What works and why? Early childhood professionals' perspectives on effective early childhood education and care services for Indigenous families

Investment in early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs is a cornerstone policy of the Australian Government directed toward increasing the educational opportunities and life chances made available to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) children. Yet, ECEC programs are not always effective in supporting sustained attendance of Indigenous families. A site-case analysis of Mount Isa, Queensland was conducted to identify program features that engage and support attendance of Indigenous families. This first study, reports the perspectives of early childhood professionals from across the entire range of group-based licensed (kindergarten and long day care) and non-licensed (playgroups, parent-child education) programs (n=19). Early childhood professionals reported that Indigenous families preferred non-licensed over licensed programs. Reasons suggested for this choice were that non-licensed services provided integration with family supports, were responsive to family circumstance and had a stronger focus on relationship building. Implications for policy and service provision are discussed.

Service quality and performance measurement : evidence from the Indian Water Sector

The conventional measures of benchmarking focus mainly on the water produced or water delivered, and ignore the service quality, and as a result the 'low-cost and low-quality' utilities are rated as efficient units. Benchmarking must credit utilities for improvements in service delivery. This study measures the performance of 20 urban water utilities using data from an Asian Development Bank survey of Indian water utilities in 2005. It applies data envelopment analysis to measure the performance of utilities. The results reveal that incorporation of a quality dimension into the analysis significantly increases the average performance of utilities. The difference between conventional quantity-based measures and quality-adjusted estimates implies that there are significant opportunity costs of maintaining the quality of services in water delivery.

'Means to ends': Integration for stakeholder engagement.

In project management today, sustainability considerations are becoming increasingly necessary as an inclusion into project discovery, design and delivery phase methodologies. However, sustainability cannot always be tacked on to traditional project management approaches and still achieve the best project outcomes. Throw in the particular considerations for a culturally specific project, as for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and the traditional project management approach is at risk of not meeting the needs of stakeholders or their engagement. In this presentation, we will briefly demonstrate how from beginning with sustainability considerations and integrating both project management principles and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander va lu es that QUT's Oodgeroo Unit is actioning a 'means to ends' integration approach for stakeholder engagement in two national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander projects. The iterative discovery and design of the federally Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP) funded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Social Marketing Strategy (Strategy) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Portal (Portal) projects is being informed through a 'means' to 'ends' user- and design -led project management approach for inclusivity, visioning, and participation informing these projects for susta inable national deliverables. This approach draws upon the integration of Sustain ability Development Pillars and Project Management Pillars with the contextual lens of our proposed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Pillars as the underpinning methodology of the Strategy and Portal Project's Communication and Collaboration Plan and approach with stakeholders. These th ree Pillars are integrated further through participatory consideration and inclu sion of comparative models: Daly's Sustainability Triangle, Walker's Object Design, Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs, Olsen's Four Layers of Communication,Project Management In stitute's (PMI's) Integrated Framework for Organisational Project Management, with the Aborig inal and Torres Strait Islander six core research ethics values. This presentation invites participants to join us in envisioning the 'ultimate means' of Environment, Del ivery and Sovereignty, through Economy, Design and Self-determination to the 'ultimate ends' of Social, Discove ry and Cultural Safety principles through stakeholder engagement.

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

This paper presents a new direct integration scheme for supercapacitors that are used to mitigate short term power fluctuations in wind power systems. The proposed scheme uses the popular dual inverter topology for grid connection as well as interfacing a supercapacitor bank. The dual inverter system is formed by cascading two 2-level inverters named as the “main inverter” and the “auxiliary inverter”. The main inverter is powered by the rectified output of a wind turbine coupled permanent magnet synchronous generator. The auxiliary inverter is directly connected to a super capacitor bank. This approach eliminates the need for an interfacing dc-dc converter for the supercapacitor bank and thus improves the overall efficiency. A detailed analysis on the effects of non-integer dynamically changing voltage ratio is presented. The concept of integrated boost rectifier is used to carry out the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) of the wind turbine generator. Another novel feature of this paper is the power reference adjuster which effectively manages capacitor charging and discharging at extreme conditions. Simulation results are presented to verify the efficacy of the proposed system in suppressing short term wind power fluctuations.

Maintaining the ethic of service [Editorial]

This issue of Precedent is concerned with professional legal ethics. ln my view, professional ethics are rules about how you do your job, based on moral principles. By virtue of the nature of the work they do, the reputation of the institution through which they are admitted to practice (the court), and the consequences that can flow if they act inappropriately or incompetently, lawyers are under constant scrutiny in all aspects of their lives. Errors, omissions or misdeeds in both their professional and their personal lives have the potential to damage them, their clients, the profession itself and the court. We ought never to take for granted the trust the public places in us to preserve the integrity of the legal system itself, especially in times when that system may be under threat, either from without or from within.

