Publishing dynamic state changes of resources through state aware WSDL

A common architecture in today's development of distributed systems is the service-oriented architecture (SOA) implemented using Web services. Until recently, it was difficult to build a SOA based grid/distributed system using Web services due to the inability to learn the state of services. The state of a Web service could only be accessed through specialized clients and/or services. Should the specialized client or service fail, the state can't be accessed. This paper shows the innovative resources via Web instances (RVWI) framework. RVWI grants to web services the ability to show the state of dynamic resources in their WSDL. This was achieved via software components called connectors which watch for any changes in a resource and updates the web service. The significance of this report is the support for resources which can change state between requests and the innovation is the improvement of state updates between the service and discovery services.

Productivity differential and the relationship between exports and GDP in Fiji : an empirical assessment using the two sector model

This study uses a two-sector model to determine the productivity differential between the export and non-export sectors of Fiji, and the contribution of exports and investment to gross domestic product over the period 1962-2000. Amongst our key results, we find that the productivity differential between the export and non-export sectors is small and statistically insignificant; investment to GDP ratio and weighted exports positively contribute to economic growth in Fiji; and in the abnormal years (years of coups in Fiji) marginal productivity in capital in the non-export sector is lower than in normal years.

Productivity growth and efficiency change in Malaysian manufacturing : recent evidence from disaggregated data

This paper estimates productivity growth in Malaysian manufacturing over the period 1983-1999. Malmquist productivity Indices (MPIs) have been computed using non parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) type linear programming, which show productivity growth sourced from efficiency change and growth in technology. Unlike previous studies, this study identifies the Malaysian manufacturing industries at the five digit breakdown of Malaysian Standard Industrial Classification (MSIC) thereby revealing more industry specific efficiency and technical growth patterns. Results indicate that two third of the industries (76 out of total 114 categories) experienced average annual
productivity improvement ranging from 0.1% to 7.8% over the sampled period. Average annual technical progress was recorded by 95 industry categories while technical efficiency improvement was achieved by 53 industries. Overall yearly average indicated relatively low productivity growth from the mid 1990’s onwards caused by either efficiency decline or technical regress. Summary results for industries reveal that some of the high rates of productivity growth have been recorded in glass and glass products (7.3%), Petroleum and coal (7.2%), industrial chemicals (4.9%) contributed from both efficiency improvement and technical progress ranging from 0.8% to 5.4% and from 1.7% to 4.1%, respectively. These results are expected to have some implications for ongoing and future strategic policy reform in Malaysian manufacturing generating a more sustainable growth for specific industry categories.

Job satisfaction versus office environment : influences on academic knowledge worker productivity

This research paper provides a more encompassing review of self-assessment of a variety of knowledge worker activities, as well as providing the basis for these self assessments. A novel aspect is the inclusion of motivational affects which are considered alongside work environment influences on productivity. A questionnaire was administered on 25 academics. The group was questioned for their perceptions of their productivity for a range of their everyday activities and what areas of their work environment enhanced or disrupted their productivity. Job satisfaction was also assessed. The results from a series of self-assessments show that on the whole, the sample perceive themselves to be reasonably to very productive in all tasks undertaken. Staff satisfaction measures are generally very positive with collaboration and job enjoyment being motivational factors for this group. Noise levels, thermal conditions, poor lighting and a lack of storage seem to be the biggest inhibitors of productivity. Having a window to look out of and access to natural light seem to enhance an academics view of their productivity.

Is there global inclusion in publishing in the five leading advertising journals and does this relate to general publishing performance : a regional comparison

The question has been raised in academia whether there is global inclusion of authors in publishing. This has generally not been explored in the 30 years of research on advertising research activity and those works that do exist in advertising have generally only examined three North American focused journals. This paper expands the set of journals to five advertising focused journals and thus is a global examination of publishing in advertising. Within these five advertising journals there is an increased international involvement and thus it appears that a broader set of perspectives are being considered in the advertising literature. We also found that there is a positive correlation between publishing in the five leading advertising journals and four leading generalist journals, suggesting that institutions may be developing broader research cultures, rather than targeting works only in advertising.

