Turbulent measurements in a small subtropical estuary with semidiurnal tides

Since predictions of scalar dispersion in small estuaries can rarely be predicted accurately, new field measurements were conducted continuously at relatively high frequency for up to 50 h (per investigation) in a small subtropical estuary with semidiurnal tides. The bulk flow parameters varied in time with periods comparable to tidal cycles and other large-scale processes. The turbulence properties depended upon the instantaneous local flow properties. They were little affected by the flow history, but their structure and temporal variability were influenced by a variety of parameters including the tidal conditions and bathymetry. A striking feature of the data sets was the large fluctuations in all turbulence characteristics during the tidal cycle, and basic differences between neap and spring tide turbulence.

Physical characteristics of small ions and their interaction with ultrafine particles in the urban environment

In recent years, the effect of ions and ultrafine particles on ambient air quality and human health has been well documented, however, knowledge about their sources, concentrations and interactions within different types of urban environments remains limited. This thesis presents the results of numerous field studies aimed at quantifying variations in ion concentration with distance from the source, as well as identifying the dynamics of the particle ionisation processes which lead to the formation of charged particles in the air. In order to select the most appropriate measurement instruments and locations for the studies, a literature review was also conducted on studies that reported ion and ultrafine particle emissions from different sources in a typical urban environment. The initial study involved laboratory experiments on the attachment of ions to aerosols, so as to gain a better understanding of the interaction between ions and particles. This study determined the efficiency of corona ions at charging and removing particles from the air, as a function of different particle number and ion concentrations. The results showed that particle number loss was directly proportional to particle charge concentration, and that higher small ion concentrations led to higher particle deposition rates in all size ranges investigated. Nanoparticles were also observed to decrease with increasing particle charge concentration, due to their higher Brownian mobility and subsequent attachment to charged particles. Given that corona discharge from high voltage powerlines is considered one of the major ion sources in urban areas, a detailed study was then conducted under three parallel overhead powerlines, with a steady wind blowing in a perpendicular direction to the lines. The results showed that large sections of the lines did not produce any corona at all, while strong positive emissions were observed from discrete components such as a particular set of spacers on one of the lines. Measurements were also conducted at eight upwind and downwind points perpendicular to the powerlines, spanning a total distance of about 160m. The maximum positive small and large ion concentrations, and DC electric field were observed at a point 20 m downwind from the lines, with median values of 4.4×103 cm-3, 1.3×103 cm-3 and 530 V m-1, respectively. It was estimated that, at this point, less than 7% of the total number of particles was charged. The electrical parameters decreased steadily with increasing downwind distance from the lines but remained significantly higher than background levels at the limit of the measurements. Moreover, vehicles are one of the most prevalent ion and particle emitting sources in urban environments, and therefore, experiments were also conducted behind a motor vehicle exhaust pipe and near busy motorways, with the aim of quantifying small ion and particle charge concentration, as well as their distribution as a function of distance from the source. The study found that approximately equal numbers of positive and negative ions were observed in the vehicle exhaust plume, as well as near motorways, of which heavy duty vehicles were believed to be the main contributor. In addition, cluster ion concentration was observed to decrease rapidly within the first 10-15 m from the road and ion-ion recombination and ion-aerosol attachment were the most likely cause of ion depletion, rather than dilution and turbulence related processes. In addition to the above-mentioned dominant ion sources, other sources also exist within urban environments where intensive human activities take place. In this part of the study, airborne concentrations of small ions, particles and net particle charge were measured at 32 different outdoor sites in and around Brisbane, Australia, which were classified into seven different groups as follows: park, woodland, city centre, residential, freeway, powerlines and power substation. Whilst the study confirmed that powerlines, power substations and freeways were the main ion sources in an urban environment, it also suggested that not all powerlines emitted ions, only those with discrete corona discharge points. In addition to the main ion sources, higher ion concentrations were also observed environments affected by vehicle traffic and human activities, such as the city centre and residential areas. A considerable number of ions were also observed in a woodland area and it is still unclear if they were emitted directly from the trees, or if they originated from some other local source. Overall, it was found that different types of environments had different types of ion sources, which could be classified as unipolar or bipolar particle sources, as well as ion sources that co-exist with particle sources. In general, fewer small ions were observed at sites with co-existing sources, however particle charge was often higher due to the effect of ion-particle attachment. In summary, this study quantified ion concentrations in typical urban environments, identified major charge sources in urban areas, and determined the spatial dispersion of ions as a function of distance from the source, as well as their controlling factors. The study also presented ion-aerosol attachment efficiencies under high ion concentration conditions, both in the laboratory and in real outdoor environments. The outcomes of these studies addressed the aims of this work and advanced understanding of the charge status of aerosols in the urban environment.

