Data with abnormal cyclic pattern in a manufacturing process

The data represents a cyclic pattern in process variable presented in a control chart due to periodic rotation of operators, seasonal or environmental changes.

Data with abnormal systematic pattern in a manufacturing process

The data represents a systematic pattern in process variable presented in a control chart due to measurement gauge rotation and power fluctuations in manufacturing processes.

A comparative study of effectiveness of peer assessment of individuals’ contributions to group projects in undergraduate construction management core units

In recent years, various forms of group work have been introduced in university courses across various subject domains, including construction management courses. Although the use of group work in higher education has sound pedagogical reasons and advantages, group work has its own drawbacks. Therefore, the acceptance by students and the success of group work critically depend on a fair and credible assessment of the group process. In this paper, the implementation of different approaches to peer assessment (PA) of individuals’ contributions to group projects in two core units in an undergraduate construction management course in an Australian university is reported. The effectiveness of the adopted PA approaches have been evaluated and validated by students. It has been found that contrary to doubts of the sufficiency of a simplistic approach to PAs, the fairness of a PA approach does not necessarily depend on its complexity. Besides, voluntary group discussions, learning and collaboration are found to aid in improving each of the group’s camaraderie. Hence, it is recommended that academics should develop both a structured methodology to progressively encourage group members to work cohesively in teams and effective PA approaches that measure individual member’s contribution.

Preliminary insights from a multiple case study on process modelling impact

Process modelling – the design and use of graphical documentations of an organisation’s business processes – is a key method to document and use information about business processes in organisational projects. Still, despite current interest in process modelling, this area of study still faces essential challenges. One of the key unanswered questions concerns the impact of process modelling in organisational practice. Process modelling initiatives call for tangible results in the form of returns on the substantial investments that organisations undertake to achieve improved processes. This study explores the impact of process model use on end-users and its contribution to organisational success. We posit that the use of conceptual models creates impact in organisational process teams. We also report on a set of case studies in which we explore tentative evidence for the development of impact of process model use. The results of this work provide a better understanding of process modelling impact from information practices and also lead to insights into how organisations should conduct process modelling initiatives in order to achieve an optimum return on their investment.

It can be quite difficult to have your creativity on tap : balancing client expectations and artistic practice in the tattoo industry

Tattoo artists work in a commission structure. Their artistic practice, possibly more than in any other creative career, requires the complete approval of the client prior to the creation of the final work. An unsatisfactory tattoo cannot be on-sold, discarded or easily replaced. Rarely can a tattooer practice their art without external participation. Therefore, tattoo artists come up with a number of strategies to manage their client base to ensure that the art they are asked to create satisfies both the client and their own artistic skills and preferences. Drawing on phenomenological research conducted for my PhD investigating artistic persona, this paper will explore the strategies tattoo artists use to construct their portfolios, manage the tattoo consultation and design process, and develop their own artistic skills, in order to build a successful and rewarding career in the tattoo industry.

Negotiating emotions, rethinking otherness in suburban Melbourne

I argue that research that tries to makes sense of emotion provides a better understanding of the politics and ethics of doing face-to-face research. Reflecting on in-depth interviews with people who live and/or work in Dandenong, an outer suburban area of Melbourne, I draw attention to the emotional dimensions of the research process. In particular I focus on moments when the exercise of white privilege made it difficult to negotiate emotions. These were moments when the intersection of my ethnicity with my position as a new settler in Dandenong made me feel excluded. The outcome was that I found it hard to value the voice of participants who were eager to help me with my research. A critical reflection of the emotions produced during such interpersonal encounters, however, has enabled me to rethink moments when the Self/Other binary unintentionally emerged. Critical self-reflexivity that is attentive to emotions gave me the opportunity to move closer to my goal of being an ethical researcher.

