Research Monograph: Managing ubiquitous eco cities: telecommunication infrastructure networks, technology convergence and intelligent urban management systems

Efficient and effective urban management systems for Ubiquitous Eco Cities require having intelligent and integrated management mechanisms. This integration includes bringing together economic, socio-cultural and urban development with a well orchestrated, transparent and open decision making mechanism and necessary infrastructure and technologies. In Ubiquitous Eco Cities telecommunication technologies play an important role in monitoring and managing activities over wired, wireless or fibre-optic networks. Particularly technology convergence creates new ways in which the information and telecommunication technologies are used and formed the back bone or urban management systems. The 21st Century is an era where information has converged, in which people are able to access a variety of services, including internet and location based services, through multi-functional devices such as mobile phones and provides opportunities in the management of Ubiquitous Eco Cities. This research paper discusses the recent developments in telecommunication networks and trends in convergence technologies and their implications on the management of Ubiquitous Eco Cities and how this technological shift is likely to be beneficial in improving the quality of life and place of residents, workers and visitors. The research paper reports and introduces recent approaches on urban management systems, such as intelligent urban management systems, that are suitable for Ubiquitous Eco Cities.

Planning for smart urban ecosystems : information technology applications for capacity building in environmental decision making

Since the industrial revolution, our world has experienced rapid and unplanned industrialization and urbanization. As a result, we have had to cope with serious environmental challenges. In this context, an explanation of how smart urban ecosystems can emerge, gains a crucial importance. Capacity building and community involvement have always been key issues in achieving sustainable development and enhancing urban ecosystems. By considering these, this paper looks at new approaches to increase public awareness of environmental decision making. This paper will discuss the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), particularly Webbased Geographic Information Systems (Web-based GIS) as spatial decision support systems to aid public participatory environmental decision making. The paper also explores the potential and constraints of these webbased tools for collaborative decision making.

Managing ubiquitous eco cities : technology, infrastructure and management issues

Literature on Ubiquitous Eco Cities highlights three key issues to be carefully considered while planning, developing and managing such cities: ‘technology, infrastructure and management’. This paper discusses the recent developments in telecommunication networks, trends in technology convergence and both of their implications on the management of Ubiquitous Eco Cities. The paper also introduces recent approaches on urban management, such as intelligent urban management systems, that are potentially suitable for Ubiquitous Eco Cities.

In-vehicle technology functional requirements for older drivers

Older drivers represent the fastest growing segment of the road user population. Cognitive and physiological capabilities diminishes with ages. The design of future in-vehicle interfaces have to take into account older drivers' needs and capabilities. Older drivers have different capabilities which impact on their driving patterns and subsequently on road crash patterns. New in-vehicle technology could improve safety, comfort and maintain elderly people's mobility for longer. Existing research has focused on the ergonomic and Human Machine Interface (HMI) aspects of in-vehicle technology to assist the elderly. However there is a lack of comprehensive research on identifying the most relevant technology and associated functionalities that could improve older drivers' road safety. To identify future research priorities for older drivers, this paper presents: (i) a review of age related functional impairments, (ii) a brief description of some key characteristics of older driver crashes and (iii) a conceptualisation of the most relevant technology interventions based on traffic psychology theory and crash data.

