http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/services/Feed ${session.getAttribute("locale")} 5 http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12906 Underpinning the rationale for this PhD study are issues regarding literacy concerns, student diversity, instructional differentiation and academic-engagement (Conway, Arthur-Kelly & Pascoe, 2004). Recent initiatives in New South Wales (NSW) primary schools have involved a focus on literacy instruction and outcomes-based learning (NSW Board of Studies, 1998; NSW Department of Education & Training, 1997). However, Australian surveys suggest up to 16% of students still have literacy problems and many students fail to learn to read by the time they leave school (Brent, Gough & Robinson, 2001; Cambourne, 2000; Masters & Forster, 1997; Prior, 1999; Rohl & Milton, 2002). 2013-05-20T06:12:43.360Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12905 Issues underlying this PhD study involved concerns regarding literacy development, student diversity, instructional differentiation, methods used to observe teaching and learning practices and academic-engagement1 (Conway, Arthur-Kelly & Pascoe, 2004; Luke, Freebody, & Land, 2000). Even though there has been a focus on literacy in New South Wales (NSW) education, many students still fail to acquire basic literacy skills (Brent, Gough & Robinson, 2001; Masters & Forster, 1997; NSW Department of Education & Training, 1997; Rohl & Milton, 2002). 2013-05-20T03:59:40.051Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12895 A smooth testing approach has been used to develop a test of the distributional assumption for generalized linear models. Application of this test to help assess Poisson and logistic regression models is discussed in this paper and power is compared to some common tests. 2013-05-17T00:57:30.837Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12894 We show how to construct nonparametric tests for two factor designs. These tests depend on whether or not the levels of the factors are ordered. Pearson’s X² statistic is decomposed into components of orders 1, 2, ... . These components may be further decomposed, the decomposition depending on the design. If neither factor is ordered, the components reflect linear, quadratic etc main and interaction effects. The approach is demonstrated with reference to the latin squares design. 2013-05-17T00:57:02.426Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12893 In this note smooth tests of fit for a mixture of two Poisson distributions are derived and compared with a traditional Pearson chi-squared test. The tests are illustrated with a classic data set of deaths per day of women over 80 as recorded in the London Times for the years 1910 to 1912. 2013-05-17T00:56:24.085Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12892 The capacity of impedance cardiography (IC) to measure stroke volume (SV) accurately has been examined under widely varying conditions of SV, thoracic size, haemotocrit (Hct), heart rate (HR) and myocardial inotropy in dog models in experimental complete heart block, and in man and rabbits. In vivo blood resistivity (p) is essentially constant at 135 ± l.OΩ.cm over a wide range of Hcts (26%-66%) in mammalian species. Using in vivo p in the Kubicek formula the accuracy of a single estimate of SV is about 3% of the true SV, over a range of SV from 1.0-120.0 ml, of HR from 60 to 300 min-1, of resting to maximal myocardial inotropy, and of thoracic anatomy, e.g. rabbit, dog, and adult man. The technique overreads at heart rates less than 60 min⁻¹, and underreads slightly at high inotropic states, as in maximal exercise. Tile accuracy of the method compares favourably with the clinical right heart thermodilution method used in our laboratory (i.e. better than ±9% of true SV). 2013-05-16T04:41:35.700Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12757 We have decided to raise questions rather than provide answers, realizing that the thoracic circulations have very complex interconnecting control system relationships. For example, parts of the 6th vascular arch embryologically form the pulmonary circulation, which in turn interface with the developing airways, themselves a derivative of the foregut. This alone begs the question of expectations with respect to control systems common to gut, and the pulmonary, bronchial and lung lymph systems. Since the 6th arch system joins with evaginations from the folding vascular tube destined to be the heart, would the enveloping innervation also affect the control of cardiac function? And finally, both the coronary and the bronchial vessels do constitute some sort of vasa vasorum to the myocardium and indeed, the major pulmonary vessels, as well as in the case of the bronchial vessels, to the airways, with secretory mechanisms driven in part by non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic mechanisms. 2013-05-16T03:39:23.293Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12688 The title The New Science of Exercise requires a little explanation. This is an era where exercise physiology appears the domain of anyone and everyone including physiologists, the trainer of the successful Wallabies of the 1991 World Cup, the veterinarian selling steroids to the owners of greyhounds, racehorses and putative Olympic champions, the media and the public at large. Given this societal mix of experts there is a growing public ethic of muddled information which demands a scientific body of excellence to provide advice based on good research concerning an explosion of novel questions. Such questions constitute the New Science of Exercise, which ideally demands a multi-disciplinary approach in a novel laboratory setting, namely, the community. But where does the Australian Physiological and Pharmacological Society stand in relation to this need? 2013-05-16T03:33:48.885Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12710 Suprabulbar and bulbospinal integration of cardiorespiratory responses to cold and heat stress was studied in groups of normal, thalamic and pontine rabbits. The animals sat in an airconditioned environmental chamber in which ambient temperature (T_A) was maintained sequentially at 22°C, 12°C, 22°C and 35°C, with an accuracy of ±1°C. Neither thalamic nor pontine rabbits could maintain core temperature in cold or heat. At T 35°C, thalamic and pontine animals did not pant, indicating that telencephalic responses were necessary for the integration of mechanisms promoting respiratory heat loss. Thalamic animals, however, could inhibit ear vascular sympathetic tone in the heat, but the response was absent in pontine animals, suggesting diencephalic responses were essential for the integration of mechanisms promoting ear skin heat loss. Thus, the neural adjustments to thermal stress depend on mechanisms of integration distributed longitudinally throughout the central nervous sytem, and different components of the reflex cardiorespiratory response depend on different sites in the central nervous system for their full expression. 2013-05-16T02:08:38.698Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12699 The postulate that Substance P (SP) plays a neurotransmitter-like role in the arterial chemo- and thermoreflex control of ventilation was examined in conscious rabbits. The investigation was based on CNS neurotransmitter criteria and involved morphological studies using a monoclonal SP antibody, and functional experiments which compared within-animal responses to severe arterial hypoxia (PaO₂ < 35 mm Hg) and to intracisternal SP infusions. Experiments were performed in normal rabbits, and in rabbits pretreated at birth with capsaicin. The data support a neurotransmitter-like role for SP in the arterial chemo- and the thermoreflex control of ventilation, and there appear to be SP-dependent collateral chemoreflex pathways which block thermoregulatory panting through an inhibitory interneuron system. 2013-05-16T02:06:50.264Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12702 The effect of intravenous infusion of fentanyl (an opiate receptor agonist, 0.55 μg kg⁻¹ min⁻¹) on the control of the circumflex coronary circulation was examined in unsedated dogs at rest and during baroreceptor stimulation evoked by acute rises in aortic pressure (balloon inflation in thoracic aorta). Circumflex flow was measured using Doppler flow transducers in dogs with experimental complete heart block and with ventricles paced at a constant rate. Studies were also performed before and one week after intracisternal injection of the neurotoxin 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT), to examine the role of CNS 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in any sympathetic vasoconstrictive effects. Fentanyl infusion caused after a few minutes a progressive rise in resting aortic pressure and a significant fall in circumflex conductance; circumflex flow usually fell. Atrial rate also fell. The gain of the baroreflex control of circumflex conductance was enhanced by fentanyl. One week after intracisternal 5,7-DHT, the gain of the baroreflex in each dog was diminished. When fentanyl was infused into these preparations, no consistent changes in resting atrial rate, aortic pressure and circumflex conductance could be observed, but all dogs showed a recovery of the coronary baroreflex gain towards values observed before intracisternal 5,7-DHT. These data suggest that the gain control of coronary baroreflexes is influenced by CNS opiate and 5-HT dependent mechanisms. 2013-05-16T02:04:08.635Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12700 The steroid induction agent, Althesin, infused intravenously in light anesthetic doses in otherwise unsedated man (84 μg kg⁻¹ min⁻¹) and rabbit (140 μg kg⁻¹ min⁻¹) causes similar autonomic and somatic effects. In the rabbit, the rise in heart rate (mainly due to central vagal blockade) and the selective depressant effects on respiratory rate are independent of CNS 5-hydroxytryptamine and noradrenaline. The rise in arterial pressure and the fall in hindlimb conductance is dependent on CNS 5-hydroxytryptamine and noradrenaline synthesizing neurons, which are probably arranged in series. These findings provide a working hypothesis for the mechanisms of action of Althesin on central cardiopulmonary controls in man. 2013-05-16T01:59:47.457Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12701 Contrasting hypotheses of mammalian thermoregulation were tested in unanesthetized rabbits in relation to the role of the central nervous (CNS) monoamines 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and noradrenaline (NA) in regulating lung function and ear skin blood flow (Doppler flowmeter). Normal rabbits and rabbits with CNS depletion of 5-HT and NA (caused by the neurotoxins 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine and 6-hydroxydopamine) were studied in an airconditioned chamber at ambient temperatures of 12 °, 22 ° and 35°C. The results suggest that CNS 5-HT plays an excitatory role in the heat conservation mechanism of cold-induced ear skin vasoconstriction, and that this effect is inhibited by CNS NA to cause heat dissipation during heat stress. Both CNS 5-HT and NA appear to exert a mild inhibitory restraint on ventilation even during heat stress. The data support the theory that CNS 5-HT is concerned with heat conservation and CNS NA with heat loss mechanisms in the cutaneous circulation, and that both monoamines moderate heat loss through panting. CNS monoamine-dependent thermoregulation in the rabbit thus resembles the model postulated for the cat, dog and monkey rather than, as previously proposed, for the sheep and goat. 2013-05-16T01:55:26.581Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12883 Simulation is widely used in nursing education. Previous studies have examined the impact of simulation on the acquisition of psychomotor skills, knowledge, critical thinking and non-technical skills such as teamwork. Challenges associated with the integration of simulation into nursing curricula have also been examined, however only limited research addresses the most effective simulation design and teaching strategies for quality educational outcomes. This resource documents the results of a Delphi study that synthesises expert opinion on the pedagogical principles and teaching strategies required during clinical simulation; presented as a set of Quality Indicator Statements for use in the design and implementation of clinical simulation sessions. 2013-05-14T07:17:05.461Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12859 To test for equality of variances given two independent random samples from univariate normal populations, popular choices would be the two-sample F test and Levene’s test. The latter is a nonparametric test while the former is parametric: it is the likelihood ratio test, and also a Wald test. Another Wald test of interest is based on the difference in the sample variances. We give a nonparametric analogue of this test and call it the R test. The R, F and Levene tests are compared in an indicative empirical study. For moderate sample sizes when assuming normality the R test is nearly as powerful as the F test and nearly as robust as Levene’s test. It is also an appropriate test for testing equality of variances without the assumption of normality, and so it can be strongly recommended. 2013-05-09T03:22:14.391Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12855 In terms of expanding organizational capability, there is an increased expectation and demand for employee development. For an employee to become more self-directed there is an increased need for interpersonal skills. In this context, there is a growing recognition that learning based practices such as workplace coaching can satisfy this need for skill development. Despite this, in the coaching literature there is no explicit discussion of learning practice from an adult learning perspective. In this article we review the potential synergy that exists between adult learning and workplace coaching literatures from an organizational perspective. 