For the better or the worse? The impact of business idea changes on new venture performance and novelty

Should new ventures stick to their knitting once they start commercialising or should they engage in frequent changes of their business idea? In this paper we argue that new ventures still need to learn their way in the early phases of commercialisation and that changes are good, but subject to two important contingencies. First is that changes should be aimed at enhancing uniqueness, which in turn enhances new venture performance. Second is that our results show that changes have limited affect on uniqueness and performance for entrepreneurs aiming at maximising opportunities, but that changing the business idea has a significant positive impact for entrepreneurs focusing on minimising losses. Our findings indicate that entrepreneurs aiming at minimising losses may offset their initial disadvantages by engaging in a series of adaptations of the business idea to gain higher performance and a more unique product offering.

Resident-funded retirement village valuations : complications with the application of the DCF

Retirement village assets are different from traditional residential assets due to their operation in accordance with statutory legislation. Designed for independent living, retirement villages provide either detached or semi-detached residential dwellings with car parking and small private yards with community facilities providing a shared congregational area for village activities and socialising. In essence, the village operator provides the land and buildings to the residents who pay an amount on entry for the right of occupation. On departure from the units an agreed proportion of either the original purchase price or the sale price is paid to the outgoing resident. As ongoing levies are typically offset by ongoing operational expenses the market value of the operator's interest in the retirement village is therefore predominantly based upon the estimated future income from deferred management fees and capital gain upon roll-over receivable by the operator in accordance with the respective residency agreements. Given the lumpiness of these payments, there is general acceptance that the most appropriate approach to valuation is through discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis. There is however inconsistency between valuers across Australia in how they undertake their DCF analysis, leading to differences in reported values and subsequent confusion among users of valuation services. To give guidance to valuers and enhance confidence from users of valuation services this paper investigates the five major elements of DCF methodology, namely cash flows, escalation factors, holding period, terminal value and discount rate.

Effect of modular neck variation on bone and cement mantle mechanics around a total hip arthroplasty stem

Background Total hip arthroplasty carried out using cemented modular-neck implants provides the surgeon with greater intra-operative flexibility and allows more controlled stem positioning. Methods In this study, finite element models of a whole femur implanted with either the Exeter or with a new cemented modular-neck total hip arthroplasty (separate, neck and stem components) were developed. The changes in bone and cement mantle stress/strain were assessed for varying amounts of neck offset and version angle for the modular-neck device for two simulated physiological load cases: walking and stair climbing. Since the Exeter is the gold standard for polished cemented total hip arthroplasty stem design, bone and cement mantle stresses/strains in the modular-neck finite element models were compared with finite element results for the Exeter. Findings For the two physiological load cases, stresses and strains in the bone and cement mantle were similar for all modular-neck geometries. These results were comparable to the bone and cement mechanics surrounding the Exeter. These findings suggest that the Exeter and the modular neck device distribute stress to the surrounding bone and cement in a similar manner. Interpretation It is anticipated that the modular-neck device will have a similar short-term clinical performance to that of the Exeter, with the additional advantages of increased modularity.

Intrinsically photosensitive melanopsin retinal ganglion cell contributions to the post-illumination pupil response and circadian rhythm

Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) in the eye transmit the environmental light level, projecting to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) (Berson, Dunn & Takao, 2002; Hattar, Liao, Takao, Berson & Yau, 2002), the location of the circadian biological clock, and the olivary pretectal nucleus (OPN) of the pretectum, the start of the pupil reflex pathway (Hattar, Liao, Takao, Berson & Yau, 2002; Dacey, Liao, Peterson, Robinson, Smith, Pokorny, Yau & Gamlin, 2005). The SCN synchronizes the circadian rhythm, a cycle of biological processes coordinated to the solar day, and drives the sleep/wake cycle by controlling the release of melatonin from the pineal gland (Claustrat, Brun & Chazot, 2005). Encoded photic input from ipRGCs to the OPN also contributes to the pupil light reflex (PLR), the constriction and recovery of the pupil in response to light. IpRGCs control the post-illumination component of the PLR, the partial pupil constriction maintained for > 30 sec after a stimulus offset (Gamlin, McDougal, Pokorny, Smith, Yau & Dacey, 2007; Kankipati, Girkin & Gamlin, 2010; Markwell, Feigl & Zele, 2010). It is unknown if intrinsic ipRGC and cone-mediated inputs to ipRGCs show circadian variation in their photon-counting activity under constant illumination. If ipRGCs demonstrate circadian variation of the pupil response under constant illumination in vivo, when in vitro ipRGC activity does not (Weng, Wong & Berson, 2009), this would support central control of the ipRGC circadian activity. A preliminary experiment was conducted to determine the spectral sensitivity of the ipRGC post-illumination pupil response under the experimental conditions, confirming the successful isolation of the ipRGC response (Gamlin, et al., 2007) for the circadian experiment. In this main experiment, we demonstrate that ipRGC photon-counting activity has a circadian rhythm under constant experimental conditions, while direct rod and cone contributions to the PLR do not. Intrinsic ipRGC contributions to the post-illumination pupil response decreased 2:46 h prior to melatonin onset for our group model, with the peak ipRGC attenuation occurring 1:25 h after melatonin onset. Our results suggest a centrally controlled evening decrease in ipRGC activity, independent of environmental light, which is temporally synchronized (demonstrates a temporal phase-advanced relationship) to the SCN mediated release of melatonin. In the future the ipRGC post-illumination pupil response could be developed as a fast, non-invasive measure of circadian rhythm. This study establishes a basis for future investigation of cortical feedback mechanisms that modulate ipRGC activity.

Face recognition using fractal codes

In this paper we propose a new method for face recognition using fractal codes. Fractal codes represent local contractive, affine transformations which when iteratively applied to range-domain pairs in an arbitrary initial image result in a fixed point close to a given image. The transformation parameters such as brightness offset, contrast factor, orientation and the address of the corresponding domain for each range are used directly as features in our method. Features of an unknown face image are compared with those pre-computed for images in a database. There is no need to iterate, use fractal neighbor distances or fractal dimensions for comparison in the proposed method. This method is robust to scale change, frame size change and rotations as well as to some noise, facial expressions and blur distortion in the image

Measuring and monitoring soil organic carbon stocks in agricultural lands for climate mitigation

Policies that encourage greenhouse-gas emitters to mitigate emissions through terrestrial carbon (C) offsets – C sequestration in soils or biomass – will promote practices that reduce erosion and build soil fertility, while fostering adaptation to climate change, agricultural development, and rehabilitation of degraded soils. However none of these benefits will be possible until changes in C stocks can be documented accurately and cost-effectively. This is particularly challenging when dealing with changes in soil organic C (SOC) stocks. Precise methods for measuring C in soil samples are well established, but spatial variability in the factors that determine SOC stocks makes it difficult to document change. Widespread interest in the benefits of SOC sequestration has brought this issue to the fore in the development of US and international climate policy. Here, we review the challenges to documenting changes in SOC stocks, how policy decisions influence offset documentation requirements, and the benefits and drawbacks of different sampling strategies and extrapolation methods.

