AITPM Email Newsletter Volume 0905, June 2009 : President's Message

President’s Message Hello fellow AITPM members, Due to three colliding forces of nature I find myself writing this month’s message from home – today, I am still getting over a persistent virus that seemed to set in just after returning from Singapore a couple of weeks ago, which my diabetes won’t let me get away with too easily (no Kermit the Frog swine flu jokes please). Combine this with a very wet day in Brisbane – in fact the wettest for 20 years (how can we complain, except for flash flooding?). And in Queensland today is a state school teachers’ strike, so one half of our brood is over watching TV. Family snapshots aside, the biggest news for our industry of late is the $8.5 billion announced in the Federal Budget for transport infrastructure projects; many “shovel ready”, but some – and fortunate for our profession – desktop ready. This newsletter provides nationwide coverage on the transport infrastructure aspects of the Federal Budget. We’ll need a bit more time to carefully look at the ensuing State Budgets’ announcements. Regarding the federal budget announcements, I am pleased to see serious attention being paid to upgrading the M1 system – I hope to see a motorway standard facility connecting Adelaide to at least Rockhampton in my lifetime. But some other important roads are of course missing out in this particular budget. Various levels of commitment are being made to urban passenger rail – some project significant while others planning significant. Enhancement of suburban rail is important across the capitals and Australia’s medium sized cities such as the Gold Coast and Newcastle. Not much on road safety initiatives jumped out at me, but I believe it is implied in the large road projects and in some of the detail elsewhere. I do believe it’s about time a ‘Vision Zero’ style policy is adopted at the National level, since any death is unacceptable on the road, just as it is in any other workplace. So, overall some good news on building transport infrastructure to keep the economy purring during this recession, and strongly supporting it during future boom times. The other edge to the sword, of course, is that we tax payers will be paying a considerable amount for borrowings for these projects over a long period of time. I close again in reminding everyone again that AITPM’s flagship event, the 2009 AITPM National Conference, Traffic Beyond Tomorrow, is being held in Adelaide from 5 to 7 August. www.aitpm.com has all of the details about how to register, sponsor a booth, session, etc. Best regards all, Jon Bunker

AITPM Email Newsletter Volume 0907, July 2009 : President's Message

President’s Message AITPM President’s Message, July 2009 Hello fellow AITPM members, It’s now very early July so many Australians are going to experience a range of new, or increases in, fees, charges, and perhaps taxes by State and local governments. For example, Queenslanders are to be hit at the petrol pump, no longer living with the luxury of the State’s previous 8c per litre fuel subsidy, bringing general motorists’ fuel costs into line with the other States. A consolation is that they now don’t have to live with the real or perceived “price gouging” that has appeared in the past to make Queensland prices much closer than 8c to those in other States. Environmental lobbyists argue that this Government’s decision brings public transport costs closer to parity with private transport. However, my sense from sloppy petrol price elasticities is that the State’s motorists will get used to the reversal of what was a reverse tax pretty quickly, an amount which can be less than day-of-the week fluctuation. On the other hand, withholding this State revenue may help in some way the funding of the several major public transport infrastructure projects in progress; not to mention some of the cost of running the Transit Authority’s expanding service commitments. Other policy actions, such as a Federal Government review of taxation on employees’ package vehicles, which might discourage rather than encourage excess kilometres travelled, may have a greater environmental benefit. Of course, a downside is that many vehicles used so are Australian built, and discouraging fleet turnover may damage an industry which faces ever increasing uncertainty, and particularly at the present, is in need of some care and attention. I for one hope to this end that the new 4 cylinder (1.8L petrol or 2L diesel) so called “true Holden” Cruze and Toyota’s pending Camry Hybrid are both roaring successes, and will be taken up in droves as fleet and employee use vehicles. I’m not sure what drive-trains Ford and Holden plan to drop into their next full sized models but even if they’re not Australian sourced, let’s hope they coordinate the requisite performance expected by the “Aussie Battler” with suitable green credentials. I am also encouraged to see that already many Government fleet vehicles are smaller in size, but still fit for purpose. For instance, my local police station uses the Camry based Aurion as a district car. I close again in reminding everyone that AITPM’s flagship event, the 2009 AITPM National Conference, Traffic Beyond Tomorrow, is being held in Adelaide from 5 to 7 August. www.aitpm.com has all of the details about how to register, sponsor a booth, session, etc. Best regards all, Jon Bunker

