Outsourcing and cutting choice in private hospital menus – does it impact on patient foodservice satisfaction?

Patient satisfaction with foodservices is multidimensional. It is well recognised that food and other aspects of foodservice delivery are important elements of patients overall perception of the hospital experience. This study aimed to determine whether menu changes in 2008 at an acute private hospital, considered negative by the dietetic staff, would affect patient satisfaction with the foodservice. Changes to the menu, secondary to the refurbishment of the foodservice facilities decreased the number of choices at breakfast from six to four, and altered the dessert menu to include a larger proportion of commercially produced products. The Acute Care Hospital Foodservice Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (ACHFPSQ) was utilised to assess patient satisfaction with the menu changes, as it has proven accuracy and reliability in measuring patient satisfaction. Results of the survey (n=306) were compared to data with previous ACHFPSQ surveys conducted annually since 2003. Data analysed included overall foodservice satisfaction and four dimensions of foodservice satisfaction: food quality, meal service quality, staff/service issues and the physical environment. Satisfaction targets were set at 4 (scale 1–5) for each foodservice dimension. Analysis showed that despite changes to the menu, overall foodservice satisfaction rated high, with a score of 4.3. Eighty-six percent of patients rated the foodservice as either ‘very good’ or ‘good’. The four foodservice dimensions were rated highly (4.2–4.8). Findings were consistent with previous survey results, demonstrating a high level of patient satisfaction across all dimensions of the foodservice, despite changes to the menu. The annual ACHFPSQ was of value to this practice question.

Supporting research at QUT : a tale of three librarians and a Creative Industries super-faculty

In 2012 the existing eight disciplines of Creative Industries Faculty, QUT combined with the School of Design (formerly a component of the Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering) to create a super faculty that includes the following disciplines: Architecture, Creative Writing & Literary Studies, Dance, Drama, Fashion, Film & Television, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Journalism, Media & Communication, Landscape Architecture, Music & Sound and Urban Design. The university’s research training unit AIRS (Advanced Information Retrieval Skills) is a systematic introduction to research level information literacies. It is currently being redesigned to reflect today’s new data intensive research environment and facilitate the capacity for life-long learning. Upon completion participants are expected to be able to: 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the theory of advanced search and evaluative strategies to efficiently yield appropriate resources to create original research. 2. Apply appropriate data management strategies to organise and utilize your information proficiently, ethically and legally. 3. Identify strategies to ensure best practice in the use of information sources, information technologies, information access tools and investigative methods. All Creative Industries Faculty research students must complete this unit into which CI Librarians teach discipline specific material. The library employs a team of research specific experts as well as Liaison Librarians for each faculty. Together they develop and deliver a generic research training program that provides researcher training in the following areas: Managing Research Data, QUT ePrints: New features for tracking your research impact, Tracking Research Impact, Research Students and the Library: Overview of Library Research Support Services, Technologies for Research Collaboration, Open Access Publishing, Greater Impact via Creative Commons Licence, CAMBIA - Navigating the patent literature, Uploading Publications to QUT ePrints Workshop, AIRS for supervisors, Finding Existing Research Data, Keeping up to date:Discovering and managing current awareness information and Getting Published. In 2011 Creative Industries initiated a new faculty specific research training program to promote capacity building for research within their Faculty, with workshops designed and developed with Faculty Research Leaders, The Office of Research and Liaison Librarians. “Show me the money” which assists staff to pursue alternative funding sources was one such session that was well attended and generated much discussion and interest. Drop in support sessions for ePrints, EndNote referencing software and Tracking Research Impact for the Creative Industries were also popular options on the menu. Liaison Librarians continue to provide one-on-one consultations with individual researchers as requested. This service assists Librarians greatly with getting to know and monitoring their researchers’ changing needs. The CI Faculty has enlisted two Research Leaders, one for each of the two Schools (Design and Media, Entertainment & Creative Arts) whose role it is to mentor newer research staff. Similarly within the CI library liaison team one librarian is assigned the role of Research Coordinator, whose responsibility it is to be the primary liaison with the Assistant Dean, Research and other key Faculty research managers and is the one most likely to attend Faculty committees and meetings relating to research support.

