http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/services/Feed ${session.getAttribute("locale")} 5 http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25588 55 page(s) 2013-05-16T08:11:19.352Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25605 70 page(s) 2013-05-16T08:10:23.750Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25383 Records the artist's creative metamorphosis from the early 1970s to 2000. 2013-05-09T09:36:39.495Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24903 25 page(s) 2013-03-28T02:25:13.698Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25020 This study investigated how different types of computer-mediated communication (CMC) such as asynchronous forums, synchronous forums and e-mail were used to support an alternative approach to initial teacher education that relied on the formation of a knowledge-building community (KBC). The KBC involves students working in small and large groups to solve 'real world' problems, and in the process develop skills of negotiation, communication, and collaboration. Emphasis is placed on authentic problems that are linked to a school context. The findings showed that the students preferred to use the forum available to all participants. Also they used the forums in many different ways, in addition to those intended by the authors. Further, many students made use of other modes of CMC such as e-mail and synchronous forums downloaded from the web. We also found that many of the skills we used in mediating face-to-face discussion could be transferred to the on-line situation. 2013-03-28T02:21:16.802Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24437 The perceived speed of motion in depth (MID) for a monocularly visible target was measured in central and peripheral vision using a 2AFC speed discrimination task. Only binocular cues to MID were available: changing disparity and interocular velocity difference (IOVD). Perceived speed for monocular lateral motion and perceived depth for static disparity were also assessed, again in both central and peripheral vision. The purpose of the experiment was to assess the relative contributions of changing disparity and IOVD cues to the perceived speed of stereomotion. Although peripheral stimuli appeared to lie at approximately the same depth as their central counterparts, their apparent speed was reduced. Monocular/lateral and binocular/MID speeds were reduced to a similar extent. It seems that reduced apparent monocular speed leads to reduced perceived MID speed, despite the fact that the disparity system appears to be unaffected. These results suggest that the IOVD cue makes a significant contribution to MID speed perception. 2013-02-27T05:20:23.247Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24156 This study examines the demand for index bonds and their role in hedging risky asset returns against currency risks in a complete market where equity is not hedged against inflation risk. Avellaneda's uncertain volatility model with non-constant coefficients to describe equity price variation, forward price variation, index bond price variation and rate of inflation, together with Merton's intertemporal portfolio choice model, are utilized to enable an investor to choose an optimal portfolio consisting of equity, nominal bonds and index bonds when the rate of inflation is uncertain. A hedge ratio is universal if investors in different countries hedge against currency risk to the same extent. Three universal hedge ratios (UHRs) are defined with respect to the investor's total demand for index bonds, hedging risky asset returns (i.e. equity and nominal bonds) against currency risk, which are not held for hedging purposes. These UHRs are hedge positions in foreign index bond portfolios, stated as a fraction of the national market portfolio. At equilibrium all the three UHRs are comparable to Black's corrected equilibrium hedging ratio. The Cameron-Martin-Girsanov theorem is applied to show that the Radon-Nikodym derivative given under a P-martingale, the investor's exchange rate (product of the two currencies) is a martingale. Therefore the investors can agree on a common hedging strategy to trade exchange rate risk irrespective of investor nationality. This makes the choice of the measurement currency irrelevant and the hedge ratio universal without affecting their values. 2013-02-11T03:20:15.341Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:22992 A spread spectrum, multi-user channel, with an antenna array at the receiver, and independent flat fading to each antenna from each user, is considered. Focus is on the case of microdiversity. It is shown that a curious phenomenon of "resource pooling" arises. 2012-11-28T02:25:46.857Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:22600 Different methodologies are used for calibrating polyacrylamide gel (PAG) dosimeters. One methodology involves injecting nitrogen-filled glass vials with polymer gel. Due to the vials being pre-filled with nitrogen, a nitrogen-filled space remains in the glass vial above the gel. The glass vial is then irradiated using ionizing radiation to polymerize the PAG. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to examine the effects on the radiation field due to the glass vial and the lack of backscatter material due to the nitrogen-filled space. Results for two different formulations of PAG indicated that the influence of the glass and the nitrogen-filled space are negligible. 2012-11-01T19:40:42.466Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:22604 A range of liquids suitable as quality control test objects for measuring the accuracy of clinical MRI diffusion sequences (both apparent diffusion coefficient and tensor) has been identified and characterized. The self-diffusion coefficients for 15 liquids (3 cyclic alkanes: cyclohexane to cyclooctane, 9 n-alkanes: n-octane to n-hexadecane, and 3 n-alcohols: ethanol to 1-propanol) were measured at 15-30°C using an NMR spectrometer. Values at 22°C range from 0.36 to 2.2 10⁻⁹ m²s⁻¹. Typical 95% confidence limits are ±2%. Temperature coefficients are 1.7-3.2 %/°C. T₁ and T₂ values at 1.5 T and proton density are given. n-tridecane has a diffusion coefficient close to that of normal white matter. The longer n-alkanes may be useful T₂ standards. Measurements from a spin-echo MRI sequence agreed to within 2%. 