Joint venture behaviour in construction industry : an Australia case study

Joint ventures can take many forms and can be formed for different reasons, from sharing resources to creating future business opportunities. At the same time, there is increasing interest and discussion of alternative procurement methods, moving away from traditional procurement systems to relational approaches. Business systems and strategies need to be redefined and move from a short-term project to project culture to a more strategic, long-term perspective. Joint ventures of construction organisations, global and local, have become increasingly popular to deliver large-scale infrastructure construction projects. However, successful strategic collaborations require project organisations to formulate a fit between contractual and operational arrangements for each situation. This study reviews the movement from traditional procurement methods towards relational contracting approaches in Queensland, Australia. The study examines the organisational factors that facilitates sustainable relationship between project organisations and hence, lead to long-term business success. This paper reports on initial findings captured from a survey undertaken with construction contracting organisations in Australia, focusing on the supply chain relationships. Contractors’ perceptions of the relationship management process and the engagement of the supply chain are also presented.

Modernity and the 'failure' of crime control

Rather than understanding the recurrent failure of various attempts at crime control as unfortunate and undesirable aberrations, all too familiar glitches an otherwise uninterrupted teleological march to a better society, such failures are instead positioned as part of the fabric of late modernity itself. That is, society changes not according to a predetermined logic along neatly defined and clearly reasoned tracks, rather it hurtles from crisis to crisis, from failure to failure, and it is the regulation of that failure which produces new initiatives and new forms of governance. Utilising the example of the modern prison, this chapter contends that too great an emphasis upon this institution’s ‘failure’ results not only in a neglect of the many other functions that it serves in the regulation of difference, but also, and more generally, it results in an underestimation of the importance of failure in providing new impetus for social transformation.

The failure of Australian legislation on indirect discrimination to detect the systemic racism which prevents Aboriginal people from fully participating in the workforce

Government figures put the current indigenous unemployment rate at around 23%, 3 times the unemployment rate for other Australians. This thesis aims to assess whether Australian indirect discrimination legislation can provide a remedy for one of the causes of indigenous unemployment - the systemic discrimination which can result from the mere operation of established procedures of recruitment and hiring. The impact of those practices on indigenous people is examined in the context of an analysis of anti-discrimination legislation and cases from all Australian jurisdictions from the time of the passing of the Racial Discrimination Act by the Commonwealth in 1975 to the present. The thesis finds a number of reasons why the legislation fails to provide equality of opportunity for indigenous people seeking to enter the workforce. In nearly all jurisdictions it is obscurely drafted, used mainly by educated middle class white women, and provides remedies which tend to be compensatory damages rather than change to recruitment policy. White dominance of the legal process has produced legislative and judicial definitions of "race" and "Aboriginality" which focus on biology rather than cultural difference. In the commissions and tribunals complaints of racial discrimination are often rejected on the grounds of being "vexatious" or "frivolous", not reaching the required standard of proof, or not showing a causal connection between race and the conduct complained of. In all jurisdictions the cornerstone of liability is whether a particular employment term, condition or practice is reasonable. The thesis evaluates the approaches taken by appellate courts, including the High Court, and concludes that there is a trend towards an interpretation of reasonableness which favours employer arguments such as economic rationalism, the maintenance of good industrial relations, managerial prerogative to hire and fire, and the protection of majority rights. The thesis recommends that separate, clearly drafted legislation should be passed to address indigenous disadvantage and that indigenous people should be involved in all stages of the process.

Comparison of 3D finite element analysis derived stiffness and BMD to determine the failure load of the excised proximal femur

Bone mineral density (BMD) is currently the preferred surrogate for bone strength in clinical practice. Finite element analysis (FEA) is a computer simulation technique that can predict the deformation of a structure when a load is applied, providing a measure of stiffness (N mm− 1). Finite element analysis of X-ray images (3D-FEXI) is a FEA technique whose analysis is derived from a single 2D radiographic image. This ex-vivo study demonstrates that 3D-FEXI derived from a conventional 2D radiographic image has the potential to significantly increase the accuracy of failure load assessment of the proximal femur compared with that currently achieved with BMD.

The innovation deficit in public services : the curious problem of too much efficiency and not enough waste and failure

It has long been recognised that government and public sector services suffer an innovation deficit compared to private or market-based services. This paper argues that this can be explained as an unintended consequence of the concerted public sector drive toward the elimination of waste through efficiency, accountability and transparency. Yet in an evolving economy this can be a false efficiency, as it also eliminates the 'good waste' that is a necessary cost of experimentation. This results in a systematic trade0off in the public sector between the static efficiency of minimizing the misuse of public resources and the dynamic efficiency of experimentation. this is inherently biased against risk and uncertainty and therein, explains why governments find service innovation so difficult. In the drive to eliminate static inefficiencies, many political systems have susequently overshot and stifled policy innovation. I propose the 'Red Queen' solution of adaptive economic policy.

