Social network media and political activism: a growing challenge for law enforcement

The use of the internet for political purposes is not new; however, the introduction of social media tools has opened new avenues for political activists. In an era where social media has been credited as playing a critical role in the success of revolutions (Earl & Kimport, 2011; Papic & Noonan, 2011; Wooley, Limperos & 10 Beth, 2010), governments, law enforcement and intelligence agencies need to develop a deeper understanding of the broader capabilities of this emerging social and political environment. This can be achieved by increasing their online presence and through the application of proactive social media strategies to identify and manage potential threats. Analysis of current literature shows a gap 15 in the research regarding the connection between the theoretical understanding and practical implications of social media when exploited by political activists,and the efficacy of existing strategies designed to manage this growing challenge. This paper explores these issues by looking specifically at the use of three popular social media tools: Facebook; Twitter; and YouTube. Through the examination of 20 recent political protests in Iran, the UK and Egypt from 2009�2011, these case studies and research in the use of the three social media tools by political groups, the authors discuss inherent weaknesses in online political movements and discuss strategies for law enforcement and intelligence agencies to monitor these activities.

Copyright in databases in Australia

A database will be protected under Australian law if it is a literary work; expressed in material form; meets the originality test; and has a relevant connection with Australia. Facts and data in themselves are not protected by copyright. However, a collection of data, a dataset, or a database may be protected by copyright if it is sufficiently original. Whether a work is sufficiently original to be protected by copyright depends on whether it has been produced by the application of independent intellectual effort by the author/s, which may involve the exercise of skill, judgement, or creativity in selecting, presenting, or arranging the information. This summary synthesises recent cases regarding originality in factual compilations.

Analysis and correction of voltage profile in low voltage distribution networks containing photovoltaic cells and electric vehicles

Voltage drop and rise at network peak and off–peak periods along with voltage unbalance are the major power quality problems in low voltage distribution networks. Usually, the utilities try to use adjusting the transformer tap changers as a solution for the voltage drop. They also try to distribute the loads equally as a solution for network voltage unbalance problem. On the other hand, the ever increasing energy demand, along with the necessity of cost reduction and higher reliability requirements, are driving the modern power systems towards Distributed Generation (DG) units. This can be in the form of small rooftop photovoltaic cells (PV), Plug–in Electric Vehicles (PEVs) or Micro Grids (MGs). Rooftop PVs, typically with power levels ranging from 1–5 kW installed by the householders are gaining popularity due to their financial benefits for the householders. Also PEVs will be soon emerged in residential distribution networks which behave as a huge residential load when they are being charged while in their later generation, they are also expected to support the network as small DG units which transfer the energy stored in their battery into grid. Furthermore, the MG which is a cluster of loads and several DG units such as diesel generators, PVs, fuel cells and batteries are recently introduced to distribution networks. The voltage unbalance in the network can be increased due to the uncertainties in the random connection point of the PVs and PEVs to the network, their nominal capacity and time of operation. Therefore, it is of high interest to investigate the voltage unbalance in these networks as the result of MGs, PVs and PEVs integration to low voltage networks. In addition, the network might experience non–standard voltage drop due to high penetration of PEVs, being charged at night periods, or non–standard voltage rise due to high penetration of PVs and PEVs generating electricity back into the grid in the network off–peak periods. In this thesis, a voltage unbalance sensitivity analysis and stochastic evaluation is carried out for PVs installed by the householders versus their installation point, their nominal capacity and penetration level as different uncertainties. A similar analysis is carried out for PEVs penetration in the network working in two different modes: Grid to vehicle and Vehicle to grid. Furthermore, the conventional methods are discussed for improving the voltage unbalance within these networks. This is later continued by proposing new and efficient improvement methods for voltage profile improvement at network peak and off–peak periods and voltage unbalance reduction. In addition, voltage unbalance reduction is investigated for MGs and new improvement methods are proposed and applied for the MG test bed, planned to be established at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). MATLAB and PSCAD/EMTDC simulation softwares are used for verification of the analyses and the proposals.

