COMP7308 - Sem 2 2008 - St Lucia - Internal

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Printed: 17 July 2008, 11:00AM
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1. General Course Information

1.1 Course Details

Course Code: COMP7308 Course Title: Operating Systems Architecture
Coordinating Unit: School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering
Semester: Semester 2, 2008    Mode: Internal
Level: Postgraduate Coursework
Location: St Lucia
Number of Units: 2    Contact Hours Per Week: 2L1W1T1P
Pre-Requisites: COMP7306
Incompatible: COMP3300 or COMP3301 or COMP7303
Course Description: Implementation and design techniques for operating systems. Core material includes advanced kernel-level and device driver programming techniques, how operating systems principles are realised in practice, principles and practice of operating system support for distributed and real-time computing, case studies and different approaches to operating system design and implementation, including different models of software ownership.
Assumed Background: Strong C programming skills and a good understanding of the interface between low-level and high-level concepts are essential for this course. If you have a weak pass in COMP2303 (or otherwise have poor C skills), this course is not recommended.

1.2 Course Introduction

This course aims to give you a thorough grounding in how operating systems are implemented including design alternatives, and low-level coding (kernel, device drivers, hardware-software interface). The course is practically-oriented and contains a mix of illustration of principles using a specific relatively simple implementation and examples of real systems.

1.3 Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Professor Neil Bergmann
Phone: 3365 1182     Email: n.bergmann@uq.edu.au
Campus: St Lucia Building: General Purpose South (Map)   Room: 614
Consultation: Please email for an appointment

Lecturer:  Peter Waldeck
Phone: 52185     Email: waldeck@itee.uq.edu.au Homepage: www.itee.uq.edu.au/~waldeck/
Campus: St Lucia Building: General Purpose South (Map)   Room: 613
Consultation: To be announced in the first week of lectures.


1.4 Timetable

Timetables are available on mySI-net.

Additional Timetable Information
The Lecture/Tutorial session will be a 3 hour session 9-12 each Wednesday, starting at 9am Wednesday 23 July.
 
This 3-hour session will be broken up into theory lectures (mostly by me), practical lectures to assist with assignments (mostly by Peter Waldeck), and maybe some solutions to some typical exam-type problems (again mostly by me).
 
The order in which this material is presented, and the length of each section will vary from week to week, so you should plan to attend for the whole 3-hours ession each week, starting in week 1.  We'll have some reasonable breaks between sections, but these won't always be at the same time.
 
There will also be a two-hour practical session each week to assist with the programming assignments.  You should sign up for one of the sessions using my SInet (sign-on for this course opens 8am, Monday 14 July).
 
If there are available spaces in sessions other than the one you've signed up to, you can attend more than one session per week.
 
Mostly, the practical session will be for one-one consultation with the tutor, or to work through some programmed exercises in preparation for the assignments.
 
These practical sessions also start in week 1 - wednesday 23/7 or Thursday 24/7.

2. Aims, Objectives & Graduate Attributes

2.1 Course Aims

This course aims to give you a thorough understanding of implementation issues for operating systems, including:
  1. design principles and alternatives including
    1. monolithic systems versus microkernels
    2. distributed systems
    3. security
  2. implementation decisions and alternatives including
    1. efficiency versus maintainability
    2. low-level versus high-level languages
    3. portability versus speed
  3. low-level coding in C
  4. a detailed understanding of one relatively simple system
  5. an understanding of how real systems may differ from a simple example

2.2 Learning Objectives

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

1  Make critical judgments about design alternatives for operating systems.
2  Make design decisions for low-level operating systems components at the kernel and device driver level.
3  Do low-level programming in C.
4  Understand the relationship between the operating system and the hardware environment in which it runs.
5  Understand various models of code ownership including public-domain, free and proprietary software.

