Pool safety in Queensland

This article examines recent changes to the Building Act 1975 (Qld) intended to promote pool safety in Queensland. The impact of these statutory changes is considered in relation to both compliance obligations and disclosure obligations associated with sale and leasing transactions. The interrelationship of these changes with the operation of standard contractual provisions in Queensland is also examined.

Country of Origin and Internet Publication : Applying the Berne Convention in the Digital Age

Historically, determining the country of origin of a published work presented few challenges, because works were generally published physically – whether in print or otherwise – in a distinct location or few locations. However, publishing opportunities presented by new technologies mean that we now live in a world of simultaneous publication – works that are first published online are published simultaneously to every country in world in which there is Internet connectivity. While this is certainly advantageous for the dissemination and impact of information and creative works, it creates potential complications under the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (“Berne Convention”), an international intellectual property agreement to which most countries in the world now subscribe. Under the Berne Convention’s national treatment provisions, rights accorded to foreign copyright works may not be subject to any formality, such as registration requirements (although member countries are free to impose formalities in relation to domestic copyright works). In Kernel Records Oy v. Timothy Mosley p/k/a Timbaland, et al. however, the Florida Southern District Court of the United States ruled that first publication of a work on the Internet via an Australian website constituted “simultaneous publication all over the world,” and therefore rendered the work a “United States work” under the definition in section 101 of the U.S. Copyright Act, subjecting the work to registration formality under section 411. This ruling is in sharp contrast with an earlier decision delivered by the Delaware District Court in Håkan Moberg v. 33T LLC, et al. which arrived at an opposite conclusion. The conflicting rulings of the U.S. courts reveal the problems posed by new forms of publishing online and demonstrate a compelling need for further harmonization between the Berne Convention, domestic laws and the practical realities of digital publishing. In this article, we argue that even if a work first published online can be considered to be simultaneously published all over the world it does not follow that any country can assert itself as the “country of origin” of the work for the purpose of imposing domestic copyright formalities. More specifically, we argue that the meaning of “United States work” under the U.S. Copyright Act should be interpreted in line with the presumption against extraterritorial application of domestic law to limit its application to only those works with a real and substantial connection to the United States. There are gaps in the Berne Convention’s articulation of “country of origin” which provide scope for judicial interpretation, at a national level, of the most pragmatic way forward in reconciling the goals of the Berne Convention with the practical requirements of domestic law. We believe that the uncertainties arising under the Berne Convention created by new forms of online publishing can be resolved at a national level by the sensible application of principles of statutory interpretation by the courts. While at the international level we may need a clearer consensus on what amounts to “simultaneous publication” in the digital age, state practice may mean that we do not yet need to explore textual changes to the Berne Convention.

Legal Profession Act 2007 s 319 - Whether costs agreement made after trial valid and enforceable - whether agreement had retrospective operation

The decision in QCOAL Pty Ltd v Cliffs Australia Coal Pty Ltd [2010] QSC 479 involved an examination of a number of issues relating to the assessment of costs under the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld). The decision highlights a range of issues which, in slightly different circumstances, may have deprived the successful party of the right to recover costs by reference to the costs agreement.

Modeling player-like behaviour for game Al design

The design of artificial intelligence in computer games is an important component of a player's game play experience. As games are becoming more life-like and interactive, the need for more realistic game AI will increase. This is particularly the case with respect to AI that simulates how human players act, behave and make decisions. The purpose of this research is to establish a model of player-like behavior that may be effectively used to inform the design of artificial intelligence to more accurately mimic a player's decision making process. The research uses a qualitative analysis of player opinions and reactions while playing a first person shooter video game, with recordings of their in game actions, speech and facial characteristics. The initial studies provide player data that has been used to design a model of how a player behaves.

Practice and procedure : a recent Court of Appeal case examines the meaning of 'third party payer' in terms of Part 3.4 of the Legal Profession Act 2007.

In Legal Services Commissioner v Wright [2010] QCA 321 the Queensland Court of Appeal allowed an appeal from the first instance decision. The decision involved the construction of “third party payer” in Part 3.4 of the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld).

