Smart buildings for healthy and sustainable workplace: scoping study report

Deficiencies in the design and operation of office buildings can give rise to high social, environmental and economic (triple bottom line) costs. As a result, there are significant pressures and incentives to develop ‘smart building’ technologies that can facilitate improved indoor environment quality (IEQ), and more energy efficient operation of office buildings. IEQ indicators include lighting, ventilation, thermal comfort, indoor air quality and noise. In response to this, the CRC for Construction Innovation commissioned a six-month scoping study (Project no. 2002-043) to examine how different technologies could be used to improve the ‘triple bottom line’ for office buildings. The study was supported by three industry partners, Bovis Lend Lease, Arup, and The Queensland Department of Public Works. The objective of the study was to look at the history, trends, drivers, new technologies and potential application areas related to the operation of healthy and efficient office buildings. The key output from the study was a recommendation for a prototype system for intelligent monitoring and control of an office environment, based on identified market, technical and user requirements and constraints.

Assessment for learning revisited : an Asia-Pacific perspective

In March of this year, 2009, the Third International Conference on Assessment for Learning was held in Dunedin, New Zealand. Colleagues from Australia (4), Canada (6), Europe (5), New Zealand (7), United Kingdom (5) and the United States of America (4) met to advance the understanding and practices of Assessment for Learning at all levels of education. An important outcome of this meeting was a position paper on Assessment for Learning (AfL) that has been reproduced with permission in this editorial because of its significance to a recurrent theme of the majority of the articles published in this special Asia-Pacific issue of the journal. The text of this statement is set out in italics below.

The Impact of Globalization and Corruption on Extraordinary Wealth: An Empirical Analysis

The billionaires of the world attract significant attention from the media and the public. The popular press is full of books selling formulas on how to become rich. Surprisingly, only a limited number of studies have explored empirically the determinants of extraordinary wealth. Using a large data set we explore whether globalization and corruption affect extreme wealth accumulation. We find evidence that an increase in globalization increases super-richness. In addition, we also find that an increase in corruption leads to an increase in the creation of super fortune. This supports the argument that in kleptocracies large sums are transferred into the hands of a small group of individuals.

Teachers' attitudes towards the gifted : the importance of professional development and school culture

Given that teachers have one of the most significant influences on the educational development of gifted students, reports of negative attitudes and beliefs in popular myths about giftedness are cause for concern. It is important to understand teachers’ attitudes and beliefs to implement effective training and educational practices to improve education for gifted students. This study explored the attitudes of Australian primary school teachers (N = 126) towards intellectually gifted children and their education at eight schools. These schools could be categorised into four different classifications in regards to their involvement in gifted education. Key findings include significant associations between teachers’ attitudes and their school classifications (p < .001), and their participation in gifted and talented education inservice training (p < .001). Findings from this study suggest that further teacher training and school-wide involvement in gifted education may assist in improving attitudes towards intellectually gifted children and their education.

Curriculum and religion

Across continents and cultures and periods of history, religious beliefs have underpinned curriculum in institutions of education. More recently, the so-called culture wars and terrorism have moved religion to center stage. In both state and independent education sectors, deep-seated assumptions about the nature of reality, spirituality, ethics and knowledge converge and clash in the curriculum documents of science, history, literacy education, and the like. With a focus on textual genres of power, starting with antiquity, this chapter argues that little has changed through millennia as the secular mysticism of price has replaced theology today in constraining the potentials of education.

The first Australian nurse practitioner census : a protocol to guide standardized collection of information about an emergent professional group

Internationally, collection of reliable data on new and evolving health-care roles is crucial. We describe a protocol for design and administration of a national census of an emergent health-care role, namely nurse practitioners in Australia using databases held by regulatory authorities. A questionnaire was developed to obtain data on the role and scope of practice of Australian nurse practitioners. Our tool comprised five sections and included a total of 56 questions, using 28 existing items from the National Nursing and Midwifery Labour Force Census and nine items recommended in the Nurse Practitioner Workforce Planning Minimum Data Set. Australian Nurse Registering Authorities (n = 6) distributed the survey on our behalf. This paper outlines our instrument and methods. The survey was administered to 238 authorized Australian nurse practitioners (85% response rate). Rigorous collection of standardized items will ensure health policy is informed by reliable and valid data. We will re-administer the survey 2 years following the first survey to measure change over time.

