Secure and safe water supplies in remote Australian and rural Sri Lankan regions : common issues and emerging responses

Most urban dwelling Australians take secure and safe water supplies for granted. That is, they have an adequate quantity of water at a quality that can be used by people without harm from human and animal wastes, salinity and hardness or pollutants from agriculture and manufacturing industries. Australia wide urban and peri-urban dwellers use safe water for all domestic as well as industrial purposes. However, this is not the situation remote regions in Australia where availability and poor quality water can be a development constraint. Nor is it the case in Sri Lanka where people in rural regions are struggling to obtain a secure supply of water, irrespective of it being safe because of the impact of faecal and other contaminants. The purposes of this paper are to overview: the population and environmental health challenges arising from the lack of safe water in rural and remote communities; response pathways to address water quality issues; and the status of and need for integrated catchment management (ICM) in selected remote regions of Australia and vulnerable and lagging rural regions in Sri Lanka. Conclusions are drawn that focus on the opportunity for inter-regional collaborations between Australia and Sri Lanka for the delivery of safe water through ICM.

Sweet sorghum : opportunities for a new, renewable fuel and food industry in Australia

Sweet sorghum is receiving significant global interest as an agro-industrial crop because of its capacity to co-produce energy, food, and feed products in integrated biorefineries. This report assesses the opportunities to develop a sweet sorghum industry in Australia, reports on research demonstrating the production of energy, food, and feed products, and assesses the potential economic and sustainability benefits of sweet sorghum biorefineries in the Australian context.

Preparation and characterization of composites from starch with sugarcane bagasse nanofibres

This paper reports on the results of using unbleached sugar cane bagasse nanofibres (average diameter 26.5 nm; aspect ratio 247 assuming a dry fibre density of 1,500 kg/m3) to improve the physico-chemical properties of starch-based films. The addition of bagasse nanofibres (2.5 to 20 wt%) to modified potato starch (i.e. soluble starch) reduced the moisture uptake by up to 17 % at 58 % relative humidity. The film’s tensile strength and Young’s modulus increased by up to 100 % (3.1 to 6.2 MPa) and 300 % (66.3 to 198.3 MPa) respectively with 10 and 20 wt% fibre addition. However, the strain at yield dropped by 50 % for the film containing 10 wt% fibre. Models for composite materials were used to account for the strong interactions between the nanofibres and the starch matrix. The storage and loss moduli as well as the glass transition temperature (Tg) obtained from dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, were increased with the starch-nanofibre films indicating decreased starch chain mobility due to the interacting effect of the nanofibres. Evidence of the existence of strong interactions between the starch matrix and the nanofibres was revealed from detailed Fourier transform infra-red and scanning electron microscopic evaluation.

Probability and story-telling : normative and descriptive models of juridical proof

The operation of the law rests on the selection of an account of the facts. Whether this involves prediction or postdiction, it is not possible to achieve certainty. Any attempt to model the operation of the law completely will therefore raise questions of how to model the process of proof. In the selection of a model a crucial question will be whether the model is to be used normatively or descriptively. Focussing on postdiction, this paper presents and contrasts the mathematical model with the story model. The former carries the normative stamp of scientific approval, whereas the latter has been developed by experimental psychologists to describe how humans reason. Neil Cohen's attempt to use a mathematical model descriptively provides an illustration of the dangers in not clearly setting this parameter of the modelling process. It should be kept in mind that the labels 'normative' and 'descriptive' are not eternal. The mathematical model has its normative limits, beyond which we may need to critically assess models with descriptive origins.

ACE research briefing paper 007 : Ken Talbot - an entrepreneur's contribution to the growth of the Australian Mining Industry

Ken Talbot was one of Australian mining’s most successful entrepreneurs and rose to the top of his industry to become one of Australia’s wealthiest men. Although the nation’s resources industry is synonymous with global names such as Xstrata, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, Ken was an individual who made a big impact on the development and growth of the sector. This case study examines Ken’s achievements, his transition from employee to entrepreneur, and the qualities that enabled him to succeed at such a high level. In particular, it focuses on his Jellinbah and Coppabella mining developments that directly led to the creation of Macarthur Coal and the Talbot Group. By the time of his premature death in an African plane crash in 2010, Ken had amassed a fortune estimated at almost $1 billion and was aged just 59. The last publically available Talbot Group annual report for calendar year 2009 showed that the investment portfolio of the group returned 113 per cent that year. Even throughout the global financial crisis the portfolio made a positive return on investment of no less than 10 per cent. Ken’s sense of mateship and his tremendous people skills were keys to his success in the mining industry and the wider community. In addition to excelling in business, he is also remembered for his philanthropy and leaving 30 per cent of his estate to charity through the Talbot Family Foundation.

