Australia and New Zealand CBNG development and environmental implications

Following the success of Coalbed Natural Gas (CBNG) operations in the United States, companies in Australia and New Zealand have been actively exploring and developing this technology for the last two decades. In particular, the Bowen and Surat basins in Queensland, Australia, have undergone extensive CBNG development. Unfortunately, awareness of potential environmental problems associated with CBNG abstraction has not been widespread and legislation has at times struggled to keep up with rapid development. In Australia, the combined CBNG resource for both the Bowen and Surat basins has been estimated at approximately 10,500 PJ with gas content as high as 10 m3/tonne of coal. There are no official estimates for the magnitude of the CBNG resource in New Zealand but initial estimates suggest this could be up to 1,300 PJ with gas content ranging from 1 to 5 m3/tonne of coal. In Queensland, depressurization of the Walloon Coal Measures to recover CBNG has the potential to induce drawdown in adjacent deep aquifer systems through intraformational groundwater flow. In addition, CBNG operators have been disposing their co-produced water by using large unlined ponds, which is not the best practice for managing co-produced water. CBNG waters in Queensland have the typical geochemical signature associated with CBNG waters (Van Voast, 2003) and thus have the potential to impair soils and plant growth where land disposal is considered. Water quality from exploration wells in New Zealand exhibit the same characteristics although full scale production has not yet begun. In general, the environmental impacts that could arise from CBNG water extraction depend on the aquifer system, the quantity and quality of produced water, and on the method of treatment and disposal being used. Understanding these impacts is necessary to adequately manage CBNG waters so that environmental effects are minimized; if properly managed, CBNG waters can be used for beneficial applications and can become a valuable resource to stakeholders.

Healthy sexual development : a multidisciplinary framework for research

A group of Australian researchers from a range of disciplines involved in studying children's sexual development developed a framework for researching healthy sexual development that was acceptable to all disciplines involved. The 15 domains identified were: freedom from unwanted activity; an understanding of consent; education about biological aspects; understanding of safety; relationship skills; agency; lifelong learning; resilience; open communication; sexual development should not be “aggressive, coercive or joyless;” self-acceptance; awareness and acceptance that sex is pleasurable; understanding of parental and societal values; awareness of public/private boundaries; and being competent in mediated sexuality.

Gender inequality and the spread of HIV-AIDS in India

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to analyze the low status of women as being a major contributor for the observed gender inequality in the spread of HIV/AIDS in India. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses data from National Aids Control Organization (NACO), National Family Health Survey (NFHS 3), and the Directorate of Economics and Statistics. Findings This study highlights the problems facing women in deterring the spread of HIV/AIDS in India. The status and empowerment of women are important variables in combating the disease among both men and women in India. Literacy, education, exposure to the media, labor market participation, awareness of HIV/AIDS, and economic independence are important considerations in improving the status of women in India. Policymakers need to focus on gender inequality in order to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in India. Originality/value While absolute figures indicate men are more likely to be infected with HIV/AIDS, the rate of decline is higher for men compared to women in India. We explore several plausible explanations for such observed inequality in the spread of HIV/AIDS across gender. In particular, a potentially important factor - the low status of women in society is attributable as an impediment to the spread of the disease. A case study of the relationship between gender empowerment and the spread of HIV/AIDS in the state with the highest concentration, Manipur, provides more insight to the difficulties faced by women in combating HIV/AIDS in India.

Towards beneficence for young children in research : challenges for bioethics committees

Bioethics committees are the focus of international scrutiny,particularly in relation to their application of the principle of beneficence,ensuring that risks incurred in research are outweighed by benefits to those involved directly and to the broader society. Beneficence, in turn, has become an international focus in research with young children, who hitherto had been rarely seen or heard in their own right in research.Twenty years ago, The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 raised global awareness of children’s human rights to both participation and protection, and articulation of children’s rights came to inform understandings of young children’s rights in research. In the intervening period, countries such as Australia came to favour child protection and risk minimisation in research over the notion of children’s bone fide participation in research. A key element of the protection regime was the theoretical understanding of young children as developmentally unable and, therefore, unfit to understand, consent to and fully participate as research participants. This understanding has been challenged in recent decades by new theoretical understandings of children’s competence, where children can be seen to demonstrate competence, even at an early age, in consenting to, participating in and withdrawing from research. The paper draws on these understandings to provide insights for human research gatekeepers, such as bioethics committees, to deal with the challenges of research with young children and to realize the benefits that may accrue to children in research.