The effect of ocular surface conditions on blink rate and completeness

A healthy human would be expected to show periodic blinks, making a brief closure of the eyelids. Most blinks are spontaneous, occurring regularly with no external stimulus. However a reflex blink can occur in response to external stimuli such as a bright light, a sudden loud noise, or an object approaching toward the eyes. A voluntary or forced blink is another type of blink in which the person deliberately closes the eyes and the lower eyelid raises to meet the upper eyelid. A complete blink, in which the upper eyelid touches the lower eyelid, contributes to the health of ocular surface by providing a fresh layer of tears as well as maintaining optical integrity by providing a smooth tear film over the cornea. The rate of blinking and its completeness vary depending on the task undertaken during blink assessment, the direction of gaze, the emotional state of the subjects and the method under which the blink was measured. It is also well known that wearing contact lenses (both rigid and soft lenses) can induce significant changes in blink rate and completeness. It is been established that efficient blinking plays an important role in ocular surface health during contact lens wear and for improving contact lens performance and comfort. Inefficient blinking during contact lens wear may be related to a low blink rate or incomplete blinking and can often be a reason for dry eye symptoms or ocular surface staining. It has previously been shown that upward gaze can affect blink rate, causing it to become faster. In the first experiment, it was decided to expand on previous studies in this area by examining the effect of various gaze directions (i.e. upward gaze, primary gaze, downward gaze and lateral gaze) as well as head angle (recumbent position) on normal subjects’ blink rate and completeness through the use of filming with a high-speed camera. The results of this experiment showed that as the open palpebral aperture (and exposed ocular surface area) increased from downward gaze to upward gaze, the number of blinks significantly increased (p<0.04). Also, the size of closed palpebral aperture significantly increased from downward gaze to upward gaze (p<0.005). A weak positive correlation (R² = 0.18) between the blink rate and ocular surface area was found in this study. Also, it was found that the subjects showed 81% complete blinks, 19% incomplete blinks and 2% of twitch blinks in primary gaze, consistent with previous studies. The difference in the percentage of incomplete blinks between upward gaze and downward gaze was significant (p<0.004), showing more incomplete blinks in upward gaze. The findings of this experiment suggest that while blink rate becomes slower in downward gaze, the completeness of blinking is typically better, thereby potentially reducing the risk of tear instability. On the other hand, in upward gaze while the completeness of blinking becomes worse, this is potentially offset by increased blink frequency. In addition, blink rate and completeness were not affected by lateral gaze or head angle, possibly because these conditions have similar size of the open palpebral aperture compared with primary gaze. In the second experiment, an investigation into the changes in blink rate and completeness was carried out in primary gaze and downward gaze with soft and rigid contact lenses in unadapted wearers. Not surprisingly, rigid lens wear caused a significant increase in the blink rate in both primary (p<0.001) and downward gaze (p<0.02). After fitting rigid contact lenses, the closed palpebral aperture (blink completeness) did not show any changes but the open palpebral aperture showed a significant narrowing (p<0.04). This might occur from the subjects’ attempt to avoid interaction between the upper eyelid and the edge of the lens to minimize discomfort. After applying topical anaesthetic eye drops in the eye fitted with rigid lenses, the increased blink rate dropped to values similar to that before lens insertion and the open palpebral aperture returned to baseline values, suggesting that corneal and/or lid margin sensitivity was mediating the increased blink rate and narrowed palpebral aperture. We also investigated the changes in the blink rate and completeness with soft contact lenses including a soft sphere, double slab-off toric design and periballast toric design. Soft contact lenses did not cause any significant changes in the blink rate, closed palpebral aperture, open palpebral aperture and the percentage of incomplete blinks in either primary gaze or downward gaze. After applying anaesthetic eye drops, the blink rate reduced in both primary gaze and downward gaze, however this difference was not statistically significant. The size of the closed palpebral aperture and open palpebral aperture did not show any significant changes after applying anaesthetic eye drops. However it should be noted that the effects of rigid and soft contact lenses that we observed in these studies were only the immediate reaction to contact lenses and in the longer term, it is likely that these responses will vary as the eye adapts to the presence of the lenses.

Corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management in transitional countries – evidence from Chinese listed firms

