Life cycle inventory for Australian building materials

This paper discusses challenges to developers of a national Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) database on which to base assessment of building environmental impacts and a key to development of a fully integrated eco-design tool created for automated eco-efficiency assessment of commercial building design direct from 3D CAD. The scope of this database includes Australian and overseas processing burdens involved in acquiring, processing, transporting, fabricating, finishing and using metals, masonry, timber, glazing, ceramics, plastics, fittings, composites and coatings. Burdens are classified, calculated and reported for all flows of raw materials, fuels, energy and emissions to and from the air, soil and water associated with typical products and services in building construction, fitout and operation. The aggregated life cycle inventory data provides the capacity to generate environmental impact assessment reports based on accepted performance indicators. Practitioners can identify hot spots showing high environmental burdens of a proposed design and drill down to report on specific building components. They can compare assessments with case studies and operational estimates to assist in eco-efficient design of a building, fitout and operation.

Shrinking Violets

Description of the work Shrinking Violets is comprised of two half scale garments in laser cut silk organza, developed with a knotting device to allow for disassembly and reassembly. The first is a jacket in layered red organza including black storm flap details. The second is a vest in jade organza with circles of pink organza attached through a pattern of knots. Research Background This practice-led fashion design research sits within the field of Design for Sustainability (DfS) in fashion that seeks to mitigate the environmental and ethical impacts of fashion consumption and production. The research explores new systems of garment construction for DfS, and examines how these systems may involve ‘designing’ new user interactions with the garments. The garments’ construction system allows them to be disassembled and recycled or reassembled by users to form a new garment. Conventional garment design follows a set process of cutting and construction, with pattern pieces permanently machine-stitched together. Garments typically contain multiple fibre types; for example a jacket may be constructed from a shell of wool/polyester, an acetate lining, fusible interlinings, and plastic buttons. These complex inputs mean that textile recycling is highly labour intensive, first to separate the garment pieces and second to sort the multiple fibre types. This difficulty results in poor quality ‘shoddy’ comprised of many fibre types and unsuitable for new apparel, or in large quantities of recyclable textile waste sent to landfill (Hawley 2011). Design-led approaches that consider the garment’s end of life in the design process are a way of addressing this problem. In Gulich’s (2006) analysis, use of single materials is the most effective way to ensure ease of recycling, with multiple materials that can be detached next in effectiveness. Given the low rate of technological innovation in most apparel manufacturing (Ruiz 2011), a challenge for effective recycling is how to develop new manufacturing methods that allow for garments to be more easily disassembled at end-of-life. Research Contribution This project addresses the research question: How can design for disassembly be considered within the fashion design process? I have employed a practice-led methodology in which my design process leads the research, making use of methods of fashion design practice including garment and construction research, fabric and colour research, textile experimentation, drape, patternmaking, and illustration as well as more recent methods such as laser cutting. Interrogating the traditional approaches to garment construction is necessarily a technical process; however fashion design is as much about the aesthetic and desirability of a garment as it is about the garment’s pragmatics or utility. This requires a balance between the technical demands of designing for disassembly with the aesthetic demands of fashion. This led to the selection of luxurious, semi-transparent fabrics in bold floral colours that could be layered to create multiple visual effects, as well as the experimentation with laser cutting for new forms of finishing and fastening the fabrics together. Shrinking Violets makes two contributions to new knowledge in the area of design for sustainability within fashion. The first is in the technical development of apparel modularity through the system of laser cut holes and knots that also become a patterning device. The second contribution lies in the design of a system for users to engage with the garment through its ability to be easily reconstructed into a new form. Research Significance Shrinking Violets was exhibited at the State Library of Queensland’s Asia Pacific Design Library, 1-5 November 2015, as part of The International Association of Societies of Design Research’s (IASDR) biannual design conference. The work was chosen for display by a panel of experts, based on the criteria of design innovation and contribution to new knowledge in design. References Gulich, B. (2006). Designing textile products that are easy to recycle. In Y. Wang (Ed.), Recycling in Textiles (pp. 25-37). London: Woodhead. Hawley, J. M. (2011). Textile recycling options: exploring what could be. In A. Gwilt & T. Rissanen (Eds.), Shaping Sustainable Fashion: Changing the way we make and use clothes (pp. 143 - 155). London: Earthscan. Ruiz, B. (2014). Global Apparel Manufacturing. Retrieved 10 August 2014, from http://clients1.ibisworld.com/reports/gl/industry/default.aspx?entid=470