Values, wellness and the social sciences curriculum

Recent initiatives in values education in Australia emphasise the importance of the process of valuing and general methodologies that foster this in the classroom. Although a range of strategies are available, this chapter argues that inquiry-based approaches in the Social Sciences play a significant role in linking valuing processes with decision making skills. Collectively, these approaches prompt the development of reasoning and self awareness which also impact on student wellness. This chapter proposes some curriculum approaches to foreground values education in the Australian Social Sciences classroom. It argues that valuing is an important life skill that can be cultivated in the classroom through specific valuing strategies. It contends that the development of the capacity to make informed value choices is a critical factor in promoting wellness and resilience in students and in preparing them for the decision making skills required for effective participation in society.

Loneliness and classroom participation in adolescents with learning disabilities : a social cognitive view

Students with learning disabilities (LD) often experience significant feelings of loneliness. There is some evidence to suggest that these feelings of loneliness may be related to social difficulties that are linked to their learning disability. Adolescents experience more loneliness than any other age group, primarily because this is a time of identity formation and self-evaluation. Therefore, adolescents with learning disabilities are highly likely to experience the negative feelings of loneliness. Many areas of educational research have highlighted the impact of negative feelings on learning. This begs the question, =are adolescents with learning disabilities doubly disadvantaged in regard to their learning?‘ That is, if their learning experience is already problematic, does loneliness exacerbate these learning difficulties? This thesis reveals the findings of a doctoral project which examined this complicated relationship between loneliness and classroom participation using a social cognitive framework. In this multiple case-study design, narratives were constructed using classroom observations and interviews which were conducted with 4 adolescent students (2 girls and 2 boys, from years 9-12) who were identified as likely to be experiencing learning disabilities. Discussion is provided on the method used to identify students with learning disabilities and the related controversy of using disability labels. A key aspect of the design was that it allowed the students to relate their school experiences and have their stories told. The design included an ethnographic element in its focus on the interactions of the students within the school as a culture and elements of narrative inquiry were used, particularly in reporting the results. The narratives revealed all participants experienced problematic social networks. Further, an alarmingly high level of bullying was discovered. Participants reported that when they were feeling rejected or were missing a valued other they had little cognitive energy for learning and did not want to be in school. Absenteeism amongst the group was high, but this was also true for the rest of the school population. A number of relationships emerged from the narratives using social cognitive theory. These relationships highlighted the impact of cognitive, behavioural and environmental factors in the school experience of lonely students with learning disabilities. This approach reflects the social model of disability that frames the research.

Householder experiences with resource monitoring technology in sustainable homes

The use of feedback technologies, in the form of products such as Smart Meters, is increasingly seen as the means by which 'consumers' can be made aware of their patterns of resource consumption, and to then use this enhanced awareness to change their behaviour to reduce the environmental impacts of their consumption. These technologies tend to be single-resource focused (e.g. on electricity consumption only) and their functionality defined by persons other than end-users (e.g. electricity utilities). This paper presents initial findings of end-users' experiences with a multi-resource feedback technology, within the context of sustainable housing. It proposes that an understanding of user context, supply chain management and market diffusion issues are important design considerations that contribute to technology 'success'.

