Nanostructures for sensors, electronics, energy and environment

Nanoscale science is growing evermore important on a global scale and is widely seen as playing an integral part in the growth of future world economies. The daunting energy crisis we are facing could be solved not only by new and improved ways of getting energy directly from the sun, but also by saving power thanks to advancements in electronics and sensors. New, cheap dye-sensitized and polymer solar cells hold the promise of environmentally friendly and simple production methods, along with mechanical flexibility and low weight, matching the conditions for a widespread deployment of this technology. Cheap sensors based on nanomaterials can make a fundamental contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, allowing the creation of large sensor networks to monitor countries and cities, improving our quality of life. Nanowires and nano-platelets of metal oxides are at the forefront of the research to improve sensitivity and reduce the power consumption in gas sensors. Nanoelectronics is the next step in the electronic roadmap, with many devices currently in production already containing components smaller than 100 nm. Molecules and conducting polymers are at the forefront of this research with the goal of reducing component size through the use of cheap and environmentally friendly production methods. This, and the coming steps that will eventually bring the individual circuit element close to the ultimate limit of the atomic level, are expected to deliver better devices with reduced power consumption.

Overview of Australian Civil UAS Regulations and Supporting Research

This presentation provides a review of current civil unmanned aircraft system operations and applications, the operational environment and aviation safety regulations in Australia. A summary of current regulatory reform efforts is also provided. The presentation includes new and existing research programs established to address the technical and social issues facing the unmanned aircraft systems industry and aid the regulatory reform process.

Enterprise information security policy assessment : an extended framework for metrics development utilising the goal-question-metric approach

Effective enterprise information security policy management requires review and assessment activities to ensure information security policies are aligned with business goals and objectives. As security policy management involves the elements of policy development process and the security policy as output, the context for security policy assessment requires goal-based metrics for these two elements. However, the current security management assessment methods only provide checklist types of assessment that are predefined by industry best practices and do not allow for developing specific goal-based metrics. Utilizing theories drawn from literature, this paper proposes the Enterprise Information Security Policy Assessment approach that expands on the Goal-Question-Metric (GQM) approach. The proposed assessment approach is then applied in a case scenario example to illustrate a practical application. It is shown that the proposed framework addresses the requirement for developing assessment metrics and allows for the concurrent undertaking of process-based and product-based assessment. Recommendations for further research activities include the conduct of empirical research to validate the propositions and the practical application of the proposed assessment approach in case studies to provide opportunities to introduce further enhancements to the approach.

ACE research vignette 013 : does policy for women's entrepreneurship promote gender equality, or not?

This series of research vignettes is aimed at sharing current and interesting research findings from our team and other international Entrepreneurship researchers. In this vignette, Professor Helene Ahl from Jonkoping University considers the consequences for gender equality of policy for women's entrepreneurship in two countries with distinctly different welfare state regimes.

Comments on the Australian Accounting Research Foundation's Legislation Policy Discussion Paper NO.4 (A framework for financial reporting by incorporated associations)

The Australian Accounting Research Foundation (AARF) recently issued Legislative Policy Discussion Paper No.4 which proposes a framework for financial reporting by Australian incorporated associations.This paper comments on both the merits and deficiencies of the proposal. In particular it notes that the proposal simply advocates that the application of differential reporting, accounting standards, and the conceptual framework be imposed on incorporated associations by amended statutes. It is noted that in light of long experience in the corporate sector, he espoused benefits of such a move may not eventuate. Further, concern is expressed that the proposal is a blank cheque one because of the inadequacy of existing relevant accounting standards and the proposal to introduce new relevant standards. Another major defect in the proposal is that it emanates from accountants who acknowledge in their conceptual framework, the need for external reports to report on performance through both financial and non-financial reporting methods. Despite that acknowledgment, the standard set of external reports prepared by accountants do not measure performance as defined in their own conceptual framework (SAC 2) and in their auditing pronouncements (AUP 33), and they have restricted their domain to financial reporting (SAC 2). Accordingly the proposal appears to be seriously deficient and it is suggested that it be rejected and a new proposal be prepared by a multi-party group free from vested interests.

How research findings can inform legislation and school policy on cyberbullying.

