Australian screen content in education research project

Researchers from Queensland University of Technology have teamed up with the Australian Research Council (ARC), Screen Australia, The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) to investigate the use of Australian screen content in primary, secondary and tertiary education. Over the next three years (2014-2016), researchers and investigators will undertake a national survey of schools and universities, and will conduct in-depth interviews with hundreds of industry representatives, teachers, principals, librarians and students. Furthermore, new approaches to developing screen content and curricula will be trialled. The project aims to develop a comprehensive picture of why, how, how much and where Australian screen content is used in education.

Tools for Mobile Multimedia Programming and Development

Mobile devices are rapidly developing into the primary technology for users to work, socialize, and play in a variety of settings and contexts. Their pervasiveness has provided researchers with the means to investigate innovative solutions to ever more complex user demands. Tools for Mobile Multimedia Programming and Development investigates the use of mobile platforms for research projects, focusing on the development, testing, and evaluation of prototypes rather than final products, which enables researchers to better understand the needs of users through image processing, object recognition, sensor integration, and user interactions. This book benefits researchers and professionals in multiple disciplines who utilize such techniques in the creation of prototypes for mobile devices and applications. This book is part of the Advances in Wireless Technologies and Telecommunication series collection.

Regulation of ROCK1 via Notch1 during breast cancer cell migration into dense matrices

Background The behaviour of tumour cells depends on factors such as genetics and the tumour microenvironment. The latter plays a crucial role in normal mammary gland development and also in breast cancer initiation and progression. Breast cancer tissues tend to be highly desmoplastic and dense matrix as a pre-existing condition poses one of the highest risk factors for cancer development. However, matrix influence on tumour cell gene expression and behaviour such as cell migration is not fully elucidated. Results We generated high-density (HD) matrices that mimicked tumour collagen content of 20 mg/cm3 that were ~14-fold stiffer than low-density (LD) matrix of 1 mg/cm3. Live-cell imaging showed breast cancer cells utilizing cytoplasmic streaming and cell body contractility for migration within HD matrix. Cell migration was blocked in the presence of both the ROCK inhibitor, Y-27632, and the MMP inhibitor, GM6001, but not by the drugs individually. This suggests roles for ROCK1 and MMP in cell migration are complicated by compensatory mechanisms. ROCK1 expression and protein activity, were significantly upregulated in HD matrix but these were blocked by treatment with a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, MS-275. In HD matrix, the inhibition of ROCK1 by MS-275 was indirect and relied upon protein synthesis and Notch1. Inhibition of Notch1 using pooled siRNA or DAPT abrogated the inhibition of ROCK1 by MS-275. Conclusion Increased matrix density elevates ROCK1 activity, which aids in cell migration via cell contractility. The upregulation of ROCK1 is epigenetically regulated in an indirect manner involving the repression of Notch1. This is demonstrated from inhibition of HDACs by MS-275, which caused an upregulation of Notch1 levels leading to blockade of ROCK1 expression.

Professional development and social networks in digital content industry micro businesses

This study explores the professional development strategies of digital content professionals in Australian micro businesses. This thesis presents the argument that as these professionals are working in cutting edge creative fields where digital technology drives ongoing change, formal education experiences may be less important than for other professionals, and that specific types of online and face-to-face socially mediated informal learning strategies may be critical to currency. This thesis documents the findings of a broad survey of industry professionals' learning needs and development strategies, in conjunction with rich data from in-depth interviews and social network analyses.

A new distributed control strategy to coordinate multiple dstatcoms in LV network

Voltage rise is the main issue which limits the capacity of Low Voltage (LV) network to accommodate more Renewable Energy (RE) sources. In addition, voltage drop at peak load period is a significant power quality concern. This paper proposes a new robust voltage support strategy based on distributed coordination of multiple distribution static synchronous compensators (DSTATCOMs). The study focuses on LV networks with PV as the RE source for customers. The proposed approach applied to a typical LV network and its advantages are shown comparing with other voltage control strategies.

A series-connected photovoltaic distributed generator capable of enhancing power quality

Design of a series-connected photovoltaic generator (SPVG) capable of enhancing power quality is investigated. Analysis of the SPVG operations under disturbance conditions shows explicitly how achievable network voltage quality is affected by the SPVG injected power and its apparent power rating, and that voltage quality can be significantly improved even with a modest level of energy storage capacity incorporated in the SPVG. A control system for the SPVG is also proposed. Both simulation and laboratory tests confirm the efficacy of the distributed generator system.