Envelopment methodology to measure and compare subcontractor productivity at the firm level

This paper describes a conceptual approach to measure and compare productivity of resource utilization at the firm level, adapting a set of techniques known as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Within this approach, the paper addresses the issues of multiple inputs and multiple outputs of a construction firm, level of detail for data collection, and the required transformations to correct for differences among projects. In particular, we focus on the resource management of subcontractors. Subcontractors manage multiple, concurrent projects and must allocate limited resources across these projects. Interaction between projects and resource allocation creates non-linear effects, and therefore the productivity of the firm is not simply the productivity of its projects. The proposed measurement methodology will allow assessment of the impact of different management policies (including many of those proposed by lean construction researchers) on firm performance. It is hoped that this novel approach to productivity measurement will help subcontractors identify efficient practices and superior management policies, and will promote adoption of these policies.

A method for evaluating workplace utility

Acquiring office buildings that provide the required level of utility, and maintaining the buildings in that state, should be a priority for any organisation. Failure to do so may give rise to increased churn, reduced productivity, higher employee turnover, increased staff absenteeism and rising health care costs related to heightened stress. There is, however, no single measure of office building utility. Discusses the development of a valid and reliable scale for measuring the utility of public sector office buildings. Data collection involved the use of focus groups and an online survey of 1,800 building occupants. The findings suggest that the utility of public sector office buildings can be measured using a 22-item scale comprising four dimensions. The potential applications of the scale and its use in current research are examined.

The effect of inflation and real wages on productivity: new evidence from a panel of G7 countries

This article examines the effect of inflation and real wages on productivity within a panel unit root and panel cointegration framework for the G7 countries over the period 1960 to 2004. The main contribution of the article is to provide panel long-run estimates of the effect of inflation and real wages on productivity in the G7 countries over this period. The article finds that for the panel as a whole a 1% increase in real wages generates a 0.6% increase in productivity, while the effects of inflation on productivity are statistically insignificant for most of the individual countries and for the panel as a whole.

Ecological processes : a key element in strategies for nature conservation

A common approach to nature conservation is to identify and protect natural 'assets’ such as ecosystems and threatened species. While such actions are essential, protection of assets will not be effective unless the ecological processes that sustain them are maintained. Here, we consider the role of ecological processes and the complementary perspective for conservation arising from an emphasis on process. Many kinds of ecological processes sustain biodiversity: including climatic processes, primary productivity, hydrological processes, formation of biophysical habitats, interactions between species, movements of organisms and natural disturbance regimes. Anthropogenic threats to conservation exert their influence by modifying or disrupting these processes. Such threats extend across tenures, they frequently occur offsite, they commonly induce non-linear responses, changes may be irreversible and the full consequences may not be experienced for lengthy periods. While many managers acknowledge these considerations in principle, there is much scope for greater recognition of ecological processes in nature conservation and greater emphasis on long time-frames and large spatial scales in conservation planning. Practical measures that promote ecological processes include: monitoring to determine the trajectory and rate of processes; incorporating surrogates for processes in conservation and restoration projects; specific interventions to manipulate and restore processes; and planning for the ecological future before options are foreclosed. The long-term conservation of biodiversity and the wellbeing of human society depend upon both the protection of natural assets and maintaining the integrity of the ecological processes that sustain them.

Other communities : Box mistletoe (Amyema miquelii) parasitism is not detrimental to the health of grey box (Eucalyptus microcarpa) trees at a regional scale

Mistletoes are hemiparasites that occur worldwide in many types of forest, woodland and shrubland ecosystems (Watson 2001). Some species are regarded as pests due to their detrimental effects on host species (Hawksworth 1983; Reid & Yan 2000). Heavy infestations can affect the growth, productivity and form of host trees, and may cause host death (Reid et al. 1994; Shaw et al.2004, 2008). In south-eastern Australia, mistletoes often are visibly obvious in trees along roadsides, in paddocks and on the margins of open forests; and concerns have been expressed about their potentially detrimental effects on host trees.Despite this, little quantitative information is available on the effects of mistletoes on tree health and mortality (Reid et al. 1994). Are detrimental effects widespread or localized? A first step is to assess whether trees parasitized by mistletoe are less healthy than those without such parasites. Here, we investigate the relationship between parasitism by Box Mistletoe (Amyema miquelii (Lehm. ex Miq.) Tiegh.), a common species in south-eastern Australia, and the health of trees of a widespread host species, Grey Box (Eucalyptus microcarpa (Maiden) Maiden), across a large geographic region.

Training to fail

The corporate environment is considered the major deterrent to the success of corporate training and development programs. Most organizations will not take training and development seriously without support from CEOs. Many companies lack investment in training, while others refuse to accept process management, TQM and empowerment as the keys to reduced costs and improved productivity. Training and development must also be linked corporate strategy.