Recent empirical research has found that the psychological consequences for young people involved in cyberbullying are more severe than in the case of traditional bullying (Campbell, Spears, Slee, Butler, & Kift, 2012; Perren, Dooley, Shaw, & Cross, 2010). Cybervictimisation has been found to be a significant predictor of depressive symptoms over and above that of being victimised by traditional bullying (Perren et al., 2010). Cybervictims also have reported higher anxiety scores and social difficulties than traditional victims, with those students who had been bullied by both forms showing similar anxiety and depression scores to cyberbullying victims (Campbell et al., 2012). This is supported by the subjective views of many young people, not involved in bullying, who believed that cyberbullying is far more harmful than traditional bullying (Cross et al., 2009). However, students who were traditionally bullied thought the consequences of traditional bullying were harsher than did those students who were cyberbullied (Campbell, et al., 2012). In Slonje and Smith’s study (2008), students reported that text messaging and email bullying had less of an impact than traditional bullying, but that bullying by pictures or video clips had more negative impact than traditional bullying.

Design of open source framework for traffic and travel simulation

For the evaluation, design, and planning of traffic facilities and measures, traffic simulation packages are the de facto tools for consultants, policy makers, and researchers. However, the available commercial simulation packages do not always offer the desired work flow and flexibility for academic research. In many cases, researchers resort to designing and building their own dedicated models, without an intrinsic incentive (or the practical means) to make the results available in the public domain. To make matters worse, a substantial part of these efforts pertains to rebuilding basic functionality and, in many respects, reinventing the wheel. This problem not only affects the research community but adversely affects the entire traffic simulation community and frustrates the development of traffic simulation in general. For this problem to be addressed, this paper describes an open source approach, OpenTraffic, which is being developed as a collaborative effort between the Queensland University of Technology, Australia; the National Institute of Informatics, Tokyo; and the Technical University of Delft, the Netherlands. The OpenTraffic simulation framework enables academies from geographic areas and disciplines within the traffic domain to work together and contribute to a specific topic of interest, ranging from travel choice behavior to car following, and from response to intelligent transportation systems to activity planning. The modular approach enables users of the software to focus on their area of interest, whereas other functional modules can be regarded as black boxes. Specific attention is paid to a standardization of data inputs and outputs for traffic simulations. Such standardization will allow the sharing of data with many existing commercial simulation packages.

Innovative Leadership by School Principals : embedding Information Communication and Technology in Kuwaiti Schools

Kuwait is an oil rich country planning for a future that is not dependent on exploiting natural resources. A major policy initiative has been the introduction of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) to schools. However, contextual issues and teacher capabilities in the use of ICT have limited the success of this initiative. The study examines the leadership strategies of two secondary school principals whose schools have achieved this goal. The case study draws on intensive data collected through interviews of the principals, and teachers supported by document analysis and observations. Analysis was guided by theoretical perspectives drawn from the literature which identified a range of strategies used by the principals to manage change. The principals of Schools A and B employed three key strategies to maximise the impact on the teaching staff incorporating ICT into their teaching and learning practices. These strategies were: (a) encouragement for teaching staff to implement ICT in their teaching; (b) support to meet the material and human needs of teaching staff using ICT; and (c) provision of instructions and guidance for teaching staff in how and why such behaviours and practices should be performed. The outcome of this study proposes an innovative change leadership model that informs emerging countries, which are also undergoing major change related to ICT. However, the study also revealed limitations in the implementation of ICT in the classroom and provides insights into further strategies that principals need to adopt.

Proteomics science and society :the role of knowledge translation in moving towards clinical applications

Gaining support for proteomics science requires effective knowledge translation. Knowledge translation (KT) processes turn the evidence generated by scientific discovery into recommendations for clinical applications, funding priorities, and policy/regulatory reforms. Clinicians, regulators, and funders need to understand why emerging proteomics knowledge is relevant, and what are the potential applications of that knowledge. A lack of clarity remains about what KT means.

A Worthwhile Exchange - a Guide to Indigenous Philanthropy: research findings and success stories from philanthropy supporting Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander People.

