Digital Commons Network^™

An Edge Based Multi-Agent Auto Communication Method For Traffic Light Control, Qiang Wu, Jianqing Wu, Jun Shen, Binbin Yong, Qingguo Zhou

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

With smart city infrastructures growing, the Internet of Things (IoT) has been widely used in the intelligent transportation systems (ITS). The traditional adaptive traffic signal control method based on reinforcement learning (RL) has expanded from one intersection to multiple intersections. In this paper, we propose a multi-agent auto communication (MAAC) algorithm, which is an innovative adaptive global traffic light control method based on multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) and an auto communication protocol in edge computing architecture. The MAAC algorithm combines multi-agent auto communication protocol with MARL, allowing an agent to communicate the learned strategies with others for achieving global optimization …

Lifestyle Risk Communication By Australian General Practice Nurses, Sharon James

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Background: Chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers are often attributed to lifestyle risks such as smoking, inadequate nutrition, harmful alcohol intake and limited exercise. Lifestyle interventions can reduce the probability of developing chronic disease, and maintain health for those with existing chronic conditions. An ageing population and increased prevalence of multimorbidity have created added demand for primary care services. While general practice nurses (GPNs) have an important role in managing chronic disease and lifestyle risk reduction, little is known about how GPNs communicate with patients about lifestyle risk.

Aim: This thesis sought to explore Australian GPNs’ …

Quantification Of Influences On Student Perceptions Of Group Work, Adam Butt

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

How students perceive group work is closely correlated with the benefits of group work experience. However, a great variety of influences affect student perceptions of group work. This study quantifies the impact of various influences on the effective working, learning assistance and enjoyment of group work. This is done by analysing 206 responses to a survey of students in a course in actuarial science. A mixed ordered logit model is used to explicitly quantify the effect of various exogenous and endogenous influences on perceptions of group work. Student perceptions of group work are most heavily influenced by course design decisions …

Student Engineers Optimising Problem Solving And Research Skills, Dorothy Missingham, Siddarth Shah, Fizza Sabir, John Willison

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

Problem solving and researching are connected activities in the engineering profession and across education. The empirical research presented in this paper considered the effectiveness for teaching and learning of a model that was based on this connection and derived from the parameters of the Research Skill Development framework. The model, devised by students for students, is called the Optimising Problem Solving (OPS) pentagon, and was piloted in a large first-year engineering course in 2014-2015 and in another university in the first half of 2016. This article presents data from formal research conducted on the 2016 offering of the course gathered …

Device-To-Device Communication In 5g: Towards Efficient Scheduling, Jana Fayek, Mohamad Aoude, Mohamad Raad, Raad Raad

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

5G wireless networks are expected to carry large traffic volumes due to the growth of mobile devices and the increasing demand for high data rates from applications. Device to device communication is one of the suggested technologies to support this increasing load and enhance the capacity of networks. However, the implementation of D2D communication reveals many barriers that include communication scheduling, for which the architecture remains complex and obscure. In this paper, an overview of the available literature on the implementation of networks supporting D2D communication is presented, emphasizing the complexity of the offered solutions. This paper also offers a …

Rethinking Copyright: Intellectual Property And Second-Personal Communication, James Mckeahnie

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

The historical development of copyright has been compromised by a lack of clear and coherent justificatory principles. A set of these principles is required to assess the appropriateness of copyright’s dual expansion in duration and scope. Whereas copyright was once limited to a term of 14 years, it now persists for the lifetime of an author plus 70 years. Similarly, whereas copyright once applied uniquely to the printed word, it now applies to maps, charts, music, photography, choreography, sculpture, software, and more. Previously, attempts to assess how long copyright should last, and attempts to assess which objects copyright ought to …

Blending Formative And Summative Assessment In A Capstone Subject: ‘It’S Not Your Tools, It’S How You Use Them’, Don Houston, James N. Thompson

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

Discussions about the relationships between formative and summative assessment have come full circle after decades of debate. For some time formative assessment with its emphasis on feedback to students was promoted as better practice than traditional summative assessment. Summative assessment practices were broadly criticised as distanced from the learning process. More recently discussions have refocused on the potential complementary characteristics of formative and summative purposes of assessment. However studies on practical designs to link formative and summative assessment in constructive ways are rare. In paramedic education, like many other professional disciplines, strong traditions of summative assessment - assessment ‘of’ learning …

Primary Goals, Information-Giving And Men's Understanding: A Qualitative Study Of Australian And Uk Doctors' Varied Communication About Psa Screening, Kristen Pickles, Stacy M. Carter, Lucie Rychetnik, Kirsten Mccaffery, Vikki A. Entwistle

