Performance Benchmarking of Australian Business Regulation : Submission to the Productivity Commission

The need to “reduce red tape” and regulatory inconsistencies is a desirable outcome (OECD 1997) for developed countries. The costs normally associated with regulatory regimes are compliance costs and direct charges. Geiger and Hoffman (1998) have noted that the extent of regulation in an industry tends to be negatively associated with firm performance. Typically, approaches to estimation of the cost of regulations examine direct costs, such as fees and charges, together with indirect costs, such as compliance costs. However, in a fragmented system, such as Australia, costs can also be incurred due to procedural delays, either by government, or by industry having to adapt documentation for different spheres of government; lack of predictable outcomes, with variations occurring between spheres of government and sometimes within the same government agency; and lost business opportunities, with delays and red tape preventing realisation of business opportunities (OECD 1997). In this submission these costs are termed adaptation costs. The adaptation costs of complying with variations in regulations between the states has been estimated by the Building Product Innovation Council (2003) as being up to $600 million per annum for building product manufacturers alone. Productivity gains from increased harmonisation of the regulatory system have been estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars (ABCB 2003). This argument is supported by international research which found that increasing the harmonisation of legislation in a federal system of government reduces what we have termed adaptation costs (OECD 2001). Research reports into the construction industry in Australia have likewise argued that improved consistency in the regulatory environment could lead to improvements in innovation (PriceWaterhouseCoopers 2002), and that research into this area should be given high priority (Hampson & Brandon 2004). The opinion of industry in Australia has consistently held that the current regulatory environment inhibits innovation (Manley 2004). As a first step in advancing improvements to the current situation, a summary of the current costs experienced by industry needs to be articulated. This executive summary seeks to outline these costs in the hope that the Productivity Commission would be able to identify the best tools to quantify the actual costs to industry.

Crowdsourcing information systems : a systems theory perspective

Crowdsourcing harnesses the potential of large and open networks of people. It is a relatively new phenomenon and attracted substantial interest in practice. Related research, however, lacks a theoretical foundation. We propose a system-theoretical perspective on crowdsourcing systems to address this gap and illustrate its applicability by using it to classify crowdsourcing systems. By deriving two principal dimensions from theory, we identify four fundamental types of crowdsourcing systems that help to distinguish important features of such systems. We analyse their respective characteristics and discuss implications and requirements for various aspects related to the design of such systems. Our results demonstrate that systems theory can inform the study of crowdsourcing systems. The identified system types and the implications on their design may prove useful for researchers to frame future studies and for practitioners to identify the right crowdsourcing systems for a particular purpose.

Crowdsourcing information systems : definition, typology and design

Crowdsourcing has become a popular approach for capitalizing on the potential of large and open crowds of people external to the organization. While crowdsourcing as a phenomenon is studied in a variety of fields, research mostly focuses on isolated aspects and little is known about the integrated design of crowdsourcing efforts. We introduce a socio-technical systems perspective on crowdsourcing, which provides a deeper understanding of the components and relationships in crowdsourcing systems. By considering the function of crowdsourcing systems within their organizational context, we develop a typology of four distinct system archetypes. We analyze the characteristics of each type and derive a number of design requirements for the respective system components. The paper lays a foundation for IS-based crowdsourcing research, channels related academic work, and helps guiding the study and design of crowdsourcing information systems.

From movie screens to moving screens : mapping qualities of new urban interactions

Next generation screens of diverse dimensions such as the Pebble e-paper watch, Google’s Project Glass, Microsoft’s Kinect and IllumiRoom, and large-scale multi-touch screen surface areas, increasingly saturate and diversify the urban mediascape. This paper seeks to contribute to media architecture and interaction design theory by starting to critically examine how these different screen formats are creating a ubiquitous screen mediascape across the city. We introduce next generation personal, domestic, and public screens. The paper critically challenges conventional dichotomies such as local / global, online / offline, private / public, large / small, mobile / static, that have been created in the past to describe some of the qualities and characteristics of interfaces and their usage. More and more scholars recognise that the black and white nature of these dichotomies does not adequately represent the fluid and agile capabilities of many new screen interfaces. With this paper, we hope to illustrate the more nuanced ‘trans-scalar’ qualities of these new urban interactions, that is, ways in which they provide a range functionality, without being locked into either end of a scale.

