Not learning from the past: Adaptive governance challenges for Australian natural resource management

Australia’s governance arrangements for NRM have evolved considerably over the last thirty years. The impact of changes in governance on NRM planning and delivery requires assessment. We undertake a multi-method program evaluation using adaptive governance principles as an analytical frame and apply this to Queensland to assess the impacts of governance change on NRM planning and governance outcomes. Data to inform our analysis includes: 1) a systematic review of sixteen audits/evaluations of Australian NRM over a fifteen-year period; 2) a review of Queensland’s first generation NRM Plans; and 3) outputs from a Queensland workshop on NRM planning. NRM has progressed from a bottom-up grassroots movement into a collaborative regional NRM model that has been centralised by the Australian Government. We found that while some adaptive governance challenges have been addressed, others remained unresolved. Results show that collaboration and elements of multi-level governance under the regional model were positive moves, but also that NRM arrangements contained structural deficiencies across multiple governance levels in relation to public involvement in decision-making and knowledge production for problem responsiveness. These problems for adaptive governance have been exacerbated since 2008. We conclude that the adaptive governance framework for NRM needs urgent attention so that important environmental management problems can be addressed.

Can social resilience inform SA/SIA for adaptive planning for climate change in vulnerable regions?

This book represents a landmark effort to probe and analyze the theory and empirics of designing water disaster management policies. It consists of seven chapters that examine, in-depth and comprehensively, issues that are central to crafting effective policies for water disaster management. The authors use historical surveys, institutional analysis, econometric investigations, empirical case studies, and conceptual-theoretical discussions to clarify and illuminate the complex policy process. The specific topics studied in this book include a review and analysis of key policy areas and research priority areas associated with water disaster management, community participation in disaster risk reduction, the economics and politics of ‘green’ flood control, probabilistic flood forecasting for flood risk management, polycentric governance and flood risk management, drought management with the aid of dynamic inter-generational preferences, and how social resilience can inform SA/SIA for adaptive planning for climate change in vulnerable areas. A unique feature of this book is its analysis of the causes and consequences of water disasters and efforts to address them successfully through policy-rich, cross-disciplinary and transnational papers. This book is designed to help enrich the sparse discourse on water disaster management policies and galvanize water professionals to craft creative solutions to tackle water disasters efficiently, equitably, and sustainably. This book should also be of considerable use to disaster management professionals, in general, and natural resource policy analysts.

Adaptive nature of coordinated road traffic injury prevention responses in some OECD countries

This study examines the context of coordinated responses, triggers for coordinated responses, and preference for or choice of coordinating strategies in road traffic injury prevention at a local level in some OECD countries. This aim is achieved through a mixed-methodology. In this respect, 22 semi-structured interviews were conducted with road traffic injury prevention experts from five OECD countries. In addition, 31 professional road traffic injury prevention stakeholders from seven OECD nations completed a self-administered, online survey. It found that there was resource limitation and inter-dependence across actors within the context of road traffic injury prevention at a local level. Furthermore, this study unveiled the realization of resource-dependency as a trigger for coordinated responses at a local level. Moreover, the present examination has revealed two coordinating strategies favored by experts in road traffic injury prevention – i.e. self-organizing community groups, which are deemed to have a platform to deliver programs within communities, and the funding of community groups to forge partnerships. However, the present study did not appear to endorse other strategies such as the formalization of coordinated responses or a legal mandate to coordinate responses. In essence, this study appears to suggest a need to manage coordinated responses from an adaptive perspective with interactions across road traffic injury prevention programs being forged on a mutual understanding of inter-dependency arising out of resource scarcity. In fact, the role of legislation and top-down national models in local level management of coordinated responses is likely to be one of identifying opportunities to interact with self-organized community groups and fund partnership-based road traffic injury prevention events.

