Description:
The West Vic Division of General Practice (WVDGP), in collaboration with Radiology Department, East Grampians Health Service (EGHS), Ararat Medical Centre (AMC), Lake Imaging Radiology Group Ballarat and the Collaborative Centre for eHealth (CCeH), has developed a secure, electronic system for transporting Radiology requests and Radiology reports. Coupled to the electronic transmission of Radiology data is an electronic decision support tool to assist general practitioners with selection of appropriate Radiology intervention. The result is better patient outcomes due to improved quality of care, increased patient information and evidence based decision support.
Description:
Forecasting in complex fields such as financial markets or national economies is made difficult by the impact of numerous variables with unknown inter-dependencies. A forecasting approach is presented that produces forecasts on a variable based on past values for that variable and other, possibly inter-dependent variables. The approach is based on the intuition that the next value in a series depends on the last value and the last two values and the last three values and so on. Furthermore, the next value depends also on past values on other variables. No assumptions about the form of functions underpinning a dataset are made. Rather, evidence for each possible next value is collected by combining confidence values of numerous association rules. The approach has been evaluated by forecasting values in a hypothetical dataset and by forecasting the direction of the Australian stock market index with favorable results.
Description:
This paper explores the value electronic governance initiatives which take the form of an online community. Theory relevant to community informatics and online communities is reviewed. The case study for the Young Australian Rural Network (YARN) is then presented to draw out some of the benefits, challenges and learning that can be experienced in operationalising online initiatives. YARN (www.yarn.gov.au) is an initiative of the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). It is an interactive online community for young people working in rural industries. It provides a ‘vehicle’ for young people to communicate directly with DAFF and to keep in touch with each other, collaborate, share ideas and strengthen networks. The establishment of YARN was supported by research undertaken during 2001 which confirmed that the Internet represented a powerful communication channel for reaching young people. In June 2002 DAFF recruited a person with the primary responsibility of overseeing the establishment and ongoing development of an online community where ‘ownership’ would be shared between DAFF and young people in rural industries. DAFF clearly understood that functionality could be created but that an online community would not exist unless its members were actively involved and interacting with each other. Through YARN the Federal Government has established a practical mechanism for achieving many of the promises of electronic governance.
Description:
This paper explores the value electronic governance initiatives which take the form of an online community. Theory relevant to community informatics and online communities is reviewed. The case study for the Young Australian Rural Network (YARN) is then presented to draw out some of the benefits, challenges and learning that can be experienced in operationalising online initiatives. YARN (www.yarn.gov.au) is an initiative of the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). It is an interactive online community for young people working in rural industries. It provides a ‘vehicle’ for young people to communicate directly with DAFF and to keep in touch with each other, collaborate, share ideas and strengthen networks. The establishment of YARN was supported by research undertaken during 2001 which confirmed that the Internet represented a powerful communication channel for reaching young people. In June 2002 DAFF recruited a person with the primary responsibility of overseeing the establishment and ongoing development of an online community where ‘ownership’ would be shared between DAFF and young people in rural industries. DAFF clearly understood that functionality could be created but that an online community would not exist unless its members were actively involved and interacting with each other. Through YARN the Federal Government has established a practical mechanism for achieving many of the promises of electronic governance.
Description:
Postwar approaches to Japan’s modern era have functioned within a metanarrative of modernization. Contemporary comparative analysis approaches Japan from the vantage point of civilisational sociology and a paradigm of multiple modernities. The development of sociological thought itself in Japan could also be interpreted through this framework, although there has been little research to date along these lines. This paper explores how Japanese social thought coalesced in global encounters in the 1870s and 1880s. It analyses the radical reinterpretation of classical Western sociology in the reception of Comte, Mill and Spencer by Japan’s scholars and modernisers in the nascent public spheres of Meiji society. Special attention is paid to the philosophy of Nishi Amane.
