Data modelling in the beginning school years

This paper argues for a renewed focus on statistical reasoning in the beginning school years, with opportunities for children to engage in data modelling. Some of the core components of data modelling are addressed. A selection of results from the first data modelling activity implemented during the second year (2010; second grade) of a current longitudinal study are reported. Data modelling involves investigations of meaningful phenomena, deciding what is worthy of attention (identifying complex attributes), and then progressing to organising, structuring, visualising, and representing data. Reported here are children's abilities to identify diverse and complex attributes, sort and classify data in different ways, and create and interpret models to represent their data.

Peter Alwast talks to Grant Stevens

This interview was published in the catalogue for Peter Alwast's solo exhibition, "Future Perfect", at the Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, in August 2011.

Image-based visual navigation for mobile robots

We introduce a new image-based visual navigation algorithm that allows the Cartesian velocity of a robot to be defined with respect to a set of visually observed features corresponding to previously unseen and unmapped world points. The technique is well suited to mobile robot tasks such as moving along a road or flying over the ground. We describe the algorithm in general form and present detailed simulation results for an aerial robot scenario using a spherical camera and a wide angle perspective camera, and present experimental results for a mobile ground robot.

Review : "Quality of life: the assessment, analysis and interpretation of patient-reported outcomes (2nd Ed.)" by Peter M. Fayers & David Machin

An updated version, this excellent text is a timely addition to the library of any nurse researching in oncology or other settings where individuals’ quality of life must be understood. Health-related quality of life should be a central aspect of studies concerned with health and illness. Indeed, considerable evidence has recently emerged in oncology and other research settings that selfreported quality of life is of great prognostic significance and may be the most reliable predictor of subsequent morbidity and mortality. From a nursing perspective, it is also gratifying to note that novel therapy and other oncology studies increasingly recognize the importance of understanding patients’ subjective experiences of an intervention over time and to ascertain whether patients perceive that a new intervention makes a difference to their quality of life and treatment outcomes. Measurements of quality of life are now routine in clinical trials of chemotherapy drugs and are often considered the prime outcome of interest in the cost/benefit analyses of these treatments. The authors have extensive experience in qualityof- life assessment in cancer clinical trials, where most of the pioneering work into quality of life has been conducted. That said, many of the health-related qualityof- life issues discussed are common to many illnesses, and researchers outside of cancer should find the book equally helpful.

Predicting invasion in grassland ecosystems: is exotic dominance the real embarrassment of richness?

Invasions have increased the size of regional species pools, but are typically assumed to reduce native diversity. However, global-scale tests of this assumption have been elusive because of the focus on exotic species richness, rather than relative abundance. This is problematic because low invader richness can indicate invasion resistance by the native community or, alternatively, dominance by a single exotic species. Here, we used a globally replicated study to quantify relationships between exotic richness and abundance in grass-dominated ecosystems in 13 countries on six continents, ranging from salt marshes to alpine tundra. We tested effects of human land use, native community diversity, herbivore pressure, and nutrient limitation on exotic plant dominance. Despite its widespread use, exotic richness was a poor proxy for exotic dominance at low exotic richness, because sites that contained few exotic species ranged from relatively pristine (low exotic richness and cover) to almost completely exotic-dominated ones (low exotic richness but high exotic cover). Both exotic cover and richness were predicted by native plant diversity (native grass richness) and land use (distance to cultivation). Although climate was important for predicting both exotic cover and richness, climatic factors predicting cover (precipitation variability) differed from those predicting richness (maximum temperature and mean temperature in the wettest quarter). Herbivory and nutrient limitation did not predict exotic richness or cover. Exotic dominance was greatest in areas with low native grass richness at the site- or regional-scale. Although this could reflect native grass displacement, a lack of biotic resistance is a more likely explanation, given that grasses comprise the most aggressive invaders. These findings underscore the need to move beyond richness as a surrogate for the extent of invasion, because this metric confounds monodominance with invasion resistance. Monitoring species' relative abundance will more rapidly advance our understanding of invasions.

Capability presence in the newly internationalizing firm

We investigate the enablers of early internationalization of the firm. We posit that for firms to internationalize early in their lifecycles, sets of capabilities must be present at the firm’s formative stage and that these capabilities build upon routines that the founders bring into the new firm. These capabilities are aligned to establish a platform for internationalization unencumbered by the administrative heritage often observed in well-established firms. We model this phenomenon, testing it in a cross-national setting of early internationalizing firms in Australia and the United States. To do so, we draw upon a dynamic capabilities framing, conceptualizing and measuring the dynamic capabilities that founders apply in their early internationalization activities.

The newly internationalizing firm and its capabilities

In this paper we investigate the enablers of early internationalization of the firm. We posit that for firms to internationalize early in their lifecycles, sets of capabilities must be present at the firm’s formative stage and that these capabilities build upon routines that the founders bring into the new firm. These capabilities align to establish a platform for internationalization unencumbered by the administrative heritage often observed in well-established firms that constrains expansion overseas. We model this phenomenon, testing it in an Australian sample of early internationalizing firms. To do so, we draw upon a dynamic capabilities framing, conceptualizing and measuring the dynamic capabilities that founders apply in their early internationalization activities.

