Wear it or wear the cost : current seatbelt wearing rates in Queensland

Observational seatbelt wearing studies are a valuable tool for obtaining up-to-date information about rates of use. Given that one quarter of vehicle occupants killed on Queensland roads in recent years were not wearing seatbelts, it is important that authorities are able to identify non-wearers and take steps to increase compliance with seatbelt laws to reduce the severity of crashes and, therefore, the road toll. An observational study of seatbelt use was conducted in metropolitan, regional and rural locations throughout Queensland in May and June, 2010. Trained observers took note of seatbelt use of all occupants of passenger vehicles, noting their gender, approximate age group, seating position, vehicle type, licence type (i.e. visible L or P plates), mobile phone use, and the date, time and location of the observation. Of 19,579 observations, 99.04% (19,391) of occupants were observed wearing seatbelts, as only 0.96% of occupants (188) were not wearing a seatbelt. There were differences in seatbelt wearing rates for a number of study variables, although most were very small. However, seatbelt wearing rates were 3.84% lower for drivers observed using a mobile phone than for those who were not. While compliance with seatbelt laws seems to be very high, it is still concerning that so few non-wearers represent a disproportionately large proportion of road fatalities and serious injuries in Queensland. Road safety authorities must therefore continue to find ways to improve seatbelt use, as small gains in wearing rates will translate into significant fatality reductions.

Deep Raman spectroscopy for the non-invasive standoff detection of concealed chemical threat agents

Deep Raman spectroscopy has been utilized for the standoff detection of concealed chemical threat agents from a distance of 15 meters under real life background illumination conditions. By using combined time and space resolved measurements, various explosive precursors hidden in opaque plastic containers were identified non-invasively. Our results confirm that combined time and space resolved Raman spectroscopy leads to higher selectivity towards the sub-layer over the surface layer as well as enhanced rejection of fluorescence from the container surface when compared to standoff spatially offset Raman spectroscopy. Raman spectra that have minimal interference from the packaging material and good signal-to-noise ratio were acquired within 5 seconds of measurement time. A new combined time and space resolved Raman spectrometer has been designed with nanosecond laser excitation and gated detection, making it of lower cost and complexity than picosecond-based laboratory systems.

The relation between work motivation and project management success : an empirical investigation

The content and context of work significantly influences an employees’ satisfaction. While managers see work motivation as a tool to engage the employees so that they perform better, academicians value work motivation for its contribution to human behaviour. Though the relationship between employee motivation and project success has been extensively covered in the literature, more research focusing on the nature of job design on project success may have been wanting. We address this gap through this study. The present study contributes to the extant literature by suggesting an operational framework of work motivation for project—based organizations. We are also advancing the conceptual understanding of this variable by understanding how the different facets of work motivation have a differing impact of the various parameters of project performance. A survey instrument using standardized scales of work motivation and project success was used. 199 project workers from various industries completed the survey. We first ‘operationalized’ the definition of work motivation for the purpose of our study through a principal component analysis of work motivation items. We obtained a five factor structure that had items pertaining to employee development, work climate, goal clarity, and job security. We then performed a Pearson’s correlation analysis which revealed moderate to significant relationship between project outcomes ad work climate; project outcomes & employee development. In order to establish a causality between work motivation and project management success, we employed linear regression analysis. The results show that work climate is a significant predictor of client satisfaction, while it moderately influences the project quality. Further, bringing in objectivity to project work is important for a successful implementation.

A mask-based approach for the geometric calibration of thermal-infrared cameras

Accurate and efficient thermal-infrared (IR) camera calibration is important for advancing computer vision research within the thermal modality. This paper presents an approach for geometrically calibrating individual and multiple cameras in both the thermal and visible modalities. The proposed technique can be used to correct for lens distortion and to simultaneously reference both visible and thermal-IR cameras to a single coordinate frame. The most popular existing approach for the geometric calibration of thermal cameras uses a printed chessboard heated by a flood lamp and is comparatively inaccurate and difficult to execute. Additionally, software toolkits provided for calibration either are unsuitable for this task or require substantial manual intervention. A new geometric mask with high thermal contrast and not requiring a flood lamp is presented as an alternative calibration pattern. Calibration points on the pattern are then accurately located using a clustering-based algorithm which utilizes the maximally stable extremal region detector. This algorithm is integrated into an automatic end-to-end system for calibrating single or multiple cameras. The evaluation shows that using the proposed mask achieves a mean reprojection error up to 78% lower than that using a heated chessboard. The effectiveness of the approach is further demonstrated by using it to calibrate two multiple-camera multiple-modality setups. Source code and binaries for the developed software are provided on the project Web site.

