Principles of Taxation Law 2013

Taxation law can be an incredibly complex subject to absorb, particularly when time is limited. Written specifically for students, Principles of Taxation Law 2013 brings much needed clarity to this area of law. Utilising many methods to make this often daunting subject achievable, particular features of the 2013 edition include: • seven parts: overview and structure, principles of income, deductions and offsets, timing issues, investment and business entities, tax avoidance and administration, and indirect taxes; • clearly structured chapters within those parts grouped under helpful headings; • flowcharts, diagrams and tables, end of chapter practice questions, and case summaries; • an appendix containing all of the up to date and relevant rates; and • the online self-testing component mentor, which provides questions for students of both business and law. Every major aspect of the Australian tax system is covered, with chapters on topics such as goods and services tax, superannuation, offsets, partnerships, capital gains tax, trusts, company tax and tax administration. All chapters have been thoroughly revised. Principles of Taxation Law 2013 is the perfect tool to guide the reader from their initial exposure to the subject to success in taxation law exams.

Contributing factors to optimal project portfolio selection

A modified Delphi approach has been applied in this study to investigate best practice and to determine the factors that contribute to optimal selection of projects. There are various standards and practices that some may recognise as representing best practice in this area. Many of these have similar characteristics and this study has found no single best practice. The study identified the factors that contribute to the optimal selection of projects as: culture, process, knowledge of the business, knowledge of the work, education, experience, governance, risk awareness, selection of players, preconceptions, and time pressures. All these factors were found to be significant; to be appropriate to public sector organisations, private sector organisations and government owned corporations; and to have a strong linkage to research on strategic decision making. These factors can be consolidated into two underlying factors of organisation culture and leadership.

Australia - taxation of trusts – the problem of aligning concepts of income

The Australian government is currently considering options for the rewrite and reform of the current provisions which apply to the taxation of trust income. This article provides a discussion of the current regime and the proposed reforms. It is suggested that a major revamp of taxation of trust income in Australia is problematic and a simpler approach may be to leave the law as is, with modification where necessary to address key issues as and when they arise.

A statistical strategy to select optimal structural health monitoring data in operational modal analysis

Operational modal analysis (OMA) is prevalent in modal identifi cation of civil structures. It asks for response measurements of the underlying structure under ambient loads. A valid OMA method requires the excitation be white noise in time and space. Although there are numerous applications of OMA in the literature, few have investigated the statistical distribution of a measurement and the infl uence of such randomness to modal identifi cation. This research has attempted modifi ed kurtosis to evaluate the statistical distribution of raw measurement data. In addition, a windowing strategy employing this index has been proposed to select quality datasets. In order to demonstrate how the data selection strategy works, the ambient vibration measurements of a laboratory bridge model and a real cable-stayed bridge have been respectively considered. The analysis incorporated with frequency domain decomposition (FDD) as the target OMA approach for modal identifi cation. The modal identifi cation results using the data segments with different randomness have been compared. The discrepancy in FDD spectra of the results indicates that, in order to fulfi l the assumption of an OMA method, special care shall be taken in processing a long vibration measurement data. The proposed data selection strategy is easy-to-apply and verifi ed effective in modal analysis.

Optimal catalyst thickness in titanium dioxide fixed film reactors: Mathematical modelling and experimental validation

The use of immobilised TiO2 for the purification of polluted water streams introduces the necessity to evaluate the effect of mechanisms such as the transport of pollutants from the bulk of the liquid to the catalyst surface and the transport phenomena inside the porous film. Experimental results of the effects of film thickness on the observed reaction rate for both liquid-side and support-side illumination are here compared with the predictions of a one-dimensional mathematical model of the porous photocatalytic slab. Good agreement was observed between the experimentally obtained photodegradation of phenol and its by-products, and the corresponding model predictions. The results have confirmed that an optimal catalyst thickness exists and, for the films employed here, is 5 μm. Furthermore, the modelling results have highlighted the fact that porosity, together with the intrinsic reaction kinetics are the parameters controlling the photocatalytic activity of the film. The former by influencing transport phenomena and light absorption characteristics, the latter by naturally dictating the rate of reaction.

