Brite innovation survey : executive summary

This report summarises the fi ndings of an innovation survey of the Australian construction industry undertaken by the BRITE Project of the CRC for Construction Innovation in 2004. The BRITE Innovation Survey can be viewed in full at www.brite.crcci.info.The objective of the BRITE project is to improve the incidence and quality of innovation in the Australian construction industry. Many stakeholders in the industry are sceptical about the potential for innovation and its likely benefi ts. Many also lack the linkages and capabilities required for successful innovation. The BRITE Project is redressing this situation through demonstration and benchmarking activities. The term ‘innovation’ is defi ned as a new or signifi cantly improved technology or advanced business practice. Innovation may be technological or organisational, and it may be new to the world, or just new to the industry or business concerned. The defi nition includes the adoption of existing advancements developed outside a particular business. The survey sample was drawn from 3,500 businesses in the road/bridge and commercial building sectors in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, covering main contractors, trade contractors, consultants, suppliers and clients. Onethird of this population was sampled and a response rate of almost 30% was achieved. The survey collected information about respondents’ perceptions of innovation determinants in the industry, comprising various aspects of business strategy and business environment.

Multi-Outcome Construction Policies : Industry-Focused Research Summary

The Multi-outcomes Construction Policies research project, funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Construction Innovation (Project 2006-036-A), sought to explore the costs and benefits of leveraging social outcomes on public construction contracts. The context of the research project was the trend towards the contracting out of public construction works and the attempts that have been made to use new contractual arrangements with construction companies to construction achieve a wide range of social outcomes. In federal and state jurisdictions it is now common for governments to impose a range of additional requirements on public works contractors that relate to broad social/community objectives. These requirements include commitments to train apprentices and trainees; to provide local and/or indigenous employment opportunities; to buy local materials; and to include art works. The cost and benefits of using public construction contracts to achieve social/community goals have, to our knowledge, not been thoroughly researched in an Australian context. This is likely to reflect in large part the relatively short history of contracting out public works. As Jensen and Stonecash (2004) explain, most previous empirical studies of contracting out have attempted to measure the cost savings achieved through privatization, as this was the focus of policy debate in the 1980s and 1990s. Relatively few studies have addressed the ability of contracting arrangements to ensure the delivery of desired ‘quality’ outcomes1, or the costs of achieving these outcomes via contracting arrangements. One of the potential costs of attempting to leverage social/community outcomes on public construction projects is a reduction in the amount of competition for these projects, with obvious consequences for average bid prices and choice. In jurisdictions, such as Western Australia and Queensland, where currently construction market conditions are already

How to extract and expand randomness : a summary and explanation of existing results

We examine the use of randomness extraction and expansion in key agreement (KA) pro- tocols to generate uniformly random keys in the standard model. Although existing works provide the basic theorems necessary, they lack details or examples of appropriate cryptographic primitives and/or parameter sizes. This has lead to the large amount of min-entropy needed in the (non-uniform) shared secret being overlooked in proposals and efficiency comparisons of KA protocols. We therefore summa- rize existing work in the area and examine the security levels achieved with the use of various extractors and expanders for particular parameter sizes. The tables presented herein show that the shared secret needs a min-entropy of at least 292 bits (and even more with more realistic assumptions) to achieve an overall security level of 80 bits using the extractors and expanders we consider. The tables may be used to �nd the min-entropy required for various security levels and assumptions. We also �nd that when using the short exponent theorems of Gennaro et al., the short exponents may need to be much longer than they suggested.

A summary view of government cost recovery policies in Australia and New Zealand relating to the supply of public sector information

Researching administrative history is problematical. A trail of authoritative documents is often hard to find; and useful summaries can be difficult to organise, especially if source material is in paper formats in geographically dispersed locations. In the absence of documents, the reasons for particular decisions and the rationale underpinning particular policies can be confounded as key personnel advance in their professions and retire. The rationale for past decisions may be lost for practical purposes; and if an organisation’s memory of events is diminished, its learning through experience is also diminished. Publishing this document tries to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort by other researchers that need to venture into how policies of charging for public sector information have been justified. The author compiled this work within a somewhat limited time period and the work does not pretend to be a complete or comprehensive analysis of the issues.----- A significant part of the role of government is to provide a framework of legally-enforceable rights and obligations that can support individuals and non-government organisations in their lawful activities. Accordingly, claims that governments should be more ‘business-like’ need careful scrutiny. A significant supply of goods and services occurs as non-market activity where neither benefits nor costs are quantified within conventional accounting systems or in terms of money. Where a government decides to provide information as a service; and information from land registries is archetypical, the transactions occur as a political decision made under a direct or a clearly delegated authority of a parliament with the requisite constitutional powers. This is not a market transaction and the language of the market confuses attempts to describe a number of aspects of how governments allocate resources.----- Cost recovery can be construed as an aspect of taxation that is a sole prerogative of a parliament. The issues are fundamental to political constitutions; but they become more complicated where states cede some taxing powers to a central government as part of a federal system. Nor should the absence of markets be construed necessarily as ‘market failure’ or even ‘government failure’. The absence is often attributable to particular technical, economic and political constraints that preclude the operation of markets. Arguably, greater care is needed in distinguishing between the polity and markets in raising revenues and allocating resources; and that needs to start by removing unhelpful references to ‘business’ in the context of government decision-making.