2.3. Graduate Attributes

Successfully completing this course will contribute to the recognition of your attainment of the following UQ (Postgrad Coursework) graduate attributes:

GRADUATE ATTRIBUTELEARNING OBJECTIVES
A. IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF THE FIELD OF STUDY
A2. A broad understanding of the field of study, including how other disciplines relate to the field of study.  
A3. A comprehensive and in-depth knowledge in the field of study. 
A5. An international perspective on the field of study. 
A7. An appreciation of the link between theory and practice. 
B. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
B1. The ability to collect, analyse and organise information and ideas and to convey those ideas clearly and fluently, in both written and spoken forms. 
B2. The ability to interact effectively with others in order to work towards a common outcome. 
B3. The ability to select and use the appropriate level, style and means of communication. 
B4. The ability to engage effectively and appropriately with information and communication technologies. 
B5. The ability to practise as part of an interdisciplinary team. 
C. INDEPENDENCE AND CREATIVITY
C2. The ability to work and learn independently and effectively. 
C3. The ability to generate ideas and adapt innovatively to changing environments.1
C5. The ability to formulate and investigate problems, create solutions, innovate and improve current practices. 
C6. The abilities and skills that provide a foundation for future leadership roles. 
D. CRITICAL JUDGEMENT
D2. The ability to apply critical reasoning to issues through independent thought and informed judgement.1, 2
D4. The ability to process material and to critically analyse and integrate information from a wide range of sources. 
D5. The ability to evaluate opinions, make decisions and to reflect critically on the justifications for decisions using an evidence-based approach. 
E. ETHICAL AND SOCIAL UNDERSTANDING
E1. An understanding of social and civic responsibility.5
E3. An appreciation of the philosophical and social contexts of a discipline. 
E4. A knowledge and respect of ethics and ethical standards in relation to a major area of study.5
E5. A knowledge of other cultures and times and an appreciation of cultural diversity. 
E7. The ability to work effectively and sensitively across all areas of society. 
E8. An understanding of and respect for the roles and expertise of associated disciplines. 

3. Learning Resources

3.2 Recommended Resources

Andrew Tanenbaum and Albert Woodhull. Operating Systems Design and Implementation, 3rd Edition. Prentice-Hall, 2006. URL
 

3.3 University Learning Resources

Access to required and recommended resources, plus past central exam papers, is available at the UQ Library website (http://library.uq.edu.au/search/r?SEARCH=COMP7308).

The University offers a range of resources and services to support student learning. Details are available on the myServices website (https://student.my.uq.edu.au/).

3.4 School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering Learning Resources

Students enrolled at St Lucia who wish to retain a hard copy of this profile can use the free print quota provided each semester to students enrolled in courses in the School of Information Technology & Electrical Engineering. For information on how to use this print quota, see the School Policy on Student Photocopying and Printing (St Lucia) (http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/about_ITEE/policies/copy-print.html). Students enrolled at the Ipswich campus will either be provided with a hard copy or given directions in class on how to obtain a free copy.

ITEE course websites can be found at http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/~COURSECODE. Many ITEE courses also have Usenet newsgroups, named uq.itee.COURSECODE. Instructions for accessing newsgroups are available at http://studenthelp.itee.uq.edu.au/faq/1stYearFAQ.html#accessnews.

3.5 Other Learning Resources & Information

The course web site www.itee.uq.edu.au/~comp3301 contains further resources including pointers to web sites, tools, etc. You should also regularly consult and contribute to the course newsgroup uq.itee.comp3301.

The programming assignments will be based on the MINIX3 operating system, and will require advanced programming skills in the C language.
If you are not a confident C programmer, then you might re-think whether this course is a good elective choice for you.
If you are a strong programmer in another language, but not C, then I recommend you spend the early weeks of semester getting up to speed in C.
There are many on-line tutorials, eg. http://www.cprogramming.com/   
 

 You can preview the MINIX3 operating system that we are going to use at:

 
www.minix3.org
 
The preferred configuration that we expect to be using is MINIX3 running on the (free) VMWare player virtual machine.
You can download that software for free if you wish from the website, if you want to get some early expeience with using MINIX.

4. Teaching & Learning Activities

4.1 Learning Activities

Date
Activity
Learning Objectives
21 Jul 08 09:00 - 24 Oct 08 12:00
Weekly Tutorials (Tutorial Series): The weekly tutorials will revise lecture material through revision questions which will be worked through the following week.
Readings/Ref: Tanenbaum
1, 4, 5
21 Jul 08 09:00 - 24 Oct 08 12:00
Weekly Lectures (Lecture Series): Weekly lectures will provide the theoretical foundation for the course material.

