An industry/university collaboration to upgrade software engineering knowledge and skills in industry

This paper describes an ongoing collaboration between Boeing Australia Limited and the University of Queensland to develop and deliver an introductory course on software engineering. The aims of the course are to provide a common understanding of the nature of software engineering for all Boeing Australia's engineering staff, and to ensure they understand the practices used throughout the company. The course is designed so that it can be presented to people with varying backgrounds, such as recent software engineering graduates, systems engineers, quality assurance personnel, etc. The paper describes the structure and content of the course, and the evaluation techniques used to collect feedback from the participants and the corresponding results. The immediate feedback on the course indicates that it has been well received by the participants, but also indicates a need for more advanced courses in specific areas. The long-term feedback from participants is less positive, and the long-term feedback from the managers of the course participants indicates a need to expand on the coverage of the Boeing-specific processes and methods. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conventional detection methodology is limiting our ability to understand the roles and functions of fine roots

We lack a thorough conceptual and functional understanding of fine roots. Studies that have focused on estimating the quantity of fine roots provide evidence that they dominate overall plant root length. We need a standard procedure to quantify root length/biomass that takes proper account of fine roots. Here we investigated the extent to which root length/biomass may be underestimated using conventional methodology, and examined the technical reasons that could explain such underestimation. Our discussion is based on original X-ray-based measurements and on a literature review spanning more than six decades. We present evidence that root-length recovery depends strongly on the observation scale/spatial resolution at which measurements are carried out; and that observation scales/resolutions adequate for fine root detection have an adverse impact on the processing times required to obtain precise estimates. We conclude that fine roots are the major component of root systems of most (if not all) annual and perennial plants. Hence plant root systems could be much longer, and probably include more biomass, than is widely accepted.

Attributes and skills of an effective musculoskeletal consumer

The OMERACT 7 Effective Musculoskeletal Consumer Workshop brought together people with rheumatoid arthritis, healthcare professionals, and researchers to discuss what they thought made a musculoskeletal consumer effective at managing their disease. Preliminary work before OMERACT provided a draft list of potential characteristics of an effective consumer. Participants at the workshop provided feedback about the list including relevance, missing items, format, and language. The feedback provided was useful and will be incorporated into a revised list to aid in the development of an instrument to measure health consumer effectiveness.

The impact of board independence and ownership structure on the timeliness of corporate internet reporting of Irish-listed companies

Purpose – This study seeks to provide valuable new insight into the timeliness of corporate internet reporting (TCIR) by a sample of Irish-listed companies. Design/methodology/approach – The authors apply an updated version of Abdelsalam et al. TCIR index to assess the timeliness of corporate internet reporting. The index encompasses 13 criteria that are used to measure the TCIR for a sample of Irish-listed companies. In addition, the authors assess the timeliness of posting companies’ annual and interim reports to their web sites. Furthermore, the study examines the influence of board independence and ownership structure on the TCIR behaviour. Board composition is measured by the percentage of independent directors, chairman’s dual role and average tenure of directors. Ownership structure is represented by managerial ownership and blockholder ownership. Findings – It is found that Irish-listed companies, on average, satisfy only 46 per cent of the timeliness criteria assessed by the timeliness index. After controlling for size, audit fees and firm performance, evidence that TCIR is positively associated with board of director’s independence and chief executive officer (CEO) ownership is provided. Furthermore, it is found that large companies are faster in posting their annual reports to their web sites. The findings suggest that board composition and ownership structure influence a firm’s TCIR behaviour, presumably in response to the information asymmetry between management and investors and the resulting agency costs. Practical implications – The findings highlight the need for improvement in TCIR by Irish-listed companies in many areas, especially in regard to the regular updates of information provided on their web sites. Originality/value – This study represents one of the first comprehensive examinations of the important dimension of the TCIR in Irish-listed companies.