Policy analysis of disaster health management in China

Humankind has been dealing with all kinds of disasters since the dawn of time. The risk and impact of disasters producing mass casualties worldwide is increasing, due partly to global warming as well as to increased population growth, increased density and the aging population. China, as a country with a large population, vast territory, and complex climatic and geographical conditions, has been plagued by all kinds of disasters. Disaster health management has traditionally been a relatively arcane discipline within public health. However, SARS, Avian Influenza, and earthquakes and floods, along with the need to be better prepared for the Olympic Games in China has brought disasters, their management and their potential for large scale health consequences on populations to the attention of the public, the government and the international community alike. As a result significant improvements were made to the disaster management policy framework, as well as changes to systems and structures to incorporate an improved disaster management focus. This involved the upgrade of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) throughout China to monitor and better control the health consequences particularly of infectious disease outbreaks. However, as can be seen in the Southern China Snow Storm and Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008, there remains a lack of integrated disaster management and efficient medical rescue, which has been costly in terms of economics and health for China. In the context of a very large and complex country, there is a need to better understand whether these changes have resulted in effective management of the health impacts of such incidents. To date, the health consequences of disasters, particularly in China, have not been a major focus of study. The main aim of this study is to analyse and evaluate disaster health management policy in China and in particular, its ability to effectively manage the health consequences of disasters. Flood has been selected for this study as it is a common and significant disaster type in China and throughout the world. This information will then be used to guide conceptual understanding of the health consequences of floods. A secondary aim of the study is to compare disaster health management in China and Australia as these countries differ in their length of experience in having a formalised policy response. The final aim of the study is to determine the extent to which Walt and Gilson’s (1994) model of policy explains how disaster management policy in China was developed and implemented after SARS in 2003 to the present day. This study has utilised a case study methodology. A document analysis and literature search of Chinese and English sources was undertaken to analyse and produce a chronology of disaster health management policy in China. Additionally, three detailed case studies of flood health management in China were undertaken along with three case studies in Australia in order to examine the policy response and any health consequences stemming from the floods. A total of 30 key international disaster health management experts were surveyed to identify fundamental elements and principles of a successful policy framework for disaster health management. Key policy ingredients were identified from the literature, the case-studies and the survey of experts. Walt and Gilson (1994)’s policy model that focuses on the actors, content, context and process of policy was found to be a useful model for analysing disaster health management policy development and implementation in China. This thesis is divided into four parts. Part 1 is a brief overview of the issues and context to set the scene. Part 2 examines the conceptual and operational context including the international literature, government documents and the operational environment for disaster health management in China. Part 3 examines primary sources of information to inform the analysis. This involves two key studies: • A comparative analysis of the management of floods in China and Australia • A survey of international experts in the field of disaster management so as to inform the evaluation of the policy framework in existence in China and the criteria upon which the expression of that policy could be evaluated Part 4 describes the key outcomes of this research which include: • A conceptual framework for describing the health consequences of floods • A conceptual framework for disaster health management • An evaluation of the disaster health management policy and its implementation in China. The research outcomes clearly identified that the most significant improvements are to be derived from improvements in the generic management of disasters, rather than the health aspects alone. Thus, the key findings and recommendations tend to focus on generic issues. The key findings of this research include the following: • The health consequences of floods may be described in terms of time as ‘immediate’, ‘medium term’ and ‘long term’ and also in relation to causation as ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ consequences of the flood. These two aspects form a matrix which in turn guides management responses. • Disaster health management in China requires a more comprehensive response throughout the cycle of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery but it also requires a more concentrated effort on policy implementation to ensure the translation of the policy framework into effective incident management. • The policy framework in China is largely of international standard with a sound legislative base. In addition the development of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has provided the basis for a systematic approach to health consequence management. However, the key weaknesses in the current system include: o The lack of a key central structure to provide the infrastructure with vital support for policy development, implementation and evaluation. o The lack of well-prepared local response teams similar to local government based volunteer groups in Australia. • The system lacks structures to coordinate government action at the local level. The result of this is a poorly coordinated local response and lack of clarity regarding the point at which escalation of the response to higher levels of government is advisable. These result in higher levels of risk and negative health impacts. The key recommendations arising from this study are: 1. Disaster health management policy in China should be enhanced by incorporating disaster management considerations into policy development, and by requiring a disaster management risk analysis and disaster management impact statement for development proposals. 2. China should transform existing organizations to establish a central organisation similar to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the USA or the Emergency Management Australia (EMA) in Australia. This organization would be responsible for leading nationwide preparedness through planning, standards development, education and incident evaluation and to provide operational support to the national and local government bodies in the event of a major incident. 3. China should review national and local plans to reflect consistency in planning, and to emphasize the advantages of the integrated planning process. 4. Enhance community resilience through community education and the development of a local volunteer organization. China should develop a national strategy which sets direction and standards in regard to education and training, and requires system testing through exercises. Other initiatives may include the development of a local volunteer capability with appropriate training to assist professional response agencies such as police and fire services in a major incident. An existing organisation such as the Communist Party may be an appropriate structure to provide this response in a cost effective manner. 5. Continue development of professional emergency services, particularly ambulance, to ensure an effective infrastructure is in place to support the emergency response in disasters. 6. Funding for disaster health management should be enhanced, not only from government, but also from other sources such as donations and insurance. It is necessary to provide a more transparent mechanism to ensure the funding is disseminated according to the needs of the people affected. 7. Emphasis should be placed on prevention and preparedness, especially on effective disaster warnings. 8. China should develop local disaster health management infrastructure utilising existing resources wherever possible. Strategies for enhancing local infrastructure could include the identification of local resources (including military resources) which could be made available to support disaster responses. It should develop operational procedures to access those resources. Implementation of these recommendations should better position China to reduce the significant health consequences experienced each year from major incidents such as floods and to provide an increased level of confidence to the community about the country’s capacity to manage such events.

