An assessment of development funding for new housing post GFC in Queensland, Australia

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify changes in bank lending criteria due to the GFC and to explore the associated impacts on new housing supply in Queensland, Australia. Design/methodology/approach: This research involves a survey of each of Australia’s big four banks, as well as two prominent arrangers of development finance. Data on key lending criteria was collected: Pre GFC, during the GFC, and GFC recovery stage. Findings: The GFC has resulted in a retraction of funds available for residential development. The few institutions lending are filtering out only the best credit risks by way of constrictive loan covenants including: low loan to value ratios, high cash equity requirements, regional “no go” zones, and demonstrated borrower track record. The ability of developers to proceed with new housing developments is being constrained by their inability to obtain sufficient finance. Research limitations/implications: This research uses survey data, together with an understanding of the project finance process to extrapolate impacts on the residential development industry across Queensland. No regional or sub-market analysis is included. Future research will include subsequent surveys to track any loosening of credit policies over time and sub-market sector analysis. Practical implications: The inability to obtain project finance is identified as a key constraint to new housing supply. This research will inform policy makers and provide important quantitative evidence of the importance of availability of development finance in the housing supply chain. Social implications: Queensland is facing a supply shortfall, which if not corrected, may lead to upward pressure on house prices and falling housing affordability. Originality/value: There is very little academic research on development funding. This research is unique in linking bank lending criteria to new housing supply and demonstrating the impact on the development industry.

A Sexual Health Programme Implemented in a Psychiatric Inpatient Unit

Research has shown that people with a mental illness are an at-risk group for sexually transmitted infections. A programme for preventing risk behaviours for sexually transmitted infections among people with psychiatric disorder was designed and implemented by mental health occupational therapists. This programme used an interactive didactic approach to provide education and awareness of sexual health issues to acute psychiatric inpatients. Twenty-four participants completed a sexual health questionnaire, which was designed for this study, both before and after attending the programme. They had a higher than expected knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and safe sex practices at pre-test. The education programme resulted in a statistically significant but modest increase in sexual health knowledge. These findings indicate that there are benefits in providing sexual health education to clients with a mental illness. Further programme development should be directed towards sexual health decision-making and behaviour change.

Development of a performance model for international construction joint venture : a system dynamics approach

The uncertain and dynamic nature of International Construction Joint Venture (ICJV) performance is evolved with many critical factors which lead to make partner relationships more complex in respect of making decisions to maintain a cohesive environment. Addressing to the fact, a generic system dynamics performance model for ICJV is developed by integrating a number variables as to get an overall impact on performance of ICJV and to make effective decisions based on that. In order to formulate and validate the model both structurally and behaviourally, both qualitative and quantitative data are gathered by conducting intensive interviews from two ICJVs in Thailand. After conducting intensive simulations of model, three major problems are identified related to negative value gap, low productivity in construction and high rate of ineffective information sharing of both ICJVs. Several policies are suggested and integrated application of these policies provides a maximum improvement to performance of the ICJV.

Using a knowledge-based approach : the way healthy communities make decisions

The planning for Knowledge Cities faces significant challenges due to the lack of effective information tools. These challenges are magnified while planning healthy communities. The Australian Health Information Council (AHIC) concluded in its last report that health information needs to be shared more effectively (AHIC, 2008). Some research justifies the use of Decision Support Systems (DSS) as an E-planning tool, particularly in the context of healthy communities. However, very limited research has been conducted in this area to date, especially in terms of evaluating the impact of these tools on decision-makers within the health planning practice. The paper presents the methodological instruments which were developed to measure the impact of the E-planning tool (i.e., Health Decision Support System [HDSS])) on a group of health planners, namely, the Logan Beaudesert Health Coalition (LBHC). The paper is focused on the culture in which decisions were made before and after the intervention of the HDSS. Subsequently, the paper presents the observed impact of the HDSS tool, to facilitate a knowledge-based decision-making approach. This study is an attempt to make some contribution to the Knowledge Cities literature in the context of planning healthy communities by adopting E-planning tools.