Direct integration of battery energy storage systems in distributed power generation

In this paper, a wind energy conversion system interfaced to the grid using a dual inverter is proposed. One of the two inverters in the dual inverter is connected to the rectified output of the wind generator while the other is directly connected to a battery energy storage system (BESS). This approach eliminates the need for an additional dc-dc converter and thus reduces power losses, cost, and complexity. The main issue with this scheme is uncorrelated dynamic changes in dc-link voltages that results in unevenly distributed space vectors. A detailed analysis on the effects of these variations is presented in this paper. Furthermore, a modified modulation technique is proposed to produce undistorted currents even in the presence of unevenly distributed and dynamically changing space vectors. An analysis on the battery charging/discharging process and maximum power point tracking of the wind turbine generator is also presented. Simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the efficacy of the proposed modulation technique and battery charging/discharging process.

Z-source-inverter-based flexible distributed generation system solution for grid power quality improvement

Distributed generation (DG) systems are usually connected to the grid using power electronic converters. Power delivered from such DG sources depends on factors like energy availability and load demand. The converters used in power conversion do not operate with their full capacity all the time. The unused or remaining capacity of the converters could be used to provide some ancillary functions like harmonic and unbalance mitigation of the power distribution system. As some of these DG sources have wide operating ranges, they need special power converters for grid interfacing. Being a single-stage buck-boost inverter, recently proposed Z-source inverter (ZSI) is a good candidate for future DG systems. This paper presents a controller design for a ZSI-based DG system to improve power quality of distribution systems. The proposed control method is tested with simulation results obtained using Matlab/Simulink/PLECS and subsequently it is experimentally validated using a laboratory prototype.

A transcriptomic analysis of striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) in response to salinity adaptation: De novo assembly, gene annotation and marker discovery

The striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) culture industry in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam has developed rapidly over the past decade. The culture industry now however, faces some significant challenges, especially related to climate change impacts notably from predicted extensive saltwater intrusion into many low topographical coastal provinces across the Mekong Delta. This problem highlights a need for development of culture stocks that can tolerate more saline culture environments as a response to expansion of saline water-intruded land. While a traditional artificial selection program can potentially address this need, understanding the genomic basis of salinity tolerance can assist development of more productive culture lines. The current study applied a transcriptomic approach using Ion PGM technology to generate expressed sequence tag (EST) resources from the intestine and swim bladder from striped catfish reared at a salinity level of 9 ppt which showed best growth performance. Total sequence data generated was 467.8 Mbp, consisting of 4,116,424 reads with an average length of 112 bp. De novo assembly was employed that generated 51,188 contigs, and allowed identification of 16,116 putative genes based on the GenBank non-redundant database. GO annotation, KEGG pathway mapping, and functional annotation of the EST sequences recovered with a wide diversity of biological functions and processes. In addition, more than 11,600 simple sequence repeats were also detected. This is the first comprehensive analysis of a striped catfish transcriptome, and provides a valuable genomic resource for future selective breeding programs and functional or evolutionary studies of genes that influence salinity tolerance in this important culture species.

When supply does not meet demand-ER stress and plant programmed cell death

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the central organelle in the eukaryotic secretory pathway. The ER functions in protein synthesis and maturation and is crucial for proper maintenance of cellular homeostasis and adaptation to adverse environments. Acting as a cellular sentinel, the ER is exquisitely sensitive to changing environments principally via the ER quality control machinery. When perturbed, ER-stress triggers a tightly regulated and highly conserved, signal transduction pathway known as the unfolded protein response (UPR) that prevents the dangerous accumulation of unfolded/misfolded proteins. In situations where excessive UPR activity surpasses threshold levels, cells deteriorate and eventually trigger programmed cell death (PCD) as a way for the organism to cope with dysfunctional or toxic signals. The programmed cell death that results from excessive ER stress in mammalian systems contributes to several important diseases including hypoxia, neurodegeneration, and diabetes. Importantly, hallmark features and markers of cell death that are associated with ER stress in mammals are also found in plants. In particular, there is a common, conserved set of chaperones that modulate ER cell death signaling. Here we review the elements of plant cell death responses to ER stress and note that an increasing number of plant-pathogen interactions are being identified in which the host ER is targeted by plant pathogens to establish compatibility.

