Use of advanced technology videotapes in the delivery of structural engineering courses

A teaching and learning development project is currently under way at Queensland University of Technology to develop advanced technology videotapes for use with the delivery of structural engineering courses. These tapes consist of integrated computer and laboratory simulations of important concepts, and behaviour of structures and their components for a number of structural engineering subjects. They will be used as part of the regular lectures and thus will not only improve the quality of lectures and learning environment, but also will be able to replace the ever-dwindling laboratory teaching in these subjects. The use of these videotapes, developed using advanced computer graphics, data visualization and video technologies, will enrich the learning process of the current diverse engineering student body. This paper presents the details of this new method, the methodology used, the results and evaluation in relation to one of the structural engineering subjects, steel structures.

Model round-trip engineering

In the quest for shorter time-to-market, higher quality and reduced cost, model-driven software development has emerged as a promising approach to software engineering. The central idea is to promote models to first-class citizens in the development process. Starting from a set of very abstract models in the early stage of the development, they are refined into more concrete models and finally, as a last step, into code. As early phases of development focus on different concepts compared to later stages, various modelling languages are employed to most accurately capture the concepts and relations under discussion. In light of this refinement process, translating between modelling languages becomes a time-consuming and error-prone necessity. This is remedied by model transformations providing support for reusing and automating recurring translation efforts. These transformations typically can only be used to translate a source model into a target model, but not vice versa. This poses a problem if the target model is subject to change. In this case the models get out of sync and therefore do not constitute a coherent description of the software system anymore, leading to erroneous results in later stages. This is a serious threat to the promised benefits of quality, cost-saving, and time-to-market. Therefore, providing a means to restore synchronisation after changes to models is crucial if the model-driven vision is to be realised. This process of reflecting changes made to a target model back to the source model is commonly known as Round-Trip Engineering (RTE). While there are a number of approaches to this problem, they impose restrictions on the nature of the model transformation. Typically, in order for a transformation to be reversed, for every change to the target model there must be exactly one change to the source model. While this makes synchronisation relatively “easy”, it is ill-suited for many practically relevant transformations as they do not have this one-to-one character. To overcome these issues and to provide a more general approach to RTE, this thesis puts forward an approach in two stages. First, a formal understanding of model synchronisation on the basis of non-injective transformations (where a number of different source models can correspond to the same target model) is established. Second, detailed techniques are devised that allow the implementation of this understanding of synchronisation. A formal underpinning for these techniques is drawn from abductive logic reasoning, which allows the inference of explanations from an observation in the context of a background theory. As non-injective transformations are the subject of this research, there might be a number of changes to the source model that all equally reflect a certain target model change. To help guide the procedure in finding “good” source changes, model metrics and heuristics are investigated. Combining abductive reasoning with best-first search and a “suitable” heuristic enables efficient computation of a number of “good” source changes. With this procedure Round-Trip Engineering of non-injective transformations can be supported.

Research training and national innovation systems in Australia, Finland and the United States : a policy and systems study supported by 30 case studies of research students in the fields of geospatial science, wireless communication, biosciences, and materials science and engineering

Reforms to the national research and research training system by the Commonwealth Government of Australia sought to effectively connect research conducted in universities to Australia's national innovation system. Research training has a key role in ensuring an adequate supply of highly skilled people for the national innovation system. During their studies, research students produce and disseminate a massive amount of new knowledge. Prior to this study, there was no research that examined the contribution of research training to Australia's national innovation system despite the existence of policy initiatives aiming to enhance this contribution. Given Australia's below average (but improving) innovation performance compared to other OECD countries, the inclusion of Finland and the United States provided further insights into the key research question. This study examined three obvious ways that research training contributes to the national innovation systems in the three countries: the international mobility and migration of research students and graduates, knowledge production and distribution by research students, and the impact of research training as advanced human capital formation on economic growth. Findings have informed the concept of a research training culture of innovation that aims to enhance the contribution of research training to Australia's national innovation system. Key features include internationally competitive research and research training environments; research training programs that equip students with economically-relevant knowledge and the capabilities required by employers operating in knowledge-based economies; attractive research careers in different sectors; a national commitment to R&D as indicated by high levels of gross and business R&D expenditure; high private and social rates of return from research training; and the horizontal coordination of key organisations that create policy for, and/or invest in research training.

