Clipping noise compensation for OFDMA systems

This paper presents an efficient low-complexity clipping noise compensation scheme for PAR reduced orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems. Conventional clipping noise compensation schemes proposed for OFDM systems are decision directed schemes which use demodulated data symbols. Thus these schemes fail to deliver expected performance in OFDMA systems where multiple users share a single OFDM symbol and a specific user may only know his/her own modulation scheme. The proposed clipping noise estimation and compensation scheme does not require the knowledge of the demodulated symbols of the other users, making it very promising for OFDMA systems. It uses the equalized output and the reserved tones to reconstruct the signal by compensating the clipping noise. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can significantly improve the system performance.

Quality-based benefit design in health insurance : the impact of a product benefit design change on the utilisation of oral health services by members of a private health insurance fund in regional and rural New South Wales, Australia

Objective: To examine the impact on dental utilisation following the introduction of a participating provider scheme (Regional and Rural Oral Health Program {RROHP)). In this model dentists receive higher third party payments from a private health insurance fund for delivering an agreed range of preventive and diagnostic benefits at no out-ofpocket cost to insured patients. Data source/Study setting: Hospitals Contribution Fund of Australia (HCF) dental claims for all members resident in New South Wales over the six financial years from l99811999 to 200312004. Study design: This cohort study involves before and after analyses of dental claims experience over a six year period for approximately 81,000 individuals in the intervention group (HCF members resident in regional and rural New South Wales, Australia) and 267,000 in the control group (HCF members resident in the Sydney area). Only claims for individuals who were members of HCF at 31 December 1997 were included. The analysis groups claims into the three years prior to the establishment of the RROHP and the three years subsequent to implementation. Data collection/Extraction methods: The analysis is based on all claims submitted by users of services for visits between 1 July 1988 and 30 June 2004. In these data approximately 1,000,000 services were provided to the intervention group and approximately 4,900,000 in the control group. Principal findings: Using Statistical Process Control (SPC) charts, special cause variation was identified in total utilisation rate of private dental services in the intervention group post implementation. No such variation was present in the control group. On average in the three years after implementation of the program the utilisation rate of dental services by regional and rural residents of New South Wales who where members of HCF grew by 12.6%, over eight times the growth rate of 1.5% observed in the control group (HCF members who were Sydney residents). The differences were even more pronounced in the areas of service that were the focus of the program: diagnostic and preventive services. Conclusion: The implementation of a benefit design change, a participating provider scheme, that involved the removal of CO-payments on a defined range of preventive and diagnostic dental services combined with the establishment and promotion of a network of dentists, appears to have had a marked impact on HCF members' utilisation of dental services in regional and rural New South Wales, Australia.

Bringing academics on board : encouraging institution-wide diffusion of e-learning environments

Rapid advances in educational and information communications technology (ICT)have encouraged some educators to move beyond traditional face to face and distance education correspondence modes toward a rich, technology mediated e-learning environment. Ready access to multimedia at the desktop has provided the opportunity for educators to develop flexible, engaging and interactive learning resources incorporating multimedia and hypermedia. However, despite this opportunity, the adoption and integration of educational technologies by academics across the tertiary sector has typically been slow. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study that investigated factors influencing the manner in which academics adopt and integrate educational technology and ICT. The research was conducted at a regional Australian university, the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), and focused on the development of e-learning environments. These e-learning environments include a range of multimodal learning objects and multiple representations of content that seek to cater for different learning styles and modal preferences, increase interaction, improve learning outcomes, provide a more inclusive and equitable curriculum and more closely mirror the on campus learning experience. This focus of this paper is primarily on the barriers or inhibitors academics reported in the study, including institutional barriers, individual inhibitors and pedagogical concerns. Strategies for addressing these obstacles are presented and implications and recommendations for educational institutions are discussed.

Contemporary behavioural influences in an organisational setting and implications for intervention development

Professional drivers and safety Within the industrialised world, work-related crashes are the most common cause of work-related death, injury and reduced productivity (Charbotel et al., 2001; Toscano and Windau, 1994). Likewise in Australia, road crashes are the most common cause of work-related fatalities, injuries and absence from work (Haworth et al., 2000), with the average time lost being greater than any other workplace claim (Stewart-Bogle, 1999). There are obvious costs related to work crashes such as vehicle and property repair costs. There are also many hidden expenses including third party costs, workers compensation, medical costs, rehabilitation, customer-related costs, increased insurance premiums, administrative costs, legal fees and loss of productivity (Collingwood, 1997; Haworth et al, 2000).

