Showing papers by "Australian Catholic University published in 2023"

A Survey of Trendy Financial Sector Applications of Machine and Deep Learning

Abstract: In the field of finance, machine learning encompasses a number of disciplines, including pattern recognition, financial econometrics, statistical computing, probabilistic programming, and dynamic programming. Machine learning (ML) is causing a revolution in the financial industry as more and more companies use ML-automated operations to make better decisions, increase productivity, and achieve other business goals. Machine learning algorithms are being utilised by financial institutions, including banks, fintech companies, insurance brokers, and other suppliers of financial services, in order to forecast financial risk, automate repetitive processes, and gain real-time investment advice. Because of the very nature of their operations, financial institutions generate enormous amounts of data that are often complex. This creates the ideal setting for machine learning, which requires vast datasets from which machines can learn. This research investigates the impact of machine learning, deep learning, and statistical approaches on key financial principles, including fraud detection, money laundering prevention, and credit risk assessment. To investigate the impact of these methodologies on financial indicators, secondary data sources such as books and peer-reviewed journals were analysed.

Short Severe Energy Restriction with Refueling Reduces Body Mass without Altering Training-Associated Performance Improvement

Abstract: We investigated short-term (9 d) exposure to low energy availability (LEA) in elite endurance athletes during a block of intensified training on self-reported well-being, body composition and performance.Twenty-three highly trained race walkers undertook a ~ 3 w research-embedded training camp during which they undertook baseline testing and 6 d of high energy/carbohydrate (CHO) availability (40 kcal·kg FFM-1·d-1) before being allocated to 9 d continuation of this diet (HCHO: n = 10 M, 2F) or a significant decrease in energy availability to 15 kcal·kg FFM-1·d-1 (LEA: n = 10 M, 1F). A real-world 10,000 m race walking event was undertaken before (Baseline) and after (Adaptation) these phases, with races being preceded by standardized CHO fueling (8 g·kg BM-1 for 24 h and 2 g·kg BM-1 pre-race meal).DXA-assessed body composition showed BM loss (2.0 kg; p < 0.001), primarily due to a 1.6 kg fat mass reduction (p < 0.001) in LEA, with smaller losses (BM: 0.9 kg; p = 0.008; fat mass: 0.9 kg; p < 0.001) in HCHO. The Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (RESTQ-76), undertaken at the end of each dietary phase showed significant Diet*Trial effects for Overall Stress (p = 0.021), Overall Recovery (p = 0.024), Sport-Specific Stress (p = 0.003) and Sport-Specific Recovery (p = 0.012). However, improvements in race performance were similar: 4.5 ± 4.1% and 3.5 ± 1.8% for HCHO and LEA, respectively (p < 0.001). The relationship between changes in performance and pre-race BM was not significant (r = -0.08 [-0.49, 0.35]; p = 0.717).A series of strategically timed but brief phases of substantially restricted energy availability might achieve ideal race weight as part of a long-term periodization of physique by high performance athletes, but the relationship between BM, training quality and performance in weight-dependent endurance sports is complicated.

Disasters are as much cultural as natural phenomena. For centuries, news about catastrophic events has been disseminated through media such as chronicles, pamphlets, newspapers, poems, drawings, and prints. Nowadays, we are overwhelmed with news about the cataclysmic effects of recent forest fires, floods, and storms. Due to the ongoing climate crisis, extreme weather events will likely have ever greater impacts on our lives. This volume addresses cultural representations of catastrophes such …

Abstract: This chapter explores how the Italian engineer and artist Leonardo da Vinci conceptualised forms of violence in nature, to nature, or by nature. In using the term ‘natural violence’, this chapter aims to capture Da Vinci’s broad-ranging consideration of such violence related to the natural world upon which he reflected across his work and to which he gave varied and ongoing responses over the course of his life. It argues that his perception of temporality, emotion, and gender were important aspects that helped Da Vinci make sense of natural violence. In doing so, the chapter suggests that while Da Vinci may have been radical in some aspects of thinking, in others he was representative of his era, and that investigating his conceptualisation of natural violence brings these distinctions into sharper focus.

Luís Fróis, Gendered Knowledge, and the Jesuit Encounter with Sixteenth-Century Japan

Abstract: Abstract This article argues that our understanding of the sixteenth-century Jesuit encounter with Japan is improved by taking into account the role gender played in cultural translation. Recent histories of the mission and the writings it produced have highlighted the strategies adopted by Jesuits to rely on and manipulate knowledge of local cultures to facilitate conversion. Yet, few scholars have used gender as a lens to read the actions and ethnographies performed and produced by Jesuits in overseas missions. Using Luís Fróis's Tratado das contradições e diferenças de costumes entre a Europa e o Japão (Treaty on the contrasts and differences between Europe and Japan), I argue that skilled cultural interpreters used gender as a determining lens to approach the primary task of conversion, but also the secondary task of cultural mediation. Unlike the invasion of the Americas, the ephemeral infiltration of Asia was accomplished through European accommodation of Asian political vocabularies and conduct. Examining the epistemological tools Fróis used to build knowledge of the Other sheds light on the initial stages of the unequal encounter between the Japanese and the Jesuits and how it changed based on a growing understanding of Japanese politics, class, and society.

