Improving the impact of luminance contrast on the window appearance in a conventional office room: Using supplementary lighting strategies

High contrast ratios between windows and surrounding surfaces could cause reduced visibility or discomfort for occupants. Consequently, building users may choose to intervene in lighting conditions through closing blinds and turning on the lamps in order to enhance indoor visual comfort. Such interventions increase projected electric lighting use in buildings. One simple method to prevent these problematic issues is increasing the luminance of the areas surrounding to the bright surface of windows through the use of energy-efficient supplementary lighting, such Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). This paper reports on the results of a pilot study in conventional office in Brisbane, Australia. The outcomes of this study indicated that a supplementary LED system of approximately 18 W could reduce the luminance contrast on the window wall from values in the order of 117:1 to 33:1. In addition, the results of this experiment suggested that this supplementary strategy could increase the subjective scale appraisal of window appearance by approximately 33%, as well as reducing the likelihood of users’ intention to turn on the ceiling lights by about 27%. It could also diminish the likelihood of occupants’ intention to move the blind down by more than 90%.

Trace vapour detection at room temperature using Raman spectroscopy

A miniaturized flow-through system consisting of a gold coated silicon substrate based on enhanced Raman spectroscopy has been used to study the detection of vapour from model explosive compounds. The measurements show that the detectability of the vapour molecules at room temperature depends sensitively on the interaction between the molecule and the substrate. The results highlight the capability of a flow system combined with Raman spectroscopy for detecting low vapour pressure compounds with a limit of detection of 0.2 ppb as demonstrated by the detection of bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, a common polymer additive emitted from a commercial polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubing at room temperature.

Direct photocatalytic conversion of aldehydes to esters using supported gold nanoparticles under visible light irradiation at room temperature

Visible light can drive esteri fi cation from aldehydes and alcohols using supported gold nanoparticles (Au/Al 2 O 3 ) as photo- catalysts at ambient temperatures. The gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) absorb visible light due to the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) e ff ect, and the conduction electrons of the AuNPs gain the energy of the incident light. The energetic electrons, which concentrate at the NP surface, facilitate the activation of a range of aldehyde and alcohol substrates. The photocatalytic e ffi ciencies strongly depend on the Au loading, particle sizes of the AuNPs, irradiance, and wavelength of the light irradiation. Finally, a plausible reaction mechanism was proposed, and the Au/Al 2 O 3 catalysts can be reused several times without signi fi cantly losing activity. The knowledge acquired in this study may inspire further studies in new e ffi cient recyclable photocatalysts and a wide range of organic synthesis driven by sunlight.

Numerical analysis for the interlayer toughening of piezoelectric smart composite plate

The piezoelectric composite material could engender stress concentration resulting from small cracks during layers easily, as the cracks growth will lead to the failure of the whole structure. In this paper, a finite element model for piezoelectric composite materials by ABAQUS including interlayer crack was established, and the J integral and crack tip stress of different types PZT patches were calculated by using the equivalent integral method. Then, the J integral for adhesive layers with different thickness, elastic modulus considering and not considering piezoelectricity was investigated. The results show that the J integral of mode I, II reduces with thicker adhesive layer and lower elastic modules, and the J integral of mode II decreases more sharply than that of mode I.

Sustainability at the Australian local government level: Is there room for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)?

Recent calls in Australia have addressed the need for better integration of planning processes. The consequent effort made by government has been, and still is, reshaping the way urban and regional planning and sustainability are managed. Focusing on planning practices at the local and regional levels, we investigate how environmental sustainability is pursued from an institutional perspective. Specifically, we analyse the way that planning in Australian cities aims to achieve sustainable strategies and reflect on the relationship with ‘Strategic Environmental Assessment’. This paper has four goals. First, sustainable planning practices at the local and regional levels are analysed considering the legislative and organizational frameworks of each state. The goal is to identify through an analysis of planning documents how much discretion is given to local councils to address sustainable strategies. Second, we focus on two regional and four cities in Queensland, to outline strengths and weaknesses of current legislative and practical frameworks. We use analytical criteria from the SEA literature to investigate these plans in more detail. Third, we examine the relationship between strategic and statutory plans, to see how sustainability is actually implemented. Finally we compare emerging issues about sustainable planning in Australia with countries overseas with different planning and SEA traditions. Considering that SEA is evolving and there are considerable international experiences, we offer recommendations on how Australia might achieve a more integrated and sustainable approach to planning.

Pedestrian self-reported exposure to distraction by smart phones while walking and crossing the road

Pedestrian crashes account for approximately 14% of road fatalities in Australia. Crossing the road, while a minor part of total walking, presents the highest crash risk because of potential interaction with motor vehicles. Crash risk is elevated by pedestrian illegal use of the road, which may be widespread (e.g. 20% of crossings at signalised intersections at a sample of sites, Brisbane) and enforcement is rare. Effective road crossing requires integration of multiple skills and judgements, any of which can be hindered by distraction. Observational studies suggest that pedestrians are increasingly likely to ‘multitask’, using mobile technology for entertainment and communication, elevating the risk of distraction while crossing. To investigate this, intercept interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 211 pedestrians aged 18-65 years in Brisbane CBD. Self-reported frequency of using a smart phone for activities at two levels of distraction: cognitive only (voice calls); or cognitive and visual (text messages, internet access) while walking or crossing the road was collected. Results indicated that smart phone use for potentially distracting activities while walking and while crossing the road was high, especially among 18-30 year olds, who were significantly more likely than 31-44yo or 45-65yo to report smart phone use while crossing the road. For 18-30yo and the higher risk activity of crossing the road, 32% texted at high frequency levels and 27% used internet at high frequency levels. Risky levels of distracted crossing appear to be a growing safety issue for 18-30yo, with greater attention to appropriate interventions needed.