A sequential Monte Carlo approach to design for population pharmacokinetics studies

Here we present a sequential Monte Carlo approach that can be used to find optimal designs. Our focus is on the design of phase III clinical trials where the derivation of sampling windows is required, along with the optimal sampling schedule. The search is conducted via a particle filter which traverses a sequence of target distributions artificially constructed via an annealed utility. The algorithm derives a catalogue of highly efficient designs which, not only contain the optimal, but can also be used to derive sampling windows. We demonstrate our approach by designing a hypothetical phase III clinical trial.

Perspectives on practical experiences in professional education : an editorial and introduction

How important are the practical experiences through which our neophyte professionals are prepared for the real world of work? P. E. P. E. (Practical Experiences in Professional Education) Inc has generated this book with, not only, the aim of disseminating knowledge through networks within the professional silos of distinctive disciplines but to generate a space and platform for generic concepts and practices that can be examined and incorporated across many disciplines. Mentoring, ethics and transitioning into the profession are explored in the book but each chapter illustrates how PEPE Inc has within its community a culture of engagement, experimentation and deep thinking that connects all aspects of learning in the field. Ken Zeichner’s research clearly shows that field experiences are important occasions for professional learning rather than merely times for pre-service candidates to demonstrate or apply things previously learned. Susan Groundwater-Smith acknowledges PEPE Inc on being a leader in supporting the evolution of a developmental practicum curriculum in the initial education of professionals, mainly in the field of education, but also with respect to the preparation of health and allied professionals, those preparing to become social workers and even in professional practices such as engineering and architecture.

Modelling contractor's and subcontractor's trust : a system dynamics approach

A general mistrust within the contactor and subcontractor companies has identified one of the significant barriers to derive benefits from true downstream supply chain integration. Using the general theory of trust in inter-organizational relations and conducting interviews, this research discusses factors that influence development of trust and cooperation in contractor– subcontractor relationships in construction projects. System dynamics is the simulation method is selected in this theory-building effort, based on qualitative data collected from two projects of a construction company in Thailand. Performance, permeability and system based trust are found to make significant contributions toward parties’ trust level. Three strategic policies such as best value contracting, management of subcontractors as internal team and semi project partnering approach are recommended to stimulate the trust factors as well as cooperative long term relationship.

One approach to finding evidence for the effectiveness of scientific visualisations in high school physics and chemistry education

Enormous amounts of money and energy are being devoted to the development, use and organisation of computer-based scientific visualisations (e.g. animations and simulations) in science education. It seems plausible that visualisations that enable students to gain visual access to scientific phenomena that are too large, too small or occur too quickly or too slowly to be seen by the naked eye, or to scientific concepts and models, would yield enhanced conceptual learning. When the literature is searched, however, it quickly becomes apparent that there is a dearth of quantitative evidence for the effectiveness of scientific visualisations in enhancing students’ learning of science concepts. This paper outlines an Australian project that is using innovative research methodology to gather evidence on this question in physics and chemistry classrooms.

Understanding the coping strategies of international students : a qualitative approach

International students encounter a range of additional challenges as a part of their tertiary study experience. A qualitative approach was used to understand the challenges faced by international students, coping strategies that promoted their personal resilience and advice they have for future international students. Twenty-two international students from an Australian university participated in four focus groups. The challenges identified by students included adjustment, social isolation, English language skills, academic difficulties, unmet expectations, employment, culture shock and psychological distress. Participants shared their own personal experiences and strategies used by them to cope and identified strategies that future students could use prior to leaving their home country and whilst in Australia to improve their adjustment. Uses of international student stories in prevention interventions are discussed.

