Processes and variations in language economisation

This article analyses the processes of reducing language in textchats produced by non-native speakers of English. We propose that forms are reduced because of their high frequency and because of the discourse context. A wide variety of processes are attested in the literature, and we find different forms of clippings in our data, including mixtures of different clippings, homophone respellings, phonetic respellings including informal oral forms, initialisms (but no acronyms), and mixtures of clipping together with homophone and phonetic respellings. Clippings were the most frequent process (especially back-clippings and initialisms), followed by homophone respellings. There were different ways of metalinguistically marking reduction, but capitalisation was by far the most frequent. There is much individual variation in the frequencies of the different processes, although most were within normal distribution. The fact that nonnative speakers seem to generally follow reduction patterns of native speakers suggests that reduction is a universal process.

Robustness to non-normality of various tests for the one-sample location problem

This paper studies the effect of the normal distribution assumption on the power and size of the sign test, Wilcoxon's signed rank test and the t-test when used in one-sample location problems. Power functions for these tests under various skewness and kurtosis conditions are produced for several sample sizes from simulated data using the g-and-k distribution of MacGillivray and Cannon.

`Building bridges`: a case study of a collaborative research process

'Building bridges' is a metaphor we have used to describe a collaborative research process involving social work academic and senior practitioners from government and non-government child protection and family service organizations in Victoria, Australia. The purpose of the research was to develop a 'practice-generated approach to policy implementation' in child protection practice. The research sought to explore the appropriateness of social constructionist approaches for child protection practice that might enhance the existing risk paradigm. This article aims to critically evaluate the process of 'building bridges' and its outcomes, by focusing on how potential and actual differences between organizational contexts, namely universities and various serviceproviding organizations, may influence relationships between theory and practice. We critically reflect on our research process comparing it with idealized forms of collaborative research discussed in the literature.

Commonwealth legislative power and "non punitive" detention: a constitutional roadmap

In 2004 The High Court handed down a number of decisions concerning detention imposed for purposes allegedly unrelated to punishment. This paper outlines the way the Federal Constitution restricts (and also facilitates) the imposition of "non punitive detention" by our governments. Such laws (as passed by the Federal Legislature) are constitutionally valid provided they can be characterised as falling within a legislative head of power under  section 51 off he Constitution. The power to detain for non punitive purposes can be reposed by the Legislature in the either the Executive or Judicial arms of government. Detention by the Executive is non punitive (and therefore does not offend the separation of powers) even though it involves a deprivation of liberty, provided it is imposed for “legitimate non punitive purposes”.  Legitimacy is in turn determined by reference to the section 51 heads of power. Detention for non punitive purposes by the judicial arm of government is constitutionally valid provided that (i) a “judicial process ” is adopted and (ii) (arguably) there is some link (albeit tenuous) with a previous finding of criminal guilt. The continuing existence of the “constitutional immunity ”from being detained by other than judicial order identified by the High Court in its 1992 decision in Lim v Minister for Immigration is called into question.

Fred: An approach to generating real, correct, reusable programs from proofs

In this paper we describe our system for automatically extracting "correct" programs from proofs using a development of the Curry-Howard process. Although program extraction has been developed by many authors, our system has a number of novel features designed to make it very easy to use and as close as possible to ordinary mathematical terminology and practice. These features include 1. the use of Henkin's technique to reduce higher-order logic to many-sorted (first-order) logic; 2. the free use of new rules for induction subject to certain conditions; 3. the extensive use of previously programmed (total, recursive) functions; 4. the use of templates to make the reasoning much closer to normal mathematical proofs and 5. a conceptual distinction between the computational type theory (for representing programs)and the logical type theory (for reasoning about programs). As an example of our system we give a constructive proof of the well known theorem that every graph of even parity, which is non-trivial in the sense that it does not consist of isolated vertices, has a cycle. Given such a graph as input, the extracted program produces a cycle as promised.

Enhancing the creative process for learning in primary technology education

When undertaking design and technology activities, children are provided with opportunities to create solutions to problems in new and innovative ways. The mental processes involved in the generation of new ideas may be enhanced when children’s attention is not focussed and is allowed to wander in a relaxed and uncompetitive environment. Research indicates that the two mental states, generative and non-generative, cannot exist simultaneously. This paper reports on a research project which investigated the impact on children’s thinking when a period of non-focussed thinking became part of the technology process. The results support the previous proposition that a child’s non-generative/analytical mental state needs to give way to a generative state so that a child can be more fully creative. Moreover, from this study that documented children’s ideas during their involvement in a design and technology activity, teachers are urged to provide an incubation period as part of the technological process in the classroom, so that children’s creativity can be fostered.