The neuro-muscular and musculo-skeletal characterization of children with joint hypermobility

In children, joint hypermobility (typified by structural instability of joints) manifests clinically as neuro-muscular and musculo-skeletal conditions and conditions associated with development and organization of control of posture and gait (Finkelstein, 1916; Jahss, 1919; Sobel, 1926; Larsson, Mudholkar, Baum and Srivastava, 1995; Murray and Woo, 2001; Hakim and Grahame, 2003; Adib, Davies, Grahame, Woo and Murray, 2005:). The process of control of the relative proportions of joint mobility and stability, whilst maintaining equilibrium in standing posture and gait, is dependent upon the complex interrelationship between skeletal, muscular and neurological function (Massion, 1998; Gurfinkel, Ivanenko, Levik and Babakova, 1995; Shumway-Cook and Woollacott, 1995). The efficiency of this relies upon the integrity of neuro-muscular and musculo-skeletal components (ligaments, muscles, nerves), and the Central Nervous System’s capacity to interpret, process and integrate sensory information from visual, vestibular and proprioceptive sources (Crotts, Thompson, Nahom, Ryan and Newton, 1996; Riemann, Guskiewicz and Shields, 1999; Schmitz and Arnold, 1998) and development and incorporation of this into a representational scheme (postural reference frame) of body orientation with respect to internal and external environments (Gurfinkel et al., 1995; Roll and Roll, 1988). Sensory information from the base of support (feet) makes significant contribution to the development of reference frameworks (Kavounoudias, Roll and Roll, 1998). Problems with the structure and/ or function of any one, or combination of these components or systems, may result in partial loss of equilibrium and, therefore ineffectiveness or significant reduction in the capacity to interact with the environment, which may result in disability and/ or injury (Crotts et al., 1996; Rozzi, Lephart, Sterner and Kuligowski, 1999b). Whilst literature focusing upon clinical associations between joint hypermobility and conditions requiring therapeutic intervention has been abundant (Crego and Ford, 1952; Powell and Cantab, 1983; Dockery, in Jay, 1999; Grahame, 1971; Childs, 1986; Barton, Bird, Lindsay, Newton and Wright, 1995a; Rozzi, et al., 1999b; Kerr, Macmillan, Uttley and Luqmani, 2000; Grahame, 2001), there has been a deficit in controlled studies in which the neuro-muscular and musculo-skeletal characteristics of children with joint hypermobility have been quantified and considered within the context of organization of postural control in standing balance and gait. This was the aim of this project, undertaken as three studies. The major study (Study One) compared the fundamental neuro-muscular and musculo-skeletal characteristics of 15 children with joint hypermobility, and 15 age (8 and 9 years), gender, height and weight matched non-hypermobile controls. Significant differences were identified between previously undiagnosed hypermobile (n=15) and non-hypermobile children (n=15) in passive joint ranges of motion of the lower limbs and lumbar spine, muscle tone of the lower leg and foot, barefoot CoP displacement and in parameters of barefoot gait. Clinically relevant differences were also noted in barefoot single leg balance time. There were no differences between groups in isometric muscle strength in ankle dorsiflexion, knee flexion or extension. The second comparative study investigated foot morphology in non-weight bearing and weight bearing load conditions of the same children with and without joint hypermobility using three dimensional images (plaster casts) of their feet. The preliminary phase of this study evaluated the casting technique against direct measures of foot length, forefoot width, RCSP and forefoot to rearfoot angle. Results indicated accurate representation of elementary foot morphology within the plaster images. The comparative study examined the between and within group differences in measures of foot length and width, and in measures above the support surface (heel inclination angle, forefoot to rearfoot angle, normalized arch height, height of the widest point of the heel) in the two load conditions. Results of measures from plaster images identified that hypermobile children have different barefoot weight bearing foot morphology above the support surface than non-hypermobile children, despite no differences in measures of foot length or width. Based upon the differences in components of control of posture and gait in the hypermobile group, identified in Study One and Study Two, the final study (Study Three), using the same subjects, tested the immediate effect of specifically designed custom-made foot orthoses upon balance and gait of hypermobile children. The design of the orthoses was evaluated against the direct measures and the measures from plaster images of the feet. This ascertained the differences in morphology of the modified casts used to mould the orthoses and the original image of the foot. The orthoses were fitted into standardized running shoes. The effect of the shoe alone was tested upon the non-hypermobile children as the non-therapeutic equivalent condition. Immediate improvement in balance was noted in single leg stance and CoP displacement in the hypermobile group together with significant immediate improvement in the percentage of gait phases and in the percentage of the gait cycle at which maximum plantar flexion of the ankle occurred in gait. The neuro-muscular and musculo-skeletal characteristics of children with joint hypermobility are different from those of non-hypermobile children. The Beighton, Solomon and Soskolne (1973) screening criteria successfully classified joint hypermobility in children. As a result of this study joint hypermobility has been identified as a variable which must be controlled in studies of foot morphology and function in children. The outcomes of this study provide a basis upon which to further explore the association between joint hypermobility and neuro-muscular and musculo-skeletal conditions, and, have relevance for the physical education of children with joint hypermobility, for footwear and orthotic design processes, and, in particular, for clinical identification and treatment of children with joint hypermobility.

