Professional education in built environment and design

Early and rich conversations with a range of stakeholders – academics, professionals and graduates in their early years of practice – quickly clarified that the singular challenge for most parties centres on the ways in which courses prepare graduates for the pace, diversity and flux of contemporary professional practice.---------In pursuing understanding of this central challenge this study has focused on new graduates in BED disciplines by canvassing their views and those of two other major stakeholder groups (academic staff and professional practitioners in the disciplines studied). The first crucial years of a young graduate’s life in the workforce are shaped by a number of factors including the quality of the transition-to-work experience. The quality of this life-shaping transition is dependent on a range of factors including the ways in which graduates are educated in universities, their personal developmental characteristics and those of the professional people around them and the preparedness of workplaces and other professional groups to guide new recruits through the transition experience. This study makes recommendations about how the variations in transition experience, resulting from the vagaries of all these factors across a range of worksites, may be better understood, perhaps normalised, and, at least, supported. . Early and rich conversations with a range of stakeholders – academics, professionals and graduates in their early years of practice – quickly clarified that the singular challenge for most parties centres on the ways in which courses prepare graduates for the pace, diversity and flux of contemporary professional practice. The study proceeded through literature review, focus group interviews, national online survey and workshops. Through all these methods a number of challenges and factors essential to the transition experience, and the quality of education which precedes it, were identified. Firstly the study found further evidence of the importance of higher-order graduate capabilities, namely, the development of judgment, critical enquiry and strategic thinking. Alongside these capabilities the importance of the development of emotional intelligence, particularly interpersonal and social skills, was stressed by all stakeholders. At the time of writing the global economic crisis was providing challenges to the sector and its young graduates. This phenomenon proved the value of the development of resilience and persistence in graduates, the education system was called upon by all stakeholders as a place where the future-proofing of neophytes would ensure that the unknown challenges of the future could also be confronted. The study found that the challenges of transition to work are best supported by authentic undergraduate experiences both on and off campus, inside and outside classrooms, and that commencing professional life is made easier for new graduates when university courses and workplace settings develop, sustain and support high standards and high expectations of students. All these findings indicate the importance of stakeholder expectations, roles and responsibilities in respect of the transition-to-work experience. Whilst full agreement about how these things should occur is not necessary, a process (amongst stakeholders) which seeks value alignment around transition through discussion, debate and agenda-setting would probably assist to address what is seen as a major challenge in built environment and design education.

Extending life-cycle costing (LCC) analysis for sustainability considerations in road infrastructure projects

Sustainable development is about making societal investments. These investments should be in synchronization with the natural environment, trends of social development, as well as organisational and local economies over a long time span. Traditionally in the eyes of clients, project development will need to produce the required profit margins, with some degrees of consideration for other impacts. This is being changed as all citizens of our society are becoming more aware of concepts and challenges such as the climate change, greenhouse footprints, and social dimensions of sustainability, and will in turn demand answers to these issues in built facilities. A large number of R&D projects have focused on the technical advancement and environmental assessment of products and built facilities. It is equally important address the cost/benefit issue, as developers in the world would not want to loose money by investing in built assets. For infrastructure projects, due to its significant cost of development and lengthy delivery time, presenting the full money story of going green is of vital importance. Traditional views of life-cycle costing tend to focus on the pure economics of a construction project. Sustainability concepts are not broadly integrated with the current LCCA in the construction sector. To rectify this problem, this paper reports on the progress to date of developing and extending contemporary LCCA models in the evaluation of road infrastructure sustainability. The suggested new model development is based on sustainability indicators identified through previous research, and incorporating industry verified cost elements of sustainability measures. The on-going project aims to design and a working model for sustainability life-cycle costing analysis for this type of infrastructure projects.

