The design and development of an integrated system for object-oriented finite element computing

Finite Element Method (FEM) is widely used in Science and Engineering since 1960’s. The vast majority of FEM software is procedure-oriented. However, this conventional style of designing FEM software encounters problems in maintenance, reuse, and expansion of the software. Recently the object-oriented finite element method attracts the attention of lots of researchers, and now there is a growing interest in this method. In this paper, the object-oriented finite element (OOFE) is briefly introduced. Then the design and development of an integrated OOFE system is described. A comparison of the integrated OOFE system and a procedure-oriented system shows that our OOFE system has many advantages.

Technical development for deconstruction management

The Australian construction industry, particularly in the area of demolishing existing facilities, is responsible for up to 40% of the country's enormous solid waste streams, totalling about 14 million tonnes annually. The recently created concept of deconstruction, rather than destruction for demolishing a constructed facility, came about because of the rapidly increasing number of demolished buildings and changes in levels of environmental awareness. However,  reconstruction processes are now seen as only an interesting concept for reducing waste through reuse and recycling, but they fail to achieve widespread understanding or acceptance. The challenges faced by deconstruction are significant and diverse. The maturity of deconstruction practice depends on not only on tlle development of deconstruction techniques and management, but also on the enhancement of deconstruction awareness by the owners, designers, and construction teams, as well as the development of environmental regulations. These practical limitations are interrelated and mutually promotional. The technical developments in deconstruction management resulting from this research will have direct effects on various aspects, including the development of design and construction for deconstruction, deconstruction technology, reused material certification, recycl ing technology, and a method by which to calculate environmental benefits so that deconstruction would be promoted from an interesting concept mainly in theory to wide acceptance in practice. 

The media and the development of the tourism industry during the 20th and 21st centuries: an analysis of four noteworthy cases

The aim of this paper was to explore the role of the media within the context of tourism, specifically with regard to how the media has influenced the activities and perceptions of the tourism sector. In this paper, the term ‘media’ is referred to as mass communication, specifically with regard to newspapers, magazines and broadcasting. It is important to gain a better understanding of the ways in which the media has interacted with the tourism sector, as this information can provide practitioners and academics with insights as to how the media can best be employed to benefit stakeholders of the tourism industry. Lessons can be learned from the past so that the experience gained from it can contribute to best practice in the future. In this way, strategies can be developed to minimise the vulnerability of the tourism sector to damaging or erroneous portrayals of it and its activities in the media.
The case study method was used to explore the role of the media within the context of tourism. Four case studies provided insights on this topic. The four case studies were selected based on their diversity, within the context of the tourism sector, and because they covered a considerable period of time. These variables provided the researchers with a wide-ranging perspective on the topic.
The paper firstly focuses on the 1920’s Waiters’ Strike in the resort town of San Sebastián, Spain, and discusses the role of the media in relation to this event. The second case investigates the use of the media as a destination-marketing tool and reflects on an early manipulation of this process by the German authorities in the documentary Olympia, a film produced for the summer Olympics in 1936. The third case study reports on the manner in which the media has created tensions between connoisseurs of fine food and drink and hospitality industry professionals, and its subsequent implications on service quality. The final case investigates the role of the media in reducing demand for hospitality services in Melbourne on New Year’s Eve 2000.
Through an analysis of these diverse, but important case studies, it can be seen that the media has had, and continues to have, an impact on the development of the tourism industry in both positive and negative ways. The limitations of this research are discussed and recommendations are made for further research that will assist in developing a more comprehensive typology of the media’s role in tourism.

Understanding what microfinance institutions need to address to aid poverty alleviation, social inclusion and human development

Poverty, in its most basic form can be defined as a deprivation of well-being. It is an issue that has been evident in society for centuries and a concern for government policy makers and more recently for non-government organizations (NGOs). In this paper, we consider how management approaches to resolving the dilemma of poverty can be advanced by drawing on two major areas in the development arena associated with poverty, namely, ‘social exclusion’ and ‘the human development paradigm’. We put forward the argument that for groups of people where social disintegration has already occurred, only structural interventions coupled with a social development mechanism will achieve the desired effect. One method for achieving this is through the use of microfinance programs which provide a broad range of financial services to the poor and low-income households as well as to micro-enterprises. This paper contributes to both management practice and theory by developing a theoretical model that microfinance institutions need to do to aid both ‘human development’ and ‘social inclusion’ processes for the socially excluded and poor.