Curriculum development of joint degrees courses with international institutions

With globalisation and severe budget constraints in the education sector in Australia and around the world it has become necessary for higher education institutions to be more outward looking and seek funding from non traditional sources to supplement the financial shortfalls. One way to overcome this problem is to work cooperatively with other institutions to share facilities and courses, at the same time generating valuable income to maintain the operation of the university. This paper describes the development of joint curricula in built environment and engineering courses in QUT. It outlines the stages of development starting from seeking international partners, developing memorandum of understanding, making visit to partner institution to inspect the facilities, curriculum development to meet the academic requirements of the institutions and professional bodies and finally the implementation process.

Design of automatic vision-based inspection system for solder joint segmentation

Purpose: Computer vision has been widely used in the inspection of electronic components. This paper proposes a computer vision system for the automatic detection, localisation, and segmentation of solder joints on Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) under different illumination conditions. Design/methodology/approach: An illumination normalization approach is applied to an image, which can effectively and efficiently eliminate the effect of uneven illumination while keeping the properties of the processed image the same as in the corresponding image under normal lighting conditions. Consequently special lighting and instrumental setup can be reduced in order to detect solder joints. These normalised images are insensitive to illumination variations and are used for the subsequent solder joint detection stages. In the segmentation approach, the PCB image is transformed from an RGB color space to a YIQ color space for the effective detection of solder joints from the background. Findings: The segmentation results show that the proposed approach improves the performance significantly for images under varying illumination conditions. Research limitations/implications: This paper proposes a front-end system for the automatic detection, localisation, and segmentation of solder joint defects. Further research is required to complete the full system including the classification of solder joint defects. Practical implications: The methodology presented in this paper can be an effective method to reduce cost and improve quality in production of PCBs in the manufacturing industry. Originality/value: This research proposes the automatic location, identification and segmentation of solder joints under different illumination conditions.

Automatic solder joint defect classification using the Log-Gabor filter

This paper proposes the validity of a Gabor filter bank for feature extraction of solder joint images on Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). A distance measure based on the Mahalanobis Cosine metric is also presented for classification of five different types of solder joints. From the experimental results, this methodology achieved high accuracy and a well generalised performance. This can be an effective method to reduce cost and improve quality in the production of PCBs in the manufacturing industry.

Failure analysis of engineering systems with preventive maintenance and failure interactions

Optimal operation and maintenance of engineering systems heavily rely on the accurate prediction of their failures. Most engineering systems, especially mechanical systems, are susceptible to failure interactions. These failure interactions can be estimated for repairable engineering systems when determining optimal maintenance strategies for these systems. An extended Split System Approach is developed in this paper. The technique is based on the Split System Approach and a model for interactive failures. The approach was applied to simulated data. The results indicate that failure interactions will increase the hazard of newly repaired components. The intervals of preventive maintenance actions of a system with failure interactions, will become shorter compared with scenarios where failure interactions do not exist.

The intra-aortic balloon pump in heart failure management : implications for nursing practice

Management of acute heart failure is an important consideration in critical care. Mechanical support of the failing heart is crucial for improving health outcomes. The most common Australasian application of intraaortic balloon counterpulsation (IABP) is in the setting of cardiogenic shock. High end users of IABP (>37/annum) demonstrate significantly lower mortality for cardiogenic shock managed with IABP (p <0.001) in contrast to hospitals which employ limited IABP (<4/annum). This underscores the importance of proficiency in managing patient receiving IABP support. Nurses play a crucial role in carding for patients with acute heart failure. This paper summarises care considerations for management of the IABP.

Anger and depression predict hospital use among chronic heart failure patients

Costly hospital readmissions among chronic heart failure (CHF) patients are expected to increase dramatically with the ageing population. This study investigated the prognostic ability of depression, anger and anxiety, prospectively, and after adjusting for illness severity, on the number of readmissions to hospital and the total length of stay over one year. Participants comprised 175 inpatients with CHF. Depression, anger, anxiety, and illness severity were measured at baseline. One year later, the number of readmissions and length of stay for each patient were obtained from medical records. Depression and anger play a detrimental role in the health profile of CHF patients.