Decision support system for improving construction companies��� business performance

As part of a decision making process, the controlling process in construction companies can be supported by computer application that provides faster and reliable decision. This paper discusses the development of a knowledge-based decision support system for controlling construction companies��� business performance. The knowledge-base was developed using questionnaire survey and case studies. A questionnaire survey was conducted to identify potential problems that can occur in construction companies as well as the source of the problems and their impact on companies��� performance. Case studies were used to identify and analyse various corrective actions. The result of the study shows that decision support system using knowledge-based management system improves the effectiveness and the efficiency of decision making process for selecting the most appropriate corrective action that can improve construction companies��� performance. The application, which had been developed in this research, was designed to support the process of controlling construction companies��� business performance and to assist young manager in selecting the most optimum corrective actions for the problems related to achieving companies��� objectives. This computer application can be used as a learning tool for identifying potential problems that a construction company faces and the most optimum corrective action.

Living walls - a way to green the built environment

Actions Towards Sustainable Outcomes Environmental Issues/Principal Impacts The increasing urbanisation of cities brings with it several detrimental consequences, such as: ��� Significant energy use for heating and cooling many more buildings has led to urban heat islands and increased greenhouse gas emissions. ��� Increased amount of hard surfaces, which not only contributes to higher temperatures in cities, but also to increased stormwater runoff. ��� Degraded air quality and noise. ��� Health and general well-being of people is frequently compromised, by inadequate indoor air quality. ��� Reduced urban biodiversity. Basic Strategies In many design situations, boundaries and constraints limit the application of cutting EDGe actions. In these circumstances, designers should at least consider the following: ��� Living walls are an emerging technology, and many Australian examples function more as internal feature walls. However,as understanding of the benefits and construction of living walls develops this technology could be part of an exterior facade that enhances a building���s thermal performance. ��� Living walls should be designed to function with an irrigation system using non-potable water. Cutting EDGe Strategies ��� Living walls can be part of a design strategy that effectively improves the thermal performance of a building, thereby contributing to lower energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. ��� Including living walls in the initial stages of design would provide greater flexibility to the design, especially of the facade, structural supports, mechanical ventilation and watering systems, thus lowering costs. ��� Designing a building with an early understanding of living walls can greatly reduce maintenance costs. ��� Including plant species and planting media that would be able to remove air impurities could contribute to improved indoor air quality, workplace productivity and well-being. Synergies and References ��� Living walls are a key research topic at the Centre for Subtropical Design, Queensland University of Technology: http://www.subtropicaldesign.bee.qut.edu.au ��� BEDP Environment Design Guide: DES 53: Roof and Facade Gardens ��� BEDP Environment Design Guide: GEN 4: Positive Development ��� Designing for Net Positive Impacts (see green scaffolding and green space frame walls). ��� Green Roofs Australia: www.greenroofs.wordpress.com ��� Green Roofs for Healthy Cities USA: www.greenroofs.org

Location constraints in digital rights management

Digital rights management allows information owners to control the use and dissemination of electronic documents via a machine-readable licence. This paper describes the design and implementation of a system for creating and enforcing licences containing location constraints that can be used to restrict access to sensitive documents to a defined area. Documents can be loaded onto a portable device and used in the approved areas, but cannot be used if the device moves to another area. Our contribution includes a taxonomy for access control in the presence of requests to perform non-instantaneous controlled actions.

Information���movement coupling in developing cricketers under changing ecological practice constraints

Changing informational constraints of practice, such as when using ball projection machines, has been shown to significantly affect movement coordination of skilled cricketers. To date, there has been no similar research on movement responses of developing batters, an important issue since ball projection machines are used heavily in cricket development programmes. Timing and coordination of young cricketers (n = 12, age = 15.6 �� 0.7 years) were analyzed during the forward defensive and forward drive strokes when facing a bowling machine and bowler (both with a delivery velocity of 28.14 �� 0.56 m s���1). Significant group performance differences were observed between the practice task constraints, with earlier initiation of the backswing, front foot movement, downswing, and front foot placement when facing the bowler compared to the bowling machine. Peak height of the backswing was higher when facing the bowler, along with a significantly larger step length. Altering the informational constraints of practice caused major changes to the information���movement couplings of developing cricketers. Data from this study were interpreted to emanate from differences in available specifying variables under the distinct practice task constraints. Considered with previous findings, results confirmed the need to ensure representative batting task constraints in practice, cautioning against an over-reliance on ball projection machines in cricket development programmes.