AITPM Email Newsletter Volume 0908, August 2009: Presidents Message

President’s Message Hello fellow AITPM members, Just a few days to go until the 2009 AITPM National Conference, Traffic Beyond Tomorrow, being held at the Adelaide Convention Centre from 5 to 7 August. We look forward to catching up with all of our familiar faces as well as many new faces at this year’s conference, which the South Australian Branch has been seaming together like a Singer sewing machine. I’m looking forward to meeting you at the conference and I do hope you can join us for the Institute’s National Annual General Meeting during the event. Until then, best regards to all Jon Bunker

AITPM Email Newsletter Volume 0909, September 2009: Presidents Message

President’s Message Hello fellow AITPM members, A few weeks have now passed since our 2009 AITPM National Conference, Traffic Beyond Tomorrow, which was held at the Adelaide Convention Centre from 5 to 7 August. I personally had a most enjoyable and enriching time at the Conference and felt these same “vibes” all around me. Top marks go to the South Australia organising committee, convened by Andrew Leedham, for their dedication to this our flagship event for the year. I could go on to cite my highlights but there were too many to give due diligence here. I had a number of official functions to perform at the Conference, but one in particular worth mentioning was being interviewed by radio stations 5AA, the main news/talk commercial broadcaster in Adelaide, and 891 ABC Adelaide. All interviewers were focussed on the issue of congestion charging, which is interesting in its emergence as a public conversation piece. My main responses focussed on the importance of providing alternatives for travel to the motorist otherwise being charged by a scheme, if and when decisions were made to implement congestion charging. I found that these opportunities to present AITPM as a professional peak body were very fruitful. The Queensland organising committee is now in full swing organising the 2010 AITPM National Conference, What’s New?, so please keep a lookout for related content. You’ll also find within this edition a transcript of my President’s Report to the 2009 AITPM National Annual General Meeting, which was held during the Adelaide Conference. Best regards to all, Jon Bunker

AITPM Email Newsletter Volume 0910, October 2009 : Presidents Message

President’s Message Hello fellow AITPM members, Well I can’t believe it’s already October! My office is already organising its end of year function and looking to plan for 2010. Our whole School is moving to a different building next year, with the lovely L block eventually making way for a new shiny one. Those of you who have entered the Brisbane CBD from the south side, across the Captain Cook Bridge, would know L block as the big 9 storey brick and concrete Lego block ode to 1970’s functional architecture, which greets you on the right hand side. Onto traffic matters: an issue that has been tossing around in my mind of late is that of speed. I know I am growing older and may be prematurely becoming a “grumpy old man”, but everyone around me locally seems to be accelerating off from the stop line much faster than I was taught to for economical driving, both here and in the United States (yes they made my wife and me resit our written and practical driving tests when we lived there). People here in Australia also seem to be driving right on top of the posted speed limit, on whichever part of the Road Hierarchy, whether urban or rural. I was also taught on both sides of the planet that the posted speed limit is a maximum legal speed, not the recommended driving speed. This message did seem to sink in to the American drivers around me when we lived in Oregon - where people did appear to drive more cautiously. Further, posted speed limits in Oregon were, and I presume still are, set more conservative by about 5mph or 10km/h than Australian limits, for any given part of the Road Hierarchy. Another excellent speed limit treatment used in Oregon was in school zones, where reduced speed limits applied “when children are present” rather than during prescribed hours on school days. This would be especially useful here in Australia, where a lot of extra-curricular activities take place around schools outside of the prescribed speed limit hours. Before and after hours school care is on the increase (with parents dropping and collecting children near dawn and dusk in the winter), and many childcentred land uses are located adjacent to schools, such as Scouts/Guides halls, swimming pools and parks. Consequentially, I believe there needs to be some consideration towards more public campaigning about economical driving and the real purpose of the speed limit = or perhaps even a rethink of the speed limit concept, if people really are driving on top of it and it’s not just me becoming grumpier (our industrial psychology friends at the research centres may be able to assist us here). The Queensland organising committee is now in full swing organising the 2010 AITPM National Conference, What’s New?, so please keep a lookout for related content. Best regards to all, Jon Bunker PS A Cartoonists view of traffic engineers I thought you might enjoy this. http://xkcd.com/277/