A novel iterative method for simulating patient-specific optimal deformation and fit of fracture fixation plates

This paper proposes a new iterative method to achieve an optimally fitting plate for preoperative planning purposes. The proposed method involves integration of four commercially available software tools, Matlab, Rapidform2006, SolidWorks and ANSYS, each performing specific tasks to obtain a plate shape that fits optimally for an individual tibia and is mechanically safe. A typical challenge when crossing multiple platforms is to ensure correct data transfer. We present an example of the implementation of the proposed method to demonstrate successful data transfer between the four platforms and the feasibility of the method.

Optimal camera planning under versatile user constraints in multi-camera image processing systems

The selection of optimal camera configurations (camera locations, orientations, etc.) for multi-camera networks remains an unsolved problem. Previous approaches largely focus on proposing various objective functions to achieve different tasks. Most of them, however, do not generalize well to large scale networks. To tackle this, we propose a statistical framework of the problem as well as propose a trans-dimensional simulated annealing algorithm to effectively deal with it. We compare our approach with a state-of-the-art method based on binary integer programming (BIP) and show that our approach offers similar performance on small scale problems. However, we also demonstrate the capability of our approach in dealing with large scale problems and show that our approach produces better results than two alternative heuristics designed to deal with the scalability issue of BIP. Last, we show the versatility of our approach using a number of specific scenarios.

The optimal temperature of first aid treatment for partial thickness burn injuries

Using our porcine model of deep dermal partial thickness burn injury, various cooling techniques (15 degrees C running water, 2 degrees C running water, ice) of first aid were applied for 20 minutes compared with a control (ambient temperature). The subdermal temperatures were monitored during the treatment and wounds observed and photographed weekly for 6 weeks, observing reepithelialization, wound surface area and cosmetic appearance. Tissue histology and scar tensile strength were examined 6 weeks after burn. The 2 degrees C and ice treatments decreased the subdermal temperature the fastest and lowest, however, generally the 15 and 2 degrees C treated wounds had better outcomes in terms of reepithelialization, scar histology, and scar appearance. These findings provide evidence to support the current first aid guidelines of cold tap water (approximately 15 degrees C) for 20 minutes as being beneficial in helping to heal the burn wound. Colder water at 2 degrees C is also beneficial. Ice should not be used.

The optimal duration and delay of first aid treatment for deep partial thickness burn injuries

Using our porcine model of deep dermal partial thickness burn injury, various durations (10min, 20min, 30min or 1h) and delays (immediate, 10min, 1h, 3h) of 15 degrees C running water first aid were applied to burns and compared to untreated controls. The subdermal temperatures were monitored during the treatment and wounds observed weekly for 6 weeks, for re-epithelialisation, wound surface area and cosmetic appearance. At 6 weeks after the burn, tissue biopsies were taken of the scar for histological analysis. Results showed that immediate application of cold running water for 20min duration is associated with an improvement in re-epithelialisation over the first 2 weeks post-burn and decreased scar tissue at 6 weeks. First aid application of cold water for as little as 10min duration or up to 1h delay still provides benefit.

Principles of Taxation Law 2014 [7th Edition]

"Taxation law can be an incredibly complex subject to absorb, particularly when time is limited. Written specifically for students, Principles of Taxation Law 2014 brings much needed clarity to this area of law. Utilising many methods to make this often daunting subject achievable, particular features of the 2014 edition include: seven parts: overview and structure, principles of income, deductions and offsets, timing issues, investment and business entities, tax avoidance and administration, and indirect taxes; clearly structured chapters within those parts grouped under helpful headings;flowcharts, diagrams and tables, end of chapter practice questions, and case summaries; an appendix containing all of the up to date and relevant rates; and the online self-testing component mentor, which provides questions for students of both business and law. Every major aspect of the Australian tax system is covered, with chapters on topics such as goods and services tax, superannuation, offsets, partnerships, capital gains tax, trusts, company tax and tax administration.All chapters have been thoroughly revised"-- Publishers website

Maximum loadability achievement in SWER networks using optimal sizing and locating of batteries

This paper presents an optimisation algorithm to maximize the loadability of single wire earth return (SWER) by minimizing the cost of batteries and regulators considering the voltage constraints and thermal limits. This algorithm, that finds the optimum location of batteries and regulators, uses hybrid discrete particle swarm optimization and mutation (DPSO + Mutation). The simulation results on realistic highly loaded SWER network show the effectiveness of using battery to improve the loadability of SWER network in a cost-effective way. In this case, while only 61% of peak load can be supplied without violating the constraints by existing network, the loadability of the network is increased to peak load by utilizing two battery sites which are located optimally. That is, in a SWER system like the studied one, each installed kVA of batteries, optimally located, supports a loadability increase as 2 kVA.

