Ka C. Chan

A Framework for Analysis of the Local Dependencies of a Regional Undergraduate Program

In regional Victoria, Australia there has been a steady decline in Information Technology graduates while large organisations within the region are experiencing a greater demand for these skill sets. What is unknown is the dependency organisations within the region have on the supply of these graduates. This paper examines potential quantitative (Rank Correlation and Markov chain) and qualitative (Importance-Performance Analysis) methods and proposes that to address this dependency the development of a framework encompassing all three methods could be used. The results will provide a more rigorous set of findings than using one method alone and could be used as an evidence base for organisational planning.

Building an end-to-end ISP broadband infrastructure as an advanced networking subject

This paper presents the development of an unsupervised, project‐based networking subject at the Bendigo campus of La Trobe University. With a view of producing work‐ready IT graduates, the advanced subject requires students to build an end‐to‐end ADSL broadband infrastructure, commonly used by Internet service providers. Unlike other project‐based subjects, the subject content is well structured, with documentation prepared for both students and lecturers. Seven milestones are clearly defined to ensure students make steady progress over the semester. This paper describes the subject delivery method, milestones, and the setup of equipment for experiments. The subject gives students the opportunity to gain in‐depth knowledge of how ADSL services are provided. This unsupervised project‐based subject is designed to meet the challenge faced by many universities to deliver sustainable, cost effective, and yet high quality subjects for a very small number of students.

Applications of the cumulative rate to kidney cancer statistics in Australia

Cancer incidence and mortality statistics in two populations are usually compared by using either the age-standardised rate or the cumulative risk by a certain age. We argue that the cumulative rate is a superior measure because it obviates the need for a standard population, and is not open to misinterpretation as is the case for cumulative risk. Then we illustrate the application of the cumulative rate by analysing incidence and mortality data for kidney cancer in Australia using the cumulative rate. Kidney cancer, which is also known as malignant neoplasm of kidney, is one of the less common cancers in Australia. In 2012, approximately 2.5% of all new cases of cancer were kidney cancer, and approximately 2.1% of all cancer related deaths in Australia were due to kidney cancer. There is variation in incidence and mortality by sex, age, and geographical location in Australia. We examine how the cumulative rate performs in measuring the variation of this disease across such sub-populations. This is part of our e ort to promote the use of the cumulative rate as an alternative to the age-standardised rates or cumulative risk. In addition we hope that this statistical investigation will contribute to the aetiology of the disease from an Australian perspective.

A networking laboratory using an integrated mixture of physical equipment and simulators

This article presents the design and development of a networking laboratory that integrates a combination of physical networking equipment with the open source GNS3 network simulators for on‐campus, blended‐learning, and potentially online delivery of networking classes. This transformative work has resulted in a significant increase in laboratory capacity, thus reducing the need for repeating classes. The integrated platform offers students both hands‐on experience using real equipment, and the convenience of easy setup and reconfiguration using simulators. An example practical exercise in setting up an OSPF/BGP network is presented to illustrate the experimental design before and after the integration of GNS3 simulators. In summary, we describe the infrastructure, the integrated platform and systems, network design and experiment design; and the learning and teaching experiences of using GNS3 in classes.

When probability trees don't work

Tree diagrams arise naturally in courses on probability at high school or university, even at an elementary level. Often they are used to depict outcomes and associated probabilities from a sequence of games. A subtle issue is whether or not the Markov condition holds in the sequence of games. We present two examples that illustrate the importance of this issue. Suggestions as to how these examples may be used in a classroom are offered.