Discovering Web Page Communities

The rapid development of Web technologies has made the World Wide Web a huge information source. However, due to the lack of a well-defined underlying data model for Web documents, effectively and efficiently finding required information and managing Web data are usually tedious and difficult tasks when using conventional information retrieval and data management techniques. The Web page community, defined as a set of Web-based documents with its own logical and/or semantic structures, provides a flexible and effective approach to support Wed data management, information retrieval and applications. This book addresses using hyperlink information to discover Web page communities. The work establishes a uniform framework for hyperlink analysis and community construction. Algorithms, supporting mechanisms and data models are proposed in the book. This book should help shed some light on this new and exciting research and application area. It is useful to researchers and students in Web mining, Web data management and information retrieval, as well as to professionals who may be considering utilizing Web communities to improve their applications.

Expanding the realm of best practices in cooperative industry-based learning in information systems and information technology : an inter-institutional investigation in Australian higher education

The professional fields of information systems and information technology are drivers and enablers of the global economy. Moreover, their theoretical scope and practices are global in focus. University graduates need to develop a range of leadership, conceptual and technical capacities to work effectively in, and contribute to, the shaping of companies, business models and systems which operate in globalised settings. This paper reports a study of the operation of industry‐based learning (IBL) at three Australian universities, which employ different models and approaches, as part of a series of investigations of the needs, circumstances and perspectives of various stakeholders (program coordinator, faculty teaching staff, the students, industry mentors, and the professional body). The focus of this paper is a discussion of salient pragmatic considerations in an attempt to conceptualize what constitutes best practice in offering industry‐based learning for higher education students in the disciplines of information systems and information technology (Asia‐Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 9(2), 73‐80).

Building information modelling project decision support framework

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an information technology [IT] enabled approach to managing design data in the AEC/FM (Architecture, Engineering and Construction/ Facilities Management) industry. BIM enables improved interdisciplinary collaboration across distributed teams, intelligent documentation and information retrieval, greater consistency in building data, better conflict detection and enhanced facilities management. Despite the apparent benefits the adoption of BIM in practice has been slow. Workshops with industry focus groups were conducted to identify the industry needs, concerns and expectations from participants who had implemented BIM or were BIM “ready”. Factors inhibiting BIM adoption include lack of training, low business incentives, perception of lack of rewards, technological concerns, industry fragmentation related to uneven ICT adoption practices, contractual matters and resistance to changing current work practice. Successful BIM usage depends on collective adoption of BIM across the different disciplines and support by the client. The relationship of current work practices to future BIM scenarios was identified as an important strategy as the participants believed that BIM cannot be efficiently used with traditional practices and methods. The key to successful implementation is to explore the extent to which current work practices must change. Currently there is a perception that all work practices and processes must adopt and change for effective usage of BIM. It is acknowledged that new roles and responsibilities are emerging and that different parties will lead BIM on different projects. A contingency based approach to the problem of implementation was taken which relies upon integration of BIM project champion, procurement strategy, team capability analysis, commercial software availability/applicability and phase decision making and event analysis. Organizations need to understand: (a) their own work processes and requirements; (b) the range of BIM applications available in the market and their capabilities (c) the potential benefits of different BIM applications and their roles in different phases of the project lifecycle, and (d) collective supply chain adoption capabilities. A framework is proposed to support organizations selection of BIM usage strategies that meet their project requirements. Case studies are being conducted to develop the framework. The results of the preliminary design management case study is presented for contractor led BIM specific to the design and construct procurement strategy.

Assisting independence with "the latest and greatest" of technologies

A case study of a long term wheelchair user: This presentation will highlight the difficulties associated with matching client's environmental access, seating and mobility needs using multi-functional systems, which also happen to be the "latest and greatest" technologies. The paper addresses the issues experienced by these clinicians when prescribing systems with minimal trial history (due to their newness) and the compatibility issues encountered by the supplier when matching the new with the old of the current powered wheelchair for a particularly motivated wheelchair user.

The education and information needs of young adults with type 2 diabetes : a qualitative study

Aims and objectives. To identify the preferred content and delivery mode of education information for people aged 25 to 45 with type 2 diabetes to enable them to effectively self-manage their diabetes.

Background. People with type 2 diabetes are required to manage their own health and initiate behavioural changes. Self-management education and resources have typically been targeted at people aged 50 years and older. Little is known about the concerns and needs of younger people in managing type 2 diabetes, which are likely to be different from those of older people.

Design. A qualitative design was considered the most appropriate to elicit participants' views and perceptions of their type 2 diabetes information needs.

Methods. Data were obtained from one focus group (n = 9) and telephone interviews (n = 4) with people aged 25 to 45 with type 2 diabetes conducted in 2008.

Results. Implicit in participants' responses was their need to be active partners in managing their diabetes. Participants wanted information that is easy to understand, brief, consistent, age-specific and about a number of topics that are not adequately covered at present. They wanted a centralised source of information and a range of delivery mode options. Participants expressed some ambivalence about the Internet as a source of information. Participants also wanted age-specific group sessions, support from peers, psychological support, increased understanding of type 2 diabetes in the community, and a focus on preventing diabetes.

Conclusions. Young people with type 2 diabetes have specific diabetes needs and preferred information delivery modes. Participants felt current diabetes education programs do not cater specifically to their age group. Education and information resources need to be developed for the target group, addressing their content and format preferences.

Relevance to clinical practice. Health professionals need to utilise appropriate delivery modes and include information relevant to younger people when providing education information to young adults with type 2 diabetes.

