Mobile technology for improved productivity : analysis of a preliminary study at an Australian university

This project is part of research into mobile staff productivity in Australian universities, a $1.36m Research Grant funded by the Australian Federal Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). To achieve productivity gains for maintenance workers, a preliminary study of a wireless technical solution for managing maintenance work-orders was tested. A second exploratory study considered the implementation of a mobile (roaming) solution to support job completion and resolution, as well as reduce time and travel costs. This paper offers a background into the requirement for the study, supported by literature in the area of mobility and productivity. It also surmises the results of the preliminary investigation - actually, an exploratory analysis - including discussion about limitations of the technology, reported user skill levels, and obstacles to use. Juxtaposed, we investigate the user's self-efficacy using the chosen technology and the impact this has on their work related activities. Finally, these self efficacy results within the context of the preliminary study are reported and discussed. The results indicated an increase in productivity for the period of time of the study.Full Tex

Codes of conduct for mobile device use in meetings : an exploratory analysis

The present paper addresses the findings of a preliminary investigation into policy\ud and codes of conduct pertaining to the use of laptops and PDA’s in business\ud meetings. The purpose of this study was to conduct a review of policies or codes of\ud conduct pertaining to the use of laptops and PDAs in meetings. The investigation\ud included academic literature, policy searches in the public domain of the Internet, as\ud well as personal contact with target industries (large corporations – N=1000 +\ud employees). The results highlight the dearth of policy and codes of conducts\ud pertaining to the use of laptops and PDA’s in business meetings. Consequently,\ud given the growing interdependence between mobile technologies and the\ud contemporary workplace, there exists an opportunity for communication\ud professionals to further research and develop policy and codes of conduct in this\ud area. Implications for corporate communication policies and practices are also\ud discussed

Multi-Year Impacts of Ecotourism on Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) Visitation at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia.

In-water viewing of sharks by tourists has become a popular and lucrative industry. There is some concern that interactions with tourists with ecotourism operations might harm sharks through disruption of behaviours. Here, we analysed five years of whale shark (Rhincodon typus) encounter data by an ecotourism industry at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, to assess the impact of ecotourism interactions on shark visitation, within the context of the biological and physical oceanography of the region. Our data base consisted of 2823 encounter records for 951 individual whale sharks collected by ecotourism operators between 2007 and 2011. We found that total encounters per whale shark and encounters per boat trip increased through time. On average, whale sharks re-encountered in subsequent years were encountered earlier, stayed longer and tended to be encountered more often within a season than sharks that were only encountered in a single year. Sequential comparisons between years did not show any patterns consistent with disturbance and the rate of departure of whale sharks from the aggregation was negatively correlated to the number of operator trips. Overall, our analysis of this multi-year data base found no evidence that interactions with tourists affected the likelihood of whale shark re-encounters and that instead, physical and biological environmental factors had a far greater influence on whale shark visitation rates. Our approach provides a template for assessing the effects of ecotourism interactions and environmental factors on the visitation patterns of marine megafauna over multiple years

Morphology of a bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cell with low donor concentration

Atomistic nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations have been used to model the morphology of small-molecule bulk heterojunction films formed by vapor deposition as used in organic photovoltaics. Films comprising C and 1, 5, 10, and 50 wt % of 1,1-bis[4-bis(4-methylphenyl)aminophenyl]cyclohexane (TAPC) were compared to films of neat C. The simulations suggest that if holes can hop between donor molecules separated by as little as 1.2-1.5 nm, then a TAPC concentration of 5 wt % is sufficient to form a percolating donor network and facilitate charge extraction. The results provide an explanation for why low donor content organic photovoltaics can still have high efficiencies. In addition, the roughness, porosity, and crystallinity of the films were found to decrease with increasing TAPC content

Evolution and morphology of thin films formed by solvent evaporation: an organic semiconductor case study

The crucial role played by the solution-vapor interface in determining the growth and morphology of an organic semiconductor thin film formed by solvent evaporation has been examined in atomic detail. Specifically, how the loss of individual solvent molecules from the surface of the solution induces solute assembly has been studied using molecular dynamics simulations. The system consisted of (2-phenylpyridine) (acetylacetonate)iridium(III) [Ir(ppy)(acac)] and 4,4'-(-carbazolyl)-1,1'-biphenyl (CBP) in chloroform at 310 K. The simulations clearly indicate that (a) the system does not undergo uniform phase separation (spinodal decomposition), (b) solute aggregation initiates at the solution-vapor interface, (c) the distribution of solvent in the film is nonhomogeneous, (d) this nonhomogeneous distribution can induce preferential alignment of host molecules, and (e) a portion of the solvent likely remains trapped within the film. The work not only demonstrates the ability to directly model evaporation in atomic detail on the relevant length scales but also shows that atomistic simulations have the potential to shed new light on morphological properties of a wide range of organic semiconductor devices manufactured using solution-processing methods

Relationships between whale sharks per month (WS), whale sharks per boat trip per month (WS/BT) and the monthly SST (°C).

<p>WS = 17.65SST – 400.69, R² = 0.54, p = 0.0002 and WS/BT = 0.11SST – 2.05, R² = 0.57, p = 0.0001.</p

The rate of departure as a function of total effort ± standard errors indicating that the rate of departure from the aggregation slows with increasing numbers of trips.

<p>Rate of departure = -0.0022effort + 2.17, R² = 0.97, p = 0.002.</p

Relationships between yearly rate of departure from the aggregation and encounters per trip (EPT), and the seasonal mean Southern Oscillation Index (days between encounters).

<p>Slope = 0.05SST + 0.55, R² = 0.89, p = 0.015 and EPT = -0.02SOI +1.65, R² = 0.90, p = 0.014.</p