2013-05-08T22:58:34.783Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12852 Little has been published which analyses the performance of a workforce after the announcement that their organisation is to be closed. Of the few published cases analysing closure, in a small number of instances it has been reported that substantial improvements occurred in the organisation’s performance during the period from the announcement until the final day. Such improvements were generally contrary to the predictions of the downsizing literature and the instinctive expectations of the managers who were involved. Using a case study analysis of the closure of a steelworks in Australia in which very significant improvements in performance were recorded, this paper examines the role of the company’s human resource management interventions as an explanatory factor for these improvements. 2013-05-07T03:42:23.535Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12833 The strike by Boeing maintenance workers at the Williamtown RAAF base during 2005-2006 was one of the longest in Australia’s recent industrial history. At the core of the strike was the desire by maintenance workers to reach a collective agreement with a company that would only bargain on an individual basis. The dispute demonstrates the absence under the 1996 Workplace Relations Act of a legal mechanism to resolve disputes over union recognition and, more broadly, the lack of genuine choice available to workers who seek to bargain collectively with an employer whose preference lies with other forms of labour regulation. After briefly defining the key concepts and identifying some of the legal mechanisms designed to protect a right to bargain, the paper describes the dispute at Williamtown, including the background and the sequence of events as well as a detailed analysis of management’s position in the dispute. The final section of the paper summarises the main points and explores their implications for the future of industrial relations in Australia. 2013-05-02T03:35:22.569Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12832 Many organisations close each year yet academic understanding of closure is limited and fragmented. Through a review of the organisational decline literature this paper demonstrates that most of the contemporary research on closures has focused on explanations for closures, the affects of job loss on the retrenched workers, union action (sometimes allied with other institutions) which has sought to overturn or mitigate closure decisions and, finally, the often polemical arguments over the appropriateness, features and effectiveness of state-imposed controls over redundancies and closures. Also, very little qualitative and quantitative research has been published which analyses the closure process from the time of the announcement until their final day. From this review, a research agenda is proposed. 2013-05-02T03:34:07.647Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12831 As conflict is the driver of industrial relations, so too are the various mechanisms imposed by the state which seek to limit or control it. In Australia, a key issue has been over where these regulatory settings should be set and how courts should interpret and apply the relevant legislation. Based on a review of four recent and important cases this paper shows that the Federal Court appears to recognise the legitimacy of unions carrying out their role in pursuing the interests of their members despite the quite punitive and hostile federal law. Alternatively, in the cases analysed involving the NSW Teachers' Federation, the NSW Industrial Court pursed a far less accommodating judicial approach. 2013-05-02T03:32:35.500Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:9109 Corporatisation seeks to transform the performance of government trading entities; a transformation which often relies on changing how work is performed and how management and labour interact. Hunter Water - as it is now known - was the first water utility in Australia to undergo corporatisation. Against the broader corporatisation literature, this paper reviews how, from the 1980s, Hunter Water’s operations were initially restructured around a commercialisation imperative and, then corporatised in 1992. The responses of the unions, including (shelved) privatisation plans are outlined. The case study highlights that more research is needed to record and analyse changes in employment relations which followed the utility’s corporatisation, especially, in terms of employment regulation, management strategy, the structure and coverage of unions and organisational performance. 2013-05-01T01:56:48.953Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:10584 Finding ways to recruit and retain quality teachers has become subject of a political and educational debate both in Australia and internationally; a debate which has, in part, focussed on the adoption of performance based pay schemes. This paper reports on research undertaken in 2008 on the approach of the NSW Teachers' Federation and the NSW/ACT Branch of the Independent Education Union to performance pay. The findings show that both unions oppose the introduction of performance pay arguing that such systems negatively affect teachers' work, that they would inappropriately individualise the employment relationship and that they rely on job standardisation and performance evaluation methods which are inconsistent with effective teaching and learning. 2013-05-01T01:40:19.272Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12826 The Hunter Valley Coal Chain (HVCC) consists of mining companies, rail operators, rail track owners and terminal operators, together forming the world’s largest coal exporting facility. In 2008, the throughput of HVCC was about 92 million tonnes, or more than ten per cent of the world’s total trade in coal for that year. The coal export operation generates around $15 billion in annual export income for Australia. As demand has increased significantly in recent years, and is expected to increase further in the future, efficient supply chain management is crucial. The Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordinator Limited (HVCCC) was founded to enable integrated planning and coordination of the interests of all parties, thus improving the efficiency of the system as a whole. One of the many planning challenges faced by the HVCCC is that of annual maintenance planning. Different supply chain elements, such as trains, railway track, terminal equipment and load points, must undergo regular preventive and corrective maintenance, leading to significant reductions in system capacity (up to 15 per cent). However good alignment of the maintenance tasks can reduce their impact, and the HVCCC undertakes an annual process to ensure the impact of maintenance on the supply chain capacity is as small as possible. This is achieved in an iterative negotiation process between HVCCC and individual service providers. In the past, maintenance schedule optimisation was largely manual, which for the more than 1000 tasks involved is quite labour-intensive. In this paper the authors describe an approach developed at the University of Newcastle in partnership with the HVCCC to automate this schedule optimisation process. We will discuss our experience in applying exact (mixed integer programming) and heuristic techniques from mathematics and computer science to address the problem. This work is anticipated to lead to new decision-support tools for the HVCCC’s capacity planning team. 2013-04-30T06:56:23.108Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12809 Efficient inventory management is an ongoing issue of key importance in many areas of industry. An important aspect of inventory management involves the storage of stock in a warehouse, and the effect that product location within the facility has on warehouse operations. In this talk we discuss a general procedure that allocates products to a storage location within an existing order-picking warehouse using available product order history. The aim of the procedure is to improve order-picking efficiency measured by the time it takes to fill the orders. We consider several approaches, presenting two greedy heuristic algorithms that exploit important features of an order history. Simulated annealing is used to further improve these solutions. We discuss the performance of these methods on real data from an order-picking warehouse, and evaluate them for a series of different order history timeframes. 2013-04-26T01:03:26.899Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8877 For most real-world problems, especially those arising in environmental decisionmaking, natural models are nonlinear. In optimization, the complexity of solving nonlinear problems can be reduced by introducing some appropriate problem-dependent simplification that transforms the nonlinear problem to a more easily solved integer linear programming problem. Such techniques are increasingly being utilized in the modelling and solution of environmental problems, not least because the resulting formulations can often be solved in practice: progress in linear and integer programming solvers and software tools over the last ten years or so has meant more reliable and rapid solution of even large-scale problems. This talk will describe two cases of environmental problems tackled with integer progamming, highlighting its modelling power. The first case concerns river systems, and decisions about environmental flows, addressing questions such as how much to release, and when. The second case concerns forestry. Harvest scheduling in forestry has for some time been planned with the aid of integer programming tools; now environmental considerations, such as habitat preservation, are being incorporated in such models. Solution approaches used, and future challenges, will also be discussed. 2013-04-19T00:38:15.634Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11601 (N-1) contingency planning has been object of study in the area of distribution networks of several decades. Energy distribution companies have to reconnect areas affected by an outage within a very short time, and observe operational constraints, to avoid the possibility of severe financial penalties by regulatory bodies. Distribution networks are often operated with a radial topology, but, ideally, should have more than one route to deliver energy to any node of the network. Switches in the network are opened to create the radial topology used in normal operation, and, in the case of an outage, alternate routes are activated by opening or closing switches located at specific points of the network. Given an outage situation (in our case represented by the disconnection of a single branch), the choice of which switches should change their state is a combinatorial optimisation problem, with a search space of 2^k, where k is the number of switches. Because of the exponential complexity, exact methods are prohibitively time-consuming. This work presents a genetic algorithm that provides a rapid answer to network managers in terms of a switching strategy to reconnect the affected area. The method takes into account the radial topology of the power flow and the operational limits of voltage and cable load. Computational tests were conducted on a real network with 96 buses and 16 switches, located within the operational area of Energy Australia. This paper describes the genetic algorithm in detail, presents thorough computational tests, and a complete contingency plan for the test network. 2013-04-19T00:36:48.690Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11659 In this paper we describe an algorithm for estimating the parameters of a linear, discrete-time system, in state-space form, having quantized measurements. The estimation is carried out using the maximum likelihood criterion. The solution is found using the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm. A technical difficulty in applying this algorithm for this problem is that the a posteriori probability density function, found in the EM algorithm, is non-Gaussian. To deal with this issue, we sequentially approximate it using scenarios, i.e., a weighted sum of impulses which are deterministically computed. Numerical experiments show that the proposed approach leads to a significantly more accurate estimation than the one obtained by ignoring the presence of the quantizer and applying standard estimation methods. 2013-04-19T00:17:07.665Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11957 This paper examines the potential improvement in an aluminium production process using Extremum Seeking Control, to maintain operational conditions for temperature in a desired range. The proposed strategy applied to the aluminium process is simple, requiring little knowledge of the dynamics associated with the temperature of the process. Simulation results show that the proposed strategy for this process works well, obtaining good control of temperature, with small actuator movements. 2013-04-19T00:15:45.659Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8706 Synchronous machines are commonly modelled using d- and q-axis equivalent circuits. Here, we present an approach to the ensuing parameter estimation problem which employs the technique of indirect inference. In indirect inference, an intermediary model is employed which is computed for both the true system and the preferred model, in this case the equivalent circuit model. We have used frequency response data from standard standstill machine tests as the intermediary model. The circuit parameters of the model are optimised, such that the measured difference between the standstill frequency responses of the equivalent circuit model and the true system are minimised. 