The adoption of residential sustainability programs : lessons from the commercial sector

The article explains and compares sustainability programs available for use by residential and commercial premises; as well as the respective legal tenure frameworks of commercial and residential tenancies. It identifies that while the desire of commercial tenants drive the participation by landlords in these programs, residential tenants appear to be ignorant of sustainable measures. The article contends that the reason for this difference is rooted in the legal and social status of residential tenants. It explores the impact that secure tenure may have in promoting residential sustainability programs and concludes by observing that the lack of involvement of residential tenants in programs stems from the absence of tenure security, which prevents any long term cooperation between the parties.

Introduction to special issue on what criminology can say about the war on terror

On 20 September 2001, the former US President, George W. Bush, declared what is now widely, and arguably infamously, known as a ‘war on terror’. In response to the fatal 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington, DC, President Bush identified the US military response as having far-reaching and long-lasting consequences. It was, he argued, ‘our war on terror’ that began ‘with al Qaeda, but … it will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated’ (CNN 2001). This was to be a war that would, in the words of former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, seek to eliminate a threat that was ‘aimed at the whole democratic world’ (Blair 2001). Blair claimed that this threat is of such magnitude that unprecedented measures would need to be taken to uphold freedom and security. Blair would later admit that it was a war that ‘divided the country’ and was based on evidence ‘about Saddam having actual biological and chemical weapons, as opposed to the capability to develop them, has turned out to be wrong’ (Blair 2004). The failures of intelligence ushered in new political rhetoric in the form of ‘trust me’ because ‘instinct is no science’ (Blair 2004). The war on terror has been one of the most significant international events in the past three decades, alongside the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the end of apartheid in South Africa, the unification of Europe and the marketization of the People's Republic of China. Yet, unlike the other events, it will not be remembered for advancing democracy or sovereignty, but for the conviction politics of particular politicians who chose to dispense with international law and custom in pursuit of personal instincts that proved fatal. Since the invasions of Afghanistan in October 2001 and …

Antecedents of sustainable management support for IT-related initiatives

Having IT-related capabilities is not enough to secure value from the IT resources and survive in today’s competitive environment. IT resources evolve dynamically and organisations must sustain their existing capabilities to continue to leverage value from their IT resources. Organisations’ IT-related management capabilities are an important source of their competitive advantage. We suggest that organisations can sustain these capabilities through appropriate considerations of resources at the technology-use level. This study suggests that an appropriate organisational design relating to decision rights and work environment, and a congruent reward system can create a dynamic IT-usage environment. This environment will be a vital source of knowledge that could help organisations to sustain their IT-related management capabilities. Analysis of data collected from a field survey demonstrates that this dynamic IT-usage environment, a result of the synergy between complementary factors, helps organisations to sustain their IT-related management capabilities. This study adds an important dimension to understanding why some organisations continue to perform better with their IT resources than others. For practice, this study suggests that organisations need to consider a comprehensive approach to what constitutes their valuable resources.

A review of models and model usage scenarios for an airport complex system

Airports represent the epitome of complex systems with multiple stakeholders, multiple jurisdictions and complex interactions between many actors. The large number of existing models that capture different aspects of the airport are a testament to this. However, these existing models do not consider in a systematic sense modelling requirements nor how stakeholders such as airport operators or airlines would make use of these models. This can detrimentally impact on the verification and validation of models and makes the development of extensible and reusable modelling tools difficult. This paper develops from the Concept of Operations (CONOPS) framework a methodology to help structure the review and development of modelling capabilities and usage scenarios. The method is applied to the review of existing airport terminal passenger models. It is found that existing models can be broadly categorised according to four usage scenarios: capacity planning, operational planning and design, security policy and planning, and airport performance review. The models, the performance metrics that they evaluate and their usage scenarios are discussed. It is found that capacity and operational planning models predominantly focus on performance metrics such as waiting time, service time and congestion whereas performance review models attempt to link those to passenger satisfaction outcomes. Security policy models on the other hand focus on probabilistic risk assessment. However, there is an emerging focus on the need to be able to capture trade-offs between multiple criteria such as security and processing time. Based on the CONOPS framework and literature findings, guidance is provided for the development of future airport terminal models.

It will be tonight

In this wall-mounted sculpture, speakers are mounted into a shelf-like object finished with timber veneer. The speakers play a corny groove stock music soundtrack. On top of the shelf sits a digital photographic image approximating a fireplace floating against a colour-gradient background. This work examines how we construct, represent and deploy notions of nature in our contemporary lives. It mixes the languages of furniture design, landscape photography, digital graphics and sculpture. Drawing on Zygmunt Bauman’s theoretical work on “liquid modernity”, this work questions how and where we find space for contemplation and reflection in a contemporary context increasingly defined by temporary social bonds and consumer choices.