Information and communication technologies : catalysts for sustainable development

The concept of sustainable urban development has been pushed to the forefront of policy-making and politics as the world wakes up to the impacts of climate change and the effects of modern urban lifestyles. Today, sustainable development has become a very prominent element in the day-to-day debate on urban policy and the expression of that policy in urban planning and development decisions. As a result of this, during the last few years, sustainable development automation applications such as sustainable urban development decision support systems have become popular tools as they offer new opportunities for local governments to realise their sustainable development agendas. This chapter explores a range of issues associated with the application of information and communication technologies and decision support systems in the process of underpinning sustainable urban development. The chapter considers how information and communication technologies can be applied to enhance urban planning, raise environmental awareness, share decisions and improve public participation. It introduces and explores three web-based geographical information systems projects as best practice. These systems are developed as support tools to include public opinion in the urban planning and development processes, and to provide planners with comprehensive tools for the analysis of sustainable urban development variants in order to prepare the best plans for constructing sustainable urban communities and futures.

Community engagement and groundwater investigation in a rural/peri urban basaltic aquifier system, Tamborine Mountain, South East Queensland

The Tamborine Mt area is a popular residential and tourist area in the Gold Coast hinterland, SE Qld. The 15km2 area occurs on elevated remnant Tertiary Basalts of the Beechmont Group, which comprise a number of mappable flow units originally derived from the Tweed volcanic centre to the south. The older Albert Basalt (Tertiary), which underlies the Beechmont Basalt at the southern end of the investigation area, is thought to be derived from the Focal Peak volcanic centre to the south west. The Basalts contain a locally significant ‘un-declared’ groundwater resource, which is utilised by the Tamborine Mt community for: • domestic purposes to supplement rainwater tank supplies, • commercial scale horticulture and • commercial export off-Mountain for bottled water. There is no reticulated water supply, and all waste water is treated on-site through domestic scale WTPs. Rainforest and other riparian ecosystems that attract residents and tourist dollars to the area, are also reliant on the groundwater that discharges to springs and surface streams on and around the plateau. Issues regarding a lack of compiled groundwater information, groundwater contamination, and groundwater sustainability are being investigated by QUT, utilising funding provided by the Federal Government’s ‘Caring for our Country’ programme through SEQ Catchments Ltd. The objectives of the two year project, which started in April 2009, are to: • Characterise the nature and condition of groundwater / surface water systems in the Tamborine Mountain area in terms of the issues being raised; • Engage and build capacity within the community to source local knowledge, encourage participation, raise awareness and improve understanding of the impacts of land and water use; • Develop a stand-alone 3D Visualisation model for dissemination into the community and use as a communication tool.

Informed learning: a pedagogical construct attending simultaneously to information use and learning.

The idea of informed learning, applicable in academic, workplace and community settings, has been derived largely from a program of phenomenographic research in the field of information literacy, which has illuminated the experience of using information to learn. Informed learning is about simultaneous attention to information use and learning, where both information and learning are considered to be relational; and is built upon a series of key concepts such as second–order perspective, simultaneity, awareness, and relationality. Informed learning also relies heavily on reflection as a strategy for bringing about learning. As a pedagogical construct, informed learning supports inclusive curriculum design and implementation. This paper reports aspects of the informed learning research agenda which are currently being pursued at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). The first part elaborates the idea of informed learning, examines the key concepts underpinning this pedagogical construct, and explains its emergence from the research base of the QUT Information Studies research team. The second presents a case, which demonstrates the ongoing development of informed learning theory and practice, through the development of inclusive informed learning for a culturally diverse higher education context.

Clients’ understanding of the role of nurse practitioners

Introduction: Nurse Practitioners (NPs) have an emerging role in the Australian healthcare system. However, there remains a dearth of available data about public understanding of the NP role. ---------- Aim: To evaluate clients’ understanding of the role of the NP and their satisfaction with education received, quality of care and NP knowledge and skill. ---------- Method: All authorised NPs working in a designated NP position in Western Australia and those working in three area health services in New South Wales (NSW) were invited to recruit five consecutive clients to complete the self-administered survey. ---------- Results: Thirty two NPs (NP response rate 93%) recruited 129 clients (client response rate 90%). Two thirds of clients (63%) were aware they were consulting an NP. The majority rated the following NP related outcomes as ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’: education provided (89%); quality of care (95%); and knowledge and skill (93%). Less than half reported an understanding that NPs could prescribe medications (40.5%) or interpret X-rays (33.6%). Clients of NPs practising in a rural or remote setting were more likely than those in an urban setting to have previously consulted an NP (p=0.005), and where applicable would to prefer to see a NP rather than a doctor (p=0.022). ---------- Discussion: Successful implementation and expansion of the NP role requires NP visibility in the community. Despite high levels of satisfaction more awareness of the scope of the NP role is required.

