Community economic development? An examination of regional and sub-regional support networks for social enterprise

The development of social enterprise as a potential tool to assist local and community economic development, has led to a range of debates specifically about the social and entrepreneurial values they exhibit. These debates have led to more theoretical questions about how social enterprise can transfer knowledge and best practice within and between local networks of association and how their successful outcomes should be measured. These issues have posed problems for many social enterprise support agencies and policy makers as they attempt to make sense of both support and development needs. Ultimately, these have led to a study about obtaining a better understanding of the support networks at regional and sub-regional levels, which are available for social enterprise. This has been done through a critical examination of contemporary policy documentation and research grounded in empirical investigation, about the development of the social economy, the effectiveness and construction of social enterprise support, how local economic development policy knowledges evolve and are shared and how social enterprise intersects and interacts within established socio-economic and socio-political systems. The thesis was undertaken between 2002 and 2008 and utilised a grounded theory approach to triangulate both qualitative and quantitative approaches to research principally through a national scoping survey and sub-regional interviews with social enterprise support providers and policy makers

The OpenScore Lieder Corpus

MEC 2021 BEST POSTER AWARDThe OpenScore Lieder Corpus is a collection of over 1,200 nineteenth century songs encoded by a dedicated team of mostly volunteers over several years. Having reported on the initial phase, motivations, design, and community-oriented aspects of the project before [3], we present here the first, stable, large-scale release of this corpus specifically designed for MIR researchers, complete with comprehensive, structured, linked metadata. The corpus continues to be available under the open CC0 licence and represents a compelling dataset for a range of MIR tasks, not least given its unusual balance of large-scale with high-quality encoding, and of diversity (songs by over 100 composers, from many countries, and in a range of languages) with unity (centred on the nineteenth-century lieder tradition)

Undertaking an institutional ‘stock-take’ of SoTL: New Zealand university case studies

A working group was established at AUT University in 2005 with a brief to identify initiatives that might be taken to promote and support staff engagement in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). The working group recognized that a ‘stock-taking’ exercise would need to be undertaken before appropriate initiatives could be identified, trialled and evaluated. In this article the methodology and specific methods used for the stock-take, which included bench-marking with other New Zealand universities, are outlined and key findings are presented and discussed. These findings provide a helpful snapshot of the presence of SoTL within New Zealand universities and within the everyday lives of New Zealand university teachers. They highlight the complexity of those lives and tertiary institution environments that can make it challenging for teachers to become more scholarly and to engage in SoTL. They also point to ways in which those environments may be made more conducive to the realization of these goals. In this article, the methodology and specific methods used for the stock-take, which included bench-marking with other New Zealand universities, are outlined and key findings are presented and discussed

Impact of non-optimal grounding of the CC2420 RFIC on a 802.15.4 Tyndall sensor wireless mote

The performance of an RF output matching network is dependent on integrity of the ground connection. If this connection is compromised in anyway, additional parasitic elements may occur that can degrade performance and yield unreliable results. Traditionally, designers measure Constant Wave (CW) power to determine that the RF chain is performing optimally, the device is properly matched and by implication grounded. It is shown that there are situations where modulation quality can be compromised due to poor grounding that is not apparent using CW power measurements alone. The consequence of this is reduced throughput, range and reliability. Measurements are presented on a Tyndall Mote using a CC2420 RFIC todemonstrate how poor solder contact between the ground contacts and the ground layer of the PCB can lead tothe degradation of modulated performance. Detailed evaluation that required the development of a new measurement definition for 802.15.4 and analysis is presented to show how waveform quality is affected while the modulated output power remains within acceptable limits

Experimental impulse radio IEEE 802.15.4a UWB based wireless sensor localization technology: Characterization, reliability and ranging

Ultra Wide Band (UWB) transmission has recently been the object of considerable attention in the field of next generation location aware wireless sensor networks. This is due to its fine time resolution, energy efficient and robustness to interference in harsh environments. This paper presents a thorough applied examination of prototype IEEE 802.15.4a impulse UWB transceiver technology to quantify the effect of line of sight (LOS) and non line of sight (NLOS) ranging in real indoor and outdoor environments. Results included draw on an extensive array of experiments that fully characterize the 802.15.4a UWB transceiver technology, its reliability and ranging capabilities for the first time. A new two way (TW) ranging protocol is proposed. The goal of this work is to validate the technology as a dependable wireless communications mechanism for the subset of sensor network localization applications where reliability and precision positions are key concerns

CIB World Congress 2010- Building a better world: Programme and book of abstracts

The 2010 CIB World Congress is focused on “Building a Better World”. The construction and built environment sectors are already hugely important to achieving a world in which people are properly housed, in which buildings and transport systems support the efficient operation of our economies, and in which people are happy and healthy. But we can do better. Connecting and channelling the full capacities of the construction and built environment industries to meet the needs of the human race, head on, will transform the world, for us and for future generations. The World Congress of the CIB is held every three years and is an opportunity for the whole CIB community to gather and exchange views across the usual disciplinary boundaries. An unprecedented majority of the CIB working commissions and task groups are represented at this 2010 Congress and we have worked to facilitate interaction with a rich mix of: specialist streams, opportunities for informal networking and a series of challenging keynotes and, in response, multidisciplinary workshops

