This experiment investigated the temperaments of 232 Bos indicus cross steers and the relationship between temperament and bruising in bovine carcasses. The temperament of each animal was assessed while held in a race by rating the vigour of movement and the degree of audible respiration when handled about the head and shoulders. These scores and scores for other behaviours were combined to form a temperament score for each animal. The five groups of steers used varied significantly in temperament (P< 0.01); this was considered to be primarily a function of their previous handling experience. There was a significant negative correlation between temperament score and liveweight (P < 0.01). In this group of relatively quiet steers no significant relationship between temperament and carcass bruising at slaughter was found.

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With increasing interest by the software development community in software process improvement (SPI), it is vital that SPI programs are evaluated and the reports of lessons learned disseminated. This paper presents an evaluation of a program in which low-rigour, one-day SPI assessments were offered at no cost to 22 small Australian software development firms. The assessment model was based on ISO/IEC 15504 (SPICE). About twelve months after the assessment, the firms were contacted to arrange a follow-up meeting to determine the extent to which they had implemented the recommendations from the assessment.Comparison of the process capability levels at the time of assessment and the follow-up meetings revealed that the process improvement program was effective in improving the process capability of 15 of these small software development firms. Analysis of the assessment and follow-up reports explored important issues relating to SPI: elapsed time from assessment to follow-up meeting, the need for mentoring, the readiness of firms for SPI, the role of the owner/manager, the advice provided by the assessors, and the need to record costs and benefits. Based on an analysis of the program and its outcomes, firms are warned not to undertake SPI if their operation is likely to be disrupted by events internal to the firm or in the external environment. Firms are urged to draw on the expertise of assessors and consultants as mentors, and to ensure the action plan from the assessment is feasible in terms of the timeframe for evaluation. The RAPID method can be improved by fostering a closer relationship between the assessor and the firm sponsor; by making more extensive use of feedback questionnaires after the assessment and follow-up meeting; by facilitating the collection and reporting of cost benefit metrics; and by providing more detailed guidance for the follow-up meeting.As well as providing an evaluation of the assessment model and method, the outcomes from this research have the potential to better equip practitioners and consultants to undertake software process improvement, hence increasing the success of small software development firms in domestic and global markets.

Deciding what to teach novice programmers about programming and, in particular, which programming language to teach to novice programmers, and how to teach it, is a common topic for debate within universities. Should an industry relevant programming language be taught, or should a language designed for teaching novices be used? In order to design tools and methodologies for the teaching of novice programmers it is important to uncover what is being taught, and in turn, what will be taught in the future. A census of introductory programming courses administered within all Australian universities has been undertaken. The census aimed to reveal not only what computer programming languages are being taught, but also how they are being taught. From the results of this census two key factors emerged: perceived industry pressure for graduates with certain language skills versus academic training for generic programming skills.

Enterprise systems, real time recording and real time reporting pose new and significant challenges to the accounting and auditing professions. This includes developing methods and tools for continuous assurance and fraud detection. In this paper we propose a methodology for continuous fraud detection that exploits security audit logs, changes in master records and accounting audit trails in enterprise systems. The steps in this process are: (1) threat monitoringsurveillance of security audit logs for 'red flags', (2) automated extraction and analysis of data from audit trails, and (3) using forensic investigation techniques to determine whether a fraud has actually occurred. We demonstrate how mySAP, an enterprise system, can be used for audit trail analysis in detecting financial frauds; afterwards we use a case study of a suspected fraud to illustrate how to implement the methodology.