'Everybody has settled in so well': How migrants make connections and build social capital in Geelong

Australian and Victorian Government policies encourage settlement in regional areas for international migrants, refugees and internal migrants. Migrants to regional areas are diverse in terms of their area or country of origin, skills and occupation, family status and other demographic characteristics. The regional cities to which they migrate are also varied in terms of their community resources, social and cultural capital. The objective shared by all of these cities is for migrants to engage successfully with their new communities. Just how this occurs is the subject of debate and a lack of clarity. This therefore calls for a sound, theoretically informed understanding of how employers and community groups (formal and informal) can effectively assist migrants to make social connections in regional cities, and practical strategies which respond to these insights. The well-established social determinants of health tell us that the more socially included, connected and stable workforce and their families are, the better will be their physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Promoting health and well-being in social work education

This book contains contributions from social work educators from Australia, America, Canada, New Zealand and the UK. They reflect on how best to prepare students to put health and well-being to the forefront of practice, drawing on research on quality of life, subjective well-being, student well-being, community participation and social connectedness, religion and spirituality, mindful practices, trauma and health inequalities.

Doctoral work as boundary-riding and boundary-breaking

This chapter considers the tension between candidates being ‘disciplined in the discipline of the discipline’ and producing significant original knowledge to earn their doctorate. That is, learning about the disciplinary boundaries within which their doctorates are conducted, and learning how to ‘push’ those boundaries with sufficient originality in order to be ‘doctored’. For the purposes of this chapter, ‘doctoral work’ embraces all those forms of work and their workers that contribute to doctoral process. Supervisors (advisers) and candidates (students) are the obvious workers, but then there are those whose work it is to support doctoral work; in particular, administrators, counsellors, postgraduate students’ associations, and those ‘scholarly friends’ the librarians.

Becoming numerate with information and communications technologies in the twenty-first century

This article draws on data from a three-year Australian Research Council-funded study that examined the ways in which young children become numerate in the twenty-first century. We were interested in the authentic problem-solving contexts that we believe are required to create meaningful learning. This being so, our basic tenet was that such experiences should involve the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) where relevant, but not in tokenistic ways. This article highlights learning conditions in which young children can become numerate in contemporary times. We consider ‘academic’ or ‘school-based’ mathematical tasks in the context of a Mathematical Tasks Continuum. This continuum was conceptualised to enable focused and detailed thinking about the scope and range of mathematical tasks that young children are able to engage within contemporary school contexts. The data from this study show that most of the tasks the children experienced in early years mathematics classes were unidimensional in their make up. That is, they focus on the acquisition of specific skills and then they are practiced in disembedded contexts. We suggest that the framework created in the form of the Mathematical Tasks Continuum can facilitate teachers thinking about the possible ways in which they could extend children’s academic work in primary school mathematics, so that the process of becoming numerate becomes more easily related to authentic activities that they are likely to experience in everyday life.

Fluid intake, hydration, work physiology of wildfire fighters working in the heat over consecutive days

PURPOSE: (i) To evaluate firefighters' pre- and post-shift hydration status across two shifts of wildfire suppression work in hot weather conditions. (ii) To document firefighters' fluid intake during and between two shifts of wildfire suppression work. (iii) To compare firefighters' heart rate, activity, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and core temperature across the two consecutive shifts of wildfire suppression work. METHOD: Across two consecutive days, 12 salaried firefighters' hydration status was measured immediately pre- and post-shift. Hydration status was also measured 2h post-shift. RPE was also measured immediately post-shift on each day. Work activity, heart rate, and core temperature were logged continuously during each shift. Ten firefighters also manually recorded their food and fluid intake before, during, and after both fireground shifts. RESULTS: Firefighters were not euhydrated at all measurement points on Day one (292±1 mOsm l(-1)) and euhydrated across these same time points on Day two (289±0.5 mOsm l(-1)). Fluid consumption following firefighters' shift on Day one (1792±1134ml) trended (P = 0.08) higher than Day two (1108±1142ml). Daily total fluid intake was not different (P = 0.27), averaging 6443±1941ml across both days. Core temperature and the time spent ≥ 70%HRmax were both elevated on Day one (when firefighters were not euhydrated). Firefighters' work activity profile was not different between both days of work. CONCLUSION: There was no difference in firefighters' pre- to post-shift hydration within each shift, suggesting ad libitum drinking was at least sufficient to maintain pre-shift hydration status, even in hot conditions. Firefighters' relative hypohydration on Day one (despite a slightly lower ambient temperature) may have been associated with elevations in core temperature, more time in the higher heart rate zones, and 'post-shift' RPE.