Targeting cancer with a lupus autoantibody

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is distinct among autoimmune diseases because of its association with circulating autoantibodies reactive against host DNA. The precise role that anti-DNA antibodies play in SLE pathophysiology remains to be elucidated, and potential applications of lupus autoantibodies in cancer therapy have not previously been explored. We report the unexpected finding that a cell-penetrating lupus autoantibody, 3E10, has potential as a targeted therapy for DNA repair–deficient malignancies. We find that 3E10 preferentially binds DNA single-strand tails, inhibits key steps in DNA single-strand and double-strand break repair, and sensitizes cultured tumor cells and human tumor xenografts to DNA-damaging therapy, including doxorubicin and radiation. Moreover, we demonstrate that 3E10 alone is synthetically lethal to BRCA2-deficient human cancer cells and selectively sensitizes such cells to low-dose doxorubicin. Our results establish an approach to cancer therapy that we expect will be particularly applicable to BRCA2-related malignancies such as breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers. In addition, our findings raise the possibility that lupus autoantibodies may be partly responsible for the intrinsic deficiencies in DNA repair and the unexpectedly low rates of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers observed in SLE patients. In summary, this study provides the basis for the potential use of a lupus anti-DNA antibody in cancer therapy and identifies lupus autoantibodies as a potentially rich source of therapeutic agents.

Thiophene-based dendronized macromonomers and polymers

The synthesis of thiophene-containing second (G2) and third generation (G3) dendronized macromonomers with methacrylate polymerizable units as well as their corresponding dendronized polymers is reported. The dendrons are prepared from branched thiophene oligomers and are decorated with straight alkyl chains for solubility reasons. The polymerization reactions were done with AIBN as initiator and the polymers were characterized by NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis and GPC. Molar masses are in the range of 2.2-5.4 × 105 g mol-1 (G2) and 1.3-3.0 × 104 g mol-1 (G3) for different runs. These polymers are investigated by cyclic voltammetry and optical spectroscopy.

Audit reports in Australia : 2005-2013: Preliminary Findings

This paper provides a preliminary summary of audit reports for Australian listed public companies for the period 2005 to 2013, focusing on auditor reporting in the most recent period 2011 to 2013. Prior research has shown that audit reports modified for uncertainty relating to the going concern assumption increased following the shock of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in late 2007. This occurred in Australia from 2008 where Xu et al. (2011) find that reports modified for going concern uncertainty increase from 12% in 2005 to 2007 to 18% in 2008 and 22% in 2009. Similar trends are observable for the United States as shown by an increase from 14% in 2003 to 21% in 2008 (Cheffers et al. 2010, Geiger et al. 2014). The aim of this report is to examine the frequency of the various types of audit reports issued in Australia during the period 2011 to 2013, with a focus on reports emphasizing significant uncertainty in regard to the going concern assumption.

Simultaneous underwater visibility assessment, enhancement and improved stereo

Vision-based underwater navigation and obstacle avoidance demands robust computer vision algorithms, particularly for operation in turbid water with reduced visibility. This paper describes a novel method for the simultaneous underwater image quality assessment, visibility enhancement and disparity computation to increase stereo range resolution under dynamic, natural lighting and turbid conditions. The technique estimates the visibility properties from a sparse 3D map of the original degraded image using a physical underwater light attenuation model. Firstly, an iterated distance-adaptive image contrast enhancement enables a dense disparity computation and visibility estimation. Secondly, using a light attenuation model for ocean water, a color corrected stereo underwater image is obtained along with a visibility distance estimate. Experimental results in shallow, naturally lit, high-turbidity coastal environments show the proposed technique improves range estimation over the original images as well as image quality and color for habitat classification. Furthermore, the recursiveness and robustness of the technique allows implementation onboard an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle for improving navigation and obstacle avoidance performance.

Mathematics, programming, and STEM

Learning mathematics is a complex and dynamic process. In this paper, the authors adopt a semiotic framework (Yeh & Nason, 2004) and highlight programming as one of the main aspects of the semiosis or meaning-making for the learning of mathematics. During a 10-week teaching experiment, mathematical meaning-making was enriched when primary students wrote Logo programs to create 3D virtual worlds. The analysis of results found deep learning in mathematics, as well as in technology and engineering areas. This prompted a rethinking about the nature of learning mathematics and a need to employ and examine a more holistic learning approach for the learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas.

