Controlling a submerged rigid body : a geometric analysis

In this paper we analyze the equations of motion of a submerged rigid body. Our motivation is based on recent developments done in trajectory design for this problem. Our goal is to relate some properties of singular extremals to the existence of decoupling vector fields. The ideas displayed in this paper can be viewed as a starting point to a geometric formulation of the trajectory design problem for mechanical systems with potential and external forces.

Towards practical implementation of time optimal trajectories for underwater vehicles

In this paper, we are concerned with the practical implementation of time optimal numerical techniques on underwater vehicles. We briefly introduce the model of underwater vehicle we consider and present the parameters for the test bed ODIN (Omni-Directional Intelligent Navigator). Then we explain the numerical method used to obtain time optimal trajectories with a structure suitable for the implementation. We follow this with a discussion on the modifications to be made considering the characteristics of ODIN. Finally, we illustrate our computations with some experimental results.

Sequential development of algebra knowledge : a cognitive analysis

Learning to operate algebraically is a complex process that is dependent upon extending arithmetic knowledge to the more complex concepts of algebra. Current research has shown a gap between arithmetic and algebraic knowledge and suggests a pre-algebraic level as a step between the two knowledge types. This paper examines arithmetic and algebraic knowledge from a cognitive perspective in an effort to determine what constitutes a pre-algebraic level of understanding. Results of a longitudinal study designed to investigate students' readiness for algebra are presented. Thirty-three students in Grades 7, 8, and 9 participated. A model for the transition from arithmetic to pre-algebra to algebra is proposed and students' understanding of relevant knowledge is discussed.

Queers doing theory : Australian queer student activist print media’s representations of capitalism

Queer university student print media often represents capitalism in a framework which could be classified as Marxism. However, at the same time, queer student media extensively publishes ideas which could be classified as academic queer theory. This chapter features analysis of these representations from the 2003, 2004 and 2006 editions of national queer student publication, Querelle, and from a sample of queer student media from four Australian universities. The perspectives of Marxism and academic queer theory are often argued to be contradictory (See for example, Hennessy 1994; Morton 1996b; Kirsch 2007), and thus the students’ application of these theories in tandem could be considered problematic. McKee asks ‘Who gets to be an intellectual?’ (2004) and suggests that the intellectualising undertaken by mainstream and alternative cultural creators is just as valid as that undertaken by university academics. He also raises concerns that the concept of theory is seen to be kept separate from everyday culture (McKee 2002). This chapter argues that in the construction and representation of their politics in this manner the queer student activists are creating their own version of queer theory. This analysis of queer student media contributes to research on queer communities and queer theory, demonstrating how one specific cultural subset theorises queerness and queer politics, thereby contributing to the genealogy of queer.

The Ashgate Research Companion to Queer Theory edited by Giffney and O'Rourke [Review]

The Ashgate Research Companion to Queer Theory is a solid collection providing an overview of the past, present and future applications of queer theory. The Companion confidently lives up to its name as a research companion offering useful theories and methodologies for the reader to utilise queer theory in their own work.

Essays on irrigation development, farm production and unaccounted costs : theory and empirical evidence

