Driving speed is altered by monocular Neutral Density filters : the Enright phenomenon

Introduction: An observer, looking sideways from a moving vehicle, while wearing a neutral density filter over one eye, can have a distorted perception of speed, known as the Enright phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to determine how the Enright phenomenon influences driving behaviour. Methods: A geometric model of the Enright phenomenon was developed. Ten young, visually normal, participants (mean age = 25.4 years) were tested on a straight section of a closed driving circuit and instructed to look out of the right side of the vehicle and drive at either 40 Km/h or 60 Km/h under the following binocular viewing conditions: with a 0.9 ND filter over the left eye (leading eye); 0.9 ND filter over the right eye (trailing eye); 0.9 ND filters over both eyes, and with no filters over either eye. The order of filter conditions was randomised and the speed driven recorded for each condition. Results: Speed judgments did not differ significantly between the two baseline conditions (no filters and both eyes filtered) for either speed tested. For the baseline conditions, when subjects were asked to drive at 60 Km/h they matched this speed well (61 ± 10.2 Km/h) but drove significantly faster than requested (51.6 ± 9.4 Km/h) when asked to drive at 40 Km/h. Subjects significantly exceeded baseline speeds by 8.7± 5.0 Km/h, when the trailing eye was filtered and travelled slower than baseline speeds by 3.7± 4.6 Km/h when the leading eye was filtered. Conclusions: This is the first quantitative study demonstrating how the Enright effect can influence perceptions of driving speed, and demonstrates that monocular filtering of an eye can significantly impact driving speeds, albeit to a lesser extent than predicted by geometric models of the phenomenon.

Comparing cost uplift in infrastructure delivery methods : a case based approach

In 2009 the Australian Federal and State governments are expected to have spent some AU$30 billion procuring infrastructure projects. For governments with finite resources but many competing projects, formal capital rationing is achieved through use of Business Cases. These Business cases articulate the merits of investing in particular projects along with the estimated costs and risks of each project. Despite the sheer size and impact of infrastructure projects, there is very little research in Australia, or internationally, on the performance of these projects against Business Case assumptions when the decision to invest is made. If such assumptions (particularly cost assumptions) are not met, then there is serious potential for the misallocation of Australia’s finite financial resources. This research addresses this important gap in the literature by using combined quantitative and qualitative research methods, to examine the actual performance of 14 major Australian government infrastructure projects. The research findings are controversial as they challenge widely held perceptions of the effectiveness of certain infrastructure delivery practices. Despite this controversy, the research has had a significant impact on the field and has been described as ‘outstanding’ and ‘definitive’ (Alliancing Association of Australasia), "one of the first of its kind" (Infrastructure Partnerships of Australia) and "making a critical difference to infrastructure procurement" (Victorian Department of Treasury). The implications for practice of the research have been profound and included the withdrawal by Government of various infrastructure procurement guidelines, the formulation of new infrastructure policies by several state governments and the preparation of new infrastructure guidelines that substantially reflect the research findings. Building on the practical research, a more rigorous academic investigation focussed on the comparative cost uplift of various project delivery strategies was submitted to Australia’s premier academic management conference, the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM) Annual Conference. This paper has been accepted for the 2010 ANZAM National Conference following a process of double blind peer review with reviewers rating the paper’s overall contribution as "Excellent" and "Good".

Navigating a complex organizational landscape : leadership challenges and practices

This paper discusses exploratory research to identify the reported leadership challenges faced by leaders in the public sector in Australia and what specific leadership practices they engage in to deal with these challenges. Emerging is a sense that leadership in these complex work environments is not about controlling or mandating action but about engaging in conversation, building relationships and empowering staff to engage in innovative ways to solve complex problems. In addition leaders provide a strong sense of purpose and identity to guide behaviour and decisions to overcome being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of demands in a unpredictable and often unsupportive environment. Questions are raised as to the core competencies leaders need to develop to drive and underpin these leadership practices and the implications this has for the focus on future leadership development programmes. The possible direction of a future research programme will be put forward for further discussion.

Drivers of satisfaction and dissatisfaction for overseas service consumers : a critical incident technique approach

This is one of the few studies in the academic literature that directly addresses inward exporting of customer services, which is a topic that has gained less attention from an international services marketing point of view. The objective of this study is to explore the drivers of satisfaction and dissatisfaction for overseas service customers of higher education in Australia. Critical incident technique (CIT) method was used to collect and analyse the data and a total of 107 critical incidents were collected. Findings from this study show that service satisfaction and dissatisfaction for international students derive from: elements of the core service (educational service performance), personal sources (international student performance), and the external environment (socialization and host environment performance). Additionally, results show that the drivers of satisfaction and dissatisfaction for international students are not necessarily the same. Limitations relating to the specific sector of higher education and the cross sectional natures of the data are addressed.

