Applying the open innovation system concept to infrastructure projects

Purpose: The goal of this conceptual paper is to provide tools to help maximise the value delivered by infrastructure projects, by developing methods to increase adoption of innovative products during construction. Methods: The role of knowledge flows in determining innovation adoption rates is conceptually examined. A promising new approach is developed. Open innovation system theory is extended, by reviewing the role of three frameworks: (1) knowledge intermediaries, (2) absorptive capacity and (3) governance arrangements. Originality: We develop a novel open innovation system model to guide further research in the area of adoption of innovation on infrastructure projects. The open innovation system model currently lacks definition of core concepts, especially with regard to the impact of different degrees and types of openness. The three frameworks address this issue and add substance to the open innovation system model, addressing widespread criticism that it is underdeveloped. The novelty of our model is in the combination of the three frameworks to explore the system. These frameworks promise new insights into system dynamics and facilitate the development of new methods to optimise the diffusion of innovation. Practical Implications: The framework will help to reveal gaps in knowledge flows that impede the uptake of innovations. In the past, identifying these gaps has been difficult given the lack of nuance in existing theory. The knowledge maps proposed will enable informed policy advice to effectively harness the power of knowledge networks, increase innovation diffusion and improve the performance of infrastructure projects. The models developed in this paper will be used in planned empirical research into innovation on large scale infrastructure projects in the Australian built environment.

Ubiquitous and smart system approaches to infrastructure planning : learnings from Korea, Japan and Hong Kong

The robust economic growth across South East Asia and the significant advances in nano-technologies in the past two decades have resulted in the creation of intelligent urban infrastructures. Cities like Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong have been competing against each other to develop the first ‘ubiquitous city’, a strategic global node of science and technology that provides all municipal services for residents and visitors via ubiquitous infrastructures. This chapter scrutinises the development of ubiquitous and smart infrastructure in Korea, Japan and Hong Kong. These cases provide invaluable learnings for policy-makers and urban and infrastructure planners when considering adopting these systems approaches in their cities.

Perfusion model system to generate engineered grafts with controlled cellular distributions

Engineered tissue grafts, which mimic the spatial variations of cell density and extracellular matrix present in native tissues, could facilitate more efficient tissue regeneration and integration. We previously demonstrated that cells could be uniformly seeded throughout a 3D scaffold having a random pore architecture using a perfusion bioreactor2. In this work, we aimed to generate 3D constructs with defined cell distributions based on rapid prototyped scaffolds manufactured with a controlled gradient in porosity. Computational models were developed to assess the influence of fluid flow, associated with pore architecture and perfusion regime, on the resulting cell distribution.

Identity fraud and torrens - minimising the risks and allocating the loss to achieve a sustainable system

Immediate indefeasibility is the cornerstone of the Torrens system of land registration. However, when combined with the apparent ease in which forged mortgages become registered, the operation of this doctrine can come into question. This article seeks to argue that, rather than question indefeasibility, the focus should be on the verification of identity of parties to land transactions. Whilst no system can ever be infallible, it is suggested that by correctly imposing the responsibility for identity verification on the appropriate individual, the Torrens system can retain immediate indefeasibility as its paramount principle, yet achieve the optimum level of fairness in terms of allocation of responsibility and loss. With the dawn of a new era of electronic conveyancing about to begin, the framework suggested here provides a model for minimising the risks of forged mortgages and appropriately allocating the loss.

Volcanic stratigraphy, alteration zoning, and vein paragenesis of the Sascha-Pelligrini low-sulphidation epithermal system, Santa Cruz, Argentina

