Understanding the legal implications of data sharing, access and reuse in the Australian research landscape

Researchers are increasingly involved in data-intensive research projects that cut across geographic and disciplinary borders. Quality research now often involves virtual communities of researchers participating in large-scale web-based collaborations, opening their earlystage research to the research community in order to encourage broader participation and accelerate discoveries. The result of such large-scale collaborations has been the production of ever-increasing amounts of data. In short, we are in the midst of a data deluge. Accompanying these developments has been a growing recognition that if the benefits of enhanced access to research are to be realised, it will be necessary to develop the systems and services that enable data to be managed and secured. It has also become apparent that to achieve seamless access to data it is necessary not only to adopt appropriate technical standards, practices and architecture, but also to develop legal frameworks that facilitate access to and use of research data. This chapter provides an overview of the current research landscape in Australia as it relates to the collection, management and sharing of research data. The chapter then explains the Australian legal regimes relevant to data, including copyright, patent, privacy, confidentiality and contract law. Finally, this chapter proposes the infrastructure elements that are required for the proper management of legal interests, ownership rights and rights to access and use data collected or generated by research projects.

David F. Treagust : congenial soul, science educator, and international research leader

For almost a half century David F. Treafust has been an exemplary science educator who has contributed through his dedication and commitments to students, curriculum development and collaboration with teachers, and cutting edge research in science education that has impacted the field globally, nationally and locally. A hallmark of his outstanding career is his collaborative style that inspires others to produce their best work.

Enhancing workplace learning through collaborative HRD

Human resource development (HRD) has evolved a great deal over the past 20 years. Indeed, developments in HRD theory, research and practice have helped transform HRD from a reactive function focusing on administrative and bureaucratic issues to a proactive function focusing on creating learning and development opportunities for employees that not only allow them to achieve their potential but also make a substantial contribution to the longterm survival and sustainability of the organisation. HRD is now seen as an investment in the future of an organisation. This investment perspective is based on the recognition that HRD is linked to business strategy and the achievement of competitive advantage (Caravan et al. 2002). One reason for the shift in emphasis is that many of the traditional sources of competitive advantage (technology, economies of scale) have diminished in value. Nowadays it is the workforce that has come to be seen as an important source of competitive advantage for the organisation. However, not too long ago employees were viewed by management as a disposable resource rather than an asset to an organisation.

Digital economy future directions

Advances in information and communication technologies have brought about an information revolution, leading to fundamental changes in the way information is collected or generated, shared and distributed. The internet and digital technologies are re-shaping research, innovation and creativity. Economic research has highlighted the importance of information flows and the availability of information for access and re-use. Information is crucial to the efficiency of markets and enhanced information flows promote creativity, innovation and productivity. There is a rapidly expanding body of literature which supports the economic and social benefits of enabling access to and re-use of public sector information.1 (Note that a substantial research project associated with QUT’s Intellectual Property: Knowledge, Culture and Economy (IPKCE) Research Program is engaged in a comprehensive study and analysis of the literature on the economics of access to public sector information.)

Cultural chaos : Journalism, News and Power in a Globalised World

With examples drawn from media coverage of the War on Terror, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and the London underground bombings, Cultural Chaos explores the changing relationship between journalism and power in an increasingly globalised news culture. In this new text, Brian McNair examines the processes of cultural, geographic and political dissolution in the post-Cold War era and the rapid evolution of information and communication technologies. He investigates the impact of these trends on domestic and international journalism and on political processes in democratic and authoritarian societies across the world. Written in a lively and accessible style, Cultural Chaos provides students with an overview of the evolution of the sociology of journalism, a critical review of current thinking within media studies and an argument for a revision and renewal of the paradigms that have dominated the field since the early twentieth century. Separate chapters are devoted to new developments such as the rise of the blogosphere and satellite television news and their impact on journalism more generally. Cultural Chaos will be essential reading for all those interested in the emerging globalised news culture of the twenty-first century.

Free software as a democratic principle

Software forms an important part of the interface between citizens and their government. An increasing amount of government functions are being performed, controlled, or delivered electronically. This software, like all language, is never value-neutral, but must, to some extent, reflect the values of the coder and proprietor. The move that many governments are making towards e-governance, and the increasing reliance that is being placed upon software in government, necessitates a rethinking of the relationships of power and control that are embodied in software.

The internet and the changing global media environment

This chapter describes current trends in the global media environment, with a focus on their implications for the management of public agendas and political processes. It assesses the extent to which trends such as the growth of the blogosphere, "citizen journalism," and other forms if user-generated content, have complicated and problematized news and agenda management as engaged in by both media and political elites. It argues that, in large part due to the rise of the internet and the proliferation if online producers of information and commentary, alongside 24-hour news channels such as CNN and Al Jazeera, political and social actors today face a much more complex, chaotic communication environment than ever bifore, an environment characterized as one of cultural chaos. Having outlined the roots of this trend in the emergence of an expanded, globalized public sphere, the chapter goes on to ask if elite control over the political agenda has been eroded, and if it has, what the consequences for governmmt and the exercise if power might be. Can authoritarian regimes in China, the Middle East, and elsewhere survive the onset if internet-fueled global journalism, for example? In a political environment where public opinion is driven and buffeted by news coverage if unprecedented speed and volume, can democratic governments retain sufficient control over decision- and policy-making processes to enable competent social administration al'ld political management? Can the citizens of contemporary democracies use the emerging media environment to enhance elite accountability and strengthen the democratic process? The chapter concludes that the changing global media environment has the potmtial to strengthen democratic processes, though there is no sil'lgle template for the impact of the internet and other new media on specific countries.

