Parallel I/O scheduling in the presence of data duplication on multiprogrammed cluster computing systems

The widespread adoption of cluster computing as a high performance computing platform has seen the growth of data intensive scientific, engineering and commercial applications such as digital libraries, climate modeling, computational chemistry, computational fluid dynamics and image repositories. However, I/O subsystem performance has not been keeping pace with processor and memory performance, and is fast becoming the dominant factor in overall system performance.  Thus, parallel I/O has become a necessity in the face of performance improvements in other areas of computing systems. This paper addresses the problem of parallel I/O scheduling on cluster computing systems in the presence of data replication.  We propose two new I/O scheduling algorithms and evaluate the relative performance of the proposed policies against two existing approaches.  Simulation results show that the proposed policies perform substantially better than the baseline policies.

Terry Matassoni : a walk into town

An exhibition held at Stonington Stables Museum of Art, Deakin University, Toorak Campus 4 March - 12 April 2003. Terry Matassoni’s peopled urban landscapes speak of diversity and disconnectedness often depicting the isolation of people who are by necessity in close physical proximity to one another.

Policy, preparation and prevention : proactive minimisation of student plagiarism

Countless cases of plagiarism are detected across the Australian higher education sector each year. Generally speaking, policy and other responses to the issue focus on punitive, rather than on educative, measures. Recently, a subtle shift is discernable. As well as ensuring appropriate consequences for plagiarists, several universities are beginning to formalise the inclusion of learning and teaching strategies in anti-plagiarism related policy and practice, as well as paying closer attention to the communication of unambiguous definitions of plagiarism. This article outlines one example of the emerging educative approach and details the ways in which this approach has been implemented across an entire university. The necessity of evidence-based evaluation of approaches to reducing plagiarism in higher education is discussed.

Policy, preparation, prevention and punishment: one faculty's holistic approach to minimising plagiarism

Most Australian universities have made attempts of various kinds to address plagiarism. Some have responded in recent times with a primary focus on catching and punishing plagiarists, often assisted by computer software packages. Others have taken a more holistic approach incorporating foci on policy, assessment regime and student preparation and education as well as on ensuring appropriate consequences for plagiarists. This paper outlines one example of the latter approach in one Australian university faculty and details the outcomes in terms of policy recommendations and resources to support the approach. The necessity of evidence-based evaluation of attempts to reduce plagiarism in higher education is argued.

Che Vuoi? Politico-philosophical remarks on Leo Strauss' Spinoza

Rumors surrounding the Hebraic-American classical philosopher Leo Strauss’ supposed influence on leading neoconservative politicians and commentators make reconsidering Leo Strauss’ thought and legacy a philosophical task of the first political importance today. A host of articles have appeared by students and (more recently) books by Stephen Smith (2006), Heinrich Meier (2006) and Catherine and Michael Zuckert (2006). This essay is proffered as a critical contribution, by a non-Straussian student, to this literature. Its methodology and justification is to return to and reconsider Strauss’ earliest works, on the ‘political theology’ of Benedict de Spinoza. The paper argues two theses. The first is that the popular depiction of Strauss as an esoteric Nietzschean hiding behind a ‘noble’ classical or theological veneer importantly misses the mark. The second is that Strauss’ early work shows his proximity, via Jacobi, to the Heideggerian disclosure of the groundless grounds of philosophical reason, given which one must extra-rationally choose reason over faith. One striking implication of this argument, in the contemporary political climate, is to underscore the unlikely convergence between the philosophical sources of neoconservative and the ‘post-structuralist’ thought associated with much of the intellectual left in France and the Anglophone world. Yet in contrast to the widespread image of Strauss, I argue that the mature Strauss’ continuing commitment to this decisionistic framework is in fact most clear is his ‘exoteric,’ public statements on religion – i.e. it is not the ‘esoteric’ purloined letter Strauss’ critics seek out. The reason for Strauss’ continuing public advocacy of the impossibility of reason’s disproving faith, I propose, highlights the primarily political (versus philosophical) nature of this turn: in Strauss’ conservative acceptance of the political necessity of religion for social order, framed in terms of a revised commitment to the ‘medieval’ (versus modern) enlightenment of Maimonides and Farabi.

Natural and environmentally responsive building envelopes

In a context of global warming and our needs to reduce CO\d2 emissions, building envelopes will play an important role. A new imperative has been put forth to architects and engineers to develop innovative materials, components and systems, in order to make building envelopes adaptive and responsive to variable and extreme climate conditions. Envelopes serve multiple functions, from shielding the interior environment to collecting, storing and generating energy. Perhaps a more recent concern of terrestrial habitats is permeability and leakages within the building envelope. Such airtight and concealed envelopes with zero particle exchange are a necessity and already exist in regard to space capsules and habitats.

