Eco-structure data forms : classification of data analysis using perceived design affordances for musical outcomes

This paper explores a method of comparative analysis and classification of data through perceived design affordances. Included is discussion about the musical potential of data forms that are derived through eco-structural analysis of musical features inherent in audio recordings of natural sounds. A system of classification of these forms is proposed based on their structural contours. The classifications include four primitive types; steady, iterative, unstable and impulse. The classification extends previous taxonomies used to describe the gestural morphology of sound. The methods presented are used to provide compositional support for eco-structuralism.

Freedom of information implications of information sharing networks for critical infrastructure protection

Protection of “critical infrastructure” has become a major issue for govern- ments worldwide. Yet in Australia, as in many other countries, including the United States, an estimated 90% of critical infrastructure is privately owned or operated commercially – in other words, critical infrastructure protection is not the exclusive domain of government. As a result, information sharing between government and the private sector has become a vitally important component of effective risk management. However, establishing effective arrangements of this kind between the public and private sector needs to take account of existing regimes of access and public disclosure which relate to government-held documents; in particular, that which is established by freedom of information (FOI) legislation. This article examines the extent to which the current Commonwealth FOI regime is likely to act as an impediment to the private sector operators of critical infrastructure participat- ing in government-operated information sharing arrangements. By examining developments in other jurisdictions, principally the United States, the article considers whether amendments to the current Australian FOI regime are necessary to ensure effective participation, consistent with the underlying object and purpose of FOI.

Evidence-based practice : information professionals' experience of information literacy in the workplace

Evidence-based practice is increasingly being recognised as an important issue in a range of professional contexts including education, nursing, occupational therapy and librarianship. Many of these professions have observed a relationship or interface between evidence-based practice and information literacy. Using a phenomenographic approach this research explores variation in the how library and information professionals are experiencing evidence-based practice as part of their professional work. The findings of the research provide a basis for arguing that evidence-based practice represents the professional's enactment of information literacy in the workplace.

Towards developing an integrated model of information behaviour

This paper presents the results from a study of information behaviors in the context of people's everyday lives undertaken in order to develop an integrated model of information behavior (IB). 34 participants from across 6 countries maintained a daily information journal or diary – mainly through a secure web log – for two weeks, to an aggregate of 468 participant days over five months. The text-rich diary data was analyzed using a multi-method qualitative-quantitative analysis in the following order: Grounded Theory analysis with manual coding, automated concept analysis using thesaurus-based visualization, and finally a statistical analysis of the coding data. The findings indicate that people engage in several information behaviors simultaneously throughout their everyday lives (including home and work life) and that sense-making is entangled in all aspects of them. Participants engaged in many of the information behaviors in a parallel, distributed, and concurrent fashion: many information behaviors for one information problem, one information behavior across many information problems, and many information behaviors concurrently across many information problems. Findings indicate also that information avoidance – both active and passive avoidance – is a common phenomenon and that information organizing behaviors or the lack thereof caused the most problems for participants. An integrated model of information behaviors is presented based on the findings.

Overview of the INEX 2009 XML mining track : clustering and classification of XML documents

This report explains the objectives, datasets and evaluation criteria of both the clustering and classification tasks set in the INEX 2009 XML Mining track. The report also describes the approaches and results obtained by the different participants.

Vision-based classification of solder joint defects

Inspection of solder joints has been a critical process in the electronic manufacturing industry to reduce manufacturing cost, improve yield, and ensure product quality and reliability. The solder joint inspection problem is more challenging than many other visual inspections because of the variability in the appearance of solder joints. Although many research works and various techniques have been developed to classify defect in solder joints, these methods have complex systems of illumination for image acquisition and complicated classification algorithms. An important stage of the analysis is to select the right method for the classification. Better inspection technologies are needed to fill the gap between available inspection capabilities and industry systems. This dissertation aims to provide a solution that can overcome some of the limitations of current inspection techniques. This research proposes two inspection steps for automatic solder joint classification system. The “front-end” inspection system includes illumination normalisation, localization and segmentation. The illumination normalisation approach can effectively and efficiently eliminate the effect of uneven illumination while keeping the properties of the processed image. The “back-end” inspection involves the classification of solder joints by using Log Gabor filter and classifier fusion. Five different levels of solder quality with respect to the amount of solder paste have been defined. Log Gabor filter has been demonstrated to achieve high recognition rates and is resistant to misalignment. Further testing demonstrates the advantage of Log Gabor filter over both Discrete Wavelet Transform and Discrete Cosine Transform. Classifier score fusion is analysed for improving recognition rate. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system improves performance and robustness in terms of classification rates. This proposed system does not need any special illumination system, and the images are acquired by an ordinary digital camera. In fact, the choice of suitable features allows one to overcome the problem given by the use of non complex illumination systems. The new system proposed in this research can be incorporated in the development of an automated non-contact, non-destructive and low cost solder joint quality inspection system.

The first Australian nurse practitioner census : a protocol to guide standardized collection of information about an emergent professional group

Internationally, collection of reliable data on new and evolving health-care roles is crucial. We describe a protocol for design and administration of a national census of an emergent health-care role, namely nurse practitioners in Australia using databases held by regulatory authorities. A questionnaire was developed to obtain data on the role and scope of practice of Australian nurse practitioners. Our tool comprised five sections and included a total of 56 questions, using 28 existing items from the National Nursing and Midwifery Labour Force Census and nine items recommended in the Nurse Practitioner Workforce Planning Minimum Data Set. Australian Nurse Registering Authorities (n = 6) distributed the survey on our behalf. This paper outlines our instrument and methods. The survey was administered to 238 authorized Australian nurse practitioners (85% response rate). Rigorous collection of standardized items will ensure health policy is informed by reliable and valid data. We will re-administer the survey 2 years following the first survey to measure change over time.