Measuring performance of municipal real estate : softening the impact of financial crisis to local governments

Asset management in local government is an emerging discipline and over a decade has become a crucial aspect towards a more efficient and effective organisation. One crucial feature in the public asset management is performance measurement toward the public real estates. This measurement critically at the important component of public wealth and seeks to apply a standard of economic efficiency and effective organisational management especially in such global financial crisis condition. This paper aims to identify global economic crisis effect and proposes alternative solution for local governments to softening the impact of the crisis to the local governments organisation. This study found that the most suitable solution for local government to solve the global economic crisis in Indonesia is application of performance measurement in its asset management. Thus, it is important to develop performance measurement system in local government asset management process. This study provides suggestions from published documents and literatures. The paper also discusses the elements of public real estate performance measurement. The measurement of performance has become an essential component of the strategic thinking of assets owners and managers. Without having a formal measurement system for performance, it is difficult to plan, control and improve local government real estate management system. A close look at best practices in public sectors reveals that in most cases these practices were transferred from private sector reals estate management under the direction of real estate experts retained by government. One of the most significant advances in government property performance measurement resulted from recognition that the methodology used by private sector, non real estate corporations for managing their real property offered a valuable prototype for local governments. In general, there are two approaches most frequently used to measure performance of public organisations. Those are subjective and objective measures. Finally, findings from this study provides useful input for the local government policy makers, scholars and asset management practitioners to establish a public real estate performance measurement system toward more efficient and effective local governments in managing their assets as well as increasing public services quality in order to soften the impact of global financial crisis.

Gender and municipal politics : problems, perspectives and possibilities

Scholars of local government have repeatedly lamented the lack of literature on the subject (e.g., Mowbray 1997; Pini, Previte, Haslam & McKenzie 2007). As Dollery, Marshall and Worthington (2003: 1) have commented, local government has often been the ‘poor cousin of its more exalted relatives in terms of the attention it attracts from the research community.’ The exalted relatives Dollery et al. (2003) refer to are national political environments, where women’s participation has elicited significant attention. However, the dearth of research on the specific subject of women’s representation in local government is rarely acknowledged (Neyland & Tucker 1996; Whip & Fletcher 1999). This edited book attempts to redress this situation. Each chapter applies an explicit gender analysis to their specific topic of focus, making ‘gender visible in social phenomenon; [and] asking if, how, and why social processes, standards, and opportunities differ systematically for women and men’ (Howard, Risman & Sprague 2003: 1). These analyses in the local government context are critical for understanding the extent and nature of balanced representation at all levels of government. Furthermore, some women start their elective careers serving on school boards, city or town councils or as mayors, before progressing to state and national legislative offices. Hence, the experiences of women in local government illustrate broader notions of democracy and may for some individual women, shape their opportunities further along the political pipeline.

Dying for the bonds of marriage : forced marriages as a weapon of genocide

‘Forced marriages’ involve a woman or girl being abducted and declared the ‘wife’ of her captor without her consent or her family’s consent. The practice generally occurs during wartime and the ‘wife’ is normally subjected to rape, forced impregnation and sexual slavery. Moreover, she is coerced into an intimate relationship with a man who is often the perpetrator of crimes against her and her community. While forced marriages have recently been recognised as a crime against humanity, this Article contends that this does not constitute full recognition of the destructive nature of forced marriages. Instead, this Article mirrors and extends the Akayesu decision that rape can be used as a tool of genocide and maintains that forced marriages can also be a form of genocide.

