A prototype system for the digital lodgement of spatial data

This dissertation develops the model of a prototype system for the digital lodgement of spatial data sets with statutory bodies responsible for the registration and approval of land related actions under the Torrens Title system. Spatial data pertain to the location of geographical entities together with their spatial dimensions and are classified as point, line, area or surface. This dissertation deals with a sub-set of spatial data, land boundary data that result from the activities performed by surveying and mapping organisations for the development of land parcels. The prototype system has been developed, utilising an event-driven paradigm for the user-interface, to exploit the potential of digital spatial data being generated from the utilisation of electronic techniques. The system provides for the creation of a digital model of the cadastral network and dependent data sets for an area of interest from hard copy records. This initial model is calibrated on registered control and updated by field survey to produce an amended model. The field-calibrated model then is electronically validated to ensure it complies with standards of format and content. The prototype system was designed specifically to create a database of land boundary data for subsequent retrieval by land professionals for surveying, mapping and related activities. Data extracted from this database are utilised for subsequent field survey operations without the need to create an initial digital model of an area of interest. Statistical reporting of differences resulting when subsequent initial and calibrated models are compared, replaces the traditional checking operations of spatial data performed by a land registry office. Digital lodgement of survey data is fundamental to the creation of the database of accurate land boundary data. This creation of the database is fundamental also to the efficient integration of accurate spatial data about land being generated by modem technology such as global positioning systems, and remote sensing and imaging, with land boundary information and other information held in Government databases. The prototype system developed provides for the delivery of accurate, digital land boundary data for the land registration process to ensure the continued maintenance of the integrity of the cadastre. Such data should meet also the more general and encompassing requirements of, and prove to be of tangible, longer term benefit to the developing, electronic land information industry.

A collaborative approach to home care delivery for older clients: Perspectives of home care providers

A collaborative approach to home care (HC) delivery for older clients has taken centre stage (Nies, 2006). In Finland, public home help and home health care services have been combined to form the home care unit, whose goal is to provide a collaborative approach to care delivery through cooperation and sharing of responsibilities. In this model, the general practitioner (GP), home care nurses (HCN) and home help workers (HHW) care for shared clients. GPs and HCNs provide health care, such as monitoring of clients’ health status, and HHWs assist with personal care tasks such as dressing, washing and meal preparation. As the needs of older clients are multiple, collaboration is needed as one professional group cannot take sole responsibility (Nies, 2006). This paper reports on a study undertaken to examine home care unit care providers’ perspectives of the collaborative approach to HC delivery for older clients.

Evaluation of risk factors leading to cost overrun in delivery of highway construction projects

Accurate owner budget estimates are critical to the initial decision-to-build process for highway construction projects. However, transportation projects have historically experienced significant construction cost overruns from the time the decision to build has been taken by the owner. This paper addresses the problem of why highway projects overrun their predicted costs. It identifies the owner risk variables that contribute to significant cost overrun and then uses factor analysis, expert elicitation, and the nominal group technique to establish groups of importance ranked owner risks. Stepwise multivariate regression analysis is also used to investigate any correlation of the percentage of cost overrun with risks, together with attributes such as highway project type, indexed cost, geographics location, and project delivery method. The research results indicate a correlation between the reciprocal of project budgets size and percentage cost overrun. This can be useful for owners in determining more realistic decision-to-build highway budget estimates by taking into account the economies of scale associated with larger projects.

An alginate-based hybrid system for growth factor delivery in the functional repair of large bone defects

The treatment of challenging fractures and large osseous defects presents a formidable problem for orthopaedic surgeons. Tissue engineering/regenerative medicine approaches seek to solve this problem by delivering osteogenic signals within scaffolding biomaterials. In this study, we introduce a hybrid growth factor delivery system that consists of an electrospun nanofiber mesh tube for guiding bone regeneration combined with peptide-modified alginate hydrogel injected inside the tube for sustained growth factor release. We tested the ability of this system to deliver recombinant bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) for the repair of critically-sized segmental bone defects in a rat model. Longitudinal [mu]-CT analysis and torsional testing provided quantitative assessment of bone regeneration. Our results indicate that the hybrid delivery system resulted in consistent bony bridging of the challenging bone defects. However, in the absence of rhBMP-2, the use of nanofiber mesh tube and alginate did not result in substantial bone formation. Perforations in the nanofiber mesh accelerated the rhBMP-2 mediated bone repair, and resulted in functional restoration of the regenerated bone. [mu]-CT based angiography indicated that perforations did not significantly affect the revascularization of defects, suggesting that some other interaction with the tissue surrounding the defect such as improved infiltration of osteoprogenitor cells contributed to the observed differences in repair. Overall, our results indicate that the hybrid alginate/nanofiber mesh system is a promising growth factor delivery strategy for the repair of challenging bone injuries.