Biological responses of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells to Sr-M-Si (M = Zn, Mg) silicate bioceramics

Strontium (Sr), Zinc (Zn), magnesium (Mg), and silicon (Si) are reported to be essential trace elements for the growth and mineralization of bone. We speculated that the combination of these bioactive elements in bioceramics may be effective to regulate the osteogenic property of boneforming cells. In this study, two Sr-containing silicate bioceramics, Sr2ZnSi2O7 (SZS) and Sr2MgSi2O7 (SMS), were prepared. The biological response of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) to the two bioceramics (in the forms of powders and dense ceramic bulks) was systematically studied. In powder form, the effect of powder extracts on the viability and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of BMSCs was investigated. In ceramic disc form, both direct and indirect coculture of BMSCs with ceramic discs were used to investigate their biological response, including attachment, proliferation, ALP activity, and bone-related genes expression. Beta-tricalcium phosphate (b-TCP) and akermanite (Ca2MgSi2O7, CMS) were used as control materials. The results showed that the Sr, Zn, and Si (or Sr, Mg, and Si)-containing ionic products from SZS and SMS powders enhanced ALP activity of BMSCs, compared to those from b-TCP. Both SZS and SMS ceramic discs supported the growth of BMSCs, and most importantly, significantly enhanced the ALP activity and bone-related genes expression of BMSCs as compared to b-TCP. The results suggest that the specific combination of bioactive ions (Sr, Zn, Si, e.g.) in bioceramics is a viable way to improve the biological performance of biomaterials, and the form of materials and surface properties were nonnegligible factors to influence cell response.

Experimental studies of wireless communication and GNSS kinematic positioning performance in high-mobility vehicle environments

In order to support intelligent transportation system (ITS) road safety applications such as collision avoidance, lane departure warnings and lane keeping, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) based vehicle positioning system has to provide lane-level (0.5 to 1 m) or even in-lane-level (0.1 to 0.3 m) accurate and reliable positioning information to vehicle users. However, current vehicle navigation systems equipped with a single frequency GPS receiver can only provide road-level accuracy at 5-10 meters. The positioning accuracy can be improved to sub-meter or higher with the augmented GNSS techniques such as Real Time Kinematic (RTK) and Precise Point Positioning (PPP) which have been traditionally used in land surveying and or in slowly moving environment. In these techniques, GNSS corrections data generated from a local or regional or global network of GNSS ground stations are broadcast to the users via various communication data links, mostly 3G cellular networks and communication satellites. This research aimed to investigate the precise positioning system performances when operating in the high mobility environments. This involves evaluation of the performances of both RTK and PPP techniques using: i) the state-of-art dual frequency GPS receiver; and ii) low-cost single frequency GNSS receiver. Additionally, this research evaluates the effectiveness of several operational strategies in reducing the load on data communication networks due to correction data transmission, which may be problematic for the future wide-area ITS services deployment. These strategies include the use of different data transmission protocols, different correction data format standards, and correction data transmission at the less-frequent interval. A series of field experiments were designed and conducted for each research task. Firstly, the performances of RTK and PPP techniques were evaluated in both static and kinematic (highway with speed exceed 80km) experiments. RTK solutions achieved the RMS precision of 0.09 to 0.2 meter accuracy in static and 0.2 to 0.3 meter in kinematic tests, while PPP reported 0.5 to 1.5 meters in static and 1 to 1.8 meter in kinematic tests by using the RTKlib software. These RMS precision values could be further improved if the better RTK and PPP algorithms are adopted. The tests results also showed that RTK may be more suitable in the lane-level accuracy vehicle positioning. The professional grade (dual frequency) and mass-market grade (single frequency) GNSS receivers were tested for their performance using RTK in static and kinematic modes. The analysis has shown that mass-market grade receivers provide the good solution continuity, although the overall positioning accuracy is worse than the professional grade receivers. In an attempt to reduce the load on data communication network, we firstly evaluate the use of different correction data format standards, namely RTCM version 2.x and RTCM version 3.0 format. A 24 hours transmission test was conducted to compare the network throughput. The results have shown that 66% of network throughput reduction can be achieved by using the newer RTCM version 3.0, comparing to the older RTCM version 2.x format. Secondly, experiments were conducted to examine the use of two data transmission protocols, TCP and UDP, for correction data transmission through the Telstra 3G cellular network. The performance of each transmission method was analysed in terms of packet transmission latency, packet dropout, packet throughput, packet retransmission rate etc. The overall network throughput and latency of UDP data transmission are 76.5% and 83.6% of TCP data transmission, while the overall accuracy of positioning solutions remains in the same level. Additionally, due to the nature of UDP transmission, it is also found that 0.17% of UDP packets were lost during the kinematic tests, but this loss doesn't lead to significant reduction of the quality of positioning results. The experimental results from the static and the kinematic field tests have also shown that the mobile network communication may be blocked for a couple of seconds, but the positioning solutions can be kept at the required accuracy level by setting of the Age of Differential. Finally, we investigate the effects of using less-frequent correction data (transmitted at 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 60 seconds interval) on the precise positioning system. As the time interval increasing, the percentage of ambiguity fixed solutions gradually decreases, while the positioning error increases from 0.1 to 0.5 meter. The results showed the position accuracy could still be kept at the in-lane-level (0.1 to 0.3 m) when using up to 20 seconds interval correction data transmission.

