Safety enhancement of operator protection systems on self-propelled mining equipment

In the long term, with development of skill, knowledge, exposure and confidence within the engineering profession, rigorous analysis techniques have the potential to become a reliable and far more comprehensive method for design and verification of the structural adequacy of OPS, write Nimal J Perera, David P Thambiratnam and Brian Clark. This paper explores the potential to enhance operator safety of self-propelled mechanical plant subjected to roll over and impact of falling objects using the non-linear and dynamic response simulation capabilities of analytical processes to supplement quasi-static testing methods prescribed in International and Australian Codes of Practice for bolt on Operator Protection Systems (OPS) that are post fitted. The paper is based on research work carried out by the authors at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) over a period of three years by instrumentation of prototype tests, scale model tests in the laboratory and rigorous analysis using validated Finite Element (FE) Models. The FE codes used were ABAQUS for implicit analysis and LSDYNA for explicit analysis. The rigorous analysis and dynamic simulation technique described in the paper can be used to investigate the structural response due to accident scenarios such as multiple roll over, impact of multiple objects and combinations of such events and thereby enhance the safety and performance of Roll Over and Falling Object Protection Systems (ROPS and FOPS). The analytical techniques are based on sound engineering principles and well established practice for investigation of dynamic impact on all self propelled vehicles. They are used for many other similar applications where experimental techniques are not feasible.

A burning issue : fashion and sun protection

The 'dick' tog, a briefs-style male swimsuit as it is colloquially referred to, is linked to Australia's national identity with overtly masculine bronzed 'Aussie' bodies clothed in this iconic apparel. However, the reality is, our hunger for worshiping the sun and the addiction to a beach culture is tempered by the pragmatic need to cover up and wear neck-to-knee, or more apt, head-to-toe sun protective clothing. Australia, in particular the state of Queensland, has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world; nevertheless, even after wide-ranging public programs for sun safety awareness many people still continue to wear designs that provide minimal sun protection. This paper will examine issues surrounding fashion and sun safe clothing. It will be proposed that in order to have effective community adoption of sun safe practices it is critical to understand the important role that fashion plays in determining sun protective behaviour.

A child led participatory approach for technology-based intervention

There is significant interest in Human-computer interaction methods that assist in the design of applications for use by children. Many of these approaches draw upon standard HCI methods,such as personas, scenarios, and probes. However, often these techniques require communication and kinds of thinking skills that are designer centred,which prevents children with Autism Spectrum Disorders or other learning and communication disabilities from being able to participate. This study investigates methods that might be used with children with ASD or other learning and communication disabilities to inspire the design of technology based intervention approaches to support their speech and language development. Similar to Iversen and Brodersen, we argue that children with ASD should not be treated as being in some way “cognitively incomplete”. Rather they are experts in their everyday lives and we cannot design future IT without involving them. However, how do we involve them Instead of beginning with HCI methods, we draw upon easy to use technologies and methods used in the therapy professions for child engagement, particularly utilizing the approaches of Hanen (2011) and Greenspan (1998). These approaches emphasize following the child’s lead and ensuring that the child always has a legitimate turn at a detailed level of interaction. In a pilot project, we have studied a child’s interactions with their parents about activities over which they have control – photos that they have taken at school on an iPad. The iPad was simple enough for this child with ASD to use and they enjoyed taking and reviewing photos. We use this small case study as an example of a child-led approach for a child with ASD. We examine interactions from this study in order to assess the possibilities and limitations of the child-led approach for supporting the design of technology based interventions to support speech and language development.

Capacity-building workshops on the responsibility to protect (R2P) and the protection of civilians (POC) in armed conflict - Summary Report

