Looking after your brain - new approaches to an age-old problem.
Professor Robert Vink is the NRF Chair of Neurosurgical Research and Head, School of Medical Sciences. This lecture will examine some of the revolutionary new approaches being developed for brain protection in both the young and the old, and how we as individuals can incorporate some of these measures into our everyday lives.
Sponsorship: creating meanings and delivering value
The evolution of sponsorship in recent times has been remarkable. From a peripheral and relatively small scale marketing communication technique, it has grown into a major marketing strategic tool, particularly for global brands. More often than not, however, its use remains haphazard and its evaluation sketchy. To date, academic research in this area continues to uncover as many questions as it provides answers.
How analysis of mum's and dad's DNA can predict and enhance pregnancy success
The University of Adelaide’s Robinson Institute is on the brink of enabling a quantum leap forward in the care of pregnant women and their babies.The Institute’s research has revealed that subtle variations in specific gene sequences in a mother, father or their baby indicate the mother is more likely to suffer pregnancy complications.
Easier Pills to Swallow Natural digestive system medicines are emerging with a previously elusive in
Alternative Medicines have never had a popularity problem. They're currently used by almost half of all Australian households to treat a vast array of ailments. But credibility has been in short supply, with robust scientific rationales and evidence of effectiveness typically conspicuous in their absence. New research at the University of Adelaide, however, is going some way to changing that. A large number of naturally sourced agents known as bioactives have been shown to have the potential to
Defrosting Gondwana - How electromagnetic "eyes" are piercing the Antarctic ice to reveal a former s
Gondwana was the Earth’s last great “supercontinent” – a vast tectonic amalagamation that included Australia, Antarctica and India juxtaposed in East Gondwana around 500 million years ago.
Although East Gondwana’s amalgamations have been broadly understood for some time, the dense Antarctic ice cap has kept many details well hidden. Research at the University of Adelaide, however, appears to be changing that.
The Mabo Case: Its Significance for Australia and the World
A judicial revolution occurred in 1992 when the High Court discarded
the doctrine of terra nullius in the Mabo case. The ruling had
repercussions for Indigenous peoples within Australia and around the
world, especially in Canada, New Zealand, and the United States.
In this lecture presented by the Centre for Aboriginal Economic
Policy Research (CAEPR), ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences,
Professor Peter Russell considers the background and consequences of
the Mabo case, contextualising
Closing the Gaps in Indigenous Mortality & Housing: Perspectives from the Social Sciences
In delivering an apology to the Stolen Generations the Prime
Minister set a concrete target to halve the gap in infant mortality
rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children within a decade.
Related to this is a subsequent declared need to improve housing
conditions for Indigenous Australians with the establishment of a
housing policy commission as the first step. In this forum, leading
academics discuss the scale and nature of the issues facing the new
government as it attempts to achie
Around 1919 & in Mexico City
Mexico furnished the era of social and cultural change that started ‘right around 1910’ with its first popular revolution. By 1919 Mexico City had become a refuge for the world’s radicals. To a despairing world, it offered a unique site to safely experiment with all sorts of enchantments.