Justifications in young children���s language in an early childhood classroom

This paper examines the interactional phenomenon of justification as it is produced in young children���s language. A justification provides a reason for one���s position and can be produced in children���s language at an early age. There are various pragmatic reasons for justifications. For example, justifications may be drawn upon by members to compensate for the disruption of the existing social order or to explain something that is possibly questionable. Justifications are also drawn upon to extend or close disputes. This study uses the analytical techniques of conversation analysis and membership categorisation to analyse video-recorded and transcribed interactions of young children (aged 4-6 years) in a preparatory classroom in a primary school in Australia. The focus is an episode that occurred within the block play area of the classroom that involved a dispute of ownership relating to a small, wooden plank. In analysing this dispute, justifications were frequent occurrences and the young participants drew upon justificatory devices in their everyday arguments. As the turns surrounding the justificatory language were examined, a pattern emerged: in each excerpt observed, a justification arose in response to a challenge. This pattern provided the basis for developing a model that helped to discern where, why and what type of justifications occurred in the interaction. To depict this interactional phenomenon, the model of ���if x, then y��� was used, ���x��� referring to the challenge or prompt, and ���y��� referring to the justificatory response. Justifications related to the concepts of ownership and were used as devices by those engaged in disputes to support their positions and provide reasons for their actions. The children drew upon these child-constructed rules as resources to use in disputes with their peers, in order to construct and maintain the social order of the block area in the classroom.

Dynamics of multi-articular coordination in neurobiological systems

Although previous work in nonlinear dynamics on neurobiological coordination and control has provided valuable insights from studies of single joint movements in humans, researchers have shown increasing interest in coordination of multi-articular actions. Multi-articular movement models have provided valuable insights on neurobiological systems conceptualised as degenerate, adaptive complex systems satisfying the constraints of dynamic environments. In this paper, we overview empirical evidence illustrating the dynamics of adaptive movement behavior in a range of multi-articular actions including kicking, throwing, hitting and balancing. We model the emergence of creativity and the diversity of neurobiological action in the meta-stable region of self organising criticality. We examine the influence on multi-articular actions of decaying and emerging constraints in the context of skill acquisition. We demonstrate how, in this context, transitions between preferred movement patterns exemplify the search for and adaptation of attractor states within the perceptual motor workspace as a function of practice. We conclude by showing how empirical analyses of neurobiological coordination and control have been used to establish a nonlinear pedagogical framework for enhancing acquisition of multi-articular actions.

Interpersonal coordination tendencies, decision-making and information governing dynamics in rugby union

In this chapter, ideas from ecological psychology and nonlinear dynamics are integrated to characterise decision-making as an emergent property of self-organisation processes in the interpersonal interactions that occur in sports teams. A conceptual model is proposed to capture constraints on dynamics of decisions and actions in dyadic systems, which has been empirically evaluated in simulations of interpersonal interactions in team sports. For this purpose, co-adaptive interpersonal dynamics in team sports such as rubgy union have been studied to reveal control parameter and collective variable relations in attacker-defender dyads. Although interpersonal dynamics of attackers and defenders in 1 vs 1 situations showed characteristics of chaotic attractors, the informational constraints of rugby union typically bounded dyadic systems into low dimensional attractors. Our work suggests that the dynamics of attacker-defender dyads can be characterised as an evolving sequence since players' positioning and movements are connected in diverse ways over time.

