Thermal performance of composite panels under fire conditions using numerical studies : plasterboards, rockwool, glass fibre and cellulose insulations

In recent times, light gauge steel frame (LSF) wall systems are increasingly used in the building industry. They are usually made of cold-formed and thin-walled steel studs that are fire-protected by two layers of plasterboard on both sides. A composite LSF wall panel system was developed recently, where an insulation layer was used externally between the two plasterboards to improve the fire performance of LSF wall panels. In this research, finite element thermal models of the new composite panels were developed using a finite element program, SAFIR, to simulate their thermal performance under both standard and Eurocode design fire curves. Suitable apparent thermal properties of both the gypsum plasterboard and insulation materials were proposed and used in the numerical models. The developed models were then validated by comparing their results with available standard fire test results of composite panels. This paper presents the details of the finite element models of composite panels, the thermal analysis results in the form of time-temperature profiles under standard and Eurocode design fire curves and their comparisons with fire test results. Effects of using rockwool, glass fibre and cellulose fibre insulations with varying thickness and density were also investigated, and the results are presented in this paper. The results show that the use of composite panels in LSF wall systems will improve their fire rating, and that Eurocode design fires are likely to cause severe damage to LSF walls than standard fires.

Opportunities for forest finance under the International climate change regime

The international climate change regime has the potential to increase revenue available for forest restoration projects in Commonwealth nations. There are three mechanisms which could be used to fund forest projects aimed at forest conservation, forest restoration and sustainable forest management. The first forest funding opportunity arises under the clean development mechanism, a flexibility mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol. The clean development mechanism allows Annex I parties (industrialised nations) to invest in emission reduction activities in non-Annex 1 (developing countries) and the establishment of forest sinks is an eligible clean development mechanism activity. Secondly, parties to the Kyoto Protocol are able to include sustainable forest management activities in their national carbon accounting. The international rules concerning this are called the Land-Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry Guidelines. Thirdly, it is anticipated that at the upcoming Copenhagen negotiations that a Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) instrument will be created. This will provide a direct funding mechanism for those developing countries with tropical forests. Payments made under a REDD arrangement will be based upon the developing country with tropical forest cover agreeing to protect and conserve a designated forest estate. These three funding options available under the international climate change regime demonstrate that there is potential for forest finance within the regime. These opportunities are however hindered by a number of technical and policy barriers which prevent the ability of the regime to significantly increase funding for forest projects. There are two types of carbon markets, compliance carbon markets (Kyoto based) and voluntary carbon markets. Voluntary carbon markets are more flexible then compliance markets and as such offer potential to increase revenue available for sustainable forest projects.

Regulation of emissions under the carbon pricing mechanism : a case study of Australia’s coal fired electricity sector

On 1 July 2012, the carbon pricing mechanism commenced in Australia with the aim of reducing emissions and encouraging investment in clean energy. A substantial proportion of Australia’s emissions are attributable to the coal-fired electricity generation sector. This article examines whether the carbon pricing mechanism will effectively facilitate emissions reduction from the coal-fired electricity sector. Aspects analysed include the legislative constraints placed on the carbon price, the carbon pollution cap and provisions specific to the coal-fired electricity sector, such as transitional assistance. It is concluded that, in practice, the carbon pricing mechanism may not be sufficient in itself to achieve significant reduction in emissions from coal-fired electricity generation or significant investment in clean energy, and that a suite of additional regulatory measures, such as the federal Renewable Energy Target, should operate in conjunction with the mechanism.

Temporal dynamics of rod and cone photoreceptor interactions under mesopic illumination

