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Background Briefing: Living In A Smart World - People As Sensors-20130620 0104-1, Rob Manson, Alexander Hayes, Susannah Sabbine, Katina Michael, Lucy Simmonds

Alexander Hayes Mr.

From Google glass to embedded tokens, camera-based smart technologies will soon be on the market but the potential and pitfalls are not yet well understood. There are likely to be many implications of living in smartworlds – smart grids, smart infrastructure, smart homes – and as we start wearing sensors like cameras on us: smart people. Everyday products such as automatic flush toilets and taps are already starting to use more sophisticated camera-based computer-vision technologies. While wearable and embedded sensors can give us many benefits, there is the potential for them to become mechanisms of control by smart infrastructure monitoring …

Workshop | Body Worn Video Recorders: The Socio-Technical Implications Of Gathering Direct Evidence, Katina Michael, Alexander Hayes

Alexander Hayes Mr.

- From in-car video recording to body-worn video recording

- Exploring available technologies: how do they work, pros and cons

- Storing direct evidence in secure storage: factors to consider

- Citizens “shooting” back with POV tech – what are their rights?

- Crowdsourced sousveillance- harnessing public data for forensic profiling

- Police force policies and practices on the application of new media

Living In A Smart World - People As Sensors, Bernie Goldie, Katina Michael, Alexander Hayes

Alexander Hayes Mr.

Associate Professor Katina Michael from UOW’s School of Information Systems and Technology is the program chair of ISTAS13.

“Smart people interacting with smart infrastructure means that intelligence is driving decisions,” Professor Michael said.

“People wearing sensors (e.g. temperature, physiological characteristics), location data loggers, microphones, cameras, tokens, and other wearable and embeddable systems can see direct benefits for a host of applications including health and well-being, emergencies, convenience, and care-oriented solutions.”

However, Professor Michael said these emerging technologies and applications have the potential to become controlling applications because they are used for example to make decisions, generate alerts and log employee …

The Quickly--Evolving Tax Filing Status For Same-Gender Couples, John Treu

John S. Treu

Discusses the evolving law regarding federal income tax filing status for same-gender couples.

Beyond Hydrology In The Sustainability Assessment Of Dams: A Planners Perspective - The Sarawak Experience, Edward Andre

Edward Andre Dr

There is increasing concern about the availability of water supplies in developing countries to provide clean drinking water and sanitation as well as providing for irrigation for food security. This has led to hydrologically led investigation to establish the feasibility and storage capacity of potentially new dam sites. This task has become more difficult for hydrologists and others with the uncertainties created by climate change and the measurement of the hydrological, geographical and ecological footprint of new dams. The questions asked by hydrologists are increasingly likely to be required to be cast in terms of the four pillars of sustainability; …

Investigating Information Management Weaknesses In A Local Government Organisation : A Critical Hermeneutic Ethnographic Case Study Of Internet Documents From Information Warfare And Legal Perspective(S), Edward Andre

Edward Andre Dr

In this thesis I develop an approach to analyse and interpret internet documents belonging to a particular organisation in a State of Australia. My intention in the research is to find ways to protect a local government organisation from litigation and other threats due to weaknesses in information management on the internet. Based on Gadamer's (1985) approach to the interpretation of text discourse, this thesis is a critical hermeneutic ethnographic case study of one local government organisation investigating internet docunents from information warfare and legal perspective(s).

Development Of A Reliable And Valid Organization-Specific Professional Practice Assessment Tool, Kim Hitchings, Terry Capuano, Joanna Bokovoy, Janet Houser

Terry A Capuano MBA, MSN, RN, FACHE, NE-BC

No abstract provided.

Contributor, Terry Capuano, Beverly Snyder

Terry A Capuano MBA, MSN, RN, FACHE, NE-BC

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Pre-School On Adolescents' Outcomes: Evidence From A Recent English Cohort, Patricia Apps, Silvia Mendolia, Ian Walker

Silvia Mendolia

This paper investigates the relationship between attendance at pre-school school and children's outcomes into early adulthood. In particular, we are interested in: child cognitive development at ages 11, 14 and 16; intentions towards tertiary education; economic activity in early adulthood; a group of non-cognitive outcomes such as risky health behaviour; and personality traits. Using matching methods to control for a very rich set of child and family characteristics, we find evidence that pre-school childcare moderately improves results in cognitive tests at age 11 and 14, and 16. Positive effects are especially noticeable for girls and children from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. …

Behavioural Responses To Beach Erosion And Climate Change, David Anning, Michael Raybould, Dan Ware, Neil Lazarow

Michael Raybould

No abstract provided.