AITPM Email Newsletter Volume 0911, November 2009 : President's Message

President’s Report Hello fellow AITPM members, It is interesting to follow the news at present, where transport costs are getting a significant airing. Treasury Secretary Dr Ken Henry has enunciated something Australians may have considered extremely radical just a few years back, but in the present time appears to quite a few to be a realistic alternative. That being a rethink of the way we are charged for using our vehicles. It appears that serious consideration is being given to congestion charging, perhaps in place at least to some extent, of fuel excise. As a transport professional I am pleased that the debate has elevated to the national level, and would look forward that AITPM might contribute appropriately to it. As a motorist though, I naturally have my concerns about being hit in the hip pocket. Not that I actually drive during congested periods very much. I am fortunate to live five minutes either side of two well serviced bus corridors, one of which will eventually become a busway, and work in the central business district, which is hub from all spokes in Brisbane. As such, bus and foot are my preferred commute modes. Ah but I should not gloat, as my smart card fare is about to increase by 20 percent in the New Year! And if the newspapers are to be believed, further substantial increments are proposed over the coming few years. This is reported to recoup some more of the costs of actually providing the quality public transport system that we enjoy in our region. So I expect it will be very interesting to see how transport economics will play out in reality in the coming few years, and how governments cater to Australians who either cannot afford substantial increases in transport costs or have no viable alternatives to those facilities whose costs will increase. The 2010 AITPM National Conference, “What’s New?”, still has the opportunity for authors to submit an abstract for consideration so please consider how you might contribute to the event. Best regards to all, Jon Bunker

Quantifying the volume fraction and texture of cancellous bone using 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging

Introduction: 3.0 Tesla MRI offers the potential to quantify the volume fraction and structural texture of cancellous bone, along with quantification of marrow composition, in a single non-invasive examination. This study describes our preliminary investigations to identify parameters which describe cancellous bone structure including the relationships between texture and volume fraction.

60Sox Report Volume 1: from education to work in Australia's digital content industries. The opinions and practices of aspiring creatives in the creative industries

This report presents findings from the largest survey of aspiring creatives who work or intend to work in the digital content industries ever undertaken in Australia. Survey respondents included those with aspirations to work in the publicly-supported, less commercial end of the Creative Industries spectrum as well as those with aspirations to work in the digital content industries. The survey gathered rich data on their characteristics, skills and attributes, barriers to employment, workforce mobility, career intentions, professional development, mentors and industry supports, and participation in communities of practice. The survey sought to determine if aspiring creatives have the necessary skills and attributes to work effectively in the digital content industries. This task also involved finding out how they develop their skills and attributes, and what they need to develop them further.

Transforming Queensland VET : Challenges and Opportunities (Volume 1)

The volume is a collection of papers that address issues associated with change in the delivery of VET programs in Queensland, foreshadowed by the release of The Queensland Skill Plan in 2006. Issues that relate to the implementation of the Actions identified in the Queensland Skills Plan are the focus of the collection. In particular, the incorporation of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) and e-learning approaches in the delivery of training packages is a key topic, how such change can be managed in the delivery of training programs, as well as broader professional development issues for VET practitioners. Change at an organisational level is the focus of two papers. Lyn Ambrose uses ideas from Diffusion of Innovations Theory to consider how the adoption eLearning in a TAFE community can be addressed. The paper by Susan Todhunter also discusses the organisational challenges in change initiatives in TAFE Institutes. Specific issues related to in the professional development of VET teachers are the focus of the papers by Mary Campbell, Sharon Altena, and Judy Gronold. Mary Campbell discusses the importance of building staff capabilities within the TAFE system and how this might be managed. Sharon Altena considers how professional development programs are currently delivered and how new approaches to professional development for TAFE teachers are needed to ensure changes can be sustained in teaching practice. The paper by Judy Gronold takes up a specific challenge for VET practitioners in the Queensland Skills Plan. She addresses issues related to embedding employability skills into training delivery in order to address industries’ need for flexible, multi-skilled productive workers. Mark Driver discusses the issues resulting from increased number of mature-aged learners in VET programs and how this change in the demographic profile of students presents challenges to the VET system. In the paper by David McKee, implications in the incorporation of ICTs into trade training are discussed and the need for effective change management strategies to ensure a smooth transition to new ways of delivering trade training. Finally, in the paper by David Roberts, the potential of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approaches in VET training and the role of ICTs within such approaches are discussed. David uses horticulture training as an example to discuss the issues in implementing PBL effectively in VET programs. These papers were completed by the authors as a part of their postgraduate studies at QUT. The views reported are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Queensland Department of Education, Training and the Arts.