In June 2011, a research project team from the Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law (IEGL), Queensland University of Technology, the United Nations University, and the Australian Government’s Asia Pacific Civil-Military Centre of Excellence (APCMCOE) held three Capacity-Building Workshops (the Workshops) on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and the Protection of Civilians (POC) in Armed Conflict in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and Jakarta. The research project is funded by the Australian Responsibility to Protect Fund, with support from APCMCOE. Developments in Libya and Cote d’Ivoire and the actions of the United Nations Security Council have given new significance to the relationship between R2P and POC, providing impetus to the relevance and application of the POC principle recognised in numerous Security Council resolutions, and the R2P principle, which was recognised by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005 and, now, by the Security Council. The Workshops considered the relationship between R2P and POC. The project team presented the preliminary findings of their study and sought contributions and feedback from Workshop participants. Prior to the Workshops, members of the project team undertook interviews with UN offices and agencies, international organisations (IOs) and non-government organisations (NGOs) in Geneva and New York as part of the process of mapping the relationship between R2P and POC. Initial findings were considered at an Academic-Practitioner Workshop held at the University of Sydney in November 2010. In addition to an extensive literature review and a series of academic publications, the project team is preparing a practical guidance text (the Guide) on the relationship between R2P and POC to assist the United Nations, governments, regional bodies, IOs and NGOs in considering and applying appropriate protection strategies. It is intended that the Guide be presented to the United Nations Secretariat in New York in early 2012. The primary aim of the Workshops was to test the project’s initial findings among an audience of diplomats, military, police, civilian policy-makers, practitioners, researchers and experts from within the region. Through dialogue and discussion, the project team gathered feedback – comments, questions, critique and suggestions – to help shape the development of practical guidance about when, how and by whom R2P and POC might be implemented.

A process evaluation of a comprehensive school based injury prevention program

A process evaluation enables understanding of critical issues that can inform the improved, ongoing implementation of an intervention program. This study describes the process evaluation of a comprehensive, multi-level injury prevention program for adolescents. The program targets change in injury associated with violence, transport and alcohol risks and incorporates two primary elements: an 8-week, teacher delivered attitude and behaviour change curriculum for Grade 8 students; and a professional development program for teachers on school level methods of protection, focusing on strategies to increase students’ connectedness to school.

The Australian domain name registration system : a more efficient system for the promotion of liberalisation, consumer protection and growth

This thesis is about the Australian domain name system and, in particular, the principles governing the registration of domain names in the '.au' country code domain space. It examines the different types of registration systems adopted in country code domain spaces and categorises them according to the extent to which they impose restrictions on registration, ranging from restrictive to unrestrictive. A comparative analysis is made of the restrictive registration system in Australia and the United Kingdom‘s unrestrictive system.

Evaluation of the skills for preventing injury in youth program : impact on health risk behaviors, injury and school connectedness

Injury is the leading cause of death among young people, and involvement in health risk behaviors, such as alcohol use and transport-related risks, is related to increased risk for injury. Effective health promotion programs for adolescents focus on multiple levels, including relationships with peers and parents, student knowledge, behavior and attitudes, and school-level factors such as school connectedness. This study describes the pilot evaluation of a comprehensive, multi-level injury prevention program for 13-14 year old adolescents, targeting change in injury associated with transport and alcohol risks. The program, called Skills for Preventing Injury in Youth (SPIY), incorporates two primary elements: an 8-week, teacher delivered attitude and behavior change curriculum with peer protection and first aid messages; and professional development for program teachers focusing on strategies to increase students’ connectedness to school. Five Australian high schools were recruited for the pilot evaluation research, with three being assigned to receive intervention components and two assigned as curriculum-as-usual controls. In the intervention schools, 118 Year 8 students participated in surveys at baseline, with 105 completing surveys at follow up, six months following the intervention. In the control schools, 196 Year 8 students completed surveys at baseline and 207 at follow up. Survey measures included self-reported injury, risk taking behavior and school connectedness. Results showed that students in the control schools were significantly more likely to report riding bikes without helmets, riding with dangerous drivers, having driven cars on the road, and using alcohol six months after the program, while the intervention group showed no such increase in these behaviors. Additionally, students in the control schools were significantly more likely to report having had pedestrian-related injuries at follow up than they were at the baseline measurement, while intervention school students showed no change. There was also a trend observed in terms of a decrease in bicycle related injuries among intervention school students, compared with a slight increasing trend in bicycle injuries among control students. Overall, scores on the school connectedness scale decreased significantly from baseline to follow up for both intervention and control students, however measurement limitations may have impacted on results relating to students’ connectedness. Overall, the SPIY program has shown promising results in regards to prevention of students’ health risk behavior and injuries. Evidence suggests that the curriculum component was important; however there was limited evidence to suggest that teacher training in school connectedness strategies contributed to these promising results. While school connectedness may be an important factor to target in risk and injury prevention programs, programs may need to incorporate whole-of-school strategies or target a broader range of teachers than were selected for the current research.

Unfair terms in residential land contracts : will the Australian consumer law improve a buyer’s bargaining position?

