Carbon, biodiversity and regional natural resource planning : towards high impact next generation plans

Given the increased importance of adaptation debates in global climate negotiations, pressure to achieve biodiversity, food and water security through managed landscape-scale adaptation will likely increase across the globe over the coming decade. In parallel, emerging market-based, terrestrial greenhouse gas abatement programs present a real opportunity to secure such adaptation to climate change through enhanced landscape resilience. Australia has an opportunity to take advantage of such programs through regional planning aspects of its governance arrangements for NRM. This paper explores necessary reforms to Australia's regional NRM planning systems to ensure that they will be better able to direct the nation's emerging GGA programs to secure enhanced landscape adaptation. © 2013 Planning Institute Australia.

An approach for adaptive and integrated environmental planning to deal with uncertainty in a Great Barrier Reef Catchment

This paper presents the Mossman Mill District Practices Framework. It was developed in the Wet Tropics region within the Great Barrier Reef in north-eastern Australia to describe the environmental benefits of agricultural management practices for the sugar cane industry. The framework translates complex, unclear and overlapping environmental plans, policy and legal arrangements into a simple framework of management practices that landholders can use to improve their management actions. Practices range from those that are old or outdated through to aspirational practices that have the potential to achieve desired resource condition targets. The framework has been applied by stakeholders at multiple scales to better coordinate and integrate a range of policy arrangements to improve natural resource management. It has been used to structure monitoring and evaluation in order to underpin a more adaptive approach to planning at mill district and property scale. Potentially, the framework and approach can be applied across fields of planning where adaptive management is needed. It has the potential to overcome many of the criticisms of property-scale and regional Natural Resource Management.

Analysis of damage to buildings following the 2010–11 Eastern Australia floods

This research analyses the extent of damage to buildings in Brisbane, Ipswich and Grantham during the recent Eastern Australia flooding and explore the role planning and design/construction regulations played in these failures. It highlights weaknesses in the current systems and propose effective solutions to mitigate future damage and financial loss under current or future climates. 2010 and early 2011 saw major flooding throughout much of Eastern Australia. Queensland and Victoria were particularly hard hit, with insured losses in these states reaching $2.5 billion and many thousands of homes inundated. The Queensland cities of Brisbane and Ipswich were the worst affected; around two-thirds of all inundated property/buildings were in these two areas. Other local government areas to record high levels of inundation were Central Highlands and Rockhampton Regional Councils in Queensland, and Buloke, Campaspe, Central Gold Fields and Loddon in Victoria. Flash flooding was a problem in a number of Victorian councils, but the Lockyer Valley west of Ipswich suffered the most extensive damage with 19 lives lost and more than 100 homes completely destroyed. In all more than 28,000 properties were inundated in Queensland and around 2,500 buildings affected in Victoria. Of the residential properties affected in Brisbane, around 90% were in areas developed prior to the introduction of floodplain development controls, with many also suffering inundation during the 1974 floods. The project developed a predictive model for estimating flood loss and occupant displacement. This model can now be used for flood risk assessments or rapid assessment of impacts following a flood event.

A Triple Bottom Line Planning Tool for Measuring Sustainability : A Systems Approach to Sustainability Using the Australian Dairy Industry as a Case Study

Sustainability is a key driver for decisions in the management and future development of organisations and industries. However, quantifying and comparing sustainability across the triple bottom line (TBL) of economy, environment and social impact, has been problematic. There is a need for a tool which can measure the complex interactions within and between the environmental, economic and social systems which affect the sustainability of an industry in a transparent, consistent and comparable way. The authors acknowledge that there are currently numerous ways in which sustainability is measured and multiple methodologies in how these measurement tools were designed. The purpose of this book is to showcase how Bayesian network modelling can be used to identify and measure environmental, economic and social sustainability variables and to understand their impact on and interaction with each other. This book introduces the Sustainability Scorecard, and describes it through a case study on sustainability of the Australian dairy industry. This study was conducted in collaboration with the Australian dairy industry.

Informing engineering education for sustainable development using a deliberative dynamic model for curriculum renewal

Literature from around the world clearly suggests that engineering education has been relatively slow to incorporate significant knowledge and skill areas, including the rapidly emerging area of sustainable development. Within this context, this paper presents the findings of research that questioned how engineering educators could consistently implement systematic and intentional curriculum renewal that is responsive to emerging engineering challenges and opportunities. The paper presents a number of elements of systematic and intentional curriculum renewal that have been empirically distilled from a qualitative multiple-method iterative research approach including literature review, narrative enquiry, pilot trials and peer-review workshops undertaken by the authors with engineering educators from around the world. The paper also presents new knowledge arising from the research, in the form of a new model that demonstrates a dynamic and deliberative mechanism for strategically accelerating for curriculum renewal efforts. Specifically the paper discusses implications of this model to achieve education for sustainable development, across all disciplines of engineering. It concludes with broader research and practice implications for the field of education research.

