Engineering and Information Technology Collected Works - Research Publications
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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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ItemNo Preview AvailableMolecular Insights into Nanoengineered Metal–Phenolic Networks( 2023-03-15)Oral presentation, PhD Completion Seminar, The University of Melbourne
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ItemNovel dynamic fuzzy Decision-Making framework for COVID-19 vaccine dose recipients (vol 37, pg.no: 147, 2022)(ELSEVIER, 2023-02-25)The authors regret that there was a mistake with the affiliations of the authors ‘A.H. Alamoodi, O.S. Albahri, A.S. Albahri’. The correct affiliations are updated as above. The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.
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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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ItemEnergy valley optimizer: a novel metaheuristic algorithm for global and engineering optimization(NATURE PORTFOLIO, 2023-01-05)In this paper, Energy Valley Optimizer (EVO) is proposed as a novel metaheuristic algorithm inspired by advanced physics principles regarding stability and different modes of particle decay. Twenty unconstrained mathematical test functions are utilized in different dimensions to evaluate the proposed algorithm's performance. For statistical purposes, 100 independent optimization runs are conducted to determine the statistical measurements, including the mean, standard deviation, and the required number of objective function evaluations, by considering a predefined stopping criterion. Some well-known statistical analyses are also used for comparative purposes, including the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Wilcoxon, and Kruskal-Wallis analysis. Besides, the latest Competitions on Evolutionary Computation (CEC), regarding real-world optimization, are also considered for comparing the results of the EVO to the most successful state-of-the-art algorithms. The results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can provide competitive and outstanding results in dealing with complex benchmarks and real-world problems.
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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.