Rupturing otherness : becoming Estonian in the context of contemporary Britain

While identity construction continues to be a widely discussed and researched area in contemporary social sciences, the existing theories have overlooked the importance of understanding why and how identities as semiotic constructions emerge in individuals' consciousness in the flow of their everyday functioning. This article seeks to address this limitation in the theorizing by proposing an alternative conceptualization of identity, according to which identity construction is triggered by rupturing life-experience, which surfaces another perspective and makes the person aware of a possibility to be otherwise or of the reality of being different. Theoretical claims put forward in the paper are drawn from data gathered in a recent study, which explored lived-through experiences of young Estonians, who made study-visits to the United Kingdom. The discussed data will also highlight some interesting aspects in Estonians' self-definition as it is constructed in relation to Eastern-European identity in the context of contemporary Britain.

Understanding the new context of the male sex work industry

The article reviews past and recent research on male sex work to offer a context to understand violence in the industry. It provides a critical review of research to show, first, the assumptions made about male sex workers and violence and, second, how such discourses have shaped thinking on the topic. The article presents a case study and original findings from two studies conducted by the authors in Australia and Argentina on violence in the male sex industry. Finally, the article reviews examples of legislative reforms to show how the sex industry is being regulated.

Sex work and health in a rural context: results of qualitative study undertaken in New South Wales

The paper reports health related findings of the first study undertaken of rural sex workers in an income-rich nation. In-depth interviews were conducted with eighteen purposively selected women who work in the rural sex industry. Rural sex services have a unique structure which informs the experiences of sex workers. Recent advances in telecommunications technology have impacted upon the organisation and structure of the sex industry in rural environments. Notable has been the growth of escort services in rural areas, which has diversified the rural sex industry from its traditional base of brothel operations. The general absence of street prostitution in rural settings has meant that the profile of rural sex workers tends to resemble that of escorts or call girls in urban settings, with workers having a relatively high level of control over working conditions and compliance with public health initiatives. Important issues which impact upon the rural sex industry include confidentiality and the more limited market for sexual services likely to be encountered in rural settings. These issues may impact on the sexual health of rural sex workers in terms of risk practices and access to health services.

‘Healthy mobile check-ins’ study: using GIS in smartphones to track use of urban environment by survivors of endometrial cancer

Aims/Objectives Our study aims to test the capacity of a newly developed smartphone innovation to obtain data on social, structural, and spatial determinants of the daily health-related behaviours of women living in urban Brisbane neighbourhoods who have survived endometrial cancer. Methods The women used a mobile web app designed specifically for the project to record GIS/location data on every destination they visited within their local urban neighbourhoods over a two-week period. Additionally, we gathered textual data on the social context/reasons for travel, as well as mode of transport to reach these destinations. The data was transported to SPSS and Google Earth for statistical and spatial analysis. We then met with the women to discuss lifestyle interventions to maximise their use of their local neighbourhoods in ways that could increase their physical activity levels and improve their overall health and well-being. These interventions will be evaluated and translated into a large-scale national study if effective. Results Initial findings about patterns in the group’s use of the local urban environment will be displayed, including daily distances travelled, types of locations visited, walking levels, use of public transport, use of green spaces and use of health-related resources. Any socio-demograpahic differences found between the women will be reported. Qualitative, quantitative, and spatial/mapping data will be displayed Conclusion The benefits and limitations of the mobile website designed to collect a range of data types about human-neighbourhood interactions with implications for intervention design will be discussed.

Canards in advection-reaction-diffusion systems in one spatial dimension

This thesis contains a mathematical investigation of the existence of travelling wave solutions to singularly perturbed advection-reaction-diffusion models of biological processes. An enhanced mathematical understanding of these solutions and models is gained via the identification of canards (special solutions of fast/slow dynamical systems) and their role in the existence of the most biologically relevant, shock-like solutions. The analysis focuses on two existing models. A new proof of existence of a whole family of travelling waves is provided for a model describing malignant tumour invasion, while new solutions are identified for a model describing wound healing angiogenesis.

Towards a spatial language for mobile robots

We present a framework and first set of simulations for evolving a language for communicating about space. The framework comprises two components: (1) An established mobile robot platform, RatSLAM, which has a "brain" architecture based on rodent hippocampus with the ability to integrate visual and odometric cues to create internal maps of its environment. (2) A language learning system based on a neural network architecture that has been designed and implemented with the ability to evolve generalizable languages which can be learned by naive learners. A study using visual scenes and internal maps streamed from the simulated world of the robots to evolve languages is presented. This study investigated the structure of the evolved languages showing that with these inputs, expressive languages can effectively categorize the world. Ongoing studies are extending these investigations to evolve languages that use the full power of the robots representations in populations of agents.