Characteristics of nontuberculous mycobacteria from a municipal water distribution system and their relevance to human infections

This thesis documented pathogenic species of nontuberculous mycobacteria in the Brisbane water distribution system. When water and shower aerosol strains were compared with human strains of mycobacteria, the study found that the likelihood of acquiring infection from municipal water was specific for four main species. The method for isolation of mycobacteria from water was refined, followed by sampling from 220 sites across Brisbane. A variety of species (incl 15 pathogens) were identified and genotypically compared to human strains. For M. abscessus and M. lentiflavum, water strains clustered with human strains. Pathogenic strains of M. kansasii were found, though non-pathogenic strains dominated. Waterborne strains of M. fortuitum differed to human strains. Extensive home sampling of 20 patients with NTM disease, supported the theory that the risk of acquiring NTM from water or shower aerosols appears species specific for M. avium, M. kansasii, M. lentiflavum and M. abscessus.

Tailoring the resonance of bilayer graphene sheets by interlayer sp3 bonds

Graphene-based resonators are envisioned to build the ultimate limit of two-dimensional nanoelectromechanical system due to their ultrasensitive detection of mass, force, pressure and charge. However, such application has been greatly impeded by their extremely low quality factor. In the present work, we explore, using the large-scale molecular dynamics simulation, the possibility of tailoring the resonance properties of a bilayer graphene sheet (GS) with interlayer sp3 bonds. For the bilayer GS resonator with interlayer sp3 bonds, we discovered that the sp3 bonds can either degrade or enhance the resonance properties of the resonator depending on their density and location. It is found that the distribution of sp3 bonds only along the edges of either pristine or hydrogenated bilayer GS, leads to a greatly enhanced quality factor. A quality factor of ~1.18×105 is observed for a 3.07×15.31 nm2 bilayer GS resonator with sp3 bonds, which is more than 30 times larger comparing with that of a pristine bilayer GS. The present study demonstrates that the resonance properties of a bilayer GS resonator can be tuned by introducing sp3 bonds. This finding provides a useful guideline for the synthesis of the bilayer GS for its application as a resonator component.

Mycobacterium abscessus isolated from municipal water : a potential source of human infection

Background Mycobacterium abscessus is a rapidly growing mycobacterium responsible for progressive pulmonary disease, soft tissue and wound infections. The incidence of disease due to M. abscessus has been increasing in Queensland. In a study of Brisbane drinking water, M. abscessus was isolated from ten different locations. The aim of this study was to compare genotypically the M. abscessus isolates obtained from water to those obtained from human clinical specimens. Methods Between 2007 and 2009, eleven isolates confirmed as M. abscessus were recovered from potable water, one strain was isolated from a rainwater tank and another from a swimming pool and two from domestic taps. Seventy-four clinical isolates referred during the same time period were available for comparison using rep-PCR strain typing (Diversilab). Results The drinking water isolates formed two clusters with ≥97% genetic similarity (Water patterns 1 and 2). The tankwater isolate (WP4), one municipal water isolate (WP3) and the pool isolate (WP5) were distinctly different. Patient isolates formed clusters with all of the water isolates except for WP3. Further patient isolates were unrelated to the water isolates. Conclusion The high degree of similarity between strains of M. abscessus from potable water and strains causing infection in humans from the same geographical area, strengthens the possibility that drinking water may be the source of infection in these patients.

Factors associated with the isolation of Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) from a large municipal water system in Brisbane, Australia

