Health law : scope, sources and forces

• For the purposes of this chapter, “health law” encapsulates regulation of the medical and health professions, the administration of health services and the maintenance of public health to the extent that it is connected to the provision of health services. • There are diverging views as to whether health law can be regarded as a discrete “area of law”. • Health law draws on other areas of law such as tort law, criminal law and family law. It also draws upon other disciplines, most notably medical and health ethics. • Social and economic forces have influenced the development and direction of health law, and these forces may become even more influential in the future. • The increasingly globalised world has implications for Australia's health systems and raises questions and creates commitments in respect of the international community. • Technological developments, including in respect of treatment, diagnosis and information management, create ongoing challenges for health law. • Patient rights, human rights and consumerism are increasingly key drivers in the development of health law. • Health law is significant to contemporary Australian society because of the gravity of the topics that fall within its ambit, its social relevance to so many aspects of human existence and endeavour, the important role it plays in protecting the vulnerable, and the extent to which it engages with fundamental principles of justice.

An investigation into resistance practices at an SME consultancy

Purpose Prior research emphasizes that organizational founders have a good deal of influence in organizational development and, where ICTs are involved, a generic strategy is usually deployed by managers in order to deal with any resistance that might occur. Cognisant of this, we investigated the role played by a Managing Director of an SME consultancy in an ICT project associated with organizational development. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on an ethnography of a ICT related change management initiative which, theoretically, takes into account though from the social shaping of technology – speifically the idea that technologies in their broadest sense are subject to ongoing work beyond the design stage. Findings We argue that Markus’ Interaction Theory of resistance still has relevance today and we extend it by emphasizing the problem of homogenizing users and downplaying their ability to appropriate resistance strategies in situ. Research limitations/implications Our study is based upon one group of individual’s experiences. Further case studies of resistance success are required which further highlight how such this is achieved and why. Practical implications Those engaged with organisational development projects need to be better educated as to the reasons for resistance, particularly positive ones, and the methods by which this might take place. Originality/value This study conceptualises strategies for ‘overcoming’ resistance as managerial technologies. Conceptualising them in this way, shows the deployement of such technologies to be a complicated and active process where the audience for such things are involved in how they are received and appropriated to suite differing agendas.

IT consultants, salesmanship and the challenges of packaged software selection in SMEs

Purpose – This paper seeks to analyse the process of packaged software selection in a small organization, focussing particularly on the role of IT consultants as intermediaries in the process. Design/methodology/approach – This is based upon a longitudinal, qualitative field study concerning the adoption of a customer relationship management package in an SME management consultancy. Findings – The authors illustrate how the process of “salesmanship”, an activity directed by the vendor/consultant and focussed on the interests of senior management, marginalises user needs and ultimately secures the procurement of the software package. Research limitations/implications – Despite the best intentions the authors lose something of the rich detail of the lived experience of technology in presenting the case study as a linear narrative. Specifically, the authors have been unable to do justice to the complexity of the multifarious ways in which individual perceptions of the project were influenced and shaped by the opinions of others. Practical implications – Practitioners, particularly those from within SMEs, should be made aware of the ways in which external parties may have a vested interest in steering projects in a particular direction, which may not necessarily align with their own interests. Originality/value – This study highlights in detail the role of consultants and vendors in software selection processes, an area which has received minimal attention to date. Prior work in this area emphasises the necessary conditions for, and positive outcomes of, appointing external parties in an SME context, with only limited attention being paid to the potential problems such engagements may bring.