2012-11-01T19:40:32.180Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:22605 Gel dosimetry using magnetic resonance imaging is a technique which allows measurement of three-dimensional absorbed dose distributions in radiation therapy. This paper presents details of a software tool written specifically to provide facilities to perform image processing required in research and development of gel dosimetry. Collections of magnetic resonance images can be converted into either longitudinal or tranverse nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation images. The conversions are accomplished by means of a pixel-by-pixel non-linear least squares fitting algorithm. Adjustments can be made to the number of parameters used in the fitting algorithm. Fundamental image manipulation tools such as window with / level display adjustment, zooming, profile and region of interest tools are provided. The software has been developed using MATLAB (The MathWorks Inc., Natick, MA) running on Windows 95. User interaction is via a windows graphical user interface (GUI). Data such as statistics from regions of interest can be exported to other windows applications for further processing. Flexibility is incorporated in the GUI design by taking advantage of the developmental aspects of the MATLAB environment. Although originally designed for gel dosimetry, the software can be used in any application of MRI which requires production and manipulation of relaxation time images.Gel dosimetry using magnetic resonance imaging is a technique which allows measurement of three-dimensional absorbed dose distributions in radiation therapy. This paper presents details of a software tool written specifically to provide facilities to perform image processing required in research and development of gel dosimetry. Collections of magnetic resonance images can be converted into either longitudinal or transverse nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation images. The conversions are accomplished by means of a pixel-by-pixel non-linear least squares fitting algorithm. Adjustments can be made to the number of parameters used in the fitting algorithm. Fundamental image manipulation tools such as window width/level display adjustment, zooming, profile and region of interest tools are provided. The software has been developed using MATLAB (The MathWorks Inc., Natick, MA) running on Windows 95. User interaction is via a windows graphical user interface (GUI). Data such as statistics from regions of interest can be exported to other windows applications for further processing. Flexibility is incorporated in the GUI design by taking advantage of the developmental aspects of the MATLAB environment. Although originally designed for gel dosimetry, the software can be used in any application of MRI which requires production and manipulation of relaxation time images. 2012-11-01T19:40:31.237Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:22110 "Fifty Key Thinkers on History" is a superb guide to historiography through the ages. The cross-section of debates and thinkers covered is unique in its breadth, taking in figures from ancient China, Greece and Rome, through the Middle Ages, to contemporary Europe, America, Africa and Australia; from Bede to Braudel; Marx to Michelet; Ranke to Rowbotham; Foucault to Fukuyama. Each clear and concise essay offers biographical information, a summary and discussion of the subjects approach to history and how others have engaged with it, a list of their major works and a guide to diverse resources for further study, including books, articles, films and web sites. 2012-10-23T00:36:01.585Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:22137 "This book is about disease and culture. HIV and AIDS are having profound impacts on contemporary life in Thailand, raising complex issues with far reaching implications for Thai people and the broader global context. AIDS has become an increasingly prominent symbol of modernity in Thailand, yet ways of dealing with AIDS and HIV draw on time-honoured understandings of fate and misfortune, disease and contagion, gender and pollution. Endangered Relations provides a crucial analysis of how public health manoeuvres to control the threat of HIV infection mesh with local understandings of identity and sexuality, setting in place a broad range of personal and social responses to the ongoing epidemic. An illuminating study of the way in which Thai social relations and in particular Thai sexualities, shape the history of AIDS in Thailand. Endangered Relations offers a unique perspective on the complicated ways that disease in negotiated in cultural, political and human terms." 2012-10-23T00:34:52.960Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:22139 Ch. 1. Venus and Adonis. i. The minor epic. Lodge's Scillaes Metamorphosis. ii. The poem's narrator. Venus and the multiplicity, the otherness of love. iii. Venus and metamorphosis. iv. Adonis the rhetorician. Adonis, Narcissus and metamorphosis. v. Adonis, the narrator and the male gaze. Marlowe's Hero and Leander and Donne's 'Elegy 19' -- Ch. 2. Lucrece. i. Versions of the Lucretia story by Ovid, Livy, Boccaccio, Chaucer and Gower. ii. Genres. iii. Tarquin, Lucrece and Collatine. iv. The rape of Lucrece. v. Lucrece, Troy and Brutus -- Ch. 3. Shakespeare's Sonnets 1-19: The Young Man, the Poet and Father Time. i. Introduction, Petrarch, Sidney and the Elizabethan sonnet. ii. Narcissus called to account. iii. The economy of nature, Father Time and the wisdom of Narcissus -- Ch. 4. Shakespeare's Sonnets 20-126: The Poet, the Young Man, Androgyny and Friendship. i. Introduction. Narcissus and Adonis. ii. Sonnet 20. Fictions and discourses. iii. Desire and its discontents. iv. Losing and keeping -- Ch. 5. Shakespeare's Sonnets 127-154: the Poet, the Dark Lady and the Young Man. i. Fictions of beauty. ii. The divided self, misogyny and friendship. iii. Ending with Cupid. 2012-10-23T00:34:51.254Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:22138 50 page(s) 2012-10-23T00:34:47.877Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:22142 262 page(s) 2012-10-23T00:34:42.627Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:22140 This title traces the formation of an Australian moral code at the heart of white Australian identity. Reflecting on the persistence of this code into the 21st century, it seeks to show how it "has engendered, and continues to engender, not only brutality to others, but brutality to the self". 2012-10-23T00:34:41.941Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:22160 "William McKell, the long-serving Labor premier of New South Wales (1941-47), was described by Neville Wran as 'perhaps the most significant political figure in the history of NSW'. He played a central role in creating the modern Labor Party, and his efforts to mould the party into a pragmatic, electorally successful political machine have had an enduring influence." "McKell's long and influential career in public life began after the momentous 1916 split in the ALP, when he became the youngest member of state parliament after the ensuing election. Before he turned thirty he was a government minister and, after winning the party leadership in 1939, he led Labor to victory in 1941. As wartime premier McKell balanced the needs of the war economy with a practical program of social reform. After six years as premier he made the controversial decision to accept Prime Minister Chifley's invitation to become governor-general, a post he filled until 1953.". "In this first full-length biography of William McKell in nearly thirty years, Christopher Cunneen provides a vivid portrait of the development of this important and in some ways enigmatic Labor figure, and an insight into New South Wales politics during a key period in twentieth century history." 