Weekly activity-travel behaviour in rural Northern Ireland : differences by context and socio-demographic

Despite a wide variation in access to goods and services between rural areas, common policy interventions are often proposed in Northern Ireland. Questions remain as to the level and form of policy differentiation that is required, if any, both within and between different rural areas. This issue is investigated in this paper through the analysis of activity-travel patterns of individuals living in two rural areas with different levels of area accessibility and area mobility. Three focus groups, 299 questionnaires and 89 activity-travel diaries for 7 days were collected for individuals from these areas. Regression analyses were employed to explore the degree to which different factors influence activity travel behaviour. The results indicate that individuals from rural areas with a higher level of accessibility are more integrated within their local community and as a result, are potentially less at risk of being excluded from society due to immobility. Differences, however, were also found between different groups within an area (e.g. non-car owning individuals who were more reliant on walking, and low-income individuals who made trips of a shorter distance). Based on the study findings and a review of existing policies, this research highlights the need to tailor policy responses to reflect the particular sets of circumstances exhibited in different areas.

Machine learning techniques to improve software quality

A significant proportion of the cost of software development is due to software testing and maintenance. This is in part the result of the inevitable imperfections due to human error, lack of quality during the design and coding of software, and the increasing need to reduce faults to improve customer satisfaction in a competitive marketplace. Given the cost and importance of removing errors improvements in fault detection and removal can be of significant benefit. The earlier in the development process faults can be found, the less it costs to correct them and the less likely other faults are to develop. This research aims to make the testing process more efficient and effective by identifying those software modules most likely to contain faults, allowing testing efforts to be carefully targeted. This is done with the use of machine learning algorithms which use examples of fault prone and not fault prone modules to develop predictive models of quality. In order to learn the numerical mapping between module and classification, a module is represented in terms of software metrics. A difficulty in this sort of problem is sourcing software engineering data of adequate quality. In this work, data is obtained from two sources, the NASA Metrics Data Program, and the open source Eclipse project. Feature selection before learning is applied, and in this area a number of different feature selection methods are applied to find which work best. Two machine learning algorithms are applied to the data - Naive Bayes and the Support Vector Machine - and predictive results are compared to those of previous efforts and found to be superior on selected data sets and comparable on others. In addition, a new classification method is proposed, Rank Sum, in which a ranking abstraction is laid over bin densities for each class, and a classification is determined based on the sum of ranks over features. A novel extension of this method is also described based on an observed polarising of points by class when rank sum is applied to training data to convert it into 2D rank sum space. SVM is applied to this transformed data to produce models the parameters of which can be set according to trade-off curves to obtain a particular performance trade-off.

Towards a relational theory of copyright law

This research provides a systematic and theoretical analysis of the digital challenges to the established exclusive regime of the economic rights enjoyed by authors (and related rightholders) under the law of copyright. Accordingly, this research has developed a relational theory of authorship and a relational approach to copyright, contending that the regulatory emphasis of copyright law should focus on the facilitation of the dynamic relations between the culture, the creators, the future creators, the users and the public, rather than the allocation of resources in a static world. In this networked digital world, the creative works and contents have become increasingly vital for people to engage in creativity and cultural innovation, and for the evolution of the economy. Hence, it is argued that today copyright owners, as content holders, have certain obligations to make their works accessible and available to the public under fair conditions. This research sets forward a number of recommendations for the reform of the current copyright system.

Wellness education : an integrated theoretical framework for fostering transformative learning

