Redistribution and technology adoption under uncertainty : a political economy perspective

We examine the role of politico-economic influences on macroeconomic performance within the framework of an endogenous growth model with costly technology adoption and uncertainty. The model is aimed at understanding the diversity in growth and inequality experiences across countries. Agents adopt either of two risky technologies, one of which is only available through financial intermediaries, who are able to alleviate some of this risk. The entry cost of financial intermediation depends on the proportion of government revenue that is allocated towards cost-reducing financial development expenditure, and agents vote on this proportion. The results show that agents at the top and bottom ends of the distribution prefer alternative means of re-distribution, thereby effectively blocking the allocation of resources towards cost-reducing financial development expenditure. Thus political factors have a role in delaying financial and capital deepening and economic development. Furthermore, the model provides a political-economy perspective on the Kuznets curve; uncertainty interacts with the political economy mechanism to produce transitional inequality patterns that, depending on initial conditions, can unearth the Kuznets-curve experience. Finally, the political outcomes are inefficient relative to policies aimed at maximizing the collective welfare of agents in the economy.

Participation in science and technology : young people's achievement-related choices in late modern societies

Young people’s participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is a matter of international concern. Studies and careers that require physical sciences and advanced mathematics are most affected by the problem and women in particular are under-represented in many STEM fields. This article views international research about young people’s relationships to, and participation in, STEM subjects and careers through the lens of an expectancy value model of achievement-related choices. In addition it draws on sociological theories of late-modernity and identity, which situate decision-making in a cultural context. The article examines how these frameworks are useful in explaining the decisions of young people – and young women in particular – about participating in STEM and proposes possible strategies for removing barriers to participation.

Islamic contributions to the International Organization for Science and Technology Education (IOSTE)

This presentation introduces the International Organization for Science and Technology Education (IOSTE), outlining its history, structure, principles and activities. It discusses the role of IOSTE as a values-oriented STE research organization established in response to cold war ideologies with the aim of encouraging dialogue and academic exchange. The presentation then highlights the recent engagement of IOSTE with STE in predominantly Muslim countries. It examines quantitatively and qualitatively the increasing contributions from researchers in these countries, and outlines possible future engagements which could lead to closer research collaborations and relationships between STE academics in Muslim and non-Muslim countries.

Product ecosystems : an emerging methodological approach to study the implementation of disruptive innovations : the case of the CityCar

The car has arguably had more influence on our lifestyle and urban environment than any other consumer product; allowing unprecedented freedom for living, working and recreation where and when we choose. However, problems of pollution, congestion, road trauma, inefficient land use and social inequality are associated with car use. Despite 100 years of design and technology refinements, the aforementioned problems are significant and persistent: many argue that resolving these problems requires a fundamental redesign of the car. Redesigned vehicles have been proposed such as the MIT CityCar and others such as the Renault Twizy, commercialized. None however have successfully brought about significant change and the study of disruptive innovation offers an explanation for this. Disruptive innovation, by definition, disrupts a market. It also disrupts the product ecosystem. The existing product ecosystem has co-evolved to support the conventional car and is not optimized for the new design: which will require a redesigned ecosystem to support it. A literature review identifies a lack of methodology for identifying the components of product ecosystems and the changes required for disruptive innovation implementation. This paper proposes such a methodology based on Design Thinking, Actor Network Theory, Disruptive Innovation and the CityCar scenarios.

Working in partnership to develop engineering capability in energy efficiency

Energy efficiency is a complex topic to integrate into higher education curricula, with limited success internationally or in Australia. This paper discusses one of the successful initiatives within the Energy Efficiency Training Program, which was jointly managed and implemented by the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage and Department of Education and Communities. The state government initiative aimed to increase the knowledge and skills of the New South Wales workforce, help business to identify and implement energy efficiency projects, and provide professional development for the training providers. Key sectors targeted included property, construction, manufacturing and services. The Program was externally evaluated over the three years 2011 to 2013 and a range of insights were gained through these facilitated reflective opportunities, confirming and building upon literature on the topic to date. This paper presents lessons learned from the engineering part of the program (‘the project’), spanning government agencies, academic institutions, and academia. The paper begins with a contextual summary, followed by a synthesis of key learnings and implications for future training initiatives. It is intended that sharing these lessons will contribute to literature in the field, and assist other organisations in Australia and overseas planning similar initiatives.

