Current state of the application of infrared optical methods for assessing articular cartilage

This paper reviews the current state in the application of infrared methods, particularly mid-infrared (mid-IR) and near infrared (NIR), for the evaluation of the structural and functional integrity of articular cartilage. It is noted that while a considerable amount of research has been conducted with respect to tissue characterization using mid-IR, it is almost certain that full-thickness cartilage assessment is not feasible with this method. On the contrary, the relatively more considerable penetration capacity of NIR suggests that it is a suitable candidate for full-thickness cartilage evaluation. Nevertheless, significant research is still required to improve the specificity and clinical applicability of the method if we are going to be able to use it for distinguishing between functional and dysfunctional cartilage.

Collaboration features in current BPM tools

In cross-organizational, distributed environments, Business Process Management requires collaborative technologies to facilitate the process of discovering, modeling, and improving business processes across geographical and organizational boundaries. This paper provides a comprehensive understanding of collaborative business process modeling that is based on a review of literature and a case study of three selected modelling tools. The application of the framework reveals that current process modeling tools consider different perspectives on collaboration, and that the included features are orthogonal. This paper informs practitioners about the state of the art in tool support for collaborative process modelling. It also informs vendors about opportunities to enhance the technology support. For research, our paper paper informs social aspects of BPM technology through its explicit focus on the collaboration of BPM stakeholders in the process of distributed modeling.

Wear it or wear the cost : current seatbelt wearing rates in Queensland

Observational seatbelt wearing studies are a valuable tool for obtaining up-to-date information about rates of use. Given that one quarter of vehicle occupants killed on Queensland roads in recent years were not wearing seatbelts, it is important that authorities are able to identify non-wearers and take steps to increase compliance with seatbelt laws to reduce the severity of crashes and, therefore, the road toll. An observational study of seatbelt use was conducted in metropolitan, regional and rural locations throughout Queensland in May and June, 2010. Trained observers took note of seatbelt use of all occupants of passenger vehicles, noting their gender, approximate age group, seating position, vehicle type, licence type (i.e. visible L or P plates), mobile phone use, and the date, time and location of the observation. Of 19,579 observations, 99.04% (19,391) of occupants were observed wearing seatbelts, as only 0.96% of occupants (188) were not wearing a seatbelt. There were differences in seatbelt wearing rates for a number of study variables, although most were very small. However, seatbelt wearing rates were 3.84% lower for drivers observed using a mobile phone than for those who were not. While compliance with seatbelt laws seems to be very high, it is still concerning that so few non-wearers represent a disproportionately large proportion of road fatalities and serious injuries in Queensland. Road safety authorities must therefore continue to find ways to improve seatbelt use, as small gains in wearing rates will translate into significant fatality reductions.

Status of current research on the implication of climate change on built environment

The cycling interaction between climate change and building performance is of dynamic nature and both are essentially the cause and the effect of each other. On one hand, buildings contribute significantly to the global warming process. On the other hand, climate change is also expected to impact on many aspects of building performance. In this paper, the status of current research on the implication of climate change on built environment is reviewed. It is found that although the present research has covered broad areas of research, they are generally only limited to the qualitative analyses. It is also highlighted that although it is widely realized that reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector is very important, the adoption of complementary adaptation strategy to prepare the building for a range of climate change scenarios is also necessary. Due to the lack of holistic approach to generate future hourly weather data, various approaches have been used to generate different key weather variables. This ad hoc situation has seriously hindered the application of building simulation technique to the climate change impact study, in particular, to provide quantitative information for policy and design development.

A two week persistent navigation and mapping experiment using RatSLAM : insights and current developments

One of the major challenges in achieving long term robot autonomy is the need for a SLAM algorithm that can perform SLAM over the operational lifetime of the robot, preferably without human intervention or supervision. In this paper we present insights gained from a two week long persistent SLAM experiment, in which a Pioneer robot performed mock deliveries in a busy office environment. We used the biologically inspired visual SLAM system, RatSLAM, combined with a hybrid control architecture that selected between exploring the environment, performing deliveries, and recharging. The robot performed more than a thousand successful deliveries with only one failure (from which it recovered), travelled more than 40 km over 37 hours of active operation, and recharged autonomously 23 times. We discuss several issues arising from the success (and limitations) of this experiment and two subsequent avenues of work.