Optimum Wellness involves the development, refinement and practice of lifestyle choices which resonate with personally meaningful frames of reference. Personal transformations are the means by which our frames of reference are refined across the lifespan. It is through critical reflection, supportive relationships and meaning making of our experiences that we construct and reconstruct our life paths. When individuals are able to be what they are destined to be or reach their higher purpose, then they are able to contribute to the world in positive and meaningful ways. Transformative education facilitates the changes in perspective that enable one to contemplate and travel a path in life that leads to self-actualisation. This thesis argues for an integrated theoretical framework for optimum Wellness Education. It establishes a learner centred approach to Wellness education in the form of an integrated instructional design framework derived from both Wellness and Transformative education constructs. Students’ approaches to learning and their study strategies in a Wellness education context serve to highlight convergences in the manner in which students can experience perspective transformation. As they learn to critically reflect, pursue relationships and adapt their frames of reference to sustain their pursuit of both learning and Wellness goals, strengthening the nexus between instrumental and transformative learning is a strategically important goal for educators. The aim of this exploratory research study was to examine those facets that serve to optimise the learning experiences of students in a Wellness course. This was accomplished through three research issues: 1) What are the relationships between Wellness, approaches to learning and academic success? 2) How are students approaching learning in an undergraduate Wellness subject? Why are students approaching their learning in the ways they do? 3) What sorts of transformations are students experiencing in their Wellness? How can transformative education be formulated in the context of an undergraduate Wellness subject? Subsequent to a thorough review of the literature pertaining to Wellness education, a mixed method embedded case study design was formulated to explore the research issues. This thesis examines the interrelationships between student, content and context in a one semester university undergraduate unit (a coherent set of learning activities which is assigned a unit code and a credit point value). The experiences of a cohort of 285 undergraduate students in a Wellness course formed the unit of study and seven individual students from a total of sixteen volunteers whose profiles could be constructed from complete data sets were selected for analysis as embedded cases. The introductory level course required participants to engage in a personal project involving a behaviour modification plan for a self-selected, single dimension of Wellness. Students were given access to the Standard Edition Testwell Survey to assess and report their Wellness as a part of their personal projects. To identify relationships among the constructs of Self-Regulated Learning (SRL), Wellness and Student Approaches to Learning (SAL) a blend of quantitative and qualitative methods to collect and analyse data was formulated. Surveys were the primary instruments for acquiring quantitative data. Sources included the Wellness data from Testwell surveys, SAL data from R-SPQ surveys, SRL data from MSLQ surveys and student self-evaluation data from an end of semester survey. Students’ final grades and GPA scores were used as indicators of academic performance. The sources of qualitative data included subject documentation, structured interview transcripts and open-ended responses to survey items. Subsequent to a pilot study in which survey reliability and validity were tested in context, amendments to processes for and instruments of data collection were made. Students who adopted meaning oriented (deep/achieving) approaches tended to assess their Wellness at a higher level, seek effective learning strategies and perform better in formal study. Posttest data in the main study revealed that there were significant positive statistical relationships between academic performance and total wellness scores (rs=.297, n=205, p<.01). Deep (rs=.343, n=137, p<.01) and achieving (rs=.286, n=123, p<.01) approaches to learning also significantly correlated with Wellness whilst surface approaches had negative correlations that were not significant. SRL strategies including metacognitive selfregulation, effort, help-seeking and critical thinking were increasingly correlated with Wellness. Qualitative findings suggest that while all students adopt similar patterns of day to day activities for example attending classes, taking notes, working on assignments the level of care with which these activities is undertaken varies considerably. The dominant motivational trigger for students in this cohort was the personal relevance and associated benefits of the material being learned and practiced. Students were inclined to set goals that had a positive impact on affect and used “sense of happiness” to evaluate their achievement status. Students who had a higher drive to succeed and/or understand tended to have or seek a wider range of strategies. Their goal orientations were generally learning rather than performance based and barriers presented a challenge which could be overcome as opposed to a blockage which prevented progress. Findings from an empirical analysis of the Testwell data suggest that a single third order Wellness construct exists. A revision of the instrument is necessary in order to juxtapose it with the chosen six dimensional Wellness model that forms the foundation construct in the course. Further, redevelopment should be sensitive to the Australian context and culture including choice of language, examples and scenarios used in item construction. This study concludes with an heuristic for use in Wellness education. Guided by principles of Transformative education theory and behaviour change theory, and informed by this representative case study the “CARING” heuristic is proposed as an instructional design tool for Wellness educators seeking to foster transformative learning. Based upon this study, recommendations were made for university educators to provide authentic and personal experiences in Wellness curricula. Emphasis must focus on involving students and teachers in a partnership for implementing Wellness programs both in the curriculum and co-curricularly. The implications of this research for practice are predicated on the willingness of academics to embrace transformative learning at a personal level and a professional one. To explore students’ profiles in detail is not practical however teaching students how to guide us in supporting them through the “pain” of learning is a skill which would benefit them and optimise the learning and teaching process. At a theoretical level, this research contributes to an ecological theory of Wellness education as transformational change. By signposting the wider contexts in which learning takes place, it seeks to encourage changing paradigms to ones which harness the energy of each successive contextual layer in which students live. Future research which amplifies the qualities of individuals and groups who are “Well” and seeks the refinement and development of instruments to measure Wellness constructs would be desirable for both theoretical and applied knowledge bases. Mixed method Wellness research derived and conducted by teams that incorporate expertise from multiple disciplines such as psychology, anthropology, education, and medicine would enable creative and multi-perspective programs of investigation to be designed and implemented. Congruences and inconsistencies in health promotion and education would provide valuable material for strengthening the nexus between transformational learning and behaviour change theories. Future development of and research on the effectiveness of the CARING heuristic would be valuable in advancing the understanding of pedagogies which advance rather than impede learning as a transformative process. Exploring pedagogical models that marry with transformative education may render solutions to the vexing challenge of teaching and learning in diverse contexts.