Description:
Postwar approaches to Japan’s modern era have functioned within a metanarrative of modernization. Contemporary comparative analysis approaches Japan from the vantage point of civilisational sociology and a paradigm of multiple modernities. The development of sociological thought itself in Japan could also be interpreted through this framework, although there has been little research to date along these lines. This paper explores how Japanese social thought coalesced in global encounters in the 1870s and 1880s. It analyses the radical reinterpretation of classical Western sociology in the reception of Comte, Mill and Spencer by Japan’s scholars and modernisers in the nascent public spheres of Meiji society. Special attention is paid to the philosophy of Nishi Amane.
Description:
The paper reports on the preliminary stages of a case-based study of regional, highgrowth SMEs. The study explores the actions, activities and processes undertaken by the firms and their start- up entrepreneurs. A framework for growth is proposed, supporting the notion of the growth process as a complex, multidimensional construct. Tentative suggestions are made about the nature of “distributed entrepreneurship” within a small, rapidly growing firm and the issue of regional impacts is also addressed.
Description:
The paper reports on the preliminary stages of a case-based study of regional, highgrowth SMEs. The study explores the actions, activities and processes undertaken by the firms and their start- up entrepreneurs. A framework for growth is proposed, supporting the notion of the growth process as a complex, multidimensional construct. Tentative suggestions are made about the nature of “distributed entrepreneurship” within a small, rapidly growing firm and the issue of regional impacts is also addressed.
Description:
The paper reports on the preliminary stages of a case-based study of regional, highgrowth SMEs. The study explores the actions, activities and processes undertaken by the firms and their start- up entrepreneurs. A framework for growth is proposed, supporting the notion of the growth process as a complex, multidimensional construct. Tentative suggestions are made about the nature of “distributed entrepreneurship” within a small, rapidly growing firm and the issue of regional impacts is also addressed.
Description:
The paper reports on the preliminary stages of a case-based study of regional, highgrowth SMEs. The study explores the actions, activities and processes undertaken by the firms and their start- up entrepreneurs. A framework for growth is proposed, supporting the notion of the growth process as a complex, multidimensional construct. Tentative suggestions are made about the nature of “distributed entrepreneurship” within a small, rapidly growing firm and the issue of regional impacts is also addressed.
Description:
Data mining techniques provide a popular and powerful toolset to address both clinical and management issues in the area of health care. This paper describes the study of assigning prostate cancer patients into homogenous groups with the aim to support future clinical treatment decisions. The cluster analysis based model is suggested and an application of non-smooth non-convex optimization techniques to solve this model is discussed. It is demonstrated that using the optimization based approach to data mining of a prostate cancer patients database can lead to generation of a significant amount of new knowledge that can be effectively utilized to enhance clinical decision making.
Description:
Data mining techniques provide a popular and powerful toolset to address both clinical and management issues in the area of health care. This paper describes the study of assigning prostate cancer patients into homogenous groups with the aim to support future clinical treatment decisions. The cluster analysis based model is suggested and an application of non-smooth non-convex optimization techniques to solve this model is discussed. It is demonstrated that using the optimization based approach to data mining of a prostate cancer patients database can lead to generation of a significant amount of new knowledge that can be effectively utilized to enhance clinical decision making.
Description:
This paper reports on the experiences of students who were learning mathematics with CAS for a second consecutive school year. Evidence presented shows that nearly all students managed the challenging task of mastering the technical aspects of using CAS well. It also shows that the level of technical difficulty and the degree to which it presents an obstacle to mathematical learning is not predictable from conventional mathematical ability. There is a complex interaction between cognitive and affective factors. Planning appropriate teaching for developing the effective use of CAS will require awareness and understanding of these individual differences.
Description:
This paper reports on the experiences of students who were learning mathematics with CAS for a second consecutive school year. Evidence presented shows that nearly all students managed the challenging task of mastering the technical aspects of using CAS well. It also shows that the level of technical difficulty and the degree to which it presents an obstacle to mathematical learning is not predictable from conventional mathematical ability. There is a complex interaction between cognitive and affective factors. Planning appropriate teaching for developing the effective use of CAS will require awareness and understanding of these individual differences.