Evaluation of modal analysis techniques using physical models to detect osseointegration of implants in transfemoral amputees

Non-invasive vibration analysis has been used extensively to monitor the progression of dental implant healing and stabilization. It is now being considered as a method to monitor femoral implants in transfemoral amputees. This paper evaluates two modal analysis excitation methods and investigates their capabilities in detecting changes at the interface between the implant and the bone that occur during osseointegration. Excitation of bone-implant physical models with the electromagnetic shaker provided higher coherence values and a greater number of modes over the same frequency range when compared to the impact hammer. Differences were detected in the natural frequencies and fundamental mode shape of the model when the fit of the implant was altered in the bone. The ability to detect changes in the model dynamic properties demonstrates the potential of modal analysis in this application and warrants further investigation.

Interactive axial shortening of columns and walls in high rise buildings

Concrete is commonly used as a primary construction material for tall building construction. Load bearing components such as columns and walls in concrete buildings are subjected to instantaneous and long term axial shortening caused by the time dependent effects of "shrinkage", "creep" and "elastic" deformations. Reinforcing steel content, variable concrete modulus, volume to surface area ratio of the elements and environmental conditions govern axial shortening. The impact of differential axial shortening among columns and core shear walls escalate with increasing building height. Differential axial shortening of gravity loaded elements in geometrically complex and irregular buildings result in permanent distortion and deflection of the structural frame which have a significant impact on building envelopes, building services, secondary systems and the life time serviceability and performance of a building. Existing numerical methods commonly used in design to quantify axial shortening are mainly based on elastic analytical techniques and therefore unable to capture the complexity of non-linear time dependent effect. Ambient measurements of axial shortening using vibrating wire, external mechanical strain, and electronic strain gauges are methods that are available to verify pre-estimated values from the design stage. Installing these gauges permanently embedded in or on the surface of concrete components for continuous measurements during and after construction with adequate protection is uneconomical, inconvenient and unreliable. Therefore such methods are rarely if ever used in actual practice of building construction. This research project has developed a rigorous numerical procedure that encompasses linear and non-linear time dependent phenomena for prediction of axial shortening of reinforced concrete structural components at design stage. This procedure takes into consideration (i) construction sequence, (ii) time varying values of Young's Modulus of reinforced concrete and (iii) creep and shrinkage models that account for variability resulting from environmental effects. The capabilities of the procedure are illustrated through examples. In order to update previous predictions of axial shortening during the construction and service stages of the building, this research has also developed a vibration based procedure using ambient measurements. This procedure takes into consideration the changes in vibration characteristic of structure during and after construction. The application of this procedure is illustrated through numerical examples which also highlight the features. The vibration based procedure can also be used as a tool to assess structural health/performance of key structural components in the building during construction and service life.

Economic growth and suicide rate changes : a case in China from 1982 to 2005

It is to estimate the trend of suicide rate changes during the past three decades in China and try to identify its social and economic correlates. Official data of suicide rates and economic indexes during 1982–2005 from Shandong Province of China were analyzed. The suicide data were categorized for the rural / urban location and gender, and the economic indexes include GDP, GDP per capita, rural income, and urban income, all adjusted for inflation. We found a significant increase of economic development and decrease of suicide rates over the past decades under study. The suicide rate decrease is correlated with the tremendous growth of economy. The unusual decrease of Chinese suicide rates in the past decades is accounted for within the Chinese cultural contexts and maybe by the Strain Theory of Suicide.

Making space for place-making pedagogies : stretching normative mandated literacy curriculum

In an era of normative standardised literacy curriculum continuing to make space for culturally responsive literacy pedagogy is on ongoing challenge for early childhood educators. Collaborative participatory research and ethnographic studies of teachers who accomplish innovative and inclusive early childhood education in culturally diverse high poverty communities is urgent for the profession. Such pedagogies involve complex understandings of the cultural and political histories, and the dynamic potential, of the places in which school communities are located. By incorporating the study of local histories and biographies and researching neighbourhood changes teachers adapt mandated curriculum to maintain community knowledges and allow for positive identity work at the same time as they meet the authorised systems objectives. When teachers work with children as co-researchers through the study of people's lives in particular places and times, the community and its complex histories become a rich resource for young people's literacy repertoires.