Full scale fire tests of a new light gauge steel floor-ceiling system

Cold-formed steel members can be assembled in various combinations to provide cost-efficient and safe light gauge floor systems for buildings. Such Light gauge Steel Framing (LSF) systems are widely accepted in industrial and commercial building construction. An example application is in floor-ceiling systems. Light gauge steel floor-ceiling systems must be designed to serve as fire compartment boundaries and provide adequate fire resistance. Fire-rated floor-ceiling assemblies formed with new materials and construction methodologies have been increasingly used in buildings. However, limited research has been undertaken in the past and hence a thorough understanding of their fire resistance behaviour is not available. Recently a new composite floor-ceiling system has been developed to provide higher fire rating under standard fire conditions. But its increased fire rating could not be determined using the currently available design methods. Therefore a research project was carried out to investigate its structural and fire resistance behaviour under standard fire conditions. In this research project full scale experimental tests of the new LSF floor system based on a composite ceiling unit were undertaken using a gas furnace at the Queensland University of Technology. Both the conventional and the new steel floor-ceiling systems were tested under structural and fire loads. Full scale fire tests provided a good understanding of the fire behaviour of the LSF floor-ceiling systems and confirmed the superior performance of the new composite system. This paper presents the details of this research into the structural and fire behaviour of light gauge steel floor systems protected by the new composite panel, and the results.

Investigating users’ intuitive interaction with complex artefacts

This paper examines the role of intuition in the way that people operate unfamiliar devices. Intuition is a type of cognitive processing that is often non-conscious and utilises stored experiential knowledge. Intuitive interaction involves the use of knowledge gained from other products and/or experiences. Two initial experimental studies revealed that prior exposure to products employing similar features helped participants to complete set tasks more quickly and intuitively, and that familiar features were intuitively used more often than unfamiliar ones. A third experiment confirmed that performance is affected by a person's level of familiarity with similar technologies, and also revealed that appearance (shape, size and labelling of features) seems to be the variable that most affects time spent on a task and intuitive uses during that time. Age also seems to have an effect. These results and their implications are discussed.

Engineering tubular bone constructs

Cell-sheet techniques have been proven effective in various soft tissue engineering applications. In this experiment, we investigated the feasibility of bone tissue engineering using a hybrid of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) sheets and PLGA meshes. Porcine MSCs were cultured to a thin layer of cell sheets via osteogenic induction. Tube-like long bones were constructed by wrapping the cell sheet on to PLGA meshes resulting in constructs which could be cultured in spinner flasks, prior to implantation in nude rats. Our results showed that the sheets were composed of viable cells and dense matrix with a thickness of about 80–120 mm, mineral deposition was also observed in the sheet. In vitro cultures demonstrated calcified cartilage-like tissue formation and most PLGA meshes were absorbed during the 8-week culture period. In vivo experiments revealed that dense mineralized tissue was formed in subcutaneous sites and the 8- week plants shared similar micro-CT characteristics with native bone. The neo tissue demonstrated histological markers for both bone and cartilage, indicating that the bone formation pathway in constructs was akin to endochondral ossification, with the residues of PLGA having an effect on the neo tissue organization and formation. These results indicate that cell-sheet approaches in combination with custom-shaped scaffolds have potential in producing bone tissue.

Intellectual property : designing 4 success. Safeguarding your innovations - rights, obligations and opportunities in creating intellectual property by design

Design talks LOUDLY!!! Is a series of interactive presentations exploring issues and opportunities involving professional design. --------------- These seminars are organised by the Industrial Design Network Queensland (IDnetQLD) in coordination with the Design Institute of Australia (DIA). This event was held at the State Library of Queensland (SLQ) with invited public presentations by a panel of industry experts from the Australian Government – IP Australia. --------------- The first seminar "Intellectual Property : designing 4 success" highlighted to design professionals how the various forms of Intellectual Property interact, what protections and pitfalls exist, and how these impact upon the work and responsibilities of designers. The overlaps, gaps and in congruencies in the various IP protection systems were highlighted by the expert line-up of speakers. --------------- The underlying message is that a clear understanding of all IP types is necessary in order to gain the best advantage from IP protection and therefore eliminate potential IP ownership issues before they become a problem.