2012-10-23T00:34:07.144Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:22172 23 pages(s) 2012-10-23T00:33:36.035Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:22209 . Cities and Communities: Circling Out of Equivalence -- 2. Poetic Fields and the "Painted Birds" of Language Writing -- 3. In the Middle of Writing: Feminism's Ruptured Vocabulary -- 4. Supporting a Scene: Tuumba Press -- 5. Making Waves: Radio and Susan Howe's Poetry Program -- 6. Kathleen Fraser's Feminist Alternative: HOW(ever) -- 7. Models, Manifestoes, and Morphogenesis: The Role of Theory -- 8. "I Hate Speech": Gendering Poetic Talk -- 9. Cabinets, Closets, and Consumption, Analyzing the Anthology -- 10. Desire Not a Saint: The Pathography of Bernandette Mayer -- 11. Taking a Poethical Perspective: Joan Retallack's Afterrimages -- 12. Cultural Recovery or Contractual Release: The Shadow-Show of Susan Howe's The Liberties -- 13. Cutting Corners in Tina Darragh's American Pi -- 14. "I See Words": Hannah Weiner as a Tribal Spoke Person -- 15. Attention and Alterity in the Poetry of Rae Armantrout and Fanny Howe. -- 16. The Person as Chronic Text: From Lyn Hejinian's Gesualdo to My Life -- Conclusion: Moving beyond the Language Maps in Feminist Collaborations. 2012-10-23T00:32:24.169Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:22068 A method for constructing a least squares spline with variable knots using a smoothing spline basis is presented. The inherent stability problems of the usual formulation of the smoothing spline are avoided by using the Kalman Filter, the Fixed-interval, discrete-time smoother and the interpolation smoother as computational tools. 2012-10-15T07:12:59.106Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:22069 7 page(s) 2012-10-15T07:12:56.504Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:21744 Like death, the West has become ubiquitous. But will hegemony continue and are there any signals of possible transformation from within and without? Four alternatives for the West are developed. (1) A dramatic ageing population leading to a future where immigrants are required for survival, however, once in the holy land of Disney, multiculturalism may make porous the West itself. (2) Genocide against the Other, resisting internal transformative processes and (3) the Artificial Society, wherein diversity and the Other are pushed back since high productivity can be achieved through the new information and genetic technologies, that is, through reductionist science and linear economic progress. While the latter technocratic scenario is most likely, there are possibilities that a more multicultural, gaian, communicative, globalist future may emerge. 2012-09-28T05:22:37.554Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:21745 Planetary futures are explored in the context of two scenarios. The Artificial Society led by dramatic developments in information and genetic technologies and the Multicultural Society driven by concerns for inclusiveness and equity. These scenarios are explored in context of structures of power, the weight of the patterns of history. 2012-09-28T05:22:36.359Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:21767 This essay outlines some of the crucial points to be taken into consideration by futurists-in-training in order to avoid the many mistakes which can be easily made. These comprise right timing, real participation, scenarios, developing a preferred vision of the future, using metaphors, using mixed approaches, depth, the surprise future and implementation. The role of the futurist is long term pedagogy, finding solutions for current problems by challenging administrative structures and asking individuals to rethink how and why they do certain things. The reality of practice and idealism of vision is what will create an alternative future. 2012-09-28T05:21:46.933Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:21644 22 page(s) 2012-09-26T12:53:26.165Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:21663 2 page(s) 2012-09-26T12:52:46.300Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:21542 We report a new family with oculodigitoesophagoduodenal syndrome (ODED syndrome), which associates microcephaly, abnormalities of the hands and feet, shortened palpebral fissures, tracheoesophageal fistula and duodenal atresia. In addition, previously unreported vertebral anomalies are described. This report further delineates the clinical and radiographic spectrum of this syndrome, providing useful information for diagnosis and family counseling. 2012-09-20T22:50:24.167Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:21018 With the incumbent Labor government embracing a recentralisation of industrial relations, public sector agencies in Queensland are experiencing a dramatic shift in the framework of employment relations. This paper discusses the approach of the previous Coalition government to managing the public sector workforce and the emerging approach of the Labor government. The comparison of contrasting governmental approaches to public sector employment relations throughout the 1990s suggests that successive governments have balanced very differently the three main pressures they have faced: political, managerialist and industrial relations. 2012-09-10T16:41:18.134Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:20877 2 page(s) 2012-08-10T12:10:22.078Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:20881 3 page(s) 2012-08-10T12:10:13.177Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:20879 3 page(s) 2012-08-10T12:10:13.170Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:20757 1 page(s) 2012-08-08T14:50:02.427Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:20315 "Submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Statistics, Division of Economic and Financial Studies, Macquarie University". 2012-07-11T11:23:45.690Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:20017 14 page(s) 2012-06-21T21:12:36.502Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:20041 Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Division of Humanities, Dept. of Modern History, 2000. 2012-06-21T21:10:39.431Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:19690 16 page(s) 2012-06-07T18:11:19.975Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:19687 Book review of "Mafia and Mafiosi: Origin, Power and Myth" by Henner Hess. London, Bathurst: C. Hurst and Co. (Publishing) Ltd, Crawford House. 1998. ISBN: 1850655006. 2012-06-07T05:00:04.635Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:17766 In some situations, unsought, honest, but persuasive advertising claims may be difficult for many consumers to believe. To resist the hidden tactics and persuasive efforts of advertisers, defensively motivated consumers may challenge claims even if they have no rational reason for doing so. That is, consumer skepticism may evolve as a defensive coping and reactance response to pervasive advertising attempts. 2012-02-24T16:30:48.909Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:15826 This paper discusses the dispersal of families where family members migrate to different destination countries. Terminology for internationally dispersed families is proposed, and the term branch migration is suggested for the migration of related people from the same source country to different destination countries. Data from two 1993 surveys of senior secondary students show that 22% of Sydney students and 20% of Hong Kong students have relatives in two or more other countries. The data suggest that many Asian migrant families have branched between the US, Canada, Australia and other migrant-receiving nations. The causes and implications of the international dispersal of families are discussed. 