Influence of all-out and fast start of 5-min cycling time trial performance

Purpose: To examine the influence of two different fast-start pacing strategies on performance and oxygen consumption (V˙O2) during cycle ergometer time trials lasting ∼5 min. Methods: Eight trained male cyclists performed four cycle ergometer time trials whereby the total work completed (113 ± 11.5 kJ; mean ± SD) was identical to the better of two 5-min self-paced familiarization trials. During the performance trials, initial power output was manipulated to induce either an all-out or a fast start. Power output during the first 60 s of the fast-start trial was maintained at 471.0 ± 48.0 W, whereas the all-out start approximated a maximal starting effort for the first 15 s (mean power: 753.6 ± 76.5 W) followed by 45 s at a constant power output (376.8 ± 38.5 W). Irrespective of starting strategy, power output was controlled so that participants would complete the first quarter of the trial (28.3 ± 2.9 kJ) in 60 s. Participants performed two trials using each condition, with their fastest time trial compared. Results: Performance time was significantly faster when cyclists adopted the all-out start (4 min 48 s ± 8 s) compared with the fast start (4 min 51 s ± 8 s; P < 0.05). The first-quarter V˙O2 during the all-out start trial (3.4 ± 0.4 L·min-1) was significantly higher than during the fast-start trial (3.1 ± 0.4 L·min-1; P < 0.05). After removal of an outlier, the percentage increase in first-quarter V˙O2 was significantly correlated (r = -0.86, P < 0.05) with the relative difference in finishing time. Conclusions: An all-out start produces superior middle distance cycling performance when compared with a fast start. The improvement in performance may be due to a faster V˙O2 response rather than time saved due to a rapid acceleration.

Characterization of particle number concentrations and PM2.5 in a school : influence of outdoor air pollution on indoor air

Background, Aim and Scope The impact of air pollution on school children’s health is currently one of the key foci of international and national agencies. Of particular concern are ultrafine particles which are emitted in large quantities, contain large concentrations of toxins and are deposited deeply in the respiratory tract. Materials and methods In this study, an intensive sampling campaign of indoor and outdoor airborne particulate matter was carried out in a primary school in February 2006 to investigate indoor and outdoor particle number (PN) and mass concentrations (PM2.5), and particle size distribution, and to evaluate the influence of outdoor air pollution on the indoor air. Results For outdoor PN and PM2.5, early morning and late afternoon peaks were observed on weekdays, which are consistent with traffic rush hours, indicating the predominant effect of vehicular emissions. However, the temporal variations of outdoor PM2.5 and PN concentrations occasionally showed extremely high peaks, mainly due to human activities such as cigarette smoking and the operation of mower near the sampling site. The indoor PM2.5 level was mainly affected by the outdoor PM2.5 (r = 0.68, p<0.01), whereas the indoor PN concentration had some association with outdoor PN values (r = 0.66, p<0.01) even though the indoor PN concentration was occasionally influenced by indoor sources, such as cooking, cleaning and floor polishing activities. Correlation analysis indicated that the outdoor PM2.5 was inversely correlated with the indoor to outdoor PM2.5 ratio (I/O ratio) (r = -0.49, p<0.01), while the indoor PN had a weak correlation with the I/O ratio for PN (r = 0.34, p<0.01). Discussion and Conclusions The results showed that occupancy did not cause any major changes to the modal structure of particle number and size distribution, even though the I/O ratio was different for different size classes. The I/O curves had a maximum value for particles with diameters of 100 – 400 nm under both occupied and unoccupied scenarios, whereas no significant difference in I/O ratio for PM2.5 was observed between occupied and unoccupied conditions. Inspection of the size-resolved I/O ratios in the preschool centre and the classroom suggested that the I/O ratio in the preschool centre was the highest for accumulation mode particles at 600 nm after school hours, whereas the average I/O ratios of both nucleation mode and accumulation mode particles in the classroom were much lower than those of Aitken mode particles. Recommendations and Perspectives The findings obtained in this study are useful for epidemiological studies to estimate the total personal exposure of children, and to develop appropriate control strategies for minimizing the adverse health effects on school children.

