University of New South Wales

About: University of New South Wales is a education organization based out in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 51197 authors who have published 153634 publications receiving 4880608 citations. The organization is also known as: UNSW & UNSW Australia.

Measurement of Dissolved Organic Matter Fluorescence in Aquatic Environments: An Interlaboratory Comparison

Abstract: The fluorescent properties of dissolved organic matter (DOM) are often studied in order to infer DOM characteristics in aquatic environments, including source, quantity, composition, and behavior. While a potentially powerful technique, a single widely implemented standard method for correcting and presenting fluorescence measurements is lacking, leading to difficulties when comparing data collected by different research groups. This paper reports on a large-scale interlaboratory comparison in which natural samples and well-characterized fluorophores were analyzed in 20 laboratories in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. Shortcomings were evident in several areas, including data quality-assurance, the accuracy of spectral correction factors used to correct EEMs, and the treatment of optically dense samples. Data corrected by participants according to individual laboratory procedures were more variable than when corrected under a standard protocol. Wavelength dependency in measurement precision and accuracy were observed within and between instruments, even in corrected data. In an effort to reduce future occurrences of similar problems, algorithms for correcting and calibrating EEMs are described in detail, and MATLAB scripts for implementing the study's protocol are provided. Combined with the recent expansion of spectral fluorescence standards, this approach will serve to increase the intercomparability of DOM fluorescence studies.

Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy for Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma: Multi-Institutional Experience

Abstract: Purpose This multi-institutional registry study evaluated cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) for diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (DMPM). Patients and Methods A multi-institutional data registry that included 405 patients with DMPM treated by a uniform approach that used CRS and HIPEC was established. The primary end point was overall survival. The secondary end point was evaluation of prognostic variables for overall survival. Results Follow-up was complete in 401 patients (99%). The median follow-up period for the patients who were alive was 33 months (range, 1 to 235 months). The mean age was 50 years (standard deviation [SD], 14 years). Three hundred eighteen patients (79%) had epithelial tumors. Twentyfive patients (6%) had positive lymph nodes. The mean peritoneal cancer index was 20. One hundred eighty-seven patients (46%) had complete or near-complete cytoreduction. Three hundred seventy-two patients (92%) received HIPEC. One hundred twenty-seven patients (31%) had grades 3 to 4 complications. Nine patients (2%) died perioperatively. The mean length of hospital stay was 22 days (SD, 15 days). The overall median survival was 53 months (1 to 235 months), and 3- and 5-year survival rates were 60% and 47%, respectively. Four prognostic factors were independently associated with improved survival in the multivariate analysis: epithelial subtype (P .001), absence of lymph node metastasis (P .001), completeness of cytoreduction scores of CC-0 or CC-1 (P .001), and HIPEC (P .002). Conclusion The data suggest that CRS combined with HIPEC achieved prolonged survival in selected patients with DMPM.

A Field Study of Control System “Redesign”: The Impact of Institutional Processes on Strategic Choice*

Abstract: . This paper studies the role of an organization's accounting control system (ACS) as part of an interrelated control “package,” in which other control systems function either as substitutes or complements. Drawing on resource dependence and institutional theories, it argues that this control mix is not only contingent on the organization's technical environment but also on its institutional environment. In addition, the paper draws on empirical evidence to demonstrate how the design of the “package” is actively shaped by the strategic choices of its dominant coalition. The empirics are based on a longitudinal field study of one large, public teaching hospital in Australia that underwent material changes in its governance structure, culture, and accounting control system. Resume. Les auteurs etudient le role du systeme de contole comptable d'une organisation, a titre d'element d'une « famille » de systemes de controle relies entre eux a l'interieur de Iaquelle les autres systemes de controle jouent le role de substituts ou de complements. S'inspirant de la theorie de la dependance des ressources et de la theorie institutionnelle, ils affirment que cette combinaison de systemes n'est pas seulement tributaire de l'environnement technique de l'organisation, mais de son environnement institutionnel. Ils se fondent, en outre, sur des constatations empiriques pour demontrer comment la structure de la « famille » de systemes est activement faconnee par les choix strategiques du groupe dominant. Les donnees empiriques proviennent d'une etude longitudinale sur le terrain, menee aupres d'un important hopital public universitaire australien dont la structure de regie, la culture et le systeme de controle comptable ont connu des transformations majeures.

Can we teach digital natives digital literacy

Abstract: In recent years, there has been much debate about the concept of digital natives, in particular the differences between the digital natives' knowledge and adoption of digital technologies in informal versus formal educational contexts. This paper investigates the knowledge about educational technologies of a group of undergraduate students studying the course Introduction to eLearning at a university in Australia and how they adopt unfamiliar technologies into their learning. The study explores the 'digital nativeness' of these students by investigating their degree of digital literacy and the ease with which they learn to make use of unfamiliar technologies. The findings show that the undergraduates were generally able to use unfamiliar technologies easily in their learning to create useful artefacts. They need, however to be made aware of what constitutes educational technologies and be provided with the opportunity to use them for meaningful purposes. The self-perception measures of the study indicated that digital natives can be taught digital literacy.