Performance load testing and structural adequacy evaluation of road bridge decks

Many ageing road bridges, particularly timber bridges, require urgent improvement due to the demand imposed by the recent version of the Australian bridge loading code, AS 5100. As traffic volume plays a key role in the decision of budget allocations for bridge refurbishment/ replacement, many bridges in low volume traffic network remain in poor condition with axle load and/ or speed restrictions, thus disadvantaging many rural communities. This thesis examines an economical and environmentally sensible option of incorporating disused flat rail wagons (FRW) in the construction of bridges in low volume, high axle load road network. The constructability, economy and structural adequacy of the FRW road bridge is reported in the thesis with particular focus of a demonstration bridge commissioned in regional Queensland. The demonstration bridge comprises of a reinforced concrete slab (RCS) pavement resting on two FRWs with custom designed connection brackets at regular intervals along the span of the bridge. The FRW-RC bridge deck assembly is supported on elastomeric rubber pads resting on the abutment. As this type of bridge replacement technology is new and its structural design is not covered in the design standards, the in-service structural performance of the FRW bridge subjected to the high axle loadings prescribed in AS 5100 is examined through performance load testing. Both the static and the moving load tests are carried out using a fully laden commonly available three-axle tandem truck. The bridge deck is extensively strain gauged and displacement at several key locations is measured using linear variable displacement transducers (LVDTs). A high speed camera is used in the performance test and the digital image data are analysed using proprietary software to capture the locations of the wheel positions on the bridge span accurately. The wheel location is thus synchronised with the displacement and strain time series to infer the structural response of the FRW bridge. Field test data are used to calibrate a grillage model, developed for further analysis of the FRW bridge to various sets of high axle loads stipulated in the bridge design standard. Bridge behaviour predicted by the grillage model has exemplified that the live load stresses of the FRW bridge is significantly lower than the yield strength of steel and the deflections are well below the serviceability limit state set out in AS 5100. Based on the results reported in this thesis, it is concluded that the disused FRWs are competent to resist high axle loading prescribed in AS 5100 and are a viable alternative structural solution of bridge deck in the context of the low volume road networks.

Continuum of police crime : an empirical study of court cases

The great majority of police officers are committed to honourable and competent public service and consistently demonstrate integrity and accountability in carrying out the often difficult, complex and sometimes dangerous, activities involved in policing by consent. However, in every police agency there exists an element of dishonesty, lack of professionalism and criminal behaviour. This article is based on archival research of criminal behaviour in the Norwegian police force. A total of 60 police employees were prosecuted in court because of misconduct and crime from 2005 to 2010. Court cases were coded as two potential predictors of court sentence in terms of imprisonment days, ie, type of deviance and level of deviance. Categories of police crime and levels were organised according to a conceptual framework developed for assessing and managing police deviance. Empirical findings support the hypothesis that as the seriousness of police crime increases in breadth and depth so also does the severity of the court sentence as measured by time in prison.

Negative determinant of Hessian features

Local image feature extractors that select local maxima of the determinant of Hessian function have been shown to perform well and are widely used. This paper introduces the negative local minima of the determinant of Hessian function for local feature extraction. The properties and scale-space behaviour of these features are examined and found to be desirable for feature extraction. It is shown how this new feature type can be implemented along with the existing local maxima approach at negligible extra processing cost. Applications to affine covariant feature extraction and sub-pixel precise corner extraction are demonstrated. Experimental results indicate that the new corner detector is more robust to image blur and noise than existing methods. It is also accurate for a broader range of corner geometries. An affine covariant feature extractor is implemented by combining the minima of the determinant of Hessian with existing scale and shape adaptation methods. This extractor can be implemented along side the existing Hessian maxima extractor simply by finding both minima and maxima during the initial extraction stage. The minima features increase the number of correspondences by two to four fold. The additional minima features are very distinct from the maxima features in descriptor space and do not make the matching process more ambiguous.