AITPM Email Newsletter Volume 0907, July 2009 : President's Message

President���s Message AITPM President���s Message, July 2009 Hello fellow AITPM members, It���s now very early July so many Australians are going to experience a range of new, or increases in, fees, charges, and perhaps taxes by State and local governments. For example, Queenslanders are to be hit at the petrol pump, no longer living with the luxury of the State���s previous 8c per litre fuel subsidy, bringing general motorists��� fuel costs into line with the other States. A consolation is that they now don���t have to live with the real or perceived ���price gouging��� that has appeared in the past to make Queensland prices much closer than 8c to those in other States. Environmental lobbyists argue that this Government���s decision brings public transport costs closer to parity with private transport. However, my sense from sloppy petrol price elasticities is that the State���s motorists will get used to the reversal of what was a reverse tax pretty quickly, an amount which can be less than day-of-the week fluctuation. On the other hand, withholding this State revenue may help in some way the funding of the several major public transport infrastructure projects in progress; not to mention some of the cost of running the Transit Authority���s expanding service commitments. Other policy actions, such as a Federal Government review of taxation on employees��� package vehicles, which might discourage rather than encourage excess kilometres travelled, may have a greater environmental benefit. Of course, a downside is that many vehicles used so are Australian built, and discouraging fleet turnover may damage an industry which faces ever increasing uncertainty, and particularly at the present, is in need of some care and attention. I for one hope to this end that the new 4 cylinder (1.8L petrol or 2L diesel) so called ���true Holden��� Cruze and Toyota���s pending Camry Hybrid are both roaring successes, and will be taken up in droves as fleet and employee use vehicles. I���m not sure what drive-trains Ford and Holden plan to drop into their next full sized models but even if they���re not Australian sourced, let���s hope they coordinate the requisite performance expected by the ���Aussie Battler��� with suitable green credentials. I am also encouraged to see that already many Government fleet vehicles are smaller in size, but still fit for purpose. For instance, my local police station uses the Camry based Aurion as a district car. I close again in reminding everyone that AITPM���s flagship event, the 2009 AITPM National Conference, Traffic Beyond Tomorrow, is being held in Adelaide from 5 to 7 August. www.aitpm.com has all of the details about how to register, sponsor a booth, session, etc. Best regards all, Jon Bunker

Departing from the virtual community : a discussion of the ways and means to uncover localised order in online games

This paper is part one of a three part study into the collective regulation processes of players in massive multiplayer online games (MMOG). Traditionally game playing has not been classed as problematic, however with introduction of new media technologies and new ways to play games, certain contexts have become obscure, namely the localised order of ���playing online��� or how players manage and maintain order between each other as opposed to ���following the rules���. Principally this paper will examine concepts of ���virtual community���. These will be illustrated as particularly unhelpful when considering how people conduct themselves in these spaces. Thus, ���virtual community��� will be seen as critical in implicating various online behaviours as superior to other online behaviours causing obscurity and blurring actions. This obscurity is grounded by strong associations in the virtual community as logic of practise in and of itself; behaviours that fall outside this category become common sense and as such are made invisible for investigation. This paper will draw upon the theories of Basil Bernstein and Pierre Bourdieu to produce a distinction between online behaviours and ultimately make them visible for further investigation. In doing so this paper seeks to form a basis for future research where interaction in these spaces can be identified as belonging to a certain framework to inform the design of online games and applications more effectively.

Multi-edge decimation in multi-modal 3D collaborative applications

Multi-resolution modelling has become essential as modern 3D applications demand 3D objects with higher LODs (LOD). Multi-modal devices such as PDAs and UMPCs do not have sufficient resources to handle the original 3D objects. The increased usage of collaborative applications has created many challenges for remote manipulation working with 3D objects of different quality. This paper studies how we can improve multi-resolution techniques by performing multiedge decimation and using annotative commands. It also investigates how devices with poorer quality 3D object can participate in collaborative actions.

Interpersonal pattern dynamics and adaptive behavior in multiagent neurobiological systems : conceptual model and data

Ecological dynamics characterizes adaptive behavior as an emergent, self-organizing property of interpersonal interactions in complex social systems. The authors conceptualize and investigate constraints on dynamics of decisions and actions in the multiagent system of team sports. They studied coadaptive interpersonal dynamics in rugby union to model potential control parameter and collective variable relations in attacker���defender dyads. A videogrammetry analysis revealed how some agents generated fluctuations by adapting displacement velocity to create phase transitions and destabilize dyadic subsystems near the try line. Agent interpersonal dynamics exhibited characteristics of chaotic attractors and informational constraints of rugby union boxed dyadic systems into a low dimensional attractor. Data suggests that decisions and actions of agents in sports teams may be characterized as emergent, self-organizing properties, governed by laws of dynamical systems at the ecological scale. Further research needs to generalize this conceptual model of adaptive behavior in performance to other multiagent populations.

