Robotics for sustainable broad-acre agriculture

This paper describes the development of small low-cost cooperative robots for sustainable broad-acre agriculture to increase broad-acre crop production and reduce environmental impact. The current focus of the project is to use robotics to deal with resistant weeds, a critical problem for Australian farmers. To keep the overall system affordable our robot uses low-cost cameras and positioning sensors to perform a large scale coverage task while also avoiding obstacles. A multi-robot coordinator assigns parts of a given field to individual robots. The paper describes the modification of an electric vehicle for autonomy and experimental results from one real robot and twelve simulated robots working in coordination for approximately two hours on a 55 hectare field in Emerald Australia. Over this time the real robot 'sprayed' 6 hectares missing 2.6% and overlapping 9.7% within its assigned field partition, and successfully avoided three obstacles.

Investigation on Temperature-Dependent Electrical Conductivity of Carbon Nanotube/Epoxy Composites for Sustainable Energy Applications

Composites with carbon nanotubes are becoming increasingly used in energy storage and electronic devices, due to incorporated excellent properties from carbon nanotubes and polymers. Although their properties make them more attractive than conventional smart materials, their electrical properties are found to be temperature-dependent which is important to consider for the design of devices. To study the effects of temperature in electrically conductive multi-wall carbon nanotube/epoxy composites, thin films were prepared and the effect of temperature on the resistivity, thermal properties and Raman spectral characteristics of the composite films was evaluated. Resistivity-temperature profiles showed three distinct regions in as-cured samples and only two regions in samples whose thermal histories had been erased. In the vicinity of the glass transition temperature, the as-cured composites exhibited pronounced resistivity and enthalpic relaxation peaks, which both disappeared after erasing the composites’ thermal histories by temperature cycling. Combined DSC, Raman spectroscopy, and resistivity-temperature analyses indicated that this phenomenon can be attributed to the physical aging of the epoxy matrix and that, in the region of the observed thermal history-dependent resistivity peaks, structural rearrangement of the conductive carbon nanotube network occurs through a volume expansion/relaxation process. These results have led to an overall greater understanding of the temperature-dependent behaviour of conductive carbon nanotube/epoxy composites, including the positive temperature coefficient effect.

Contributions towards a process for sustainable development in coastal Queensland, Australia

The measures by which major developments are officially approved for construction are - by common agreement - complex, time-consuming, and of questionable merit in terms of maintaining ecological viability.

All the worldwide web's a stage : teenage girls' self-presentation and identities formation through status updates

This study investigates grade eight girls’ use of status updates on Facebook in order to create identities online. Using sociologist Erving Goffman’s theory of self-presentation as a framework, Jones and Pittman’s subsequent strategies of self-presentation are used to discover the ways in which teenage girls use status updates in order to create identities online and manage audience impressions. Using a mixed methods design, the results showed that, while existing self-presentation strategies persist, social networking has created new means of self-presentation. This study adds to a growing pool of research regarding teens’ engagement with social networking websites to form identities.

Toward a sustainable culture of peer partnership

This project is a two phase design working in partnership with five universities to develop, implement and systematically embed a distributive leadership model that aims to embed peer partnership (review, development) within the culture of teaching and learning excellence. This presentation will posit a ‘prototype’ peer review leadership model based on ongoing research that brings together both the fundamentals of peer review with the broader importance of context and persons. It will be argued that essential to teaching development is a need to address not only the implementation of peer partnership programs but also strategies to influence and change both the contexts of teaching and the advantages for colleagues. Peer review as a strategy to develop excellence in teaching needs to be considered from a holistic perspective encompassing all elements of the teaching environment. The emphasis is on working to foster the type of conditions needed for leadership and change to begin and be sustained. The work has implications for policy, research, leadership development and student outcomes and has potential application world-wide. Phase 1 has collected focus interview and questionnaire data to inform the research and is being analysed using a thematic qualitative approach and statistical analysis. Evidence is emerging currently as the project is ongoing.