Robust outdoor visual localization using a three-dimensional-edge map

Visual localization systems that are practical for autonomous vehicles in outdoor industrial applications must perform reliably in a wide range of conditions. Changing outdoor conditions cause difficulty by drastically altering the information available in the camera images. To confront the problem, we have developed a visual localization system that uses a surveyed three-dimensional (3D)-edge map of permanent structures in the environment. The map has the invariant properties necessary to achieve long-term robust operation. Previous 3D-edge map localization systems usually maintain a single pose hypothesis, making it difficult to initialize without an accurate prior pose estimate and also making them susceptible to misalignment with unmapped edges detected in the camera image. A multihypothesis particle filter is employed here to perform the initialization procedure with significant uncertainty in the vehicle's initial pose. A novel observation function for the particle filter is developed and evaluated against two existing functions. The new function is shown to further improve the abilities of the particle filter to converge given a very coarse estimate of the vehicle's initial pose. An intelligent exposure control algorithm is also developed that improves the quality of the pertinent information in the image. Results gathered over an entire sunny day and also during rainy weather illustrate that the localization system can operate in a wide range of outdoor conditions. The conclusion is that an invariant map, a robust multihypothesis localization algorithm, and an intelligent exposure control algorithm all combine to enable reliable visual localization through challenging outdoor conditions.

The public sector’s perspective on procuring public works projects : comparing the views of practitioners in Hong Kong and Australia

Hong Kong has been one of the early jurisdictions to adopt Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for delivering large public infrastructure projects. The development of this procurement approach in Hong Kong has followed an intricate path. As such, it is believed that there are a number of areas which are interesting to unveil. As part of a comprehensive research study looking at implementing PPPs, interviews with experienced local industrial practitioners from the public sector were conducted to realize their perspective on the topic of procuring public works projects. Amongst these interviews, fourteen were launched government officials and advisers. The interview findings show that the majority of the Hong Kong and Australian interviewees had previously conducted some kind of research in the field of PPP. Both groups of interviewees agreed that “PPPs gain private sector’s added efficiency/expertise/management skills” when compared to projects procured traditionally. Also, both groups of interviewees felt that projects best suited to use PPP are those that have an “Economic business case”. The interviewees believed that “Contractor’s performance” could be used as key performance indicators for PPP projects. A large number of critical success factors were identified by the interviewees for PPP projects; two of these were similar for both groups of interviewees. These included “Project objectives well defined” and “Partnership spirit/commitment/trust”. Finally it was found that in-house guidance materials were more common in the organizations of the Australian interviewees compared to the Hong Kong ones. This paper studies the views of the public sector towards the topic of PPPs in Hong Kong and Australia, which helps to answer some of the queries that both academics and the private sector in these jurisdictions are keen to know. As a result the private sector can be more prepared when negotiating with the public sector and realise their needs better, academics on the other hand are provided a wider perspective of this topic benefiting the research industry at large.

Suitability of procuring large public works by PPP in Hong Kong

Purpose : The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (referred to as Hong Kong from here onwards) is an international leading commercial hub particularly in Asia. In order to keep up its reputation a number of large public works projects have been considered. Public Private Partnership (PPP) has increasingly been suggested for these projects, but the suitability of using this procurement method in Hong Kong is yet to be studied empirically. The findings presented in this paper will specifically consider whether PPPs should be used to procure public works projects in Hong Kong by studying the attractive and negative factors for adopting PPP. Design/methodology/approach : As part of this study a questionnaire survey was conducted with industrial practitioners. The respondents were requested to rank the importance of fifteen attractive factors and thirteen negative factors for adopting PPP. Findings : The results found that in general the top attractive factors ranked by respondents from Hong Kong were efficiency related, these included (1) ‘Provide an integrated solution (for public infrastructure / services)’; (2) ‘Facilitate creative and innovative approaches’; and (3) ‘Solve the problem of public sector budget restraint’. It was found that Australian respondents also shared similar findings to those in Hong Kong, but the United Kingdom respondents showed a higher priority to those economic driven attractive factors. Also, the ranking of the attractive and negative factors for adopting PPP showed that on average the attractive factors were scored higher than the negative factors. Originality/value : The results of this research have enabled a comparison of the attractive and negative factors for adopting PPP between three administrative systems. These findings have confirmed that PPP is a suitable means to procure large public projects which are believed to be useful and interesting to PPP researchers and practitioners.

