The role of property law in environmental management

Market-based environmental regulation is becoming increasingly common within international and national frameworks. In order for market-based regimes to attract sufficient levels of stakeholder engagement, participants within such schemes require an incentive to participate and furthermore need to feel a sense of security about investing in such processes. A sense of security is associated with property-based interests. This article explores the property-related issues connected with the operation of environmental markets. Relevant property-related considerations include examining the significant role that market-based regulation is playing in connection with the environment; examining the links between property rights and markets; exploring the legal definition of property; analysing the rights and powers associated with environmental interests in land; advancing theory on the need for landholder responsibilities in relation to land and examining the legal mechanisms used to recognise environmental property rights, including the registration thereof.

Relationship management as a strategy for supply chain engagement in the civil engineering construction industry

Many studies into construction procurement methods reveal evidence of a need to change the culture and attitude in the construction industry, transition from traditional adversarial relationships to cooperative and collaborative relationships. At the same time there is also increasing concern and discussion on alternative procurement methods, involving a movement away from traditional procurement systems. Relational contracting approaches, such as partnering and relationship management, are business strategies that align the objectives of clients, commercial participants and stakeholders. It provides a collaborative environment and a framework for all participants to adapt their behaviour to project objectives and allows for engagement of those subcontractors and suppliers down the supply chain. The efficacy of relationship management in the client and contractor groups is proven and well documented. However, the industry has a history of slow implementation of relational contracting down the supply chain. Furthermore, there exists little research on relationship management conducted in the supply chain context. This research aims to explore the association between relational contracting structures and processes and supply chain sustainability in the civil engineering construction industry. It endeavours to shed light on the practices and prerequisites for relationship management implementation success and for supply sustainability to develop. The research methodology is a triangulated approach based on Cheung.s (2006) earlier research where questionnaire survey, interviews and case studies were conducted. This new research includes a face-to-face questionnaire survey that was carried out with 100 professionals from 27 contracting organisations in Queensland from June 2008 to January 2009. A follow-up survey sub-questionnaire, further examining project participants. perspectives was sent to another group of professionals (as identified in the main questionnaire survey). Statistical analysis including multiple regression, correlation, principal component factor analysis and analysis of variance were used to identify the underlying dimensions and test the relationships among variables. Interviews and case studies were conducted to assist in providing a deeper understanding as well as explaining findings of the quantitative study. The qualitative approaches also gave the opportunity to critique and validate the research findings. This research presents the implementation of relationship management from the contractor.s perspective. Findings show that the adaption of relational contracting approach in the supply chain is found to be limited; contractors still prefer to keep the suppliers and subcontractors at arm.s length. This research shows that the degree of match and mismatch between organisational structuring and organisational process has an impact on staff.s commitment level and performance effectiveness. Key issues affecting performance effectiveness and relationship effectiveness include total influence between parties, access to information, personal acquaintance, communication process, risk identification, timely problem solving and commercial framework. Findings also indicate that alliance and Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) projects achieve higher performance effectiveness at both short-term and long-term levels compared to projects with either no or partial relationship management adopted.

Quality management system and construction performance

This paper discusses the level of effectiveness of quality principles and quality management system implementation and the relationship with performance of ISO9000 certified Indonesian contractors. It also discusses the statistical relationship between quality management systems (QMSs) and key performance indicators (KPIs) amongst a large sample of Indonesian construction companies. Data collected is from questionnaire surveys involving Quality Managers, Managers, and Project and Site Engineers representing 77 different companies. Results indicate that even though some contractors have not yet effectively implemented an effective QMS, most of the KPIs of respondent companies are still at the level of high performance. The statistical results show that the relationship between variables of ISO9000 QMS principles and contractors’ KPIs is significant. These results suggest that an increment in the implementation level of QMS principles can increase KPIs, however that much effort is still required for Indonesian contractors to fully effectively implement QMS principles and thus substantially improve performance against KPIs.

Diversity in Knowledge Management : A Cultural Approach

This paper reviews diversity in knowledge management (KM) from a cultural perspective; it argues that culturally embedded theories and practices influence the practice of knowledge management. It further presents and analyses several case studies and in particular a case study of the Islamic culture focusing on its traditional approach to both Islamic knowledge and management. The analysis of this case reveals the cultural challenges that emerge in the process of applying essentially Western management theories within an Islamic culture with particular reference to knowledge management theories. The paper concludes that the concept of knowledge management must take into account the diversity of national culture in which the organization exists and that the concept of knowledge management will benefit from a diversity perspective rather than a universality perspective.

