Measuring episodic memory: A novel approach with an indefinite number of alternative forms

Both clinical practice and clinical research settings can require successive administrations of a memory test, particularly when following the trajectory of suspected memory decline in older adults. However, relatively few verbal episodic memory tests have alternative forms. We set out to create a broad based memory test to allow for the use of an essentially unlimited number of alternative forms. Four tasks for inclusion in such a test were developed. These tasks varied the requirement for recall as opposed to recognition, the need to form an association between unrelated words, and the need to discriminate the most recent list from earlier lists, all of which proved useful. A total of 115 participants completed the battery of tests and were used to show that the test could differentiate between older and younger adults; a sub-sample of 73 participants completed alternative forms of the tests to determine test-retest reliability and the amount of learning to learn.

Measuring quality : how does this improve construction performance?

The paper charts the history and development of the Hong Kong Housing Department (HKHD) Performance Assessment Scoring System (PASS) from 1990 to the present day and examines its effect on facilitating change to the quality of construction work of building contractors engaged in the production of public sector housing projects Hong Kong. The paper builds partly on empirical research carried out by the author as part of a doctoral thesis from 2000 to 2005, on experiential knowledge and also on some relevant case studies. The outcomes from this earlier research and validation of PASS based on results derived from the system since the research was originally undertaken are of benefit to practitioners and academics working and studying in the areas of performance assessment and organisational culture and change. The conclusions presented in the paper further underpin the connection established in previous research between strong organisational culture and project and corporate success. Organisational culture was measured using a survey instrument originally developed by Denison and Neale (1994), adapted for the environment of the study, and corporate success was measured by the PASS system mentioned above. The major results of the original study indicate that there is significant linkage between strong organisational cultures and business success and the detailed findings were that, (1) strong organisational culture was positively associated a high level of company effectiveness, (2) a high level of company effectiveness was positively associated with the cultural traits of ‘consistency’, ‘adaptability’ and ‘mission’, and (3) a high level of company effectiveness was positively associated with the combined cultural traits represented by the dimensions of ‘external focus’ and ‘stable culture’. Several opportunities to take forward this research have been identified, including extending the study to other countries and also longitudinally re-evaluating some of the original case studies to ascertain how organisational cultures have changed or further developed in relation to the changing construction climate in Hong Kong.

Measuring factors that influence the utilisation of preventive care services provided by general practitioners in Australia

Background: Relatively little research attention has been given to the development of standardised and psychometrically sound scales for measuring influences relevant to the utilisation of health services. This study aims to describe the development, validation and internal reliability of some existing and new scales to measure factors that are likely to influence utilisation of preventive care services provided by general practitioners in Australia.----- Methods: Relevant domains of influence were first identified from a literature review and formative research. Items were then generated by using and adapting previously developed scales and published findings from these. The new items and scales were pre-tested and qualitative feedback was obtained from a convenience sample of citizens from the community and a panel of experts. Principal Components Analyses (PCA) and internal reliability testing (Cronbach's alpha) were then conducted for all of the newly adapted or developed scales utilising data collected from a self-administered mailed survey sent to a randomly selected population-based sample of 381 individuals (response rate 65.6 per cent).----- Results: The PCA identified five scales with acceptable levels of internal consistency were: (1) social support (ten items), alpha 0.86; (2) perceived interpersonal care (five items), alpha 0.87, (3) concerns about availability of health care and accessibility to health care (eight items), alpha 0.80, (4) value of good health (five items), alpha 0.79, and (5) attitudes towards health care (three items), alpha 0.75.----- Conclusion The five scales are suitable for further development and more widespread use in research aimed at understanding the determinants of preventive health services utilisation among adults in the general population.

Measuring Visual Consistency in 3D Rendering Systems

One of the major challenges facing a present day game development company is the removal of bugs from such complex virtual environments. This work presents an approach for measuring the correctness of synthetic scenes generated by a rendering system of a 3D application, such as a computer game. Our approach builds a database of labelled point clouds representing the spatiotemporal colour distribution for the objects present in a sequence of bug-free frames. This is done by converting the position that the pixels take over time into the 3D equivalent points with associated colours. Once the space of labelled points is built, each new image produced from the same game by any rendering system can be analysed by measuring its visual inconsistency in terms of distance from the database. Objects within the scene can be relocated (manually or by the application engine); yet the algorithm is able to perform the image analysis in terms of the 3D structure and colour distribution of samples on the surface of the object. We applied our framework to the publicly available game RacingGame developed for Microsoft(R) Xna(R). Preliminary results show how this approach can be used to detect a variety of visual artifacts generated by the rendering system in a professional quality game engine.

