Queensland Government’s people’s question time : the challenges and opportunities of population growth in Queensland

As AITPM National President, I was invited by Queensland’s Premier, Hon. Anna Bligh MP, as an audience guest to People’s Question Time on Wednesday 24 March 2010, which focused on ‘The Challenges and Opportunities of Population Growth in Queensland’. On the panel were: Premier and Minister for the Arts, Anna Bligh; Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Kate Jones; Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, Stirling Hinchliffe; Michael Rayner – Growth Management Summit Advisory Panel, Principal Director, Cox Rayner Architects; and Greg Hallam – Executive Director, Local Government Association of Queensland. The moderator for this session was Law Academic Erin O’Brien, of Queensland University of Technology.

Gifted adolescents : addressing the 'Who Am I?' question

Despite the complication giftedness can add to the task of developing a personal sense of self during early adolescence little qualitative study is done with this group. This paper reports on a study that invited gifted young adolescents to author about their perceptions of themselves and their lives. The study used digital writing in the form of journal entries delivered by email to generate personal narratives from 12 participants over a 6 month period. With the researcher acting as an empathic listener/responder participants were supported in the expression of their thoughts and observations as authors about themselves and their lives. Findings suggest that the opportunity to self-reflect and to self express in the form of digital writing can offer a positive pathway to growth in self-understanding among gifted young adolescents. Furthermore, the involvement of an adult as an interested and responsive listener in an email relationship appears to facilitate a synergy for healthy self-disclosure.

A voting mechanism for named entity translation in English-Chinese question answering

In this paper, we describe a voting mechanism for accurate named entity (NE) translation in English–Chinese question answering (QA). This mechanism involves translations from three different sources: machine translation,online encyclopaedia, and web documents. The translation with the highest number of votes is selected. We evaluated this approach using test collection, topics and assessment results from the NTCIR-8 evaluation forum. This mechanism achieved 95% accuracy in NEs translation and 0.3756 MAP in English–Chinese cross-lingual information retrieval of QA.

Ethical decision making and health care managers : developing managerial profiles based on ethical frameworks and other influencing factors

Whether the community is looking for “scapegoats” to blame, or seeking more radical and deeper causes, health care managers are in the firing line whenever there are woes in the health care sector. The public has a right to question whether ethics have much influence on the everyday decision making of health care managers. This thesis explores, through a series of published papers, the influence of ethics and other factors on the decision making of health care managers in Australia. Critical review of over 40 years of research on ethical decision making has revealed a large number of influencing factors, but there is a demonstrable lack of a multidimensional approach that measures the combined influences of these factors on managers. This thesis has developed an instrument, the Managerial Ethical Profile (MEP) scale, based on a multidimensional model combining a large number of influencing factors. The MEP scale measures the range of influences on individual managers, and describes the major tendencies by developing a number of empirical profiles derived from a hierarchical cluster analysis. The instrument was developed and refined through a process of pilot studies on academics and students (n=41) and small-business managers (n=41), and then was administered to the larger sample of health care managers (n=441). Results from this study indicate that Australian health care managers draw on a range of ethical frameworks in their everyday decision making, forming the basis of five MEPs (Knights, Guardian Angels, Duty Followers, Defenders, and Chameleons). Results from the study also indicate that the range of individual, organisational, and external factors that influence decision making can be grouped into three major clusters or functions. Cross referencing these functions and other demographic data to the MEPs provides analytical insight into the characteristics of the MEPs. These five profiles summarise existing strengths and weaknesses in managerial ethical decision making. Therefore identifying these profiles not only can contribute to increasing organisational knowledge and self-awareness, but also has clear implications for the design and implementation of ethics education and training in large scale organisations in the health care industry.

Refusal of medical treatment : a child's prerogative?

Society has a need for children to be able to make health care decisions. Homeless children need access to health care. Parents may not be accessible or competent to consent to their child’s health care. The familial relationship may have broken down. Children may not want their parents to know about drug, alcohol or pregnancy related issues. There is legal and academic support for the right of children to make autonomous decisions with respect to their health care. However what these decisions cover and who can make them is not clear. Whether or not a minor has capacity and is therefore competent to consent to medical treatment is a question of law. Some states of Australia have enacted legislation, while others rely on the common law to determine this issue. At common law a minor is capable of giving consent to medical treatment when he or she achieves a sufficient understanding and intelligence to be able to understand fully what is proposed. Known as ‘Gillick competence’ this is a well known principle of law. The question posed by this paper is whether the decision of a ‘Gillick competent’ child can and should be overridden by the court?

