Business Leaders Hall of Fame collection

"Qld Business Leaders Hall of Fame" is a research project that includes interviews with eminent Qlders that produced oral history interviews and digital stories about their life/company's achievements. This model was able to test and evaluate the use of oral history and digital storytelling for learning and community heritage purposes. Interviewees include; Sir John and Valmai Pidgeon, Joseph Saragossi, Robert Bryan, Clem Jones, Jim Kennedy, Sr Angela Mary, Castelmaine Perkins, Burns and Philp, Qantas, Don Argus & Steve Irwin.

Microphone array beamforming approach to blind speech separation

In this paper, we present a microphone array beamforming approach to blind speech separation. Unlike previous beamforming approaches, our system does not require a-priori knowledge of the microphone placement and speaker location, making the system directly comparable other blind source separation methods which require no prior knowledge of recording conditions. Microphone location is automatically estimated using an assumed noise field model, and speaker locations are estimated using cross correlation based methods. The system is evaluated on the data provided for the PASCAL Speech Separation Challenge 2 (SSC2), achieving a word error rate of 58% on the evaluation set.

Towards beneficence for young children in research : challenges for bioethics committees

Bioethics committees are the focus of international scrutiny,particularly in relation to their application of the principle of beneficence,ensuring that risks incurred in research are outweighed by benefits to those involved directly and to the broader society. Beneficence, in turn, has become an international focus in research with young children, who hitherto had been rarely seen or heard in their own right in research.Twenty years ago, The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 raised global awareness of children’s human rights to both participation and protection, and articulation of children’s rights came to inform understandings of young children’s rights in research. In the intervening period, countries such as Australia came to favour child protection and risk minimisation in research over the notion of children’s bone fide participation in research. A key element of the protection regime was the theoretical understanding of young children as developmentally unable and, therefore, unfit to understand, consent to and fully participate as research participants. This understanding has been challenged in recent decades by new theoretical understandings of children’s competence, where children can be seen to demonstrate competence, even at an early age, in consenting to, participating in and withdrawing from research. The paper draws on these understandings to provide insights for human research gatekeepers, such as bioethics committees, to deal with the challenges of research with young children and to realize the benefits that may accrue to children in research.

Modeling the stepped potential discharge of primary alkaline battery cathodes

A novel model for the potentiostatic discharge of primary alkaline battery cathodes is presented. The model is used to simulate discharges resulting from the stepped potential electrochemical spectroscopy (SPECS) of primary alkaline battery cathodes cathodes, and the results are validated with experimental data. We show that a model based on a single (or mean) reaction framework can be used to simulate multi-reaction discharge behaviour and we develop a consistent functional modification to the kinetic equation of the model that allows for this to occur. The model is used to investigate the effects that the initial exchange current density, i00, and the diffusion coefficient for protons in electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD), DH+, have on SPECS discharge. The behaviour observed is consistent with the idea that individual reduction reactions, within the multi-reaction, reduction behaviour of EMD, have distinct i00 and DH+ values.

Comparing charge transport predictions for a ternary electrolyte using the Maxwell–Stefan and Nernst–Planck equations

In this work, we investigate and compare the Maxwell–Stefan and Nernst–Planck equations for modeling multicomponent charge transport in liquid electrolytes. Specifically, we consider charge transport in the Li+/I−/I3−/ACN ternary electrolyte originally found in dye-sensitized solar cells. We employ molecular dynamics simulations to obtain the Maxwell–Stefan diffusivities for this electrolyte. These simulated diffusion coefficients are used in a multicomponent charge transport model based on the Maxwell– Stefan equations, and this is compared to a Nernst–Planck based model which employs binary diffusion coefficients sourced from the literature. We show that significant differences between the electrolyte concentrations at electrode interfaces, as predicted by the Maxwell–Stefan and Nernst–Planck models, can occur. We find that these differences are driven by a pressure term that appears in the Maxwell–Stefan equations. We also investigate what effects the Maxwell–Stefan diffusivities have on the simulated charge transport. By incorporating binary diffusivities found in the literature into the Maxwell–Stefan framework, we show that the simulated transient concentration profiles depend on the diffusivities; however, the simulated equilibrium profiles remain unaffected.