The objective of this thesis is to investigate whether the corporate governance practices adopted by Chinese listed firms are associated with the quality of earnings information. Based on a review of agency and institutional theory, this study develops hypotheses that predict the monitoring effectiveness of the board and the audit committee. Using a combination of univariate and multivariate analyses, the association between corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management are tested from 2004 to 2008. Through analysing the empirical results, a number of findings are summarised as below. First, board independence is weakened by the introduction of government officials as independent directors on the boards. Government officials acting as independent directors, claim that they meet the definition of independent director set by the regulation. However, they have some connection with the State, which is the controlling shareholder in listed SOEs affiliated companies. Consequently, the effect of the independent director’s expertise in constraining earnings management is mitigated as demonstrated by an insignificant association between board expertise and earnings management. An alternative explanation for the inefficiency of board independence may point to the pre-selection of independent directors by the powerful CEO. It is argued that a CEO can manipulate the board composition and choose the "desirable" independent directors to monitor themselves. Second, a number of internal mechanisms, such as board size, board activities, and the separation of the roles of the CEO and chair are found to be significantly associated with discretionary accruals. This result suggests that there are advantages in having a large and active board in the Chinese setting. This can offset the disadvantages associated with large boards, such as increased bureaucracy, and hence, increase the constraining effects of a large and resourceful board. Third, factor analysis identifies two factors: CEO power and board power. CEO power is the factor which consists of CEO duality and turnover, and board power is composed of board size and board activity. The results of CEO power show that if a Chinese listed company has CEO duality and turnover at the same time, it is more likely to have a high level of earnings management. The significant and negative relationship between board power and accruals indicate that large boards with frequent meetings can be associated with low level of earnings management. Overall, the factor analysis suggests that certain governance mechanisms complement each other to become more efficient monitors of opportunistic earnings management. A combination of board characteristics can increase the negative association with earnings management. Fourth, the insignificant results between audit committees and earnings management in Chinese listed firms suggests that the Chinese regulator should strengthen the audit committee functions. This thesis calls for listed firms to disclose more information on audit committee composition and activities, which can facilitate future research on the Chinese audit committee’s monitoring role. Fifth, the interactive results between State ownership and board characteristics show that dominant State ownership has a moderating effect on board monitoring power as the State totally controls 42% of the issued shares. The high percentage of State ownership makes it difficult for the non-controlling institutional shareholders to challenge the State’s dominant status. As a result, the association between non-controlling institutional ownership and earnings management is insignificant in most situations. Lastly, firms audited by the international Big4 have lower abnormal accruals than firms audited by domestic Chinese audit firms. In addition, the inverse U-shape relationship between audit tenure and earnings quality demonstrates the changing effects of audit quality after a certain period of appointment. Furthermore, this thesis finds that listing in Hong Kong Stock Exchanges can be an alternative governance mechanism to discipline Chinese firms to follow strict Hong Kong listing requirements. Management of Hong Kong listed companies are exposed to the scrutiny of international investors and Hong Kong regulators. This in turn reduces their chances of conducting self-interested earnings manipulation. This study is designed to fill the gap in governance literature in China that is related to earnings management. Previous research on corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management in China is not conclusive. The current research builds on previous literature and provides some meaningful implications for practitioners, regulators, academic, and international investors who have investment interests in a transitional country. The findings of this study contribute to corporate governance and earnings management literature in the context of the transitional economy of China. The use of alternative measures for earnings management yields similar results compared with the accruals models and produces additional findings.

The subtropical residential tower: An investigation by Design Charrette

QUT's Centre for Subtropical Design (CSD) partnered with a major developer to bring together some of Brisbane’s most experienced and creative architects and designers in a two-day intensive design charrette to propose innovative design strategies for naturally-ventilated high rise residential buildings. An inner-urban renewal site in Queensland’s capital city Brisbane gave four multi-disciplinary teams the opportunity to address a raft of issues that developers and consultants will confront more and more in the future in warm humid climates. The quest to release apartment dwellers from dependence on energy-hungry air-conditioning and artificial lighting was central to the design brief for the towers. Mentored by Richard Hassell of WOHA, the creative teams focussed on climate-responsive design principles for passive climate control including orientation, cross-ventilation and outdoor living in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and offset occupants’ rising energy costs. This article discusses how outcomes of the charrette take their cue from the city’s subtropical climate and demonstrate how high-density high-rise living can be attractive, affordable and sustainable through positive engagement with the subtropical climate’s natural attributes.

