The future of outsourcing in the Asia-Pacific region: Implications for research and practice—panel report from PACIS 2014

This paper summarizes a panel discussion held at the 18th Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS) in Chengdu, China, 2014, with the same title. The panel discussed the future of outsourcing in the Asia-Pacific region (specifically the importance of outsourcing, new trends, and issues in outsourcing). This paper provides directions for future research that surpasses regional specificity (i.e., the Asia-Pacific region), and contributes to research interests on outsourcing in general.

Space Station Design Report 2007

Design Proposal for the Blue Lunar Support Hub The conceptual design of a space station is one of the most challenging tasks in aerospace engineering. The history of the space station Mir and the assembly of the International Space Station demonstrate that even within the assembly phase quick solutions have to be found to cope with budget and technical problems or changing objectives. This report is the outcome of the conceptual design of the Space Station Design Workshop (SSDW) 2007, which took place as an international design project from the 16th to the 21st of July 2007 at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR), University of Sydney, Australia. The participants were tasked to design a human-tended space station in low lunar orbit (LLO) focusing on supporting future missions to the moon in a programmatic context of space exploration beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). The design included incorporating elements from systems engineering to interior architecture. The customised, intuitive, rapid-turnaround software tools enabled the team to successfully tackle the complex problem of conceptual design of crewed space systems. A strong emphasis was put on improving the integration of the human crew, as it is the major contributor to mission success, while always respecting the boundary conditions imposed by the challenging environment of space. This report documents the methodology, tools and outcomes of the Space Station Design Workshop during the SSDW 2007. The design results produced by Team Blue are presented.

Report: The Canadian Best Practices Educational Toolkits: Translating evidence-based stroke recommendations into practical implementation resources

The Canadian Best Practice Recommendations for Stroke Care are intended to reduce variations in stroke care and facilitate closure of the gap between evidence and practice (Lindsay et al., 2010). The publication of best practice recommendations is only the beginning of this process. The guidelines themselves are not sufficient to change practice and increase consistency in care. Therefore, a key objective of the Canadian Stroke Network (CSN) Best Practices Working Group (BPWG) is to encourage and facilitate ongoing professional development and training for health care professionals providing stroke care. This is addressed through a multi-factorial approach to the creation and dissemination of inter-professional implementation tools and resources. The resources developed by CSN span pre-professional education, ongoing professional development, patient education and may be used to inform systems change. With a focus on knowledge translation, several inter-professional point-of-care tools have been developed by the CSN in collaboration with numerous professional organizations and expert volunteers. These resources are used to facilitate awareness, understanding and applications of evidence-based care across stroke care settings. Similar resources are also developed specifically for stroke patients, their families and informal caregivers, and the general public. With each update of the Canadian Best Practice Recommendations for Stroke Care, the BPWG and topic-specific writing groups propose priority areas for ongoing resource development. In 2010, two of these major educational initiatives were undertaken and recently completed—one to support continuing education for health care professionals regarding secondary stroke prevention and the other to educate families, informal caregivers and the public about pediatric stroke. This paper presents an overview of these two resources, and we encourage health care professionals to integrate these into their personal learning plans and tool kits for patients.

Smell and taste dysfunction following minor stroke: A case report

Smell (olfactory) and taste (gustatory) are key senses in the regulation of nourishment and individual safety. Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions have been infrequently reported together in patients following stroke (Landis et al., 2006; Leopold et al., 2006). This case report details two patients who experienced smell and taste dysfunction following minor stroke events. Symptoms reported included hyposmia (diminished sense of smell) and anosmia (complete loss of smell), and dysgeusia (distorted taste). Patients' sense of smell and taste were assessed in an ambulatory care stroke prevention clinic eight months following their strokes. Patient A presented with minor stroke due to a lesion in the anterior circulation, patient B with a lesion in the posterior circulation. Both patients reported intense olfactory and gustatory dysfunction immediately following their strokes. Examination revealed a general inability to detect subtle odours and the ability to identify only 'sweet' tastes for both patients. In addition, both patients reported heavily salting or sweetening their food to mask the distorted and unpleasant taste, which also impacted comorbid conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. Patients and their spouses reported a decrease in their appreciation of family-related activities due to the patients' olfactory and gustatory dysfunction. Patients reported weight loss, lack of energy and strength, likely due to poor nutrition. Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions are potentially deleterious outcomes following minor stroke and should be assessed by health care professionals prior to patient discharge. Assistance may be required to promote the health and well-being of patients and their carers if smell and taste are impacted by the stroke event.

