New Generation Rollingstock Depot: Case Study Report

This report summarises the findings of a case study on Queensland’s New Generation Rollingstock (NGR) Project carried out as part of SBEnrc Project 2.34 Driving Whole-of-life Efficiencies through BIM and Procurement. This case study is one of three exemplar projects studied in order to leverage academic research in defining indicators for measuring tangible and intangible benefits of Building Information Modelling (BIM) across a project’s life-cycle in infrastructure and buildings. The NGR is an AUD 4.4 billion project carried out under an Availability Payment Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the Queensland Government and the Bomabardier-led QTECTIC consortium comprising Bombardier Transportation, John Laing, ITOCHU Corporation and Aberdeen Infrastructure Investments. BIM has been deployed on the project from conceptual stages to drive both design and the currently ongoing construction at the Wulkuraka Project Site. This case study sourced information from a series of semi-structured interviews covering a cross-section of key stakeholders on the project. The present research identified 25 benefits gained from implementing BIM processes and tools. Some of the most prominent benefits were those leading to improved outcomes and higher customer satisfaction such as improved communications, data and information management, and coordination. There were also a number of expected benefits for future phases such as: • Improved decision making through the use of BIM for managing assets • Improved models through BIM maturity • Better utilisation of BIM for procurement on similar future projects • New capacity to specify the content of BIM models within contracts There were also three benefits that were expected to have been achieved but were not realised on the NGR project. These were higher construction information quality levels, better alignment in design teams as well as project teams, and capability improvements in measuring the impact of BIM on construction safety. This report includes individual profiles describing each benefit as well as the tools and processes that enabled them. Four key BIM metrics were found to be currently in use and six more were identified as potential metrics for the future. This case study also provides insights into challenges associated with implementing BIM on a project of the size and complexity of the NGR. Procurement aspects and lessons learned for managers are also highlighted, including a list of recommendations for developing a framework to assess the benefits of BIM across the project life-cycle.

A new data source for fisheries resource assessment: genetic estimates of the effective number of spawners. Final Report to the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation.

The development of innovative methods of stock assessment is a priority for State and Commonwealth fisheries agencies. It is driven by the need to facilitate sustainable exploitation of naturally occurring fisheries resources for the current and future economic, social and environmental well being of Australia. This project was initiated in this context and took advantage of considerable recent achievements in genomics that are shaping our comprehension of the DNA of humans and animals. The basic idea behind this project was that genetic estimates of effective population size, which can be made from empirical measurements of genetic drift, were equivalent to estimates of the successful number of spawners that is an important parameter in process of fisheries stock assessment. The broad objectives of this study were to 1. Critically evaluate a variety of mathematical methods of calculating effective spawner numbers (Ne) by a. conducting comprehensive computer simulations, and by b. analysis of empirical data collected from the Moreton Bay population of tiger prawns (P. esculentus). 2. Lay the groundwork for the application of the technology in the northern prawn fishery (NPF). 3. Produce software for the calculation of Ne, and to make it widely available. The project pulled together a range of mathematical models for estimating current effective population size from diverse sources. Some of them had been recently implemented with the latest statistical methods (eg. Bayesian framework Berthier, Beaumont et al. 2002), while others had lower profiles (eg. Pudovkin, Zaykin et al. 1996; Rousset and Raymond 1995). Computer code and later software with a user-friendly interface (NeEstimator) was produced to implement the methods. This was used as a basis for simulation experiments to evaluate the performance of the methods with an individual-based model of a prawn population. Following the guidelines suggested by computer simulations, the tiger prawn population in Moreton Bay (south-east Queensland) was sampled for genetic analysis with eight microsatellite loci in three successive spring spawning seasons in 2001, 2002 and 2003. As predicted by the simulations, the estimates had non-infinite upper confidence limits, which is a major achievement for the application of the method to a naturally-occurring, short generation, highly fecund invertebrate species. The genetic estimate of the number of successful spawners was around 1000 individuals in two consecutive years. This contrasts with about 500,000 prawns participating in spawning. It is not possible to distinguish successful from non-successful spawners so we suggest a high level of protection for the entire spawning population. We interpret the difference in numbers between successful and non-successful spawners as a large variation in the number of offspring per family that survive – a large number of families have no surviving offspring, while a few have a large number. We explored various ways in which Ne can be useful in fisheries management. It can be a surrogate for spawning population size, assuming the ratio between Ne and spawning population size has been previously calculated for that species. Alternatively, it can be a surrogate for recruitment, again assuming that the ratio between Ne and recruitment has been previously determined. The number of species that can be analysed in this way, however, is likely to be small because of species-specific life history requirements that need to be satisfied for accuracy. The most universal approach would be to integrate Ne with spawning stock-recruitment models, so that these models are more accurate when applied to fisheries populations. A pathway to achieve this was established in this project, which we predict will significantly improve fisheries sustainability in the future. Regardless of the success of integrating Ne into spawning stock-recruitment models, Ne could be used as a fisheries monitoring tool. Declines in spawning stock size or increases in natural or harvest mortality would be reflected by a decline in Ne. This would be good for data-poor fisheries and provides fishery independent information, however, we suggest a species-by-species approach. Some species may be too numerous or experiencing too much migration for the method to work. During the project two important theoretical studies of the simultaneous estimation of effective population size and migration were published (Vitalis and Couvet 2001b; Wang and Whitlock 2003). These methods, combined with collection of preliminary genetic data from the tiger prawn population in southern Gulf of Carpentaria population and a computer simulation study that evaluated the effect of differing reproductive strategies on genetic estimates, suggest that this technology could make an important contribution to the stock assessment process in the northern prawn fishery (NPF). Advances in the genomics world are rapid and already a cheaper, more reliable substitute for microsatellite loci in this technology is available. Digital data from single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are likely to super cede ‘analogue’ microsatellite data, making it cheaper and easier to apply the method to species with large population sizes.

