The new wave : a Brisbane perspective : La Boite Theatre Company's distinctive contribution

In 1967 Brisbane Repertory Theatre made a decision that was to change the city's cultural landscape in a significant and lasting way. Faced with crippling theatre rental costs, Brisbane Rep. found a realistic solution by converting one of its properties - an old Queenslander - into a unique theatre space. The theatre-in-the box that emerged, aptly called La Boite, opened on 23 June 1967 with a production of John Osborne's Look Back in Anger. This experimental space excited the imagination of a new, younger audience not previously interested in Brisbane Rep's essentially conservative fare. It attracted a new group of directors and actors keen to be part of a changing repertoire that embraced more radical, non-mainstream productions, some of which were of Australian plays. The decade after 1967 was a period of change and development unprecedented in La Boite's history. Since then the company has sustained and grown its commitment to Australian plays and the commissioning of new works. To what extent was this most significance moment in La Boite's transformational journey influenced by southern 'new waves' of change? With the benefit of hindsight, it is now time for a re-consideration of Brisbane's distinctive contribution to the New Wave.

Supply chain collaboration : capabilities for continuous innovation

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate how collaborative relationships enhance continuous innovation in the supply chain using case studies. Design/methodology/approach – The data were collected from semi-structured interviews with 23 managers in ten case studies. The main intention was to comprehend how these firms engaged in collaborative relationships and their importance for successful innovation. The study adopted a qualitative approach to investigating these factors. Findings – The findings demonstrate how differing relationships can impact on the operation of firms and their capacities to innovate. The ability to work together with partners has enabled firms to integrate and link operations for increased effectiveness as well as embark on both radical and incremental innovation. Research limitations/implications – The research into the initiatives and strategies for collaboration was essentially exploratory. A qualitative approach using case studies acknowledged that the responses from managers were difficult to quantify or gauge the extent of these factors. Practical implications – The findings have shown various methods where firms integrated with customers and suppliers in the supply chain. This was evident in the views of managers across all the firms examined, supporting the importance of collaboration and efficient allocation of resources throughout the supply chain. They were able to set procedures in their dealings with partners, sharing knowledge and processes, and subsequently joint-planning and investing with them for better operations, systems and processes in the supply chain. Originality/value – The case studies serve as examples for managers in logistics organisation who are contemplating strategies and issues on collaborative relationships. The study provides important lessons on how such relationships can impact on the operation of firms and their capability to innovate. Keywords Supply chain management, Innovation, Relationship marketing

Testing the effectiveness of a Practice Development intervention on changing the culture of evidence based practice in an acute care environment

In this age of evidence-based practice, nurses are increasingly expected to use research evidence in a systematic and judicious way when making decisions about patient care practices. Clinicians recognise the role of research when it provides valid, realistic answers in practical situations. Nonetheless, research is still perceived by some nurses as external to practice and implementing research findings into practice is often difficult. Since its conceptual platform in the 1960s, the emergence and growth of Nursing Development Units, and later, Practice Development Units has been described in the literature as strategic, organisational vehicles for changing the way nurses think about nursing by promoting and supporting a culture of inquiry and research-based practice. Thus, some scholars argue that practice development is situated in the gap between research and practice. Since the 1990s, the discourse has shifted from the structure and outcomes of developing practice to the process of developing practice, using a Practice Development methodology; underpinned by critical social science theory, as a vehicle for changing the culture and context of care. The nursing and practice development literature is dominated by descriptive reports of local practice development activity, typically focusing on reflection on processes or outcomes of processes, and describing perceived benefits. However, despite the volume of published literature, there is little published empirical research in the Australian or international context on the effectiveness of Practice Development as a methodology for changing the culture and context of care - leaving a gap in the literature. The aim of this study was to develop, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a Practice Development model for clinical practice review and change on changing the culture and context of care for nurses working in an acute care setting. A longitudinal, pre-test/post-test, non-equivalent control group design was used to answer the following research questions: 1. Is there a relationship between nurses' perceptions of the culture and context of care and nurses' perceptions of research and evidence-based practice? 2. Is there a relationship between engagement in a facilitated process of Practice Development and change in nurses' perceptions of the culture and context of care? 3. Is there a relationship between engagement in a facilitated process of Practice Development and change in nurses' perceptions of research and evidence-based practice? Through a critical analysis of the literature and synthesis of the findings of past evaluations of Nursing and Practice Development structures and processes, this research has identified key attributes consistent throughout the chronological and theoretical development of Nursing and Practice Development that exemplify a culture and context of care that is conducive to creating a culture of inquiry and evidence-based practice. The study findings were then used in the development, validation and testing of an instrument to measure change in the culture and context of care. Furthermore, this research has also provided empirical evidence of the relationship of the key attributes to each other and to barriers to research and evidence-based practice. The research also provides empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of a Practice Development methodology in changing the culture and context of care. This research is noteworthy in its contribution to advancing the discipline of nursing by providing evidence of the degree to which attributes of the culture and context of care, namely autonomy and control, workplace empowerment and constructive team dynamics, can be connected to engagement with research and evidence-based practice.