The prohibition on unfair contract terms in standard form consumer contracts has the potential to significantly impact on the terms of contracts for the sale of land. The definition of ‘consumer contract’ includes contracts for the sale or grant of an interest in land to an individual wholly or predominantly for personal or domestic use. Therefore, a contract for the purchase of a residence for personal occupation by the buyer, as opposed to a purchase for investment purposes, will be a consumer contract potentially attracting the application of the unfair terms provisions. Significant consumer protection mechanisms already exist in most state jurisdictions requiring disclosure of relevant matters to the buyer and providing remedies for the provision of misleading conduct. Minimal evidence of unfair terms in land contract was presented to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into the Australian Consumer Policy Framework raising the question as to whether there is an identified problem of unfair terms in real estate contracts and if so, whether the same economic and ethical rationales justify regulatory intervention. This article examines what effect if any the introduction of the unfair contract provisions will have on the enforcement of residential land contracts and the viability of previously accepted conditions if challenged as being “unfair terms”. The article concludes that despite the existence of several potentially unfair terms in some land contracts, the intervention of the rules of equity to overcome perceived hardship or unfairness to buyers from strict enforcement of terms means the unfair terms provisions are only likely to operate on terms untouched by those principles. In the authors’ view the scope for operation of the unfair terms provisions will be limited to terms untouched by the principles of equity and consumer protection legislation making it unlikely that there will be any significant realignment of the contractual obligations and rights of buyers and sellers of land.

Students as advisors in an intervention program for at-risk students : The QUT experience

A managed team of discipline-experienced and trained later year students are used as Student Success Advisors (SSAs) in the Student Success Program, an intervention program that manages student engagement by identifying and supporting first year students at-risk of disengaging from learning. This report focuses on the recruitment and training of SSAs and the day-to-day challenges they and their managers face. The Nuts & Bolts session provides participants with opportunities to discuss the applicability to their institutional contexts of the recruitment and training processes and the “solutions” to the challenges used at QUT.

A small molecule that walks non-directionally along a track without external intervention

Charge of the light brigade: A molecule is able to walk back and forth upon a five-foothold pentaethylenimine track without external intervention. The 1D random walk is highly processive (mean step number 530) and exchange takes place between adjacent amine groups in a stepwise fashion. The walker performs a simple task whilst walking: quenching of the fluorescence of an anthracene group sited at one end of the track. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A risk simulation framework for information infrastructure protection

Information communication and technology (ICT) systems are almost ubiquitous in the modern world. It is hard to identify any industry, or for that matter any part of society, that is not in some way dependent on these systems and their continued secure operation. Therefore the security of information infrastructures, both on an organisational and societal level, is of critical importance. Information security risk assessment is an essential part of ensuring that these systems are appropriately protected and positioned to deal with a rapidly changing threat environment. The complexity of these systems and their inter-dependencies however, introduces a similar complexity to the information security risk assessment task. This complexity suggests that information security risk assessment cannot, optimally, be undertaken manually. Information security risk assessment for individual components of the information infrastructure can be aided by the use of a software tool, a type of simulation, which concentrates on modelling failure rather than normal operational simulation. Avoiding the modelling of the operational system will once again reduce the level of complexity of the assessment task. The use of such a tool provides the opportunity to reuse information in many different ways by developing a repository of relevant information to aid in both risk assessment and management and governance and compliance activities. Widespread use of such a tool allows the opportunity for the risk models developed for individual information infrastructure components to be connected in order to develop a model of information security exposures across the entire information infrastructure. In this thesis conceptual and practical aspects of risk and its underlying epistemology are analysed to produce a model suitable for application to information security risk assessment. Based on this work prototype software has been developed to explore these concepts for information security risk assessment. Initial work has been carried out to investigate the use of this software for information security compliance and governance activities. Finally, an initial concept for extending the use of this approach across an information infrastructure is presented.

