Games and entertainment software

Games and the broader interactive entertainment industry are the major ‘born global/born digital’ creative industry. The videogame industry (formally referred to as interactive entertainment) is the economic sector that develops, markets and sells videogames to millions of people worldwide. There are over 11 countries with revenues of over $1 billion. This number was expected to grow 9.1 per cent annually to $48.9 in 2011 and $68 billion in 2012, making it the fastest-growing component of the international media sector (Scanlon, 2007; Caron, 2008).

Transfer pricing and multinational financial institutions : the case for replacing arm’s length price with a unitary approach

The international tax system, designed a century ago, has not kept pace with the modern multinational entity rendering it ineffective in taxing many modern businesses according to economic activity. One of those modern multinational entities is the multinational financial institution (MNFI). The recent global financial crisis provides a particularly relevant and significant example of the failure of the current system on a global scale. The modern MNFI is increasingly undertaking more globalised and complex trading operations. A primary reason for the globalisation of financial institutions is that they typically ‘follow-the-customer’ into jurisdictions where international capital and international investors are required. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently reported that from 1995-2009, foreign bank presence in developing countries grew by 122 per cent. The same study indicates that foreign banks have a 20 per cent market share in OECD countries and 50 per cent in emerging markets and developing countries. Hence, most significant is that fact that MNFIs are increasingly undertaking an intermediary role in developing economies where they are financing core business activities such as mining and tourism. IMF analysis also suggests that in the future, foreign bank expansion will be greatest in emerging economies. The difficulties for developing countries in applying current international tax rules, especially the current traditional transfer pricing regime, are particularly acute in relation to MNFIs, which are the biggest users of tax havens and offshore finance. This paper investigates whether a unitary taxation approach which reflects economic reality would more easily and effectively ensure that the profits of MNFIs are taxed in the jurisdictions which give rise to those profits. It has previously been argued that the uniqueness of MNFIs results in a failure of the current system to accurately allocate profits and that unitary tax as an alternative could provide a sounder allocation model for international tax purposes. This paper goes a step further, and examines the practicalities of the implementation of unitary taxation for MNFIs in terms of the key components of such a regime, along with their their implications. This paper adopts a two-step approach in considering the implications of unitary taxation as a means of improved corporate tax coordination which requires international acceptance and agreement. First, the definitional issues of the unitary MNFI are examined and second, an appropriate allocation formula for this sector is investigated. To achieve this, the paper asks first, how the financial sector should be defined for the purposes of unitary taxation and what should constitute a unitary business for that sector and second, what is the ‘best practice’ model of an allocation formula for the purposes of the apportionment of the profits of the unitary business of a financial institution.

For farmers, drought not the most dangerous predator on the horizon

Lack of water can be the least of a farmer’s worries in times of drought. Predatory banks can be just as deadly to a farmer’s livelihood. Former Queensland farmer and grazier Lynton Freeman has become increasingly anxious about the financial tightrope being walked by Australian farmers as the record floods of 2011 have given way in only three years to savage drought. He fears for hundreds of family farmers at risk — not from lack of water, but from lack of knowledge in how to manage their businesses through the drought and keep their heads above the financial water that will threaten many before this drought breaks.

Cell image classification using histograms, higher order statistics and adaboost

A cell classification algorithm that uses first, second and third order statistics of pixel intensity distributions over pre-defined regions is implemented and evaluated. A cell image is segmented into 6 regions extending from a boundary layer to an inner circle. First, second and third order statistical features are extracted from histograms of pixel intensities in these regions. Third order statistical features used are one-dimensional bispectral invariants. 108 features were considered as candidates for Adaboost based fusion. The best 10 stage fused classifier was selected for each class and a decision tree constructed for the 6-class problem. The classifier is robust, accurate and fast by design.

Pulse-coupled neural network performance for real-time identification of vegetation during forced landing

Safety concerns in the operation of autonomous aerial systems require safe-landing protocols be followed during situations where the mission should be aborted due to mechanical or other failure. This article presents a pulse-coupled neural network (PCNN) to assist in the vegetation classification in a vision-based landing site detection system for an unmanned aircraft. We propose a heterogeneous computing architecture and an OpenCL implementation of a PCNN feature generator. Its performance is compared across OpenCL kernels designed for CPU, GPU, and FPGA platforms. This comparison examines the compute times required for network convergence under a variety of images to determine the plausibility for real-time feature detection.

Characterising an ECG signal using statistical modelling : a feasibility study

For clinical use, in electrocardiogram (ECG) signal analysis it is important to detect not only the centre of the P wave, the QRS complex and the T wave, but also the time intervals, such as the ST segment. Much research focused entirely on qrs complex detection, via methods such as wavelet transforms, spline fitting and neural networks. However, drawbacks include the false classification of a severe noise spike as a QRS complex, possibly requiring manual editing, or the omission of information contained in other regions of the ECG signal. While some attempts were made to develop algorithms to detect additional signal characteristics, such as P and T waves, the reported success rates are subject to change from person-to-person and beat-to-beat. To address this variability we propose the use of Markov-chain Monte Carlo statistical modelling to extract the key features of an ECG signal and we report on a feasibility study to investigate the utility of the approach. The modelling approach is examined with reference to a realistic computer generated ECG signal, where details such as wave morphology and noise levels are variable.

