Composing maternal identities : the living realities of mothers with young adult-children in twenty-first century Australia

There is an abundance of books available on the topic of motherhood and mothering; the majority of these books focus on the vulnerability of babies and young children and the motherwork such vulnerability demands. In particular they focus on what it is right to do in the interests of the child, and particularly his or her growth and development. Such a focus is consistent in Western culture with modern moral frameworks where understandings of goodness have been assimilated to dimensions of human action rather than dimensions of human being, selfhood, or specific forms of life. As Charles Taylor has observed, much modern moral philosophy has focused =on what it is right to do rather than the nature of the good life‘ (1989, 13). The master narratives of motherhood and the prevailing social discourses of intensive1 and sacrificial2 mothering exemplify this view as such narratives and discourses depict =what mothers are expected to do [and] how mothers are supposed to be‘ (Nelson 2001, 140). From such infant/child-focused accounts a canonical maternal identity can be discerned; arguably, it is a restricted one. The majority of these books fail to address questions related to what it means be a mother in particular situated, existing, living realities. For instance, ask a mother with young children what being a mother means to her and she may speak of the challenges she faces balancing paid employment and her role as a mother, or the impact of the demands being made on her time and energy. However, ask a mother with young adult-children3 what being a mother means to her and she may speak in similar tones, but she may also speak in differing tones. For example, a "mature" mother may speak of the "empty nest", the "crowded house" and/or "its revolving front door". She may speak of issues related to the vulnerability of the long term marriage, elder care, or grandparenting, or even disillusionment and disenchantment. The purpose of this research is to explore the identity challenges and prospects of some mothers with young adult-children aged between 18 and 30 years of age in twenty-first century Australia. In interpreting the identity challenges and prospects this particular cohort of mothers encounter in their ordinary, everyday living, a diverse and particular range of maternal experiences.my own included5.have been traced, along with the social and ethical meanings ascribed in them. With an understanding and appreciation of voice as the medium which connects one's inner and outer worlds, this research illuminates the plurality of voices and the multiple layers of meaning in each of these mother's particular living and existing realities. Specifically, this research addresses the narrowly constructed, canonical maternal identity through a critical exploration and reflection on stories, shared in a research context, of the living realities of a group of self-identified "mature", middle-class, Australian mothers with children aged between 18 and 30 years of age6. By appraising the broader familial, historical, social, cultural, institutional, and, importantly, moral contexts in which these mothers are situated, 'thick descriptions' (Geertz 1973, 27)7 of maternal identities, and the challenges and prospects these mothers are negotiating, are provided. In terms of its ethical orientation, the frameworks which support and frame this research reject, repudiate and contest (Nelson 2001) the reduction of ethical concerns to individual or intellectual problems or dilemmas to be solved through the application of a theory derived from reasoned thinking. In dismissing deductive and =theoretical-juridical‘8 approaches, the individualistic orientation entrenched in contemporary Western moral thinking, expressed in the notion of '"what ought I to do" when faced with a problem, issue or dilemma of practical urgency' (Isaacs & Massey 1994, 1), is simultaneously rejected, repudiated and contested (Nelson 2001). In countering such understandings, this research reorients us to the illumination and articulation of who it is good to be, for each of these mothers, in allegiance with those goods which guide and inspire her orientations towards living a good life—a life which embraces and enhances the flourishing of herself and her significant others. With an understanding and appreciation that 'mind is never free of precommitment[—t]here is no innocent eye, nor is there one that penetrates aboriginal reality' (Bruner 1987, 32), this thesis is written with the voices of other interlocutors9. These interlocutors include the voices of my research participants whom I refer to as "research interlocutors", my textual "friends" — those scholars whose work resonates strongly with my orientations—as well as the myriad other voices that speak to mothers, for mothers and about mothers, such as those found in popular and mainstream press and culture. Sometimes these voices resonate; other times dissonance may be heard. In situating this research within these complementary frameworks, this research invites readers to join with me in considering, appreciating and appraising the narrow construction of maternal identity. I seek for this engagement, like the engagements with my research interlocutors, to be 'a meeting of voices, an authentic dialogue that is inclusive of the voices of all concerned participants' (Isaacs 2001, 6). I hope that the voices in this thesis resonate with yours (although, at times, you may feel some dissonance) and that together we can draw closer to the accounting, re-counting and re-stor(y)ing of maternal identities; like concentric circles of witness, the dialogue, ...will thus be expanded rippling into corners where one might both imagine, and least expect. Possibilities, then, are vast; the future exciting (Smith 2007, 397). This research is also shaped and guided by maternal scholarship, a relatively new field of inquiry known as 'motherhood studies' (O'Reilly 2011, xvii) which has its origins within the broader terrain of feminist scholarship. As a work of maternal scholarship, this thesis draws upon and continues the tradition of examining motherhood as it is experienced 'in a social context, as embedded in a political institution: in feminist terms' (Rich 1995, ix). It values mothers, their experiences, their stories, their lives. As such, this research is oriented towards 'matricentric feminism', a particular form of feminist inquiry, politics and theory which is consistent with and receptive to feminist frameworks of care and equal rights (O‘Reilly 2011, 25). A number of complementary conceptual frameworks have been engaged in this research with the thesis presented in three parts: the pre-figurative, configurative and re-configurative. As my particular living experiences provided