This paper attempts to acknowledge existing and visionary envelope concepts and their functioning in conjunction with maintaining a favorable interior environment. It introduces several criteria and requirements of advanced fa\acades along with interior pressurization control. Furthermore, the paper also takes a closer look at the principles of "biomimicry" of natural systems combined with the most up-to-date building materials and construction technologies, trying to integrate the notions of adaptation - where the capacity to survive depends on the ability to adjust to the environment - within the concept of technological evolution and innovation. An "adaptive" attitude in the way in which we conceive our built structures provides a conceptual basis for the advanced building design of our future, as well as one concerned about the efficient management of the available resources. Built environments of the future (in extreme climates or not) will need to respond to Renewable, Adaptive, Recyclable and Environmental (R.A.R.E.) concepts in order to coexist in a sustainable way with their surroundings.

Quantifying minimum monolith size and solute dilution from multi-compartment percolation sampler data

Preferential flow affects solute transport in natural soils, leading to high spatiotemporal variation of concentration. A multicompartment solute sampler (MCS), yielding multiple breakthrough curves at a given depth, can monitor tracer movement in a heterogeneous soil. We present a technique to estimate from MCS data whether a soil monolith is sufficiently large to capture preferential flow, which is a necessity for tracer breakthrough curves to be representative. For several soils, we estimate that an MCS should be larger than 0.1 to 0.2 m². We also expand dilution theory to analyze the concentration variations of a tracer passing the control plane monitored by the MCS, in addition to the conventional plume spreading analysis. We characterize the set of locally observed breakthrough curves by the entropy-based dilution index. For given first and second-central moment, the spatially uniform log-normal breakthrough curve maximizes the dilution index. The ratio between observed and maximum dilution index is denoted reactor ratio. For a 300-compartment solute sampler, covering an area of 0.75 m², we compute a reactor ratio of 0.665, compared with 0.04 for stochastic-convective and 1 for convective-dispersive transport. With a single, large collector the reactor ratio would be 0.958, severely underestimating concentration variations. Large collector areas are clearly inadequate to estimate dilution. Values of the dilution index and the reactor ratio for individual sampling compartments indicate efficient longitudinal mixing in most but not all cases, and considerable spatial variation of the leaching process.

An intelligent forex monitoring system

The need for intelligent monitoring systems has become a necessity to keep track of the complex forex market. The vast currency market is a foreign concept to the average individual. However, once it is broken down into simple terms, the average individual can begin to understand the foreign exchange market and use it as a financial instrument for future investing. We attempt to compare the performance of a Takagi-Sugeno, type neuro-fuzzy system and a feedforward neural network trained using the scaled conjugate gradient algorithm to predict the average monthly forex rates. We considered the exchange values of Australian dollar with respect to US dollar, Singapore dollar, New Zealand dollar, Japanese yen and United Kingdom pounds. The connectionist models were trained using 70% of the data and remaining was used for testing and validation purposes. It is observed that the proposed connectionist models were able to predict the average forex rates one month ahead accurately. Experiment results also reveal that the neuro-fuzzy technique performed better than the neural network

Australian forex market anaylsis using connectionist models

The need for intelligent monitoring systems has become a necessity to keep track of the complex forex market. The forex market is difficult to understand by an average individual. However, once the market is broken down into simple terms, the average individual can begin to understand the foreign exchange market and use it as a financial instrument for future investing. This paper is an attempt to compare the performance of a Takagi-Sugeno type neuro-fuzzy system and a feed forward neural network trained using the scaled conjugate gradient algorithm to predict the average monthly forex rates. The exchange values of Australian dollar are considered with respect to US dollar, Singapore dollar, New Zealand dollar, Japanese yen and United Kingdom pound. The connectionist models were trained using 70% of the data and remaining was used for testing and validation purposes. It is observed that the proposed connectionist models were able to predict the average forex rates one month ahead accurately. Experiment results also reveal that neuro-fuzzy technique performed better than the neural network.

Abstract art or the politics and pedagogies of getting read

The writing of academic abstracts is more than a tiresome necessity of scholarly life. It is a practice which goes beyond genre and technique to questions of identity and the promotional economies of academic work. In this paper we deconstruct a series of abstracts from a variety of refereed journals and conferences and develop a set of questions that allow us to 'read' the representation of data, argument, methodology and significance. We argue that the rules of abstract engagement are fluid and increasingly important with the advent of online journals and global citation indices. We suggest that abstract art is now an obligatory aspect of postgraduate supervision.

