Computer aided analysis of dental radiographic images

This paper is a result of a fruitful cooperation between the computer science and the dental diagnosis experiences. The study presents a new approach of applying computer algorithms to radiographic images of dental implantation used for bone regeneration. We focus here only on the contribution of the computer assistance to the clinical research as the periodontal therapy is beyond the scope of this paper. The proposed system is based on a pattern recognition approach, directed to recognize density changes in the intra-bony affected areas of patients. It comprises different modules with new algorithms specially designed to treat the patients’ radiographic images more accurately. The system includes digitizing, detecting the complicated region of interest (ROI), defining reference area to correct any projection discrepancy of the follow up images, and finally to extract the distinguishing features of the ROI as a basis for determining the rate of new bone density accumulation. This study is applied to two typical dental cases for a patient who received two different operations. The results are very encouraging and more accurate than traditional techniques reported before.

Approaches to the development and maintenance of professional values, ethics and attitudes in accounting education programs

IES 4, Professional Values, Ethics and Attitudes prescribes the professional values, ethics and attitudes professional accountants should acquire during the education program leading to membership of an IFAC member body.
The purpose of this paper is to support the development of IEPS 4.1, Approaches to Developing and Maintaining Professional Values, Ethics and Attitudes. This will assist and support IFAC member bodies to discharge effectively their responsibilities to ensure that candidates for membership of an IFAC member body are equipped with the appropriate professional values, ethics and attitudes to function as professional accountants.
The IAESB believes that this paper, and the findings of the independent research team, will be of interest and benefit to IFAC member bodies, accounting educators, and others seeking to implement ethics education programs for professional accountants.

Show me the money

In the rush to become part of the e-business revolution many companies are tossing aside conventional thinking when it comes to analyzing the return on their investment. Too often, however, ignoring formal justification of any investment is a recipe for disaster. With this in mind, a study on the justification processes used by companies when investing in e-business was conducted. The research identified several benefits gained from investing in e-business. Participants highlighted several e-business benefits including: opening up new markets, improving access to management information and reducing operating costs. The justification methods used in organizations could be easily classified into 4 groups: 1. a strategic approach, 2. the integrated approach, 3. an analytical approach, and 4. a financial approach.

Earth bound: the rise and fall of a ground-breaking venture

Earth Sanctuaries Ltd (ESL) intends to offer its entire asset base for sale. ESL's primary objective is to conserve Australia's biodiversity, by breeding and preserving fauna profitably by running sanctuaries, environmental consultancies and related tourist facilities. This "ailing company" is also undergoing a management restructuring and attempting cost reduction. ESL was was one of the first firms to adopt AASB 1037. The implications for the accounting profession are discussed.

Not so easy being green?

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make up the bulk of modern economies. In Australia alone, there are about 951,000 small businesses in the private non-agricultural sector, employing 3.1 million people. For professional advisers and managers of these SMEs, the growing community concern for environmental issues will have quite an impact and SMEs are likely to find that ecological issues will become a big part of the daily management and strategic development of their firms. There are a few inherent problems standing in the way of greater environmental performance by Australia's SMEs. SMEs' lack of time and expertise is sometimes used as an excuse for inaction. But one way to get around this could be through outsourcing.

Application of SWAT to model the water balance of the Woady Yaloak River catchment, Australia

The widespread land use changes that are expected to occur across the Corangamite region in southwest Victoria, Australia, have the potential to significantly alter the water balance of catchments. Adoption of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), which is a long-term water balance model, as a tool for predicting land use change impacts on catchment water balance for the Corangamite region is currently being considered. This paper describes the initial application of SWAT to the Woady Yaloak River catchment, located within the Corangamite region, to carry out an evaluation of its abilities for simulating the long-term water balance dynamics of the catchment. The performance of the model for predicting runoff at annual and monthly time scales was found to be very good. The excessive recharge of the shallow aquifer that occurred during winter, despite the subsoil being relatively impermeable, ultimately contributed to overestimation of baseflow and underestimation of interflow. The actual evapotranspiration from hydrologic response units (HRU s) containing eucalyptus trees was significantly less than that from HRUs containing pasture, a problem attributed to the incorrect simulation of Leaf Area Index (LAI) and biomass by the model for mature stands of eucalyptus trees and also to assigning inadequate values for two parameters that directly influence evapotranspiration. SWAT has very good potential for being used as tool to study land use change impacts across the Corangamite region provided that several modifications are made to the model to overcome some of the shortcomings and deficiencies that were identified in this initial application.

Mastering the global market

There is an urgent need to expand the number of qualified accountants in China and, particularly, the number of local accountants whose qualifications are recognized internationally. During this period of rapid transformation, the Deakin Master of Professional Accounting program, which includes the CPA Program of CPA Australia, has been developed to assist in meeting China's needs for internationally recognized accountants. The first group of students to study a new university course incorporating the CPA Australia qualification graduated at a specially convened graduation in Beijing on August 22 this year. The increasing awareness of the need for stringent corporate governance procedures and ethical business practice in the global market, as well as the need for China to develop knowledge of modern business activities, has been a priority as the course has been taught.