Some reflections about P2M : the place of the mirror

The purpose of this paper is to provide some insights about P2M, and more specifically, to develop some thoughts about Project Management seen as a Mirror, a place for reflection…, between the Mission of organisation and its actual creation of Values (with s: a source of value for people, organisations and society). This place is the realm of complexity, of interactions between multiple variables, each of them having a specific time horizon and occupying a specific place, playing a specific role. Before developing this paper I would like to borrow to my colleague and friend, Professor Ohara, the following, part of a paper going to be presented at IPMA World Congress, in New Delhi later this year in November 2005. “P2M is the Japanese version of project & program management, which is the first standard guide for education and certification developed in 2001. A specific finding of P2M is characterized by “mission driven management of projects” or a program which harness complexity of problem solving observed in the interface between technical system and business model.” (Ohara, 2005, IPMA Conference, New Delhi) “The term of “mission” is a key word in the field of corporate strategy, where it expresses raison d’être or “value of business”. It is more specifically used for expressing “the client needs” in terms of a strategic business unit. The concept of mission is deemed to be a useful tool to share essential content of value and needs in message for complex project.” (Ohara, 2005, IPMA Conference, New Delhi) “Mission is considered as a significant “metamodel representation” by several reasons. First, it represents multiple values for aspiration. The central objective of mission initiative is profiling of ideality in the future from reality, which all stakeholders are glad to accept and share. Second, it shall be within a stretch of efforts, and not beyond or outside of the realization. Though it looks like unique, it has to depict a solid foundation. The pragmatic sense of equilibrium between innovation and adaptation is required for the mission. Third, it shall imply a rough sketch for solution to critical issues for problems in reality.” (Ohara, 2005, IPMA Conference, New Delhi) “Project modeling” idea has been introduced in P2M program management. A package of three project models of “scheme”, “system” and “service” are given as a reference type program. (Ohara, 2005, IPMA Conference, New Delhi) If these quotes apply to P2M, they are fully congruent with the results of the research undertaken and the resulting meta-model & meta-method developed by the CIMAP, ESC Lille Research Centre in Project & Program Management, since the 80’s. The paper starts by questioning the common Project Management (PM) paradigm. Then discussing the concept of Project, it argues that an alternative epistemological position should be taken to capture Page 2 / 11 the very nature of the PM field. Based on this, a development about “the need of modelling to understand” is proposed grounded on two theoretical roots. This leads to the conclusion that, in order to enables this modelling, a standard approach is necessary, but should be understood under the perspective of the Theory of Convention in order to facilitate a situational and contextual application.