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objectives (1) To characterise variation in general practitioners' (GPs') accounts of communicating with men about prostate cancer screening using the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, (2) to characterise GPs' reasons for communicating as they do and (3) to explain why and under what conditions GP communication approaches vary. Study design and setting A grounded theory study. We interviewed 69 GPs consulting in primary care practices in Australia (n=40) and the UK (n=29). Results GPs explained their communication practices in relation to their primary goals. In Australia, three different communication goals were reported: to encourage asymptomatic men to either have a PSA …

Formative Assessment To Develop Oral Communication Competency Using Youtube: Self- And Peer Assessment In Engineering, Sasha Nikolic, David Stirling, Montserrat Ros

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Obtaining oral communication competency is an important skill for engineering students to prepare them for interacting and working in any professional setting. For engineers, it is also important to be able to present technical information to non-technical audiences. To ensure oral competency, a non-graded formative assessment approach using video with self- and peer assessment was introduced into a final-year engineering thesis course. A low workload approach was used due to growing student numbers and higher pressures on academic staff. A quasi-experimental design was used to investigate the differences between traditional delivery, self-assessment and combined self-assessment with peer feedback. The study …

Assessing The Efficacy Of Communication Interventions For Shifting Public Perceptions Of Park Benefits, Betty Weiler, Brent Moyle, Isabelle D. Wolf, Kelly De Bie, Monica Torland

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

One way national parks can sustain their societal relevance and ensure ongoing political and community support is through conscious and deliberate repositioning. This study investigates the potential for psychologically repositioning national parks using persuasive communication designed to shift public perceptions of the benefits of visitor experiences in parks. The experimental communication interventions were selected to target benefits where gaps were identified between the perceptions of park managers and the parks' constituent publics. Using a pre-post design on 1,055 respondents split evenly across two Australian states, the experiment revealed that the website and the video used as interventions were highly effective …

The Communicative Experiences Of High School Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder In A Digital Media Intervention Program, Alyce Rose Mason

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience communication difficulties that impact upon their capacity to represent and interpret meaning. Research in the field of technology-based communication interventions for students with ASD aims to address these issues in the school setting. While the majority of strategies and interventions reported by the literature are teacher/expert-generated, this study focused on the use of technology to enable student-generated approaches to media-making to enhance communication.

This study involved the implementation of a Digital Media Intervention Program (DMIP) with an Autism support class at a Sydney high school that consisted of seven adolescent males (13-17 years) …

Using Debates As Assessment In A Physiotherapy Capstone Course: A Case Example, Benjamin K. Weeks, Liisa Laakso

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

While not a new teaching and learning approach, debating may be considered novel when included in a suite of more traditional teaching and learning activities. Despite the potential benefits of debates for the development of generic skills, their use in physiotherapy education remains unreported. Thus, our aim was to evaluate student satisfaction of a debate assessment item in a physiotherapy capstone course. We recruited students enrolled in a final year physiotherapy course undertaking a group debate assessment. Students were invited to complete two surveys of their expectations regarding the debate assessment, and their satisfaction after completing the debate. Students were …

Transforming Practice: Designing Rubrics For Cumulative And Integrative Assessment Of Disciplinary Learning And Development Of Students' Language Communication, Honglin Chen, Emily Rose Purser, Alisa J. Percy

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) - Papers

While it is widely recognised that university graduates should be good communicators, and that close attention be paid to the development of students' communication skills within their disciplinary learning contexts (Arkoudis, 2014; Johnson, Veitch, & Dewiyanti, 2015), it remains open to debate how an effective and sustained focus on language communication can be achieved within disciplinary curricula. The past few years have seen major efforts to identify good practices in teaching language communication, yet as Arkoudis (2014) notes, these are often fragmented and not explicitly linked to disciplinary assessment. The existing literature on language communication consistently points out that designing …

Challenges Experienced By Japanese Students With Oral Communication Skills In Australian Universities, Miho Yanagi, Amanda Ann Baker

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Due to ever-increasing demands to acquire effective communicative abilities in the English language, increasing numbers of international students choose to study in Western tertiary institutions; however, they frequently encounter difficulties in performing satisfactorily in English. This study aims to identify specific challenges that Japanese students face with oral communication skills while studying in Australian universities. Results from questionnaire data collected from 33 undergraduate and postgraduate Japanese students in Australia and interview data from five TESOL postgraduate students indicate that Japanese students have greater difficulty with speaking than with listening and pronunciation. It also sheds additional insight into two areas of …

Exploring Engineering Instructors' Views About Writing And Online Tools To Support Communication In Engineering, Sarah Katherine Howard, Maryam Khosronejad, Rafael Calvo