Opting only in: Contractarians, waiver of liability provisions, and the race to the bottom

This paper will test the core claim of scholars in the nexus of contracts tradition—that private ordering as a process of bargaining creates optimal rules. We do this by analyzing empirical evidence in the context of waiver of liability provisions. These provisions allow companies to eliminate monetary damages for breach of the duty of care through amendments to the articles of incorporation. With all states allowing some form of these provisions, they represent a good laboratory to examine the bargaining process between management and shareholders. The contractarian approach would suggest that shareholders negotiate with management to obtain agreements that are in their best interests. If a process of bargaining is at work as they claim, the opt-in process for waiver of liability provisions ought to generate a variety of approaches. Shareholders wanting a high degree of accountability would presumably not support a waiver of liability. In other instances, shareholders might favor them in order to attract or retain qualified managers. Still others would presumably want a mix, allowing waiver but only in specified circumstances.Our analysis reveals that the diversity predicted by a private ordering model is not borne out by the evidence with waiver of liability provisions for Fortune 100 companies. All states permit such provisions and in the Fortune 100, all but one company has them. Moreover, they are remarkably similar in effect, waiving liability to the fullest extent permitted by law. In other words, one categorical rule was merely replaced by another, dealing a significant blow to the contractarian thesis.

How social work can contribute in the shift to personalised, recovery-oriented psycho-social disability support services

This paper presents the findings from an Australian study in which forty-one people, who self-identified as having a psycho-social disability as a result of mental health problems, spoke about their priorities for treatment, care and support within a personalised funding context. The research enabled an improved understanding of the choices about support that people with psycho-social disabilities would make if offered individualised funding packages. Participants prioritised specific supports to improve their health, financial situation, social connection, housing and personal relationships. A relationship with a support worker with a range of skills was identified as a key facilitator of these life goals, but people with psycho-social disabilities also valued opportunities to have discretionary funds to directly address the major problems they face, including stigma, discrimination and poverty. The paper argues that social workers can potentially fill a range of roles and are well placed to work in partnership with people with psycho-social disabilities. Particularly, they have skills in co-production of services, negotiation and advocacy that are required if individual funding is to be maximised for user control, social justice and personal recovery outcomes.

Managing health care in Australia : steps on the health care roundabout?

This paper explores some of the lessons of the coordinated care trials in Australia in the context of managed care in America and asks how do we best manage our finite health care dollars for the most equitable and effective outcomes for whole populations? The COAG trial in Australia tested a more structured process for managing the care of patients with chronic illness and postulated that currently fragmented health system funding could be pooled around individual patient need, and managed for improved economic outcomes and patient wellbeing. There is little doubt, following this initiative and much work in other countries, that as health care costs rise, for a range of reasons, improvements are needed in the management of our resources if we are to control rising health care costs. We also know that chronic illness, much of which is preventable and avoidable, is the major component in the rising health care cost equation and a factor likely to consume around 75% of our health dollars in the future. Much chronic illness can be prevented through social and population health strategies and we know that even if chronic illness can?t be prevented, it can be managed better through community-based chronic illness management programs. These programs rely on information, education, patient lifestyle and behaviour change, and on patients developing improved self-management skills. But, what is the best way to manage population health in Australia and ensure equity and fairness in the health care market as we evolve new approaches, especially to the management of chronic illness?

Collaboration and student engagement in design education

One of the great paradoxes in design education is that undergraduate students are encouraged to study and model the behaviors and attitudes of famous designers, but without being aware that such esteemed individuals rarely work in isolation. The vast majority of designers work in teams, as part of both the conceptualization and production processes. Even 'design-auteurs' or 'artist-designers' must still interact with, respectively, clients, consultants and contractors, or patrons, curators and publishers. As a result of this, collaboration is widely considered an essential part of the design process and a critical skill for developing a career in the design industries. However, while design practitioners and the professional bodies that represent them acknowledge the importance of groups and teams, there has been a general reluctance (either an unwillingness or inability) to emphasize the importance or team processes, or em­bed the development of team skills, in undergraduate design curricula. There are many reasons for this situation existing, but we cannot underestimate the general attitude, implicit in much design education and promulgated through the design media, that creativity is an individual trait.