Novel PCL-based honeycomb scaffolds as drug delivery systems for rhBMP-2

This study investigated a novel drug delivery system (DDS), consisting of polycaprolactone (PCL) or polycaprolactone 20% tricalcium phosphate (PCL-TCP) biodegradable scaffolds, fibrin Tisseel sealant and recombinant bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) for bone regeneration. PCL and PCL-TCP-fibrin composites displayed a loading efficiency of 70% and 43%, respectively. Fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy revealed sparse clumps of rhBMP-2 particles, non-uniformly distributed on the rods’ surface of PCL-fibrin composites. In contrast, individual rhBMP-2 particles were evident and uniformly distributed on the rods’ surface of the PCL-TCP-fibrin composites. PCL-fibrin composites loaded with 10 and 20 μg/ml rhBMP-2 demonstrated a triphasic release profile as quantified by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). This consisted of burst releases at 2 h, and days 7 and 16. A biphasic release profile was observed for PCL-TCP-fibrin composites loaded with 10 μg/ml rhBMP-2, consisting of burst releases at 2 h and day 14. PCL-TCP-fibrin composites loaded with 20 μg/ml rhBMP-2 showed a tri-phasic release profile, consisting of burst releases at 2 h, and days 10 and 21. We conclude that the addition of TCP caused a delay in rhBMP-2 release. Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and alkaline phosphatase assay verified the stability and bioactivity of eluted rhBMP-2 at all time points

Colorectal cancer survivors’ exercise experiences and preferences : qualitative findings from an exercise rehabilitation programme immediately after chemotherapy

Little is known about cancer survivors’ experiences with and preferences for exercise programmes offered during rehabilitation (immediately after cancer treatment). This study documented colorectal cancer survivors’ experiences in an exercise rehabilitation programme and their preferences for programme content and delivery. At the completion of 12-weeks of supervised exercise, 10 participants took part in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Data from these interviews were coded, and themes were identified using qualitative software. Key findings were that most participants experienced improvements in treatment symptoms, including reduced fatigue and increased energy and confidence to do activities of daily living. They also reported that interactions with the exercise trainer and a flexible programme delivery were important aspects of the intervention. Most participants reported that they preferred having a choice of exercise, starting to exercise within a month after completing treatment, having supervision and maintaining a one-on-one format. Frustrations included scheduling conflicts and a lack of a transition out of the programme. The findings indicate that colorectal cancers experience benefits from exercise offered immediately after treatment and prefer individual attention from exercise staff. They further indicate directions for the implementation of future exercise programmes with this population.

Regional field measurement of soil moisture content with neutron probe

The neutron logging method has been widely used for field measurement of soil moisture content. This non-destructive method permitted the measurement of in-situ soil moisture content at various depths without the need for burying any sensor. Twenty-three sites located around regional Melbourne have been selected for long term monitoring of soil moisture content using neutron probe. Soil samples collected during the installation are used for site characterisation and neutron probe calibration purposes. A linear relationship is obtained between the corrected neutron probe reading and moisture content for both the individual and combined data from seven sites. It is observed that the liner relationship, developed using combined data, can be used for all sites with an average accuracy of about 80%. Monitoring of the variation of soil moisture content with depth in six months for two sites is presented in this paper.

Online service delivery models : an international comparison in the public sector

Governments around the world are facing the challenge of responding to increased expectations by their customers with regard to public service delivery. Citizens, for example, expect governments to provide better and more efficient electronic services on the Web in an integrated way. Online portals have become the approach of choice in online service delivery to meet these requirements and become more customer-focussed. This study describes and analyses existing variants of online service delivery models based upon an empirical study and provides valuable insights for researchers and practitioners in government. For this study, we have conducted interviews with senior management representatives from five international governments. Based on our findings, we distinguish three different classes of service delivery models. We describe and characterise each of these models in detail and provide an in-depth discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches.