Analyzing and defining information requirements of knowledge intensive construction management tasks on BIM

With the increasing popularity and adoption of building information modeling (BIM), the amount of digital information available about a building is overwhelming. Enormous challenges remain however in identifying meaningful and required information from a complex BIM model to support a particular construction management (CM) task. Detailed specifications of information required by different construction domains and expressive and easy-to-use BIM reasoning mechanisms are seen as an important means in addressing these challenges. This paper analyzes some of the characteristics and requirements of component-specific construction knowledge in relation to the current work practice and BIM-based applications. It is argued that domain ontologies and information extraction approaches, such as queries could significantly bring much needed support for knowledge sharing and integration of information between design, construction and facility management.

Preparing for performance capture #1

This video article articulates two exercises that have been developed to respond to the need for preparedness in the growing field of Performance Capture. The first is called Walking Through (Delbridge 2013), where the actor navigates a series of objects that exist in screen space through a developed sense of the existing physical particularities of the studio and an interaction with a screen (or feedback loop). The second exercise is called The Donut (Delbridge 2013), where the performer continues to navigate screen space but this time does so through the literal stepping through of a Torus in the virtual – again with nothing but the studio infrastructure and the screen as a guide. Notions of Motion Captured performance infer the existence of an interface that combines performer with system, separating (or intervening in) the space between performance and the screen. It is precisely the effect and provided opportunity of the intermediary device on the practice, craft and preparedness of the actor as they navigate the connection between 3D screen space and the physical properties of the studio that is examined here. Defining the scope of current practice for the contemporary actor is a key construct of this challenge, with the most appropriate definition revolving around the provision of a required mixture of performance and content for live, mediated, framed and variously captured formats. One of these particular formats is Performance Capture. The exercises presented here are two from a series, developed over a three year study that contribute to our understanding of the potential for a training regimen to be developed for the rigors of Performance Capture.

The state of the art defence : defining the Australian experience in the context of pharmaceuticals

One of the defences within Part 3-5 of the Australian Consumer Law is the state of the art, or development risk defence. This defence, although significant, has often been neglected in Australian jurisprudential analysis and has triggered at most generic academic analysis. However, with the rise of pharmaceutical and medical device litigation in Australia, it could become a vital weapon for Australian manufacturers against product liability claims. This paper will firstly review the two ways this defence could operate. It will also discuss the three types of defects which the defence could apply to. This paper aims to determine exactly when and how this defence should apply in Australia, in the context of pharmaceutical product liability claims.

Defining the parental burden of acute cough in children

Despite the prevalence of acute cough in children (<2 weeks duration), the burden to parents and families is largely unknown. The objectives of this study were to determine the parental burden of children’s acute cough, and to evaluate psychological and other infl uences on the reported burden of acute cough in children. Methods Parents of children with a current acute cough (<2 weeks) at enrolment completed 4 questionnaires (state trait anxiety inventory (STAI); short form health survey (SF-8); depression, anxiety and stress 21-item scale (DASS21); and our preliminary 48-item parent acute cough specifi c quality of life (PAC-QOL48) questionnaire). In PAC-QOL48, lower scores refl ect worse QOL. Results Median age of the 104 children enrolled was 2.63 (IQR 1.42, 4.79) years, 54 were boys. Median length of cough at enrolment was 3 (IQR 2, 5) days. Median total PAC-QOL48 score of parents enrolled at presentation to the emergency department (n = 70) was signifi cantly worse than of parents enrolled through the community (n = 24) (p < 0.01). More than half (n = 55) had sought medical assistance more than once for the current acute coughing illness. PAC-QOL48 score was signifi cantly negatively correlated to verbal category descriptive and visual analogue scale cough scores (Spearman r = −0.26, p = 0.05 and r = −0.46, p = 0.01 respectively) and DASS21 total score (r = −0.36, p = 0.01), but not to child’s age. Conclusions Consistent with data on chronic cough, stress was the predominant factor of parental burden. This study highlights the ongoing need for clinicians to be cognizant of parental worries and concerns when their children are coughing, and for further research into safe and effective therapies for acute cough in children.

