Ideas to improve the selection of NHMRC Project Grants

The starting point for this presentation is that applicants provide a large surplus of information when submitting a NHMRC Project Grant proposal for funding. This is costly in their time, attracts high administration costs, makes the task appear daunting for peer reviewers and may reduce the quality of the peer review leading to less than perfect reliability in decision making. We are currently experimenting with alternate models to see whether similar reliability in funding outcomes are achieved at less cost. We will compare traditional NHMRC Grant Review Panels (GRPs) with panels that use less information and journal style panels. By way of background to this experimental work, we will show some results on current levels of reliability for GRPs, the costs incurred by all who participate in Project Grant selection, and the level of reliability acceptable to researchers. By experimenting in this way and building an evidence base for how research funding should be allocated, the NHMRC is showing international leadership in this important field.

Funding : Australia’s grant system wastes time

We found that scientists in Australia spent more than five centuries' worth of time preparing research-grant proposals for consideration by the largest funding scheme of 2012. Because just 20.5% of these applications were successful, the equivalent of some four centuries of effort returned no immediate benefit to researchers and wasted valuable research time. The system needs reforming and alternative funding processes should be investigated...

Human factors in estimating

It is commonly held that the ability of the estimator to apply professional skill and judgement is an important factor in the production of an accurate cost estimate. This chapter identifies these abilities and attributes of the individual estimator that affects estimating accuracy. These human factors are examined under the headings of the role of the estimators, skills of the estimator, characteristics of the estimator, interpretation of data, and the influence of expertise.

Detection of excessive diesel engine piston slap using acoustic emission signals

This paper presents a study whereby a series of tests was undertaken using a naturally aspirated 4 cylinder, 2.216 litre, Perkins Diesel engine fitted with a piston having an undersized skirt. This experimental simulation resulted in engine running conditions that included abnormally high levels of piston slap occurring in one of the cylinders. The detectability of the resultant Diesel engine piston slap was investigated using acoustic emission signals. Data corresponding to both normal and piston slap engine running conditions was captured using acoustic emission transducers along with both; in-cylinder pressure and top-dead centre reference signals. Using these signals it was possible to demonstrate that the increased piston slap running conditions were distinguishable by monitoring the piston slap events occurring near the piston mid-stroke positions. However, when monitoring the piston slap events occurring near the TDC/BDC piston stroke positions, the normal and excessive piston slap engine running condition were not clearly distinguishable.

Area of residence is associated with Australian women’s uptake of long-acting contraception

Objective: Several new types of contraception became available in Australia over the last twelve years (the implant in 2001, progestogen intra-uterine device (IUD) in 2003, and vaginal contraceptive ring in 2007). Most methods of contraception require access to health services. Permanent sterilisation and the insertion of an implant or IUD involve a surgical procedure. Access to health professionals providing these specialised services may be more difficult in rural areas. This paper examines uptake of permanent or long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs) among Australian women in rural areas compared to women in urban areas. Method: Participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health born in 1973-78 reported on their contraceptive use at three surveys: 2003, 2006 and 2009. Contraceptive methods included permanent sterilisation (tubal ligation, vasectomy), non-daily or LARC methods (implant, IUD, injection, vaginal ring), and other methods including daily, barrier or "natural" methods (oral contraceptive pills, condoms, withdrawal, safe period). Sociodemographic, reproductive history and health service use factors associated with using permanent, LARC or other methods were examined using a multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results: Of 9,081 women aged 25-30 in 2003, 3% used permanent methods and 4% used LARCs. Six years later in 2009, of 8,200 women (aged 31-36), 11% used permanent methods and 9% used LARCs. The fully adjusted parsimonious regression model showed that the likelihood of a woman using LARCs and permanent methods increased with number of children. Women whose youngest child was school-age were more likely to use LARCs (OR=1.83, 95%CI 1.43-2.33) or permanent methods (OR=4.39, 95%CI 3.54-5.46) compared to women with pre-school children. Compared to women living in major cities, women in inner regional areas were more likely to use LARCs (OR=1.26, 95%CI 1.03-1.55) or permanent methods (OR=1.43, 95%CI 1.17-1.76). Women living in outer regional and remote areas were more likely than women living in cities to use LARCs (OR=1.65, 95%CI 1.31-2.08) or permanent methods (OR=1.69, 95%CI 1.43-2.14). Women with poorer access to GPs were more likely to use permanent methods (OR=1.27, 95%CI 1.07-1.52). Conclusions: Location of residence and access to health services are important factors in women's choices about long-acting contraception in addition to the number and age of their children. There is a low level of uptake of non-daily, long-acting methods of contraception among Australian women in their mid-thirties.