2013-04-19T00:14:41.919Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8750 Given the current financial crisis, there is renewed interest in modelling how the price of commodities change in the market. Traditionally, such models have assumed constant parameters. However, large and sudden changes in the parameters can also be anticipated due to market shocks. This paper is aimed at addressing this issue. We first describe a bias-variance trade-off in parameter estimation when sudden changes are considered. We then propose a mechanism to achieve a compromise between the observed bias and variance. A key ingredient of this mechanism is to use an estimator having a variable memory length. 2013-04-19T00:12:47.970Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12648 Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is seen as one of the key technologies for cutting CO₂ emissions from coal power plants. It is proposed that carbon capture and storage could reduce CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere from a modern power plant by approximately 80-90%. Building and operating infrastructure for capturing, transporting, and storing CO₂, however, is forecast to be expensive. To gain a better understanding of and to develop clearer insight into the cost of introducing CCS in Australia, the CSIRO Infrastructure Futures Analysis Platform has been extended with capabilities to handle pipeline infrastructures and with an optimisation module specifically designed for CCS infrastructure planning. The Infrastructure Futures and Analysis Platform is a software system for addressing questions regarding the optimal selection, configuration and deployment of infrastructure. This paper has two objectives: (1) To introduce an optimisation model for the detailed design and operation of a carbon capture and storage network and present the results of a computation study involving eastern Australia. (2) To introduce the Infrastructure Futures and Analysis Platform and demonstrate its extendability and versatility by discussing what was needed to customise it for use in the carbon capture and storage context. The core of the carbon capture and storage optimisation module is a multi-period network design model. Given yearly, system-wide carbon capture targets, the model decides when and where to build carbon capture facilities, open basins for geo-sequestration, and install pipelines connecting capture sites with carbon sinks so as to minimise the total cost over the planning horizon. The preliminary results of the computational study are intended primarily to validate the optimisation based approach and to provide the basis for a more extensive study investigating different scenarios involving different and larger regions, different system-wide carbon capture targets, and different economic costing models. 2013-04-17T01:55:38.376Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12547 Coal is Australia's leading export valued at close to A$50 billion and representing more than 20% of Australia's commodity exports in 2008 (Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade). The Port of Newcastle is home to the world's largest coal export operation. In 2008, it achieved a throughput of around 92 million tonnes, or more than 10 per cent of the world's total trade in coal for that year. That throughput is expected to double in the next decade. Several coal terminals operate at the Port of Newcastle. Crucial to achieving a high coal throughput is effective management of the stockyards at these terminals. The stockyard, where cargoes of (typically blended) coal product are assembled in stockpiles using stacking machines, and then reclaimed using bucket wheel reclaimers, is a pivotal component of a coal export chain. In this paper, a model of stockyard operations within a coal export supply chain, with make-to-order cargo assembly, is described. Stockpiles are assembled from coal delivered by trains from load points at mines. For a given stockpile, it is known in advance how much coal must be delivered from each load point to completely assemble the stockpile. Trains arrive at a dump station and dump the coal onto a conveyor which transports it to a stacker which in turn assembles the stockpile on the yard. Once the stockpile is completely assembled (a process that usually takes several days), it is removed from the stockyard via a reclaimer and loaded onto a vessel (a process that usually takes around half a day to complete). A stockpile often remains in the stockyard for some time (several days) before its intended vessel arrives at the berth and it can be loaded. The system is constrained in a number of ways. There are limited berths available for vessels to be loaded. The departure of larger vessels may be restricted to high tide. Load point capacity at the mines, in terms of the number of trains as well as the volume that can be handled per day, is limited. Stockyard space is often at a premium, and dumping, stacking, and reclaiming capacity per day is limited too. All these constraining factors need to be taken into account when managing the sequencing and loading of vessels, and the management of the stockyard. The model developed represents decisions and constraints typically applied at a planning stage of about 4 to 6 weeks in advance. The key decisions are where on the stockyard to place each stockpile for a vessel, when to start building the stockpile, when to bring the vessel to berth, and when to start reclaiming and loading each stockpile for the vessel. An approximate railing plan for transporting coal from mine load points to the stockyard is also required, largely as a check on load point and rail capacity limits. The model considers the stockyard itself and the outbound handling in some detail, with timing at the hourly level, but approximates in-bound capacity constraints more coarsely, at the daily level. We give a solution approach, simulating stockpile placement and scheduling decisions in a greedy fashion, with the goal of minimizing vessel sailing delays, and maximizing throughput of the system. Since a greedy approach is unlikely to yield the most efficient schedules, a variant of the algorithm is developed in which the vessel scheduling order is randomized, and the resulting performance analysed computationally. The resulting model and algorithm together can be viewed as a prototype decision support system for the stockyard planner. However, it can also be used as a simulation tool, to explore the effects of alternative stockyard management strategies. Such strategies, may, for example, reserve some areas of the stockyard for fast-moving, and some for slow-moving, cargo, with the aim of balancing load across the stacking and reclaiming equipment. One such strategy is implemented in the model, and compared with the simple greedy approach. Computational results of this study are reported. Our research shows that coal throughput can be substantially impacted by the stockyard management strategy employed. 2013-04-17T01:51:09.921Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12546 The Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordinator (HVCCC) Limited is the primary planning organisation responsible for the export of coal through the Port of Newcastle, Australia. HVCCC stakeholders include producers (mining companies), rail track owners, above rail operators, and terminal operators. The HVCCC is tasked with coordinating the activities of all the corresponding parts of the coal export supply chain so as to maximise the system efficiency. The HVCCC also has a forward looking planning role: with demand for coal expected to double in the next decade, strategic capacity planning is a core activity for the HVCCC. Optimisation and simulation models are key aids in such activity. They are used to suggest and evaluate infrastructure expansions and operating policy changes. These models require input data in the form of shipping stems, which are arrival streams of ships at the port, together with their cargo types and composition, and date and time of arrival. Although everyone is familiar with the expression ‘garbage in equals garbage out’, relatively little research is dedicated to the issues surrounding input data generation. In this research we seek to redress this, and have developed a method for generating high quality shipping data. Shipping stems used as input should be realistic, reflecting key characteristics of historical patterns. They should accurately represent future demand scenarios. Yet they should also have controllable parameters that can be used to test what-if scenarios, such as are required by the HVCCC to answer questions about future infrastructure or operational plans. Here we review our process for achieving this, and give a case study analysing the effects of different shipping stems on the performance of the coal chain, as measured by a capacity assessment tool. The latter is an optimisation model that takes shipping stem and infrastructure data as input, and calculates key supply chain performance metrics. The potential benefits of alternative demand management strategies are analysed by measuring the performance of the coal chain given different shipping stems obtained via the stem generator’s controllable parameters. 2013-04-17T01:46:43.139Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2149 Non-linear control is common in industry. Indeed, there is a growing use of constrained model predictive control methods, which are inherently nonlinear. This means that it is not feasible to directly apply traditional indirect identification procedures which assume that the control law is linear. In this paper, we address this problem by using a virtual closed loop where the virtual controller is chosen to be linear irrespective of the linearity of the true controller. We employ Subspace identification procedures. 2013-04-16T22:54:42.985Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12694 Afferent fibres from the arterial baro and chemoreceptors travel in the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves to terminate mainly in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NST) (see Palkovitz and Zaborsky, 1977). Although the transmitter at the primary synapse of these special visceral afferents is unknown, immunofluorescent studies in the rat and cat have demonstrated substance P-like immunoreactivity (SP-I) in nerve fibres and cell bodies of the carotid body, the nodose and petrosal ganglia, in glossopharyngeal nerve fibres entering the brain stem, and in nerve terminals of the NST (Hokfelt et al. 1975; Hokfelt et al. 1977; Lundberg et al. 1978; Cuello and Kanazawa, 1978; Gamse et al. 1979; Lundberg et al. 1979; Cuello and McQueen, 1980; Jacobowitz and Helke, 1980; Gillis et al. 1980). That substance P (SP) may play a functional role in arterial chemoreceptor regulation of ventilation and the circulation is uncertain. Close arterial injection of SP into the cat carotid body causes a slight initial inhibition of arterial chemoreceptor afferent discharge, followed by a prolonged increase (McQueen, 1980). Local application of SP in the region of the NST in anaesthetized rats and cats evokes hypotension and bradycardia (Haeusler and Osterwalder, 1980), but the authors thought these cardiovascular data were consistent with a role for SP in arterial baroreflexes, rather than in arterial chemoreflexes. In this regard, a role for SP in arterial baroreceptor control has been denied (Furness et al. 1982), who found no change in the normal heart period-arterial pressure relationships in conscious guinea pigs following central and peripheral SP depletion induced by capsaicin. Observations of ventilation were not made in these studies. These data contrast with those of Bond et al. (1982), who found both arterial chemoreflex and baroreflex deficits in anaesthetized adult rats treated neonatally with capsaicin. Given the morphological evidence, in the present study the postulate that SP plays a role in arterial chemoreceptor control of cardiopulmonary function has been tested in conscious rabbits. Unanaesthetized animals were used because it is now well established that different anaesthetic agents can alter the sensitivity of different components of cardiopulmonary reflex arcs (e.g. Peiss and Manning, 1963; Korner et al. 1968). In the first part of the study, confirmation was sought for the presence of SP- I in the NST, petrosal ganglion and carotid body of the rabbit. Secondly, SP was infused briefly into the cisterna magna over the region of the obex. It was assumed that the exogenous SP would diffuse rapidly to receptor sites normally acted upon by endogenous SP, to produce a cardiopulmonary response, elements of which may resemble the known patterns of response evoked by the afferent inputs projecting to the NST when naturally stimulated. The final pattern would reflect the dominance of one input relative to another, e.g. a rise in ventilation would reflect the functional dominance of an increase in arterial chemoreceptor activity over an increase in arterial baroreceptor activity, which normally would cause an inhibition of ventilation. Finally, the mechanism of the SP induced hypotension observed by Haeusler and Osterwalder (1980) was examined in conscious rabbits pretreated with guanethidine sulphate to cause peripheral postganglionic sympathetic blockade and noradrenaline depletion. 2013-04-16T01:58:22.677Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12762 In this paper we present our work on human body movement analysis, especially on fall detection. We have developed a reliable dynamic motion pattern analysis algorithm to detect fall situation. The algorithm works on the digital signal output from waist-mounted accelerometry. It first fiters noisy components with a Gaussian frlter; secondly sets up a 3D body motion model which relates various body postures to the outputs of accelerometry; finally a dynamic detection process is applied to make decision. Experiments were done on 40 cases mimicking various body movemenb. Our approach gave right judgements in all cases. Our work is an important part of elder care and rehabilitation. 