Unintended consequences of regulatory reporting requirements for small and medium size construction entities : Australian evidence

The Queensland Building Services Authority (QBSA) regulates the construction industry in Queensland, Australia, with licensing requirements creating differential financial reporting obligations, depending on firm size. Economic theories of regulation and behaviour provide a framework for investigating effects of the financial constraints and financial reporting requirements imposed by QBSA licensing. Data are analysed for all small and medium construction entities operating in Queensland between 2001 and 2006. Findings suggesting that construction licensees are categorizing themselves as smaller to avoid the more onerous and costly financial reporting of higher licensee categories are consistent with US findings from the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) regulation which created incentives for small firms to stay small to avoid the costs of compliance with more onerous financial reporting requirements. Such behaviour can have the undesirable economic consequences of adversely affecting employment, investment, wealth creation and financial stability. Insights and implications from the analysed QBSA processes are important for future policy reform and design, and useful to be considered where similar regulatory approaches are planned.

Topological map induction using neighbourhood information of places

In topological mapping, perceptual aliasing can cause different places to appear indistinguishable to the robot. In case of severely corrupted or non-available odometry information, topological mapping is difficult as the robot is challenged with the loop-closing problem; that is to determine whether it has visited a particular place before. In this article we propose to use neighbourhood information to disambiguate otherwise indistinguishable places. Using neighbourhood information for place disambiguation is an approach that neither depends on a specific choice of sensors nor requires geometric information such as odometry. Local neighbourhood information is extracted from a sequence of observations of visited places. In experiments using either sonar or visual observations from an indoor environment the benefits of using neighbourhood clues for the disambiguation of otherwise identical vertices are demonstrated. Over 90% of the maps we obtain are isomorphic with the ground truth. The choice of the robot’s sensors does not impact the results of the experiments much.

Reduced-Size microstrip patch antenna for Bluetooth applications

A novel reduced-size microstrip rectangular patch antenna for Bluetooth operation is presented in this paper. The proposed antenna operates in the 2400 to 2484 MHz ISM Band. Although an air substrate is introduced, antenna occupies a small volume of 33.3×6.6×0.8 mm3. The gain and the impedance bandwidth of the antenna are predicted using a commercial Finite Element Method software package. The predicted results show good agreement with measured data.

How does the size and shape of local populations in China compare to general anthropometric surveys currently used for product design?

Anthropometry has long been used for a range of ergonomic applications & product design. Although products are often designed for specific cohorts, anthropometric data are typically sourced from large scale surveys representative of the general population. Additionally, few data are available for emerging markets like China and India. This study measured 80 Chinese males that were representative of a specific cohort targeted for the design of a new product. Thirteen anthropometric measurements were recorded and compared to two large databases that represented a general population, a Chinese database and a Western database. Substantial differences were identified between the Chinese males measured in this study and both databases. The subjects were substantially taller, heavier and broader than subjects in the older Chinese database. However, they were still substantially smaller, lighter and thinner than Western males. Data from current Western anthropometric surveys are unlikely to accurately represent the target population for product designers and manufacturers in emerging markets like China.

Influence of field size on pupil diameter under photopic and mesopic light levels

Purpose: We investigated the interaction between adapting field size and luminance on pupil diameter when cones alone (photopic) or rods and cones (mesopic) were active. Method: Circular achromatic targets (1o to 24o diameter) were presented to eight young participants on a rectangular projector screen. The accommodative influence on pupil diameter was minimized using cycloplegia in the fixing right eye and the consensual pupil reflex was measured in the left eye. Target luminance was adjusted for each stimulus such that corneal flux density (product of field area and luminance) was constant at 3600 cd.deg2m-2 (photopic condition) and 1.49 cd.deg2m-2 (mesopic condition). Results: There were no statistically significant effects of adaptive field size on pupil diameter for either condition. Conclusion: If corneal flux density is kept constant, there will be no change in pupil diameter as the size of the stimulus field increases at either mesopic or photopic lighting levels up to at least 24°.

