Adaptive cruise control look-ahead system for energy management of vehicles

Cruise control in motor vehicles enhances safe and efficient driving by maintaining a constant speed at a preset level. Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is the latest development in cruise control. It controls engine throttle position and braking to maintain a safe distance behind a vehicle in front by responding to the speed of this vehicle, thus providing a safer and more relaxing driving environment. ACC can be further developed by including the look-ahead method of predicting environmental factors such as wind speed and road slope. The conventional analytical control methods for adaptive cruise control can generate good results; however they are difficult to design and computationally expensive. In order to achieve a robust, less computationally expensive, and at the same time more natural human-like speed control, intelligent control techniques can be used. This paper presents an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) based on ACC systems that reduces the energy consumption of the vehicle and improves its efficiency. The Adaptive Cruise Control Look-Ahead (ACC-LA) system works as follows: It calculates the energy consumption of the vehicle under combined dynamic loads like wind drag, slope, kinetic energy and rolling friction using road data, and it includes a look-ahead strategy to predict the future road slope. The cruise control system adaptively controls the vehicle speed based on the preset speed and the predicted future slope information. By using the ANFIS method, the ACC-LA is made adaptive under different road conditions (slope angle and wind direction and speed). The vehicle was tested using the adaptive cruise control look-ahead energy management system, the results compared with the vehicle running the same test but without the adaptive cruise control look-ahead energy management system. The evaluation outcome indicates that the vehicle speed was efficiently controlled through the look-ahead methodology based upon the driving cycle, and that the average fuel consumption was reduced by 3%.

Cost and time overruns in commercial construction projects : an Australian study

Cost and schedule are two of most important performance indicators of construction projects. Cost escalation and time overruns are typically associated with poor management practices. Cost overruns and delays have huge impacts on construction projects in relation to the costs of a project, the reputation of the parties involved, and the satisfaction of the final product. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the causes of cost and time overruns so that mitigation measures can be set in place. A group of industry professionals in South Australia were surveyed on their perceptions of the factors contributing towards the cost and time overruns in commercial construction projects. The results showed that timeliness of decision making is ranked as the top factor contributing towards delays whereas problems with design is perceived as most influential to the cost overruns. In addition, the questionnaire survey found that different parties, i.e. clients, contractors and consultants have different perceptions on the impacts of these factors. Similarly, the structural frame stage was considered the most critical stage for controlling the time and cost performance during the construction process. Implications are discussed.

Arts management/marketing journal citation analysis : assessing external impact

Purpose – This paper aims to present a quantitative analysis of arts management/marketing articles in leading general management/marketing journals, including an examination of the extent to which those top tier journal articles on arts/culture-related topics cite authors of leading arts management journal articles.

Design/methodology/approach – Using bibliometric techniques, this study examines the content of 20 top tier management and marketing journals over 22 years to identify articles published on arts management/marketing, which authors were cited, and from which arts management/marketing journals.

Findings – Analysis indicates that: relatively few citations in the top management/marketing journals reference arts management/marketing journals; assessment of interaction between the parent management/marketing disciplines and the arts management/marketing sub-discipline indicates that authors draw upon a large reserve of diverse literatures; and top journal arts-related management/marketing articles tend to utilize citations to journal articles grounded in the social sciences and aesthetics of management, with an increasing trend of citations to arts management/marketing journals.

Research limitations/implications – This study of the extent to which top journals have published arts/culture-related articles and the citation impact of arts management/marketing journals is the initial academic study on the topic and suggests opportunities for further research.

Practical implications – Analysis of arts management/marketing journal impact contributes to professionalization of the field and increased perceived value of those journals by industry practitioners.

Originality/value – This research is the first to examine the spectrum of arts management/marketing literature, including both top general management/marketing journals and sector-oriented arts management/marketing journals, establishing a body of knowledge for augmentation by future research over time.