Social, educational and legal perspectives on assessment and accountability measures in inclusive education for students with disability

Abstract: This chapter addresses assessment of students with disability from a perspective of the Australian education system and legislation, specifically discrimination law, and drawing on philosophies and approaches to inclusive education. The chapter considers quality assessment for students with disability in schooling, including issues regarding validity of assessments and interpretation of outcomes. Access of students with disability to accountability assessments is considered. Although authorities have endeavored to improve access of students with disability, students are still excluded or have limited access opportunities. Three issues affecting optimal assessment and outcomes for students with disability are discussed: teacher assessment knowledge and confidence; conceptions of fairness; and the limited research on effective assessment to enable students with disability to demonstrate their learning to the fullest extent and achieve their potential.

Introduction

Abstract: Abstract This book articulates a religious rationale for political secularism in the Iranian/shīʿī context. Belief in theocracy has always been the basis of shīʿī political theology, but with the messianic conception of the 12th Imām in the fourth/tenth century, its realisation came to depend on the will and intervention of the divine. As a result, shīʿī leaders, while awaiting the return of the 12th Imām, not only do not have the authority or responsibility to take over the institution of government, but have been forbidden from doing so. For more than 1300 years, the political thought and action of shīʿī religious leaders was shaped by this political theology, formulated in this book as Theocratic secularism. In opposition to orthodox shīʿī theology, a new politico-religious discourse emerged at the initiative of Ayatollah Khomeini in the last decades of the twentieth century, which in this book is referred to as governmental-shīʿism. In sharp contrast to shīʿī orthodoxy, governmental-shīʿism considers the occupation of the government apparatus as the duty of shīʿī religious leaders. In this book, it is argued that governmental-shīʿism was neither the product of a theological transformation of shīʿī orthodoxy nor used as a blueprint to establish the Islamic Republic. Rather, the formation of the Islamic Republic and the clergy’s rise to power led to the birth of governmental-shīʿism and bestowed importance on Khomeini’s doctrine of wilāyat-i faqīh.

Globalisation, Values Education and Teaching Democracy

Abstract: This chapter critiques dominant discourses and debates pertaining to values education, cultural identity, and teaching democracy. It addresses current discourses values education and teaching democracy in schools. It explores the ambivalent and problematic connections between the state, globalisation, values education and teaching democracy. The chapter also explores conceptual frameworks and methodological approaches applicable to research on values education, multiculturalism, and identity. Drawing on diverse paradigms, ranging from critical theory to globalisation, the chapter, by focusing on globalisation, ideology and values education, critically examines recent research dealing with cultural diversity and its impact of values education and teaching democracy.

Globalisation and Competitiveness-Driven Education Reforms Affecting Education

Abstract: Globalisation and Inclusive Schooling: Effective Motivational Environment, the 36th book in the 48 volume book series Globalisation, Comparative Education and Policy Research, analyses major discourses of inclusive schooling, and creating effective and engaging motivational environments for improving performance in the classroom.

The Creeping Entrance of the Idea of Wilāyat-i Faqīh

Abstract: Abstract This chapter argues that senior clerical Islamist leaders continued to view the institution of government from within the ideological framework of theocratic secularism, and that the project of governmental Shīʿism was not on their agenda, until the debates of the Assembly of Experts for the Constitution in the summer of 1979. Following the public release of the draft constitution, which did not mention the idea of wilāyat-i faqīh, a number of lower-ranking Islamists entered the constitutional debate and proposed the idea of assigning clerics a special role in the constitution. It is argued that their various suggestions were discordant and displayed no particular coherence or coordination. More important, these proposals made no reference to Khomeini’s doctrine of wilāyat-i faqīh. This chapter seeks to demonstrate that until the summer of 1979, governmental Shīʿism did not emerge as a cohesive politico-religious discourse.

