Between rocks and hard places

A travel article about the Aland Islands, Finland, that discusses the mix of Swedish, Finnish, and Russian cultural influences in the area. On the map, Finland seems to end in fragments. The gods have stomped their heels on the southwestern corner, and between the cities of Helsinki and Turku it is jagged, rocky islands that form the final landmarks...

Easy data, hard data : the politics and pragmatics of Twitter research after the computational turn

In this chapter, we draw out the relevant themes from a range of critical scholarship from the small body of digital media and software studies work that has focused on the politics of Twitter data and the sociotechnical means by which access is regulated. We highlight in particular the contested relationships between social media research (in both academic and non-academic contexts) and the data wholesale, retail, and analytics industries that feed on them. In the second major section of the chapter we discuss in detail the pragmatic edge of these politics in terms of what kinds of scientific research is and is not possible in the current political economy of Twitter data access. Finally, at the end of the chapter we return to the much broader implications of these issues for the politics of knowledge, demonstrating how the apparently microscopic level of how the Twitter API mediates access to Twitter data actually inscribes and influences the macro level of the global political economy of science itself, through re-inscribing institutional and traditional disciplinary privilege We conclude with some speculations about future developments in data rights and data philanthropy that may at least mitigate some of these negative impacts.

ACE Research Vignette 047: What is the hard evidence on innovation and business productivity

This series of research vignettes is aimed at sharing current and interesting research findings from our team of international Entrepreneurship researchers. This vignette, written by Professor Beth Webster at Swinburne University of Technology, examines how innovation in small and medium size businesses affect their productivity.

Parametric study on cement-based soft-hard-soft (SHS) multi-layer composite pavement against blast load

An innovative cement-based soft-hard-soft (SHS) multi-layer composite has been developed for protective infrastructures. Such composite consists of three layers including asphalt concrete (AC), high strength concrete (HSC), and engineered cementitious composites (ECC). A three dimensional benchmark numerical model for this SHS composite as pavement under blast load was established using LSDYNA and validated by field blast test. Parametric studies were carried out to investigate the influence of a few key parameters including thickness and strength of HSC and ECC layers, interface properties, soil conditions on the blast resistance of the composite. The outcomes of this study also enabled the establishment of a damage pattern chart for protective pavement design and rapid repair after blast load. Efficient methods to further improve the blast resistance of the SHS multi-layer pavement system were also recommended.

Performance of soft-hard-soft (SHS) cement based composite subjected to blast loading with consideration of interface properties

This paper presents a combined experimental and numerical study on the damage and performance of a soft-hard-soft (SHS) multi-layer cement based composite subjected to blast loading which can be used for protective structures and infrastructures to resist extreme loadings, and the composite consists of three layers of construction materials including asphalt concrete (AC) on the top, high strength concrete (HSC) in the middle, and engineered cementitious composites (ECC) at the bottom. To better characterize the material properties under dynamic loading, interface properties of the composite were investigated through direct shear test and also used to validate the interface model. Strain rate effects of the asphalt concrete were also studied and both compressive and tensile dynamic increase factor (DIF) curves were improved based on split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) test. A full-scale field blast test investigated the blast behavior of the composite materials. The numerical model was established by taking into account the strain rate effect of all concrete materials. Furthermore, the interface properties were also considered into the model. The numerical simulation using nonlinear finite element software LS-DYNA agrees closely with the experimental data. Both the numerical and field blast test indicated that the SHS composite exhibited high resistance against blast loading.

Fifield faces a hard road to bring Australia’s media regulations into the 21st century

With his feet barely under the desk, Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has flagged a renewed attempt to change Australia’s media laws. Given his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull’s long-standing interest in the field – dating all the way back to his work with Kerry Packer in the 1980s – Fifield can expect the new prime minister’s backing. Fifield is set to meet with media bosses as early as next week.

Caught between a rock and a hard place: Disruptive boys’ views on mainstream and special schools in New South Wales, Australia

Students with disruptive behaviour in the Australian state of New South Wales are increasingly being educated in separate “behaviour” schools. There is however surprisingly little research on how students view these settings, or indeed the mainstream schools from which they were excluded. To better understand excluded students’ current and past educational experiences, we interviewed 33 boys, aged between 9 and 16 years of age, who were enrolled in separate special schools for students with disruptive behaviour. Analyses reveal that the majority of participants began disliking school in the early years due to difficulties with school work and teacher conflict. Interestingly, while most indicated that they preferred the behaviour school, more than half still wanted to return to their old school. It is therefore clear that separate special educational settings are not a solution to disruptive behaviour in mainstream schools. Whilst these settings do fulfil a function for some students, the preferences of the majority of boys suggest that “mainstream” school reform is of first order importance.