the initial motivation for this research, an account of the challenges I experienced as a mother with young adult-children are outlined as a Prelude to this thesis. Attention then turns to Part One – Pre-figuring Maternal Identities in which the contextual, conceptual and methodological foundations underpinning this research are explored and outlined. In Chapter One, the prevailing cultural narratives and social discourses supporting and shaping the construction of the canonical maternal identity are outlined. Next, in setting the scholarly context, the critiques — arising from feminist and maternal scholarship — of motherhood as a patriarchal institution, mothering as experience, and mothering as work, are explored. As this research engaged with participants who are embedded in particular middle-class, heterosexual, familial and cultural structures, an exploration of family life cycle theory and main stream media accounts are also incorporated. The terrain in which "mature" mothering within an Australian context is experienced is also outlined, including the notions of "empty nests" and "crowded houses", grandparenting, elder care and women's midlife transition. Chapter Two gives an account of the conceptual ontological, ethical, identity and narrative frameworks underpinning this research. In setting the context for rich interpretations, the characteristics of being human10 are outlined before attention turns to our embodiment and embeddedness in our shared human condition11. From this point, attention then turns to understanding the moral form of human living12. In appreciating the vulnerability inherent in our shared human condition, the ways in which we may experience trouble in our lives is noted. The framing of identity constitution13 as complex, multi-faceted, relationally negotiated and composed is then outlined, followed by an understanding of why narrative is a valuable interpretive tool for interpreting and understanding human experiences. This chapter concludes with an appreciation of the ethical significance of storytelling. The research methodology is then outlined in Chapter Three. The rationale underpinning the adoption of the narrative interviewing technique of in-depth interviewing is explored. In exploring these methodological frameworks, the recruitment and interview processes involved in gathering and interpreting the recorded transcripts of ten Australian mothers with young adult-children are outlined. The method of analysis known as the Listening Guide14 best complements the multi-layered, pluri-vocal nature of narrative accounting. The final section of Chapter Three outlines The Guide, with one mother's recorded transcript used to illustrate this method's step-by-step process. Having gathered an understanding and appreciation of the pluri-vocal, multi-layered nature of narrative and identity constitution, the tone of this thesis changes in Part Two . Configuring Maternal Identities. This section consists of Chapters Four and Five and seeks to find meaning in, and make sense of, the differences and commonalities across these particular accounts. Chapter Four explores the living realities of four Australian mothers with young adult-children: Poppy, Honey, Lily and Heather. In presenting a thick description of these mothers' situated realities, the frameworks.the familial, social, cultural, historical and institutional backgrounds.which have supported and shaped each mother's experiences are illuminated. Simultaneously revealed through these particular accounts are the plurality of goods focusing and moving each mother to the moral form of life, a life of meaning and purpose. The harms challenging some mothers' moral motivations are also revealed in this chapter. Specifically illustrated in Chapter Four are the unique and qualitative differences of particular maternal identity configurations. Chapter Five reveals the commonalities amongst all of the research interlocutors' accounts. This chapter contests the individualistic orientation of many contemporary accounts of motherhood which are aimed at defining or contesting what a "good" mother ought to do. By turning away from such individualistic orientations, the chapter does not seek to define 'the content of obligation' (Taylor 1989, 3) but rather seeks to illuminate and articulate a richer, deeper understanding and appreciation of maternal be-ing and be-coming - that is, who it is good to be, for each of these mothers - in allegiance with those goods that focus and inspire her moral motivations. Part Three - Re-Configuring Maternal Identities, which is comprised of Chapter Six, draws this thesis to a close. In this final chapter, the preconceptions, conditions and aspirations for this mother-centred account of the living realities of a small, local cohort of mothers are reiterated. The insights gathered from the rich, descriptive accounts are illuminated and articulated, and the chapter closes with some suggestions for future research. In a Postlude, I reflect on how this research has been a transformative learning experience in my own life.an experience in which I have been able to not only deeply understand and appreciate the challenges and disorientation I was experiencing but also to identify and reorient my stance in relation to the good. In a practical sense, by offering thick descriptions of the living realities of this cohort of "mature" mothers, this research challenges the canonical maternal identity and questions its relevance for, and effect on, "mature" mothers' identity constitution. By bringing to light the complex existing realities of these particular mothers, this research critiques the canonical maternal identity by illustrating that each mother's life and her identity constitutions are complex, relationally negotiated and composed and that motherhood is an enduring way of being. Through these illustrations, this research engages with and extends understandings of difference feminism. This research, however, not only rejects, repudiates and contests (Nelson 2001) the narrowly defined canonical maternal identity. By illuminating and articulating the goods which shape and inspire these "mature" mothers' motherwork, this research offers a matricentric account which is consistent with and respectful of the particular, situated realities—the broader familial, social, institutional, but most importantly, moral values and frameworks—in which each mother‘s life is embedded and her motherwork oriented. By understanding and appreciating the complex and multiple webs of relationships in which each mother exists, this matricentric re-stor(y)ing of maternal experiences not only understands and appreciates the unique nature of each mother‘s existing realities, it is oriented to the continuing enhancing of the shared pursuit of the good which underpins particular maternal practices and particular maternal ways of being.