Interconnected autonomous microgrids in smart grids with self-healing

In order to minimize the number of load shedding in a Microgrid during autonomous operation, islanded neighbour microgrids can be interconnected if they are on a self-healing network and an extra generation capacity is available in Distributed Energy Resources (DER) in one of the microgrids. In this way, the total load in the system of interconnected microgrids can be shared by all the DERs within these microgrids. However, for this purpose, carefully designed self-healing and supply restoration control algorithm, protection systems and communication infrastructure are required at the network and microgrid levels. In this chapter, first a hierarchical control structure is discussed for interconnecting the neighbour autonomous microgrids where the introduced primary control level is the main focus. Through the developed primary control level, it demonstrates how the parallel DERs in the system of multiple interconnected autonomous microgrids can properly share the load in the system. This controller is designed such that the converter-interfaced DERs operate in a voltage-controlled mode following a decentralized power sharing algorithm based on droop control. The switching in the converters is controlled using a linear quadratic regulator based state feedback which is more stable than conventional proportional integrator controllers and this prevents instability among parallel DERs when two microgrids are interconnected. The efficacy of the primary control level of DERs in the system of multiple interconnected autonomous microgrids is validated through simulations considering detailed dynamic models of DERs and converters.

Online self-supervised multi-instance segmentation of dynamic objects

This paper presents a method for the continuous segmentation of dynamic objects using only a vehicle mounted monocular camera without any prior knowledge of the object’s appearance. Prior work in online static/dynamic segmentation is extended to identify multiple instances of dynamic objects by introducing an unsupervised motion clustering step. These clusters are then used to update a multi-class classifier within a self-supervised framework. In contrast to many tracking-by-detection based methods, our system is able to detect dynamic objects without any prior knowledge of their visual appearance shape or location. Furthermore, the classifier is used to propagate labels of the same object in previous frames, which facilitates the continuous tracking of individual objects based on motion. The proposed system is evaluated using recall and false alarm metrics in addition to a new multi-instance labelled dataset to evaluate the performance of segmenting multiple instances of objects.

Self-management associated with fatigue in patients with advanced cancer : a prospective longitudinal study

Cancer-related fatigue is one of the most distressing symptoms experienced by patients with advanced cancer. This doctoral study identified that patients with advanced cancer commonly use a number of self-management strategies in response to fatigue, although these strategies had varying levels of effectiveness in reducing the symptom. The study identified that enhancing self-efficacy and managing depressive symptoms are important factors to consider in the design of future interventions to support fatigue self-management.

Partial mediation role of self-efficacy between positive social interaction and mental health in family caregivers for dementia patients in Shanghai

We explored the mediation effect of caregiver self-efficacy on the influences of behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPSD) of dementia care recipients (CRs) or family caregivers’ (CGs) social supports (informational, tangible and affectionate support and positive social interaction) on CGs’ mental health. We interviewed 196 CGs, using a battery of measures including demographic data of the dyads, CRs’ dementia-related impairments, and CGs’ social support, self-efficacy and the Medical Outcome Study (MOS) Short-Form (SF-36) Health Survey. Multiple regression analyses showed that gathering information on self-efficacy and managing CG distress self-efficacy were the partial mediators of the relationship between positive social interaction and CG mental health. Managing caregiving distress self-efficacy also partial mediated the impact of BPSD on CG mental health. We discuss implications of the results for improving mental health of the target population in mainland China.

Higher Education and Sustainable Development : A Model for Curriculum Renewal

Responding to the global and unprecedented challenge of capacity building for twenty-first century life, this book is a practical guide for tertiary education institutions to quickly and effectively renew the curriculum towards education for sustainable development. The book begins by exploring why curriculum change has been so slow. It then describes a model for rapid curriculum renewal, highlighting the important roles of setting timeframes, formal and informal leadership, and key components and action strategies. The second part of the book provides detailed coverage of six core elements that have been trialled and peer reviewed by institutions around the world: - raising awareness among staff and students - mapping graduate attributes - auditing the curriculum - developing niche degrees, flagship courses and fully integrated programs - engaging and catalysing community and student markets - integrating curriculum with green campus operations. With input from more than seventy academics and grounded in engineering education experiences, this book will provide academic staff with tools and insights to rapidly align program offerings with the needs of present and future generations of students.

Ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1A) antagonism suppresses both operant alcohol self-administration and high alcohol consumption in rats

The mechanisms involved in alcohol use disorders are complex. It has been shown that ghrelin is an important signal for the control of body weight homeostasis, preferably by interacting with hypothalamic circuits, as well as for drug reward by activating the mesolimbic dopamine system. The ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1A) has been shown to be required for alcohol-induced reward. Additionally, ghrelin increases and GHR-R1A antagonists reduce moderate alcohol consumption in mice, and a single nucleotide polymorphism in the GHS-R1A gene has been associated with high alcohol consumption in humans. However, the role of central ghrelin signaling in high alcohol consumption is not known. Therefore, the role of GHS-R1A in operant self-administration of alcohol in rats as well as for high alcohol consumption in Long-Evans rats and in alcohol preferring [Alko alcohol (AA)] rats was studied here. In the present study, the GHS-R1A antagonist, JMV2959, was found to reduce the operant self-administration of alcohol in rats and to decrease high alcohol intake in Long-Evans rats as well as in AA rats. These results suggest that the ghrelin receptor signaling system, specifically GHS-R1A, is required for operant self-administration of alcohol and for high alcohol intake in rats. Therefore, the GHS-R1A may be a therapeutic target for treatment of addictive behaviors, such as alcohol dependence.

Sustainable Urban Water Environment : Climate, Pollution and Adaptation

"This multi-disciplinary book provides practical solutions for safeguarding the sustainability of the urban water environment. Firstly, the importance of the urban water environment is highlighted and the major problems urban water bodies face and strategies to safeguard the water environment are explored. Secondly, the diversity of pollutants entering the water environment through stormwater runoff are discussed and modelling approaches for factoring in climate change and future urban and transport scenarios are proposed. Thirdly, by linking the concepts of sustainable urban ecosystems and sustainable urban and transport development, capabilities of two urban sustainability assessment models are demonstrated."--publisher website

Developing sustainable fish farming in the Western Pacific : a viewpoint on potential reasons for why many attempts failed

Capture fisheries and aquaculture have been a major source of food and providers of economic benefits to many communities around the world for a very long time. While the history of aquaculture or fish farming can be traced back for more than 2000 years in some corners of the globe, notably in China, Japan and the Mediterranean, this is not true everywhere, where in general, fish farming is a relatively new industry. Rapid human population growth and increasing urbanisation over the last 20 to 40 years has meant that while fish consumption has doubled globally, returns from capture fisheries have remained static or have declined due to overexploitation and rising pollution levels, with some fisheries either closing or becoming economically unviable. Data from studies suggest that this trend is unlikely to be reversed unless appropriate fisheries management allows depleted wild stocks to rebuild. This has occurred during a time when demand for fish products has grown, in part due to improved purchasing power in some developing countries and changing dietary habits where fish are now considered to have a positive impact on health. Based on the projected population growth over the next two decades, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimates that at least an additional 40 million tonnes of aquatic food will be required to maintain the current per capita consumption (FAO 2006).

Sustainable development as a meta-context for engineering education

At the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, there is unprecedented awareness of the need for a transformation in development, to meet the needs of the present while also preserving the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. However, within engineering, educators still tend to regard such development as an ‘aspect’ of engineering rather than an overarching meta-context, with ad hoc and highly variable references to topics. Furthermore, within a milieu of interpretations there can appear to be conflicting needs for achieving sustainable development, which can be confusing for students and educators alike. Different articulations of sustainable development can create dilemmas around conflicting needs for designers and researchers, at the level of specific designs and (sub-) disciplinary analysis. Hence sustainability issues need to be addressed at a meta-level using a whole of system approach, so that decisions regarding these dilemmas can be made. With this appreciation, and in light of curriculum renewal challenges that also exist in engineering education, this paper considers how educators might take the next step to move from sustainable development being an interesting ‘aspect’ of the curriculum, to sustainable development as a meta-context for curriculum renewal. It is concluded that capacity building for such strategic considerations is critical in engineering education.