Evaluation of the Mater Mothers' Hospital refugee antenatal clinic

This report describes the evaluation of the Refugee Antenatal Clinic (Mater Mothers' Hospital, Brisbane) which was established in November 2008

An evaluation of the culture performance of two Macrobrachium species in Vanuatu: the exotic M. rosenbergii and the indigenous M. lar

Fisheries and aquaculture are important for food security, income generation and are critical to long term sustainability of many countries. Freshwater prawns have been harvested in the streams and creeks in Vanuatu, however due to over-exploitation catches have declined in recent years. To satisfy high demand for this product, Vanuatu government intends to establish economically viable small-scale aquaculture industries. The current project showed that wild Macrobrachium lar in Vanuatu constitute a single population for management purposes and that M. rosenbergii grows much faster than M. lar in simple pond grow-out systems, hence is a better species for culture in Vanuatu.

Critical reflections on the use of participatory methodologies to build evaluation capacities in international development organisations

There has been a greater focus on strengthening evaluation capacity building (ECB) within development organisations in recent years. This can be attributed in part to the growing appreciation of the value of participatory and collaborative forms of evaluation. Evaluation is increasingly seen as an ongoing learning process and an important means of strengthening capacity and improving organisational performance (Horton et al., 2003:7). While there are many benefits of using participatory methodologies in ECB projects, our experiences and a review of the literature in this area highlight the many challenges, issues and contradictions that can affect the success of such ECB efforts. We discuss these issues, drawing on our learnings from the ongoing participatory action research (PAR) project 'Assessing Communication for Social Change’ (AC4SC). This four year project, which began in 2007, is a collaboration between communication and development academics and evaluation specialists from two Australian universities and communication for development practitioners and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) staff in the NGO Equal Access Nepal (EAN). The aim is to develop, implement, and evaluate a participatory methodology for assessing the social change impacts of community radio programs produced by EAN. It builds on previous projects that used ethnographic action research (EAR) methodology (Tacchi et al., 2007).

Critical reflections on the use of participatory methodologies to build evaluation capacities in international development organisations

"In this chapter the authors present a critique of Participatory Evaluation as worked in development projects, in this case, in Nepal. The article works between established claims that Participatory Evaluation builds capacity at programmatic and organisational levels, and the specific experiences of these claims in the authors’ current work. They highlight the need to address key difficulties such as high turn-over of staff and resulting loss of capacity to engage in Participatory Evaluation, and the difficulty of communication between academic as compared with local practical wisdoms. A key issue is the challenge of addressing the inevitable issues of power inequities that such approaches encounter. While Participatory Evaluation has been around for some time, it has only enjoyed more widespread recognition of its value in comparatively recent times, with its uptake in international development environments. To this extent, the practice is still in its early stages of development, and Jo, June and Michael’s work contributes to strengthening and more comprehensively understanding it. With regard to the meta-theme of this publication, this chapter is an example of how context not only influences the methodology to be used and the praxis of how it is to be used, but contributes to early explication of the core nature of an emerging methodology."

Blast response and safety evaluation of a composite column for use as key element in structural systems

This paper presents the blast response, damage mechanism and evaluation of residual load capacity of a concrete–steel composite (CSC) column using dynamic computer simulation techniques. This study is an integral part of a comprehensive research program which investigated the vulnerability of structural framing systems to catastrophic and progressive collapse under blast loading and is intended to provide design information on blast mitigation and safety evaluation of load bearing vulnerable columns that are key elements in a building. The performance of the CSC column is compared with that of a reinforced concrete (RC) column with the same dimensions and steel ratio. Results demonstrate the superior performance of the CSC column, compared to the RC column in terms of residual load carrying capacity, and its potential for use as a key element in structural systems. The procedure and results presented herein can be used in the design and safety evaluation of key elements of multi-storey buildings for mitigating the impact of blast loads.

Design Pressure Test 2013 Workshop

Design Pressure Test 2013 was a full-day intensive design immersion creative event run on Saturday 3 August 2013, at the QUT Faculty of Creative Industries J Block Design Lab Workshop in Brisbane, Australia, for 25 self-selected high-achieving junior and middle school (year 5-9) students, as part of the Queensland Academies ‘Young Scholars’ Program. Facilitated by tertiary interior design, fashion design and industrial design educators, technicians and six tertiary interior design and fashion design students, the workshop explored design process, environmental impact, the material properties and structural integrity of cardboard, construction techniques, and the production and evaluation of furniture design prototypes. This action research study aimed to facilitate an awareness in young people, of the role and scope of design within our society, the environmental ramifications of design decisions, and the value of design thinking skills in generating strategies to solve basic to complex challenges. It also aimed to investigate the value of collaboration between junior and middle school students, tertiary design educators and students and industry professionals in design awareness, and inspiring post-secondary pathways and idea generation for education. During the creative event, students utilised mathematics skills and developed sketching, making, communication, presentation and collaboration skills to improve their design process, while considering social, cultural and environmental opportunities. Through a series of hands-on collaborative design experiments, participants explored in teams of five, the opportunities available using cardboard as a material – inspiring both functional and aesthetic design solutions. Underpinned by the State Library of Queensland Design Minds Website ‘inquire, ideate and implement’ model of design thinking, the experiments culminated in the development of a detailed client brief, the design and fabrication of a furniture item for seating, and then a team presentation of prototypes to a panel of judges from the professions of architecture, interior design and industrial design, viewed also by parents. The final test for structural integrity was measured by the hoisting down of an adult body weight onto the fabricated seat. The workshop was filmed for the television program ‘Totally Wild’ for dissemination nationally (over 200,000 viewing audience) of the value of design and the Design Minds model to a wider target youth audience.