Lower Patellofemoral Joint Contact Force During Side-Step Cutting After Return-to-Sports Clearance Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Abstract: Low patellofemoral joint (PFJ) contact force has been associated with PFJ osteoarthritis. Quadriceps force and knee flexion angles, which are typically altered after an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), primarily influence PFJ contact forces. It is still inconclusive whether differences in PFJ contact forces are present during high knee flexion tasks such as side-step cutting after clearance to return to sports (RTS) after ACLR.To explore PFJ contact forces in the ACLR limb and compare them with those of the contralateral and control limbs during side-step cutting tasks after clearance to RTS.Controlled laboratory study.A total of 26 male athletes with ACLR who were previously cleared to RTS were matched with 23 healthy men serving as the control group. Three-dimensional motion capture and force plate data were collected while both groups performed anticipated side-step cutting tasks. Joint kinematics, kinetics, muscle forces, and PFJ contact forces were calculated using musculoskeletal modeling.Peak PFJ force was lower in the ACLR limbs compared with the contralateral limbs (mean difference [MD], 5.89 body weight [BW]; 95% CI, 4.7-7.1 BW; P < .001) and the control limbs (MD, 4.44 BW; 95% CI, 2.1-6.8 BW; P < .001). During peak PFJ force, knee flexion angle was lower in ACLR limbs compared with the contralateral (MD, 4.88°; 95% CI, 3.0°-6.7°; P < .001) and control (MD, 6.01°; 95% CI, 2.0°-10.0°; P < .002) limbs. A lower quadriceps force compared with the contralateral (MD, 4.14 BW; 95% CI, 3.4-4.9 BW; P < .001) and control (MD, 2.83 BW; 95% CI, 1.4-4.3 BW; P < .001) limbs was also found.Lower PFJ contact forces and a combination of quadriceps force deficits and smaller knee flexion angle were found in the ACLR compared with the contralateral and control limbs even after clearance to RTS.Despite rehabilitation and subsequent clearance to RTS, differences in PFJ contact forces are present after ACLR. Current rehabilitation and RTS battery may not be effective and sensitive enough to identify and address these differences.

Politico-Economic Transformation, Globalization, and Lifelong Learning: The Example of the Russian Federation

Abstract: The chapter focuses on a specific context of politico-economic transformation in the Russian Federation (RF) to show how global influences have combined with the turbulences of political, cultural, social, and economic transformations, for decades, to radically change educational landscapes and lifelong learning policies. The impact of Western-driven paradigms of standards and academic achievement in schools has redefined the role of credentialism, learning, and skills training in many societies undergoing transformative change. The chapter demonstrates how lifelong learning, educational policy, and curriculum development are influenced, in the case of Russia, by the past educational philosophy of lifelong learning and current demands for relevant vocational qualifications in the knowledge society. An analysis of ministerial education policies and curriculum reforms affecting lifelong learning reveals that these policy reforms reflect both neoliberal and neoconservative paradigms in the Russian economy and education. In demonstrating how continuous learning, as part of the lifelong learning paradigm, is encouraged and supported in the Russian economy, the chapter evaluates the impact of concurrent globalization, social change, and economic transformations on lifelong learning and draws out wider lessons for societies undergoing transformative political and economic changes. Moreover, the chapter examines changing paradigms of globalization and their impact on lifelong learning in the RF.

Social Ontology and the Past, Present and Future of Critical Theory: A Critical Reading of <i>Georg Lukács and the Possibility of Critical Social Ontology</i>

Abstract: In both continental and analytical philosophy, social ontology has emerged as a particularly lively and increasingly sophisticated area of debate. This essay explores the potential contribution that social-ontological thinking can make to the continued development of critical theory via a critical reading of Georg Lukács and the Possibility of Critical Social Ontology – a collection of essays edited by Michael J. Thompson and published by Brill as part of the Studies in Critical Social Sciences series. The essay argues that whilst social ontology as such no doubt offers a fruitful avenue for contemporary critical theory, the later philosophy of Georg Lukács represents an untenable and antiquated theoretical resource for such endeavours. The conceptual and systematic barriers to the revitalisation of the late Lukács are explored with specific reference to Lukács’ specific interpretation of the paradigm of labour and, closely related to this, his philosophy of history.

Major Motivational Models in Inclusive Schools

Abstract: Before we commence our critical review and discussion of major motivational theories, I wish to remind us all of the five significant factors which influence the nature and the quality of learning in inclusive classrooms.

Vatican II’s Theology of Revelation

Abstract: Abstract The centrepiece of Vatican II’s teaching on revelation, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum), presents revelation as primarily the self-communication of God (which calls forth the personal response of faith) and secondarily the disclosure of hitherto unknown divine truths (or propositional revelation). It understands revelation to be inseparably salvific and sacramental (coming through words and deeds). God’s revelation reached an unsurpassable climax in the past (with Jesus Christ). It happens today: among the present means of revelation, Vatican II names the liturgy, the Scriptures, tradition, missionary activity, the saints, and the signs of the times. Revelation will reach its definitive communication with the Second Coming of Christ. Other documents of Vatican II fill out significant aspects of revelation: its mediation through the prophetic role of all the baptized; its correlation with the human condition and its disclosure of human nature and destiny; and its reaching, through the Holy Spirit and the universal presence of the risen Christ, all human beings.