In this culturally promiscuous capital not only the meaning of Mexico was at stake, but also the meanings of major modernist concepts –revolution, the popular, avant-garde, authenticity,
Introduction There is a widespread perception in the West that we live in a secular age, an age in which religion is at best an optional extra, if not a false delusion completely out of place. However, religion still arouses passion and causes controversy; it controls and transforms lives. An informed understanding of the contemporary world thus requires an appreciation of the role of religion in shaping ideas, world-views and actions that have an impact on the social as well as on the personal life of th
Internet Scout Project
The Dung File is a collection of references relevant to the archaeological and paleoenvironmental analysis of coprolites and latrine fills, with a focus on North American research. Compiled by the University of Alberta's Alwynne B. Beaudoin, the Dung File includes ten sections: four to do with deposit origin; one devoted to theses; two on modern comparative studies; another listing articles from the popular press; and two broader categories including a section on procedural and analytical techni
Internet Scout Project
iEARN is an international nonprofit organization that connects over 15,000 schools in 100 countries through Internet networks. Using the Internet and other communications technologies, students and teachers conduct collaborative educational projects that meet curricular goals in Arts / Literature / Language Arts, Social Studies, and Math / Science / Environment. Participants choose from over 120 projects, which are designed and facilitated by teachers and students with the purpose of developing
Enabling Efficient Real Time User Modeling in On-line Campus
User modelling in on-line distance learning is an important research
field focusing on two important aspects: describing and predicting students actions
and intentions as well as adapting the learning process to students features,
habits, interests, preferences, and so on. The aim is to greatly stimulate
and improve the learning experience. In this context, user modeling implies a
constant processing and analysis of user interaction data during long-term learning
activities, which produces l
Efficient Embedding of Information and Knowledge into CSCL Applications
This study aims to explore two crucial aspects of collaborative work
and learning: the importance of enabling CSCL applications, on the one hand,
to capture and structure the information generated by group activity and, on the
other hand, to extract the relevant knowledge in order to provide learners and
tutors with efficient awareness and support as regards collaboration. To this
end, we first identify and define the main types of information generated in online
group activity and then propose
Improvement of JXTA protocols for supporting reliable distributed applications in P2P systems
In any distributed application, the communication between the distributed processes/nodes of the distributed systems is essential for both reliability and efficiency matters. In this work we address this issue for distributed applications based on JXTA protocols. After a careful examination of the current version of JXTA protocols, we observed the need for improving the original JXTA protocols, such as pipe services, to ensure reliable communication between peer nodes and the discovery and prese
Internet Scout Project
The purpose of the Space Launch Initiative (SLI) is "to identify feasible options for future NASA space transportation and enable a decision regarding whether the agency should proceed into full-scale development of a new reusable launch vehicle system." This news page has information on current developments, fact sheets, and vehicle concepts. Several technology summaries describe the various areas of research for the SLI. For example, using neural networks in the vehicle's control and navigatio
Going Beyond the Problem Given: How Human Tutors Use Post-Solution Discussions to Support Transfer
Two studies investigated the role and effectiveness of post-solution, reflective dialogues in physics tutorials. The first study investigated the instructional roles of post-solution discussions, their relationship to problem-solving discussions, and features that predict learning. Seven tutors individually guided 15 students as they worked on problems in the Andes physics tutoring system. Tutors adapted the post-solution discussions to students' ability levels and their performance on the curre
Benefits of Virtual Characters in Computer Based Learning Environments: Claims and Evidence
Pedagogical theory of today gives high priority to social components of learning. Within the field of computer supported learning there are many attempts to acknowledge this. One approach involves the addition of virtual characters to electronic learning environments. Such character enhanced systems are the focus of the present article. Firstly, a systematic overview is given of pedagogical benefits that have been proposed in the literature regarding character enhancement of electronic learning
Introduction This course aims to develop skills of thinking systematically and creatively about issues of complexity. It enables you to appreciate and manage these issues in ways that can lead to improvement. It adopts the most recent and innovative advances in systems thinking and applies them to topical areas of concern. It is designed to help build your capacity to manage complexity and to develop a deep understanding of contemporary systems thinking. It may be helpful to study OpenLearn units T551_1 <
Introduction This unit looks at how parents encourage the development of new skills in their children in the informal setting of the home. The use of video observation of small children by psychologists is analysed and some of the key concepts in developmental psychology that explain teaching and learning interactions between parents/caregivers and their children are explained. This material is from our archive and is an adapted extract from Child development in families, schools and society
7.349 From Molecules to Behavior: Synaptic Neurophysiology (MIT)
Like transistors in a computer, synapses perform complex computations and connect the brain's non-linear processing elements (neurons) into a functional circuit. Understanding the role of synapses in neuronal computation is essential to understanding how the brain works. In this course students will be introduced to cutting-edge research in the field of synaptic neurophysiology. The course will cover such topics as synapse formation, synaptic function, synaptic plasticity, the roles of synapses