Measuring CRM and SCM benefits : a preliminary measurement model

Organizations invest heavily in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems, and their related infrastructure, presumably expecting positive benefits to the organization. Assessing the benefits of such applications is an important aspect of managing such systems. Considering the salient differences between CRM and SCM applications with other intra-organizational applications, existing Information Systems benefits measurement models and frameworks are ill-suited to gauge benefits of inter-organizational systems. This paper reports the preliminary findings of a measurement model developed to assess benefits of CRM and SCM applications. The preliminary model, which reflects the characteristics of the Analytic Theory, is derived using a review of 55 academic studies and 44 papers from the practice. Six hundred and six identified benefits were then synthesized in to 74 non-overlapping benefits, arranged under six dimensions.

Comparison of high-speed videokeratoscopy and ultrasound distance sensing for measuring the longitudinal corneal apex movements

Two different methods to measure binocular longitudinal corneal apex movements were synchronously applied. High-speed videokeratoscopy at a sampling frequency of 15 Hz and a customdesigned ultrasound distance sensor at 100 Hz were used for the left and the right eye, respectively. Four healthy subjects participated in the study. Simultaneously, cardiac electric cycle (ECG) was registered for each subject at 100 Hz. Each measurement took 20 s. Subjects were asked to suppress blinking during the measurements. A rigid headrest and a bite-bar were used to minimize undesirable head movements. Time, frequency and time-frequency representations of the acquired signals were obtained to establish their temporal and spectral contents. Coherence analysis was used to estimate the correlation between the measured signals. The results showed close correlation between both corneal apex movements and the cardiopulmonary system. Unraveling these relationships could lead to better understanding of interactions between ocular biomechanics and vision. The advantages and disadvantages of the two methods in the context of measuring longitudinal movements of the corneal apex are outlined.

Measuring building quality of shopping centres in Surabaya by Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)

Quality has been an important factor for shopping centers in competitive conditions. However, quality measurement has no standard. In Surabaya, only two regional shopping centers will be measured in this research. The objective is assessing quality of shopping centers building using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method and calculating the Building Quality Index. An overall ranking of Hierarchy priorities of quality criteria founded as a result from AHP analysis. Access and Circulation became the highest priority in affecting quality of shopping centers building according to respondents’ perception of quality. Weightened value as a result from comparison between two shopping centers as follows: Tunjungan Plaza get 0,732 point and Surabaya Plaza get 0,268 point. The first shopping center got higher weight than the second shopping center. The BQI for Tunjungan Plaza is 66% and for Surabaya Plaza is 64%.

Chart of accounts : a framework for measuring the economic and social contributions by older Australians

National Seniors Australia (2008) acknowledged the huge contributions that older people have made to Australian society in its policy statement, AdvantAGE Australia. National Seniors Australia commissioned this study to find out more about the extent of these contributions and the factors that influence these contributions. The key outcome of this study is a framework or ‘Chart of Accounts’ that allows users to a) track the participation of older Australians in paid and unpaid work; and b) estimate the value of economic and social contributions by older Australians as well as the value of losses for not utilising the knowledge and skills that older Australians have built up over a lifetime. Users can also make predictions of future contributions and participation in paid and unpaid work by using existing data as the baseline.

Developing a conceptual model for measuring the satisfaction levels of Malaysian contractors

The evaluation of satisfaction levels related to performance is an important aspect in increasing market share, improving profitability and enlarging opportunities for repeat business and can lead to the determination of areas to be improved, improving harmonious working relationships and conflict avoidance. In the construction industry, this can also result in improved project quality, enhanced reputation and increased competitiveness. Many conceptual models have been developed to measure satisfaction levels - typically to gauge client satisfaction, customer satisfaction and home buyer satisfaction - but limited empirical research has been carried out, especially in investigating the satisfaction of construction contractors. In addressing this, this paper provides a unique conceptual model or framework for contractor satisfaction based on attributes identified by interviews with practitioners in Malaysia. In addition to progressing research in this topic and being of potential benefit to Malaysian contractors, it is anticipated that the framework will also be useful for other parties - clients, designers, subcontractors and suppliers - in enhancing the quality of products and/or services generally.

