Development of a Global Decision Support System towards Virtual Manufacturing. The aim of this research project is to develop a global decision support system (GDSS) in order to assist SMEs to improve their competitiveness in the dynamic global market while providing an industry oriented research training for a high calibre PhD student, who would be a valuable asset to Australia. The GDSS will help SMEs leverage their operations in a global context and to adopt a realistic virtual manufacturing ....Development of a Global Decision Support System towards Virtual Manufacturing. The aim of this research project is to develop a global decision support system (GDSS) in order to assist SMEs to improve their competitiveness in the dynamic global market while providing an industry oriented research training for a high calibre PhD student, who would be a valuable asset to Australia. The GDSS will help SMEs leverage their operations in a global context and to adopt a realistic virtual manufacturing system in the future. The significance of the project includes developing a new methodology and a GDSS to assess virtual manufacturing issues for SMEs and assisting them making timely decisions.Read moreRead less
Examinations of the relationship between accreditation and clinical and organisational performance. Accreditation of organisations is now commonplace. It involves assessing organisations against pre-defined standards. This is a highly significant issue because of the millions of dollars of investment in accreditation. We do not know if we achieve value for money or whether positive change is associated with accreditation. Few studies have examined this in detail. We aim to do so in this stud ....Examinations of the relationship between accreditation and clinical and organisational performance. Accreditation of organisations is now commonplace. It involves assessing organisations against pre-defined standards. This is a highly significant issue because of the millions of dollars of investment in accreditation. We do not know if we achieve value for money or whether positive change is associated with accreditation. Few studies have examined this in detail. We aim to do so in this study. We will examine organisational and individual performance associated with accreditation status in order to illuminate the process and uncover any associations between accreditation and organisational culture, consumer participation and clinical (individual) performance indicators.
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Decision support systems for the implementation of team based cellular manufacturing in adaptive organizations. Cellular manufacturing, where a family of products is produced in discrete multi-machine cells, has been adopted by many firms to increase flexibility, reduce costs and improve quality. However the implementation of cellular manufacturing is a complex process as technology, customer needs, product characteristics, enterprise goals and organisation structure can influence the effectiven ....Decision support systems for the implementation of team based cellular manufacturing in adaptive organizations. Cellular manufacturing, where a family of products is produced in discrete multi-machine cells, has been adopted by many firms to increase flexibility, reduce costs and improve quality. However the implementation of cellular manufacturing is a complex process as technology, customer needs, product characteristics, enterprise goals and organisation structure can influence the effectiveness of the implementation. This project will develop an intelligent model for the implementation of cellular manufacturing in batch production and test it in a case study. The work will contribute to Australia's contribution to the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems international research project SYMPHONY.Read moreRead less
Overcoming Resistance to the Introduction of a Health Informatics System in General Practice Medicine. This project takes as its starting point the investigation of why medical practitioners in a rural community have been resistant to adopt a community based health information system designed to routinely collect, analyse and disseminate information regarding patient treatment. The project seeks to identify the deeper reasons for the resistance through analysis of the broader context of informat ....Overcoming Resistance to the Introduction of a Health Informatics System in General Practice Medicine. This project takes as its starting point the investigation of why medical practitioners in a rural community have been resistant to adopt a community based health information system designed to routinely collect, analyse and disseminate information regarding patient treatment. The project seeks to identify the deeper reasons for the resistance through analysis of the broader context of information systems in General Practice Medicine, with particular attention to the way Government health informatics initiatives fit with professional and practical priorities. The project will develop guidelines for acceptability of systems in this context and contribute to the broader knowledge management literature.Read moreRead less
Technological innovation and change in supply chain integration. In examining emerging technology that can transform the performance of Australian industry we address the following priority goals: better understanding the processes that will advance knowledge and facilitate the development of technological innovations; the potential application of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies across an entire supply chain; and the improved management of information in the storage, distribut ....Technological innovation and change in supply chain integration. In examining emerging technology that can transform the performance of Australian industry we address the following priority goals: better understanding the processes that will advance knowledge and facilitate the development of technological innovations; the potential application of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies across an entire supply chain; and the improved management of information in the storage, distribution, and delivery of products (smart information use). Improvement in the operational efficiency and performance of the supply chain will increase national wealth while minimising environmental impacts on the environment, for example, through the better utilisation of heavy freight carriers.Read moreRead less
Blue-banded bees as greenhouse pollinators: healthy and consistent supplies for reliable pollination services. Native blue-banded bee pollination of tomatoes will increase crop yield by 15-20% through improved pollination and simultaneously decrease labour costs by $16,000/Ha/year. The use of blue-banded bees will change the face of the industry. It will cause a 90% decrease in the use of pesticides, increase the use of biological pest management and give rise to a novel industry to provide pol ....Blue-banded bees as greenhouse pollinators: healthy and consistent supplies for reliable pollination services. Native blue-banded bee pollination of tomatoes will increase crop yield by 15-20% through improved pollination and simultaneously decrease labour costs by $16,000/Ha/year. The use of blue-banded bees will change the face of the industry. It will cause a 90% decrease in the use of pesticides, increase the use of biological pest management and give rise to a novel industry to provide pollination services. Blue-banded bee pollination will open up international markets through production of improved quality with less production costs and healthier production methods. Furthermore, the project will remove an environmental threat by providing a native substitute for alien bumblebees.Read moreRead less