Power law distributions in pattern dynamics of attacker-defender dyads in the team sport of Rugby Union : phenomena in a region of self-organized criticality?

In the region of self-organized criticality (SOC) interdependency between multi-agent system components exists and slight changes in near-neighbor interactions can break the balance of equally poised options leading to transitions in system order. In this region, frequency of events of differing magnitudes exhibits a power law distribution. The aim of this paper was to investigate whether a power law distribution characterized attacker-defender interactions in team sports. For this purpose we observed attacker and defender in a dyadic sub-phase of rugby union near the try line. Videogrammetry was used to capture players��� motion over time as player locations were digitized. Power laws were calculated for the rate of change of players��� relative position. Data revealed that three emergent patterns from dyadic system interactions (i.e., try; unsuccessful tackle; effective tackle) displayed a power law distribution. Results suggested that pattern forming dynamics dyads in rugby union exhibited SOC. It was concluded that rugby union dyads evolve in SOC regions suggesting that players��� decisions and actions are governed by local interactions rules.

Risk-assessment practices in the private rental sector : implications for low-income renters (Final Report)

This report focuses on risk-assessment practices in the private rental market, with particular consideration of their impact on low-income renters. It is based on the fieldwork undertaken in the second stage of the research process that followed completion of the Positioning Paper. The key research question this study addressed was: What are the various factors included in ���risk-assessments��� by real estate agents in allocating ���affordable��� tenancies? How are these risks quantified and managed? What are the key outcomes of their decision-making? The study builds on previous research demonstrating that a relatively large proportion of low-cost private rental accommodation is occupied by moderate- to high-income households (Wulff and Yates 2001; Seelig 2001; Yates et al. 2004). This is occurring in an environment where the private rental sector is now the de facto main provider of rental housing for lower-income households across Australia (Seelig et al. 2005) and where a number of factors are implicated in patterns of ���income���rent mismatching���. These include ongoing shifts in public housing assistance; issues concerning eligibility for rent assistance; ���supply��� factors, such as loss of low-cost rental stock through upgrading and/or transfer to owner-occupied housing; patterns of supply and demand driven largely by middle- to high-income owner-investors and renters; and patterns of housing need among low-income households for whom affordable housing is not appropriate. In formulating a way of approaching the analysis of ���risk-assessment��� in rental housing management, this study has applied three sociological perspectives on risk: Beck���s (1992) formulation of risk society as entailing processes of ���individualisation���; a socio-cultural perspective which emphasises the situated nature of perceptions of risk; and a perspective which has drawn attention to different modes of institutional governance of subjects, as ���carriers of specific indicators of risk���. The private rental market was viewed as a social institution, and the research strategy was informed by ���institutional ethnography��� as a method of enquiry. The study was based on interviews with property managers, real estate industry representatives, tenant advocates and community housing providers. The primary focus of inquiry was on ���the moment of allocation���. Six local areas across metropolitan and regional Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia were selected as case study localities. In terms of the main findings, it is evident that access to private rental housing is not just a matter of ���supply and demand���. It is also about assessment of risk among applicants. Risk ��� perceived or actual ��� is thus a critical factor in deciding who gets housed, and how. Risk and its assessment matter in the context of housing provision and in the development of policy responses. The outcomes from this study also highlight a number of salient points: 1.There are two principal forms of risk associated with property management: financial risk and risk of litigation. 2. Certain tenant characteristics and/or circumstances ��� ability to pay and ability to care for the rented property ��� are the main factors focused on in assessing risk among applicants for rental housing. Signals of either ���(in)ability to pay��� and/or ���(in)ability to care for the property��� are almost always interpreted as markers of high levels of risk. 3. The processing of tenancy applications entails a complex and variable mix of formal and informal strategies of risk-assessment and allocation where sorting (out), ranking, discriminating and handing over characterise the process. 4. In the eyes of property managers, ���suitable��� tenants can be conceptualised as those who are resourceful, reputable, competent, strategic and presentable. 