“As many options as there are, there are just not enough for me” : a qualitative analysis of contraceptive use and barriers to access among Australian women

There is currently little information available about reasons for contraceptive use or non-use among young Australian women and the reasons for choosing specific types of contraceptive methods. A comprehensive life course perspective of women's experiences in using and obtaining contraceptives is lacking, particularly relating to women's perceived or physical barriers to access. This paper presents an analysis of qualitative data gathered from free-text comments provided by women born between 1973 and 1978 as part of their participation in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health is a large cohort study involving over 40,000 women from three age groups (aged 18-23, aged 40-45 and aged 70-75) who were selected from the database of Medicare the Australian universal health insurance system in 1995. The women have been surveyed every 3 years about their health by mailed self-report surveys, and more recently online. Written comments from 690 women across five surveys from 1996 (when they were aged 18-23 years) to 2009 (aged 31-36 years) were examined. Factors relating to contraceptive use and barriers to access were identified and explored using thematic analysis. Side-effects, method satisfaction, family timing, and hormonal balance were relevant to young women using contraception. Most women who commented about a specific contraceptive method wrote about the oral contraceptive pill. While many women were positive or neutral about their method, noting its convenience or non-contraceptive benefits, many others were concerned about adverse effects, affordability, method failure, and lack of choice. Negative experiences with health services, lack of information, and cost were identified as barriers to access. As the cohort aged over time, method choice, changing patterns of use, side-effects, and negative experiences with health services remained important themes. Side-effects, convenience, and family timing play important roles in young Australian women's experiences of contraception and barriers to access. Contrary to assumptions, barriers to contraceptive access continue to be experienced by young women as they move into adulthood. Further research is needed about how to decrease barriers to contraceptive use and minimise negative experiences in order to ensure optimal contraceptive access for Australian women.

Contraceptive use and unintended pregnancy among 18-23 year old women in Australia : the first findings of the CUPID study

Objectives: Little is known about young adult women's experience of unintended pregnancy in Australia, nor the extent to which ineffective contraceptive use or contraceptive failure may lead to young women becoming pregnant. The CUPID study is the first in Australia to examine young adult Australian women's patterns of contraceptive use, their experience of unintended pregnancy, and their use (or not) of contraception at the time of conception. Methods: Australian women aged 18-23 years completed an online survey about contraceptive use and experience of unintended pregnancy. They were recruited through a range of methods including advertising on Facebook, and snowball sampling. Sample representativeness was established through comparison with Census data. Results: Of the 511 respondents, 403 women reported that they had ever had sex and were not currently pregnant. Among these women, the pill was the most common method of contraception used on the most recent occasion, used alone (30%) or with condoms (21%). Condoms (alone or with another method other than the pill) were used by a further 17%, and long-acting contraceptive methods by a further 16%. Other methods such as natural methods or partner vasectomy were used by 16%. The withdrawal method was surprisingly common and was mentioned by 15% of the women overall, usually in combination with another method. There were 63 women who had been pregnant, including 5 who were pregnant at the time of the survey, and of these 55 (87%) had become pregnant by accident. Of these 55 women, 69% reported using a range of contraception methods when they became pregnant by accident: Pill only (29%) and in combination with condoms (3%) and withdrawal (5%); condoms only (18%) and in combination with withdrawal (16%); emergency contraceptive pill only (3%) and in combination with withdrawal (3%) and withdrawal only (24%). Conclusions: This study highlighted the use of less effective methods of contraception among young Australian women. The withdrawal method was commonly used, often in combination with other methods, particularly before an unintended pregnancy. Among the women who had been pregnant, most reported that their pregnancy had been unintended. A third of the young women who had experienced an unintended pregnancy were using the withdrawal method. Further research is needed about the place of the withdrawal method in the contraceptive practices of young women.