Malnutrition coding shortfalls in Australian and New Zealand hospitals

Aim The International Classification of Diseases, version 10, Australian modification (ICD-10-AM) is used to classify diseases in hospital patients in Australia and New Zealand. ICD-10-AM defines malnutrition as ‘[body mass index] BMI <18.5 kg/m2 or unintentional weight loss of ≥5% with evidence of suboptimal intake resulting in subcutaneous fat loss and/or muscle wasting’. The Australasian Nutrition Care Day Survey (ANCDS) is the most comprehensive survey to evaluate malnutrition prevalence in acute care patients from Australian and New Zealand hospitals. This study determined if malnourished participants were assigned malnutrition-related codes according to ICD-10-AM. Methods The ANCDS recruited acute care patients from 56 hospitals. Hospital-based dietitians evaluated participants' nutritional status using BMI and Subjective Global Assessment (SGA). In keeping with the ICD-10-AM definition, malnutrition was defined as BMI <18.5 kg/m2, SGA-B (moderately malnourished) or SGA-C (severely malnourished). After 3 months, in this prospective cohort study, staff members from each hospital's health information/medical records department provided coding results for malnourished participants. Results Malnutrition was prevalent in 30% (n = 869) of the cohort (n = 2976) and a significantly small number of malnourished patients were coded for malnutrition (n = 162, 19%, P < 0.001). In 21 hospitals, none of the malnourished participants were coded. Conclusions This is the largest study to provide a snapshot of malnutrition coding in Australian and New Zealand hospitals. Findings highlight gaps in malnutrition documentation and/or subsequent coding, which could potentially result in significant loss of casemix-related revenue for hospitals. Dietitians must lead the way in developing structured processes for malnutrition identification, documentation and coding.

Reflections on tomorrow’s menu : evidence for inpatient meal preferences at a large tertiary public hospital

There are limited studies that describe patient meal preferences in hospital; however this data is critical to develop menus that address satisfaction and nutrition whilst balancing resources. This quality study aimed to determine preferences for meals and snacks to inform a comprehensive menu revision in a large (929 bed) tertiary public hospital. The method was based on Vivanti et al. (2008) with data collected by two final year dietetic students. The first survey comprised 72 questions, achieved a response rate of 68% (n = 192), with the second more focused at 47 questions achieving a higher response rate of 93% (n = 212). Findings showed over half the patients reporting poor or less than normal appetite, 20% describing taste issues, over a third with a LOS >7 days, a third with a MST _ 2 and less than half eating only from the general menu. Soup then toast was most frequently reported as eaten at home when unwell, and whilst most reported not missing any foods when in hospital (25%), steak was most commonly missed. Hot breakfasts were desired by the majority (63%), with over half preferring toast (even if cold). In relation to snacks, nearly half (48%) wanted something more substantial than tea/coffee/biscuits, with sandwiches (54%) and soup (33%) being suggested. Sandwiches at the evening meal were not popular (6%). Difficulties with using cutlery and meal size selection were identified as issues. Findings from this study had high utility and supported a collaborative and evidenced based approach to a successful major menu change for the hospital.

Let them eat steak : food preferences of patients in a tertiary public hospital

Information on foods patients like and dislike is the essential basis for planning menus which are acceptable to patients and promote adequate consumption. The aim of this study was to obtain quantitative data on the food preferences of inpatients at a large metropolitan public hospital for use in menu planning. Methodology was based on a study by Williams et al (1988), and included additional questions about appetite and taste changes. The survey used a 9 point hedonic scale to rate foods listed in random order and was modified to incorporate more contemporary foods than those used in the originalWilliams study. Surveys were conducted by final year University of Queensland dietetics students on Food Service Practicum at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (929 beds) in 2012. The first survey (220 questions, n = 157) had a response rate of 61%. The second included more sandwich fillings and salads (231 questions, n = 219, response rate 67%). Total number surveyed was 376. Results showed the most preferred foods were roast potato, grilled steak, ice cream, fresh strawberries, roast lamb, roast beef, grapes and banana. The least preferred foods were grapefruit, soybeans, lentils, sardines, prune juice and grapefruit juice. Patients who reported taste changes (10%) had similar food preferences to those who didn’t report taste changes. Patients who reported poor/very poor appetite (10%) generally scored foods lower than those who reported OK (22%), good/very good appetite (65%). The results of this study informed planning for a new patient menu at the RBWH in December 2012.

