191 research outputs found

    TIP spatial index: efficient access to digital libraries in a context-aware mobile system

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    We present a framework for efficient, uniform, location-based access to digital library collections that are external to a context-aware mobile information system. Using a tourist Information system, we utilize a spatial index to manage the context of location. We show how access to resources from within and outside of the tourist information system can be carried out in a seamless manner. We show how the spatial index can be navigated to continually provide information to the user. An empirical evaluation of the navigation strategy versus traditional spatial searching shows that navigation is efficient and outperforms traditional spatial search. In conclusion, our work provides a strategy for context-aware mobile systems to co-operate with digital libraries in a seamless and efficient manner

    Indexing RFID data using the VG-curve

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    Abstract Existing methods for the management of multidimensional data typically do not scale well with an increased number of dimensions or require the unsupported augmentation of the kernel. However, the use of multidimensional data continues to grow in modern database applications, specifically in spatio-temporal databases. These systems produce vast volumes of multidimensional data, and as such, data is stored in commercial RDBMS. Therefore, the efficient management of such multidimensional data is crucial. Despite it being applicable to any multidimensional vector data, we consider Radio Frequency Identifications (RFID) systems in this work. Due to RFID's acceptance and rapid growth into new and complex applications, together with the fact that, as with commercial applications, its data is stored within commercial RDBMS, we have chosen RFID as a pertinent testbed. We show that its data can be represented as vectors in multidimensional space and that the VG-curve combined with Multidimensional Dynamic Clustering Primary Index, which can be integrated into commercial RDBMS, can be used to efficiently access such data. In an empirical study conducted on three, five and nine dimensional RFID data we show that the presented concept outperforms available off-the-shelf options with a fraction of the required space

    Audit of Antenatal Testing of Sexually Transmissible Infections and Blood Borne Viruses at Western Australian Hospitals

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    In August 2007, the Western Australian Department of Health (DOH) released updated recommendations for testing of sexually transmissible infections (STI) and blood-borne viruses (BBV) in antenates. Prior to this, the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) antenatal testing recommendations had been accepted practice in most antenatal settings. The RANZCOG recommends that testing for HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and C be offered at the first antenatal visit. The DOH recommends that in addition, chlamydia testing be offered. We conducted a baseline audit of antenatal STI/BBV testing in women who delivered at selected public hospitals before the DOH recommendations. We examined the medical records of 200 women who had delivered before 1st July 2007 from each of the sevenWAhospitals included in the audit. STI and BBV testing information and demographic data were collected. Of the 1,409 women included, 1,205 (86%) were non-Aboriginal and 200 (14%) were Aboriginal. High proportions of women had been tested for HIV (76%), syphilis (86%), hepatitis C (87%) and hepatitis B (88%). Overall, 72% of women had undergone STI/BBV testing in accordance with RANZCOG recommendations. However, chlamydia testing was evident in only 18% of records. STI/BBV prevalence ranged from 3.9% (CI 1.5ā€“ 6.3%) for chlamydia, to 1.7% (CI 1ā€“2.4%) for hepatitis C, 0.7% (CI 0.3ā€“1.2) for hepatitis B and 0.6% (CI 0.2ā€“1) for syphilis. Prior to the DOH recommendations, nearly three-quarters of antenates had undergone STI/BBV testing in accordance with RANZCOG recommendations, but less than one fifth had been tested for chlamydia. The DOH recommendations will be further promoted with the assistance of hospitals and other stakeholders. A future audit will be conducted to determine the proportion of women tested according to the DOH recommendations. The hand book from this conference is available for download Published in 2008 by the Australasian Society for HIV Medicine Inc Ā© Australasian Society for HIV Medicine Inc 2008 ISBN: 978-1-920773-59-

    Parallelisation of a cache-based stream-relation join for a near-real-time data warehouse

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    Near real-time data warehousing is an important area of research, as business organisations want to analyse their businesses sales with minimal latency. Therefore, sales data generated by data sources need to reflect immediately in the data warehouse. This requires near-real-time transformation of the stream of sales data with a disk-based relation called master data in the staging area. For this purpose, a stream-relation join is required. The main problem in stream-relation joins is the different nature of inputs; stream data is fast and bursty, whereas the disk-based relation is slow due to high disk I/O cost. To resolve this problem, a famous algorithm CACHEJOIN (cache join) was published in the literature. The algorithm has two phases, the disk-probing phase and the stream-probing phase. These two phases execute sequentially; that means stream tuples wait unnecessarily due to the sequential execution of both phases. This limits the algorithm to exploiting CPU resources optimally. In this paper, we address this issue by presenting a robust algorithm called PCSRJ (parallelised cache-based stream relation join). The new algorithm enables the execution of both disk-probing and stream-probing phases of CACHEJOIN in parallel. The algorithm distributes the disk-based relation on two separate nodes and enables parallel execution of CACHEJOIN on each node. The algorithm also implements a strategy of splitting the stream data on each node depending on the relevant part of the relation. We developed a cost model for PCSRJ and validated it empirically. We compared the service rates of both algorithms using a synthetic dataset. Our experiments showed that PCSRJ significantly outperforms CACHEJOIN

    Teaching ā€˜Properā€™ Drinking?