The evidence-based development of an intervention to address the information needs of adults newly diagnosed with primary brain tumours and their carers

Adults diagnosed with primary brain tumours often experience physical, cognitive and neuropsychiatric impairments and decline in quality of life. Although disease and treatment-related information is commonly provided to cancer patients and carers, newly diagnosed brain tumour patients and their carers report unmet information needs. Few interventions have been designed or proven to address these information needs. Accordingly, a three-study research program, that incorporated both qualitative and quantitative research methods, was designed to: 1) identify and select an intervention to improve the provision of information, and meet the needs of patients with a brain tumour; 2) use an evidence-based approach to establish the content, language and format for the intervention; and 3) assess the acceptability of the intervention, and the feasibility of evaluation, with newly diagnosed brain tumour patients. Study 1: Structured concept mapping techniques were undertaken with 30 health professionals, who identified strategies or items for improving care, and rated each of 42 items for importance, feasibility, and the extent to which such care was provided. Participants also provided data to interpret the relationship between items, which were translated into ‘maps’ of relationships between information and other aspects of health care using multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis. Results were discussed by participants in small groups and individual interviews to understand the ratings, and facilitators and barriers to implementation. A care coordinator was rated as the most important strategy by health professionals. Two items directly related to information provision were also seen as highly important: "information to enable the patient or carer to ask questions" and "for doctors to encourage patients to ask questions". Qualitative analyses revealed that information provision was individualised, depending on patients’ information needs and preferences, demographic variables and distress, the characteristics of health professionals who provide information, the relationship between the individual patient and health professional, and influenced by the fragmented nature of the health care system. Based on quantitative and qualitative findings, a brain tumour specific question prompt list (QPL) was chosen for development and feasibility testing. A QPL consists of a list of questions that patients and carers may want to ask their doctors. It is designed to encourage the asking of questions in the medical consultation, allowing patients to control the content, and amount of information provided by health professionals. Study 2: The initial structure and content of the brain tumour specific QPL developed was based upon thematic analyses of 1) patient materials for brain tumour patients, 2) QPLs designed for other patient populations, and 3) clinical practice guidelines for the psychosocial care of glioma patients. An iterative process of review and refinement of content was undertaken via telephone interviews with a convenience sample of 18 patients and/or carers. Successive drafts of QPLs were sent to patients and carers and changes made until no new topics or suggestions arose in four successive interviews (saturation). Once QPL content was established, readability analyses and redrafting were conducted to achieve a sixth-grade reading level. The draft QPL was also reviewed by eight health professionals, and shortened and modified based on their feedback. Professional design of the QPL was conducted and sent to patients and carers for further review. The final QPL contained questions in seven colour-coded sections: 1) diagnosis; 2) prognosis; 3) symptoms and problems; 4) treatment; 5) support; 6) after treatment finishes; and 7) the health professional team. Study 3: A feasibility study was conducted to determine the acceptability of the QPL and the appropriateness of methods, to inform a potential future randomised trial to evaluate its effectiveness. A pre-test post-test design was used with a nonrandomised control group. The control group was provided with ‘standard information’, the intervention group with ‘standard information’ plus the QPL. The primary outcome measure was acceptability of the QPL to participants. Twenty patients from four hospitals were recruited a median of 1 month (range 0-46 months) after diagnosis, and 17 completed baseline and follow-up interviews. Six participants would have preferred to receive the information booklet (standard information or QPL) at a different time, most commonly at diagnosis. Seven participants reported on the acceptability of the QPL: all said that the QPL was helpful, and that it contained questions that were useful to them; six said it made it easier to ask questions. Compared with control group participants’ ratings of ‘standard information’, QPL group participants’ views of the QPL were more positive; the QPL had been read more times, was less likely to be reported as ‘overwhelming’ to read, and was more likely to prompt participants to ask questions of their health professionals. The results from the three studies of this research program add to the body of literature on information provision for brain tumour patients. Together, these studies suggest that a QPL may be appropriate for the neuro-oncology setting and acceptable to patients. The QPL aims to assist patients to express their information needs, enabling health professionals to better provide the type and amount of information that patients need to prepare for treatment and the future. This may help health professionals meet the challenge of giving patients sufficient information, without providing ‘too much’ or ‘unnecessary’ information, or taking away hope. Future studies with rigorous designs are now needed to determine the effectiveness of the QPL.