How does Nepal Television (NTV) frame natural disasters? A qualitative content analysis of news scripts using news frames and PPRR cycle

Introduction- This study investigates the prevailing status of Nepalese media portrayal of natural disasters. It is contributing to the development of a disaster management model to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of news production throughout the continuum of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery (PPRR) phases of disaster management. Theoretical framework- Studies of media content often rely on framing as the theoretical underpinning of the study, as it describes how the press crafts the message. However there are additional theoretical perspectives that underline an understanding of the role of the media. This article outlines a conceptual understanding of the role of the media in modern society, the way that this conceptual understanding is used in the crafting of media messages and how those theoretical considerations are applied to the concepts that underpin effective disaster management. (R.M. Entman, 2003; Liu, 2007; Meng & Berger, 2008). Methodology- A qualitative descriptive design is used to analyse the disaster news of Nepal Television (NTV). However, this paper presents the preliminary findings of Nepal Television (a government owned Television station) using qualitative content analysis of 105 natural disaster related news scripts (June 2012-March 2013) based on the framing theory and PPRR cycle. Results- The preliminary results indicate that the media focus while framing natural disasters is dominated by human interest frame followed by responsibility frame. News about response phase was found to be most prominent in terms of PPRR cycle. Limited disaster reporting by NTV has impacted the national disaster management programs and strategies. The findings describe natural disasters are being reported within the limited understanding of the important principles of disaster management and PPRR cycle. Conclusion- This paper describes the current status of the coverage of natural disasters by Nepal Television to identify the frames used in the news content. It contributes to determining the characteristics of effective media reporting of natural disasters in the government owned media outlets, and also leads to including communities and agencies involved in disasters. It suggests the frames which are best suited for news making and how media responds to the different phases of the disaster cycle.

Exploring location-dependency in process modeling

Purpose – Context-awareness has emerged as an important principle in the design of flexible business processes. The goal of the research is to develop an approach to extend context-aware business process modeling toward location-awareness. The purpose of this paper is to identify and conceptualize location-dependencies in process modeling. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a pattern-based approach to identify location-dependency in process models. The authors design specifications for these patterns. The authors present illustrative examples and evaluate the identified patterns through a literature review of published process cases. Findings – This paper introduces location-awareness as a new perspective to extend context-awareness in BPM research, by introducing relevant location concepts such as location-awareness and location-dependencies. The authors identify five basic location-dependent control-flow patterns that can be captured in process models. And the authors identify location-dependencies in several existing case studies of business processes. Research limitations/implications – The authors focus exclusively on the control-flow perspective of process models. Further work needs to extend the research to address location-dependencies in process data or resources. Further empirical work is needed to explore determinants and consequences of the modeling of location-dependencies. Originality/value – As existing literature mostly focusses on the broad context of business process, location in process modeling still is treated as “second class citizen” in theory and in practice. This paper discusses the vital role of location-dependencies within business processes. The proposed five basic location-dependent control-flow patterns are novel and useful to explain location-dependency in business process models. They provide a conceptual basis for further exploration of location-awareness in the management of business processes.

The internet, globalization, and IT professional services

This editorial aims (1) to define IT Professional Services (ITPS) as an increasingly important area of research endeavor, and (2) to consider the impact of the Internet on globalization and the ITPS sector.

Why sustainable construction? Why not? An owner's perspective

Rapid urbanization in developing countries such as China has been creating unprecedented opportunities for the adoption of sustainable construction (SC). Owner, as a key driver of urbanization, plays an influential role for other stakeholders to undertake SC practices. However, lacking their demands and requirements of owners were regarded as the main barriers for the adoption of SC. Notwithstanding the diversity of previous studies on the barriers to SC, there is a dearth of research from the owner’s perspective. This paper presents an empirical study identifying the critical factors impeding the adoption of SC from the owners’ point of view. A list of 25 factors was preliminarily identified through extensive literature review and interviews with industry professionals. This was followed by a questionnaire survey to collect owners’ opinions on the relative importance of these factors. Using factor analysis, seven most critical factors are identified, namely, economic feasibility, awareness, support from project stakeholders, legislation and regulation, operability of SC, resource risk, and project management model. The research findings show that economic feasibility, awareness, legislation and regulation are the most important factors impeding owners in adopting SC practices. This implied that the government plays a vital role in removing the barriers impeding the greater adoption of SC by building owners in China. This is helpful for a transition to the low carbon urbanization.