2013-04-16T01:03:00.519Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12761 The automated extraction of brain vessels from magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) has found its applications in vascular disease diagnosis, endovascular operation and neurosurgical planning. In this paper we first present a concise technical review on cerebral vasculature extraction from MRA. It reveals the latest development in the area of vessel extraction. Then we detail the main challenges to the researchers working in the vessel extraction and segmentation area. Based on the review and our experience in the area, we finally present our proposals on ways of developing robust vessel extracting algorithm. Examples of brain vasculature extracted with advanced hybrid approach are shown. Twenty one references are given. 2013-04-16T00:51:10.113Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12760 We present a method to automatically outline the optic disc in a retinal image. Our method for finding the optic disc is based on the properties of the optic disc using simple image processing algorithms which include thresholding, detection of object roundness and circle detection by Hough transformation. Our method is able to recognize the retinal images with general properties and the retinal images with variance of unusual properties since the parameters of our method can be flexibly changed by the unusual properties. 2013-04-16T00:50:16.743Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:10203 There is growing interest worldwide in the nature of Honours programs including those that serve the transition from undergraduate to postgraduate research courses. This is at a time when there is also intense interest in the effectiveness of research training, timely research candidate completion, and in the contribution of research students to university research status. In Australia prior to the 1980s Honours programs were primarily intended to provide the link between undergraduate and postgraduate research work, but this situation changed and Honours programs evolved into a variety of forms to meet new needs. With this diversity we have lost sight of whether or not Honours research projects prove effective in attracting future postgraduate research students and in preparing them for research. In this paper the authors report research that suggests that for PhD students who have completed their thesis, having an Honours qualification does not predict examination outcome, but another highly relevant question is whether or not preparation through Honours increases the likelihood of research degree completion. The first section of the paper provides an overview of the literature on research about Honours degrees, the second section presents data on doctoral outcomes for those who obtained Honours, and the third illustrates the type of information currently being collected to explore to what extent honours students are ‘prepared’ for the expectations associated with, and the intensity of, a research higher degree. 2013-04-15T07:39:04.600Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8888 For more than a decade the unique challenges facing Visual Arts researchers have been the subject of debate. Creative practice-based research challenges conventional and presumed ways to legitimately construct knowledge and the clash in paradigms is pronounced in deliberations on funding; research quality; and research degrees. As the language of creativity collides with that of established scientific discourse, research students have been the forefront and it is through the growth in these degrees that the position of creative research is being advanced. Students are faced with the complex demands of candidature while also negotiating the shifting sands of a new and evolving research discourse. 2013-04-15T07:32:50.122Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2858 We consider the possibility of biological control of the invasive cane toad by application of a sterile male release program. Our approach was initiated by two primary observations, 1) sterile male release programs (commonly called the sterile insect technique) have been successful in controlling a number of insect pests in area wide programs, and 2) sterility occurs naturally in frogs under certain circumstances indicating that there are methods to produce sterile cane toads. Sterile male release as a form of biological control is a species specific and environmentally non-polluting method of population control that relies on the mass rearing, sterilization and release of a large number of individuals with fitness equivalent to wild type animals. Released sterile males compete for and mate with wild females, reducing their reproductive output and, ultimately, if enough sterile males are released for a sufficient length of time, eradication of the population is achieved. Sterile adult frogs have been detected in nature and indicate that there are means by which sterility can be induced in the cane toad. Specific cases involve the occurrence of chromosomal variants in the number of haploid genome complements. The majority of animals are diploid (2n) having two of each chromosome per nuclei. In a small number of cases species have evolved by duplication of entire genomes (polyploidization) which persist because the level of duplication is even (usually 4n) and therefore meiosis is balanced. Where even numbered polyploid taxa (4n) interact with their diploid progenitors (2n) they form triploid hybrids (4n x 2n = 3n) which are sterile due to uneven chromosome numbers. In other situations rare sterile triploids occur within diploid species. Triploids grow and develop similar to diploids and display normal fitness, however the occurrence of uneven numbered chromosome complements means that meiosis is disrupted and the animal sterile. We have investigated the development of a genetically modified stock of cane toads that would be ideal for a male-only sterile release program. To that end we have developed a method for making sterile male via triploid and tetraploidy. We outline the methods that would be necessary to produce only sterile males for a control program. 2013-04-15T07:19:19.302Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12759 Australia is a continent subject to climatic extremes, and its losses from tropical cyclones and thunderstorms are significantly higher than other natural hazards. The number of severe tropical cyclones is likely to increase due to climate change. Brisbane and the northeast coast of Queensland are regions where design wind specifications may be inadequate under future climate conditions. For example, the Australia Building Codes Board is considering a shift in the boundary to cyclone Region C to extend it south on the Queensland coast to 27°S to include areas in the Sunshine Coast. Hence, there is an urgent need to assess the risks and economic viability of these climate adaptation measures. 2013-04-15T07:03:23.715Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12755 The paper develops a methodology for assessing the structural reliability of unreinforced masonry in vertical bending and for calibrating the capacity reduction factor for bending. The reliability index corresponding to the current capacity reduction factor in the Australian Masonry Structures Code AS 3700 (ϕ = 0.6) lies approximately mid-way between the values 3.8 and 4.3. To achieve a target reliability index of 4.3 it was found that the capacity reduction factor may need to be decreased to 0.47. However, the effect of wall length and mortar type needs to be examined further to assess their effect on reliability and to consider whether an improved behaviour model could be used. 2013-04-15T07:02:20.031Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12754 Damage to infrastructure caused by anthropogenic climate change can cause dramatic economic loss and social disruption. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, climate change may cause an increase in the intensity of droughts, the frequency of floods, and increasing coastal vulnerability to tropical cyclones, storm surges and sea-level rise. This paper uses the stochastic technique Monte Carlo technique to explore the time-dependent damage due to climate change, considering the hazard as a stochastic variable. Three different time periods were explored: 2010-2035, 2010-2050 and 2010-2100. The analysis investigated no climate change and with climate change scenarios that affect the probabilistic model of hazard occurrence, and vulnerability functions that represent the potential damage for a given hazard. The probabilistic model and vulnerability models used in this study are relatively simple, but they can help to generate a framework of the time-dependent climate change damage and understand its economic behaviour. Parametric studies are heavily used in this study to explore a range of possible conclusions. The sensitivity of the change of parameters such as threshold h_T, discount rate r, and time T are considered. The results are given in terms of mean cumulative annual loss. The discount rate was found to be a key parameter affecting cumulative damage prediction. Since damage often only occurs once a threshold level of hazard has occurred (such as a flood level exceeding the floor level of a house), then the influence of this threshold value on damage is significant. Damage/impact models utilising probabilistic hazard were used to verify the robustness of results. Results are very sensitive to threshold. Time-dependent predictions of damage can help decisionmakers assess the impact of climate change and the economic viability of climate change adaptation strategies. 2013-04-15T07:01:15.980Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:9058 Many reinforced concrete (RC) structures are deteriorating due to chloride and/or carbonation induced corrosion. A spatial time-dependent structural reliability model is developed that calculates (i) strength degradation with time, (ii) probability and extent of corrosion damage (cover cracking) and (iii) probability of collapse for RC structures subject to pitting corrosion. This enables accurate service life predictions to be made. These models include the spatial and temporal variability of cover, concrete strength, chloride exposure, corrosion rate, corrosion initiation, cover cracking, pit depth, etc., as well as the time-dependent variability of loadings. The effect of maintenance strategies, such as periodic inspections, on updated reliability and service life predictions are also estimated. Illustrative examples are given for RC beams whose performance and reliability are updated using visual inspection findings of corrosion damage. Information about service life prediction, and updating based on (new) condition assessment findings, is essential for asset management of deteriorating structures. 2013-04-15T06:55:51.486Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11562 This paper presents the use of Class-E oscillators as inductive power transmitters for implanted telemetry devices that transmit information sensed by biosensors. Several Class-E oscillators are compared with an equivalent Class-E amplifier, showing higher efficiency while maintaining frequency clarity, stability and accuracy. Energy has been successfully transferred to a receiving inductor 1.5 cm away, which has been rectified to produce a 1 V_DC signal. 2013-04-15T04:13:36.181Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8768 Ultra Wideband (UWB) has many favorable factors for use in a wireless body area network application. The major drawback is the high power consumption of an UWB receiver. One solution to address this problem is to use a transmit-only UWB sensor node. In this paper, we propose a multi-access scheme that is suitable for asynchronous transmit-only UWB wireless body area networks (UWB-WBAN). Each sensor attached on the patient under monitoring is assigned a unique number of UWB pulses per data bit. The number of UWB pulses assigned to the sensors is optimized to improve the bit error rate and system reliability. Simulation shows that through careful selection of the number of pulses for the sensors, it is possible to maintain almost similar bit error probability, regardless of the distance from the receiver. 2013-04-15T02:36:05.492Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8676 This paper investigates methods to enhance the reliability of an ultra-wideband transmit-only (UWB Tx-only) sensor system. UWB Tx-only system uses asynchronous burst transmission, where each individual sensor transmits periodically without prior knowledge of other users and the channel condition. The application of UWB Tx-only sensor system for wireless body area network (WBAN) in a single user and multiple user environments is presented. In a single user environment, the main source of interference is from the collision of transmitted signals from individual sensors on the body. In a multiple user scenario, apart from the interference due to collision, there is also another source of interference from transmitting sensors of nearby users. The two major factors affecting the system reliability are the signal to noise ratio and the probability of collisions. The signal to noise ratio can be enhanced with a higher transmission power, which can be achieved through the use of gated systems and by carefully optimizing the pulse repetitive frequency and the gating duty cycle when generating an UWB transmission signal. Meanwhile the collision probability in a Tx-only UWB WBAN system can be reduced by arranging unique transmission intervals. It is shown in this paper that the collision probability for the case of burst transmission can be reduced to less than twice that of a pulse transmission through careful selection of the transmission interval. 