Lighter than Tai

YEAR: 2008 ROLE: Performer FORMAT: Live Art Event at Tiananmen Square Beijing, China (3 hours) and Later on Summit of Mt. Tai Shan, Shandong Province, China (6 hrs + 3 hrs). WITH: Solo WHAT: In the Hall of Reverence on Tiananmen Square, Beijing Mao Zedong's body lies in state surrounded by flowers and draped with a Red Flag of Communist China. His casket with a glass top lies on a black stone from Mt. Tai, reflecting the quotation from Sima Qian (China's Han Dynasty historian) that "One's life can be weightier than Mt. Tai or lighter than a goose feather". This pair of performances were a quiet, personal reflection upon what such a once revolutionary expression might mean in today's very different time and place. The work was conceived during the Olympic Cultural Festival showing of Intimate Transactions (www.intimatetransactions.com) - during the tumultuous times leading up to China's proudly staged August 2008 Olympics. The rise and rise of China had long been generating major geopolitical, ecological and cross-cultural shifts throughout the region and beyond. In this dramatic epicentre of change and at a time of such great national pride, how might we each act in ways that are ecologically 'mighty' and yet simultaneously have an impact lighter than a goosefeather? This is both a question for China in its relations with the autonomous provinces and the environment as it is for all of us in our own 'local' affairs. However ecologically speaking all that is of local concern is of global concern and noone can therefore be exempt from the need to sustain that which we share in common and must all protect for the future. Performance 1: Tiananmen Square, Beijing: Dropping 100 goose feathers. Performance 2: The summit of Mt Tai, Shandong Province. Building a mountain from Goose Feathers. SHOWING HISTORY: 1: Anniversary of Protest Crackdown, Jun 8th 2008. 2: Dawn on Tai Shan's summit, 15th June, 2008 DETAILS: Performance 1: Begin an hour after dawn (5.45am) in Tiananmen Square Bring pre-prepared performance shirt, a bag of goose feathers tipped with red. Begin at the "Gate of Heavenly Peace" under the image of Chairman Mao. Circumnavigate the world's largest open and the most surveilled public space 5 times dropping feathers periodically. Meditate on Forces of Change. Finally enter Chairman Mao's mausoleum with the masses and move quietly past his preserved body. End the performance at the Gate of Heavenly Peace 3 hours later. Performance 2: Walk up Mt. Tai Shan in silence meditating on Forces of Change (6 hours). Stay overnight on the summit. Begin an hour before dawn (3.45am) in silence. Bring performance shirt, a sack of goose feathers and a simple wooden structure. On the sunrise viewing side of the mountain build a miniature, fragile 'mountain' in goose feathers and sticks on the edge of a sheer precipice. Watch the sun rise as the feathers blow away into the valley deep below (3 hours).

Withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment : criminal responsibility for established medical practice?

The law recognises the right of a competent adult to refuse medical treatment even if this will lead to death. Guardianship and other legislation also facilitates the making of decisions to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment in certain circumstances. Despite this apparent endorsement that such decisions can be lawful, doubts have been raised in Queensland about whether decisions to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment would contravene the criminal law, and particularly the duty imposed by the Criminal Code (Qld) to provide the “necessaries of life”. This article considers this tension in the law and examines various arguments that might allow for such decisions to be made lawfully. It ultimately concludes, however, that criminal responsibility may still arise and so reform is needed.

Creating and sustaining a basis for life-long learning in tertiary dancer training

This paper acknowledges the influences that a generation Y population brings to dance training methodologies and examines this impact in a tertiary context. Over the last 4 years, Queensland University of Technology has been modifying their curriculum for new students transitioning from the private dance studio into the prevocational university environment. An intensive training program was designed to empower the student creating effective entry points for common understandings in the learning and teaching of dance techniques with improved and accelerated learning outcomes. This paper shares these philosophies and practices in training for life-long learning that prepare the young dancer for longevity in the industry.

The promoting adult resilience (PAR) program : the effectiveness of the second, shorter pilot of a workplace prevention program

This article details the second, successful pilot of the Promoting Adult Resilience (PAR) program in the human-services departments of a local government organization. The PAR program is a strengths-based resilience building program that integrates Interpersonal and CBT perspectives and this pilot use a shorter, 7-week version of the program. Pre, post and follow-up measures on PAR participants from a resource-sector company were compared with a non-intervention matched comparison group. Post-test, PAR participants reported greater self-efficacy, more family satisfaction, greater f\work-life fit and balance and less negative family to work spillover than the comparison group. At the 6-month follow-up, these gains were maintained to a lesser degree, although work-life balance was strengthened, and negative spillover in both directions reduced. Participants also reported greater optimism for the future, greater work satisfaction and promisingly for human service workers, exhaustion was reduced and more vigour, important for human services as burnout, exhaustion is part of this is a serious work hazard

View from a bridge : what makes a musical city

The attention paid by the British music press in 1976 to the release of The Saints first single “I’m Stranded” was the trigger for a commercial and academic interest in the Brisbane music scene which still has significant energy. In 2007, Brisbane was identifed by Billboard Magazine as a “hot spot” of independent music. A place to watch. Someone turned a torch on this town, had a quick look, moved on. But this town has always had music in it. Some of it made by me. So, I’m taking this connection of mine, and working it into a contextual historical analysis of the creative lives of Brisbane musicians. I will be interviewing a number of Brisbane musicians. These interviews have begun, and will continue to be be conducted in 2011/2012. I will ask questions and pursue memories that will encompass family, teenage years, siblings, the suburbs, the city, venues, television and radio; but then widen to welcome the river, the hills and mountains, foes and friends, beliefs and death. The wider research will be a contextual historical analysis of the creative lives of Brisbane musicians. It will explore the changing nature of their work practices over time and will consider the notion, among other factors, of ‘place’ in both their creative practice and their creative output. It will also examine how the presence of the practitioners and their work is seen to contribute to the cultural life of the city and the creative lives of its citizens into the future. This paper offers an analysis of this last notion: how does this city see its music-makers? In addition to the interviews, over 300 Brisbane musicians were surveyed in September 2009 as part of a QUT-initiated recorded music event (BIGJAM). Their responses will inform the production of this paper.

