Fault tolerance in data gathering wireless sensor networks

In data gathering wireless sensor networks, data loss often happens due to external faults such as random link faults and hazard node faults, since sensor nodes have constrained resources and are often deployed in inhospitable environments. However, already known fault tolerance mechanisms often bring new internal faults (e.g. out-of-power faults and collisions on wireless bandwidth) to the original network and dissipate lots of extra energy and time to reduce data loss. Therefore, we propose a novel Dual Cluster Heads Cooperation (CoDuch) scheme to tolerate external faults while introducing less internal faults and dissipating less extra energy and time. In CoDuch scheme, dual cluster heads cooperate with each other to reduce extra costs by sending only one copy of sensed data to the Base Station; also, dual cluster heads check errors with each other during the collecting data process. Two algorithms are developed based on the CoDuch scheme: CoDuch-l for tolerating link faults and CoDuch-b for tolerating both link faults and node faults; theory and experimental study validate their effectiveness and efficiency. © 2010 The Author Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Computer Society. All rights reserved.

The reliability and validity of Freud's methods of free association and interpretation.

Presents a response of the author on the reliability and validity of Freud's method of free association and interpretation. Data gathering in clinical setting of psychoanalysis; Claims for reliability and validity; View of Freud on determinism.

Online newsgathering : research and reporting for journalism

If you are a journalist of any kind, you now realize that you need to know how to find the information you need online. This book shows you how to find declassified governmental files and statistics of all kinds, outlines the use of simple and complex search engines for small and large data gathering, and provides directories of subject experts. This book is for the many journalists around the world who didn't attend a formal journalism school before going to work, those who were educated before online research became mainstream, and for any student studying journalism today. It will teach you how to use the Internet wisely, efficiently, and comprehensively so that you will always have your facts straight and fast.

The crossroads approach to information discovery in wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are attractive for information gathering in large-scale data rich environments. In order to fully exploit the data gathering and dissemination capabilities of these networks, energy-efficient and scalable solutions for data storage and information discovery are essential. In this paper, we formulate the information discovery problem as a load-balancing problem, with the combined aim being to maximize network lifetime and minimize query processing delay resulting in QoS improvements. We propose a novel information storage and distribution mechanism that takes into account the residual energy levels in individual sensors. Further, we propose a hybrid push-pull strategy that enables fast response to information discovery queries.

Simulations results prove the proposed method(s) of information discovery offer significant QoS benefits for global as well as individual queries in comparison to previous approaches.

Double disability : lived experience of Australian tertiary students with ME/CFS

This research is the exploration of the lived experience of tertiary students in Australia with the medical condition usually known as ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis /Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) seeking to explore issues of equity and human rights from the perspective of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. Students feel that their difficulties are not caused just by the illness itself but by the failure of the tertiary institutions to understand the effects of this illness on them, the student, especially within the areas of accommodations and assessments. Their lived experiences are studied to ascertain if their experiences differ from those of other tertiary students. Forty participants came from every state and territory of Australia and twenty -four of Australia's universities as well as eight Technical and Further Education/Open Training Education Network (TAFE/OTEN) colleges are represented. The selection of the chosen methodology, Critical Ethnography from a Habermasian perspective, has been circumscribed by the medical condition which placed limitations on methodology and also data gathering methods. Non-structured stories, in which the participants wrote of their lived experience as students, were considered the most appropriate source of data. These were transmitted by electronic mail (with some by postal mail) to the researcher. A short questionnaire provided a participant background to the stories and was also collated for a composite overview of the participants. The stories are analysed in a number of ways: six selected stories are retold and the issues arising from these stories have been weighed against the remainder of the stories. Four intertwined themes were constructed from the issues raised in each story. Apparent infringements of the Disability Discrimination Act (1992) which impact on quality of life, human rights and equity are found. No accommodations are being made by the academic institutions for the cognitive dysfunctions and learning difficulties. Students are stigmatised and lack credibility to negotiate appropriate academic accommodations. A possible means of improving the ability of students to negotiate appropriate accommodations is explored. Finally the researcher reflects on her own involvement in the research as an 'insider' researcher.