Groundwater Visualisation System (GVS): a software framework for developing low-end, scalable and robust software for 3D visualisation and animation of groundwater conceptual models

Effective management of groundwater requires stakeholders to have a realistic conceptual understanding of the groundwater systems and hydrological processes.However, groundwater data can be complex, confusing and often difficult for people to comprehend..A powerful way to communicate understanding of groundwater processes, complex subsurface geology and their relationships is through the use of visualisation techniques to create 3D conceptual groundwater models. In addition, the ability to animate, interrogate and interact with 3D models can encourage a higher level of understanding than static images alone. While there are increasing numbers of software tools available for developing and visualising groundwater conceptual models, these packages are often very expensive and are not readily accessible to majority people due to complexity. .The Groundwater Visualisation System (GVS) is a software framework that can be used to develop groundwater visualisation tools aimed specifically at non-technical computer users and those who are not groundwater domain experts. A primary aim of GVS is to provide management support for agencies, and enhancecommunity understanding.

Shareholder values, not shareholder value : the role of 'ethical funds' and 'ethical entrepreneurs' in connecting shareholders' values with their investments

This article rebuts the still-common assumption that managers of capitalist entities have a duty, principally or even exclusively, to maximise the monetary return to investors on their investments. It argues that this view is based on a misleadingly simplistic conception of human values and motivation. Not only is acting solely to maximise long-term shareholder value difficult, it displays, at best, banal single-mindedness and, at worst, sociopathy. In fact, real investors and managers have rich constellations of values that should be taken account of in all their decisions, including their business decisions. Awareness of our values, and public expression of our commitment to exemplify them, make for healthier investment and, in the long term, a healthier corporate world. Individuals and funds investing on the basis of such values, in companies that express their own, display humanity rather than pathology. Preamble I always enjoyed the discussions that Michael Whincop and I had about the interaction of ethics and economics. Each of us could see an important role for these disciplines, as well as our common discipline of law. We also shared an appreciation of the institutional context within which much of the drama of life is played out. In understanding the behaviour of individuals and the choices they make, it seemed axiomatic to each of us that ethics and economics have a lot to say. This was also true of the institutions in which they operate. Michael ·had a strong interest in 'the new institutional economics' I and I had a strong interest in 'institutionalising ethics' right through the 1990s.' This formed the basis of some fascinating and fruitful discussions. Professor Charles Sampford is Director, Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance, Foundation Professor of Law at Griffith University and President, International Institute for Public Ethics.DrVirginia Berry is a Research Fellow at theKey Centre for Ethics, Law,Justice andGovernance, Griffith University. Oliver Williamson, one of the leading proponents of the 'new institutional economics', published a number of influential works - see Williamson (1975, 1995,1996). Sampford (1991),' pp 185-222. The primary focus of discussions on institutionalising ethics has been in public sectorethics: see, for example, Preston and Sampford (2002); Sampford (1994), pp 114-38. Some discussion has, however, moved beyond the public sector to include business - see Sampford 200408299