2013-04-15T02:33:31.837Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8757 Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology has been considered for the physical layer in recently proposed IEEE 802.15 standard (TG6) for wireless body area networks. Wireless links covered by this standard will operate in UWB unlicensed band with antennas on implanted devices having small form factors. Except for those installed on-body and on external receivers, the antenna will be operating in-body, surrounded by body tissue. Body tissues have high dielectric constants and are highly dissipative. Once implanted beneath multiple layers of tissue, the device, which is expected to be consuming very low power, experience heavy losses in its transmission and reception path. Therefore, it is essential that antenna losses, both mismatch and resistive, are minimised. In this paper we will demonstrate a method to minimize antenna mismatch losses by loading the antenna with insulating material. 2013-04-15T02:31:41.428Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8763 A new type of wireless transmission coil is proposed for biomedical implants. By stacking several spirals above one another, the space required for an implantable coil is miniaturised, the self-resonant frequency (SRF) of the spiral is reduced, as is the required power transmission frequency for the implanted device. A four-layer 15 mm x 15 mm spiral coil of seven turns was simulated in CST Microwave Studio (TM), and constructed and successfully tested in hardware. 2013-04-15T02:26:52.743Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8693 This work will address the challenges to facilitate the development of a high capacity radio system for a small, miniaturized electronic pill device that can be swallowable or implantable in human body in order to detect biological signals or capture images that could eventually be used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. In addition to reviewing and discussing the recent attempts in electronic pill technology, a wideband (UWB) telemetry system aimed for the development of an electronic pill will be presented in this paper. We have successfully realized more than half a meter UWB link under conditions emulating an implant. 2013-04-15T02:21:56.702Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8732 In the present paper we obtain a closed-form solution for the class of continuous-time algebraic Riccati equations (ARE) with vanishing state weight, whenever the unstable eigenvalues are distinct. The AREs in such a class solve a minimum energy control problem. The obtained closed-form solution gives insight on issues such as loss of controllability and it might also prove comparable in terms of numerical precision over current solving algorithms. 2013-04-15T02:04:49.716Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8733 In the present paper we obtain a closed-form solution for the class of discrete-time algebraic Riccati equations (ARE) with vanishing state weighting, whenever the unstable eigenvalues are distinct. The AREs in such a class solve a minimum energy control problem for a single-input single-output (SISO) system. The obtained closed-form solution gives insight on issues such as loss of controllability and it might also prove competitive in terms of numerical precision over current solving algorithms. 2013-04-15T02:03:44.729Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:9056 Om Shree Dham is a farm and also an ashram at Cedar Creek in the Hunter Valley, NSW, where ancient Vedic fire practices for purifying and healing the atmosphere are performed regularly by a group of white Australians. The main fire practice is known as Agnihotra and as well as removing the toxic conditions of the atmosphere through the agency of fire, the practice is understood to heal the practitioner. Agnihotra practitioners believe that these practices are our last chance to right the balance on earth before some final ecological cataclysm takes place. At least one member of this group joined because he felt that he was doing more thereby in the cause of environmental activism than he had been doing previously as the Newcastle organizer for Greenpeace. Viswan feels that homa therapy is also pro-active direct action like Greenpeace but of another kind. This is now his preferred form of direction action. This paper, which is based on one of the case studies for my doctorate, looks at Viswan’s explanation of these practices and at his reasoning about their efficacy and briefly looks at some implications of his thinking. 2013-04-15T02:01:20.644Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:3078 1) Background: The Socio-Economic Indexes For Areas (SEIFA) is published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) after every 5 yearly census. The most commonly used SEIFA is the Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSD), which ranks geographic areas based on their socio-economic disadvantage. This tool is used by government departments to identify areas of need for programs that target interventions in disadvantaged areas. The University of Newcastle formed a partnership with key New South Wales (NSW) Government departments that deliver human services in the Hunter region. This collaboration was facilitated by the Families First Initiative (FFI) to assist the targeting and delivery of services to children and vulnerable families. One of the aims of the partnership is to improve the targeting of services to areas of disadvantage. 2) Aims of the Paper: The paper’s first aim is to replicate the IRSD SEIFA for the Hunter Region, a Statistical Subdivision in NSW. A principal components analysis was performed on the identified variables used in the SEIFA, following the process detailed in the ABS technical paper as closely as possible. There was a high correlation between the ABS SEIFA and the Hunter Disadvantage scores as expected with the correlation being >0.95 [Figure 1. Comparison of ABS SEIFA and Hunter Disadvantage Scores] The Hunter disadvantage index accounted for 31.5% of the overall variance, which is comparable to the 32.5% accounted for by the ABS SEIFA. Both indexes indicated a large overall disadvantage factor, however the Hunter Disadvantage scores had a relatively higher loading from the variables of One Parent with Dependent Children and Government Rent. The paper’s second aim is to create an index of disadvantage for children. The Australian Census does not collect sufficient items to allow direct assessment of childhood disadvantage. The paper therefore assesses the proprietary of combining the Hunter Disadvantage scores (which is an estimate of the proportion of disadvantage borne by people in the area) with the proportion of children (aged 0-8 years old) as a targeting measure. The third aim for the paper is to include information available outside the census on disadvantage such as health data and crime rates. Finally, the paper examines the different geographical regions that are available for targeting, by proposing a hierarchical structure to combine the data available at different levels. 2013-04-15T01:39:45.621Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2888 This study has analysed the reductions in operational costs and greenhouse gas emissions from regional water supplies that include installation of rainwater tanks used to supply domestic laundry, toilet and outdoor water uses across New South Wales. A considerable reduction in operating costs and greenhouse gas emissions of regional water supplies was observed. In addition, significant improvement in the security of regional water supplies was observed for coastal regions. These benefits were seen to be dependent on the average annual rainfall depth, distance from the coast, and availability of reliable operational and augmentation data of a regional water system. This study reveals the importance of including rainwater tanks in analysis of the operation of regional water supplies. 2013-04-15T01:30:36.665Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8758 Cyclic prefix (CP) based block recursive least squares (RLS) channel estimation algorithms have been proposed for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. In this paper, we investigate the performance of CP based exponentially weighted block RLS channel estimator. Our analysis and extensive simulation results show that smaller values of exponential forgetting weightings cause increase in convergence time and steady state performance error of the algorithm. Furthermore, performance of the approach degrades with the increase in channel nulls and constellation size. 2013-04-15T01:20:26.837Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8736 Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) delivers high data transmission rate and forms the basis of Beyond 3G. The channel estimation is imperative for the implementation of OFDM. Cyclic Prefix (CP) based block Recursive Least Squares (RLS) channel estimation algorithm has been proposed for OFDM systems but it increases computational complexity. In this paper, we propose a block LMS (Least Mean Squares) channel estimation algorithm which promises less computation but delivers comparable and promising results. 2013-04-15T01:19:18.748Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8890 Schools are social environments and as such are concerned with the social-emotional (ie. affective) responses of students. Affective outcomes of schooling are important as they contribute positively to academic outcomes and they are equally important in and of themselves. Affective responses can be assessed quantitatively and are frequently studied as part of school and classroom environments. Within such studies students’ perceptions of school and classroom variables such as general satisfaction with school, relationships with teachers and peers, feelings of achievement and motivation and engagement are measured. These are also areas of schooling with particular relevance for boys’ education, as boys are frequently reported as less satisfied with school and less engaged and motivated in learning. Many qualitative studies have reported boys’ low levels of satisfaction with school compared to girls and subsequent lack of motivation and engagement. Yet few quantitative studies comparing boys’ and girls’ affective response to schools have been conducted. This paper will report on part of a wider study that has investigated the impact of boys’ education initiatives on boys’ and girls’ affective responses to schooling. The study collected data from nine secondary schools undertaking specific initiatives in boys’ education, the majority of which were participating in the Success for Boys program. Results from the first round of data collection (pre-intervention) has previously been reported and established that there were gender differences in perceptions of quality of school life and such differences were related to school attended. This paper will report on the second round of data collection and discuss the implications of the results. 2013-04-15T01:12:13.247Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2932 Stepwise discriminant function analysis was used to compare the morphological traits of 15 exotic and 35 native herbaceous species occuring within an area of long-grazed grassland on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. Exotic graminoids were shorter, had less persistent litter and a shorter flowering period than native graminoids. Exotic forbs had deeper leaf litter and a longer flowering period than native forbs. Most exotic forbs had a rosette or a prostrate habit, with oblanceolate or lanceolate leaves, and undefined dispersal or pappus. For graminoids, trait differences reflected the predominance of the annual life-history within exotics, while differences between exotic and native forbs were realted to habit. There were two main groups of exotics at the site: (i) annual graminoids and (ii) forbs with a rosette or prostrate habit. Exotics possessing low growing habits and mechanisms to either avoid or tolerate nutrient and moisture stress were able to invade and persist under the grazed resource-poor conditions investigated in this study. 2013-04-10T06:57:36.291Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8910 Widden Brook in the Hunter Valley, NSW, is an unregulated active sand-bed stream characterized by high flood variability. The dominant riparian tree on Widden Brook is Casuarina cunninghamiana (River Oak). Successful establishment of River Oaks require bankfull flows that gradually build bars into benches, reducing the frequency of flood scour, and sub-bankfull flows that deposit fine sediment on the benches, enhancing Oak survival and growth. Although River Oaks do not require floods to germinate, seedlings are highly susceptible to water-stress and need a subsequent moist period to establish. The rate at which the water-table falls also influences River Oak survival. Overbank flows are important for the replenishment of soil water and the alluvial aquifer. Many riparian trees use groundwater opportunistically and access during extended dry periods may be critical to their survival. River Oaks on the floodplain and the benches were most likely able to access the water-table during 2006-2008. 2013-04-10T06:56:30.120Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11780 Dairy Arm drains a 39.8 km² catchment in the Hunter Valley, Australia, and recently began recovery from post-1949 incision. Recovery involved cessation of upstream progressing incision, leaving a 400-m long upper intact alluvial zone. Post-1985 incision in the 5.5 km incised zone re-exposed buried large wood and eroded bank-side trees, forming log steps which are natural energy dissipators. Degradation in a small section of incised channel bed stranded remnant parts as the contemporary flood plain. Stoloniferous and rhizomatous grass invasion of the developing flood plain accelerated overbank deposition and stabilised river banks. The lower 5 km depositional zone has started to erode over most of its length. In the upper section, pools and riffles formed by degradation, and the bed is now narrower and deeper than at any time since incision started in 1949. A recent decrease in annual rainfall reduced the frequency of flood disturbance, allowing vegetation to survive. 