Planning and governance approaches for protecting World Heritage Areas: A comparison of the Great Barrier Reef and the Florida Everglades

The focus of this paper is on two World Heritage Areas: the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia and the Everglades in Florida. While both are World Heritage listed by the UNESCO, the Everglades is on the "World Heritage in Danger" list and the Great Barrier Reef could be on this list within the next year if present pressures continue. This paper examines the planning approaches and governance structures used in these two areas (Queensland and Florida) to manage the growth and development pressures. To make the analysis manageable, given the scale of these World Heritage areas, case studies at the local government level will be used: the Cairns Regional Council in Queensland and Monroe County in Florida. The case study analysis will involve three steps: (1) examination of the various plans at the federal, state, local levels that impact upon environmental quality in the Great Barrier Reef and Everglades; (2) assessing the degree to which these plans have been implemented; and (3) determine if (and how) the plans have improved environmental quality. In addition to the planning analysis we will also examine the governance structures (Lebel et al. 2006) within which planning operates. In any comparative analysis context is important (Hantrais 2009). Contextual differences between Queensland and Florida have previously been examined by Sipe, et al. (2007) and will be used as the starting point for this analysis. Our operating hypothesis and preliminary analysis suggests that the planning approaches and governance structures used in Florida and Queensland are considerably different, but the environmental outcomes may be similar. This is based, in part, on Vella (2004) who did a comparative analysis of environmental practices in the sugar industry in Florida and Queensland. This research re-examines this hypothesis and broadens the focus beyond the sugar industry to growth and development more broadly.

Catalytic activity evaluation of industrial Pd/C catalyst via gray-box dynamic modeling and simulation of hydropurification reactor

In this paper, dynamic modeling and simulation of the hydropurification reactor in a purified terephthalic acid production plant has been investigated by gray-box technique to evaluate the catalytic activity of palladium supported on carbon (0.5 wt.% Pd/C) catalyst. The reaction kinetics and catalyst deactivation trend have been modeled by employing artificial neural network (ANN). The network output has been incorporated with the reactor first principle model (FPM). The simulation results reveal that the gray-box model (FPM and ANN) is about 32 percent more accurate than FPM. The model demonstrates that the catalyst is deactivated after eleven months. Moreover, the catalyst lifetime decreases about two and half months in case of 7 percent increase of reactor feed flowrate. It is predicted that 10 percent enhancement of hydrogen flowrate promotes catalyst lifetime at the amount of one month. Additionally, the enhancement of 4-carboxybenzaldehyde concentration in the reactor feed improves CO and benzoic acid synthesis. CO is a poison to the catalyst, and benzoic acid might affect the product quality. The model can be applied into actual working plants to analyze the Pd/C catalyst efficient functioning and the catalytic reactor performance.

Sense of modern heritage

As the society matures, there was an increasing pressure to preserve historic buildings. The economic cost in maintaining these important heritage legacies has become the prime consideration of every state. Dedicated intelligent monitoring systems supplementing the traditional building inspections will enable the stakeholder to carry out not only timely reactive response but also plan the maintenance in a more vigilant approach; thus, preventing further degradation which was very costly and difficult to address if neglected. The application of the intelligent structural health monitoring system in this case studies of ‘modern heritage’ buildings is on its infancy but it is an innovative approach in building maintenance. ‘Modern heritage’ buildings were the product of technological change and were made of synthetic materials such as reinforced concrete and steel. Architectural buildings that was very common in Oceania and The Pacific. Engineering problems that arose from this type of building calls for immediate engineering solution since the deterioration rate is exponential. The application of this newly emerging monitoring system will improve the traditional maintenance system on heritage conservation. Savings in time and resources can be achieved if only pathological results were on hand. This case study will validate that approach. This publication will serve as a position paper to the on-going research regarding application of (Structural Health Monitoring) SHM systems to heritage buildings in Brisbane, Australia. It will be investigated with the application of the SHM systems and devices to validate the integrity of the recent structural restoration of the newly re-strengthened heritage building, the Brisbane City Hall.

Destined to design? How and why Australian women choose to study industrial design

Despite over three decades of legislation and initiatives designed to tackle the traditional gender divide in the science, technology and design fields, only a quarter of the registered architects in Australia are women. There are no statistics available for other design disciplines, with little known about why women choose design as a career path and who or what influences this decision. This qualitative research addresses this knowledge gap, through semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted with 19 Australian women who completed an industrial (product) design degree. Thematic analysis revealed three key themes: childhood aptitude and exposure; significant experiences and people; and design as a serendipitous choice. The findings emphasise the importance of early exposure to design as a potential career choice, highlighting the critical role played by parents, teachers, professionals and social networks.