Security analysis of Australian and E.U. e-passport implementation

This paper makes a formal security analysis of the current Australian e-passport implementation using model checking tools CASPER/CSP/FDR. We highlight security issues in the current implementation and identify new threats when an e-passport system is integrated with an automated processing system like SmartGate. The paper also provides a security analysis of the European Union (EU) proposal for Extended Access Control (EAC) that is intended to provide improved security in protecting biometric information of the e-passport bearer. The current e-passport specification fails to provide a list of adequate security goals that could be used for security evaluation. We fill this gap; we present a collection of security goals for evaluation of e-passport protocols. Our analysis confirms existing security weaknesses that were previously identified and shows that both the Australian e-passport implementation and the EU proposal fail to address many security and privacy aspects that are paramount in implementing a secure border control mechanism. ACM Classification C.2.2 (Communication/Networking and Information Technology – Network Protocols – Model Checking), D.2.4 (Software Engineering – Software/Program Verification – Formal Methods), D.4.6 (Operating Systems – Security and Privacy Protection – Authentication)

The SCRAMSPACE I scramjet flight design and construction

The design activities of the development of the SCRAMSPACE I scramjet-powered free-flight experiment are described in this paper. The objectives of this flight are first described together with the definition of the primary, secondary and tertiary experiments. The Scramjet configuration studied is first discussed together with the rocket motor system selected for this flight. The different flight sequences are then explained, highlighting the SCRAMSPACE I free-flyer separation and re-orientation procedures. A design trade-off study is then described considering vehicle stability, packaging, thermo-structural analysis and trajectory, discussing the alignment of the predicted performance with the mission scientific requirements. The global system architecture and instrumentation of the vehicle are then explained. The conclusions of this design phase are that a vehicle design has been produced which is able to meet the mission scientific goals and the procurement & construction of the vehicle are ongoing.

Design and construction of an in-plant activation cassette for transgene expression and recombinant protein production in plants

Virus-based transgene expression systems have become particularly valuable for recombinant protein production in plants. The dual-module in-plant activation (INPACT) expression platform consists of a uniquely designed split-gene cassette incorporating the cis replication elements of Tobacco yellow dwarf geminivirus (TYDV) and an ethanol-inducible activation cassette encoding the TYDV Rep and RepA replication-associated proteins. The INPACT system is essentially tailored for recombinant protein production in stably transformed plants and provides both inducible and high-level transient transgene expression with the potential to be adapted to diverse crop species. The construction of a novel split-gene cassette, the inducible nature of the system and the ability to amplify transgene expression via rolling-circle replication differentiates this system from other DNA- and RNA-based virus vector systems used for stable or transient recombinant protein production in plants. Here we provide a detailed protocol describing the design and construction of a split-gene INPACT cassette, and we highlight factors that may influence optimal activation and amplification of gene expression in transgenic plants. By using Nicotiana tabacum, the protocol takes 6-9 months to complete, and recombinant proteins expressed using INPACT can accumulate to up to 10% of the leaf total soluble protein.

Lawyering and Positive Professional Identities

Lawyering and Positive Professional Identities aims to help law students successfully navigate the demands of law studies and legal practice through the development of positive professional legal identities. It does this by focusing on the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for law students to be motivated and engaged learners, and psychologically healthy individuals. The text will fill an important gap for many law schools seeking to enact the threshold learning outcomes for law by addressing these important topics in their curricula. It is a valuable guide for all law students who wish to maximise their success and chances of thriving at law school and beyond. Positive lawyering knowledge and practice are central themes of this book, with a particular emphasis on lawyers’ roles as upholders of the rule of law, as dispute resolvers and as ethical professionals. Throughout, the authors provide practical, experience-based advice on the development of core skills for legal education and practice.