Improving self organizing capabilities of local communities for sustainable development in decentralized Indonesia : the roles of procedural justice and social learning

The development planning process introduced under Law No. 25/2004 is said to be a better approach to increase public participation in decentralised Indonesia. This Law has introduced planning mechanisms, called Musyawarah Perencanaan Pembangunan (musrenbang), to provide a forum for development planning. In spite of the expressed intention of these mechanisms to improve public participation, some empirical observations have cast doubt on the outcomes. As a result, some local governments have tried to provide alternative mechanisms for participatory local development planning processes. Since planning constitutes one of the most effective ways to improve community empowerment, this paper aims to examine the extent to which the alternative local development planning process in Indonesia provides sufficient opportunities to improve the self organising capabilities of communities to sustain development programs to meet local needs. In so doing, this paper explores the key elements and approaches of the concept of community empowerment and shows how they can be incorporated within planning processes. Based on this, it then examines the problems encountered by musrenbang in increasing community empowerment. Having done this, it is argued that to change current unfavourable outcomes, procedural justice and social learning approaches need to be incorporated as pathways to community empowerment. Lastly the capacity of an alternative local planning process, called Sistem Dukungan (SISDUK), introduced in South Sulawesi, offering scope to incorporate procedural justice and social learning is explored as a means to improve the self organizing capabilities of local communities.

Evaluating the learning outcomes of an international field trip in postgraduate lighting design courses

Lighting industry professionals work in an international marketplace and encounter a range of social, geographical and cultural challenges associated with this. Education in lighting should introduce students to aspects of these challenges. To achieve this, an international field trip was recently undertaken that sought to provide an authentic learning experience for students. Twelve Masters of Lighting students from two Australian universities took part in a field trip to Shanghai, China and surrounding areas. The goal was to offer students insight into practical issues in the lighting industry at an international level and to do so in a unique and authentic context. To evaluate the outcomes of the trip, each participant was surveyed afterwards. Benefits were identified in terms of: increased knowledge and insight into manufacturing issues in lighting, experiential learning in lighting design practice not available locally (e.g, master planning), increased understanding of cultural influences in design and enhancing professional contacts within the lighting industry. Field trips may also act as an inverted curriculum experience for new students to engage them and promote learning within a professional context.