2011-11-05T12:10:36.852Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:15827 Objective: The purpose of mammographic screening is to reduce mortality from breast cancer. This study describes a method for projecting the number of screens to be performed by a mammographic screening programme, and applies this method in the context of New South Wales, Australia. Method: The total number of mammographic screens was projected as the sum of initial screens and re-screens, and is based on projections of the population, rates of new recruitment, rates of attrition within the programme, and the mix of screening intervals. The baseline scenario involved: 70% participation of women aged 50–69 years, 90% return rate for the second and subsequent re-screens, 5% annual screens (95% biennial screens), and a specified population projection. The results were assessed with respect to variations in these assumptions. Results: The projections were strongly influenced by: the rate of screening of the target age group; the proportion of women re-screened annually; and the rates of attrition within the programme. Although demographic change had a notable effect, there was little difference between different population projections. Standard assumptions about attrition within the programme suggest that the current target participation rates in NSW may not be achieved in the long term. Conclusions: A practical model for projecting mammographic screens for populations is described which is capable of forecasting the number of screens under different scenarios. Implications: Projections of mammographic screens provide important information for the planning and financing of equipment and personnel, and for testing the effects of variations in important operational parameters. Re-screening attrition is an important contributor to screening viability. 2011-11-05T12:10:36.532Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:15248 Large numbers of microbiological samples are analysed annually using traditional culture-based techniques. These techniques take hours to days to yield a result, are tedious and are not suitable for non-culturable microorganisms. Further, culture-based techniques do not provide real-time information on the physiological status of the organism in situ which is important in the industrial manufacture of many microbial products. Flow cytometry offers the prospect of real-time microbial analysis of individual microorganisms, without dependency on microbial culture. However, flow cytometry has not been extensively used as a tool for routine microbial analysis. This has been mainly due to the high cost and complexity of instrumentation, the need for trained flow cytometrists and the lack of assay kits with appropriate biological reagents for specific applications. Many modern instruments are now relatively simple to operate, due to improvements in the user-interface, and no longer need a specialist operator. However, most cytometers are still reliant on analogue technology first developed 20–30 years ago. The incorporation of modern, solid state opto-electronics combined with micro-fabrication and digital signal processing technology offers the prospect of simple to use, low cost and robust instruments suitable for microbial analyses. Advances are being made in the development of a range of biological reagents and these are now being formulated into simple to use kits for microbiological applications. Currently, these kits are largely restricted to simple analyses, for example to assay for total or viable numbers of microorganisms present. However, technologies are available to selectively label specific types of microorganisms. For example, fluorescent antibodies can be used to label microorganisms according to expression of particular antigens, fluorescent in situ hybridisation to label according to phylogeny and fluorogenic enzymatic substrates to label according to expression of specific enzyme activities. Reagents are also available that stain viruses sufficiently brightly to enable their direct detection in environments such as sea water. Microorganisms need to be detected in a variety of different matrices (e.g., water, mud, food, and beverages) and these matrices may be highly variable in nature (e.g., tap water compared to river water). Many matrices have high background autofluorescence (e.g., algae and minerals in water samples) or may bind non-specifically to the fluorescent biological reagents used (e.g., protein micelles in milk). Formulation of biological reagents and sample pre-treatments are critical to the development of suitable microbiological assays. Here, developments in instrumentation and biological reagents for microbiological applications are reviewed with specific examples from environmental or industrial microbiology. The broader considerations for the development of microbial assays for flow cytometry are also considered. 2011-10-05T13:10:21.093Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:14964 6 page(s) 2011-09-16T07:30:18.211Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:14968 This paper looks at the impact the European integration process has had on the unemployment level of European Union member countries. While the persistence of relatively high unemployment in Europe is often attributed to supply-side factors, such as the rigidities of the labour market, this study contends that the major cause for the rise of unemployment in the EU has been the very macroeconomic policies of the EU itself. The paper argues that the continuous pursuit of deflationary policies and the macroeconomic constraint imposed first by the membership of the European Monetary System and, secondly, by the convergence criteria of the Maastricht Treaty, have been the real impediments to reducing unemployment. 2011-09-16T07:30:06.887Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:14347 8 page(s) 2011-08-06T02:41:13.651Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:14173 New horizons are beginning to emerge in terms of matching people and information resources in a networked service environment. Librarians, publishers, subscription agents, database hosts and information service aggregators are now actively engaged in rethinking information landscapes, in harnessing Internet technologies, and in finding ways to link institutional legacy systems to the web technologies in a manner that will appear transparent to the user. There is, as yet, no coherent view of the new service models and this paper attempts to foreshadow a conceptual framework on which to build sustainable service models and technical infrastructure. In doing so, particular attention is paid to the key issues of authentication, authorisation and access management which are basic building blocks for the creation of a secure and efficient networked information service environment. The experiences gained at Macquarie University with projects such as LIDDAS and PRIDE have helped in the development of the ideas presented in this paper. 