Chongqing International Circus City

The design grows out of the rich culture of circus and the rugged dynamic topography of Chongqing. The site for this project is nestled on the banks of the mighty Yangzte, China's longest river: a vast sweeping watery ribbon carving its way through the mountainous terrain. This swirling sinuous environmental thread replicates in nature the tweisting ribbons circling the gyrating circus gymnast. The project grows from intertwining these swirling parallel conceptions of 'ribbon'. A multi-layered envelope of glass and steel ribbons creates a dome like enclosure that wraps itself around the dynamic performing heart of the circus. The main auditorium and stage area are accommodated in this space. Key public elements and facilities are located adjacent to the new riverfront boulevard maximising the positive relationship with this attractive landscape zone. Service and support areas are located along the southern boundary. Key Statistics; Client: Chongqing Broadcast Bureau Developer: Chongqing Real Estate Site: 3.3 Ha Development: Total G.F.A.: 36,800m2 Project Cost: Total Investment: RMB 300 Million (A$48 million) Other competition participants were BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group (Denmark)/arquitectonica (USA)/Beijing Architectural Design Institute/East China Architectural Design Institute/China Architectural Design Academy.

AtBAG7, an Arabidopsis Bcl-2-associated athanogene, resides in the endoplasmic reticulum and is involved in the unfolded protein response

The Bcl-2-associated athanogene (BAG) family is an evolutionarily conserved, multifunctional group of cochaperones that perform diverse cellular functions ranging from proliferation to growth arrest and cell death in yeast, in mammals, and, as recently observed, in plants. The Arabidopsis genome contains seven homologs of the BAG family, including four with domain organization similar to animal BAGs. In the present study we show that an Arabidopsis BAG, AtBAG7, is a uniquely localized endoplasmic reticulum (ER) BAG that is necessary for the proper maintenance of the unfolded protein response (UPR). AtBAG7was shown to interact directly in vivo with themolecular chaperone, AtBiP2, by bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays, and the interaction was confirmed by yeast two-hybrid assay. Treatment with an inducer of UPR, tunicamycin, resulted in accelerated cell death of AtBAG7-null mutants. Furthermore, AtBAG7 knockouts were sensitive to known ER stress stimuli, heat and cold. In these knockouts heat sensitivity was reverted successfully to the wild-type phenotype with the addition of the chemical chaperone, tauroursodexycholic acid (TUDCA). Real-time PCR of ER stress proteins indicated that the expression of the heat-shock protein, AtBiP3, is selectively up-regulated in AtBAG7-null mutants upon heat and cold stress. Our results reveal an unexpected diversity of the plant's BAG gene family and suggest that AtBAG7 is an essential component of the UPR during heat and cold tolerance, thus confirming the cytoprotective role of plant BAGs.

A task-oriented approach to search engine usability studies

Usability is a multi-dimensional characteristic of a computer system. This paper focuses on usability as a measurement of interaction between the user and the system. The research employs a task-oriented approach to evaluate the usability of a meta search engine. This engine encourages and accepts queries of unlimited size expressed in natural language. A variety of conventional metrics developed by academic and industrial research, including ISO standards,, are applied to the information retrieval process consisting of sequential tasks. Tasks range from formulating (long) queries to interpreting and retaining search results. Results of the evaluation and analysis of the operation log indicate that obtaining advanced search engine results can be accomplished simultaneously with enhancing the usability of the interactive process. In conclusion, we discuss implications for interactive information retrieval system design and directions for future usability research. © 2008 Academy Publisher.

Design and design thinking in business and management education and development

Design and design thinking have been identified as making valuable contributions to business and management and the numbers of higher education programs that teach design thinking to business students, managers and executives are growing. However multiple definitions of design thinking and the range of perspectives have created some confusion about potential pathways. This paper examines notions of design and design thinking and uses these definitions to identify themes in higher educational programs. We present the findings from an initial exploratory investigation of design and design thinking in higher education business programs and define four distinct educational approaches around human centred innovation, integrative thinking, design management and design as strategy. Potential directions for management education programs are presented.