2013-04-10T06:54:51.528Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11678 Australia has a higher percentage (25%) of international students undertaking higher education than any country in the world. Postgraduate education attracts the majority of international students, especially business education where 50% of students are from outside Australia, predominantly Asia. Students come to Australia for many and varied reasons, including the possibility of immigrating to Australia on completion of studies. Some programs of study are given higher priority for immigration than others and so are popular among those hoping to immigrate. In order to attract International students, Australian universities have developed programs of study that fit with the government’s immigration list for preferred occupations. The Master of Professional Accounting (MPA) is perhaps the most well known of these programs as the majority of its students are allegedly more interested in gaining Permanent Residency than becoming practicing accountants. Concerns over the quality of this program and its graduates and its impact on the reputation of Australian higher education have been expressed by a variety of stakeholders both in the media and in scholarly journals. However, little has been done to investigate the experiences and perceptions of the students themselves. The focus of our paper is to report the voice of the postgraduate accounting student so we may better understand their motivations, expectations and experiences and adapt our approaches to teaching and learning accordingly. The population of postgraduate accounting students and graduates from an Australian university were invited to respond to an anonymous questionnaire survey. The survey was adapted from the Australian Universities Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) to allow comparison with faculty, university and sector wide results in relation to student experiences both in and outside the classroom and student engagement with learning and university life. Our paper provides a background to the program in the context of the Australian Higher Education System and reports the results of the research along with implications for teaching practice. 2013-04-09T04:17:38.628Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12168 Helping students succeed in a quantitative analysis courses is often difficult especially when students have little or no prior mathematical training. Without denying the significance of traditional lectures and tutorials in undergraduate education, an increasing number of academics are recognising the value of practical sessions, informal small-group learning and online learning facilities. By recognising that each person processes information differently, by reducing student’s anxiety towards the unit and by making teaching accessible to students of multiple learning styles, the lecturer can give all students a better chance of successfully completing the unit. This paper looks at the links between the multiple learning activities adapted in Quantitative Methods for Business unit to the students’ academic performance and their attitude towards the unit. 2013-04-09T04:14:53.860Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12750 This paper addresses the controversial issue of delivering graduate attributes in professional programs. The tensions between an institution’s desire for revenue, accreditation requirements for technical knowledge and employer needs for behavioural and higher order cognitive skills are explored through an Australian postgraduate accounting program. Content analysis of program documents is combined with a student survey to find that program and course outcomes align closely with students’ perceived outcomes but largely ignore the graduate attributes required by the profession and more recently, government. The analysis provides a platform for faculty and their institutions to decide on the future directions of such programs. 2013-04-09T03:38:35.487Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12749 Within Australian tertiary institutions, student engagement has received much attention in recent times, despite the obscurity in its meaning. The term ‘engagement’ has become synonymous with student ‘involvement’ and ‘active participation’, suggesting that international students are accountable for their lack of engagement. However, this fails to acknowledge the pivotal role of lecturers and course structure. Students are encouraged to communicate and collaborate with peers as a way of negotiating and constructing knowledge, though lecturers do little to foster a participative learning environment. This article considers the difficulties international students face in achieving success at a satellite campus in Sydney following the research conducted on student engagement. The article suggests that in order to increase the level of international student engagement, communication, assessments and the lecturer’s pedagogy need to be addressed. 2013-04-08T07:31:18.549Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8737 Intense interactions between resource providers and resource consumers in collaborating and sharing their resources frequently occur in an open and dynamic Digital Ecosystem environment. Such interactions contribute to several challenges in cyber security, particularly in protecting enterprise resources from various malicious attacks. The main challenge that occurs in protecting these resources is the ability to manage multiple unique authorization permissions over the enterprise resources. Unfortunately, the inadequacies of the current security mechanisms in addressing these challenges result in a slower implementation of a potentially highly beneficial Digital Ecosystem environment. Therefore, this paper proposes a distributed mechanism for individual enterprisepsila to manage its own authorization process and resource access permissions, with the aim of providing rigorous protection of the enterprise resources in question. 2013-04-08T07:15:59.278Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:9047 This paper reports on the completion of the first stage of research of a pilot study undertaken in collaboration by 3 Australian universities. The pilot involves the development of a virtual pharmacy patient (VPP) as a study of its effects on student learning when it is used as a formative assessment tool for pharmacy students in interviewing and diagnosing a patient. The design criteria that have been incorporated into the virtual patient system are described. The novelty of this system is in its ability to track and report on the style and appropriateness of student questioning of a virtual pharmacy patient. One of the main problems in this type of system is recognition of free-text student questions. An overview of the pragmatic solution to this and the systems potential as a tool to generate a lexicon for more complex question recognition is presented. 2013-04-08T07:07:39.347Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12747 Due to a unique vascular network, bronchial blood flow may be determined by the opening of anastomotic channels during perfusion pressure changes as well as by neurohumoral mechanisms. For example, previous studies from this laboratory have shown that a rise in aortic pressure, or a sigh followed by apnoea, result in dramatic rises (< 1s time-constant) in bronchial flow and conductance, which are not diminished by conventional autonomic blockade. These data suggest that unusual mechanical effects may indeed be involved, or that unknown reflex pathways are active. In order to define further the potential neurohumoral factors regulating bronchial flow, the present studies were designed to examine the role of a- and a-adrenoceptor, and cholinoceptor control. While the presence of such receptor mechanisms in the bronchial bed are likely the data were derived from indirect techniques for estimating airway vascular activity in anaesthetized, open-chested dogs. By contrast, in this study the continuous-wave Doppler flowmeter was used to examine the dynamic effects of these receptor control systems on bronchial flow in the conscious dog. 2013-04-08T06:51:37.053Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12745 Studies in prepubertal children and adults of both sexes suggest that if the theory is true that oestrogen facilitates fat utilization and carbohydrate parsimony during endurance exercise, its effects in both men and women are 1) low in threshold, 2) concentration independent, 3) modified by testosterone and the influence of other hormones. 2013-04-08T05:37:37.499Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12010 Accelerated Low Water Corrosion (ALWC) of steel piling used for port infrastructure such as wharves and bridge and jetty supports has become a topic of much concern. A review of the problem is given and a recent research project that examines the influence of bacteria and nutrients on corrosion is described. It is shown that evidence of ALWC is available after only a few years of exposure and is correlated with water (nutrient) pollution. 2013-04-08T04:08:17.670Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12003 Much concern exists about the apparently short durability of reinforced concrete structures in marine environments. However, there are many examples of structures that have survived for long periods of time with little evidence of reinforcement corrosion. Some of these were made with seawater as mixing water. Others had very little concrete cover. Detailed examination has revealed that reinforced concrete structures made with fine or coarse aggregate consisting of calcium carbonates such as limestone or seashells or with non-reactive dolomite have extended times to commencement of corrosion initiation and to active corrosion. The reasons for this are explored herein. In addition it is shown that some structures can have serious localized reinforcement corrosion without obvious exterior signs such as concrete cracking and delamination. This requires urgent research. 2013-04-08T04:02:28.483Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:6117 The statistical analysis of data stored in data warehouses is an important phase in the organisation’s strategic planning process. For the maximum benefit to be gained from such data warehouses, a relationship of trust needs to exist between all parties involved. In this paper we investigate its importance with respect to the statistical security problem. Understanding trust relationships in this context is particularly crucial since an individual’s privacy cannot be guaranteed using traditional security mechanisms. 2013-04-08T03:58:53.044Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:10058 Given a positive value r, a circular range query returns the objects that lie within the distance r of the query location. In this paper, we study the circular range queries that continuously change their locations. We present an efficient and effective technique to monitor such moving range queries by utilising the concept of a safe zone. The safe zone of a query is the area with a property that while the query remains inside it, the results of the query remain unchanged. Hence, the query does not need to be re-evaluated unless it leaves the safe zone. The shape of the safe zone is defined by the so-called guard objects. The cost of checking whether a query lies in the safe zone takes k distance computations, where k is the number of the guard objects. Our contributions are as follows. 1) We propose a technique based on powerful pruning rules and a unique access order which efficiently computes the safe zone and minimizes the I/O cost. 2) To show the effectiveness of the safe zone, we theoretically evaluate the probability that a query leaves the safe zone within one time unit and the expected distance a query moves before it leaves the safe zone. Additionally, for the queries that have diameter of the safe zone less than its expected value multiplied by a constant, we also give an upper bound on the expected number of guard objects. This upper bound turns out to be a constant, that is, it does not depend either on the radius r of the query or the density of the objects. The theoretical analysis is verified by extensive experiments. 3) Our thorough experimental study demonstrates that our proposed approach is close to optimal and is an order of magnitude faster than a naïve algorithm. 