Identity, addressing, authenticity and audit requirements for trust in ERP, analytics and big/open data in a “Cloud” computing environment : a review and proposal

Enterprises, both public and private, have rapidly commenced using the benefits of enterprise resource planning (ERP) combined with business analytics and “open data sets” which are often outside the control of the enterprise to gain further efficiencies, build new service operations and increase business activity. In many cases, these business activities are based around relevant software systems hosted in a “cloud computing” environment. “Garbage in, garbage out”, or “GIGO”, is a term long used to describe problems in unqualified dependency on information systems, dating from the 1960s. However, a more pertinent variation arose sometime later, namely “garbage in, gospel out” signifying that with large scale information systems, such as ERP and usage of open datasets in a cloud environment, the ability to verify the authenticity of those data sets used may be almost impossible, resulting in dependence upon questionable results. Illicit data set “impersonation” becomes a reality. At the same time the ability to audit such results may be an important requirement, particularly in the public sector. This paper discusses the need for enhancement of identity, reliability, authenticity and audit services, including naming and addressing services, in this emerging environment and analyses some current technologies that are offered and which may be appropriate. However, severe limitations to addressing these requirements have been identified and the paper proposes further research work in the area.

How public owners communicate the sustainability requirements of green design-build projects

The design-build (DB) system is regarded as an effective means of delivering sustainable buildings. Specifying clear sustainability requirements to potential contractors is of great importance to project success. This research investigates the current state-of-the-practice for the definition of sustainability requirements within the public sectors of the U.S. construction market using a robust content analysis of 49 DB requests for proposals (RFPs). The results reveal that owners predominantly communicate their desired level of sustainability through the LEED certification system. The sustainability requirement has become an important dimension for the best-value evaluation of DB contractors with specific importance weightings of up to 25%. Additionally, owners of larger projects and who provide less design information in their RFPs generally allocate significantly higher importance weightings to sustainability requirements. The primary knowledge contribution of this study to the construction industry is the reveal of current trend in DB procurement for green projects. The findings also provide owners, architects, engineers, and constructors with an effective means of communicating sustainability objectives in solicitation documents.

Non-formal techniques for requirements elicitation, modeling, and early assessment for services

Designing systems for multiple stakeholders requires frequent collaboration with multiple stakeholders from the start. In many cases at least some stakeholders lack a professional habit of formal modeling. We report observations from two case studies of stakeholder-involvement in early design where non-formal techniques supported strong collaboration resulting in deep understanding of requirements and of the feasibility of solutions.

Personal injury in motor accident in NSW - procedural requirements under Motor Accidents Insurance Act 1988 (NSW)

In Hooper v Robinson [2002] QDC 080 (District Court of Queensland, D 4841 of 2001, McGill DCJ, 19.4.2002) McGill DCJ considered the application of the decision in John Pfeiffer Pty Ltd v Rogerson [2000] 203 CLR 503 to notice requirements such as in s42 of NSW Motor Accident Insurance Act 1988 and concluded such provisions are now substantive.

Systematic integration of human factors in the specification of requirements for new railway technologies

Engineering design processes are necessary to attain the requisite standards of integrity for high-assurance safety-related systems. Additionally, human factors design initiatives can provide critical insights that parameterise their development. Unfortunately, the popular perception of human factors as a “forced marriage” between engineering and psychology often provokes views where the ‘human factor’ is perceived as a threat to systems design. Some popular performance-based standards for developing safety-related systems advocate identifying and managing human factors throughout the system lifecycle. However, they also have a tendency to fall short in their guidance on the application of human factors methods and tools, let alone how the outputs generated can be integrated in to various stages of the design process. This case study describes a project that converged engineering with human factors to develop a safety argument for new low-cost railway level crossing technology for system-wide implementation in Australia. The paper enjoins the perspectives of a software engineer and cognitive psychologist and their involvement in the project over two years of collaborative work to develop a safety argument for low-cost level crossing technology. Safety and reliability requirements were informed by applying human factors analytical tools that supported the evaluation and quantification of human reliability where users interfaced with the technology. The project team was confronted with significant challenges in cross-disciplinary engagement, particularly with the complexities of dealing with incongruences in disciplinary language. They were also encouraged to think ‘outside the box’ as to how users of a system interpreted system states and ehaviour. Importantly, some of these states, while considered safe within the boundary of the constituent systems that implemented safety-related functions, could actually lead the users to engage in deviant behaviour. Psychology explained how user compliance could be eroded to levels that effectively undermined levels of risk reduction afforded by systems. Linking the engineering and psychology disciplines intuitively, overall safety performance was improved by introducing technical requirements and making design decisions that minimized the system states and behaviours that led to user deviancy. As a commentary on the utility of transdisciplinary collaboration for technical specification, the processes used to bridge the two disciplines are conceptualised in a graphical model.