The course website will list the lecture content for each week, and also provide readings from the textbook which can be used either to prepare for the lecture, or as revision of the lecture content.

Copies of lecture powerpoints will also be provided on the course website.

Readings/Ref: Tanenbaum
1, 4, 5
21 Jul 08 14:00 - 17 Oct 08 17:00
Weekly Practicals (Practical): The weekly practical sessions will provide an opportunity to work through a set of staged exercises which provide students with the necessary skills to undertake the programming assignments.
Readings/Ref: Tanenbaum
2, 3

4.2 Other Teaching and Learning Activities Information

Lectures are maily used to present material from the prescribed text.  Tutorials are used to develop a deeper understanding of lecture concepts. Practicals are used as preparation for assignments, and assignments are used to develop skills in implementation and understanding of practical implications of design choices.

5. Assessment

5.1 Assessment Summary

This is a summary of the assessment in the course. For detailed information on each assessment, see 5.5 Assessment Detail below.

Assessment Task
Due Date
Weighting
Learning Objectives
Programming Assignment
Programming Assignment Two
21 Jul 08 09:00 - 22 Sep 08 17:00
Submitted via on-line submission system
25%
2, 3
Programming Assignment
Programming Assignment One
21 Jul 08 09:00 - 25 Aug 08 17:00
Submitted via on-line submission system
25%
2, 3
Programming Assignment
Programming Assignment Three
21 Jul 08 09:00 - 20 Oct 08 17:00
Submitted via on-line submission system
25%
2, 3
Exam - during Exam Period (School)
Final Exam
Examination Period
25%
1, 4, 5

5.2 Course Grading


Grade 1, Fail: Fails to demonstrate most or all of the basic requirements of the course: Fails to demonstrate understanding of most aspects of operating system design; Unable to program effectively in C;

      The minimum percentage required for a grade of 1 is: 0%

Grade 2, Fail: Demonstrates clear deficiencies in understanding and applying fundamental concepts; communicates information or ideas in ways that are frequently incomplete or confusing and give little attention to the conventions of the discipline: Fails to demonstrate understanding of some aspects of operating system design; Unable to program effectively in C at a low level;

      The minimum percentage required for a grade of 2 is: 20%

Grade 3, Fail: Demonstrates superficial or partial or faulty understanding of the fundamental concepts of the field of study and limited ability to apply these concepts; presents undeveloped or inappropriate or unsupported arguments; communicates information or ideas with lack of clarity and inconsistent adherence to the conventions of the discipline: Demonstrates understanding of some aspects of operating system design; Unble to think critically about design alternatives; Unable to program effectively in C at a low level;

      The minimum percentage required for a grade of 3 is: 45%

Grade 4, Pass: Demonstrates adequate understanding and application of the fundamental concepts of the field of study; develops routine arguments or decisions and provides acceptable justification; communicates information and ideas adequately in terms of the conventions of the discipline: Demonstrates understanding of some aspects of operating system design; Able to program effectively in C at a low level;

      The minimum percentage required for a grade of 4 is: 52%

Grade 5, Credit: Demonstrates substantial understanding of fundamental concepts of the field of study and ability to apply these concepts in a variety of contexts; develops or adapts convincing arguments and provides coherent justification; communicates information and ideas clearly and fluently in terms of the conventions of the discipline: Demonstrates understanding of most aspects of operating system design; Able to think critically about some design alternatives; Able to program effectively in C at a low level;

      The minimum percentage required for a grade of 5 is: 67%

Grade 6, Distinction: As for 5, with frequent evidence of originality in defining and analysing issues or problems and in creating solutions; uses a level, style and means of communication appropriate to the discipline and the audience: Demonstrates understanding of most aspects of operating system design to a deep level; Able to think critically about some design alternatives; Able to program effectively and efficiently in C at a low level;

      The minimum percentage required for a grade of 6 is: 77%

Grade 7, High Distinction: As for 6, with consistent evidence of substantial originality and insight in identifying, generating and communicating competing arguments, perspectives or problem solving approaches; critically evaluates problems, their solutions and implications: Demonstrates understanding of all aspects of operating system design to a deep level;  Able to think critically about design alternatives; Able to program effectively and efficiently in C at a low level;

      The minimum percentage required for a grade of 7 is: 87%

Other Requirements & Comments :
Final Grade Calculation
final mark (%) grade
87 and above 7
77–86 6
67–76 5
52–66 4
45–51 3
20–44 2
0–19 1

 

Note that these percentage requirements for each grade are slightly higher than the equivalent undergraduate unit.