Legal issues in carbon farming : biosequestration, carbon pricing, and carbon rights

This paper critically analyses the proposed Australian regulatory approach to the crediting of biological sequestration activities (biosequestration) under the Australian Carbon Farming Initiative and its interaction with State-based carbon rights, the national carbon-pricing mechanism, and the international Kyoto Protocol and carbon-trading markets. Norms and principles have been established by the Kyoto Protocol to guide the creation of additional, verifiable, and permanent credits from biosequestration activities. This paper examines the proposed arrangements under the Australian Carbon Farming Initiative and Carbon Pricing Mechanism to determine whether they are consistent with those international norms and standards. This paper identifies a number of anomalies associated with the legal treatment of additionality and permanence and issuance of carbon credits within the Australian schemes. In light of this, the paper considers the possible legal implications for the national and international transfer, surrender and use of these offset credits.

If things were different

In this video, a couple sits on a couch slowly breaking up. A typical shot/reverse-shot filmic structure is offset as the sound and image goes out of synch. At different times, it becomes so out of synch that they mouth each other’s words. This work engages with the signifying processes of romantic narratives. It emphasizes disruption and discontinuity as fundamental and generative operations in making meaning. Extending on post-structural and deconstructionist ideas, this work emphasizes the constructed nature of representations of heterosexual relationships. It draws attention to the gaps, slippages and fragments that pervade signifying acts.

Combined time- and space-resolved Raman spectrometer for the non-invasive depth profiling of chemical hazards

A time-resolved inverse spatially offset Raman spectrometer was constructed for depth profiling of Raman-active substances under both the lab and the field environments. The system operating principles and performance are discussed along with its advantages relative to traditional continuous wave spatially offset Raman spectrometer. The developed spectrometer uses a combination of space- and time-resolved detection in order to obtain high-quality Raman spectra from substances hidden behind coloured opaque surface layers, such as plastic and garments, with a single measurement. The time-gated spatially offset Raman spectrometer was successfully used to detect concealed explosives and drug precursors under incandescent and fluorescent background light as well as under daylight. The average screening time was 50 s per measurement. The excitation energy requirements were relatively low (20 mW) which makes the probe safe for screening hazardous substances. The unit has been designed with nanosecond laser excitation and gated detection, making it of lower cost and complexity than previous picosecond-based systems, to provide a functional platform for in-line or in-field sensing of chemical substances.

Energy efficiency and sustainability in residential property

The issue of a more sustainable environment has been the aim of many governments and institutions for decades. Current research and literature has shown the continuing impact of global development and population increases on the planet as a whole. Issues such as carbon emissions, global warming, resource sustainability, industrial pollution, waste management and the decline in scarce resources, including food, are now realities and are being addressed at various levels. All levels of government, business and the public now equally share responsibility for the continued sustainable environment in general. Although these issues of global warming, climate change and the overuse of scarce resources are well documented, and constantly covered in all media forms, public attitudes to these issues vary significantly. Despite being aware of these issues many individuals consider that the problem is one for governments to tackle and that their individual efforts are not important or necessary. In many cases individuals are concerned with sustainability, but are either not in the position to take action due to economic circumstances or are not prepared to offset sustainability gains with personal interests...

A radiological method to determine the accuracy of motion capture marker placement on palpable anatomical landmarks through a shoe

The accuracy of marker placement on palpable surface anatomical landmarks is an important consideration in biomechanics. Although marker placement reliability has been studied in some depth, it remains unclear whether or not the markers are accurately positioned over the intended landmark in order to define the static position and orientation of the segment. A novel method using commonly available X-ray imaging was developed to identify the accuracy of markers placed on the shoe surface by palpating landmarks through the shoe. An anterior–posterior and lateral–medial X-ray was taken on 24 participants with a newly developed marker set applied to both the skin and shoe. The vector magnitude of both skin- and shoe-mounted markers from the anatomical landmark was calculated, as well as the mean marker offset between skin- and shoe-mounted markers. The accuracy of placing markers on the shoe relative to the skin-mounted markers, accounting for shoe thickness, was less than 5mm for all markers studied. Further, when using the developed guidelines provided in this study, the method was deemed reliable (Intra-rater ICCs¼0.50–0.92). In conclusion, the method proposed here can reliably assess marker placement accuracy on the shoe surface relative to chosen anatomical landmarks beneath the skin.