The path to Project Darwin : the evolution of the AMP's organisational structure

Demutualisation became a global trend amongst financial sector firms in the last two decades of the twentieth century. Changes to the organisational foundations of mutual firms represented a shift in operational cultures and have often been viewed as an end point or demise of the co-operative business model. It is the intention of this article to investigate the extent to which this was the case within a major mutual institution, the Australian Mutual Provident, Australia's oldest and largest mutual insurer. The article's key argument is that the concept of mutuality is organic, and that within this organisation it evolved as the structure of the firm became more sophisticated as it developed from a supplier of life insurance products into a sophisticated financial services provider, which ultimately generated internal pressures to demutualise.

Two steps forward, one step back : Indonesia’s arduous path to reform

Australians have long worried about whether Indonesia is ‘special’ or ‘normal’. Instead, we need to deal with Indonesia as it really is—a country experiencing simultaneously the challenges of political reform, economic development and a shifting regional security environment. The country’s political future is less certain than we would hope: after SBY’s term of government ends, the choice of a successor will be critical in determining the future of reform. We can’t rule out that Indonesia might slide back to old ways of doing business—democratisation is a fraught process.
As the Indonesian economy grows, so too do the prospects for Indonesia to establish its natural position as the leader of Southeast Asia. As the world is re-examining Indonesia, so too Indonesia is looking afresh at the world—more interested in external issues than it was a decade ago. The Southeast Asian subregion increasingly finds itself at the centre of a more strongly interconnected Indo-Pacific region—so Indonesia’s strategic importance is going up.
It’s important for Australia to build a better strategic relationship with Indonesia. The two are complementary partners. Australia should be proactive in exploring new opportunities for cooperation with a reform minded Indonesia—it’s in our interests to draw Indonesia into a more important strategic role in regional security.
Professor Damien Kingsbury, the author of this Strategy, is the Director, Centre for Citizenship, Development and Human Rights, Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University, Melbourne.

Upgrading arc median shortest path problem for an urban transportation network

In this paper, we propose an algorithm for an upgrading arc median shortest path problem for a transportation network. The problem is to identify a set of nondominated paths that minimizes both upgrading cost and overall travel time of the entire network. These two objectives are realistic for transportation network problems, but of a conflicting and noncompensatory nature. In addition, unlike upgrading cost which is the sum of the arc costs on the path, overall travel time of the entire network cannot be expressed as a sum of arc travel times on the path. The proposed solution approach to the problem is based on heuristic labeling and exhaustive search techniques, in criteria space and solution space, respectively. The first approach labels each node in terms of upgrading cost, and deletes cyclic and infeasible paths in criteria space. The latter calculates the overall travel time of the entire network for each feasible path, deletes dominated paths on the basis of the objective vector and identifies a set of Pareto optimal paths in the solution space. The computational study, using two small-scale transportation networks, has demonstrated that the algorithm proposed herein is able to efficiently identify a set of nondominated median shortest paths, based on two conflicting and noncompensatory objectives.

Solving the median shortest path problem in the planning and design of urban transportation networks using a vector labeling algorithm

This paper proposes an alternative algorithm to solve the median shortest path problem (MSPP) in the planning and design of urban transportation networks. The proposed vector labeling algorithm is based on the labeling of each node in terms of a multiple and conflicting vector of objectives which deletes cyclic, infeasible and extreme-dominated paths in the criteria space imposing cyclic break (CB), path cost constraint (PCC) and access cost parameter (ACP) respectively. The output of the algorithm is a set of Pareto optimal paths (POP) with an objective vector from predetermined origin to destination nodes. Thus, this paper formulates an algorithm to identify a non-inferior solution set of POP based on a non-dominated set of objective vectors that leaves the ultimate decision to decision-makers. A numerical experiment is conducted using an artificial transportation network in order to validate and compare results. Sensitivity analysis has shown that the proposed algorithm is more efficient and advantageous over existing solutions in terms of computing execution time and memory space used.

Women's path-finding; recovery from substance use : a critical feminist study

Seven women shared recovery experiences from substance use: What adversely affected their lives as well as that which provided strength, resilience and openness to health and wellness. Academically this study exemplified emancipatory nursing practice: A grassroots relational approach promoting women’s health through awareness, self-discovery and ongoing engagement with the community.

Co-evolution path model : how enterprises as complex systems survive on the edge of chaos

In this theoretical paper, we introduce and describe a model, and demonstrate its origins from the disciplines of Enterprise Architecture, cybernetics and systems theory. We use cybernetic thinking to develop a ‘Co-evolution Path Model’ that describes how enterprises as complex systems co-evolve with their complex environments. The model re-interprets Stafford Beer’s Viable System Model, and also uses the theorem of the ‘good regulator’ of Conant and Ashby, exemplifying how various complexity management theories could be synthesised into a cybernetic theory of Enterprise Architecture, using concepts from the generalisation of EA frameworks.