2011-08-01T06:26:14.212Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:14193 The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with vocally disruptive behavior (VDB) in nursing home patients referred to aged care services for treatment, using a case-control methodology. Characteristics of the VDB, reasons for referral, perceived causal factors, and psychotropic use were noted. Twenty-five subjects and controls were examined with the Screaming Behavior Mapping Instrument, the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, the Dementia Behavior Disturbance Scale, and measures of cognition, functional capacity, social activities, and emotional reactions of nursing staff. VDB was associated with other disturbed behaviors, depression, anxiety, severe dementia, functional impairment, communication difficulties, use of psychotropic medication, social isolation, and emotional distress in the nursing staff. Reasons for referral may relate more to the stress experienced by nursing home staff in managing VDB than to specific attributes of the VDB itself. 2011-08-01T06:25:37.952Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:14053 16 page(s) 2011-07-07T12:50:22.143Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:14001 A book review of 'The Legacy of Mesopotamia' by S. Dalley, Oxford University Press, 1998, ISBN: 0198149468. 2011-07-06T06:06:31.535Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13959 9 page(s) 2011-07-04T12:21:34.136Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13966 19 page(s) 2011-07-04T12:20:52.696Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13968 7 page(s) 2011-07-04T12:20:38.265Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13970 16 page(s) 2011-07-04T12:20:30.755Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13891 160 page(s) 2011-06-30T15:11:19.148Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13857 The overall aim of this study was to investigate laypeople's accounts of the causes, features, and consequences of workplace anger episodes and to examine similarities and differences amongst superiors', co-workers' and subordinates' anger experiences. One hundred and seventy-five respondents participated in structured interviews about a work-related anger episode with a superior, co-worker, or subordinate. Various features of the anger episodes differed according to the status of the respondent, with superiors angered by morally reprehensible behaviors and job incompetence, co-workers angered by morally reprehensible behaviors and public humiliation, and subordinates angered by unjust treatment. Subordinates were less likely than superiors to confront the anger target and more likely to consider the incident unresolved. Humiliating offences elicited more intense hate than non-humiliating offences; hate was also negatively associated with situational power and with a perceived successful resolution of the anger-eliciting event. Theoretical implications of the results are discussed in relation to the role of power in the experience and expression of anger in the workplace. 2011-06-29T06:21:45.672Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13864 74 page(s) 2011-06-29T06:21:15.493Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13865 5 page(s) 2011-06-29T06:21:14.796Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13809 165 page(s) 2011-06-28T06:22:19.580Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13823 Along with the central planning system, the creation of state-owned industrial enterprises was a core aspect of the socialist project embarked upon by the Vietnamese leadership in the late 1950s. State-owned industry was symbolic of two major strands of thought which came together in the Vietnamese revolution: anti-colonialism and socialism. In the first case, Vietnamese leaders shared a perception common to other Southeast Asian countries achieving independence in the 1940s and 1950s that industrialization was the key to modernization of their countries. Moreover, the process of industrialization should be, at least to some extent, stated-directed in order to overcome what was seen to be the exploitative nature of foreign capital and the absence of a significant indigenous class of industrialists. The second strand, which came from the Vietnamese state's roots in a popular peasant- and worker-based revolution under Communist Party leadership, indicated the necessity for the creation of a planned economic system based on public ownership of the means of production so that the benefits of modernization could be distributed more evenly among the whole population. 2011-06-28T06:21:42.471Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13751 Academic interlibrary loan departments are facing a major crisis. Interlibrary loan Managers and their staff make use of a complex variety of automated and manual processes as workloads increase exponentially. With the current information explosion, customer requirements continue to escalate. However, the currency crisis and other factors have led to significant serial cancellations, therefore placing a greater strain on interlibrary loan departments. This paper considers the current crisis in interlibrary loan departments and examines the LIDDAS (Local Interlending and Document Delivery Administration System) Project. The paper discusses what LIDDAS will deliver, and how it will be implemented at Macquarie University Library. The paper explores the effects that the implementation will have on staff, and the opportunities for enhanced levels of service to library customers. 2011-06-23T07:40:53.667Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13755 The academic institution of today is becoming increasingly involved in the electronic delivery of programmes to learners who are geographically dispersed. At the same time, Internet use from home by internal and external students is rapidly expanding. The surge in demand for 24-hour access to IT-based facilities by students and staff off-campus has made the expansion of current services a strategic imperative. This paper suggests a particular solution to the problem of meeting the growing needs of remote users through extending information services by innovative, collaborative efforts with universities worldwide. 2011-06-23T07:40:34.858Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:142 A paper presented at the one day conference: An Intelligent Island: the role of Tasmanian Libraries, Friday, 24th November 2000, The Grange, Campbell Town, organised by the ALIA Tasmanian Branch and Northern Area Regional Group. 2011-06-23T04:40:09.637Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13361 Laser repairs to tissues have traditionally suffered from the problems of insufficient strength of the repairs, particularly for high-pressure fluid-carrying tubes such as arteries, and thermal damage to surrounding tissues hindering tissue recovery. The protein solder helps to strengthen the join by adding material to the tissue junction. In addition, the protein solder protects underlying tissue from damage due to excess laser-induced heat deposited in the tissue. The authors' protein solder consists of a high concentration solution of bovine serum albumin, mixed with indocyanine green dye to enhance the solder's absorption of the 800-nm diode laser light used to activate the solder. The solder is formed into hollow tubes and pre-heat treated to enhance its stability and strength during and immediately after surgery. The fold-and-bond surgical technique the authors have used to repair blood vessels with the protein solder is based on a technique reported early this century. 