Clinical use of objective measures of physical activity

With measurement of physical activity becoming more common in clinical practice, it is imperative that healthcare professionals become more knowledgeable about the different methods available to objectively measure physical activity behaviour. Objective measures do not rely on information provided by the patient, but instead measure and record the biomechanical or physiological consequences of performing physical activity, often in real time. As such, objective measures are not subject to the reporting bias or recall problems associated with self-report methods. The purpose of this article was to provide an overview of the different methods used to objectively measure physical activity in clinical practice. The review was delimited to heart rate monitoring, accelerometers and pedometers since their small size, low participant burden and relatively low cost make these objective measures appropriate for use in clinical practice settings. For each measure, strengths and weakness were discussed; and whenever possible, literature-based examples of implementation were provided.

Trait and behavioural motor control is associated with resistance to overconsumption

While overall obesity rates are rising, a minority of individuals appear to resist overconsumption and remain lean in spite of an ‘obesogenic’ environment. Studying the factors hypothesised to underpin behaviours associated with resistance to overconsumption may inform weight management strategies in an adverse environment. Trait (BIS-11) and behavioural (response inhibition, GoStop) self control were assessed in the laboratory. Snack food consumption was measured covertly via a sham taste test. Lack of motor control was positively correlated (r = .32, p <. 05) and successful response inhibition was negatively correlated (r = −.35, p <. 05) with snack food intake. Low motor control was also associated with further food intake when satiated (r = .39, p < .01). These relationships were independent of self-reported palatability and perceived reward value of the food. Motor control may be an important factor implicated in ‘mindless’ eating in an environment abundant in palatable, energy-dense snack foods.

Occupational health psychology

In this chapter, the occupational stress process and implications for the management of occupational health and safety in organisations are discussed. The chapter begins by introducing occupational stress as a process by which stressors (e.g. time pressure) result in strains (e.g. ill health). The consequences of stress, to both the individual and the organisation are discussed, and several key sources of occupational stress are also described. Theories of occupational stress that attempt to explain how stressors lead to strain and also describe different job resources (e.g. autonomy, support, and security) that can alleviate the detrimental effects of occupational stressors are then presented. The management of occupational stress at both the individual and organisational levels is also discussed. In the subsequent section, work-life balance and various ways work impacts on life and vice versa are described. The management of work-life conflict and the effectiveness of initiatives designed to address imbalance between work and life are then discussed. Finally, occupational health and safety is described with a particular focus on primary prevention as well as the legislative frameworks that guide psychosocial risk management in Australian organisations.

Neurological consequences of diabetic ketoacidosis at initial presentation of type 1 diabetes in a prospective cohort study of children

OBJECTIVE To investigate the impact of new-onset diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) during child- hood on brain morphology and function. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Patients aged 6–18 years with and without DKA at diagnosis were studied at four time points: <48 h, 5 days, 28 days, and 6 months postdiagnosis. Patients under- went magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy with cognitive assess- ment at each time point. Relationships between clinical characteristics at presentation and MRI and neurologic outcomes were examined using multiple linear regression, repeated-measures, and ANCOVA analyses. RESULTS Thirty-six DKA and 59 non-DKA patients were recruited between 2004 and 2009. With DKA, cerebral white matter showed the greatest alterations with increased total white matter volume and higher mean diffusivity in the frontal, temporal, and parietal white matter. Total white matter volume decreased over the first 6 months. For gray matter in DKA patients, total volume was lower at baseline and increased over 6 months. Lower levels of N-acetylaspartate were noted at base- line in the frontal gray matter and basal ganglia. Mental state scores were lower at baseline and at 5 days. Of note, although changes in total and regional brain volumes over the first 5 days resolved, they were associated with poorer delayed memory recall and poorer sustained and divided attention at 6 months. Age at time of presentation and pH level were predictors of neuroimaging and functional outcomes. CONCLUSIONS DKA at type 1 diabetes diagnosis results in morphologic and functional brain changes. These changes are associated with adverse neurocognitive outcomes in the medium term.

