An analysis of embodied energy of office buildings by height

Aims to compare the energy embodied in office buildings varying in height from a few storeys to over 50 storeys. The energy embodied in substructure, superstructure and finishes elements was investigated for five Melbourne office buildings of the following heights: 3, 7, 15, 42 and 52 storeys. The two high-rise buildings have approximately 60 percent more energy embodied per unit gross floor area (GFA) in their materials than the low-rise buildings. While building height was found to dictate the amount of energy embodied in the “structure group” elements (upper floors, columns, internal walls, external walls and staircases), other elements such as substructure, roof, windows and finishes seemed uninfluenced.

School health policies and practices in Victoria- a comparison involving socio-economic status

Issue addressed: Health programs have been part of the responsibility of Victorian school education for 90 years. Yet rarely have there been studies to identify what is happening in school health promotion, or what the differences between schools might be, particularly in relation to the socioeconomic status of the school community and whether the school is in a metropolitan or regional area. Methods: In 1997 all Victorian schools (primary and secondary) in the State, Catholic and Independent systems were sent questionnaires in order to promote broader awareness about health promotion, and to identify what health programs, policies and activities the schools believed existed within their school community. A response rate of 43% was achieved, and results were collated under the six domains of the Health Promoting School model as outlined by the Western Pacific Regional Office of the World Health Organisation. Data analysed in this paper compared highest versus lowest quartiles for socioeconomic status (SES), and schools in metropolitan Melbourne versus regional areas. Results: Most differences between schools based on socioeconomic status occurred in secondary schools and were related mainly to environmental policies and practices, use of back packs, the presence of safety policies, involvement of parents in school activities and the provision of services for mental and social health needs. All differences were in favour of the highest SES quartile schools. Environmental policies and procedures, and school-based health and welfare services were present more often in metropolitan schools than in regional and rural schools. Conclusion: Although there were notable differences between schools, the audit results pointed to more similarities than differences between schools in the highest and lowest SES quartiles for health-related policies and practices; there were even fewer differences between metropolitan and non-metropolitan schools. So what: Regardless of the actual advantages and disadvantages schools experience with respect to location or socioeconomic status, it is important to understand that school staff perceive that they can and do have reasonably comprehensive health policies, procedures and practices to address health issues. Nevertheless, clear differences between schools did emerge in certain health areas and findings will assist policy making and the allocation of limited resources.

Moving personal tax online: the Australian Taxation Office's E-Tax initiative

In exploiting the capabilities of online technologies, governments have developed policies and launched projects to conduct transactions and deliver their services through the Internet. The motivations for this include cost cutting, efficiency improvements, service enhancements, and leadership in business transformation. However, these diverse goals are not necessarily consistent, especially in the early stages of implementation. The e-government initiative discussed in this case study (E-Tax) provided an additional service to individual Australian taxpayers by enabling them to file their tax returns online. This case study provides an analysis of the E-Tax implementation in the first three years of its operation. Data on E-Tax use compared to other filing methods show that the package worked well technically, was favorably received by users, and was consistent with policy on e-government. However, adoption levels in the early stages did not meet government targets. The analysis suggests that impediments to a greater level of E-Tax use included entrenched patterns of filing, the nature of the taxation system, and political sensitivities. The E-Tax case demonstrates how complex e-government projects can be and the need to take contextual factors into account in planning and evaluating e-government implementation.

Multi-jurisdictional merger review procedures - a better way

Corporate mergers whose effects transcend national borders have faced increasing regulation over the past few decades as more jurisdictions have developed merger laws and imposed pre-merger notification requirements. The level of regulatory response to multi-jurisdictional mergers is likely to continue to increase as even more jurisdictions contemplate the introduction of competition laws. This level of regulation now goes beyond that required to protect national economies from potentially harmful mergers and has seen burgeoning costs to business, regulators and, ultimately, the public. In recognition of this, the relatively newly formed International Competition Network has placed merger regulation at the forefront of its agenda for greater harmonisation and cooperation in competition law. This has seen, over the past three years, the development of a set of guiding principles and recommended practices for merger notification procedures designed to reduce the regulatory burden. This article evaluates these recommendations and discusses areas for further reform.

