PurposeAlthough corporate portfolio management (CPM) has been a popular tool for strategic management of multi-business portfolios in the private sector since the late 1960s, it has received limited attention in the public sector. Accordingly, empirical research on the use of CMP in government organizations is virtually non-existent. The purpose of this paper is to partially fill that gap in the literature by highlighting and discussing some of the key points that public sector organizations may need to consider when adopting CPM.Design/methodology/approachRather than deductively proposing and testing narrowly specified hypotheses, this study aims to answer a broad research question, namely: What are the key points that public sector organizations may need to consider when adopting CMP? Hence, the study adopts the qualitative interpretive research paradigm. The findings are based on empirical research conducted in a large Australian publicly funded research organization. Potential application of CPM was iteratively and incrementally explored with a reference group comprising 15 middle management representatives and several members of the senior leadership group over the course of one year.FindingsAssessment criteria traditionally used in CPM (e.g. growth potential and market share) are generally not applicable in public sector organizations. This paper suggests that government organizations should instead consider past performance and future potential of individual business units, which may be operationalized via capability (a function of human capital and associated resources/infrastructure) and delivery (a function of the demand for, and the impact of, relevant business units). The paper also highlights the importance of organization-wide consultation, evidence-based decision making, and contestability.Originality/valueFrom a practical perspective, the paper may assist public sector organizations with adapting and applying CPM. From a theoretical perspective, the paper highlights an important and relatively neglected research problem, and suggests several avenues for future research.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to adapt the traditional corporate portfolio management approach to the strategic management of multi-business portfolios in the public sector. Design/methodology/approach - The approach presented in this paper is based on a research project conducted within the Defence Science and Technology Group, Australian Department of Defence. It was developed iteratively and incrementally over the course of one year with a reference group comprising 15 middle management representatives and several members of the senior management team. Findings - The approach developed comprises a multi-stage process and an assessment framework designed to capture the complexity of the problem space, build a strategic narrative, and facilitate senior leadership decision-making. The process is aimed at eliciting the required information, promoting contestability of the results, ensuring appropriate consultation, and ultimately achieving senior leadership consensus on priorities. The assessment framework is used to assess and visualize the balance of organizational capabilities. Originality/value - By synthesizing and visualizing information on past performance and future potential, the approach presented in this paper may be used to facilitate strategic decision-making by senior management in the public sector.

This research examines the impact of commercial innovation on Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) of Western military and non-Western military origin. A diffusion and adaptation framework is employed to assess the role of closed and open innovation in these sectors. The diffusion of fixed wing SUAS into Western forces has been facilitated by an urgent increase in demand for organic reconnaissance capability. Recent reductions in the number of deployed Western military forces is seeing a rationalisation of system types, upgrades to existing platforms and a reduction in new air vehicle adoption. This is representative of a closed innovation approach. In contrast, non-Western militaries are showing an open innovation approach characterised by local development, use of imported sub-systems and inexpensive adaptation. Commercial exploitation of SUAS is limited in Western nations due to regulation and policies of national airspace that require a special permit for SUAS operations. There is pent up awareness, interest, evaluation and trials in SUAS as this sector is displaying signs of open loop innovation capable of altering the nature of the SUAS category.

The ability to remotely detect and map chemical vapour clouds in open air environments is a topic of significant interest to both defence and civilian communities. In this study, we integrate a prototype miniature colorimetric chemical sensor developed for methyl salicylate (MeS), as a model chemical vapour, into a micro unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and perform flights through a raised MeS vapour cloud. Our results show that that the system is capable of detecting MeS vapours at low ppm concentration in real-time flight and rapidly sending this information to users by on-board telemetry. Further, the results also indicate that the sensor is capable of distinguishing clean air from dirty, multiple times per flight, allowing us to look towards autonomous cloud mapping and source localization applications. Further development will focus on a broader range of integrated sensors, increased autonomy of detection and improved engineering of the system.