2011-05-27T04:31:05.385Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:12704 This study explores the relationship between anti-proliferative signaling by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) in human breast cancer cells. In MCF-7 cells, the expression of recombinant IGFBP-3 inhibited proliferation and sensitized the cells to further inhibition by TGF-β1. To investigate the mechanism, we used T47D cells that lack type II TGF-β receptor (TGF-βRII) and are insensitive to TGF-β1. After introducing the TGF-βRII by transfection, the basal proliferation rate was significantly decreased. Exogenous TGF-β1 caused no further growth inhibition, but immunoneutralization of endogenous TGF-β1 restored the proliferation rate almost to the control level. The addition of IGFBP-3 did not inhibit the proliferation of control cells but caused dose-dependent inhibition in TGF-βRII-expressing cells when exogenous TGF-β1 was also present. Similarly, receptor-expressing cells showed dose-dependent sensitivity to exogenous TGF-β1 only in the presence of exogenous IGFBP-3. This indicates that in these cells, anti-proliferative signaling by exogenous IGFBP-3 requires both the TGF-βRII and exogenous TGF-β1. To investigate this synergism, the phosphorylation of TGF-β signaling intermediates, Smad2 and Smad3, was measured. Phosphorylation of each Smad was stimulated by TGF-β1 and, independently, by IGFBP-3 with the two agents together showing a cumulative effect. These data suggest that IGFBP-3 inhibitory signaling requires an active TGF-β signaling pathway and implicate Smad2 and Smad3 in IGFBP-3 signal transduction. 2011-05-25T22:04:31.955Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:12754 Fluctuating asymmetry (FA), a measure of developmental stability, has been proposed as a simple technique for identifying populations suffering from inbreeding and a loss of genetic diversity. However, there is controversy regarding the relationship between FA and both allozyme heterozygosity and pedigree inbreeding coefficients (F). FA of sternopleural bristle number in Drosophila melanogaster was measured in populations maintained at effective sizes of 25 (8 replicates), 50 (6), 100 (4), 250 (3) and 500 (2) for 50 generations (inbreeding coefficients of 0.05—0.71). FA was calculated from the same data set using three different indices (FA₁, FA₅ and FA₆). There was no significant relationship of FA with pedigree inbreeding coefficients for any of the three indices. The relationship between FA and allozyme heterozygosity was non-significant for indices FA₅ and FA₆ (the more powerful indices) and only significant for FA₁1. A second comparison of highly inbred (F ~ 1) populations with their outbred base population showed significantly greater FA in the inbred populations only when analysed with FA₆. Analysis of the same data using FA₁ and FA₅ showed non-significant relationships in the opposite direction. If a relationship between FA and genetic diversity does exist, it is weak and inconsistent. Consequently, our results do not support the use of FA as a monitoring tool to detect inbreeding or loss of genetic diversity. 2011-05-25T22:02:30.903Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:12755 Five out of 169 fertile California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) eggs laid in captivity have exhibited chondrodystrophy, a lethal form of dwarfism. Pedigree records indicate that this chondrodystrophy, like similar conditions in chickens, turkeys and quail, is probably inherited as an autosomal, recessive allele. We estimate that the frequency of this putative allele is about 9%. This high frequency is probably due to a founder effect. We consider three management options for the allele: ignoring it, eliminating it by selection and minimizing its phenotypic manifestation by avoiding matings between possible carriers. We recommend minimizing its phenotypic expression because an unacceptably large proportion of condors (up to 78 out of 146) would be prevented from breeding under a selection strategy designed to eliminate the allele. We predict that many captive populations will prove similar to the California condor population in that it will prove inadvisable or impractical to select against one or more deleterious alleles detected in the population. 2011-05-25T22:02:28.631Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:12756 Genetic adaptation to captive environments is likely to reduce the reproductive fitness of endangered species when they are reintroduced into natural environments. Equalization of family sizes is predicted to halve genetic adaptation to captivity as it removes selection among families and is recommended in captive management of threatened species. This prediction was evaluated by comparing the reproductive fitnesses of replicate populations of Drosophila maintained using either equal (EFS) or variable family sizes (VFS) for 25 generations in captivity under uncrowded conditions on a medium containing CuSO₄. After 25 generations, EFS populations produced 8.8% more offspring per pair than their outbred base population on CuSO₄ medium, while VFS produced 17.5% more. Consequently, the rate of genetic adaptation to captivity in EFS was about half that in VFS, as predicted. In simulated ‘wild’ conditions (crowded, competitive conditions on medium lacking CuSO₄), both treatments showed much lower reproductive fitness than their outbred base population, the reductions being 38% in EFS populations and 43% in VFS populations. Surprisingly, reproductive fitness of the two treatments did not differ significantly under these conditions. These results raise doubts about the ability of equalization of family sizes to reduce genetic deterioration that adversely affects reintroduction success for captive populations of endangered species. 2011-05-25T22:02:27.191Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:12831 One of the long-standing open questions in the theory of parallel computation is the parallel complexity of the integer gcd and related problems, such as modular inversion. We present a lower bound Ω (log n) for the parallel time on a concurrent-read exclusive-write parallel random access machine (CREW PRAM) computing the inverse modulo certain n-bit integers, including all such primes. For infinitely many moduli, our lower bound matches asymptotically the known upper bound. We obtain a similar lower bound for computing a specified bit in a large power of an integer. Our main tools are certain estimates for exponential sums in finite fields. 2011-05-25T21:59:16.039Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:12859 We report on the treatment of ambiguity in ExtrAns, a system that performs and exhaustive linguistic analysis of UNIX manpages to do answer extraction over them. Disambiguation is performed in two stages. The first stage consists of a set of simple rules that delete some of the wrong interpretations that can be spot with purely syntactic information. The second stage extends the use of Brill and Resnik’s algorithm to disambiguate several types of attachment ambiguities. Ambiguities that pass the disambiguation procedures are handled by ExtrAns by displaying the answers to the user with graded selective highlighting. 2011-05-25T21:58:14.979Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:12954 We obtain a lower bound on the linear complexity profile of the power generator of pseudo-random numbers modulo a Blum integer. A different method is also proposed to estimate the linear complexity profile of the Blum-Blum-Shub (1986) generator. In particular, these results imply that lattice reduction attacks on such generators are not feasible. 