant and tree growth under a wide range of conditions by evaluating responses to some environmental variables ranging from day length to soil pH and determining the limiting factor. Although intended only to indicate the suitability of a given sitespecies combination, empirical trials suggest that the suitability index provides a reasonable indication of growth potential, offering correlations with height growth as high as 80%. PLANTGRO can be calibrated for new situations by providing appropriate soil, climate and species files. These can be compiled from plot-based data, casual observations, or expert knowledge. INFER is an expert …

Flores: For Exploring Land Use Options In Forested Landscapes, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Incentives intended to stimulate better land use practices often don't work as intended, and can have undesirable side effects that were not foreseen. How can we better equip policy makers and their advisors to envisage fully the efficacy and consequences of initiatives? One way is to provide a decision support system. The formulation and construction of such a system offers other benefits: it would make existing information more accessible, facilitate hypotheses testing, and foster collaboration between researchers working on these issues. FLORES is such a system being developed through a partnership co-ordinated by the Center for International Forestry Research.

Accuracy And Precision Of Two Laser Dendrometers, J P. Skovsgaard, V K. Johannsen, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Two commercial laser dendrometers were tested under controlled and field conditions, and contrasted with alternative instruments. Testing focused on height measurement, but also considered distance and remote diameter measurements. Both laser instruments gave very precise estimates, but showed some bias. Users of these and other ‘high-tech’ instruments are reminded that precision is not synonymous with accuracy. Users should not become complacent about the submillimetre readout, but should calibrate instruments to examine if users' accuracy requirements are satisfied. Instruments may need to be re-calibrated each measurement season and after any mishandling.

Estimating Sapling Vitality For Scots Pine (Pinus Sylvestris L.) In Russian Karelia, D G. Oreshkin, J P. Skovsgaard, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

A new method is proposed for estimating vitality or growth potential for saplings of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), based on height, diameter and height increment. A two-stage process was used to establish the vitality index. The logarithms of height, diameter and height increment were regressed against age, to adjust for the wide range of ages present in our data (c. 10,000 saplings with ages spanning 4–50 years). Then principal component analysis was used to obtain coefficients, which were, in turn, standardized on each axis to provide a vitality index scaled in standard deviations. This standardized scale allows the rank …

Iso Classical Pronunciation Guide 1992 & 1993, Sheridan Stormes

Sheridan Stormes

Pronunciation guides used by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra staff to insure accurate pronunciation of composer’s and performer’s names as well as those of certain compositions.

Bad Science, Linda Greer, Rena I. Steinzor

Rena I. Steinzor

No abstract provided.

Ephemeral Mechanisms And Historical Explanation, Stuart Glennan

Stuart Glennan

While much of the recent literature on mechanisms has emphasized the superiority of mechanisms and mechanistic explanation over laws and nomological explanation, paradigmatic mechanisms—e.g., clocks or synapses – actually exhibit a great deal of stability in their behavior. And while mechanisms of this kind are certainly of great importance, there are many events that do not occur as a consequence of the operation of stable mechanisms. Events of natural and human history are often the consequence of causal processes that are ephemeral and capricious. In this paper I shall argue that, notwithstanding their ephemeral nature, these processes deserve to be …

The Microeconomics Of Changing Income Distribution In Malaysia, Gary S. Fields, Sergei Soares

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] This study uses data from Malaysia's Household Income and Expenditure Surveys to quantify the importance of different factors in accounting for the changes in Malaysia's income distribution between 1984 and 1989 ("Period 1") and between 1989 and 1997 ("Period 2"). These particular years were chosen, because 1997 is the most recent available survey, 1984 is the earliest survey comparable to 1997, and 1989 is important for three reasons: 1. Income inequality fell until 1989 and rose thereafter. 2. Economic growth was slow in 1984-89 and fast in 1989-97. and 3. 1989 is the closest year to the beginning of …

Decent Work And Development Policies, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

Welcoming the shift to outcomes which he perceives in the ILO's focus on decent work, the author explores the major issues thus raised. He discusses how to make the notion of decent work more precise in operational terms, and how to develop an integrated approach to economic and social policy in the decent work context, before formulating an empirical approach to assessing the effects of economic growth on decent work. Finally, he outlines a structure for the ILO's planned country reviews of progress towards decent work.