Separation of acoustic emission signals from small size multi-cylinder diesel engine

This paper presents techniques which can lead to diagnosis of faults in a small size multi-cylinder diesel engine. Preliminary analysis of the acoustic emission (AE) signals is outline, including time-frequency analysis and selection of optimum frequency band.The results of applying mean field independent component analysis (MFICA) to separate the AE root mean square (RMS) signals and the effects of changing parameter values are also outlined. The results on separation of RMS signals show thsi technique has the potential of increasing the probability to successfully identify the AE events associated with the various mechanical events within the combustion process of multi-cylinder diesel engines.

Studies on the effect of the size of polycaprolactone microspheres for the dispersion of Salbutamol Sulfate from dry powder inhaler formulations

Purpose: To study the effect of the size of the surface-coated polycaprolactone (PCL) microparticle carriers on the aerosolization and dispersion of Salbutamol Sulfate (SS) from Dry Powder Inhaler (DPI) formulations. Methods: The microparticles were fabricated using an emulsion technique in four different sizes (25, 48, 104 and 150 μm) and later coated with Magnesium stearate (MgSt) and leucine. They were characterized by laser diffraction and SEM. The Fine Particle Fraction (FPF) of SS from powder mixtures was determined by a Twin Stage Impinger (TSI). Results: As the carrier size increased from 25 μm to 150 μm, the FPF of the SS delivered by the coated PCL particles increased approximately four fold. A linear relationship was found between the FPF and Volume mean Diameter (VMD) of the particles over this range. Conclusions: The dispersion behaviour of SS from PCL carriers was dependent on the inherent size of the carriers and the increased FPF of SS with increased carrier size probably reflects the higher mechanical forces produced due to the carrier-carrier collisions or collisions between the carrier particles and the internal walls of the inhaler during aerosolization.

The Neighbourhood Disputes Resolution Act 2011 (Qld) and disclosure issues

This article examines the recently introduced Neighbourhood Disputes Resolution Act 2011 (Qld). The operation of the Act is considered as it impacts upon the responsibility of neighbours for dividing fences and trees as well as disclosure obligations associated with sale transactions. A particular focus of the article is the interrelationship of the disclosure obligations imposed by the Act with the operation of standard contractual warranties in Queensland.

Measuring the apparent size of the Moon with a digital camera

The Moon appears to be much larger closer to the horizon than when higher in the sky. This is called the ‘Moon Illusion’ since the observed size of the Moon is not actually larger when the Moon is just above the horizon. This article describes a technique for verifying that the observed size of the Moon in not larger on the horizon. The technique can be easily performed in a high school teaching environment. Moreover, the technique demonstrates the surprising fact that the observed size of the Moon is actually smaller on the horizon due to atmospheric refraction. For the purposes of this paper, several images of the moon were taken with the Moon close to the horizon and close to the zenith. Images were processed using a free program called ImageJ. The Moon was found to be 5.73 ±0.04% smaller in area on the horizon then at the zenith.

Understanding neighbourhood liveability for older urban Australians

As with other major developed cities, the sub-tropical and fastest growing Australian capital city of Brisbane has adopted policies designed to increase residential densities and meet the liveability and sustainability goal of decreasing car dependence and greenhouse gas emissions. This goal hinges on a pedestrian friendly environment and walkable proximity to satisfy everyday needs. While older people are particularly attracted to sub-tropical urban environments, there has been little empirical evidence linking liveability satisfaction and perceived and actual use of older people’s urban neighbourhood. Using qualitative (diaries and in-depth interviews) and quantitative (Global Positioning Systems and Geographical Information Systems mapping) liveability research data this paper explores whether high density supports liveability and is sustainable for older people living in a sub-tropical urban environment. This paper links satisfaction and perceived use of the sub-tropical urban Brisbane environment with actual mapped characteristics and use. Linking the two methods (both quantitative and qualitative) is important in obtaining a greater understanding of human behaviour and the lived world of older urban Australians and in providing a wider picture of sub-tropical urban neighbourhoods for a significant population group within those neighbourhoods. What emerges from the research is an uneven standard of design, provision of amenities and maintenance of the public realm which negatively impacts on local neighbourhood participation by older urban Australians. By highlighting these issues this research furthers the understanding of design factors which make the sub-tropical urban neighbourhood more liveable and sustainable for older people and will inform actionable and implementable policies, programs and designs.