On IT governance structures and their effectiveness in collaborative organizational structures

Organizations today engage in various forms of alliances to manage their existing business processes or to diversify into new processes to sustain their competitive positions. Many of today’s alliances use the IT resources as their backbone. The results of these alliances are collaborative organizational structures with little or no ownership stakes between the parties. The emergence of Web 2.0 tools is having a profound effect on the nature and form of these alliance structures. These alliances heavily depend on and make radical use of the IT resources in a collaborative environment. This situation requires a deeper understanding of the governance of these IT resources to ensure the sustainability of the collaborative organizational structures. This study first suggests the types of IT governance structures required for collaborative organizational structures. Semi-structured interviews with senior executives who operate in such alliances reveal that co-created IT governance structures are necessary. Such structures include co-created IT-steering committees, co-created operational committees, and inter-organizational performance management and communication systems. The findings paved the way for the development of a model for understanding approaches to governing IT and evaluating the effectiveness for such governance mechanisms in today’s IT dependent alliances. This study presents a sustainable IT-related capabilities approach to assessing the effectiveness of suggested IT governance structures for collaborative alliances. The findings indicate a favourable association between organizations IT governance efforts and their ability to sustain their capabilities to leverage their IT resources. These IT-related capabilities also relate to measures business value at the process and firm level. This makes it possible to infer that collaborative organizations’ IT governance efforts contribute to business value.

Metaheuristics for minimizing the makespan of the dynamic shop scheduling problem

For the shop scheduling problems such as flow-shop, job-shop, open-shop, mixed-shop, and group-shop, most research focuses on optimizing the makespan under static conditions and does not take into consideration dynamic disturbances such as machine breakdown and new job arrivals. We regard the shop scheduling problem under static conditions as the static shop scheduling problem, while the shop scheduling problem with dynamic disturbances as the dynamic shop scheduling problem. In this paper, we analyze the characteristics of the dynamic shop scheduling problem when machine breakdown and new job arrivals occur, and present a framework to model the dynamic shop scheduling problem as a static group-shop-type scheduling problem. Using the proposed framework, we apply a metaheuristic proposed for solving the static shop scheduling problem to a number of dynamic shop scheduling benchmark problems. The results show that the metaheuristic methodology which has been successfully applied to the static shop scheduling problems can also be applied to solve the dynamic shop scheduling problem efficiently.

Internet-enabled international entrepreneurship : a conceptual exploration of the link between a firm’s resource base, dynamic capabilities and international market performance

It has been suggested that the accumulation of valuable resources and capabilities, such as Internet application, is not enough to support a firm’s sustainable competitive advantage, especially for high technology-mediated firms; which often operate in fast changing dynamic environments. While the idea of ‘Internet-enabled resources and capabilities’ has been recognised by RBV theorists, the notion has largely been ignored in conceptual and empirical studies. Given this finding, a conceptual framework is constructed and research issues are then developed in order to focus attention on the relationship between, the Internet and a firm’s resource base, dynamic capabilities and international market performance. We postulate that successful Internet-enabled market performance arises from those international entrepreneurial-oriented firms which encompass: international vision, international business experience, Internet-international marketing capabilities and international networking capabilities. Recommendations for future theory development are presented, along with the implications for international entrepreneurial managers in Australian small and medium sized firms

Phenological changes in six Australian subalpine plants in response to experimental warming and year-to-year variation

The likely phenological responses of plants to climate warming can be measured through experimental manipulation of field sites, but results are rarely validated against year-to-year changes in climate. Here, we describe the response of 1-5 years of experimental warming on phenology (budding, flowering and seed maturation) of six common subalpine plant species in the Australian Alps using the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX) protocol.2. Phenological changes in some species (particularly the forb Craspedia jamesii) were detected in experimental plots within a year of warming, whereas changes in most other species (the forb Erigeron bellidioides, the shrub Asterolasia trymalioides and the graminoids Carex breviculmis and Poa hiemata) did not develop until after 2-4 years; thus, there appears to be a cumulative effect of warming for some species across multiple years.3. There was evidence of changes in the length of the period between flowering and seed maturity in one species (P. hiemata) that led to a similar timing of seed maturation, suggesting compensation.4. Year-to-year variation in phenology was greater than variation between warmed and control plots and could be related to differences in thawing degree days (particularly, for E. bellidioides) due to earlier timing of budding and other events under warmer conditions. However, in Carex breviculmis, there was no association between phenology and temperature changes across years.5. These findings indicate that, although phenological changes occurred earlier in response to warming in all six species, some species showed buffered rather than immediate responses.6. Synthesis. Warming in ITEX open-top chambers in the Australian Alps produced earlier budding, flowering and seed set in several alpine species. Species also altered the timing of these events, particularly budding, in response to year-to-year temperature variation. Some species responded immediately, whereas in others the cumulative effects of warming across several years were required before a response was detected.

Human seat modelling using inverse dynamic musculoskeletal models

In this work a biomechanical model is used for simulation of muscle forces necessary to maintain the posture in a car seat under different support conditions.