Achieving enterprise integration through software customization : part I-evidence from the field

Achieving business and IT integration is strategic goal for many organisations – it has almost become the ‘Holy Grail’ of organisational success. In this environment Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages have become the defacto option for addressing this issue. Integration has come to mean adopting ERP, through configuration and without customization, but this all or nothing approach has proved difficult for many organisations. In part 1 of a 2 part update we provide evidence from the field that suggests that whilst costly, if managed appropriately, customization can have value in aiding organisational integration efforts. In part 2, we discuss in more detail the benefits and pitfalls involved in enacting a non-standard based integration strategy.

Achieving enterprise integration through software customization : part II-enacting the strategy

In part 1 of this update, we put forward the argument that integration in ERP based environments can be achieved in ways other than adopting a software configuration only approach. We drew on evidence from two large ERP implementations to show how, despite the cost implications, some customization, if carefully managed, could prove helpful. In this, the final part of the update, we discuss the benefits, and potential pitfalls, involved in enacting a non-standard based integration strategy. This requires attention to a) broadening the integration definition; b) bringing legacy practices forward and c) developing a customization based integration strategy.

Knowledge integration within innovation process : a technopreneurial perspective

Knowledge Integration (KI) is one of the major aspects driving innovation within an organisation. In this paper, we attempt to develop a better understanding of responses to the challenges of knowledge integration within the innovation process in technology-based firms. Using four technology-based Australian firms, we investigated how knowledge integration may be managed within the context of innovation in technology firms. Previous research highlights the role of four KI tasks that affect the innovation capability within technology-oriented firms, namely team building capability, capturing tacit knowledge, role of Knowledge Management (KM) systems and technological systemic integration. Our findings indicate that in addition to these four tasks, a strategic approach to integrating knowledge for innovation, as well as leadership and management, are essential to achieving effective KI across multiple levels of engagement. Our findings also offer practical insights into how knowledge can be integrated within innovation process, with specific implications for managers.

Improving national hospice/palliative care service symptom outcomes systematically through point-of-care data collection, structured feedback and benchmarking

PURPOSE Every health care sector including hospice/palliative care needs to systematically improve services using patient-defined outcomes. Data from the national Australian Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration aims to define whether hospice/palliative care patients' outcomes and the consistency of these outcomes have improved in the last 3 years. METHODS Data were analysed by clinical phase (stable, unstable, deteriorating, terminal). Patient-level data included the Symptom Assessment Scale and the Palliative Care Problem Severity Score. Nationally collected point-of-care data were anchored for the period July-December 2008 and subsequently compared to this baseline in six 6-month reporting cycles for all services that submitted data in every time period (n = 30) using individual longitudinal multi-level random coefficient models. RESULTS Data were analysed for 19,747 patients (46 % female; 85 % cancer; 27,928 episodes of care; 65,463 phases). There were significant improvements across all domains (symptom control, family care, psychological and spiritual care) except pain. Simultaneously, the interquartile ranges decreased, jointly indicating that better and more consistent patient outcomes were being achieved. CONCLUSION These are the first national hospice/palliative care symptom control performance data to demonstrate improvements in clinical outcomes at a service level as a result of routine data collection and systematic feedback.

Profiling emergency nurse practitioner service

The aim of this study was to investigate the practice profile of emergency nurse practitioners across Australia. Nurse practitioners have been providing health service in the emergency setting internationally for more than 30 years, and evidence supports the value of this role in terms of patient satisfaction, effectiveness in improving service indicators, and acceptability of the role. The introduction of this service model has been instrumental in reducing waiting times for low-acuity patients and impacting positively on emergency department service delivery. Recent rapid uptake of this role internationally has outpaced development of the service model to inform education and ongoing service development. This was a national study that used interpretive research methods to identify the practice profile of emergency nurse practitioners. Data were collected from December 2012 to February 2013 through in-depth interviews. An inductive approach was used in data analysis to identify conceptual themes and develop an analysis framework. The study participants worked in a range of service models and managed patient presentations across all levels of acuity and complexity. The findings show that although there is no single definable model of the emergency nurse practitioner role in Australia, there are practice features that are common across all service models; these have been conceptualized as "modes of practice." This study has produced new knowledge about the practice profile of emergency nurse practitioners. The findings will inform development of practice standards for education and continuing professional development for emergency nurse practitioners and facilitate standardized operational definitions for ongoing research into this growing service model.

Homing by path integration when a locomotion trajectory crosses itself

Path integration is a process with which navigators derive their current position and orientation by integrating self-motion signals along a locomotion trajectory. It has been suggested that path integration becomes disproportionately erroneous when the trajectory crosses itself. However, there is a possibility that this previous finding was confounded by effects of the length of a traveled path and the amount of turns experienced along the path, two factors that are known to affect path integration performance. The present study was designed to investigate whether the crossover of a locomotion trajectory truly increases errors of path integration. In an experiment, blindfolded human navigators were guided along four paths that varied in their lengths and turns, and attempted to walk directly back to the beginning of the paths. Only one of the four paths contained a crossover. Results showed that errors yielded from the path containing the crossover were not always larger than those observed in other paths, and the errors were attributed solely to the effects of longer path lengths or greater degrees of turns. These results demonstrated that path crossover does not always cause significant disruption in path integration processes. Implications of the present findings for models of path integration are discussed.