Purpose: Photoreceptor interactions reduce the temporal bandwidth of the visual system under mesopic illumination. The dynamics of these interactions are not clear. This study investigated cone-cone and rod-cone interactions when the rod (R) and three cone (L, M, S) photoreceptor classes contribute to vision via shared post-receptoral pathways. Methods: A four-primary photostimulator independently controlled photoreceptor activity in human observers. To determine the temporal dynamics of receptoral (L, S, R) and post-receptoral (LMS, LMSR, +L-M) pathways (5 Td, 7° eccentricity) in Experiment 1, ON-pathway sensitivity was assayed with an incremental probe (25ms) presented relative to onset of an incremental sawtooth conditioning pulse (1000ms). To define the post-receptoral pathways mediating the rod stimulus, Experiment 2 matched the color appearance of increased rod activation (30% contrast, 25-1000ms; constant cone excitation) with cone stimuli (variable L+M, L/L+M, S/L+M; constant rod excitation). Results: Cone-cone interactions with luminance stimuli (LMS, LMSR, L-cone) reduced Weber contrast sensitivity by 13% and the time course of adaptation was 23.7±1ms (μ±SE). With chromatic stimuli (+L-M, S), cone pathway sensitivity was also reduced and recovery was slower (+L-M 8%, 2.9±0.1ms; S 38%, 1.5±0.3ms). Threshold patterns at ON-conditioning pulse onset were monophasic for luminance and biphasic for chromatic stimuli. Rod-rod interactions increased sensitivity(19%) with a recovery time of 0.7±0.2ms. Compared to cone-cone interactions, rod-cone interactions with luminance stimuli reduced sensitivity to a lesser degree (5%) with faster recovery (42.9±0.7ms). Rod-cone interactions were absent with chromatic stimuli. Experiment 2 showed that rod activation generated luminance (L+M) signals at all durations, and chromatic signals (L/L+M, S/L+M) for durations >75ms. Conclusions: Temporal dynamics of cone-cone interactions are consistent with contrast sensitivity loss in the MC pathway for luminance stimuli and chromatically opponent responses in the PC and KC pathway with chromatic stimuli. Rod-cone interactions limit contrast sensitivity loss during dynamic illumination changes and increase the speed of mesopic light adaptation. The change in relative weighting of the temporal rod signal within the major post-receptoral pathways modifies the sensitivity and dynamics of photoreceptor interactions.

Performance characterization of VGCF/epoxy nanocomposite sensors under static load cycles and in static structural health monitoring

Compared to conventional metal-foil strain gauges, nanocomposite piezoresistive strain sensors have demonstrated high strain sensitivity and have been attracting increasing attention in recent years. To fulfil their ultimate success, the performance of vapor growth carbon fiber (VGCF)/epoxy nanocomposite strain sensors subjected to static cyclic loads was evaluated in this work. A strain-equivalent quantity (resistance change ratio) in cantilever beams with intentionally induced notches in bending was evaluated using the conventional metal-foil strain gauges and the VGCF/epoxy nanocomposite sensors. Compared to the metal-foil strain gauges, the nanocomposite sensors are much more sensitive to even slight structural damage. Therefore, it was confirmed that the signal stability, reproducibility, and durability of these nanocomposite sensors are very promising, leading to the present endeavor to apply them for static structural health monitoring.

Approaches to access control under uncertainty

The ultimate goal of an access control system is to allocate each user the precise level of access they need to complete their job - no more and no less. This proves to be challenging in an organisational setting. On one hand employees need enough access to the organisation’s resources in order to perform their jobs and on the other hand more access will bring about an increasing risk of misuse - either intentionally, where an employee uses the access for personal benefit, or unintentionally, through carelessness or being socially engineered to give access to an adversary. This thesis investigates issues of existing approaches to access control in allocating optimal level of access to users and proposes solutions in the form of new access control models. These issues are most evident when uncertainty surrounding users’ access needs, incentive to misuse and accountability are considered, hence the title of the thesis. We first analyse access control in environments where the administrator is unable to identify the users who may need access to resources. To resolve this uncertainty an administrative model with delegation support is proposed. Further, a detailed technical enforcement mechanism is introduced to ensure delegated resources cannot be misused. Then we explicitly consider that users are self-interested and capable of misusing resources if they choose to. We propose a novel game theoretic access control model to reason about and influence the factors that may affect users’ incentive to misuse. Next we study access control in environments where neither users’ access needs can be predicted nor they can be held accountable for misuse. It is shown that by allocating budget to users, a virtual currency through which they can pay for the resources they deem necessary, the need for a precise pre-allocation of permissions can be relaxed. The budget also imposes an upper-bound on users’ ability to misuse. A generalised budget allocation function is proposed and it is shown that given the context information the optimal level of budget for users can always be numerically determined. Finally, Role Based Access Control (RBAC) model is analysed under the explicit assumption of administrators’ uncertainty about self-interested users’ access needs and their incentives to misuse. A novel Budget-oriented Role Based Access Control (B-RBAC) model is proposed. The new model introduces the notion of users’ behaviour into RBAC and provides means to influence users’ incentives. It is shown how RBAC policy can be used to individualise the cost of access to resources and also to determine users’ budget. The implementation overheads of B-RBAC is examined and several low-cost sub-models are proposed.