Ecological perspectives and wellness

Since the industrial revolution, the development of a lifestyle lived predominantly indoors has resulted in less contact with nature. Research over the last twenty years has gradually been identifying the human health benefits attributed to re-connecting with the natural environment. The significance of feeling connected to natural environments, families and friends are described as a foundational requirement for human health and wellbeing (Maller et al., 2008). Also, the early findings of Schultz‟s (2002) work indicated that by feeling connected to the natural world a person is more likely to be committed to positively interact with and protect the natural world. Research on young people has indicated that young people are even more disconnected from the natural world. Leading some writers to call this disconnection a crisis termed “Nature Deficit Disorder.” Participants (n = 131) from 1st year university Physical Education and Human Movement Studies were asked to complete two questionnaires the Connectedness to Nature scale (CNS) (Mayer & Frantz, 2004) and the New Ecological Paradigm Scale (NEP) (Dunlap, Van Liere, Mertig, & Jones, 2000). The NEP and CNS are two scales most commonly used to explore beliefs and feelings of connectedness to the natural world (Schultz, 2002). The NEP was developed over thirty years ago by Dunlap and Van Liere (1978) and originally termed the New Environmental Paradigm. The NEP is now the foremost International tool for measuring beliefs about the natural world (Dunlap, 2008). The CNS measures an individual‟s trait levels of emotional connection to the natural world. It is a relatively new tool for understanding ecological behaviour based on ecopsychology theory and employed to predict behaviour (Mayer and Frantz, 2004). Both questionnaires are based on a 1-5 scale (Strongly disagree to Strongly agree). By combing both scales the researchers aim to develop a snap shot of beliefs and emotional feelings towards the natural world and therefore an idea of intended behaviour. The two questionnaires were combined as one online survey with additional material asking for demographics and self assessments of type of leader included before the surveys. An email inviting outdoor leaders to participate was sent out to networks and interest groups. A basic descriptive statistical analysis was used to interpret data.

Validating the IS-Impact Model At Queensland University Of Technology (QUT): Part A

The overall research aims to develop a standardised instrument to measure the impacts resulting from contemporary Information Systems (IS). The research adopts the IS-Impact measurement model, introduced by Gable et al, (2008), as its theoretical foundation, and applies the extension strategy described by Berthon et al. (2002); extending both theory and the context, where the new context is the Human Resource (HR) system. The research will be conducted in two phases, the exploratory phase and the specification phase. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of the exploratory phase. 134 respondents from a major Australian University were involved in this phase. The findings have supported most of the existing IS-Impact model’s credibility. However, some textual data may suggest new measures for the IS-Impact model, while the low response rate or the averting of some may suggest the elimination of some measures from the model.

Troubling Empowerment : A feminist critique of a rural women and communication technology project

Participatory research methodologies and interactive communication technologies (ICTs) are increasingly seen as offering ways of enhancing women’s empowerment and rural community development. However, some researchers suggest the need for caution about such claims. This book details findings from an evaluation of a feminist action research project that explored the impacts of ICTs for rural women in Queensland, Australia, in terms of personal, business and community development. Using praxis and poststructuralist feminist theories and methodologies, this innovative study presents a rigorous analysis and critique of women's empowerment and participation. This study demonstrates the value of adopting a critical yet pragmatic approach that takes diversity and difference, power-knowledge relations, and the contradictory effects of participation into account. This is argued to enable the development of more effective strategies for women’s empowerment, participation and inclusion. This book should be of particular interest to researchers, postgraduate students, and others working in the fields of communication, gender, and rural development, and feminist evaluation and ethnography.

Elicitator : an expert elicitation tool for regression in ecology

Expert elicitation is the process of retrieving and quantifying expert knowledge in a particular domain. Such information is of particular value when the empirical data is expensive, limited, or unreliable. This paper describes a new software tool, called Elicitator, which assists in quantifying expert knowledge in a form suitable for use as a prior model in Bayesian regression. Potential environmental domains for applying this elicitation tool include habitat modeling, assessing detectability or eradication, ecological condition assessments, risk analysis, and quantifying inputs to complex models of ecological processes. The tool has been developed to be user-friendly, extensible, and facilitate consistent and repeatable elicitation of expert knowledge across these various domains. We demonstrate its application to elicitation for logistic regression in a geographically based ecological context. The underlying statistical methodology is also novel, utilizing an indirect elicitation approach to target expert knowledge on a case-by-case basis. For several elicitation sites (or cases), experts are asked simply to quantify their estimated ecological response (e.g. probability of presence), and its range of plausible values, after inspecting (habitat) covariates via GIS.