The statistics of refractive error maps : managing wavefront aberration analysis without Zernike polynomials

The refractive error of a human eye varies across the pupil and therefore may be treated as a random variable. The probability distribution of this random variable provides a means for assessing the main refractive properties of the eye without the necessity of traditional functional representation of wavefront aberrations. To demonstrate this approach, the statistical properties of refractive error maps are investigated. Closed-form expressions are derived for the probability density function (PDF) and its statistical moments for the general case of rotationally-symmetric aberrations. A closed-form expression for a PDF for a general non-rotationally symmetric wavefront aberration is difficult to derive. However, for specific cases, such as astigmatism, a closed-form expression of the PDF can be obtained. Further, interpretation of the distribution of the refractive error map as well as its moments is provided for a range of wavefront aberrations measured in real eyes. These are evaluated using a kernel density and sample moments estimators. It is concluded that the refractive error domain allows non-functional analysis of wavefront aberrations based on simple statistics in the form of its sample moments. Clinicians may find this approach to wavefront analysis easier to interpret due to the clinical familiarity and intuitive appeal of refractive error maps.

Using samples to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of a surveillance process

Determining sensitivity and specificity of a postoperative infection surveillance process is a difficult undertaking. Because postoperative infections are rare, vast numbers of negative results exist, and it is often not reasonable to assess them all. This study gives a methodological framework for estimating sensitivity and specificity by taking only a small sample of the number of patients who test negative and comparing their findings to the reference or “gold standard” rather than comparing the findings of all patients to the gold standard. It provides a formula for deriving confidence intervals for these estimates and a guide to minimum requirements for sampling results.

