Fast-expanding "online" markets in South Korea and China: are they worth pursuing?

The online shopping craze in South Korea has been ongoing for more than a decade, but in China, online shopping is currently experiencing tremendous growth, with 64 million additional shoppers per year. Consumers in Asia are among the world's most prolific online shoppers. This study explains the evolution of the online shopping market in South Korea and China. Using fast-expanding market model as an initial analytical framework and multiple case approach, we find that Chinese online shopping corresponds to the take-off stage of a successful cluster, in which significant opportunities are still present in Chinese Tier-3 and Tier-4 cities. Conversely, the South Korean online market is nearing saturation, though major foreign players are still entering this perceived lucrative marketplace

Sharing place-based stories using digital tools: locative literature and regional writing communities

This chapter examines the role of the researcher in actively working to develop reading and writing communities through digital tools, specifically locative literature. Locative literature uses new technology that allows narratives to be tied to specific locations. For example, quick response codes can be situated in a given location and then scanned with a smart phone so that the user can access data instantly in that location. Increasingly, artists and writers are using these technologies to engage with the symbolic meaning of specific sites. This chapter looks at narrative representations of sites in particular, focusing on the way community groups use locative literature to tell place stories, with reference to a case study of a regional writing community in North Queensland, Australia.\ud \ud Because of locative literature's capacity to allow users to engage with narratives in the location in which they are set, locative media can bring to light hidden and multiple layers of human experience tied to a specific location. These tools can thus serve as a means to share community perceptions of place through narrative. The symbolic representation of place aids in the construction of a sense of a community both real and virtual. Locative media thus offer a one useful tool for both sharing community narratives and for researchers to be involved in the development of community cohesion and inclusiveness

Finite element modelling of the structural response of roof to wall framing connections in timber-framed houses

The structural response and performance of connections are particularly important to assess the vulnerability of timber-framed structures to windstorms. Finite element (FE) analysis using ABAQUS (6.12-3) software is used in this study to determine the structural response and uplift capacities of typical roof to wall connections. Results (i.e. force-displacement relationship and failure modes) of the FE model were compared with experimental tests and the model validated from the test results. The FE model accounts for large deformation as well as the contact between nail and timber through the elastic and post-elastic phases up to failure. The dominant failure modes observed are nails and framing anchor bending, and nail pull out. The FE model produced structural responses and uplift capacities that generally agree with the experimental results. Construction defects (i.e. missing nails) in a roof to wall connection influences the design uplift capacity. Nails located near the centre line of the loading action in a triple grip connection (i.e. common roof to wall connection used in the timber-framed house of Australia) significantly affect the stiffness of this connection. The response of these nails dominated the uplift capacity and failure types of triple grip connection to loading. Missing a nail in both truss and top-plate in the triple grip connection reduces the design uplift capacity by 40% of the "Ideal" triple grip connections. The roof to wall connection subjected to a combination of lateral and vertical loads, gave a connection capacity of about 55% less than the uplift capacity specified in the standards.\ud \ud The outcome of this study shows that the FE model analysis methods used in this study can be used to assess and predict the structural response and design uplift capacity of the roof to wall connection

Cortisol awakening response and acute stress reactivity in First Nations people

First Nations people globally have a higher incidence of mental disorders and non-communicable diseases. These health inequalities are partially attributed to a complex network of social and environmental factors which likely converge on chronic psychosocial stress. We hypothesized that alterations in stress processing and the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis might underlie health disparities in First Nations people. We assessed the cortisol awakening response and the dynamic response to a laboratory induced psychosocial stress of young Indigenous tertiary students (n = 11, mean age 23.82 years) and non-Indigenous students (n = 11) matched for age and gender. Indigenous participants had a blunted cortisol awakening response (27.40 (SD 35.00) vs. 95.24 (SD 55.23), p = 0.002), which was differentially associated with chronic experience of stress in Indigenous (r = −0.641, p = 0.046) and non-Indigenous (r = 0.652, p = 0.03) participants. The cortisol response to the laboratory induced psychosocial stress did not differ between groups. Self-reported racial discrimination was strongly associated with flattened cortisol response to stress (r = −0676, p = 0.022) and with heart rate variability (r = 0.654, p = 0.040). Our findings provide insight into potential biological factors underlying health discrepancies in ethnic minority groups

Expectation values of single-particle operators in the random phase approximation ground state

We developed a method for computing matrix elements of single-particle operators in the correlated random phase approximation ground state. Working with the explicit random phase approximation ground state wavefunction, we derived a practically useful and simple expression for a molecular property in terms of random phase approximation amplitudes. The theory is illustrated by the calcula- tion of molecular dipole moments for a set of representative molecules

Knitting Nannas and Frackman: a gender analysis of Australian anti-coal seam gas documentaries (CSG) and implications for environmental adult Education

Frackman (FM) and Knitting Nannas (KN) are two documentaries about the anti-coal seam gas movement in Australia. Frackman (2015) features a former construction worker turned eco-activist Dayne Pratzky (DP) fighting coal seam gas extraction; and Knitting Nannas (2014) which follows a group of women also protesting this. In this article we set a challenge to environmental adult educationist to expose gender agendas embedded in environmental education documentaries. A scene-by-scene analysis of these two documentaries through a post-structuralist ecofeminist evaluation, reveals there are lessons to be learnt in the repetition of gender blindness in Frackman; whilst KN offers potential solutions for greater inclusivity in adult environmental education. The article concludes with recommendations for community-based approaches in environmental adult education