For decades, analysts within the defense community have categorized their analytic models and simulations for decision support through a hierarchy expressed in terms of resolution. The hierarchy is usually depicted as a pyramid that has levels of "engineering and physics," "engagement," and "mission," to the most aggregate level of "campaign" models. In this article, we accomplish three enhancements. First, we document the importance of applying a hierarchy of models and simulations, which some have questioned because of increased computer speed. Second, we list factors to consider in describing a model or simulation's resolution, which we hope aids interfacing model results and calibrating across levels. Third, we propose expanding the hierarchy to include two more levels beyond campaign to include levels of "defense enterprise" and "government, nongovernment, and coalition instruments of power." We use these levels to categorize models constructed to aid decisions requiring evaluations beyond a single campaign's results. The growing emphasis on disparate coalition operations along with the increasing interplay of broader government and nongovernmental capabilities points to a need to extend this traditional hierarchy. We propose refining the hierarchy to depict both model and simulation breadth (scope) and depth (resolution) along with our recommended two additional levels of abstraction.Analysts supporting decisions use a common hierarchy of models with levels labeled as "engineering and physics," "engagement," and "mission," to the most aggregate level of "campaign" models. The authors document the importance of applying a hierarchy of models and simulations to align with the purpose of analysis, the applicability to the issues, enable efficient search of the decision space, and cost. They list factors that characterize a model or simulation's resolution that may assist in describing models, designing interfaces, and calibrating between models. Finally, they propose expanding the hierarchy to include two more aggregate levels beyond campaign: "defense enterprise" and "government, nongovernment, and coalition instruments of power." They invert the traditional pyramid to depict both model and simulation breadth (scope) and depth (resolution) along with the recommended two additional levels of abstraction.

We examine the QCM language for qualitative compartmental modelling, along with temporal extensions to that framework (TQCM). We identify translations of QCM and TQCM which are explanatory as well as descriptive, adding to our ability to correctly verify qualitative models. The reasoning about such explanatory translations is supported by the reported experimental results.

Operations Research is an important element supporting the decision process in major Air Force acquisition programs and must often address itself to a range of issues of varying complexity. An issue of particular complexity is air-to-air combat. Air-to-Air combat is a highly dynamic interaction between, possibly several, high performance aircraft employing sophisticated weapon and sensor systems and applying novel tactics designed to yield an advantage against the opponent. The combination of numerous entities, multiple system capabilities and complex tactics makes the air-to-air combat problem an especially challenging area of military operations research. Currently, Australia is evaluating the capabilities of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) towards possible acquisition of this aircraft to replace Australia's ageing F/A-18 and F-111 fleets. Evaluation of the air-to-air combat performance of the F-35 JSF is a central element of this assessment. Building on the body of analytical studies completed in previous study phases, this evaluation will employ a new air-to-air combat simulation model currently under development, the AiR Tactical Engagement MIssion Simulator (ARTEMIS) to explore issues specific to the F-35 JSF. The requirement for such a model follows an assessment of available air combat models in Australia and overseas. ARTEMIS is based on a flexible simulation architecture and employs teamed intelligent agent technology to model complex multi-aircraft tactics and Command & Control structures. This paper will describe the ARTEMIS model and the context of its development. The paper will then be extended to a consideration on how ARTEMIS will be employed in operations research and the issues that will be addressed. 1 Brian Hanlon has since left DSTO and now works for the Department of the Treasury of the Australian Government. 2 Kurt Bieri is a KESEM International employee engaged by DSTO as the Software Project Manager for the ARTEMIS project. 1. THE HUNT CONTINUES ARTEMIS is the latest in a series of simulators developed by Air Operations Research Branch (AOR) of the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO). Rather than report only on the technology behind ARTEMIS (Section 2), this paper will also provide: insights into the development of a simulation where there is a large and diverse stakeholder base (Section 3) including a discussion of some of the project management challenges; the purpose to which the simulator will be put and a sample scenario (Section 4); an indication of future directions for ARTEMIS and related technology (Section 5). 1.1 Four and Counting In the lineage outlined below ARTEMIS (and other simulation systems currently under development at AOR are representative of fourth generation systems. Over the course of a decade the capability of AOD to develop and deploy large simulations has improved. The maturation of this capability is a software engineering story, at least partly a project management story; and points to a change in the ways that AOR does business that have improved verification and validation and taken AOR in a direction toward experimentation and the study of future warfighting concepts (such as network centric warfare). This paper sets out to tell this story in the context of ARTEMIS, the latest and (arguably) most sophisticated simulation system as yet developed by AOR.

