Digital Commons Network^™

Heckman's Methodology For Correcting Selectivity Bias : An Application To Road Crash Costs, Margaret Giles

Research outputs pre 2011

Aggregate road crash costs are traditionally determined using average costs applied to incidence figures found in Police-notified crash data. Such data only comprise a non-random sample of the true population of road crashes, the bias being due to the existence of crashes that are not notified to the Police. The traditional approach is to label the Police-notified sample as 'non-random' thereby casting a cloud over data analyses using this sample. Heckman however viewed similar problems as 'omitted variables' problems in that the exclusion of some observations in a systematic manner (so-called selectivity bias) has inadvertently introduced the need for an …

On The Evolution Of Probability-Weighting Function And Its Impact On Gambling, Steven Li, Yun Hsing Cheung

Research outputs pre 2011

It is well known that individuals treat losses and gains differently and there exists non-linearity in probability. The asymmetry between gains and losses is highlighted by the reflection effect. The non-linearity in probability is described by the curvature of the probability-weighting function. This paper studies the evolution of the probability-weighting function. It is assumed that the probability weighting for an individual follows a mean-reverting stochastic process. The Monte Carlo simulation technique is employed to study the evolution of the weighting function. The evolution of the probability- weighting function implies that an individual does not treat gains or losses consistently over …

Another Look At The Size And Book-To-Market Effects On Stock Returns, Chien-Ting Lin

Research outputs pre 2011

In this study, I test the robustness of size and book-to-market effects on average stock returns reported by Fama and French (FF, 1992, 1993) using a sample that is less subject to survivorship bias and a longer sampling period. Specifically, I exclude NASDAQ stocks in the sample to reduce survivorship bias that has largely been induced by Compustat during an expansion project in 1978. Survivorship bias exists when the sustaining and successful firms are included in the data and those firms that fail or merge with other firms are omitted. Since NASDAQ stocks tend to have relatively smaller stocks than …

On The Disappearance Of Tuesday Effect In Australia, Chien-Ting Lin, Lee Kian Lim

Research outputs pre 2011

Day of the week (DOW) effect has been well known in many markets. The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Switzerland all have been found to exhibit significant average negative Monday returns [Agrawal and Tandon, 1998]. Other developing markets in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are also found to have the same seasonality [Choudhry, 2000]. Australia however displays its DOW effect on Tuesdays rather than on Mondays (Jaffe and Westerfield [1985], Easton and Faff [1994]). Jaffe and Westerfield [1985] suggest that there might be a linkage between the U.S. Monday seasonal and the Asia-Pacific DOW effect as they are one …

M-Garch Hedge Ratios And Hedging Effectiveness In Australian Futures Markets [Working Paper], Wenling Yang

Research outputs pre 2011

This study estimates optimal hedge ratios using various econometric models. Applying daily AOIs and SPI futures on the Australian market, optimal hedge ratios are calculated from the OLS regression model, the bivariate vector autoregressive model (BVAR), the error-correction model (ECM) and the multivariate diagonal Vec GARCH Model. The hedging effectiveness is measured in terms of ex-post and ex-ante risk-return tradeoff at various forecasting horizons. It is generally found that the GARCH time varying hedge ratios provide the greatest portfolio risk reduction, particularly for longer hedging horizons, but they do not generate the highest portfolio return.

Wetland Vegetation Monitoring, 2000/2001 (Salinity Action Plan), B. Franke, R. Gurner, R. Froend

Research outputs pre 2011

This report represents the vegetation component of a project designed to provide ongoing monitoring of wetland salinity and biological resources in wetlands of the agricultural zone of south-west Western Australia. Maintenance of wetland biological diversity in the agricultural zone is one of the major objectives of the Salinity Action Plan. Due to their low position in the landscape, wetlands are the habitat most affected by salinisation.

Supporting Students With Learning Difficulties In A School Of The Air, Judith Rivalland, Mary Rohl, Pru Smith, Centre For Inclusive Schooling Learning Difficulties Team, Department Of Education

Research outputs pre 2011

This project was funded by Edith Cowan University and the Centre for Inclusive Schooling (Department of Education, formerly Education Department of Western Australia) as an Institute for the Service Professions Collaborative Grant. It was carried out in order to examine the following questions:

• What are the ways in which identification, assessment and teaching processes make provision for students with learning difficulties who are enrolled in a School of the Air?

• In what ways do Support Officers Learning Difficulties support these children, their home tutors and their teachers?