The economics of happiness : a lifetime perspective

The three studies in this thesis focus on happiness and age and seek to contribute to our understanding of happiness change over the lifetime. The first study contributes by offering an explanation for what was evolving to a ‘stylised fact’ in the economics literature, the U-shape of happiness in age. No U-shape is evident if one makes a visual inspection of the age happiness relationship in the German socio-economic panel data, and, it seems counter-intuitive that we just have to wait until we get old to be happy. Eliminating the very young, the very old, and the first timers from the analysis did not explain away regression results supporting the U-shape of happiness in age, but fixed effect analysis did. Analysis revealed found that reverse causality arising from time-invariant individual traits explained the U-shape of happiness in age in the German population, and the results were robust across six econometric methods. Robustness was added to the German fixed effect finding by replicating it with the Australian and the British socio-economic panel data sets. During analysis of the German data an unexpected finding emerged, an exceedingly large negative linear effect of age on happiness in fixed-effect regressions. There is a large self-reported happiness decline by those who remain in the German panel. A similar decline over time was not evident in the Australian or the British data. After testing away age, time and cohort effects, a time-in-panel effect was found. Germans who remain in the panel for longer progressively report lower levels of happiness. Because time-in-panel effects have not been included in happiness regression specifications, our estimates may be biased; perhaps some economics of the happiness studies, that used German panel data, need revisiting. The second study builds upon the fixed-effect finding of the first study and extends our view of lifetime happiness to a cohort little visited by economists, children. Initial analysis extends our view of lifetime happiness beyond adulthood and revealed a happiness decline in adolescent (15 to 23 year-old) Australians that is twice the size of the happiness decline we see in older Australians (75 to 86 yearolds), who we expect to be unhappy due to declining income, failing health and the onset of death. To resolve a difference of opinion in the literature as to whether childhood happiness decreases, increases, or remains flat in age; survey instruments and an Internet-based survey were developed and used to collect data from four hundred 9 to 14 year-old Australian children. Applying the data to a Model of Childhood Happiness revealed that the natural environment life-satisfaction domain factor did not have a significant effect on childhood happiness. However, the children’s school environment and interactions with friends life-satisfaction domain factors explained over half a steep decline in childhood happiness that is three times larger than what we see in older Australians. Adding personality to the model revealed what we expect to see with adults, extraverted children are happier, but unexpectedly, so are conscientious children. With the steep decline in the happiness of young Australians revealed and explanations offered, the third study builds on the time-invariant individual trait finding from the first study by applying the Australian panel data to an Aggregate Model of Average Happiness over the lifetime. The model’s independent variable is the stress that arises from the interaction between personality and the life event shocks that affect individuals and peers throughout their lives. Interestingly, a graphic depiction of the stress in age relationship reveals an inverse U-shape; an inverse U-shape that looks like the opposite of the U-shape of happiness in age we saw in the first study. The stress arising from life event shocks is found to explain much of the change in average happiness over a lifetime. With the policy recommendations of economists potentially invoking unexpected changes in our lives, the ensuing stress and resulting (un)happiness warrant consideration before economists make policy recommendations.

Hankering

As a man and woman take turns reciting their favourite simple pleasures, text fades in and out on screen. The visible words, which float against a starscape, are approximations and variations of those being spoken. As the video progresses, the voices and the correlating texts start to overlap slightly. What at first seems to be a testiment to small, saccharine satisfactions starts to become a passive-aggressive race for modest contentment. Rubbing the fine line between sweet and sour, “Hankering” plays with the indirect messages that float through our desires, relationships and the languages we use to communicate them.

Spin

“Spin” borrows idioms and metaphors from sports commentary and squeezes them into a single emotional rollercoaster. Accompanied by a driving soundtrack, text appears and disappears one word at a time. As the work progresses, multiple words fade in and out at the same time, filling the screen and testing our ability to read and assimilate these well-worn phrases. On the one hand, the work mimes some of what we enjoy about sport – its ability to take us to another place, to incite passion and emotion, and to enable us to share in common experiences, goals and desires. On the other hand, it plays up the hyperbolic language often associated with sports broadcasting. The very language that helps take us to another place, incite passion and make us feel part of something bigger than ourselves, is pushed to its extreme and starts to burst at the seams. This work was commissioned for “Kick Off: contemporary video art program” at Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast, and supported by Project Services, Department of Public Works, Queensland Government.

Same old 'other' mother: Neil Gaiman's Coraline

Central to Coraline’s experiences in the fantasy world beyond the walls of her flat is the ‘other’ mother, who is initially constructed as an idealised image of maternal care whose only concern is for the welfare and comfort of her child. But as the story unfolds, this belle dame rapidly transforms into the ‘beldam sans merci’, an old crone, a she-devil whose real interest lies in the power she can draw from possessing the souls of children such as Coraline. This paper explores the Gaiman’s use of archetypes and cultural stereotypes of the mother figure that feminisms have been intent on expunging, interrogating, or appropriating in positive ways.