Reframe : QUT's evaluation framework survey business rules

Reframe is changing our approach to the evaluation of courses, units, teaching and student experience at QUT. We are moving away from a single survey tool to a richer, more holistic and customisable approach. This approach will help our academics design and deliver high-quality learning experiences, and review the impact of their teaching practice on student learning. Through it, we will also be able to provide more timely access to specialised support and meet external reporting requirements.

Protocols : Reframe : QUT's evaluation framework

Reframe is changing our approach to the evaluation of courses, units, teaching and student experience at QUT. We are moving away from a single survey tool to a richer, more holistic and customisable approach. These protocols allows academic staff and administrators access to the ways in which the policy is enacted through process.

Causal behavioural profiles : efficient computation, applications, and evaluation

Analysis of behavioural consistency is an important aspect of software engineering. In process and service management, consistency verification of behavioural models has manifold applications. For instance, a business process model used as system specification and a corresponding workflow model used as implementation have to be consistent. Another example would be the analysis to what degree a process log of executed business operations is consistent with the corresponding normative process model. Typically, existing notions of behaviour equivalence, such as bisimulation and trace equivalence, are applied as consistency notions. Still, these notions are exponential in computation and yield a Boolean result. In many cases, however, a quantification of behavioural deviation is needed along with concepts to isolate the source of deviation. In this article, we propose causal behavioural profiles as the basis for a consistency notion. These profiles capture essential behavioural information, such as order, exclusiveness, and causality between pairs of activities of a process model. Consistency based on these profiles is weaker than trace equivalence, but can be computed efficiently for a broad class of models. In this article, we introduce techniques for the computation of causal behavioural profiles using structural decomposition techniques for sound free-choice workflow systems if unstructured net fragments are acyclic or can be traced back to S- or T-nets. We also elaborate on the findings of applying our technique to three industry model collections.

Evaluation of a pilot-scale oil extraction from microalgae for biodiesel production

Biodiesel derived from microalgae is one of a suite of potential solutions to meet the increasing demand for a renewable, carbon-neutral energy source. However, there are numerous challenges that must be addressed before algae biodiesel can become commercially viable. These challenges include the economic feasibility of harvesting and dewatering the biomass and the extraction of lipids and their conversion into biodiesel. Therefore, it is essential to find a suitable extraction process given these processes presently contribute significantly to the total production costs which, at this stage, inhibit the ability of biodiesel to compete financially with petroleum diesel. This study focuses on pilot-scale (100 kg dried microalgae) solvent extraction of lipids from microalgae and subsequent transesterification to biodiesel. Three different solvents (hexane, isopropanol (IPA) and hexane + IPA (1:1)) were used with two different extraction methods (static and Soxhlet) at bench-scale to find the most suitable solvent extraction process for the pilot-scale. The Soxhlet method extracted only 4.2% more lipid compared to the static method. However, the fatty acid profiles of different extraction methods with different solvents are similar, suggesting that none of the solvents or extraction processes were biased for extraction of particular fatty acids. Considering the cost and availability of the solvents, hexane was chosen for pilot-scale extraction using static extraction. At pilot-scale the lipid yield was found to be 20.3% of total biomass which is 2.5% less than from bench scale. Extracted fatty acids were dominated by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) (68.94±0.17%) including 47.7±0.43 and 17.86±0.42% being docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (C22:6) and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) (C22:5, ω-3), respectively. These high amounts of long chain poly unsaturated fatty acids are unique to some marine microalgae and protists and vary with environmental conditions, culture age and nutrient status, as well as with cultivation process. Calculated physical and chemical properties of density, viscosity of transesterified fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were within the limits of the biodiesel standard specifications as per ASTM D6751-2012 and EN 14214. The calculated cetane number was, however, significantly lower (17.8~18.6) compared to ASTM D6751-2012 or EN 14214-specified minimal requirements. We conclude that the obtained microalgal biodiesel would likely only be suitable for blending with petroleum diesel to a maximum of 5 to 20%.