Numerical modelling of load bearing LSF Walls under fire conditions

Abstract. Fire safety of light gauge cold-formed steel frame (LSF) stud walls is significant in the design of buildings. In this research, finite element thermal models of both the traditional LSF wall panels with cavity insulation and the new LSF composite wall panels were developed to simulate their thermal behaviour under standard and real design fire conditions. Suitable thermal properties were proposed for plasterboards and insulations based on laboratory tests and literature review. The developed models were then validated by comparing their results with available fire test results. This paper presents the details of the developed finite element models of load bearing LSF wall panels and the thermal analysis results. It shows that finite element models can be used to simulate the thermal behaviour of load bearing LSF walls with varying configurations of insulations and plasterboards. Failure times of load bearing LSF walls were also predicted based on the results from finite element thermal analyses.

On the oscillatory behavior of transient Rayleigh Benard convection of air for 2D channel flow at moderate Rayleigh numbers

Unsteady numerical simulation of Rayleigh Benard convection heat transfer from a 2D channel is performed. The oscillatory behavior is attributed to recirculation of ascending and descending flows towards the core of the channel producing organized rolled motions. Variation of the parameters such as Reynolds number, channel outlet flow area and inclination of the channel are considered. Increasing Reynolds number (for a fixed Rayleigh number), delays the generation of vortices. The reduction in the outflow area leads to the later and the less vortex generation. As the time progresses, more vortices are generated, but the reinforced mean velocity does not let the eddies to enter the core of the channel. Therefore, they attach to the wall and reduce the heat transfer area. The inclination of the channel (both positive and negative) induces the generated vortices to get closer to each other and make an enlarged vortex.

A new analytic approach for power system fault diagnosis employing the temporal information of alarm messages

Traditional analytic models for power system fault diagnosis are usually formulated as an unconstrained 0–1 integer programming problem. The key issue of the models is to seek the fault hypothesis that minimizes the discrepancy between the actual and the expected states of the concerned protective relays and circuit breakers. The temporal information of alarm messages has not been well utilized in these methods, and as a result, the diagnosis results may be not unique and hence indefinite, especially when complicated and multiple faults occur. In order to solve this problem, this paper presents a novel analytic model employing the temporal information of alarm messages along with the concept of related path. The temporal relationship among the actions of protective relays and circuit breakers, and the different protection configurations in a modern power system can be reasonably represented by the developed model, and therefore, the diagnosed results will be more definite under different circumstances of faults. Finally, an actual power system fault was served to verify the proposed method.