Philosophy, behaviour disorders, and the school

The recent exponential rise in the number of behaviour disorders has been the focus of a wide range of commentaries, ranging from the pedagogic and the administrative, to the sociological, and even the legal. This book will be the first to apply, in a systematic and thorough manner, the ideas of the foundational discipline of philosophy. A number of philosophical tools are applied here, tools arising through the medium of the traditional philosophical debates, such as those concerning governance, truth, logic, ethics, free-will, law and language. Each forms a separate chapter, but together they constitute a comprehensive, rigorous and original insight into what is now an important set of concerns for all those interested in the governance of children. The intention is threefold: first, to demonstrate the utility, accessibility and effectiveness of philosophical ideas within this important academic area. Philosophy does not have to be regarded an arcane and esoteric discipline, with only limited contemporary application, far from it. Second, the book offers a new set of approaches and ideas for both researchers and practitioners within education, a field is in danger of continually using the same ideas, to endlessly repeat the same conclusions. Third, the book offers a viable alternative to the dominant psychological model which increasingly employs pathology as its central rationale for conduct. The book would not only be of interest to mainstream educators, and to those students and academics interested in philosophy, and more specifically, the application of philosophical ideas to educational issues, it would also be an appropriate text for courses on education and difference, and due to the breadth of the philosophical issues addressed, courses on applied philosophy.

Peer passenger identity and passenger pressure on young drivers' speeding intentions

Young drivers, aged 17 to 24 years, have the highest fatality rate in Australia. It is believed that part of this risk is due to pressure from peer passengers to engage in speeding; which may be active (i.e., verbal encouragement) or passive (i.e., perceived pressure on the part of the driver). The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was used to investigate this impact of peer passengers on young drivers, particularly the influence of the type of peer pressure and a driver’s level of identification with their passengers. A scenario-based questionnaire was constructed, informed by focus groups and pilot studies, and distributed to university students (N = 398). The questionnaire measured participants’ intentions and the TPB constructs, including two components of perceived behaviour control, within a baseline scenario as well as an experimental scenario in which the variables of type of pressure and identification were manipulated. Consistent with the hypotheses, the study found that attitudes and self-efficacy significantly predicted intentions over and above the variance explained by the sociodemographic variables of age, gender, self-esteem, sensation seeking, as well as past behaviour and exposure. Across the scenarios, attitudes explained between 4.3% and 14.5%, while self-efficacy to refrain from speeding explained between 4.9% and 17.1%, of the unique variance in intentions to speed. However, contrary to expectations, intentions to speed were found to be higher in the “no passenger” than “passenger present” conditions, although this finding is not completely inconsistent with recent literature. A high level of identification with passengers led to higher intentions to speed than low identification as expected, but, inconsistent with expectations, different types of pressure (i.e., active versus passive) did not influence intentions to speed.

Influence of physical and chemical properties of solids on heavy metal adsorption

Partition of heavy metals between particulate and dissolve fraction of stormwater primarily depends on the adsorption characteristics of solids particles. Moreover, the bioavailability of heavy metals is also influenced by the adsorption behaviour of solids. However, due to the lack of fundamental knowledge in relation to the heavy metals adsorption processes of road deposited solids, the effectiveness of stormwater management strategies can be limited. The research study focused on the investigation of the physical and chemical parameters of solids on urban road surfaces and, more specifically, on heavy metal adsorption to solids. Due to the complex nature of heavy metal interaction with solids, a substantial database was generated through a series of field investigations and laboratory experiments. The study sites for the build-up pollutant sample collection were selected from four urbanised suburbs located in a major river catchment. Sixteen road sites were selected from these suburbs and represented typical industrial, commercial and residential land uses. Build-up pollutants were collected using a wet and dry vacuum collection technique which was specially designed to improve fine particle collection. Roadside soil samples were also collected from each suburb for comparison with the road surface solids. The collected build-up solids samples were separated into four particle size ranges and tested for a range of physical and chemical parameters. The solids build-up on road surfaces contained a high fraction (70%) of particles smaller than 150ìm, which are favourable for heavy metal adsorption. These solids particles predominantly consist of soil derived minerals which included quartz, albite, microcline, muscovite and chlorite. Additionally, a high percentage of amorphous content was also identified in road deposited solids. In comparing the mineralogical data of surrounding soil and road deposited solids, it was found that about 30% of the solids consisted of particles generated from traffic related activities on road surfaces. Significant difference in mineralogical composition was noted in different particle sizes of build-up solids. Fine solids particles (<150ìm) consisted of a clayey matrix and high amorphous content (in the region of 40%) while coarse particles (>150ìm) consisted of a sandy matrix at all study sites, with about 60% quartz content. Due to these differences in mineralogical components, particles larger than and smaller than 150ìm had significant differences in their specific surface area (SSA) and effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC). These parameters, in turn, exert a significant influence on heavy metal adsorption. Consequently, heavy metal content in >150ìm particles was lower than in the case of fine particles. The particle size range <75ìm had the highest heavy metal content, corresponding with its high clay forming minerals, high organic matter and low quartz content which increased the SSA, ECEC and the presence of Fe, Al and Mn oxides. The clay forming minerals, high organic matter and Fe, Al and Mn oxides create distinct groups of charge sites on solids surfaces and exhibit different adsorption mechanisms and bond strength, between heavy metal elements and charge sites. Therefore, the predominance of these factors in different particle sizes leads to different heavy metal adsorption characteristics. Heavy metals show preference for association with clay forming minerals in fine solids particles, whilst in coarse particles heavy metals preferentially associate with organic matter. Although heavy metal adsorption to amorphous material is very low, the heavy metals embedded in traffic related materials have a potential impact on stormwater quality.Adsorption of heavy metals is not confined to an individual type of charge site in solids, whereas specific heavy metal elements show preference for adsorption to several different types of charge sites in solids. This is attributed to the dearth of preferred binding sites and the inability to reach the preferred binding sites due to competition between different heavy metal species. This confirms that heavy metal adsorption is significantly influenced by the physical and chemical parameters of solids that lead to a heterogeneity of surface charge sites. The research study highlighted the importance of removal of solids particles from stormwater runoff before they enter into receiving waters to reduce the potential risk posed by the bioavailability of heavy metals. The bioavailability of heavy metals not only results from the easily mobile fraction bound to the solids particles, but can also occur as a result of the dissolution of other forms of bonds by chemical changes in stormwater or microbial activity. Due to the diversity in the composition of the different particle sizes of solids and the characteristics and amount of charge sites on the particle surfaces, investigations using bulk solids are not adequate to gain an understanding of the heavy metal adsorption processes of solids particles. Therefore, the investigation of different particle size ranges is recommended for enhancing stormwater quality management practices.