Knowledge management challenges in small-and medium-sized enterprises

Background & Research Focus Managing knowledge for innovation and organisational benefit has been extensively investigated in studies of large firms (Smith, Collins & Clark, 2005; Zucker, et al., 2007) and to a large extent there is limited research into studies of small- and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs). There are some investigations in knowledge management research on SMEs, but what remains to be seen in particular is the question of where are the potential challenges for managing knowledge more effectively within these firms? Effective knowledge management (KM) processes and systems lead to improved performance in pursuing distinct capabilities that contribute to firm-level innovation (Nassim 2009; Zucker et al. 2007; Verona and Ravasi 2003). Managing internal and external knowledge in a way that links it closely to the innovation process can assist the creation and implementation of new products and services. KM is particularly important in knowledge intensive firms where the knowledge requirements are highly specialized, diverse and often emergent. However, to a large extent the KM processes of small firms that are often the source of new knowledge and an important element of the value networks of larger companies have not been closely studied. To address this gap which is of increasing importance with the growing number of small firms, we need to further investigate knowledge management processes and the ways that firms find, capture, apply and integrate knowledge from multiple sources for their innovation process. This study builds on the previous literature and applies existing frameworks and takes the process and activity view of knowledge management as a starting point of departure (see among others Kraaijenbrink, Wijnhoven & Groen, 2007; Enberg, Lindkvist, & Tell, 2006; Lu, Wang & Mao, 2007). In this paper, it is attempted to develop a better understanding of the challenges of knowledge management within the innovation process in small knowledge-oriented firms. The paper aims to explore knowledge management processes and practices in firms that are engaged in the new product/service development programs. Consistent with the exploratory character of the study, the research question is: How is knowledge integrated, sourced and recombined from internal and external sources for innovation and new product development? Research Method The research took an exploratory case study approach and developed a theoretical framework to investigate the knowledge situation of knowledge-intensive firms. Equipped with the conceptual foundation, the research adopted a multiple case study method investigating four diverse Australian knowledge-intensive firms from IT, biotechnology, nanotechnology and biochemistry industries. The multiple case study method allowed us to document in some depth the knowledge management experience of the theses firms. Case study data were collected through a review of company published data and semi-structured interviews with managers using an interview guide to ensure uniform coverage of the research themes. This interview guide was developed following development of the framework and a review of the methodologies and issues covered by similar studies in other countries and used some questions common to these studies. It was framed to gather data around knowledge management activity within the business, focusing on the identification, acquisition and utilisation of knowledge, but collecting a range of information about subject as well. The focus of the case studies was on the use of external and internal knowledge to support their knowledge intensive products and services. Key Findings Firstly a conceptual and strategic knowledge management framework has been developed. The knowledge determinants are related to the nature of knowledge, organisational context, and mechanism of the linkages between internal and external knowledge. Overall, a number of key observations derived from this study, which demonstrated the challenges of managing knowledge and how important KM is as a management tool for innovation process in knowledge-oriented firms. To summarise, findings suggest that knowledge management process in these firms is very much project focused and not embedded within the overall organisational routines and mainly based on ad hoc and informal processes. Our findings highlighted lack of formal knowledge management process within our sampled firms. This point to the need for more specialised capabilities in knowledge management for these firms. We observed a need for an effective knowledge transfer support system which is required to facilitate knowledge sharing and particularly capturing and transferring tacit knowledge from one team members to another. In sum, our findings indicate that building effective and adaptive IT systems to manage and share knowledge in the firm is one of the biggest challenges for these small firms. Also, there is little explicit strategy in small knowledge-intensive firms that is targeted at systematic KM either at the strategic or operational level. Therefore, a strategic approach to managing knowledge for innovation as well as leadership and management are essential to achieving effective KM. In particular, research findings demonstrate that gathering tacit knowledge, internal and external to the organization, and applying processes to ensure the availability of knowledge for innovation teams, drives down the risks and cost of innovation. KM activities and tools, such as KM systems, environmental scanning, benchmarking, intranets, firm-wide databases and communities of practice to acquire knowledge and to make it accessible, were elements of KM. Practical Implications The case study method that used in this study provides practical insight into the knowledge management process within Australian knowledge-intensive firms. It also provides useful lessons which can be used by other firms in managing the knowledge more effectively in the innovation process. The findings would be helpful for small firms that may be searching for a practical method for managing and integrating their specialised knowledge. Using the results of this exploratory study and to address the challenges of knowledge management, this study proposes five practices that are discussed in the paper for managing knowledge more efficiently to improve innovation: (1) Knowledge-based firms must be strategic in knowledge management processes for innovation, (2) Leadership and management should encourage various practices for knowledge management, (3) Capturing and sharing tacit knowledge is critical and should be managed, (4)Team knowledge integration practices should be developed, (5) Knowledge management and integration through communication networks, and technology systems should be encouraged and strengthen. In sum, the main managerial contribution of the paper is the recognition of knowledge determinants and processes, and their effects on the effective knowledge management within firm. This may serve as a useful benchmark in the strategic planning of the firm as it utilises new and specialised knowledge.