Australian SMES and e-security guides on trusting the internet

There have been many standards and guides written for the implementation of computer security and information security concentrating on appropriate implementation of procedures for effective information security management. Such guides are limited when dealing with e-business and its implementation by Small and Medium Business Enterprises (SMEs). In Australia the National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE) has released a small business guide for e-security for performing such services while fulfilling the necessary security requirements. This paper presents an overview of this current small business guide to e-security with special reference to deriving a common set of criteria for implementing security measures in the SME e-business environment.

Carbon dioxide levels and ventilation strategies in 'green' office buildings

Energy efficient office buildings are intended to provide a comfortable and healthy environment for their occupants as well as reducing the energy consumption of the building. They are often designed as "showcase" buildings illustrating the potential for savings through some innovative design technology. But do such buildings actually deliver the desired energy savings and satisfactory comfort conditions for occupants? Measurements of a "green" University campus building in Victoria, Australia, designed with an innovative fabric energy storage system, demonstrate that the ventilation system is not providing acceptable indoor air quality conditions. The design strategies used to reduce energy consumption have had negative consequences on the air quality of the building. Insufficient fresh air is being drawn into the building leading to an excessive build up of carbon dioxide. It is recommended that monitoring systems need to use a wider range of measurements than temperature alone to guarantee good quality indoor air and working conditions and that commissioning of buildings should include adequate monitoring of the operational performance of the building. Designers need to be made aware of the potential consequences of their decisions when attempting innovative energy-efficient designs.

Monitoring and motivating outworkers : the case of the AMP and the sale of industrial life insurance 1905-1940

The development of labor management practices in the financial services sector provides an interesting insight into how problems associated with agency issues were overcome. Within financial institutions and other white collar occupations, the use of internal labor markets emerged as an effective means of both controlling and motivating employees. However such management techniques were only effective in cases where work tasks could be internalized. The business of some types of organizations necessitated a division of work tasks between those undertaken within the office and those undertaken outside the office. The management and sale of insurance products is a case in point. This paper explores the development of processes implemented to resolve a specific type of labor management issue, namely the control of workers under conditions of uncertainty. Using the example of the Australian Mutual Provident (Australia's largest life insurer), it analyses how and why particular work relations procedures were developed.

Energy use and thermal comfort in a rammed earth office building

A two-storey rammed earth building was built on the Thurgoona Campus of Charles Sturt University in Albury-Wodonga, Australia, in 1999. The building is novel both in the use of materials and equipment for heating and cooling. The climate at Wodonga can be characterised as hot and dry, so the challenge of providing comfortable working conditions with minimal energy consumption is considerable. This paper describes an evaluation of the building in terms of measured thermal comfort and energy use. Measurements, confirmed by a staff questionnaire, found the building was too hot in summer and too cold in winter. Comparison with another office building in the same location found that the rammed earth building used more energy for heating. The thermal performance of three offices in the rammed earth building was investigated further using simulation to predict office temperatures. Comparisons were made with measurements made over typical weeks in summer and winter. The validated model has been used to investigate key building parameters and strategies to improve the thermal comfort and reduce energy consumption in the building. Simulations showed that improvements could be made by design and control strategy changes.

Patients' experiences of cardiology procedures using minimal conscous sedation

Aim: The study's purpose was to describe patients' experiences of minimal conscious sedation during diagnostic and interventional cardiology procedures.

Methods: Over a 6-week period, 119 consecutive patients (10% of annual throughput) from a major metropolitan hospital in Melbourne, Australia, were interviewed using a modified version of the American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire. Patients identified pain severity using a 10-point visual analogue scale and rated their overall comfort on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from very comfortable to very uncomfortable.

Results: Patients were aged 67.6 years (standard deviation 11.1), 70.8% were male, and the mean body mass index was 27.7 (standard deviation 4.8). Patients underwent diagnostic coronary angiography (67.5%), percutaneous coronary interventions (13.3%), or combined procedures (19.2%). Most patients (65%) were comfortable in the context of low-dose conscious sedation. Slight discomfort was reported by 26% of patients; 9% reported feeling uncomfortable primarily as a result of a combination of musculoskeletal pain, angina, and vasovagal symptoms experienced during the procedure. There was significant correlation (rho = .25, P = .01) between procedure length and patients' report of overall comfort, suggesting longer procedures were less comfortable for patients.

Conclusions: The minimal sedation protocol was effective for the majority of patients; however, 9% of patients experienced significant discomfort related to preexisting conditions, highlighting the need for individual patient assessment before, during, and after the procedure.