High-voltage modular power supply using parallel and series configurations of flyback converter for pulsed power applications

To cover wide range of pulsed power applications, this paper proposes a modularity concept to improve the performance and flexibility of the pulsed power supply. The proposed scheme utilizes the advantage of parallel and series configurations of flyback modules in obtaining high-voltage levels with fast rise time (dv/dt). Prototypes were implemented using 600-V insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) switches to generate up to 4-kV output pulses with 1-kHz repetition rate for experimentation. To assess the proposed modular approach for higher number of the modules, prototypes were implemented using 1700-V IGBTs switches, based on ten-series modules, and tested up to 20 kV. Conducted experimental results verified the effectiveness of the proposed method

3D-printing of highly uniform CaSiO3 ceramic scaffolds : preparation, characterization and in vivo osteogenesis

Calcium silicate (CaSiO3, CS) ceramics have received significant attention for application in bone regeneration due to their excellent in vitro apatite-mineralization ability; however, how to prepare porous CS scaffolds with a controllable pore structure for bone tissue engineering still remains a challenge. Conventional methods could not efficiently control the pore structure and mechanical strength of CS scaffolds, resulting in unstable in vivo osteogenesis. The aim of this study is to set out to solve these problems by applying a modified 3D-printing method to prepare highly uniform CS scaffolds with controllable pore structure and improved mechanical strength. The in vivo osteogenesis of the prepared 3D-printed CS scaffolds was further investigated by implanting them in the femur defects of rats. The results show that the CS scaffolds prepared by the modified 3D-printing method have uniform scaffold morphology. The pore size and pore structure of CS scaffolds can be efficiently adjusted. The compressive strength of 3D-printed CS scaffolds is around 120 times that of conventional polyurethane templated CS scaffolds. 3D-Printed CS scaffolds possess excellent apatite-mineralization ability in simulated body fluids. Micro-CT analysis has shown that 3D-printed CS scaffolds play an important role in assisting the regeneration of bone defects in vivo. The healing level of bone defects implanted by 3D-printed CS scaffolds is obviously higher than that of 3D-printed b-tricalcium phosphate (b-TCP) scaffolds at both 4 and 8 weeks. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining shows that 3D-printed CS scaffolds induce higher quality of the newly formed bone than 3D-printed b-TCP scaffolds. Immunohistochemical analyses have further shown that stronger expression of human type I collagen (COL1) and alkaline phosphate (ALP) in the bone matrix occurs in the 3D-printed CS scaffolds than in the 3D-printed b-TCP scaffolds. Considering these important advantages, such as controllable structure architecture, significant improvement in mechanical strength, excellent in vivo osteogenesis and since there is no need for second-time sintering, it is indicated that the prepared 3D-printed CS scaffolds are a promising material for application in bone regeneration.