A rights management approach to protection of privacy in a cloud of electronic health records

A patient-centric DRM approach is proposed for protecting privacy of health records stored in a cloud storage based on the patient's preferences and without the need to trust the service provider. Contrary to the current server-side access control solutions, this approach protects the privacy of records from the service provider, and also controls the usage of data after it is released to an authorized user.

Knowledge management in law enforcement : knowledge views for patrolling police officers

This paper describes and classifies different types of knowledge that are a part of police patrol officer's practice. Even though an investigation usually forces a police officer to apply several different knowledge types, this paper discusses different forms of professional knowledge separately to enable categorisation.

Knowledge management in policing : the case of police complaints and police crime

This article is concerned with knowledge management in policing police crime. Police crime is defined as crime committed by police officers on duty. There seems to be a tendency to consider police crime as a result of bad practice rather than the acts of criminals. However, examples illustrate that criminal acts are intentionally carried out by police officers on duty. The article looks at the kinds of knowledge which agencies require to investigate police complaints and police crime successfully.

Psycho-markers of weight loss. The roles of TFEQ Disinhibition and Restraint in exercise-induced weight management

Eating behaviour traits, namely Disinhibition and Restraint, have the potential to exert an effect on food intake and energy balance. The effectiveness of exercise as a method of weight management could be influenced by these traits. Fifty eight overweight and obese participants completed 12-weeks of supervised exercise. Each participant was prescribed supervised exercise based on an expenditure of 500 kcal/session, 5 d/week for 12-weeks. Following 12-weeks of exercise there was a significant reduction in mean body weight (-3.26 ± 3.63 kg), fat mass (FM: -3.26 ± 2.64 kg), BMI (-1.16 ± 1.17 kg/m2)and waist circumference (WC: -5.0 ± 3.23 cm). Regression analyses revealed a higher baseline Disinhibition score was associated with a greater reduction in BMI and WC, while Internal Disinhibition was associated with a larger decrease in weight, %FM and WC. Neither baseline Restraint or Hunger were associated with any of the anthropometric markers at baseline or after 12-weeks. Furthermore, after 12-weeks of exercise, a decrease in Disinhibition and increase in Restraint were associated with a greater reduction in WC, whereas only Restraint was associated with a decrease in weight. Post-hoc analysis of the sub-factors revealed a decrease in External Disinhibition and increase in Flexible Restraint were associated with weight loss. However, an increase in Rigid Restraint was associated with a reduction in %FM and WC. These findings suggest that exercise-induced weight loss is more marked in individuals with a high level of Disinhibition. These data demonstrate the important roles that Disinhibition and Restraint play in the relationship between exercise and energy balance.

Value management : an extension of quantity surveying services in Malaysia

Value Management (VM) initially started in early 1940s in the US manufacturing industry has increasingly becoming popular within the construction industry community internationally. It has been widely accepted as an important tool in the management of projects. The structured, systematic and multi-disciplinary approach in decision making process is a niche for VM in delivering better value for money project to the client investment. It would appear to be gaining some momentum as an essential management tool in the Malaysian construction sector especially in the quantity surveying practice. Quantity surveyors increasing involvement in VM provides an opportunity for the profession to re-model some of its traditional services in a more positive light and develop leading-edge skills and promote the profession. International practice has associated VM to be part of services offered in the quantity surveying practice; especially in UK has proven to be a natural progression of QS profession. The introduction of VM as early 1980’s in Malaysia combined with increasing demand for construction project to facilitate nation progress is shedding a positive light for quantity surveying profession to take lead in developing VM as one of their niche area. Therefore, the quantity surveying profession having the opportunity to take lead of this service which reflect their traditional attributes for providing the best value-for-money advise to the client. This paper shall discuss on the development of VM in Malaysia and the challenges VM face services in QS firm to remain ahead of their competitors.

Editoral : Correspondence regarding Anker SD, Koehler F, Abraham WT. Telemedicine and remote management of patients with heart failure. The Lancet 2011; 378: 731–39. Published 20 August 2011.