Expectations Identity And Affordability: The Housing Dreams Of Australia's Generation Y, Melanie Bruce, Stephen Kelly

Adjunct Professor Stephen J Kelly

Australia’s generation Y has grown up believing in ‘the great Australian dream’, which is inseparable from home ownership. It embodies a sense of independence, possibly entitlement, and an expectation of economic and social advancement. In this paper Generation Y’s ‘dreams’ regarding their first home are examined with perceived risk being applied as a theoretical lens. It is found that Generation Y has expectations regarding the quality of their first home that significantly exceeds their earning capacity and that the significance of housing as an expression of identity acts as a driver of both the gap between earnings and expectations and …

A Web Designer’S Guide To Being Lazy, Conny Liegl

Conny Liegl

Sorry to disappoint, but this talk is not the ultimate guide on how to avoid working. It is instead an example of a workflow paradigm shift and supportive technology that will allow us to use the eight hours at our desks more efficiently.

Working in higher education, we are continuously faced with budget cuts that directly impact the amount and variety of our daily tasks. The official job descriptions barely reflect the actual day-to-day work we encounter: we wear many hats and have to carefully manage our time as well as the increasing number of projects. Tedious maintenance of content …

Select Readiness: Assessing The Clinical Learning Environment Of A Regional Branch Medical Campus, Margaret A. Hadinger Edd, Ms, Erica T. Mahady Ma, Edward Norris Md, Fapm, J Alan Otsuki Md, Mba

Edward R Norris MD, FAPA, FAPM

No abstract provided.

New Deal Labor Policy And The Containment Of Radical Union Activity, Richard Hurd

Richard W Hurd

New Deal labor policies were designed with the stability of the capitalist economy in mind. Their pro-union provisions responded to labor militance and served to head off the formation of a radical working-class movement. The National Labor Relations Act established procedures which encouraged unions to pursue peaceful collective bargaining rather than a more activist course. Although the enforcement of pro-union policies was weak, the fact that they were adopted gave the impression that the state was sensitive to worker interests. When the crisis ended with the onset of World War II, the state reverted to an approach which more directly …

Progressive Union Organizing: The Seiu Justice For Janitors Campaign, Richard Hurd, William Rouse

Richard W Hurd

[Excerpt] The Justice for Janitors campaign was conceived during a bitter labor dispute with Pittsburgh's Mellon Bank which started late in 1985. Mellon Bank, having just renewed an Service Employees International Union collective-bargaining agreement, replaced their former cleaning contractor with a nonunion company. The new contractor refused to honor the Mellon-SEIU labor accord and was willing to hire only half of Mellon's 80 janitors on a part-time basis with a substantial pay cut and no benefits. Mellon disclaimed any responsibility, stating that the dispute was strictly between the new cleaning contractor and the janitors. In response the SEIU called a …

Solidarity And Rights: Two To Tango: A Response To Joseph A. Mccartin, Lance Compa

Lance A Compa

[Excerpt] Thanks to Joseph McCartin for advancing this debate with an insightful critique of the workers’-rights-as-human-rights framework and for his generous treatment of the series of Human Rights Watch reports in which I had a hand. McCartin so fairly presents the human rights case, even while disagreeing with it, that it’s hard to respond without simply borrowing from his framing of my own views. But I’ll try.

Strategic Entrepreneurship: Understanding The Association Between Proactiveness, Planning And Innovation Within Complex Markets, Jennifer Harrison, Stephen Kelly

Adjunct Professor Stephen J Kelly

Strategic entrepreneurship (SE) suggests integration of opportunity seeking and advantage seeking behaviour leads to wealth creation. However enquiry focused on associations between central SE constructs is limited and recent literature questions the appropriateness of its ontological and epistemic foundations. In this paper salient associations evident within SE are considered through examination of proactiveness, planning and innovation within a sample of information and communication technology (ICT) firms. Results indicate that planning mediates the relationship between a proactive orientation and innovation, supporting a key premise of SE. Concurrently, these findings and the SE framework are critiqued using complexity as an alternate theoretical …

Reinventing An Organizing Union: Strategies For Change, Jeffrey Grabelsky, Richard Hurd

Richard W Hurd

[Excerpt] Confronted by declining membership and market share as well as an erosion of bargaining strength and political influence, a sense of crisis now pervades many international unions. Some labor unions continue to adhere to programs and practices they have pursued for several decades. But others, faced with challenges so fundamental that their viability is at stake, have chosen to reexamine their basic policies and performance and to reorient their essential course. This paper evaluates the experience of four such international unions, all of which have recently embarked on strategic planning initiatives. Three of the unions – the Electrical Workers …

Reinventing An Organizing Union: Strategies For Change, Jeffrey Grabelsky, Richard Hurd

Jeffrey Grabelsky

[Excerpt] Confronted by declining membership and market share as well as an erosion of bargaining strength and political influence, a sense of crisis now pervades many international unions. Some labor unions continue to adhere to programs and practices they have pursued for several decades. But others, faced with challenges so fundamental that their viability is at stake, have chosen to reexamine their basic policies and performance and to reorient their essential course. This paper evaluates the experience of four such international unions, all of which have recently embarked on strategic planning initiatives. Three of the unions – the Electrical Workers …

Reshoring Offers Hope To R.I., U.S., Koray Özpolat, Stu Westin

Koray Özpolat

While dining with Silicon Valley executives in February 2011, President Obama asked Steve Jobs what it would take to manufacture iPhones in the United States. Jobs, in his straightforward tone, replied: “These jobs aren’t coming back!” Surprisingly, only two years later, Jobs’s successor Tim Cook announced Apple’s plans to bring some manufacturing jobs home by making the new iMacs in the U.S. Since then, reports of iMacs sporting a backside stamp “Assembled in USA” have flooded the media.