Editorial: Structure of the case report

The CJNN is one of only two international nursing journals with a focus on neuroscience nursing. We at CJNN (the editorial staff and CANN board of directors) have had to make the difficult decision to reduce publication frequency from quarterly (four times per year) down to three editions per year. The reason behind this decision relates to the current lack of submitted articles for peer review and potential publication in the journal; it is difficult to put out a quality edition with only one or two new manuscripts. We would like to encourage Canadian neuroscience nurses to share their insights and expertise with colleagues by writing about challenges and achievements in patient care, experiences encountered on a daily basis, or about unique/interesting cases that may inform others in their practice.

Submission to the Productivity Commission draft report business set-up, transfer and closure

The Commission has released a Draft Report on Business Set-Up, Transfer and Closure for public consultation and input. It is pleasing to note that three chapters of the Draft Report address aspects of personal and corporate insolvency. Nevertheless, we continue to make the submission to national policy inquiries and discussions that a comprehensive review should be undertaken of the regulation of insolvency and restructuring in Australia. The last comprehensive review of the insolvency system was by the Australian Law Reform Commission (the Harmer Report) and was handed down in 1988. Whilst there have been aspects of our insolvency laws that have been reviewed since that time, none has been able to provide the clear and comprehensive analysis that is able to come from a more considered review. Such a review ought to be conducted by the Australian Law Reform Commission or similar independent panel set up for the task. We also suggest that there is a lack of data available to assist with addressing questions raised by the Draft Report. There is a need to invest in finding out, in a rigorous and informed way, how the current law operates. Until there is a willingness to make a public investment in such research with less reliance upon the anecdotal (often from well-meaning but ultimately inadequately informed participants and others) the government cannot be sure that the insolvency regime we have provides the most effective regime to underpin Australia’s commercial and financial dealings, nor that any change is justified. We also make the submission that there are benefits in a serious investigation into a merged regulatory architecture of personal and corporate insolvency and a combined personal and corporate insolvency regulator.

Understanding the performance of green commercial buildings: a Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre (SBEnrc) briefing report

Efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the buildings sector have been focused on encouraging green design, construction and building operation; however, the business case is not very compelling if considering the energy cost savings alone. In recent years green building has been driven by a sense that it will improve the productivity of occupants,something with much greater economic returns than energy savings. Reducing energy demand in green commercial buildings in a way that encourages greater productivity is not yet well understood as it involves a set of complex and interdependent factors. This project investigates these factors and focuses on the performance of and interaction between: green design elements, internal environmental quality, occupant experience, tenant/leasing agreements, and building regulation and management. This paper suggests six areas of strategic research that are needed to understand how conditions can be created to support productivity in green buildings, and deliver significant energy consumption reductions.

‘Appreciate A Mate’ Helping others to feel good about themselves. Safe and Well Online: A report on the development and evaluation of a positive messaging social marketing campaign for young people.

This report describes the Year Two/Campaign Two processes, and articulates findings from the major project components designed to address the challenges noted above (see Figure 1). Three major components comprise the Safe and Well Online project: 1) A participatory design (PD) process involving young people and sector partners (UWS) for; 2) campaign development (Zuni & Digital Arts Network); and 3) a cohort study (University of South Australia) to evaluate campaign effectiveness and attitude and behaviour change. Each sub-study comprehensively considered the ethical requirements of conducting online research with minors. The theoretical and methodological framework for measuring campaign engagement and efficacy (Sub-studies 3, 4 and 5) drew on the Model of Goal Directed Behaviour (MGB) (Perugini & Bagozzi 2001) and Nudge Theory (Thaler & Sunstein, 2008). This report extends the findings and conclusions of the Year One Pilot Study ‘‘Keep it Tame’’ (Spears et.al, 2015), and details the development and evaluation of the second of four Safe and Well Online Campaigns—‘‘Appreciate A Mate’: Helping others feel good about themselves’.

