To outsource or not to outsource!

In this article we will take a look at the phenomena of outsourcing as an overarching business concept that is, in short, about contracting of a specific bit of our business to a third part organisation. Consequently, outsourcing is a natural part of the make, share or buy continuum, as illustrated in Figure 1. We would, therefore, argue that outsourcing is not a new business phenomena as it has been commonly practiced since the early times of industrialisation, even though recently it has been enjoying renewed attention fuelled by the globalising forces

Ion-exchanged waveguide add/drop filter

An add/drop filter is fabricated using ion-exchanged waveguides and photowritten Bragg gratings. The device exhibits 20 dB extinction ratios and 3 dB bandwidths of 0.4 nm (100 GHz)

Grating formation in BGG31 glass by UV exposure

A three-dimensional index variation grating in bulk BGG31 glass written using neither hydrogen loading nor germanium doping is demonstrated. This material is useful for fabricating ion-exchanged waveguides, and its photosensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) radiation at 248nm has not been previously explored. Intensity measurements of the Bragg diffracted spots indicated a maximum index variation (Delta n) of similar to 4 x 10(-5)

Gratings photowritten in ion-exchanged glass channel waveguides

Gratings are photowritten in ion-exchanged glass channel waveguides. The transmission of these waveguides shows a rejection dip of almost 20dB. The polarisation dependence of these waveguide gratings is measured and discussed

African immigrant parents\u27 understanding of their teenager\u27s newly diagnosed diabetes status in Western Australia

Background: Recently Western Australia has seen a rise in African population due to both economic and refugee migration. Concurrently, a rise in the numbers of teenagers of African origin diagnosed with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes and associated complications has been noticeable. Different ethnic background is a known risk factor for poor metabolic control; this trend is reflected in studies wherein people of African origin have been found to have a high risk of developing diabetes. What is evident from health promotion literature is that parents of teenagers with a chronic health condition, when they are well informed about that condition, play a key part its management. Little is known, though, about what African migrant parents understand about diabetes and its dietary control

Polarisation-independent Bragg gratings in ion-exchanged glass channel waveguides

The polarisation dependence of Bragg gratings photowritten in ion-exchanged glass waveguides is characterised for waveguides with different mask-opening widths and burial depths. It is found that polarisation-independent gratings can be written in waveguides with a wide variation in fabrication parameters