Using a design led disruptive innovation approach to develop new services : practising innovation in times of discontinuity

Organisations face increasing competition from new firms in emerging markets and their past superior products may no longer provide competitive advantage in markets based on different cost and value differentials. A shift in design practices from product solutions to health services which are accessible and affordable by all is required. This paper explores a design led approach to innovation to assist medical device companies develop new services and experiences and reshape their notions of the nature, development and deployment of health care services. This approach uses design tools and methodologies that are grounded in the authentic understandings of stakeholder experiences, to assist an organisation create a vision of likely future health care scenarios. Through this process, organisations can explore the complexities in the delivery of future health care services in new and emerging markets allowing them to tailor product and service solutions which focus on being accessible and affordable by all. The industry based case study for the design of health services in carried out in emerging economies. The contribution of this work in advancing research into design innovation and future research directions are also presented.

A ∑GIi/D/1/∞ queue with heterogeneous input/output slot times

In this paper, we present a ∑GIi/D/1/∞ queue with heterogeneous input/output slot times. This queueing model can be regarded as an extension of the ordinary GI/D/1/∞ model. For this ∑GIi/D/1/∞ queue, we assume that several input streams arrive at the system according to different slot times. In other words, there are different slot times for different input/output processes in the queueing model. The queueing model can therefore be used for an ATM multiplexer with heterogeneous input/output link capacities. Several cases of the queueing model are discussed to reflect different relationships among the input/output link capacities of an ATM multiplexer. In the queueing analysis, two approaches: the Markov model and the probability generating function technique, are adopted to develop the queue length distributions observed at different epochs. This model is particularly useful in the performance analysis of ATM multiplexers with heterogeneous input/output link capacities.

Curriculum change in testing times

In these new, testing times, we need a new controlled rapid approach to curriculum change. Judy Smeed and TerrI Bourke explain.

Hoodie-wearing Hamlet mixes horror with humour in a play for our times [REVIEW]

Hamlet By Shakespeare. La Boite Theatre Company, Brisbane, February 10 LA Boite Theatre Company begins this year's season with a new look, a new logo and a new interpretation of Hamlet directed by artistic director David Berthold. In this production, Berthold contemporises Shakespeare's tragedy by focusing on the family relationships and introducing modern references in the set, sound and costume design: this Hamlet wears jeans and a hoodie.

High-challenge teaching for senior English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners in times of change

This paper will present a brief overview of the recent shifts within English and EAL/D (English as an additional language/dialect) curriculum documents and their focus on critical literacy, using the Queensland context as a case in point. The English syllabus landscape in Queensland has continued to morph in recent years. From 2002 to 2009, teachers of senior English and English as an Additional Language (EAL/D) have witnessed no less than four separate syllabus documents that impact on their daily work. The Australian Curriculum, when finally implemented, will also require teachers to navigate and grapple with its particular obligations and affordances. The combined effect of the shifts and tensions between recent policy documents has led to confusion about exactly how to cater for EAL/D learners in mainstream English. We discuss the possible effects of this on teachers as the agents of policy implementation and argue that in spite of such contradictions, EAL/D teachers can productively use syllabus frameworks to craft pedagogy to cater for their EAL/D learners’ language and literacy needs. Following this, we present aspects of the teaching practice of four teachers of senior EAL/D, who provide intellectually-engaging, critical literacy pedagogy that takes into account the language proficiency level of their learners, within the required curriculum. Such practice provides teachers with valuable pedagogic possibilities to meet EAL/D learners’ needs within continually varying policy terrain.

Changing times in China

Brief travel article about Beijing, China, in the lead up to the Olympic Games.

Reproducing successful rituals in bad times : exploring interactions of a new science teacher

Teaching is emotional work. This is especially the case in the first years of teaching when new teachers are particularly vulnerable. By understanding changes in teacher emotions in the early years of teaching we hope to identify strategies that might ultimately reduce teacher attrition. As part of a larger study of the transition of new teachers to the profession, this ethnographic case study explores how a new science teacher produced and reproduced positive emotional interaction rituals with her students in her first year of teaching. We show how dialogical interactions were positive and satisfying experiences for the teacher, and how they were reproduced successfully in different contexts. We also illustrate how both teacher and students used humor to create a structure for dialogical interactions. During these successful interactions the students used shared resources to satisfy their teacher that they were engaging in the relevant science content. The implications of what we have learned for the professional development of new teachers are discussed in relation to an expanded understanding of teacher emotions.

How to pick a fight : Visualisation and sharing in catastrophic times

In a post September 11 era “the fight”, as a cultural construct, could hardly be more pertinent. We are seemingly forever poised on the edge of controversial U.S. led attacks on wayward Middle Eastern states and unexamined oppositions between the concepts of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are evoked as valid justifications for battle. Our leaders muster us into wars of vigilance and national cohesion against unseen, unknown and uncomprehended terrorists hiding where communists once lurked under our beds. The articles in this issue examine fights in terms of media strategies and cultural divides in a range of contexts.

A Bayesian approach for estimating detection times in horses : exploring the pharmacokinetics of a urinary acepromazine metabolite

We describe the population pharmacokinetics of an acepromazine (ACP) metabolite (2-(1-hydroxyethyl)promazine) (HEPS) in horses for the estimation of likely detection times in plasma and urine. Acepromazine (30 mg) was administered to 12 horses, and blood and urine samples were taken at frequent intervals for chemical analysis. A Bayesian hierarchical model was fitted to describe concentration-time data and cumulative urine amounts for HEPS. The metabolite HEPS was modelled separately from the parent ACP as the half-life of the parent was considerably less than that of the metabolite. The clearance ($Cl/F_{PM}$) and volume of distribution ($V/F_{PM}$), scaled by the fraction of parent converted to metabolite, were estimated as 769 L/h and 6874 L, respectively. For a typical horse in the study, after receiving 30 mg of ACP, the upper limit of the detection time was 35 hours in plasma and 100 hours in urine, assuming an arbitrary limit of detection of 1 $\mu$g/L, and a small ($\approx 0.01$) probability of detection. The model derived allowed the probability of detection to be estimated at the population level. This analysis was conducted on data collected from only 12 horses, but we assume that this is representative of the wider population.