Spreadsheets and Bulgarian goats

We consider a problem appearing in an Australian Mathematics Challenge in 2003. This article considers whether a spreadsheet might be used to model this problem, thus allowing students to explore its structure within the spreadsheet environment. It then goes on to reflect on some general principles of problem decomposition when the final goal is a successful and lucid spreadsheet implementation.

Interface control of surface photochemical reactivity in ultrathin epitaxial ferroelectric films

Asymmetrical electrical boundary conditions in (001)-oriented Pb(Zr 0.2TiO0.8)O3 (PZT) epitaxial ultrathin ferroelectric films are exploited to control surface photochemical reactivity determined by the sign of the surface polarization charge. It is shown that the preferential orientation of polarization in the as-grown PZT layer can be manipulated by choosing an appropriate type of bottom electrode material. PZT films deposited on the SrRuO3 electrodes exhibit preferential upward polarization (C) whilst the same films grown on the (La,Sr)CoO 3-electrodes are polarized downward (C-). Photochemical activity of the PZT surfaces with different surface polarization charges has been tested by studying deposition of silver nanoparticles from AgNO3 solution under UV irradiation. PZT surfaces with preferential C orientation possess a more active surface for metal reduction than their C- counterparts, evidenced by large differences in the concentration of deposited silver nanoparticles. This effect is attributed to band bending at the bottom interface which varies depending on the difference in work functions of PZT and electrode materials.

Extreme water level exceedance probabilities around Australia

The potential impacts of extreme water level events on our coasts are increasing as populations grow and sea levels rise. To better prepare for the future, coastal engineers and managers need accurate estimates of average exceedance probabilities for extreme water levels. In this paper, we estimate present day probabilities of extreme water levels around the entire coastline of Australia. Tides and storm surges generated by extra-tropical storms were included by creating a 61-year (1949-2009) hindcast of water levels using a high resolution depth averaged hydrodynamic model driven with meteorological data from a global reanalysis. Tropical cyclone-induced surges were included through numerical modelling of a database of synthetic tropical cyclones equivalent to 10,000 years of cyclone activity around Australia. Predicted water level data was analysed using extreme value theory to construct return period curves for both the water level hindcast and synthetic tropical cyclone modelling. These return period curves were then combined by taking the highest water level at each return period.

Homemade cookbooks : a recipe for sharing

In this paper we contribute to the growing body of research into the use and design of technology in the kitchen. This research aims to identify opportunities for designing technologies that may augment existing cooking traditions and in particular familial recipe sharing practices. Using ethnographic techniques, we identify the homemade cookbook as a significant material and cultural artifact in the family kitchen. We report on findings from our study by providing descriptive accounts of various homemade cookbooks, and offer design considerations for digitally augmenting homemade cookbooks.

Improving the railway’s understanding of accident causation through an integrated approach to human factors analysis and technical safety data recording

This paper describes a safety data recording and analysis system that has been developed to capture safety occurrences including precursors using high-definition forward-facing video from train cabs and data from other train-borne systems. The paper describes the data processing model and how events detected through data analysis are related to an underlying socio-technical model of accident causation. The integrated approach to safety data recording and analysis insures systemic factors that condition, influence or potentially contribute to an occurrence are captured both for safety occurrences and precursor events, providing a rich tapestry of antecedent causal factors that can significantly improve learning around accident causation. This can ultimately provide benefit to railways through the development of targeted and more effective countermeasures, better risk models and more effective use and prioritization of safety funds. Level crossing occurrences are a key focus in this paper with data analysis scenarios describing causal factors around near-miss occurrences. The paper concludes with a discussion on how the system can also be applied to other types of railway safety occurrences.

Proximal femoral morphology in regions of hard and soft water

This study compared proximal femoral morphology in patients living in soft and hard water regions. The proximal femoral morphology of two groups of 70 patients living in hard and soft water regions with a mean age of 72.3 (range 50 to 87 years) were measured using an antero-posterior radiograph of the non-operated hip with magnification adjusted. The medullary canal diameter at the level of the lesser trochanter (LT) was significantly wider in patients living in the hard water region (mean width 1.9 mm wider; p= 0.003). No statistical significant difference was found in the medullary canal width at 10 cm below the level of LT, Dorr index, or Canal Bone Ratio (CBR). In conclusion, the proximal femoral morphology does differ in patients living in soft and hard water areas. These results may have an important clinical bearing in patients undergoing total hip replacement surgery. Further research is needed to determine whether implant survivorship is affected in patients living in hard and soft water regions.