Development of a gas nanosensor node powered by solar cells

This work focuses on the development of a stand-alone gas nanosensor node, powered by solar energy to track concentration of polluted gases such as NO2, N2O, and NH3. Gas sensor networks have been widely developed over recent years, but the rise of nanotechnology is allowing the creation of a new range of gas sensors [1] with higher performance, smaller size and an inexpensive manufacturing process. This work has created a gas nanosensor node prototype to evaluate future field performance of this new generation of sensors. The sensor node has four main parts: (i) solar cells; (ii) control electronics; (iii) gas sensor and sensor board interface [2-4]; and (iv) data transmission. The station is remotely monitored through wired (ethernet cable) or wireless connection (radio transmitter) [5, 6] in order to evaluate, in real time, the performance of the solar cells and sensor node under different weather conditions. The energy source of the node is a module of polycrystalline silicon solar cells with 410cm2 of active surface. The prototype is equipped with a Resistance-To-Period circuit [2-4] to measure the wide range of resistances (KΩ to GΩ) from the sensor in a simple and accurate way. The system shows high performance on (i) managing the energy from the solar panel, (ii) powering the system load and (iii) recharging the battery. The results show that the prototype is suitable to work with any kind of resistive gas nanosensor and provide useful data for future nanosensor networks.

Role of ubiquitous sensor network in patient care

Efficient caring for the patient's information is an important aspect of caring for the patient. If these processes are possible to monitor anytime anywhere as per the patients' and doctors desecrations the cost of patient care could be minimised. In this connection, Ubiquitous Sensor Network is playing a key role on communication between physicians and patients as well as information sharing among health care providers with rapid access to medical information through reliable and trusted computer network systems. This paper argues possibilities of such scenarios by introducing a ubiquitous sensor network in patient care for 21st century's requirements and standards.

The heart of quality teaching : a values-based pedagogy for pre-service teacher education

In an ever changing world the adults of the future will be faced with many challenges. To cope with these challenges it seems apparent that values education will need to become paramount within a child.s education. A considerable number of research studies have indicated that values education is a critical component within education (Lovat & Toomey, 2007b). Building on this research Lovat (2006) claimed that values education was the missing link in quality teaching The concept of quality teaching had risen to the fore within educational research literature in the late 20th century with the claim that it is the teacher who makes the difference in schooling (Hattie, 2004). Thus, if teachers make such a difference to student learning, achievement and well-being, then it must hold true that pre-service teacher education programmes are vital in ensuring the development of quality teachers for our schools. The gap that this current research programme addressed was to link the fields of values education, quality teaching and pre-service teacher education. This research programme aimed to determine the impact of a values-based pedagogy on the development of quality teaching dimensions within pre-service teacher education. The values-based pedagogy that was investigated in this research programme was Philosophy in the Classroom. The research programme adopted a nested case study design based on the constructivist-interpretative paradigm in examining a unit within a pre-service teacher education programme at a Queensland university. The methodology utilised was qualitative where the main source of data was via interviews. In total, 43 pre-service teachers participated in three studies in order to determine if their involvement in a unit where the focus was on introducing pre-service teachers to an explicit values-based pedagogy impacted on their knowledge, skills and confidence in terms of quality teaching dimensions. The research programme was divided into three separate studies in order to address the two research questions: 1. In what ways do pre-service teachers perceive they are being prepared to become quality teachers? 2. Is there a connection between an explicit values-based pedagogy in pre-service teacher education and the development of pre-service teachers. understanding of quality teaching? Study One provided insight into 21 pre-service teachers. understandings of quality teaching. These 21 participants had not engaged in an explicit values-based pedagogy. Study Two involved the interviewing of 22 pre-service teachers at two separate points in time . prior to exposure to a unit that employed a values-explicit pedagogy and post this subject.s lecture content delivery. Study Three reported on and analysed individual case studies of five pre-service teachers who had participated in Study Two Time 1 and Time 2, as well as a third time following their field experience where they had practice in teaching the values explicit pedagogy. The results of the research demonstrate that an explicit values-based pedagogy introduced into a teacher education programme has a positive impact on the development of pre-service teachers. understanding of quality teaching skills and knowledge. The teaching and practice of a values-based pedagogy positively impacted on pre-service teachers with increases of knowledge, skills and confidence demonstrated on the quality teaching dimensions of intellectual quality, a supportive classroom environment, recognition of difference, connectedness and values. These findings were reinforced through the comparison of pre-service teachers who had participated in the explicit values-based pedagogical approach, with a sample of pre-service teachers who had not engaged in this same values-based pedagogical approach. A solid values-based pedagogy and practice can and does enhance pre-service teachers. understanding of quality teaching. These findings surrounding the use of a values-based pedagogy in pre-service teacher education to enhance quality teaching knowledge and skills has contributed theoretically to the field of educational research, as well having practical implications for teacher education institutions and teacher educators.