Earnings And Employment Dynamics For Africans In Post-Apartheid South Africa: A Panel Study Of Kwazulu-Natal, Paul L. Cichello, Gary S. Fields, Murray Leibbrandt

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] The labour market is central in determining individual and household well-being in South Africa. Therefore, an understanding of earnings and employment dynamics is a key policy issue. However, the absence of panel data has constrained empirical work addressing these issues. This paper makes use of a regional panel data set for KwaZulu-Natal to begin the study of earnings and employment dynamics. The authors find that, on average, working-aged Africans in KwaZulu-Natal experienced large gains in earnings during the period 1993–8. These gains were progressive in nature, with the highest quintile of 1993 earners and those originally employed in the …

Troubled Waters: Mid-Twentieth Century American Society On "Trial" In The Films Of John Waters, Taunya Lovell Banks

Taunya Lovell Banks

In this Article Professor Banks argues that what makes many of filmmaker John Waters early films so subversive is his use of the “white-trash” body—people marginalized by and excluded from conventional white America—as countercultural heroes. He uses the white trash body as a surrogate for talk about race and sexuality in the early 1960s. I argue that in many ways Waters’ critiques of mid-twentieth century American society reflect the societal changes that occurred in the last forty years of that century. These societal changes resulted from the civil rights, gay pride, student, anti-war and women’s movements, all of which used …

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement: An Updated Analysis, Kimberlee G. Weatherall

Kimberlee G Weatherall

This paper provides an updated analysis of the issues posed by negotiations for the ACTA, as at November 2009.

First Year Of The Federal Magistrates Service, Laurence Boulle

Laurence Boulle

Extract:On 1 July 2001 the Australian Federal Magistrates Service (FMS) celebrated the first anniversary of its existence. The FMS is the first lower level Commonwealth court in the history of the federation and can be seen, in part, as a product of the ‘access to justice’ movement which emerged in the early 1990s in this country.

Extending The Courts’ Shadow Over Adr, Laurence Boulle

Laurence Boulle

Extract:There are increasingly close structural links between the courts and ADR procedures in Australia. This is resulting in the courts becoming more involved in the defining and redefining of ADR processes as ‘satellite’ litigation occurs around dispute resolution issues. This causes a deepening of the shadow of the law being cast over mediation, case appraisal and other alternatives to litigation. The long term implications of these trends remain to be seen.

The Dog That Did Not Bark: Mediation Style, Laurence Boulle

Laurence Boulle

Extract:This is the second in an occasional series of articles dealing with the ways in which the courts are defining and redefining aspects of ADR processes. For the first article see (2001) ADR Bulletin 3(10). In National Australia Bank Ltd v Freeman [2000] QSC 295 (11 October 2000) the bank sued on a bill facility, seeking to recover over $1 million from Freeman, a Queensland farmer. The bank sought recovery of the pastoral land and stock which the defendant had provided as securities for the bill facility.

Standards, The Budget And Adr, Laurence Boulle

Laurence Boulle

Extract:On 13 June at old Customs House, Brisbane, the Commonwealth Attorney General, Mr Daryl Williams QC, launched the NADRAC report A Framework for ADR Standards. The report is commented on by David Syme and David Bryson in this issue of the Bulletin.

Music In The Culture Of Northern Afghanistan, Mark Slobin

Mark Slobin

No abstract provided.

Will Superfund Rise Again?, Rena I. Steinzor

Rena I. Steinzor

The federal hazardous waste cleanup program and its state progency have been in decline for more than a decade, victims to a campaign of sabotage waged by industry and neglected by the Bush administration. Meanwhile, stakeholders do their best to ignore the program's sorry state. A sad story, but there may be a surprise ending in store.