A review of the literature related to issues involved in irrigation induced agricultural development (IIAD) reveals that: (1) the magnitude, sensitivity and distribution of social welfare of IIAD is not fully analysed; (2) the impacts of excessive pesticide use on farmers’ health are not adequately explained; (3) no analysis estimates the relationship between farm level efficiency and overuse of agro-chemical inputs under imperfect markets; and (4) the method of incorporating groundwater extraction costs is misleading. This PhD thesis investigates these issues by using primary data, along with secondary data from Sri Lanka. The overall findings of the thesis can be summarised as follows. First, the thesis demonstrates that Sri Lanka has gained a positive welfare change as a result of introducing new irrigation technology. The change in the consumer surplus is Rs.48,236 million, while the change in the producer surplus is Rs. 14,274 millions between 1970 and 2006. The results also show that the long run benefits and costs of IIAD depend critically on the magnitude of the expansion of the irrigated area, as well as the competition faced by traditional farmers (agricultural crowding out effects). The traditional sector’s ability to compete with the modern sector depends on productivity improvements, reducing production costs and future structural changes (spillover effects). Second, the thesis findings on pesticides used for agriculture show that, on average, a farmer incurs a cost of approximately Rs. 590 to 800 per month during a typical cultivation period due to exposure to pesticides. It is shown that the value of average loss in earnings per farmer for the ‘hospitalised’ sample is Rs. 475 per month, while it is approximately Rs. 345 per month for the ‘general’ farmers group during a typical cultivation season. However, the average willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid exposure to pesticides is approximately Rs. 950 and Rs. 620 for ‘hospitalised’ and ‘general’ farmers’ samples respectively. The estimated percentage contribution for WTP due to health costs, lost earnings, mitigating expenditure, and disutility are 29, 50, 5 and 16 per cent respectively for hospitalised farmers, while they are 32, 55, 8 and 5 per cent respectively for ‘general’ farmers. It is also shown that given market imperfections for most agricultural inputs, farmers are overusing pesticides with the expectation of higher future returns. This has led to an increase in inefficiency in farming practices which is not understood by the farmers. Third, it is found that various groundwater depletion studies in the economics literature have provided misleading optimal water extraction quantity levels. This is due to a failure to incorporate all production costs in the relevant models. It is only by incorporating quality changes to quantity deterioration, that it is possible to derive socially optimal levels. Empirical results clearly show that the benefits per hectare per month considering both the avoidance costs of deepening agro-wells by five feet from the existing average, as well as the avoidance costs of maintaining the water salinity level at 1.8 (mmhos/Cm), is approximately Rs. 4,350 for farmers in the Anuradhapura district and Rs. 5,600 for farmers in the Matale district.

Mesenchymal stem cells in osteoarthritis therapy : current status of theory, technology, and applications

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic, non-inflammatory type of arthritis, which usually affects the movable and weight bearing joints of the body. It is the most common joint disease in human beings and common in elderly people. Till date, there are no safe and effective diseases modifying OA drugs (DMOADs) to treat the millions of patients suffering from this serious and debilitating disease. However, recent studies provide strong evidence for the use of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy in curing cartilage related disorders. Due to their natural differentiation properties, MSCs can serve as vehicles for the delivery of effective, targeted treatment to damaged cartilage in OA disease. In vitro, MSCs can readily be tailored with transgenes with anti-catabolic or pro-anabolic effects to create cartilage-friendly therapeutic vehicles. On the other hand, tissue engineering constructs with scaffolds and biomaterials holds promising biological cartilage therapy. Many of these strategies have been validated in a wide range of in vitro and in vivo studies assessing treatment feasibility or efficacy. In this review, we provide an outline of the rationale and status of stem-cell-based treatments for OA cartilage, and we discuss prospects for clinical implementation and the factors crucial for maintaining the drive towards this goal.

Predicting mothers’ decisions to introduce complementary feeding at 6 months : an investigation using an extended theory of planned behaviour

In Australia and other developed countries there is poor adherence to guidelines recommending the introduction of complementary feeding to infants at 6 months of age. We aimed to investigate, via adopting a theory of planned behaviour framework and incorporating additional normative and demographic influences, mothers’ complementary feeding intentions and behaviour. Participants were 375 primiparas who completed an initial questionnaire (infant age 13±3weeks) that assessed the theory of planned behaviour constructs of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control, as well as group norm and additional maternal and infant variables of mothers’ age, education level, weight status perception, current maternal feeding practices, and infant birth weight. Approximately, 3 months after completion of the main questionnaire, mothers completed a follow-up questionnaire that assessed the age in months at which the infant was first introduced to solids. The theory of planned behaviour variables of attitude and subjective norm, along with group norm, predicted intentions, with intention, mothers’ age (older more likely), and weight status perception (overweight less likely) predicting behaviour. Overall, the results highlight the importance of attitudes, normative influences, and individual characteristics in complementary feeding decision-making which should be considered when designing interventions aimed at improving adherence to current maternal feeding guidelines.