The impact of health information technology on the quality of medical and health care : a systematic review

Objective: To systematically review the published evidence of the impact of health information technology (HIT) on the quality of medical and health care specifically clinicians’ adherence to evidence-based guidelines and the corresponding impact this had on patient clinical outcomes. In order to be as inclusive as possible the research examined literature discussing the use of health information technologies and systems in both medical care such as clinical and surgical, and other health care such as allied health and preventive services.----- Design: Systematic review----- Data Sources: Relevant literature was systematically searched on English language studies indexed in MEDLINE and CINAHL(1998 to 2008), Cochrane Library, PubMed, Database of Abstracts of Review of Effectiveness (DARE), Google scholar and other relevant electronic databases. A search for eligible studies (matching the inclusion criteria) was also performed by searching relevant conference proceedings available through internet and electronic databases, as well as using reference lists identified from cited papers.----- Selection criteria: Studies were included in the review if they examined the impact of Electronic Health Record (EHR), Computerised Provider Order-Entry (CPOE), or Decision Support System (DS); and if the primary outcomes of the studies were focused on the level of compliance with evidence-based guidelines among clinicians. Measures could be either changes in clinical processes resulting from a change of the providers’ behaviour or specific patient outcomes that demonstrated the effectiveness of a particular treatment given by providers. ----- Methods: Studies were reviewed and summarised in tabular and text form. Due to heterogeneity between studies, meta-analysis was not performed.----- Results: Out of 17 studies that assessed the impact of health information technology on health care practitioners’ performance, 14 studies revealed a positive improvement in relation to their compliance with evidence-based guidelines. The primary domain of improvement was evident from preventive care and drug ordering studies. Results from the studies that included an assessment for patient outcomes however, were insufficient to detect either clinically or statistically important improvements as only a small proportion of these studies found benefits. For instance, only 3 studies had shown positive improvement, while 5 studies revealed either no change or adverse outcomes.----- Conclusion: Although the number of included studies was relatively small for reaching a conclusive statement about the effectiveness of health information technologies and systems on clinical care, the results demonstrated consistency with other systematic reviews previously undertaken. Widescale use of HIT has been shown to increase clinician’s adherence to guidelines in this review. Therefore, it presents ongoing opportunities to maximise the uptake of research evidence into practice for health care organisations, policy makers and stakeholders.

Exploring Chinese consumer's perceptions of using new mobile technology : A qualitative study

This study examines the case of Chinese consumer's intention to adopt the upcoming mobile technology, 3G. The qualitative study involved 45 in-depth intervie3ws undertaken in three major Chemise cities to explore what perceptions, beliefs and attitudes will influence their decisions about adopting 3G. Perceived beliefs about using 3G technology were found to be important determinants. Additionally, there was evidence of influences from their social network that could motivate the adoption behaviour, as well as influence from the secondary information sources, such as the media and the Internet. Finally, some constraints were identifies that may inhibit Chinese consumers' adoption of this technology.

Development of a particle number and particle mass emissions inventory for an urban fleet : a study in South-East Queensland