Culture-fair assessment : challenging Indigenous students through effortful mathematics teaching

This paper reports on a mathematics education research project centred on teachers’ pedagogical practices and capacity to assess Indigenous Australian students in a culture-fair manner. The project has been funded by the Australian Research Council Linkage program and is being conducted in seven Catholic and Independent primary schools in north Queensland. Our Industry Partners are Catholic Education and the Association of Independent Schools, Queensland. The study aims to provide greater understanding about how to build more equitable assessment practices to address the issue of underperforming Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) students in regional and remote Australia. The goal is to identify ways forward by attending to culture-fair assessment practice. The research is exploring the attitudes, beliefs and responses of Indigenous students to assessment in the context of mathematics learning with particular focus on teacher knowledge in these educational settings in relation to the design of assessment tasks that are authentic and engaging for these students in an accountability context. This approach highlights how teachers need to distinguish the ‘funds of knowledge’ (González, Moll, Floyd Tenery, Rivera, Rendón, Gonzales & Amanti, 2008) that Indigenous students draw on and how teachers need to be culturally responsive in their pedagogy to open up curriculum and assessment practice to allow for different ways of knowing and being

The determinants of multinational contractors' willingness to bid for Australian public sector major infrastructure projects : towards deploying the eclectic paradigm of internationalisation

Against a background of already thin markets in some sectors of major public sector infrastructure in Australia and the desire of Australian federal government to leverage private finance, concerns about ensuring sufficient levels of competition are prompting federal government to seek new sources of in-bound Foreign Direct Income. The aim of this paper is to justify and develop a means to deploying the eclectic paradigm of internationalisation that forms part of an Australian federally funded research project designed to explain the determinants of multinational contractors' willingness to bid for Australian public sector major infrastructure projects. Despite the dominance of the eclectic paradigm as a theory of internationalisation for over two decades, it has seen limited application in terms of multinational construction. It is expected that the research project will be the first empirical study to deploy the eclectic paradigm to inbound FDI to Australia whilst using the dominant economic theories advocated for use within the eclectic paradigm. Furthermore, the research project is anticipated to yield a number of practical benefits. These include estimates of the potential scope to attract more multinational contractors to bid for Australian public sector infrastructure, including the nature and extent to which this scope can be influenced by Australian governments responsible for the delivery of infrastructure. On the other hand, the research is also expected to indicate the extent to which indigenous and other multinational contractors domiciled in Australia are investing in special purpose technology and achieving productivity gains relative to foreign multinational contractors.

Working together for Toby : early childhood student teachers engaging in collaborative problem-based learning around child abuse and neglect

Early childhood teacher education programs have a responsibility, amongst many, to prepare teachers for decision-making on real world issues, such as child abuse and neglect. Their repertoire of skills can be enhanced by engaging with others, either face-to-face or online, in authentic problem-based learning. This paper draws on a study of early childhood student teachers who engaged in an authentic learning experience, which was to consider and to suggest how they would act upon a real-life case of child abuse encountered in an early childhood classroom in Queensland. This was the case of Toby (a pseudonym), who was suspected of being physically abused at home. Students drew upon relevant legislation, policy and resource materials to tackle Toby’s case. The paper provides evidence of students grappling with the complexity of a child abuse case and establishing, through collaboration with others, a proactive course of action. The paper has a dual focus. First, it discusses the pedagogical context in which early childhood student teachers deal with issues of child abuse and neglect in the course of their teacher education program. Second, it examines evidence of students engaging in collaborative problem-solving around issues of child abuse and neglect and teachers’ responsibilities, both legal and professional, to the children and families they work with. Early childhood policy-makers, practitioners and teacher educators are challenged to consider how early childhood teachers are best equipped to deal with child protection and early intervention.

