Australia's regional forest agreement process: analysis of the potential and problems

The 1990s heralded a new era in forest policy in Australia with the introduction of The National Forest Policy Statement which provided a framework under which native forest resources would be protected whilst also permitting ecologically sustainable timber harvesting. However, the implementation of the statement through the Regional Forest Agreements by state governments appear to contradict the conditions of the policy. Political bias towards development imperatives in implementing RFAs is evident. Community involvement in RFAs has not been satisfactory for sustainable forest use and management, with ongoing dissatisfaction from some stakeholder groups. There is still increased demand for protection of what remains of the various forest reserves. Aboriginal issues have not been settled in line with the expectation of the policy. There are continuing conflicts between the Commonwealth Government and some state governments

Process analysis of the solution strategies used for problems contained in the Minnesota Paper Board Form Board test

This thesis reviews progress toward an understanding of the processes involved in the solution of spatial problems. Previous work employing factor analysis and information processing analysis is reviewed and the emphasis on variations in speed and accuracy as the major contributers to individual differences is noted. It is argued that the strategy used by individuals is a preferable explanatory concept for identifying the cognitive substratum necessary for problem solving. Using the protocols obtained from subjects solving The Minnesota Paper Form Board (Revised), a test commonly regarded as measuring skill in spatial visualization, a number of different strategies are isolated. Assumptions as to the task variants which undergird these strategies are made and tested experimentally. The results suggest that task variants such as the size of the stimulus and the shape of the pieces interact with subject variables to produce the operating strategy. Skill in problem solving is revealed in the ability to structure the array, to hold a structured image and to reduce the number of answers requiring intensive processing. The interaction between task and subject variables results in appropriate or inappropriate strategies which in turn affect speed and accuracy. Results suggest that strategy formation and usage are the keys to explaining individual differences and an heuristic model is presented to explain the performance of individual subjects on the problems involved in the Minnesota Paper Form Board. The model can be used to predict performance on other tests; and as an aid to teaching subjects experiencing difficulties. The model presented incorporates strategy variation and is consequently mores complex than previously suggested models. It is argued that such complexity is necessary to explain the nature of a subject's performance and is also necessary to perform diagnostic evaluation. Certain structural -features of the Minnesota Paper Form Board are questioned and suggestions for improvement included. The essential explanatory function of the strategy in use makes the prevalent group administration approach suspect in the prediction of future performance in spatial or vocational activity.

Validation of the use of input-output data for embodied energy analysis of the Australian construction industry

This paper evaluates a recently developed hybrid method for the embodied energy analysis of the Australian construction industry. It was found that the truncation associated with process analysis can be up to 80%, whilst the use of input-output analysis alone does not always provide a perfect model for replacing process data. There is also a considerable lack in the quantity and possibly quality of process data currently available. These findings suggest that current best-practice methods are sufficiently accurate for most typical applications, but this is heavily dependant upon data quality and availability. The hybrid method evaluated can be used for the optimisation of embodied energy and for identifying opportunities for improvements in energy efficiency.

Assessment of embodied energy analysis methods for the Australian construction industry

Environmental assessment of buildings typically focuses on operational energy consumption in an attempt to minimise building energy consumption. Whilst the operation of Australian buildings accounts for around 20% of total energy consumption nationally, the energy embodied in these buildings represents up to 20 times their annual operational energy. Many previous studies, now shown to be incomplete in system boundary or unreliable, have provided much lower values for the embodied energy of buildings and their products. Many of these studies have used traditional embodied energy analysis methods, such as process analysis and input-output (1-0) analysis. More recently, hybrid embodied energy analysis methods have been developed, combining these two traditional methods. These hybrid methods need to be compared and validated, as these too have been considered to have several limitations. This paper aims to evaluate a recently developed hybrid method for the embodied energy analysis of the Australian construction industry, relative to traditional methods. Recent improvements to this hybrid method include the use of more recent 1-0 data and th.fl inclusion of capital energy data. These significant systemic changes mean that a previous assessment of the methods needs to be reviewed. It was found that the incompleteness associated with process analysis has increased from 49% to 87%. These findings suggest that current best-practice methods of embodied energy analysis are sufficiently accurate for most typical applications. This finding is strengthened by recent improvements to the 1-0 model.