Governors highway safety associations and transportation planning: Exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 mandated the consideration of safety in the regional transportation planning process. As part of National Cooperative Highway Research Program Project 8-44, "Incorporating Safety into the Transportation Planning Process," we conducted a telephone survey to assess safety-related activities and expertise at Governors Highway Safety Associations (GHSAs), and GHSA relationships with metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and state departments of transportation (DOTs). The survey results were combined with statewide crash data to enable exploratory modeling of the relationship between GHSA policies and programs and statewide safety. The modeling objective was to illuminate current hurdles to ISTEA implementation, so that appropriate institutional, analytical, and personnel improvements can be made. The study revealed that coordination of transportation safety across DOTs, MPOs, GHSAs, and departments of public safety is generally beneficial to the implementation of safety. In addition, better coordination is characterized by more positive and constructive attitudes toward incorporating safety into planning.

Gender inequality and the spread of HIV-AIDS in India

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to analyze the low status of women as being a major contributor for the observed gender inequality in the spread of HIV/AIDS in India. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses data from National Aids Control Organization (NACO), National Family Health Survey (NFHS 3), and the Directorate of Economics and Statistics. Findings This study highlights the problems facing women in deterring the spread of HIV/AIDS in India. The status and empowerment of women are important variables in combating the disease among both men and women in India. Literacy, education, exposure to the media, labor market participation, awareness of HIV/AIDS, and economic independence are important considerations in improving the status of women in India. Policymakers need to focus on gender inequality in order to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in India. Originality/value While absolute figures indicate men are more likely to be infected with HIV/AIDS, the rate of decline is higher for men compared to women in India. We explore several plausible explanations for such observed inequality in the spread of HIV/AIDS across gender. In particular, a potentially important factor - the low status of women in society is attributable as an impediment to the spread of the disease. A case study of the relationship between gender empowerment and the spread of HIV/AIDS in the state with the highest concentration, Manipur, provides more insight to the difficulties faced by women in combating HIV/AIDS in India.

Raised Floor System applications for refurbishing office spaces

While raised floors as a building component has been around since the 70's, its application in terms of a holistic system in the fit-out of commercial office buildings has not been fully embraced due to some inherent problems and negative perceptions of the stakeholders involved. Today, the new generation of raised floor systems(RFS) offers a suite of innovative and integrated products and solutions, and as such are not only suitable for the changing office space requirements, but also capable of meeting tbe smart and sustainable challenges, which are becoming the prerequisite in the refurbishment of existing buildings. As there has been a prediction for continued growth in refurbishment projects in major cities around the globe, RFS as an alternative methodology warrants new examination and highlight. This paper introduces research recently completed in Australia that provided a holistic approach to the application of RFS enabled by intelligent building technologies, and examined key issues of project development when refurbishing commercial office buildings. It focuses on the constructability of RFS, and how it will respond to smart feature requirements in buildings while extending service life, meeting new organisational change and workplace health needs for applications in today's office environment. It also introduces key project procurement issues and the integrated decision support when dealing with the refurbishment of office buildings. The paper recommends procurement strategies as well as the justification of adopting the RFS technology in the Australian office building sector. Given the current economic downturn, refitting as opposed to new build .projects will come onto the spotlight. This paper will provide valuable information for building owners and developers alike when contemplating the retrofit of office buildings.

A case of intention deficit disorder? ICT policy, disadvantaged schools, and leaders

Since the mid-1990s, government policies in the USA, Canada, England, and Australia have promoted the need to produce an ICT skilled workforce in order to ensure national competitiveness in globalised economic conditions. In this article, we examine the ways in which these policy intentions in 1 state in Australia were translated into a techno-determinist and technocentric plan which focused primarily on getting wired up and connected. We summarise the findings from 2 projects: an investigation of a state-wide principals' professional development programme and an action research study investigating literacy, educational disadvantage, and information technologies. We found significant differences in the distribution of the physical and human capabilities between schools which made the task of engaging with ICT harder for some than others. Nevertheless, we suggest that some school leaders did develop innovative practice. We suggest that policy deficits made it difficult for school leaders to grapple with the dimensions of and debates about the kinds of educational changes that schools and school systems should be making. © 2006 Taylor & Francis.