The Guide includes research findings from the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Non Profit Studies at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). This research probed the experiences of fourteen Indigenous people who have had different degrees of success in seeking funding from philanthropic organisations. This research shows how grantmakers can make a significant difference in the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Control, shift, insert : living and enacting policy in teachers' day/night work

This thesis investigates the experiences of teachers who trialled an electronic curriculum and assessment tool in the wider context of text-mediated ruling relations organising their work. Problematised as policy and text, this tool is interrogated as a 'solution' to problems perceived in teachers' work in an era of increased accountability. It provides evidence that teachers' work is shaped by forces operating outside their control and mediated by the policy discourses and subjectivities available to them.

Understanding and measuring information security culture in developing countries : case of Saudi Arabia

The purpose of the current study was to develop a measurement of information security culture in developing countries such as Saudi Arabia. In order to achieve this goal, the study commenced with a comprehensive review of the literature, the outcome being the development of a conceptual model as a reference base. The literature review revealed a lack of academic and professional research into information security culture in developing countries and more specifically in Saudi Arabia. Given the increasing importance and significant investment developing countries are making in information technology, there is a clear need to investigate information security culture from developing countries perspective such as Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, our analysis indicated a lack of clear conceptualization and distinction between factors that constitute information security culture and factors that influence information security culture. Our research aims to fill this gap by developing and validating a measurement model of information security culture, as well as developing initial understanding of factors that influence security culture. A sequential mixed method consisting of a qualitative phase to explore the conceptualisation of information security culture, and a quantitative phase to validate the model is adopted for this research. In the qualitative phase, eight interviews with information security experts in eight different Saudi organisations were conducted, revealing that security culture can be constituted as reflection of security awareness, security compliance and security ownership. Additionally, the qualitative interviews have revealed that factors that influence security culture are top management involvement, policy enforcement, policy maintenance, training and ethical conduct policies. These factors were confirmed by the literature review as being critical and important for the creation of security culture and formed the basis for our initial information security culture model, which was operationalised and tested in different Saudi Arabian organisations. Using data from two hundred and fifty-four valid responses, we demonstrated the validity and reliability of the information security culture model through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), followed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA.) In addition, using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) we were further able to demonstrate the validity of the model in a nomological net, as well as provide some preliminary findings on the factors that influence information security culture. The current study contributes to the existing body of knowledge in two major ways: firstly, it develops an information security culture measurement model; secondly, it presents empirical evidence for the nomological validity for the security culture measurement model and discovery of factors that influence information security culture. The current study also indicates possible future related research needs.

The influence of school science teachers : the differential importance attributed by males and females to encouragement from science teachers

Research on the achievement and retention of female students in science and mathematics is located within a context of falling levels of participation in physical science and mathematics courses in Australian schools, and underrepresentation of females in some science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses. The Interests and Recruitment in Science (IRIS) project is an international project that aims to contribute to understanding and improving recruitment, retention and gender equity in STEM higher education. Nearly 3500 first year students in 30 Australian universities responded to the IRIS survey of 5-point Likert items and open responses. This paper explores gender differences in first year university students’ responses to three questions about important influences on their course choice. The IRIS study found good teachers were rated highly by both males and females as influential in choosing STEM courses, and significantly higher numbers of females rated personal encouragement from senior high school science teacher as very important. In suggestions for addressing sex disparities in male-dominated STEM courses, more females indicated the importance of good teaching/encouragement and more females said (unspecified) encouragement. This study relates to the influence of school science teachers and results are discussed in relation to implications for science education.

Projecting future transmission of malaria under climate change scenarios : challenges and research needs

There has been an intense debate about climatic impacts on the transmission of malaria. It is vitally important to accurately project future impacts of climate change on malaria to support effective policy–making and intervention activity concerning malaria control and prevention. This paper critically reviewed the published literature and examined both key findings and methodological issues in projecting future impacts of climate change on malaria transmission. A literature search was conducted using the electronic databases MEDLINE, Web of Science and PubMed. The projected impacts of climate change on malaria transmission were spatially heterogeneous and somewhat inconsistent. The variation in results may be explained by the interaction of climatic factors and malaria transmission cycles, variations in projection frameworks and uncertainties of future socioecological (including climate) changes. Current knowledge gaps are identified, future research directions are proposed and public health implications are assessed. Improving the understanding of the dynamic effects of climate on malaria transmission cycles, the advancement of modelling techniques and the incorporation of uncertainties in future socioecological changes are critical factors for projecting the impact of climate change on malaria transmission.