2013-04-08T03:57:40.870Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:5979 Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an information technology [IT] enabled approach to managing design data in the AEC/FM (Architecture, Engineering and Construction/ Facilities Management) industry. BIM enables improved interdisciplinary collaboration across distributed teams, intelligent documentation and information retrieval, greater consistency in building data, better conflict detection and enhanced facilities management. Despite the apparent benefits the adoption of BIM in practice has been slow. Workshops with industry focus groups were conducted to identify the industry needs, concerns and expectations from participants who had implemented BIM or were BIM “ready”. Factors inhibiting BIM adoption include lack of training, low business incentives, perception of lack of rewards, technological concerns, industry fragmentation related to uneven ICT adoption practices, contractual matters and resistance to changing current work practice. Successful BIM usage depends on collective adoption of BIM across the different disciplines and support by the client. The relationship of current work practices to future BIM scenarios was identified as an important strategy as the participants believed that BIM cannot be efficiently used with traditional practices and methods. The key to successful implementation is to explore the extent to which current work practices must change. Currently there is a perception that all work practices and processes must adopt and change for effective usage of BIM. It is acknowledged that new roles and responsibilities are emerging and that different parties will lead BIM on different projects. A contingency based approach to the problem of implementation was taken which relies upon integration of BIM project champion, procurement strategy, team capability analysis, commercial software availability/applicability and phase decision making and event analysis. Organizations need to understand: (a) their own work processes and requirements; (b) the range of BIM applications available in the market and their capabilities (c) the potential benefits of different BIM applications and their roles in different phases of the project lifecycle, and (d) collective supply chain adoption capabilities. A framework is proposed to support organizations selection of BIM usage strategies that meet their project requirements. Case studies are being conducted to develop the framework. The results of the preliminary design management case study is presented for contractor led BIM specific to the design and construct procurement strategy. 2013-04-08T03:48:18.391Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:10319 Movie dialogue represents participants' emotion which directly affects audiences' affective reaction. This paper presents an emotion segments detection method by using dialogue emotion detection. The proposed method has three modules. Firstly, dialogue of three categories, which are plain dialogue (PD), dialogue with music (DwM) and dialogue with other sounds (DwO) are detected by Support Vector Machine (SVM) learning. Secondly, DwM and DwO are further categorized into three emotion levels, which are high, normal and low, by Hidden Markov Model (HMM) learning. Finally, those dialogues are used to locate movie emotion segments. By this method, over 85% emotion segments are detected. 2013-04-08T03:27:26.014Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:6051 Due to the wide viewer-ship and high commercial potentials, recently, sports video analysis attracts extensive research efforts. One of the main tasks in sports video analysis is to identify sports genres i.e. sports video categorization. Most of the existing work focus on mapping content-based features to sports genres by using supervised learning methods. Moreover, video data sets seeks efficient data reduction methods due to the large size and noisy data. It lacks comparison analysis on the implementation and performance of these methods. In this paper, the research is carried out by using four dominant machine learning algorithms, namely Decision Tree, Support Vector Machine, K Nearest Neighbor and Naive Bayesian, and comparing their performance on a high dimensional feature set which selected by some feature selection tools such as Correlation-based Feature Selection (CFS), Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Relief. Experimental results shows that Support Vector Machine (SVM) and k-NN are not sensitive to reduction of training sets. Moreover, three different feature reduction methods perform very differently with respect to four different tools. 2013-04-08T03:24:44.919Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:6212 This paper introduces an interactive and intelligent approach for accurate brain segmentation. A high resolution 3-Tesla magnetic resonance (MR) dataset was tested by state of the art automated algorithms as well as segmented by making use of the proposed interactive tools. The results show that the automated algorithms gave an incomplete or anatomically incorrect brain surface. About 4% false positive and 10% false negative error rates were reported by evaluating three automated methods. The proposed approach improved the quality and accuracy of the segmented results. 2013-04-08T03:23:20.211Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:6153 We present the segmentation of the foreground objects and the identification of the individual objects in the cigarette tin package, so the information will be used for the classification of the acceptable cases or defective cases. Visual inspection and classification of cigarette tin package are very important in manufacturing cigarette products that require high quality package. For the accurate automated inspection and classification, computer vision has been deployed widely in manufacturing. This paper concerned with the problem of identifying the individual cigarette in the tin packing using the image processing and morphology operations. The identified objects can be used for developing a defect finding system in the cigarette packing industries. The approach has two steps: (i) colour-based segmentation of the region of interests, (ii) identifying of individual object. The segmentation performance was evaluated on 18 images including the good cases and the defective cases. 2013-04-08T03:22:09.403Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:6107 Due to the development of computer technology and the wide use of the Internet, intelligent appliances with multimedia capability have been emerging into our daily life. Kitchen is one of the places where such intelligent appliances have been used. Since modern life style is driving people spending less time on cooking healthy food at home, an enjoyable and healthy life style can be assisted with an intelligent kitchenware such as a smart fridge. In this paper we introduce a novel application for a smart fridge with intelligent multimedia capability. It is designed for managing items stored in it and advising its users with cooking methods depending on what kind of food is stored. It can also perform other functions such as dietary control, nutrition monitoring, eating habit analysis, etc. We are confident that such a smart fridge will be an important component in future smart homes. 2013-04-08T02:02:58.571Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:5970 This paper presents a review of current online payment systems in relation to security and trust solutions. These are examined to determine their underlying assumptions, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. A new electronic payment system model based on a personal mobile device and existing electronic payment models is proposed. The model focuses on trust to enhance the feeling of security in the use of credit cards for online payment systems. Mobile personal trust devices are used to control the payment process of customers in a transaction so as to give them the feeling of being in control of the payment process. One of the advantages of the proposed scheme is that the trust mechanism does not require a trust merchant to act as an intermediary between customers and the acquirer. Therefore, customers will send their information without concern of personal disclosure, or of the possibility of misuse of their secure information by the merchant. 2013-04-07T22:39:54.032Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:10052 Description, recognition and analysis biological images plays an important role for human to describe and understand the related biological information. The color images are separated by color reduction. A new and efficient linearization algorithm is introduced based on some criteria of difference chain code. A series of critical points is got based on the linearized lines. The series of curvature angle, linearity, maximum linearity, convexity, concavity and bend angle of linearized lines are calculated from the starting line to the end line along all smoothed contours. The useful method can be used for shape description and recognition. The analysis, decision, classification of the biological images are based on the description of morphological structures, color information and prior knowledge, which are associated each other. The efficiency of the algorithms is described based on two applications. One application is the description, recognition and analysis of color flower images. Another one is related to the dynamic description, recognition and analysis of cellcycle images. 2013-04-07T22:38:08.978Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:10116 This paper presents a novel and effective method of shape analysis and recognition based on skeleton and morphological structure. A series of preprocessing algorithms, smooth following and liberalization are introduced, and series of morphological structural points of image contour are extracted and merged. A series of basic shapes and a main shape of object image are described and segmented based on skeleton and morphological structure. Object shape is efficiently analyzed and recognized based on the extracted series of basic shapes and main shape. Comparing with other methods, the proposed method need not sample training set. Also, the new method can be used to analyze and recognize the shape structure of any shape, and there is no any requirement for the processed image data set. The new method can be used in image analysis, intelligent recognition, techniques, applications, systems and tools. 2013-04-07T22:37:12.209Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:10055 Current Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and cognitive assessment are based on medical history assessment and evaluation of cognitive score systems. They are time-consuming and subjective. A rapid and automated method is developed by processing positron emission tomography neuroimages and performing statistical analysis. The brain areas are firstly extracted from the neuroimages by an atlas-assisted approach, and then transformed piecewise into a common atlas space by dividing the brain into 18 cubic regions based on the landmarks identified automatically. The statistical models of stepwise regressions and discriminant classification are applied to predict the cognitive scores and make a diagnosis on Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment. The proposed method is fully automatic and has been tested on 400 cases. The preliminary testing results are promising. For a group of 250 cases which are the samples of the regressions and discriminant classification, the success rates of disease diagnosis are 73.7%, 54.9%, and 79.7% for the patients with Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, and normal subjects, respectively. The average success rate for another group of 150 cases is 61.3%. 2013-04-07T22:35:56.037Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:10054 The accuracy of scan-to-atlas registration highly depends on the number of landmarks and the precision of landmark identification. An extended landmark, cerebellum inferior (CBI), is introduced in this paper. The extracted brain and midsagittal plane are applied to identify the modified Talairach landmarks and the new introduced landmark CBI. The AC-PC plane is firstly determined and then anatomical information is applied to estimate the other landmarks. The proposed method is fully automatic and has been validated on 49 FDG-PET normal and pathological scans qualitatively, and 15 cases quantitatively. The average processing time is about 3 seconds on a standard personal computer. 2013-04-05T01:06:51.164Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:10114 Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women. Meanwhile, cervical cancer could be largely preventable and curable with regular Pap tests. Nuclei changes in the cervix could be found by this test. Accurate nuclei detection is extremely critical as it is the previous step of analysing nuclei changes and diagnosis afterwards. Recently, computer-aided nuclei segmentation has increased dramatically. Although such algorithms could be utilised in the situation for sparse nuclei since they are intuitively detected, the segmentation for the complicated nuclei clusters is still challenging task. This paper presents a new methodology for the detection of cervical nuclei clusters. We first detect all the nuclei from the cervical microscopic image by an ellipse fitting algorithm. Second, we chose some high-relevant features from all the features we obtained in last step via F-score, which is based on to what extent one feature attributes to results. All the ellipses are then classified into single ones and cluster ones by C4.5 decision tree with selected features. We evaluated the performance of this method by the classification accuracy, sensitivity, and cluster predictive value. With the 9 selected features from the original 13 features, we came by the promising classification accuracy (97.8%). 2013-04-05T01:05:08.884Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:10081 This paper presents an efficient and innovative method for the automated counting of cells in a microscopic image. The performance of watershed-based algorithms for the segmentation of clustered cells has been well demonstrated. The strength of our algorithm lies in the fact that it incorporates knowledge of color in the image. Our method uses the watershed transform with iterative shape alignment and is shown to be more accurate in retaining cell shape. We report a sensitivity of 97% and specificity of 96% when all color bands are used. Our methods could be of value to computer-based systems designed to objectively interpret microscopic images, since they provide a means for accurate cell segmentation. 