Non-government organisations and the dialectics of state and civil society

This paper is concerned with envisioning the development of non-government organisations (NGOs) in Australia over the next 200 years. It begins with a discussion of a hypothetical NGO, providing vignettes of its activities in 2104 and 2204, and sketching out contextual factors that might influence NGO development. This discussion is followed by an outline of the methodology upon which the projections indicated in the hypothetical case-study are based. Three methodological approaches are used. The first approach begins from an analysis of current contextual trajectories, and projects the role of NGOs within these trajectories. The second approach postulates that the changes that will occur will be affected by the reflexive nature of social change, involving continual reflection and action. The third methodological approach draws on this notion of reflexivity, but emphasises that social change is not only a reflexive process, it is also a dialectical one. The dialectical approach rests on the premise that change occurs through a process of the accumulation of contradictions, challenge and resolution. Using these methodological approaches the paper proceeds to identify three factors which will influence the Australian NGO sector in the next 200 years. These factors are the shifting relations between the state and civil society, including the rise of the neo-authoritarian state in the 21st century; the ways in which least advantaged people are dealt with and, finally, the idea of risk society. While it is more difficult to identify the contextual and NGO trajectories into the 22nd and 23rd centuries, the paper postulates a more utopian vision for NGOs in Australia in 200 years time, where the category of people who had been previously marginalised disappears, and the major roles of NGOs are to ensure cultural diversity and develop civil labour.

Fault detection in a cold forging process through feature extraction with a neural network

This paper investigates the application of neural networks to the recognition of lubrication defects typical to an industrial cold forging process employed by fastener manufacturers. The accurate recognition of lubrication errors, such as coating not being applied properly or damaged during material handling, is very important to the quality of the final product in fastener manufacture. Lubrication errors lead to increased forging loads and premature tool failure, as well as to increased defect sorting and the re-processing of the coated rod. The lubrication coating provides a barrier between the work material and the die during the drawing operation; moreover it needs be sufficiently robust to remain on the wire during the transfer to the cold forging operation. In the cold forging operation the wire undergoes multi-stage deformation without the application of any additional lubrication. Four types of lubrication errors, typical to production of fasteners, were introduced to a set of sample rods, which were subsequently drawn under laboratory conditions. The drawing force was measured, from which a limited set of features was extracted. The neural network based model learned from these features is able to recognize all types of lubrication errors to a high accuracy. The overall accuracy of the neural network model is around 98% with almost uniform distribution of errors between all four errors and the normal condition.

Modeling the tensile strains of non-uniform fibers

The maximum strain experienced by the thinnest segment of a non-uniform fiber governs fiber breakage, yet this maximum strain can not be obtained from a normal single fiber test. Only the average strain of the whole fiber specimen can be obtained from a normal single fiber tensile test. This study has examined the relationship between the average strain, the maximum strain and the degree of fiber non-uniformity, expressed in coefficient of variation (CV) of fiber diameters along fiber length. The tensile strain of irregular fibers has been simulated using the finite element method (FEM). Using this method, average and maximum tensile strains of non-uniform fibers were calculated. The results indicate that for irregular fibers such as wool, there is an exponential relationship (i.e.ɛ _ave ɛ _max=ae ^{−b CV} ) between the ratio of average breaking strain and maximum breaking strain (ɛ _ave ɛ _max) and the along-fiber diameter variation (CV). The strain ratio decreases with the increase of the along-fiber diameter variation.

The potential for improving intra-organizational communication in the process of mergers and acquisitions via accounting systems

As the number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) continues to increase on a global basis, more managers are called upon to develop their M&A transition skills. While, undoubtedly, organizations realise the importance of good communications for successful implementation of change programs throughout the entire M&A process, they often find it hard to make this communication both constant and lucid. The article argues that accounting systems display the potential for improving intra-organizational communication by infusing managers and 'non-accountants' with a common financial vocabulary for communication and 'reading' the state of the business.

Stakeholders and strategic planning in non-profit organisations : case studies in complexity and conflict

The experiences of two Australian non-profit member-benefit associations as they attempt to develop strategic plans are explored, with emphasis on the influence of the many stakeholders in this process. We conclude that
corporate strategic planning is a complex, conflict-ridden, and largely
unsuccessful process in non-profit member-benefit associations because of the number and commitment of stakeholders. Therefore we suggest that future research should focus on clarifying whether such corporate management techniques are actually appropriate for all non-profit organisations, and, if they are, how non-profit organisations can best manage the process, taking into account the values and needs of stakeholders.