Eyelid pressure on the cornea

The eyelids play an important role in lubricating and protecting the surface of the eye. Each blink serves to spread fresh tears, remove debris and replenish the smooth optical surface of the eye. Yet little is known about how the eyelids contact the ocular surface and what pressure distribution exists between the eyelids and cornea. As the principal refractive component of the eye, the cornea is a major element of the eye’s optics. The optical properties of the cornea are known to be susceptible to the pressure exerted by the eyelids. Abnormal eyelids, due to disease, have altered pressure on the ocular surface due to changes in the shape, thickness or position of the eyelids. Normal eyelids also cause corneal distortions that are most often noticed when they are resting closer to the corneal centre (for example during reading). There were many reports of monocular diplopia after reading due to corneal distortion, but prior to videokeratoscopes these localised changes could not be measured. This thesis has measured the influence of eyelid pressure on the cornea after short-term near tasks and techniques were developed to quantify eyelid pressure and its distribution. The profile of the wave-like eyelid-induced corneal changes and the refractive effects of these distortions were investigated. Corneal topography changes due to both the upper and lower eyelids were measured for four tasks involving two angles of vertical downward gaze (20° and 40°) and two near work tasks (reading and steady fixation). After examining the depth and shape of the corneal changes, conclusions were reached regarding the magnitude and distribution of upper and lower eyelid pressure for these task conditions. The degree of downward gaze appears to alter the upper eyelid pressure on the cornea, with deeper changes occurring after greater angles of downward gaze. Although the lower eyelid was further from the corneal centre in large angles of downward gaze, its effect on the cornea was greater than that of the upper eyelid. Eyelid tilt, curvature, and position were found to be influential in the magnitude of eyelid-induced corneal changes. Refractively these corneal changes are clinically and optically significant with mean spherical and astigmatic changes of about 0.25 D after only 15 minutes of downward gaze (40° reading and steady fixation conditions). Due to the magnitude of these changes, eyelid pressure in downward gaze offers a possible explanation for some of the day-to-day variation observed in refraction. Considering the magnitude of these changes and previous work on their regression, it is recommended that sustained tasks performed in downward gaze should be avoided for at least 30 minutes before corneal and refractive assessment requiring high accuracy. Novel procedures were developed to use a thin (0.17 mm) tactile piezoresistive pressure sensor mounted on a rigid contact lens to measure eyelid pressure. A hydrostatic calibration system was constructed to convert raw digital output of the sensors to actual pressure units. Conditioning the sensor prior to use regulated the measurement response and sensor output was found to stabilise about 10 seconds after loading. The influences of various external factors on sensor output were studied. While the sensor output drifted slightly over several hours, it was not significant over the measurement time of 30 seconds used for eyelid pressure, as long as the length of the calibration and measurement recordings were matched. The error associated with calibrating at room temperature but measuring at ocular surface temperature led to a very small overestimation of pressure. To optimally position the sensor-contact lens combination under the eyelid margin, an in vivo measurement apparatus was constructed. Using this system, eyelid pressure increases were observed when the upper eyelid was placed on the sensor and a significant increase was apparent when the eyelid pressure was increased by pulling the upper eyelid tighter against the eye. For a group of young adult subjects, upper eyelid pressure was measured using this piezoresistive sensor system. Three models of contact between the eyelid and ocular surface were used to calibrate the pressure readings. The first model assumed contact between the eyelid and pressure sensor over more than the pressure cell width of 1.14 mm. Using thin pressure sensitive carbon paper placed under the eyelid, a contact imprint was measured and this width used for the second model of contact. Lastly as Marx’s line has been implicated as the region of contact with the ocular surface, its width was measured and used as the region of contact for the third model. The mean eyelid pressures calculated using these three models for the group of young subjects were 3.8 ± 0.7 mmHg (whole cell), 8.0 ± 3.4 mmHg (imprint width) and 55 ± 26 mmHg (Marx’s line). The carbon imprints using Pressurex-micro confirmed previous suggestions that a band of the eyelid margin has primary contact with the ocular surface and provided the best estimate of the contact region and hence eyelid pressure. Although it is difficult to directly compare the results with previous eyelid pressure measurement attempts, the eyelid pressure calculated using this model was slightly higher than previous manometer measurements but showed good agreement with the eyelid force estimated using an eyelid tensiometer. The work described in this thesis has shown that the eyelids have a significant influence on corneal shape, even after short-term tasks (15 minutes). Instrumentation was developed using piezoresistive sensors to measure eyelid pressure. Measurements for the upper eyelid combined with estimates of the contact region between the cornea and the eyelid enabled quantification of the upper eyelid pressure for a group of young adult subjects. These techniques will allow further investigation of the interaction between the eyelids and the surface of the eye.

Multi-spectral fusion for surveillance systems

Surveillance systems such as object tracking and abandoned object detection systems typically rely on a single modality of colour video for their input. These systems work well in controlled conditions but often fail when low lighting, shadowing, smoke, dust or unstable backgrounds are present, or when the objects of interest are a similar colour to the background. Thermal images are not affected by lighting changes or shadowing, and are not overtly affected by smoke, dust or unstable backgrounds. However, thermal images lack colour information which makes distinguishing between different people or objects of interest within the same scene difficult. ----- By using modalities from both the visible and thermal infrared spectra, we are able to obtain more information from a scene and overcome the problems associated with using either modality individually. We evaluate four approaches for fusing visual and thermal images for use in a person tracking system (two early fusion methods, one mid fusion and one late fusion method), in order to determine the most appropriate method for fusing multiple modalities. We also evaluate two of these approaches for use in abandoned object detection, and propose an abandoned object detection routine that utilises multiple modalities. To aid in the tracking and fusion of the modalities we propose a modified condensation filter that can dynamically change the particle count and features used according to the needs of the system. ----- We compare tracking and abandoned object detection performance for the proposed fusion schemes and the visual and thermal domains on their own. Testing is conducted using the OTCBVS database to evaluate object tracking, and data captured in-house to evaluate the abandoned object detection. Our results show that significant improvement can be achieved, and that a middle fusion scheme is most effective.