The question concerning (Internet) time

Spatial representations, metaphors and imaginaries (cyberspace, web pages) have been the mainstay of internet research for a long time. Instead of repeating these themes, this paper seeks to answer the question of how we might understand the concept of time in relation to internet research. After a brief excursus on the general history of the concept, this paper proposes three different approaches to the conceptualisation of internet time. The common thread underlying all the approaches is the notion of time as an assemblage of elements such as technical artefacts, social relations and metaphors. By drawing out time in this way, the paper addresses the challenge of thinking of internet time as coexistence, a clash of fluxes, metaphors, lived experiences and assemblages. In other words, this paper proposes a way to articulate internet time as a multiplicity.

Value co-creation in social marketing wellness services

Customer perceived value is concerned with the experiences of consumers when using a service and is often referred to in the context of service provision or on the basis of service quality (Auh, et al., 2007; Chang, 2008; Jackson, 2007; Laukkanen, 2007; Padgett & Mulvey, 2007; Shamdasani, Mukherjee & Malhotra, 2008). Understanding customer perceived value has benefits for social marketing and allows scholars and practitioners alike to identify why consumers engage in positive social behaviours through the use of services. Understanding consumers’ use of wellness services in particular is important, because the use of wellness services demonstrates the fulfilment of social marketing aims; performing pro-active, positive social behaviours that are of benefit to the individual and to society (Andreasen, 1994). As consumers typically act out of self-interest (Rothschild, 1999), this research posits that a value proposition must be made to consumers in order to encourage behavioural change. Thus, this research seeks to identify how value is created for consumers of wellness services in social marketing. This results in the overall research question of this research: How is value created in social marketing wellness services? A traditional method towards understanding value has been the adoption of an economic approach, which considers the utility gained and where value is a direct outcome of a cost-benefit analysis (Payne & Holt, 1999). However, there has since been a shift towards the adoption of an experiential approach in understanding value. This experiential approach considers the consumption experience of the consumer which extends beyond the service exchange and includes pre- and post-consumption stages (Russell-Bennett, Previte & Zainuddin, 2009). As such, this research uses an experiential approach to identify the value that exists in social marketing wellness services. Four dimensions of value have been commonly conceptualised and identified in the commercial marketing literature; functional, emotional, social, and altruistic value (Holbrook, 1994; Sheth, Newman & Gross, 1991; Sweeney & Soutar, 2001). It is not known if these value dimensions also exist in social marketing. In addition, sources of value said to influence value dimensions have been conceptualised in the literature. Sources of value such as information, interaction, environment, service, customer co-creation, and social mandate have been conceptually identified both in the commercial and social marketing literature (Russell-Bennet, Previte & Zainuddin, 2009; Smith & Colgate, 2007). However, it is not clear which sources of value contribute to the creation of value for users of wellness services. Thus, this research seeks to explore these relationships. This research was conducted using a wellness service context, specifically breast cancer screening services. The primary target consumer of these services is women aged 50 to 69 years old (inclusive) who have never been diagnosed with breast cancer. It is recommended that women in this target group have a breast screen every 2 years in order to achieve the most effective medical outcomes from screening. A two-study mixed method approach was utilised. Study 1 was a qualitative exploratory study that analysed individual-depth interviews with 25 information-rich respondents. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using NVivo 8 software. The qualitative results provided evidence of the existence of the four value dimensions in social marketing. The results also allowed for the development of a typology of experiential value by synthesising current understanding of the value dimensions, with the activity aspects of experiential value identified by Holbrook (1994) and Mathwick, Malhotra and Rigdon (2001). The qualitative results also provided evidence for the existence of sources of value in social marketing, namely information, interaction, environment and consumer participation. In particular, a categorisation of sources of value was developed as a result of the findings from Study 1, which identify organisational, consumer, and third party sources of value. A proposed model of value co-creation and a set of hypotheses were developed based on the results of Study 1 for further testing in Study 2. Study 2 was a large-scale quantitative confirmatory study that sought to test the proposed model of value co-creation and the hypotheses developed. An online-survey was administered Australia-wide to women in the target audience. A response rate of 20.1% was achieved, resulting in a final sample of 797 useable responses after removing ineligible respondents. Reliability and validity analyses were conducted on the data, followed by Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) in PASW18, followed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) in AMOS18. Following the preliminary analyses, the data was subject to Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) in AMOS18 to test the path relationships hypothesised in the proposed model of value creation. The SEM output revealed that all hypotheses were supported, with the exception of one relationship which was non-significant. In addition, post hoc tests revealed seven further significant non-hypothesised relationships in the model. The quantitative results show that organisational sources of value as well as consumer participation sources of value influence both functional and emotional dimensions of value. The experience of both functional and emotional value in wellness services leads to satisfaction with the experience, followed by behavioural intentions to perform the behaviour and use the service again. One of the significant non-hypothesised relationships revealed that emotional value leads to functional value in wellness services, providing further empirical evidence that emotional value features more prominently than functional value for users of wellness services. This research offers several contributions to theory and practice. Theoretically, this research addresses a gap in the literature by using social marketing theory to provide an alternative method of understanding individual behaviour in a domain that has been predominantly investigated in public health. This research also clarifies the concept of value and offers empirical evidence to show that value is a multi-dimensional construct with separate and distinct dimensions. Empirical evidence for a typology of experiential value, as well as a categorisation of sources of value is also provided. In its practical contributions, this research identifies a framework that is the value creation process and offers health services organisations a diagnostic tool to identify aspects of the service process that facilitate the value creation process.

