Impact of roof surface runoff on urban water quality

The pollutant impacts of urban stormwater runoff on receiving waters are well documented in research literature. However, it is road surfaces that are commonly identified as the significant pollutant source. This paper presents the outcomes of an extensive program of research into the role of roof surfaces in urban water quality with particular focus on solids, nutrients and organic carbon. The outcomes confirmed that roof surfaces play an important role in influencing the pollutant characteristics of urban stormwater runoff. Pollutant build-up and wash-off characteristics for roads and roof surfaces were found to be appreciably different. The pollutant wash-off characteristics exhibited by roof surfaces show that it influences the first flush phenomenon more significantly than road surfaces. In most urban catchments, as roof surfaces constitutes a higher fraction of impervious area compared to road surfaces, it is important that the pollutant generation role of roof surfaces is specifically taken into consideration in stormwater quality mitigation strategies.

Modelling resilience in a water supply system : contrasting conditions of drought and flood

This paper presents an approach to modelling the resilience of a generic (potable) water supply system. The system is contextualized as a meta-system consisting of three subsystems to represent the natural catchment, the water treatment plant and the water distribution infrastructure for urban use. An abstract mathematical model of the meta-system is disaggregated progressively to form a cascade of equations forming a relational matrix of models. This allows the investigation of commonly implicit relationships between various operational components within the meta system, the in-depth understanding of specific system components and influential factors and the incorporation of explicit disturbances to explore system behaviour. Consequently, this will facilitate long-term decision making to achieve sustainable solutions for issues such as, meeting a growing demand or managing supply-side influences in the meta-system under diverse water availability regimes. This approach is based on the hypothesis that the means to achieve resilient supply of water may be better managed by modelling the effects of changes at specific levels that have a direct or in some cases indirect impact on higher-order outcomes. Additionally, the proposed strategy allows the definition of approaches to combine disparate data sets to synthesise previously missing or incomplete higher-order information, a scientifically robust means to define and carry out meta-analyses using knowledge from diverse yet relatable disciplines relevant to different levels of the system and for enhancing the understanding of dependencies and inter-dependencies of variable factors at various levels across the meta-system. The proposed concept introduces an approach for modelling a complex infrastructure system as a meta system which consists of a combination of bio-ecological, technical and socio-technical subsystems.

Influence of organic matter in road deposited particulates in heavy metal accumulation and transport

The research study discussed in the paper investigated the influence of organic matter on heavy metal adsorption for different particle size ranges of build-up solids. Samples collected from road surfaces were assessed for organic matter content, mineral composition, particle size distribution and effective cation exchange capacity. It was found that the organic matter plays a key role in >75µm particles in the adsorption of Zinc, Lead, Nickel and Copper, which are generated by traffic activities. Clay forming minerals and metal oxides of Iron, Aluminium and Manganese was found to be important for heavy metal adsorption to <75µm particles. It was also found that heavy metals adsorbed to organic matter are strongly bound to particles and these metal ions will not be bio-available if the chemical quality of the media remains stable.

Serious playground : using Second Life to engage high school students in urban planning

Virtual world platforms such as Second Life have been successfully used in educational contexts to motivate and engage learners. This article reports on an exploratory workshop involving a group of high school students using Second Life for an urban planning project. Young people are traditionally an under-represented demographic when it comes to participating in urban planning and decision making processes. The research team developed activities that combined technology with a constructivist approach to learning. Real world experiences and purposes ensured that the workshop enabled students to see the relevance of their learning. Our design also ensured that play remained an important part of the learning. By conceiving of the workshop as a ‘serious playground’ we investigated the ludic potential of learning in a virtual world.

Terra Preta : bioenergy, soil restoration, urban agriculture, art algorithm

The 2010 LAGI competition was held on three underutilized sites in the United Arab Emirates. By choosing Staten Island, New York in 2012 the competition organises have again brought into question new roles for public open space in the contemporary city. In the case of the UEA sites, the competition produced many entries which aimed to create a sculpture and by doing so, they attracted people to the selected empty spaces in an arid climate. In a way these proposals were the incubators and the new characters of these empty spaces. The competition was thus successful at advancing understandings of the expanded role of public open spaces in EAU and elsewhere. LAGI 2012 differs significantly to the UAE program because Fresh Kills Park has already been planned as a public open space for New Yorkers - with or without these clean energy sculptures. Furthermore, Fresh Kills Park is already an (gas) energy generating site in its own right. We believe Fresh Kills Park, as a site, presents a problem which somewhat transcends the aims of the competition brief. Advancing a sustainable urban design proposition for the site therefore requires a fundamental reconsideration of the established paradigms public open space. Hence our strategy is to not only create an energy generating, site specific art work, but to create synergy between the public and the site engagement while at the same time complement the idiosyncrasies of the pre-existing engineered landscape. Current PhD research about energy generation in public open spaces informs this work.