An emergent security risk : critical infrastructures and information warfare

This paper examines the emergent security risk that information warfare poses to critical infrastructure systems, particularly as governments are increasingly concerned with protecting these assets against attack or disruption. Initially it outlines critical infrastructure systems and the notion of information warfare. It then discusses the potential implications and examining the concerns and vulnerabilities such cyber attacks would pose, utilising exemplar online attack occurrences. It then examines the current Australian situation before suggesting some considerations to mitigate the potential risk that information warfare poses to critical infrastructure systems, and by association: government, industry and the wider community.

Art embodied and disembodied : expression, representation, and reflection

In this chapter a group of writers from very diverse academic backgrounds deal with the embodied and disembodied arts - from an exploration of dance with preschool children to the use of the webblog for eleven and twelve year olds to reflect on the creation of a group performance about how to change the world. The Deans & Young case study takes the reader into the world of the preschooler and the delicate craft of the dance and drama teachers who guide their small dancers through myriad choreographic and conceptual tasks in their pursuit of kinaesthetic learning. Jo Raphael allow the young bloggers to speak from themselves in her case study. How to Change the World. Through the voices of the Year 6 students, Jo raises the critical question of how to build meaningful reflection into the arts-making process, and suggests that for the current generation of 'cyber-natives', the digital world offers many great possibilities. Theory concerning forms of expression and representation in the embodies and digital world is also discussed.

On representation and construction in a tectonic design studio

The study compares the roles of representation and construction in enhancing students' learning in a tectonic design studio by investigating issues of representational media use in the conception, development and communication of design processes and relating these to real-scale construction as a means of understanding tectonic design.

One line lacks density : A study of the associations between cartographic representation and ontology

One way to represent and communicate density in the spatial disciplines including architecture, town planning and geography is through the map, plan or aerial photograph. These media and tools are generally perceived to be objective and analytical modes of practice. But what else do these modes of representation mediate? The paper will respond to this question by exploring notions of ontology, notions of dwelling and being in relation to lines and drawing techniques. A map or plan is an image, in addition to a mode of communication, and affects visual pleasure. As proposals of an unbuilt world and documents of existing environment, drawings contain lines of desire. The thesis is that the lines provide a corporeal framework for an imaginary projection between the viewer and a ‘real’ built environment. The paper becomes focussed on the specifics of the ‘green line’ that has represented post-war Beirut, and is typical of representation of sites of conflict.

In the plans of post-war Beirut an almost straight line running from the top to the bottom of the page is highlighted and represents a trajectory from the Place des Martyr to the Pine Forest. To descend from this metaphoric height of the map into the streets of Beirut is to confront urban density, traffic congestion, pollution exacerbated by dust, and a lack of greenery. During the war much of the fighting occurred across this marker, and since, it has been described as an empty neutral space due to the destruction of edifices on either side, and is often proposed as the only appropriate site for building projects of national significance. Is its emptiness an a priori condition of imaginary projections? Will it remain forever empty of the density everywhere else in Beirut? Who wants to dwell there?
This paper will examine the several nuances of the ‘green line’ and what role it plays between representation and defining ontological environments.

Representation and judgement : 'privileged' Jews in Holocaust writing and film

This thesis analyses the ways in which moral judgements of so-called privileged Jews are constructed in Holocaust representations. ‘Privileged’ Jews include those prisoners in the camps and ghettos who held positions which gave them access to material and other benefits. Subject to extreme levels of coercion, these victims were compelled to act in ways that have often been judged as both self-serving and harmful to fellow inmates. Such controversial figures constitute an intrinsically important, frequently misunderstood and hastily judged facet of the Holocaust. Scholars have neglected the problem of judgement in relation to ‘privileged’ Jews; nonetheless, Holocaust texts frequently portray these liminal figures.

Of crucial importance to the thesis is Primo Levi’s paradigmatic essay entitled ‘The Grey Zone,’ which directly engages with the complex and sensitive issue of ‘privileged’ Jews. Levi argues that due to the extreme ethical dilemmas that ‘privileged’ Jews confronted, any judgement of these victims needs to be suspended. However, if, as Levi suggests, judgement is at times impossible, the thesis challenges Levi’s assumption by contending that representations of ‘privileged’ Jews inevitably take a moral position. In this way, the thesis conceptualises judgement as a ‘limit’ of representation. Indeed, it is shown that Levi himself cannot abstain from judging those for whom he argues judgement should be suspended.

The thesis takes Levi’s concept of the ‘grey zone’ as a point of departure in order to examine the problems of judgement and representation in relation to ‘privileged’ Jews. Analysis focuses on Raul Hilberg’s influential historical work and examples of documentary and fiction films. The thesis examines how Hilberg and several filmmakers employ conventions as a means of conveying judgement. It is argued that self-reflexive representations of ‘privileged’ Jews in film, particularly fictional dramatisation, have the potential to provide a nuanced representation of ‘privileged’ Jews, which engages with Levi’s ideas by questioning the possibility of judgement.

The application of electronic commerce and information integration in the construction industry

Many parties involved in the construction industry have convinced the importance of electronic commerce (EC) for improving business processes, cutting cost, and providing comprehensive information. However, currently the application of EC is relatively limited and ineffective. These systems are always non-interoperable which creates problems for the stakeholders in construction projects. This paper aims to analyze the E-commerce application system and develop a system for the parties to collaborate and share information effectively. In this paper, four information flats are summarized based on the literature survey and field investigation, and the information integration model for EC is built up using IFC and XML. It should provide a useful reference for China to promote the development of EC in the construction industry.