Compositional dynamics of a commercial wine fermentation using two-dimensional FTIR correlation analysis

We have demonstrated that compositional changes occurring during a commercial red wine fermentation can be effectively monitored using FTIR spectroscopy and modelled with the aid of two-dimensional correlation techniques. This study represents a novel application of two-dimensional spectroscopy and showed that the reaction rates for the conversion of fructose and glucose to alcohol were different, with the latter being more rapid. The use of a simple three-component model serves to aid interpretation of the data and the results obtained confirm the value of two-dimensional FTIR correlation spectroscopy as a chemometric tool which has considerable potential for process monitoring.

Generalised 2D-correlation NMR analysis of a wine fermentation

A wine fermentation has been monitored on a daily basis by 1H NMR spectroscopy. Following data pre-processing that includes synthesis of the spectra to ensure all peaks are of constant half-width, the series of spectra were examined using generalised two-dimensional correlation techniques. Synchronous and asynchronous data maps have been generated and employed to interpret the changes in the fermentation process as a function of time. The results illustrate the potential of high resolution NMR with multivariate data analysis as a tool for process monitoring and the manner in which two-dimensional correlation mapping can aid in data interpretation.

Comprehensive embodied energy analysis framework

The assessment of the direct and indirect requirements for energy is known as embodied energy analysis. For buildings, the direct energy includes that used primarily on site, while the indirect energy includes primarily the energy required for the manufacture of building materials. This thesis is concerned with the completeness and reliability of embodied energy analysis methods. Previous methods tend to address either one of these issues, but not both at the same time. Industry-based methods are incomplete. National statistical methods, while comprehensive, are a ‘black box’ and are subject to errors. A new hybrid embodied energy analysis method is derived to optimise the benefits of previous methods while minimising their flaws. In industry-based studies, known as ‘process analyses’, the energy embodied in a product is traced laboriously upstream by examining the inputs to each preceding process towards raw materials. Process analyses can be significantly incomplete, due to increasing complexity. The other major embodied energy analysis method, ‘input-output analysis’, comprises the use of national statistics. While the input-output framework is comprehensive, many inherent assumptions make the results unreliable. Hybrid analysis methods involve the combination of the two major embodied energy analysis methods discussed above, either based on process analysis or input-output analysis. The intention in both hybrid analysis methods is to reduce errors associated with the two major methods on which they are based. However, the problems inherent to each of the original methods tend to remain, to some degree, in the associated hybrid versions. Process-based hybrid analyses tend to be incomplete, due to the exclusions associated with the process analysis framework. However, input-output-based hybrid analyses tend to be unreliable because the substitution of process analysis data into the input-output framework causes unwanted indirect effects. A key deficiency in previous input-output-based hybrid analysis methods is that the input-output model is a ‘black box’, since important flows of goods and services with respect to the embodied energy of a sector cannot be readily identified. A new input-output-based hybrid analysis method was therefore developed, requiring the decomposition of the input-output model into mutually exclusive components (ie, ‘direct energy paths’). A direct energy path represents a discrete energy requirement, possibly occurring one or more transactions upstream from the process under consideration. For example, the energy required directly to manufacture the steel used in the construction of a building would represent a direct energy path of one non-energy transaction in length. A direct energy path comprises a ‘product quantity’ (for example, the total tonnes of cement used) and a ‘direct energy intensity’ (for example, the energy required directly for cement manufacture, per tonne). The input-output model was decomposed into direct energy paths for the ‘residential building construction’ sector. It was shown that 592 direct energy paths were required to describe 90% of the overall total energy intensity for ‘residential building construction’. By extracting direct energy paths using yet smaller threshold values, they were shown to be mutually exclusive. Consequently, the modification of direct energy paths using process analysis data does not cause unwanted indirect effects. A non-standard individual residential building was then selected to demonstrate the benefits of the new input-output-based hybrid analysis method in cases where the products of a sector may not be similar. Particular direct energy paths were modified with case specific process analysis data. Product quantities and direct energy intensities were derived and used to modify some of the direct energy paths. The intention of this demonstration was to determine whether 90% of the total embodied energy calculated for the building could comprise the process analysis data normally collected for the building. However, it was found that only 51% of the total comprised normally collected process analysis. The integration of process analysis data with 90% of the direct energy paths by value was unsuccessful because: • typically only one of the direct energy path components was modified using process analysis data (ie, either the product quantity or the direct energy intensity); • of the complexity of the paths derived for ‘residential building construction’; and • of the lack of reliable and consistent process analysis data from industry, for both product quantities and direct energy intensities. While the input-output model used was the best available for Australia, many errors were likely to be carried through to the direct energy paths for ‘residential building construction’. Consequently, both the value and relative importance of the direct energy paths for ‘residential building construction’ were generally found to be a poor model for the demonstration building. This was expected. Nevertheless, in the absence of better data from industry, the input-output data is likely to remain the most appropriate for completing the framework of embodied energy analyses of many types of products—even in non-standard cases. ‘Residential building construction’ was one of the 22 most complex Australian economic sectors (ie, comprising those requiring between 592 and 3215 direct energy paths to describe 90% of their total energy intensities). Consequently, for the other 87 non-energy sectors of the Australian economy, the input-output-based hybrid analysis method is likely to produce more reliable results than those calculated for the demonstration building using the direct energy paths for ‘residential building construction’. For more complex sectors than ‘residential building construction’, the new input-output-based hybrid analysis method derived here allows available process analysis data to be integrated with the input-output data in a comprehensive framework. The proportion of the result comprising the more reliable process analysis data can be calculated and used as a measure of the reliability of the result for that product or part of the product being analysed (for example, a building material or component). To ensure that future applications of the new input-output-based hybrid analysis method produce reliable results, new sources of process analysis data are required, including for such processes as services (for example, ‘banking’) and processes involving the transformation of basic materials into complex products (for example, steel and copper into an electric motor). However, even considering the limitations of the demonstration described above, the new input-output-based hybrid analysis method developed achieved the aim of the thesis: to develop a new embodied energy analysis method that allows reliable process analysis data to be integrated into the comprehensive, yet unreliable, input-output framework. Plain language summary Embodied energy analysis comprises the assessment of the direct and indirect energy requirements associated with a process. For example, the construction of a building requires the manufacture of steel structural members, and thus indirectly requires the energy used directly and indirectly in their manufacture. Embodied energy is an important measure of ecological sustainability because energy is used in virtually every human activity and many of these activities are interrelated. This thesis is concerned with the relationship between the completeness of embodied energy analysis methods and their reliability. However, previous industry-based methods, while reliable, are incomplete. Previous national statistical methods, while comprehensive, are a ‘black box’ subject to errors. A new method is derived, involving the decomposition of the comprehensive national statistical model into components that can be modified discretely using the more reliable industry data, and is demonstrated for an individual building. The demonstration failed to integrate enough industry data into the national statistical model, due to the unexpected complexity of the national statistical data and the lack of available industry data regarding energy and non-energy product requirements. These unique findings highlight the flaws in previous methods. Reliable process analysis and input-output data are required, particularly for those processes that were unable to be examined in the demonstration of the new embodied energy analysis method. This includes the energy requirements of services sectors, such as banking, and processes involving the transformation of basic materials into complex products, such as refrigerators. The application of the new method to less complex products, such as individual building materials or components, is likely to be more successful than to the residential building demonstration.