Truckies and workplace health promotion: Targeting a hard-to-reach group

- Introduction Research identifies truck drivers as being at high risk of chronic disease. For most truck drivers their workplace is their vehicle. Truck drivers’ health is impacted by the limitations of this unique working environment, including reduced opportunities for physical activity and the intake of healthy foods. Workplaces are widely recognised as effective platforms for health promotion. However, the effectiveness of traditional and contemporary health promotion interventions in truck drivers’ novel workplace is unknown. - Methods This project worked with six transport industry workplaces in Queensland, Australia over a two-year period. Researchers used Participatory Action Research (PAR) processes to engage truck drivers and workplace managers in the implementation and evaluation of six workplace health promotion interventions. These interventions were designed to support truck drivers to increase their physical activity and access to healthy foods at work. They included traditional health promotion interventions such as a free fruit initiative, a ten thousand steps challenge, personal health messages and workplace posters, and a contemporary social media intervention. Participants were engaged via focus groups, interviews and mixed-methods surveys. - Results The project achieved positive changes in truck drivers’ health knowledge and health behaviours, particularly related to nutrition. There were positive changes in truck drivers’ self-reported health rating, body mass index (BMI) and readiness to make health-related lifestyle changes. There were also positive changes in truck drivers reporting their workplace as a key source of health information. These changes were underpinned by a positive shift in the culture of participating workplaces. Truck drivers’ perceptions of their workplace valuing, encouraging, modelling and facilitating healthy nutrition and physical activity behaviours improved. PAR processes enabled researchers to develop relationships with workplace managers, contextualise interventions and deliver rigorous outcomes. Despite the novelty of truck drivers’ mobile workplace, traditional health promotion interventions were more effective than contemporary ones. - Conclusion In this workplace health promotion project targeting a ‘hard-to-reach’ group of truck drivers, a combination of well-designed traditional workplace interventions and the PAR process resulted in positive health outcomes.

G20 host Australia faces hard truths of multinational profit shifting

The G20 Finance Ministers have the opportunity this weekend to endorse the initial recommendations of the OECD on how to address the global problem of multinational tax avoidance. The work of the OECD on the issue to date is substantial. Most notable is the adoption by many nations, including Australia, of the Common Reporting Standard for the automatic exchange of tax information. This standard will allow significant inroads to be made into tax avoidance, particularly by individuals sheltering money offshore. This is the first step in an ambitious tax reform program. There is a long way to go if we are to end the issue now known as Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). This week’s release of the first of the OECD recommendations contains some positive signs that further advances will be made. It also recognises some hard truths.

Truckies and health promotion: A “hard-to-reach” group without a “proper” workplace.

This literature review was undertaken to inform a settings based health promotion research project, conducted by a public health research team at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). The aim of this project is to identify how transport workplaces can support their truck drivers to access healthy food options and increase physical activity. Truck drivers in Australia are at increased risk of numerous chronic diseases, in part due to the restrictions placed upon them by the environment in which they work. Barriers to good health through adequate nutrition and physical activity are the result of a complex interaction between government regulations, corporate policies, the built environment and individual factors. Few interventions target this population in a meaningful and sustainable way, though evidence exists for interventions which can be translated into truck drivers working environment.

The hard work of leisure: Healthy life, activewear and Lorna Jane

Since the 2000s activewear has grown as a fashion category, and the tropes of gym wear – leggings, leotards and block colours – have become fashionable attire for both men and women outside the gym. This article examines the rise of activewear in the context of an on-going dialogue between fashion and sport since the beginning of the twentieth century. Through an analysis of the Australian activewear label, Lorna Jane, we consider the fashionable female body as both the object and subject of a consumer culture that increasingly overlays leisure with fashion. Activewear can be seen as the embodiment of an active and fashionable lifestyle that is achieved through a regime of self-discipline, and that symbolizes the pleasure in attaining and displaying the healthy and fit body.

Decomposition analysis to examine Australia’s 2030 GHGs emissions target: How hard will it be to achieve?

The Australian government has recently pledged a reduction in GHGs emissions of 26–28% below the 2005 level by 2030. How big is the challenge for the country to achieve this target in terms of its present emissions profile, recent historical trends, and the contributions to those trends from key proximate factors contributing to emissions? In this paper, we attempt a quantitative judgement of the challenge by using decomposition analysis. Based on the analysis it appears the announced target will be quite challenging to achieve if the average annual mitigating effects from economic restructuring, energy efficiency improvements and movement towards less emissions-intensive energy sources in evidence over 2002–2013 continued through to 2030; however, if the contribution from these mitigating sources in evidence over 2006–2013 can be sustained, achievement of the target will be much less challenging. The challenge for government then will be to provide a policy framework to ensure the more pronounced beneficial impacts of the mitigating factors evidenced during 2006–2013 can be maintained over the years to 2030.