Os movimentos autonomistas bolivianos na atualidade e a influência brasileira

O objetivo da presente dissertação é fazer um levantamento geral dos movimentos autonomistas e da importância do Brasil (não só a partir da Petrobras, mas principalmente) para a economia boliviana. Como principal parceiro comercial do país andino, é natural que o Brasil exerça influência sobre a economia daquele país. E, como se pode notar, os movimentos autonomistas bolivianos surgiram justamente com base numa questão econômica relacionada aos royalties do petróleo. É curioso que a luta desses movimentos reacenda em concomitante com os aumentos dos investimentos da Petrobras na Bolívia, o que prenuncia que o aumento do interesse da elite cruzenha em ter maior controle sobre os seus recursos econômicos e naturais. A geografia da Bolívia é apresentada associada à presença de recursos naturais. O intuito foi de se demonstrar a relação determinado/determinante, elucidando de que forma o território boliviano contribuiu para os fenômenos retratados (como na questão da localização dos recursos naturais), e de que forma os fenômenos retratados contribuíram para a reconfiguração do território boliviano (por exemplo, na questão do esgotamento desses mesmos recursos naturais). Em paralelo, busca-se explicitar como se desenvolveu o departamento de Santa Cruz e a identidade cruzenha, e como se desenvolveu o sentimento indígena. Feito isto, A partir do momento em que a exploração de hidrocarbonetos se intensificou na Bolívia, a questão dos royalties se fez presente. A questão da participação da Petrobras Bolívia sugere influências no desenvolvimento econômico (e consequentemente político) boliviano.

Visões de um Brasil moderno: os diálogos e as tensões nos ideais dos modernistas Mário de Andrade e Sérgio Buarque de Holanda na busca por uma identidade nacional

Na década de 20, Mário de Andrade e Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, fizeram parte do Movimento Modernista Brasileiro que tinha como objetivo modificar um sistema de valores culturais e estéticos e inaugurou uma nova época na história do pensamento artístico, literário e social brasileiro. Ao buscar uma originalidade literária inspirada em assuntos nacionais e no respeito as nossas tradições, o Modernismo abriu um amplo debate entre os escritores daquela geração sobre como uma nacionalidade deveria ser expressa para que o país tivesse uma literatura própria e universal e uma cultura considerada autêntica. A ideia de buscar uma autenticidade cultural brasileira na arte foi compartilhada pelos escritores modernistas, mas como essa busca seria feita foi vista de diferentes formas pelos autores do movimento, como Sérgio Buarque de Holanda e Mário de Andrade, que assumiram posições contrárias sobre como uma identidade nacional deveria ser construída. O objetivo do trabalho será examinar o diálogo travado pelos dois autores, onde eles definem suas posições diante da modernidade e seus impasses, no Brasil e na literatura brasileira. Serão analisadas também as divergências que existiam nos ideais dos autores, já que trilharam caminhos distintos dentro do movimento modernista e se posicionaram de forma diferente diante da questão da construção nacional e da busca de uma cultura nacional.

A desgermanização da Condor: estruturação e reestruturação de um sistema técnico no Brasil

Este trabalho apresenta e discute a reorganização pela qual a empresa de aviação Syndicato Condor passou durante os anos de 1941 e 1942, em função do boicote imposto por Washington às empresas brasileiras com origem alemã. Para tanto, será recuperado um breve período da história da aviação brasileira, passando pelos pioneiros da aviação no país, as primeiras tentativas de organização, os marcos regulatórios e a formação das primeiras empresas. Como o desenvolvimento técnico é peça fundamental para o entendimento desta temática, temos ainda como preocupação, incluir a técnica nos debates sobre a hegemonia e império no século XX. Da mesma maneira, tentamos evidenciar a importância da técnica para a transformação nas dinâmicas territoriais que se impuseram no período, bem como posicionar o processo de desgermanização da Condor como etapa da grande unificação técnica imposta pelos Estados Unidos no período do pós-guerra.

Representação social da confiança

Esta tese focaliza como tema principal a representação social da confiança. Qual a importância da confiança para a sociedade contemporânea, para as organizações de produção e para as relações interpessoais. A fundamentação teórica é a Teoria das Representações Sociais tomada em sua equação: representação = figura/significado. A metodologia da pesquisa consistiu na realização de grupos focais e na expressão imagética e verbal da confiança. A análise dos textos visuais conjuntamente com os verbais possibilitou uma percepção bastante acurada desta representação social.