Health protection

Our understanding of how the environment can impact human health has evolved and expanded over the centuries, with concern and interest dating back to ancient times. For example, over 4000 years ago, a civilisation in northern India tried to protect the health of its citizens by constructing and positioning buildings according to strict building laws, by having bathrooms and drains, and by having paved streets with a sewerage system (Rosen 1993). In more recent times, the ‘industrial revolution’ played a dominant role in shaping the modern world, and with it the modern public health system. This era was signified by rapid progress in technology, the growth of transportation and the expansion of the market economy, which lead to the organisation of industry into a factory system. This meant that labour had to be brought to the factories and by the 1820s, poverty and social distress (including overcrowding and infrequent sewage and garbage disposal) was more widespread than ever. These circumstances, therefore, lead to the rise of the ‘sanitary revolution’ and the birth of modern public health (Rosen 1993). The sanitary revolution has also been described as constituting the beginning of the first wave of environmental concern, which continued until after World War 2 when major advances in engineering and chemistry substantially changed the face of industry, particularly the chemical sector. The second wave of environmental concern came in the mid to late 20th century and was dominated by the environmental or ecology movement. A landmark in this era was the 1962 publication of the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. This identified for the first time the dramatic effects on the ecosystem of the widespread use of the organochlorine pesticide, DDT. The third wave of environmental concern commenced in the 1980s and continues today. The accelerated rate of economic development, the substantial increase in the world population and the globalisation of trade have dramatically changed the production methods and demand for goods in both developed and developing countries. This has lead to the rise of ‘sustainable development’ as a key driver in environmental planning and economic development (Yassi et al 2001). The protection of health has, therefore, been a hallmark of human history and is the cornerstone of public health practice. This chapter introduces environmental health and how it is managed in Australia, including a discussion of the key generic management tools. A number of significant environmental health issues and how they are specifically managed are then discussed, and the chapter concludes by discussing sustainable development and its links with environmental health.

QUT Medical Engineering Research Facility (MERF) annual report 2009

DIRECTOR’S OVERVIEW by Professor Mark Pearcy This report for 2009 is the first full year report for MERF. The development of our activities in 2009 has been remarkable and is testament to the commitment of the staff to the vision of MERF as a premier training and research facility. From the beginnings in 2003, when a need was identified for the provision of specialist research and training facilities to enable close collaboration between researchers and clinicians, to the realisation of the vision in 2009 has been an amazing journey. However, we have learnt that there is much more that can be achieved and the emphasis will be on working with the university, government and external partners to realise the full potential of MERF by further development of the Facility. In 2009 we conducted 28 workshops in the Anatomical and Surgical Skills Laboratory providing training for surgeons in the latest techniques. This was an excellent achievement for the first full year as our reputation for delivering first class facilities and support grows. The highlight, perhaps, was a course run via our video link by a surgeon in the USA directing the participants in MERF. In addition, we have continued to run a small number of workshops in the operating theatre and this promises to be an avenue that will be of growing interest. Final approval was granted for the QUT Body Bequest Program late in 2009 following the granting of an Anatomical Accepting Licence. This will enable us to expand our capabilities by provide better material for the workshops. The QUT Body Bequest Program will be launched early in 2010. The Biological Research Facility (BRF) conducted over 270 procedures in 2009. This is a wonderful achievement considering less then 40 were performed in 2008. The staff of the BRF worked very hard to improve the state of the old animal house and this resulted in approval for expanded use by the ethics committees of both QUT and the University of Queensland. An external agency conducted an Occupational Health and Safety Audit of MERF in 2009. While there were a number of small issues that require attention, the auditor congratulated the staff of MERF on achieving a good result, particularly for such an early stage in the development of MERF. The journey from commissioning of MERF in 2008 to the full implementation of its activities in 2009 has demonstrated the potential of this facility and 2010 will be an exciting year as its activities are recognised and further expanded building development is pursued.

