Greening Buildings : How can the performance of existing commercial buildings be improved?

Efforts to improve the performance of commercial buildings have often focused on encouraging green design, construction and building operation; however, the business case is not very compelling if considering the energy cost savings alone. In recent years green building has been driven by a sense that it will improve the productivity of occupants, something with even greater economic returns than energy savings. Reducing energy demand in commercial buildings in a way that encourages greater productivity is not yet well understood as it involves a set of complex and interdependent factors. This project investigates these factors and focuses on the performance of and interaction between: green design elements, indoor environment quality, tenant/ leasing agreements and culture, occupant experience, and building management practices.

Safe perioperative fasting : implementation of evidence based guidelines and an ‘at risk’ checklist

Introduction Guidelines existed at the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) to direct preoperative/pre-procedural fasting in day patients undergoing general anaesthetic. However audit, risk analyses and a recent research project at the RCH identified prolonged pre-procedural fasting times in children undergoing day surgical and gastroenterology procedures. Aims 1. Reduce median fasting time to <8 hrs for children admitted for a day procedure under general anaesthetic; 2. Identify children at risk of perioperative hypoglycaemia. Methods The study was conducted in 4 phases: 1) revision and implementation of evidence-based perioperative fasting guidelines with staff education relating to these guidelines; 2) cross-sectional descriptive study with day surgical patients (n = 377) requiring preoperative fasting. ‘Normal risk’ and ‘High risk’ groups were identified for fasting hypoglycaemia using an ‘at risk’ checklist. Venous blood glucose (BGL) testing was performed at a) anaesthetic induction; b) prior to first caloric food/fluid postoperatively; 3) chart audit to evaluate efficacy of guidelines and parent information; 4) development of recommendations for clinical practice. Results The median fasting time for children having morning surgery (14 hrs, IQ range 5–22 hrs) was twice as long compared to afternoon lists (7 hrs, IQ range 6–22 hrs) (p < 0.001). Median fasting times were not significantly different between ‘at risk’ and control groups (p = 0.496). However the proportion of children who experienced hypoglycaemia (BGL <3 mmol/L) was greater in the ‘at risk’ group (5, 8%) compared to the control group (18, 4.3%). Although not statistically significant (x2 = 2.254, p = 0.133), ‘at risk’ children appear more likely to experience hypoglycaemia as children in the control group, constituting a clinically significant finding. Conclusion Appropriate identification and management of ‘high risk’ children, will reduce the risk of deleterious sequelae in children undergoing surgical or investigative procedures requiring general anaesthesia.

Ethnography of software maintenance activities in an industrial engineering setup

New technical and procedural interventions are less likely to be adopted in industry, unless they are smoothly integrated into the existing practices of professionals. In this paper, we provide a case study of the use of ethnographic methods for studying software bug-fixing activities at an industrial engineering conglomerate. We aimed at getting an in-depth understanding of software developers' everyday practices in bug-fixing related projects and in turn inform the design of novel productivity tools. The use of ethnography has allowed us to look at the social side of software maintenance practices. In this paper, we highlight: 1) organizational issues that influence bug-fixing activities; 2) social role of bug tracking systems, and; 3) social issues specific to different phases of bug-fixing activities.

Plain English writing in Sri Lanka - an achievable goal

The use of plain English in document writing, whether in correspondence, agreements and deeds, court documents or judicial writing, is an important goal for the legal profession in Sri Lanka.

Taxation determinations as de facto regulation : private equity exits in Australia

The Australian Taxation Office (AT)) attempted to challenge both the private equity fund reliance on double tax agreements and the assertion that profits were capital in nature in its dispute with private equity group TPG. Failure to resolve the dispute resulted in the ATO issuing two taxation determinations: TD 2010/20 which states that the general anti-avoidance provisions can apply to arrangements designed to alter the intended effect of Australia's international tax agreements net; and TD 2010/21 which states that the profits on the sale of shares in a company group acquired in a leveraged buyout is assessable income. The purpose of this article is to determine the effectiveness of the administrative rulings regime as a regulatory strategy. This article, by using the TPG-Myer scenario and subsequent tax determinations as a case study, collects qualitative data which is then analysed (and triangulated) using tonal and thematic analysis. Contemporaneous commentary of private equity stakeholders, tax professionals, and media observations are analysed and evaluated within a framework of responsive regulation and utilising the current ATO compliance model. Contrary to the stated purpose of the ATO rulings regime to alleviate complexities in Australian taxation law and provide certainty to taxpayers, and despite the de facto law status afforded these rulings, this study found that the majority of private equity stakeholders and their advisors perceived that greater uncertainty was created by the two determinations. Thus, this study found that in the context of private equity fund investors, a responsive regulation measure in the form of taxation determinations was not effective.