Tax evasion, inequality, and progressive taxes : a political economy perspective

The standard approach to tax compliance applies the economics-of-crime methodology pioneered by Becker (1968): in its first application, due to Allingham and Sandmo (1972) it models the behaviour of agents as a decision involving a choice of the extent of their income to report to tax authorities, given a certain institutional environment, represented by parameters such as the probability of detection and penalties in the event the agent is caught. While this basic framework yields important insights on tax compliance behavior, it has some critical limitations. Specifically, it indicates a level of compliance that is significantly below what is observed in the data. This thesis revisits the original framework with a view towards addressing this issue, and examining the political economy implications of tax evasion for progressivity in the tax structure. The approach followed involves building a macroeconomic, dynamic equilibrium model for the purpose of examining these issues, by using a step-wise model building procedure starting with some very simple variations of the basic Allingham and Sandmo construct, which are eventually integrated to a dynamic general equilibrium overlapping generations framework with heterogeneous agents. One of the variations involves incorporating the Allingham and Sandmo construct into a two-period model of a small open economy of the type originally attributed to Fisher (1930). A further variation of this simple construct involves allowing agents to initially decide whether to evade taxes or not. In the event they decide to evade, the agents then have to decide the extent of income or wealth they wish to under-report. We find that the ‘evade or not’ assumption has strikingly different and more realistic implications for the extent of evasion, and demonstrate that it is a more appropriate modeling strategy in the context of macroeconomic models, which are essentially dynamic in nature, and involve consumption smoothing across time and across various states of nature. Specifically, since deciding to undertake tax evasion impacts on the consumption smoothing ability of the agent by creating two states of nature in which the agent is ‘caught’ or ‘not caught’, there is a possibility that their utility under certainty, when they choose not to evade, is higher than the expected utility obtained when they choose to evade. Furthermore, the simple two-period model incorporating an ‘evade or not’ choice can be used to demonstrate some strikingly different political economy implications relative to its Allingham and Sandmo counterpart. In variations of the two models that allow for voting on the tax parameter, we find that agents typically choose to vote for a high degree of progressivity by choosing the highest available tax rate from the menu of choices available to them. There is, however, a small range of inequality levels for which agents in the ‘evade or not’ model vote for a relatively low value of the tax rate. The final steps in the model building procedure involve grafting the two-period models with a political economy choice into a dynamic overlapping generations setting with more general, non-linear tax schedules and a ‘cost-of evasion’ function that is increasing in the extent of evasion. Results based on numerical simulations of these models show further improvement in the model’s ability to match empirically plausible levels of tax evasion. In addition, the differences between the political economy implications of the ‘evade or not’ version of the model and its Allingham and Sandmo counterpart are now very striking; there is now a large range of values of the inequality parameter for which agents in the ‘evade or not’ model vote for a low degree of progressivity. This is because, in the ‘evade or not’ version of the model, low values of the tax rate encourages a large number of agents to choose the ‘not-evade’ option, so that the redistributive mechanism is more ‘efficient’ relative to the situations in which tax rates are high. Some further implications of the models of this thesis relate to whether variations in the level of inequality, and parameters such as the probability of detection and penalties for tax evasion matter for the political economy results. We find that (i) the political economy outcomes for the tax rate are quite insensitive to changes in inequality, and (ii) the voting outcomes change in non-monotonic ways in response to changes in the probability of detection and penalty rates. Specifically, the model suggests that changes in inequality should not matter, although the political outcome for the tax rate for a given level of inequality is conditional on whether there is a large or small or large extent of evasion in the economy. We conclude that further theoretical research into macroeconomic models of tax evasion is required to identify the structural relationships underpinning the link between inequality and redistribution in the presence of tax evasion. The models of this thesis provide a necessary first step in that direction.