Impact of traffic oscillations on freeway crash occurrences

Traffic oscillations are typical features of congested traffic flow that are characterized by recurring decelerations followed by accelerations (stop-and-go driving). The negative environmental impacts of these oscillations are widely accepted, but their impact on traffic safety has been debated. This paper describes the impact of freeway traffic oscillations on traffic safety. This study employs a matched case-control design using high-resolution traffic and crash data from a freeway segment. Traffic conditions prior to each crash were taken as cases, while traffic conditions during the same periods on days without crashes were taken as controls. These were also matched by presence of congestion, geometry and weather. A total of 82 cases and about 80,000 candidate controls were extracted from more than three years of data from 2004 to 2007. Conditional logistic regression models were developed based on the case-control samples. To verify consistency in the results, 20 different sets of controls were randomly extracted from the candidate pool for varying control-case ratios. The results reveal that the standard deviation of speed (thus, oscillations) is a significant variable, with an average odds ratio of about 1.08. This implies that the likelihood of a (rear-end) crash increases by about 8% with an additional unit increase in the standard deviation of speed. The average traffic states prior to crashes were less significant than the speed variations in congestion.

Drivers of supply chain collaboration among Finnish manufacturers

This paper focuses on data exchange relationships and ways to improve collaboration in the supply chain. Initially, the paper examines the information needs and alternatives in supply chain management. In the second part, the paper identifies different sets of factors that are likely to influence information sharing with suppliers, from the manufacturers’ point of view. Results from a Finnish Manufacturing industry survey show that manufacturers provided substantial information on demand data, production schedules, and inventories to their suppliers. Respondents perceived delivery performance measured by the timeliness, accuracy, and defect rate of deliveries as the primary incentives for supplier collaboration. On the other hand, supplier image and the market in which the supplier operates were found to be less relevant in determining the intensity of collaboration.

Proton-transfer compounds of isnipecotamide with the aromatic dicarboxylic acids 4-nitrophthalic, 4,5-dichlorophthalic, 5-nitroisophthalic and terephthalic acid