Use of reverse phase protein microarrays and reference standard development for molecular network analysis of metastatic ovarian carcinoma

Cancer can be defined as a deregulation or hyperactivity in the ongoing network of intracellular and extracellular signaling events. Reverse phase protein microarray technology may offer a new opportunity to measure and profile these signaling pathways, providing data on post-translational phosphorylation events not obtainable by gene microarray analysis. Treatment of ovarian epithelial carcinoma almost always takes place in a metastatic setting since unfortunately the disease is often not detected until later stages. Thus, in addition to elucidation of the molecular network within a tumor specimen, critical questions are to what extent do signaling changes occur upon metastasis and are there common pathway elements that arise in the metastatic microenvironment. For individualized combinatorial therapy, ideal therapeutic selection based on proteomic mapping of phosphorylation end points may require evaluation of the patient's metastatic tissue. Extending these findings to the bedside will require the development of optimized protocols and reference standards. We have developed a reference standard based on a mixture of phosphorylated peptides to begin to address this challenge.

Museums as urban catalysts : the role of urban design in flagship cultural development

A long-held urban redevelopment strategy has been the investment in flagship cultural projects—large-scale, iconic museums and arts centres that are intended to enhance the city image while catalyzing private sector investment and attracting tourists to the surrounding area. This paper concentrates on an aspect of the flagship cultural strategy that has received surprisingly little focused attention—the role that urban design and context play in realizing project outcomes. The analysis concentrates on two established flagship museums in Los Angeles and San Jose, California. The research demonstrates that certain urban design characteristics can negatively affect the ability of a project to attract visitors and generate commercial activity. However, at the same time, factors beyond the local context may be an overriding factor in project outcomes thus calling into question the concept of cultural catalyst.

Examining the potential for design and renewable energy to contribute to zero energy housing in Queensland

This was a comparative study of the possibility of a net zero energy house in Queensland, Australia. It examines the actual energy use and thermal comfort conditions of an occupied Brisbane home and compares performance with the 10 star scale rating scheme for Australian residential buildings. An adaptive comfort psychometric chart was developed for this analysis. The house's capacity for the use of the natural ventilation was studied by CFD modelling. This study showed that the house succeeded in achieving the definition of net zero energy on an annual and monthly basis for lighting, cooking and space heating / cooling and for 70% of days for lighting, hot water and cooking services.

Design and test of a custom instrumented leg press for injury and recovery intervention

There is an increasing desire and emphasis to integrate assessment tools into the everyday training environment of athletes. These tools are intended to fine-tune athlete development, enhance performance and aid in the development of individualised programmes for athletes. The areas of workload monitoring, skill development and injury assessment are expected to benefit from such tools. This paper describes the development of an instrumented leg press and its application to testing leg dominance with a cohort of athletes. The developed instrumented leg press is a 45° reclining sled-type leg press with dual force plates, a displacement sensor and a CCD camera. A custom software client was developed using C#. The software client enabled near-real-time display of forces beneath each limb together with displacement of the quad track roller system and video feedback of the exercise. In recording mode, the collection of athlete particulars is prompted at the start of the exercise, and pre-set thresholds are used subsequently to separate the data into epochs from each exercise repetition. The leg press was evaluated in a controlled study of a cohort of physically active adults who performed a series of leg press exercises. The leg press exercises were undertaken at a set cadence with nominal applied loads of 50%, 100% and 150% of body weight without feedback. A significant asymmetry in loading of the limbs was observed in healthy adults during both the eccentric and concentric phases of the leg press exercise (P < .05). Mean forces were significantly higher beneath the non-dominant limb (4–10%) and during the concentric phase of the muscle action (5%). Given that symmetrical loading is often emphasized during strength training and remains a common goal in sports rehabilitation, these findings highlight the clinical potential for this instrumented leg press system to monitor symmetry in lower-limb loading during progressive strength training and sports rehabilitation protocols.

Pentingnya continuing professional development bagi lulusan program studi ilmu perpustakaan dan informasi

Lulusan program studi ilmu perpustakaan dan informasi Indonesia di abad 21 ini harus terus mengembangkan ilmu dan keterampilannya untuk bisa memaksimalkan layanan ke pengguna. Tidak saja kompetensi dalam bidang teknologi informasi dan komunikasi (TIK), tetapi juga emerging competencies lainnya. Permasalahannya, ada banyak kendala bagi program studi ilmu perpustakaan dan informasi (PSIPI) di Indonesia untuk bisa mengakomodasi emerging competencies ini dalam kurikulum mata kuliah mereka. Disinilah peran continuing professional development (CPD) menjadi vital bagi lulusan PSIPI Indonesia agar mampu meminimalisir kesenjangan pengetahuan dan keterampilan dengan LIS professionals dari negara lain.