Food policy, dietary intakes and chronic disease in prisons

International research on prisoners demonstrates poor health outcomes, including chronic disease, with the overall burden to the community high. Prisoners are predominantly male and young. In Australia, the average incarceration length is 3 years, sufficient to impact long term health, including nutrition. Food in prisons is highly controlled, yet gaps exist in policy. In most Western countries prisons promote healthy foods, often incongruent with prisoner expectations or wants. Few studies have been conducted on dietary intakes during incarceration in relation to food policy. In this study detailed diet histories were collected on 120/945 men (mean age = 32 years), in a high-secure prison. Intakes were verified via individual purchase records, mealtime observations, and audits of food preparation, purchasing and holdings. Physical measurements (including fasting bloods) were taken and medical records reviewed. Results showed the standard food provided consistent with current dietary guidelines, however limited in menu choice. Diet histories revealed self-funded foods contributing 1–63% of energy (mean = 30%), 0–83% sugar (mean = 38%), 1–77% saturated fats (mean = 31%) and 1–59% sodium (mean = 23%). High levels of modification to food provided was found using minimal cooking amenities and inclusion of self-funded foods and/or foods retained from previous meals. Medical records and physical measurements confirmed markers of chronic disease. This study highlights the need to establish clear guidelines on all food available in prisons if chronic disease risk reduction is a goal. This study has also supported evidenced based food and nutrition policy including menu choice, food quality, quantity and safety as well as type and access to self-funded foods.

Safety enhancement of water-filled road safety barrier using interaction of composite materials

Road safety barriers are used to redirect traffic at roadside work-zones. When filled with water, these barriers are able to withstand low to moderate impact speeds up to 50kmh-1. Despite this feature, Portable Water-filled barriers (PWFB) face challenges such as large lateral displacements, tearing and breakage during impact; especially at higher speeds. This study explores the use of composite action to enhance the crashworthiness of PWFBs and enable their usage at higher speeds. Initially, energy absorption capability of water in PWFB is investigated. Then, composite action of the PWFB with the introduction of steel frame is considered to evaluate its enhanced impact performance. Findings of the study show that the initial height of the impact must be lower than the free surface level of water in a PWFB in order for the water to provide significant crash energy absorption. In general, an impact of a road barrier with 80% filled is a good estimation. Furthermore, the addition of a composite structure greatly reduces the probability of tearing by decreasing the strain and impact energy transferred to the shell container. This allows the water to remain longer in the barrier to absorb energy via inertial displacements and sloshing response. Information from this research will aid in the design of new generation roadside safety structures aimed to increase safety in modern roadways.

Medical nutrition therapy and simple interventions can improve intake in patients who eat poorly in hospital

The Australasian Nutrition Care Day Survey (ANCDS) reported two-in-five patients in Australian and New Zealand hospitals consume ≤50% of the offered food. The ANCDS found a significant association between poor food intake and increased in-hospital mortality after controlling for confounders (nutritional status, age, disease type and severity)1. Evidence for the effectiveness of medical nutrition therapy (MNT) in hospital patients eating poorly is lacking. An exploratory study was conducted in respiratory, neurology and orthopaedic wards of an Australian hospital. At baseline, 24-hour food intake (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% of offered meals) was evaluated for patients hospitalised for ≥2 days and not under dietetic review. Patients consuming ≤50% of offered meals due to nutrition-impact symptoms were referred to ward dietitians for MNT with food intake re-evaluated on day-7. 184 patients were observed over four weeks. Sixty-two patients (34%) consumed ≤50% of the offered meals. Simple interventions (feeding/menu assistance, diet texture modifications) improved intake to ≥75% in 30 patients who did not require further MNT. Of the 32 patients referred for MNT, baseline and day-7 data were available for 20 patients (68±17years, 65% females, BMI: 22±5kg/m2, median energy, protein intake: 2250kJ, 25g respectively). On day-7, 17 participants (85%) demonstrated significantly higher consumption (4300kJ, 53g; p<0.01). Three participants demonstrated no improvement due to ongoing nutrition-impact symptoms. “Percentage food intake” was a quick tool to identify patients in whom simple interventions could enhance intake. MNT was associated with improved dietary intake in hospital patients. Further research is needed to establish a causal relationship.

Market turbulence, temporal orientation and firm performance

This study investigates the role of environmental dynamics (i.e., market turbulence) as a factor influencing an organisation’s top management temporal orientation, and the impact of temporal orientation on innovative and financial performance. Results show that firm’s operating in highly turbulent markets exhibit higher degrees of future orientation, as opposed to present orientation. Future-oriented (rather than present-oriented) firms also experience higher levels of both incremental and radical innovations, which in turn generate financial performance. The study highlights the important role of shared strategic mindset (which is contextually influenced) as a driving factor behind the firm innovative and financial performance.