Strong population genetic structure and its management implications in the mud carp Cirrhinus molitorella, an indigenous freshwater species subject to an aquaculture and culture-based fishery

This study investigated population genetic structure and diversity of mud carp Cirrhinus molitorella, a species widely used in aquaculture and culture-based fisheries in China and Mekong River riparian countries. Seven newly developed and one published microsatellite DNA markers were used to analyse samples from six wild locations, four hatchery broodstocks and one farmed site from the Mekong, Red and Pearl Rivers. Significant genetic structure was detected in C. molitorella, with isolation-by-distance being a strong force in the Mekong. Pair-wise F_ST, Fisher's exact tests for population differentiation, permutation tests and individual-based structure analysis all support the recognition of a sample originating from Toul Krasaing Lake (Cambodia) and one between Kratie and Stung Treng (Cambodia) as distinct from the remainder of the sampled range. Samples from the main upper Mekong and the Nam Khan River were significantly differentiated, but on a time scale inferred to be short (i.e. by genetic drift, not sufficient for evolution of new microsatellite alleles). The Mekong stock of C. molitorella was strongly differentiated from those from the Red and Pearl Rivers, inferred to be on an evolutionary time scale. Finer-scale sampling is warranted to further improve the understanding of genetic interactions among fish from the Mekong and its tributaries. Detailed studies on the ecology of C. molitorella (e.g. migration pathways and preferred spawning habitats) would provide useful information to explain the patterns of genetic structure detected here, and deepen insights about evolutionary distinctiveness of the population units.

Action research : the use of enterprise resource planning system in construction engineering and project management

Although information communication technology (ICT) is long regard as very useful tool in today’s construction engineering and project management environment, organizations must not only operate based upon its original setting, but also requires on-going observation, additional features and fine is a very common phenomenon that organizations purchase the licensed “off their own business need. Due to the incapability of such software and inefficient customization, the possible result is making that ICT tool not user-friendly and sometimes the whole system becomes obsolete.

The purpose of this paper is to review and report those action organization to enhance the performance of its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system launched in December 2002. Such actions include: improving data inputting method; removing the tran the organization’s “Delegation and Limits of Authority”; publishing the “League Table” amongst users; integrating the 3D Mode into the system and upgrading hardware.

Whilst the ultimate goals of such system are well beyond the time limit of this research study, an obvious interim result, achieved by this case studied organization, was winning a landmark project worth US$500 million after the ERP system was functioned prope and effectively. Their experience and success becomes an exemplar which can be borrowed by those companies, from managerial perspectives and as a roadmap, planning to adopt information technology (IT) strategy and use ICT tool in the construction engineering and project management framework. Singapore, where public housing provisions have been a major concern of their citizens as the building stock gets older.

Seabird and marine mammal management options in the face of climate change

Climate change is already impacting Australia’s oceans. Responses by marine life to both climate variability and change have been documented for low trophic levels, however, responses for Australia’s iconic higher trophic level marine taxa are poorly understood, including for many conservation-dependent seabirds and marine mammals. We report initial results from a national study evaluating impacts an adaptation options. Individual time series and combined analyses show consistent responses to historical climate signals, however, improved monitoring protocols are needed to maximize detection of any climate-related demographic signals. Despite difference in sampling , the development of regional multi-species-indices of environmental change provides robust climate indicators over large regions.

Patent management and social software

The worldwide increase of patent applications and the important role patents play in economic development make the management of intellectual property (IP) an important area for many companies. At the same time, the complexity in decision-making and IP process management necessitates a high degree of collaboration between various enterprise divisions such as strategy and policy making and market research. In this paper we present an ongoing case study at a large international automotive manufacturer that is exploring the potential of social software to support patent management. We conducted 31 semi-structured interviews to identify relevant patent processes at the company as well as typical operational problems within these processes. This leads us to derive four propositions on how social software can support patent processes. We conclude by providing an overview of the next steps in our research project. Our results present a first step in understanding the role of emerging social software services in enabling collaborative patent management.

Global positioning systems in the AFL : worthwhile or waste of time?

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) in the Australian Football League (AFL) are the big-ticket item that sees clubs trying to gain any competitive advantage over their opposition that they can. This paper explores whether the current application of GPS by clubs is worthwhile or a waste of time from three core perspectives: technical, organisational and personal. Issues include poor data storage and analysis, inaccurate units, lack of appropriate business processes in place, and resistance to use. Although many of these issues can be addressed through improved technology, resolving the organisational and personal issues will require a change in mindset to ensure the use of GPS in the AFL is a worthwhile endeavour. The paper concludes that the current use of GPS devices in the AFL is a waste of time.