An instrument to assess the obesogenic environment of child care centers

OBJECTIVES To describe protocol and interobserver agreements of an instrument to evaluate nutrition and physical activity environments at child care. METHODS Interobserver data were collected from 9 child care centers, through direct observation and document review (17 observer pairs). RESULTS Mean agreement between observer pairs was 87.26% and 79.29% for the observation and document review, respectively. Items with lower agreement were primarily staff behavior, counting across the day/week, and policy classifications. CONCLUSIONS Although some revisions are required, the interobserver agreement for the environment and policy assessment and observation (EPAO instrument) appears to be quite good for assessing the nutrition and physical activity environment of child care centers.

Priority Threat Management for Pilbara Species of Conservation Significance

This project provides a costed and appraised set of management strategies for mitigating threats to species of conservation significance in the Pilbara IBRA bioregion of Western Australia (hereafter 'the Pilbara'). Conservation significant species are either listed under federal and state legislation, international agreements or considered likely to be threatened in the next 20 years. Here we report on the 17 technically and socially feasible management strategies, which were drawn from the collective experience and knowledge of 49 experts and stakeholders in the ecology and management of the Pilbara region. We determine the relative ecological cost-effectiveness of each strategy, calculated as the expected benefit of management to the persistence of 53 key threatened native fauna and flora species, divided by the expected cost of management. Finally we provide decision support to assist prioritisation of the strategies on the basis of ecological cost-effectiveness.

Kinetics of low-pressure, low-temperature graphene growth : toward single-layer, single-crystalline structure

Graphene grown on metal catalysts with low carbon solubility is a highly competitive alternative to exfoliated and other forms of graphene, yet a single-layer, single-crystal structure remains a challenge because of the large number of randomly oriented nuclei that form grain boundaries when stitched together. A kinetic model of graphene nucleation and growth is developed to elucidate the effective controls of the graphene island density and surface coverage from the onset of nucleation to the full monolayer formation in low-pressure, low-temperature CVD. The model unprecedentedly involves the complete cycle of the elementary gas-phase and surface processes and shows a precise quantitative agreement with the recent low-energy electron diffraction measurements and also explains numerous parameter trends from a host of experimental reports. These agreements are demonstrated for a broad pressure range as well as different combinations of precursor gases and supporting catalysts. The critical role of hydrogen in controlling the graphene nucleation and monolayer formation is revealed and quantified. The model is generic and can be extended to even broader ranges of catalysts and precursor gases/pressures to enable the as yet elusive effective control of the crystalline structure and number of layers of graphene using the minimum amounts of matter and energy.

Homelessness and leaving care : the experiences of young adults in Queensland and Victoria, and implications for practice

This research first asks ‘What happens when young people leave state care?’ in respect of Victoria and Queensland and second ‘What are the service support implications of this?’ A number of methods were used to explore these questions including semi-structured interviews with 27 young adults aged 19-23 years who had been homeless or at risk of homelessness, and focus groups with young people and service providers. This study provides support for the proposition that young people should be proactively and voluntarily involved in periodic monitoring of their lived experience post care and linkage of this monitoring to the activation of timely support. The great majority of young people involved in this study thought this was not only desirable but important. Whilst some young people will be in close contact with leaving care services many others will not. New research is recommended to develop a mentoring and support activation process using participatory monitoring and action research methods. This type of approach reflects the importance of utilising processes with young people in care and leaving care which acknowledge their personhood and capacity to contribute voluntarily to the processes which seek to support them.

Social licence to operate and the coal seam gas industry : lessons from social issues in established mining operations?

The recent growth of the coal seam gas industry has increased pressure on regional communities. Debate surrounding the industry is intense and a social licence to operate has yet to be granted to the industry in its entirety. This article presents an analysis of social issues surrounding the coal seam gas industry, making comparisons between two case studies: the Ranger and Jabiluka mines and the Yandicoogina mine. It presents the results of a desktop study, focussed on three topics: community identity; procedural justice and distributive justice, which provides a means for comparison and draws attention to central concerns. It is found that: power imbalances; changing community identities; potentially inequitable distributions of long term benefits and the process to distribute those benefits and negative perceptions of the industry as a whole serve to undermine the provision of a social licence to operate by communities and has the potential to impose significant negative impacts on companies within the industry.