Fuzzy simulation of pedestrian walking path considering local environmental stimuli

Pedestrian steering activity is a perception-based decision making process that involves interaction with the surrounding environment and insight into environmental stimuli. There are many stimuli within the environment that influence pedestrian wayfinding behaviour during walking activities. However, compelling factors such as individual physical and psychological characteristics and trip intention cause the behaviour become a very fuzzy concept. In this paper pedestrian steering behaviour is modelled using a fuzzy logic approach. The objective of this research is to simulate pedestrian walking paths in indoor public environments during normal and non-panic situations. The proposed algorithm introduces a fuzzy logic framework to predict the impact of perceived attractive and repulsive stimuli, within the pedestrian's field of view, on movement direction. Environmental stimuli are quantified using the social force method. The algorithm is implemented in a simulated area of an office corridor consist of a printer and exit door. Stochastic simulation using the proposed fuzzy algorithm generated realistic walking trajectories, contour map of dynamic change of environmental effects in each step of movement and high flow areas in the corridor.

An amoeboid algorithm for shortest path in fuzzy weighted networks

Taking the uncertainty existing in edge weights of networks into consideration, finding shortest path in such fuzzy weighted networks has been widely studied in various practical applications. In this paper, an amoeboid algorithm is proposed, combing fuzzy sets theory with a path finding model inspired by an amoeboid organism, Physarum polycephalum. With the help of fuzzy numbers, uncertainty is well represented and handled in our algorithm. What's more, biological intelligence of Physarum polycephalum has been incorporate into the algorithm. A numerical example on a transportation network is demonstrated to show the efficiency and flexibility of our proposed amoeboid algorithm.

Impact of fermented mulberry leaf and fish offal in diet formulation of Indian major carp (Labeo rohita)

Large quantities of fish offal and mulberry leaf are generated globally. The present study aimed to understand their potential utilization in aqua diet formulation, after proper fermentation, as raw materials to replace fish meal in Indian major carp (Labeo rohita) compounded diet. Fish offal meal (FOM) and mulberry leaf meal (MLM) were used in a 2 × 3 factorial design, to evaluate (i) two different fermented mixtures with the inclusion of both FOM and MLM or only MLM and (ii) to replace three different level of dietary fishmeal: 50, 75 or 80 %. An indoor trial, to evaluate diet intake and digestibility and an outdoor trial to evaluate growth performances were impended in Indian major carp fingerlings. The results showed that FOM and MLM are promising raw materials that can be successfully used in the formulation of diet for the Indian major carp. Specifically, the addition of a proper amount of MLM in the fermentation of FOM produced a fermented mixture that could successfully replace up to 80 % of FM in the diet formulation.

Potential of cottonseed oil as fish oil replacer in European Sea Bass feed formulation

Triplicate groups of 20 European sea bass (35 g) were fed five diets in which the added lipid was 100% fish oil (FO), 40% (CSO40), 60% (CSO60), 80% (CSO80) and 100% (CSO100) refined cottonseed oil (CSO), for a period of 120 days. Overall fish growth, feed conversion ratio and protein utilization were unaffected by dietary treatment, but hepatosomatic and visceral fat indexes increased with increasing dietary CSO. Fillet fatty acid composition of total lipids reflected the fatty acids in the test diets. The monounsaturated fatty acids were significantly higher in fillet of fish fed diet FO, CSO40 and CSO60 compared to other treatments while saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were not affected by the dietary treatment. Some fatty acids (18:0, 18:1n-9, 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3) were present in higher concentration in fillet lipid than in the CSO100 dietary lipid indicating accumulation in fillet relative to test diets. Retention of n-3 LC-PUFA within the fillet was increasingly inefficient among fish fed increasing levels of FO. Thus, this study suggests that CSO can be considered as a relatively effective substitute for fish oil in European sea bass (35 g) in terms of growth performances and feed efficiency as far as fish meal is present in the diet.

Is diagnosis enough to guide interventions in mental health? Using case formulation in clinical practice

While diagnosis has traditionally been viewed as an essential concept in medicine, particularly when selecting treatments, we suggest that the use of diagnosis alone may be limited, particularly within mental health. The concept of clinical case formulation advocates for collaboratively working with patients to identify idiosyncratic aspects of their presentation and select interventions on this basis. Identifying individualized contributing factors, and how these could influence the person's presentation, in addition to attending to personal strengths, may allow the clinician a deeper understanding of a patient, result in a more personalized treatment approach, and potentially provide a better clinical outcome.