Inclusive Schooling and Motivational Strategies for Improving Academic Achievement

Abstract: Using constructivism, and cognitive and social constructivist models and strategies, together with critical literacy and critical thinking for improving students’ engagement, and quality learning, I want to argue that inclusive schooling has the power to influence and change the learner in every sphere: cognitive, social, emotional, and academic achievement. An effective and engaging inclusive classroom environment affects students’ knowledge, particularly in having a more meaningful knowledge and understandings of such key concepts as democracy, cultural identities, belonging, evolving cultural diversity, human rights and social justice.

Research Overview

Abstract: This chapter is an overview of the research on an innovative pilot Religious Education curriculum at the senior secondary school level. It responds to the call for Religious Education to address religious plurality within the profile of the contemporary Catholic school and the explicit request from the community for curriculum to be more inclusive, respectful of difference and engage student agency and experiential reflection and participation. The development of the literature context in which RML is situated is pursued fully in Chap. 3 . The research focused on the level of satisfaction by students, teachers and parents with the re-imagined curriculum, Religion Meaning and Life (RML). Research sub-questions included: what influenced subject choice; and what was most significant with respect to topics, pedagogies and outcomes. Findings permitted the modelling of key curriculum elements across topics, pedagogies and outcomes that serve to enhance the curriculum at scale and provide lenses for the wider educational community into curriculum construction in senior secondary Religious Education.

Causes, Costs, and Caveats

Abstract: Abstract Goal contents theory (GCT) is the fifth of SDT’s mini-theories and describes the associations between the content of people’s life aspirations and their well-being, the links between which are understood to be mediated by basic psychological need satisfactions and frustrations. Intrinsic aspirations—typically for personal growth, affiliation, community giving, and physical health—inherently satisfy basic psychological needs and, therefore, bolster wellness. Conversely, extrinsic aspirations—most commonly for wealth, fame, and beauty—do not directly satisfy needs and, in some cases, actively frustrate them, thus compromising well-being. This chapter reviews the eight basic propositions and evidence base of GCT, with an emphasis on recent investigations. It introduces seven additional “candidate” propositions, or ideas that have emerged in the GCT literature, the generalizability and universality of which remain to be comprehensively tested. The chapter concludes by detailing some caveats of which researchers should be cognizant, while highlighting important future directions for this universally relevant and highly reliable theory.

Precarious Subjects: Picturing Indigenous British Subjecthood in Mid-Nineteenth-Century Australia

Abstract: Recent discussion in Australia has highlighted how Indigenous citizenship remains troubled by the denial of Indigenous sovereignty. This article takes up a pre-history to these discussions, returning to a transitional period (1830s–1850s) in the Australian colonies when governments worked to activate Indigenous people's newly-clarified legal status as British subjects. How, in this period, did settler colonial culture envisage Indigenous people's relation to the law as citizens-to-be of the empire? Focusing particularly upon visual vocabularies of policing and civic order, the article considers how vacillating colonial visions of Indigenous people as ‘new’ British subjects reflected a wider tension between settler culture's non-recognition of Indigenous law and jurisdiction, and its running disquiet about the insecure terms of British sovereignty.

An online exploratory survey of Australian athletes’ and exercisers’ use of and attitudes toward ultra-processed sports foods

Abstract: Abstract Sports foods are convenient alternatives to everyday foods to fuel performance. Strong scientific evidence supports their use; however, commercial sports foods are classified by the NOVA system as ultra-processed foods (UPF). Consumption of UPF has been associated with poor mental and physical health, but little is known about athletes’ consumption of and attitudes toward sports foods as a source of UPF. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess Australian athletes’ intake of and attitudes toward sports foods and UPF. Adult athletes were recruited to complete an anonymous online survey via social media between October 2021 and February 2022. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and Pearson’s chi-square test was used to assess potential relationships between categorical demographic variables and consumption of sports foods. One hundred forty Australian adults participating in recreational (n=55), local/regional (n=52), state (n=11), national (n=14), or international (n=9) sports completed the survey. Ninety-five per cent reported consuming sports foods within the past 12 months. Participants consumed sports drinks most commonly (73%) and isolated protein supplements most frequently (40% at least once per week). Participants reported everyday foods to be more affordable, taste better, present less risk of banned substances, but less convenient, and greater risk of spoilage. Half (51%) of participants reported concern about health effects of UPF. Participants reported regular UPF consumption despite taste and cost-related preferences for everyday foods and health concerns regarding UPF intake. Athletes may need support to identify and access safe, affordable, convenient, minimally processed alternatives to sports foods.