Motor vehicles are a major source of gaseous and particulate matter pollution in urban areas, particularly of ultrafine sized particles (diameters < 0.1 µm). Exposure to particulate matter has been found to be associated with serious health effects, including respiratory and cardiovascular disease, and mortality. Particle emissions generated by motor vehicles span a very broad size range (from around 0.003-10 µm) and are measured as different subsets of particle mass concentrations or particle number count. However, there exist scientific challenges in analysing and interpreting the large data sets on motor vehicle emission factors, and no understanding is available of the application of different particle metrics as a basis for air quality regulation. To date a comprehensive inventory covering the broad size range of particles emitted by motor vehicles, and which includes particle number, does not exist anywhere in the world. This thesis covers research related to four important and interrelated aspects pertaining to particulate matter generated by motor vehicle fleets. These include the derivation of suitable particle emission factors for use in transport modelling and health impact assessments; quantification of motor vehicle particle emission inventories; investigation of the particle characteristic modality within particle size distributions as a potential for developing air quality regulation; and review and synthesis of current knowledge on ultrafine particles as it relates to motor vehicles; and the application of these aspects to the quantification, control and management of motor vehicle particle emissions. In order to quantify emissions in terms of a comprehensive inventory, which covers the full size range of particles emitted by motor vehicle fleets, it was necessary to derive a suitable set of particle emission factors for different vehicle and road type combinations for particle number, particle volume, PM1, PM2.5 and PM1 (mass concentration of particles with aerodynamic diameters < 1 µm, < 2.5 µm and < 10 µm respectively). The very large data set of emission factors analysed in this study were sourced from measurement studies conducted in developed countries, and hence the derived set of emission factors are suitable for preparing inventories in other urban regions of the developed world. These emission factors are particularly useful for regions with a lack of measurement data to derive emission factors, or where experimental data are available but are of insufficient scope. The comprehensive particle emissions inventory presented in this thesis is the first published inventory of tailpipe particle emissions prepared for a motor vehicle fleet, and included the quantification of particle emissions covering the full size range of particles emitted by vehicles, based on measurement data. The inventory quantified particle emissions measured in terms of particle number and different particle mass size fractions. It was developed for the urban South-East Queensland fleet in Australia, and included testing the particle emission implications of future scenarios for different passenger and freight travel demand. The thesis also presents evidence of the usefulness of examining modality within particle size distributions as a basis for developing air quality regulations; and finds evidence to support the relevance of introducing a new PM1 mass ambient air quality standard for the majority of environments worldwide. The study found that a combination of PM1 and PM10 standards are likely to be a more discerning and suitable set of ambient air quality standards for controlling particles emitted from combustion and mechanically-generated sources, such as motor vehicles, than the current mass standards of PM2.5 and PM10. The study also reviewed and synthesized existing knowledge on ultrafine particles, with a specific focus on those originating from motor vehicles. It found that motor vehicles are significant contributors to both air pollution and ultrafine particles in urban areas, and that a standardized measurement procedure is not currently available for ultrafine particles. The review found discrepancies exist between outcomes of instrumentation used to measure ultrafine particles; that few data is available on ultrafine particle chemistry and composition, long term monitoring; characterization of their spatial and temporal distribution in urban areas; and that no inventories for particle number are available for motor vehicle fleets. This knowledge is critical for epidemiological studies and exposure-response assessment. Conclusions from this review included the recommendation that ultrafine particles in populated urban areas be considered a likely target for future air quality regulation based on particle number, due to their potential impacts on the environment. The research in this PhD thesis successfully integrated the elements needed to quantify and manage motor vehicle fleet emissions, and its novelty relates to the combining of expertise from two distinctly separate disciplines - from aerosol science and transport modelling. The new knowledge and concepts developed in this PhD research provide never before available data and methods which can be used to develop comprehensive, size-resolved inventories of motor vehicle particle emissions, and air quality regulations to control particle emissions to protect the health and well-being of current and future generations.

Structural health monitoring of bridges using acoustic emission technology

Bridges are an important part of society's infrastructure and reliable methods are necessary to monitor them and ensure their safety and efficiency. Bridges deteriorate with age and early detection of damage helps in prolonging the lives and prevent catastrophic failures. Most bridges still in used today were built decades ago and are now subjected to changes in load patterns, which can cause localized distress and if not corrected can result in bridge failure. In the past, monitoring of structures was usually done by means of visual inspection and tapping of the structures using a small hammer. Recent advancements of sensors and information technologies have resulted in new ways of monitoring the performance of structures. This paper briefly describes the current technologies used in bridge structures condition monitoring with its prime focus in the application of acoustic emission (AE) technology in the monitoring of bridge structures and its challenges.