Double diffusive magneto-convection fluid flow in a strong cross magnetic field with uniform surface heat and mass flux

In this study, magnetohydrodynamic natural convection boundary layer flow of an electrically conducting and viscous incompressible fluid along a heated vertical flat plate with uniform heat and mass flux in the presence of strong cross magnetic field has been investigated. For smooth integrations the boundary layer equations are transformed in to a convenient dimensionless form by using stream function formulation as well as the free variable formulation. The nonsimilar parabolic partial differential equations are integrated numerically for Pr ≪1 that is appropriate for liquid metals against the local Hartmann parameter ξ . Further, asymptotic solutions are obtained near the leading edge using regular perturbation method for smaller values of ξ . Solutions for values of ξ ≫ 1 are also obtained by employing the matched asymptotic technique. The results obtained for small, large and all ξ regimes are examined in terms of shear stress, τw, rate of heat transfer, qw, and rate of mass transfer, mw, for important physical parameter. Attention has been given to the influence of Schmidt number, Sc, buoyancy ratio parameter, N and local Hartmann parameter, ξ on velocity, temperature and concentration distributions and noted that velocity and temperature of the fluid achieve their asymptotic profiles for Sc ≥ 10:0.

Intrinsic kinetics of titania photocatalysis : simplified models for their investigation

Even though titanium dioxide photocatalysis has been promoted as a leading green technology for water purification, many issues have hindered its application on a large commercial scale. For the materials scientist the main issues have centred the synthesis of more efficient materials and the investigation of degradation mechanisms; whereas for the engineers the main issues have been the development of appropriate models and the evaluation of intrinsic kinetics parameters that allow the scale up or re-design of efficient large-scale photocatalytic reactors. In order to obtain intrinsic kinetics parameters the reaction must be analysed and modelled considering the influence of the radiation field, pollutant concentrations and fluid dynamics. In this way, the obtained kinetic parameters are independent of the reactor size and configuration and can be subsequently used for scale-up purposes or for the development of entirely new reactor designs. This work investigates the intrinsic kinetics of phenol degradation over titania film due to the practicality of a fixed film configuration over a slurry. A flat plate reactor was designed in order to be able to control reaction parameters that include the UV irradiance, flow rates, pollutant concentration and temperature. Particular attention was paid to the investigation of the radiation field over the reactive surface and to the issue of mass transfer limited reactions. The ability of different emission models to describe the radiation field was investigated and compared to actinometric measurements. The RAD-LSI model was found to give the best predictions over the conditions tested. Mass transfer issues often limit fixed film reactors. The influence of this phenomenon was investigated with specifically planned sets of benzoic acid experiments and with the adoption of the stagnant film model. The phenol mass transfer coefficient in the system was calculated to be km,phenol=8.5815x10-7Re0.65(ms-1). The data obtained from a wide range of experimental conditions, together with an appropriate model of the system, has enabled determination of intrinsic kinetic parameters. The experiments were performed in four different irradiation levels (70.7, 57.9, 37.1 and 20.4 W m-2) and combined with three different initial phenol concentrations (20, 40 and 80 ppm) to give a wide range of final pollutant conversions (from 22% to 85%). The simple model adopted was able to fit the wide range of conditions with only four kinetic parameters; two reaction rate constants (one for phenol and one for the family of intermediates) and their corresponding adsorption constants. The intrinsic kinetic parameters values were defined as kph = 0.5226 mmol m-1 s-1 W-1, kI = 0.120 mmol m-1 s-1 W-1, Kph = 8.5 x 10-4 m3 mmol-1 and KI = 2.2 x 10-3 m3 mmol-1. The flat plate reactor allowed the investigation of the reaction under two different light configurations; liquid and substrate side illumination. The latter of particular interest for real world applications where light absorption due to turbidity and pollutants contained in the water stream to be treated could represent a significant issue. The two light configurations allowed the investigation of the effects of film thickness and the determination of the catalyst optimal thickness. The experimental investigation confirmed the predictions of a porous medium model developed to investigate the influence of diffusion, advection and photocatalytic phenomena inside the porous titania film, with the optimal thickness value individuated at 5 ìm. The model used the intrinsic kinetic parameters obtained from the flat plate reactor to predict the influence of thickness and transport phenomena on the final observed phenol conversion without using any correction factor; the excellent match between predictions and experimental results provided further proof of the quality of the parameters obtained with the proposed method.