Cyanide poisoning in cattle from Dysphania glomulifera (red crumbweed): Using the internet for rapid plant identification and diagnostic advice: Case Report

A 300-strong Angus-Brahman cattle herd near Springsure, central Queensland, was being fed Acacia shirleyi (lancewood) browse during drought and crossed a 5-hectare, previously burnt area with an almost pure growth of Dysphania glomulifera subspecies glomulifera (red crumbweed) on their way to drinking water. Forty cows died of cyanide poisoning over 2 days before further access to the plant was prevented. A digital image of a plant specimen made on a flat-bed scanner and transmitted by email was used to identify D glomulifera. Specific advice on the plant's poisonous properties and management of the case was then provided by email within 2 hours of an initial telephone call by the field veterinarian to the laboratory some 600 km away. The conventional method using physical transport of a pressed dried plant specimen to confirm the identification took 5 days. D glomulifera was identified in the rumen of one of two cows necropsied. The cyanogenic potential of D glomulifera measured 4 days after collection from the site of cattle deaths was 18,600 mg HCN/kg in dry matter. The lethal dose of D glomulifera for a 420 kg cow was estimated as 150 to 190 g wet weight. The plant also contained 4.8% KNO3 equivalent in dry matter, but nitrate-nitrite poisoning was not involved in the deaths.

State Estimates of Employment Rates for Persons with Disabilities: Report Summary

Statistics on the states’ employment rates for persons with disabilities relative to their non-disabled peers may be of assistance to providers of employment services for persons with disabilities. Such information can help service providers, policy makers, and disability advocacy leaders to assess whether the employment rate of people with disabilities is improving over time, given policy, regulatory, and service intervention strategies. A recent report from the Cornell University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) for Economic Research on Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities uses data from the March Current Population Survey to estimate employment rates for persons with and without a disability in the non-institutionalized working-age (aged 25 through 61) civilian population in the United States, and for each state and the District of Columbia for the years 1980 through 1998. The employment rate of persons with a disability relative to that of persons without disabilities are found to vary greatly across states. Over the last 20 years the relative employment rate of those with a disability dramatically declined overall and in most states.

Writing the Digital Futures Report 2014-2105 Arts Queensland

The Writing the Digital Futures project brings together international knowledge and expertise in digital writing to cement Queensland as a centre of innovation in writing and publishing within Australia. The purpose of the digital futures project is to change community and professional perceptions of storytelling and publishing in a digital age, with particular emphasis on transmedia/multi-platform storytelling.

Who Participated in School-to-Work Programs in 1998? Technical Report

[Excerpt] This report is based on a survey of 7425 students attending high school during the 1998/99 academic year that asked about recent participation in school-to-work (STW) activities. The survey is the first wave of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth begun in early 1997 (NLSY97). Ninety-three percent of the youth surveyed in the initial wave were interviewed in the second follow up that we are analyzing here. The statistics reported below are based on weighted data and so represent the population of 15 to 19 year olds attending school during the 1998/99 academic year. Youth who graduated from or dropped out of high school before fall 1998 were not asked questions about participation in school-to-work programs and so are not included in our analysis.

Trafficking in Persons Report

Fifth annual Trafficking in Persons Report prepared by the Department of State and submitted to the U.S. Congress on foreign governments' efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons.

Uzbekistan Supplementary NGO Report on the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the Republic of Uzbekistan

[Excerpt] The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was one of the first international instruments to which the Republic of Uzbekistan acceded, and with parliamentary ratification on 9 December 1992, the Republic of Uzbekistan entered into a commitment to observe all the provisions of the CRC and to shoulder its responsibility before the international community. As a result various legislative, administrative and other steps have been taken by the government of the Republic of Uzbekistan with a view to bringing the State policy and legislation on children to be in line with the provisions as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Constitution incorporates the fundamental provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At the current stage in the restructuring of the country’s social and economic development, solid foundations have been laid for the conduct of significant democratic reforms based on a recognition of the innate worth of the individual (including the child) and of the unconditional respect of his or her rights and freedoms. Until recently, the State acted as the main guarantor of the provision of all social services, however the process of the transition (political/economic) to a market economy has entailed the development of new economic relations with a reduction in the allocation of state resources for the provision of social services to children. The efforts of the government made so far to bring the state policy and legislation on the child to be in line with the provisions enshrined in the convention on the rights of the child are commendable; never the less, the implementations of all these policies and laws into practice needs a lot to desire as there are a number of ongoing child rights violations. The National Report has fundamentally overlooked a number of child rights privileges enshrined in the CRC that have not yet been realised, or those rights that have been eroded since the independence. These shortcomings need to be noted for consideration so that the state steps up its efforts to enact new laws and/or to enforce the existing rules and regulations required for the protection and implementation of these child rights, and to improve the overall situation for children in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Annual Report

[Excerpt] The Commission is deeply concerned that some Chinese government policies designed to address growing social unrest and bolster Communist Party authority are resulting in a period of declining human rights for China’s citizens. The Commission identified limited improvements in the Chinese government’s human rights practices in 2004, but backward-stepping government decisions in 2005 and 2006 are leading the Commission to reevaluate the Chinese leadership’s commitment to additional human rights improvements in the near term. In its 2005 Annual Report, the Commission highlighted increased government restrictions on Chinese citizens who worship in state-controlled venues or write for state-controlled publications. These restrictions remain in place, and in some cases, the government has strengthened their enforcement.

Design and Simulation of a Solar Powered UAV for Remote Sensing Tasks Technical Report

This research deals with the development of a Solar-Powered UAV designed for remote sensing, in particular to the development of the autopilot sub-system and path planning. The design of the Solar-Powered UAS followed a systems engineering methodology, by first defining system architecture, and selecting each subsystem. Validation tests and integration of autopilot is performed, in order to evaluate the performances of each subsystem and to obtain a global operational system for data collection missions. The flight tests planning and simulation results are also explored in order to verify the mission capabilities using an autopilot on a UAS. The important aspect of this research is to develop a Solar-Powered UAS for the purpose of data collection and video monitoring, especially data and images from the ground; transmit to the GS (Ground Station), segment the collected data, and afterwards analyze it with a Matlab code.

Towards Ecologically Sustainable Management of the Torres Strait Prawn Fishery. CRC Torres Strait Task T1.5 – Final Report

This publication, which is the final report to the Torres Strait Cooperative Research Centre, provides an overview of all the research that was conducted as part of the Torres Strait CRC Task 1.5 - Towards Ecologically Sustainable Management of the Torres Strait Prawn Fishery The objectives of the task were: To develop cost-effective protocols to monitor and quantify the bycatch and environmental impacts of commercial prawn trawling. To monitor the status of target species using both fishery dependent and fishery independent data. To develop biological reference points for target species and undertake management strategy evaluation, in particular a risk assessment of fishing at various levels of fishing mortality. This report focuses on the second component of objective 1 and details a comparative analysis of bycatch samples collected from areas of the Torres Strait that were both closed and open to prawn trawl fishing. The report also reviews the research conducted in relation to objectives 2 and 3 which are detailed in a separate report, Stock Assessment of the Torres Strait Tiger Prawn Fishery (Penaeus esculentus).

Coastal Wetlands Resources Investigation of the Burdekin Delta for declaration as fisheries reserves. Report to Ocean Rescue 2000

A project to investigate the coastal wetland resources of the Burdekin Delta, north Queensland, was undertaken as part of the long-term assessment of the coastal fisheries resources of Queensland. Extending from November 1993 to May 1995, fieldwork was undertaken in November 1993 and August 1994. The scope of the coastal wetlands resources investigation of the Burdekin Delta for declaration as a Fish Habitat Area was: 1. To document and map the marine wetland vegetation communities in the Burdekin River delta. 2. To document levels of existing disturbance to wetlands, existing recreational and commercial fisheries resources, and existing fishing activities. 3. To evaluate the conservation values of the areas investigated from the viewpoint of fisheries productivity and as habitat for important/threatened species. 4. To initiate Fish Habitat Area declaration under Section 120 of the Queensland Fisheries Act 1994 with formal consultation to all stakeholders. This report concentrates on Points 1 and 3, the documentation of the marine wetland vegetation communities and the evaluation of conservation values from a fisheries viewpoint. Dataset URL Link: Queensland Coastal Wetlands Resources Mapping data. [Dataset]

First report of Colombian datura virus from Australia.

Colombian datura virus was identified from the ornamental plant Brugmansia sp., showing leaf mosaic symptoms. The nucleotide sequence of the 3 untranslated region and the amino acid sequence of the 3 portion of the coat protein were 100% identical to those from a Hungarian isolate of the virus. This represents the first record of this virus in Australia.

Report on Red Light Camera Program: Operation from July 1988 to December 1989

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (excerpts) The red light camera (RLC) program commenced in July 1988, with five cameras operating at 15 sites in metropolitan Adelaide. This report deals with the first eighteen months of operation, to December 1989. A number of recommendations have been made… PROGRAM EVALUATION … In 1989 dollars, the program was estimated to have achieved an accident reduction benefit of $1.4m in the first 12 months of operation, which is almost twice the benefit expected using the assumptions made when selecting the sites. (There are 8 recommendations, mostly specific to the particular program characteristics)