The development of cultural entrepreneurs through new venture cases in the business classroom

Artists and workers in the creative industries who embody the essence of creativity are thwart by economic values in delivering their art work or creative concept to consumers. This is particularly evident for students in courses in creative industries who graduate with entrepreneurial aspirations, but not the means to pitch their creative concept or build the business model for the new venture. This paper analyses a university business course developed to take cultural entrepreneurs through venture building as a live case in the creative economy.

Families needs in emergency departments: instument development

Background. Families who accompany critically ill relatives in emergency departments (EDs) are an integral part of the care unit. However, there are few empirical data on their needs during this phase of care. In order to guide quality care, general and specific needs of families accompanying these critically ill relatives should be systematically examined.

Aim. The aim of this pilot project was to test the tool, methods and analysis plan for a study to examine the perceived needs of family members accompanying critically ill patients in EDs and their perceptions of ED staff's ability to meet these needs.

Method. Over a 6-week period in 1996, 84 relatives who met the inclusion criteria were recruited to the study. A postal questionnaire, to uncover the needs of family members, was pilot tested. The questionnaire consisted of 40 need statements reflecting five major themes: meaning, proximity, communication, comfort and support. Of the 84 relatives selected for the study, 73% returned completed questionnaires.

Results. The findings of this pilot study suggest that the questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for researchers wishing to examine and rank the needs of family members who accompany critically ill people in EDs. In addition, the analysis plan was found to be appropriate.

Conclusions. This pilot study provides both a method and a tool for further research into family needs. Examination of the pilot data supported the reliability and validity of the tool and produced findings that challenge nurses to move beyond traditional practice that has excluded families from being an integral part of caring for critically ill patients in EDs.

A whole body, in vivo, fatty A\acid balance method to quantify PUFA metabolism (desaturation, elongation and beta-oxidation)

Currently there are several contrasting methods utilized for estimating elongation and desaturation of fatty acids and their general metabolism. The majority of these methods involve an ex vivo approach, requiring expensive and sophisticated equipment, likely to result in considerable variation in enzyme activity between and within species. In the present paper we introduce a further development of the whole-body fatty acid balance method for the estimation of the elongation and desaturation of fatty acids. This method though receiving considerable attention because of its simplicity and reliability has yet to be presented in detail. Theoretically, the whole-body fatty acid balance method can potentially be applied to any organism and requires little more than a gas chromatography unit for fatty acid analysis and elementary calculations. As such in this paper we attempt to spell out in detail the theoretical basis and the methods of application drawing specific examples. Using the present method it is possible to measure the fate of individual fatty acids towards desaturation, elongation and oxidation and calculate the elongase, Δ-6 desaturase and Δ-5 desaturase activities.

A method for the quantitative analysis of the layering of HIV-related stigma

HIV-related stigma is regarded as one of the major barriers in the development of effective prevention and care programs; but the stigma associated with HIV stigma is not a singular entity. The stigma of the infection is layered with other stigmas, such as those associated with the routes of transmission (e.g., sex work and injecting drug use) and personal characteristics (e.g., race, religion, ethnicity and gender). In developing programs and policies to overcome HIV-related stigma, cognisance needs to be taken of all the sources of stigma, and how they may interact. A novel method is described for examining the layers of HIV/AIDS-related stigma, and secondary data are adapted to illustrate this. The importance of understanding the layering of stigma for the development of effective interventions is also discussed.

A situational model development in hospitality retailing : the case of Irish pubs

Although importance of situational influences on consumer behaviour has been recognised for some time, little research has been conducted into their effects on hospitality retailing. Over the past decade the Irish theme pub sector has enjoyed extensive growth, which recent studies attribute to the situational components inherent within the environment. This study identities and evaluates the situational components that influence consumers within Irish theme pubs and gauges impact of each of the dimensions of an established situational model on customer behaviour using gender and age cohorts. A three phase, mixed method research design was used and respondents were selected from six Irish theme pubs in Melbourne. The study found that both physical and social situational components have a significant influence in attracting, serving and satisfying the needs of consumers.