Vibration of ship structures and its control

Noise and vibration in complex ship structures are becoming a prominent issue for ship building industry and ship companies due to the constant demand of building faster ships of lighter weight, and the stringent noise and libration regulation of the industry. In order to retain the full benefit of building faster ships without compromising too much on ride comfort and safety, noise and vibration control needs to be implemented. Due to the complexity of ship structures, the coupling of different wave types and multiple wave propagation paths, active control of global hull modes is difficult to implement and very expensive. Traditional passive control such as adding damping materials is only effective in the high frequency range. However, most severe damage to ship structures is caused by large structural deformation of hull structures and high dynamic stress concentration at low frequencies. The most discomfort and fatigue of passengers and the crew onboard ships is also due to the low frequency noise and vibration. Innovative approaches are therefore, required to attenuate the noise and vibration at low frequencies. This book was developed from several specialized research topics on vibration and vibration control of ship structures, mostly from the author's own PhD work at the University of Western Australia. The book aims to provide a better understanding of vibration characteristics of ribbed plate structures, plate/plate coupled structures and the mechanism governing wave propagation and attenuation in periodic and irregular ribbed structures as well as in complex ship structures. The book is designed to be a reference book for ship builders, vibro-acoustic engineers and researchers. The author also hopes that the book can stimulate more exciting future work in this area of research. It is the author's humble desire that the book can be some use for those who purchase it. This book is divided into eight chapters. Each chapter focuses on providing solution to address a particular issue on vibration problems of ship structures. A brief summary of each chapter is given in the general introduction. All chapters are inter-dependent to each other to form an integration volume on the subject of vibration and vibration control of ship structures and alike. I am in debt to many people in completing this work. In particular, I would like to thank Professor J. Pan, Dr N.H. Farag, Dr K. Sum and many others from the University of Western Australia for useful advices and helps during my times at the University and beyond. I would also like to thank my wife, Miaoling Wang, my children, Anita, Sophia and Angela Lin, for their sacrifice and continuing supports to make this work possible. Financial supports from Australian Research Council, Australian Defense Science and Technology Organization and Strategic Marine Pty Ltd at Western Australia for this work is gratefully acknowledged.

The 'authentic dancer' as a tool for audience engagement

An engagement with performance is an experiential event. To have a lived experience within a performance construct infers that the experience is somehow ‘more live’. This paper situates the body of the audience member as a site of understanding and meaning making, and challenges the role of the traditional ‘passive’ presentation format and ensuing ethical considerations within that assertion. It looks at the relationships between audience experience and a series of creative tools that facilitate subtle shifts in this traditional dance paradigm. Along with the tools of audience agency, liminality, variations of site and proximity – tools that create engagement via physical interactions with the audience – can ‘performer authenticity’ also become a tool of connection with the audience? This paper looks at the overarching field of contemporary dance, with a primary focus on Western contemporary dance and the traditional dance paradigms prevalent in the construction and presentation of that form. It outlines the role of the experiential within this form and highlights established research and creation tools that encourage audience connection via audience interaction. It also looks at the role of the dancer within this construct, citing both current qualitative research into audience responses, as well as current theory and creative practice from an international field of artists creating work with the ‘authentic dancer’.

Inertial motion capture and live performance (with a focus on dance)

3D Motion capture is a fast evolving field and recent inertial technology may expand the artistic possibilities for its use in live performance. Inertial motion capture has three attributes that make it suitable for use with live performance; it is portable, easy to use and can operate in real-time. Using four projects, this paper discusses the suitability of inertial motion capture to live performance with a particular emphasis on dance. Dance is an artistic application of human movement and motion capture is the means to record human movement as digital data. As such, dance is clearly a field in which the use of real-time motion capture is likely to become more common, particularly as projected visual effects including real-time video are already often used in dance performances. Understandably, animation generated in real-time using motion capture is not as extensive or as clean as the highly mediated animation used in movies and games, but the quality is still impressive and the ‘liveness’ of the animation has compensating features that offer new ways of communicating with an audience.