Studying industrial design : Exploring the experience of female students

Despite a significant increase in the number of women enrolling and graduating from design courses, the reality is that women remain ‘invisible’ in the design profession (Bruce, 1985). Over two decades ago, Bruce and Lewis (1990) argued that women were less likely than men to be designers due to three key gendered hurdles: the completion of a design degree, getting a design job and obtaining success in a design job. This paper focuses specifically on Australian women’s experience of hurdle one: the completion of a design degree, utilising industrial design as a case study. Semi-structured interview questions (exploring issues such as experience in class and the workshop, accessibility of the course and content, types of projects etc) were recorded and transcribed verbatim, with a thematic analysis conducted to better understand women’s experiences in completing their industrial design degree. This paper focuses on one key theme “navigating the design studio”, which comprises of three sub-themes: design skill development, the workshop experience and course evaluation. These findings highlight the need to understand the educational experience to ensure female designers remain motivated and eventually employable.

Industrial Designer

A discussion with Dr Rafael Gomez on Industrial Design for the Nelson Senior Graphics for Queensland Schools publication.

Bioaerosols associated with industrial green waste composting facilities and optimal microbiological indicators

This project developed and assessed a standard operating procedure for monitoring microbiological aerosol levels and dispersal from Australian industrial composting facilities. Development occurred via seasonal monitoring of such operations with evaluation of optimal microbial indicator organisms, sampling and analysis logistics. The resultant procedure allows practical end-user assessment of compost-associated bioaerosol levels, and potential health risks to proximal residential populations encroaching on such composting facilities and on-site industrial operations personnel.

Experiments and experiences with dependability for a large autonomous industrial vehicle

This paper describes the experiences gained performing multiple experiments while developing a large autonomous industrial vehicle. Hot Metal Carriers (HMCs) are large forklift-type vehicles used in the light metals industry to move molten or hot metal around a smelter. Autonomous vehicles of this type must be dependable as they are large and potentially hazardous to infrastructure and people. This paper will talk about four aspects of dependability, that of safety, reliability, availability and security and how they have been addressed on our experimental autonomous HMC.

Decolonizing digital heritage practices for Indigenous literacy: A multimodal analysis of iPad Tellagami videos

Purpose Drawing on multimodal texts produced by an Indigenous school community in Australia, we apply critical race theory and multimodal analysis to decolonize digital heritage practices for Indigenous students. This study focuses on the particular ways in which students’ counter-­‐narratives about race were embedded in multimodal and digital design in the development of a digital cultural heritage (Giaccardi, 2012). Pedagogies that explore counter-­‐narratives of cultural heritage in the official curriculum can encourage students to reframe their own racial identity, while challenging dominant white, historical narratives of colonial conquest, race, and power (Gutierrez, 2008). The children’s digital “Gami” videos, created with the iPad application, Tellagami, enabled the students to imagine hybrid, digital social identities and perspectives of Australian history that were tied to their Indigenous cultural heritage (Kamberelis, 2001).

Cultural policy and Australia's national cultural heritage: Issues and challenges in the GLAM landscape

In 2012 the Australian Commonwealth government was scheduled to release the first dedicated policy for culture and the arts since the Keating government's Creative Nation (1994). Investing in a Creative Australia was to appear after a lengthy period of consultation between the Commonwealth government and all interested cultural sectors and organisations. When it eventuates, the policy will be of particular interest to those information professionals working in the GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) environment. GLAM is a cross-institutional field which seeks to find points of commonality among various cultural-heritage institutions, while still recognising their points of difference. Digitisation, collaboration and convergence are key themes and characteristics of the GLAM sector and its associated theoretical discipline. The GLAM movement has seen many institutions seeking to work together to create networks of practice that are beneficial to the cultural-heritage industry and sector. With a new Australian cultural policy imminent, it is timely to reflect on the issues and challenges that GLAM principles present to national cultural-heritage institutions by discussing their current practices. In doing so, it is possible to suggest productive ways forward for these institutions which could then be supported at a policy level by the Commonwealth government. Specifically, this paper examines four institutions: the National Gallery of Australia, the National Library of Australia, the National Archives of Australia and the National Museum of Australia. The paper reflects on their responses to the Commonwealth's 2011 Cultural Policy Discussion Paper. It argues that by encouraging and supporting collecting institutions to participate more fully in GLAM practices the Commonwealth government's cultural policy would enable far greater public access to, and participation in, Australia's cultural heritage. Furthermore, by considering these four institutions, the paper presents a discussion of the challenges and the opportunities that GLAM theoretical and disciplinary principles present to the cultural-heritage sector. Implications for Best Practice * GLAM is a developing field of theory and practice that encompasses many issues and challenges for practitioners in this area. * GLAM principles and practices are increasingly influencing the cultural-heritage sector. * Cultural policy is a key element in shaping the future of Australia's cultural-heritage sector and needs to incorporate GLAM principles.