2011-05-25T21:54:27.788Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:12955 We report on an all-solid-state intracavity Raman laser source operating at 1155 nm. The Raman-active medium is crystalline LiIO₃ , which converts emission at 1064 nm from Nd:YAG to the first Strokes wavelength of 1155 nm. We discuss the key design principles for this Raman laser and present its operating characteristics, including output power, efficiency, and spectral, spatial, and temporal properties. 2011-05-25T21:54:21.304Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:12958 1 page(s) 2011-05-25T21:54:20.536Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:12959 Summary form only given. Investigations of the influence of halogens in the buffer gas of high temperature copper vapour lasers led to the recent development of kinetically enhanced devices using H₂-HCl-Ne buffer gas mixtures. Kinetically enhanced copper vapour lasers (or KE-CVLs) have performance characteristics that far exceed those of conventional CVLs. 2011-05-25T21:53:55.193Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:12960 12 page(s) 2011-05-25T21:53:48.339Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13001 Efficient cw self-frequency-doubled green laser output of 160 mW has been obtained from Yb:YAl₃(BO₃)₄ crystal pumped by 1.4-W incident power from a fiber-coupled 976-nm laser diode. The incident-pump-power–green-output-power conversion efficiency is greater than 11.3%, and the electrical-input–green conversion efficiency is 3.9%. Tunable green output from 513.0 to 545.8 nm is also demonstrated with a quartz birefringent filter. 2011-05-25T21:52:03.783Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13021 2 page(s) 2011-05-25T21:51:21.309Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13023 Efficient operation at 1040 nm of a diode-pumped Yb:YAl₃(BO₃)₄ laser is reported. A range of cavity configurations has been investigated, as well as output wavelength range. The maximum output power was 654 mW and slope efficiency 71% when pumped with a 1.6 W fibre-coupled diode at 976 nm. Further improvement can be expected with an optimised cavity design. Self-frequency-doubled operation was also demonstrated. 2011-05-25T21:51:17.411Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13024 In this paper, Er : Ca₄YO(BO₃)₃ (Er : YCOB) and Er : Yb : Ca₄YO(BO₃)₃ (Er : Yb : YCOB) crystals with large size and excellent quality have been grown by the Czochralski method. The absorption and emission spectra of Er : YCOB and Er : Yb : YCOB crystals have been measured; the emission spectrum of Er : Yb : YCOB crystal shows that the strongest emission peak is located at 1537 nm. An output power of about 2 mW at the wavelength of 1553 nm has been obtained under the pumping power of a fiber-coupled laser diode (LD) of 1600 mW at 976 nm, using a Y direction cut 2.5 mm thick Er : Yb : YCOB crystal sample. 2011-05-25T21:51:16.697Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13138 3 page(s) 2011-05-25T21:46:34.294Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13145 Investigations of the factors that limit average power scaling of elemental copper vapor lasers (CVLs) have demonstrated that decay of the electron density in the interpulse period is critical in restricting pulse repetition rate and laser aperture scaling. We have recently developed the 'kinetic enhancement' (or KE) technique to overcome these limitations, whereby optimal plasma conditions are engineered using low concentrations of HCl/H₂ additive gases in the Ne buffer. Dissociative electron attachment of HCl and subsequent mutual neutralization of Cl⁻ and Cu⁺ promote rapid plasma relaxation and fast recovery of Cu densities, permitting operation at elevated Cu densities and pulse rates for given apertures. Using this approach, we have demonstrated increases in output power and efficiency of a factor of 2 or higher over conventional CVLs of the same size. For a 38 mm- bore KE-CVL, output powers up to 150 W have been achieved at 22 kHz, corresponding to record specific powers (80 mW/cm³) for such a 'small/medium-scale' device. In addition, kinetic enhancement significantly extends the gain duration and restores gain on-axis, even for high pulse rates, thereby promoting substantial increases (5 - 10x) in high- beam-quality power levels when operating with unstable resonators. This has enabled us to achieve much higher powers in second-harmonic generation from the visible copper laser output to the ultraviolet (e.g. 5 W at 255 nm from a small- scale KE-CVL). Our approach to developing KE-CVLs including computer modeling and experimental studies will be reviewed, and most recent results in pulse rate scaling and scaling of high-beam-quality power using oscillator-amplifier configurations, will be presented. 2011-05-25T21:46:15.118Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13154 We present results of single shot ablation experiments for a variety of metal samples (In, Al, Cu, Mo, W, Ti) using visible, nanosecond lasers at fluences up to approximately 10⁴ J cm⁻². At low fluences, usually less than 10² J cm⁻², small amounts of material were removed and removal was approximately uniform across the ablation crater. As the fluence increased above approximately 10² J cm⁻², substantially more material was removed and a conical pit developed in the center of the ablation crater. The appearance of these conical pits is consistent with material removed by phase explosion mechanisms. In this paper, this ablation phenomenon will be investigated by presenting the crater morphology as a function of fluence. Consequences for micromachining with visible, high repetition rate, nanosecond lasers will be discussed. 2011-05-25T21:45:47.117Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13164 We have previously shown that the material removal rate scales linearly with pulse rate up to 15 kHz for pulsed UV-laser ablation of polymers, giving the potential for substantial gains in processing speeds in ablative micromachining using high-pulse-rate UV sources such as frequency-doubled copper vapor lasers and frequency-quadrupled diode-pumped solid-state lasers. These rapid processing speeds can be effectively utilized in direct-write UV-laser micromachining including trepanning. In this paper we present studies of machining rates for trepanning of a strongly absorbing polymer (PETG), and a weakly absorbing polymer (PMMA), aimed at establishing optimum conditions of pulse rate, linear write speed (laser spot overlap) and laser fluence for maximum machining rates and high quality of the machined structure using a high-pulse- rate (5 kHz) UV-CVL. For fixed fluence and pulse rate, machining rates for PETG are found to be independent of write speed in trepanning, however for PMMA machining rates increase for decreasing write speed (increasing laser spot overlap) where cumulative heating leads to enhanced dynamic etch rates. In the latter case, while reduced machining times can be achieved for high spot overlaps, this is generally at the expense of significant degradation in finish quality of the machined structure. 