Connecting people and resource consumption in real time

The authors currently engage in two projects to improve human-computer interaction (HCI) designs that can help conserve resources. The projects explore motivation and persuasion strategies relevant to ubiquitous computing systems that bring real-time consumption data into the homes and hands of residents in Brisbane, Australia. The first project seeks to increase understanding among university staff of the tangible and negative effects that excessive printing has on the workplace and local environment. The second project seeks to shift attitudes toward domestic energy conservation through software and hardware that monitor real-time, in situ electricity consumption in homes across Queensland. The insights drawn from these projects will help develop resource consumption user archetypes, providing a framework linking people to differing interface design requirements.

Functional status, postural stability and falls among older adults with glaucoma

Visual impairment is an important contributing factor in falls among older adults, which is one of the leading causes of injury and injury-related death in this population. Visual impairment is also associated with greater disability among older adults, including poorer health-related quality of life, increased frailty and reduced postural stability. The majority of this evidence, however, is based on measures of central visual function, rather than peripheral visual function. As such, there is comparatively limited research on the associations between peripheral visual function, disability and falls, and even fewer studies involving older adults with specific diseases which affect peripheral visual function, the most common of which is glaucoma. Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of irreversible vision loss among older adults, affecting around 3 per cent of adults aged over 60 years. The condition is characterised by retinal nerve fibre loss, primarily affecting peripheral visual function. Importantly, the number of older adults with glaucomatous visual impairment is projected to increase as the ageing population grows. The first component of the thesis examined the cross-sectional association between glaucomatous visual impairment and health-related quality of life (Study 1a), functional status (Study 1b) and postural stability (Study 1c) among older adults. A cohort of 74 community-dwelling adults with glaucoma (mean age 74.2 ± 5.9 years) was recruited and completed a baseline assessment. A number of visual function measures was assessed, including central visual function (visual acuity and contrast sensitivity), motion sensitivity, retinal nerve fibre analysis and monocular and binocular visual field measures (monocular 24-2 and binocular integrated visual fields (IVF): IVF-60 and IVF-120). The analyses focused on the associations between the outcomes measures and severity and location of visual field loss, as this is the primary visual function affected by glaucoma. In Study 1a, we examined the association between visual field loss and health-related quality of life, measured by the Short Form 36-item Health Survey (SF-36). Greater binocular visual field loss, on both IVF measures, was associated with lower SF-36 physical component scores, adjusted for age and gender (Pearson's r =|0.32| to |0.36|, p<0.001). Furthermore, inferior visual field loss was more strongly associated with the SF-36 physical component than superior field loss. No association was found between visual field loss and SF-36 mental component scores. The association between visual field loss and functional status was examined in Study 1b. Functional status outcomes measures included a physical activity questionnaire (Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly, PASE), performance tests (six-minute walk test, timed up and go test and lower leg strength) and an overall functional status score. Significant, but weak, correlations were found between binocular visual field loss and PASE and overall functional status scores, adjusted for age and gender (Pearson's r =|0.24| to |0.33|, p<0.05). Greater inferior visual field loss, independent of superior visual field loss, was significantly associated with poorer physical performance results and lower overall functional status scores. In Study 1c, we examined the association between visual field loss and postural stability, using a swaymeter device which recorded body movement during four conditions: eyes open and closed, on a firm and foam surface. Greater binocular visual field loss was associated with increased postural sway, both on firm and foam surfaces, independent of age and gender (Pearson’s r =|0.44| to |0.46|, p <0.001). Furthermore, inferior visual field was a stronger contributor to postural stability, more so than the superior visual field, particularly on the foam condition with the eyes open. Greater visual field loss was associated with a reduction in the visual contribution to postural sway, which underlies the observed association with postural sway. The second component of the thesis examined the association between severity and location of visual field loss and falls during a 12-month longitudinal follow-up. The number of falls was assessed prospectively using monthly fall calendars. Of the 71 participants who successfully completed the follow up (mean age 73.9 ± 5.7 years), 44% reported one or more falls, and around 20% reported two or more falls. After adjusting for age and gender, every 10 points missed on the IVF-120 increased the rate of falls by 25% (rate ratio 1.25, 95% confidence interval 1.08 - 1.44) or every 5dB reduction in IVF-60 increased the rate of falls by 47% (rate ratio 1.47, 95% confidence interval 1.16 - 1.87). Inferior visual field loss was a significant predictor of falls, more so than superior field loss, highlighting the importance of the inferior visual field area in safe and efficient navigation. Further analyses indicated that postural stability, more so than functional status, may be a potential mediating factor in the relationship between visual field loss and falls. Future research is required to confirm this causal pathway. In addition, the use of topical beta-blocker medications was not associated with an increased rate of falls in this cohort, compared with the use of other topical anti-glaucoma medications. In summary, greater binocular visual field loss among older adults with glaucoma was associated with poorer health-related quality of life in the physical domain, reduced functional status, greater postural instability and higher rates of falling. When the location of visual field loss was examined, inferior visual field loss was consistently more strongly associated with these outcomes than superior visual field loss. Insights gained from this research improve our understanding of the association between glaucomatous visual field loss and disability, and its link with falls among older adults. The clinical implications of this research include the need to include visual field screening in falls risk assessments among older adults and to raise awareness of these findings to eye care practitioners and adults with glaucoma. The findings also assist in developing further research to examine strategies to reduce disability and prevent falls among older adults with glaucoma to promote healthy ageing and independence for these individuals.