Go with the flow : optimal AUV path planning in coastal environments

This paper describes a novel optimum path planning strategy for long duration AUV operations in environments with time-varying ocean currents. These currents can exceed the maximum achievable speed of the AUV, as well as temporally expose obstacles. In contrast to most other path planning strategies, paths have to be defined in time as well as space. The solution described here exploits ocean currents to achieve mission goals with minimal energy expenditure, or a tradeoff between mission time and required energy. The proposed algorithm uses a parallel swarm search as a means to reduce the susceptibility to large local minima on the complex cost surface. The performance of the optimisation algorithms is evaluated in simulation and experimentally with the Starbug AUV using a validated ocean model of Brisbane’s Moreton Bay.

Optimal distributed generation placement in radial distribution systems

Distributed generation (DG) resources are commonly used in the electric systems to obtain minimum line losses, as one of the benefits of DG, in radial distribution systems. Studies have shown the importance of appropriate selection of location and size of DGs. This paper proposes an analytical method for solving optimal distributed generation placement (ODGP) problem to minimize line losses in radial distribution systems using loss sensitivity factor (LSF) based on bus-injection to branch-current (BIBC) matrix. The proposed method is formulated and tested on 12 and 34 bus radial distribution systems. The classical grid search algorithm based on successive load flows is employed to validate the results. The main advantages of the proposed method as compared with the other conventional methods are the robustness and no need to calculate and invert large admittance or Jacobian matrices. Therefore, the simulation time and the amount of computer memory, required for processing data especially for the large systems, decreases.

Optimal sizing of combined PV-energy storage for a grid-connected residential building

In this paper, load profile and operational goal are used to find optimal sizing of combined PV-energy storage for a future grid-connected residential building. As part of this approach, five operational goals are introduced and the annual cost for each operation goal has been assessed. Finally, the optimal sizing for combined PV-energy storage has been determined, using direct search method. In addition, sensitivity of the annual cost to different parameters has been analyzed.

Output feedback optimal control with contraints

In Chapters 1 through 9 of the book (with the exception of a brief discussion on observers and integral action in Section 5.5 of Chapter 5) we considered constrained optimal control problems for systems without uncertainty, that is, with no unmodelled dynamics or disturbances, and where the full state was available for measurement. More realistically, however, it is necessary to consider control problems for systems with uncertainty. This chapter addresses some of the issues that arise in this situation. As in Chapter 9, we adopt a stochastic description of uncertainty, which associates probability distributions to the uncertain elements, that is, disturbances and initial conditions. (See Section 12.6 for references to alternative approaches to model uncertainty.) When incomplete state information exists, a popular observer-based control strategy in the presence of stochastic disturbances is to use the certainty equivalence [CE] principle, introduced in Section 5.5 of Chapter 5 for deterministic systems. In the stochastic framework, CE consists of estimating the state and then using these estimates as if they were the true state in the control law that results if the problem were formulated as a deterministic problem (that is, without uncertainty). This strategy is motivated by the unconstrained problem with a quadratic objective function, for which CE is indeed the optimal solution (˚Astr¨om 1970, Bertsekas 1976). One of the aims of this chapter is to explore the issues that arise from the use of CE in RHC in the presence of constraints. We then turn to the obvious question about the optimality of the CE principle. We show that CE is, indeed, not optimal in general. We also analyse the possibility of obtaining truly optimal solutions for single input linear systems with input constraints and uncertainty related to output feedback and stochastic disturbances.We first find the optimal solution for the case of horizon N = 1, and then we indicate the complications that arise in the case of horizon N = 2. Our conclusion is that, for the case of linear constrained systems, the extra effort involved in the optimal feedback policy is probably not justified in practice. Indeed, we show by example that CE can give near optimal performance. We thus advocate this approach in real applications.