Leveraging the network information for evaluating answer quality in a collaborative question answering portal

Collaborative question answering (cQA) portals such as Yahoo! Answers allow users as askers or answer authors to communicate, and exchange information through the asking and answering of questions in the network. In their current set-up, answers to a question are arranged in chronological order. For effective information retrieval, it will be advantageous to have the users’ answers ranked according to their quality. This paper proposes a novel approach of evaluating and ranking the users’answers and recommending the top-n quality answers to information seekers. The proposed approach is based on a user-reputation method which assigns a score to an answer reflecting its answer author’s reputation level in the network. The proposed approach is evaluated on a dataset collected from a live cQA, namely, Yahoo! Answers. To compare the results obtained by the non-content-based user-reputation method, experiments were also conducted with several content-based methods that assign a score to an answer reflecting its content quality. Various combinations of non-content and content-based scores were also used in comparing results. Empirical analysis shows that the proposed method is able to rank the users’ answers and recommend the top-n answers with good accuracy. Results of the proposed method outperform the content-based methods, various combinations, and the results obtained by the popular link analysis method, HITS.

What our ICT graduates really need from us : a perspective from the workplace

A national Discipline-Based Initiative (DBI) project for Information and Communications Technology (ICT), funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council, has sought the opinions of recent graduates of ICT in the workplace to help inform the curriculum. An online survey was devised to question graduates on workplace requirements and university preparation for abilities categorized as: personal interpersonal; cognitive; business and technical. The graduates in employment have highlighted broad mismatches between the requirements of their professional work in these categories and the preparation for employment they received from university. A regression analysis was used to determine influences on graduates’ opinions of the preparation they received at university. The quantitative and qualitative results from this survey could have far reaching consequences for ICT education and this initiative will enable the development of curricula that ensures graduates are equipped with the skills required by the ICT industry.

Development and piloting of a brain tumour-specific question prompt list

The objective of this research was to develop a question prompt list aimed at increasing question asking and reducing the unmet information needs of adults with primary brain tumours, and to pilot the question prompt list to determine its suitability for the intended population. Thematic analysis of existing resources was used to create a draft which was refined via interviews with 12 brain tumour patients and six relatives, readability testing and review by health professionals. A non-randomised before–after pilot study with 20 brain tumour patients was used to assess the acceptability and usefulness of the question prompt list, compared with a ‘standard brochure’, and the feasibility of evaluation strategies. The question prompt list developed covered seven main topics (diagnosis, prognosis, symptoms and changes, treatment, support, after treatment finishes and the health professional team). Pilot study participants provided with the question prompt list agreed that it was helpful (7/7), contained questions that were useful to them (7/7) and prompted them to ask their medical oncologist questions (5/7). The question prompt list is acceptable to patients and contains questions relevant to them. Research is now needed to assess its effectiveness in increasing question asking and reducing unmet information needs.