A Case For Systems Thinking And System Dynamics, Craig William Caulfield, Stanislaw P. Maj

Research outputs pre 2011

Systems thinking is a way of thinking that focuses on the relationships between the parts forming a purposeful whole. System dynamics is concerned with building computer models of complex problem situations and then experimenting with and studying the behaviour of these models over time. This paper is a review of systems thinking that considers its unique history and influences, paradigms and methodologies, and presents a case for the system dynamics methodology as the best tool for the most diverse range of problem situations

An Intelligent Imaging Approach To The Identification Of Forensic Ballistics Specimens, Clifton L. Smith

Research outputs pre 2011

The characteristic markings on the cartridge and projectile of a bullet fired from a gun can be recognised as a "fingerprint" for identification of the firearm. Over thirty different features can be distinguished. The intelligent imaging of the class characteristics of ballistics specimens will provide the potential to identify the make and model of the firearm. Precise measurement of features allow ballistics metrics to be obtained for the identification of the weapon. This paper will describe progress in the development of a multidimensional cluster analysis model for forensic ballistics specimens. The cluster analysis will provide classification that is based on …

B-Nodes: A New Scalable High Level Abstraction Model, Stanislaw P. Maj, Craig William Caulfield

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper proposes a new modeling technique called B-Nodes. B-Nodes represent a new, high-level abstraction that allows technical detail to be controlled using top-down recursive decomposition. This abstraction. is independent of architectural detail and can therefore accommodate rapid changes in technology. The use of recursive decomposition allows B-Nodes to be used not only for entire e-commerce system but also sub-modules within this system. The use of fundamental units allows the performance of heterogeneous technologies to be compared and other units to be derived. Results to date indicate no comparable model exists. Should further work validate this technique the authors recommend …

Clustering Of Web Users Using Session-Based Similarity Measures, Jitian Xiao, Yanchun Zhang

Research outputs pre 2011

One important research topic in web usage mining is the clustering of web users based on their common properties. Informative knowledge obtained from web user clusters were used for many applications, such as the prefetching of pages between web clients and proxies. This paper presents an approach for measuring similarity of interests among web users from their past access behaviors. The similarity measures are based on the user sessions extracted from the user's access logs. A multi-level scheme for clustering a large number of web users is proposed, as an extension to the method proposed in our previous work (2001). …

Developing E-Learning Environments That Support Knowledge Construction In Higher Education, Ron Oliver

Research outputs pre 2011

Much of the conventional development of Web-based learning environments the creation of electronic forms of existing print-based materials. In such instances the Web-based courses have tended to display limited evidence of an underpinning learning design and varying degrees of use of the opportunities and affordances of the new technologies. This paper provides an overview of instructional design principles that can guide the creation of Web-based learning materials that support learner engagement and knowledge construction. The paper describes the attributes of constructivist learning settings and provides some examples of explicit learning designs that can be applied in the design of Web-based …

Developing Generic Tools For Use In Flexible Learning: A Preliminary Progress Report, Ron Oliver, Barry Harper, Shirley Agostinho

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper presents a description of the Australian University Teaching Committee (AUTC) funded project titled: "Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Their Role in Flexible Learning" that aims to provide opportunities for university teachers to create high quality flexible learning experiences for students. This is to be accomplished by the development of a range of software tools and templates based on previously successful ICT-based learning projects in a form that will enable teachers in other settings and subject areas to create similar learning environments for their students. The project is a two-year endeavor and began in November 2000. The purpose …

Educating Professional Software Engineers: Pathways And Progress In The Australian Experience, Rick Duley, David Veal, Stanislaw P. Maj

Research outputs pre 2011

Australia has seized the international initiative in the recognition of software engineers as professionals. Of the 37 universities in Australia offering undergraduate courses in computing, eleven offer courses in software engineering which are accredited by the Institute of Engineers, Australia (IEAust) and which may lead the graduate to membership of the Institute. In this way, the Institute has plausible claim to being the first national professional engineering body in the world to have accredited four-year undergraduate software engineering degrees as professional qualifications. The paper traces the development of the relationship between the Institute of Engineers and the computing industry and …

Inference Of Regular Languages Using Model Simplicity, Philip Hingston

Research outputs pre 2011

We describe an approach that is related to a number of existing algorithms for the inference of a regular language from a set of positive (and optionally also negative) examples. Variations on this approach provide a family of algorithms that attempt to minimise the complexity of a description of the example data in terms of a finite state automaton model. Experiments using a standard set of small problems show that this approach produces satisfactory results when positive examples only are given, and can be helpful when only a limited number of negative examples is available. The results also suggest that …