Defining mega project success in Australian defence : a relation-based framework for value co-creation with project stakeholders

Defining success in mega projects has been a challenging exercise for Australian Defence. The inherent conflict between nation capability building and cost efficiency raises questions about how to appropriately define mega project success. Contrary to the traditional output-focused project methodology, the value creation perspective argues for the importance of creating new knowledge, processes, and systems for suppliers and customers. Stakeholder involvement is important in this new perspective, as the balancing of competing needs of stakeholders in mega projects becomes a major challenge in managing the value co-creation process. In our earlier study reported interview data from three Australian defence mega projects and reported that those senior executives have a more complex understanding of project success than traditional iron triangle measures. In these mega defence projects, customers and other stakeholders actively engage in the value creation process, and over time both content and process value are created to increase defence and national capability. Value created and captured during and post projects are the key to true success. We aim to develop a comprehensive theoretical model the capture the value co-creation process as a way of re-conceptualising success in mega projects. We propose a new framework redefine project value as multi-dimensional, contextual and temporal construct that emerges from the interactions among multiple stake holders over the complete project life cycle. The framework distinguishes between exploitation and exploration types of projects, and takes into consideration the requisite governance structures.

Innovation & workplace culture in the Australian interactive entertainment industry : the Halfbrick story

A recent success story of the Australian videogames industry is Brisbane based Halfbrick Studios, developer of the hit game for mobile devices, Fruit Ninja. Halfbrick not only survived the global financial crisis and an associated downturn in the Australian industry, but grew strongly, moving rapidly from developing licensed properties for platforms such as Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and Playstation Portable (PSP) to becoming an independent developer and publisher of in-house titles, generating revenue both through App downloads and merchandise sales. Amongst the reasons for Halfbrick’s success is their ability to adaptively transform by addressing different technical platforms, user dynamics, business models and market conditions. Our ongoing case-study research from 2010 into Halfbrick’s innovation processes, culminating with some 10 semi-structured interviews with senior managers and developers, has identified a strong focus on workplace organisational culture, with staff reflecting that the company is a flat, team-based organisation devolving as much control as possible to the development teams directly, and encouraging a work-life balance in which creativity can thrive. The success of this strategy is evidenced through Halfbrick’s low staff turnover; amongst our interviewees most of the developers had been with the company for a number of years, with all speaking positively of the workplace culture and sense of creative autonomy they enjoyed. Interviews with the CEO, Shainiel Deo, and team leaders highlighted the autonomy afforded to each team and the organisation and management of the projects on which they work. Deo and team leaders emphasised the collaboration and communication skills they require in the developers that they employ, and that these characteristics were considered just as significant in hiring decisions as technical skills. Halfbrick’s developers celebrate their workplace culture and insist it has contributed to their capacity for innovation and to their commercial success with titles such as Fruit Ninja. This model of organisational management is reflected in both Stark’s (2009) idea of heterarchy, and Neff’s (2012) concept of venture labour, and provides a different perspective on the industry than the traditional political economy critique of precarious labour exploited by gaming conglomerates. Nevertheless, throughout many of the interviews and in our informal discussions with Halfbrick developers there is also a sense that this rewarding culture is quite tenuous and precarious in the context of a rapidly changing and uncertain global videogames industry. Whether such a workplace culture represents the future of the games industry, or is merely a ‘Prague Spring’ before companies such as Halfbrick are swallowed by traditional players’ remains to be seen. However, as the process of rapid and uncertain transformation plays out across the videogames industry, it is important to pay attention to emerging modes of organisation and workplace culture, even whilst they remain at the margins of the industry. In this paper we investigate Halfbrick’s workplace culture and ask how sustainable is this kind of rewarding and creative workplace?