Crime: local and global

Crime: Local and Global covers the way local events (such as prostitution) have wider aspects than previously thought. Links with people traffickers, international organised crime and violence cannot be ignored any longer. Each crime or area of activity selected within this text has a global reach, and is made ever more possible due to the way globalisation has opened up markets, both legitimate and illegitimate. The book's approach and scope emphasises that we can no longer view 'crime' as something which occurs within certain jurisdictions, at certain times and in particular places. For example, the chapter on cybercrime highlights the 'illegal' acts that can be perpetrated by second lifers, anywhere in the world, but are they a crime?

Effective shear modulus approach for two dimensional solids and plate bending problems by meshless point collocation method

For the analysis of material nonlinearity, an effective shear modulus approach based on the strain control method is proposed in this paper by using point collocation method. Hencky’s total deformation theory is used to evaluate the effective shear modulus, Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio, which are treated as spatial field variables. These effective properties are obtained by the strain controlled projection method in an iterative manner. To evaluate the second order derivatives of shape function at the field point, the radial basis function (RBF) in the local support domain is used. Several numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method and comparisons have been made with analytical solutions and the finite element method (ABAQUS).

Mapping intermedia news flows : topical discussions in the Australian and French political blogospheres

The growth of technologies and tools branded as =new media‘ or =Web 2.0‘ has sparked much discussion about the internet and its place in all facets of social life. Such debate includes the potential for blogs and citizen journalism projects to replace or alter journalism and mainstream media practices. However, while the journalism-blog dynamic has attracted the most attention, the actual work of political bloggers, the roles they play in the mediasphere and the resources they use, has been comparatively ignored. This project will look at political blogging in Australia and France - sites commenting on or promoting political events and ideas, and run by citizens, politicians, and journalists alike. In doing so, the structure of networks formed by bloggers and the nature of communication within political blogospheres will be examined. Previous studies of political blogging around the world have focussed on individual nations, finding that in some cases the networks are divided between different political ideologies. By comparing two countries with different political representation (two-party dominated system vs. a wider political spectrum), this study will determine the structure of these political blogospheres, and correlate these structures with the political environment in which they are situated. The thesis adapts concepts from communication and media theories, including framing, agenda setting, and opinion leaders, to examine the work of political bloggers and their place within the mediasphere. As well as developing a hybrid theoretical base for research into blogs and other online communication, the project outlines new methodologies for carrying out studies of online activity through the analysis of several topical networks within the wider activity collected for this project. The project draws on hyperlink and textual data collected from a sample of Australian and French blogs between January and August 2009. From this data, the thesis provides an overview of =everyday‘ political blogging, showing posting patterns over several months of activity, away from national elections and their associated campaigns. However, while other work in this field has looked solely at cumulative networks, treating collected data as a static network, this project will also look at specific cases to see how the blogospheres change with time and topics of discussion. Three case studies are used within the thesis to examine how blogs cover politics, featuring an international political event (the Obama inauguration), and local political topics (the opposition to the =Création et Internet‘, or HADOPI, law in France, the =Utegate‘ scandal in Australia). By using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods, the study analyses data collected from a population of sites from both countries, looking at their linking patterns, relationship with mainstream media, and topics of interest. This project will subsequently help to further develop methodologies in this field and provide new and detailed information on both online networks and internet-based political communication in Australia and France.