The use of amenities in high density neighbourhoods by older urban Australians residents

Like other major cities, Brisbane (Australia) has adopted policies to increase residential densities to meet the liveability goal of decreasing car dependence. This objective hinges on urban neighbourhoods being amenity-rich spaces, reducing the need for residents to leave their neighbourhood for everyday living. While older people are attracted to urban settings, there has been little empirical evidence linking liveability satisfaction with older people's use of urban neighbourhoods. Using a case study approach employing qualitative (diaries, in-depth interviews) and quantitative (Global Positioning Systems and Geographical Information Systems mapping) methods,this paper explores the effect of the neighbourhood environment and its influence on liveability for older urban people. Reliance on motor vehicles and issues with availability and access to local amenities inhibit local participation for older people. Highlighting these issues furthers our understanding of the landscape planning and design factors that make urban neighbourhoods more liveable for older residents.

The lived world of older urban Australians: relating everyday living to GPS tracking data

Neighbourhood like the concept of liveability is usually measured by either subjective indicators using surveys of residents’ perceptions or by objective means using secondary data or relative weights for objective indicators of the urban environment. Rarely, have objective and subjective indicators been related to one another in order to understand what constitutes a liveable urban neighbourhood both spatially and behaviourally. This paper explores the use of qualitative (diaries, in-depth interviews) and quantitative (Global Positioning Systems, Geographical Information Systems mapping) liveability research data to examine the perceptions and behaviour of 12 older residents living in six high density urban areas of Brisbane. Older urban Australians are one of the two principal groups highly attracted to high density urban living. The strength of the relationship between the qualitative and quantitative measures was examined. Results of the research indicate a weak relationship between subjective and objective indicators. Linking the two methods (quantitative and qualitative) is important in obtaining a greater understanding of human behaviour and the lived world of older urban Australians and in providing a wider picture of the urban neighbourhood.

Understanding neighbourhood liveability for older urban Australians

As with other major developed cities, the sub-tropical and fastest growing Australian capital city of Brisbane has adopted policies designed to increase residential densities and meet the liveability and sustainability goal of decreasing car dependence and greenhouse gas emissions. This goal hinges on a pedestrian friendly environment and walkable proximity to satisfy everyday needs. While older people are particularly attracted to sub-tropical urban environments, there has been little empirical evidence linking liveability satisfaction and perceived and actual use of older people’s urban neighbourhood. Using qualitative (diaries and in-depth interviews) and quantitative (Global Positioning Systems and Geographical Information Systems mapping) liveability research data this paper explores whether high density supports liveability and is sustainable for older people living in a sub-tropical urban environment. This paper links satisfaction and perceived use of the sub-tropical urban Brisbane environment with actual mapped characteristics and use. Linking the two methods (both quantitative and qualitative) is important in obtaining a greater understanding of human behaviour and the lived world of older urban Australians and in providing a wider picture of sub-tropical urban neighbourhoods for a significant population group within those neighbourhoods. What emerges from the research is an uneven standard of design, provision of amenities and maintenance of the public realm which negatively impacts on local neighbourhood participation by older urban Australians. By highlighting these issues this research furthers the understanding of design factors which make the sub-tropical urban neighbourhood more liveable and sustainable for older people and will inform actionable and implementable policies, programs and designs.

Inherent errors in pollutant build-up estimation in considering urban land use as a lumped parameter

Stormwater quality modelling results is subject to uncertainty. The variability of input parameters is an important source of overall model error. An in-depth understanding of the variability associated with input parameters can provide knowledge on the uncertainty associated with these parameters and consequently assist in uncertainty analysis of stormwater quality models and the decision making based on modelling outcomes. This paper discusses the outcomes of a research study undertaken to analyse the variability related to pollutant build-up parameters in stormwater quality modelling. The study was based on the analysis of pollutant build-up samples collected from 12 road surfaces in residential, commercial and industrial land uses. It was found that build-up characteristics vary appreciably even within the same land use. Therefore, using land use as a lumped parameter would contribute significant uncertainties in stormwater quality modelling. Additionally, it was also found that the variability in pollutant build-up can also be significant depending on the pollutant type. This underlines the importance of taking into account specific land use characteristics and targeted pollutant species when undertaking uncertainty analysis of stormwater quality models or in interpreting the modelling outcomes.

Urban, suburban, and rural variations in separation/divorce rape/sexual assault : results from the National Crime Victimization Survey

To date, no large study has looked at whether separation/divorce sexual assault varies across urban, suburban, and rural areas. The authors use 1992-2009 NCVS (National Crime Victimization Survey) data to estimate the percentage of separation/divorce sexual assault against women in urban, suburban, and rural communities. In addition, the authors identify and compare the relative risk of sexual assault victimization for women across areas. Findings indicate that a higher percentage of rural divorced/separated women were victims of rape/sexual assault than were urban divorced/separated women. In addition, rural separated women are victims of intimate rape/sexual assault at significantly higher rates than their suburban and urban counterparts.