The educational context and services of children with additional needs in their first years of school in Australia

In Australia, children with additional needs are now primarily educated in mainstream regular classes and schools. While discussion has focused on teacher attitudes, teacher preparation and professional development to support the academic progress of children with additional needs, there is limited research examining the educational contexts and services provided to such children in Australian schools. This descriptive paper examines the educational contexts of 563 Australian children with additional needs, in reference to 3600 of their typically developing peers. Data in relation to educational setting, retention, prevalence of additional needs, access to specialist services, learning support, and individual programming are reported.

Expertise in the illustrative context of BPM

As Business Process Management (BPM) is evolving and organisations are becoming more process oriented, the need for Expertise in BPM amongst practitioners has increased. Proactively managing Expertise in BPM is essential to unlock the potential of BPM as a management paradigm and competitive advantage. Whilst great attention is being paid by the BPM community to the technological aspects of BPM, relatively little research or work has been done concerning the expertise aspect of BPM. There is a substantial body of knowledge on expertise itself, however there is no common framework in existence at the time of writing, describing the fundamental attributes characterising Expertise in the illustrative context of BPM. There are direct implications of the understanding and characterisation of Expertise in the context of BPM as a key strategic component and success factor of BPM itself, as well as for those involved in BPM. Expertise in the context of BPM needs to be characterised to understand it, and be able to proactively manage it. Given the relative infancy of research into Expertise in the context of BPM, an exploration of the relevance and importance of Expertise in the context of BPM was considered essential, to ensure the study itself was of value to the BPM field. The aims of this research are firstly to address the two research questions 'why is expertise important and relevant in the context of BPM?', and 'how can Expertise in the context of BPM be characterised?', and secondly, the development of a comprehensive and validated A-priori model characterising Expertise in the illustrative context of BPM. The study is theory-guided. It has been undertaken via an extensive literature review across relevant literature domains, and a revelatory case study utilising several methods: informal discussions, an open-ended survey, and participant observation. An a-priori model was then developed which comprised of several Constructs and Sub-constructs, and several overall aspects of Expertise in BPM. This was followed by the conduct of interviews in the validation phase of the revelatory case study. The primary contributions of this study are to the fields of expertise, BPM and research. Contributions to the field of expertise include a comprehensive review of expertise literature in general and synthesised critique on expertise research, characterisation of expertise in an illustrative context as a system, and a comprehensive narrative of the dynamics and interrelationships of the core attributes characterising expertise. Contributions to the field of BPM include firstly, the establishment of the importance of understanding Expertise in the context of BPM, including a comprehensive overview of the role the relevance and importance of Expertise in the context of BPM, through explanation of the effect of Expertise in BPM. Secondly, a model characterising Expertise in the context of BPM, which can be used by BPM practitioners to clearly articulate and illuminate the state of Expertise in BPM in organisations. Contributions to the field of research include an extended view of Systems Theory developed, reflecting the importance of the system context in systems thinking, and a narrative on ontological innovation through the positioning of ontology as a meta-model of Expertise in the context of BPM.

Temporal and spatial distribution and habitat associations of an urban population of New Zealand long-tailed bats (Chalinolobus tuberculatus)

Two ultrasound survey methods were used to determine the presence and activity patterns of New Zealand long-tailed bats (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) in the city of Hamilton. First, 13 monthly surveys conducted at 18 green spaces found C. tuberculatus in only one urban forest reserve, Hammond Bush, where they were found consistently throughout the year. Bat activity was strongly related to temperature. Second, twice-yearly citywide surveys conducted over 2 years determined the distribution and habitat associations of C. tuberculatus. Bats were found only in the southern part of the city and were strongly associated with the Waikato River. Bat activity was negatively correlated with housing and street light density and positively correlated with topographical complexity. In Hamilton, topographical complexity indicates the presence of gullies. Gullies probably provide foraging and roosting opportunities and connect the river to distant forest patches. These results suggest that urban habitats can be useful for bats if gullies can link these to distant habitat fragments.

Temporal and spatial patterns of seed dispersal of Musa acuminata by Cynopterus sphinx

The foraging behavior of greater short-nosed fruit bats (Cynopterus sphinx) on wild banana (Musa acuminata) and subsequent dispersal of seeds were studied in the Tropical Rainforest Conservation Area, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Yunnan province, by direct observation of marked fruits, mist netting, and seed collection. The mean number (± SE) of individual C. sphinx captured by mist net were 2.2 ± 0.33/day and 1.4 ± 0.32/day in the rainy season (September to October) and dry season (November to December), respectively; the difference was not significant. The number of seed pellets expelled was 9.0 ± 1.12/day and 7.2 ± 1.37/day in the rainy and dry seasons respectively; again the difference was not significant. The removal curves for marked fruit were similar for 10 focal trees. Fruits were consumed heavily within two weeks after ripening and all the marked fruit were removed within one month. The difference in seed dispersal was significant between different feeding roosts indicating that patterns of seed dispersal may not be uniform. We found the seeds of M. acuminata can be dispersed by C. sphinx to a distance of about 200 m, and C. sphinx can be considered as an effective seed disperser of M. acuminata.

