Arthur Sale

The Impact of Mandatory Policies on ETD Acquisition

This paper analyzes the data now available in Australias coordinated Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) gateway to show the impact of high-level institutional policy decisions on population of the individual repositories. The paper shows that just like research article repositories, voluntary ETD deposition results in repositories collecting less than 12% of the available theses, whereas mandatory policies are well accepted and cause deposit rates to rise towards 100%. Modeling of the PhD and Master process in Australia is also carried out to indicate the delays and liabilities to be expected if mandatory policies are applied only to newly enrolled candidates.

The implementation of case statements in Pascal

This paper examines the probable implementations of the case statement in Pascal, and analyses their consequences. A particular implementation for the Burroughs B6700/7700 series illustrates the necessary investigations. The techniques, although not new, are brought together to serve as a stimulus to improving the implementation of case‐statements in other compilers for Pascal, and to provide ideas for implementors. The architectural limitations of even high‐level computers in implementing the case statement are briefly discussed.

The Patchwork Mandate

This article is written mainly for repository managers who are at a loss as to what policies they (or their universities or research institutions) ought to deploy in order to ensure that most, if not all, of the institutions scholarly output is deposited in the institutions repository. In essence, there are only two pure policies: requiring (mandating) researchers to deposit, and relying on voluntary (spontaneous) participation, with or without encouragement. This short article describes a third policy that provides a transitional path between the two.

A new model for classifying DNA code inspired by neural networks and FSA

This paper introduces a new model of classifiers CL(V,E,l,r) designed for classifying DNA sequences and combining the flexibility of neural networks and the generality of finite state automata. Our careful and thorough verification demonstrates that the classifiers CL(V,E,l,r) are general enough and will be capable of solving all classification tasks for any given DNA dataset. We develop a minimisation algorithm for these classifiers and include several open questions which could benefit from contributions of various researchers throughout the world.

Midwater acoustic modeling for multibeam sonar simulation

Simulation and modeling software has been developed to generate synthetic midwater multibeam data. Essentially, the simulator can be considered as a virtual test tank. In order to develop multibeam data analysis methods for fisheries research, it is essential to have a variety of test data sets available, which are ground truthed, georeferenced and corrected for vessel motion. Since equipment and ship time are expensive and data quality not always guaranteed, the simulator provides an effective alternative. The seabed and any objects in the water column such as fish and fish schools can be defined in a 3‐dimensional space. A specification for a generic linear array multibeam sonar and its position in space and time can be chosen. The acoustic model implements the technique of acoustic ray‐tracing to obtain the pressure at the transducer face, which is converted to individual samples by modeling the working of a digital multibeam system. Beamforming is performed on the fly, and both raw and beamformed comp...

Promoter prediction using physico-chemical properties of DNA

The ability to locate promoters within a section of DNA is known to be a very difficult and very important task in DNA analysis. We document an approach that incorporates the concept of DNA as a complex molecule using several models of its physico-chemical properties. A support vector machine is trained to recognise promoters by their distinctive physical and chemical properties. We demonstrate that by combining models, we can improve upon the classification accuracy obtained with a single model. We also show that by examining how the predictive accuracy of these properties varies over the promoter, we can reduce the number of attributes needed. Finally, we apply this method to a real-world problem. The results demonstrate that such an approach has significant merit in its own right. Furthermore, they suggest better results from a planned combined approach to promoter prediction using both physico-chemical and sequence based techniques.

Strings and the sequence abstraction in Pascal

This paper examines the sequence abstraction known in Pascal as the ‘file’, and shows how sequences of characters (‘strings’ in the SNOBOL sense) may be cleanly fitted into Pascal‐like languages. The specific problems of providing the suggested facilities as an experimental extension to Pascal are examined.

Scope and Pascal

1. INTRODUCTION In the February 1979 issue of SIGPLAN Notices, David Watt gave an Extende d Attribute Grammar for Pascal. I would like to draw attention to an interpretation in that paper that I believe to be incorrect and to point ou t what the definition of Pascal actually says. The example on page 61 of that issue gives the following program : program ; type U = <typel> ; procedure ; type T = U ; U = <type2 > begin end ; begi n end. David Watt states that he interprets this program to imply that the type T denotes <typel>. A number of other people have made the same assumption a t other times .

Implementing Strings in Pascal - Again

Following an earlier proposal that strings be realized in Pascal using the existing sequence abstraction, two simulating implementations which support the concept via a package have been written. This short paper addresses two important questions regarding such implementations which are not fully covered by Bishops paper3.

Factors influencing undergraduate students’ acceptance of a haptic interface for learning gross anatomy

Purpose This study aims to evaluate factors influencing undergraduate students’ acceptance of a computer-aided learning resource using the Phantom Omni haptic stylus to enable rotation, touch and kinaesthetic feedback and display of names of three-dimensional (3D) human anatomical structures on a visual display. Design/methodology/approach The software was developed using the software development life cycle, and was tested by students enrolled in various bachelor degrees at three stages of development within the technology acceptance model, action research and design research methodology frameworks, using mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative analysis. Findings The learning system was generally well-accepted, with usefulness (72 ± 18, mean ± standard deviation, 0-100 visual analogue scale) rated higher (p < 0.001) than ease of use (57 ± 22). Ease of use ratings declined across the three versions as modules were added and complexity increased. Students with prior experience with 3D interfaces had higher intention to use the system, and scored higher on identification of anatomical structures. Students with greater kinaesthetic learning preferences tended to rate the system higher. Haptic feedback was considered the best aspect of the system, but students wanted higher spatial resolution and lower response times. Originality/value Previous research relating to haptic devices in medical and health sciences has largely focused on advanced trainees learning surgical or procedural skills. The present research suggests that incorporating haptic feedback into virtual anatomical models may provide useful multisensory information in learning anatomy at the undergraduate level.