Engineering and Information Technology Collected Works - Research Publications
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ItemThe Challenge of Cartilage Integration: Understanding a Major Barrier to Chondral Repair(MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC, 2022-02-01)Articular cartilage defects caused by injury frequently lead to osteoarthritis, a painful and costly disease. Despite widely used surgical methods to treat articular cartilage defects and a plethora of research into regenerative strategies as treatments, long-term clinical outcomes are not satisfactory. Failure to integrate repair tissue with native cartilage is a recurring issue in surgical and tissue-engineered strategies, seeing eventual degradation of the regenerated or surrounding tissue. This review delves into the current understanding of why continuous and robust integration with native cartilage is so difficult to achieve. Both the intrinsic limitations of chondrocytes to remodel injured cartilage, and the significant challenges posed by a compromised biomechanical environment are described. Recent scaffold and cell-based techniques to repair cartilage are also discussed, and limitations of existing methods to evaluate integrative repair. In particular, the importance of evaluating the mechanical integrity of the interface between native and repair tissue is highlighted as a meaningful assessment of any strategy to repair this load-bearing tissue. Impact statement The failure to integrate grafts or biomaterials with native cartilage is a major barrier to cartilage repair. An in-depth understanding of the reasons cartilage integration remains a challenge is required to inform cartilage repair strategies. In particular, this review highlights that integration of cartilage repair strategies is frequently assessed in terms of the continuity of tissue, but not the mechanical integrity. Given the load-bearing nature of cartilage, evaluating integration in terms of interfacial strength is essential to assessing the potential success of cartilage repair methods.
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ItemThe use of mobile apps and fitness trackers to promote healthy behaviors during COVID-19: A cross-sectional survey.(Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2022-08)OBJECTIVES: To examine i) the use of mobile apps and fitness trackers in adults during the COVID-19 pandemic to support health behaviors; ii) the use of COVID-19 apps; iii) associations between using mobile apps and fitness trackers, and health behaviors; iv) differences in usage amongst population subgroups. METHODS: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted during June-September 2020. The survey was developed and reviewed independently by co-authors to establish face validity. Associations between using mobile apps and fitness trackers and health behaviors were examined using multivariate logistic regression models. Subgroup analyses were conducted using Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests. Three open-ended questions were included to elicit participants' views; thematic analysis was conducted. RESULTS: Participants included 552 adults (76.7% women; mean age: 38±13.6 years); 59.9% used mobile apps for health, 38.2% used fitness trackers, and 46.3% used COVID-19 apps. Users of mobile apps or fitness trackers had almost two times the odds of meeting aerobic physical activity guidelines compared to non-users (odds ratio = 1.91, 95% confidence interval 1.07 to 3.46, P = .03). More women used health apps than men (64.0% vs 46.8%, P = .004). Compared to people aged 18-44 (46.1%), more people aged 60+ (74.5%) and more people aged 45-60 (57.6%) used a COVID-19 related app (P < .001). Qualitative data suggest people viewed technologies (especially social media) as a 'double-edged sword': helping with maintaining a sense of normalcy and staying active and socially connected, but also having a negative emotional effect stemming from seeing COVID-related news. People also found that mobile apps did not adapt quickly enough to the circumstances caused by COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Use of mobile apps and fitness trackers during the pandemic was associated with higher levels of physical activity, in a sample of educated and likely health-conscious individuals. Future research is needed to understand whether the association between using mobile devices and physical activity is maintained in the long-term.
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ItemExtracting Dynamical Understanding From Neural-Mass Models of Mouse Cortex(FRONTIERS MEDIA SA, 2022-04-25)New brain atlases with high spatial resolution and whole-brain coverage have rapidly advanced our knowledge of the brain's neural architecture, including the systematic variation of excitatory and inhibitory cell densities across the mammalian cortex. But understanding how the brain's microscale physiology shapes brain dynamics at the macroscale has remained a challenge. While physiologically based mathematical models of brain dynamics are well placed to bridge this explanatory gap, their complexity can form a barrier to providing clear mechanistic interpretation of the dynamics they generate. In this work, we develop a neural-mass model of the mouse cortex and show how bifurcation diagrams, which capture local dynamical responses to inputs and their variation across brain regions, can be used to understand the resulting whole-brain dynamics. We show that strong fits to resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data can be found in surprisingly simple dynamical regimes-including where all brain regions are confined to a stable fixed point-in which regions are able to respond strongly to variations in their inputs, consistent with direct structural connections providing a strong constraint on functional connectivity in the anesthetized mouse. We also use bifurcation diagrams to show how perturbations to local excitatory and inhibitory coupling strengths across the cortex, constrained by cell-density data, provide spatially dependent constraints on resulting cortical activity, and support a greater diversity of coincident dynamical regimes. Our work illustrates methods for visualizing and interpreting model performance in terms of underlying dynamical mechanisms, an approach that is crucial for building explanatory and physiologically grounded models of the dynamical principles that underpin large-scale brain activity.