Young drivers’ responses to anti-speeding advertisements: Comparison of self-report and objective measures of persuasive processing and outcomes

Objective Self-report measures are typically used to assess the effectiveness of road safety advertisements. However, psychophysiological measures of persuasive processing (i.e., skin conductance response [SCR]) and objective driving measures of persuasive outcomes (i.e., in-vehicle GPS devices) may provide further insights into the effectiveness of these advertisements. This study aimed to explore the persuasive processing and outcomes of two anti-speeding advertisements by incorporating both self-report and objective measures of speeding behaviour. In addition, this study aimed to compare the findings derived from these different measurement approaches. Methods Young drivers (N = 20, Mage = 21.01 years) viewed either a positive or negative emotion-based anti-speeding television advertisement. Whilst viewing the advertisement, SCR activity was measured to assess ad-evoked arousal responses. The RoadScout® GPS device was then installed into participants’ vehicles for one week to measure on-road speed-related driving behaviour. Self-report measures assessed persuasive processing (emotional and arousal responses) and actual driving behaviour. Results There was general correspondence between the self-report measures of arousal and the SCR and between the self-report measure of actual driving behaviour and the objective driving data (as assessed via the GPS devices). Conclusions This study provides insights into how psychophysiological and GPS devices could be used as objective measures in conjunction with self-report measures to further understand the persuasive processes and outcomes of emotion-based anti-speeding advertisements.

Pivotal people, pivotal journeys: Interim report on the impact of a fundraising study tour on CEOs and their organisations

A longitudinal qualitative study was conducted with CEOs of 12 fundraising organisations across Australia to answer the question - how mights a change in the CEO's fundraising knowledge improve fundraising activity and outcomes for their organisation? The CEOs along with the inaugural Australian Grantmaker of the Year, Caitriona Fay from Perpetual and lead researcher Dr Wendy Scaife travelled to San Antonio, Texas, USA to attend the annual Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) conference in March 2014. Participants identified five main success factors for such group learning initiatives about fundraising: - Getting away from the day to day business of running the organisation - Informal, social time to debrief and get to know others - Diversity of organisations whereby no one was in direct competition to others - Commitment, openness and willingness of individuals to participate - Group facilitation This research has been supported by the Perpetual Foundation – Trustees Endowment, The Edward Corbould Charitable Trust, and the Samuel and Eileen Gluyas Charitable Trust under the management of Perpetual Trustee Company Ltd.

University students' intentions to report cyberbullying

Little is known about the prevalence of cyberbullying among university students and less about whether they utilise anti-bullying policies. However, failure to report cyberbullying incidents to authorities would lessen the efficacy of these policies. This study investigated the prevalence of cyberbullying among university students and their reporting intentions for cyberbullying incidents. Two hundred and eighty- two students completed a survey on their intentions to report cyberbullying. Results found cyberbullying exists among university students and they would report to authorities if the policy outlined specific information. Students who had been cyber victimised were more likely to report than those students who had not been cyberbullied. Implications for universities are discussed.

Submission to ALRC IP 46 – Interim Report 127

In Chapter 6 of IP46, vested property rights are recognised to include “copyright and other intellectual property rights”. For the purposes of the Inquiry “the ALRC [identified it was to consider] ‘vested property rights’ more in its broad, rhetorical sense, than in its technical sense, in which there are distinct shades of meaning of ‘vested’”. However, the Interim Report states that any ‘vested right’ of users of copyright works “has not been identified yet in law”. It is assumed from this that the ALRC is proposing not to further consider the contracting out of the fair dealing exceptions. In light of its prior stated purpose it is submitted this is not appropriate...

