Physical and environmental determinants

This chapter describes physical and environmental determinants of the health of Australians, providing a background to the development of successful public health activity. Health determinants are the biomedical, genetic, behavioural, socio-economic and environmental factors that impact on health and wellbeing. These determinants can be influenced by interventions and by resources and systems (AIHW 2006). Many factors combine to affect the health of individuals and communities. People’s circumstances and the environment determine whether the population is healthy or not. Factors such as where people live, the state of their environment, genetics, their education level and income, and their relationships with friends and family, all are likely to impact on their health. The determinants of population health reflect the context of people’s lives; however, people are very unlikely to be able to control many of these determinants (WHO 2007). This chapter and Chapter 6 illustrate how various determinants can relate to, and influence other determinants, as well as health and wellbeing. We believe it is particularly important to provide an understanding of determinants and their relationship to health and illness in order to provide a structure in which a broader conceptualisation of health can be placed. Determinants of health do not exist in isolation from one another. More frequently they work together in a complex system. What is clear to anyone who works in public health is that many factors impact on the health and wellbeing of people. For example, in the next chapter we discuss factors such as living and working conditions, social support, ethnicity and class, income, housing, work stress and the impact of education on the length and quality of people’s lives. In 1974, the influential ‘Lalonde Report’ (Lalonde 1974) described key factors that impact on health status. These factors included lifestyle, environment, human biology and health services. Taking a population health approach builds on the Lalonde Report, and recognises that a range of factors, such as living and working conditions and the distribution of wealth in society, interact to determine the health status of a population. Tackling health determinants has great potential to reduce the burden of disease and promote the health of the general population. In summary, we understand very clearly now that health is determined by the complex interactions between individual characteristics, social and economic factors and physical environments; the entire range of factors that impact on health must be addressed if we are to make significant gains in population health, and focussing interventions on the health of the population or significant sub-populations can achieve important health gains. In 2007, the Australian Government included in the list of National Health Priority Areas the following health issues: cancer control, injury prevention and control, cardiovascular health, diabetes mellitus, mental health, asthma, and arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions. The National Health Priority Areas set the agenda for the Commonwealth, States and Territories, Local Governments and not-for-profit organisations to place attention on those areas considered to be the major foci for action. Many of these health issues are discussed in this chapter and the following chapter.

Incorporating uncertainty in environmental models informed by imagery

In this thesis, the issue of incorporating uncertainty for environmental modelling informed by imagery is explored by considering uncertainty in deterministic modelling, measurement uncertainty and uncertainty in image composition. Incorporating uncertainty in deterministic modelling is extended for use with imagery using the Bayesian melding approach. In the application presented, slope steepness is shown to be the main contributor to total uncertainty in the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation. A spatial sampling procedure is also proposed to assist in implementing Bayesian melding given the increased data size with models informed by imagery. Measurement error models are another approach to incorporating uncertainty when data is informed by imagery. These models for measurement uncertainty, considered in a Bayesian conditional independence framework, are applied to ecological data generated from imagery. The models are shown to be appropriate and useful in certain situations. Measurement uncertainty is also considered in the context of change detection when two images are not co-registered. An approach for detecting change in two successive images is proposed that is not affected by registration. The procedure uses the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test on homogeneous segments of an image to detect change, with the homogeneous segments determined using a Bayesian mixture model of pixel values. Using the mixture model to segment an image also allows for uncertainty in the composition of an image. This thesis concludes by comparing several different Bayesian image segmentation approaches that allow for uncertainty regarding the allocation of pixels to different ground components. Each segmentation approach is applied to a data set of chlorophyll values and shown to have different benefits and drawbacks depending on the aims of the analysis.

Monitoring animal behaviour and environmental interactions : GPS collars and satellite remote sensing within a satellite remote sensing context

Remote monitoring of animal behaviour in the environment can assist in managing both the animal and its environmental impact. GPS collars which record animal locations with high temporal frequency allow researchers to monitor both animal behaviour and interactions with the environment. These ground-based sensors can be combined with remotely-sensed satellite images to understand animal-landscape interactions. The key to combining these technologies is communication methods such as wireless sensor networks (WSNs). We explore this concept using a case-study from an extensive cattle enterprise in northern Australia and demonstrate the potential for combining GPS collars and satellite images in a WSN to monitor behavioural preferences and social behaviour of cattle.

Monitoring animal behaviour and environmental interactions using wireless sensor networks, GPS collars and satellite remote sensing

Remote monitoring of animal behaviour in the environment can assist in managing both the animal and its environmental impact. GPS collars which record animal locations with high temporal frequency allow researchers to monitor both animal behaviour and interactions with the environment. These ground-based sensors can be combined with remotely-sensed satellite images to understand animal-landscape interactions. The key to combining these technologies is communication methods such as wireless sensor networks (WSNs). We explore this concept using a case-study from an extensive cattle enterprise in northern Australia and demonstrate the potential for combining GPS collars and satellite images in a WSN to monitor behavioural preferences and social behaviour of cattle.

A New robot for environmental monitoring on the Great Barrier Reef

A vast amount of research into autonomous underwater navigation has, and is, being conducted around the world. However, typical research and commercial platforms have limited autonomy and are generally unable to navigate efficiently within coral reef environments without tethers and significant external infrastructure. This paper outlines the development and presents experimental results into the performance evaluation of a new robotic vehicle for underwater monitoring and surveying in highly unstructured environments. The hybrid AUV design developed by the CSIRO robotic reef monitoring team realises a compromise between endurance, manoeuvrability and functionality. The vehicle represents a new era in AUV design specifically focused at providing a truly lowcost research capability that will progress environmental monitoring through unaided navigation, cooperative robotics, sensor network distribution and data harvesting.