Impact of the extended family on microenterprise growth in Ghana : a case study of Accra

This study examines the extended family's impact on microenterprise growth at the individual level, where microenterprise operators have some control over constraints affecting their operations. Beyond the individual level, microenterprise operators have little control over constraints such as government policies and regulations, competition from import-substitution industries and exploitation by corrupt officials. Therefore, it is at the individual level that the extended family serves as a crucial parameter of microenterprise growth and the success with which MEs graduate from the informal sector into the mainstreams of small business. Within this domain, this author has examined the extended family and found that there is a need for policy makers and MED administrators to adopt a more culturally sensitive approach to microenterprise growth if the extended family is to be engaged as a partner in their efforts to support microenterprises as a source of income and employment generation, A central question posed is why most writers on microenterprise activities in Ghana have neglected the extended family as a factor that should be considered in the design of microenterprise growth strategies and policies? The answer to this question was explored in the process of data gathering for this thesis and the results are presented here, especially in chapter 3 below. Suffice it to note here that this neglect has many roots, not least of which is the proclivity of mainstream economics, modern administration practice and the objectivity of double entry accounting based documentation procedures to focus on measurable growth in the formal sectors of the economy and structural constraints such as the lack of finance, lack of market demand, lack of access to technology and government regulations. Consequently, a noticeable trend among these writers is that they rightly advocate finance be made accessible to microenterprises, however, few question whether the finance is effectively used towards microenterprise growth. This issue is crucial in the face of evidence from this study which shows that finance accessed towards microenterprise growth is often put to other uses that negate growth thus keeping microenterprises within the bounds of the informal sector as against graduating out of the informal sector. As a result, these writers have neglected the intimate relations between the extended family and microenterprises, and most importantly, the constraint that the extended family inflicts on microenterprise growth at the individual level of activity. This study, by targeting the growth of the individual microenterprise in the socio-cultural context in which this growth must be achieved, has highlighted the constraint that the extended family does pose on MED. However, the study also shows that these constraints are important not because there is anything inherently wrong with the extended family, but because the socio-economic and policy environment is not consistent with the positive role that the extended family can and should play in the graduation of microenterprises from the informal to the formal sector of the economy in Ghana.