Demanding a change : time to act on statutory demands

The statutory demand procedure has been a part of our corporate law from its earliest modern formulations and it has been suggested, albeit anecdotally, that under the current regime, it gives rise to more litigation than any other part of the Corporations Act. Despite this there has been a lack of consideration of the underlying policy behind the procedure in both the case law and literature; both of which are largely centred on the technical aspects of the process. The purpose of this article is to examine briefly the process of the statutory demand in the context of the current insolvency law in Australia. This paper argues that robust analysis of the statutory demand regime is overdue. The paper first sets out to discover if there is a policy justification for the process and to articulate what that may be. Second, it will briefly examine the current legislation and argue that the structure actually encourages litigation which is arguably undesirable in the context of insolvency. In particular we will ask if the current rigid legal regime is appropriate for dealing efficiently with the highly charged atmosphere of contested insolvency. Third, it will examine suggested reforms in this area as to whether they might be a way forward.

Teachers’ and children’s personal epistemologies for moral education : Case studies in early years elementary education

While there is strong interest in teaching values in Australia and internationally there is little focus on young children’s moral values learning in the classroom. Research shows that personal epistemology influences teaching and learning in a range of education contexts, including moral education. This study examines relationships between personal epistemologies (children’s and teachers’), pedagogies, and school contexts for moral learning in two early years classrooms. Interviews with teachers and children and analysis of school policy revealed clear patterns of personal epistemologies and pedagogies within each school. A whole school approach to understanding personal epistemologies and practice for moral values learning is suggested.

Property investment, construction and economic growth : the case of Malaysia

It is generally accepted that there is a close relationship between property investment and construction activity. The construction sector plays a crucial role in economic development, especially for a developing nation such as Malaysia. However, the volume of new properties added to the property market is only a fraction of the total volume of the property market. Is the conventional assumption of the relationship between property investment and construction supported by empirical data? This paper revisits the tripartite relationships between economic growths, property investment and construction activities with official Malaysian 2000Q1-2010Q4 quarterly time series data. The Granger causality tests are used to establish the causality runs from the GDP to the value of property transactions, and the growth of construction activities to GDP growth. The result is expected to be useful for policymakers and industrial practitioners in formulating industrial policies and corporate strategies.

Assessing the real value in residential property investment

One of the major fall outs from the Global Financial Crisis has been the decline in residential property construction, home lending and residential property prices. This has lead to some extent to a reduction in the number of small investors willing to commit funds to an investment market that is not seen to perform as well as other investment assets, particularly in relation to income return.With a decreasing supply of rental accommodation in the housing markets, less public housing being constructed by both State and Commonwealth Governments, there is the potential for the residential property market to provide more substantial returns than previous years.This paper will analyse the current residential housing market in Brisbane, Australia to determine if there are sectors in this market that are outperforming the average income and total return for residential investment property and the variation in investment performance across the various housing sub-markets. The results show that property investment in residential property provides opportunities to maximize returns based on geographic location and socio-economic economic status, with lower value areas showing the highest income returns and higher value suburbs showing greater capital returns

The Profiling of Property, Plant & Equipment (PPE) Contributions in Australia and Malaysia Public Listed Construction Companies

The purpose of this paper is to study the profiling of property, plant and equipment (PPE) contributions in Australia and Malaysia construction companies. A company’s worth is usually based on the listed share price on the stock exchange. In arriving at the net profit, the contribution of PPE in the company’s assets is somehow being neglected. This paper will investigate the followings; firstly the level of PPE contribution in the construction firms by comparing the PPE contributions to the company’s asset as a whole which includes fixed (non-current) assets and current assets. This will determine the true strength of the companies, rather than relying on the share prices alone. Secondly, the paper will determine the trend of company’s asset ownership to show the company’s performance of the PPE ownership during the period of study. The data is based on the selected construction companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and Malaysian Stock Exchange, known as Bursa Malaysia. The profiling will help to determine the strength of the construction firms based on the PPE holding, and the level of PPE ownerships in the two countries construction firms during the period of study.