Digital culture : blurred boundaries and ethical considerations

The Weberian sense of work and life suggests that working is something around which the rest of life flows. Moreover, work life and domestic life have been defined as separate for most people based on physical structures. That is, being physically in a building at work limited your ability to interact with those who are not nearby – not part of work. As such, social conventions regarding the uses of media at work have become part of our cultural sensibilities – we “know” it is not proper to have romantic discourse over the office phone, much less romance during work! Doing so becomes news. Yet, despite the construction of such distinctions, these workspaces and places have always been difficult to render as such. For example, one might consider the relatively recent development of teleworking from the 1980s or the “putting out system”[1] which dates back to the 1400s – both requiring work in the home. The papers in this special issue draw our attention to some of the ethical issues raised by the growing pervasiveness of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in our everyday lives and the fact that it is becoming increasingly difficult to make distinctions between being somewhere (like work) and being away from some things (like one’s friends, social interests and other parts of life that are not integrated into this space or place [2] )...

Constructing, deconstructing and negotiating the boundaries of digital cultures

The focus of this special issue is upon notions, and experiences of, the erosion and blurring of the boundaries constructed between work, play, the public and private as related to digital media. We seek to increase knowledge regarding the contemporary experiences and potential reshaping of the boundaries and structures of existing social organisation, and the altering of the ways in which people learn to experience life. We know that even as access to digital technologies continues to vary based on age, gender, nationality, residence, ethnicity, work, and other key aspects of society, it is clear the presence and uses of these digital technologies are increasingly important features of contemporary life...

Effect of the increase in "alcopops" tax on alcohol-related harms in young people : a controlled interrupted time series

Objective: To measure alcohol-related harms to the health of young people presenting to emergency departments (EDs) of Gold Coast public hospitals before and after the increase in the federal government "alcopops" tax in 2008. Design, setting and participants: Interrupted time series analysis over 5 years (28 April 2005 to 27 April 2010) of 15-29-year-olds presenting to EDs with alcohol-related harms compared with presentations of selected control groups. Main outcome measures: Proportion of 15-29-year-olds presenting to EDs with alcohol-related harms compared with (i) 30-49-year-olds with alcohol-related harms, (ii)15-29-year-olds with asthma or appendicitis, and (iii) 15-29-yearolds with any non-alcohol and non-injury related ED presentation. Results: Over a third of 15-29-year-olds presented to ED with alcohol-related conditions, as opposed to around a quarter for all other age groups. There was no significant decrease in alcohol-related ED presentations of 15-29-year-olds compared with any of the control groups after the increase in the tax. We found similar results for males and females, narrow and broad definitions of alcoholrelated harms, under-19s, and visitors to and residents of the Gold Coast. Conclusions: The increase in the tax on al copops was not associated with any reduction in alcohol-related harms in this population in a unique tourist and holiday region. A more comprehensive approach to reducing alcohol harms in young people is needed.

An alternative approach to setting a mill

The conventional approach to setting a milling unit is essentially based on the desire to achieve a particular bagasse moisture content or fibre fill in each nip of the mill. This approach relies on the selection of the speed at which the mill will operate for the selected fibre rate. There is rarely any checking that the selected speed or the selected fibre fill is achieved and the same set of assumptions is generally carried over to use again in the next year. The conventional approach largely ignores the fact that the selection of mill settings actually determines the speed at which the mill will operate. Making an adjustment with the intent of changing the performance of the mill often also changes the speed of the mill as an unintended consequence. This paper presents an alternative approach to mill setting. The approach discussed makes use of mill feeding theory to define the relationship between fibre rate, mill speed and mill settings and uses that theory to provide an alternative means of determining the settings in some nips of the mill. Mill feeding theory shows that, as the feed work opening reduces, roll speed increases. The theory also shows that there is an optimal underfeed opening and Donnelly chute exit opening that will minimise roll speed and that the current South African guidelines appear to be well away from those optimal values.