Reactive stepping behaviour in response to forward loss of balance predicts future falls in community-dwelling older adults

Background: a fall occurs when an individual experiences a loss of balance from which they are unable to recover. Assessment of balance recovery ability in older adults may therefore help to identify individuals at risk of falls. The purpose of this 12-month prospective study was to assess whether the ability to recover from a forward loss of balance with a single step across a range of lean magnitudes was predictive of falls. Methods: two hundred and one community-dwelling older adults, aged 65–90 years, underwent baseline testing of sensorimotor function and balance recovery ability followed by 12-month prospective falls evaluation. Balance recovery ability was defined by whether participants required either single or multiple steps to recover from forward loss of balance from three lean magnitudes, as well as the maximum lean magnitude participants could recover from with a single step. Results: forty-four (22%) participants experienced one or more falls during the follow-up period. Maximal recoverable lean magnitude and use of multiple steps to recover at the 15% body weight (BW) and 25%BW lean magnitudes significantly predicted a future fall (odds ratios 1.08–1.26). The Physiological Profile Assessment, an established tool that assesses variety of sensori-motor aspects of falls risk, was also predictive of falls (Odds ratios 1.22 and 1.27, respectively), whereas age, sex, postural sway and timed up and go were not predictive. Conclusion: reactive stepping behaviour in response to forward loss of balance and physiological profile assessment are independent predictors of a future fall in community-dwelling older adults. Exercise interventions designed to improve reactive stepping behaviour may protect against future falls.

Computation of ECG signal features using MCMC modelling in software and FPGA reconfigurable hardware

Computational optimisation of clinically important electrocardiogram signal features, within a single heart beat, using a Markov-chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method is undertaken. A detailed, efficient data-driven software implementation of an MCMC algorithm has been shown. Initially software parallelisation is explored and has been shown that despite the large amount of model parameter inter-dependency that parallelisation is possible. Also, an initial reconfigurable hardware approach is explored for future applicability to real-time computation on a portable ECG device, under continuous extended use.

Bioeconomic modelling and risk assessment of tiger prawn (Penaeus esculentus) stock enhancement in Exmouth Gulf, Australia

A bioeconomic model was developed to evaluate the potential performance of brown tiger prawn stock enhancement in Exmouth Gulf, Australia. This paper presents the framework for the bioeconomic model and risk assessment for all components of a stock enhancement operation, i.e. hatchery, grow-out, releasing, population dynamics, fishery, and monitoring, for a commercial scale enhancement of about 100 metric tonnes, a 25% increase in average annual catch in Exmouth Gulf. The model incorporates uncertainty in estimates of parameters by using a distribution for the parameter over a certain range, based on experiments, published data, or similar studies. Monte Carlo simulation was then used to quantify the effects of these uncertainties on the model-output and on the economic potential of a particular production target. The model incorporates density-dependent effects in the nursery grounds of brown tiger prawns. The results predict that a release of 21 million 1 g prawns would produce an estimated enhanced prawn catch of about 100 t. This scale of enhancement has a 66.5% chance of making a profit. The largest contributor to the overall uncertainty of the enhanced prawn catch was the post-release mortality, followed by the density-dependent mortality caused by released prawns. These two mortality rates are most difficult to estimate in practice and are much under-researched in stock enhancement.

Managing Ethical Dilemmas

This chapter reviews almost a decade of research and writing undertaken by the authors into ethical dilemmas faced by leaders in a number of different operational contexts, including schools, universities and the public sector. The importance of this body of work is emphasised by one of our research participants who argued that ethical dilemmas were the 'bread and butter' of what leaders do. The chapter comprises four main sections. The first section overviews key theoretical aspects as background to the chapter, including relevant discussions about ethics and ethical decision-making. The second section synthesises the research findings from our work in the three contexts noted above, drawing out a set of learnings that contribute to better understandings of the nature, complexities and challenges of ethical dilemmas. This section is followed by a discussion of an explanatory conceptual model of ethical dilemmas that was developed initially from the literature and confirmed by our research. The model reminds us of some of the critical issues at play in ethical dilemmas, and some of the consequences and implications for organisational culture building they can generate. By way of a short scenario, the final section provides a theory-to-practice illustration of an ethical dilemma in action. A set of recommendations, drawn from the ideas of school leaders who have worked with this and similar dilemmas, is offered as a way forward to better understanding and resolution of such dilemmas so prevalent in our schools today.