Management of service level agreement for service-oriented content adaptation platform

It is paramount to provide seamless and ubiquitous access to rich contents available online to interested users via a wide range of devices with varied characteristics. Recently, a service-oriented content adaptation scheme has emerged to address this content-device mismatch problem. In this scheme, content adaptation functions are provided as services by third-party providers. Clients pay for the consumed services and thus demand service quality. As such, negotiating for the QoS offers, assuring negotiated QoS levels and accuracy of adapted content version are essential. Any non-compliance should be handled and reported in real time. These issues elevate the management of service level agreement (SLA) as an important problem. This chapter presents prior work, important challenges, and a framework for managing SLA for service-oriented content adaptation platform.

Factors limiting participation in arthritis self-management programmes : an exploration of barriers and patient preferences within a randomized controlled trial

Objective. To improve understanding of barriers to participation in community-based arthritis self-management programmes and patient preferences for self-management education.

Methods. Individuals with hip or knee OA referred to orthopaedic surgeons or rheumatologists at six public and private hospitals in Victoria, Australia, were recruited for a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the Stanford Arthritis Self-Management Programme (ASMP). As part of the study design, potential participants were asked during the screening and recruitment process about reasons for being unable to attend the course, reasons for not participating in the study and individual preferences for course scheduling.

Results. Of 1125 individuals assessed, 216 (19%) were unable to attend six ASMP sessions. This was commonly due to physical limitations, including illness, restricted mobility and pain (22%), difficulty getting to or from courses (22%), work commitments (22%), the time commitment required (17%) and family roles (12%). Among those who did not want to participate in the study (n = 258), the overwhelming reason was disinterest (74%). Specific preferences for course scheduling were frequent, confirming the practical challenges faced in organizing courses for the RCT.

Conclusion. Incorporating patients from public and private settings, this study has elicited new insights into barriers to ASMP participation. Many people with hip or knee OA have limited capacity and motivation to attend community-based group programmes. Future self-management programmes and research should include more accessible options for those who cannot attend group-based programmes.

Stochastic models of road geometry and wind condition for vehicle energy management and control

Modeling and simulation is commonly used to improve vehicle performance, to optimize vehicle system design, and to reduce vehicle development time. Vehicle performances can be affected by environmental conditions and driver behavior factors, which are often uncertain and immeasurable. To incorporate the role of environmental conditions in the modeling and simulation of vehicle systems, both real and artificial data are used. Often, real data are unavailable or inadequate for extensive investigations. Hence, it is important to be able to construct artificial environmental data whose characteristics resemble those of the real data for modeling and simulation purposes. However, to produce credible vehicle simulation results, the simulated environment must be realistic and validated using accepted practices. This paper proposes a stochastic model that is capable of creating artificial environmental factors such as road geometry and wind conditions. In addition, road geometric design principles are employed to modify the created road data, making it consistent with the real-road geometry. Two sets of real-road geometry and wind condition data are employed to propose probability models. To justify the distribution goodness of fit, Pearson's chi-square and correlation statistics have been used. Finally, the stochastic models of road geometry and wind conditions (SMRWs) are developed to produce realistic road and wind data. SMRW can be used to predict vehicle performance, energy management, and control strategies over multiple driving cycles and to assist in developing fuel-efficient vehicles.

Barriers to the detection and management of depression by palliative care professional carers among their patients : perspectives from professional carers and patients' family members

Introduction: Clinical depression is highly prevalent yet underdetected and poorly managed within palliative care settings.

Objectives: This qualitative study explored the identification, monitoring, and management of symptoms of depression in patients receiving palliative care from 2 juxtaposed perspectives that are of care providers and care recipients' family members. Examining the barriers that restrict professional carers detecting and managing depression in their patients was a central focus of the study.

Methods: Focus groups were held with 18 professional carers, including 8 holding managerial positions, across 2 palliative care services, 1 regional and 1 metropolitan, which provided both inpatient and community-based care. Individual interviews were conducted with 10 family members of patients who had received or were receiving palliative care through these services.