A qualitative investigation of socio-cultural factors influencing binge-drinking : a multi-country study

Despite substantial investment by governments in social marketing campaigns and the introduction of various legislative and supply controls on alcohol, the binge drinking phenomenon amongst young people continues unabated in many countries and appears to be spreading to others. This paper examines drinking behaviour amongst university students from 50 countries across Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region and argues that more needs to be done in understanding socio-cultural factors. To date, little is known of the specific socio-cultural factors that are common in countries that have high drinking behaviour compared to countries that have moderate bingedrinking behaviour. Using a marketing systems approach, this exploratory study identifies two key themes that distinguish these countries, namely family influences and peer influences.

Pre-digital Virtuality: Early Modern Scholars and the Republic of Letters

This chapter explores the idea of virtual participation through the historical example of the republic of letters in early modern Europe (circa 1500-1800). By reflecting on the construction of virtuality in a historical context, and more specifically in a pre-digital environment, it calls attention to accusations of technological determinism in ongoing research concerning the affordances of the Internet and related media of communication. It argues that ‘the virtual’ is not synonymous with ‘the digital’ and suggests that, in order to articulate what is novel about modern technologies, we must first understand the social interactions underpinning the relationships which are facilitated through those technologies. By analysing the construction of virtuality in a pre-digital environment, this chapter thus offers a baseline from which scholars might consider what is different about the modes of interaction and communication being engaged in via modern media.

Supply chain sustainability : a relationship management approach moderated by culture and commitment

This research explores the nature of relationship management on construction projects in Australia and examines the effects of culture, by means of Schwarz’s value survey, on relationships under different contract strategies. The research was based on the view that the development of a sustainable supply chain depends on the transfer of knowledge and capabilities from the larger players in the supply chain through collaboration brought about by relationship management. The research adopted a triangulated approach in which quantitative data were collected by questionnaire, interviews were conducted to explore and enrich the quantitative data and case studies were undertaken in order to illustrate and validate the findings. The aim was to investigate how values and attitudes enhance or reduce the incorporation of the supply chain into the project. From the research it was found that the degree of match and mismatch between values and contract strategy impacts commitment and the engagement and empowerment of the supply chain.

Locating child protection in preservice teacher education

A recent report delivered by the Australian Centre for Child Protection has highlighted the need for empirical evidence of effective pedagogies for supporting teaching and learning of child protection content in Australian teacher education programs (Arnold & Maio-Taddeo, 2007). This paper advances this call by presenting case study accounts of different approaches to teaching child protection content in University-based teacher education programs across three Australian States. These different cases provide a basis for understanding existing strategies as an important precursor to improving practice. Although preschool, primary and secondary schools have been involved in efforts to protect children from abuse and neglect since the 1970s, teacher education programs, including preservice and inservice programs, have been slow to align their work with child protection agendas. This paper opens a long-overdue discussion about the extent and nature of child protection content in teacher education and proposes strategies for translating research into practice.

Developing the eclectic paradigm of internationalization on the issue of multinational contractors bidding for Australian infrastructure

Against a background of already thin markets in some sectors of major public sector infrastructure in Australia and the desire of the Australian federal government to leverage private finance, concerns about ensuring sufficient levels of competition are prompting federal government to seek new sources of in-bound foreign direct income - as part of attracting more foreign contractors and consortia to bid for Australian public sector major infrastructure. As a first step towards attracting greater overseas interest in the Australian public sector market infrastructure market, an improved understanding of the determinants of multinational contractors’ willingness to bid in this market is offered by Dunning’s eclectic paradigm and which have has been a dominant approach in international business for over 20 years and yet has been little used in the context of international contracting. This paper aims to develop Dunning’s eclectic framework and also gives a brief outline of a research plan to collect secondary data and primary data from international contractors around the globe in pursuance of testing the eclectic framework.