Developing a model of embedding academic numeracy in university programs : a case study from nursing

This is a study of the academic numeracy of nursing students. This study develops a theoretical model for the design and delivery of university courses in academic numeracy. The following objectives are addressed: 1. To investigate nursing students' current knowledge of academic numeracy; 2. To investigate how nursing students’ knowledge and skills in academic numeracy can be enhanced using a developmental psychology framework; and 3. To utilise data derived from meeting objectives 1 and 2 to develop a theoretical model to embed academic numeracy in university programs. This study draws from Valsiner’s Human Development Theory (Valsiner, 1997, 2007). It is a quasi-experimental intervention case study (Faltis, 1997) and takes a multimethod approach using pre- and post-tests; observation notes; and semi-structured teaching sessions to document a series of microgenetic studies of student numeracy. Each microgenetic study is centered on the lived experience of students becoming more numerate. The method for this section is based on Vygotsky’s double stimulation (Valsiner, 2000a; 2007). Data collection includes interviews on students’ past experience with mathematics; their present feelings and experiences and how these present feelings and experiences are transformed. The findings from this study have provided evidence that the course developed for nursing students, underpinned by an appropriate framework, does improve academic numeracy. More specifically, students improved their content knowledge of and confidence in mathematics in areas that were directly related to their degree. The study used Valsiner’s microgenetic approach to development to trace the course as it was being taught and two students’ personal academic numeracy journeys. It highlighted particularly troublesome concepts, then outlined scaffolding and pathways used to develop understanding. This approach to academic numeracy development was summarised into a four-faceted model at the university, program, course and individual level. This model can be applied successfully to similar contexts. Thus the thesis advances both theory and practice in this under-researched and under-theorised area.

Understanding the phenomenon of IS success in China through the lens of the IS-Impact model