The Sascha-Pelligrini low-sulphidation epithermal system is located on the western edge of the Deseado Massif, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. Outcrop sampling has returned values of up to 160g/t gold and 796g/t silver, with Mirasol Resources and Coeur D.Alene Mines currently exploring the property. Detailed mapping of the volcanic stratigraphy has defined three units that comprise the middle Jurassic Chon Aike Formation and two units that comprise the upper Jurassic La Matilde Formation. The Chon Aike Formation consists of rhyodacite ignimbrites and tuffs, with the La Matilde Formation including rhyolite ash and lithic tuffs. The volcanic sequence is intruded by a large flow-banded rhyolite dome, with small, spatially restricted granodiorite dykes and sills cropping out across the study area. ASTER multispectral mineral mapping, combined with PIMA (Portable Infrared Mineral Analyser) and XRD (X-ray diffraction) analysis defines an alteration pattern that zones from laumontite-montmorillonite, to illite-pyritechlorite, followed by a quartz-illite-smectite-pyrite-adularia vein selvage. Supergene kaolinite and steam-heated acid-sulphate kaolinite-alunite-opal alteration horizons crop out along the Sascha Vein trend and Pelligrini respectively. Paragenetically, epithermal veining varies from chalcedonic to saccharoidal with minor bladed textures, colloform/crustiform-banded with visible electrum and acanthite, crustiform-banded grey chalcedonic to jasperoidal with fine pyrite, and crystalline comb quartz. Geothermometry of mineralised veins constrains formation temperatures from 174.8 to 205.1¡ÆC and correlates with the stability field for the interstratified illite-smectite vein selvage. Vein morphology, mineralogy and associated alteration are controlled by host rock rheology, permeability, and depth of the palaeo-water table. Mineralisation within ginguro banded veins resulted from fluctuating fluid pH associated with selenide-rich magmatic pulses, pressure release boiling and wall-rock silicate buffering. The study of the Sascha-Pelligrini epithermal system will form the basis for a deposit-specific model helping to clarify the current understanding of epithermal deposits, and may serve as a template for exploration of similar epithermal deposits throughout Santa Cruz.

Adult human articular chondrocytes in a microcarrier-based culture system : expansion and redifferentiation

xpanding human chondrocytes in vitro while maintaining their ability to form cartilage remains a key challenge in cartilage tissue engineering. One promising approach to address this is to use microcarriers as substrates for chondrocyte expansion. While microcarriers have shown beneficial effects for expansion of animal and ectopic human chondrocytes, their utility has not been determined for freshly isolated adult human articular chondrocytes. Thus, we investigated the proliferation and subsequent chondrogenic differentiation of these clinically relevant cells on porous gelatin microcarriers and compared them to those expanded using traditional monolayers. Chondrocytes attached to microcarriers within 2 days and remained viable over 4 weeks of culture in spinner flasks. Cells on microcarriers exhibited a spread morphology and initially proliferated faster than cells in monolayer culture, however, with prolonged expansion they were less proliferative. Cells expanded for 1 month and enzymatically released from microcarriers formed cartilaginous tissue in micromass pellet cultures, which was similar to tissue formed by monolayer-expanded cells. Cells left attached to microcarriers did not exhibit chondrogenic capacity. Culture conditions, such as microcarrier material, oxygen tension, and mechanical stimulation require further investigation to facilitate the efficient expansion of clinically relevant human articular chondrocytes that maintain chondrogenic potential for cartilage regeneration applications.

Knowledge management competence for Enterprise System success

This study conceptualizes, operationalises and validates the concept of Knowledge Management Competence as a four-phase multidimensional formative index. Employing survey data from 310 respondents representing 27 organizations using the SAP Enterprise System Financial module, the study results demonstrate a large, significant, positive relationship between Knowledge Management Competence and Enterprise Systems Success (ES-success, as conceived by Gable Sedera and Chan (2008)); suggesting important implications for practice. Strong evidence of the validity of Knowledge Management Competence as conceived and operationalised, too suggests potential from future research evaluating its relationships with possible antecedents and consequences.