The structures of the 1:1 proton-transfer compounds of isonipecotamide (4-piperidinecarboxamide) with 4-nitrophthalic acid, 4-carbamoylpiperidinium 2-carboxy-4-nitrobenzoate, C6H13N2O8+ C8H4O6- (I), 4,5-dichlorophthalic acid, 4-carbamoylpiperidinium 2-carboxy-4,5-dichlorobenzoate, C6H13N2O8+ C8H3Cl2O4- (II) and 5-nitroisophthalic acid, 4-carbamoylpiperidinium 3-carboxy-5-nitrobenzoate, C6H13N2O8+ C8H4O6- (III) as well as the 2:1 compound with terephthalic acid, bis(4-carbamoylpiperidinium)benzene-1,2-dicarboxylate dihydrate, 2(C6H13N2O8+) C8H4O42- . 2H2O (IV)have been determined at 200 K. All salts form hydrogen-bonded structures, one-dimensional in (II) and three-dimensional in (I), (III) and (IV). In (I) and (III) the centrosymmetric R2/2(8) cyclic amide-amide association is found while in (IV) several different types of water-bridged cyclic associations are present [graph sets R2/4(8), R3/4(10), R4/4(12), R3/3(18) and R4/6(22)]. The one-dimensional structure of (I), features the common 'planar' hydrogen 4,5-dichlorophthalate anion together with enlarged cyclic R3/3(13) and R3/4(17) associations. With the structures of (I) and (III) the presence of head-to-tail hydrogen phthalate chain substructures is found. In (IV) head-to-tail primary cation-anion associations are extended longitudinally into chains through the water-bridged cation associations and laterally by piperidinium N-H...O(carboxyl) and water O-H...O(carboxyl) hydrogen bonds. The structures reported here further demonstrate the utility of the isonipecotamide cation as a synthon for the generation of stable hydrogen-bonded structures. An additional example of cation--anion association with this cation is also shown in the asymmetric three-centre piperidinium N-H...O,O'(carboxyl) interaction in the first-reported structure of a 2:1 isonipecotamide-carboxylate salt.

A systematic, tool-supported method for conducting literature reviews in information systems

While the importance of literature studies in the IS discipline is well recognized, little attention has been paid to the underlying structure and method of conducting effective literature reviews. Despite the fact that literature is often used to refine the research context and direct the pathways for successful research outcomes, there is very little evidence of the use of resource management tools to support the literature review process. In this paper we want to contribute to advancing the way in which literature studies in Information Systems are conducted, by proposing a systematic, pre-defined and tool-supported method to extract, analyse and report literature. This paper presents how to best identify relevant IS papers to review within a feasible and justifiable scope, how to extract relevant content from identified papers, how to synthesise and analyse the findings of a literature review and what are ways to effectively write and present the results of a literature review. The paper is specifically targeted towards novice IS researchers, who would seek to conduct a systematic detailed literature review in a focused domain. Specific contributions of our method are extensive tool support, the identification of appropriate papers including primary and secondary paper sets and a pre-codification scheme. We use a literature study on shared services as an illustrative example to present the proposed approach.

Pyktree : a K-tree implementation in Python

In this paper we present pyktree, an implementation of the K-tree algorithm in the Python programming language. The K-tree algorithm provides highly balanced search trees for vector quantization that scales up to very large data sets. Pyktree is highly modular and well suited for rapid-prototyping of novel distance measures and centroid representations. It is easy to install and provides a python package for library use as well as command line tools.

Interactive image manipulation for surgical planning

The Australian e-Health Research Centre in collaboration with the Queensland University of Technology's Paediatric Spine Research Group is developing software for visualisation and manipulation of large three-dimensional (3D) medical image data sets. The software allows the extraction of anatomical data from individual patients for use in preoperative planning. State-of-the-art computer technology makes it possible to slice through the image dataset at any angle, or manipulate 3D representations of the data instantly. Although the software was initially developed to support planning for scoliosis surgery, it can be applied to any dataset whether obtained from computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging or any other imaging modality.

A comparative analysis of business analysis (BA) and business process management (BPM) capabilities

Many initiatives to improve Business processes are emerging. The essential roles and contributions of Business Analyst (BA) and Business Process Management (BPM) professionals to such initiatives have been recognized in literature and practice. The roles and responsibilities of a BA or BPM practitioner typically require different skill-sets; however these differences are often vague. This vagueness creates much confusion in practice and academia. While both the BA and BPM communities have made attempts to describe their domains through capability defining empirical research and developments of Bodies of knowledge, there has not yet been any attempt to identify the commonality of skills required and points of uniqueness between the two professions. This study aims to address this gap and presents the findings of a detailed content mapping exercise (using NVivo as a qualitative data analysis tool) of the International Institution of Business Analysis (IIBA®) Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK® Guide) against core BPM competency and capability frameworks.