We read the excellent review of telemonitoring in chronic heart failure (CHF)1 with interest and commend the authors on the proposed classification of telemedical remote management systems according to the type of data transfer, decision ability and level of integration. However, several points require clarification in relation to our Cochrane review of telemonitoring and structured telephone support2. We included a study by Kielblock3. We corresponded directly with this study team specifically to find out whether or not this was a randomised study and were informed that it was a randomised trial, albeit by date of birth. We note in our review2 that this randomisation method carries a high risk of bias. Post-hoc metaanalyses without these data demonstrate no substantial change to the effect estimates for all cause mortality (original risk ratio (RR) 0·66 [95% CI 0·54, 0·81], p<0·0001; revised RR 0·72 [95% CI 0·57, 0·92], p=0·008), all-cause hospitalisation (original RR 0·91 [95% CI 0·84, 0·99] p=0·02; revised RR 0.92 [95% CI 0·84, 1·02], p=0·10 ) or CHF-related hospitalisation (original RR 0·79 [95% CI 0·67, 0·94] p=0·008; revised RR 0·75 [95% CI 0·60, 0·94] p=0·01). Secondly, we would classify the Tele-HF study4, 5 as structured telephone support, rather than telemonitoring. Again, inclusion of these data alters the point-estimate but not the overall result of the meta-analyses4. Finally, our review2 does not include invasive telemonitoring as the search strategy was not designed to capture these studies. Therefore direct comparison of our review findings with recent studies of these interventions is not recommended.

New Evidence for Structured Telephone Support in the Management of Patients with Heart Failure [Letter to Editor]

Letter to the Editor of New England Journal of Medicine on behalf of the Cochrane Systematic Review team.

Weight management and its role in breast cancer rehabilitation

Overweight and obesity are risk factors for post-menopausal breast cancer, and many women diagnosed with breast cancer, irrespective of menopausal status, gain weight after diagnosis. Weight management plays an important role in rehabilitation and recovery since obesity and/or weight gain may lead to poorer breast cancer prognosis, as well as prevalent co-morbid conditions (e.g. cardiovascular disease and diabetes), poorer surgical outcomes (e.g., increased operating and recovery times, higher infection rates, and poorer healing), lymphedema, fatigue, functional decline, and poorer health and overall quality of life. Health care professionals should encourage weight management at all phases of the cancer care continuum as a means to potentially avoid adverse sequelae and late effects, as well as to improve overall health and possibly survival. Comprehensive approaches that involve dietary and behavior modification, and increased aerobic and strength training exercise have shown promise in either preventing weight gain or promoting weight loss, reducing biomarkers associated with inflammation and co-morbidity, and improving lifestyle behaviors, functional status, and quality of life in this high-risk patient population.

The safety risk management of unmanned aircraft systems

The safety risk management process describes the systematic application of management policies, procedures and practices to the activities of communicating, consulting, establishing the context, and identifying, analysing, evaluating, treating, monitoring and reviewing risk. This process is undertaken to provide assurances that the risks of a particular unmanned aircraft system activity have been managed to an acceptable level. The safety risk management process and its outcomes form part of the documented safety case necessary to obtain approvals for unmanned aircraft system operations. It also guides the development of an organisation’s operations manual and is a primary component of an organisation’s safety management system. The aim of this chapter is to provide existing risk practitioners with a high level introduction to some of the unique issues and challenges in the application of the safety risk management process to unmanned aircraft systems. The scope is limited to safety risks associated with the operation of unmanned aircraft in the civil airspace system and over inhabited areas. The structure of the chapter is based on the safety risk management process as defined by the international risk management standard ISO 31000:2009 and draws on aviation safety resources provided by International Civil Aviation Organization, the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Department of Defense. References to relevant aviation safety regulations, programs of research and fielded systems are also provided.

External management of curriculum change

At a time of rapid curriculum reform, some schools are turning to external change agents for assistance, but what's the best way to initiate such an approach?

