Adopting a computational approach to identifying and modelling future development initiatives within the urban context

In 2002 the State Government of Victoria, in partnership with the City of Greater Geelong and Deakin University, initiated and urban design framework to explore development opportunities of a series of redundant industrial sites adjacent to Geelong's central activities area (CAA). One of the objectives of the framework was to explore a range of initiatives based on the expansion of Deakin University Waterfront campus from 700 students to an expected cohort of 5000 students. Working with a set of predefined constructs for different types of city-based user groups, such as net floor space requirements and time/travel distances between facilities, the following paper presents a simple computational approach to assist in identifying, mapping, and spatially exploring different development scenarios.

Applications of redundancy analysis for the detection of chemical response patterns to air pollution in lichen

The lichens Ramalina celastri (Spreng.) Krog & Swinsc., Punctelia microsticta (Müll. Arg.) Krog and Canomaculina pilosa (Stizenb.) Elix & Hale were transplanted simultaneously to 17 urban-industrial sites in a northwestern area of Córdoba city, Argentina. The transplantation sites were set according to different environmental conditions: traffic, industries, tree cover, building height, topographic level, position in the block and distances from the river and from the power plant. Three months later, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, phaeophytin a, soluble proteins, hydroperoxy conjugated dienes, malondialdehyde concentration and sulfur accumulation were determined, and a pollution index was calculated for each sampling site. Redundancy analysis was applied to detect the variation pattern of the lichen variables that can be 'best' explained by the environmental variables considered. The present study provides information about both the specific pattern response of each species to atmospheric pollution, and environmental conditions that determine it. As regards pollutants emission sources R. celastri showed a chemical response associated mainly with pollutant released by the power plant and traffic. P. microsticta and C. pilosa responded mainly to industrial sources. Regarding environmental conditions that affect the spreading of air pollutants and their incidence on the bioindicator, the topographic level and tree cover surrounding the sampling site were found to be important for R. celastri, tree cover surrounding the sampling site and the building height affected P. microsticta, while building height did so for C. pilosa.

Stillness and movement: a bodily approach to photography

My paper will address both Duration and temporality of the ‘still’ imageand Sensorial and bodily experience of photography through a discussion of a recent body of work ‘Fly Rhythm’, a series of photographs and video works exhibited in a gallery context.By acknowledging the inter-relationship between the body and the camera my project seeks to challenge a perceived separation between performance and photography. Fly Rhythm was conceived through a performative somatic process. Through using a custom made camera I was able to negotiate time and space to create a visual drawing of movement and stillness together in photography. The resultant images are discussed as a notation of body movement – a record of bodily history enabled through a self imposed discipline of learning to read light.I initially constructed a human size camera to understand how photography works. Spending time inside observing the way light moves and affects the formation of sight is also a way of embodying the act of photography. I responded by making a bespoke camera that enabled light to be captured during extended periods while moving. My project is dependent upon a self-imposed discipline of intuiting light’s strength and erratic changes, a skill developed by making analogue prints while inside a camera obscura. Once I had developed an ability to read light’s changes and gain an understanding of camera mechanics I made durational recordings moving through the landscape on Bruny Island Tasmania and industrial sites in Melbourne, photographs exhibited as part of Fly Rhythm. I will discuss these prints in context with the idea that light is a conduit through which past and present fuse together in a bodily act of photographing and processing images.I will explore durational aspects of photography by discussing light’s relative motion while taking photographs without using the viewfinder or composing images in the traditional way. Rather, the camera at the end of my arm is directed through how I read light therefore a choreography notated in the prints – a kind of body signatureMy practice enables a new the way of seeing, in a spontaneous hand held process creating a sense of embodiment. By analyzing process my paper will consider how the body together with analogue and 21st century digital technology coalesce cross-disciplinary practice combining visual art, performance and photographic disciplines.I also explored limitations of digital light in contrast with ‘natural’ light by a making a gamut of dissolving colour determined by the software based on two pixels. Projected into the ambient light ‘Glide’ is an 11minute durational work installed at the Substation Contemporary Art Space in Melbourne Australia.

Managing industrial world heritage sites : preservation, presentation and sustainability

This thesis uses case study methodology to explore how the concept of sustainable development is being applied at industrial World Heritage sites. The thesis proposes a model of sustainable heritage management that is relevant to industrial heritage sites, as well as to other complex heritage sites, including historic urban landscapes.

A cluster randomised trial of an internet-based intervention program for tinnitus distress in an industrial setting

The effectiveness of a therapist-supported Internet intervention program for tinnitus distress in an industrial setting was evaluated using a cluster randomised design. Fifty-six Australian employees of two industrial organisations were randomly assigned, based on their work site (18 work sites from BP Australia and five from BHP Billiton), to either a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) program or an information-only control program. Participants were assessed at pre- and postprogram, measuring tinnitus distress, depression, anxiety, stress, quality of life, and occupational health. The CBT program was not found to be superior to the information program for treating tinnitus distress. A high attrition rate and small sample size limit the generalisability of the findings, and further developments of the program and assessment process are needed to enhance engagement and compliance.

Bryophytes of urban industrial streetscapes in Victoria, Australia

The bryophyte floristics of industrial/commercial streetscapes of urban Victoria and the importance of various substrata to species richness were explored. Species richness was low compared to healthy natural environments. Thirty mosses from 14 families, and six liverworts, each from different families, were identified. Most species occurred at fewer than 30% of sites, showing the patchy nature of their distribution. Only three species occurred at more than half the sites. Markedly higher species richness occurred on soil than on any other substratum. Epiphytes were extremely few. The low bryodiversity of streetscapes, the patchy nature of the bryophytes and the high number of colonists suggest that the streetscapes have not fulfilled their potential in providing connectivity between urban and non-urban areas. Colonists characteristically occur early in the successional sequence of disturbed areas but, as streetscapes are continually disturbed, colonists effectively are climax species for this habitat. Better management of streetscapes to provide more complex habitat is needed to enable colonisation of these areas by bryophyte species that are more representative of our ever-shrinking natural habitats.