Assessment of lifetime cumulative sun exposure using a self-administered questionnaire : reliability of two approaches

Few studies have evaluated the reliability of lifetime sun exposure estimated from inquiring about the number of hours people spent outdoors in a given period on a typical weekday or weekend day (the time-based approach). Some investigations have suggested that women have a particularly difficult task in estimating time outdoors in adulthood due to their family and occupational roles. We hypothesized that people might gain additional memory cues and estimate lifetime hours spent outdoors more reliably if asked about time spent outdoors according to specific activities (an activity-based approach). Using self-administered, mailed questionnaires, test-retest responses to time-based and to activity-based approaches were evaluated in 124 volunteer radiologic technologist participants from the United States: 64 females and 60 males 48 to 80 years of age. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were used to evaluate the test-retest reliability of average number of hours spent outdoors in the summer estimated for each approach. We tested the differences between the two ICCs, corresponding to each approach, using a t test with the variance of the difference estimated by the jackknife method. During childhood and adolescence, the two approaches gave similar ICCs for average numbers of hours spent outdoors in the summer. By contrast, compared with the time-based approach, the activity-based approach showed significantly higher ICCs during adult ages (0.69 versus 0.43, P = 0.003) and over the lifetime (0.69 versus 0.52, P = 0.05); the higher ICCs for the activity-based questionnaire were primarily derived from the results for females. Research is needed to further improve the activity-based questionnaire approach for long-term sun exposure assessment. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18(2):464–71)

Approaches for calculation of holding costs in the context of greenfield residential development

There are increasing indications that the contribution of holding costs and its impact on housing affordability is very significant. Their importance and perceived high level impact can be gauged from considering the unprecedented level of attention policy makers have given them recently. This may be evidenced by the embedding of specific strategies to address burgeoning holding costs (and particularly those cost savings associated with streamlining regulatory assessment) within statutory instruments such as the Queensland Housing Affordability Strategy, and the South East Queensland Regional Plan. However, several key issues require further investigation. Firstly, the computation and methodology behind the calculation of holding costs varies widely. In fact, it is not only variable, but in some instances completely ignored. Secondly, some ambiguity exists in terms of the inclusion of various elements of holding costs and assessment of their relative contribution. Perhaps this may in part be explained by their nature: such costs are not always immediately apparent. They are not as visible as more tangible cost items associated with greenfield development such as regulatory fees, government taxes, acquisition costs, selling fees, commissions and others. Holding costs are also more difficult to evaluate since for the most part they must be ultimately assessed over time in an ever-changing environment based on their strong relationship with opportunity cost which is in turn dependant, inter alia, upon prevailing inflation and / or interest rates. This paper seeks to provide a more detailed investigation of those elements related to holding costs, and in so doing determine the size of their impact specifically on the end user. It extends research in this area clarifying the extent to which holding costs impact housing affordability. Geographical diversity indicated by the considerable variation between various planning instruments and the length of regulatory assessment periods suggests further research should adopt a case study approach in order to test the relevance of theoretical modelling conducted.

Accurate silhouette segmentation using motion detection and graph cuts

Acquiring accurate silhouettes has many applications in computer vision. This is usually done through motion detection, or a simple background subtraction under highly controlled environments (i.e. chroma-key backgrounds). Lighting and contrast issues in typical outdoor or office environments make accurate segmentation very difficult in these scenes. In this paper, gradients are used in conjunction with intensity and colour to provide a robust segmentation of motion, after which graph cuts are utilised to refine the segmentation. The results presented using the ETISEO database demonstrate that an improved segmentation is achieved through the combined use of motion detection and graph cuts, particularly in complex scenes.