Designing and evaluating mobile multimedia user experiences in public urban places : Making sense of the field

The majority of the world’s population now lives in cities (United Nations, 2008) resulting in an urban densification requiring people to live in closer proximity and share urban infrastructure such as streets, public transport, and parks within cities. However, “physical closeness does not mean social closeness” (Wellman, 2001, p. 234). Whereas it is a common practice to greet and chat with people you cross paths with in smaller villages, urban life is mainly anonymous and does not automatically come with a sense of community per se. Wellman (2001, p. 228) defines community “as networks of interpersonal ties that provide sociability, support, information, a sense of belonging and social identity.” While on the move or during leisure time, urban dwellers use their interactive information communication technology (ICT) devices to connect to their spatially distributed community while in an anonymous space. Putnam (1995) argues that available technology privatises and individualises the leisure time of urban dwellers. Furthermore, ICT is sometimes used to build a “cocoon” while in public to avoid direct contact with collocated people (Mainwaring et al., 2005; Bassoli et al., 2007; Crawford, 2008). Instead of using ICT devices to seclude oneself from the surrounding urban environment and the collocated people within, such devices could also be utilised to engage urban dwellers more with the urban environment and the urban dwellers within. Urban sociologists found that “what attracts people most, it would appear, is other people” (Whyte, 1980, p. 19) and “people and human activity are the greatest object of attention and interest” (Gehl, 1987, p. 31). On the other hand, sociologist Erving Goffman describes the concept of civil inattention, acknowledging strangers’ presence while in public but not interacting with them (Goffman, 1966). With this in mind, it appears that there is a contradiction between how people are using ICT in urban public places and for what reasons and how people use public urban places and how they behave and react to other collocated people. On the other hand there is an opportunity to employ ICT to create and influence experiences of people collocated in public urban places. The widespread use of location aware mobile devices equipped with Internet access is creating networked localities, a digital layer of geo-coded information on top of the physical world (Gordon & de Souza e Silva, 2011). Foursquare.com is an example of a location based 118 Mobile Multimedia – User and Technology Perspectives social network (LBSN) that enables urban dwellers to virtually check-in into places at which they are physically present in an urban space. Users compete over ‘mayorships’ of places with Foursquare friends as well as strangers and can share recommendations about the space. The research field of Urban Informatics is interested in these kinds of digital urban multimedia augmentations and how such augmentations, mediated through technology, can create or influence the UX of public urban places. “Urban informatics is the study, design, and practice of urban experiences across different urban contexts that are created by new opportunities of real-time, ubiquitous technology and the augmentation that mediates the physical and digital layers of people networks and urban infrastructures” (Foth et al., 2011, p. 4). One possibility to augment the urban space is to enable citizens to digitally interact with spaces and urban dwellers collocated in the past, present, and future. “Adding digital layer to the existing physical and social layers could facilitate new forms of interaction that reshape urban life” (Kjeldskov & Paay, 2006, p. 60). This methodological chapter investigates how the design of UX through such digital placebased mobile multimedia augmentations can be guided and evaluated. First, we describe three different applications that aim to create and influence the urban UX through mobile mediated interactions. Based on a review of literature, we describe how our integrated framework for designing and evaluating urban informatics experiences has been constructed. We conclude the chapter with a reflective discussion on the proposed framework.

How quantum theory is developing the field of information retrieval

This position paper provides an overview of work conducted and an outlook of future directions within the field of Information Retrieval (IR) that aims to develop novel models, methods and frameworks inspired by Quantum Theory (QT).

Early childhood education

Young children are the most vulnerable and most at risk of environmental challenges, current and future. Yet, early learning around environment and sustainability issues and topics has been neglected and underrated in early childhood education even though there is an expanding body of research literature – from economics, neuroscience, sociology and health – that shows that early investments in human capital offer substantial returns for individuals and for communities and have a long reach into the future. Early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS) - a synthesis of early childhood education (ECE) and education for sustainability (EfS) - builds on groundings in play, outdoor learning and nature education, but takes a stronger focus on learning about, and engagement with, environmental and sustainability issues. Child participation and agency is central to ECEfS and can relate, for example, to local environmental problem-solving such as water and energy conservation or waste reduction in a childcare centre, kindergarten or preschool, or young children’s social learning for Indigenous Reconciliation and cultural inclusivity. While the ECE field has been much slower than other educational sectors in taking up the challenges of sustainability, this situation is rapidly changing as early childhood practitioners begin to engage – it is fast moving from the margins of early childhood curriculum and pedagogic decision-making into the mainstream. This presents challenges, however, as ECEfS is somewhat misunderstood and misrepresented and, as a new field, is under-researched and under-theorised.

