Educating cultural heritage information professionals for Australia's galleries, libraries, archives and museums: A grounded Delphi study

This research explored the knowledge, skills, qualities, and professional education needs, of information professionals in galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM) in Australia. The findings revealed that although full convergence of these sectors is unlikely, many of the skills, knowledge and qualities would be required across all four sectors. The research used the Grounded Delphi Method, a relatively new methodological extension of the Delphi method that incorporates aspects of Grounded Theory. The findings provide the first empirically based guidelines around what needs to be included in an educational framework for information professionals who will work in the emerging GLAM environment. As the first study of GLAM education requirements in Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific region to take a holistic approach by engaging information professionals across all four sectors, this thesis makes a contribution to the GLAM research field and to information education generally.

A summary of the 'Engineering Education for Sustainable Development:Toolkit of Information & Teaching Material'

This paper reflects on the critical need for an urgent transformation of higher education curriculum globally, to equip society with professionals who can address our 21st Century sustainable living challenges. Specifically it discusses a toolkit called the ‘Engineering Sustainable Solutions Program’, which is a freely available, rigorously reviewed and robust content resource for higher education institutions to access content on innovations and opportunities in the process of evolving the curriculum...

Plain packaging for the Pacific Rim: The Trans-Pacific Partnership and tobacco control

Big Tobacco has been engaged in a dark, shadowy plot and conspiracy to hijack the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) and undermine tobacco control measures – such as graphic health warnings and the plain packaging of tobacco products... In the context of this heavy lobbying by Big Tobacco and its proxies, this chapter provides an analysis of the debate over trade, tobacco, and the TPP. This discussion is necessarily focused on the negotiations of the free trade agreement – the shadowy conflicts before the finalisation of the text. This chapter contends that the trade negotiations threaten hard-won gains in public health – including international developments such as the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and domestic measures, such as graphic health warnings and the plain packaging of tobacco products. It maintains that there is a need for regional trade agreements to respect the primacy of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. There is a need both to provide for an open and transparent process regarding such trade negotiations, as well as a due and proper respect for public health in terms of substantive obligations. Part I focuses on the debate over the intellectual property chapter of the TPP, within the broader context of domestic litigation against Australia’s plain tobacco packaging regime and associated WTO disputes. Part II examines the investment chapter of the TPP, taking account of ongoing investment disputes concerning tobacco control and the declared approaches of Australia and New Zealand to investor-state dispute settlement. Part III looks at the discussion as to whether there should be specific text on tobacco control in the TPP, and, if so, what should be its nature and content. This chapter concludes that the plain packaging of tobacco products – and other best practices in tobacco control – should be adopted by members of the Pacific Rim.