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ItemTechnology-assisted assessment of spasticity: a systematic review(BMC, 2022-12-09)BACKGROUND: Spasticity is defined as "a motor disorder characterised by a velocity dependent increase in tonic stretch reflexes (muscle tone) with exaggerated tendon jerks". It is a highly prevalent condition following stroke and other neurological conditions. Clinical assessment of spasticity relies predominantly on manual, non-instrumented, clinical scales. Technology based solutions have been developed in the last decades to offer more specific, sensitive and accurate alternatives but no consensus exists on these different approaches. METHOD: A systematic review of literature of technology-based methods aiming at the assessment of spasticity was performed. The approaches taken in the studies were classified based on the method used as well as their outcome measures. The psychometric properties and usability of the methods and outcome measures reported were evaluated. RESULTS: 124 studies were included in the analysis. 78 different outcome measures were identified, among which seven were used in more than 10 different studies each. The different methods rely on a wide range of different equipment (from robotic systems to simple goniometers) affecting their cost and usability. Studies equivalently applied to the lower and upper limbs (48% and 52%, respectively). A majority of studies applied to a stroke population (N = 79). More than half the papers did not report thoroughly the psychometric properties of the measures. Analysis identified that only 54 studies used measures specific to spasticity. Repeatability and discriminant validity were found to be of good quality in respectively 25 and 42 studies but were most often not evaluated (N = 95 and N = 78). Clinical validity was commonly assessed only against clinical scales (N = 33). Sensitivity of the measure was assessed in only three studies. CONCLUSION: The development of a large diversity of assessment approaches appears to be done at the expense of their careful evaluation. Still, among the well validated approaches, the ones based on manual stretching and measuring a muscle activity reaction and the ones leveraging controlled stretches while isolating the stretch-reflex torque component appear as the two promising practical alternatives to clinical scales. These methods should be further evaluated, including on their sensitivity, to fully inform on their potential.
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ItemMATLAB Grader for Flexible Automated Assessment and Feedback in Large-Scale Engineering Subjects(AAEE, 2022)CONTEXT: One of the challenges in teaching large classes is the implementation of effective assessment strategies that deliver high quality, timely, and consistent feedback. This is particularly difficult in engineering subjects where assessment tasks involve programming concepts. It has previously been reported that automated assessment tools can be beneficial when there are large numbers of students. The introduction of automated assessment tools can significantly reduce the effort associated with manual marking, eliminate marking inconsistencies arising from having multiple graders, and most importantly, improve student self-learning by providing near immediate feedback. PURPOSE: The objective of this project was to evaluate the implementation of MATLAB Grader as an automated assessment and feedback tool in three engineering subjects across different year levels. Various assessment strategies in the deployment of MATLAB Grader to maximise students learning and engagement will be explored in this paper, including the integration of MATLAB Grader into the University's current Learning Management System (LMS), Canvas. APPROACH: Various deployment and grading strategies for MATLAB Grader were applied across three subjects: a first-year introductory engineering subject, a second-year biomedical engineering subject, and a Masters-level mechanical engineering subject. In the first-year subject, MATLAB programming is introduced as a basic problem-solving tool in the application of engineering concepts, while both the second-year and Masters-level subjects build on this foundation to explore more complex programming concepts and engineering applications. Student outcomes and responses were evaluated for MATLAB Grader assessments set up with unlimited attempts in the first and secondyear subjects, versus those set up with limited attempts with pre-tests in the Masters-level subject. OUTCOMES: Cohort-wide surveys on student experience with MATLAB Grader have yielded positive results in both the first and second-year subjects. Students generally appreciated the ease of access to assessment problems via the LMS and having unlimited attempts for their assessments. However, the quality of feedback provided has been identified as an area for improvement for both subjects. For the Masters-level subject, informal surveys and discussions with students also indicated feedback as a major area for improvement. The limited attempts with pre-tests strategy combined with minor technical issues have resulted in anxiety in a subset of the cohort when making submissions. CONCLUSION: MATLAB Grader offers flexibility in automated assessment and feedback across different disciplinespecific engineering subjects and various year levels. The deployment and effectiveness of the platform is highly dependent on the specific learning objectives and focus of a particular subject.