Alcohol and other drugs in the Australian construction industry : a pathway for safety focused cultural change

Background: Anecdotal evidence from the infrastructure and building sectors highlights issues of alcohol and other drugs (AODs) and its association with safety risk on construction sites. Currently, there is no clear evidence on the prevalence and risk of AOD use among Australian construction workers and there is limited evidential guidance regarding how to effectively address such an issue. Aims: The current research aims to scientifically evaluate the use of AODs within the Australian construction industry in order to reduce the potential resulting safety and performance impacts and engender a cultural change in the workforce. A nationally consistent and collaborative approach across the workforce will be adopted. Methods: A national assessment of the use of AODs was conducted in participating organisations across three states. The World Health Organisation’s Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to measure alcohol use. Illicit drug use, ‘readiness to change’, impediments to reducing impairment, feasibility of proposed interventions, and employee attitudes and knowledge regarding AOD was also measured through a combination of survey items and interviews. Through an educative approach and consultation with employers, employees, union groups and leaders in applied AOD research, this assessment was used to inform and support cultural change management of AOD use in the industry. Results: Results (n=494) indicate that as in the general population, a proportion of those sampled in the construction sector may be at risk of hazardous alcohol consumption. A total of 286 respondents (58%) scored above the cut-off cumulative score for risky or hazardous alcohol use. Other drug use was also identified as a major issue. Interview responses and input from all project partners is presented within a guiding principle framework for cultural change. Conclusions: Results support the need for evidence-based, comprehensive and tailored responses in the workplace. This paper will discuss the final results in the context of facilitating cultural change in the construction industry.

On the time spent preparing grant proposals : an observational study of Australian researchers

Objective: To estimate the time spent by the researchers for preparing grant proposals, and to examine whether spending more time increase the chances of success. Design: Observational study. Setting: The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia. Participants: Researchers who submitted one or more NHMRC Project Grant proposals in March 2012. Main outcome measures: Total researcher time spent preparing proposals; funding success as predicted by the time spent. Results: The NHMRC received 3727 proposals of which 3570 were reviewed and 731 (21%) were funded. Among our 285 participants who submitted 632 proposals, 21% were successful. Preparing a new proposal took an average of 38 working days of researcher time and a resubmitted proposal took 28 working days, an overall average of 34 days per proposal. An estimated 550 working years of researchers' time (95% CI 513 to 589) was spent preparing the 3727 proposals, which translates into annual salary costs of AU$66 million. More time spent preparing a proposal did not increase the chances of success for the lead researcher (prevalence ratio (PR) of success for 10 day increase=0.91, 95% credible interval 0.78 to 1.04) or other researchers (PR=0.89, 95% CI 0.67 to 1.17). Conclusions: Considerable time is spent preparing NHMRC Project Grant proposals. As success rates are historically 20–25%, much of this time has no immediate benefit to either the researcher or society, and there are large opportunity costs in lost research output. The application process could be shortened so that only information relevant for peer review, not administration, is collected. This would have little impact on the quality of peer review and the time saved could be reinvested into research.

“As many options as there are, there are just not enough for me” : a qualitative analysis of contraceptive use and barriers to access among Australian women

There is currently little information available about reasons for contraceptive use or non-use among young Australian women and the reasons for choosing specific types of contraceptive methods. A comprehensive life course perspective of women's experiences in using and obtaining contraceptives is lacking, particularly relating to women's perceived or physical barriers to access. This paper presents an analysis of qualitative data gathered from free-text comments provided by women born between 1973 and 1978 as part of their participation in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health is a large cohort study involving over 40,000 women from three age groups (aged 18-23, aged 40-45 and aged 70-75) who were selected from the database of Medicare the Australian universal health insurance system in 1995. The women have been surveyed every 3 years about their health by mailed self-report surveys, and more recently online. Written comments from 690 women across five surveys from 1996 (when they were aged 18-23 years) to 2009 (aged 31-36 years) were examined. Factors relating to contraceptive use and barriers to access were identified and explored using thematic analysis. Side-effects, method satisfaction, family timing, and hormonal balance were relevant to young women using contraception. Most women who commented about a specific contraceptive method wrote about the oral contraceptive pill. While many women were positive or neutral about their method, noting its convenience or non-contraceptive benefits, many others were concerned about adverse effects, affordability, method failure, and lack of choice. Negative experiences with health services, lack of information, and cost were identified as barriers to access. As the cohort aged over time, method choice, changing patterns of use, side-effects, and negative experiences with health services remained important themes. Side-effects, convenience, and family timing play important roles in young Australian women's experiences of contraception and barriers to access. Contrary to assumptions, barriers to contraceptive access continue to be experienced by young women as they move into adulthood. Further research is needed about how to decrease barriers to contraceptive use and minimise negative experiences in order to ensure optimal contraceptive access for Australian women.