Applying digital product memories in industrial production

Industrial production and supply chains face increased demands for mass customization and tightening regulations on the traceability of goods, leading to higher requirements concerning flexibility, adaptability, and transparency of processes. Technologies for the ’Internet of Things' such as smart products and semantic representations pave the way for future factories and supply chains to fulfill these challenging market demands. In this chapter a backend-independent approach for information exchange in open-loop production processes based on Digital Product Memories DPMs is presented. By storing order-related data directly on the item, relevant lifecycle information is attached to the product itself. In this way, information handover between several stages of the value chain with focus on the manufacturing phase of a product has been realized. In order to report best practices regarding the application of DPM in the domain of industrial production, system prototype implementations focusing on the use case of producing and handling a smart drug case are illustrated.

Leveraging the repository infrastructure to curate institutional heritage materials, learning objects and data assets

Developing and maintaining a successful institutional repository for research publications requires a considerable investment by the institution. Most of the money is spent on developing the skill-sets of existing staff or hiring new staff with the necessary skills. The return on this investment can be magnified by using this valuable infrastructure to curate collections of other materials such as learning objects, student work, conference proceedings and institutional or local community heritage materials. When Queensland University of Technology (QUT) implemented its repository for research publications (QUT ePrints) over 11 years ago, it was one of the first institutional repositories to be established in Australia. Currently, the repository holds over 29,000 open access research publications and the cumulative total number of full-text downloads for these document now exceeds 16 million. The full-text deposit rate for recently-published peer reviewed papers (currently over 74%) shows how well the repository has been embraced by QUT researchers. The success of QUT ePrints has resulted in requests to accommodate a plethora of materials which are ‘out of scope’ for this repository. QUT Library saw this as an opportunity to use its repository infrastructure (software, technical know-how and policies) to develop and implement a metadata repository for its research datasets (QUT Research Data Finder), a repository for research-related software (QUT Software Finder) and to curate a number of digital collections of institutional and local community heritage materials (QUT Digital Collections). This poster describes the repositories and digital collections curated by QUT Library and outlines the value delivered to the institution, and the wider community, by these initiatives.

Brisbane Art Deco: Stories of our Built Heritage

Our built heritage plays an important role in the ongoing story of our city. Modern cities such as Brisbane embraced Art Deco style in its architecture as it swept the world during the interwar period. From inner city landmarks such as the striking McWhirters department store to lesser-known gems further afield like the streamlined Archerfield Airport administration building, Brisbane has a significant range of intriguing and beautiful Art Deco buildings. This publication documents and celebrates a selection of our favourite residential and commercial examples. Written contributions from a range of authors are complemented by stunning modern photography and historic archive imagery, taking readers on a journey through this fascinating era. The articles not only describe the aesthetic and architectural features, but also delve into the associated social history. Brisbane Art Deco: Stories of our Built Heritage is a charming and informative reference, and offers a colourful insight into Brisbane’s built heritage and the life and times of this dynamic city.

Wastewater pollution abatement in China: A comparative study of fifteen industrial sectors from 1998 to 2010

This study analyzes the management of wastewater pollutants in a number of Chinese industrial sectors from 1998 to 2010. We use decomposition analysis to calculate changes in wastewater pollutant emissions that result from cleaner production processes, end-of-pipe treatment, structural changes in industry, and changes in the scale of production. We focus on one indicator of water quality and three pollutants: chemical oxygen demand (COD), petroleum, cyanide, and volatile phenols. We find that until 2002, COD emissions were mainly reduced through end-of-pipe treatments. Cleaner production processes didn’t begin contributing to COD emissions reductions until the introduction of a 2003 law that enforced their implementation. Petroleum emissions were primarily lowered through cleaner production mechanisms, which have the added benefit of reducing the input cost of intermediate petroleum. Diverse and effective pollution abatement strategies for cyanide and volatile phenols are emerging among industries in China. It will be important for the government to consider differences between industries should they choose to regulate the emissions of specific chemical substances.

Water use and wastewater discharge of industrial sector in China

Problem of water scarcity has been increasingly severe in China. Though industrial sectors play important role for the rapid economic growth, and they consumes water and discharge wastewater. The purpose of this study is to examine the efficiency of water use and wastewater discharge in comparison with those of other inputs and production output in Chinese industry. Measuring efficiency of each input and output factor from 2002 to 2008, we find the average inefficiencies of industrial water use and industrial wastewater discharge are higher than those of capital, labor, and production output in China. In addition, the productivity levels to save water in the water shortage areas are not higher compared to the others. The water use inefficiency has a high dispersion especially in the regions where the amounts of water resources per capita is less than 3000 cubic meter.