The gender wage gap in Australia - The path of future convergence

The paper attempts to project the future trend of the gender wage gap in Australia up to 2031. The empirical analysis utilises the Income Distribution Survey (1996) together with Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) demographic projections. The methodology combines the ABS projections with assumptions relating to the evolution of educational attainment in order to project the future distribution of human capital skills and consequently the future size of the gender wage gap. The analysis suggests that female relative pay will continue to rise up to 2031. However, gender wage convergence will be relatively slow, with a substantial gap remaining in 2031.

Reply to comment on “Characterising metal build-up on urban road surfaces” by Egodawatta et al. (2013)

In the recent manuscript published by Egodawatta et al. (2013), the authors investigated the build-up process of heavy metals (HMs) associated with road-deposited sediment (RDS) on residential road surfaces, and presented empirical models for the prediction of both the surface loads and build-up rates of HMs on these surfaces...

Analysis of nonlinear sequences and streamciphers

Streamciphers are common cryptographic algorithms used to protect the confidentiality of frame-based communications like mobile phone conversations and Internet traffic. Streamciphers are ideal cryptographic algorithms to encrypt these types of traffic as they have the potential to encrypt them quickly and securely, and have low error propagation. The main objective of this thesis is to determine whether structural features of keystream generators affect the security provided by stream ciphers.These structural features pertain to the state-update and output functions used in keystream generators. Using linear sequences as keystream to encrypt messages is known to be insecure. Modern keystream generators use nonlinear sequences as keystream.The nonlinearity can be introduced through a keystream generator's state-update function, output function, or both. The first contribution of this thesis relates to nonlinear sequences produced by the well-known Trivium stream cipher. Trivium is one of the stream ciphers selected in a final portfolio resulting from a multi-year project in Europe called the ecrypt project. Trivium's structural simplicity makes it a popular cipher to cryptanalyse, but to date, there are no attacks in the public literature which are faster than exhaustive keysearch. Algebraic analyses are performed on the Trivium stream cipher, which uses a nonlinear state-update and linear output function to produce keystream. Two algebraic investigations are performed: an examination of the sliding property in the initialisation process and algebraic analyses of Trivium-like streamciphers using a combination of the algebraic techniques previously applied separately by Berbain et al. and Raddum. For certain iterations of Trivium's state-update function, we examine the sets of slid pairs, looking particularly to form chains of slid pairs. No chains exist for a small number of iterations.This has implications for the period of keystreams produced by Trivium. Secondly, using our combination of the methods of Berbain et al. and Raddum, we analysed Trivium-like ciphers and improved on previous on previous analysis with regards to forming systems of equations on these ciphers. Using these new systems of equations, we were able to successfully recover the initial state of Bivium-A.The attack complexity for Bivium-B and Trivium were, however, worse than exhaustive keysearch. We also show that the selection of stages which are used as input to the output function and the size of registers which are used in the construction of the system of equations affect the success of the attack. The second contribution of this thesis is the examination of state convergence. State convergence is an undesirable characteristic in keystream generators for stream ciphers, as it implies that the effective session key size of the stream cipher is smaller than the designers intended. We identify methods which can be used to detect state convergence. As a case study, theMixer streamcipher, which uses nonlinear state-update and output functions to produce keystream, is analysed. Mixer is found to suffer from state convergence as the state-update function used in its initialisation process is not one-to-one. A discussion of several other streamciphers which are known to suffer from state convergence is given. From our analysis of these stream ciphers, three mechanisms which can cause state convergence are identified.The effect state convergence can have on stream cipher cryptanalysis is examined. We show that state convergence can have a positive effect if the goal of the attacker is to recover the initial state of the keystream generator. The third contribution of this thesis is the examination of the distributions of bit patterns in the sequences produced by nonlinear filter generators (NLFGs) and linearly filtered nonlinear feedback shift registers. We show that the selection of stages used as input to a keystream generator's output function can affect the distribution of bit patterns in sequences produced by these keystreamgenerators, and that the effect differs for nonlinear filter generators and linearly filtered nonlinear feedback shift registers. In the case of NLFGs, the keystream sequences produced when the output functions take inputs from consecutive register stages are less uniform than sequences produced by NLFGs whose output functions take inputs from unevenly spaced register stages. The opposite is true for keystream sequences produced by linearly filtered nonlinear feedback shift registers.

Percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents or coronary artery bypass surgery in subjects with type 2 diabetes : evaluation of: Farkouth ME, Domanski M, Sleeper LA, et al. Strategies for multivessel revascularization in patients with diabetes. N Engl J Med 2012;367(25):2375-84, and Contini GA, Nicolini F, Fortuna D, et al. Five-year outcomes of surgical or percutaneous myocardial revascularization in diabetic patients. Int J Cardiol 2012. [Epub ahead of print]

There is debate as to whether percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents or coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) is the best procedure for subjects with type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease requiring revascularization. There is some evidence that following these procedures there is less further revascularization with CABG than PCI in subjects with diabetes. Two recent studies; the FREEDOM (Future Revascularization Evaluation in patients with Diabetes mellitus: Optimal Management of Multivessel Disease) trial, and a trial using a real world diabetic population from a Registry, have shown that the benefits of CABG over PCI in subjects with type 2 diabetes extends to lower rates of death and myocardial infarct, in addition to lower rates of revascularization. However, the rates of stroke may be higher with CABG than PCI with drug-eluting stents in this population. Thus, if CABG is going to be preferred to PCI in subjects with type 2 diabetes and multivessel coronary disease, consideration should be given to how to reduce the rates of stroke with CABG.

Selection et controle de modes de deplacement pour un robot mobile autonome en environnements naturels

Autonomous navigation and locomotion of a mobile robot in natural environments remain a rather open issue. Several functionalities are required to complete the usual perception/decision/action cycle. They can be divided in two main categories : navigation (perception and decision about the movement) and locomotion (movement execution). In order to be able to face the large range of possible situations in natural environments, it is essential to make use of various kinds of complementary functionalities, defining various navigation and locomotion modes. Indeed, a number of navigation and locomotion approaches have been proposed in the literature for the last years, but none can pretend being able to achieve autonomous navigation and locomotion in every situation. Thus, it seems relevant to endow an outdoor mobile robot with several complementary navigation and locomotion modes. Accordingly, the robot must also have means to select the most appropriate mode to apply. This thesis proposes the development of such a navigation/locomotion mode selection system, based on two types of data: an observation of the context to determine in what kind of situation the robot has to achieve its movement and an evaluation of the behavior of the current mode, made by monitors which influence the transitions towards other modes when the behavior of the current one is considered as non satisfying. Hence, this document introduces a probabilistic framework for the estimation of the mode to be applied, some navigation and locomotion modes used, a qualitative terrain representation method (based on the evaluation of a difficulty computed from the placement of the robot's structure on a digital elevation map), and monitors that check the behavior of the modes used (evaluation of rolling locomotion efficiency, robot's attitude and configuration watching. . .). Some experimental results obtained with those elements integrated on board two different outdoor robots are presented and discussed.

Panem et circenses : law, law and power in The Hunger Games

Like many cautionary tales, The Hunger Games takes as its major premise an observation about contemporary society, measuring its ballistic arc in order to present graphically its logical conclusions. The Hunger Games gazes back to the panem et circenses of Ancient Rome, staring equally cynically forward, following the trajectory of reality television to its unbearably barbaric end point – a sadistic voyeurism for an effete elite of consumers. At each end of the historical spectrum (and in the present), the prevailing social form is Arendt’s animal laborans. Consumer or consumed, Panem’s population is (with the exception of the inner circle) either deprived of the possibility of, or distracted from, political action. Within the confines of the Games themselves, Law is abandoned or de‐realised: Law – an elided Other in the pseudo‐Hobbesian nightmare that is the Arena. The Games are played out, as were gladiatorial combats and other diversions of the Roman Empire, against a background resonant of Juvenal’s concern for his contemporaries’ attachment to short term gratification at the expense the civic virtues of justice and caring which are (or would be) constitutive of a contemporary form of Arendt’s homo politicus. While the Games are, on their face, ‘reality’ they are (like the realities presented in contemporary reality television) a simulated reality, de‐realised in a Foucauldian set design constructed as a distraction for Capitol, and for the residents of the Districts, a constant reminder of their subservience to Capitol. Yet contemporary Western culture, for which manipulative reality TV is but a symptom of an underlying malaise, is inscribed at least as an incipient Panem, Its public/political space is diminished by the effective slavery of the poor, the pre‐occupation with and distractions of materiality and modern media, and the increasing concentration of power/wealth into a smaller proportion of the population.

Resection-intersection bundle adjustment revisited

Bundle adjustment is one of the essential components of the computer vision toolbox. This paper revisits the resection-intersection approach, which has previously been shown to have inferior convergence properties. Modifications are proposed that greatly improve the performance of this method, resulting in a fast and accurate approach. Firstly, a linear triangulation step is added to the intersection stage, yielding higher accuracy and improved convergence rate. Secondly, the effect of parameter updates is tracked in order to reduce wasteful computation; only variables coupled to significantly changing variables are updated. This leads to significant improvements in computation time, at the cost of a small, controllable increase in error. Loop closures are handled effectively without the need for additional network modelling. The proposed approach is shown experimentally to yield comparable accuracy to a full sparse bundle adjustment (20% error increase) while computation time scales much better with the number of variables. Experiments on a progressive reconstruction system show the proposed method to be more efficient by a factor of 65 to 177, and 4.5 times more accurate (increasing over time) than a localised sparse bundle adjustment approach.