The relationship between parents’ self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, child behaviour, and management of atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition, characterized by intense pruritis, with a complex aetiology comprising multiple genetic and environmental factors. It is a common chronic health problem among children, and along with other allergic conditions, is increasing in prevalence within Australia and in many countries worldwide. Successful management of childhood AD poses a significant and ongoing challenge to parents of affected children. Episodic and unpredictable, AD can have profound effects on children’s physical and psychosocial wellbeing and quality of life, and that of their caregivers and families. Where concurrent child behavioural problems and parenting difficulties exist, parents may have particular difficulty achieving adequate and consistent performance of the routine management tasks that promote the child’s health and wellbeing. Despite frequent reports of behaviour problems in children with AD, past research has neglected the importance of child behaviour to parenting confidence and competence with treatment. Parents of children with AD are also at risk of experiencing depression, anxiety, parenting stress, and parenting difficulties. Although these factors have been associated with difficulty in managing other childhood chronic health conditions, the nature of these relationships in the context of child AD management has not been reported. This study therefore examined relationships between child, parent, and family variables, and parents’ management of child AD and difficult child behaviour, using social cognitive and self-efficacy theory as a guiding framework. The study was conducted in three phases. It employed a quantitative, cross-sectional study design, accessing a community sample of 120 parents of children with AD, and a sample of 64 child-parent dyads recruited from a metropolitan paediatric tertiary referral centre. In Phase One, instruments designed to measure parents’ self-reported performance of AD management tasks (Parents’ Eczema Management Scale – PEMS) and parents’ outcome expectations of task performance (Parents’ Outcome Expectations of Eczema Management Scale – POEEMS) were adapted from the Parental Self-Efficacy with Eczema Care Index (PASECI). In Phase Two, these instruments were used to examine relationships between child, parent, and family variables, and parents’ self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and self-reported performance of AD management tasks. Relationships between child, parent, and family variables, parents’ self-efficacy for managing problem behaviours, and reported parenting practices, were also examined. This latter focus was explored further in Phase Three, in which relationships between observed child and parent behaviour, and parent-reported self-efficacy for managing both child AD and problem behaviours, were explored. Phase One demonstrated the reliability of both PEMS and POEEMS, and confirmed that PASECI was reliable and valid with modification as detailed. Factor analyses revealed two-factor structures for PEMS and PASECI alike, with both scales containing factors related to performing routine management tasks, and managing the child’s symptoms and behaviour. Factor analysis was also applied to POEEMS resulting in a three-factor structure. Factors relating to independent management of AD by the parent, involving healthcare professionals in management, and involving the child in management of AD were found. Parents’ self-efficacy and outcome expectations had a significant influence on self-reported task performance. In Phase Two, relationships emerged between parents’ self-efficacy and self-reported performance of AD management tasks, and AD severity, child behaviour difficulties, parent depression and stress, conflict over parenting issues, and parents’ relationship satisfaction. Using multiple linear regressions, significant proportions of variation in parents’ self-efficacy and self-reported performance of AD management tasks were explained by child behaviour difficulties and parents’ formal education, and self-efficacy emerged as a likely mediator for the relationships between both child behaviour and parents’ education, and performance of AD management tasks. Relationships were also found between parents’ self-efficacy for managing difficult child behaviour and use of dysfunctional parenting strategies, and child behaviour difficulties, parents’ depression and stress, conflict over parenting issues, and relationship satisfaction. While significant proportions of variation in self-efficacy for managing child behaviour were explained by both child behaviour and family income, family income was the only variable to explain a significant proportion of variation in parent-reported use of dysfunctional parenting strategies. Greater use of dysfunctional parenting strategies (both lax and authoritarian parenting) was associated with more severe AD. Parents reporting lower self-efficacy for managing AD also reported lower self-efficacy for managing difficult child behaviour; likewise, less successful self-reported performance of AD management tasks was associated with greater use of dysfunctional parenting strategies. When child and parent behaviour was directly observed in Phase Three, more aversive child behaviour was associated with lower self-efficacy, less positive outcome expectations, and poorer self-reported performance of AD management tasks by parents. Importantly, there were strong positive relationships between these variables (self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and self-reported task performance) and parents’ observed competence when providing treatment to their child. Less competent performance was also associated with greater parent-reported child behaviour difficulties, parent depression and stress, parenting conflict, and relationship dissatisfaction. Overall, this study revealed the importance of child behaviour to parents’ confidence and practices in the contexts of child AD and child behaviour management. Parents of children with concurrent AD and behavioural problems are at particular risk of having low self-efficacy for managing their child’s AD and difficult behaviour. Children with more severe AD are also at higher risk of behaviour problems, and thus represent a high-risk group of children whose parents may struggle to manage the disease successfully. As one of the first studies to examine the role and correlates of parents’ self-efficacy in child AD management, this study identified a number of potentially modifiable factors that can be targeted to enhance parents’ self-efficacy, and improve parent management of child AD. In particular, interventions should focus on child behaviour and parenting issues to support parents caring for children with AD and improve child health outcomes. In future, findings from this research will assist healthcare teams to identify parents most in need of support and intervention, and inform the development and testing of targeted multidisciplinary strategies to support parents caring for children with AD.