Estimation and compensation of clipping noise in OFDMA systems

We propose an efficient and low-complexity scheme for estimating and compensating clipping noise in OFDMA systems. Conventional clipping noise estimation schemes, which need all demodulated data symbols, may become infeasible in OFDMA systems where a specific user may only know his own modulation scheme. The proposed scheme first uses equalized output to identify a limited number of candidate clips, and then exploits the information on known subcarriers to reconstruct clipped signal. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can significantly improve the system performance.

The development of an evidentiary on-board massmonitoring application for heavy vehicles

This paper reports on the development of specifications for an on-board mass monitoring (OBM) application for regulatory requirements in Australia. An earlier paper reported on feasibility study and pilot testing program prior to the specification development [1]. Learnings from the pilot were used to refine this testing process and a full scale testing program was conducted from July to October 2008. The results from the full scale test and evidentiary implications are presented in this report. The draft specification for an evidentiary on-board mass monitoring application is currently under development.

Insurance : The Laws of Australia

Insurance - the laws of Australia provides insurance practitioners, insurance companies and students with a principles-based, practical guide to insurance law in Australia. It provides comprehensive coverage and analysis of common law principles relating to, and the statutory regulation of, insurance contracts and the operation of an insurance business. The common law and statutory provisions are dealt within the context of marine, life and general insurance.

Some critical legal issues affecting insurance transaction globally

Increasingly, major insurers and reinsurers are operating on a global basis. For example, General Re Corporation and Cologne Re operate in almost 150 countries : see "General Re Corporation 1999 Annual Report". This is also true for the world's major brokers, and the emergence of large broking conglomerates such as Aon and Marsh are good examples of global service providers. Against the background of this increasingly global insurance market with global participants, there are a range of common legal issues in this article but a selection of certain critical matters are canvassed in the secitons below. First there are a range of regulatory issues that must be addressed. Secondly globalisation of the industry does create added incentive for a common legal regime to cover the formation of insurance transactions and the resolution of disputes about claims, coverage and termination. In this contect codifcation of insurance laws is a critical issue. Thirdly, major advances in genetic research and biotechnology over recent years have resulted in a dramatic increase in the availability of genetic testing. These developments have given rise to concerns worldwide about the potential for misuse of genetic information by third parties such as insurers and employers. Fourthly, the essence of an insurance transaction is the transference of risk from one person to anther. It is generally accepted that this transference should occur in informed circumstances and without undue advantage being bestowed upon either party. Finally this article will consider some legal matter in relation to transacting insurance on the internet

Fraudulent insurance claims : recent legal developments

Insurance fraud continues to be a major problem worldwide. This article will canvass recent legal developments in relation to selected issues and matters of particular concern to the insurance industry. This article is confined to fraudulent claims. Fraud may arise at various points in the insurance relationship, including initial fraud on placement and fraudulent breach of contract by the assured. Fraud at the outset by the assured is treated differently from innocent or negligent conduct. "Fraud" in the context of this paper embraces all claims where an insured intednds to deceive an insurer by getting out i money to which the insured knew he had no right. This article will examine fraudulent insurance claims.

Respecting contractual intentions : balancing consumer expectations with the sanctity of contract in the context of standard form insurance contracts

It is the purpose of this article to examine the means curently available to judges to achieve a workable balance between providing appropriate consumer protection to signatories of standard form contractors while still retaining adequate respect for the sanctity of contract, and, based on this analysis, to determine whether a significantly greater scope of contract (re)construction is likely to become the norm in most common law jurisdictions in the coming decades.

Disclosure in insurance law : contemporary and historical economic considerations

This article examines the importance of accurate classification and identification of risk with particular reference to the problem of adverse selection. It is argued that, historically, this concern was the paramount consideration influencing standard form contract formation and disclosure laws. The scope of its relevance today however is less apparent in that contemporary insurance contracting is conducted in a vastly different environment from that which prevailed at the time Lloyd's was better known as a coffee house. Accordingly, the second part of this article looks at the contemporary framework of information disclosure and those dynamics within it designed to elicit information weighing on risk forecasting : specifically, (a) direct inquiry and testing requirements; (b) signaling - or incentive based structuring of insurance contractual and (c) bargaining in the shadow of the utmost good faith doctrine. Finally, certain conclusions arising out of contemporary and historical economic considerations underpinning disclosure in insurance law are outlined.

Utmost good faith in insurance : reform overdue?

Considerable attention has been devoted to the duty or doctrine of utmost good faith in the academic literature and in the courts. This attention ranges from an analysis of the precise legal basis for the duty through a consideration of the continuing nature of that duty in the post-contract environment.It is quite clear that all contracts of insurance are subject to this duty of utmost good faith. What is less clear and certain are the incidents attendant upon such a duty and the scope of the obligations that such a duty imposes. This article examines the relative positions that have been reached in England and Australia and concludes with some recommendations for legislative reform to this area of the law.