Reply to the comments on “A study of the phosphate mineral kapundaite NaCa(Fe3+)4(PO4)4(OH)3·5(H2O) using SEM/EDX and vibrational spectroscopic methods” by Frost et al. (2014)

"The authors agree with the statements made by Mills and Christy on the study of kapundaite [1]. These authors are correct and have removed any confusion about the origin of the sample kapundaite. The authors (Frost et al.) confirm the sample of kapundaite studied in this work is from the Tom‘s quarry, Australia and can be considered a type material. The authors do not accept the statements by Mills and Christy on “type minerals”. The sample of kapundaite from the Australian source is from the collection of the Geology Department of the Federal University of Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil with sample code SAC-111. At least if our mineral sample is not a co-type mineral, our sample is from the same origin as the type mineral. Samples..."--publisher website.

Conservation and divergence of four kiwifruit SVP-like MADS-box genes suggest distinct roles in kiwifruit bud dormancy and flowering

MADS-box genes similar to Arabidopsis SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP) have been implicated in the regulation of flowering in annual species and bud dormancy in perennial species. Kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.) are woody perennial vines where bud dormancy and out-growth affect flower development. To determine the role of SVP-like genes in dormancy and flowering of kiwifruit, four MADS-box genes with homology to Arabidopsis SVP, designated SVP1, SVP2, SVP3, and SVP4, have been identified and analysed in kiwifruit and functionally characterized in Arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analysis indicate that these genes fall into different sub-clades within the SVP-like gene group, suggesting distinct functions. Expression was generally confined to vegetative tissues, and increased transcript accumulation in shoot buds over the winter period suggests a role for these genes in bud dormancy. Down-regulation before flower differentiation indicate possible roles as floral repressors. Over-expression and complementation studies in Arabidopsis resulted in a range of floral reversion phenotypes arising from interactions with Arabidopsis MADS-box proteins, but only SVP1 and SVP3 were able to complement the svp mutant. These results suggest that the kiwifruit SVP-like genes may have distinct roles during bud dormancy and flowering.

Multi-shot person re-identification via relational stein divergence

Person re-identification is particularly challenging due to significant appearance changes across separate camera views. In order to re-identify people, a representative human signature should effectively handle differences in illumination, pose and camera parameters. While general appearance-based methods are modelled in Euclidean spaces, it has been argued that some applications in image and video analysis are better modelled via non-Euclidean manifold geometry. To this end, recent approaches represent images as covariance matrices, and interpret such matrices as points on Riemannian manifolds. As direct classification on such manifolds can be difficult, in this paper we propose to represent each manifold point as a vector of similarities to class representers, via a recently introduced form of Bregman matrix divergence known as the Stein divergence. This is followed by using a discriminative mapping of similarity vectors for final classification. The use of similarity vectors is in contrast to the traditional approach of embedding manifolds into tangent spaces, which can suffer from representing the manifold structure inaccurately. Comparative evaluations on benchmark ETHZ and iLIDS datasets for the person re-identification task show that the proposed approach obtains better performance than recent techniques such as Histogram Plus Epitome, Partial Least Squares, and Symmetry-Driven Accumulation of Local Features.

Genetic and phenotypic evidence supports evolutionary divergence of the American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) population in the Galapagos islands

The Galapagos archipelago is characterized by a high degree of endemism across many taxa, linked to the archpelago's oceanic origin and distance from other colonizing land masses. A population of ~ 500 American Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber) resides in Galapagos, which is thought to share an historical origin with the American Flamingo currently found in the Caribbean region. Genetic and phenotypic parameters in American Flamingos from Galapagos and from the Caribbean were investigated. Microsatellite and microchondrial DNA markers data showed that the American Flamingo population in Galapagos differs genetically from that in the Caribbean. American Flamingos in Galapagos form a clade which differs by a single common nucleotide substitution from American Flamingos in the Caribbean. The genetic differentiation is also evident from nuclear DNA in that microsatellite data reveal a number of private alleles for the American Flamingo in Galapagos. Analysis of skeletal measurements showed that American Flamingos in Galapagos are smaller than those in the Caribbean primarily due to shorter tarsus length, and differences in body shape sexual dimorphism. American Flamingo eggs from Galapagos have smaller linear dimensions and volumes than those from the Caribbean. The findings are consistent with reproductive isolation of American Flamingo population in Galapagos.