The empire of cancer: Gene patents and cancer voices

In his book, The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee writes a history of cancer — "It is a chronicle of an ancient disease — once a clandestine, 'whispered-about' illness — that has metamorphosed into a lethal shape-shifting entity imbued with such penetrating metaphorical, medical, scientific, and political potency that cancer is often described as the defining plague of our generation." Increasingly, an important theme in the history of cancer is the role of law, particularly in the field of intellectual property law. It is striking that a number of contemporary policy debates over intellectual property and public health have concerned cancer research, diagnosis, and treatment. In the area of access to essential medicines, there has been much debate over Novartis’ patent application in respect of Glivec, a treatment for leukaemia. India’s Supreme Court held that the Swiss company’s patent application violated a safeguard provision in India’s patent law designed to stop evergreening. In the field of tobacco control, the Australian Government introduced plain packaging for tobacco products in order to address the health burdens associated with the tobacco epidemic. This regime was successfully defended in the High Court of Australia. In the area of intellectual property and biotechnology, there have been significant disputes over the Utah biotechnology company Myriad Genetics and its patents in respect of genetic testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are related to breast cancer and ovarian cancer. The Federal Court of Australia handed down a decision on the validity of Myriad Genetics’ patent in respect of genetic testing for BRCA1 in February 2013. The Supreme Court of the United States heard a challenge to the validity of Myriad Genetics’ patents in this area in April 2013, and handed down a judgment in July 2013. Such disputes have involved tensions between intellectual property rights, and public health. This article focuses upon one of these important test cases involving intellectual property, public health, and cancer research. In June 2010, Cancer Voices Australia and Yvonne D’Arcy brought an action in the Federal Court of Australia against the validity of a BRCA1 patent — held by Myriad Genetics Inc, the Centre de Recherche du Chul, the Cancer Institute of Japan and Genetic Technologies Limited. Yvonne D’Arcy — a Brisbane woman who has had treatment for breast cancer — maintained: "I believe that what they are doing is morally and ethically corrupt and that big companies should not control any parts of the human body." She observed: "For my daughter, I've had her have [sic] mammograms, etc, because of me but I would still like her to be able to have the test to see if the mutation gene is in there from me." The applicants made the following arguments: "Genes and the information represented by human gene sequences are products of nature universally present in each individual, and the information content of a human gene sequence is fixed. Genetic variations or mutations are products of nature. The isolation of the BRCA1 gene mutation from the human body constitutes no more than a medical or scientific discovery of a naturally occurring phenomenon and does not give rise to a patentable invention." The applicants also argued that "the alleged invention is not a patentable invention in that, so far as claimed in claims 1–3, it is not a manner of manufacture within the meaning of s 6 of the Statute of Monopolies". The applicants suggested that "the alleged invention is a mere discovery". Moreover, the applicants contended that "the alleged invention of each of claims 1-3 is not a patentable invention because they are claims for biological processes for the generation of human beings". The applicants, though, later dropped the argument that the patent claims related to biological processes for the generation of human beings. In February 2013, Nicholas J of the Federal Court of Australia considered the case brought by Cancer Voices Australia and Yvonne D’Arcy against Myriad Genetics. The judge presented the issues in the case, as follows: "The issue that arises in this case is of considerable importance. It relates to the patentability of genes, or gene sequences, and the practice of 'gene patenting'. Briefly stated, the issue to be decided is whether under the Patents Act 1990 (Cth) a valid patent may be granted for a claim that covers naturally occurring nucleic acid — either deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or ribonucleic acid (RNA) — that has been 'isolated'". In this context, the word "isolated" implies that naturally occurring nucleic acid found in the cells of the human body, whether it be DNA or RNA, has been removed from the cellular environment in which it naturally exists and separated from other cellular components also found there. The genes found in the human body are made of nucleic acid. The particular gene with which the patent in suit is concerned (BRCA1) is a human breast and ovarian cancer disposing gene. Various mutations that may be present in this gene have been linked to various forms of cancer including breast cancer and ovarian cancer.' The judge held in this particular case that Myriad Genetics’ patent claims were a "manner of manufacture" under s 6 of the Statute of Monopolies and s 18(1)(a) of the Patents Act 1990 (Cth). The matter is currently under appeal in the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia. This article interprets the dispute over Myriad Genetics in light of the scholarly work of Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz on inequality. Such work has significant explanatory power in the context of intellectual property and biotechnology. First, Stiglitz has contended that "societal inequality was a result not just of the laws of economics, but also of how we shape the economy — through politics, including through almost every aspect of our legal system". Stiglitz is concerned that "our intellectual property regime … contributes needlessly to the gravest form of inequality." He maintains: "The right to life should not be contingent on the ability to pay." Second, Stiglitz worries that "some of the most iniquitous aspects of inequality creation within our economic system are a result of 'rent-seeking': profits, and inequality, generated by manipulating social or political conditions to get a larger share of the economic pie, rather than increasing the size of that pie". He observes that "the most iniquitous aspect of this wealth appropriation arises when the wealth that goes to the top comes at the expense of the bottom." Third, Stiglitz comments: "When the legal regime governing intellectual property rights is designed poorly, it facilitates rent-seeking" and "the result is that there is actually less innovation and more inequality." He is concerned that intellectual property regimes "create monopoly rents that impede access to health both create inequality and hamper growth more generally." Finally, Stiglitz has recommended: "Government-financed research, foundations, and the prize system … are alternatives, with major advantages, and without the inequality-increasing disadvantages of the current intellectual property rights system.’" This article provides a critical analysis of the Australian litigation and debate surrounding Myriad Genetics’ patents in respect of genetic testing for BRCA1. First, it considers the ruling of Nicholas J in the Federal Court of Australia that Myriad Genetics’ patent was a manner of manufacture as it related to an artificially created state of affairs, and not mere products of nature. Second, it examines the policy debate over gene patents in Australia, and its relevance to the litigation involving Myriad Genetics. Third, it examines comparative law, and contrasts the ruling by Nicholas J in the Federal Court of Australia with developments in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. Fourth, this piece considers the reaction to the decision of Nicholas at first instance in Australia. Fifth, the article assesses the prospects of an appeal to the Full Federal Court of Australia over the Myriad Genetics’ patents. Finally, this article observes that, whatever happens in respect of litigation against Myriad Genetics, there remains controversy over Genetic Technologies Limited. The Melbourne firm has been aggressively licensing and enforcing its related patents on non-coding DNA and genomic mapping.