Dynamic performance characteristics of an innovative Hybrid Composite Floor Plate System under human-induced loads

This study explored the dynamic performance of an innovative Hybrid Composite Floor Plate System (HCFPS), composed of Polyurethane (PU) core, outer layers of Glass–fibre Reinforced Cement (GRC) and steel laminates at tensile regions, using experimental testing and Finite Element (FE) modelling. Experimental testing included heel impact and walking tests for 3200 mm span HCFPS panels. FE models of the HCFPS were developed using the FE program ABAQUS and validated with experimental results. HCFPS is a light-weight high frequency floor system with excellent damping ratio of 5% (bare floor) due to the central PU core. Parametric studies were conducted using the validated FE models to investigate the dynamic response of the HCFPS and to identify characteristics that influence acceleration response under human induced vibration in service. This vibration performance was compared with recommended acceptable perceptibility limits. The findings of this study show that HCFPS can be used in residential and office buildings as a light-weight floor system, which does not exceed the perceptible thresholds due to human induced vibrations.

Regulating for corporate human rights abuses : the emergence of corporate reporting on the ILO’s human rights standards within the global garment manufacturing and retail industry

Despite the ubiquitous nature of the discourse on human rights there is currently little research on the emergence of disclosure by multinational corporations on their human rights obligations or the regulatory dynamic that may lie behind this trend. In an attempt to begin to explore the extent to which, if any, the language of human rights has entered the discourse of corporate accountability, this paper investigates the adoption of the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) human rights standards by major multinational garment retail companies that source products from developing countries, as disclosed through their reporting media. The paper has three objectives. Firstly, to empirically explore the extent to which a group of multinational garment retailers invoke the language of human rights when disclosing their corporate responsibilities. The paper reviews corporate reporting media including social responsibility codes of conduct, annual reports and stand-alone social responsibility reports released by 18 major global clothing and retail companies during a period from 1990 to 2007. We find that the number of companies adopting and disclosing on the ILO's workplace human rights standards has significantly increased since 1998 – the year in which the ILO's standards were endorsed and accepted by the global community (ILO, 1998). Secondly, drawing on a combination of Responsive Regulation theory and neo-institutional theory, we tentatively seek to understand the regulatory space that may have influenced these large corporations to adopt the language of human rights obligations. In particular, we study the role that International Governmental Organisation's (IGO) such as ILO may have played in these disclosures. Finally, we provide some critical reflections on the power and potential within the corporate adoption of the language of human rights.

Perceptions of corporate social and environmental accounting and reporting practices from accountants in Bangladesh

Purpose – The aim of this study is to elicit accountants’ perceptions regarding corporate social and environmental accounting and reporting practices in a developing country such as Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach – Members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) were surveyed to determine their perceptions on issues pertaining to social and environmental accounting and reporting practices in Bangladesh. Findings – Whilst the findings show that accountants have positive attitudes toward corporate social and environmental accounting, progress is limited, with the absence of ICAB in making any noticeable effort to develop such practices. Research implications – Unlike prior studies, the implications of this study suggest that without international influence, it is less likely that institutional forces in Bangladesh (ICAB and the government) would be effective in dealing with social and environmental accounting and reporting issues. Originality/value – While prior studies advocate proactive roles of the accounting profession, this study argues that proactive roles are less likely to prevail in the context of Bangladesh without direct intervention from institutional and regulatory authorities in the international arena.

Soil-pile interaction in deep layered marine sediment under seismic excitation

Under seismic loads neither the response of the pile nor the response of ground are independent of each other, contrary what is normally assumed. In seismic design of buildings, dynamic response of a structure is determined by assuming a fixed base on sub-grade and neglecting the physical interaction between foundation and soil profile in which it is embedded. However, the seismic response of pile foundations in vibration sensitive soil profiles is significantly affected by the behaviour of supporting soil. This research uses validated Finite Element techniques to simulate the seismic behaviour of pile foundations embedded in multilayered vibration sensitive soils.