Litigating law of the sea disputes using the UNCLOS Dispute Settlement System

The interpretation and application of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) may be the source of many disputes. UNCLOS introduced an à la carte menu for dispute settlement with a number of options for international dispute resolution, including a compulsory procedure entailing binding decisions. While drafting this ambitious and complex system of dispute settlement, the drafters had to negotiate many delicate compromises to secure a system for the uniform interpretation of the Convention. The aim of this paper r is to explore why litigation using the UNCLOS dispute settlement system is, or is not, a preferred mode of settlement for law of the sea disputes.

Investigating relationships between relationship quality, customer loyalty and cooperation : an empirical study of convenience stores' franchise chain systems

Franchising has become a way to minimise the risks of small business management. There has been little research into the factors that promote franchise relationship success. This study attempts to empirically examine the important elements (relationship quality, customer loyalty and cooperation), which might promote a successful long-term franchising relationship between franchisors and franchisees within the context of convenience stores in Taiwan. A model of these relationships was developed and tested. A total of 500 surveys were mailed to a random sample of convenience stores’ franchisee owners among the four main franchisors in Taiwan. The results show that relationship quality positively influences the cooperation between franchisors and franchisees and is positively correlated with franchisee loyalty. Additionally, the cooperative behaviour between franchisees and franchisors is significantly associated with franchisees’ loyalty.

Let them eat steak : food preferences of patients in a tertiary public hospital

Information on foods patients like and dislike is the essential basis for planning menus which are acceptable to patients and promote adequate consumption. The aim of this study was to obtain quantitative data on the food preferences of inpatients at a large metropolitan public hospital for use in menu planning. Methodology was based on a study by Williams et al (1988), and included additional questions about appetite and taste changes. The survey used a 9 point hedonic scale to rate foods listed in random order and was modified to incorporate more contemporary foods than those used in the originalWilliams study. Surveys were conducted by final year University of Queensland dietetics students on Food Service Practicum at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (929 beds) in 2012. The first survey (220 questions, n = 157) had a response rate of 61%. The second included more sandwich fillings and salads (231 questions, n = 219, response rate 67%). Total number surveyed was 376. Results showed the most preferred foods were roast potato, grilled steak, ice cream, fresh strawberries, roast lamb, roast beef, grapes and banana. The least preferred foods were grapefruit, soybeans, lentils, sardines, prune juice and grapefruit juice. Patients who reported taste changes (10%) had similar food preferences to those who didn’t report taste changes. Patients who reported poor/very poor appetite (10%) generally scored foods lower than those who reported OK (22%), good/very good appetite (65%). The results of this study informed planning for a new patient menu at the RBWH in December 2012.

Changes to commercial service provision among sex workers from Queensland, Australia

Introduction: The role of commercial sex in facilitating infection transmission is a subject of ongoing empirical enquiry, with little attention to the variety and extent of ‘non-traditional’ commercial services that pose a lesser risk of infection. This study sought to examine the supply and demand of a wide range of traditional and non-traditional commercial sexual services among sex workers and their clients from Queensland, Australia. Methods: Cross-sectional convenience sampling was used to compare female sex workers in 1991 (n=200, aged 16-46 years) and 2003 (n=247, aged 18-57 years) and from male clients in 2003. The client sample comprised 160 male clients aged between 19 and 72 years. Results: Over the comparison period there was a significant increase in the provision of ‘exotic’ or non-traditional sexual services. In 2003, the availability of bondage and discipline, submission, fantasy, use of sex toys, golden showers, fisting and lesbian double acts had increased dramatically, while ‘traditional’ services had mostly remained at similar levels. Moreover, the proportion of sex workers in some industry sectors providing ‘exotic’ commercial services seem to have risen over time. Conclusion: Undoubtedly, the sex industry has professionalised and now includes more sophisticated and specialized suppliers. As with any commercial business, the diversification of services is largely driven with client demand, with the ‘menu’ being generally broader than the majority of client preferences. However, although clients demands for particular commercial sexual services seems to have been met, with regard to anal sex and anal play, supply has failed to meet client demand. Disclosure of Interest Statement: Funding for the 2003 study was provided by the Prostitution Licensing Authority. Acknowledgement and sincere thanks to the men and women who participated in this study.