Effect of section geometry on the lateral distortional buckling of LiteSteel beams

The LiteSteel Beam (LSB) is a new hollow flange section developed by OneSteel Australian Tube Mills using their patented dual electric resistance welding and automated continuous roll-forming technologies. It has a unique geometry consisting of torsionally rigid rectangular hollow flanges and a relatively slender web. It has found increasing popularity in residential, industrial and commercial buildings as flexural members. The LSB is considerably lighter than traditional hot-rolled steel beams and provides both structural and construction efficiencies. However, the LSB flexural members are subjected to a relatively new lateral distortional buckling mode, which reduces their member moment capacities. Unlike the commonly observed lateral torsional buckling of steel beams, the lateral distortional buckling of LSBs is characterised by simultaneous lateral defection, twist and cross sectional change due to web distortion. The current design rules in AS/NZS 4600 (SA, 2005) for flexural members subject to lateral distortional buckling were found to be conservative by about 8% in the inelastic buckling region. Therefore, a new design rule was developed for LSBs subject to lateral distortional buckling based on finite element analyses of LSBs. The effect of section geometry was then considered and several geometrical parameters were used to develop an advanced set of design rules. This paper presents the details of the finite element analyses and the design curve development for hollow flange sections subject to lateral distortional buckling.

Lateral-torsional buckling of cold-formed steel beams at ambient temperature

Cold-formed steel beams are increasingly used as floor joists and bearers in residential, industrial and commercial buildings. Their structural behaviour and moment capacities are influenced by lateral-torsional buckling and hence a research study was undertaken to investigate the lateral-torsional buckling behaviour of cold-formed steel lipped channel beams at ambient and elevated temperatures. For this purpose a finite element model of a simply supported cold-formed steel lipped channel beam under uniform bending was developed first and validated using available numberical and experimental results. It was then used in a detailed parametric study to simulate the lateral-torsional behaviour of cold-formed steel beams under varying conditions. The moment capacity results were then compared with the predictions from the current ambient temperature design rules in Australia, New Zealand, American and European codes for cold-formed steel structures. Some very interesting results have been obtained. European design rules are found to be conservative while Australian and American design rules are unsafe. This paper presents the results of finite element analyses for ambient temperature conditions, and the comparison with the current design rules.

Digital design communication : measuring learner technological prowess and self-efficacy in problem resolution

Currently the Bachelor of Design is the generic degree offered to the four disciplines of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Industrial Design, and Interior Design within the School of Design at the Queensland University of Technology. Regardless of discipline, Digital Communication is a core unit taken by the 600 first year students entering the Bachelor of Design degree. Within the design disciplines the communication of the designer's intentions is achieved primarily through the use of graphic images, with written information being considered as supportive or secondary. As such, Digital Communication attempts to educate learners in the fundamentals of this graphic design communication, using a generic digital or software tool. Past iterations of the unit have not acknowledged the subtle difference in design communication of the different design disciplines involved, and has used a single generic software tool. Following a review of the unit in 2008, it was decided that a single generic software tool was no longer entirely sufficient. This decision was based on the recognition that there was an increasing emergence of discipline specific digital tools, and an expressed student desire and apparent aptitude to learn these discipline specific tools. As a result the unit was reconstructed in 2009 to offer both discipline specific and generic software instruction, if elected by the student. This paper, apart from offering the general context and pedagogy of the existing and restructured units, will more importantly offer research data that validates the changes made to the unit. Most significant of this new data is the results of surveys that authenticate actual student aptitude versus desire in learning discipline specific tools. This is done through an exposure of student self efficacy in problem resolution and technological prowess - generally and specifically within the unit. More traditional means of validation is also presented that includes the results of the generic university-wide Learning Experience Survey of the unit, as well as a comparison between the assessment results of the restructured unit versus the previous year.