Australian Computer Society: ACS Digital Library
Not a member yet
884 research outputs found
Sort by
Threats to Autonomy from Emerging ICTs
Get PDFThis paper examines threats to autonomy created by significant emerging ICTs. Emerging ICTs cover a wide range of technologies, from intelligent environments to neuroelectronics, and human autonomy is potentially threatened by all of them in some way. However, there is no single agreed definition of autonomy. This paper therefore considers the ways in which different accounts of autonomy are impacted by the different IC technologies. From this range of threats we will derive some properties which any ICT must exhibit in order to threaten human autonomy. Finally, we will show how the range of definitions of autonomy creates problems for customary approaches to vale-sensitive design, and how this indicates a need for greater flexibility when attempting to improve the ethical status of emerging ICTs
A Technology-Organization-Environment Perspective on Eco-effectiveness: A Meta-analysis
Get PDFIn this research, we perform a meta-analysis to explain how organizations are deploying technologies to enforce organizational sustainability by meeting the goal of eco-effectiveness. Prior studies have studied the influences on the adoption of technologies using the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) model that incorporate some aspects of technological, organizational or environmental factors. We collected prior research to test the factors of the TOE model to ascertain their relative impact and strength. Our meta-analysis found eight additional technological and organizational factors. We found strong support for IT infrastructure, perceived direct benefits, top management support, and competitive pressure. Moderate support for compatibility, technological readiness, perceived indirect benefits, knowledge (human resources), organizational size, attitudes towards innovation, learning culture, pressure from trade partners (industry characteristics) and regulatory support. Lastly, weak support was found for relative advantage, complexity, perceived risks and information learning culture. Only two dimensions, financial resources and environmental uncertainty failed to reach statistical significance
Better Rulesets by Removing Redundant Specialisations and Generalisations in Association Rule Mining
Get PDFAssociation rule mining is a fundamental task in many data mining and analysis applications, both for knowledge extraction and as part of other processes (for example, building associative classifiers). It is well known that the number of associations identified by many association rule mining algorithms can be so large as to present a barrier to their interpretability and practical use. A typical solution to this problem involves removing redundant rules. This paper proposes a novel definition of redundancy, which is used to identify only the most interesting associations. Compared to existing redundancy based approaches, our method is both more robust to noise, and produces fewer overall rules for a given data (improving clarity). A rule can be considered redundant if the knowledge it describes is already contained in other rules. Given an association rule, most existing approaches consider rules to be redundant if they add additional variables without increasing quality according to some measure of interestingness. We claim that complex interactions between variables can confound many interestingness measures. This can lead to existing approaches being overly aggressive in removing redundant associations. Most existing approaches also fail to take into account situations where more general rules (those with fewer attributes) can be considered redundant with respect to their specialisations. We examine this problem and provide concrete examples of such errors using artificial data. An alternate definition of redundancy that addresses these issues is proposed. Our approach is shown to identify interesting associations missed by comparable methods on multiple real and synthetic data. When combined with the removal of redundant generalisations, our approach is often able to generate smaller overall rule sets, while leaving average rule quality unaffected or slightly improved
The decision-making role of the patient in localised prostate cancer treatment
Get PDFOur objective was to review the current literature on patient participation and decision-making in the treatment selection process for localised prostate cancer, and to evaluate capacity for improvement. Methods: 42 articles from our literature search were deemed eligible and relevant for review. We reviewed studies on all facets of the treatment decision-making process with most number of articles (16) on treatment preferences. Results: The majority of the patients prefer an active or collaborative role in decision-making. Patients are seeking information from a myriad of sources but the recommendation from their treating physician is often the most influential on the final decision. Radical prostatectomy is more likely to be selected in patients who view a cure for cancer as being of the utmost importance and radiation therapy is preferred in patients who are concerned about treatment side effects. Conclusion: Currently no ideal tool exists to assist patients in making informed treatment decisions that also takes into account patients’ values and preferences. We encourage collaborative partnership in a multidisciplinary setting to optimise this process and individualised risk-based decision-making tools may provide a better pathway to assist patients reach decisions
Motivating Information Technology Professionals: The case of New Zealand
