Modelling interplay in normative social systems: towards a heuristics formalism of agents and networks

The need for guiding model formulation of normative social systems in support of a digital ecosystem is introduced. Normative social systems improve the understanding of computational social processes in simulation and experimentation, and provide support for digital ecosystem developments. However, a successful simulation requires the appropriate implementation of a conceptual model. It is proposed that an heuristic formalism of agents, networks and environments, complements the conventional creative approach to model formulation by guiding the formulation of conceptual models via abstract components and facilitate interface with other components in a digital environment.

Normative gender coercion and its subversion: an autoethnography of a quest for recognition

In an attempt to shed light on non-normative gender performance, such as transgender, androgynous, sex-change or transcendent, I look at my own challenges, day-to-day tensions and the delicate balances between social subjugation, social construction and the intense searching for safe non-conformist practice. This chapter uses phenomenonological autoethnography to examine and critique the interplay between the coercive cultural forces that impacted on my life and my gender non-conformity. The commentary and interpretation on my many attempted gender performance schemes, both failed and successful, in delivering personal agency, evidence a path of living a nonconformist life in a gendered world.

The unique inter-disciplinary requirements of a museum development : a case study of the Kelabit Highland community museum development project.

Each museum development presents complex and unique challenges. In particular, the Kelabit Highland Community Museum Development Project (KHCMDP) is a museum development that requires both discipline-specific and interdisciplinary collaboration to reach the common goal of the preservation and conservation of the fragile Kelabit heritage. Still in its infancy, however rich with potential, the engagement required to realize the development of this community-based museum, in the remote region of Bario in the Highlands of Borneo, offers a stimulating environment in which both discipline specific and creative interdisciplinary thinking are utilized to create a suitable and sustainable development. This paper will describe the process of extensive community consultation required by the interdisciplinary team of academics to address the areas of curatorial policies, preservation and conservation, the design of the built environment and the creation of the communication strategies for the project. It demonstrates the unique opportunity for diverse tertiary disciplines at Deakin University to further develop their knowledge of museology, preservation, identity creation and issues of representation and communication from an interdisciplinary perspective. Within each of the areas of concern, the interconnecting nature of the project has resulted in a strong intersection of each of the normally separate professional departments. Furthermore, adding to the complexity, this case study is a multi-disciplined research opportunity situated in a cross-cultural context.

The National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards requirements for orientation and induction within Australian healthcare: a review of the literature

Introduction: A workplace orientation program is a core requirement of the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards in Australia. This is particularly important within healthcare as patient safety and the patient experience are at risk if the healthcare workforce is not supported with an effective orientation and induction program. Aim: This study aimed to review the literature and map the requirements of the NSQHS Standards in relation to orientation and induction. Method: This study utilised online databases to search for literature pertaining to orientation and induction within healthcare. Inclusion criteria included relevance to research questions, and originating in a country with a comparative health system to Australia. Results: The search identified a total of 202 articles of potential relevance with 42 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. Articles were ranked according to hierarchy of evidence criteria for both qualitative and quantitative studies. The importance of using orientation to detail safety and quality roles, the organisations' risk management system, governance structure, operational processes and procedures was highlighted. Patient-centred care, antimicrobial stewardship, clinical handover and mechanisms for escalation of care and emergency assistance should also be covered within the orientation process. Conclusion: There is a dearth of studies in relation to orientation and induction in the healthcare literature. Orientation content is now clearly prescribed, what is lacking within healthcare is a standardised framework. Concept mapping, educational theory and adult learning methods have been shown to enhance workforce problem solving and engagement with orientation, however further research is needed to enhance practice

Leadership in higher education : The normative project of the common good in conditions of globalization, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), and APEX in Malaysia

In this paper, the author discusses the reform agenda undertaken by UniversitiSains Malaysia (USM) to contextualise higher education reform within culturaland social theory. It is important to understand leadership in leading reformwithin a broader and more holistic fashion that takes into account localculture, politics and history. University Sains Malaysia is embarking on what isreferred to as the APEX agenda. The APEX strategy in Malaysia is an importantapproach towards achieving world-class status university institutions. The ApexUniversities will be the nation’s centres of academic distinction. Ensuring andbuilding upon the ethical authority that APEX gives USM, the challenge of leadership in USM is to engage in the forces of globalization and modernizationwhile at the same time take cognizance of the characteristics and demands ofMalaysian culture as central still to the successful mission of USM.