Pandemic planning as risk management : how fared the Australian Federation?

The role of law in managing public health challenges such as influenza pandemics poses special challenges. This article reviews Australian plans in the context of the H1N1 09 experience to assess whether risk management was facilitated or inhibited by the "number" of levels or phases of management, the degree of prescriptive detail for particular phases, the number of plans, the clarity of the relationship between them, and the role of the media. Despite differences in the content and form of the plans at the time of the H1N1 09 emerging pandemic, the article argues that in practice, the plans proved to be responsive and robust bases for managing pandemic risks. It is suggested that this was because the plans proved to be frameworks for coordination rather than prescriptive straitjackets, to be only one component of the regulatory response, and to offer the varied tool box of possible responses, as called for by the theory of responsive regulation. Consistent with the principle of subsidiarity, it is argued that the plans did not inhibit localised responses such as selective school closures or rapid responses to selected populations such as cruise ship passengers.

Curricula integration : identifying and locating engineering education across the Australian curriculum

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has become an educational package emerging throughout the world (e.g. UK, China, US & Australia). Although science, technology and mathematics are taught in schools and engineering education occurs in universities, there appear to be few if any explicit engineering education programs in primary and junior secondary schools. A stronger inclusion of engineering education at these levels could assist students to make informed decisions about career opportunities in STEM-related fields. This paper suggests how engineering education can be integrated with other key learning areas such as English, mathematics, science, history and geography within the new Australian Curriculum.

Supporting future curriculum leaders in embedding Indigenous knowledge on teaching practicum

This report documents the outcomes of the OLT funded project on Supporting Future Curriculum Leaders in Embedding Indigenous Knowledges on Teaching Practicum. This project investigated the learning and teaching relationships between pre-service teachers and their supervisors on practicum, with pre-service teachers who were specifically engaged (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous pre-service teachers studying the Indigenous Studies minor) with embedding Indigenous knowledge and perspectives in their teaching practice. It explored the negotiations of expectations, role modelling and the interactions that occur between pre-service teachers, their supervising teachers and QUT staff involved in supporting teaching practicum. The intent was to design a model to develop long term, future-oriented opportunities for teachers to develop expertise in embedding Indigenous knowledge and perspectives in curriculum, pedagogy and assessment.

A controlled, rapid approach to curriculum change

Teachers are continually bombarded with change programs for improvements in areas such as literacy and numeracy, however; the focus is often on the program and not on results (Pertuzé, Calder, Greitzer & Lucas, 2010). When the inevitable failure follows (Fullan, 2005; Gross, Giacquinta & Bernstein, 1971)the school moves on to a new activities-based model.

The importance of accurate beam data measurement for SRT/SRS treatment planning

Introduction This study investigated the sensitivity of calculated stereotactic radiotherapy and radiosurgery doses to the accuracy of the beam data used by the treatment planning system. Methods Two sets of field output factors were acquired using fields smaller than approximately 1 cm2, for inclusion in beam data used by the iPlan treatment planning system (Brainlab, Feldkirchen, Germany). One set of output factors were measured using an Exradin A16 ion chamber (Standard Imaging, Middleton, USA). Although this chamber has a relatively small collecting volume (0.007 cm3), measurements made in small fields using this chamber are subject to the effects of volume averaging, electronic disequilibrium and chamber perturbations. The second, more accurate, set of measurements were obtained by applying perturbation correction factors, calculated using Monte Carlo simulations according to a method recommended by Cranmer-Sargison et al. [1] to measurements made using a 60017 unshielded electron diode (PTW, Freiburg, Germany). A series of 12 sample patient treatments were used to investigate the effects of beam data accuracy on resulting planned dose. These treatments, which involved 135 fields, were planned for delivery via static conformal arcs and 3DCRT techniques, to targets ranging from prostates (up to 8 cm across) to meningiomas (usually more than 2 cm across) to arterioveinous malformations, acoustic neuromas and brain metastases (often less than 2 cm across). Isocentre doses were calculated for all of these fields using iPlan, and the results of using the two different sets of beam data were evaluated. Results While the isocentre doses for many fields are identical (difference = 0.0 %), there is a general trend for the doses calculated using the data obtained from corrected diode measurements to exceed the doses calculated using the less-accurate Exradin ion chamber measurements (difference\0.0 %). There are several alarming outliers (circled in the Fig. 1) where doses differ by more than 3 %, in beams from sample treatments planned for volumes up to 2 cm across. Discussion and conclusions These results demonstrate that treatment planning dose calculations for SRT/SRS treatments can be substantially affected when beam data for fields smaller than approximately 1 cm2 are measured inaccurately, even when treatment volumes are up to 2 cm across.

