Archeological excavation monitoring using dense stereo matching techniques

Several new tools to obtain three-dimensional information from unorganized image sets are now available for the public use. The main advantage of this software, which is based on dense stereo matching, is the possibility to generate 3D content without the need of high-cost hardware (e.g. 3D scanning devices). Nevertheless, their use in real-world application domains (like cultural heritage) is still not very diffused, due to the non-straightforward usability of the raw data produced. In this paper, we investigate the use of automatic dense stereo reconstruction tools for the monitoring of an excavation site. A methodology for the effective acquisition and processing of data is presented. In addition, the results of the data assessment demonstrate the repeatability of the data acquisition process, which is a key factor when qualitative analysis is performed. The use of three-dimensional data is integrated in an open source mesh processing tool, thus showing that a spatio-temporal analysis can be performed in a very intuitive way using off-the-shelf or free/open digital tools. Moreover, the use of peculiar rendering and the creation of snapshots from arbitrary points of view increase the amount of documentation data, and suggest a perfect integration of data produced with dense stereo matching in the future standard documentation for excavation monitoring.     

Discourses of plagiarism: moralist,proceduralist, developmental and inter-textual approaches

This paper reconstructs prevalent academic discourses of student plagiarism: moralism, proceduralism, development, and writing/inter-textuality. It approaches the discourses from three aspects: intention, interpretation and the nature of the academic community. It argues that the assumptions of the moralistic approach regarding suspect intention, the transparency of interpretation, and the homogeneous nature of the academic community are in effect sustained by discourses of proceduralism and development. This results, first, in the simplistic rendition of student identities as honest/dishonest, and, second, in the proposal of or acquiescence to the triad of prevention, detection and punishment. The paper concludes that radical re-conceptualization of plagiarism may only be discovered in the discourse of inter-textuality where intention, interpretation and the academic community are construed as social practices concerning the negotiation of various identities and values – those of students as well as those of academics.     

Accounting for discrepancies in teachers’ attitudes towards evidence use and actual instances of evidence use in schools

While beneficial, the consistent and regular use of evidence to improve teaching and learning is proving difficult to achieve in practice. This paper attempts to shed new light on this issue by examining the question: ‘If using evidence to inform teaching practice is rational behaviour, why aren’t all teachers engaged in it?’ It first explores whether the evidence-informed practice (EIP) beliefs and perspectives of teachers align with their evidence-use behaviours; second it assesses what factors prevent teachers/schools that wish to engage in EIP from doing so. Using a Gradient Boosted Tree predictive model to analyse data from a survey of 696 practitioners in 79 schools, the findings suggest that, to increase EIP, school leaders need to: (1) promote the vision for evidence use; (2) illustrate how research enhances aspects of teaching and learning; and (3) establish effective learning environments. School leaders’ broader commitment to EIP, and the interplay between EIP and accountability are also explored.