Experiences of neighbourhood walkability among older Australians living in high density inner-city areas

Walking as an out-of-home mobility activity is recognised for its contribution to healthy and active ageing. The environment can have a powerful effect on the amount of walking activity undertaken by older people, thereby influencing their capacity to maintain their wellbeing and independence. This paper reports the findings from research examining the experiences of neighbourhood walking for 12 older people from six different inner-city high density suburbs, through analysis of data derived from travel diaries, individual time/space activity maps (created via GPS tracking over a seven-day period and GIS technology), and in-depth interviews. Reliance on motor vehicles, the competing interests of pedestrians and cyclists on shared pathways and problems associated with transit systems, public transport, and pedestrian infrastructure emerged as key barriers to older people venturing out of home on foot. GPS and GIS technology provide new opportunities for furthering understanding of the out-of-home mobility of older populations.

Does occupational aggregation matter in determining the size of the gender wage gap?

The traditional decomposition of the gender wage gap distinguishes between a component attributable to gender differences in productivity-related characteristics and a residual component that is often taken as a measure of discrimination. This study of data from the 1989 Canadian Labour Market Activity Survey shows that when occupation is treated as a productivity-related characteristic, the proportion of the gender wage gap labeled explained increases with the number of occupational classifications distinguished. However, on the basis of evidence that occupational differences reflect the presence of barriers faced by women attempting to enter male-dominated occupations, the authors conclude that occupation should not be treated as a productivity-related characteristic; and in a decomposition of the gender wage gap that treats occupation as endogenously determined, they find that the level of occupational aggregation has little effect on the size of the "explained" component of the gap.

The effect of screen size on mission commander's situation awareness

Situation awareness lost is a common factor leading to human error in the aviation industry. However, few studies have investigated the effect on situation awareness where the control interface is a touch-screen device that supports simultaneous multi-touch input and information output. This research aims to conduct an experiment to evaluate the difference in situation awareness on a large screen device, DiamondTouch (DT107), and a small screen device, iPad, both with multi-touch interactive functions. The Interface Operation and Situation Awareness Testing Simulator (IOSATS), is a simulator to test the three basis interface operations (Search Target, Information Reading, and Change Detection) by implementing a simplified search and rescue scenario. The result of this experiment will provide reliable data for future research for improving operator's situation awareness in the avionic domain.

Compact arrays for mobile platforms : trade-off between size and performance for SDMA and MIMO applications

Smart antenna receiver and transmitter systems consist of multi-port arrays with an individual receiver channel (including ADC) and an individual transmitter channel (including DAC)at every of the M antenna ports, respectively. By means of digital beamforming, an unlimited number of simultaneous complex-valued vector radiation patterns with M-1 degrees of freedom can be formed. Applications of smart antennas in communication systems include space-division multiple access. If both stations of a communication link are equipped with smart antennas (multiple-input-multiple-output, MIMO). multiple independent channels can be formed in a "multi-path-rich" environment. In this article, it will be shown that under certain circumstances, the correlation between signals from adjacent ports of a dense array (M + ΔM elements) can be kept as low as the correlation between signals from adjacent ports of a conventional array (M elements and half-wavelength pacing). This attractive feature is attained by means of a novel approach which employs a RF decoupling network at the array ports in order to form new ports which are decoupled and associated with mutually orthogonal (de-correlated) radiation patterns.