Small-scale randomized controlled trials need more powerful methods of mediational analysis than the Baron-Kenny method

Objective: To devise more-effective physical activity interventions, the mediating mechanisms yielding behavioral change need to be identified. The Baron–Kenny method is most commonly used, but has low statistical power and may not identify mechanisms of behavioral change in small-to-medium size studies. More powerful statistical tests are available.
Study Design and Setting: Inactive adults (N = 52) were randomized to either a print or a print-plus-telephone intervention. Walking and exercise-related social support were assessed at baseline, after the intervention, and 4 weeks later. The Baron–Kenny and three alternative methods of mediational analysis (Freedman–Schatzkin; MacKinnon et al.; bootstrap method) were used to examine the effects of social support on initial behavior change and maintenance. Results: A significant mediational effect of social support on initial behavior change was indicated by the MacKinnon et al., bootstrap, and, marginally, Freedman–Schatzkin methods, but not by the Baron–Kenny method. No significant mediational effect of social support on maintenance of walking was found. Conclusions:  Methodologically rigorous intervention studies to identify mediators of change in physical activity are costly and labor ntensive, and may not be feasible with large samples. The use of statistically powerful tests of mediational effects in small-scale studies can inform the development of more effective interventions.

A comparison of self-reported puberty using the pubertal development scale and the sexual maturation scale in a school-based epidemiologic survey

Purpose: To examine concordance between two self-reported measures of puberty: Sexual Maturatiom Scale (SMS) and Pubertal Developl1!ent Scale (PDS) and their acceptability to adolescents. Methods: Participants of a school-based study in grades 5, 7 and 9 were classified into one of 5 pubertal stages using each method. Results: 2864 students (age 9-16 years) participated. Agreement was moderate for males (K 0.42, 95% CI 0.39,0.45) and females (K 0.57, 95% CI 0.53, 0.61). Concordance within one stage was excellent (females 97%, males 89%), with discrepancies due to females being classified one stage later on the PDS (26%) and males one stage earlier (32%). There were more missing data for the SMS (13%) than the PDS (4%).

The relationship between economic development and social welfare: A new adjusted GDP measure of welfare

Existing literature focuses on the issue of preparation of social welfare measurements on the basis of an unadjusted Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This paper extends this method to incorporate cost-benefit analysis of economic growth in a growing economy in calculating the adjusted GDP, termed as the cost-benefit (CB)-adjusted GDP. This approach is empirically applied to Thailand. There are stark differences between GDP per capita and CB adjusted GDP per capita rates for this period.This paper concludes that GDP can be used as an indicator of social welfare if the GDP estimates are undertaken within a cost-benefit analysis framework.

Capturing best practices in web development

This paper describes capturing design experiences by applying grounded theory to pattern mining. The presented approach aims at inducing expert development knowledge and its subsequent packaging into domain-specific design patterns, which could later be used by both experienced and novice developers in the field. The method was evaluated empirically in a domain of Web development.

The development of cultural entrepreneurs through new venture cases in the business classroom

Artists and workers in the creative industries who embody the essence of creativity are thwart by economic values in delivering their art work or creative concept to consumers. This is particularly evident for students in courses in creative industries who graduate with entrepreneurial aspirations, but not the means to pitch their creative concept or build the business model for the new venture. This paper analyses a university business course developed to take cultural entrepreneurs through venture building as a live case in the creative economy.

The career development year : responding to the emergency nursing shortage in Australia

Background: The Career Development Year (CDY) is a 12 month supported entry program at one health care service in Victoria, Australia. The program targets Division One Registered Nurses with little or no emergency nursing experience. The intent of CDY is to improve recruitment to, and retention in, emergency nursing by educational and experiential preparation for emergency nursing practice.

Method: This study used a retrospective exploratory design to examine recruitment and retention of emergency nurses recruited via CDY (n = 72) and compare these findings with recruitment and retention data for a cohort of non-CDY participants (n = 15). CDY data was collected by self-report questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, correlations and inferential statistics were calculated using SPSS.

Results: CDY was found to promote recruitment of novice nurses to emergency nursing, with almost half the respondents (n = 25, 48.1%) reporting they would not have entered emergency nursing were it not for the supported entry program. Further, comparison with non-CDY participants revealed that CDY promoted retention within emergency nursing, with both short-term (n = 47, 90.4% vs. n = 8, 53.4%) and long-term retention doubling (n = 50, 96.1% vs. n = 7, 46.6%) following the introduction of CDY.

Conclusion: CDY was a valuable recruitment tool and successful retention strategy in the ED. Future research using a larger sample may demonstrate potential applicability to other clinical areas.