Thermal performance of non-load bearing LSF walls using numerical studies

Fire safety of light gauge cold-formed steel frame (LSF) wall systems is significant to the build-ing design. Gypsum plasterboard is widely used as a fire safety material in the building industry. It contains gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O), Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) and most importantly free and chemically bound water in its crystal structure. The dehydration of the gypsum and the decomposition of Calcium Carbonate absorb heat, which gives the gypsum plasterboard fire resistant qualities. Recently a new composite panel system was developed, where a thin insulation layer was used externally between two plasterboards to improve the fire performance of LSF walls. In this research, finite element thermal models of both the traditional LSF wall panels with cavity insulation and the new LSF composite wall panels were developed to simulate their thermal behaviour under standard and realistic design fire conditions. Suitable thermal properties of gypsum plaster-board, insulation materials and steel were used. The developed models were then validated by comparing their results with fire test results. This paper presents the details of the developed finite element models of non-load bearing LSF wall panels and the thermal analysis results. It has shown that finite element models can be used to simulate the thermal behaviour of LSF walls with varying configurations of insulations and plasterboards. The results show that the use of cavity insulation was detrimental to the fire rating of LSF walls while the use of external insulation offered superior thermal protection. Effects of real fire conditions are also presented.

Numerical and experimental studies of cold-formed steel floor systems under standard fire conditions

Light gauge cold-formed steel frame (LSF) structures are increasingly used in industrial, commercial and residential buildings because of their non-combustibility, dimensional stability, and ease of installation. A floor-ceiling system is an example of its applications. LSF floor-ceiling systems must be designed to serve as fire compartment boundaries and provide adequate fire resistance. Fire rated floor-ceiling assemblies formed with new materials and construction methodologies have been increasingly used in buildings. However, limited research has been undertaken in the past and hence a thorough understanding of their fire resistance behaviour is not available. Recently a new composite panel in which an external insulation layer is used between two plasterboards has been developed at QUT to provide a higher fire rating to LSF floors under standard fire conditions. But its increased fire rating could not be determined using the currently available design methods. Research on LSF floor systems under fire conditions is relatively recent and the behaviour of floor joists and other components in the systems is not fully understood. The present design methods thus require the use of expensive fire protection materials to protect them from excessive heat increase during a fire. This leads to uneconomical and conservative designs. Fire rating of these floor systems is provided simply by adding more plasterboard sheets to the steel joists and such an approach is totally inefficient. Hence a detailed fire research study was undertaken into the structural and thermal performance of LSF floor systems including those protected by the new composite panel system using full scale fire tests and extensive numerical studies. Experimental study included both the conventional and the new steel floor-ceiling systems under structural and fire loads using a gas furnace designed to deliver heat in accordance with the standard time- temperature curve in AS 1530.4 (SA, 2005). Fire tests included the behavioural and deflection characteristics of LSF floor joists until failure as well as related time-temperature measurements across the section and along the length of all the specimens. Full scale fire tests have shown that the structural and thermal performance of externally insulated LSF floor system was superior than traditional LSF floors with or without cavity insulation. Therefore this research recommends the use of the new composite panel system for cold-formed LSF floor-ceiling systems. The numerical analyses of LSF floor joists were undertaken using the finite element program ABAQUS based on the measured time-temperature profiles obtained from fire tests under both steady state and transient state conditions. Mechanical properties at elevated temperatures were considered based on the equations proposed by Dolamune Kankanamge and Mahendran (2011). Finite element models were calibrated using the full scale test results and used to further provide a detailed understanding of the structural fire behaviour of the LSF floor-ceiling systems. The models also confirmed the superior performance of the new composite panel system. The validated model was then used in a detailed parametric study. Fire tests and the numerical studies showed that plasterboards provided sufficient lateral restraint to LSF floor joists until their failure. Hence only the section moment capacity of LSF floor joists subjected to local buckling effects was considered in this research. To predict the section moment capacity at elevated temperatures, the effective section modulus of joists at ambient temperature is generally considered adequate. However, this research has shown that it leads to considerable over- estimation of the local buckling capacity of joist subject to non-uniform temperature distributions under fire conditions. Therefore new simplified fire design rules were proposed for LSF floor joist to determine the section moment capacity at elevated temperature based on AS/NZS 4600 (SA, 2005), NAS (AISI, 2007) and Eurocode 3 Part 1.3 (ECS, 2006). The accuracy of the proposed fire design rules was verified with finite element analysis results. A spread sheet based design tool was also developed based on these design rules to predict the failure load ratio versus time, moment capacity versus time and temperature for various LSF floor configurations. Idealised time-temperature profiles of LSF floor joists were developed based on fire test measurements. They were used in the detailed parametric study to fully understand the structural and fire behaviour of LSF floor panels. Simple design rules were also proposed to predict both critical average joist temperatures and failure times (fire rating) of LSF floor systems with various floor configurations and structural parameters under any given load ratio. Findings from this research have led to a comprehensive understanding of the structural and fire behaviour of LSF floor systems including those protected by the new composite panel, and simple design methods. These design rules were proposed within the guidelines of the Australian/New Zealand, American and European cold- formed steel structures standard codes of practice. These may also lead to further improvements to fire resistance through suitable modifications to the current composite panel system.