Transforming Queensland VET : Challenges and Opportunities (volume 2)

This volume is the second in a series that addresses change and development in the delivery of vocational and education programs in Queensland. A similar volume was published in 2007. Considerable change was foreshadowed for TAFE Queensland by the release of The Queensland Skill Plan (QSP) in 2006. This volume addresses implementation issues for the Actions identified in the QSP. The chapters focus on a breadth of issues that relate to the changing landscape for teaching and learning in TAFE Institutes. The incorporation of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) and e-learning approaches into the delivery of training packages remain key foci for change, as was evident in the first volume of this series. The chapters also consider issues for some client groups in VET, as well as approaches to professional development to build the capabilities of staff for new teaching and learning environments. The chapter by Sandra Lawrence examines the professional development issues for staff across TAFE institutes in the implementation of the Learning Management System. Suzanne Walsh discusses the issues of new “learning spaces” and “Mode 2 learning in the re-development at Southbank Institute. The chapter by Angela Simpson focuses on VET in schools and school-to-work transition programs. Josie Drew, in her chapter, takes up the issues of embedding employability skills into the delivery of training packages through flexible delivery. The chapter by Colleen Hodgins focuses on the organisational challenges for Lead Institutes in relation to the professional development for TAFE educators in light of policy changes. Bradley Jones discusses the changing roles of libraries in VET contexts and their importance. He examines the adequacy of the VOCED database and reflects on the current nature, role, and practices of VET libraries. Finally, Piero Dametto discusses the pragmatics for TAFE educators in understanding the use of digital objects and learning objects within the LMS and LCMS systems that were presaged in the QSP. These papers were completed by the authors as a part of their postgraduate studies at QUT. The views reported are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Queensland Department of Education, Training and the Arts. Donna Berthelsen Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology

Transforming Queensland VET : Challenges and Opportunities (Volume 3)

The volume is the third in a series that addresses change and development in the delivery of VET programs in Queensland. The chapters address a breadth of issues that relate to the changing landscape for teaching and learning in VET programs through e-learning. Organisational change is a key focus of this volume. James Waterson examines business and pedagogical perspectives for SkillsTech Australia to create teaching and learning environments that will enrich the learning experience for staff and students. Kerry Emerson explores the ways in which printing teachers might change current practices in order to deliver their training to apprentices and trainees – off-the-job, onthe- job and online, through e-learning. The chapter by Erik Dodwell takes up issues of user-friendly RPL interviews and the challenges to develop a model that may be applied consistently across all industry areas using conversational interviews. The chapters by Linda Roberston, Nina Woodrow, and Anushka Weerackody discuss teaching and learning for specific groups of students. Linda Roberston proposes a vision for learning support teachers in which the learner is encouraged to be a self-directed and autonomous learner who is capable of utilising e-learning resources and is information literate. Nina Woodrow presents a case for the diminished sense of occupational identity by adult literacy teachers and the implications of this loss of expertise across the VET sector. Constructive strategies for change are outlined. The chapter by Anushka Weerackody explores ideas to enhance the practices of ESL teachers in TAFE Queensland through an online community of practice. The issues of on-the-job training through e-learning for various trades is considered by Anne-Louise Johnston and the benefits and challenges for SkillsTech Australia in developing training partnerships with industry to deliver these changes. These papers were completed by the authors as a part of their postgraduate studies at QUT. The views reported are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Queensland Department of Education and Training. Donna Berthelsen and Lauren Vogel Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology December 2009

Alternate structural system of incorporating flat bed rail wagons as low volume road bridge decks

