Showing papers by "Edith Cowan University published in 1992"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify the factors which affect teacher's reluctance to teach science and explain an approach to help teachers teach science in a worthwhile manner over the school year while monitoring any changes in their confidence and competence.
Abstract: The study attempts to identify the factors which affect teacher's reluctance to teach science, then explains an approach to help teachers teach science in a worthwhile manner over the school year while monitoring any changes in their confidence and competence. It was found that the condidence and competence of the teachers improved during the year such that they were able to teach successful science lessons on a regular basis.
46 citations
TL;DR: The curriculum evaluation was designed to determine whether or not teachers can teach technology as a design process, a technique which is not usually part of their preservice education.
Abstract: This paper describes the evaluation of three curriculum models to Teach technology in an education system where there have been no clear guide‐lines to teachers about how the introduction of technology might be achieved. The three modules, which are concerned with animal cage construction, toys and the bicycle, present technology as a design process involving problem identification and analysis, generation and evaluation of alternative solutions, planning and construction of models, trialling, modification and evaluation. The curriculum evaluation was designed to determine whether or not teachers can teach technology as a design process, a technique which is not usually part of their preservice education; not: whether technology can be taught where there are limited resources available; and whether or not the approach taken was gender inclusive. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to gather data in the evaluation. The results indicated teachers found the materials successful for l...
19 citations
TL;DR: The authors compared the work of 10 expert scientists and 10 Year 12 science students as they conducted a laboratory based investigation and found that students in Western Australia have poorly developed skills of problem analysis, planning and carrying out controlled experiments, basing conclusions only on obtained data, and recognizing limitations in the methodology of their investigations.
Abstract: Many school students experience difficulty in conducting science investigations (Hackling & Garnett, 1991; Murphy, 1988). Students in Western Australia have poorly developed skills of problem analysis, planning and carrying out controlled experiments, basing conclusions only on obtained data, and recognising limitations in the methodology of their investigations. This paper compares the work of 10 expert scientists and 10 Year 12 science students as they conducted a laboratory based investigation. The results provide insights into expertise in science investigation skills.
19 citations
TL;DR: A brief overview of the radical constructivist movement in mathematics education, as it has expressed itself around the world over the past ten years, is provided in this paper, where three benefits of the movement are identified, namely: (a) its emphasis on the need for learners to construct their own mathematical meanings, and thereby come to believe that they "own" the mathematics they are learning; (b) its recognition and advocacy of quality social interaction as the basis for quality mathematics learning; and (c) its identification, clarification, and advocate of principles for improving mathematics teaching and learning.
Abstract: A brief overview of the radical constructivist movement in mathematics education, as it has expressed itself around the world over the past ten years, is provided. Three benefits of the movement are then identified, namely: (a) its emphasis on the need for learners to construct their own mathematical meanings, and thereby come to believe that they “own” the mathematics they are learning; (b) its recognition and advocacy of quality social interaction as the basis for quality mathematics learning; and (c) its identification, clarification, and advocacy of principles for improving mathematics teaching and learning. Three weaknesses that might be associated with the radical constructivist movement are also outlined: (a) the missionary zeal of some radical constructivists who tend to accuse mathematics educators outside their ranks of advocating and practising transmission modes of education; (b) the downplaying of the role of linguistic activity in the development of abstract thought by many radical constructivists; and (c) the tendency of radical constructivists to provide oversimplified answers to the ontological question “What is mathematical knowledge?”
18 citations
TL;DR: A survey of several Western Australian organizations which have introduced total quality management (TQM) is presented in this paper, where a number of organizations in the public and private sectors taking an active interest in establishing programs.
Abstract: Total quality management (TQM) is a management philosophy which seeks continuous improvement in the quality of performance of all processes, products and services of an organization. While the concept is nothing new, having its origins in the work of W. E. Deming in the 1950s, it has recently become popular in Australia with a number of organizations in the public and private sectors taking an active interest in establishing programmes. This paper reports on the findings of a survey of several Western Australian organizations which have introduced TQM. Structured interviews were used to obtain information on a number of key aspects of the programmes in the selected companies. The following issues were addressed: implementing and sustaining TQM efforts, the structuring of TQM programmes, difficulties encountered and the claimed benefits. Attention is given to the structure and operation of quality improvement teams and how they fit into the overall quality management programmes. The role of external agents...
17 citations
TL;DR: A thirteen week bridging course curriculum was designed and implemented to assist mature adult women from a low socio-economic region to gain access to tertiary level education as mentioned in this paper, which focussed explicitly on both academic and non-academic requirements for successful tertiary study.