Learning Objects: Supporting Flexible Delivery Of Flexible Learning, Ron Oliver

Research outputs pre 2011

There are now many educational organizations and institutions that have decided on flexible delivery and online learning as strategies that they are keen to pursue. While many educators value online delivery of programs for the flexibility and opportunities offered, the environment offers far more than these outcomes alone. Online delivery supports and encourages very powerful learning environments and has the prospect to transform education if approached in the correct fashion. Across the world, conventional approaches to the design and development of online learning environments in higher education frequently result in many lost opportunities for both teachers and learners. These losses …

New Designs For Web Based Learning Environments, Ron Oliver, Barry Harper, John O'Donoghue, N O Name

Research outputs pre 2011

With the continued advances in information and communication technology comes the interconnectivity of education institutions, businesses and industries. Either by default or association, the traditional education system will need to change and adapt to these new demands and opportunities. With these changes we are in danger of losing the focus of the learning process, and not recognising the importance of maintaining a balance between technology and pedagogy. This paper will review these issues, and examine an investigation of new learning designs which take advantage of the affordances of the Web and the opportunities which arise.

Assuring The Quality Of Online Learning In Australian Higher Education, Ron Oliver

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper discusses the major issues confronting the successful adoption and sustained use of online learning in higher education within the Australian context. The paper argues that four main issues which universities must deal with to achieve maximum potential from online learning technologies are: the establishment of cost-effective practices; the achievement and maintenance of quality in online learning delivery; ensuring access and equity in the delivery of programs; and establishing practices which can enable online learning to be sustained and to grow as a mainstream activity in university teaching and learning. While these issues are suggested as discrete entities, it …

Classification Of Bandlimited Fsk4 And Fsk8 Signals, Visalakshi Ramakonar, Daryoush Habibi, Abdesselam Bouzerdoum

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper compares two types of classifiers applied to bandlimited FSK4 and FSK8 signals. The first classifier employs the decision-theoretic approach and the second classifier is a neural network structure. Key features are extracted using a zero crossing sampler. A novel decision tree is proposed and optimum threshold values are found for the decision theoretic approach. For the neural network, the optimum structure is found to be the smallest structure to give 100% overall success rate. The performance of the both classifiers has been evaluated by simulating bandlimited FSK4 and FSK8 signals corrupted by Gaussian noise. It is shown that …

A Wide Dynamic Range Cmos Imager With Extended Shunting Inhibition Image Processing Capabilities, Farid Boussaid, Amine Bermak, Abdesselam Bouzerdoum

Research outputs pre 2011

A CMOS imager based on a novel mixed-mode VLSI implementation of biologically inspired shunting inhibition vision models is presented. It can achieve a wide range of image processing tasks such as image enhancement or edge detection via a programmable shunting inhibition processor. Its most important feature is a gain control mechanism allowing local and global adaptation to the mean input light intensity. This feature is shown to be very suitable for wide dynamic range imagers

Skin Colour Based Face Detection, Son Lam Phung, Douglas K. Chai, Abdesselam Bouzerdoum

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper describes a new approach to face detection. A colour input image is first processed using neural networks to detect skin regions in the image. Each neural network separates skin and non-skin pixels on the basis of chrominance information. The skin-colour classifier employs the committee machine technique, which improves skin colour detection by combining the classification results of a set of multilayer perceptrons (MLPs). The skin colour classifier achieves a classification rate of 84% compared to 81% for the best individual MLP classifier. The output of the committee machine is processed by a 2D smoothing filter before being converted …

Concept Mapping As A Collaborative Activity: Using Concept Mapping Software In A Distributed Learning Environment, Carole Steketee, Ron Oliver, Janice Herrington

Research outputs pre 2011

As part of an ongoing study into distributed learning environments, this paper examines the effects of concept mapping software when used as a collaborative learning tool. Preliminary findings are explored in relation to pre-service teachers' endeavour to distribute their learning collaboratively while working with the software in small groups.