Experimental studies of non-load bearing steel wall systems under fire conditions

Fire safety of buildings has been recognised as very important by the building industry and the community at large. Traditionally, increased fire rating is provided by simply adding more plasterboards to light gauge steel frame (LSF) walls, which is inefficient. Many research studies have been undertaken to investigate the thermal behaviour of traditional LSF stud wall systems under standard fire conditions. However, no research has been undertaken on the thermal behaviour of LSF stud walls using the recently proposed composite panel. Extensive fire testing of both non-load bearing and load bearing wall panels was conducted in this research based on the standard time-temperature curve in AS1530.4. Three groups of LSF wall specimens were tested with no insulation, cavity insulation and the new composite panel based on an external insulation layer between plasterboards. This paper presents the details of this experimental study into the thermal performance of non-load bearing walls lined with various configurations of plasterboard and insulation. Extensive descriptive and numerical results of the tested non-load bearing wall panels given in this paper provide a thorough understanding of their thermal behaviour, and valuable time-temperature data that can be used to validate numerical models. Test results showed that the innovative composite stud wall systems outperformed the traditional stud wall systems in terms of their thermal performance, giving a much higher fire rating.

Attunement to haptic information helps skilled performers select implements for striking a ball in cricket

This study examined the perceptual attunement of relatively skilled individuals to physical properties of striking implements in the sport of cricket. We also sought to assess whether utilising bats of different physical properties influenced performance of a specific striking action: the front foot straight drive. Eleven, skilled male cricketers (mean age = 16.6 ± 0.3 years) from an elite school cricket development programme consented to participate in the study. Whist blindfolded, participants wielded six bats exhibiting different mass and moment of inertia (MOI) characteristics and were asked to identify their three most preferred bats for hitting a ball to a maximum distance by performing a front foot straight drive (a common shot in cricket). Next, participants actually attempted to hit balls projected from a ball machine using each of the six bat configurations to enable kinematic analysis of front foot straight drive performance with each implement. Results revealed that, on first choice, the two bats with the smallest mass and MOI values (1 and 2) were most preferred by almost two-thirds (63.7%) of the participants. Kinematic analysis of movement patterns revealed that bat velocity, step length and bat-ball contact position measures significantly differed between bats. Data revealed how skilled youth cricketers were attuned to the different bat characteristics and harnessed movement system degeneracy to perform this complex interceptive action.

Interactive product browsing and configuration using remote augmented reality sales services

Real-time remote sales assistance is an underdeveloped component of online sales services. Solutions involving web page text chat, telephony and video support prove problematic when seeking to remotely guide customers in their sales processes, especially with configurations of physically complex artefacts. Recently, there has been great interest in the application of virtual worlds and augmented reality to create synthetic environments for remote sales of physical artefacts. However, there is a lack of analysis and development of appropriate software services to support these processes. We extend our previous work with the detailed design of configuration context services to support the management of an interactive sales session using augmented reality. We detail the context and configuration services required, presenting a novel data service streaming configuration information to the vendor for business analytics. We expect that a fully implemented configuration management service, based on our design, will improve the remote sales experience for both customers and vendors alike via analysis of the streamed information.