Background Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are normal inhabitants of a variety of environmental reservoirs including natural and municipal water. The aim of this study was to document the variety of species of NTM in potable water in Brisbane, QLD, with a specific interest in the main pathogens responsible for disease in this region and to explore factors associated with the isolation of NTM. One-litre water samples were collected from 189 routine collection sites in summer and 195 sites in winter. Samples were split, with half decontaminated with CPC 0.005%, then concentrated by filtration and cultured on 7H11 plates in MGIT tubes (winter only). Results Mycobacteria were grown from 40.21% sites in Summer (76/189) and 82.05% sites in winter (160/195). The winter samples yielded the greatest number and variety of mycobacteria as there was a high degree of subculture overgrowth and contamination in summer. Of those samples that did yield mycobacteria in summer, the variety of species differed from those isolated in winter. The inclusion of liquid media increased the yield for some species of NTM. Species that have been documented to cause disease in humans residing in Brisbane that were also found in water include M. gordonae, M. kansasii, M. abscessus, M. chelonae, M. fortuitum complex, M. intracellulare, M. avium complex, M. flavescens, M. interjectum, M. lentiflavum, M. mucogenicum, M. simiae, M. szulgai, M. terrae. M. kansasii was frequently isolated, but M. avium and M. intracellulare (the main pathogens responsible for disease is QLD) were isolated infrequently. Distance of sampling site from treatment plant in summer was associated with isolation of NTM. Pathogenic NTM (defined as those known to cause disease in QLD) were more likely to be identified from sites with narrower diameter pipes, predominantly distribution sample points, and from sites with asbestos cement or modified PVC pipes. Conclusions NTM responsible for human disease can be found in large urban water distribution systems in Australia. Based on our findings, additional point chlorination, maintenance of more constant pressure gradients in the system, and the utilisation of particular pipe materials should be considered.

Heterogeneity of clinical and environmental isolates of Mycobacterium fortuitum using repetitive element sequence-based PCR: municipal water an unlikely source of community-acquired infections

M. fortuitum is a rapidly growing mycobacterium associated with community-acquired and nosocomial wound, soft tissue, and pulmonary infections. It has been postulated that water has been the source of infection especially in the hospital setting. The aim of this study was to determine if municipal water may be the source of community-acquired or nosocomial infections in the Brisbane area. Between 2007 and 2009, 20 strains of M. fortuitum were recovered from municipal water and 53 patients’ isolates were submitted to the reference laboratory. A wide variation in strain types was identified using repetitive element sequence-based PCR, with 13 clusters of ≥2 indistinguishable isolates, and 28 patterns consisting of individual isolates. The clusters could be grouped into seven similar groups (>95% similarity). Municipal water and clinical isolates collected during the same time period and from the same geographical area consisted of different strain types, making municipal water an unlikely source of sporadic human infection.

Ozonolysis of phospholipid double bonds during electrospray ionization : A new tool for structure determination

Phospholipids are the key structural component of cell membranes, and recent advances in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry provide for the fast and efficient analysis of these compounds in biological extracts.1-3 The application of electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) to phospholipid analysis has demonstrated several key advantages over the more traditional chromatographic methods, including speed and greater structural information.4 For example, the ESI-MS/MS spectrum of a typical phospholipidsparticularly in negative ion modesreadily identifies the carbon chain length and the degree of unsaturation of each of the fatty acids esterified to the parent molecule.5 A critical limitation of conventional ESI-MS/MS analysis, however, is the inability to uniquely identify the position of double bonds within the fatty acid chains. This is especially problematic given the importance of double bond position in determining the biological function of lipid classes.6 Previous attempts to identify double bond position in intact phospholipids using mass spectrometry employ either MS3 or offline chemical derivatization.7-11 The former method requires specialized instrumentation and is rarely applied, while the latter methods suffer from complications inherent in sample handling prior to analysis. In this communication we outline a novel on-line approach for the identification of double bond position in intact phospholipids. In our method, the double bond(s) present in unsaturated phospholipids are cleaved by ozonolysis within the ion source of a conventional ESI mass spectrometer to give two chemically induced fragment ions that may be used to unambiguously assign the position of the double bond. This is achieved by using oxygen as the electrospray nebulizing gas in combination with high electrospray voltages to initiate the formation of an ozoneproducing.

Continuing Bonds

Some of the oldest surviving examples of human creativity are items connected to death rituals. Despite the complexity of historical death rituals, the visceral sensations of grief are largely repressed or ignored in contemporary society – but where social ritual falters, art attempts to fill the gap. This catalogue essay was written to accompany Karike Ashworth's contemporary art exhibition, 'Lamentation', an exploration of grief, at The Hold Artspace in Brisbane.