The One And Many Gods Of Hinduism, Cathy Byrne

Dr Cathy Byrne

Hinduism is commonly thought to represent polytheism. This label reflects a superficial perception of how the gods were and are understood. This essay explores the idea that Hinduism, (itself a relatively modern, externally imposed label), has many
understandings… that it is polygnostic. It takes a journey through the evolution of a range of Hindu conceptions of deity, from the philosophical and abstract through to the deeply personal. Although such modern commentators as Richard Dawkins claim that the possibility of Hinduism including a monotheistic stream is deceptive, this essay traces monotheistic stances through a range of India’s rich theological and philosophical …

Freirean Critical Pedagogy’S Challenge To Interfaith Education: What Is Interfaith? What Is Education?, Cathy Byrne

Dr Cathy Byrne

Interfaith education has been boosted recently by the imprimatur of current and previous political world leaders. However, a critical analysis of what makes good interfaith education is yet to emerge. Indeed the attention may distract from the effort needed to ensure positive outcomes. This paper questions whether the uncritical nature of some interfaith education initiatives encourages the continuation of cultural and theological bias. Critical social theorist Paulo Freire viewed education as an opportunity for social evolution. His pedagogy of freedom relied on the idea that no knowledge is out of bounds and that such freedom nurtured the security to greet …

“Free, Compulsory And (Not) Secular”: The Failed Idea In Australian Education, Cathy Byrne

Dr Cathy Byrne

The nineteenth century radically transformed education from a church function to a state duty. During the early to late 1800s, Australian legislators debated the foundations of education for their new society. Decades of acrimonious argument, and sustained (but failed) attempts to create a workable denominational system led the colonies to explore more radical options. To minimize religious division, Australia's proposal was for public education to be “free, compulsory and secular.” New South Wales legislated these then politically progressive principles in the Public Instruction Act of 1880, following Victoria in 1872, and Queensland and South Australia in 1875. No state defined …

Matter And Mind: A Non-Theist Exploration, Cathy Byrne

Dr Cathy Byrne

This essay explores two non-theist approaches to mind and matter—Buddhism and Humanism. It examines these differing views in relation to Paley’s ‘design argument’ for the existence of God from a philosophical and biological perspective. While tracking along a path similar to one which a theologian may travel, this essay does not refer to theist doctrine.

Ethics Classes Won’T Stop The Extremists, Cathy Byrne

Dr Cathy Byrne

No abstract provided.

Would A Buddhist Freeze A Cane Toad? An Exploration Of The Modern Phenomenon Of Environmental Buddhism And The Ethics Related To The Doctrine Of Ahimsa (Non-Harming), Cathy Byrne

Dr Cathy Byrne

Much of modern theory posits change as a positive force. Societies, cultures and even religious ideas must be capable of evolving and keeping pace, to remain relevant for the modern era. In some cases, however, such evolution of fundamentals may reverse a principle into its opposite. One example seen in modern Buddhism, for example, is killing in the name of conservation. Australian environmental Buddhists are confronted by this issue of accommodating philosophical change and determining whether and where environmentalism crosses the Buddhist boundaries. Cane toads, an introduced species, threaten the survival of a variety of native reptiles, amphibians and mammals. …

Why Tolerate Racism, Discrimination And Segregation In Schools?, Cathy Byrne

Dr Cathy Byrne

No abstract provided.

Ideologies Of Religion And Diversity In Australian Public Schools, Cathy Byrne

Dr Cathy Byrne

In many multicultural democracies, education has a Christian history. However, teaching religion has ideological variation. Progressives teach about many religions, while conservatives favor (often exclusive) instruction into one tradition. Australian secular education controversially prioritizes faith-forming instruction (mostly Christian). In this exploratory study (N = 123) the author examines pedagogical preference and attitudes toward religious diversity.

Spirit In The 'Expanding Circle': Why Learn About Religion In Australia In The 21st Century? Can Comparative Religion Knowledge Enable Cultural Diversity Capability?, Cathy Byrne

Dr Cathy Byrne

The place of religion in society is under scrutiny. Increasing local and global religiously marked conflict calls for deeper enquiry into its causes and possible solutions. Inter-religious ignorance may be contributing to rising intolerance. Philosopher Peter Singer (1981, 2004) claimed that interactions with an increasing variety of cultures will require humanity to develop a more tolerant approach to those once considered outsiders. This thesis proposes that comparative religion education may contribute to a possible remedy. The study combines qualitative and quantitative research methods to explore the relationship between comparative religion knowledge and cultural diversity capability. It argues that comparative religion …

We Must Do Better Than This Sham Compromise Between Religion And Ethics Classes, Cathy Byrne

Dr Cathy Byrne

No abstract provided.