Brief report: Intestinal dysbiosis in ankylosing spondylitis

Objective Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a common, highly heritable immune-mediated arthropathy that occurs in genetically susceptible individuals exposed to an unknown but likely ubiquitous environmental trigger. There is a close relationship between the gut and spondyloarthritis, as exemplified in patients with reactive arthritis, in whom a typically self-limiting arthropathy follows either a gastrointestinal or urogenital infection. Microbial involvement in AS has been suggested; however, no definitive link has been established. The aim of this study was to determine whether the gut in patients with AS carries a distinct microbial signature compared with that in the gut of healthy control subjects. Methods Microbial profiles for terminal ileum biopsy specimens obtained from patients with recent-onset tumor necrosis factor antagonist-naive AS and from healthy control subjects were generated using culture-independent 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing and analysis techniques. Results Our results showed that the terminal ileum microbial communities in patients with AS differ significantly (P < 0.001) from those in healthy control subjects, driven by a higher abundance of 5 families of bacteria (Lachnospiraceae [P = 0.001], Ruminococcaceae [P = 0.012], Rikenellaceae [P = 0.004], Porphyromonadaceae [P = 0.001], and Bacteroidaceae [P = 0.001]) and a decrease in the abundance of 2 families of bacteria (Veillonellaceae [P = 0.01] and Prevotellaceae [P = 0.004]). Conclusion We show evidence for a discrete microbial signature in the terminal ileum of patients with AS compared with healthy control subjects. The microbial composition was demonstrated to correlate with disease status, and greater differences were observed between disease groups than within disease groups. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that genes associated with AS act, at least in part, through effects on the gut microbiome.

Associated schools of construction of southern Africa infrastructure design and delivery workshop - Report. CIB task group 91 infrastructure

This workshop comprised a diverse group of African construction experts, ranging far wider than RSA. Each of the attendees had attended the annual ASOCSA conference and was additionally provided with a short workshop pre-brief. The aim was to develop a view of their 15-20 year vision of construction improvement in RSA and the steps necessary to get there. These included sociological, structural, technical and process changes. Whilst some suggestions are significantly challenging, none are impossible, given sufficient collaboration between government, industry, academia and NGOs. The highest priority projects (more properly, programmes) were identified and further explored. These are: 1. Information Hub (‘Open Africa’). Aim – to utilise emerging trends in Open Data to provide a force for African unity. 2. Workforce Development. Aim – to rebuild a competent, skilled construction industry for RSA projects and for export. 3. Modular DIY Building. Aim – to accelerate the development of sustainable, cost-efficient and desirable housing for African economic immigrants and others living in makeshift and slum dwellings. Open Data is a maturing theme in different cities and governments around the world and the workshop attendees were very keen to seize such a possibility to assist in developing an environment where Africans can share information and foster collaboration. It is likely that NGOs might be keen to follow up such an initiative. There are significant developments taking place around the world in the construction sector currently, with comparatively large savings being made for taxpayers (20% plus in the UK). Not all of these changes would be easy to transplant to RSA (even more so to much of the rest of Africa). Workforce development was a keen plea amongst the attendees, who seemed concerned that expertise has leaked away and is not being replaced with sufficient intensity. It is possible today to develop modular buildings in such a way that even unskilled residents can assist in their construction, and even their appropriate design. These buildings can be sited nearly autonomously from infrastructures, thus relieving the tensions on cities and townships, whilst providing humane accommodation for the economically disadvantaged. Development of suitable solutions could either be conducted with other similarly stressed countries or developed in-country and the expertise exported. Finally, it should be pointed out that this was very much a first step. Any opportunity to collaborate from an Australian, QUT or CIB perspective would be welcomed, whilst acknowledging that the leading roles belong to RSA, CSIR, NRF, ASOCSA and the University of KwaZulu-Natal.