The impacts of exchange rate volatility on vegetable trade flows

Trade flows of commodities are generally affected by the principles of comparative advantage in a free trade. However, trade flows might be enhanced or distorted not only by various government interventions, but also by exchange rate fluctuations among others. This study applies a commodity-specific gravity model to selected vegetable trade flows among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries to determine the effects of exchange rate uncertainty on the trade flows. Using the data from 1996 to 2002, the results show that, while the exchange rate uncertainty significantly reduces trade in the majority of commodity flows, there is evidence that both short- and long-term volatility have positive effect on trade flows of specific commodities. This study also tests the regional preferential trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the EU, and their different effects on commodities.

Creative expression as the objective in video games

This study explores the idea of video games where the players are not just allowed to express themselves creatively, but are challenged to do so and are judged based on the quality of their creative expression. The outcome of the research is a series of six games which comment on this idea. The study also raises further questions regarding how current video games are constructed and designed in comparison with non-computer games, and invites a further evolution of the craft of video game design in a direction that focuses more on interpreting and reacting to what the player is doing.

Knowledge Transfer in Transnational Programmes : Opportunities and Challenges for the Pacific Region

The globalised world: The current higher education community The last decade has seen rapid changes in the landscape of higher education (HE) throughout the world, largely as a product of globalisation. A major effect has been to propel the interconnectedness between nations and people across the globe (Scholte, 2005). The use of information and communication technology (ICT) has diminished the distance between countries. The world’s economies are becoming more integrated and interrelated through neoliberal economic policies, free trade agreements and open access of goods and services beyond national borders, policies promulgated by organisations such as the World Trade Organization and The World Bank (Marginson & Ordorika, 2011; Mok, 2011). As a consequence, universities are operating at global, national and local levels simultaneously. In the Pacific region, new universities are emerging. For example, Fiji now has one regional and two national universities; Samoa has a national university and Solomon Islands has an institute of higher education. These new players add to regional competition as they open opportunities for global partnerships and transnational programmes. Thus, participating at these multiple levels is inevitable, and no university is immune to these changes (Marginson, Kaur & Sawir, 2011a). Universities are now part of the global HE community that cannot be confined within a nation’s borders. Transitional HE programmes are perhaps one of the most evident demonstrations of the interconnectedness of universities across countries in this global era.

Commercial Leases in Australia [7th ed.]

Commercial Leases in Australia is a comprehensive guide to understanding and drafting commercial leases agreements in Australia and to managing disputes when they arise.

Talking across the fence : partners for art education

This presentation explores a model for building and sustaining secondary – tertiary partnerships in Arts education. It traces the evolution of partner relationships in a challenging educational landscape, assesses the value of dialogue between educators, design professionals and community stakeholders, and tells the story of a particular secondary – tertiary partnership exploring new pedagogy in Art and Design, between Kelvin Grove State College, the School of Design Creative Industries Faculty of QUT, and the Design Minds program of the State Library of Queensland. Among other benefits, tertiary and industry partners have brought a myriad of diverse voices into the classrooms, enabled the direct interaction of learners with tertiary student mentors, and with art and design practitioners. The working model has also now matured into formal and informal partner agreements that help guarantee its viability into the future. This presentation, which deals with the opening of new terrain between committed partners, is also the story of how design has gradually been integrated in the curriculum, enriching and expanding the repertoire of Art programs, and how one Visual Art Faculty in a large inner city Brisbane School has adopted design thinking and “metadesign” as a model for future innovation. From the process of interaction and dialogue among educators and practitioners over several years has emerged a conviction that both partnering and design pedagogy are key tools in developing forward thinking curriculum for the Arts. In addition, hammering out a model that works for students across different year levels and in diverse settings by putting ideas into practice and micro-managing this process in studios and workshops has challenged teachers to rethink their own Art pedagogy. Finally, in the ecosystem of Schools and in the wider systems that are now driving change in education, survival for the Arts may depend on the networking and affirmation derived from innovating partners. Our story, the story of committed individuals who have sustained a dialogue across boundaries, may provide a valuable model for other arts educators fighting to retain agency in their schools.