Identifying and forecasting the reverse salient in video game consoles: A performance gap ratio comparative analysis

This study uses the reverse salient methodology to contrast subsystems in video game consoles in order to discover, characterize, and forecast the most significant technology gap. We build on the current methodologies (Performance Gap and Time Gap) for measuring the magnitude of Reverse Salience, by showing the effectiveness of Performance Gap Ratio (PGR). The three subject subsystems in this analysis are the CPU Score, GPU core frequency, and video memory bandwidth. CPU Score is a metric developed for this project, which is the product of the core frequency, number of parallel cores, and instruction size. We measure the Performance Gap of each subsystem against concurrently available PC hardware on the market. Using PGR, we normalize the evolution of these technologies for comparative analysis. The results indicate that while CPU performance has historically been the Reverse Salient, video memory bandwidth has taken over as the quickest growing technology gap in the current generation. Finally, we create a technology forecasting model that shows how much the video RAM bandwidth gap will grow through 2019 should the current trend continue. This analysis can assist console developers in assigning resources to the next generation of platforms, which will ultimately result in longer hardware life cycles.

Towards adaptive management of QoS-aware service compositions - Functional architecture

Service compositions enable users to realize their complex needs as a single request. Despite intensive research, especially in the area of business processes, web services and grids, an open and valid question is still how to manage service compositions in order to satisfy both functional and non-functional requirements as well as adapt to dynamic changes. In this paper we propose an (functional) architecture for adaptive management of QoS-aware service compositions. Comparing to the other existing architectures this one offers two major advantages. Firstly, this architecture supports various execution strategies based on dynamic selection and negotiation of services included in a service composition, contracting based on service level agreements, service enactment with flexible support for exception handling, monitoring of service level objectives, and profiling of execution data. Secondly, the architecture is built on the basis of well know existing standards to communicate and exchange data, which significantly reduces effort to integrate existing solutions and tools from different vendors. A first prototype of this architecture has been implemented within an EU-funded Adaptive Service Grid project. © 2006 Springer-Verlag.

Predicting the need for adaptive radiotherapy in head and neck cancer

Background and purpose Adaptive radiotherapy (ART) can account for the dosimetric impact of anatomical change in head and neck cancer patients; however it can be resource intensive. Consequently, it is imperative that patients likely to require ART are identified. The purpose of this study was to find predictive factors that identify oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPC) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients more likely to need ART. Materials and methods One hundred and ten patients with OPC or NPC were analysed. Patient demographics and tumour characteristics were compared between patients who were replanned and those that were not. Factors found to be significant were included in logistic regression models. Risk profiles were developed from these models. A dosimetric analysis was performed. Results Nodal disease stage, pre-treatment largest involved node size, diagnosis and initial weight (categorised in 2 groups) were identified as significant for inclusion in the model. Two models were found to be significant (p = 0.001), correctly classifying 98.2% and 96.1% of patients respectively. Three ART risk profiles were developed. Conclusion Predictive factors identifying OPC or NPC patients more likely to require ART were reported. A risk profile approach could facilitate the effective implementation of ART into radiotherapy departments through forward planning and appropriate resource allocation.

Verification and Operation of Adaptive Materials in Space

Piezoelectric polymers based on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) are of interest as smart materials for novel space-based telescope applications. Dimensional adjustments of adaptive thin polymer films are achieved via controlled charge deposition. Predicting their long-term performance requires a detailed understanding of the piezoelectric property changes that develop during space environmental exposure. The overall materials performance is governed by a combination of chemical and physical degradation processes occurring in low Earth orbit as established by our past laboratory-based materials performance experiments (see report SAND 2005-6846). Molecular changes are primarily induced via radiative damage, and physical damage from temperature and atomic oxygen exposure is evident as depoling, loss of orientation and surface erosion. The current project extension has allowed us to design and fabricate small experimental units to be exposed to low Earth orbit environments as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiments program. The space exposure of these piezoelectric polymers will verify the observed trends and their degradation pathways, and provide feedback on using piezoelectric polymer films in space. This will be the first time that PVDF-based adaptive polymer films will be operated and exposed to combined atomic oxygen, solar UV and temperature variations in an actual space environment. The experiments are designed to be fully autonomous, involving cyclic application of excitation voltages, sensitive film position sensors and remote data logging. This mission will provide critically needed feedback on the long-term performance and degradation of such materials, and ultimately the feasibility of large adaptive and low weight optical systems utilizing these polymers in space.

