Curtin University

About: Curtin University is a education organization based out in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Zircon. The organization has 14257 authors who have published 48997 publications receiving 1336531 citations. The organization is also known as: WAIT & Western Australian Institute of Technology.

CEE telecommunications investment and economic growth

Abstract: The antiquated state of the telecommunications network in the transitional economies of Central and Eastern Europe has been identified by the OECD (1993) and the ITU (1994) as a significant impediment to regional productivity, international competitiveness and trade performance. This situation suggests that the upgrading and extension of the telecommunications network should be a priority objective for policy-makers in order to facilitate growth. This paper empirically examines the relationship between gross fixed investment, telecommunications infrastructure investment and economic growth for a sample of transitional economies in Central and Eastern Europe. In particular, the paper focuses on empirically determining the direction of influence, and timing, between investment and growth.

Investigating a grade 11 student's evolving conceptions of heat and temperature

Abstract: Many students enter physics courses with highly intuitive conceptions of nonobservable phenomena such as heat and temperature. The conceptions of heat and temperature are usually poorly differentiated and heat is often confused with internal energy. This article focuses on one student's cognitive and affective changes which occurred during the Grade 11 topic of heat and temperature. The instruction used an inquiry approach coupled with concept substitution strategies aimed at restructuring alternative conceptions identified using pretests. A constructivist perspective drove both the teaching and research, and Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning augmented the interpretive framework. The qualitative data comprising transcripts of all classroom discussions, student portfolios containing all of each student's written work, and teacher/researcher observations and reflections were collected and interpreted to generate a case study for one student named Ken. Ken's initial conceptual framework was undifferentiated with respect to heat and temperature. The course activities and concomitant use of concept substitution helped him differentiate these concepts and integrate them in a more scientifically acceptable way. A degree of affective and epistemological change was also identified as the course progressed. In-depth examination of the student's prior, formative, and final conceptions showed that during this unit, the student progressively accepted greater responsibility for his learning, was willing to take cognitive risks, and became more critical and rigorous in both written and verbal problem solving. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 55–87, 1999.

Neoproterozoic orogeny along the margin of Rodinia: Valhalla orogen, North Atlantic

Abstract: Latest Mesoproterozoic to mid-Neoproterozoic (1030–710 Ma) sedimentation and orogenic activity that developed on the northeast Laurentian substrate around the North Atlantic borderlands and is currently exposed in Scotland, Shetland, East Greenland, Svalbard, and Norway, is herein defined as the Valhalla orogen. The site for the orogen was initiated by ∼95° of clockwise rotation of Baltica with respect to Laurentia at the end of the Mesoproterozoic. This created a triangular ocean basin, the Asgard Sea, which received orogenic detritus from the Grenville-Sveconorwegian-Sunsas orogen. Sedimentary successions within the orogen accumulated during two cycles at 1030–980 Ma and 910–870 Ma, with each cycle terminated and the successions stabilized during tectonothermal episodes involving crustal thickening and igneous activity, some of calc-alkaline affinity, associated with the Renlandian (980–910 Ma) and Knoydartian (830–710 Ma) orogenic events. The Valhalla orogen represents an exterior accretionary orogen that developed along the margin of Laurentia and the Asgard Sea. The early stages of the Valhalla orogen are coeval with the final stages of the Grenville-Sveconorwegian-Sunsas orogen to the south, but are tectonically discrete; they constitute part of an exterior orogen that is entirely distinct from the interior orogen formed between collision of Laurentia, Baltica, and Amazonia.