Quantification of particle emission characteristics and development of an emission model for use in transport microenvironments affected by traffic emissions

Vehicle emitted particles are of significant concern based on their potential to influence local air quality and human health. Transport microenvironments usually contain higher vehicle emission concentrations compared to other environments, and people spend a substantial amount of time in these microenvironments when commuting. Currently there is limited scientific knowledge on particle concentration, passenger exposure and the distribution of vehicle emissions in transport microenvironments, partially due to the fact that the instrumentation required to conduct such measurements is not available in many research centres. Information on passenger waiting time and location in such microenvironments has also not been investigated, which makes it difficult to evaluate a passenger’s spatial-temporal exposure to vehicle emissions. Furthermore, current emission models are incapable of rapidly predicting emission distribution, given the complexity of variations in emission rates that result from changes in driving conditions, as well as the time spent in driving condition within the transport microenvironment. In order to address these scientific gaps in knowledge, this work conducted, for the first time, a comprehensive statistical analysis of experimental data, along with multi-parameter assessment, exposure evaluation and comparison, and emission model development and application, in relation to traffic interrupted transport microenvironments. The work aimed to quantify and characterise particle emissions and human exposure in the transport microenvironments, with bus stations and a pedestrian crossing identified as suitable research locations representing a typical transport microenvironment. Firstly, two bus stations in Brisbane, Australia, with different designs, were selected to conduct measurements of particle number size distributions, particle number and PM2.5 concentrations during two different seasons. Simultaneous traffic and meteorological parameters were also monitored, aiming to quantify particle characteristics and investigate the impact of bus flow rate, station design and meteorological conditions on particle characteristics at stations. The results showed higher concentrations of PN20-30 at the station situated in an open area (open station), which is likely to be attributed to the lower average daily temperature compared to the station with a canyon structure (canyon station). During precipitation events, it was found that particle number concentration in the size range 25-250 nm decreased greatly, and that the average daily reduction in PM2.5 concentration on rainy days compared to fine days was 44.2 % and 22.6 % at the open and canyon station, respectively. The effect of ambient wind speeds on particle number concentrations was also examined, and no relationship was found between particle number concentration and wind speed for the entire measurement period. In addition, 33 pairs of average half-hourly PN7-3000 concentrations were calculated and identified at the two stations, during the same time of a day, and with the same ambient wind speeds and precipitation conditions. The results of a paired t-test showed that the average half-hourly PN7-3000 concentrations at the two stations were not significantly different at the 5% confidence level (t = 0.06, p = 0.96), which indicates that the different station designs were not a crucial factor for influencing PN7-3000 concentrations. A further assessment of passenger exposure to bus emissions on a platform was evaluated at another bus station in Brisbane, Australia. The sampling was conducted over seven weekdays to investigate spatial-temporal variations in size-fractionated particle number and PM2.5 concentrations, as well as human exposure on the platform. For the whole day, the average PN13-800 concentration was 1.3 x 104 and 1.0 x 104 particle/cm3 at the centre and end of the platform, respectively, of which PN50-100 accounted for the largest proportion to the total count. Furthermore, the contribution of exposure at the bus station to the overall daily exposure was assessed using two assumed scenarios of a school student and an office worker. It was found that, although the daily time fraction (the percentage of time spend at a location in a whole day) at the station was only 0.8 %, the daily exposure fractions (the percentage of exposures at a location accounting for the daily exposure) at the station were 2.7% and 2.8 % for exposure to PN13-800 and 2.7% and 3.5% for exposure to PM2.5 for the school student and the office worker, respectively. A new parameter, “exposure intensity” (the ratio of daily exposure fraction and the daily time fraction) was also defined and calculated at the station, with values of 3.3 and 3.4 for exposure to PN13-880, and 3.3 and 4.2 for exposure to PM2.5, for the school student and the office worker, respectively. In order to quantify the enhanced emissions at critical locations and define the emission distribution in further dispersion models for traffic interrupted transport microenvironments, a composite line source emission (CLSE) model was developed to specifically quantify exposure levels and describe the spatial variability of vehicle emissions in traffic interrupted microenvironments. This model took into account the complexity of vehicle movements in the queue, as well as different emission rates relevant to various driving conditions (cruise, decelerate, idle and accelerate), and it utilised multi-representative segments to capture the accurate emission distribution for real vehicle flow. This model does not only helped to quantify the enhanced emissions at critical locations, but it also helped to define the emission source distribution of the disrupted steady flow for further dispersion modelling. The model then was applied to estimate particle number emissions at a bidirectional bus station used by diesel and compressed natural gas fuelled buses. It was found that the acceleration distance was of critical importance when estimating particle number emission, since the highest emissions occurred in sections where most of the buses were accelerating and no significant increases were observed at locations where they idled. It was also shown that emissions at the front end of the platform were 43 times greater than at the rear of the platform. The CLSE model was also applied at a signalled pedestrian crossing, in order to assess increased particle number emissions from motor vehicles when forced to stop and accelerate from rest. The CLSE model was used to calculate the total emissions produced by a specific number and mix of light petrol cars and diesel passenger buses including 1 car travelling in 1 direction (/1 direction), 14 cars / 1 direction, 1 bus / 1 direction, 28 cars / 2 directions, 24 cars and 2 buses / 2 directions, and 20 cars and 4 buses / 2 directions. It was found that the total emissions produced during stopping on a red signal were significantly higher than when the traffic moved at a steady speed. Overall, total emissions due to the interruption of the traffic increased by a factor of 13, 11, 45, 11, 41, and 43 for the above 6 cases, respectively. In summary, this PhD thesis presents the results of a comprehensive study on particle number and mass concentration, together with particle size distribution, in a bus station transport microenvironment, influenced by bus flow rates, meteorological conditions and station design. Passenger spatial-temporal exposure to bus emitted particles was also assessed according to waiting time and location along the platform, as well as the contribution of exposure at the bus station to overall daily exposure. Due to the complexity of the interrupted traffic flow within the transport microenvironments, a unique CLSE model was also developed, which is capable of quantifying emission levels at critical locations within the transport microenvironment, for the purpose of evaluating passenger exposure and conducting simulations of vehicle emission dispersion. The application of the CLSE model at a pedestrian crossing also proved its applicability and simplicity for use in a real-world transport microenvironment.