2011-05-25T21:45:26.220Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:13192 12 page(s) 2011-05-25T21:44:24.085Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:9311 39 page(s) 2011-04-20T03:41:53.096Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:12579 Annotated speech corpora are databases consisting of signal data along with time-aligned symbolic `transcriptions'. Such databases are typically multidimensional, heterogeneous and dynamic. These properties present a number of tough challenges for representation and query. The temporal nature of the data adds an additional layer of complexity. This paper presents and harmonises two independent efforts to model annotated speech databases, one at Macquarie University, and one at the University of Pennsylvania. Various query languages are described along with illustrative applications to a variety of analytical problems. The research reported here forms a part of several ongoing projects to develop platform-independent open-source tools for creating, browsing, searching, querying and transforming linguistic databases, and to disseminate large linguistic databases over the Internet. 2011-04-13T05:31:24.301Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:12108 8 page(s) 2011-03-07T06:10:06.730Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:12009 25 page(s) 2011-03-01T04:30:10.827Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:11926 16 page(s) 2011-02-23T07:50:37.031Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:11927 19 page(s) 2011-02-23T07:50:31.150Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:11928 5 page(s) 2011-02-23T07:50:25.608Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:11930 5 page(s) 2011-02-23T07:50:25.254Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:11931 2 page(s) 2011-02-23T07:50:19.069Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:11932 2 page(s) 2011-02-23T07:50:18.709Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:11933 16 page(s) 2011-02-23T07:50:09.771Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:11841 1. Education and equity -- 2. Reforming education: policy and practice -- 3. Ability and economy: defining 'ability' in the A-to-C economy -- 4. Selection 11-14: fast groups, 'left-over' mixed ability and the subject options process -- 5. Selection 14-16: sets, tiers, hidden ceilings and floors -- 6. Educational triage and the D-to-C conversion: suitable cases for treatment? -- 7. Pupils' experiences and perspectives: living with the rationing of education -- 8. Conclusions: rationing education. 2011-02-17T04:11:26.804Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:11708 26 page(s) 2011-02-09T13:11:25.059Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:11711 In this paper a conceptual framework for the analysis of economic learning is developed. Economic learning, by analogy with organizational learning, results in the development of competences, or capabilities, which rest on a foundation of economic resources, from which value is generated, and economic routines, through which resources are utilized. It is the mobility of resources, and their exchange and production dynamics, along evolutionary pathways, which underpins the plausibility of a notion of economic learning. The paper elaborates this framework as a “resource-based view” of the economy, as an extension of the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm. This framework turns out to be surprisingly productive of insights. In the first place, it generates an account of firms as encapsulated bundles of resources, which reproduces the strategic insights of the conventional resource-based view of the firm, namely that firms base their success in their distinctive competences which are grounded in their resources and routines. But it does so without remaining trapped in an “internalist” perspective, which has to date been a serious limitation on the wider application of the RBV. On the contrary, an extended resource-based perspective sees firms as being able to draw on a wide array of external resources, through both market-mediated transactions and through various kinds of resource exchange and resource leverage relations that link firms in value-chains that criss-cross the economy. Unlike the conventional RBV, which remains tied to the analysis of the resource choices of incumbents, this extended view applies as much to challengers as to incumbents, generating an evolutionary perspective on the competitive dynamics through which industrial sectors rise and fall. The framework developed generates an account of the resource dynamics that underpin production of goods and services – including resource propagation, diffusion and recombination. These processes encompass evolutionary pressures, experienced through resource variation, selection and retention. Entrepreneurial initiatives take the form of resource recombinations, while resource innovation captures the creation of new economic resources, such as technological standards. Such a perspective brings into focus the resource cycles that drive real economies, as well as the resource specialization and configuration, within firms and between firms, that translates into enhanced or diminished economic performance. Within such a framework, the capturing and accelerated diffusion of resources, and the development of economic routines for efficiently utilizing resources, turns out to have a convenient interpretation as “economic learning.” The resulting synthesis, which is here characterized as an “extended” resource-based view of economic dynamics, is fundamentally Schumpeterian, Penrosian and Richardsonian in inspiration. It is Schumpeterian in its emphasis on the restless dynamics of resources. It is Penrosian in its view of firms’ capabilities being built from a resource base, and put to use in generating value through organizational routines. It is Richardsonian in its view that economic performance ultimately depends on the changing configuration of resources in the economy, both within and between firms. This extended resource-based view promises to take the analysis of competitive dynamics further along the new, empirically-based path that has already been blazed by evolutionary and dynamic capabilities approaches to economics. 2011-02-09T13:11:11.740Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:11655 3 page(s) 2011-02-07T01:20:39.216Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:11661 We report on the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) scaling of a small-scale (25 mm bore and 0.61 m long) copper vapor laser (CVL). When operated as an elemental CVL, the laser had a stable output power of 15 W at 15 kHz PRF (9.6% efficiency). After the addition of small quantities of hydrogen and hydrogen chloride to the neon buffer gas, the maximum recorded stable output power increased to 41 W at 25 kHz PRF (1.4% efficiency). This represents a record stable specific output power of 0.14 W cm⁻³. Pulse repetition frequency scaling of the laser was demonstrated up to 100 kHz where the output power was 9.0 W. By operating the laser at elevated input powers, transient output powers of over 50 W were achieved between PRFs of 25-40 kHz. These results are the highest recorded specific output powers (0.17 W cm⁻³) for a CVL with this tube diameter. 2011-02-07T01:20:27.063Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:11549 34 page(s) 2011-01-31T10:10:52.687Z ]]>