Country of Origin and Internet Publication : Applying the Berne Convention in the Digital Age

Historically, determining the country of origin of a published work presented few challenges, because works were generally published physically – whether in print or otherwise – in a distinct location or few locations. However, publishing opportunities presented by new technologies mean that we now live in a world of simultaneous publication – works that are first published online are published simultaneously to every country in world in which there is Internet connectivity. While this is certainly advantageous for the dissemination and impact of information and creative works, it creates potential complications under the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (“Berne Convention”), an international intellectual property agreement to which most countries in the world now subscribe. Under the Berne Convention’s national treatment provisions, rights accorded to foreign copyright works may not be subject to any formality, such as registration requirements (although member countries are free to impose formalities in relation to domestic copyright works). In Kernel Records Oy v. Timothy Mosley p/k/a Timbaland, et al. however, the Florida Southern District Court of the United States ruled that first publication of a work on the Internet via an Australian website constituted “simultaneous publication all over the world,” and therefore rendered the work a “United States work” under the definition in section 101 of the U.S. Copyright Act, subjecting the work to registration formality under section 411. This ruling is in sharp contrast with an earlier decision delivered by the Delaware District Court in Håkan Moberg v. 33T LLC, et al. which arrived at an opposite conclusion. The conflicting rulings of the U.S. courts reveal the problems posed by new forms of publishing online and demonstrate a compelling need for further harmonization between the Berne Convention, domestic laws and the practical realities of digital publishing. In this article, we argue that even if a work first published online can be considered to be simultaneously published all over the world it does not follow that any country can assert itself as the “country of origin” of the work for the purpose of imposing domestic copyright formalities. More specifically, we argue that the meaning of “United States work” under the U.S. Copyright Act should be interpreted in line with the presumption against extraterritorial application of domestic law to limit its application to only those works with a real and substantial connection to the United States. There are gaps in the Berne Convention’s articulation of “country of origin” which provide scope for judicial interpretation, at a national level, of the most pragmatic way forward in reconciling the goals of the Berne Convention with the practical requirements of domestic law. We believe that the uncertainties arising under the Berne Convention created by new forms of online publishing can be resolved at a national level by the sensible application of principles of statutory interpretation by the courts. While at the international level we may need a clearer consensus on what amounts to “simultaneous publication” in the digital age, state practice may mean that we do not yet need to explore textual changes to the Berne Convention.

A randomized trial of a telephone-delivered exercise intervention for non-urban dwelling women newly diagnosed with breast cancer : exercise for health

Physical activity is important following breast cancer. Trials of non-face-to-face interventions are needed to assist in reaching women living outside major metropolitan areas. This study seeks to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a telephone-delivered, mixed aerobic and resistance exercise intervention for non-urban Australian women with breast cancer. A randomized controlled trial comparing an 8-month intervention delivered by exercise physiologists (n = 73) to usual care (n = 70). Sixty-one percent recruitment rate and 96% retention at 12 months; 79% of women in the intervention group received at least 75% of calls; odds (OR, 95% CI) of meeting intervention targets favored the intervention group for resistance training (OR 3.2; 1.2, 8.9) and aerobic (OR 2.1; 0.8, 5.5) activity. Given the limited availability of physical activity programs for non-urban women with breast cancer, results provide strong support for feasibility and modest support for the efficacy of telephone-delivered interventions.

Safety enhancement of operator protection systems on self-propelled mining equipment

In the long term, with development of skill, knowledge, exposure and confidence within the engineering profession, rigorous analysis techniques have the potential to become a reliable and far more comprehensive method for design and verification of the structural adequacy of OPS, write Nimal J Perera, David P Thambiratnam and Brian Clark. This paper explores the potential to enhance operator safety of self-propelled mechanical plant subjected to roll over and impact of falling objects using the non-linear and dynamic response simulation capabilities of analytical processes to supplement quasi-static testing methods prescribed in International and Australian Codes of Practice for bolt on Operator Protection Systems (OPS) that are post fitted. The paper is based on research work carried out by the authors at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) over a period of three years by instrumentation of prototype tests, scale model tests in the laboratory and rigorous analysis using validated Finite Element (FE) Models. The FE codes used were ABAQUS for implicit analysis and LSDYNA for explicit analysis. The rigorous analysis and dynamic simulation technique described in the paper can be used to investigate the structural response due to accident scenarios such as multiple roll over, impact of multiple objects and combinations of such events and thereby enhance the safety and performance of Roll Over and Falling Object Protection Systems (ROPS and FOPS). The analytical techniques are based on sound engineering principles and well established practice for investigation of dynamic impact on all self propelled vehicles. They are used for many other similar applications where experimental techniques are not feasible.