Innovating urban policymaking and planning mechanisms to deliver knowledge-based agendas : a methodological approach

This paper aims to develop a comprehensive approach to innovate urban policymaking and planning to successfully deliver the knowledge-based agenda. The paper, first, examines the concept of knowledge-based urban development, which has become a popular urban development policy and strategy in recent years, through a comprehensive review of the literature. It, then, introduces and discusses a novel methodological approach for effective policymaking and planning mechanism to deliver the knowledge-based agenda of cities. The paper, with the proposed methodology, brings together urban policymaking and planning approaches, and introduces a novel way to assess knowledge-based urban development achievements and potentials of emerging and prosperous knowledge cities. The paper, thus, provides an invaluable instrument to inform local and regional decision and plan making mechanisms to deliver their knowledge-based agendas and help them in moving towards building their sustainable knowledge cities.

Review: "Planning Asian cities : risks and resilience" edited by Stephen Hamnett and Dean Forbes, Planning, History and Environment Series, London, Routledge, 2011

Since the beginning of the agricultural revolution, cities have always been the cradle of civilisation, innovation and productivity, particularly as a result of the recent change factors affecting their (trans)formation, such as globalisation, the knowledge economy, technological advancements, climate change and so on. While in some parts of the world, cities are rapidly growing, in other parts, cities are shrinking, and their populations are aging. Even under the current pressure of constantly changing global conditions, the role of cities in influencing and partially shaping local, regional, national, supranational and even global level economy, society, environment and governance is undeniable. Global changes, while providing opportunities for cities and their administrations to reform and revisit existing planning and development processes and mechanisms, at the same time, challenge them by dealing with everincreasing risks and establishing resilience. At present, more than half of the world’s population...

Feasibility and efficacy of a 'Move and Learn' physical activity curriculum in preschool children

Background This study evaluated the effect of a “move and learn” curriculum on physical activity (PA) in 3- to 5-year-olds attending a half-day preschool program. Methods Classrooms were randomized to receive an 8-week move and learn program or complete their usual curriculum. In intervention classes, opportunities for PA were integrated into all aspects of the preschool curriculum, including math, science, language arts, and nutrition education. Changes in PA were measured objectively using accelerometry and direct observation. Results At the completion of the 8-week intervention, children completing the move and learn curriculum exhibited significantly higher levels of classroom moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) than children completing their usual curriculum. Significant differences were also noted for classroom VPA over the final 2 weeks. Conclusion The results suggest that integrating movement experiences into an existing early childhood curriculum is feasible and a potentially effective strategy for promoting PA in preschool children.

Building capacity for 21st century engineering through curriculum renewal

At the 2012 CDIO conference, it was clear to all that engineering for 21st Century challenges and opportunities will be critical to the success of society over the next 2-3 decades, in dealing with pressures including climate change, resource depletion and urban densification. Within this context there is a growing imperative for rapid curriculum renewal towards education for sustainable development across all types and disciplines of engineering education, around the world. Building on a paper presented by these authors at the 2012 CDIO conference, this 2013 roundtable will draw on participants’ experiences to discuss how sustainability knowledge and skills can be embedded within a CDIO-based program using a holistic approach to curriculum renewal. The highly interactive and dynamic session will include two parts: 1) a short presentation from the chairs of the roundtable on an emergent model for rapid curriculum renewal; and 2) a facilitated discussion with participants about challenges and opportunities for action. Session notes will be recorded for distribution among participants following the conference.

Multiple map hypotheses for planning and navigating in non-stationary environments

This paper presents a method to enable a mobile robot working in non-stationary environments to plan its path and localize within multiple map hypotheses simultaneously. The maps are generated using a long-term and short-term memory mechanism that ensures only persistent configurations in the environment are selected to create the maps. In order to evaluate the proposed method, experimentation is conducted in an office environment. Compared to navigation systems that use only one map, our system produces superior path planning and navigation in a non-stationary environment where paths can be blocked periodically, a common scenario which poses significant challenges for typical planners.