Universal active and reactive power control of electronically interfaced distributed generation sources in virtual power plants operating in gridconnected and islanding modes

The control paradigms of the distributed generation (DG) sources in the smart grid are realised by either utilising virtual power plant (VPP) or by employing MicroGrid structures. Both VPP and MicroGrid are presented with the problem of control of power flow between their comprising DG sources. This study depicts this issue for VPP and proposes a novel and improved universal active and reactive power flow controllers for three-phase pulse width modulated voltage source inverters (PWM-VSI) operating in the VPP environment. The proposed controller takes into account all cases of R-X relationship, thus allowing it to function in systems operating at high, medium (MV) and low-voltage (LV) levels. Also proposed control scheme for the first time in an inverter control takes into account the capacitance of the transmission line which is an important factor to accurately represent medium length transmission lines. This allows the proposed control scheme to be applied in VPP structures, where DG sources can operate at MV LV levels over a short/medium length transmission line. The authors also conducted small signal stability analysis of the proposed controller and compared it against the small signal study of the existing controllers.

Reducing the Risk of Alcohol and Other Drugs in Construction : An Australian Assessment

There is increasing concern about the impact of employees��� alcohol and other drug (AOD) consumption on workplace safety, particularly within the construction industry. No known study has scientifically evaluated the relationship between the use of drugs and alcohol and safety impacts in construction, and there has been only limited adoption of nationally coordinated strategies, supported by employers and employees to render it socially unacceptable to arrive at a construction workplace with impaired judgment from AODs. This research aims to scientifically evaluate the use of AODs within the Australian construction industry in order to reduce the potential resulting safety and performance impacts and engender a cultural change in the workforce. Using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), the study will adopt both quantitative and qualitative methods to evaluate the extent of general AOD use in the industry. Results indicate that a proportion of the construction sector may be at risk of hazardous alcohol consumption. A total of 286 respondents (58%) scored above the cut-off score for risky alcohol use with 43 respondents (15%) scoring in the significantly ‘at risk’ category. Other drug use was also identified as a major issue that must be addressed. Results support the need for evidence-based, preventative educational initiatives that are tailored specifically to the construction industry.

Genomic evidence for the parallel evolution of coastal forms in the Senecio lautus complex

Instances of parallel ecotypic divergence where adaptation to similar conditions repeatedly cause similar phenotypic changes in closely related organisms are useful for studying the role of ecological selection in speciation. Here we used a combination of traditional and next generation genotyping techniques to test for the parallel divergence of plants from the Senecio lautus complex, a phenotypically variable groundsel that has adapted to disparate environments in the South Pacific. Phylogenetic analysis of a broad selection of Senecio species showed that members of the S. lautus complex form a distinct lineage that has diversified recently in Australasia. An inspection of thousands of polymorphisms in the genome of 27 natural populations from the S. lautus complex in Australia revealed a signal of strong genetic structure independent of habitat and phenotype. Additionally, genetic differentiation between populations was correlated with the geographical distance separating them, and the genetic diversity of populations strongly depended on geographical location. Importantly, coastal forms appeared in several independent phylogenetic clades, a pattern that is consistent with the parallel evolution of these forms. Analyses of the patterns of genomic differentiation between populations further revealed that adjacent populations displayed greater genomic heterogeneity than allopatric populations and are differentiated according to variation in soil composition. These results are consistent with a process of parallel ecotypic divergence in face of gene flow.

Characterisation of combustion related acoustic emission sources for diesel engine condition monitoring

This thesis represents a major step forward in understanding the link between the development of combustion related faults in diesel engines and the generation of acoustic emissions. The findings presented throughout the thesis provide a foundation so that future diesel engine monitoring systems are able to more effectively detect and monitor developing faults. In undertaking this research knowledge concerning engine function and relevant failure mechanisms was combined with different modelling methods to generate a framework that was used to effectively identify fault related activity within acoustic emissions recorded from different engines.