Understanding the factors influencing safe and unsafe motorcycle rider intentions

The increasing popularity of motorcycles in Australia is a significant concern as motorcycle riders represent 15% of all road fatalities and an even greater proportion of serious injuries. This study assessed the psychosocial factors influencing motorcycle riders’ intentions to perform both safe and risky riding behaviours. Using an extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB), motorcycle riders (n = 229) from Queensland, Australia were surveyed to assess their riding attitudes, subjective norm (general and specific), perceived behavioural control (PBC), group norm, self-identity, sensation seeking, and aggression, as well as their intentions, in relation to three safe (e.g., handle my motorcycle skilfully) and three risky (e.g., bend road rules to get through traffic) riding behaviours. Although there was variability in the predictors of intention across the behaviours, results revealed that safer rider intentions were most consistently predicted by PBC, while riskier intentions were predicted by attitudes and sensation seeking. The TPB was able to explain a greater proportion of the variance for intentions to perform risky behaviours. Overall, this study has provided insight into the complexity of factors contributing to rider intentions and suggests that different practical strategies need to be adopted to facilitate safer and reduce risky rider decisions.

Leveraging R&D investment for the Australian built environment

This paper discusses a current research project building new understandings and knowledge relevant to R&D funding strategies in Australia. Building on a retrospective analysis of R&D trends and industry outcomes, an industry roadmap will be developed to inform R&D policies more attuned to future industry needs to improve research investment effectiveness. The project will also include analysis of research team formation and management (involving end users from public and private sectors together with research and knowledge institutions), and dissemination of outcomes and uptake in the Australian building and construction industry. The project will build on previous research extending open innovation system theory and network analysis and procurement, focused on R&D. Through the application of dynamic capabilities and strategic foresighting theory, an industry roadmap for future research investment will be developed, providing a stronger foundation for more targeted policy recommendations. This research will contribute to more effective construction processes in the future through more targeted research funding and more effective research partnerships between industry and researchers.

Employers and child workers : an institutional approach

This article explores employers' perspectives on the introduction of child employment legislation in Australia through the lens of the three pillars—regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive—of institutional theory. The study extends the traditional industrial relations (IR) focus on regulation to examine how human resource (HR) practices around child employment become legitimised, normalised and socially supported.

In-depth analysis of the J.A.C.K. model

The Texas Transportation Commission (“the Commission”) is responsible for planning and making policies for the location, construction, and maintenance of a comprehensive system of highways and public roads in Texas. In order for the Commission to carry out its legislative mandate, the Texas Constitution requires that most revenue generated by motor vehicle registration fees and motor fuel taxes be used for constructing and maintaining public roadways and other designated purposes. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) assists the Commission in executing state transportation policy. It is the responsibility of the legislature to appropriate money for TxDOT’s operation and maintenance expenses. All money authorized to be appropriated for TxDOT’s operations must come from the State Highway Fund (also known as Fund 6, Fund 006, or Fund 0006). The Commission can then use the balance in the fund to fulfill its responsibilities. However, the value of the revenue received in Fund 6 is not keeping pace with growing demand for transportation infrastructure in Texas. Additionally, diversion of revenue to nontransportation uses now exceeds $600 million per year. As shown in Figure 1.1, revenues and expenditures of the State Highway Fund per vehicle mile traveled (VMT) in Texas have remained almost flat since 1993. In the meantime, construction cost inflation has gone up more than 100%, effectively halving the value of expenditure.