Knowledge about health benefits of Vitamin D in Queensland Australia

In Queensland, Australia, the ultraviolet (UV) radiation levels are high (greater than UV Index 3) almost all year round. Although ambient UV is about three times higher in summer compared to winter, Queensland residents receive approximately equal personal doses of UV radiation within these seasons (Neale et al., 2010). Sun protection messages throughout the year are thus essential (Montague et al., 2001), need to reach all segments of the population, and should incorporate guidelines for maintenance of adequate vitamin D levels. Knowledge is an essential requirement to allow people to make health conscious decisions. Unprompted knowledge commonly requires a higher level of awareness or recency of acquisition compared to prompted recall (Waller et al., 2004). This paper thus reports further on the data from a 2008 population-based, cross-sectional telephone survey conducted in Queensland, Australia (2,001 participants; response rate=45%) (Youl et al., 2009). It was the aim of this research to establish the level of, and factors predicting, unprompted and prompted knowledge about health and vitamin D.

Multicultural education, global studies and studies of Asia

Like other nations, Australia has experienced significant change in the past few decades as its society has become increasingly diverse. The new cultures and traditions that result from ethnic and religious diversity have both enriched Australian society and presented it with some challenges. Other challenges have resulted from increased globalisation. For example, the economic fallout from the recent global financial crisis indicates that global issues can impact across a range of levels, from multinational corporations and nation-states to local sites and individual livelihoods. Some suggest that Australia fared better than other nations during this economic crisis because of its export trade with China. Although this is disputed by economists, it highlights another facet of change that is impacting on Australian society and this relates to Australia’s growing engagement with the nations of Asia. There is increasing awareness in education systems that if young people are to achieve their potential as future citizens they need to be able to negotiate the cultural, social, political and economic ties that connect them to the global and regional community through work, leisure and citizenship. Multicultural education, global studies and studies of Asia play a particular part in helping young people to: • appreciate cultural diversity within and beyond their own nation • imagine with some accuracy how others view their world • participate in shaping a better future. This chapter explores the origins, distinctions and common features of each approach.