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

To be fully prepared for the professional workplace, Engineering students need to be able to effectively communicate. However, there has been a growing concern in the field about students' preparedness for this aspect of their future work. It is argued that online writing tools, to engage numbers of students in the writing process, can support feedback on and development of writing in engineering on a larger scale. Through interviews and questionnaires, this study explores engineering academics' perceptions of writing to better understand how online writing tools may be integrated into their teaching. Results suggest that writing is viewed positively in …

Comprehensive Performance Analysis Of Fully Cooperative Communication In Wbans, Le Chung Tran, Alfred Mertins, Xiaojing Huang, Farzad Safaei

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

While relay-based cooperative networks (widely known in the literature as cooperative communication), where relays only forward signals from the sources to the destination, have been extensively researched, fully cooperative systems have not been thoroughly examined. Unlike relay networks, in a fully cooperative network, each node acts as both a source node sending its own data and a relay forwarding its partner's data to the destination. Mutual cooperation between neighboring nodes is believed to improve the overall system error performance, especially when space-time codes are incorporated. However, a comprehensive performance analysis of space-time-coded fully cooperative communication from all three perspectives, namel,y …

Energy Efficiency Of Visible Light Communication Using See-Ofdm, Samavia Rizwan, Nidhal Abdulaziz

University of Wollongong in Dubai - Papers

Wireless internet access technology can experience a major revolution through the use of breakthrough technology of Visible Light Communication (VLC) or Li-Fi (light fidelity) which could promise much higher data rates and better security and integrity of the data at the physical layer. There are many challenges being faced when visible light communication is being used resulting in low efficiency of the system. The main purpose of this paper is to endeavour to achieve highest data rate possible in an indoor environment while tackling problems which include loss of energy efficiency as OFDM is made unipolar and real-valued.A novel unipolar …

Integrated Broadband Powerline And Visible Light Communication (Vlc) Using Ofdm And Turbo Coding, Nader Nassar, Nidhal Abdulaziz

University of Wollongong in Dubai - Papers

This paper is focused on the communication scheme and its integration of Power Line Communication (PLC) and Visible Light Communication (VLC) systems. As the power line communication is becoming more popular in the last mile and home networking. In order to make the Power Line Communication (PLC) based networks more practical by having mobility at the last inch connectivity the VLC can be utilised. Some work has been done in the area of using power line for communications but these systems suffer from noise, inter symbol interference (ISI), and distortion. Most of the current proposed integrated systems are through Direct …

Dimming Control In Visible Light Communication Using Rpo-Ofdm And Concatenated Rs-Cc, Afrah Ali, Nidhal Abdulaziz

University of Wollongong in Dubai - Papers

Increasing wireless data traffic is creating pressure on the conventional dwindling radio frequency spectrum. A new and reliable communication medium becomes a necessity. Visible Light Communication (VLC), a subset of optical wireless communication uses the visible light spectrum between 400 and 800 THz as a medium for communication. VLC utilizes the illumination of LED to establish a communication medium. The research focused on achieving a successful VLC communication link at low intensities of light without affecting the speed, accuracy and efficiency of VLC. The achievement of the paper was to devise a method to reduce the LED brightness, reducing energy …

Tatattoouile On The Menu: Tats In The Kitchen, A Side Of Ink, And Food As Communication', Paula Arvela

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Communication In Breast Cancer Screening: A Qualitative Study With Australian Experts, Lisa M. Parker, Lucie Rychetnik, Stacy M. Carter

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background One well-accepted strategy for optimising outcomes in mammographic breast cancer screening is to improve communication with women about screening. It is not always clear, however, what it is that communication should be expected to achieve, and why or how this is so. We investigated Australian experts' opinions on breast screening communication. Our research questions were: 1 What are the views of Australian experts about communicating with consumers on breast screening? 2 How do experts reason about this topic? Methods We used a qualitative methodology, interviewing 33 breast screening experts across Australia with recognisable influence in the Australian mammographic breast …

Exposure Knowledge And Perception Of Wireless Communication Technologies, Frederik Freudenstein, Luis M. Correia, Carla Oliveira, Daniel Sebastiao, Peter M. Wiedemann

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The presented survey investigates risk and exposure perceptions of radio frequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) associated with base stations, mobile phones and other sources, the key issue being the interaction between both sets of perceptions. The study is based on a cross-sectional design, and conducted with an online sample of 838 citizens from Portugal. The results indicate that respondents' intuitive exposure perception differs from the actual exposure levels. Furthermore, exposure and risk perceptions are found to be highly correlated. Respondents' beliefs about exposure factors, which might influence possible health risks, is appropriate. A regression analysis between exposure characteristics, as predictor …

Boyce Worthley Oration. 'Drawing The Line': A Risk Communication Perspective, Rodney J. Croft

