ISim - a realistic intubation simulator using Virtual Reality technology. Simulation training has been adopted widely in aerospace, nuclear power and the military, but simulation in medicine has a relatively short history. This research will drive Australia to the forefront of the medical simulation industry. Effective management and treatment of patients is a priority in health care. Medical resources are required to ensure that staff are trained efficiently and effectively on critical medical ....ISim - a realistic intubation simulator using Virtual Reality technology. Simulation training has been adopted widely in aerospace, nuclear power and the military, but simulation in medicine has a relatively short history. This research will drive Australia to the forefront of the medical simulation industry. Effective management and treatment of patients is a priority in health care. Medical resources are required to ensure that staff are trained efficiently and effectively on critical medical procedures. The high growth of claims for medical accidents and the accompanying rise in medical insurance adds to the impetus for major hospitals to demonstrate they are using advanced methods for training. The community will benefit from better-trained medical staff, and a better standard of healthcare. Read moreRead less
An Intelligent Software-AGENT: Innovates Adaptive Workplace eTraining Tools. Maintaining well skilled and knowledgeable employees is key to sustaining our competitive advantage through smarter information use of digital technologies. By reviewing current government training practice and IT governance, the Project Team will share valuable insight enabling multi-disciplinary collaboration for effective information systems development. Access to our individual virtual learning space is critical; th ....An Intelligent Software-AGENT: Innovates Adaptive Workplace eTraining Tools. Maintaining well skilled and knowledgeable employees is key to sustaining our competitive advantage through smarter information use of digital technologies. By reviewing current government training practice and IT governance, the Project Team will share valuable insight enabling multi-disciplinary collaboration for effective information systems development. Access to our individual virtual learning space is critical; this Project places Australia at the centre of virtual reality and emerging Web 2.0 technologies in the race to empower the global reach of an individual's access to adaptable eLearning tools and the unyielding intellectual thirst for new learning spaces for the next decade.Read moreRead less
Risk Management using Agent-Based Virtual Environments. Since September 11, terrorism and its prevention has been high on the agenda of modern governments. On reflection, there were many signs that could have alerted US government officials to what was about to transpire and saved many lives. But much of the knowledge needed to detect and handle such situations can not be learnt from a book. Many things we need to experience in order to learn. This project combines the investigators' expertise i ....Risk Management using Agent-Based Virtual Environments. Since September 11, terrorism and its prevention has been high on the agenda of modern governments. On reflection, there were many signs that could have alerted US government officials to what was about to transpire and saved many lives. But much of the knowledge needed to detect and handle such situations can not be learnt from a book. Many things we need to experience in order to learn. This project combines the investigators' expertise in knowledge based, agent based and natural language fields to produce an interactive virtual environment for the user to engage with.Read moreRead less
Crisis management simulation: developing a methodology for transforming communication response. The ability of any large corporation or public institution to handle a crisis can have major economic, environmental, social or cultural consequences. For the Australian Defence Force (ADF), effective crisis management communication can literally mean life or death. This project merges cutting-edge digital games technology with applied drama techniques to produce a crisis management game to simulate ....Crisis management simulation: developing a methodology for transforming communication response. The ability of any large corporation or public institution to handle a crisis can have major economic, environmental, social or cultural consequences. For the Australian Defence Force (ADF), effective crisis management communication can literally mean life or death. This project merges cutting-edge digital games technology with applied drama techniques to produce a crisis management game to simulate conflict and crisis scenarios. Working closely with the ADF to better understand organisational communication under extreme pressure, this new approach will build teamwork and break down barriers to effective crisis management. The methodology developed will have global application to public and private organisations.