Codes of ethics in large private sector Australian businesses

This thesis deals with codes of ethics in the top 500 companies operating in the private sector in Australia. We seek to answer two questions. First, can businesses adopt codes of ethics in a meaningful way, or are business ethics a contradiction in terms for profit seeking organisations in competitive markets? Second, to what extent do Australia’s top 500 private sector firms show commitment to codes of ethics? A number of ancillary questions are explored to form a picture of the current Australian situation and to compare it to the rest of the world, especially the US and Canada. Chapter 1 discusses these questions and the origins of the author’s interest in business ethics. This chapter develops a focus upon codes of ethics and their role in assisting to establish and maintain an ethical culture. The chapter looks at previous research on codes of ethics and demonstrates a lack of understanding in Australia on the subject and the need for research into it. Also included in Chapter 1 is the plan for the thesis. Chapters 2 to 4 review the literature upon which the thesis is based. In Chapter 2, the meaning of the terms ethics and business ethics are considered. Deontological and teleological approaches are distinguished and a (largely) teleological model of business ethics is developed. This chapter also asks whether business ethics are possible. The contention that ethics may be good for a business’s profit is explored in-depth and the conclusion is reached that ethics should be pursued for its inherent worth regardless of the economic benefit that can be attributed to it. A number of models of ethical decision making are discussed in Chapter 3 starting with Kohlberg and Kramer (1969). This discussion leads to the conclusion that organisations must create an ethical culture for staff if they require them to embrace ethical practices. If this is a correct conclusion, then the role of senior managers becomes critical in the process. Chapter 4 looks further at the role of senior managers, organisational culture and ethical/unethical behaviour in organisations. The conclusion is that senior managers do play an integral part in shaping the culture of an organisation. Their actions, either overtly or covertly, impact upon their staff and highlight behaviour that the organisation is or is not willing to tolerate. Sims (1991) proposed ten ways to foster an ethical culture and these ideas are set out and further explored through the work of other writers on management ethics. Finally, the link between ethics and strategic planning is examined. In Chapter 5 the methods used for empirical data gathering are described and justified. A number of factors that can lead us to consider a company’s ‘commitment’ to ethics are outlined. A survey of Australian companies was the primary means of data collection. Each question in the survey instrument is listed and explained. Also the survey response rate is reported, as are major demographic characteristics of respondents. Chapter 6 provides the research findings from the survey of the top 500 companies operating in the private sector in Australia. The research examines: i) the current Australian usage and implementation of codes of ethics; ii) the measures put in place in organisations in order to support a code; From this analysis conclusions are drawn about the ‘commitment’ of companies operating in Australia to codes of ethics. Australian companies are becoming aware of the potential of code usage. Companies operating in Australia that have codes appear to be good at implementing codes and examining staff performance in relation to codes. However, they lack the procedures that incorporate education and training and the implementation of the support mechanisms necessary to enhance employee understanding of the code. In Chapter 7, Australian codes are compared to American and Canadian codes for similarity and disparity. The assessment found that in all three countries codes are primarily concerned with company continuance. Australian codes do tend to be more socially oriented than in the other two countries and also less legalistic. Chapter 8 looks at 4 companies from the first survey that were asked for more in-depth information in a quest to determine current best practice in Australia. These organisations were chosen because they appeared, from the first survey instrument, to have put in place mechanisms to assist employees to better understand the code. The implication is that companies must make a conscious, positive effort to ensure that employees are considered in the process of ethical development. They should have input into the process, rather than just being directed to follow another management initiative. The final chapter summarises the research findings and looks at answers to the two major questions and the seven subordinate empirical questions posed at the start of the thesis. The conclusion reached is that companies operating in Australia appear to be moving towards establishing codes of ethics. Those who already have codes display a real commitment to them. The movement appears to be gathering momentum as more organisations see the value of incorporating ethical business practices into the every day workings of their individual companies. Generally, most Australian companies lag behind the rest of the world, but the pace-setting companies are defining their own best practice and achieving positive outcomes for themselves, their employees and other stakeholders.

Insights from research on cross-cultural validation of health-related questionnaires : the role of bilingual project workers and lay participants

This article discusses the recruitment and training of bilingual project workers and their role in data gathering; the level of comprehension of the interviewees with regard to the nature of the task and its alien nature; the contribution of social customs and expectations; the vagaries of language; the researchers' level of comprehension of data collected across a range of languages; the feelings of loss of control by the researchers over the research process; and issues of communication with bilingual project workers. The authors draw on two studies designed to assess the adequacy of questionnaire translations from English into four ethnic minority languages: Cantonese, Punjabi, Urdu and Sylheti. Bilingual project workers were recruited to carry out interviews and focus groups with the lay communities and to feed back results in English to the researchers. The authors conclude that researchers should be aware of the influence of social and contextual factors when carrying out research with ethnic minority participants mediated by bilingual project workers.

The efficacy of using e-mail when researching inclusive teaching practices used by male academics

The paper describes work-in-progress and reflects upon a small research project, ‘A Small Study of Male Academics and Their Inclusive Teaching Strategies’, in which the author trialed the use of e-mail communication as a medium for having repeated conversations with a number of male academics about their inclusive teaching practices. This forms a small part of a larger study concentrating on the non-mainstream leadership practices of male academics.