The principle that the simplest model capable of describing observed phenomena should also correspond to the best description has long been a guiding rule of inference. In this paper a Bayesian approach to formally implementing this principle is employed to develop model selection criteria for detecting structural change in financial and economic time series. Model selection criteria which allow for multiple structural breaks and which seek the optimal model order and parameter choices within regimes are derived. Comparative simulations against other popular information based model selection criteria are performed. Application of the derived criteria are also made to example financial and economic time series.

The exact form of finite size corrections is determined for the Ising model on 2-D planar random surfaces for any Ising temperature. The behaviour of these in the context of reliably extracting meaningful values for observables from numerical studies is investigated. In particular, it is noted that the leading order correction need not dominate.

Taking the complex nature of quantum mechanics which we observe today as a low energy effect of a broken quaternionic theory we explore the possibility that dark matter arises as a consequence of this underlying quaternionic structure to our universe. We introduce a low energy, effective, Lagrangian which incorporates the remnants of a local quaternionic algebra, investigate the stellar production of the resultant exotic bosons and explore the possible low energy consequences of our remnant extended Hilbert space.

Finite size effects for the Ising Model coupled to two-dimensional random surfaces are studied by exploiting the exact results from the 2-matrix models. The fixed area partition function is numerically calculated with arbitrary precision by developing an efficient algorithm for recursively solving the quintic equations so encountered. An analytic method for studying finite size effects is developed based on the behaviour of the free energy near its singular points. The generic form of finite size corrections so obtained are seen to be quite different from the phenomenological parameterisations used in the literature. The method of singularities is also applied to study the magnetic susceptibility. A brief discussion is presented on the implications of these results to the problem of a reliable determination of string susceptibility from numerical simulations.

The important role of multiple fermionic families in noncommutative geometry is investigated by introducing a horizontal symmetry into the model building scheme. It is demonstrated that this can be done consistently.

We extend the BRS and anti-BRS symmetry to the two point space of Connes' non-commutative model building scheme. The constraint relations are derived and the quantum Lagrangian constructed. We find that the quantum Lagrangian can be written as a functional of the curvature for symmetric gauges with the BRS, anti-BRS auxiliary field finding a geometrical interepretation as the extension of the Higgs scalar.

We consider the construction of SU (2)L⊗SU (2)R⊗SU (4) partial unification models as an example of phenomenologically acceptable unification models in the absence of supersymmetry in non-commutative geometry. We exploit the Chamseddine, Felder and Fröhlich generalization of the Connes and Lott model building prescription. By introducing a bi-module structure and appropriate permutation symmetries we construct a model with triplet Higgs fields in the SU (2) sectors and spontaneous breaking of SU (4).

By combining the generalized exterior algebra of forms over a noncommutative algebra with the gauging of discrete directions and the associated Higgs fields, we consider the construction of the bosonic sector of left-right symmetric models of the form SU(2) L ⊗ SU(2) R ⊗ U(1). We see that within this formalism maximal use can be made of the gauge connection associated with the noncommutative graded algebra.

We present a model based on SO(16) in ten dimensions and dimensionally reduce, via the coset space dimensional reduction mechanism, to the standard model on the manifold M4 ⊗ SU (3)/U (1) ⊗ U (1) ⊗ Z2. Three generations of light flavour chiral fermions emerge as a consequence of the existence of an SU(3) flavour symmetry.

Motivated by the isomorphism between the universal covering group of the six-dimensional Lorentz group and the special linear group over the quaternions, a locally quaternionic covariant theory is postulated to exist in six space–time dimensions. Compactifying onto the space–time M 4 ⊗ S 2 a complex theory is retrieved on the four-dimensional Minkowski space with the essential quaternionic nature confined to S 2 . Quaternionic spinors are introduced and a dimensionally reduced theory recovered which exhibits a CP-violating effect via spontaneous symmetry breaking.