China and the "Responsibility to Protect" : the implications of the Libyan intervention

The emerging principle of a “responsibility to protect” (R2P) presents a direct challenge to China’s traditional emphasis on the twin principles of non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other states and non-use of military force. This paper considers the evolution of China’s relationship with R2P over the past ten years. In particular, it examines how China engaged with R2P during the recent Libyan crisis, and considers what impact this conflict may have first, on Chinese attitudes to R2P, and second, on the future development and implementation of the doctrine itself. This paper argues that China’s decision to allow the passage of Security Council resolution 1973, authorising force in Libya, was shaped by an unusual set of political and factual circumstances, and should not be viewed as evidence of a dramatic shift in Chinese attitudes towards R2P. More broadly, controversy over the scope of NATO’s military action in Libya has raised questions about R2P’s legitimacy, which have contributed to a lack of timely international action in Syria. In the short term at least, this post-Libya backlash against R2P is likely to constrain the Security Council’s ability to respond decisively to other civilian protection situations.

Field portable time resolved SORS sensor for the identification of concealed hazards

Raman spectroscopy, when used in spatially offset mode, has become a potential tool for the identification of explosives and other hazardous substances concealed in opaque containers. The molecular fingerprinting capability of Raman spectroscopy makes it an attractive tool for the unambiguous identification of hazardous substances in the field. Additionally, minimal sample preparation is required compared with other techniques. We report a field portable time resolved Raman sensor for the detection of concealed chemical hazards in opaque containers. The new sensor uses a pulsed nanosecond laser source in conjunction with an intensified CCD detector. The new sensor employs a combination of time and space resolved Raman spectroscopy to enhance the detection capability. The new sensor can identify concealed hazards by a single measurement without any chemometric data treatments.

Information technology resources,complementaries and capabilities : towards a deeper understanding of leveraging business value from IT

Organisations devote substantial resources to acquire information technology (IT), and explaining the important issue of how IT can affect performance has posed a significant challenge to information system (IS) researchers. Owing to the importance of expanding our understanding on how and where IT and IT-related resources impact organisational performance, this study investigates the differential effects of IT resources and IT-related capabilities, in the presence of platform-related complementarities, on business process performance. We test these relationships empirically via a field survey of 216 firms. The findings suggest that IT resources and IT-related capabilities explain variance in performance. Of interest is the finding that IT resources and IT-related capabilities ability to explain variance in business process is further enhanced by the presence of the platform-related complementarities. Our findings are largely consistent with the resource-based and complementarity arguments of sources of IT-related business value.

Antecedents of sustainable management support for IT related initiatives

Having IT-related capabilities is not enough to secure value from IT resources and survive in today’s competitive environment. IT resources evolve dynamically and firms must sustain their existing capabilities to continue to leverage value from their IT resources. Firm’s human resources are an important IT-related capability, and an important source of their competitive advantage. Using a field survey, this study demonstrates that a dynamic end-user environment, a result of a coordinated change in complementary factors can help sustain firms’ IT-related management capabilities. These factors include an appropriate organizational design to decision rights and work environment and a congruent reward system. This study adds an important dimension in understanding why some firms continue to perform better with their IT resources than others. For practice, this study suggests that a comprehensive approach to what constitutes valuable organizational resources is necessary.

IT governance in collaborative organizational structures

Organizations today engage in various forms of alliances to manage their existing business processes or to diversify into new processes to sustain their competitive positions. Many of today’s alliances use the IT resources as their backbone. The results of these alliances are collaborative organizational structures with little or no ownership stakes between the parties. The emergence of Web 2.0 tools is having a profound effect on the nature and form of these alliance structures. These alliances heavily depend on and make radical use of the IT resources in a collaborative environment. This situation requires a deeper understanding of the governance of these IT resources to ensure the sustainability of the collaborative organizational structures. This study reports on the first stage of this initiative. It suggest the types of IT governance structures required for collaborative organizational structures. Semi-structured interviews with senior executives who operate in such alliances reveal that co-created IT governance structures are necessary. Such structures include co-created IT-steering committees, cocreated operational committees, and inter-organizational performance management and communication systems. The findings pave the way for the development of a model for understanding approaches to governing IT and evaluating the effectiveness for such governance mechanisms in today’s IT dependent alliances.

Information technology and business value: how complementary IT usage platform and capable resources explain IT business value variation

Understanding information technology’s (ITs) contribution to business value is an imperative issue, and while we have attempted to untangle the relationship between IT and business value with some success, our knowledge of specific factors leading to ITs contribution to business value still remains limited. In this paper we propose that complementing IT resources, by establishing a sound IT platform with capable organisational resources may aid in ITs ability to contribute to business value. We suggest that performance measurement of this contribution be undertaken at the business process level first, and then mapped through to firm level performance measurement to obtain a better understanding of the path of IT business value contribution.