An analysis of NSW rural property market : 1990-2010

Rural property in Australia has seen significant market resurgence over the past 3 years, with improved seasonal conditions in a number of states, improved commodity prices and a greater interest and purchase of rural land by major international corporations and investment institutions. Much of this change in perspective in relation to rural property as an asset class can be linked to the food shortage of 2007 and the subsequent interest by many countries in respect to food security. This paper will address the total and capital return performance of a major agricultural area and compare these returns on the basis of both location of land and land use. The comparison will be used to determine if location or actual land use has a greater influence on rural property capital and income returns. This performance analysis is based on over 40,000 rural sales transactions. These transactions cover all market based rural property transactions in New South Wales, Australia for the period January 1990 to December 2010. Correlation analysis and investment performance analysis has also been carried out to determine the possible relationships between location and land use and subsequent changes in rural land capital values.

To act or not to act : this is John's dilemma

The case proposes an ethical dilemma that a Public Service Director faces that could affect his career, the career of his boss, and the career of the governor of a state. There is a strong need for ethical leaders in this changing global organization world where the headlines are filled with stories of private sector and public sector leaders who have made serious ethical and moral compromises. It is easy to follow ethical leaders who you can count on to do what is right and difficult to follow those who will do what is expedient or personally beneficial. However, ethical leadership is not always black and white as this case will portray. Difficult decisions must be made where it may not always be clear what to do. The names in the case have been changed although the situation is a real one.

Impact of the Corporate Law Economic Reform Program Act 1999 on initial public offering prospectus earnings forecasts

Commencing 13 March 2000, the Corporate Law Economic Reform Program Act 1999 (Cth) introduced changes to the regulation of corporate fundraising in Australia. In particular, it effected a reduction in the litigation risk associated with initial public offering prospectus disclosure.We find that the change is associated with a reduction in forecast frequency and an increase in forecast value relevance, but not with forecast error or bias. These results confirm previous findings that changes in litigation risk affect the level but not the quality of disclosure. They also suggest that the reforms’ objectives of reducing fundraising costs while improving investor protection, have been achieved.

Speeding by young novice drivers : what can personal characteristics and psychosocial theory add to our understanding?

Purpose: Young novice drivers continue to be overrepresented in fatalities and injuries arising from crashes even with the introduction of countermeasures such as graduated driver licensing (GDL). Enhancing countermeasures requires a better understanding of the variables influencing risky driving. One of the most common risky behaviours performed by drivers of all ages is speeding, which is particularly risky for young novice drivers who, due to their driving inexperience, have difficulty in identifying and responding appropriately to road hazards. Psychosocial theory can improve our understanding of contributors to speeding, thereby informing countermeasure development and evaluation. This paper reports an application of Akers’ social learning theory (SLT), augmented by Gerrard and Gibbons’ prototype/willingness model (PWM), in addition to personal characteristics of age, gender, car ownership, and psychological traits/states of anxiety, depression, sensation seeking propensity and reward sensitivity, to examine the influences on self-reported speeding of young novice drivers with a Provisional (intermediate) licence in Queensland, Australia. Method: Young drivers (n = 378) recruited in 2010 for longitudinal research completed two surveys containing the Behaviour of Young Novice Drivers Scale, and reported their attitudes and behaviours as pre-Licence/Learner (Survey 1) and Provisional (Survey 2) drivers and their sociodemographic characteristics. Results: An Akers’ measurement model was created. Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that (1) personal characteristics (PC) explained 20.3%; (2) the combination of PC and SLT explained 41.1%; and (3) the combination of PC, SLT and PWM explained 53.7% of variance in self-reported speeding. Whilst there appeared to be considerable shared variance, the significant predictors in the final model included gender, car ownership, reward sensitivity, depression, personal attitudes, and Learner speeding. Conclusions: These results highlight the capacity for psychosocial theory to improve our understanding of speeding by young novice drivers, revealing relationships between previous behaviour, attitudes, psychosocial characteristics and speeding. The findings suggest multi-faceted countermeasures should target the risky behaviour of Learners, and Learner supervisors should be encouraged to monitor their Learners’ driving speed. Novice drivers should be discouraged from developing risky attitudes towards speeding.