Field study of air change and flow rate in six automobiles

For many people, a relatively large proportion of daily exposure to a multitude of pollutants may occur inside an automobile. A key determinant of exposure is the amount of outdoor air entering the cabin (i.e. air change or flow rate). We have quantified this parameter in six passenger vehicles ranging in age from 18 years to <1 year, at three vehicle speeds and under four different ventilation settings. Average infiltration into the cabin with all operable air entry pathways closed was between 1 and 33.1 air changes per hour (ACH) at a vehicle speed of 60 km/h, and between 2.6 and 47.3 ACH at 110 km/h, with these results representing the most (2005 Volkswagen Golf) and least air-tight (1989 Mazda 121) vehicles, respectively. Average infiltration into stationary vehicles parked outdoors varied between ~0 and 1.4 ACH and was moderately related to wind speed. Measurements were also performed under an air recirculation setting with low fan speed, while airflow rate measurements were conducted under two non-recirculate ventilation settings with low and high fan speeds. The windows were closed in all cases, and over 200 measurements were performed. The results can be applied to estimate pollutant exposure inside vehicles.

Bridge to field experience

The DVD targets identified concerns of culturally and linguistically diverse pre-service teachers in relation to their field experience placements in Australian sites. It provides specific information to support them in learning about the culture of school plus expected roles and responsibilities of pre-service teachers in the classroom. The five episodes of the DVD include the authentic voices of pre-service teachers and supervising teachers, addressing the various aspects of field experience that concern them most. This resource could be used by both undergraduate and post-graduate pre-service teachers, staff involved in teaching field experience units, university liaison academics who work with culturally and linguistically diverse pre-service teachers, supervising teachers in sites and staff in the Field Experience Office who place pre-service teachers in sites.

A semi-local method for iterative depth-map refinement

We present an iterative hierarchical algorithm for multi-view stereo. The algorithm attempts to utilise as much contextual information as is available to compute highly accurate and robust depth maps. There are three novel aspects to the approach: 1) firstly we incrementally improve the depth fidelity as the algorithm progresses through the image pyramid; 2) secondly we show how to incorporate visual hull information (when available) to constrain depth searches; and 3) we show how to simultaneously enforce the consistency of the depth-map by continual comparison with neighbouring depth-maps. We show that this approach produces highly accurate depth-maps and, since it is essentially a local method, is both extremely fast and simple to implement.

Breaching the standardised assessment boundary : assessment for learning as a field of exchange

The introduction of the Australian curriculum, the use of standardised testing (e.g. NAPLAN) and the My School website are couched in a context of accountability. This circumstance has stimulated and in some cases renewed a range of boundaries in Australian Education. The consequences that arise from standardised testing have accentuated the boundaries produced by social reproduction in education which has led to an increase in the numbers of students disengaging from mainstream education and applying for enrolment at the Edmund Rice Education Australia Flexible Learning Centre Network (EREAFLCN). Boundaries are created for many young people who are denied access to credentials and certification as a result of being excluded from or in some way disengaging from standardised education and testing. Young people who participate at the EREAFLCN arrive with a variety of forms of cultural capital that are not valued in current education and employment fields. This is not to say that these young people’s different forms of cultural capital have no value, but rather that such funds of knowledge, repertoires and cultural capital are not valued by the majority of powerful agents in educational and employment fields. How then can the qualitative value of traditionally unorthodox - yet often intricate, ingenious, and astute - versions of cultural capital evident in the habitus of many young people be made to count, be recognised, be valuated? Can a process of educational assessment be a field of capital exchange and a space which breaches boundaries through a valuating process? This paper reports on the development of an innovative approach to assessment in an alternative education institution designed for the re-engagement of ‘at risk’ youth who have left formal schooling. A case study approach has been used to document the engagement of six young people, with an educational approach described as assessment for learning as a field of exchange across two sites in the EREAFLCN. In order to capture the broad range of students’ cultural and social capital, an electronic portfolio system (EPS) is under trial. The model draws on categories from sociological models of capital and reconceptualises the eportfolio as a sociocultural zone of learning and development. Results from the trial show a general tendency towards engagement with the EPS and potential for the attainment of socially valued cultural capital in the form of school credentials. In this way restrictive boundaries can be breached and a more equitable outcome achieved for many young Australians.