The Unplanned Obsolescence Of American Legal Education, Rena I. Steinzor, Alan D. Hornstein

Rena I. Steinzor

No abstract provided.

Principal Desirability For Professional Development, Deanna Lyn Keith

Deanna Keith

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of Virginia public school principals as to their desirability for professional development training in order to meet current accountability measures. Specifically, this study was designed to determine the following: (a) Given a list of professional development statements relating to current accountability measures, how do principals rate their desirability level? (b) Given a list of professional development statements relating to current accountability measures, how do principals rank their desirability level? (c) Are there differences in principal's perceptions of their desirability for professional development based upon their experience level, level of school …

Reliability Of Measuring Abductor Hallucis Muscle Parameters Using Two Different Diagnostic Ultrasound Machines, Wayne A. Hing, Keith Rome, Alyse F. M. Cameron

Wayne Hing

Background: Diagnostic ultrasound provides a method of analysing soft tissue structures of the musculoskeletal system effectively and reliably. The aim of this study was to evaluate within and between session reliability of measuring muscle dorso-plantar thickness, medio-lateral length and cross-sectional area, of the abductor hallucis muscle using two different ultrasound machines, a higher end Philips HD11 Ultrasound machine and clinically orientated Chison 8300 Deluxe Digital Portable Ultrasound System.

Methods: The abductor hallucis muscle of both the left and right feet of thirty asymptomatic participants was imaged and then measured using both ultrasound machines. Interclass correlation coefficients (ICC) with 95% confidence …

Health Care: Yellow Lights, Red Flags, Robert B. Leflar

Robert B Leflar

Column 1 (of 5) on the health reform debate

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«Remath - Representing Mathematics With Digital Media»: Deliverable 13: Design-Based Research: Process And Results, Christos Markopoulos

Dr Christos Markopoulos

This deliverable reports on the results of the 13 ReMath Teaching Experiments conducted in real educational settings in four different countries for 248 hours, with students and teachers from 22 classes, ranging from 7th to 12th grade. The respective data were collected and analysed by the research teams. UNISI -the WP4 leading team- provided four methodological tools which all facilitated the comparison among the “results” coming from the different Teaching Experiments. The term “results” mentioned above refers both to the “research results” regarding the research issues addressed through the TEs and to the “didactical results” concerning the feedback provided by …

¿Tiene El Empresario Conciencia Social?, Guillermo Arosemena

Guillermo Arosemena

No abstract provided.

Regulatory Dysfunction: How Insufficient Resources, Outdated Laws, And Political Interference Cripple The 'Protector Agencies', Sidney A. Shapiro, Rena I. Steinzor, Matthew Shudtz

Rena I. Steinzor

In the last several years, dramatic failures of the nation’s food safety system have sickened or killed tens of thousands of Americans, and caused billions of dollars of damages for producers and distributors of everything from fresh vegetables to granola bars and hamburger meat. In each case, the outbreak of food-borne illness triggered what can only be described as a frantic scramble by health officials to discover its source. Inevitably, the wrong lead is followed or a recall is too late or too narrow to prevent further illnesses, and the government has to defend itself against withering criticism. Americans expect …

A Return To Common Sense: Protecting Health, Safety, And The Environment Through 'Pragmatic Regulatory Impact Analysis', Rena I. Steinzor, Amy Sinden, Sidney A. Shapiro, James Goodwin

Rena I. Steinzor

Health and safety regulations have a more powerful impact on the quality of life in America than any other affirmative decision the government makes, except perhaps decisions to go to war or pull in the social safety net. To a great extent, the purity of the food we eat and all the medicines we take, the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink, the safety of industrial workplaces, and the preservation of the myriad natural systems that support life as we know it are dependent on how effectively government polices the side effects of manufacturing. Yet …