Cochrane review summary for cancer nursing : influenza vaccination in children having chemotherapy for cancer

Background: Children having chemotherapy for cancer are prone to developing influenza infections. Influenza virus infection may lead to hospitalization/prolonged hospitalization, interruption of treatment, and other severe adverse outcomes such as death. Although clinical guidelines recommend children who are being treated for cancer be vaccinated against influenza, evidence supporting this recommendation is unclear.--------- Objectives: The objectives of this review were to (1) assess the efficacy of influenza vaccination in stimulating immunologic response in children with cancer receiving chemotherapy, compared with other control groups; (2) assess the efficacy of influenza vaccination in preventing influenza infection; and (3) establish any adverse effects associated with influenza vaccines in children with cancer.

Cochrane review summary for cancer nursing : drug therapy for cancer-related fatigue

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of themost debilitating symptoms in patients with cancer. It is prevalent at the time of diagnosis and during and after antineoplastic treatment and in patients with advanced disease. The multifactorial and complex nature of CRF makes it challenging for health professionals to identify a clear underlying mechanism and manage this symptom effectively. Often, the management plan for CRF (whether pharmacological or nonpharmacological) can be further complicated by the coexistence of other symptoms. This systematic review1 is therefore important in informing health professionals on the effectiveness of pharmacological management for CRF.

Summary report : the high road or the low road? Alternatives for Australia's future

This document is a summary of the findings of the inaugural study commissioned by the Australian Business Foundation Limited. It was conducted by Professor Jane Marceau, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research) at the University of Western Sydney Macarthur, Dr Karen Manley, Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Western Sydney Macarthur and Mr Derek Sicklen, Managing Director of Australian Economic Analysis Pty Limited. The full report is available from the Australian Business Foundation. The Australian Business Foundation Limited is a recently formed independent economic and industry policy think-tank. It has been established and sponsored by Australian Business Limited, a pre-eminent and long-standing industry association and business services network. The report is in three parts. The first reviews the key findings of contemporary international economic and innovation-oriented analyses of the characteristics of high growth economies. The second assesses the shape, structure and dynamics of Australian industry as these compare with the characteristics for successful economic development suggested in the literature. Finally, the report indicates the nature of urgently required policy directions.

Summary : Cultural Production in Manchester

Summary of the larger report of the same name

Post-PC devises : a summary of early iPad technology

In just under 3 months worldwide sales of Apple's iPad tablet device stood at over 3 million units sold. The iPad device, along with rival products signify a shift in the way in which print and other media products are purchased and consumed by users. While facing initial skepticism about the uptake of the device numerous industries have been quick to adapt the device to their specific needs. Based around a newly developed six point typology of “post PC” device utility this project undertook a significant review of publicly available material to identify worldwide trends in iPad adoption and use within the tertiary sector.

Factors that influence Information Systems decisions and outcomes: A summary of key themes from four case studies" (2006). ACIS 2006 Proceedings. Paper 43.

This paper reports a summary of key findings from an examination of Information Systems decision making in four organisations. The study focused on what factors influenced decision makers during the critical preimplementation phase of Information Systems projects when systems were evaluated, selected and acquired. Using data gathered from interviews and organisational documentation, a critical hermeneutic analysis was performed in order to build an understanding of how informational and contextual influences acted on decision makers. Eight broad themes of factors were identified as having influence on decision makers and outcomes.

Capacity-building workshops on the responsibility to protect (R2P) and the protection of civilians (POC) in armed conflict - Summary Report

In June 2011, a research project team from the Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law (IEGL), Queensland University of Technology, the United Nations University, and the Australian Government’s Asia Pacific Civil-Military Centre of Excellence (APCMCOE) held three Capacity-Building Workshops (the Workshops) on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and the Protection of Civilians (POC) in Armed Conflict in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and Jakarta. The research project is funded by the Australian Responsibility to Protect Fund, with support from APCMCOE. Developments in Libya and Cote d’Ivoire and the actions of the United Nations Security Council have given new significance to the relationship between R2P and POC, providing impetus to the relevance and application of the POC principle recognised in numerous Security Council resolutions, and the R2P principle, which was recognised by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005 and, now, by the Security Council. The Workshops considered the relationship between R2P and POC. The project team presented the preliminary findings of their study and sought contributions and feedback from Workshop participants. Prior to the Workshops, members of the project team undertook interviews with UN offices and agencies, international organisations (IOs) and non-government organisations (NGOs) in Geneva and New York as part of the process of mapping the relationship between R2P and POC. Initial findings were considered at an Academic-Practitioner Workshop held at the University of Sydney in November 2010. In addition to an extensive literature review and a series of academic publications, the project team is preparing a practical guidance text (the Guide) on the relationship between R2P and POC to assist the United Nations, governments, regional bodies, IOs and NGOs in considering and applying appropriate protection strategies. It is intended that the Guide be presented to the United Nations Secretariat in New York in early 2012. The primary aim of the Workshops was to test the project’s initial findings among an audience of diplomats, military, police, civilian policy-makers, practitioners, researchers and experts from within the region. Through dialogue and discussion, the project team gathered feedback – comments, questions, critique and suggestions – to help shape the development of practical guidance about when, how and by whom R2P and POC might be implemented.