The study met with mixed results: on one hand, it provided an opportunity for the respondents to express how they teach inclusively; on the other, the study made it apparent that the use of e-mails alone did not facilitate communication with the respondents. The implication for research of a sensitive nature is to ensure that the communication is primarily of a personal, face-to-face nature with the use of e-mails providing a complementary, rather than a primary, means of data gathering.

Minimising total survey error when measuring entrepreneurship in Tonga

This study illustrates how the Total Survey Error (TSE) paradigm can identify and help reduce multiple sources of error inherent in survey work in the developing world. Of particular concern are mode errors and coverage errors caused by the 'theoretical teledensity threshold' of doing phone surveys in developing countries. The study outlines ways to improve response rate and to avoid interviewer and measurement error. It narrates the sampling design and its limitations as well as some of the qualitative aspects of total survey quality such as, translation, ethics and budgeting. The final section discusses implications for further research in statistical auto-correlation and data gathering using PDAs.

Evaluation methodology for work integrated learning - placements : a discussion paper

Background: This paper will address the evaluation of WIL (placements) in order to provide a strategy to improve performance in universities' WIL as benchmarked in the AUSSE, GDS and placement unit feedback.
Overview of issue: Although WIL placements are important and valuable for student engagement, learning, graduate employability and industry partnerships, there are few empirical studies or reviews that inform evaluation methodology for them. The assessment of placement outcomes and the student experience is typically more complex than evaluation of a standard university unit because of the wide variation that occurs with placements. Students are likely to be working in different organisations, and working on different projects within their various disciplines. Adding to this complexity, the organisation supervisor is an additional stakeholder critical to the placement experience, and who ultimately makes the judgment of student performance. Although an organisation supervisor may complete an individual feedback form for their students, generally this information is not strategically aligned within a broader university evaluation process. Initial examination of available literature revealed that the multi-dimensional perspective (organisational supervisor, placement co-ordinator and student) is not usually incorporated into evaluation of placements to inform continuous improvement for example. There are gaps in the evaluation process which could be addressed through more  comprehensive evaluation that could be utilised across Faculties and Institutions. In 2010, we will conduct an inter-faculty project to develop and trial an evaluation methodology for WIL placements. It will incorporate a triangulated approach including student, organisation and university supervisor feedback. Preliminary results gained from this project will be discussed.
Argument: An evaluation methodology that is inclusive of a triangulated approach, would provide university stakeholders with comprehensive feedback that could be used to strategically inform continuous improvement efforts in Institutions in the areas of WIL placements.
Implications: The importance of triangulated data gathering leading to a comprehensive evaluation and subsequent improvement strategies will be concluded. Suggested evaluation process and potential tools will be presented.

Evaluation framework underpinning the digital divas programme

In Australia, as elsewhere, women’s participation rates in Information Technology (IT) have been low. IT is the generic term used to refer to the many courses in the Computer Science, and Information Systems disciplines. While there have been a number of intervention programmes implemented aimed at encouraging women into IT and retaining them once there, few have included evaluations of the efficacy of the intervention. Thus little is known about the factors contributing to the success, or lack of success, of the interventions, or of the medium and longer term impacts for the participants. In this paper we briefly describe an intervention programme implemented with girls in the high school years. We present an evaluation framework providing a detailed overview of the aims and processes involved in the evaluation of the programme. Data for the evaluation were embedded within the data gathering methods associated with the research on the intervention itself.

Using causal mapping to find new avenue for organizational fit research

Although organizational fit is strongly linked to important psychological outcomes such as motivation, satisfaction, turnover and performance, there is still a lot of confusion about definitions and conceptualizations of the construct. One reason for this is that fit researchers have almost exclusively conducted theory-driven nomothetic studies that have utilized varying approaches to the term. In this paper, we call for exploratory research that listens to how workers construct their own sense of fit and suggest that researchers should adopt idiographic data gathering techniques, coupled with nomothetic analysis tools, to do so. To enable this, we explain how fit researchers might use causal maps and thereby develop a stronger understanding of organizational fit that is grounded in how people conceive it.