Experiences of a walking intervention in a University community : Qualitative perspectives

Background: This study explored the experiences of university employees that participated in a walking intervention that encouraged individuals to walk more throughout their workday. The 10-week program was comprised of 5 phases (i.e. baseline, anticipating barriers, short planned walks, longer planned walks and maintenance) and utilized a pedometer diary and an online website for logging steps. The pedometer diary included “action plans” for addressing barriers and planning walking and the online dashboard provided graphical outputs that allowed participants to visualize whether they were reaching or exceeding their step targets. Methods: A subsample of 12 academic and administrative employees from the study completed open ended questionnaires at the end of the study. The questions focused on capturing the major themes of benefits/mediators and problems/moderators of the program and were assessed using phenomenological approaches. Results: Participants found a raised consciousness of physical inactivity throughout the work day. They also found it useful to have a graphical display of physical activity patterns, but found time constraints and lack of managerial support to be the primary barriers/moderators of the program. Those most likely to withdraw from the program experienced technical difficulties with objective monitors and the online website. Conclusions: Findings highlight the value in being involved in a group forum and provide insights into the challenges of supporting such programs within the workplace.

Evaluation of an intervention to promote protective infant feeding practices to prevent childhood obesity : outcomes of the NOURISH RCT at 14 months of age and 6 months post the first of two intervention modules

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a universal obesity prevention intervention, which commenced at infant age 4-6 months, using outcome data assessed 6-months after completion of the first of two intervention modules and 9 months from baseline. DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial of a community-based early feeding intervention. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: 698 first-time mothers (mean age 30±5 years) with healthy term infants (51% male) aged 4.3±1.0 months at baseline. Mothers and infants were randomly allocated to self-directed access to usual care or to attend two group education modules, each delivered over three months, that provided anticipatory guidance on early feeding practices. Outcome data reported here were assessed at infant age 13.7±1.3 months. Anthropometrics were expressed as z-scores (WHO reference). Rapid weight gain was defined as change in weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) > +0.67. Maternal feeding practices were assessed via self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: There were no differences according to group allocation on key maternal and infant characteristics. At follow up (n=598 [86%]) the intervention group infants had lower BMIZ (0.42±0.85 vs 0.23±0.93, p=0.009) and infants in the control group were more likely to show rapid weight gain from baseline to follow up (OR=1.5 CI95%1.1-2.1, p=0.014). Mothers in the control group were more likely to report using non- responsive feeding practices that fail to respond to infant satiety cues such as encouraging eating by using food as a reward (15% vs 4%, p=0.001) or using games ( 67% vs 29%, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These results provide early evidence that anticipatory guidance targeting the ‘when, what and how’ of solid feeding can be effective in changing maternal feeding practices and, at least in the short term, reducing anthropometric indicators of childhood obesity risk. Analyses of outcomes at later ages are required to determine if these promising effects can be sustained.

A view from the edge of the forest : recent progress in understanding the relationships of the insect orders

Research over the last two decades has significantly increased our understanding of the evolutionary position of the insects among other arthropods, and the relationships among the insect Orders. Many of these insights have been established through increasingly sophisticated analyses of DNA sequence data from a limited number of genes. Recent results have established the relationships of the Holometabola, but relationships among the hemimetabolous orders have been more difficult to elucidate. A strong consensus on the relationships among the Palaeoptera (Ephemeroptera and Odonata) and their relationship to the Neoptera has not emerged with all three possible resolutions supported by different data sets. While polyneopteran relationships generally have resisted significant resolution, it is now clear that termites, Isoptera, are nested within the cockroaches, Blattodea. The newly discovered order Mantophasmatodea is difficult to place with the balance of studies favouring Grylloblattodea as sister-group. While some studies have found the paraneopteran orders (Hemiptera, Thysanoptera, Phthiraptera and Psocoptera) monophyletic, evidence suggests that parasitic lice (Phthiraptera) have evolved from groups within the book and bark lice (Psocoptera), and may represent parallel evolutions of parasitism within two major louse groups. Within Holometabola, it is now clear that Hymenoptera are the sister to the other orders, that, in turn are divided into two clades, the Neuropteroidea (Coleoptera, Neuroptera and relatives) and the Mecopterida (Trichoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera and their relatives). The enigmatic order Strepsiptera, the twisted wing insects, have now been placed firmly near Coleoptera, rejecting their close relationship to Diptera that was proposed some 15years ago primarily based on ribosomal DNA data. Phylogenomic-scale analyses are just beginning to be focused on the relationships of the insect orders, and this is where we expect to see resolution of palaeopteran and polyneopteran relationships. Future research will benefit from greater coordination between intra and inter-ordinal analyses. This will maximise the opportunities for appropriate outgroup choice at the intraordinal level and provide the background knowledge for the interordinal analyses to span the maximum phylogenetic scope within groups.