Games for change and transformative learning : an ethnographic case study

This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of how serious games/games for change function as learning frameworks for transformative learning in an educational setting. This study illustrates how the meaning-making processes and learning with and through computer gameplay are highly contingent, and are significantly influenced by the uncertainties of the situational context. The study focuses on SCAPE, a simulation game that addresses urban planning and sustainability. SCAPE is based on the real-world scenario of Kelvin Grove Urban Village, an inner city redevelopment area in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The game is embedded within an educational program, and I thus account for the various gameplay experiences of different school classes participating in this program. The networks emerging from the interactions between students/players, educators, facilitators, the technology, the researcher, as well as the setting, result in unanticipated, controversial, and sometimes unintended gameplay experiences and outcomes. To unpack play, transformative learning and games, this study adopts an ecological approach that considers the magic circle of gameplay in its wider context. Using Actor-Network Theory as the ontological lens for inquiry, the methods for investigation include an extensive literature review, ethnographic participant observation of SCAPE, as well as student and teacher questionnaires, finishing with interviews with the designers and facilitators of SCAPE. Altogether, these methods address my research aim to better understand how the heterogeneous actors engage in the relationships in and around gameplay, and illustrate how their conflicting understandings enable, shape or constrain the (transformative) learning experience. To disentangle these complexities, my focus continuously shifts between the following modes of inquiry into the aims „h To describe and analyse the game as a designed artefact. „h To examine the gameplay experiences of players/students and account for how these experiences are constituted in the relationships of the network. „h To trace the meaning-making processes emerging from the various relations of players/students, facilitators, teachers, designers, technology, researcher, and setting, and consider how the boundaries of the respective ecology are configured and negotiated. „h To draw out the implications for the wider research area of game-based learning by using the simulation game SCAPE as an example for introducing gameplay to educational settings. Accounting in detail for five school classes, these accounts represent, each in its own right, distinct and sometimes controversial forms of engagement in gameplay. The practices and negotiations of all the assembled human and non-human actors highlight the contingent nature of gameplay and learning. In their sum, they offer distinct but by no means exhaustive examples of the various relationships that emerge from the different assemblages of human and non-human actors. This thesis, hence, illustrates that game-based learning in an educational setting is accompanied by considerable unpredictability and uncertainty. As ordinary life spills and leaks into gameplay experiences, group dynamics and the negotiations of technology, I argue that overly deterministic assertions of the game¡¦s intention, as well as a too narrowly defined understanding of the transformative learning outcome, can constrain our inquiries and hinder efforts to further elucidate and understand the evolving uncertainties around game-based learning. Instead, this thesis posits that playing and transformative learning are relational effects of the respective ecology, where all actors are networked in their (partial) enrolment in the process of translation. This study thus attempts to foreground the rich opportunities for exploring how game-based learning is assembled as a network of practices.

Beneficial defects : exploiting the intrinsic polishing-induced wafer roughness for the catalyst-free growth of Ge in-plane nanowires

We outline a metal-free fabrication route of in-plane Ge nanowires on Ge(001) substrates. By positively exploiting the polishing-induced defects of standard-quality commercial Ge(001) wafers, micrometer-length wires are grown by physical vapor deposition in ultra-high-vacuum environment. The shape of the wires can be tailored by the epitaxial strain induced by subsequent Si deposition, determining a progressive transformation of the wires in SiGe faceted quantum dots. This shape transition is described by finite element simulations of continuous elasticity and gives hints on the equilibrium shape of nanocrystals in the presence of tensile epitaxial strain.

Well-trained, healthy triathletes experience no adverse health risks regarding oxidative stress and DNA damage by participating in an ultra-endurance event

Also physical exercise in general is accepted to be protective, acute and strenuous exercise has been shown to induce oxidative stress. Enhanced formation of free radicals leads to oxidation of macromolecules and to DNA damage. On the other hand ultra-endurance events which require strenuous exercise are very popular and the number of participants is continuously increasing worldwide. Since only few data exists on Ironman triathletes, who are prototypes of ultra-endurance athletes, this study was aimed at assessing the risk of oxidative stress and DNA damage after finishing a triathlon and to predict a possible health risk. Blood samples of 42 male athletes were taken 2 days before, within 20 min after the race, 1, 5 and 19 days post-race. Oxidative stress marker increased only moderately after the race and returned to baseline after 5 days. Marker of DNA damage measured by the SCGE assay with and without restriction enzymes as well as by the sister chromatid exchange assay did either show no change or deceased within the first day after the race. Due to intake during the race and the release by the cells plasma concentrations of vitamin C and α-tocopherol increased after the event and returned to baseline 1 day after. This study indicates that despite a temporary increase in some oxidative stress markers, there is no persistent oxidative stress and no DNA damage in response to an Ironman triathlon in trained athletes, mainly due to an appropriate antioxidant intake and general protective alterations in the antioxidant defence system.

The long drive home: Control beliefs and commuting intentions of mine workers

Purpose: It is relatively common for many mine workers in Australia to drive an average of 250 kilometers to and from work following long shifts and shift blocks. Despite the long distances travelled following long shifts of 12- to 14-hours, there is evidence to suggest that these workers are not engaging in a break following their shift prior to driving home. This naturally raises issues of fatigue and sleepiness when driving. There is limited research in respect to commuting behaviours of mine workers and little is known about the factors that influence these workers to leave site immediately following their shift. Using the theory of planned behaviour, this paper examines individual control beliefs that encourage or prevent workers from leaving the site immediately following their shift block. Method: Data was collected using a cross-sectional survey. The survey instrument was developed following a series of in-depth interviews with workers from a Queensland coal mine (n=37). The quantitative written survey sample (n=461) was drawn from the same coal mine and consisted of workers from all levels of the organisation. Results: The results examine workers intentions to leave the work site and drive home immediately following a shift block. The results show differences in control beliefs between workers finishing night shifts compared with those finishing day shifts. Implications: An understanding of these control beliefs may potentially inform more targeted intervention strategies in the attempt to encourage a safer approach to driving home following shift blocks.