Atmospheric temperature responses to solar irradiance and geomagnetic activity

The relative effects of solar irradiance and geomagnetic activity on the atmospheric temperature anomalies (Ta) are examined from the monthly to interdecadal timescales. Geomagnetic Ap (Ap) signals are found primarily in the stratosphere, while the solar F10.7-cm radio flux (Fs) signals are found in both the stratosphere and troposphere. In the troposphere, 0.1–0.4 K increases in Ta are associated with Fs. Enhanced Fs signals are found when the stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) is westerly. In the extrapolar region of the stratosphere, 0.1–0.6 and 0.1–0.7 K increases in Ta are associated with solar irradiance and with geomagnetic activity, respectively. In this region, Fs signals are strengthened when either the QBO is easterly, or geomagnetic activity is high, while Ap signals are strengthened when either the QBO is westerly, or solar irradiance is high. High solar irradiance and geomagnetic activity tend to enhance each other's signatures either making the signals stronger and symmetric about the equator or extending the signals to broader areas, or both. Positive Ap signals dominate the middle Arctic stratosphere and are two to five times larger than those of Fs. When solar irradiance is low, the signature of Ap in Ta is asymmetric about the equator, with positive signals in the Arctic stratosphere and negative signals at midlatitudes of the NH stratosphere. Weaker stratospheric QBO signals are associated with high Ap and Fs, suggesting possible disturbances on the QBO. The signals of Ap and Fs are distinct from the positive temperature anomalies resulting from volcanic eruptions

Antenna tuning for wearable wireless sensors

When miniaturized wireless sensors are placed on or close to the human body, they can experience a significant loss inperformance due to antenna detuning, resulting in degradationof wireless performance as well as decreased battery lifetime.Several antenna tuning technologies have been proposed formobile wireless devices but devices suitable for widespread integration have yet to emerge. This paper highlights the possible advantages of antenna tuning for wearable wireless sensors and presents the design and characterization of a prototype 433MHz tuner module

Would you recommend nursing to men as a career?

Objective : The principle objective of this study was to establish a profile and perception of men in nursing in Western Australia. This paper will discuss one sub-objective which sort to explore responses to the question: “Would you recommend a nursing as a career to males that you know?” Design: Main study was a quantitative, descriptive survey design, however the question under review was significantly qualitative in nature and analysed as such. Setting : The study took place across Western Australian public and private sector health care facilities, nurse education institutions and non- government providers across rural, remote and metropolitan locations. Main outcome measures: Data was collected through responses to one question (within a larger survey) that related to recommending nursing as a career to males. An online survey instrument was used. Results: 70.5 %( n= 377) said they would recommend nursing to males. Of the respondents that selected “yes” 19.6% were male and 80.4 % were female. Of the 29.5 %( n= 158) respondents that selected “no” 24.7% were male and 75.3% female. Qualitative data reported supports the perceptions in the current workforce. Conclusion : Whilst the majority of respondents in the study would recommend a career in nursing to men, a quarter of respondents felt that a career in nursing was not suited to men. Reasons identified included; poor pay, a difficult job, men’s values were incompatible with care, or that they were using nursing as a spring board to other careers. Identifying the perceptions of men in nursing and if current nurses would promote nursing to males they knew assists in the potential recruitment of a much needed future workforce

A comparison of the 31 January–1 February 1953 and 5–6 December 2013 coastal flood events around the UK

A North Sea storm surge during 31 January–1 February 1953 caused Northwest Europe's most severe coastal floods in living memory. This event killed more than 2000 people on the coasts of England, the Netherlands, and Belgium. In the UK, where this study focuses, this event was a pivotal influence for flood risk management. Subsequent progress included a national tide gauge network, a storm surge forecasting and warning service, and major defense upgrades such as the Thames Barrier. Almost 60-years later, on 5–6 December 2013 Storm “Xaver” generated a surge event of similar magnitude. This paper describes a detailed comparison of these two events in the UK in terms of: (1) the meteorological conditions; (2) the observed high sea levels; and (3) the coastal flooding and impacts. The 1953 storm had a more southerly track and generated bigger waves due to the north-northwesterly onshore winds off East Anglia. The 2013 storm had a more west-to-east path from the north Atlantic to Scandinavia. Consequently, the 1953 high waters were more extreme in the southern North Sea. However, the 2013 event coincided with larger astronomical tides, resulting in a larger spatial “footprint”. The extreme sea levels impacted communities on the west, east, and south coasts, with 2800 properties flooded during the 2013 event, compared to 24,000 properties (mainly between the Humber and Thames) in 1953. The 1953 floods remain a benchmark in the UK as an event which included failed defenses, damaged property and infrastructure and loss of life. Measures taken after 1953 greatly reduced the consequences of the 5–6 December 2013 storm. Continued monitoring of extreme sea levels and their consequences is important to inform a realistic perspective on future planning and resilience