Current Status of Philanthropy in India

The paper makes an attempt to provide an overview of philanthropy in India. On the one hand, it describes, though briefly, the historical growth of philanthropy and on the other hand it provides a contemporary picture as well. It also deals with the legal framework with which philanthropic institutions function in this country. Further, it provides a glimpse of the tax laws vis-à-vis donations (giving) and also discusses the legal status of the philanthropic institutions.

Current research in risk-aware business process management : overview, comparison, and gap analysis

The management of risks in business processes has been a subject of active research in the past few years. Many benefits can potentially be obtained by integrating the two traditionally-separated fields of risk management and business process management, including the ability to minimize risks in business processes (by design) and to mitigate risks at run time. In the past few years, an increasing amount of research aimed at delivering such an integrated system has been proposed. However, these research efforts vary in terms of their scope, goals, and functionality. Through systematic collection and evaluation of relevant literature, this paper compares and classifies current approaches in the area of risk-aware business process management in order to identify and explain relevant research gaps. The process through which relevant literature is collected, filtered, and evaluated is also detailed.

Accounting at home in developing economies : Current practices and implications for the accounting professional

We determine the extent of accounting at home in developing economies in this research. We then consider the role of the accounting profession may have in promoting accounting values at home. A language of business, accounting today plays a fundamental support role within the business community to evaluate the impact past decisions, and foresees directions for future initiatives. Sound accounting practices are fundamental to ensure symmetrical information dissemination across various stakeholders. Accounting literature has sought to investigate a number of questions that attempt to improve the practice of accounting in the corporate world. Equally, we must obtain adequate understanding of how we use accounting in our everyday life, and how accounting could assist the people most affected by the effects of accounting scandals, economic conditions, and corporate collapses.

Principals’ and teacher leaders’ perceptions of their role and interaction under current Chinese reform : a case study in Shandong province

This study aims to explore the perceptions of principals and teacher leaders regarding their roles and the interaction between these roles in Chinese urban primary schools at the time of unprecedented curriculum reform. This involves a complexity of factors such as the influence of globalisation, the impact of traditional Chinese cultural attitudes towards education through Confucianism, and the implementation requirements of the current education reforms. All of these wider contextual factors help to shape the leadership practices that are described in the study. A qualitative exploratory case study approach has been utilised to undertake this investigation. The conceptual framework for this study draws upon scholars‘ work from Western countries but has been adapted in order to address three research questions for the study‘s focus on the context in Shandong province, Mainland China. Three research questions were addressed: First, what are principals‘ perceptions of their leadership roles in Mainland China under current educational reform? Second, what are teacher leaders‘ perceptions of their leadership roles in Mainland China under current educational reform? And finally, what are principals‘ and teacher leaders‘ perceptions of how their roles interact? With reference to the principals in the study, the findings confirm Gurr‘s (2008) comprehensive leadership model relating to four roles, specifically, learning and teaching, symbolic and cultural awareness, future orientation, and accountability. Significantly, some sub-roles that emerge from the data are uniquely Chinese. For example, school culture construction is a very deliberate process in which principals and their staff talked openly about and were involved in creating a positive school climate comprising spiritual, material, and system dimensions. Another finding relates to school feature construction. This refers to the process that principals and staff used to make their schools distinctive and different from other schools and included such features as the school‘s philosophy and the school-based curriculum. In seeking to understand the nature of teacher leadership in Chinese primary schools, this research confirms some findings identified in Western literature. For instance, teacher leaders in Shandong province were involved in decision-making, working with parents and community members, undertaking and planning professional development for staff, and mediating between colleagues (Day & Harris, 2002; Harrison & Killion, 2007; Leithwood, Jantzi, & Steinbach, 1999; Muijs & Harris, 2006; Smylie, 1992). However, some new aspects, such as a heightened awareness of the importance of accountability, emerge from this study. The study‘s conceptual framework also draws upon some significant insights from micropolitics and, in particular, two core constructs, namely cooperation and conflict (Blase, 1991), to explore the interactions between principals and teacher leaders. In this study, principals and teacher leaders employed exchange and facilitation as two strategies in cooperative processes; and they adopted enforcement and compromise in conflictive processes. Finally, the study‘s findings indicate that principals and teacher leaders were developing new ways of interacting in response to the requirements of significant education reform. Most principals were exercising their power through (Blase, 1991) their teacher leaders who in turn, were working in alignment with their principals to achieve the desired outcomes in schools. It was significant that this form of 'parallel leadership' (Crowther, Ferguson, & Ham, 2009) characterised the teacher leadership roles at this period of change to the curriculum in Mainland China.