5.3 Late Submission

No extensions will be granted except in exceptional personal circumstances (documented medical reason or family emergency). Personal hardware or computer failures are not grounds for extension.

5.5 Assessment Detail


Programming Assignment Two
Type: Programming Assignment
Learning Objectives Assessed: 2, 3
Due Date:
         21 Jul 08 09:00 - 22 Sep 08 17:00    Submitted via on-line submission system
Weight: 25%
Task Description:

A programming assignment will require students to modify the MINIX3 operating system, provide a suitable set of test programs, and demonstrate the correctness and performance of their modified operating system.

The assignment specification will be provided on the course website by the end of week 6 of semester.


Criteria & Marking:

The assignment will be marked on the basis of the following criteria:

The algorithmic correctness of the implemented operating system changes; the correct and efficient operation of the submitted software solution; the usefulness and functionality of submitted test programs, the completeness and usefulness of the documentation.

Each of these components will be assigned numerical scores which are added to give the final grade.


Submission: Task is to be submitted through the ITEE on-line assignment submission system.

Programming Assignment One
Type: Programming Assignment
Learning Objectives Assessed: 2, 3
Due Date:
         21 Jul 08 09:00 - 25 Aug 08 17:00    Submitted via on-line submission system
Weight: 25%
Task Description:

A programming assignment will require students to modify the MINIX3 operating system, provide a suitable set of test programs, and demonstrate the correctness and performance of their modified operating system.

The assignment specification will be provided by the end of week 2 of semester.


Criteria & Marking:

The assignment will be marked on the basis of the following criteria:

The algorithmic correctness of the implemented operating system changes; the correct and efficient operation of the submitted software solution; the usefulness and functionality of submitted test programs, the completeness and usefulness of the documentation.

Each of these components will be assigned numerical scores which are added to give the final grade.


Submission: Task is to be submitted through the ITEE on-line assignment submission system.

Programming Assignment Three
Type: Programming Assignment
Learning Objectives Assessed: 2, 3
Due Date:
         21 Jul 08 09:00 - 20 Oct 08 17:00    Submitted via on-line submission system
Weight: 25%
Task Description:

A programming assignment will require students to modify the MINIX3 operating system, provide a suitable set of test programs, and demonstrate the correctness and performance of their modified operating system.

The assignment specification will be provided on the course website by the end of week 10 of semester.


Criteria & Marking:

The assignment will be marked on the basis of the following criteria:

The algorithmic correctness of the implemented operating system changes; the correct and efficient operation of the submitted software solution; the usefulness and functionality of submitted test programs, the completeness and usefulness of the documentation.

Each of these components will be assigned numerical scores which are added to give the final grade.


Submission: Task is to be submitted through the ITEE on-line assignment submission system.

Final Exam
Type: Exam - during Exam Period (School)
Learning Objectives Assessed: 1, 4, 5
Due Date:
         Examination Period
Weight: 25%
Duration: 60 minutes
Format: Multiple-choice, Short answer, Short essay, Practical, Problem solving
Task Description:

A one-hour final exam will test students' understanding of the theoretical content of the course.

Exact details of the exam format will be provided by the end of week 10 of the semester


Criteria & Marking: Exam question answers will be marked according to the correctness with which they answer the question.

6. Policies & Guidelines

 
This section contains the details of and links to the most relevant policies and course guidelines. For further details on University Policies please visit myAdvisor and the University Handbook of Policies and Procedures.

6.1 Assessment Related Policies and Guidelines

University Policies & Guidelines

An overview of the University’s assessment-related policies can be found on myAdvisor (http://www.uq.edu.au/myadvisor/index.html?page=2910).

Academic Integrity
It is the University's task to encourage ethical scholarship and to inform students and staff about the institutional standards of academic behaviour expected of them in learning, teaching and research. Students have a responsibility to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity in their work. Students must not cheat in examinations or other forms of assessment and must ensure they do not plagiarise.