Rotating crystal ESR cavity for angular variation studies at room temperature

We describe an X-band ESR cavity for angular variation studies on single crystals at room temperature. The cavity was found to have a high Q over wide rotation angles. Review of Scientific Instruments is copyrighted by The American Institute of Physics.

Boiler room scams destroy lives yet police blame victims

The Queensland Organised Crime Commission of Inquiry recently handed down its findings examining how organised crime has been policed in recent years. While media attention has been focused on the implications for child sexual exploitation and paedophilia, the report also made some substantial findings related to financial crimes such as investment fraud (commonly known as boiler rooms scams). Quite disturbingly, the report notes a strong victim blaming mentality that police expressed towards individuals who invested in fraudulent companies and who subsequently lost money in these boiler room scams. The attitude of the police towards boiler room victims was largely one of apathy towards the likelihood of any investigation, and of blame towards victims for not doing what was perceived to be “due diligence”. This finding illustrates several myths which are argued to exist around investment fraud victims, particularly around the concept of “due diligence”. It also feeds into the idea that victims are greedy/naïve and financially illiterate/not investment savvy. These are both problematic and largely inaccurate. Drawing on examples from my own research with fraud victims, the article will illustrate the complexity and sophistication of many boiler room schemes and demonstrate the difficulties in identifying fraudulent investment opportunities.

Highly Monodisperse Colloidal Magnesium Nanoparticles by Room Temperature Digestive Ripening

Nanoclusters of 25 nm sized Mg-THF have been prepared by the solvated metal atom dispersion method. Room-temperature digestive ripening of these nanoclusters in the presence of hexadecylamine (HDA) resulted in highly monodisperse colloidal Mg-HDA nanoparticles of 2.8 ± 0.2 nm. An insight into the room-temperature digestive ripening process was obtained by studying the disintegration of clusters for various Mg:HDA ratios. The Mg colloids are quite stable with respect to precipitation of particles under Ar atmosphere. Using this procedure, pure Mg(0) nanopowders were obtained in gram scale quantities. The Mg powder precipitated from the colloid was fully hydrided at 33 bar and 118 °C. Initial desorption of H2 from samples of MgH2 was achieved at a remarkably low temperature, 115 °C compared to >350 °C in bulk Mg, demonstrating the importance of the size on the desorption temperatures.

Close Encounters of the Continuum: Speaking (to), Performing and Experiencing Gender In Janet Cardiff’s Whispering Room

This 'project' investigates Janet Cardiff's Whispering Room. It examines how Cardiff deconstructs the privileging of the visual over all other corporeal senses in her work, the Whispering Room. Using sound as a fulcrum, Cardiff explores the links between subjects, collective narratives, memories, experiences and performances. Janet Cardiff destabilizes time and space and fractures the continuum through the use of sound. My 'project' celebrates sound as a transgressive medium — sound not as a gendered medium but as a vehicle in which to speak (to) gender. It explores how sound can destabilize notions of perception and reception and question art and museal practices. In the process this 'project' reveals the complexity of interpreting and representing art as an object. My aim is to reflect the very intertextual and expressionist collage that Cardiff has created in Whispering Room in my own text. Cardiff solicits the viewer's intimacy and participation. Whispering Room is a physical yet metonymic space in which Cardiff creates a place for performatvity, experience, memory, desire and speech, thus she opens up a space for the utterance and performance of the viewer. Viewers construct and create meaning/s for themselves within this mnemonic space by digging up their own memories, desires and reveries. The strength of Cardiff's work is that it relies on a viewer to perform, a body to trigger the pseudo-spectacle and a voice to interrupt the whispers. One might ask of Whispering Room where the illusionistic space begins and where the physical space ends. This 'project' investigates how in Whispering Room there is no one experience but many experiences.

Bond Characteristics of Strengthened and Retrofitted Steel by Smart CFRP Technique

Usage of new smart materials in retrofitting of structures has become popular within last decade. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) has been widely used in retrofitting and strengthening of concrete structures and its usage in metallic structures is still in the developing stage. The variation of mechanical properties of CFRP and the consequent effects on strengthening and retrofitting CFRP systems are yet to be investigated under different loading and environmental conditions. This paper presents the results of CFRP strengthened and retrofitted corroded steel plate double strap joints under tension. An accelerated corrosion cell has been developed to accelerate the corrosion of the steel samples and CFRP strengthened samples. The results show a direct comparison of bond characteristics of CFRP strengthened and retrofitted steel double strap joints.

Living room of Henrietta Gottschalk nee Rothschild; Marienstrasse, Hannover, Germany.

The family has been curious about the family tree on the wall. Family lore suggests that it was produced by French POWs during WWI

Room temperature gas sensing properties of ultrathin carbon nanotubes by surfactant-free dip coating

Large-scale production of reliable carbon nanotubes (CNTs) based gas sensors involves the development of scalable and reliable processes for the fabrication of films with controlled morphology. Here, we report for the first time on highly scalable, ultrathin CNT films, to be employed as conductometric sensors for NO2 and NH3 detection at room temperature. The sensing films are produced by dip coating using dissolved CNTs in chlorosulfonic acid as a working solution. This surfactant-free approach does not require any post-treatment for the removal of dispersants or any CNTs functionalization, thus promising high quality CNTs for better sensitivity and low production costs. The effect of CNT film thickness and defect density on the gas sensing properties has been investigated. Detection limits of 1 ppm for NO2 and 7 ppm for NH3 have been achieved at room temperature. The experimental results reveal that defect density and film thickness can be controlled to optimize the sensing response. Gas desorption has been accelerated by continuous in-situ UV irradiation.

Aenny Catzenstein nee Gottschalk in her living room; London.

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