Adaptive aneuploidy protects against thiol peroxidase deficiency by increasing respiration via key mitochondrial proteins

Aerobic respiration is a fundamental energy-generating process; however, there is cost associated with living in an oxygen-rich environment, because partially reduced oxygen species can damage cellular components. Organisms evolved enzymes that alleviate this damage and protect the intracellular milieu, most notably thiol peroxidases, which are abundant and conserved enzymes that mediate hydrogen peroxide signaling and act as the first line of defense against oxidants in nearly all living organisms. Deletion of all eight thiol peroxidase genes in yeast (∆8 strain) is not lethal, but results in slow growth and a high mutation rate. Here we characterized mechanisms that allow yeast cells to survive under conditions of thiol peroxidase deficiency. Two independent ∆8 strains increased mitochondrial content, altered mitochondrial distribution, and became dependent on respiration for growth but they were not hypersensitive to H2O2. In addition, both strains independently acquired a second copy of chromosome XI and increased expression of genes encoded by it. Survival of ∆8 cells was dependent on mitochondrial cytochrome-c peroxidase (CCP1) and UTH1, present on chromosome XI. Coexpression of these genes in ∆8 cells led to the elimination of the extra copy of chromosome XI and improved cell growth, whereas deletion of either gene was lethal. Thus, thiol peroxidase deficiency requires dosage compensation of CCP1 and UTH1 via chromosome XI aneuploidy, wherein these proteins support hydroperoxide removal with the reducing equivalents generated by the electron transport chain. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of adaptive aneuploidy counteracting oxidative stress.

‘Blind Faith’. An experiment with narrative agency in game design

This paper reports on the current field of narrative-based game design through case study analysis with a particular focus on balancing high narrative agency with low production resources.

A game of balance and disguise: Examining experiential value and game attributes in social marketing m-games

Experiential value is an important driver of customer repeat behaviour and is necessary for achieving sustained behaviour. Understanding the value gained by consumers is particularly important when adopting innovative techniques, such as new technology. Social marketing (behaviour change) practice is increasingly using the technology of mobile games (m-games), yet there is little scholarly research to explain how these games can create experiential value for the user, or which game attributes influence this value. A key finding of this thesis is the importance of achieving a balance between entertainment value and behaviour value through the use of key game attributes relating to disguise and performance. The research offers a contribution to address current managerial problems faced by social marketing practitioners looking to employ m-games to achieve behavioural outcomes.

Adaptive immunity to rhinoviruses: Sex and age matter

Background: Rhinoviruses (RV) are key triggers in acute asthma exacerbations. Previous studies suggest that men suffer from infectious diseases more frequently and with greater severity than women. Additionally, the immune response to most infections and vaccinations decreases with age. Most immune function studies do not account for such differences, therefore the aim of this study was to determine if the immune response to rhinovirus varies with sex or age. Methods: Blood mononuclear cells were isolated from 63 healthy individuals and grouped by sex and age (≤50 years old and ≥52 years old). Cells were cultured with rhinovirus 16 at a multiplicity of infection of 1. The chemokine IP-10 was measured at 24 h as an index of innate immunity while IFNγ and IL-13 were measured at 5 days as an index of adaptive immunity. Results: Rhinovirus induced IFNγ and IL-13 was significantly higher in ≤50 year old women than in age matched men (p < 0.02 and p < 0.05) and ≥52 year old women (p < 0.02 and p > 0.005). There was no sex or age based difference in rhinovirus induced IP-10 expression. Both IFNγ and IL-13 were negatively correlated with age in women but not in men. Conclusions: This study suggests that pre-menopausal women have a stronger adaptive immune response to rhinovirus infection than men and older people, though the mechanisms responsible for these differences remain to be determined. Our findings highlight the importance of gender and age balance in clinical studies and in the development of new treatments and vaccines.