An environmental assessment model for knowledge-based urban development

Purpose – In recent years, knowledge-based urban development (KBUD) has introduced as a new strategic development approach for the regeneration of industrial cities. It aims to create a knowledge city consists of planning strategies, IT networks and infrastructures that achieved through supporting the continuous creation, sharing, evaluation, renewal and update of knowledge. Improving urban amenities and ecosystem services by creating sustainable urban environment is one of the fundamental components for KBUD. In this context, environmental assessment plays an important role in adjusting urban environment and economic development towards a sustainable way. The purpose of this paper is to present the role of assessment tools for environmental decision making process of knowledge cities. Design/methodology/approach – The paper proposes a new assessment tool to figure a template of a decision support system which will enable to evaluate the possible environmental impacts in an existing and future urban context. The paper presents the methodology of the proposed model named ‘ASSURE’ which consists of four main phases. Originality/value –The proposed model provides a useful guidance to evaluate the urban development and its environmental impacts to achieve sustainable knowledge-based urban futures. Practical implications – The proposed model will be an innovative approach to provide the resilience and function of urban natural systems secure against the environmental changes while maintaining the economic development of cities.

An investigation of a process for environmental banking appropriate to Queensland

This thesis examines the advanced North American environmental mitigation schemes for their applicability to Queensland. Compensatory wetland mitigation banking, in particular, is concerned with in-perpetuity management and protection - the basic concerns of the Queensland public about its unique environment. The process has actively engaged the North American market and become a thriving industry that (for the most part) effectively designs, creates and builds (or enhances) environmental habitat. A methodology was designed to undertake a comprehensive review of the history, evolution and concepts of the North American wetland mitigation banking system - before and after the implementation of a significant new compensatory wetland mitigation banking regulation in 2008. The Delphi technique was then used to determine the principles and working components of wetland mitigation banking. Results were then applied to formulate a questionnaire to review Australian marketbased instruments (including offsetting policies) against these North American principles. Following this, two case studies established guiding principles for implementation based on two components of the North American wetland mitigation banking program. The subsequent outcomes confirmed that environmental banking is a workable concept in North America and that it is worth applying in Queensland. The majority of offsetting policies in Australia have adopted some principles of the North American mitigation programs. Examination reveals that however, they fail to provide adequate incentives for private landowners to participate because the essential trading mechanisms are not employed. Much can thus be learnt from the North American situation - where private enterprise has devised appropriate free market concepts. The consequent environmental banking process (as adapted from the North American programs) should be implemented in Queensland. It can then focus here on engaging the private sector, where the majority of naturally productive lands are managed.

Mentoring experiences as professional development for leaders in environmental education : the cascade of influence

Environmental education is a field which has only come of age since the late nineteen sixties. While its content and practice have been widely debated and researched, its leadership has been minimally studied and, therefore, is only partially understood. The role of mentoring in the development of leaders has been alluded to, but has attracted scant research. Therefore, this study explores the importance of mentoring during the personal and professional development of leaders in environmental education. Four major research questions were investigated. Firstly, have leaders been men to red during their involvement with environmental education? Secondly, when and how has that mentoring taken place? Thirdly, what was the personal and professional effectiveness of the mentoring relationship? Fourthly, is there any continuation of the mentoring process which might be appropriate for professional development within the field of environmental education? Leaders were solicited from a broad field of environmental educators including teachers, administrators, academics, natural resource personnel, business and community persons. They had to be recognized as active leaders across several environmental education networks. The research elicited qualitative and quantitative survey data from fifty seven persons in Queensland, Australia and Colorado, USA. Seventeen semi-structured interviews were subsequently conducted with selected leaders who had nominated their mentors. This led to a further thirteen 'linked interviews' with some of the mentors' mentors and new mentorees. The interview data is presented as four cases reflecting pairs, triads, chains and webs of relationships- a major finding of the research process. The analysis of the data from the interviews and the surveys was conducted according to a grounded theory approach and was facilitated by NUD.IST, a computer program for non-numerical text analysis. The findings of the study revealed many variations on the classical mentoring patterns found in the literature. Gender and age were not seen as mportant factors, as there were examples of contemporaries in age, older men to younger women, older women to younger men, and women to women. Personal compatibility, professional respect and philosophical congruence were critical. Mentoring was initiated from early, mid and late career stages with the average length of the relationship being fourteen years. There was seldom an example of the mentoree using the mentor for hierarchical career climbing, although frequent career changes were made. However, leadership actions were found to increase after the intervention of a mentoring relationship. Three major categories of informal mentoring were revealed - perceived,acknowledged and deliberate. Further analysis led to the evolution of the core concept, a 'cascade of influence'. The major finding of this study was that this sample of leaders, mentors and new mentorees moved from the perception of having been mentored to the acknowledgment of these relationships and an affirmation of their efficacy for both personal and professional growth. Hence, the participants were more likely to continue future mentoring, not as a serendipitous happening, but through a deliberate choice. Heightened awareness and more frequent 'cascading' of mentoring have positive implications for the professional development of future leaders in environmental education in both formal and informal settings. Effective mentoring in environmental education does not seek to create 'clones' of the mentors, but rather to foster the development of autonomous mentorees who share a philosophical grounding. It is a deliberate invitation to 'join the clan'.