Complex events

Arguably, all disasters are complex events, as they constitute a complex interaction between the society and the hazard that creates a risk to that society. Some events, however, are worthy of special consideration due to their multifaceted or interdependent elements. These events are presented here to highlight and explore their complexity in more detail.\ud \ud The aim of this chapter is to address those events in which there is a complex interplay of causative factors and impacts. On completion of this chapter you should be able to:\ud \ud • Describe the particular characteristics of pandemics, and complex humanitarian emergencies. \ud • Demonstrate an extensive understanding of the complex interaction of risks that characterise major events. \ud • Identify the particular management strategies required to ensure these events are effectively managed throughout the PPRR cycle

Alcohol management plans in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australian communities in Queensland: community residents have experienced favourable impacts but also suffered unfavourable ones

Background: In Australia, 'Alcohol Management Plans' (AMPs) provide the policy infrastructure for State and Commonwealth Governments to address problematic alcohol use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. We report community residents' experiences of AMPs in 10 of Queensland's 15 remote Indigenous communities.\ud \ud Methods: This cross-sectional study used a two-stage sampling strategy: N = 1211; 588 (48%) males, 623 (52%) females aged ≥18 years in 10 communities. Seven propositions about 'favourable' impacts and seven about 'unfavourable' impacts were developed from semi-structured interviews. For each proposition, one-sample tests of proportions examined participant agreement and multivariable binary logistic regressions assessed influences of gender, age (18–24, 25–44, 45–64, ≥65 years), residence (≥6 years), current drinking and Indigenous status. Confirmatory factor analyses estimated scale reliability (ρ), item loadings and covariances.\ud \ud Results: Slim majorities agreed that: AMPs reduced violence (53%, p = 0.024); community a better place to live (54%, 0.012); and children were safer (56%, p < 0.001). More agreed that: school attendance improved (66%, p < 0.001); and awareness of alcohol's harms increased (71%, p < 0.001). Participants were equivocal about improved personal safety (53%, p = 0.097) and reduced violence against women (49%, p = 0.362). The seven 'favourable' items reliably summarized participants' experiences of reduced violence and improved community amenity (ρ = 0.90).\ud \ud Stronger agreement was found for six 'unfavourable' items: alcohol availability not reduced (58%, p < 0.001); drinking not reduced (56%, p < 0.001)); cannabis use increased (69%, p < 0.001); more binge drinking (73%, p < 0.001); discrimination experienced (77%, p < 0.001); increased fines, convictions and criminal records for breaching restrictions (90%, p < 0.001). Participants were equivocal (51% agreed, p = 0.365) that police could enforce restrictions effectively. 'Unfavourable' items were not reliably reflected in one group (ρ = 0.48) but in: i) alcohol availability and consumption not reduced and ii) criminalization and discrimination.\ud \ud In logistic regressions, longer-term (≥ 6 years) residents more likely agreed that violence against women had reduced and that personal safety had improved but also that criminalization and binge drinking had increased. Younger people disagreed that their community was a better place to live and strongly agreed about discrimination. Current drinkers' views differed little from the sample overall.\ud \ud Conclusions: The present Government review provides an opportunity to reinforce 'favourable' outcomes while targeting: illicit alcohol, treatment and diversion services and reconciliation of criminalization and discrimination issues.\ud \u

Application of U-Pb detrital zircon geochronology to drill cuttings for age control in hydrocarbon exploration wells: a case example from the Rukwa Rift Basin, Tanzania

Precise dating and correlation of drilled wells through continental successions is challenging for hydrocarbon exploration, especially where preservation and recovery of age-diagnostic fossils is poor. As a complement or alternative to biostratigraphic dating we demonstrate the effectiveness of U–Pb geochronology via laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry on detrital zircon from well cuttings. In basins with syndepositional volcanic input, the youngest zircons in a stratigraphic interval can refine and serve as a proxy for the age of deposition. We demonstrate the reliability of this technique when applied to hydrocarbon exploration wells by analyzing drill cuttings through a continental interval of the Galula-1 well in the Rukwa Rift Basin, East African rift system, Tanzania, which previously yielded conflicting biostratigraphy results. The lower third of the well section reveals a late Miocene to Pliocene up-hole younging trend in the youngest detrital zircon populations, which matches new radioisotopic ages on volcanic tuffs from a correlative outcrop section. This is followed by an interval with recycled young zircons, followed by a zircon-free interval, interpreted to correspond to changes in magma composition of the nearby Rungwe volcanic province. This study provides the first radioisotopic age constraints for the Lake Beds in the Rukwa rift and demonstrates that sedimentation in the basin began by 8.7 Ma, critical for burial and thermal history modeling and establishing the probability of a working hydrocarbon system. Correspondence in age and zircon preservation between well and outcrop samples from the same intervals provides strong support for applying U–Pb detrital zircon geochronology to well cuttings, as a rapid, inexpensive approach for hydrocarbon exploration

Skills and talents for big data analytics

From marketing to autonomous vehicles, big data analytics has quickly become prevalent in our daily lives, having moved from an emerging technology to an everyday technology. In light of the rapid growth in big data analytics, this study set out to understand the types of big data analytics skills and talents that employers are seeking by analysing 139 Singapore online job advertisements. Having performed text analysis on these job advertisements, the results showed that big data analytics required a wide variety of interdisciplinary skills and talents across three broad inter-related areas: big data skills (i.e. artificial intelligence (AI) skills, analytical skills, computing/information technology (IT) skills, and data presentation skills); tools-related skills (i.e. skills in using a variety of software tools); and soft skills (i.e. communication skills, interpersonal skills, problem-solving skills, and project management skills)