Ecoregion classification using a bayesian approach and centre-focused clusters

Ecological regions are increasingly used as a spatial unit for planning and environmental management. It is important to define these regions in a scientifically defensible way to justify any decisions made on the basis that they are representative of broad environmental assets. The paper describes a methodology and tool to identify cohesive bioregions. The methodology applies an elicitation process to obtain geographical descriptions for bioregions, each of these is transformed into a Normal density estimate on environmental variables within that region. This prior information is balanced with data classification of environmental datasets using a Bayesian statistical modelling approach to objectively map ecological regions. The method is called model-based clustering as it fits a Normal mixture model to the clusters associated with regions, and it addresses issues of uncertainty in environmental datasets due to overlapping clusters.

Incorporating level set methods in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for land-surface process modelling

Land-surface processes include a broad class of models that operate at a landscape scale. Current modelling approaches tend to be specialised towards one type of process, yet it is the interaction of processes that is increasing seen as important to obtain a more integrated approach to land management. This paper presents a technique and a tool that may be applied generically to landscape processes. The technique tracks moving interfaces across landscapes for processes such as water flow, biochemical diffusion, and plant dispersal. Its theoretical development applies a Lagrangian approach to motion over a Eulerian grid space by tracking quantities across a landscape as an evolving front. An algorithm for this technique, called level set method, is implemented in a geographical information system (GIS). It fits with a field data model in GIS and is implemented as operators in map algebra. The paper describes an implementation of the level set methods in a map algebra programming language, called MapScript, and gives example program scripts for applications in ecology and hydrology.

International evaluation of current and future requirements for environmental engineering education

The field of environmental engineering is developing as a result of changing environmental requirements. In response, environmental engineering education (E3) needs to ensure that it provides students with the necessary tools to address these challenges. In this paper the current status and future development of E3 is evaluated based on a questionnaire sent to universities and potential employers of E3 graduates. With increasing demands on environmental quality, the complexity of environmental engineering problems to be solved can be expected to increase. To find solutions environmental engineers will need to work in interdisciplinary teams. Based on the questionnaire there was a broad agreement that the best way to prepare students for these future challenges is to provide them with a fundamental education in basic sciences and related engineering fields. Many exciting developments in the environmental engineering profession will be located at the interface between engineering, science, and society. Aspects of all three areas need to be included in E3 and the student needs to be exposed to the tensions associated with linking the three.

Leadership across international borders: A case study of an environmental leader

This paper focuses on the story of a well-respected leader known for his tireless work in promoting and preserving the environment both within Australia and internationally. It highlights the contextual factors that have influenced and continue to influence his thinking about leadership as well as the key values he embodies as a leader. The paper begins by considering some of the salient leadership literature in the field. The next part of the paper reviews the qualitative methodology that steered the research for this paper. Following on, the paper provides a snapshot of the life forces and context that played an important role in shaping the leader’s views and practices. Finally, the paper provides an analytical discussion of the leader’s practices in the light of two well-known leadership frameworks.

Environmental factors that influence the community participation of adults with aphasia: The perspective of service industry workers

Background: The loss of language and the inability to communicate effectively as a result of aphasia often affects community participation. Within the World Health Organisation International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, disability is recognised as a dynamic interaction between the individual's health condition, such as aphasia, and his or her personal and environmental factors. There has been little research identifying the environmental facilitators and barriers to participation for people with aphasia in the community, and no research focusing on the perspective of service industry workers. Aims: This study aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to community participation for adults with aphasia from the perspective of service industry workers. Methods & Procedures: Eight focus groups were conducted with 24 service industry employees. Transcripts of the focus group discussions were analysed using qualitative content analysis procedures, and barriers to and facilitators for participation of people with aphasia were identified. Outcomes & Results: Results revealed that the participation of people with aphasia in the community can be affected by many environmental factors within three broad categories: (1) people environmental factors, (2) physical environmental factors, and (3) business or organisational environmental factors. Conclusions: Service industry employees were able to identify a range of factors that would act as barriers and facilitators for people with aphasia. Some of the more significant findings include the lack of other people's awareness about aphasia, the willingness of service industry workers at the individual level to accommodate people with aphasia, and the difficulty in making the necessary system, policy, and procedural changes at the organisational level. Speech pathologists are encouraged to assist service industry providers to be more aphasia-friendly through education and training, in addition to assisting people with aphasia to become self-advocates.