Violence Against Women: Myths, Facts, Controversies

In Violence Against Women, award-winning author Walter S. DeKeseredy offers a passionate but well-documented sociological overview of a sobering problem. He starts by outlining the scope of the challenge and debunks current attempts to label intimate violence as gender neutral. He then lays bare the structural practices that sustain this violence, leading to a discussion of long- and short-term policies to address the issue. DeKeseredy includes an examination of male complicity and demonstrates how boys and men can change their roles. Throughout, he responds to myths that dismiss threats to women's health and safety and provides an impassioned call to action for women, men, and policymakers.

Unsteady natural convection within a differentially heated enclosure of sinusoidal corrugated side walls

Numerically investigation of natural convection within a differentially heated modified square enclosure with sinusoidally corrugated side walls has been performed for different values of Rayleigh number. The fluid inside the enclosure considered is air and is quiescent, initially. The top and bottom surfaces are flat and considered as adiabatic. Results reveal three main stages: an initial stage, a transitory or oscillatory stage and a steady stage for the development of natural convection flow inside the corrugated cavity. The numerical scheme is based on the finite element method adapted to triangular non-uniform mesh element by a non-linear parametric solution algorithm. Investigation has been performed for the Rayleigh number, Ra ranging from 105 to 108 with variation of corrugation amplitude and frequency. Constant physical properties for the fluid medium have been assumed. Results have been presented in terms of the isotherms, streamlines, temperature plots, average Nusselt numbers, traveling waves and thermal boundary layer thickness plots, temperature and velocity profiles. The effects of sudden differential heating and its consequent transient behavior on fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics have been observed for the range of governing parameters. The present results show that the transient phenomena are greatly influenced by the variation of the Rayleigh Number with corrugation amplitude and frequency.

Tampere region under the microscope : a critical analysis from the knowledge perspective

Purpose – In the context of global knowledge economy, knowledge-based urban development (KBUD) is seen as an effective development strategy for city-regions to survive, flourish and become highly competitive urban agglomerations – i.e., a knowledge city-region. This paper aims to evaluate the KBUD dynamics, capacity and potentials of a rapidly emerging knowledge city-region of Finland – Tampere region. Design/methodology/approach – The paper undertakes a review of the literature on regional development in the knowledge economy era. It adopts a qualitative analysis technique to scrutinize the dynamics, capacity and potentials of Tampere region. The semi-structured interview process starts with the pre-determined key actors of the city-region with an aim of determining the other key players. Next, with the participation of all key players to the interviews, the research reveals the principal issues, assets and mechanisms that relate to KBUD, and portrays the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the city-region. A critical analysis of the findings along with the previous studies is undertaken to provide a clear picture of the dynamics, capacity and potentials of the emerging knowledge city-region. Originality/value – This paper reports the findings of a pioneering study focusing on the investigation of the KBUD dynamics, capacity and potentials of Tampere region. The paper critically evaluates the city-region from the knowledge perspective with the lens of KBUD, and the lessons learned and the methodological approach of the paper shed light to other city-regions seeking such development. Practical implications – The paper discusses the findings of a study from Tampere region that critically scrutinizes the KBUD experience of the city-region. The research provides an invaluable opportunity to inform the regional decision-, policy- and plan-making mechanisms by determining key issues, actors, assets, processes and potential development directions for the KBUD of Tampere region.

Correlation-based damage detection for complicated truss bridges using multi-layer genetic algorithms

The study presents a multi-layer genetic algorithm (GA) approach using correlation-based methods to facilitate damage determination for through-truss bridge structures. To begin, the structure’s damage-suspicious elements are divided into several groups. In the first GA layer, the damage is initially optimised for all groups using correlation objective function. In the second layer, the groups are combined to larger groups and the optimisation starts over at the normalised point of the first layer result. Then the identification process repeats until reaching the final layer where one group includes all structural elements and only minor optimisations are required to fine tune the final result. Several damage scenarios on a complicated through-truss bridge example are nominated to address the proposed approach’s effectiveness. Structural modal strain energy has been employed as the variable vector in the correlation function for damage determination. Simulations and comparison with the traditional single-layer optimisation shows that the proposed approach is efficient and feasible for complicated truss bridge structures when the measurement noise is taken into account.