The High Court of Australia and the Marlboro Man: The Battle Over the Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products

In 2012, the High Court of Australia handed down a landmark decision on the plain packaging of tobacco products. This chapter considers the historic ruling in the case of JT International SA v Commonwealth; British American Tobacco Australasia Ltd v Commonwealth. This chapter explores several themes in the decision. First, it highlights the historical work by the High Court of Australia on the role of health regulation, the use of health warnings, and tobacco control. Second, the chapter considers the High Court of Australia's view that intellectual property law promotes the public interest.Third, it explores the High Court of Australia’s analysis of the constitutional law on acquisition of property on just terms. Finally, this chapter contends that the High Court of Australia's ruling on plain packaging of tobacco products will spark an 'Olive Revolution' — and will encourage superior courts and policy-makers to follow suit.

Who won the argument over plain packaging?

Government and tobacco companies recently faced off in Australia's High Court over the legality of plain packaging for cigarettes. Stephen Stern and Matthew Rimmer give their contrasting views on the arguments and implications

Information encountering on social media and tacit knowledge sharing

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how social media may support information encountering (i.e., where individuals encounter useful and interesting information while seeking or browsing for some other information) and how this may lead to facilitation of tacit knowledge creation and sharing. The study employed a qualitative survey design that interviewed twenty-four physicians who were active users of social media to better understand the phenomenon of information encountering on social media. The data was analysed using the thematic analysis approach. The study found six main ways through which social media supports information encountering. Furthermore, drawing upon knowledge creation theories, the study concluded that information encountering on social media facilitates tacit knowledge creation and sharing among individuals. The study provides new directions for further empirical investigations to examine whether information encountering on social media actually leads to tacit knowledge creation and sharing. The findings of the study may also provide opportunities for users to adopt social media effectively or gain greater value from social media use.

External knowledge and query strategies in active learning: A study in clinical information extraction

This paper presents a new active learning query strategy for information extraction, called Domain Knowledge Informativeness (DKI). Active learning is often used to reduce the amount of annotation effort required to obtain training data for machine learning algorithms. A key component of an active learning approach is the query strategy, which is used to iteratively select samples for annotation. Knowledge resources have been used in information extraction as a means to derive additional features for sample representation. DKI is, however, the first query strategy that exploits such resources to inform sample selection. To evaluate the merits of DKI, in particular with respect to the reduction in annotation effort that the new query strategy allows to achieve, we conduct a comprehensive empirical comparison of active learning query strategies for information extraction within the clinical domain. The clinical domain was chosen for this work because of the availability of extensive structured knowledge resources which have often been exploited for feature generation. In addition, the clinical domain offers a compelling use case for active learning because of the necessary high costs and hurdles associated with obtaining annotations in this domain. Our experimental findings demonstrated that 1) amongst existing query strategies, the ones based on the classification model’s confidence are a better choice for clinical data as they perform equally well with a much lighter computational load, and 2) significant reductions in annotation effort are achievable by exploiting knowledge resources within active learning query strategies, with up to 14% less tokens and concepts to manually annotate than with state-of-the-art query strategies.