Charting the system : the integrated master schedule as a multi-level and poly-temporal boundary object in complex projects

This paper investigates the use of visual artifacts to represent a complex adaptive system (CAS). The integrated master schedule (IMS) is one of those visuals widely used in complex projects for scheduling, budgeting, and project management. In this paper, we discuss how the IMS outperforms the traditional timelines and acts as a ‘multi-level and poly-temporal boundary object’ that visually represents the CAS. We report the findings of a case study project on the way the IMS mapped interactions, interdependencies, constraints and fractal patterns in a complex project. Finally, we discuss how the IMS was utilised as a complex boundary object by eliciting commitment and development of shared mental models, and facilitating negotiation through the layers of multiple interpretations from stakeholders.

Can transfer of learning be enriched by valuing knowledge transformation and co-creation? Exploring new ways to improve training design

This paper argues that a possible cause of issues with management education outcomes is the fact that most training models operate from a limited ‘transfer’ metaphor. This theoretical paper contends that by reconceptualising existing models, specifically Holton’s transfer of learning model, to incorporate multiple processes and acknowledge the importance of educator- or trainer-student interaction in co-creating knowledge, there is potential to improve training design and ultimately achieve more satisfactory training outcomes.

A multi-level model of leadership in complex project management

Management (or perceived mismanagement) of large-scale, complex projects poses special problems and often results in spectacular failures, cost overruns, time blowouts and stakeholder dissatisfaction. While traditional project management responds with increasingly administrative constraints, we argue that leaders of such projects also need to display adaptive and enabling behaviours to foster adaptive processes, such as opportunity recognition, which requires an interaction of cognitive and affective processes of individual, project, and team leader attributes and behaviours. At the core of this model we propose is an interaction of cognitive flexibility, affect and emotional intelligence. The result of this interaction is enhanced leader opportunity recognition that, in turn, facilitates multilevel outcomes.

Person-environment fit: project leader-stakeholder relationships in a complex project environment

In this paper, we develop a conceptual model to explore the perceived complementary congruence between complex project leaders and the demands of the complex project environment to understand how leaders’ affective and behavioural performance at work might be impacted by this fit. We propose that complex project leaders high in emotional intelligence and cognitive flexibility should report a higher level of fit between themselves and the complex project environment. This abilities-demands measure of fit should then relate to affective and behavioural performance outcomes, such that leaders who perceive a higher level of fit should establish and maintain more effective, higher quality project stakeholder relationships than leaders who perceive a lower level of fit.

Exploring regional differences in Chinese consumer acceptance of new mobile technology : a qualitative study

This study examines consumer adoption of 3G mobile technology in China. The qualitative study involved 45 in-depth interviews undertaken in three major Chinese cities to explore the beliefs and attitudes which determine Chinese consumers’ acceptance of the mobile technological innovation. The findings are compared and contrasted against those reported in Western studies. The variations underpinning adoption of 3G between consumers in the three regional cities were identified. Specifically, it was found that the regions differed in terms of the relative importance of the identified adoption determinants, such as perceived social outcomes for using the innovation and the effects of social influence on the adoption. These findings provide subtle insight into the nature of Chinese consumers’ responses to new mobile technologies and a better understanding of variations among regional Chinese consumers.

From bust to boom : towards a strategic cognition perspective on Australian mining firms’ adaption

While the role of executives’ cognition in organisations’ responses to change is a central topic in strategic cognition research, changes in firms’ environment are typically not measured directly but described either as an event (for example, new industry legislation) or represented by a time period (e.g. when a new technology impacted an industry). The Australian mining sector has witnessed a historically significant change in demand for its products and we begin by developing measures of changes in supply and demand for key commodities during the period 1992-2008. We identify sub-groups of firms based on their activities and commodity sector and examine the relation of these variables to executives’ cognition and to firms’ CapEx. We find industry, firm and cognitive variables are related to both strategic cognition and firms’ CapEx.

When is a spinoff the best way to pursue a radical innovation? Insights from Shell technology ventures

The technology and innovation management literature offers somewhat conflicting evidence with regards to the formation of spinoff companies for radically new technologies. Sometimes spinoffs seem to be a very effective strategy—but not always. An obvious question emerges: under what conditions is a spinoff the best way to pursue a radical technology? This paper sheds light on this question by presenting case study evidence from spinoff firms within the Shell Technology Ventures portfolio. The data point to industry clockspeed as a potentially important variable in the decision to create a spinoff or not.