Validation of the use of Australian input-output data for building embodied energy simulation

Traditional!y, the simulation of buildings has focused 011 operational energy consumption in an attempt to determine the potential for energy savings. Whilst operational energy of Australian buildings accounts for around 20% of total energy consumption nationally, embodied energy represents 20 to 50 times the annual operational energy of 1110st Australian buildings. Lower values have been shown through a number of studies that have analysed the embodied energy of buildings and their products, however these have now shown to be incomplete in system boundary. Many of these studies have used traditional embodied energy analysis methods, such as process analysis and input-output analysis, Hybrid embodied energy analysis methods have been developed, but these need to be compared and validated. This paper reports on preliminary work on this topic. The findings so far suggest that current best-practice methods are sufficiently accurate for most typical applications, but this is heavily dependant upon data quality and availability.

Embodied energy in buildings : wood versus concrete - reply to Börjesson and Gustavsson

We analyse the wood and concrete designs of the Wälludden building described by Börjesson et al. (Energy Policy 28 (2000) 575) in terms of their embodied energy, employing an environmentally extended input–output framework in a tiered hybrid life-cycle assessment, and in a structural path analysis. We illustrate the complexity of the inter-industry supply chains underlying the upstream energy requirements for the building options, and demonstrate that higher-order inputs are difficult to capture in a conventional process analysis. Our calculations show that Börjesson and Gustavsson's estimates of energy requirements and greenhouse gas emissions are underestimated by a factor of about 2, and that corresponding greenhouse gas balances are positive at about 30 t C-eq. Nevertheless, Börjesson and Gustavsson's general result—the concrete-framed building causing higher emissions—still holds.