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    "InĀ Teaching ā€˜Properā€™ Drinking?, the author brings together three fields of scholarship: socio-historical studies of alcohol, Australian Indigenous policy history and social enterprise studies. The case studies in the book offer the first detailed surveys of efforts to teach responsible drinking practices to Aboriginal people by installing canteens in remote communities, and of the purchase of public hotels by Indigenous groups in attempts both to control sales of alcohol and to create social enterprises by redistributing profits for the community good. Ethnographies of the hotels are examined through the analytical lens of the Swedish ā€˜Gothenburgā€™ system of municipal hotel ownership. The research reveals that the community governance of such social enterprises is not purely a matter of good administration or compliance with the relevant liquor legislation. Their administration is imbued with the additional challenges posed by political contestation, both within and beyond the communities concerned. ā€˜The idea that community or government ownership and management of a hotel or other drinking place would be a good way to control drinking and limit harm has been commonplace in many Anglophone and Nordic countries, but has been less recognised in Australia. Maggie Bradyā€™s book brings together the hidden history of such ideas and initiatives in Australia ā€¦ In an original and wide-ranging set of case studies, Brady shows that success in reducing harm has varied between communities, largely depending on whether motivations to raise revenue or to reduce harm are in control.ā€™ ā€” Professor Robin Room, Director, Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe University

    Student Expectations: The effect of student background and experience

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    CONTEXT The perspectives and previous experiences that students bring to their programs of study can affect their approaches to study and the depth of learning that they achieve Prosser & Trigwell, 1999; Ramsden, 2003). Graduate outcomes assume the attainment of welldeveloped independent learning skills which can be transferred to the work-place. PURPOSE This 5-year longitudinal study investigates factors influencing studentsā€™ approaches to learning in the fields of Engineering, Software Engineering, and Computer Science, at two higher education institutes delivering programs of various levels in Australia and New Zealand. The study aims to track the development of student approaches to learning as they progress through their program. Through increased understanding of studentsā€™ approaches, faculty will be better able to design teaching and learning strategies to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student body. This paper reports on the first stage of the project. APPROACH In August 2017, we ran a pilot of our survey using the Revised Study Process Questionnaire(Biggs, Kember, & Leung, 2001) and including some additional questions related to student demographics and motivation for undertaking their current program of study. Data were analysed to evaluate the usefulness of data collected and to understand the demographics of the student cohort. Over the period of the research, data will be collected using the questionnaire and through focus groups and interviews. RESULTS Participants provided a representative sample, and the data collected was reasonable, allowing the questionnaire design to be confirmed. CONCLUSIONS At this preliminary stage, the study has provided insight into the student demographics at both institutes and identified aspects of studentsā€™ modes of engagement with learning. Some areas for improvement of the questionnaire have been identified, which will be implemented for the main body of the study

    HIV Associated Neurocognitive Disorder: Exploring the complexity

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    Background Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection is now a chronic disease. As people living with HIV (PLHIV) age they are at risk of a neurological co-morbid disease called HIV associated Neurocognitive Disorder (HAND), which causes varied levels of disability affecting quality of life. Early identification and diagnosis is important, as HAND is potentially treatable. Informal and professional caregivers may assist in identification of HAND. Aim To explore the complexities of identifying HAND by PLHIV, their informal or professional caregivers. Objectives: ā€¢ Explore whether PLHIV and their informal caregivers can identify HAND. ā€¢ Explore the experience of HAND in PLHIV. ā€¢ Explore whether community based health care professionals can identify HAND. Design A pragmatic explanatory sequential design. Method A mixed method approach explored the complexities of identifying HAND through a preliminary observational multisite pilot study followed by three subsequent study phases, an online survey, a cross sectional file audit of two community based HIV teams and a modified Delphi study. Results The pilot study noted that both PLHIV and informal caregivers can identify signs and symptoms of HAND leading to diagnosis of HAND. The online survey noted PLHIV were concerned about HAND; were experiencing signs and symptoms of HAND and additionally wanted support in discussing HAND with others. The file audit noted that community based professionals were not collecting the appropriate information to identify HAND. The modified Delphi method lead to development of an initial and monitoring tool for community-based professionals to use to identify those PLHIV at risk of HAND who should be referred for formal assessment. Conclusion HAND is a potentially treatable condition. Early recognition can have a positive impact on health and quality of life of PLHIV as they age. Diagnosis of HAND is complex, but the observational and other experiences of PLHIV and their caregivers, can offer unique insights into cognitive changes in PLHIV. For those PLHIV without the support of an informal caregiver and/or who live alone, professional caregivers can act as an alternative to an informal caregiver, being well placed to observe changes in cognitive behaviour over time

    Similarity-aware query refinement for data exploration

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