Are Malaysian Teachers Ready to Assume the Duties of Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect?

Mandatory child abuse and neglect reporting laws apply to teachers in many countries of the world. However, such laws have not yet been introduced for teachers in Malaysia, and there is debate about whether the laws should be extended to teachers at all. This paper aimed to investigate the level of support among teachers to assume mandatory reporting duties and to identify factors determining this support in Malaysia. A total of 668 teachers from 14 randomly selected public primary schools completed an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. Results showed that 44.4 per cent of the respondents supported legislation requiring teachers to report child abuse. Teachers of Indian ethnicity, those with a shorter duration of service in teaching (< 5 years), the availability of knowledgeable and supportive school staff and a higher level of commitment to reporting were significant factors affecting teachers' support for mandatory reporting. This study provides important insights into factors influencing teachers' support for the introduction of mandatory reporting legislation for teachers in Malaysia. Teachers do not unanimously support these laws and there is a lack of clarity about what such laws will mean for teachers. The data highlight the need for specific training programmes to raise teachers' awareness, build their confidence and enhance their willingness to report child abuse.

Arbitration proceeding – determination of “market price” – subpoena under Commercial Arbitration Act 1990 s 17

AGL Wholesale Gas Ltd v Origin Energy Ltd [2008] QCA 366 involved an appeal against the setting aside of paragraphs of a subpoena issued under s 17 of the Commercial Arbitration Act 1990 (Qld). The Court was satisfied that even if the documents were of “apparent relevance” to the subject matter of the proceedings, it would nevertheless be oppressive to require their production.

Setting aside default judgment - whether judgment regularly or irregularly entered - service under Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) s109X(1) - requirements for affadavit of service

In Hill v Robertson Suspension Systems Pty Ltd [2009] QDC 165 McGill DCJ considered the procedural requirements for the service of originating process on a company, and for proving that service for the purpose of obtaining default judgment.The judge’s views adopt a strict and technical construction of the requirements for an affidavit of service under r 120(1)(b). Though clearly obiter, they may well affect the approach taken on applications to enter or set aside default judgments in the lower courts. Pending further judicial consideration of the issue, it is suggested the prudent course is to ensure that the deponent of an affidavit for service effected under s 109X(1)(a) of the Act deposes not only to the location of the registered office of the company but also, at a minimum, provides the source of that information.

Stress distribution of CFRP strengthened steel hollow sections under tension

Carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets have many outstanding properties such as high strength, high elastic modulus, light weight and good durability which are made them a suitable alternative for steel in strengthening work. This paper describe the ultimate load carrying capacity of steel hollow sections at effective bond length in terms of its cross sectional area and the stress distribution within bond region for different layers CFRP. It was found that depending on their size and orientation of uni- directional CFRP layers, the ultimate tensile load was different. Along with these tests, non linear finite element analysis was also performed to validate the ultimate load carrying capacity depending on their cross sections. The predicted ultimate loads from FE analysis are found very close to the laboratory test results. The validated model has been used to determine the stress distribution at bond joint for different orientation of CFRP. This research shows the effect of stress distribution and suitable wrapping layer to be used for the strengthening of steel hollow sections in tension.

A Process and Outcome Evaluation of the Under the Limit (UTL) Therapeutic Drink Driving Program for Recidivist and High Range Offenders

Drink driving is a major public health issue and this report examines the experiences of convicted offenders who participated in an established drink driving rehabilitation program Under the Limit (UTL). Course completers were surveyed at least three months after they had finished the 11-week UTL course. The aim of this study was to examine whether the UTL program reduced the level of alcohol consumption either directly as a result of participation in the UTL drink driving program or through increased use of community alcohol program by participants. The research involved a self-report outcome evaluation to determine whether the self-reported levels of alcohol use after the course had changed from the initial alcohol use reported by offenders. The findings are based on the responses of 30 drink-driving offenders who had completed the UTL program (response rate: 20%). While a process evaluation was proposed in the initial application, the low response rate meant that this follow up research was not feasible. The response rate was low for two reasons, it was difficult to: recruit participants who consented to follow up, and subsequently locate and survey those who had consented to involvement.