Digital design communication : measuring learner technological prowess and self-efficacy in problem resolution

Currently the Bachelor of Design is the generic degree offered to the four disciplines of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Industrial Design, and Interior Design within the School of Design at the Queensland University of Technology. Regardless of discipline, Digital Communication is a core unit taken by the 600 first year students entering the Bachelor of Design degree. Within the design disciplines the communication of the designer's intentions is achieved primarily through the use of graphic images, with written information being considered as supportive or secondary. As such, Digital Communication attempts to educate learners in the fundamentals of this graphic design communication, using a generic digital or software tool. Past iterations of the unit have not acknowledged the subtle difference in design communication of the different design disciplines involved, and has used a single generic software tool. Following a review of the unit in 2008, it was decided that a single generic software tool was no longer entirely sufficient. This decision was based on the recognition that there was an increasing emergence of discipline specific digital tools, and an expressed student desire and apparent aptitude to learn these discipline specific tools. As a result the unit was reconstructed in 2009 to offer both discipline specific and generic software instruction, if elected by the student. This paper, apart from offering the general context and pedagogy of the existing and restructured units, will more importantly offer research data that validates the changes made to the unit. Most significant of this new data is the results of surveys that authenticate actual student aptitude versus desire in learning discipline specific tools. This is done through an exposure of student self efficacy in problem resolution and technological prowess - generally and specifically within the unit. More traditional means of validation is also presented that includes the results of the generic university-wide Learning Experience Survey of the unit, as well as a comparison between the assessment results of the restructured unit versus the previous year.

Sustainable infrastructure assets : capability for infrastructure capacity management

Building for a sustainable environment requires sustainable infrastructure assets. Infrastructure capacity management is the process of ensuring optimal provision of such infrastructure assets. Effectiveness in this process will enable the infrastructure asset owners and its stakeholders to receive full value on their investment. Business research has shown that an organisation can only achieve business value when it has the right capabilities. This paradigm can also be applied to infrastructure capacity management. With limited access to resources, the challenge for infrastructure organisations is to identify and develop core capabilities to enable infrastructure capacity management. This chapter explores the concept of capability and identifies the core capability needed in infrastructure capacity management. Through a case study of the Port of Brisbane, this chapter shows that infrastructure organisations must develop their intelligence gathering capability to effectively manage the capacity of their infrastructure assets.

Establishing indigeneity in African pluralities using PRO169 parameters and a case study for measuring their inclusivity

The concept of the indigenous person or group in Africa is a contentious one. The current argument is that there exist no indigenous people in Africa because all Africans are indigenous. The obverse considers those Africans who have not been touched by colonialism and lost their traditional cultures commensurate with attachments to the lands or a distinguishable traditional lifestyle to be indigenous. This paper argues in favor of the latter. People who live in the global telos and do not participate in a distinct traditional culture that has been attached to the land for centuries are not indigenous. It is argued that this cultural divergence between modern and traditional is the major identifying point to settle the indigenous-non indigenous African debate. Finally, the paper looks at inclusive development and provides a new political analysis model for quantifying inclusivity so as to measure the inclusivity of indigenous peoples.

Measuring the success of ABC training in South Africa: A case study in the production of Western Liberal broadcast news values

In 1993 the Australian Broadcasting Corporation was contracted by the Australian Government to assist in the reshaping of the South African Broadcasting Corporation from a state-run broadcaster to a respected and trusted national broadcaster for all people in the newly democratic South Africa. Broadcast journalism training was identified by ABC consultant Bob Wurth as possibly the greatest need for SABC Radio. This thesis examines the ABC's role in South Africa and the effectiveness of its radio journalism training project considering the organisational, structural, cultural and political constraints of the SABC. This thesis will show through interviews and participant observation the difficulties in achieving the production of Western Liberal journalism values at the SABC within the time constraints set by the project funded by the Australian Government and the particular South African morays.