Image Compression Using A Stochastic Competitive Learning Algorithm (Scola), Abdesselam Bouzerdoum

Research outputs pre 2011

We introduce a new stochastic competitive learning algorithm (SCoLA) and apply it to vector quantization for image compression. In competitive learning, the training process involves presenting, simultaneously, an input vector to each of the competing neurons, which then compare the input vector to their own weight vectors and one of them is declared the winner based on some deterministic distortion measure. Here a stochastic criterion is used for selecting the winning neuron, whose weights are then updated to become more like the input vector. The performance of the new algorithm is compared to that of frequency-sensitive competitive learning (FSCL); it …

Skin Color Detection For Face Localization In Human-Machine Communications, Douglas Chai, Son Lam Phung, Abdesselam Bouzerdoum

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper presents the proposed user interface design for computers whereby users can navigate in a 3D graphics scene and change camera viewpoint via head movement. This human-machine communication relies very much on the performance of its face localization module, which must determine head pose and track head movement. We have employed the skin color detection approach to face localization. The approach is studied and presented. The experimental results show that our chosen methodology is very effective. Furthermore, we demonstrate that skin color detection approach can cope with the variations of skin color and lighting conditions

Supporting Beginning Teachers: A Web-Based Collegial Enterprise, Janice Herrington, Anthony Herrington, Arshad Omari, Ron Oliver

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper describes the design, development and evaluation of a website designed to ameliorate many of the problems encountered by beginning teachers. The site allows new teachers, and preservice teachers on school practice, to communicate with each other through a discussion board, and provides access to a range of resources including lesson plans, videos of exemplary teaching, annotated lists of useful websites and frequently asked questions. Such access may help to lessen the feelings of isolation and lack of support felt by many beginning teachers, and provide a link between the practical realities and constraints of the classroom and the …

Quality Guidelines For Online Courses: The Development Of An Instrument To Audit Online Units, Anthony Herrington, Janice Herrington, Ron Oliver, Susan Stoney, Jacqueline Willis

Research outputs pre 2011

Institutional, national and global pressures demand that universities address issues of quality in teaching and learning. The maintenance of existing courses and the imperative to offer new courses online necessitates the development of measures and guidelines that can inform instructional designers and academics. A number of quality guidelines have been produced that reflect different contexts and purposes. Some focus on school learning, some on pedagogy alone and some that reflect the designs of particular courseware management software. This paper sets out to describe a workable set of guidelines for academic and support staff in the development and benchmarking of online …

Promoting Self-Regulated Learning In An On-Line Environment, Mark Mcmahon, Ron Oliver

Research outputs pre 2011

Self-Regulation has long been seen as a desirable but difficult to achieve instructional aim. This is particularly true of on-line learning, where users have limited instructional support and where attrition rates tend to be greater than in face-to-face teaching. This paper examines the nature of self-regulation, identifying affective and cognitive skills which make for self-regulated learners. The broad psychological states of metacognition and self-concept are identified as well as the motivational and cognitive processes that underpin them. The volitional, learning, and regulatory strategies which learners use are delineated. These are placed within the context of online learning. Aspects which characterise …

Application Of Shunting Inhibitory Artificial Neural Networks To Medical Diagnosis, Ganesh Arulampalam, Abdesselam Bouzerdoum

Research outputs pre 2011

Shunting inhibitory artificial neural networks (SIANNs) are biologically inspired networks in which the neurons interact among each other via a nonlinear mechanism called shunting inhibition. Since they are high-order networks, SIANNs are capable of producing complex, nonlinear decision boundaries. In this article, feedforward SIANNs are applied to several medical diagnosis problems and the results are compared with those obtained using multilayer perceptrons (MLPs). First, the structure of feedforward SIANNs is presented. Then, these networks are applied to some standard medical classification problems, namely the Pima Indians diabetes and Wisconsin breast cancer classification problems. The SIANN performance compares favourably with that …

Does Emotional Intelligence Affect Successful Teamwork?, Joseph Luca, Pina Tarricone

Research outputs pre 2011

There is a growing emphasis in tertiary education that students should develop professional skills as part of their education. Skills such as problem solving, communication, collaboration, interpersonal skills, social skills and time management are actively being targeted by prospective employers as essential requirements for employability especially in team environments. Of these, employment authorities consistently mention collaboration and teamwork as being a critical skill, essential in almost all working environments. How then can students successfully practice teamwork skills in tertiary institutions in order to develop these skills? In this study, a group of final year multimedia students were investigated while completing …

Assessing Student's Self-Regulatory Skills, Joseph Luca, Mark Mcmahon

Research outputs pre 2011

Students’ ability to use self-regulatory learning skills is becoming increasingly important with the advent of web-based learning. Online courses delivered through the Web require students to take more ownership over how and when learning takes place, rather than tutors and lecturers making these decisions. This comes at a time when higher education institutions have increasing pressure to develop students’ life long learning and generic skills from both employers and funding authorities. In this paper we will investigate a conceptual framework for identifying students’ self-regulatory skills and consider a testing instrument to identify students strengths and weaknesses. The instrument can be …