The 70th Annual George E Morrison Lecture: Australia and China in the World
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered the 70th annual George E Morrison Lecture in the Hall at University House at ANU. Speaking on the theme Australia and China in the world, the Prime Minister also announced Commonwealth funding for a new national centre for research and education on China to be based at ANU.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: The First Months
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) was launched in 2005 to search
for evidence that water persisted on the surface of Mars for a long
period of time. While other Mars missions have shown that water flowed
across the surface in Mars' history, it remains a mystery whether
liquid water existed long enough to provide a habitat for life.
After a year’s cruise and aerobraking to reach its science orbit in
September 2006, the MRO has begun to study the history of water on Mars
with a suite
Powering the Planet: The Challenge for Science in the 21st Century
The supply of secure, clean, sustainable energy is arguably the most important scientific and technical challenge facing humanity in the 21st century. Rising living standards of a growing world population will cause global energy consumption to increase dramatically over the next half century. Within our lifetimes, energy consumption will increase at least two-fold. This additional energy needed is not attainable from long discussed sources, the global appetite for energy is simply too much. Pet
Black Holes and Galaxies
Evidence has been accumulating for several decades that many galaxies harbor central mass concentrations that may be in the form of black holes with masses between a few million to a few billion time the mass of the Sun. Professor Reinhard Genzel discussed measurements over the last two decades, employing high resolution infrared and radio imaging and spectroscopy on large ground-based telescopes that prove the existence of such a massive black hole in the Centre of our Milky Way, beyond any rea
New approaches to structuring government to close the implementation gap
The 85 per cent of Australia that is remote from the main centres of population is a place of recurrent crises leading to ad hoc special interventions. Broken up by state and territory boundaries it is the backyard for the governments of Australia. While it produces the bulk of our tradable wealth it suffers from inability to provide basic services, poverty is common, civil order is precarious, and government lacks legitimacy in the eyes of those who live there. Much of it meets the internationa
Riding the Gravity Wave
Students write a biographical sketch of an artist or athlete who lives on the edge, riding the gravity wave, to better understand how these artists and athletes work with gravity and manage risk. Note: The literacy activities for the Mechanics unit are based on physical themes that have broad application to our experience in the world concepts of rhythm, balance, spin, gravity, levity, inertia, momentum, friction, stress and tension.
Preventing the depressed state
Depression is expected to be the disorder with the highest burden in western countries by 2030. Treating the disease has limited impact, but can prevention of depression help in reducing this burden? Evidence suggests it is possible to prevent the onset of depressive disorders in high-risk groups. So what is prevention and why is it important? Can depression among the population be reduced by using this technique? Professor Cuijpers will answer these questions and provide an overview of the rese
Obamarama & the audacity of evidence for health reform in the United States
Since President Barrack Obama took office early this year, Congress has proposed bold actions to address the ailing United States health care system. In a system that spends $2.4 trillion each year on health care with some of the worst outcomes in the western world, there is enthusiasm to revitalise primary care. Dr Andrew Bazemore, of the Robert Graham Center in Washington DC, will talk about health reform in the US and the renewed role for evidence-based policy making.
Working Towards a Connected Frontline Health System
Commonwealth Government needs to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Australia's health care system. Primary health care provides the first point of contact for patients and is touted as the cornerstone of a more effective health system, but it is undermined by fragmented services. Frontline clinicians need be able to provide comprehensive, coordinated and personalised care to patients, particularly those with multiple serious illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and depression.
Dr Stange
Does pay for performance improve the quality of primary care?
Governments, internationally and in Australia, are increasingly encouraging team-based care in frontline health systems using various incentives. Dr Campbell will provide an overview of the impact of financial incentives on the performance of primary care professionals.
Jane Waldfogel - Early Years Child Development and Social Mobility
Social Mobility has become a major political discussion point in recent years, here Professor Jane Waldfogel from Columbia University, New York, a leading expert on early years child development, discuss the importance of the early years of childhood for life chances and the evidence that policy intervention can make a difference to poor children's development.
Sarah Smith - In Search of the Public Service Ethos
Research by Sarah Smith and colleagues finds evidence that there is a public service ethos and it makes a real difference in the delivery of public services.
Quelles machines pour enseigner la langue ?
This paper first presents a history of Computer-Assisted Learning (CAL), setting its origins in the 1920s with the invention of mechanical learning machines. The use of the computer then allowed the development of different types of language learning activities: comprehension tasks, simulations, etc. However, without the contribution of natural language processing (NLP), these activities are of limited use. We address the problem of the integration of NLP in CALL systems while summing up the cha
3.2 Where is the learning?
What is your experience of work and what did you learn from this experience? This unit will enable you to reflect upon what you have learned from work and support you in improving how you learn at work. It will encourage you to think critically about work-based learning and review your own professional knowledge and skills.
Optical fibres
In this lecture, Professor Tanya Monro will discuss the opportunities for Australia in emerging optical fibre-based technologies.
Sea-level rise,coastal impacts and management implications
People around the world are coming to grips with the potential impacts of climate change.What does climate change mean for our coastlines?
What evidence do we have to suggest that sea-levels will rise? How can we assess the vulnerability of our coastlines
Some ideas about the next generation of image manipulation tools
The massive uptake of digital cameras and advances in the science of image analysis are delivering new tools for digital content creation into the hands of the average user. This development is fueled by the growth of image and video content on the internet and the ability of the technology to process very large volumes of image-based information. The tools range from intelligent image and video editing programs to modelling packages for 3D virtual environments such as Google Earth, Grand Theft
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
The e-learning movement as a process of quality improvement in education
Quality in education has been regognized as an issue that should guide our efforts for improvement for many years. eLearning is the latest attempt to take advantage of developments in technology to improve learning. In this paper, we discuss the possibility of establishing a theory of elearning, the value of design patterns, and the possible scenarios of implementation by higher education institutions attempting to use new technologies in their courses of study. A survey concerning the elearning
Virtual Learning Environments
Is the concept of 'virtual learning environment' just a popular label to describe any educational software? No, the concept includes several interesting features that justify the use of a specific label. We review these features in the first part of our contribution. Do these features guarantee pedagogical effects? No, we review in the second some potential contributions of virtual learning environments.Turning potential effects into actual outcomes is the challenge of designers.