Risky strategic behaviour : unintended consequences of good intentions in the homelessness service system

The delivery of human services occurs through a complex and often volatile system characterised by both competing and cooperating efforts. A recent strategic intention of government has been to integrate disparate service providers and programs into a more effective and efficient system using competitive funding regimes. A program of amalgamation has also been forecast and promoted as a further mechanism by which to link up smaller agencies thus creating economy and efficiency in the scale and scope of their service modes. Despite the current reliance on competitive funding models and amalgamation as the preferred ways forward for the sector little is known about their integrative capacity including their ability to predict outcomes and their consequences : the ‘unknown unknowns’. Drawing on an extensive data set of human services integration initiatives in Queensland, Australia, this paper examines the impact of government policy and service models and the risks arising from the tensions between competition and accountability on the one hand and the established good will and trust on the other. It is argued that unresolved, these tensions can lead to a weakening of the social infrastructure and make the system more vulnerable to inherent systemic risks. The paper finds that government’s efforts to externalise risk to the non-government sector leads to fragmentation of the service system and fractured collaborative capability. These unintended outcomes themselves have the unintended consequence of leaving governments disconnected from the service system and unable to provide the leadership role and direction necessary for sustained integration. Moreover, facilitating such a leadership role is undermined by behaviours that are directly contrary to collective integration models.

Individual user behaviour modelling for effective web recommendation

With the growth of the Web, E-commerce activities are also becoming popular. Product recommendation is an effective way of marketing a product to potential customers. Based on a user’s previous searches, most recommendation methods employ two dimensional models to find relevant items. Such items are then recommended to a user. Further too many irrelevant recommendations worsen the information overload problem for a user. This happens because such models based on vectors and matrices are unable to find the latent relationships that exist between users and searches. Identifying user behaviour is a complex process, and usually involves comparing searches made by him. In most of the cases traditional vector and matrix based methods are used to find prominent features as searched by a user. In this research we employ tensors to find relevant features as searched by users. Such relevant features are then used for making recommendations. Evaluation on real datasets show the effectiveness of such recommendations over vector and matrix based methods.