Defining food literacy and its components

Food literacy has emerged as a term to describe the everyday practicalities associated with healthy eating. The term is increasingly used in policy, practice, research and by the public; however, there is no shared understanding of its meaning. The purpose of this research was to develop a definition of food literacy which was informed by the identification of its components. This was considered from two perspectives: that of food experts which aimed to reflect the intention of existing policy and investment, and that of individuals, who could be considered experts in the everyday practicalities of food provisioning and consumption. Given that food literacy is likely to be highly contextual, this second study focused on disadvantaged young people living in an urban area who were responsible for feeding themselves. The Expert Study used a Delphi methodology (round one n = 43). The Young People’s Study used semi-structured, life-course interviews (n = 37). Constructivist Grounded Theory was used to analyse results. This included constant comparison of data within and between studies. From this, eleven components of food literacy were identified which fell into the domains of: planning and management; selection; preparation; and eating. These were used to develop a definition for the term “food literacy”.

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).

Defining expected cost for the air conditioning to avoid a price spike of electricity market under DSR model

This work presents a demand side response model (DSR) which assists small electricity consumers, through an aggregator, exposed to the market price to proactively mitigate price and peak impact on the electrical system. The proposed model allows consumers to manage air-conditioning when as a function of possible price spikes. The main contribution of this research is to demonstrate how consumers can minimise the total expected cost by optimising air-conditioning to account for occurrences of a price spike in the electricity market. This model investigates how pre-cooling method can be used to minimise energy costs when there is a substantial risk of an electricity price spike. The model was tested with Queensland electricity market data from the Australian Energy Market Operator and Brisbane temperature data from the Bureau of Statistics during hot days on weekdays in the period 2011 to 2012.

Violence in and around entertainment districts : a longitudinal analysis of the impact of late-night lockout legislation

Violence in entertainment districts is a major problem across urban landscapes throughout the world. Research shows that licensed premises are the third most common location for homicides and serious assaults, accounting for one in ten fatal and nonfatal assaults. One class of interventions that aims to reduce violence in entertainment districts involves the use of civil remedies: a group of strategies that use civil or regulatory measures as legal “levers” to reduce problem behavior. One specific civil remedy used to reduce problematic behavior in entertainment districts involves manipulation of licensed premise trading hours. This article uses generalized linear models to analyze the impact of lockout legislation on recorded violent offences in two entertainment districts in the Australian state of Queensland. Our research shows that 3 a.m. lockout legislation led to a direct and significant reduction in the number of violent incidents inside licensed premises. Indeed, the lockouts cut the level of violent crime inside licensed premises by half. Despite these impressive results for the control of violence inside licensed premises, we found no evidence that the lockout had any impact on violence on streets and footpaths outside licensed premises that were the site for more than 80 percent of entertainment district violence. Overall, however, our analysis suggests that lockouts are an important mechanism that helps to control the level of violence inside licensed premises but that finely grained contextual responses to alcohol-related problems are needed rather than one-size-fits-all solutions.

Defining the expert ICU nurse

This paper explores the concept of expertise in intensive care nursing practice from the perspective of its relationship to the current driving forces in healthcare. It discusses the potential barriers to acceptance of nursing expertise in a climate in which quantification of value and cost containment run high on agendas. It argues that nursing expertise which focuses on the provision of individualised, holistic care and which is based largely on intuitive decision-making cannot and should not be reduced to being articulated in positivist terms. The principles of abduction or fuzzy logic, derived from computer science, may be useful in assisting nurses to explain in terms, which others can comprehend, the value of nursing expertise.

The challenge of defining guanxi : a review

Guanxi has become a common term in the wider business environment and has attracted the increasing attention of researchers. Despite this, a consistent understanding of the concept continues to prove elusive. We review the extant business literature to highlight the major inconsistencies in the way guanxi is currently conceptualized: the breadth, linguistic-cultural depth, temporality, and level of analysis. We conclude with a clearer conceptualization of guanxi which separates the core elements from antecedents and consequences of guanxi. Furthermore, we compare and contrast guanxi with western correlates such as social networks and social capitals to further consolidate our understanding of guanxi.