Analysis of the needs of the East Coast cluster regional natural resource management bodies in relation to planning for climate change adaptation

The Climate Change Adaptation for Natural Resource Management (NRM) in East Coast Australia Project aims to foster and support an effective “community of practice” for climate change adaptation within the East Coast Cluster NRM regions that will increase the capacity for adaptation to climate change through enhancements in knowledge and skills and through the establishment of long‐term collaborations. It is being delivered by six consortium research partners: * The University of Queensland (project lead) * Griffith University * University of the Sunshine Coast * CSIRO * New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage * Queensland Department of Science, IT, Innovation and the Arts (Queensland Herbarium). The project relates to the East Coast Cluster, comprising the six coastal NRM regions and regional bodies between Rockhampton and Sydney: * Fitzroy Basin Association (FBA) * Burnett‐Mary Regional Group (BMRG) * SEQ Catchments (SEQC) * Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority (CMA) (NRCMA) * Hunter‐Central Rivers CMA (HCRCMA) * Hawkesbury Nepean CMA (HNCMA). The aims of this report are to summarise the needs of the regional bodies in relation to NRM planning for climate change adaptation, and provide a basis for developing the detailed work plan for the research consortium. Two primary methods were used to identify the needs of the regional bodies: (1) document analysis of the existing NRM/ Catchment Action Plans (CAPs) and applications by the regional bodies for funding under Stream 1 of the Regional NRM Planning for Climate Change Fund, and; (2) a needs analysis workshop, held in May 2013 involving representatives from the research consortium partners and the regional bodies. The East Coast Cluster includes five of the ten largest significant urban areas in Australia, world heritage listed natural environments, significant agriculture, mining and extensive grazing. The three NSW CMAs have recently completed strategic level CAPs, with implementation plans to be finalised in 2014/2015. SEQC and FBA are beginning a review of their existing NRM Plans, to be completed in 2014 and 2015 respectively; while BMRG is aiming to produce a NRM and Climate Variability Action Strategy. The regional bodies will receive funding from the Australian Government through the Regional NRM Planning for Climate Change Fund (NRM Fund) to improve regional planning for climate change and help guide the location of carbon and biodiversity activities, including wildlife corridors. The bulk of the funding will be available for activities in 2013/2014, with smaller amounts available in subsequent years. Most regional bodies aim to have a large proportion of the planning work complete by the end of 2014. In addition, NSW CMAs are undergoing major structural change and will be incorporated into semi‐autonomous statutory Local Land Services bodies from 2014. Boundaries will align with local government boundaries and there will be significant change in staff and structures. The regional bodies in the cluster have a varying degree of climate knowledge. All plans recognise climate change as a key driver of change, but there are few specific actions or targets addressing climate change. Regional bodies also have varying capacity to analyse large volumes of spatial or modelling data. Due to the complex nature of natural resource management, all regional bodies work with key stakeholders (e.g. local government, industry groups, and community groups) to deliver NRM outcomes. Regional bodies therefore require project outputs that can be used directly in stakeholder engagement activities, and are likely to require some form of capacity building associated with each of the outputs to maximise uptake. Some of the immediate needs of the regional bodies are a summary of information or tools that are able to be used immediately; and a summary of the key outputs and milestone dates for the project, to facilitate alignment of planning activities with research outputs. A project framework is useful to show the linkages between research elements and the relevance of the research to the adaptive management cycle for NRM planning in which the regional bodies are engaged. A draft framework is proposed to stimulate and promote discussion on research elements and linkages; this will be refined during and following the development of the detailed project work plan. The regional bodies strongly emphasised the need to incorporate a shift to a systems based resilience approach to NRM planning, and that approach is included in the framework. The regional bodies identified that information on climate projections would be most useful at regional and subregional scale, to feed into scenario planning and impact analysis. Outputs should be ‘engagement ready’ and there is a need for capacity building to enable regional bodies to understand and use the projections in stakeholder engagement. There was interest in understanding the impacts of climate change projections on ecosystems (e.g. ecosystem shift), and the consequent impacts on the production of ecosystem services. It was emphasised that any modelling should be able to be used by the regional bodies with their stakeholders to allow for community input (i.e. no black box models). The online regrowth benefits tool was of great interest to the regional bodies, as spatial mapping of carbon farming opportunities would be relevant to their funding requirements. The NSW CMAs identified an interest in development of the tool for NSW vegetation types. Needs relating to socio‐economic information included understanding the socio‐economic determinants of carbon farming uptake and managing community expectations. A need was also identified to understand the vulnerability of industry groups as well as community to climate change impacts, and in particular understanding how changes in the flow of ecosystem services would interact with the vulnerability of these groups to impact on the linked ecologicalsocio‐economic system. Responses to disasters (particularly flooding and storm surge) and recovery responses were also identified as being of interest. An ecosystem services framework was highlighted as a useful approach to synthesising biophysical and socioeconomic information in the context of a systems based, resilience approach to NRM planning. A need was identified to develop processes to move towards such an approach to NRM planning from the current asset management approach. Examples of best practice in incorporating climate science into planning, using scenarios for stakeholder engagement in planning and processes for institutionalising learning were also identified as cross‐cutting needs. The over‐arching theme identified was the need for capacity building for the NRM bodies to best use the information available at any point in time. To this end a planners working group has been established to support the building of a network of informed and articulate NRM agents with knowledge of current climate science and capacity to use current tools to engage stakeholders in NRM planning for climate change adaptation. The planners working group would form the core group of the community of practice, with the broader group of stakeholders participating when activities aligned with their interests. In this way, it is anticipated that the Project will contribute to building capacity within the wider community to effectively plan for climate change adaptation.