Role of kilometer-scale weak circular heterogeneities on upper crustal deformation patterns: Evidence from scaled analogue modeling and the Sudbury Basin, Canada

The Sudbury Basin is a non-cylindrical fold basin occupying the central portion of the Sudbury Impact Structure. The impact structure lends itself excellently to explore the structural evolution of continental crust containing a circular region of long-term weakness. In a series of scaled analogue experiments various model crustal configurations were shortened horizontally at a constant rate. In mechanically weakened crust, model basins formed that mimic several first-order structural characteristics of the Sudbury Basin: (1) asymmetric, non-cylindrical folding of the Basin, (2) structures indicating concentric shortening around lateral basin termini and (3) the presence of a zone of strain concentration near the hinge zones of model basins. Geometrically and kinematically this zone corresponds to the South Range Shear Zone of the Sudbury Basin. According to our experiments, this shear zone is a direct mechanical consequence of basin formation, rather than the result of thrusting following folding. Overall, the models highlight the structurally anomalous character of the Sudbury Basin within the Paleoproterozoic Eastern Penokean Orogen. In particular, our models suggest that the Basin formed by pure shear thickening of crust, whereas transpressive deformation prevailed elsewhere in the orogen. The model basin is deformed by thickening and non-cylindrical synformal buckling, while conjugate transpressive shear zones propagated away from its lateral tips. This is consistent with pure shear deformation of a weak circular inclusion in a strong matrix. The models suggest that the Sudbury Basin formed as a consequence of long-term weakening of the upper crust by meteorite impact.

Open design of high pressure ratio radial-inflow turbine for academic validation

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are widely used in mechanical engineering. Although achieving a high level of confidence in numerical modelling is of crucial importance in the field of turbomachinery, verification and validation of CFD simulations are very tricky especially for complex flows encountered in radial turbines. Comprehensive studies of radial machines are available in the literature. Unfortunately, none of them include enough detailed geometric data to be properly reproduced and so cannot be considered for academic research and validation purposes. As a consequence, design improvements of such configurations are difficult. Moreover, it seems that well-developed analyses of radial turbines are used in commercial software but are not available in the open literature especially at high pressure ratios. It is the purpose of this paper to provide a fully open set of data to reproduce the exact geometry of the high pressure ratio single stage radial-inflow turbine used in the Sundstrand Power Systems T-100 Multipurpose Small Power Unit. First, preliminary one-dimensional meanline design and analysis are performed using the commercial software RITAL from Concepts-NREC in order to establish a complete reference test case available for turbomachinery code validation. The proposed design of the existing turbine is then carefully and successfully checked against the geometrical and experimental data partially published in the literature. Then, three-dimensional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes simulations are conducted by means of the Axcent-PushButton CFDR CFD software. The effect of the tip clearance gap is investigated in detail for a wide range of operating conditions. The results confirm that the 3D geometry is correctly reproduced. It also reveals that the turbine is shocked while designed to give a high-subsonic flow and highlight the importance of the diffuser.

Candidate radial-inflow turbines and high-density working fluids for geothermal power systems

Optimisation of Organic Rankine Cycles (ORCs) for binary-cycle geothermal applications could play a major role in the competitiveness of low to moderate temperature geothermal resources. Part of this optimisation process is matching cycles to a given resource such that power output can be maximised. Two major and largely interrelated components of the cycle are the working fluid and the turbine. Both components need careful consideration. Due to the temperature differences in geothermal resources a one-size-fits-all approach to surface power infrastructure is not appropriate. Furthermore, the traditional use of steam as a working fluid does not seem practical due to the low temperatures of many resources. A variety of organic fluids with low boiling points may be utilised as ORC working fluids in binary power cycle loops. Due to differences in thermodynamic properties, certain fluids are able to extract more heat from a given resource than others over certain temperature and pressure ranges. This enables the tailoring of power cycle infrastructure to best match the geothermal resource through careful selection of the working fluid and turbine design optimisation to yield the optimum overall cycle performance. This paper presents the rationale for the use of radial-inflow turbines for ORC applications and the preliminary design of several radial-inflow turbines based on a selection of promising ORC cycles using five different high-density working fluids: R134a, R143a, R236fa, R245fa and n-Pentane at sub- or trans-critical conditions. Numerous studies published compare a variety of working fluids for various ORC configurations. However, there is little information specifically pertaining to the design and implementation of ORCs using realistic radial turbine designs in terms of pressure ratios, inlet pressure, rotor size and rotational speed. Preliminary 1D analysis leads to the generation of turbine designs for the various cycles with similar efficiencies (77%) but large differences in dimensions (139289 mm rotor diameter). The highest performing cycle (R134a) was found to produce 33% more net power from a 150°C resource flowing at 10 kg/s than the lowest performing cycle (n-Pentane).