Review of approximate analyses of sheet forming processes

Approximate models are often used for the following purposes: in on-line control systems of metal forming processes where calculation speed is critical; to obtain quick, quantitative information on the magnitude of the main variables in the early stages of process design; to illustrate the role of the major variables in the process; as an initial check on numerical modelling; and as a basis for quick calculations on processes in teaching and training packages. The models often share many similarities; for example, an arbitrary geometric assumption of deformation giving a simplified strain distribution, simple material property descriptions - such as an elastic, perfectly plastic law - and mathematical short cuts such as a linear approximation of a polynomial expression. In many cases, the output differs significantly from experiment and performance or efficiency factors are developed by experience to tune the models. In recent years, analytical models have been widely used at Deakin University in the design of experiments and equipment and as a pre-cursor to more detailed numerical analyses. Examples that are reviewed in this paper include deformation of sandwich material having a weak, elastic core, load prediction in deep drawing, bending of strip (particularly of ageing steel where kinking may occur), process analysis of low-pressure hydroforming of tubing, analysis of the rejection rates in stamping, and the determination of constitutive models by an inverse method applied to bending tests.

Authentic assessment in business education: its effects on student satisfaction and promoting behaviour

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of authentic assessment on student satisfaction and promoting behaviour. The sample comprised 120 students enrolled in an undergraduate business programme. A model was proposed and tested using conditional process analysis. It was found that authentic assessments are positively related to student satisfaction and promoting behaviour. It was found that student satisfaction mediated the relationship between authentic assessments and promoting behaviour. Moreover, the effects of authentic assessment are stronger among students who are highly career-oriented than those who are less career-oriented. The implications for higher education institutions are discussed. The key contribution of the research is in providing support for the precept that authentic assessments could drive students’ positive attitudes and behavioural intentions.

Determination of glyphosate mono-isopropylamine salt in process samples using flow injection analysis with tris(2,2`-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) chemiluminescence detection

The mono-isopropylamine salt of glyphosate was selectively determined directly in industrial and commercial formulations using flow injection analysis with tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) chemiluminescence detection without the need for separation. Glyphosate and its mono-isopropylamine salt furnished detection limits of 7×10⁻⁹ and 3.5×10⁻¹⁰ M and relative standard deviations of 0.4% at 1×10⁻⁷ M and 0.8% at 5×10⁻⁸ M, respectively. The methodology is robust and reliable with samples subjected only to aqueous dilution prior to analysis.

Organizing forms in change management: the role of structures, process and boundaries in a longitudinal case analysis

This paper examines change management at William Angliss Institute of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) against the three organizational dimensions of structures, processes and boundaries identified by the INNFORM Study. Its experience confirms that even when an organization adopts a systemic approach and implements change across each design dimension, optimal performance benefits depend on mutually reinforcing and complementary changes. Furthermore, improvement to processes, particularly communications and human resources practices, plays a pivotal role, as complementary change across all dimensions depends ultimately on the contribution and commitment of organization members. Case findings also highlight the need for ambidextrous forms of organizing that combine 'controllability' with 'responsiveness'. The conceptual notion of organizing dualities has been employed to provide a practical interpretation of the ostensibly competing imperatives implied by ambidexterity. This case explores the dualities that can be demonstrated for the INNFORM triumvirate of structures, processes and boundaries. The dualities interpretation emphasizes an acceptance of texture and the simultaneous presence of what are conventionally viewed as incompatible organizing forms. This was considered a useful conceptual vehicle in the analysis of a case study covering nearly ten years of serious change interventions, where one theoretical view can be misleading in understanding the subtleties and complexities of the actual changes that occurred.

Using protocol analysis to explore the creative requirements engineering process

Protocol analysis is an empirical method applied by researchers in cognitive psychology and behavioural analysis. Protocol analysis can be used to collect, document and analyse thought processes by an individual problem solver. In general, research subjects are asked to think aloud when performing a given task. Their verbal reports are transcribed and represent a sequence of their thoughts and cognitive activities. These verbal reports are analysed to identify relevant segments of cognitive behaviours by the research subjects. The analysis results may be cross-examined (or validated through retrospective interviews with the research subjects). This paper offers a critical analysis of this research method, its approaches to data collection and analysis, strengths and limitations, and discusses its use in information systems research. The aim is to explore the use of protocol analysis in studying the creative requirements engineering process.