Evaluation of BMP-2 gene-activated muscle grafts for cranial defect repair

Large, osseous, segmental defects heal poorly. Muscle has a propensity to form bone when exposed to an osteogenic stimulus such as that provided by transfer and expression of cDNA encoding bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2). The present study evaluated the ability of genetically modified, autologous muscle to heal large cranial defects in rats. Autologous grafts (8 mm � 2 mm) were punched from the biceps femoris muscle and transduced intraoperatively with recombinant adenovirus vector containing human BMP-2 or green fluorescent protein cDNA. While the muscle biopsies were incubating with the vector, a central parietal 8 mm defect was surgically created in the calvarium of the same animal. The gene-activated muscle graft was then implanted into the cranial defect. After 8 weeks, crania were examined radiographically, histologically, and by micro-computed tomography and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Although none of the defects were completely healed in this time, muscle grafts expressing BMP-2 deposited more than twice as much new bone as controls. Histology confirmed the anatomical integrity of the newly formed bone, which was comparable in thickness and mineral density to the original cranial bone. This study confirms the in vivo osteogenic properties of genetically modified muscle and suggests novel strategies for healing bone. � 2011 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 30:1095–1102, 2012

Ability of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 to enhance bone healing in the presence of tobramycin : evaluation in a rat segmental defect model

Objective To determine whether locally applied tobramycin influences the ability of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2) to heal a segmental defect in the rat femur. Methods The influence of tobramycin on the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells was first evaluated in vitro. For the subsequent, in vivo experiments, a 5-mm segmental defect was created in the right femur of each of 25 Sprague-Dawley rats and stabilized with an external fixator and four Kirschner wires. Rats were divided in four groups: empty control, tobramycin (11 mg)/absorbable collagen sponge, rhBMP-2 (11 μg)/absorbable collagen sponge, and rhBMP-2/absorbable collagen sponge with tobramycin. Bone healing was monitored by radiography at 3 and 8 weeks. Animals were euthanized at 8 weeks and the properties of the defect were compared with the intact contralateral femur. Bone formation in the defect region was assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, microcomputed tomography, histology, and mechanical testing. Results Tobramycin exerted a dose-dependent inhibition of alkaline phosphatase induction and calcium deposition by mesenchymal stem cells cultured under osteogenic conditions. The inhibition was reversed in the presence of 500 ng/mL of rhBMP-2. Segmental defects in the rat femora failed to heal in the absence of rhBMP-2. Tobramycin exerted no inhibitory effects on the ability of rhBMP-2 to heal these defects and increased the bone area of the defects treated with rhBMP-2. Data obtained from all other parameters of healing, including dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, microcomputed tomography, histology, and mechanical testing, were unaffected by tobramycin. Conclusions Although our in vitro results suggested that tobramycin inhibits the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells, this could be overcome by rhBMP-2. Tobramycin did not impair the ability of rhBMP-2 to heal critical-sized femoral defects in rats. Indeed, bone area was increased by nearly 20% in the rhBMP-2 group treated with tobramycin. This study shows that locally applied tobramycin can be used in conjunction with rhBMP-2 to enhance bone formation at fracture sites.

Evaluation of robust autonomy and implications on UAS certification and design

As the number of potential applications of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) grows in civilian operations and national security, National Airworthiness Authorities are under increasing pressure to provide a path for certification and allow UAS integration into the national airspace. The success of this integration depends on developments in improved UAS reliability and safety, regulations for certification, and technologies for operational performance and safety assessment. This paper focusses on the latter and describes the use of a framework for evaluating robust autonomy of UAS, namely, the autonomous system’s ability to either continue operation in the presence of faults or safely shut down. The paper draws parallels between the proposed evaluation framework and the evaluation of pilots during the licensing process. It also discusses how the data from the proposed evaluation can be uses as an aid for decision making in certification and UAS designs.

Entrepreneurial bricolage and young firm performance : the moderating effect of team composition

Many young firms face significant resource constraints during attempts to develop and grow. One promising theory that explicitly links to resource constraints is bricolage: a construct developed by Levi Strauss (1967). Bricolage aligns with notions of resourcefulness: using what’s on hand, through making do, and recombining resources for new or novel purposes. In this paper we further theorize and test the moderating effects of ownership team composition on bricolage and firm performance. Our findings suggest that team size, strong network ties, and functionality enhance the effects of bricolage in young firm performance.

On evaluation of robust autonomy for uninhabited vehicles and systems

This paper discusses a method to quantify robust autonomy of Uninhabited Vehicles and Systems (UVS) in aerospace, marine, or land applications. Based on mission-vehicle specific performance criteria, we define an system utility function that can be evaluated using simulation scenarios for an envelope of environmental conditions. The results of these evaluations are used to compute a figure of merit or measure for operational efectiveness (MOE). The procedure is then augmented to consider faults and the performance of mechanisms to handle these faulty operational modes. This leads to a measure of robust autonomy (MRA). The objective of the proposed figures of merit is to assist in decision making about vehicle performance and reliability at both vehicle development stage (using simulation models) and at certification stage (using hardware-in-the-loop testing). Performance indices based on dynamic and geometric tasks associated with vehicle manoeuvring problems are proposed, and an example of a two- dimensional y scenario is provided to illustrate the use of the proposed figures of merit.