An assessment for cost effective maintenance and operation of the Callide Power Station electrical system, using reliability evaluation

The reliable operation of the electrical system at Callide Power Station is of extreme importance to the normal everyday running of the Station. This study applied the principles of reliability to do an analysis on the electrical system at Callide Power Station. It was found that the level of expected outage cost increased exponentially with a declining level of maintenance. Concluding that even in a harsh economic electricity market where CS Energy tries and push their plants to the limit, maintenance must not be neglected. A number of system configurations were found to increase the reliability of the system and reduce the expected outage costs. A number of other advantages were identified as a result of using reliability principles to do this study on the Callide electrical system configuration.

MAVwork : a framework for unified interfacing between micro aerial vehicles and visual controllers

Debugging control software for Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAV) can be risky out of the simulator, especially with professional drones that might harm people around or result in a high bill after a crash. We have designed a framework that enables a software application to communicate with multiple MAVs from a single unified interface. In this way, visual controllers can be first tested on a low-cost harmless MAV and, after safety is guaranteed, they can be moved to the production MAV at no additional cost. The framework is based on a distributed architecture over a network. This allows multiple configurations, like drone swarms or parallel processing of drones' video streams. Live tests have been performed and the results show comparatively low additional communication delays, while adding new functionalities and flexibility. This implementation is open-source and can be downloaded from github.com/uavster/mavwork

Seriously playful : the uses of networked spoof videos in China

This thesis examines online spoof videos in China. It shows the relationship between user-created content and change and how such videos are impacting on social memory. In the West, we are witnessing two outstanding trends in media. On the one hand, media are turning more "demotic" (Turner, 2006) and "participatory" (Jenkins, 2006), whereby lay audiences use popular media for identity formation, representation and association, reconfiguring the media and cultural landscape, and rendering invalid the old paradigm based on the dichotomy of audience and author, creator and consumer, expert and amateur. On the other hand, in both mainstream media and user-creation online there is a trend towards "silly citizenship", with comedy, send-ups and spoofs that used to reside in the margin propelled to the central stage in both pleasure and politics (Hartley, 2010), as is shown in the rising popularity of the Daily Show, Colbert Report, and spoof videos in elections ,e.g. the 2008 presidential election in US (Gray, Jones, & Thompson, 2009; Tryon, 2008). User generated content—and spoof subcultures—is now much a debated phenomenon in China. However, with different political (one party rule and censorship) and cultural (media regarded mainly as instrument for education and social stabilization instead of a critical fourth estate) configurations, will the social and cultural impacts of the two trends in the West be as the same in China? If not, what will be the specificities in the China context? The project starts with a historical review of popular culture and user-created content in China, before turning to spoof videos and looking at how they are produced and shared, travel and diffused on the Internet, and how the communities and sub-cultures forming and emerging around spoof videos are changing the overall cultural landscape in China. By acting as a participant observer in online video sharing sites and conducting face-to face as well as online interviews, I identify lead users and creators of spoof videos and the social networks emerging around them. I call these lead users "skill hubs" and their networks "liquid communities", foregrounding the fact that their appeal doesn’t come from their amicable personality, but rather from their creative skills; and that the networks surrounding them are in a permanent flux, with members coming and going as they see fit. I argue that the "liquidness" (Bauman, 2000) of these communities is what makes them constantly creative and appealing. Textual analysis of online videos, their comments and derivatives are conducted to tease out the uses that that can be made of spoof videos, namely as phatic communication, as alternative memory and as political engagement. Through these analyses I show that spoof videos constitute not only a space where young generations can engage with each other, communicate their anger and dissatisfaction, fun and hope, and where they participate in socio-cultural and political debates, but also create a space where they can experiment with their new skills, new ideas, and new citizenship. The rise of spoof videos heralds the beginning of a trend in popular culture in contemporary China towards the "canonization of the jester" and the dethroning of the establishment. I also argue that a historical perspective is needed to understand the current surge of use creativity and user activism in China, and that many forms of popular media we experience today have their antecedents in various stages of Chinese history. The entrenched "control-resistance" binary is inadequate in interpreting the rich, flux and multilayered Internet space in China.