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ItemImplementation of a Virtual Mechanics Laboratory for a first year undergraduate engineering subject using MATLAB App Designer(Australasian Association for Engineering Education, 2021)CONTEXT: In wake of the COVID-19 situation in 2020, when universities were faced with the transition from face-to-face learning to online delivery, many educators found themselves tasked with having to convert previously classroom-based teaching material to an equivalent online adaption. The transition was particularly challenging in a first-year engineering subject where hands-on laboratory experiments play an important part in the learning of basic mechanics principles as a foundation in engineering. Adaptation of physical hands-on experiments into the form of interactive virtual simulations was necessary to ensure students had an equally comprehensive laboratory experience in the online delivery mode. PURPOSE: This paper describes the development and implementation of a virtual laboratory for a set of mechanics experiments as an alternative to the physical hands-on laboratory. The interactive simulation application replicates the procedures of a physical mass-spring system investigation that applies two fundamental mechanics concepts, resultant forces and principle of moments. APPROACH: The virtual laboratory application is a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) integrated with a program code that models a physical spring system, developed in MATLAB App Designer. Key features of the application include animated outputs and virtual measurement tools that emulates the procedures of the actual experiment and MATLAB modelling that takes into account inconsistencies that may arise in real measurements. For deployment purposes, the simulation program in App Designer was compiled into a standalone executable and run using the MATLAB runtime environment. OUTCOMES: The virtual laboratory activity was successfully conducted during the online workshop classes in the first-year engineering subject at the University of Melbourne across a cohort of over 600 students. The simulation application in the virtual setting achieved similar learning outcomes as the experiments in the physical setting, but the activity was completed in significantly shorter times as compared to the expected physical hands-on. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The virtual experiments offered efficiencies over physical experiments in terms of minimising experimental procedure delays and allowing more focus on concepts and theories but unavoidably compromising other hands-on experience such as equipment set-up, calibration, real-world experimental observation, and troubleshooting. For a more comprehensive virtual laboratory experience, future work to model the virtual environment more accurately to represent real world behaviour is recommended.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableLa jaula de oro: The Border Crossing Journey as Dream and Reality(Project MUSE, 2022)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableDie frühen Fernseharbeiten von Peter Lilienthal. Ein jüdischer Remigrant im Westdeutschland der Nachkriegszeit(Edition Text + Kritik, 2022)
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ItemLearning in the Panopticon: Examining the Potential Impacts of AI Monitoring on Students(ACM, 2022-11-29)In a panopticon, people are intrusively monitored across all areas of their lives. AI monitoring has been ever more widely adopted in ed- ucation, with increasingly intrusive monitoring of students. These changes potentially create ethical harms, but current ethical dis- cussions predominantly focus on legal and governance issues. The concerns of the majority of users—namely students—are neglected. Overlooking students’ concerns further increases their vulnerabil- ity. We use a student-centred and speculative approach through the Story Completion Method (SCM) to explore how students would po- tentially respond to intrusive AI monitoring in a higher education setting. Our study included 71 participants who elaborated on the story stems we provided to them. Through a blending of thematic analysis coding and the techniques of developing grounded the- ory, we reveal that the common responses of students to extensive AI monitoring included impacts on personal psychology, changed behaviour, and cognition. There are likely major disruptions to personal autonomy, identity and educational relationships. If we are to avoid a future ‘big brother’ classroom, further investigations using HCI methods are critical to understanding how to protect students in AI-dominated learning.
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ItemCompetencies of Cybersecurity Leaders: A Review and Research Agenda(Association for Information Systems, 2022)Increasingly, large organisations are turning to cybersecurity leaders such as chief information security officers (CISOs) to protect their information resources against attack. The role of the cybersecurity leader is distinct from other cybersecurity professionals in its need for strategy and collaboration, and distinct from other business leaders in its need to maintain situational awareness against active adversaries. Because the role is so new, however, organisations and educators continue to conceptualise it as a senior technological role rather than a strategic, business-oriented role. This representation leaves open a gap between what is viewed as ‘business’ and what is viewed as ‘IT’ – a gap that can leave organisations vulnerable to attack. In this systematic review, we examine the literature on cybersecurity leaders to develop a picture of the competencies required. Following analysis, we propose a preliminary matrix of competencies required for cybersecurity leaders. We conclude with an agenda for further research.