Accused headmaster turned me into pedophile, says convicted cleric Peter Gilbert

A CLERGYMAN who allegedly raped boys at a north Queensland boarding school in the 1960s has claimed he was ordered to take female hormones by his headmaster, who encouraged the "romantic love" of children among staff. Former Anglican brother Peter Gilbert - sentenced to seven years' jail in 2006 for the rape and indecent assault of children in the 1980s in South Australia - has blamed St Barnabas headmaster the late Robert Waddington for turning him into a pedophile. In a statement to one of his alleged victims, Gilbert said Waddington was molesting children himself and the Anglican priest would absolve the young teacher of his abuse of children in the confessional. The account has emerged as the top ranks of the Anglican church in Australia and Britain have been rocked by allegations of the covering-up of complaints made in 1999 and 2003 about Waddington's abuse while headmaster at the boarding school in Ravenshoe, north Queensland, and later, when he was dean of Manchester. A full investigation is being demanded into the handling of the complaints by the former Archbishop of York, now Lord (David) Hope of Thornes, and Australian church officials, including the former bishop of north Queensland, Clyde Wood.

Author in waiting : self-portrait of Peter Goldsworthy as a boy

Review of His Stupid Boyhood by Peter Goldsworthy (Hamish Hamilton, 2013).

Herbivores and nutrients control grassland plant diversity via light limitation

Human alterations to nutrient cycles1, 2 and herbivore communities3, 4, 5, 6, 7 are affecting global biodiversity dramatically2. Ecological theory predicts these changes should be strongly counteractive: nutrient addition drives plant species loss through intensified competition for light, whereas herbivores prevent competitive exclusion by increasing ground-level light, particularly in productive systems8, 9. Here we use experimental data spanning a globally relevant range of conditions to test the hypothesis that herbaceous plant species losses caused by eutrophication may be offset by increased light availability due to herbivory. This experiment, replicated in 40 grasslands on 6 continents, demonstrates that nutrients and herbivores can serve as counteracting forces to control local plant diversity through light limitation, independent of site productivity, soil nitrogen, herbivore type and climate. Nutrient addition consistently reduced local diversity through light limitation, and herbivory rescued diversity at sites where it alleviated light limitation. Thus, species loss from anthropogenic eutrophication can be ameliorated in grasslands where herbivory increases ground-level light.

Empirical modelling of rolling shutter effect

We propose and evaluate a novel methodology to identify the rolling shutter parameters of a real camera. We also present a model for the geometric distortion introduced when a moving camera with a rolling shutter views a scene. Unlike previous work this model allows for arbitrary camera motion, including accelerations, is exact rather than a linearization and allows for arbitrary camera projection models, for example fisheye or panoramic. We show the significance of the errors introduced by a rolling shutter for typical robot vision problems such as structure from motion, visual odometry and pose estimation.

Queensland floods anniversary : Peter McCarron

"Today marks the one year anniversary of the devastating floods that hit Queensland. This is the second in our series of survival from the Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley floods on the 10th of January 2011. Today, Queensland Fire and Rescue officer Peter McCarron tells Amanda Gearing about the flood emergency in Toowoomba's central business district: torrential rain suddenly caused flash flooding of city streets and swept away dozens of people and hundreds of cars."

Interaction of erythrocyte eicosapentaenoic acid and physical activity predicts reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment

Objectives To evaluate relationships between self-reported physical activity, proportions of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCn3) in erythrocyte content (percentage of total fatty acids) and risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in older adults. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted. Community-dwelling male and female (n = 84) participants over the age of 65 years with and without MCI were tested for erythrocyte proportions of the LCn3s eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Physical activity was measured using a validated questionnaire. Results The interaction between erythrocyte EPA, but not DHA, and increased physical activity was associated with increased odds of a non-MCI classification. Conclusion An interaction between physical activity and erythrocyte EPA content (percentage of fatty acids) significantly predicted MCI status in older adults. Randomised control trials are needed to examine the potential for supplementation with EPA in combination with increased physical activity to mitigate the risk of MCI in ageing adults.

Intellectual property, innovation, and the environment (2014) edited by Peter Menell and Sarah Tran: A review

Peter S. Menell and Sarah M. Tran (ed.), Intellectual Property, Innovation and the Environment, Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton (MA): Edward Elgar, 2014, 756 pp Hardback 978 1 78195 160 6, http://www.e-elgar.com/bookentry_main.lasso?id=15063 There has been a longstanding deadlock over intellectual property and clean technologies in international climate talks. The United States — and other developed countries such as Japan, Denmark Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand — have pushed for stronger and longer protection of intellectual property rights related to clean technologies. BASIC countries — such as Brazil, South Africa, India, and China — have pushed for greater flexibilities in respect of intellectual property for the purpose of addressing climate change and global warming. Small island states, least developed countries, and nations vulnerable to climate change have called for climate-adaptation and climate-mitigation technologies to be available in the public domain. In the lead-up to the United Nations Climate Summit in New York on the 23rd September 2014, it is timely to consider the debate over intellectual property, innovation, the environment, and climate change.