Wet tropics reef rescue impact report 2009

The Wet Tropics region has a unique water asset and is also considered a priority region for the improvement of water quality entering the Great Barrier Reef due to a combination of high rainfall, intensive agricultural use, urban areas and the proximity of valuable reef assets to the coast. Agricultural activities are one of many identified threats to water quality and water flows in the Wet Tropics in terms of sediment and pollutant-related water quality decline. Information describing the current state of agricultural management practices across the region is patchy at best. Based on the best available information on agricultural management practices in the Wet Tropics in 2008, it is clear that opportunities exist to improve nutrient, sediment and pesticide management practice to reduce the impact on the water asset and the Great Barrier Reef. Based on current understandings of practices and the relationship between practices and reef water quality, the greatest opportunities for improved water quality are as follows: · nutrients – correct rate and the placement of fertilisers; · pesticides – improve weed control planning, herbicide rates and calibration practice; and · soil and sediment – implement new farming system practices. The 2008-09 Reef Rescue program sought to accelerate the rate of adoption of improved management practices and through Terrain invested $6.8M in the 2008-09 year for: · landholder water quality improvement incentive payments; · cross regional catchment repair of wetlands and riparian lands in areas of high sediment or nutrient loss; and · partnerships in the region to lever resources and support for on-ground practice change. The program delivered $3,021,999 in onground incentives to landholders in the Wet Tropics to improve farm practices from D or C level to B or A level. The landholder Water Quality Incentives Grants program received 300 individual applications for funding and funded 143 individual landholders to implement practice change across 36,098 ha of farm land. It is estimated that the Reef Rescue program facilitated practice change across 21% of the cane industry, and 20% of the banana industry. The program levered an additional $2,441,166 in landholder cash contributions and a further $907,653 in non-cash in-kind contributions bringing the total project value of the landholder grants program in the Wet Tropics to $6,370,819. Most funded projects targeted multiple water quality objectives with a focus on nutrient and sediment reduction. Of the 143 projects funded, 115 projects addressed nutrient management either as the primary focus or in combination with strategies that targeted other water quality objectives. Overall, 82 projects addressed two or more water quality targets. Forty-five percent of incentive funds were allocated to new farming system practices (direct drill legumes, zonal tillage equipment, permanent beds, min till planting equipment, GPS units, laser levelling), followed by 24% allocated to subsurface fertiliser applicators (subsurface application of fertiliser using a stool splitter or beside the stool, at the correct Six Easy Steps rate). As a result, Terrain estimates that the incentive grants achieved considerable reductions in nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment and pesticide loads. The program supported nutrient management training of 167 growers managing farms covering over 20% of the area harvested in 2008, and 18 industry advisors and resellers. This resulted in 115 growers (155 farms) developing nutrient management plans. The program also supported Integrated Weed Management training of 80 growers managing farms covering 8% of the area harvested in 2008, and 6 industry advisors and resellers. This report, which draws on the best available Reef Rescue Management Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting, and Improvement (MERI) information to evaluate program performance and impact on water quality outcomes, is the first in a series of annual reports that will assess and evaluate the impact of the Reef Rescue program on agricultural practices and water quality outcomes. The assessment is predominantly focused on the cane industry because of data availability. In the next stage, efforts will expand to: · improve practice data for the banana and grazing industry; · gain a better understanding of the water quality trends and the factors influencing them in the Wet Tropics; in particular work will focus on linking the results of the Paddock to Reef monitoring program and practice change data to assess program impact; · enhance estimations of the impact of practice change on pollutant loads from agricultural land use; · gain a better understanding of the extent of ancillary practice (change not directly funded) resulting from Reef Rescue training/ education/communication programs; and · provide a better understanding of the economic cost of practice change across the Wet Tropics region. From an ecological perspective, water quality trends and the factors that may be contributing to change, require further investigation. There is a critical need to work towards an enhanced understanding of the link between catchment land management practice change and reef water quality, so that reduced nutrient, sediment, and pesticide discharge to the Great Barrier Reef can be quantified. This will also assist with future prioritisation of grants money to agricultural industries, catchments and sub catchments. From a social perspective, the program has delivered significant water quality benefits from landholder education and training. It is believed that these activities are giving landholders the information and tools to implement further lasting change in their production systems and in doing so, creating a change in attitude that is supportive and inclusive of Natural Resource Management (NRM). The program in the Wet Tropics has also considerably strengthened institutional partnerships for NRM, particularly between NRM and industry and extension organisations. As a result of the Reef Rescue program, all institutions are actively working together to collectively improve water quality. The Reef Rescue program is improving water quality entering the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon by catalysing substantial activity in the Wet Tropics region to improve land management practices and reduce the water quality impact of agricultural landscapes. The solid institutional partnerships between the regional body, industry, catchment and government organisations have been fundamental to the successful delivery of the landholder grant and catchment rehabilitation programs. Landholders have generally had a positive perception and reaction to the program, its intent, and the practical, focused nature of grant-based support. Demand in the program was extremely high in 2008-09 and is expected to increase in 2009-2010.