An assessment of timber dwellings typical of the Queenslander era, and constraints associated with their relocation, component and adaptive reuse when considering 'regeneration'

This paper presents an explanation of why the reuse of building components after demolition or deconstruction is critical to the future of the construction industry. An examination of the historical cause and response to climate change sets the scene as to why governance is becoming increasingly focused on the built environment as a mechanism to controlling waste generation associated with the process of demolition, construction and operation. Through an annotated description to the evolving design and construction methodology of a range of timber dwellings (typically 'Queenslanders' during the eras of 1880-1900, 1900-1920 & 1920-1940) the paper offers an evaluation to the variety of materials, which can be used advantageously by those wishing to 'regenerate' a Queenslander. This analysis of 'regeneration' details the constraints when considering relocation and/ or reuse by adaption including deconstruction of building components against the legislative framework requirements of the Queensland Building Act 1975 and the Queensland Sustainable Planning Act 2009, with a specific examination to those of the Building Codes of Australia. The paper concludes with a discussion of these constraints, their impacts on 'regeneration' and the need for further research to seek greater understanding of the practicalities and drivers of relocation, adaptive and building components suitability for reuse after deconstruction.

Personal epistemology and teacher education

A growing body of personal epistemology research shows that personal epistemologies influence student learning, particularly in academic contexts. However, we know little about how personal epistemologies relate to teaching, and even less about teacher education. This introductory chapter sets the stage for this book which brings together a range of international researchers in the field of personal epistemology, teaching, and teacher education. This introductory chapter explores personal epistemology as a construct in the field of teaching and teacher education. In particular, it focuses on teacher education a one contextual influence on personal epistemologies by exploring the nature of teachers' personal epistemologies, teachers' personal epistemologies and learning, teachers' personal epistemologies and teaching, and changing personal epistemology in teacher education programs.

Fault diagnosis of induction motor based on decision trees and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference

This paper presents a fault diagnosis method based on adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) in combination with decision trees. Classification and regression tree (CART) which is one of the decision tree methods is used as a feature selection procedure to select pertinent features from data set. The crisp rules obtained from the decision tree are then converted to fuzzy if-then rules that are employed to identify the structure of ANFIS classifier. The hybrid of back-propagation and least squares algorithm are utilized to tune the parameters of the membership functions. In order to evaluate the proposed algorithm, the data sets obtained from vibration signals and current signals of the induction motors are used. The results indicate that the CART–ANFIS model has potential for fault diagnosis of induction motors.

Phylogeographic reconstruction of a bacterial species with high levels of lateral gene transfer

Background Phylogeographic reconstruction of some bacterial populations is hindered by low diversity coupled with high levels of lateral gene transfer. A comparison of recombination levels and diversity at seven housekeeping genes for eleven bacterial species, most of which are commonly cited as having high levels of lateral gene transfer shows that the relative contributions of homologous recombination versus mutation for Burkholderia pseudomallei is over two times higher than for Streptococcus pneumoniae and is thus the highest value yet reported in bacteria. Despite the potential for homologous recombination to increase diversity, B. pseudomallei exhibits a relative lack of diversity at these loci. In these situations, whole genome genotyping of orthologous shared single nucleotide polymorphism loci, discovered using next generation sequencing technologies, can provide very large data sets capable of estimating core phylogenetic relationships. We compared and searched 43 whole genome sequences of B. pseudomallei and its closest relatives for single nucleotide polymorphisms in orthologous shared regions to use in phylogenetic reconstruction. Results Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of >14,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms yielded completely resolved trees for these 43 strains with high levels of statistical support. These results enable a better understanding of a separate analysis of population differentiation among >1,700 B. pseudomallei isolates as defined by sequence data from seven housekeeping genes. We analyzed this larger data set for population structure and allele sharing that can be attributed to lateral gene transfer. Our results suggest that despite an almost panmictic population, we can detect two distinct populations of B. pseudomallei that conform to biogeographic patterns found in many plant and animal species. That is, separation along Wallace's Line, a biogeographic boundary between Southeast Asia and Australia. Conclusion We describe an Australian origin for B. pseudomallei, characterized by a single introduction event into Southeast Asia during a recent glacial period, and variable levels of lateral gene transfer within populations. These patterns provide insights into mechanisms of genetic diversification in B. pseudomallei and its closest relatives, and provide a framework for integrating the traditionally separate fields of population genetics and phylogenetics for other bacterial species with high levels of lateral gene transfer.