206 research outputs found
Project managers and technical change : curriculum development in strategic technology management
Traditional business approaches do not take account of the rapid technological developments underpinning today's world. Further understanding the role of technology and its efficient management to build and maintain a competitive edge in business can allow project managers to more successfully manage organisations, and to adapt to and capitalise on, today’s rapidly changing environment. Strategic Technology Management links engineering, science and management principles to identify, choose, and implement the most effective means of attaining compatibility between internal skills and resources of an organisation and its competitive, economic and social environment. This paper reviews the rationale and the development of a new Strategic Technology Management subject in QUT’s Master of Project Management program. It discusses recent developments in the area of technology management from an international perspective, provides details of the curriculum developed and discusses the experience of completing two years of teaching the new program
Mapping the regulatory environment : implications for construction firms
As regulators, governments are often criticised for over‐regulating industries. This research project seeks to examine the regulation affecting the construction industry in a federal system of government. It uses a case study of the Australian system of government to focus on the question of the implications of regulation in the construction industry. Having established the extent of the regulatory environment, the research project considers the costs associated with this environment. Consequently, ways in which the regulatory burden on industry can be reduced are evaluated. The Construction Industry Business Environment project is working with industry and government agencies to improve regulatory harmonisation in Australia, and thereby reduce the regulatory burden on industry. It is found that while taxation and compliance costs are not likely to be reduced in the short term, costs arising from having to adapt to variation between regulatory regimes in a federal system of government, seem the most promising way of reducing regulatory costs. Identifying and reducing adaptive costs across jurisdictional are argued to present a novel approach to regulatory reform
The Parkes Observatory Pulsar Data Archive
The Parkes pulsar data archive currently provides access to 144044 data files
obtained from observations carried out at the Parkes observatory since the year
1991. Around 10^5 files are from surveys of the sky, the remainder are
observations of 775 individual pulsars and their corresponding calibration
signals. Survey observations are included from the Parkes 70cm and the
Swinburne Intermediate Latitude surveys. Individual pulsar observations are
included from young pulsar timing projects, the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array and
from the PULSE@Parkes outreach program. The data files and access methods are
compatible with Virtual Observatory protocols. This paper describes the data
currently stored in the archive and presents ways in which these data can be
searched and downloaded.Comment: Accepted by PAS
Brokering innovation to better leverage R&D investment
What is the contribution of innovation brokers in leveraging research and development (R&D) investment to enhance industry-wide capabilities? The case of the Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Construction Innovation (CRC CI) is considered in the context of motivating supply chain firms to improve their organizational capabilities in order to acquire, assimilate, transfer and exploit R&D outcomes to their advantage, and to create broader industry and national benefits. A previous audit and analysis has shown an increase in business R&D investment since 2001. The role of the CRC CI in contributing to growth in the absorptive capacity of the Australian construction industry as a whole is illustrated through two programmes: digital modelling/building information modelling (BIM) and construction site safety. Numerous positive outcomes in productivity, quality, improved safety and competitiveness were achieved between 2001 and 2009
The Parkes Pulsar Timing Array Project
A "pulsar timing array" (PTA), in which observations of a large sample of
pulsars spread across the celestial sphere are combined, allows investigation
of "global" phenomena such as a background of gravitational waves or
instabilities in atomic timescales that produce correlated timing residuals in
the pulsars of the array. The Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) is an
implementation of the PTA concept based on observations with the Parkes 64-m
radio telescope. A sample of 20 millisecond pulsars is being observed at three
radio-frequency bands, 50cm (~700 MHz), 20cm (~1400 MHz) and 10cm (~3100 MHz),
with observations at intervals of 2 - 3 weeks. Regular observations commenced
in early 2005. This paper describes the systems used for the PPTA observations
and data processing, including calibration and timing analysis. The strategy
behind the choice of pulsars, observing parameters and analysis methods is
discussed. Results are presented for PPTA data in the three bands taken between
2005 March and 2011 March. For ten of the 20 pulsars, rms timing residuals are
less than 1 microsec for the best band after fitting for pulse frequency and
its first time derivative. Significant "red" timing noise is detected in about
half of the sample. We discuss the implications of these results on future
projects including the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA) and a PTA based
on the Square Kilometre Array. We also present an "extended PPTA" data set that
combines PPTA data with earlier Parkes timing data for these pulsars
Zoledronate in the prevention of Paget's (ZiPP): Protocol for a randomised trial of genetic testing and targeted zoledronic acid therapy to prevent SQSTM1-mediated Paget's disease of bone
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