A framework for understanding collaborative creativity in requirements engineering: Empirical validation

Requirements engineering (RE) often needs creativity in a form where interactions among stakeholders are particularly important: collaborative creativity. However, few studies have explicitly concentrated on understanding collaborative creativity in RE, resulting in a lack of well-founded advice for practitioners on how to support this aspect of RE. Through an online survey, this paper seeks empirical validation for a framework of factors characterising collaborative creative processes in RE. Within the limits of the validity of the study, the results show support for the utility of the framework: collaborative creativity seems to be a linear function of the mean score to all factors in the framework. Factors can be grouped, and the specific impact of each group on collaboration, value and novelty can be assessed.

Standardised packaging and new enlarged graphic health warnings for tobacco products in Australia--legislative requirements and implementation of the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011 and the Competition and Consumer (Tobacco) Information Standard, 2011

This paper describes the development, content and implementation of two pieces of Australian tobacco control legislation: one to standardise the packaging of tobacco products and the other to introduce new, enlarged graphic health warnings. It describes the process of legislative drafting, public consultation and parliamentary consideration. It summarises exactly how tobacco products have been required to look since late 2012. Finally, it describes implementation, most particularly, the extent to which packs compliant with the legislation became available to consumers over time.

Growth-rate associated changes in the energy-requirements of tern chicks

To obtain infonnation on the energetic implications of intraspecific growth rate differences we measured the energy requirement for development in chicks of Common Tern Sterna hirundo and Sandwich Tern S. sandvicensis under laboratory conditions. Both maximum (kJ.day-l) and total gross energy intake for development (kJ during prefledging period) increased with growth rate and were reduced by almost 40% and 25%, respectively, in the slowest compared to the fastest growing individuals in each of the two species. These results imply that the range of food availability within which a chick can grow to adulthood, is wider than hitherto believed. However, one should bear in mind that slow growth also may result in higher nestling and postfledging mortality.

Energetic requirements for maintenance and premigratory body mass gain of waders wintering in Africa

The energy content of the deposited reserve tissue depended on the condition of the birds, since the energy required for body mass gain was low in lean birds and high in fat birds. Maintenance metabolism was relatively low compared to wader species wintering in temperate regions, suggested to be an adaptation towards reduced endogenous heat production, which may help in avoiding heat stress under tropical conditions. -from Authors

Collaborative creativity in requirements engineering: analysis and practical advice

Requirements engineering (RE) often entails interdisciplinary groups of people working together to find novel and valuable solutions to a complex design problem. In such situations RE requires creativity in a form where interactions among stakeholders are particularly important: collaborative creativity. However, few studies have explicitly concentrated on understanding collaborative creativity in RE, resulting in limited advice for practitioners on how to support this aspect of RE. This paper provides a framework of factors characterising collaborative creative processes in RE. These factors enable a systematic investigation of the collaboratively creative nature of RE. They can potentially guide practitioners when facilitating RE efforts, and also provide researchers with ideas on where to focus when developing methods and tools for RE. © 2013 IEEE.

Normative data for the strengths and difficulties questionnaire for young children in Australia

AIM: The aim of this study was to report normative data for the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) from a large population cohort of young children aged 4-6 years from Victoria, Australia, to establish age- and sex-specific cut-off values for future use, and to determine the scale reliability of the SDQ for children aged 4-6 years. METHODS: Parents of children (n = 53 372) entering their first year of school in Victoria in 2010 completed a survey via a 15-page School Entrant Health Questionnaire reporting on the physical and emotional well-being of their child (including the SDQ), use of child health and other support services, and a range of socio-demographic variables. Reliability was assessed and norms generated. Appropriate cut-off values for each SDQ scale and total difficulties scale were generated for each age group separately for each sex. RESULTS: The five scales of the SDQ and total difficulties scale generally had acceptable internal reliability. Mean SDQ scale scores differed for both sex and age, although only a narrow age range is examined in this study. Cut-off values were marginally higher for girls (lower for prosocial) and generally increased with age. CONCLUSIONS: This study has utilised a large Australian population sample of children to generate age- and sex-specific cut-off values that define SDQ scores as 'normal', 'borderline' or 'abnormal' for Australian children aged 4-6 years.