Evaluation of green public road procurement in Australia : current practices and gaps to fill

Public road authorities have a key responsibility in driving initiatives for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the road construction project lifecycle. A coherent and efficient chain of procurement processes and methods is needed to convert green policies into tangible actions that capture the potential for GHG reduction. Yet, many infrastructure clients lack developed methodologies regarding green procurement practices. Designing more efficient solutions for green procurement requires an evaluation of the current initiatives and stages of development. A mapping of the current GHG reduction initiatives in Australian public road procurement is presented in this paper. The study includes the five largest Australian state road authorities, which cover 94% of the total 817,089 km of Australian main roads (not local) and account for 96% of the total A$13 billion annual major road construction and maintenance expenditure. The state road authorities’ green procurement processes and tools are evaluated based on interviews and a review of documents. Altogether 12 people, comprising 1-3 people of each organisation, participated in the interviews and provided documents. An evaluation matrix was developed for mapping the findings across the lifecycle of road construction project delivery. The results show how Australian state road authorities drive decisions with an impact on GHG emissions on the strategic planning phase, project development phase, and project implementation phase. The road authorities demonstrate varying levels of advancement in their green procurement methodologies. Six major gaps in the current green procurement processes are identified and, respectively, six recommendations for future research and development are suggested. The greatest gaps remain in the project development phase, which has a critical role in fixing the project (GHG reduction) goals, identifying risks and opportunities, and selecting the contractor to deliver the project. Specifically, the role of mass-haul optimisation as a part of GHG minimisation was reviewed, and mass-haul management was found to be an underutilised element with GHG reduction potential.

Internet Child Abuse: Current Research, Policy and Practice

Internet Child Abuse: Current Research and Policy provides a timely overview of international policy, legislation and offender management and treatment practice in the area of Internet child abuse. Internet use has grown considerably over the last five years, and information technology now forms a core part of the formal education system in many countries. There is however, increasing evidence that the Internet is used by some adults to access children and young people in order to ‘groom’ them for the purposes of sexual abuse; as well as to produce and distribute indecent illegal images of children. This book presents and assesses the most recent and current research on internet child abuse, addressing: its nature, the behaviour and treatment of its perpetrators, international policy, legislation and protection, and policing. It will be required reading for an international audience of academics, researchers, policy-makers and criminal justice practitioners with interests in this area.

Separation/Divorce Sexual Assault: The Current State of Social Scientific Knowledge

Many contend that the logical solution to woman abuse in marriage/cohabitation is for women to exit through legal separation, divorce, or other means. However, a growing body of empirical work shows that separation or divorce does not necessarily solve the problem of woman abuse. For example, in addition to experiencing lethal or nonlethal forms of physical violence and psychological abuse, many women who try to leave, or who have left their male partners, are sexually assaulted. The main objective of this paper is to critically review the extant empirical and theoretical work on separation/divorcesexual assault. Suggestions for future research and theorizing are also provided.