Get PDFIT professionals play a critical role in organizations. Research indicates that they may be unique in their attitudes toward motivation and job satisfaction. In New Zealand, a shortage of skilled professionals may contribute to or impact on motivation. Using a modified model of Herzberg’s two-factor theory by Smerek and Peterson (2007), this research seeks to answer the question: what motivates New Zealand IT professionals? In response, an online questionnaire was distributed to a population of New Zealand IT professionals and the data analysed using Partial Least Squares to understand the relationship between the various dimensions of job satisfaction, the impact of personal and job characteristics, and turnover intention. The findings show that the New Zealand IT professional is primarily motivated by the nature of his or her work, followed by perceptions of responsibility, and how supervisors encourage an environment for such. Satisfaction with salary is a predictor to a lesser degree. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, professional growth opportunities, career advancement, and recognition do not have a statistically-significant positive association with motivation. We conclude that, to motivate their IT workforce, organizations should: 1) focus on the nature of the jobs that IT professionals undertake; 2) train supervisors to provide an empowering environment; 3) offer competitive salaries to retain top talent; 4) not hesitate to employ IT professionals born outside New Zealand; and 5) take account of the singularities of the New Zealand labour market in seeking to attract, recruit and retain IT professionals. Implications for policy, practice and theory are discussed
Protecting Oak Flat: Narratives Of Survivance As Observed Through Digital Activism
Get PDFAmerican Indians are increasingly using social media/social network platforms as a tool to influence policy through social change. The activist group Apache Stronghold represents a case of American Indians utilising social media tools to protect Oak Flat and influence federal Indian policy. Oak Flat is sacred Apache land located in Superior, Arizona. United States legislators transferred Oak Flat to the mining company Resolution Copper as part of the omnibus National Defense Authorization Act of 2015. Qualitative analysis of social media content and advocacy tactics – specifically through use of timeline and digital ethnography – of Apache Stronghold from 2015-2016 reveal the interrelated nature of on-the-ground efforts, online efforts, solidarity efforts, and legislative support efforts. In sum, these efforts express narratives of survivance, healing, and a future orientation, as a unique dimension of social change
A Process Model for Establishing Business Process Crowdsourcing
Get PDFCrowdsourcing can be an organisational strategy to distribute work to Internet users and harness innovation, information, capacities, and variety of business endeavours. As crowdsourcing is different from other business strategies, organisations are often unsure as to how to best structure different crowdsourcing activities and integrate them with other organisational business processes. To manage this problem, we design a process model guiding how to establish business process crowdsourcing. The model consists of seven components covering the main activities of crowdsourcing processes, which are drawn from a knowledge base incorporating diverse knowledge sources in the domain. The built model is evaluated using case studies, suggesting the adequateness and utility of the model
Reassembling the Indigenous Public Sphere
Get PDFThis paper seeks to provide an initial theoretical grounding to assess a practical project: a new software application that attempts to be a beneficial resource in the field of Indigenous representation. As a starting point, we are concerned to provide a theoretical ground for considering the inherited and shifting spaces of Indigenous media representation. To this end, this paper reconsiders the strengths and weaknesses of debates surrounding the ‘Indigenous public sphere’. This is used as grounds for critically understanding the relations that constitute this field. Following this, we consider how a more materialist approach to publics might enable a productive reconceptualization, and in particular how digital media initiatives and shifting news markets may be contributing to change. Finally, drawing on this model, we outline both the ‘Wakul app’ project, and how this framework might inform an assessment of its impact
The effectiveness of SMS Reminders and the impact of patient characteristics on missed appointments in a public dental outpatient clinic
Get PDFThis paper reports on the Failure To Attend (FTA) rate of appointments as well as patients following the implementation of SMS reminders in a public dental outpatient service. Given the ineffectiveness of the intervention and a highly representative patient’s profile, this paper identifies the demographic characteristics of patients who miss all of their appointments. Data on appointment attendance, patient demographics and dental service type was collected over a time period of 46 consecutive months. Using descriptive and inferential statistics (chi-square, two sample tests and Marascuilo procedure) we found the SMS intervention was ineffective in reducing the FTA rates. Further, patients associated with high rates of non-attendance exhibited one or more of the following characteristics: male; age 26 – 44; non-concession card holders; a person of Indigenous, local, Asian or African descent, and of refugee status, persons living in low socio-economic areas; and appointments in General Care and Student Clinics. Whilst the literature overwhelmingly attributes SMS reminders to improving the attendance rate of patients in outpatient clinics, our contradictory findings suggest a more targeted approach in settings whose patients exhibit strong characteristics associated with non-attendance.