Using ICD-10-AM codes to characterise hospital-acquired complications

This paper describes the limitations of using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM) to characterise patient harm in hospitals. Limitations were identified during a project to use diagnoses flagged by Victorian coders as hospital-acquired to devise a classification of 144 categories of hospital acquired diagnoses (the Classification of Hospital Acquired Diagnoses or CHADx). CHADx is a comprehensive data monitoring system designed to allow hospitals to monitor their complication rates month-to-month using a standard method. Difficulties in identifying a single event from linear sequences of codes due to the absence of code linkage were the major obstacles to developing the classification. Obstetric and perinatal episodes also presented challenges in distinguishing condition onset, that is, whether conditions were present on admission or arose after formal admission to hospital. Used in the appropriate way, the CHADx allows hospitals to identify areas for future patient safety and quality initiatives. The value of timing information and code linkage should be recognised in the planning stages of any future electronic systems.

Topical pattern based document modelling and relevance ranking

For traditional information filtering (IF) models, it is often assumed that the documents in one collection are only related to one topic. However, in reality users’ interests can be diverse and the documents in the collection often involve multiple topics. Topic modelling was proposed to generate statistical models to represent multiple topics in a collection of documents, but in a topic model, topics are represented by distributions over words which are limited to distinctively represent the semantics of topics. Patterns are always thought to be more discriminative than single terms and are able to reveal the inner relations between words. This paper proposes a novel information filtering model, Significant matched Pattern-based Topic Model (SPBTM). The SPBTM represents user information needs in terms of multiple topics and each topic is represented by patterns. More importantly, the patterns are organized into groups based on their statistical and taxonomic features, from which the more representative patterns, called Significant Matched Patterns, can be identified and used to estimate the document relevance. Experiments on benchmark data sets demonstrate that the SPBTM significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art models.

Transparent, balanced and vigorous: The exercise of the Australian Privacy Commissioner's powers in relation to National Privacy Principle 4

This thesis considers whether the Australian Privacy Commissioner's use of its powers supports compliance with the requirement to 'take reasonable steps' to protect personal information in National Privacy Principle 4 of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Two unique lenses were used. First, the Commissioner's use of powers was assessed against the principles of transparency, balance and vigorousness and secondly against alignment with an industry practice approach to securing information. Following a comprehensive review of publicly available materials, interviews and investigation file records, this thesis found that the Commissioner's use of his powers has not been transparent, balanced or vigorous, nor has it been supportive of an industry practice approach to securing data. Accordingly, it concludes that the Privacy Commissioner's use of its regulatory powers is unlikely to result in any significant improvement to the security of personal information held by organisations in Australia.

A process mining-based investigation of adverse events in care processes

This paper proposes the Clinical Pathway Analysis Method (CPAM) approach that enables the extraction of valuable organisational and medical information on past clinical pathway executions from the event logs of healthcare information systems. The method deals with the complexity of real-world clinical pathways by introducing a perspective-based segmentation of the date-stamped event log. CPAM enables the clinical pathway analyst to effectively and efficiently acquire a profound insight into the clinical pathways. By comparing the specific medical conditions of patients with the factors used for characterising the different clinical pathway variants, the medical expert can identify the best therapeutic option. Process mining-based analytics enables the acquisition of valuable insights into clinical pathways, based on the complete audit traces of previous clinical pathway instances. Additionally, the methodology is suited to assess guideline compliance and analyse adverse events. Finally, the methodology provides support for eliciting tacit knowledge and providing treatment selection assistance.

Using conceptual tool for intuitive interaction to design intuitive website for SME in India : A case study

Statistical reports of SMEs Internet usage from various countries indicate a steady growth. However, deeper investigation of SME’s e-commerce adoption and usage reveals that a number of SMEs fail to realize the full potential of e-commerce. Factors such as lack of tools and models in Information Systems and Information Technology for SMEs, and lack of technical expertise and specialized knowledge within and outside the SME have the most effect. This study aims to address the two important factors in two steps. First, introduce the conceptual tool for intuitive interaction. Second, explain the implementation process of the conceptual tool with the help of a case study. The subject chosen for the case study is a real estate SME from India. The design and development process of the website for the real estate SME was captured in this case study and the duration of the study was four months. Results indicated specific benefits for web designers and SME business owners. Results also indicated that the conceptual tool is easy to use without the need for technical expertise and specialized knowledge.