Abstract: A thirteen week bridging course curriculum was designed and implemented to assist mature adult women from a low socio‐economic region to gain access to tertiary level education. The course was located at a postsecondary college within the participants' neighbourhood, and presented by a woman staff member of the tertiary institution to which the women were guaranteed entry contingent upon successful completion of the course. The curriculum focussed explicitly on both academic and non‐academic requirements for successful tertiary study. In the academic strand, significant changes from Concrete to Abstract modes of Learning Style were observed, while in the nonacademic sphere, there was a significant change of preference from Feeling to Thinking styles of decision‐making. Twenty one per cent of participants withdrew and indicated that the course had provided sufficient insight that they were not willing to make a continuing commitment to study at such a demanding level. For all participants, the bri...
12 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the relationship between police unions and police powers, and present a survey of the issues in criminal justice that arise from unions and powers in policing, including:
Abstract: (1992). Police Unions and Police Powers. Current Issues in Criminal Justice: Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 157-174.
7 citations
01 Mar 1992
TL;DR: This paper justified the rationality of a new approach to logic design, which is the decomposition of Boolean functions instead of Boolean minimization.
Abstract: This paper presents a video rate morphological processor for automated visual inspection of printed circuit boards, integrated circuit masks, and other complex objects. Inspection algorithms are based on gray-scale mathematical morphology. Hardware complexity of the known methods of real-time implementation of gray-scale morphology--the umbra transform and the threshold decomposition--has prompted us to propose a novel technique which applied an arithmetic system without carrying propagation. After considering several arithmetic systems, a redundant number representation has been selected for implementation. Two options are analyzed here. The first is a pure signed digit number representation (SDNR) with the base of 4. The second option is a combination of the base-2 SDNR (to represent gray levels of images) and the conventional twos complement code (to represent gray levels of structuring elements). Operation principle of the morphological processor is based on the concept of the digit level systolic array. Individual processing units and small memory elements create a pipeline. The memory elements store current image windows (kernels). All operation primitives of processing units apply a unified direction of digit processing: most significant digit first (MSDF). The implementation technology is based on the field programmable gate arrays by Xilinx. This paper justified the rationality of a new approach to logic design, which is the decomposition of Boolean functions instead of Boolean minimization.
5 citations
01 Jan 1992
TL;DR: This paper situates the research in the context of research on intensive and immersion language education at University level, particularly in the U.S.A. and Canada, outlines some principles and problems associated with the research and reports on the progress of the first phase.
Abstract: A joint research project between Edith Cowan University and the Guangzhou Foreign Language University, China, is seeking to find out whether university students achieve greater proficiency than otherwise when instruction is given intensively or by immersion approaches. This paper situates the research in the context of research on intensive and immersion language education at University level, particularly in the U.S.A. and Canada, outlines some principles and problems associated with the research and reports on the progress of the first phase of the project.
4 citations
1 citations
TL;DR: The author discusses his experiments in using the Macintosh computer as a standalone, two way interactive language teacher, with the ability to record and play back the learner's attempts at pre-recorded words and phrases in a genuinely interactive sense.
Abstract: Recent policy statements released by both Federal and State governments indicate official willingness to explore the possibilities of the new technologies in language teaching at all educational levels. In this article, the author discusses his experiments in using the Macintosh computer as a standalone, two way interactive language teacher, with the ability to record and play back the learner's attempts at pre-recorded words and phrases in a genuinely interactive sense. Success has been achieved using the MacRecorder, the AudioPalette in HyperCard 2 and Authorware Professional. These developments will prove of interest to those involved in computer-assisted language learning (CALL).
TL;DR: A report is given on the CHIRP project (Computer Hotline for Information Re-Packaging), designed by the author and a colleague, to teach information skills in a way that was motivating to pupils and relevant to the 1990s.
Abstract: In recent years, there have been a number of research projects, carried out under the auspices of the British Library with a brief to investigate ways in which new technology could be used effectively in schools and then to disseminate this information to a wider audience. Two such projects were reported in 1990: CD-ROMs in School Libraries and Wider Horizons: Online Information in Schools. School use of PRESTEL, CAMPUS 2000, NERIS and ECCTIS is discussed, and the implications of these online services and CD-ROM products considered. A report is given on the CHIRP project (Computer Hotline for Information Re-Packaging), designed by the author and a colleague, to teach information skills in a way that was motivating to pupils and relevant to the 1990s.
11 Nov 1992
TL;DR: General formulas describing an average number of data errors caused by a single transmission error (EREX), as well as a simplified one for optical fiber transmission systems, are given.
Abstract: The problem of propagation and multiplication of transmission errors during the decoding of a line baseband signal is discussed. General formulas describing an average number of data errors caused by a single transmission error (EREX), as well as a simplified one for optical fiber transmission systems, are given. Examples of EREX computation for different line codes utilized in optical fiber transmission systems, together with suggestions of possible applications of the formula, are presented. >