5. Property managers clearly articulated concern about risks entailed in a number of characteristics or situations. Being on a low income was the principal and overarching factor which agents considered. Others included: - unemployment - ���big��� families; sole parent families - domestic violence - marital breakdown - shift from home ownership to private rental - Aboriginality and specific ethnicities - physical incapacity - aspects of ���presentation���. The financial vulnerability of applicants in these groups can be invoked, alongside expressed concerns about compromised capacities to manage income and/or ���care for��� the property, as legitimate grounds for rejection or a lower ranking. 6. At the level of face-to-face interaction between the property manager and applicants, more intuitive assessments of risk based upon past experience or ���gut feelings��� come into play. These judgements are interwoven with more systematic procedures of tenant selection. The findings suggest that considerable ���risk��� is associated with low-income status, either directly or insofar as it is associated with other forms of perceived risk, and that such risks are likely to impede access to the professionally managed private rental market. Detailed analysis suggests that opportunities for access to housing by low-income householders also arise where, for example: - the ���local experience��� of an agency and/or property manager works in favour of particular applicants - applicants can demonstrate available social support and financial guarantors - an applicant���s preference or need for longer-term rental is seen to provide a level of financial security for the landlord - applicants are prepared to agree to specific, more stringent conditions for inspection of properties and review of contracts - the particular circumstances and motivations of landlords lead them to consider a wider range of applicants - In particular circumstances, property managers are prepared to give special consideration to applicants who appear worthy, albeit ���risky���. The strategic actions of demonstrating and documenting on the part of vulnerable (low-income) tenant applicants can improve their chances of being perceived as resourceful, capable and ���savvy���. Such actions are significant because they help to persuade property managers not only that the applicant may have sufficient resources (personal and material) but that they accept that the onus is on themselves to show they are reputable, and that they have valued ���competencies��� and understand ���how the system works���. The parameters of the market do shape the processes of risk-assessment and, ultimately, the strategic relation of power between property manager and the tenant applicant. Low vacancy rates and limited supply of lower-cost rental stock, in all areas, mean that there are many more tenant applicants than available properties, creating a highly competitive environment for applicants. The fundamental problem of supply is an aspect of the market that severely limits the chances of access to appropriate and affordable housing for low-income rental housing applicants. There is recognition of the impact of this problem of supply. The study indicates three main directions for future focus in policy and program development: providing appropriate supports to tenants to access and sustain private rental housing, addressing issues of discrimination and privacy arising in the processes of selecting suitable tenants, and addressing problems of supply.

Behaviour disorders and teacher negligence

The purpose of this paper is to examine the legal implications of the continuing rise in the number of school children diagnosed with behaviour disorders. Not only are teachers now subject to a dense grid of legal regulation, they are also increasingly vulnerable to actions in tort. It will be argued here that as more and more children are labelled ���disordered���, the duty of care become more onerous, and hence harder for teachers to meet. As a consequence, teachers are more likely to face claims of negligence. It is concluded that while the schooling system needs to retain a healthy scepticism about each new pathologising disorder that seeks special status for its sufferers, it also needs to provide greater training and resources for teachers regarding disorder management. It is also concluded that recent changes to negligence law regarding the issue of ���reasonable foreseeability��� within breach of duty of care, may not be as significant as might have been hoped by the teaching community. Indeed, the elevated standard of care required by the increasing numbers of disordered pupils, places teachers in an ever more difficult legal position.

X-ray your data with Rasch

By using the Rasch model, much detailed diagnostic information is available to developers of survey and assessment instruments and to the researchers who use them. We outline an approach to the analysis of data obtained from the administration of survey instruments that can enable researchers to recognise and diagnose difficulties with those instruments and then to suggest remedial actions that can improve the measurement properties of the scales included in questionnaires. We illustrate the approach using examples drawn from recent research and demonstrate how the approach can be used to generate figures that make the results of Rasch analyses accessible to non-specialists.