This study is conducted within the IS-Impact Research Track at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). The goal of the IS-Impact Track is, “to develop the most widely employed model for benchmarking information systems in organizations for the joint benefit of both research and practice” (Gable et al, 2006). IS-Impact is defined as “a measure at a point in time, of the stream of net benefits from the IS, to date and anticipated, as perceived by all key-user-groups” (Gable Sedera and Chan, 2008). Track efforts have yielded the bicameral IS-Impact measurement model; the “impact” half includes Organizational-Impact and Individual-Impact dimensions; the “quality” half includes System-Quality and Information-Quality dimensions. The IS-Impact model, by design, is intended to be robust, simple and generalizable, to yield results that are comparable across time, stakeholders, different systems and system contexts. The model and measurement approach employ perceptual measures and an instrument that is relevant to key stakeholder groups, thereby enabling the combination or comparison of stakeholder perspectives. Such a validated and widely accepted IS-Impact measurement model has both academic and practical value. It facilitates systematic operationalization of a main dependent variable in research (IS-Impact), which can also serve as an important independent variable. For IS management practice it provides a means to benchmark and track the performance of information systems in use. The objective of this study is to develop a Mandarin version IS-Impact model, encompassing a list of China-specific IS-Impact measures, aiding in a better understanding of the IS-Impact phenomenon in a Chinese organizational context. The IS-Impact model provides a much needed theoretical guidance for this investigation of ES and ES impacts in a Chinese context. The appropriateness and soundness of employing the IS-Impact model as a theoretical foundation are evident: the model originated from a sound theory of IS Success (1992), developed through rigorous validation, and also derived in the context of Enterprise Systems. Based on the IS-Impact model, this study investigates a number of research questions (RQs). Firstly, the research investigated what essential impacts have been derived from ES by Chinese users and organizations [RQ1]. Secondly, we investigate which salient quality features of ES are perceived by Chinese users [RQ2]. Thirdly, we seek to answer whether the quality and impacts measures are sufficient to assess ES-success in general [RQ3]. Lastly, the study attempts to address whether the IS-Impact measurement model is appropriate for Chinese organizations in terms of evaluating their ES [RQ4]. An open-ended, qualitative identification survey was employed in the study. A large body of short text data was gathered from 144 Chinese users and 633 valid IS-Impact statements were generated from the data set. A generally inductive approach was applied in the qualitative data analysis. Rigorous qualitative data coding resulted in 50 first-order categories with 6 second-order categories that were grounded from the context of Chinese organization. The six second-order categories are: 1) System Quality; 2) Information Quality; 3) Individual Impacts;4) Organizational Impacts; 5) User Quality and 6) IS Support Quality. The final research finding of the study is the contextualized Mandarin version IS-Impact measurement model that includes 38 measures organized into 4 dimensions: System Quality, information Quality, Individual Impacts and Organizational Impacts. The study also proposed two conceptual models to harmonize the IS-Impact model and the two emergent constructs – User Quality and IS Support Quality by drawing on previous IS effectiveness literatures and the Work System theory proposed by Alter (1999) respectively. The study is significant as it is the first effort that empirically and comprehensively investigates IS-Impact in China. Specifically, the research contributions can be classified into theoretical contributions and practical contributions. From the theoretical perspective, through qualitative evidence, the study test and consolidate IS-Impact measurement model in terms of the quality of robustness, completeness and generalizability. The unconventional research design exhibits creativity of the study. The theoretical model does not work as a top-down a priori seeking for evidence demonstrating its credibility; rather, the study allows a competitive model to emerge from the bottom-up and open-coding analysis. Besides, the study is an example extending and localizing pre-existing theory developed in Western context when the theory is introduced to a different context. On the other hand, from the practical perspective, It is first time to introduce prominent research findings in field of IS Success to Chinese academia and practitioner. This study provides a guideline for Chinese organizations to assess their Enterprise System, and leveraging IT investment in the future. As a research effort in ITPS track, this study contributes the research team with an alternative operationalization of the dependent variable. The future research can take on the contextualized Mandarin version IS-Impact framework as a theoretical a priori model, further quantitative and empirical testing its validity.

Developing a curriculum for the real world : a whole of institution approach

Keynote address at University of Surrey, Real World Education Symposium, 29 September 2010. Full-text in audio form only. Link to audio provided in Official URL field.

Content-based video indexing for sports applications using integrated multi-modal approach

To sustain an ongoing rapid growth of video information, there is an emerging demand for a sophisticated content-based video indexing system. However, current video indexing solutions are still immature and lack of any standard. This doctoral consists of a research work based on an integrated multi-modal approach for sports video indexing and retrieval. By combining specific features extractable from multiple audio-visual modalities, generic structure and specific events can be detected and classified. During browsing and retrieval, users will benefit from the integration of high-level semantic and some descriptive mid-level features such as whistle and close-up view of player(s).

An innovative approach to reducing risks associated with infant feeding : the use of technology

Infant feeding is a complex behavior enacted in a risk adverse society. Despite ongoing communication and education strategies, breastfeeding rates in countries like Australia, the US, and the UK remain static, thus increasing the risk of short and long-term health problems. Health professionals and non-profit organizations recognize social marketing as an appropriate strategy for increasing breastfeeding duration since it addresses the shortfalls of education-only campaigns. Technology as an innovative alternative to mass media and education has the potential to reduce the social price of breastfeeding by assisting women to manage the identity and health risks associated with infant feeding. This paper reports findings from six focus groups that explored the risks associated with breastfeeding and the potential role of technology in ameliorating these risks. A key finding of this research was that technology has the potential to negate the impact of perceived uncertainty and lack of control associated with breastfeeding. The results indicated that future breastfeeding campaigns that are innovative in their approach and use technology may be more effective in changing breastfeeding behavior.