MRI study of the changes in crystalline lens shape with accommodation and ageing in humans

Magnetic Resonance Imaging was used to study changes in the crystalline lens and ciliary body with accommodation and aging. Monocular images were obtained in 15 young (19-29 years) and 15 older (60-70 years) emmetropes when viewing at far (6m) and at individual near points (14.5 to 20.9 cm) in the younger group. With accommodation, lens thickness increased (mean±95% CI: 0.33±0.06mm) by a similar magnitude to the decrease in anterior chamber depth (0.31±0.07mm) and equatorial diameter (0.32±0.04mm) with a decrease in the radius of curvature of the posterior lens surface (0.58±0.30mm). Anterior lens surface shape could not be determined due to the overlapping region with the iris. Ciliary ring diameter decreased (0.44±0.17mm) with no decrease in circumlental space or forward ciliary body movement. With aging, lens thickness increased (mean±95% CI: 0.97±0.24mm) similar in magnitude to the sum of the decrease in anterior chamber depth (0.45±0.21mm) and increase in anterior segment depth (0.52±0.23mm). Equatorial lens diameter increased (0.28±0.23mm) with no change in the posterior lens surface radius of curvature. Ciliary ring diameter decreased (0.57±0.41mm) with reduced circumlental space (0.43±0.15mm) and no forward ciliary body movement. Accommodative changes support the Helmholtz theory of accommodation including an increase in posterior lens surface curvature. Certain aspects of aging changes mimic accommodation.

Sensitivity of building cooling loads to future weather predictions

The interaction and relationship between the global warming and the thermal performance buildings are dynamic in nature. In order to model and understand this behavior, different approaches, including keeping weather variable unchanged, morphing approach and diurnal modelling method, have been used to project and generate future weather data. Among these approaches, various assumptions on the change of solar radiation, air humidity and/or wind characteristics may be adopted. In this paper, an example to illustrate the generation of future weather data for the different global warming scenarios in Australia is presented. The sensitivity of building cooling loads to the possible changes of assumed values used in the future weather data generation is investigated. It is shown that with ± 10% change of the proposed future values for solar radiation, air humidity or wind characteristics, the corresponding change in the cooling load of the modeled sample office building at different Australian capital cities would not exceed 6%, 4% and 1.5% respectively. It is also found that with ±10% changes on the proposed weather variables for both the 2070-high future scenario and the current weather scenario, the corresponding change in the cooling loads at different locations may be weaker (up to 2% difference in Hobart for ±10% change in global solar radiation), similar (less than 0.6%) difference in Hobart for ±10% change in wind speed), or stronger (up to 1.6% difference in Hobart for ±10% change in relative humidity) in the 2070-high future scenario than in the current weather scenario.

Mapping the dynamic of Project Management field : Project Management in action

Focusing on the role within and between organizations of the project management discipline to design and implement strategy, as source of competitive advantage, leads us to question the scientific field behind this discipline. This science should be the basis for the development and use of bodies of knowledge, standards, certification programs, education, and competencies, and beyond this as a source of value for people, organizations, and society. Thus the importance to characterize, define, and understand this field and its underlying strength, basis, and development is paramount. For this purpose we propose to give some insights on the current situation. This will lead us to clarify our epistemological position and demonstrate that both constructivism and positivist approaches are required to seize the full dimension and dynamics of the field.We will referee to sociology of actor-networks and qualitative scientometrics leading to the choice of the co-word analysis method in enabling us to capture the project management field and its dynamics.Results of a study based on the analysis of ABI Inform database will be presented and some future trends and scenarios proposed.

Development priority zoning (DPZ)-led scenario simulation for regional land use change : the case of Suichang County, China

China has experienced an extraordinary level of economic development since the 1990s, following excessive competition between different regions. This has resulted in many resource and environmental problems. Land resources, for example, are either abused or wasted in many regions. The strategy of development priority zoning (DPZ), proposed by the Chinese National 11th Five-Year Plan, provides an opportunity to solve these problems by coordinating regional development and protection. In line with the rational utilization of land, it is proposed that the DPZ strategy should be integrated with regional land use policy. As there has been little research to date on this issue, this paper introduces a system dynamic (SD) model for assessing land use change in China led by the DPZ strategy. Land use is characterized by the prioritization of land development, land utilization, land harness and land protection (D-U-H-P). By using the Delphi method, a corresponding suitable prioritization of D-U-H-P for the four types of DPZ, including optimized development zones (ODZ), key development zones (KDZ), restricted development zones (RDZ), and forbidden development zones (FDZ) are identified. Suichang County is used as a case study in which to conduct the simulation of land use change under the RDZ strategy. The findings enable a conceptualization to be made of DPZ-led land use change and the identification of further implications for land use planning generally. The SD model also provides a potential tool for local government to combine DPZ strategy at the national level with land use planning at the local level.