The relationship between parents’ self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, child behaviour, and management of atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition, characterized by intense pruritis, with a complex aetiology comprising multiple genetic and environmental factors. It is a common chronic health problem among children, and along with other allergic conditions, is increasing in prevalence within Australia and in many countries worldwide. Successful management of childhood AD poses a significant and ongoing challenge to parents of affected children. Episodic and unpredictable, AD can have profound effects on children’s physical and psychosocial wellbeing and quality of life, and that of their caregivers and families. Where concurrent child behavioural problems and parenting difficulties exist, parents may have particular difficulty achieving adequate and consistent performance of the routine management tasks that promote the child’s health and wellbeing. Despite frequent reports of behaviour problems in children with AD, past research has neglected the importance of child behaviour to parenting confidence and competence with treatment. Parents of children with AD are also at risk of experiencing depression, anxiety, parenting stress, and parenting difficulties. Although these factors have been associated with difficulty in managing other childhood chronic health conditions, the nature of these relationships in the context of child AD management has not been reported. This study therefore examined relationships between child, parent, and family variables, and parents’ management of child AD and difficult child behaviour, using social cognitive and self-efficacy theory as a guiding framework. The study was conducted in three phases. It employed a quantitative, cross-sectional study design, accessing a community sample of 120 parents of children with AD, and a sample of 64 child-parent dyads recruited from a metropolitan paediatric tertiary referral centre. In Phase One, instruments designed to measure parents’ self-reported performance of AD management tasks (Parents’ Eczema Management Scale – PEMS) and parents’ outcome expectations of task performance (Parents’ Outcome Expectations of Eczema Management Scale – POEEMS) were adapted from the Parental Self-Efficacy with Eczema Care Index (PASECI). In Phase Two, these instruments were used to examine relationships between child, parent, and family variables, and parents’ self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and self-reported performance of AD management tasks. Relationships between child, parent, and family variables, parents’ self-efficacy for managing problem behaviours, and reported parenting practices, were also examined. This latter focus was explored further in Phase Three, in which relationships between observed child and parent behaviour, and parent-reported self-efficacy for managing both child AD and problem behaviours, were explored. Phase One demonstrated the reliability of both PEMS and POEEMS, and confirmed that PASECI was reliable and valid with modification as detailed. Factor analyses revealed two-factor structures for PEMS and PASECI alike, with both scales containing factors related to performing routine management tasks, and managing the child’s symptoms and behaviour. Factor analysis was also applied to POEEMS resulting in a three-factor structure. Factors relating to independent management of AD by the parent, involving healthcare professionals in management, and involving the child in management of AD were found. Parents’ self-efficacy and outcome expectations had a significant influence on self-reported task performance. In Phase Two, relationships emerged between parents’ self-efficacy and self-reported performance of AD management tasks, and AD severity, child behaviour difficulties, parent depression and stress, conflict over parenting issues, and parents’ relationship satisfaction. Using multiple linear regressions, significant proportions of variation in parents’ self-efficacy and self-reported performance of AD management tasks were explained by child behaviour difficulties and parents’ formal education, and self-efficacy emerged as a likely mediator for the relationships between both child behaviour and parents’ education, and performance of AD management tasks. Relationships were also found between parents’ self-efficacy for managing difficult child behaviour and use of dysfunctional parenting strategies, and child behaviour difficulties, parents’ depression and stress, conflict over parenting issues, and relationship satisfaction. While significant proportions of variation in self-efficacy for managing child behaviour were explained by both child behaviour and family income, family income was the only variable to explain a significant proportion of variation in parent-reported use of dysfunctional parenting strategies. Greater use of dysfunctional parenting strategies (both lax and authoritarian parenting) was associated with more severe AD. Parents reporting lower self-efficacy for managing AD also reported lower self-efficacy for managing difficult child behaviour; likewise, less successful self-reported performance of AD management tasks was associated with greater use of dysfunctional parenting strategies. When child and parent behaviour was directly observed in Phase Three, more aversive child behaviour was associated with lower self-efficacy, less positive outcome expectations, and poorer self-reported performance of AD management tasks by parents. Importantly, there were strong positive relationships between these variables (self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and self-reported task performance) and parents’ observed competence when providing treatment to their child. Less competent performance was also associated with greater parent-reported child behaviour difficulties, parent depression and stress, parenting conflict, and relationship dissatisfaction. Overall, this study revealed the importance of child behaviour to parents’ confidence and practices in the contexts of child AD and child behaviour management. Parents of children with concurrent AD and behavioural problems are at particular risk of having low self-efficacy for managing their child’s AD and difficult behaviour. Children with more severe AD are also at higher risk of behaviour problems, and thus represent a high-risk group of children whose parents may struggle to manage the disease successfully. As one of the first studies to examine the role and correlates of parents’ self-efficacy in child AD management, this study identified a number of potentially modifiable factors that can be targeted to enhance parents’ self-efficacy, and improve parent management of child AD. In particular, interventions should focus on child behaviour and parenting issues to support parents caring for children with AD and improve child health outcomes. In future, findings from this research will assist healthcare teams to identify parents most in need of support and intervention, and inform the development and testing of targeted multidisciplinary strategies to support parents caring for children with AD.