Evaluation of TxDOT’s J.A.C.K. model for revenue and expenditure projections

This research report documents work conducted by the Center for Transportation (CTR) at The University of Texas at Austin in analyzing the Joint Analysis using the Combined Knowledge (J.A.C.K.) program. This program was developed by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to make projections of revenues and expenditures. This research effort was to span from September 2008 to August 2009, but the bulk of the work was completed and presented by December 2008. J.A.C.K. was subsequently renamed TRENDS, but for consistency with the scope of work, the original name is used throughout this report.

Unpacking Japan's 21st century "National Conversation" : images of the future beyond the iron cage of the "Catch Up" model

How does the image of the future operate upon history, and upon national and individual identities? To what extent are possible futures colonized by the image? What are the un-said futurecratic discourses that underlie the image of the future? Such questions inspired the examination of Japan’s futures images in this thesis. The theoretical point of departure for this examination is Polak’s (1973) seminal research into the theory of the ‘image of the future’ and seven contemporary Japanese texts which offer various alternative images for Japan’s futures, selected as representative of a ‘national conversation’ about the futures of that nation. These seven images of the future are: 1. Report of the Prime Minister’s Commission on Japan’s Goals in the 21st Century—The Frontier Within: Individual Empowerment and Better Governance in the New Millennium, compiled by a committee headed by Japan’s preeminent Jungian psychologist Kawai Hayao (1928-2007); 2. Slow Is Beautiful—a publication by Tsuji Shinichi, in which he re-images Japan as a culture represented by the metaphor of the sloth, concerned with slow and quality-oriented livingry as a preferred image of the future to Japan’s current post-bubble cult of speed and economic efficiency; 3. MuRatopia is an image of the future in the form of a microcosmic prototype community and on-going project based on the historically significant island of Awaji, and established by Japanese economist and futures thinker Yamaguchi Kaoru; 4. F.U.C.K, I Love Japan, by author Tanja Yujiro provides this seven text image of the future line-up with a youth oriented sub-culture perspective on that nation’s futures; 5. IMAGINATION / CREATION—a compilation of round table discussions about Japan’s futures seen from the point of view of Japan’s creative vanguard; 6. Visionary People in a Visionless Country: 21 Earth Connecting Human Stories is a collection of twenty one essays compiled by Denmark born Tokyo resident Peter David Pedersen; and, 7. EXODUS to the Land of Hope, authored by Murakami Ryu, one of Japan’s most prolific and influential writers, this novel suggests a future scenario portraying a massive exodus of Japan’s youth, who, literate with state-of-the-art information and communication technologies (ICTs) move en masse to Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido to launch a cyber-revolution from the peripheries. The thesis employs a Futures Triangle Analysis (FTA) as the macro organizing framework and as such examines both pushes of the present and weights from the past before moving to focus on the pulls to the future represented by the seven texts mentioned above. Inayatullah’s (1999) Causal Layered Analysis (CLA) is the analytical framework used in examining the texts. Poststructuralist concepts derived primarily from the work of Michel Foucault are a particular (but not exclusive) reference point for the analytical approach it encompasses. The research questions which reflect the triangulated analytic matrix are: 1. What are the pushes—in terms of current trends—that are affecting Japan’s futures? 2. What are the historical and cultural weights that influence Japan’s futures? 3. What are the emerging transformative Japanese images of the future discourses, as embodied in actual texts, and what potential do they offer for transformative change in Japan? Research questions one and two are discussed in Chapter five and research question three is discussed in Chapter six. The first two research questions should be considered preliminary. The weights outlined in Chapter five indicate that the forces working against change in Japan are formidable, structurally deep-rooted, wide-spread, and under-recognized as change-adverse. Findings and analyses of the push dimension reveal strong forces towards a potentially very different type of Japan. However it is the seven contemporary Japanese images of the future, from which there is hope for transformative potential, which form the analytical heart of the thesis. In analyzing these texts the thesis establishes the richness of Japan’s images of the future and, as such, demonstrates the robustness of Japan’s stance vis-à-vis the problem of a perceived map-less