Students approach the study of computing in Higher Education in increasing numbers from an increasingly wide variety of backgrounds. In most degree level courses one of the first modules students will encounter is intended to teach them to program. As the students become more diverse, so do their motivations for taking their degree. Anecdotal evidence from many institutions is that students are becoming more tactical, and will engage only in those activities that they see as contributing to an eventual highly paid job. This paper describes an investigation into the motivations of students for taking a degree in computing, and for studying programming in particular. The results raise a number of issues for the teaching of programming.

Occurrences of crime are complex phenomena. They are the result of a large number of interrelated elements which can include environmental factors as well as complex human behaviours. Traditionally, crime occurrences have been modelled using statistical techniques, and although such approaches are useful, they face difficulties in providing predictive analyses and with the integration of behavioural information. Also, it is particularly difficult to account for the strongly influential effect of local urban form. Agent-based modelling is a relatively new modelling paradigm that has generated a considerable amount of interest. An agent is an independent component of a system which interacts with other agents and its environment to achieve goals. In this manner, large systems of agents can be created to mimic real scenarios. Most importantly, the agents can incorporate behavioural information to determine how they should achieve their goals, and models can include a highly detailed environment. This paper presents an agent-based model used to predict burglary rates, which, despite its simplicity, yields interesting results. We apply the model to the city of Leeds, UK. The model indicates that the urban configuration in Leeds is a major element in determining the level of crime across the city. It also demonstrates that agent-based modelling is an excellent tool for these types of analyses with much potential.

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The number of students entering Higher Education in the UK continues to increase, and there is no sign of an end to this trend. This expansion brings with it a more diverse student body -students are diverse in terms of their prior experiences, their pre-existing skills, their expectations and their motivations. This highly varied student body often encounters a teaching regime that was designed for a smaller, and much more homogeneous, group of students.

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