Intuitive interaction and older people

Older people often struggle with using contemporary products and interfaces. They show slower, less intuitive interaction with more errors. This paper reports on a large project designed to investigate why older people have these difficulties and what strategies could be used to mitigate them. The project team found that older people are less familiar with products that they own than younger ones, while both older and middle aged people are less familiar with products that they do not own than younger ones. Age related cognitive decline is also related to slower and less intuitive performance with contemporary products and interfaces. Therefore, the reasons behind the problems that older people demonstrate with contemporary technologies involve a mix of familiarity and capability. Redundancy applied to an interface in the form of symbols and words is helpful for middle aged and younger old people but the oldest age group performed better with a words only interface. Also, older people showed faster and more intuitive use with a flat interface than a nested one, although there was no difference in errors. Further work is ongoing in order to establish ways in which these findings can be usefully applied in the design process.

Grandiflora : Recent Paintings by Daniel Mafe

Grandiflora: Recent Paintings by Daniel Mafe The paintings of Grandiflora are improvised around a range of different flower motifs culled from medieval textiles and botanical illustrations. Each of the paintings is constructed upon a ground of flat, palely luminous yellow occasionally supplemented by additional areas of high-keyed pastel. Pink, blue, green and mauve together with the yellow, generate a shimmering and even incandescent glow. The graphic images of the flowers with the flat colour areas are then contrasted and worked over with richly sensual, abstract gestures of paint. Within the work there is a pronounced almost rococo-esque opticality as it operates between these different visual codes of flat colour, recognizable floral forms, and gesture. These codes combine to produce a definite visceral impact on the viewer, a pronounced and tactile sense of the experience and ambiguity inherent in perceiving. This ambiguity is interestingly at odds with the apparently clean and crisp quality each painting demonstrates as an integrated whole. Indeed each piece goes on to reveal, despite the use of overt figurative quotations, a sense of the purely abstract which in its turn concretely establishes the ornamental.

Real-time power line extraction from unmanned aerial system video images

In this paper a real-time vision based power line extraction solution is investigated for active UAV guidance. The line extraction algorithm starts from ridge points detected by steerable filters. A collinear line segments fitting algorithm is followed up by considering global and local information together with multiple collinear measurements. GPU boosted algorithm implementation is also investigated in the experiment. The experimental result shows that the proposed algorithm outperforms two baseline line detection algorithms and is able to fitting long collinear line segments. The low computational cost of the algorithm make suitable for real-time applications.

Fusion or non fusion of coral fragments in Acropora

Corals inhabit high energy environments where frequent disturbances result in physical damage to coralla, including fragmentation, as well as generating and mobilizing large sediment clasts. The branching growth form common in the Acropora genus makes it particularly susceptible to such disturbances and therefore useful for study of the fate of large sediment clasts. Living Acropora samples with natural, extraneous, broken coral branches incorporated on their living surface and dead Acropora skeletons containing embedded clasts of isolated branch sections of Acropora were observed and/or collected from the reef flat of Heron Reef, southern Great Barrier Reef and Bargara, Australia respectively. Here we report three different outcomes when pebble-sized coral branches became lodged on living coral colonies during sedimentation events in natural settings in Acropora: 1) Where live coral branches produced during a disturbance event come to rest on probable genetic clone-mate colonies they become rapidly stabilised leading to complete soft tissue and skeletal fusion; 2) Where the branch and underlying colony are not clone-mates, but may still be the same or similar species, the branches still may be stabilised rapidly by soft tissue, but then one species will overgrow the other; and 3) Where branches represent dead skeletal debris, they are treated like any foreign clast and are surrounded by clypeotheca and incorporated into the corallum by overgrowth. The retention of branch fragments on colonies in high energy reef flat settings may suggest an active role of coral polyps to recognise and fuse with each other. Also, in all cases the healing of disturbed tissue and subsequent skeletal growth is an adaptation important for protecting colonies from invasion by parasites and other benthos following disturbance events and may also serve to increase corallum strength. Knowledge of such adaptations is important in studies of coral behaviour during periods of environmental stress.