Removal of VOCs by photocatalysis process using adsorption enhanced TiO2–SiO2 catalyst

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) exist widely in both the indoor and outdoor environment. The main contributing sources of VOCs are motor vehicle exhaust and solvent utilization. Some VOCs are toxic and carcinogenic to human health, such as benzene. In this study, TiO₂–SiO₂ based photocatalysts were synthesized using the sol–gel method, with high surface areas of 274.1–421.1 m²/g obtained. Two types of pellets were used as catalysts in a fixed-bed reactor installed with a UV black light lamp. Experiments were conducted to compare their efficiencies in degrading the VOCs. Toluene was used as the VOC indicator. When the toluene laden gas stream passed through the photocatalytic reactor, the removal efficiencies were determined using a FTIR multi-gas analyser, which was connected to the outlet of the reactor to analyse the toluene concentrations. As the TiO₂–SiO₂ pellets used have a high adsorption capacity, they had dual functions as a photocatalyst and adsorbent in the hybrid photocatalysis and adsorption system. The experiments demonstrated that the porous photocatalyst with very high adsorptive capacity enhanced the subsequent photocatalysis reactions and lead to a positive synergistic effect. The catalyst can be self-regenerated by photocatalytic oxidation of the adsorbed VOCs. When the UV irradiation and feeding gas is continuous, a destruction efficiency of about 25% was achieved over a period of 20 h. Once the system was designed and operated into adsorption/regeneration mode, a higher removal efficiency of about 55% was maintained. It was found that the catalyst pellets with a higher surface area (421 m²/g) achieved higher conversion efficiency (100%) for a longer period than those with a lower surface area. A full spectrum scan was carried out using a Bio-rad Infrared spectrometer, finding that the main components of the treated gas stream leaving the reactor, along with untreated toluene, were CO₂ and water. The suspected intermediates of aliphatic hydrocarbons and CO were found in minimal amounts or were non detectable. The kinetic rate constants were calculated from the experimental results, it appeared that the stronger adsorption capacity, i.e. larger specific surface area, the higher conversion efficiency would be achieved.

The new solo-siro spun process for worsted yarns

The aim of this paper was to explore whether the properties of worsted yarns, especially hairiness, can be improved by combining the Solospun and Sirospun processes into a single Solo-Siro spun process. Wool fibres of 19 and 21 μm in average diameter were spun into 40 tex yarns at different twist levels, using the conventional ring, Sirospun and Solo-Siro spun systems, respectively. These yarns were then tested for a range of properties, including hairiness, tenacity, elongation and evenness, for comparison purposes. The statistical analysis results indicate that the hairiness (S3 value) of Solo-Siro spun yarns was significantly less than that of both Sirospun and normal ring spun yarns. In addition, the tenacity of the Solo-Siro spun yarns was higher than that of the normal ring spun yarns, while changes in yarn breaking elongation were not statistically significant. For the 21 μm wool, it was found that the evenness of Solo-Siro spun yarns deteriorated slightly in comparison with that of Sirospun and conventional ring spun yarns.

Assessment of wilderness quality using the analytic hierarchy process

Wilderness is a unique environmental resource that provides a multitude of use and non-use benefits. The use and management of wilderness depend on the assessment of wilderness quality. Current wilderness assessment in Australia is based on two broad criteria, the remoteness and naturalness of the wilderness, determined using geographic information systems. This paper discusses a complementary assessment method using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The AHP can be used to incorporate additional criteria, such as social and cultural criteria, to improve the quality of wilderness assessment. It provides a flexible and compatible method for large-scale wilderness assessments with multiple criteria. The weighting factors for the different criteria can be obtained from expert panels and focus groups.

The group purchasing process : an investigation into the influence of the facilitator in alpine tourism

Group travel is a common feature of all tourism markets and can vary from the familiar peer group/common purpose associations of the football and cricket followers to the non-familiar co-operative travel group of the under 35 year olds bus adventures throughout Europe. This study investigates the nature of social group travel in alpine tourism. It specifically examines the phenomena of the "group facilitator"; the person within the group who takes a major role in the travel decisions and organisation on rehalf of all the other members in the travel party. The specific activities of this "group facilitator" and the role of opinion leadership, information search, organisation process, previous experience, relationship ties between the group members are examined. The 'facilitator' also influences other individuals' decision to participate who delegate selection of destination to this person as well. The 'facilitator' has many of the characteristics of an opinion leader and was recognised by group participants as a major source of information about the destination. The findings of the study have important implications for tourism marketers as they highlight an opportunity to reach many potential travellers by directly targeting one key influencer and decision maker.