Return distribution predictability and its implications for portfolio selection

The inquiries to return predictability are traditionally limited to conditional mean, while literature on portfolio selection is replete with moment-based analysis with up to the fourth moment being considered. This paper develops a distribution-based framework for both return prediction and portfolio selection. More specifically, a time-varying return distribution is modeled through quantile regressions and copulas, using quantile regressions to extract information in marginal distributions and copulas to capture dependence structure. A preference function which captures higher moments is proposed for portfolio selection. An empirical application highlights the additional information provided by the distributional approach which cannot be captured by the traditional moment-based methods.

Expression and distribution of cell-surface proteoglycans in the normal Lewis rat molar periodontium

Cell-surface proteoglycans participate in several biological functions such as cell cell and cell-matrix interactions, cell adhesion, the binding to various growth factors as co-receptors and repair. To understand better the expression and distribution of cell-surface proteoglycans in the periodontal tissues, an immunohistochemical evaluation of the normal Lewis rat molar periodontium using panels of antibodies for syndecan-1, -2, -4, glypican and betaglycan was carried out. Our results demonstrated the expression and distribution of all proteoglycans in the suprabasal gingival epithelium, soft and hard connective tissues. Both cellular and matrix localization was evident within the various periodontal compartments. The presence of these cell-surface proteoglycans indicates the potential for roles in the process of tissue homeostasis, repair or regeneration in periodontium of which each function requires further study.

Differential expression and distribution of syndecan-1 and -2 in periodontal wound healing of the rat

Cell-surface proteoglycans participate in several biological functions including interactions with adhesion molecules, growth factors and a variety of other effector molecules. Accordingly, these molecules play a central role in various aspects of cell–cell and cell–matrix interactions. To investigate the expression and distribution of the cell surface proteoglycans, syndecan-1 and -2, during periodontal wound healing, immunohistochemical analyses were carried out using monoclonal antibodies against syndecan-1, or -2 core proteins. Both syndecan-1 and -2 were expressed and distributed differentially at various stages of early inflammatory cell infiltration, granulation tissue formation, and tissue remodeling in periodontal wound healing. Expression of syndecan-1 was noted in inflammatory cells within and around the fibrin clots during the earliest stages of inflammatory cell infiltration. During granulation tissue formation it was noted in fibroblast-like cells and newly formed blood vessels. Syndecan-1 was not seen in newly formed bone or cementum matrix at any of the time periods studied. Syndecan-1 expression was generally less during the late stages of wound healing but was markedly expressed in cells that were close to the repairing junctional epithelium. In contrast, syndecan-2 expression and distribution was not evident at the early stages of inflammatory cell infiltration. During the formation of granulation tissue and subsequent tissue remodeling, syndecan-2 was expressed extracellularly in the newly formed fibrils which were oriented toward the root surface. Syndecan-2 was found to be significantly expressed on cells that were close to the root surface and within the matrix of repaired cementum covering root dentin as well as at the alveolar bone edge. These findings indicate that syndecan-1 and -2 may have distinctive functions during wound healing of the periodontium. The appearance of syndecan-1 may involve both cell–cell and cell–matrix interactions, while syndecan-2 showed a predilection to associate with cell–matrix interactions during hard tissue formation.

Interpretations of formative assessment in the teaching of English at two Chinese universities : a sociocultural perspective

Formative assessment is increasingly being implemented through policy initiatives in Chinese educational contexts. As an approach to assessment, formative assessment derives many of its key principles from Western contexts, notably through the work of scholars in the UK, the USA and Australia. The question for this paper is the ways that formative assessment has been interpreted in the teaching of College English in Chinese Higher Education. The paper reports on a research study that utilised a sociocultural perspective on learning and assessment to analyse how two Chinese universities – an urban-based Key University and a regional-based Non-Key University – interpreted and enacted a China Ministry of Education policy on formative assessment in College English teaching. Of particular interest for the research were the ways in which the sociocultural conditions of the Chinese context mediated understanding of Western principles and led to their adaptation. The findings from the two universities identified some consistency in localised interpretations of formative assessment which included emphases on process and student participation. The differences related to the specific sociocultural conditions contextualising each university including geographical location, socioeconomic status, and teacher and student roles, expectations and beliefs about English. The findings illustrate the sociocultural tensions in interpreting, adapting and enacting formative assessment in Chinese College English classes and the consequent challenges to and questions about retaining the spirit of formative assessment as it was originally conceptualised.

School children’s personal exposure to ultrafine particles in urban environments

This work was motivated by the limited knowledge on personal exposure to ultrafine (UF) particles, and it quantifies school children’s personal exposure to UF particles, in terms of number, using Philips Aerasense Nano Tracers (NTs). This study is being conducted in conjunction with the “Ultrafine Particles from Traffic Emissions and Children’s Health (UPTECH)” project, which aims to determine the relationship between exposure to traffic related UF particles and children’s health (http://www.ilaqh.qut.edu.au/Misc/UPTECH%20 Home.htm). To achieve this, air quality and some health data are being collected at 25 schools within the Brisbane Metropolitan Area in Australia over two years. The school children’s personal exposure to UF particles in the first 17 schools are presented here. These schools were tested between Oct 2010 and Dec 2011. Data collection is expected to be complete by mid 2012.