Study Protocol - Alcohol Management Plans (AMPs) in remote indigenous communities in Queensland: their impacts on injury, violence, health and social indicators and their cost-effectiveness

Background In 2002/03 the Queensland Government responded to high rates of alcohol-related harm in discrete Indigenous communities by implementing alcohol management plans (AMPs), designed to include supply and harm reduction and treatment measures. Tighter alcohol supply and carriage restrictions followed in 2008 following indications of reductions in violence and injury. Despite the plans being in place for over a decade, no comprehensive independent review has assessed to what level the designed aims were achieved and what effect the plans have had on Indigenous community residents and service providers. This study will describe the long-term impacts on important health, economic and social outcomes of Queensland’s AMPs. Methods/Design The project has two main studies, 1) outcome evaluation using de-identified epidemiological data on injury, violence and other health and social indicators for across Queensland, including de-identified databases compiled from relevant routinely-available administrative data sets, and 2) a process evaluation to map the nature, timing and content of intervention components targeting alcohol. Process evaluation will also be used to assess the fidelity with which the designed intervention components have been implemented, their uptake and community responses to them and their perceived impacts on alcohol supply and consumption, injury, violence and community health. Interviews and focus groups with Indigenous residents and service providers will be used. The study will be conducted in all 24 of Queensland’s Indigenous communities affected by alcohol management plans. Discussion This evaluation will report on the impacts of the original aims for AMPs, what impact they have had on Indigenous residents and service providers. A central outcome will be the establishment of relevant databases describing the parameters of the changes seen. This will permit comprehensive and rigorous surveillance systems to be put in place and provided to communities empowering them with the best credible evidence to judge future policy and program requirements for themselves. The project will inform impending alcohol policy and program adjustments in Queensland and other Australian jurisdictions. The project has been approved by the James Cook University Human Research Ethics Committee (approval number H4967 & H5241).

Validation of a framework for measuring hospital disaster resilience using factor analysis

Hospital disaster resilience can be defined as “the ability of hospitals to resist, absorb, and respond to the shock of disasters while maintaining and surging essential health services, and then to recover to its original state or adapt to a new one.” This article aims to provide a framework which can be used to comprehensively measure hospital disaster resilience. An evaluation framework for assessing hospital resilience was initially proposed through a systematic literature review and Modified-Delphi consultation. Eight key domains were identified: hospital safety, command, communication and cooperation system, disaster plan, resource stockpile, staff capability, disaster training and drills, emergency services and surge capability, and recovery and adaptation. The data for this study were collected from 41 tertiary hospitals in Shandong Province in China, using a specially designed questionnaire. Factor analysis was conducted to determine the underpinning structure of the framework. It identified a four-factor structure of hospital resilience, namely, emergency medical response capability (F1), disaster management mechanisms (F2), hospital infrastructural safety (F3), and disaster resources (F4). These factors displayed good internal consistency. The overall level of hospital disaster resilience (F) was calculated using the scoring model: F = 0.615F1 + 0.202F2 + 0.103F3 + 0.080F4. This validated framework provides a new way to operationalise the concept of hospital resilience, and it is also a foundation for the further development of the measurement instrument in future studies.

Australian content

There has long been widespread community, political and industry agreement over the important place of Australian content in the media mix, but debate continues over what counts as such in different media, how that content is defined, how much there should be, whether particular genres should be privileged, who should finance production, and how all of these things should be regulated.

Adaptation lessons from cyclone Tracy

This case study will review the impact of Tropical Cyclone Tracy on the city and people of Darwin, the Australian engineering and institutional responses that it invoked and the relevance of these lessons to a world threatened by global climate change. At Christmas, 1974, Tropical Cyclone Tracy laid waste the city of Darwin, an iconic episode in the history of Australian natural disasters. It provides one of the clearest and most successful examples worldwide of adaptation to a catastrophe. Following large losses in Townsville from Tropical Cyclone Althea in 1971, the level of destruction in Darwin was such that it led to new regulations mandating the use of the wind code for reconstruction, and eventually to similar regulations for new construction in other cyclone-prone areas of Australia.