and model-less future for Japan. Frontier is a useful image of the future, whose hybrid textuality, consisting of government, business, academia, and creative minority perspectives, demonstrates the earnestness of Japan’s leaders in favour of the creation of innovative futures for that nation. Slow is powerful in its aim to reconceptualize Japan’s philosophies of temporality, and build a new kind of nation founded on the principles of a human-oriented and expanded vision of economy based around the core metaphor of slowness culture. However its viability in Japan, with its post-Meiji historical pushes to an increasingly speed-obsessed social construction of reality, could render it impotent. MuRatopia is compelling in its creative hybridity indicative of an advanced IT society, set in a modern day utopian space based upon principles of a high communicative social paradigm, and sustainability. IMAGINATION / CREATION is less the plan than the platform for a new discussion on Japan’s transformation from an econo-centric social framework to a new Creative Age. It accords with emerging discourses from the Creative Industries, which would re-conceive of Japan as a leading maker of meaning, rather than as the so-called guzu, a term referred to in the book meaning ‘laggard’. In total, Love Japan is still the most idiosyncratic of all the images of the future discussed. Its communication style, which appeals to Japan’s youth cohort, establishes it as a potentially formidable change agent in a competitive market of futures images. Visionary People is a compelling image for its revolutionary and subversive stance against Japan’s vision-less political leadership, showing that it is the people, not the futures-making elite or aristocracy who must take the lead and create a new vanguard for the nation. Finally, Murakami’s Exodus cannot be ruled out as a compelling image of the future. Sharing the appeal of Tanja’s Love Japan to an increasingly disenfranchised youth, Exodus portrays a near-term future that is achievable in the here and now, by Japan’s teenagers, using information and communications technologies (ICTs) to subvert leadership, and create utopianist communities based on alternative social principles. The principal contribution from this investigation in terms of theory belongs to that of developing the Japanese image of the future. In this respect, the literature reviews represent a significant compilation, specifically about Japanese futures thinking, the Japanese image of the future, and the Japanese utopia. Though not exhaustive, this compilation will hopefully serve as a useful starting point for future research, not only for the Japanese image of the future, but also for all image of the future research. Many of the sources are in Japanese and their English summations are an added reason to respect this achievement. Secondly, the seven images of the future analysed in Chapter six represent the first time that Japanese image of the future texts have been systematically organized and analysed. Their translation from Japanese to English can be claimed as a significant secondary contribution. What is more, they have been analysed according to current futures methodologies that reveal a layeredness, depth, and overall richness existing in Japanese futures images. Revealing this image-richness has been one of the most significant findings of this investigation, suggesting that there is fertile research to be found from this still under-explored field, whose implications go beyond domestic Japanese concerns, and may offer fertile material for futures thinkers and researchers, Japanologists, social planners, and policy makers.

Cognitive load and mental rotation : structuring orthographic projection for learning and problem solving

Cognitive load theory was used to generate a series of three experiments to investigate the effects of various worked example formats on learning orthographic projection. Experiments 1 and 2 investigated the benefits of presenting problems, conventional worked examples incorporating the final 2-D and 3-D representations only, and modified worked examples with several intermediate stages of rotation between the 2-D and 3-D representations. Modified worked examples proved superior to conventional worked examples without intermediate stages while conventional worked examples were, in turn, superior to problems. Experiment 3 investigated the consequences of varying the number and location of intermediate stages in the rotation trajectory and found three stages to be superior to one. A single intermediate stage was superior when nearer the 2-D than the 3-D end of the trajectory. It was concluded that (a) orthographic projection is learned best using worked examples with several intermediate stages and that (b) a linear relation between angle of rotation and problem difficulty did not hold for orthographic projection material. Cognitive load theory could be used to suggest the ideal location of the intermediate stages.