Information-theoretic analysis of brain white matter fiber orientation distribution functions

We propose a new information-theoretic metric, the symmetric Kullback-Leibler divergence (sKL-divergence), to measure the difference between two water diffusivity profiles in high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI). Water diffusivity profiles are modeled as probability density functions on the unit sphere, and the sKL-divergence is computed from a spherical harmonic series, which greatly reduces computational complexity. Adjustment of the orientation of diffusivity functions is essential when the image is being warped, so we propose a fast algorithm to determine the principal direction of diffusivity functions using principal component analysis (PCA). We compare sKL-divergence with other inner-product based cost functions using synthetic samples and real HARDI data, and show that the sKL-divergence is highly sensitive in detecting small differences between two diffusivity profiles and therefore shows promise for applications in the nonlinear registration and multisubject statistical analysis of HARDI data.

Fluid registration of diffusion tensor images using information theory

We apply an information-theoretic cost metric, the symmetrized Kullback-Leibler (sKL) divergence, or $J$-divergence, to fluid registration of diffusion tensor images. The difference between diffusion tensors is quantified based on the sKL-divergence of their associated probability density functions (PDFs). Three-dimensional DTI data from 34 subjects were fluidly registered to an optimized target image. To allow large image deformations but preserve image topology, we regularized the flow with a large-deformation diffeomorphic mapping based on the kinematics of a Navier-Stokes fluid. A driving force was developed to minimize the $J$-divergence between the deforming source and target diffusion functions, while reorienting the flowing tensors to preserve fiber topography. In initial experiments, we showed that the sKL-divergence based on full diffusion PDFs is adaptable to higher-order diffusion models, such as high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI). The sKL-divergence was sensitive to subtle differences between two diffusivity profiles, showing promise for nonlinear registration applications and multisubject statistical analysis of HARDI data.

A longitudinal study of employee adaptation to organizational change: The role of change-related information and change-related self-efficacy

This study examined the role of information, efficacy, and 3 stressors in predicting adjustment to organizational change. Participants were 589 government employees undergoing an 18-month process of regionalization. To examine if the predictor variables had long-term effects on adjustment, the authors assessed psychological well-being, client engagement, and job satisfaction again at a 2-year follow-up. At Time 1, there was evidence to suggest that information was indirectly related to psychological well-being, client engagement, and job satisfaction, via its positive relationship to efficacy. There also was evidence to suggest that efficacy was related to reduced stress appraisals, thereby heightening client engagement. Last, there was consistent support for the stress-buffering role of Time 1 self-efficacy in the prediction of Time 2 job satisfaction.

An experimental study of the effects of work stress, work control, and task information on adjustment

The present study was designed to examine the main and interactive effects of task demands, work control, and task information on levels of adjustment. Task demands, work control, and task information were manipulated in an experimental setting where participants completed a letter-sorting activity (N= 128). Indicators of adjustment included measures of positive mood, participants' perceptions of task performance, and task satisfaction. Results of the present study provided some support for the main effects of objective task demands, work control, and task information on levels of adjustment. At the subjective level of analysis, there was some evidence to suggest that work control and task information interacted in their effects on levels of adjustment. There was minimal support for the proposal that work control and task information would buffer the negative effects of task demands on adjustment. There was, however, some evidence to suggest that the stress-buffering role of subjective work control was more marked at high, rather than low, levels of subjective task information.

Incorporating visual information for spoken term detection

Spoken term detection (STD) is the task of looking up a spoken term in a large volume of speech segments. In order to provide fast search, speech segments are first indexed into an intermediate representation using speech recognition engines which provide multiple hypotheses for each speech segment. Approximate matching techniques are usually applied at the search stage to compensate the poor performance of automatic speech recognition engines during indexing. Recently, using visual information in addition to audio information has been shown to improve phone recognition performance, particularly in noisy environments. In this paper, we will make use of visual information in the form of lip movements of the speaker in indexing stage and will investigate its effect on STD performance. Particularly, we will investigate if gains in phone recognition accuracy will carry through the approximate matching stage to provide similar gains in the final audio-visual STD system over a traditional audio only approach. We will also investigate the effect of using visual information on STD performance in different noise environments.

Comparison of baseline information literacy skills of undergraduate and graduate Nurses at the University of Queensland: a pilot study by health librarians

Pilot studies are conducted to explain the baseline information literacy skills prevailing in the undergraduate and graduate nurses at the University of Queensland. The analyses reveal a significant difference between the skills of both the nurses, hence demonstrating the need for the development of new information literacy workshops. The author also presents various teaching strategies that can be adopted for an effective skill development of these nurses.