Locally oriented crime prevention and the “partnership approach” : politics, practices and prospects

Why have multi-agency or "partnership" approaches to crime prevention and community safety been reported internationally with unfavorable results? Can groups and individuals from disparate government and non-government sectors work together to reduce or prevent crime? This article will address these and other questions by using developments in Belgium as its case study. In 1992, Belgium launched its "safety and crime prevention contracts", a series of locally based crime prevention initiatives which have attempted to contract federal, regional and local governments to a range of social and police oriented crime prevention endeavors. Traces the development of the Belgian crime prevention contracts and examines the difficulties experienced with "multi-agency crime prevention" and suggests that much of the political rhetoric in Belgium calling for local, community and intersectorial "partnerships" has, like several other countries including England and Wales, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, lacked clear practical expression. However, some promising initiatives indicate that this prevention approach may be capable of producing effective crime prevention and community safety outcomes. Further research is needed to describe these initiatives and analyze the conditions under which they are developed.

Formal complaints of workplace sexual harassment lodged with Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commissions - 1 July 2009 - 31 December 2009

This report presents an analysis of quantitative data collected from the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Anti-Discrimination Commission of Queensland, the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, the Anti-Discrimination Board of New South Wales, the Equal Opportunity Commission of South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory Human Rights Commission, the Equal Opportunity Commission Western Australia, the Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Commission, and the Office of the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner (Tasmania) (hereafter referred to as the Commissions). The data comprise formal complaints lodged under the various federal, state and territory anti-discrimination laws in the period 1 July 2009 to 31 December 2009 where a complainant had alleged sexual harassment in the area of employment.