2013-04-05T01:03:54.331Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11563 Cervical cancer is the second most common malignancy among women worldwide, if it is detected in early stage, cure rate is relatively high. Computer aided abnormality detection for cervical smear is developed to assist medical experts to handle the microscopy images, examine cell abnormalities and diagnose dyskaryosis. The microscopy images of cells in cervix uteri are stained by the tumor marker Ki-67, so that the abnormal nuclei present brown while normal ones are bluish. Segmentation is the most important and difficult task to calculate the ratio of abnormal nuclei to all nuclei. In order to achieve accurate segmentation of nuclei, we propose a multi-level segmentation approach for abnormality identification in microscopy images. First level segmentation aims to partition abnormal (stained) nuclei regions and all nuclei regions. Because of under-segmentation after first level segmentation, second level segmentation is applied to further partition the clustered nuclei. In order to classify touching regions of clustered nuclei and separate regions of single nucleus, relevant meaningful features are extracted from regions of interest. Consequently all the nuclei regions are separated and in conjunction with the abnormal nuclei regions in the first level segmentation, the abnormality i.e. ratio of abnormal nuclei to all nuclei is obtained. Experimental results indicate that our method achieved an accuracy of 93.55% and 95.8% in term of abnormal nuclei and all nuclei respectively for identification of abnormalities. Our proposed method produces a satisfactory segmentation. 2013-04-05T01:02:52.642Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:10049 Packaging appearance is extremely important in cigarette manufacturing. Typically, there are two types of cigarette packaging defects: (1) cigarette laying defects such as incorrect cigarette numbers and irregular layout; (2) tin paper handle defects such as folded paper handles. In this paper, an automated vision-based defect inspection system is designed for cigarettes packaged in tin containers. The first type of defects is inspected by counting the number of cigarettes in a tin container. First k-means clustering is performed to segment cigarette regions. After noise filtering, valid cigarette regions are identified by estimating individual cigarette area using linear regression. The k clustering centers and area estimation function are learned off-line on training images. The second kind of defect is detected by checking the segmented paper handle region. Experimental results on 500 test images demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed inspection system. The proposed method also contributes to the general detection and classification system such as identifying mitosis in early diagnosis of cervical cancer. 2013-04-05T00:58:55.101Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12735 Circulatory responses to electrical stimulation of thin vagal afferents, serving mainly cardiac receptors (Jarisch and Zotterman 1948) were studied in chloralose-anesthetized cats. The role of these receptors was also studied under more physiological conditions by observing the effects of avulsion of the nerves on the resting circlulation and on the responses to hemorrhage. 2013-04-05T00:47:53.771Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12731 We present a video adaptation system which takes account of users' preference on video affective content (AC) and limited network resource. AC directly causes user's attention, evaluation and memory, which also provides feasible entry for video highlight. According to user's preference, the proposed adaptation insures the video parcels with AC are allocated as much as possible network resource. The system is implemented with MPEG-21 digital item adaptation (DIA) framework which provides a generic video adaptation solution for all video formats and various usage environments by manipulating on XML files. XML file based adaptation avoids complex video computation. 30 students from various departments were invited to test the system and their responses were positive. 2013-04-04T21:54:55.876Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12730 Intensity adjustment is an image enhancement technique that maps an image's intensity values to a new range. However, this intensity adjustment does not effectively enhance particular structures such as ribs on a 2D chest radiograph. In this paper, we develop a new method using a lopsided hemi-ellipsoid cavity to deflate lungs. This is necessary in order to enhance the unclear ribs resulting from air-filled lungs in a typical chest radiograph procedure. 2013-04-04T21:51:08.919Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:5969 This paper presents a new scheme for online payment systems based on a mobile personal device and existing debit/credit card electronic payment protocols. The model focuses on trust to enhance the feeling of security in the use of debit/credit cards for online payment systems. A mobile personal device is used to control the payment process of customers in a transaction so as to give them the feeling of being in control of the payment process. The new model provides a way in which customer trust in controlling e-payment systems can be established, so that customers can trustfully participate in electronic commerce. We provide guidelines on how the trust of mobile devices can be applied to achieve mutual improvements between security and trust. Moreover, the model requirements are identified, and an analysis of these requirements against trust and security requirements in transactions is discussed. 2013-04-04T21:42:09.694Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12724 The synthetic opioid agonist, fentanyl, has been shown in our laboratory to cause a neurological mediated systemic vasoconstriction in man. This may include coronary vasconstriction since ST-segment depression on ECG may occur during fentanyl anaesthesia for a coronary artery bypass surgery. Systemic vascoconstriction induced by fentanyl in the rabbit is dependent on central nervous 5-hydroxytryptine (5HT). Therefore the present study was undertaken in the dog to examine the postulates that intravenous fentanyl causes coronary vascoconstriction which is dependent on CNS 5HT and that baroreflex gain of coronary conductance mediated through sympathetic and parasympathetic pathways is increased by fentanyl. Conscious dogs in experimental complete heart block paced at 100 beats/min were used; circumflex coronary flow was measured using a Doppler flowmeter; baroreflexes were evoked by inflation of a balloon placed in the descending thoracic aorta. Coronary haemodynamics were examined before, immediately after, and 7 days after intracisternal injection of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7DHT). Fentanyl infusion (0.55 μg/kg per min) for 20 min in five dogs resulted in variable rises in mean aortic pressure (MAP). Circumflex coronary flow (CCF) fell or was unchanged. Circumflex coronary conductance fell in all five dogs, and baroreflex gain increased. Intracisternal 5,7DHT immeadiately evoked sustained rises in atrial rate and MAP but rises in CCC were poorly sustained. One week later, MAP was largely unaltered but there was a rise in resting CCC in three of four dogs. Baroreflex gain of CCC was reduced and fentanyl did not uniformly cause a rise in MAP or a fall in CCC as before but baroreflex gain was restored by fentanyl infusion. These data suggest that normally baroreflex gain of coronary conductance is under the influence of CNS opoid (fentanyl) and 5HT facillatory interactions. 2013-04-02T23:45:08.389Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8695 Flexure hinges are commonly used in many applications which require precise and smooth motions in the nanometer scale. There were various formulations derived using different methods to calculate the stiffness of circular flexure hinges. This article compares these equations with FEA predictions. The limitation of these equations at different t/R (R is the radius and t is the neck thickness) ratios are revealed. Based on the limitations of these design equations, a guideline to select the most accurate equations for hinge design calculations is presented. In addition to the review and comparisons, general empirical stiffness equations in the x- and y-direction were formulated in this study (with errors less than 3% when compared to FEA simulations) for a wide range of t/R ratios (0.05 les t/R les 0.8). 2013-03-28T01:30:31.165Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:3094 The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) completed a three–year Inquiry into federal civil and administrative penalties in Australia in December 2002. The ALRC defined civil penalty, for the purposes of its Report ALRC 95 Principled Regulation (ALRC 95), as a penalty imposed by the courts using civil rather than criminal processes. In the course of the Inquiry, the ALRC examined some 72 federal statutes that impose some form of civil (or administrative) penalty. Many are relatively silent on procedure. The Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), for example, simply states that civil penalty applications be dealt with according to the civil rules of procedure. For the purposes of this paper particular attention will be paid to the civil penalty proceedings arising under the Corporations Act. 2013-03-28T01:07:15.726Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:3076 This paper attempts to examine the economic impact of liberalization of labor market in China on the aggregate welfare of the country and the rest of the world. The liberalization in labor market is characterized by the abolition of a household registration system that prohibits permanent migration from rural area to urban area in China. This migration restriction has been maintained for more than 45 years and is going to be abolished in the near future. The hypothesis tested is that the a free mobility of the rural surplus labor into China’s urban industrial sector will have a significant impact on production, employment and trade patterns both in China and in the rest of the world, particularly in the labor-intensive industries. This will result in a large-scale restructuring of the world economy in line with regional specialization and comparative advantage. Several policy scenarios are simulated by an applied general equilibrium model (the GTAP Model). These scenarios include a net increase in China’s unskilled labor force in urban labor intensive manufacturing sector, a transfer of the labor force from the agricultural sector to manufacturing sectors, a combination of both labor market liberalization and capital market liberalization. To capture the regional and sectoral impact of the change, the world economy is divided into 10 regions and 10 sectors. The net welfare effects of these liberalizations are positive for the world as a whole in general, and for China in particular. Policy implications are discussed and suggestions are offered to the Chinese authority to liberalize the Chinese labor and capital markets further. 2013-03-27T23:29:35.811Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2946 As the most populous country in the world, the Chinese labour market has several distinctive characteristics that other countries do not share. One of these characteristics is the rapid expansion in employment in non-state owned enterprises (NSEs) which emerged in the early 1980s. In spite of the remarkable success of the NSEs, questions are raised as to how and to what extent the development of NSEs has eroded the dominance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), particularly with regard to industrial production, employment and international trade. Also, questions regarding how the reforms in China’s labour market have affected the world economy, particularly in the labour intensive industries, remain unsolved. This paper attempts to answer these questions and generate policy implications for the rest of the world. 2013-03-27T23:27:22.465Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8688 This paper reports a MEMS tunable capacitor with a new actuation principle. The new design adopts electrostatic actuation of an electrically floating movable dielectric. This enables us to achieve a high Q factor by eliminating the loss associated with springs in the RF signal path. Also, the design can achieve a high tuning range, by using additional actuation combs and thus eliminating the pull-in effect. Since no DC bias is applied on the plates of variable capacitor, the parallel plates 1/3 gap limitation does not apply. The designed devices were fabricated in a SOI MEMS process, with a 25 μm thick device layer and minimum gap of 2 μm. Measurement results show that the tunable capacitor has a 135 fF initial capacitance with a tuning range of 367% and a Q factor of 56 at 1 GHz by bi-directional actuation. 2013-03-27T06:39:19.131Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:2974 This paper presents an industrial case study to reduce dust emissions from a grain handling ship loader. The primary objective of the study was to reduce dust emissions to within acceptable environmental levels during ship loading. Several constraints were imposed on the solution due to time and budgetary restrictions, and the inability to add a dust suppression agent to the grain for quality reasons. A number of alternative loading chute configurations and delivery spoon profiles were examined in a pilot-scale test facility. This paper will discuss a number of alternative solutions which were investigated during the course of the study and the critical parameters of the final design. Tests showed that it was not beneficial to decelerate the product stream to keep the relative velocity of the air stream over the grain below the minimum pickup velocity. Instead, it was found that concentrating the product stream and keeping the product velocity high was more beneficial in reducing dust emissions. A reduction of 50% in dust emission was achieved through the use of specifically designed constant radius and parabolic profile loading spoons. The product stream exiting the curved spoons was found to be concentrated and stream-lined, resulting in the dust being contained within the product stream. 2013-03-27T05:52:33.836Z ]]>