A new single-phase frequency adaptive Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) for harmonic measurement

The paper presents an improved Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) for measuring the fundamental frequency and selective harmonic content of a distorted signal. This information can be used by grid interfaced devices and harmonic compensators. The single-phase structure is based on the Synchronous Reference Frame (SRF) PLL. The proposed PLL needs only a limited number of harmonic stages by incorporating Moving Average Filters (MAF) for eliminating the undesired harmonic content at each stage. The frequency dependency of MAF in effective filtering of undesired harmonics is also dealt with by a proposed method for adaptation to frequency variations of input signal. The method is suitable for high sampling rates and a wide frequency measurement range. Furthermore, an extended model of this structure is proposed which includes the response to both the frequency and phase angle variations. The proposed algorithm is simulated and verified using Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing.

Threat of resource loss: The role of self-regulation in adaptive task performance

Changes at work are often accompanied with the threat of, or actual, resource loss. Through an experiment, we investigated the detrimental effect of the threat of resource loss on adaptive task performance. Self-regulation (i.e., task focus and emotion control) was hypothesized to buffer the negative relationship between the threat of resource loss and adaptive task performance. Adaptation was conceptualized as relearning after a change in task execution rules. Threat of resource loss was manipulated for 100 participants undertaking an air traffic control task. Using discontinuous growth curve modeling, 2 kinds of adaptation—transition adaptation and reacquisition adaptation—were differentiated. The results showed that individuals who experienced the threat of resource loss had a stronger drop in performance (less transition adaptation) and a subsequent slower recovery (less reacquisition adaptation) compared with the control group who experienced no threat. Emotion control (but not task focus) moderated the relationship between the threat of resource loss and transition adaptation. In this respect, individuals who felt threatened but regulated their emotions performed better immediately after the task change (but not later on) compared with those individuals who felt threatened and did not regulate their emotions as well. However, later on, relearning (reacquisition adaptation) under the threat of resource loss was facilitated when individuals concentrated on the task at hand.

From vision to actions: Towards adaptive and autonomous humanoid robots

Although robotics research has seen advances over the last decades robots are still not in widespread use outside industrial applications. Yet a range of proposed scenarios have robots working together, helping and coexisting with humans in daily life. In all these a clear need to deal with a more unstructured, changing environment arises. I herein present a system that aims to overcome the limitations of highly complex robotic systems, in terms of autonomy and adaptation. The main focus of research is to investigate the use of visual feedback for improving reaching and grasping capabilities of complex robots. To facilitate this a combined integration of computer vision and machine learning techniques is employed. From a robot vision point of view the combination of domain knowledge from both imaging processing and machine learning techniques, can expand the capabilities of robots. I present a novel framework called Cartesian Genetic Programming for Image Processing (CGP-IP). CGP-IP can be trained to detect objects in the incoming camera streams and successfully demonstrated on many different problem domains. The approach requires only a few training images (it was tested with 5 to 10 images per experiment) is fast, scalable and robust yet requires very small training sets. Additionally, it can generate human readable programs that can be further customized and tuned. While CGP-IP is a supervised-learning technique, I show an integration on the iCub, that allows for the autonomous learning of object detection and identification. Finally this dissertation includes two proof-of-concepts that integrate the motion and action sides. First, reactive reaching and grasping is shown. It allows the robot to avoid obstacles detected in the visual stream, while reaching for the intended target object. Furthermore the integration enables us to use the robot in non-static environments, i.e. the reaching is adapted on-the- fly from the visual feedback received, e.g. when an obstacle is moved into the trajectory. The second integration highlights the capabilities of these frameworks, by improving the visual detection by performing object manipulation actions.

Active Adaptive Gyrostabiliser Control System

A gyrostabiliser control system and method for stabilising marine vessel motion based on precession information only. The control system employs an Automatic Gain Control (AGC) precession controller (60). This system operates with a gain factor that is always being gradually minimized so as to let the gyro flywheel (12) develop as much precession as possible - the higher the precession, the higher the roll stabilising moment. This continuous gain change provides adaptation to changes in sea state and sailing conditions. The system effectively predicts the likelihood of maximum precession being reached. Should this event be detected, then the gain is rapidly increased so as to provide a breaking precession torque. Once the event has passed, the system again attempts to gradually decrease the gain.