New sale and leasing requirements for owners of swimming pools and their application to strata schemes

This article considers the changes to the Swimming Pools Act 1992 (NSW)(Act) which established a State-wide online register of all private swimming pools in NSW requiring pool owners to register their pools by 19 November 2013. Amendments to the Act introduced changes to the conveyancing and residential tenancy regulations to require vendors and landlords to have a valid Compliance Certificate issued for their swimming pool before offering the property for sale or lease. This article provides a brief overview of the new sale and leasing requirements effective from 29 April 2014, focusing on its application to lot owners within strata and community title schemes and other owners of water front properties with pools on Crown Land Reserves.

Safe Design Project : Review of occupational health and safety legal requirements for designers, manufacturers, suppliers, importers and other relevant obligation bearers

In seeking to achieve Australian workplaces free from injury and disease NOHSC works to lead and coordinate national efforts to prevent workplace death, injury and disease. We seek to achieve our mission through the quality and relevance of information we provide and to influence the activities of all parties with roles in improving Australia’s OHS performance. NOHSC has five strategic objectives: • improving national data systems and analysis, • improving national access to OHS information, • improving national components of the OHS and related regulatory framework, • facilitating and coordinating national OHS research efforts, • monitoring progress against the National OHS Improvement Framework. This publication is a contribution to achieving those objectives

Prevalence of malnutrition, obesity and nutritional risk of Australian paediatric inpatients: A national one-day snapshot

Aim Low prevalence rates of malnutrition at 2.5% to 4% have previously been reported in two tertiary paediatric Australian hospitals. The current study is the first to measure the prevalence of malnutrition, obesity and nutritional risk of paediatric inpatients in multiple hospitals throughout Australia. Methods Malnutrition, obesity and nutritional risk prevalence were investigated in 832 and 570 paediatric inpatients, respectively, in eight tertiary paediatric hospitals and eight regional hospitals across Australia on a single day. Malnutrition and obesity prevalence was determined using z-scores and body mass index (BMI) percentiles. High nutritional risk was determined as a Paediatric Yorkhill Malnutrition Score of 2 or more. Results The prevalence rates of malnourished, wasted, stunted, overweight and obese paediatric patients were 15%, 13.8%, 11.9%, 8.8% and 9.9%, respectively. Patients who identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander were more likely to have lower height-for-age z-scores (P < 0.01); however, BMI and weight-for-age z-scores were not significantly different. Children who were younger, from regional hospitals or with a primary diagnosis of cardiac disease or cystic fibrosis had significantly lower anthropometric z-scores (P = 0.05). Forty-four per cent of patients were identified as at high nutritional risk and requiring further nutritional assessment. Conclusions The prevalence of malnutrition and nutritional risk of Australian paediatric inpatients on a given day was much higher when compared with the healthy population. In contrast, the proportion of overweight and obese patients was less.

Improved nutritional status is related to improved quality of life in Parkinson’s disease

Background: Quality of life is poorer in Parkinson’s disease than in other conditions and in the general population without Parkinson’s disease. Malnutrition also results in poorer quality of life. This study aimed at determining the relationship between quality of life and nutritional status. Methods: Community-dwelling people with Parkinson’s disease >18 years old were recruited. The Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) assessed nutritional status. The Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire 39 (PDQ-39) measured quality of life. Phase I was cross-sectional. The malnourished in Phase I were eligible for a nutrition intervention phase, randomised into 2 groups: standard care (SC) with provision of nutrition education materials only and intervention (INT) with individualised dietetic advice and regular weekly follow-up. Data were collected at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks. Results: Phase I consisted of 120 people who completed the PDQ-39. Phase II consisted of 9 in the SC group and 10 in the INT group. In Phase I, quality of life was poorer in the malnourished, particularly for mobility and activities of daily living domains. There was a significant correlation between PG-SGA and PDQ-39 scores (Phase I, rs = 0.445, p = .000; Phase II, rs = .426, p = .002). In Phase II, no significant difference in the PDQ-39 total or sub-scores was observed between the INT and SC groups; however, there was significant improvement in the emotional well-being domain for the entire group, X2(2) = 8.84, p = .012. Conclusions: Malnourished people with Parkinson’s disease had poorer quality of life than the well-nourished, and improvements in nutritional status resulted in quality of life improvements. Attention to nutritional status is an important component of quality of life and therefore the total care of people with Parkinson’s disease.