The stimulus for this project rose from the need to find an alternative solution to aging superstructures of road-bridge in low volume roads (LVR). The solution investigated, designed and consequently plans to construct, involved replacing an aging super-structure of a 10m span bridge with Flat-Bed Rail Wagon (FBRW). The main focus of this paper is to present alternate structural system for the design of the FBRW as road bridge deck conforming to AS5100. The structural adequacy of the primary members of the FBRW was first validated using full scale experimental investigation to AS5100 serviceability and ultimate limit state loading. The bare FBRW was further developed to include a running surface. Two options were evaluated during the design phase, namely timber and reinforced concrete. First option, which is presented here, involved strengthening of the FBRW using numerous steel sections and overlaying the bridge deck with timber planks. The idea of this approach was to use all the primary and secondary members of the FBRW in load sharing and to provide additional members where weaknesses in the original members arose. The second option, which was the preferred option for construction, involved use of primary members only with an overlaying reinforced concrete slab deck. This option minimised the risk associated with any uncertainty of secondary members to its structural adequacy. The paper will report selected results of the experiment as well as the design phases of option one with conclusions highlighting the viability of option 1 and its limitations.

Image acquisition and manipulation protocols for CT-PET fusion to improve the accuracy of gross tumour volume localisation for 3D conformal radiotherapy for lung cancer

Aims: To develop clinical protocols for acquiring PET images, performing CT-PET registration and tumour volume definition based on the PET image data, for radiotherapy for lung cancer patients and then to test these protocols with respect to levels of accuracy and reproducibility. Method: A phantom-based quality assurance study of the processes associated with using registered CT and PET scans for tumour volume definition was conducted to: (1) investigate image acquisition and manipulation techniques for registering and contouring CT and PET images in a radiotherapy treatment planning system, and (2) determine technology-based errors in the registration and contouring processes. The outcomes of the phantom image based quality assurance study were used to determine clinical protocols. Protocols were developed for (1) acquiring patient PET image data for incorporation into the 3DCRT process, particularly for ensuring that the patient is positioned in their treatment position; (2) CT-PET image registration techniques and (3) GTV definition using the PET image data. The developed clinical protocols were tested using retrospective clinical trials to assess levels of inter-user variability which may be attributed to the use of these protocols. A Siemens Somatom Open Sensation 20 slice CT scanner and a Philips Allegro stand-alone PET scanner were used to acquire the images for this research. The Philips Pinnacle3 treatment planning system was used to perform the image registration and contouring of the CT and PET images. Results: Both the attenuation-corrected and transmission images obtained from standard whole-body PET staging clinical scanning protocols were acquired and imported into the treatment planning system for the phantom-based quality assurance study. Protocols for manipulating the PET images in the treatment planning system, particularly for quantifying uptake in volumes of interest and window levels for accurate geometric visualisation were determined. The automatic registration algorithms were found to have sub-voxel levels of accuracy, with transmission scan-based CT-PET registration more accurate than emission scan-based registration of the phantom images. Respiration induced image artifacts were not found to influence registration accuracy while inadequate pre-registration over-lap of the CT and PET images was found to result in large registration errors. A threshold value based on a percentage of the maximum uptake within a volume of interest was found to accurately contour the different features of the phantom despite the lower spatial resolution of the PET images. Appropriate selection of the threshold value is dependant on target-to-background ratios and the presence of respiratory motion. The results from the phantom-based study were used to design, implement and test clinical CT-PET fusion protocols. The patient PET image acquisition protocols enabled patients to be successfully identified and positioned in their radiotherapy treatment position during the acquisition of their whole-body PET staging scan. While automatic registration techniques were found to reduce inter-user variation compared to manual techniques, there was no significant difference in the registration outcomes for transmission or emission scan-based registration of the patient images, using the protocol. Tumour volumes contoured on registered patient CT-PET images using the tested threshold values and viewing windows determined from the phantom study, demonstrated less inter-user variation for the primary tumour volume contours than those contoured using only the patient’s planning CT scans. Conclusions: The developed clinical protocols allow a patient’s whole-body PET staging scan to be incorporated, manipulated and quantified in the treatment planning process to improve the accuracy of gross tumour volume localisation in 3D conformal radiotherapy for lung cancer. Image registration protocols which factor in potential software-based errors combined with adequate user training are recommended to increase the accuracy and reproducibility of registration outcomes. A semi-automated adaptive threshold contouring technique incorporating a PET windowing protocol, accurately defines the geometric edge of a tumour volume using PET image data from a stand alone PET scanner, including 4D target volumes.