Community Housing in Tasmania: Who Applies for It?

Community housing is increasingly seen as an alternative to public housing by government. However, little is known about the demand for community housing, the relationship with public housing waiting lists and the flow of people between different housing tenures, such as public housing and private rental. In this article we analyse the demand for community housing in Tasmania. We examine who applies for community housing, why they apply and how their needs may differ from or overlap with demand for public housing. This research is based on 499 applications for community housing in southern Tasmania. Applications were made to a medium sized, non-government housing association—Red Shield Housing Association (RSHA)—between December 1998 and December 2001. Our research suggests that the majority of people applying for community housing were already on public housing waiting lists. Those seeking community housing differ little from applicants for public housing. However, women and sole parents were more likely to apply for both community and public housing while men and single applicants were more likely to apply only for community housing. This could be connected to who is likely or not to get into public housing and perhaps men and singles see less chance of getting into public housing. The implication is that low income earners are primarily concerned with access to affordable housing, which is in short supply, and the majority of applicants will apply for both public and community housing if given the opportunity. We note that the transfer of public housing stock to the community sector does not increase the supply of affordable housing stock or provide a greater choice of affordable properties to low income and disadvantaged households, although it could provide greater choice for some groups who do not perceive public housing to be an option.     

Antenna diversity in multiuser data networks

We consider the use of multiple antennas at the transmitter and/or the receiver to provide open-loop spatial diversity in a multiuser wireless data network. With channel quality information (CQI) available to the transmitter, and by always scheduling the transmission to the active user having the best channel conditions at the time of scheduling, another form of diversity, termed multiuser diversity, is obtained in a data system. This paper provides an analysis of the interaction between these two forms of diversity. From a network point of view, we prove that the asymptotic sum rate, in the limit of a large number of active homogeneous users and subject to the same average total transmit power, is inversely related to the number of transmit antennas for independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) flat Rayleigh fading channels. In the case of i.i.d. flat Rician fading, the asymptotic sum rate also depends inversely on the number of transmit antennas, but directly on the number of receive antennas. Numerically, we show that the total diversity gain is also constrained by finite CQI quantization and channel fading statistics.     

A Knowledge-Level Model for Concurrent Design

This paper describes the development and validation of a knowledge-level model of concurrent design. Concurrent design is characterised by the extent to which multidisciplinary perspectives influence all stages of the product design process. This design philosophy is being increasingly used in industry to reduce costs and improve product quality. We propose an essentially rational model for concurrent design and report on our validation of the model through studies with designers. We outline some of the limitations of current computational techniques needed to support negotiation in the design cycle and consider some of the implications of this for the development of systems to support concurrent design.     

Simulation of communication systems

When both a complex system and a complex channel model are encountered, the result is typically a design or analysis problem that cannot be solved using traditional (pencil and paper) mathematical analysis. Computer-aided techniques, which usually involve some level of numerical simulation, can be a very valuable tool in these situations. The purpose of this article is to provide a tutorial review of some of the basic techniques of communication system simulation. The authors consider the basic techniques used to represent signals, generate signals, and model linear systems, nonlinear systems, and time-varying systems within a simulation. They consider the important problem of using a simulation to estimate the performance of a communication system     

Determination of dissolved oxygen in the cryosphere: a comprehensive laboratory and field evaluation of fiber optic sensors

Recent advances in the Cryospheric Sciences have shown that icy environments are host to consortia of microbial communities, whose function and dynamics are often controlled by the concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO) in solution. To date, only limited spot determinations of DO have been possible in these environments. They reveal the potential for rates of change that exceed realistic manual sampling rates, highlighting the need to explore methods for the continuous measurement of DO concentrations. We report the first comprehensive field and laboratory performance tests of fiber-optic sensors (PreSens, Regensburg, Germany) for measuring DO in icy ecosystems. A series of laboratory tests performed at low and standard temperatures (-5 to 20 °C) demonstrates high precision (0.3% at 50 μmol/kg and 1.3% at 300 μmol/kg), rapid response times (<20 s), and minimal drift (<0.4%). Survival of freeze thaw was problematic, unless the sensor film was mechanically fixed to the fiber and protected by a stainless steel sheath. Results of two field deployments of sensors to the Swiss Alps and Antarctica largely demonstrate a performance consistent with laboratory tests and superior to traditional methods.     

The extent that certain dairy farmer attitudes and behaviors are associated with farm business profitability

The way in which farm managers' attitudes, personality, behavior, values, and sociodemographic characteristics influence farm business performance is, at best, only partially understood. The study reported here expands on this understanding by analyzing the attitudes and personal attributes of 80 dairy farmers in Great Britain in relation to the profitability over 3 yr of their farm businesses. Business goals, temperament, purchasing behavior, and having a growth mindset toward the business were found to be associated with profitability. A linear regression model consisting of 5 variables related to the above was presented that predicts 34% of the observed variation in profitability. Each of these variables were questions related to the participants' personal attitudes or beliefs. Other assessed variables, such as specific husbandry behaviors or practices, or management practices and sociodemographic characteristics, did not warrant inclusion in the final model. These results uniquely contribute to understanding how the attitudes, personality, behaviors, and attributes of dairy farmers are associated with, and thus likely to influence, the profitability of their farm businesses.     

The effects of irradiation and temperature on the immunological activity of staphylococcal enterotoxin A

The effects of irradiation and temperature on purified staphylococcal enterotoxin A were investigated using sensitive ELISA systems. Thermal inactivation of staphylococcal enterotoxin A in phosphate-buffered saline was considerably faster at temperatures of 60, 70, 115 and 121 degrees C than at 90 and 100 degrees C. In gelatin phosphate buffer, staphylococcal enterotoxin A was completely inactivated by irradiation at 8.0 kGy; in a 15% mince slurry, however, 27-37% of staphylococcal enterotoxin A remained at this level of irradiation. Even at a dose of 23.7 kGy, 16-26% residual staphylococcal enterotoxin A could still be detected. Generally, increasing the mince concentration increased the protection against the effect of irradiation on staphylococcal enterotoxin A. However, the protective effect of mince at a concentration of 50% was less than at a mince concentration of 30%. Both irradiation and heat processing of food should only be used in conjunction with good manufacturing practices to prevent proliferation of microorganisms and toxin productions.