Plagiarism
The University has adopted the following definition of plagiarism:

Plagiarism is the act of misrepresenting as one's own original work the ideas, interpretations, words or creative works of another. These include published and unpublished documents, designs, music, sounds, images, photographs, computer codes and ideas gained through working in a group. These ideas, interpretations, words or works may be found in print and/or electronic media.

Students are encouraged to read the UQ Academic Integrity and Plagiarism policy (http://www.uq.edu.au/hupp/index.html?page=25128) which makes a comprehensive statement about the University's approach to plagiarism, including the approved use of plagiarism detection software, the consequences of plagiarism and the principles associated with preventing plagiarism.

Feedback on Assessment
Feedback is essential to effective learning and students can expect to receive appropriate and timely feedback on all assessment. For a detailed explanation of the feedback you are entitled to, you should consult the policy on Student Access to Feedback on Assessment. (http://www.uq.edu.au/hupp/index.html?page=25109)

As a student you have a responsibility to incorporate feedback into your learning; make use of the assessment criteria that you are given; be aware of the rules, policies and other documents related to assessment; and provide teachers with feedback on their assessment practices.

There are certain steps you can take if you feel your result does not reflect your performance. Please refer to the myAdvisor web site. (http://www.uq.edu.au/myadvisor/index.html?page=2953)

School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering Assessment Guidelines

Misconduct
 

Further to the statement on academic integrity and plagiarism above, students are required to read and understand the ITEE policy on Student Misconduct (http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/about_ITEE/policies/student-misconduct.html).

 

Late Arrival or Non-attendance at Examinations

 

The policy and procedure for late arrival or non-attendance at centrally controlled examinations is set out in the University's Examinations policy (HUPP 3.30.5), sections 8 and 10.2.

 

The way in which late arrival at a School-controlled examination is dealt with will be at the discretion of the course coordinator, who may be guided by the policy for centrally controlled exams.

 

In the case that a student requests a special exam for a School-controlled exam, the request will be considered and, if allowed, the timing shall be determined by the course coordinator, in consultation with the School's Chief Examiner where necessary, and in accordance with HUPP 3.30.5. Unless otherwise indicated in the Course Profile, applications must be made in writing to the Head of School no later than one week after the exam. Late applications will not be accepted.

 
Examination Feedback
 
In addition to the advice above, students wishing to view examination answer scripts and/or question papers should consult with the School office (Room 217, General Purpose South Building [78], St Lucia; Room 218, Building 1, Ipswich) regarding arrangements. The ITEE policy on exam script viewing is available at http://study.itee.uq.edu.au/current_students/exam_script_viewing.html.

Supplementary Assessment

If you fail this course you may be eligible for supplementary assessment - see the general award rules and/or your program rules for details. You should note that even though you may be eligible for supplementary assessment under these rules, in some circumstances there may be no practical assessment that can be offered to allow you to meet the minimum passing requirements. These circumstances may include failure based on:
  • group or team based assessment;
  • attendance or class participation requirements;
  • laboratory-based assessment, where laboratories can't practically be made available after classes have finished;
  • project or thesis-based assessment, where a significant period of time would be required to undertake supplementary assessment;
  • progressive assessment, where subsequent assessment items build on earlier assessment items; or
  • multiple assessment items, where it is impractical to offer multiple supplementary assessment items.
If the course coordinator determines that there is no practical supplementary assessment that can be offered to allow you to improve your grade, then you will not be offered supplementary assessment and your grade will remain unchanged.

6.2 Other Policies and Guidelines

University Policies and Guidelines

Placement Courses
Students on a placement course – also known as a work placement, internship, industry study, industry experience, clinical practice, clinical placement, practical work, practicum, fieldwork, teaching practice – should refer to the University policy, Placement Courses (http://www.uq.edu.au/hupp/index.html?page=25120) for detailed information.
 
Working with Children
Students whose studies include a professional/work placement, internship, clinical practice, teaching practice or other similar activity which involves them in regular contact with children should refer to the University policy, Working with Children Check - "blue card" (http://www.uq.edu.au/hupp/index.html?page=25004) to find out how to apply for a ‘blue card’.
 