The Lost Girls: Muslim Young Women in Australia

In an era of heightened concern about the second generation of Muslim immigrants in connection with 'home-grown terrorism' and supposed refusal to 'integrate', this paper interrogates the common sense that the second generation is 'lost' between cultures. Informed by in-depth, open-ended, semi-structured interviews with young second-generation Lebanese-background immigrants, this paper presents empirical material from two cohorts of participants, one in 1997 and one in 2003. Five cases are considered here, three from 1997 and two from 2003: all Muslim young women. It is argued that, far from being 'lost', the young women are constructing blended identities which they reflect on consciously, under circumstances of everyday racism to which they respond strategically.

Frames of Anime: Culture and Image-Building

With the rising popularity of anime amongst animation students, audiences and scholars around the world, it has become increasingly important to critically analyse anime as being more than a ‘limited’ form of animation, and thematically as encompassing more than super robots and pocket monsters. Frames of Anime: Culture and Image-Building charts the development of Japanese animation from its indigenous roots within a native culture, through Japan’s experience of modernity and the impact of the Second World War. This text is the result of a rigorous study that recognises the heterogeneous and polymorphous background of anime. As such, Tze-Yue has adopted an ‘interdisciplinary and transnational’ (p. 7) approach to her enquiry, drawing upon face-to-face interviews, on-site visits and biographical writings of animators. Tze-Yue delineates anime from other forms of animation by linking its visual style to pre-modern Japanese art forms and demonstrating the connection it shares with an indigenous folk system of beliefs. Via the identification of traditional Japanese art forms and their visual connectedness to Japanese animation, Tze-Yue shows that the Japanese were already heavily engaged in what was destined to become anime once technology had enabled its production. Tze-Yue’s efforts to connect traditional Japanese art forms, and their artistic elements, to contemporary anime reveals that the Japanese already had a rich culture of visual storytelling that pre-dates modern animation. She identifies the Japanese form of the magic lantern at the turn of the 19th century, utsushi-e, as the pre-modern ancestor of Japanese animation, describing it as ‘Edo anime’ (p. 43). Along with utsushi-e, the Edo period also saw the woodblock print, ukiyo-e, being produced for the rising middle class (p. 32). Highlighting the ‘resurfacing’ of ‘realist’ approaches to Japanese art in ukiyo-e, Tze-Yue demonstrates the visual connection of ukiyo-e and anime in the …

Enabling USDL by tools

Fundamental tooling is required in order to apply USDL in practical settings. This chapter discusses three fundamental types of tools for USDL. First, USDL editors have been developed for expert and casual users, respectively. Second, several USDL repositories have been built to allow editors accessing and storing USDL descriptions. Third, our generic USDL marketplace allows providers to describe their services once and potentially trade them anywhere. In addition, the iosyncrasies of service trading as opposed to the simpler case of product trading. The chapter also presents several deployment scenarios of such tools to foster individual value chains and support new business models across organizational boundaries. We close the chapter with an application of USDL in the context of service engineering.

SOA approaches

As the service-oriented architecture paradigm has become ever more popular, different standardization efforts have been proposed by various consortia to enable interaction among heterongeneous environments through this paradigm. This chapter will overview the most prevalent of these SOA approaches. It will first show how technical services can be described, how they can interact with each other and be discovered by users. Next, the chapter will present different standards to facilitate service composition and to design service-oriented environments in light of a universal understanding of service orientation. The chapter will conclude with a summary and a discussion on the limitations of the reviewed standards along their ability to describe service properties. This paves the way to the next chapters where the USDL standard will be presented, which aims to lift such limitations.