Phenotyping cotton ovule fibre initiation with spatial statistics

Yield in cultivated cotton (Gossypium spp.) is affected by the number and distribution of fibres initiated on the seed surface but, apart from simple statistical summaries, little has been done to assess this phenotype quantitatively. Here we use two types of spatial statistics to describe and quantify differences in patterning of cotton ovule fibre initials (FI). The following five different species of Gossypium were analysed: G. hirsutum L., G. barbadense L., G. arboreum, G. raimondii Ulbrich. and G. trilobum (DC.) Skovsted. Scanning electron micrographs of FIs were taken on the day of anthesis. Cell centres for fibre and epidermal cells were digitised and analysed by spatial statistics methods appropriate for marked point processes and tessellations. Results were consistent with previously published reports of fibre number and spacing. However, it was shown that the spatial distributions of FIs in all of species examined exhibit regularity, and are not completely random as previously implied. The regular arrangement indicates FIs do not appear independently of each other and we surmise there may be some form of mutual inhibition specifying fibre-initial development. It is concluded that genetic control of FIs differs from that of stomata, another well studied plant idioblast. Since spatial statistics show clear species differences in the distribution of FIs within this genus, they provide a useful method for phenotyping cotton. © CSIRO 2007.

Spatial and temporal variability in a residual soil profile

It is well understood that that there is variation inherent in all testing techniques, and that all soil and rock materials also contain some degree of natural variability. Less consideration is normally given to variation associated with natural material heterogeneity within a site, or the relative condition of the material at the time of testing. This paper assesses the impact of spatial and temporal variability upon repeated insitu testing of a residual soil and rock profile present within a single residential site over a full calendar year, and thus range of seasonal conditions. From this repeated testing, the magnitude of spatial and temporal variation due to seasonal conditions has demonstrated that, depending on the selected location and moisture content of the subsurface at the time of testing, up to a 35% variation within the test results can be expected. The results have also demonstrated that the completed insitu test technique has a similarly large measurement and inherent variability error and, for the investigated site, up to a 60% variation in normalised results was observed. From these results, it is recommended that the frequency and timing of insitu tests should be considered when deriving geotechnical design parameters from a limited data set.

Public space for street-scape theatrics : guerrilla spatial tactics and methods of urban hacking in Brisbane, Australia

It could be argued that architecture has an inherent social responsibility to enrich the urban and spatial environments for the city’s occupants. However how we define quality, and how ‘places’ can be designed to be fair and equitable, catering for individuals on a humanistic and psychological level, is often not clearly addressed. Lefebvre discusses the idea of the ‘right to the city’; the belief that public space design should facilitate freedom of expression and incite a sense of spatial ownership for its occupants in public/commercial precincts. Lefebvre also points out the importance of sensory experience in the urban environment. “Street-scape theatrics” are performative activities that summarise these two concepts, advocating the ‘right to the city’ by way of art as well as providing sensual engagement for city users. Literature discusses the importance of Street-scape Theatrics however few sources attempt to discuss this topic in terms of how to design these spaces/places to enhance the city on both a sensory and political level. This research, grounded in political theory, investigates the case of street music, in particular busking, in the city of Brisbane, Australia. Street culture is a notion that already exists in Brisbane, but it is heavily controlled especially in central locations. The study discusses how sensory experience of the urban environment in Brisbane can be enriched through the design for busking; multiple case studies, interviews, observations and thematic mappings provide data to gather an understanding of how street performers see and understand the built form. Results are sometime surprisingly incongruous with general assumptions in regards to street artist as well as the established political and ideological framework, supporting the idea that the best and most effective way of urban hacking is working within the system. Ultimately, it was found that the Central Business District in Brisbane, Australia, could adopt certain political and design tactics which attempt to reconcile systematic quality control with freedom of expression into the public/commercial sphere, realism upheld. This can bridge the gap between the micro scale of the body and the macro of the political economy through freedom of expression, thus celebrating the idiosyncratic nature of the city.

Competitive advantage through safety compliance : smaller firm responses to changes in the Australian occupational health and safety regulatory context

Smaller firms are often viewed as resistant to regulation due to cost burdens. However, evidence indicates that for some compliance is beneficial under certain conditions. Drawing on data on attitudes and responses of smaller firm owner-managers to changes in Australia’s harmonising work health and safety context we report on smaller firms’ responses to these changes. Despite uncertainty due to incomplete harmonisation, many owner-managers viewed safety compliance as important and necessary to do business. Those with negative views still linked positive safety performance to business outcomes. We categorise smaller firms’ responses and in this sample most are Positive Responders. We suggest ways forward for policy-makers to support smaller firms in complying with occupational health and safety regulation.