Raman spectroscopic study of the mineral arsenogorceixite BaAl3AsO3(OH)(AsO4,PO4)(OH,F)6

Arsenogorceixite BaAl3AsO3(OH)(AsO4,PO4)(OH,F)6 belongs to the crandallite mineral subgroup of the alunite supergroup. Arsenogorceixite forms a continuous series of solid solutions with related minerals including gorceixite, goyazite, arsenogoyazite, plumbogummite and philipsbornite. Two minerals from (a) Germany and (b) from Ashburton Downs, Australia were analysed by Raman spectroscopy. The spectra show some commonality but the intensities of the peaks vary. Sharp intense Raman bands for the German sample, are observed at 972 and 814 cm−1 attributed to the ν1 PO43− and AsO43− symmetric stretching modes. Raman bands at 1014, 1057, 1148 and 1160 cm−1 are attributed to the ν1 PO2 symmetric stretching mode and ν3 PO43− antisymmetric stretching vibrations. Raman bands at 764 and 776 cm−1 and 758 and 756 cm−1 are assigned to the ν3 AsO43− antisymmetric stretching vibrations. For the Australian mineral, the ν1 PO43− band is found at 973 cm−1. The intensity of the arsenate bands observed at 814, 838 and 870 cm−1 is greatly enhanced. Two low intensity Raman bands at 1307 and 1332 cm−1 are assigned to hydroxyl deformation modes. The intense Raman band at 441 cm−1 with a shoulder at 462 cm−1 is assigned to the ν2 PO43− bending mode. Raman bands at 318 and 340 cm−1 are attributed to the (AsO4)3−ν2 bending. The broad band centred at 3301 cm−1 is assigned to water stretching vibrations and the sharper peak at 3473 cm−1 is assigned to the OH stretching vibrations. The observation of strong water stretching vibrations brings into question the actual formula of arsenogorceixite. It is proposed the formula is better written as BaAl3AsO3(OH)(AsO4,PO4)(OH,F)6·xH2O. The observation of both phosphate and arsenate bands provides a clear example of solid solution formation.

It’s okay to ask : development and pilot testing of a question prompt list for patients with brain tumours

Background: Previous research identified that primary brain tumour patients have significant psychological morbidity and unmet needs, particularly the need for more information and support. However, the utility of strategies to improve information provision in this setting is unknown. This study involved the development and piloting of a brain tumour specific question prompt list (QPL). A QPL is a list of questions patients may find useful to ask their health professionals, and is designed to facilitate communication and information exchange. Methods: Thematic analysis of QPLs developed for other chronic diseases and brain tumour specific patient resources informed a draft QPL. Subsequent refinement of the QPL involved an iterative process of interviews and review with 12 recently diagnosed patients and six caregivers. Final revisions were made following readability analyses and review by health professionals. Piloting of the QPL is underway using a non-randomised control group trial with patients undergoing treatment for a primary brain tumour in Brisbane, Queensland. Following baseline interviews, consenting participants are provided with the QPL or standard information materials. Follow-up interviews four to 6 weeks later allow assessment of the acceptability of the QPL, how it is used by patients, impact on information needs, and feasibility of recruitment, implementation and outcome assessment. Results: The final QPL was determined to be readable at the sixth grade level. It contains seven sections: diagnosis, prognosis, symptoms and changes, the health professional team, support, treatment and management, and post-treatment concerns. At this time, fourteen participants have been recruited for the pilot, and data collection completed for eleven. Data collection and preliminary analysis are expected to be completed by and presented at the conference. Conclusions: If acceptable to participants, the QPL may encourage patients, doctors and nurses to communicate more effectively, reducing unmet information needs and ultimately improving psychological wellbeing.

Measurable progress? Teaching artsworkers to assess and articulate the impact of their work

The National Cultural Policy Discussion Paper—drafted to assist the Australian Government in developing the first national Cultural Policy since Creative Nation nearly two decades ago—envisages a future in which arts, cultural and creative activities directly support the development of an inclusive, innovative and productive Australia. "The policy," it says, "will be based on an understanding that a creative nation produces a more inclusive society and a more expressive and confident citizenry by encouraging our ability to express, describe and share our diverse experiences—with each other and with the world" (Australian Government 3). Even a cursory reading of this Discussion Paper makes it clear that the question of impact—in aesthetic, cultural and economic terms—is central to the Government's agenda in developing a new Cultural Policy. Hand-in-hand with the notion of impact comes the process of measurement of progress. The Discussion Paper notes that progress "must be measurable, and the Government will invest in ways to assess the impact that the National Cultural Policy has on society and the economy" (11). If progress must be measurable, this raises questions about what arts, cultural and creative workers do, whether it is worth it, and whether they could be doing it better. In effect, the Discussion Paper pushes artsworkers ever closer to a climate in which they have to be skilled not just at making work, but at making the impact of this work clear to stakeholders. The Government in its plans for Australia's cultural future, is clearly most supportive of artsworkers who can do this, and the scholars, educators and employers who can best train the artsworkers of the future to do this.