New Generation Rollingstock Depot: Case Study Report

This report summarises the findings of a case study on Queensland’s New Generation Rollingstock (NGR) Project carried out as part of SBEnrc Project 2.34 Driving Whole-of-life Efficiencies through BIM and Procurement. This case study is one of three exemplar projects studied in order to leverage academic research in defining indicators for measuring tangible and intangible benefits of Building Information Modelling (BIM) across a project’s life-cycle in infrastructure and buildings. The NGR is an AUD 4.4 billion project carried out under an Availability Payment Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the Queensland Government and the Bomabardier-led QTECTIC consortium comprising Bombardier Transportation, John Laing, ITOCHU Corporation and Aberdeen Infrastructure Investments. BIM has been deployed on the project from conceptual stages to drive both design and the currently ongoing construction at the Wulkuraka Project Site. This case study sourced information from a series of semi-structured interviews covering a cross-section of key stakeholders on the project. The present research identified 25 benefits gained from implementing BIM processes and tools. Some of the most prominent benefits were those leading to improved outcomes and higher customer satisfaction such as improved communications, data and information management, and coordination. There were also a number of expected benefits for future phases such as: • Improved decision making through the use of BIM for managing assets • Improved models through BIM maturity • Better utilisation of BIM for procurement on similar future projects • New capacity to specify the content of BIM models within contracts There were also three benefits that were expected to have been achieved but were not realised on the NGR project. These were higher construction information quality levels, better alignment in design teams as well as project teams, and capability improvements in measuring the impact of BIM on construction safety. This report includes individual profiles describing each benefit as well as the tools and processes that enabled them. Four key BIM metrics were found to be currently in use and six more were identified as potential metrics for the future. This case study also provides insights into challenges associated with implementing BIM on a project of the size and complexity of the NGR. Procurement aspects and lessons learned for managers are also highlighted, including a list of recommendations for developing a framework to assess the benefits of BIM across the project life-cycle.

Using Big Data to manage safety-related risk in the upstream oil and gas industry: A research agenda

Despite considerable effort and a broad range of new approaches to safety management over the years, the upstream oil & gas industry has been frustrated by the sector’s stubbornly high rate of injuries and fatalities. This short communication points out, however, that the industry may be in a position to make considerable progress by applying “Big Data” analytical tools to the large volumes of safety-related data that have been collected by these organizations. Toward making this case, we examine existing safety-related information management practices in the upstream oil & gas industry, and specifically note that data in this sector often tends to be highly customized, difficult to analyze using conventional quantitative tools, and frequently ignored. We then contend that the application of new Big Data kinds of analytical techniques could potentially reveal patterns and trends that have been hidden or unknown thus far, and argue that these tools could help the upstream oil & gas sector to improve its injury and fatality statistics. Finally, we offer a research agenda toward accelerating the rate at which Big Data and new analytical capabilities could play a material role in helping the industry to improve its health and safety performance.

A preliminary investigation into technology and processes facilitating the assurance of learning

This paper reports on the outcomes from a preliminary evaluation of technologies and processes intended to support the Assurance of Learning initiative in the business faculty of an Australian university. The study investigated how existing institutional information systems and operational processes could be used to support direct measures of student learning and the attainment of intended learning goals. The levels at which learning outcomes had been attained were extracted from the University Learning Management System (LMS), based on rubric data for three assessments in two units. Spreadsheets were used to link rubric criteria to the learning goals associated with the assessments as identified in a previous curriculum mapping exercise, and to aggregate the outcomes. Recommendations arising from this preliminary study are made to inform a more comprehensive pilot based on this approach, and manage the quality of student learning experiences in the context of existing processes and reporting structures.