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The paper represents a text version of the Australian Radiation Protection Society's Boyce Worthley Oration, which I had the privilege of delivering in 2014. The purpose of the presentation was to address the issue of whether, from a risk communication perspective, enough radiation protection research had been conducted and it was time to 'draw the line'. The paper addresses this issue by focusing on the radiofrequency (RF) risk communication domain, but is also applicable to radiation protection more generally. It fi rst provides a brief overview of both community concern about RF and the relative support from science regarding this …

What's In A User Story: Is Development Methods As Communication, Rodney J. Clarke, Karlheinz Kautz

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

This paper challenges claims made by Scrum proponents when characterising the communicative nature of user stories: including being more 'authentic' because they comprise spoken language and that they are stories. We argue and decisively demonstrate that neither can be upheld. By incorrectly characterising user stories, we miss opportunities to understand what they are and how they work during development. User stories are better understood by applying a functional theory of communication that emphasises how language is used. By selecting systemic functional linguistics, we can analyse user stories, and have developed a method for factoring unwanted epics into usable user stories.

Lessons Learned From Pilot Testing An Experimental Communication Intervention: Generation Y And Park Benefits, Betty Weiler, Brent Moyle, Monica Torland, Isabelle D. Wolf, Mieke Witsel

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper reports a series of lessons learned from pilot testing an experimental intervention that aimed to shift Gen Y's perceptions of the cultural and heritage benefits of parks. Designed in collaboration with the Office of Environment and Heritage in NSW and delivered via the OEH website, the intervention took respondents on a controlled virtual tour of two national parks, Ku-ring-gai Chase in the Sydney metropolitan area and Mutawintji in outback NSW, both rich in Australian culture and heritage. Overall, the intervention was viewed as successful in impacting respondents' perceptions of the benefits of parks, and will be used in …

Nutrition During Pregnancy - Exploring Women's Knowledge And Models Of Nutrition Communication, Khlood Bookari, Heather Yeatman, Moira Williamson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract of paper presented at the ICM 30th Triennial Congress - Midwives: Improving Women's Health Globally, 1-5 June 2014, Prague, Czech Republic

Communication Accommodation To Achieve Research Student Autonomy, Grace Mccarthy, Rodney Clarke, Ann M. Rogerson

Sydney Business School - Papers

Universities throughout the world are grappling with ways to improve the quality of research supervision and thereby improve successful completion rates. Much effort has been spent on defining the research skills students are expected to develop and how to assist students improve them, e.g. Willison (2012). The concept of developing researcher autonomy has also been the focus of research, e.g. Gurr (2011). As supervisors, we help our students become skilled autonomous researchers through discussions and feedback, in other words, through our communication skills. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) can be applied in …

A Study Into The Conditions Necessary For A Destination To Be Fashionable, Clifford Lawrence Lewis

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Despite recognition of the relevance of fashion to tourism – including the United Nations World Travel Organisation’s prediction that destinations will function as fashion accessories, academic research has not empirically studied this phenomenon. Noting this gap, Caldwell and Freire in 2004 called for research to identify factors which contribute to the construction of a fashionable destination. Given the unique nature of tourism and the consequent limitation of applying the findings of research from other fields, this study inductively develops theory to understand the conditions necessary for a destination to be fashionable. Because of the influence industry has on fashion and …

A Comparison Of Supply Integration And End-To-End Communication Theory And Practice - An Australian Perspective, Fadi Kotob, Lee Styger

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

The concept of supply chain integration and end-to-end communication are well established in supply chain theory. Typically, because of the depth of publications, an axiom has developed that all supply networks are fully integrated and have end-to-end communication protocols. Recent research into Australian supply networks has highlighted a somewhat different scenario, where many networks are fragmented and lack the connectivity that would be expected. This paper offers a comparison of theoretical supply chain management and the actual practices found in Australian businesses. As a result of this grass root research, a scenario is offered that suggest there is a significant …

Monitoring Policy And Actions On Food Environments: Rationale And Outline Of The Informas Policy Engagement And Communication Strategies, H Brinsden, T Lobstein, J Landon, V Kraak, G Sacks, S Kumanyika, Boyd A. Swinburn, S Barquera, Sharon Friel, C Hawkes, Bridget Kelly, M L'Abbe, A Lee, J Ma, J Macmullen, S Mohan, C Monteiro, Bruce Neal, M Rayner, D Sanders, W Snowdon, S Vandevijvere, C Walker

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) proposes to collect performance indicators on food policies, actions and environments related to obesity and non-communicable diseases. This paper reviews existing communications strategies used for performance indicators and proposes the approach to be taken for INFORMAS. Twenty-seven scoring and rating tools were identified in various fields of public health including alcohol, tobacco, physical activity, infant feeding and food environments. These were compared based on the types of indicators used and how they were quantified, scoring methods, presentation and the communication and reporting strategies used. There are …