Balancing work and lifestyle : an exploratory study of chartered accountants in Australia

In today’s work environment, achieving a work-life balance is not only desirable, for employers it is a necessity to maintain a healthy workforce. Accounting careers are impacted by many factors, including technology and an increasing complexity in the demands for financial services, with resulting changes in where, when and how accountants perform their jobs. In addition, due to the general skills shortage faced by the businesses, the need for work-life balance has become a key determining factor for decisions regarding career choices.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (The Institute) has embarked on a long term goal of developing a work environment which helps Chartered Accountants (CAs) to gain work-life balance to complement the demand of the workforce. Three studies have been completed. The first study was conducted in 1995 in which the career expectations and barriers for women Chartered Accountants were examined amongst CAs in Victoria. In 2001, a follow-up survey of both male and female CAs was conducted in Victoria and Tasmania. The present study reports on the latest part of the project – a national survey of all 6,600 CAs regarding their work-life balance and expectations. This paper discusses the trend established by the three studies, and identifies some interesting scenarios of the accounting careers for CAs in Australia.

Happy to talk.... to a point : bereaved young men and emotional disclosure

This study focuses upon the social experiences of bereaved young men, with particular emphasis on the social costs of bereavement-related personal disclosure. Participants' experiences of regulating their social behaviour were suggestive of the persistence of 'traditional' notions of masculine identity (e.g. hegemonic masculinity). While this study cautions that opportunities for emotional disclosure should not be viewed as the only form of social support for bereaved young men, its principal assertion is the necessity for emotional disclosure to be socially recognised as a legitimate form of male social expression.

Targeted clinical education for staff attitudes towards deliberate self-harm in borderline personality disorder : randomized controlled trial

Objective: The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of attending targeted clinical education on borderline personality disorder on the attitudes of health clinicians towards working with deliberate self-harm behaviours commonly exhibited by patients diagnosed with this complex disorder. Comparisons of clinicians across service settings, occupational fields, and other demographic areas were also made.

Method: A purpose-designed demographic questionnaire and the Attitudes Towards Deliberate Self-Harm Questionnaire were used to collect the demographic information and assess the attitudes of 99 mental health and emergency medicine practitioners across two Australian health services and a New Zealand health service, both before and after education attendance.

Results: Statistically significant improvements in attitude ratings were found for both emergency medicine clinicians and mental health clinicians in working with deliberate self-harm behaviours in borderline personality disorder, following attendance at the education program with a medium affect size (t(32)=−3.45, p=0.002, d=0.43 and t(65)=−5.12, p=0.000, d=0.42, respectively). Clinicians across occupational areas of nursing, allied health, and medical fields demonstrated equivocal levels of improvement in their attitude ratings.

Conclusions: Results are discussed in terms of the necessity of providing regular access to targeted clinical education for health professionals working with patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

Multi-agent based supply chain management with dynamic reconfiguration capability

Supply chain management (SCM) has received increased attention in a globally challenging environment as companies face the necessity to improve customer service and maximize profit. Therefore, dynamic reconfiguration capability is vital for supply chain management to respond to changing customer requirements and operating environments. On the other hand, for its flexible and autonomous characteristics, multi-agent systems are a viable technology for SCM, and have been widely applied in SCM. To this end, dynamic reconfiguration in agent-based SCM systems is proposed from autonomy oriented computing point of view. The performance of agent-based SCM with dynamic reconfiguration is evaluated under a modified TAC SCM scenario. With a dynamic reconfigurable SCM system, new products and processes can be introduced with considerably less expense and ramp-up time.

A holistic model of corporate governance - a new research framework

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a new model of corporate governance that is holistic – incorporating internal and macro perspectives across legal, regulatory, sociological, ethical, human resource management, behavioural and corporate strategic frameworks. Researchers have signalled the need for “new theoretical perspectives and new models of governance” due to a dearth of research that is context-driven, empirical, and encapsulating the full spectrum of reasons and actions contributing to corporate crises.

Design/methodology/approach – The approach consists of theory building by reviewing the literature and examining the gaps and limitations.

Findings – The proposed model is a distinctive contribution to theory and practice in three ways. First, it integrates the firm-specific, micro factors with the country-specific, macro factors to illustrate the holistic nature of corporate governance. Second, shareholders and stakeholders are shown to be only one component of the model. Third, it veers away from singular approaches, to dealing with corporate governance using a multi-disciplinary perspective. The paper argues that such a holistic and integrated view is a necessity for understanding governance systems.

Research limitations/implications – The challenge is to operationalize the model and test it empirically.

Practical implications – The model is instructive and of use for practitioners in attempting to understand, explain and develop governance models that are appropriate to their national and industry settings.

Originality/value – This paper argues that narrow-based models are limited in their approach and in a sound and integrative review of the up-to-date literature contributes to theory-building on corporate governance.