Results: Thematic analysis of these data identified that both professional carers and family members perceived that depression is a wide-spread concern for patients receiving palliative care; however, numerous barriers were identified that affect professional carers’ ability to identify depression. These included knowledge and training deficits, low self-efficacy, prioritization of physical concerns and time constraints, patient/family characteristics, and system/process issues. These themes (and related subthemes) are discussed in this article.

Conclusions: Specialized training in depression is recommended for professional carers in order to improve their depression-related knowledge, detection skills, and self-efficacy. The ultimate goal of such training is to increase the rate of recognition of depression that in turn will lead to appropriate treatment for depressed patients.

Grid transaction management and an efficient development kit

Grid transaction management aims at guaranteeing the system consistency in face of various failures in Grid environments. In this paper, we propose a Grid transaction service (GridTS) and design coordination mechanisms for atomic, long-lived and real-time Grid transactions respectively, based on the features of Grid environments. GridTS has the following three advantages. Firstly, it separates the transaction management unit with transaction coordination algorithms so that it can coordinate the above three categories of transactions in a uniform way. Secondly, GridTS can dynamically generate compensating transactions during the long-lived transaction processing. Finally, it provides the programming interfaces similar to traditional distributed transactions. Moreover, we implement a Grid transaction development kit (GridTDK) for application programmers based on our GridTS. We evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of GridTS by developing an application system using our GridTDK. ©2012 CRL Publishing Ltd.

Dealing with alcohol-related harm and the night-time economy

Alcohol-related problems are a major cause of social disorder and illness in Australia. In particular, problems associated with the night-time economies of urban and regional centres cause substantial community concern and are a considerable drain on police, community and health resources. The estimated cost of alcohol to the community is $15.3 billion, including costs associated with crime, violence, patient treatment, loss of productivity and premature deaths in 2004–05 (Collins 2008). Alcohol has also been identified as a factor in around three quarters of assaults and incidents of offensive behaviour on the street (Buss 1995). Previous research has identified several issues that contribute to the levels of short-term harm associated with risky drinking. These include: excessive consumption at licensed premises, consumption in public areas and lack of transport and security in entertainment precincts (Homel et al. 1992; Graham & Homel 2008).

Drinking in licensed venues is another predictor of harm and public disorder. More than half of offences occurring on the street have been associated with licensed premises in Australia (Buss 1995). A complex range of factors increase risky drinking and associated harms on licensed premises including: aspects of patron mix; levels of comfort, boredom, and intoxication; promotions that cause mass intoxication; and the behaviour of security/bouncers (Homel et al. 1992). Violence has also been shown to be perpetuated by poor venue management, lax police surveillance, lack of transport options for patrons, and inappropriate bureaucratic controls and legislation (Homel et al. 1992). This project aims to provide evidence-based knowledge regarding the implementation and impact of innovative local initiatives directed at alcohol-related harms.

Radiotherapy management of patients diagnosed with glioma in Victoria (1998–2000) : a retrospective cohort study

This study aimed to describe the radiotherapy (RT) management and subsequent outcome in a cohort of patients with newly diagnosed glioma. Treatment details were obtained via a questionnaire completed by neurosurgeons, radiation and medical oncologists who treated patients diagnosed with glioma in Victoria during 1998–2000. Patients were identified by using the population-based Victorian Cancer Registry. Over the study period, data on 828 patients were obtained, of whom 612 (74%) were referred for consideration of RT. Radiotherapy was given to 496 patients as part of their initial treatment and to an additional 10 patients at the time of tumour recurrence or progression. The median age was 72 (16–85) years. Median overall survival (OS) was 9.2 (standard error (SE) 0.6) months for the entire group. Median OS was 29.1 (SE 8.0) and 7.4 (SE 0.4) months for all patients with histological confirmation of World Health Organization Grades III (anaplastic astrocytoma) and IV (glioblastoma multiforme) histology, respectively. A total of 47 different RT dose fractionation schedules were identified. This is the largest survey detailing management of glioma with RT, published to date. A marked variation in dose fractionation schemes was evident. While current best practice involves the use of chemotherapy in conjunction with RT for glioblastoma multiforme, advances in patient care may be undermined by this variation in the use of RT. Clinical trials relevant to an ageing population and evidence-based national clinical guidelines are required to define best practice.