Nutritional support in chronic obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) a randomised trial

Rationale Nutritional support is effective in managing malnutrition in COPD (Collins et al., 2012) leading to functional improvements (Collins et al., 2013). However, comparative trials of first line interventions are lacking. This randomised trial compared the effectiveness of individualised dietary advice by a dietitian (DA) versus oral nutritional supplements (ONS). Methods A target sample of 200 stable COPD outpatients at risk of malnutrition (‘MUST’; medium + high risk) were randomised to either a 12-week intervention of ONS (ONS: ~400 kcal/d, ~40 g/d protein) or DA with supportive written advice. The primary outcome was quality of life (QoL) measured using St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire with secondary outcomes including handgrip strength, body weight and nutritional intake. Both the change from baseline and the differences between groups was analysed using SPSS version 20. Results 84 outpatients were recruited (ONS: 41 vs. DA: 43), 72 completed the intervention (ONS: 33 vs. DA: 39). Mean BMI was 18.2 SD 1.6 kg/m2, age 72.6 SD 10 years, FEV1% predicted 36 SD 15% (severe COPD). In comparison to the DA group, the ONS group experienced significantly greater improvements in protein intakes above baseline values at both week 6 (+21.0 SEM 4.3 g/d vs. +0.52 SEM 4.3 g/d; p < 0.001) and week 12 (+19.0 SEM 5.0 g/d vs. +1.0 SEM 3.6 g/d; p = 0.033;ANOVA). QoL and secondary outcomes remained stable at 12 weeks in both groups with slight improvements in the ONS group but no differences between groups. Conclusion In outpatients at risk of malnutrition with severe COPD, nutritional support involving either ONS or DA appears to maintain in tritional status, functional capacity and QoL. However, larger trials, and earlier, multi-modal nutritional interventions for an extended duration should be explored.

The effectiveness of dietary counselling versus oral nutrition supplements in improving nutritional intake in malnourished patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

The evidence for nutritional support in COPD is almost entirely based on oral nutritional supplements (ONS) yet despite this dietary counseling and food fortification (DA) are often used as the first line treatment for malnutrition. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of ONS vs. DA in improving nutritional intake in malnourished outpatients with COPD. 70 outpatients (BMI 18.4 SD 1.6 kg/m2, age 73 SD 9 years, severe COPD) were randomised to receive a 12-week intervention of either ONS or DA (n 33 ONS vs. n 37 DA). Paired t-test analysis revealed total energy intakes significantly increased with ONS at week 6 (+302 SD 537 kcal/d; p = 0.002), with a slight reduction at week 12 (+243 SD 718 kcal/d; p = 0.061) returning to baseline levels on stopping supplementation. DA resulted in small increases in energy that only reached significance 3 months post-intervention (week 6: +48 SD 623 kcal/d, p = 0.640; week 12: +157 SD 637 kcal/d, p = 0.139; week 26: +247 SD 592 kcal/d, p = 0.032). Protein intake was significantly higher in the ONS group at both week 6 and 12 (ONS: +19.0 SD 25.0 g/d vs. DA: +1.0 SD 13.0 g/d; p = 0.033 ANOVA) but no differences were found at week 26. Vitamin C, Iron and Zinc intakes significantly increased only in the ONS group. ONS significantly increased energy, protein and several micronutrient intakes in malnourished COPD patients but only during the period of supplementation. Trials investigating the effects of combined nutritional interventions are required.

Nutritional risk of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy in the ambulatory care setting : a prospective study

Background Cancer itself can alter the metabolic and physiologic of the body's nutritional needs. As a result, some patients experience some degree of weight loss before the start of the treatment. Aim The aim of the study was to determine at which chemotherapy treatment cycle patients with cancer begin to exhibit signs and symptoms of malnutrition. Methods A prospective descriptive correlational design was used to assess the nutritional risk of 111 patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy in the ambulatory setting. The data were collected by using a nutritional screening tool. Findings The prevalence of malnutrition risk was 45% in patients undergoing the first cycle of chemotherapy. Patients who received the first three cycles of chemotherapy were 2.62 times more likely to develop malnutrition than those who received seven or more cycles. The risk of developing malnutrition varies depending on the type of cancer, the types of chemotherapy regime, the number of chemotherapy cycles, body mass index and the stage of cancer. Conclusion The study found about half of the patients had developed signs and symptoms of nutritional risk at cycle one. Hence, nutritional support may be required even before the start of chemotherapy.