The hydrodynamic and capture/retention performance of a gross pollutant trap

This research shows that gross pollutant traps (GPTs) continue to play an important role in preventing visible street waste—gross pollutants—from contaminating the environment. The demand for these GPTs calls for stringent quality control and this research provides a foundation to rigorously examine the devices. A novel and comprehensive testing approach to examine a dry sump GPT was developed. The GPT is designed with internal screens to capture gross pollutants—organic matter and anthropogenic litter. This device has not been previously investigated. Apart from the review of GPTs and gross pollutant data, the testing approach includes four additional aspects to this research, which are: field work and an historical overview of street waste/stormwater pollution, calibration of equipment, hydrodynamic studies and gross pollutant capture/retention investigations. This work is the first comprehensive investigation of its kind and provides valuable practical information for the current research and any future work pertaining to the operations of GPTs and management of street waste in the urban environment. Gross pollutant traps—including patented and registered designs developed by industry—have specific internal configurations and hydrodynamic separation characteristics which demand individual testing and performance assessments. Stormwater devices are usually evaluated by environmental protection agencies (EPAs), professional bodies and water research centres. In the USA, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Environmental Water Resource Institute (EWRI) are examples of professional and research organisations actively involved in these evaluation/verification programs. These programs largely rely on field evaluations alone that are limited in scope, mainly for cost and logistical reasons. In Australia, evaluation/verification programs of new devices in the stormwater industry are not well established. The current limitations in the evaluation methodologies of GPTs have been addressed in this research by establishing a new testing approach. This approach uses a combination of physical and theoretical models to examine in detail the hydrodynamic and capture/retention characteristics of the GPT. The physical model consisted of a 50% scale model GPT rig with screen blockages varying from 0 to 100%. This rig was placed in a 20 m flume and various inlet and outflow operating conditions were modelled on observations made during the field monitoring of GPTs. Due to infrequent cleaning, the retaining screens inside the GPTs were often observed to be blocked with organic matter. Blocked screens can radically change the hydrodynamic and gross pollutant capture/retention characteristics of a GPT as shown from this research. This research involved the use of equipment, such as acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADVs) and dye concentration (Komori) probes, which were deployed for the first time in a dry sump GPT. Hence, it was necessary to rigorously evaluate the capability and performance of these devices, particularly in the case of the custom made Komori probes, about which little was known. The evaluation revealed that the Komori probes have a frequency response of up to 100 Hz —which is dependent upon fluid velocities—and this was adequate to measure the relevant fluctuations of dye introduced into the GPT flow domain. The outcome of this evaluation resulted in establishing methodologies for the hydrodynamic measurements and gross pollutant capture/retention experiments. The hydrodynamic measurements consisted of point-based acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) measurements, flow field particle image velocimetry (PIV) capture, head loss experiments and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The gross pollutant capture/retention experiments included the use of anthropogenic litter components, tracer dye and custom modified artificial gross pollutants. Anthropogenic litter was limited to tin cans, bottle caps and plastic bags, while the artificial pollutants consisted of 40 mm spheres with a range of four buoyancies. The hydrodynamic results led to the definition of global and local flow features. The gross pollutant capture/retention results showed that when the internal retaining screens are fully blocked, the capture/retention performance of the GPT rapidly deteriorates. The overall results showed that the GPT will operate efficiently until at least 70% of the screens are blocked, particularly at high flow rates. This important finding indicates that cleaning operations could be more effectively planned when the GPT capture/retention performance deteriorates. At lower flow rates, the capture/retention performance trends were reversed. There is little difference in the poor capture/retention performance between a fully blocked GPT and a partially filled or empty GPT with 100% screen blockages. The results also revealed that the GPT is designed with an efficient high flow bypass system to avoid upstream blockages. The capture/retention performance of the GPT at medium to high inlet flow rates is close to maximum efficiency (100%). With regard to the design appraisal of the GPT, a raised inlet offers a better capture/retention performance, particularly at lower flow rates. Further design appraisals of the GPT are recommended.

Changing user behaviour using a digital repository system

Griffith University is developing a digital repository system using HarvestRoad Hive software to better meet the needs of academics and students using institutional learning and teaching, course readings, and institutional intellectual capital systems. Issues with current operations and systems are discussed in terms of user behaviour. New repository systems are being designed in such a way that they address current service and user behaviour issues by closely aligning systems with user needs. By developing attractive online services, Griffith is working to change current user behaviour to achieve strategic priorities in the sharing and reuse of learning objects, improved selection and use of digitised course readings, the development of ePrint and eScience services, and the management of a research portfolio service.

Solving navigational uncertainty using grid cells on robots

To successfully navigate their habitats, many mammals use a combination of two mechanisms, path integration and calibration using landmarks, which together enable them to estimate their location and orientation, or pose. In large natural environments, both these mechanisms are characterized by uncertainty: the path integration process is subject to the accumulation of error, while landmark calibration is limited by perceptual ambiguity. It remains unclear how animals form coherent spatial representations in the presence of such uncertainty. Navigation research using robots has determined that uncertainty can be effectively addressed by maintaining multiple probabilistic estimates of a robot's pose. Here we show how conjunctive grid cells in dorsocaudal medial entorhinal cortex (dMEC) may maintain multiple estimates of pose using a brain-based robot navigation system known as RatSLAM. Based both on rodent spatially-responsive cells and functional engineering principles, the cells at the core of the RatSLAM computational model have similar characteristics to rodent grid cells, which we demonstrate by replicating the seminal Moser experiments. We apply the RatSLAM model to a new experimental paradigm designed to examine the responses of a robot or animal in the presence of perceptual ambiguity. Our computational approach enables us to observe short-term population coding of multiple location hypotheses, a phenomenon which would not be easily observable in rodent recordings. We present behavioral and neural evidence demonstrating that the conjunctive grid cells maintain and propagate multiple estimates of pose, enabling the correct pose estimate to be resolved over time even without uniquely identifying cues. While recent research has focused on the grid-like firing characteristics, accuracy and representational capacity of grid cells, our results identify a possible critical and unique role for conjunctive grid cells in filtering sensory uncertainty. We anticipate our study to be a starting point for animal experiments that test navigation in perceptually ambiguous environments.

Interaction, privacy and profiling considerations in local mobile social software : a prototype agile ride share system

Agile ridesharing aims to utilise the capability of social networks and mobile phones to facilitate people to share vehicles and travel in real time. However the application of social networking technologies in local communities to address issues of personal transport faces significant design challenges. In this paper we describe an iterative design-based approach to exploring this problem and discuss findings from the use of an early prototype. The findings focus upon interaction, privacy and profiling. Our early results suggest that explicitly entering information such as ride data and personal profile data into formal fields for explicit computation of matches, as is done in many systems, may not be the best strategy. It might be preferable to support informal communication and negotiation with text search techniques.

Detection of anomalies from user profiles generated from system logs

We describe research into the identification of anomalous events and event patterns as manifested in computer system logs. Prototype software has been developed with a capability that identifies anomalous events based on usage patterns or user profiles, and alerts administrators when such events are identified. To reduce the number of false positive alerts we have investigated the use of different user profile training techniques and introduce the use of abstractions to group together applications which are related. Our results suggest that the number of false alerts that are generated is significantly reduced when a growing time window is used for user profile training and when abstraction into groups of applications is used.

A regional construction R&D evaluation system for China

Expenditure on R&D in the China construction industry has been relatively low in comparison with many developed countries for a number of years – a situation considered to be a major barrier to the industry’s competitiveness in general and unsatisfactory industry development of the 31 regions involved. A major problem with this is the lack of a sufficiently sophisticated method of objectively evaluating R&D activity in what are quite complex circumstances considering the size and regional differences that exist in this part of the world. A regional construction R&D evaluation system (RCRES) is presented aimed at rectifying the situation. This is based on 12 indicators drawn from the Chinese Government’s R&D Inventory of Resources in consultation with a small group of experts in the field, and further factor analysed into three groups. From this, the required evaluation is obtained by a simple formula. Examination of the results provides a ranking list of the R&D performance of each of the 31 regions, indicating a general disproportion between coastal and inland regions and highlighting regions receiving special emphasis or currently lacking in development. The understanding on this is vital for the future of China’s construction industry.

Numerical evaluation of pollutant dispersion at a toll plaza based on system dynamics and Computational Fluid Dynamics models

The health of tollbooth workers is seriously threatened by long-term exposure to polluted air from vehicle exhausts. Using traffic data collected at a toll plaza, vehicle movements were simulated by a system dynamics model with different traffic volumes and toll collection procedures. This allowed the average travel time of vehicles to be calculated. A three-dimension Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was used with a k–ε turbulence model to simulate pollutant dispersion at the toll plaza for different traffic volumes and toll collection procedures. It was shown that pollutant concentration around tollbooths increases as traffic volume increases. Whether traffic volume is low or high (1500 vehicles/h or 2500 vehicles/h), pollutant concentration decreases if electronic toll collection (ETC) is adopted. In addition, pollutant concentration around tollbooths decreases as the proportion of ETC-equipped vehicles increases. However, if the proportion of ETC-equipped vehicles is very low and the traffic volume is not heavy, then pollutant concentration increases as the number of ETC lanes increases.