Future-proofing : the academic library’s role in e-research support

Purpose – The paper describes a project created to enhance e-research support activities within an Australian university, based on environmental scanning of e-research activities and funding both nationally and internationally. Participation by the university library is also described.----- Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a case study that describes the stages of a project undertaken to develop an academic library’s capacity to offer e-research support to its institution’s research community.----- Findings – While the outcomes of the project have been successfully achieved, the work needs to be continued and eventually mainstreamed as core business in order to keep pace with developments in e-research. The continual skilling up of the university’s researchers and research support staff in e-research activities is imperative in reaching the goal of becoming a highly competitive research institution.----- Research limitations/implications – Although a single case study, the work has been contextualised within the national research agenda.----- Practical implications – The paper provides a project model that can adapted within an academic library without external or specialist skills. It is also scalable and can be applied at a divisional or broader level.----- Originality/value – The paper highlights the drivers for research investment in Australia and provides a model of how building e-research support activities can leverage this investment and contribute towards successful research activity.

Investigating the patterns and determinants of life satisfaction in Germany following reunification

This paper investigates the patterns and determinants of life satisfaction in Germany following reunification. We implement a new fixed-effect estimator for ordinal life satisfaction in the German Socio-Economic Panel and find negative effects on life satisfaction from being recently fired, losing a spouse through either death or separation, and time spent in hospital, while we find strong positive effects from income and marriage. Using a new causal decomposition technique, we find that East Germans experienced a continued improvement in life satisfaction to which increased household incomes contributed around 12 percent. Most of the improvement is explained by better average circumstances, such as greater political freedom. For West Germans, we find little change in average life satisfaction over this period.

The Creative Workforce : How to Launch Young People into High-Flying Futures

Creativity has become the economic engine of the 21st century. No longer the preserve of creative industries, 'creative capital' – in the form of novel thinking, navigation, interactivity and border-crossing – has become crucial to success and productivity. But are young people being equipped for a work future in which creativity is the defining feature of economic life? In this important book, Erica McWilliam argues that young people’s creative capacities are not being properly developed and that education, particularly in Australia, demands a massive pedagogical shift. Using both Australian and overseas examples, McWilliam describes what creative capacities are, why they've become important to our work futures, and what can be done to optimise the creative capacities of young people.

Preparation of future weather data to study the impact of climate change on buildings

The dynamic interaction between building systems and external climate is extremely complex, involving a large number of difficult-to-predict variables. In order to study the impact of climate change on the built environment, the use of building simulation techniques together with forecast weather data are often necessary. Since most of building simulation programs require hourly meteorological input data for their thermal comfort and energy evaluation, the provision of suitable weather data becomes critical. In this paper, the methods used to prepare future weather data for the study of the impact of climate change are reviewed. The advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed. The inherent relationship between these methods is also illustrated. Based on these discussions and the analysis of Australian historic climatic data, an effective framework and procedure to generate future hourly weather data is presented. It is shown that this method is not only able to deal with different levels of available information regarding the climate change, but also can retain the key characters of a “typical” year weather data for a desired period.

Quantifying the costs of drought : new evidence from life satisfaction data

We estimate the cost of droughts by matching rainfall data with individual life satisfaction. Our context is Australia over the period 2001 to 2004, which included a particularly severe drought. Using fixed-effect models, we find that a drought in spring has a detrimental effect on life satisfaction equivalent to an annual reduction in income of A$18,000. This effect, however, is only found for individuals living in rural areas. Using our estimates, we calculate that the predicted doubling of the frequency of spring droughts will lead to the equivalent loss in life satisfaction of just over 1% of GDP annually.

Examination of social demographic status, disease status, health behaviours and quality of life in older Australians using the theory of planned behaviour model

The increase of life expectancy worldwide during the last three decades has increased age-related disability leading to the risk of loss of quality of life. How to improve quality of life including physical health and mental health for older people and optimize their life potential has become an important health issue. This study used the Theory of Planned Behaviour Model to examine factors influencing health behaviours, and the relationship with quality of life. A cross-sectional mailed survey of 1300 Australians over 50 years was conducted at the beginning of 2009, with 730 completed questionnaires returned (response rate 63%). Preliminary analysis reveals that physiological changes of old age, especially increasing waist circumference and co morbidity was closely related to health status, especially worse physical health summary score. Physical activity was the least adherent behaviour among the respondents compared to eating healthy food and taking medication regularly as prescribed. Increasing number of older people living alone with co morbidity of disease may be the barriers that influence their attitude and self control toward physical activity. A multidisciplinary and integrated approach including hospital and non hospital care is required to provide appropriate services and facilities toward older people.