A suspicious behaviour detection using a context space model for smart surveillance systems

Video surveillance systems using Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras, is one of the fastest growing areas in the field of security technologies. However, the existing video surveillance systems are still not at a stage where they can be used for crime prevention. The systems rely heavily on human observers and are therefore limited by factors such as fatigue and monitoring capabilities over long periods of time. This work attempts to address these problems by proposing an automatic suspicious behaviour detection which utilises contextual information. The utilisation of contextual information is done via three main components: a context space model, a data stream clustering algorithm, and an inference algorithm. The utilisation of contextual information is still limited in the domain of suspicious behaviour detection. Furthermore, it is nearly impossible to correctly understand human behaviour without considering the context where it is observed. This work presents experiments using video feeds taken from CAVIAR dataset and a camera mounted on one of the buildings Z-Block) at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia. From these experiments, it is shown that by exploiting contextual information, the proposed system is able to make more accurate detections, especially of those behaviours which are only suspicious in some contexts while being normal in the others. Moreover, this information gives critical feedback to the system designers to refine the system.

An additional step towards modelling the mechanical behaviour of sugar cane bagasse

A better understanding of the behaviour of prepared cane and bagasse, especially the ability to model the mechanical behaviour of bagasse as it is squeezed in a milling unit to extract juice, would help identify how to improve the current milling process; for example to reduce final bagasse moisture. Previous investigations have proven with certainty that juice flow through bagasse obeys Darcy’s permeability law, that the grip of the rough surface of the grooves on the bagasse can be represented by the Mohr- Coulomb failure criterion for soils, and that the internal mechanical behaviour of the bagasse can be represented by critical state behaviour similar to that of sand and clay. Current Finite Element Models (FEM) available in commercial software have adequate permeability models. However, commercial software does not contain an adequate mechanical model for bagasse. Progress has been made in the last ten years towards implementing a mechanical model for bagasse in finite element software code. This paper builds on that progress and carries out a further step towards obtaining an adequate material model. In particular, the prediction of volume change during shearing of normally consolidated final bagasse is addressed.

Consumer clothing disposal behaviour: A comparative study

Fast fashion retailing is leading consumers towards an increased rate of purchasing and the trend to keep clothing for an ever shorter time with the resulting rise in clothing disposal. The aim of this paper is to empirically explore antecedents of two methods of sustainable clothing disposal behaviour in two countries: donating to charities and giving away to family and friends. Using data from females located in Australia and Chile, the authors test the proposed model with structural equation modelling (SEM). The results of this study show that consumer recycling behaviour is a strong and direct driver of donating to charity. In addition, results find that consumer awareness of the environment and consumer age affect donating behaviour. The findings have value for fast fashion retailers, marketers, environmental activists, ecological researchers, charity institutions and public policy makers.

The impact of regulatory reforms on the earnings forecasting behaviour of IPO firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to jointly assess the impact of regulatory reform for corporate fundraising in Australia (CLERP Act 1999) and the relaxation of ASX admission rules in 1999, on the accuracy of management earnings forecasts in initial public offer (IPO) prospectuses. The relaxation of ASX listing rules permitted a new category of new economy firms (commitments test entities (CTEs))to list without a prior history of profitability, while the CLERP Act (introduced in 2000) was accompanied by tighter disclosure obligations and stronger enforcement action by the corporate regulator (ASIC). Design/methodology/approach – All IPO earnings forecasts in prospectuses lodged between 1998 and 2003 are examined to assess the pre- and post-CLERP Act impact. Based on active ASIC enforcement action in the post-reform period, IPO firms are hypothesised to provide more accurate forecasts, particularly CTE firms, which are less likely to have a reasonable basis for forecasting. Research models are developed to empirically test the impact of the reforms on CTE and non-CTE IPO firms. Findings – The new regulatory environment has had a positive impact on management forecasting behaviour. In the post-CLERP Act period, the accuracy of prospectus forecasts and their revisions significantly improved and, as expected, the results are primarily driven by CTE firms. However, the majority of prospectus forecasts continue to be materially inaccurate. Originality/value – The results highlight the need to control for both the changing nature of listed firms and the level of enforcement action when examining responses to regulatory changes to corporate fundraising activities.

Safeguarding rural Australia : addressing masculinity and violence in rural settings : risky behaviour in a rural Australian context : analysis of secondary data analysis

This report is an update of an earlier one produced in January 2010 (see Carrington et al. 2010) which remains as an ePrint through the project’s home page. The report focus on our examination of extant data which have been sourced with respect to personally and socially risky behaviour associated with males living in regional and remote Australia and which were available in public data bases at production.