Uncertain species distribution: From interpolation to extrapolation

Species distribution models (SDMs) are considered to exemplify Pattern rather than Process based models of a species' response to its environment. Hence when used to map species distribution, the purpose of SDMs can be viewed as interpolation, since species response is measured at a few sites in the study region, and the aim is to interpolate species response at intermediate sites. Increasingly, however, SDMs are also being used to also extrapolate species-environment relationships beyond the limits of the study region as represented by the training data. Regardless of whether SDMs are to be used for interpolation or extrapolation, the debate over how to implement SDMs focusses on evaluating the quality of the SDM, both ecologically and mathematically. This paper proposes a framework that includes useful tools previously employed to address uncertainty in habitat modelling. Together with existing frameworks for addressing uncertainty more generally when modelling, we then outline how these existing tools help inform development of a broader framework for addressing uncertainty, specifically when building habitat models. As discussed earlier we focus on extrapolation rather than interpolation, where the emphasis on predictive performance is diluted by the concerns for robustness and ecological relevance. We are cognisant of the dangers of excessively propagating uncertainty. Thus, although the framework provides a smorgasbord of approaches, it is intended that the exact menu selected for a particular application, is small in size and targets the most important sources of uncertainty. We conclude with some guidance on a strategic approach to identifying these important sources of uncertainty. Whilst various aspects of uncertainty in SDMs have previously been addressed, either as the main aim of a study or as a necessary element of constructing SDMs, this is the first paper to provide a more holistic view.

Japanese Video Game Localization : A Case Study of Sony's Sairen Series

This thesis is a comparative case study in Japanese video game localization for the video games Sairen, Sairen 2 and Sairen Nyûtoransurêshon, and English-language localized versions of the same games as published in Scandinavia and Australia/New Zealand. All games are developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and published exclusively for Playstation2 and Playstation3 consoles. The fictional world of the Sairen games draws much influence from Japanese history, as well as from popular and contemporary culture, and in doing so caters mainly to a Japanese audience. For localization, i.e. the adaptation of a product to make it accessible to users outside the original market it was intended for in the first place, this is a challenging issue. Video games are media of entertainment, and therefore localization practice must preserve the games’ effects on the players’ emotions. Further, video games are digital products that are comprised of a multitude of distinct elements, some of which are part of the game world, while others regulate the connection between the player as part of the real world and the game as digital medium. As a result, video game localization is also a practice that has to cope with the technical restrictions that are inherent to the medium. The main theory used throughout the thesis is Anthony Pym’s framework for localization studies that considers the user of the localized product as a defining part of the localization process. This concept presupposes that localization is an adaptation that is performed to make a product better suited for use during a specific reception situation. Pym also addresses the factor that certain products may resist distribution into certain reception situations because of their content, and that certain aspects of localization aim to reduce this resistance through significant alterations of the original product. While Pym developed his ideas with mainly regular software in mind, they can also be adapted well to study video games from a localization angle. Since modern video games are highly complex entities that often switch between interactive and non-interactive modes, Pym’s ideas are adapted throughout the thesis to suit the particular elements being studied. Instances analyzed in this thesis include menu screens, video clips, in-game action and websites. The main research questions focus on how the games’ rules influence localization, and how the games’ fictional domain influences localization. Because there are so many peculiarities inherent to the medium of the video game, other theories are introduced as well to complement the research at hand. These include Lawrence Venuti’s discussions of foreiginizing and domesticating translation methods for literary translation, and Jesper Juul’s definition of games. Additionally, knowledge gathered from interviews with video game localization professionals in Japan during September and October 2009 is also utilized for this study. Apart from answering the aforementioned research questions, one of this thesis’ aims is to enrich the still rather small field of game localization studies, and the study of Japanese video games in particular, one of Japan’s most successful cultural exports.

Graphical simulation of Petri Nets

An interactive graphics package for modeling with Petri Nets has been implemented. It uses the VT-11 graphics terminal supported on the PDP-11/35 computer to draw, execute, analyze, edit and redraw a Petri Net. Each of the above mentioned tasks can be performed by selecting appropriate items from a menu displayed on the screen. Petri Nets with a reasonably large number of nodes can be created and analyzed using this package. The number of nodes supported may be increased by making simple changes in the program. Being interactive, the program seeks information from the user after displaying appropriate messages on the terminal. After completing the Petri Net, it may be executed step by step and the changes in the number of tokens may be observed on the screen, at each place. Some properties of Petri Nets like safety, boundedness, conservation and redundancy can be checked using this package. This package can be used very effectively for modeling asynchronous (concurrent) systems with Petri Nets and simulating the model by “graphical execution.”