Mind games : applying White’s principles of narrative therapy to the creation of a cabaret about depression and bipolar disorder

This PhD represents my attempt to make sense of my personal experiences of depression through the form of cabaret. I first experienced depression in 2006. Previously, I had considered myself to be a happy and optimistic person. I found the experience of depression to be a shock: both in the experience itself, and also in the way it effected my own self image. These personal experiences, together with my professional history as a songwriter and cabaret performer, have been the motivating force behind the research project. This study has explored the question: What are the implications of applying principles of Michael White’s narrative therapy to the creation of a cabaret performance about depression and bipolar disorder? There is a 50 percent weighting on the creative work, the cabaret performance Mind Games, and a 50 percent weighting on the written exegesis. This research has focussed on the illustration of therapeutic principles in order to play games of truth within a cabaret performance. The research project investigates ways of telling my own story in relation to others’ stories through three re-authoring principles articulated in Michael White’s narrative therapy: externalisation, an autonomous ethic of living and rich descriptions. The personal stories presented in the cabaret were drawn from my own experiences and from interviews with individuals with depression or bipolar disorder. The cabaret focussed on the illustration of therapeutic principles, and was not focussed on therapeutic ends for myself or the interviewees. The research question has been approached through a methodology combining autoethnographic, practice-led and action research. Auto ethnographic research is characterised by close investigation of assumptions, attitudes, and beliefs. The combination of autoethnographic, practice-led, action research has allowed me to bring together personal experiences of mental illness, research into therapeutic techniques, social attitudes and public discourses about mental illness and forms of contemporary cabaret to facilitate the creation of a one-woman cabaret performance. The exegesis begins with a discussion of games of truth as informed by Michel Foucault and Michael White and self-stigma as informed by Michael White and Erving Goffman. These concepts form the basis for a discussion of my own personal experiences. White’s narrative therapy is focused on individuals re-authoring their stories, or telling their stories in different ways. White’s principles are influenced by Foucault’s notions of truth and power. Foucault’s term games of truth has been used to describe the effect of a ‘truth in flux’ that occurs through White’s re-authoring process. This study argues that cabaret is an appropriate form to represent this therapeutic process because it favours heightened performativity over realism, and showcases its ‘constructedness’ and artificiality. Thus cabaret is well suited to playing games of truth. A contextual review compares two major cabaret trends, personal cabaret and provocative cabaret, in reference to the performer’s relationship with the audience in terms of distance and intimacy. The study draws a parallel between principles of distance and intimacy in Michael White’s narrative therapy and relates these to performative terms of distance and intimacy. The creative component of this study, the cabaret Mind Games, used principles of narrative therapy to present the character ‘Jo’ playing games of truth through: externalising an aspect of her personality (externalisation); exploring different life values (an autonomous ethic of living); and enacting multiple versions of her identity (rich descriptions). This constant shifting between distance and intimacy within the cabaret created the effect of a truth in ‘constant flux’, to use one of White’s terms. There are three inter-related findings in the study. The first finding is that the application of principles of White’s narrative therapy was able to successfully combine provocative and empathetic elements within the cabaret. The second finding is that the personal agenda of addressing my own self-stigma within the project limited the effective portrayal of a ‘truth in flux’ within the cabaret. The third finding presents the view that the cabaret expressed ‘Jo’ playing games of truth in order to journey towards her own "preferred identity claim" (White 2004b) through an act of "self care" (Foucault 2005). The contribution to knowledge of this research project is the application of therapeutic principles to the creation of a cabaret performance. This process has focussed on creating a self-revelatory cabaret that questions notions of a ‘fixed truth’ through combining elements of existing cabaret forms in new ways. Two major forms in contemporary cabaret, the personal cabaret and the provocative cabaret use the performer-audience relationship in distinctive ways. Through combining elements of these two cabaret forms, I have explored ways to create a provocative cabaret focussed on the act of self-revelation.