Students with a Disability
Any student with a disability who may require alternative academic arrangements, including assessment, in the course/program is encouraged to seek advice at the commencement of the semester from a Disability Adviser at Student Support Services. Refer to the University policy, Students with a Disability (Disability Action Plan) (http://www.uq.edu.au/hupp/index.html?page=25122) and to the policy on Special Arrangements for Examinations for Students with a Disability (http://www.uq.edu.au/hupp/index.html?page=25111

Where an adjustment is made to an accredited program, it is the responsibility of the relevant Faculty to liaise with professional and registration bodies regarding the acceptability of the change/s.  

Occupational Health and Safety
Undergraduate Students (http://www.uq.edu.au/hupp/index.html?page=25055) and Postgraduate Students (http://www.uq.edu.au/hupp/index.html?page=25057) should be familiar with the University policies on occupational health and safety in the laboratory.

Other School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering Guidelines

Ethical Clearance
If your course involves assignment or project work involving human subjects or human-related materials, you must investigate the need for ethical clearance and obtain it when required. Information on ethical clearance can be found at http://www.uq.edu.au/research/orps/index.html?page=5064&pid=5256.

Learning Summary

 

Below is a table showing the relationship between the learning objectives for this course and the broader graduate attributes developed, the learning activities used to develop each objective and the assessment task used to assess each objective.

Learning Objectives

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

1  Make critical judgments about design alternatives for operating systems.
2  Make design decisions for low-level operating systems components at the kernel and device driver level.
3  Do low-level programming in C.
4  Understand the relationship between the operating system and the hardware environment in which it runs.
5  Understand various models of code ownership including public-domain, free and proprietary software.


Assessment & Learning Activities

  Learning Objectives
  1 2 3 4 5
Learning Activities
Weekly Tutorials (Tutorial Series)
selected
   
selected
selected
Weekly Lectures (Lecture Series)
selected
   
selected
selected
Weekly Practicals (Practical)  
selected
selected
   
Assessment Tasks
Programming Assignment Two  
selected
selected
   
Programming Assignment One  
selected
selected
   
Programming Assignment Three  
selected
selected
   
Final Exam
selected
   
selected
selected

Graduate Attributes

Successfully completing this course will contribute to the recognition of your attainment of the following UQ (Postgrad Coursework) graduate attributes:

  Learning Objectives
  1 2 3 4 5
Graduate Attributes
A IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF THE FIELD OF STUDY
A2. A broad understanding of the field of study, including how other disciplines relate to the field of study.          
A3. A comprehensive and in-depth knowledge in the field of study.          
A5. An international perspective on the field of study.          
A7. An appreciation of the link between theory and practice.          
B EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
B1. The ability to collect, analyse and organise information and ideas and to convey those ideas clearly and fluently, in both written and spoken forms.          
B2. The ability to interact effectively with others in order to work towards a common outcome.          
B3. The ability to select and use the appropriate level, style and means of communication.          
B4. The ability to engage effectively and appropriately with information and communication technologies.          
B5. The ability to practise as part of an interdisciplinary team.          
C INDEPENDENCE AND CREATIVITY
C2. The ability to work and learn independently and effectively.          
C3. The ability to generate ideas and adapt innovatively to changing environments.
selected
       
C5. The ability to formulate and investigate problems, create solutions, innovate and improve current practices.          
C6. The abilities and skills that provide a foundation for future leadership roles.          
D CRITICAL JUDGEMENT
D2. The ability to apply critical reasoning to issues through independent thought and informed judgement.
selected
selected
     
D4. The ability to process material and to critically analyse and integrate information from a wide range of sources.          
D5. The ability to evaluate opinions, make decisions and to reflect critically on the justifications for decisions using an evidence-based approach.          
E ETHICAL AND SOCIAL UNDERSTANDING
E1. An understanding of social and civic responsibility.        
selected
E3. An appreciation of the philosophical and social contexts of a discipline.          
E4. A knowledge and respect of ethics and ethical standards in relation to a major area of study.        
selected
E5. A knowledge of other cultures and times and an appreciation of cultural diversity.          
E7. The ability to work effectively and sensitively across all areas of society.          
E8. An understanding of and respect for the roles and expertise of associated disciplines.