Virtual mooting : using technology to enhance the mooting experience

While a range of benefits to students participating in mooting have been identified by the legal education literature, there are impediments to students participating in mooting that have been revealed by recent surveys of law students at QUT. These impediments include time, geographical location and a failure to perceive the benefits of mooting. This paper will explore the benefits of using technology to overcome these impediments, evaluate technological options to facilitate distance mooting, such as the use of Second Life, Elluminate and video conferencing, and will recommend a trial of these options.

Detecting and characterising malicious executable payloads

Buffer overflow vulnerabilities continue to prevail and the sophistication of attacks targeting these vulnerabilities is continuously increasing. As a successful attack of this type has the potential to completely compromise the integrity of the targeted host, early detection is vital. This thesis examines generic approaches for detecting executable payload attacks, without prior knowledge of the implementation of the attack, in such a way that new and previously unseen attacks are detectable. Executable payloads are analysed in detail for attacks targeting the Linux and Windows operating systems executing on an Intel IA-32 architecture. The execution flow of attack payloads are analysed and a generic model of execution is examined. A novel classification scheme for executable attack payloads is presented which allows for characterisation of executable payloads and facilitates vulnerability and threat assessments, and intrusion detection capability assessments for intrusion detection systems. An intrusion detection capability assessment may be utilised to determine whether or not a deployed system is able to detect a specific attack and to identify requirements for intrusion detection functionality for the development of new detection methods. Two novel detection methods are presented capable of detecting new and previously unseen executable attack payloads. The detection methods are capable of identifying and enumerating the executable payload’s interactions with the operating system on the targeted host at the time of compromise. The detection methods are further validated using real world data including executable payload attacks.

Improvement to Chinese information retrieval by incorporating word segmentation and query expansion

The increasing diversity of the Internet has created a vast number of multilingual resources on the Web. A huge number of these documents are written in various languages other than English. Consequently, the demand for searching in non-English languages is growing exponentially. It is desirable that a search engine can search for information over collections of documents in other languages. This research investigates the techniques for developing high-quality Chinese information retrieval systems. A distinctive feature of Chinese text is that a Chinese document is a sequence of Chinese characters with no space or boundary between Chinese words. This feature makes Chinese information retrieval more difficult since a retrieved document which contains the query term as a sequence of Chinese characters may not be really relevant to the query since the query term (as a sequence Chinese characters) may not be a valid Chinese word in that documents. On the other hand, a document that is actually relevant may not be retrieved because it does not contain the query sequence but contains other relevant words. In this research, we propose two approaches to deal with the problems. In the first approach, we propose a hybrid Chinese information retrieval model by incorporating word-based techniques with the traditional character-based techniques. The aim of this approach is to investigate the influence of Chinese segmentation on the performance of Chinese information retrieval. Two ranking methods are proposed to rank retrieved documents based on the relevancy to the query calculated by combining character-based ranking and word-based ranking. Our experimental results show that Chinese segmentation can improve the performance of Chinese information retrieval, but the improvement is not significant if it incorporates only Chinese segmentation with the traditional character-based approach. In the second approach, we propose a novel query expansion method which applies text mining techniques in order to find the most relevant words to extend the query. Unlike most existing query expansion methods, which generally select the highly frequent indexing terms from the retrieved documents to expand the query. In our approach, we utilize text mining techniques to find patterns from the retrieved documents that highly correlate with the query term and then use the relevant words in the patterns to expand the original query. This research project develops and implements a Chinese information retrieval system for evaluating the proposed approaches. There are two stages in the experiments. The first stage is to investigate if high accuracy segmentation can make an improvement to Chinese information retrieval. In the second stage, a text mining based query expansion approach is implemented and a further experiment has been done to compare its performance with the standard Rocchio approach with the proposed text mining based query expansion method. The NTCIR5 Chinese collections are used in the experiments. The experiment results show that by incorporating the text mining based query expansion with the hybrid model, significant improvement has been achieved in both precision and recall assessments.