Epidemiology of recreational exposure to freshwater cyanobacteria - an international prospective cohort study

Background: Case studies and anecdotal reports have documented a range of acute illnesses associated with exposure to cyanobacteria and their toxins in recreational waters. The epidemiological data to date are limited; we sought to improve on the design of some previously conducted studies in order to facilitate revision and refinement of guidelines for exposure to cyanobacteria in recreational waters. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted to investigate the incidence of acute symptoms in individuals exposed, through recreational activities, to low ( cell surface area < 2.4 mm(2)/mL), medium ( 2.4 - 12.0 mm(2)/mL) and high (> 12.0 mm(2)/mL) levels of cyanobacteria in lakes and rivers in southeast Queensland, the central coast area of New South Wales, and northeast and central Florida. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed; models adjusted for region, age, smoking, prior history of asthma, hay fever or skin disease ( eczema or dermatitis) and clustering by household. Results: Of individuals approached, 3,595 met the eligibility criteria, 3,193 (89%) agreed to participate and 1,331 (37%) completed both the questionnaire and follow-up interview. Respiratory symptoms were 2.1 (95% CI: 1.1 - 4.0) times more likely to be reported by subjects exposed to high levels of cyanobacteria than by those exposed to low levels. Similarly, when grouping all reported symptoms, individuals exposed to high levels of cyanobacteria were 1.7 ( 95% CI: 1.0 - 2.8) times more likely to report symptoms than their low-level cyanobacteria-exposed counterparts. Conclusion: A significant increase in reporting of minor self-limiting symptoms, particularly respiratory symptoms, was associated with exposure to higher levels of cyanobacteria of mixed genera. We suggest that exposure to cyanobacteria based on total cell surface area above 12 mm(2)/mL could result in increased incidence of symptoms. The potential for severe, life-threatening cyanobacteria-related illness is likely to be greater in recreational waters that have significant levels of cyanobacterial toxins, so future epidemiological investigations should be directed towards recreational exposure to cyanotoxins.

The properties of the International Classification of the External Cause of Injury when used as an instrument for injury prevention research

Objective: To demonstrate properties of the International Classification of the External Cause of Injury (ICECI) as a tool for use in injury prevention research. Methods: The Childhood Injury Prevention Study (CHIPS) is a prospective longitudinal follow up study of a cohort of 871 children 5 - 12 years of age, with a nested case crossover component. The ICECI is the latest tool in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) family and has been designed to improve the precision of coding injury events. The details of all injury events recorded in the study, as well as all measured injury related exposures, were coded using the ICECI. This paper reports a substudy on the utility and practicability of using the ICECI in the CHIPS to record exposures. Interrater reliability was quantified for a sample of injured participants using the Kappa statistic to measure concordance between codes independently coded by two research staff. Results: There were 767 diaries collected at baseline and event details from 563 injuries and exposure details from injury crossover periods. There were no event, location, or activity details which could not be coded using the ICECI. Kappa statistics for concordance between raters within each of the dimensions ranged from 0.31 to 0.93 for the injury events and 0.94 and 0.97 for activity and location in the control periods. Discussion: This study represents the first detailed account of the properties of the ICECI revealed by its use in a primary analytic epidemiological study of injury prevention. The results of this study provide considerable support for the ICECI and its further use.

Optimising profitability and environmental trade-offs in managing cropping systems using differential evolution

Whilst traditional optimisation techniques based on mathematical programming techniques are in common use, they suffer from their inability to explore the complexity of decision problems addressed using agricultural system models. In these models, the full decision space is usually very large while the solution space is characterized by many local optima. Methods to search such large decision spaces rely on effective sampling of the problem domain. Nevertheless, problem reduction based on insight into agronomic relations and farming practice is necessary to safeguard computational feasibility. Here, we present a global search approach based on an Evolutionary Algorithm (EA). We introduce a multi-objective evaluation technique within this EA framework, linking the optimisation procedure to the APSIM cropping systems model. The approach addresses the issue of system management when faced with a trade-off between economic and ecological consequences.