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On-line training for small business: Creating a best practice model. By evaluating the current training delivery methods used to inform small business managers this project will provide a best practice model to meet the specific training needs of those working in this sector. This model will encourage increased training participation by small business managers and provide the impetus for development of new on-line learning options. The project outcomes offer the opportunity for growth and deve ....On-line training for small business: Creating a best practice model. By evaluating the current training delivery methods used to inform small business managers this project will provide a best practice model to meet the specific training needs of those working in this sector. This model will encourage increased training participation by small business managers and provide the impetus for development of new on-line learning options. The project outcomes offer the opportunity for growth and development in small businesses. In turn, small business expansion offers Australia greater economic growth and at the local level also increases employment opportunities.Read moreRead less
Reconnecting Disaffected Youth through Successful Transition to Work. According to the ABS (2006) more than 15% of Australia's youth receives employment benefits at a cost that the Department of Family and Community Services (2000) estimated between $44 000 and $46 000/person/year. High rates of offending and repeat arrests are prevalent within the group at a cost to the youth concerned and to the nation. The Productivity Commission estimated in 2004 that outlay to keep someone in prison was bet ....Reconnecting Disaffected Youth through Successful Transition to Work. According to the ABS (2006) more than 15% of Australia's youth receives employment benefits at a cost that the Department of Family and Community Services (2000) estimated between $44 000 and $46 000/person/year. High rates of offending and repeat arrests are prevalent within the group at a cost to the youth concerned and to the nation. The Productivity Commission estimated in 2004 that outlay to keep someone in prison was between $67,000 and $85,0004 per year. We seek to short-circuit the human and economic costs of the failure cycle by improving individuals' capacities to gain and retain work, and to have healthy lifestyles and positive self-concept, and thereby to contribute to their positive participation in society. Read moreRead less
Embodied Virtues and Expertise. The Project will provide a theoretical framework for understanding expertise. Crucially, the framework will provide an account that explains the motivation of experts, and allows for the virtues of experts to be analysed and promoted. The framework will thus fill a perceived gap in professional pedagogical disciplines such as Education, Nursing Education, and Medicine, in which the concept of expertise is central, but for which an adequate theoretical framework of ....Embodied Virtues and Expertise. The Project will provide a theoretical framework for understanding expertise. Crucially, the framework will provide an account that explains the motivation of experts, and allows for the virtues of experts to be analysed and promoted. The framework will thus fill a perceived gap in professional pedagogical disciplines such as Education, Nursing Education, and Medicine, in which the concept of expertise is central, but for which an adequate theoretical framework of expertise is lacking. Academics and practitioners from these disciplines will participate in conferences and workshops run under the Project.Read moreRead less
Virtual Reality Training Kit for Arc Welders. The aim of this research is to develop a virtual reality training package that enables welders to obtain basic manipulative skills in a safe environment before they are exposed to additional welding hazards. The research addresses the problem of welder training in a novel manner by utilizing a virtual reality simulator to allow the welding trainee to develop his manipulative and functional skills prior to attempting real welding tasks. An additional ....Virtual Reality Training Kit for Arc Welders. The aim of this research is to develop a virtual reality training package that enables welders to obtain basic manipulative skills in a safe environment before they are exposed to additional welding hazards. The research addresses the problem of welder training in a novel manner by utilizing a virtual reality simulator to allow the welding trainee to develop his manipulative and functional skills prior to attempting real welding tasks. An additional feature of the package is the internetworking facility that will allow monitoring and feedback of results to trainers. This is an advantage especially for remote communitiesRead moreRead less
Context, Judgement and Informal Learning at Work: An Investigation of Factors Crucial for Enhancing Performance. This project investigates learning that enables people to perform well the demanding aspects of their occupations. Detailed case studies of critical incidents in a range of workplaces will be constructed and the learning or otherwise by key players involved in these incidents will be elucidated and analysed. These findings will test and refine a theory of learning at work that concept ....Context, Judgement and Informal Learning at Work: An Investigation of Factors Crucial for Enhancing Performance. This project investigates learning that enables people to perform well the demanding aspects of their occupations. Detailed case studies of critical incidents in a range of workplaces will be constructed and the learning or otherwise by key players involved in these incidents will be elucidated and analysed. These findings will test and refine a theory of learning at work that conceptualises it, at its best, as a growing capacity to make appropriate context-sensitive judgements. Developing a sound theory of workplace learning is very important because, though it is currently a major policy focus, received theories are of limited explanatory value.Read moreRead less
Workplace participatory practices: Learning through and for work. The project aims to examine the relationship between individuals? participation in and their learning through paid work. This is warranted because current conceptions of learning throughout working lives fail to fully account for the reciprocal processes of workplace affordances and individual engagement that together shape participation in and learning from work. The study seeks to illuminate participatory practices across differ ....Workplace participatory practices: Learning through and for work. The project aims to examine the relationship between individuals? participation in and their learning through paid work. This is warranted because current conceptions of learning throughout working lives fail to fully account for the reciprocal processes of workplace affordances and individual engagement that together shape participation in and learning from work. The study seeks to illuminate participatory practices across different kinds of workplaces and also those within workplaces for different categories of workers. The procedures comprise an investigation of the participation in and learning of 6 groups of workers employed in distinct kinds of work over an eighteen month period.Read moreRead less