Introduction to the first international workshop on process management for highly dynamic and pervasive scenarios(PM4HDPS 2008)

Nowadays, process management systems (PMSs) are widely used in many business scenarios, e.g. by government agencies, by insurance companies, and by banks. Despite this widespread usage, the typical application of such systems is predominantly in the context of static scenarios, instead of pervasive and highly dynamic scenarios. Nevertheless, pervasive and highly dynamic scenarios could also benefit from the use of PMSs.

Using a smartphone application for customer-centric banking

The banking industry is under pressure. In order to compete, banks should adapt to concentrating on the specific customer needs, following an outside-in perspective. This paper presents the design of a business model for banks that considers this development by providing flexible and comprehensive support for retail banking clients. It is demonstrated that the identification of customer processes and the consequent alignment of banking services to those processes implies great potential to increase customer retention in banking. It will be shown that information technology – especially smartphones – can serve as an interface between customer and suppliers to enable an alignment of offerings to customer processes. This approach enables the integration of banks into their customers’ lifestyle, creating emotional value added, improving the personal relationship and the customers’ affiliation with the bank. The paper presents the design of such a customer-process-centric smartphone application and derives success factors for implementation.

A dual inverter-based supercapacitor direct integration scheme for wind energy conversion systems

Interfacing converters used in connecting energy storage systems like supercapacitors and battery banks to wind power systems introduce additional cost and power losses. This paper therefore presents a direct integration scheme for supercapacitors used in mitigating short-term power fluctuations in wind power systems. This scheme uses a dual inverter topology for both grid connection and interfacing a supercapacitor bank. The main inverter of the dual inverter system is powered by the rectified output of a wind turbine-coupled permanent-magnet synchronous generator. The auxiliary inverter is directly connected to the supercapacitor bank. With this approach, an interfacing converter is not required, and there are no associated costs and power losses incurred. The operation of the proposed system is discussed in detail. Simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the efficacy of the proposed system in suppressing short-term wind power fluctuations.

Diode-clamped three-level inverter-based battery/supercapacitor direct integration scheme for renewable energy systems

This paper describes a diode-clamped three-level inverter-based battery/supercapacitor direct integration scheme for renewable energy systems. The study is carried out for three different cases. In the first case, one of the two dc-link capacitors of the inverter is replaced by a battery bank and the other by a supercapacitor bank. In the second case, dc-link capacitors are replaced by two battery banks. In the third case, ordinary dc-link capacitors are replaced by two supercapacitor banks. The first system is supposed to mitigate both long-term and short-term power fluctuations while the last two systems are intended for smoothening long-term and short-term power fluctuations, respectively. These topologies eliminate the need for interfacing dc-dc converters and thus considerably improve the overall system efficiency. The major issue in aforementioned systems is the unavoidable imbalance in dc-link voltages. An analysis on the effects of unbalance and a space vector modulation method, which can produce undistorted current even in the presence of such unbalances, are presented in this paper. Furthermore, small vector selection-based power sharing and state of charge balancing techniques are proposed. Experimental results, obtained from a laboratory prototype, are presented to verify the efficacy of the proposed modulation and control techniques.

Computation of ECG signal features using MCMC modelling in software and FPGA reconfigurable hardware

Computational optimisation of clinically important electrocardiogram signal features, within a single heart beat, using a Markov-chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method is undertaken. A detailed, efficient data-driven software implementation of an MCMC algorithm has been shown. Initially software parallelisation is explored and has been shown that despite the large amount of model parameter inter-dependency that parallelisation is possible. Also, an initial reconfigurable hardware approach is explored for future applicability to real-time computation on a portable ECG device, under continuous extended use.

Cybercrime attribution : an Eastern European case study

Phishing and related cybercrime is responsible for billions of dollars in losses annually. Gartner reported more than 5 million U.S. consumers lost money to phishing attacks in the 12 months ending in September 2008 (Gartner 2009). This paper asks whether the majority of organised phishing and related cybercrime originates in Eastern Europe rather than elsewhere such as China or the USA. The Russian “Mafiya” in particular has been popularised by the media and entertainment industries to the point where it can be hard to separate fact from fiction but we have endeavoured to look critically at the information available on this area to produce a survey. We take a particular focus on cybercrime from an Australian perspective, as Australia was one of the first places where Phishing attacks against Internet banks were seen. It is suspected these attacks came from Ukrainian spammers. The survey is built from case studies both where individuals from Eastern Europe have been charged with related crimes or unsolved cases where there is some nexus to Eastern Europe. It also uses some earlier work done looking at those early Phishing attacks, archival analysis of Phishing attacks in July 2006 and new work looking at correlation between the Corruption Perception Index, Internet penetration and tertiary education in Russia and the Ukraine. The value of this work is to inform and educate those charged with responding to cybercrime where a large part of the problem originates and try to understand why.