How are falls and fear of falling associated with objectively measured physical activity in a cohort of community-dwelling older men?

BACKGROUND: Falls affect approximately one third of community-dwelling older adults each year and have serious health and social consequences. Fear of falling (FOF) (lack of confidence in maintaining balance during normal activities) affects many older adults, irrespective of whether they have actually experienced falls. Both falls and fear of falls may result in restrictions of physical activity, which in turn have health consequences. To date the relation between (i) falls and (ii) fear of falling with physical activity have not been investigated using objectively measured activity data which permits examination of different intensities of activity and sedentary behaviour. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of 1680 men aged 71-92 years recruited from primary care practices who were part of an on-going population-based cohort. Men reported falls history in previous 12 months, FOF, health status and demographic characteristics. Men wore a GT3x accelerometer over the hip for 7 days. RESULTS: Among the 12% of men who had recurrent falls, daily activity levels were lower than among non-fallers; 942 (95% CI 503, 1381) fewer steps/day, 12(95% CI 2, 22) minutes less in light activity, 10(95% CI 5, 15) minutes less in moderate to vigorous PA [MVPA] and 22(95% CI 9, 35) minutes more in sedentary behaviour. 16% (n = 254) of men reported FOF, of whom 52% (n = 133) had fallen in the past year. Physical activity deficits were even greater in the men who reported that they were fearful of falling than in men who had fallen. Men who were fearful of falling took 1766(95% CI 1391, 2142) fewer steps/day than men who were not fearful, and spent 27(95% CI 18, 36) minutes less in light PA, 18(95% CI 13, 22) minutes less in MVPA, and 45(95% CI 34, 56) minutes more in sedentary behaviour. The significant differences in activity levels between (i) fallers and non-fallers and (ii) men who were fearful of falling or not fearful, were mediated by similar variables; lower exercise self-efficacy, fewer excursions from home and more mobility difficulties. CONCLUSIONS: Falls and in particular fear of falling are important barriers to older people gaining health benefits of walking and MVPA. Future studies should assess the longitudinal associations between falls and physical activity.

Australian horror movies and the American market

In Australian cinema since the mid-2000s, horror has become a popular and at times commercially viable genre for low-budget and emerging filmmakers targeting international markets. While the annual horror film output of Australia pales in comparison to that of other Anglophone nations like the United States, Great Britain, and Canada, it has produced several significant titles that have performed moderately well at the international box office, from Wolf Creek (Greg McLean, 2005) to Daybreakers (Michael and Peter Spierig, 2009). Yet as part of a broader tradition of Anglophone horror cinema, many Australian horror movies have been heavily influenced by US and to a lesser extent British horror films. Furthermore, Australian horror film production is largely an internationally-oriented sector that relies on its relationships with overseas distributors and often investors. Consequently, the content and style of Australian horror movies have regularly been tailored for international markets. As a direct consequence some filmmakers have sought to trade on the “Australianness” of their product, others have attempted to pass off their films as faux-American, while others still have attempted to develop placeless films effaced of national reference points. This chapter examines local production as part of a broader tradition of Anglophone horror cinema, the influence of US horror movies, and the limitations of the domestic marketplace. The article concludes with an analysis of how the lure of the US market influences Australian filmmakers’ textual strategies.

Process of conducting qualitative research

In 2007 some of us were fortunate enough to be in Dundee for the Royal College of Nursing’s Annual International Nursing Research Conference. A highlight of that conference was an enactment of the process and context debate. The chair asked for volunteers and various members of the audience came forward giving the impression that they were nurses and that it was a chance selection. The audience accepted these individuals as their representatives and once they had gathered on stage we all expected the debate to begin. But the large number of researchers in the audience gave little thought to the selection and recruitment process they had just witnessed. Then the selected representatives stood up and sang A cappella. Suddenly the context was different and we questioned the process. The point was made: process or context, or both?