A journey access tool to facilitate mobility-related access for people with disabilities in low and middle income countries

People with disabilities (PWD) experience difficulties in accessing the transport system (including both infrastructure and services) to meet their needs for health care, employment and other activities. Our research shows that lack of access to the journeys needed for these purposes is a more significant barrier in low and middle income countries than in high income countries, and results in inadequate health care, rehabilitation and access to education and employment. At the same time, the existing transport system in low and middle income countries presents much higher road crash risks than in high income countries. By combining the principles and methods of Road Safety Audit and disability access, and adapting these Western approaches to a low/middle income country context, we have worked with Handicap International Cambodia to develop a Journey Access Tool (JAT) for use by disabled peoples’ organisations (DPOs), people with a disability and other key stakeholders. A key element of the approach is that it involves the participation of PWD on the journeys that they need to take, and it identifies infrastructure and service improvements that should be prioritised in order to facilitate access to these journeys. The JAT has been piloted in Cambodia with a range of PWD. This presentation will outline the design of the JAT and the results of the pilot studies. The information gained thus far strongly suggests that the JAT is a valuable and cost-effective approach that can be used by DPOs and professionals to identify barriers to access and prioritise the steps needed to address them.

Development of novel grain morphology during hot extrusion of magnesium AZ21 alloy

Microstructure and microtexture evolution during static annealing of a hot-extruded AZ21 magnesium alloy was studied. Apart from fine recrystallized equiaxed grains and large elongated deformed grains, a new third kind of abnormal grains that are stacked one after the other in a row parallel to the extrusion direction were observed. The crystallographic misorientation inside these grains was similar to that of the fine recrystallized grains. The large elongated grains exhibited significant in-grain misorientation. A self-consistent mechanistic model was developed to describe the formation of these grain morphologies during dynamic recrystallization (DRX). The texture of pre-extruded material, although lost in DRX, leaves a unique signature which manifests itself in the form of these grain morphologies. The origin of abnormal stacked grains was associated with slow nucleation in pre-extruded grains of a certain orientation. Further annealing resulted in large secondary recrystallized grains with occasional extension twins. (c) 2009 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electrical Properties of Thermal Evaporated Cd1−xMnxS Nanocrystalline Films

Thin films of Cd1−xMnxS (0<=x<=0.5) were deposited on glass substrates by thermal evaporation. All the films were deposited at 300 K and annealed at 373, 473, and 573 K for 1 h in a high vacuum in the range 10−4 Pa. The as-deposited and the annealed films were characterized for composition, structure, and microstructure by using energy-dispersive X-ray, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The electrical properties were studied by Hall effect measurement. Electrical conductivity was studied in the temperature range 190–450 K. AFM studies showed that all the films were in nanocrystalline form with grain size varying in the range between 36 and 82 nm. Grain size studies showed a definite increase with annealing temperature. All the films exhibited wurtzite structure of the host material. The lattice parameter varied linearly with composition, following Vegard's law in the entire composition range. Grain size, electrical conductivity, Hall mobility, carrier concentration, and activation energy varied, exhibiting either maxima or minima at x=0.3.

Investigation of the local Fe magnetic moments at the grain boundaries of the Ca2FeReO6 double perovskite

The local Fe ferromagnetic (FM) moment at the grain boundaries of a ceramic sample of Ca2FeReO6 double perovskite was investigated by means of x-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy at the Fe L-2,L-3 edges and compared to the overall bulk magnetization. We found that, at the grain boundaries, the Fe FM moments at H=5 T are much smaller than expected and that the MxH curve is harder than in the bulk magnetization. These results suggest a larger degree of Fe/Re antisite disorder at the grain boundaries of this sample, shedding light into the intriguing nonmetallic resistivity behavior despite the reported presence of free carriers. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Energy identities in water wave theory for free-surface boundary condition with higher-order derivatives

A modified form of Green's integral theorem is employed to derive the energy identity in any water wave diffraction problem in a single-layer fluid for free-surface boundary condition with higher-order derivatives. For a two-layer fluid with free-surface boundary condition involving higher-order derivatives, two forms of energy identities involving transmission and reflection coefficients for any wave diffraction problem are also derived here by the same method. Based on this modified Green's theorem, hydrodynamic relations such as the energy-conservation principle and modified Haskind–Hanaoka relation are derived for radiation and diffraction problems in a single as well as two-layer fluid.

The last avant-garde?: Disability arts and (rethinking) mobility

Taking as its starting point a remark by Turner Prize nominee Yinka Shonibare that disability arts is “the last avant garde”, this panel focuses on the role of aesthetic experimentation in disability arts and the possible rethinking of the relationship between avant-garde aesthetic strategies and inclusive arts. Points of connection between the avant-garde and disability arts include a rejection of traditional aesthetic forms, the development of aesthetic strategies appropriate to non-normative bodies, politics and populations and the implications of these ideas for the conference themes. This panel is intended as a facilitated discussion involving researchers and artists undertaking work in this area. The panel will begin with some brief provocations reflecting on the implication of Shonibare’s comment. For example, Gerard Goggin will discuss three projects by Antoni Abad with artists and activists with disability in Barcelona, Geneva and Montreal as part of Abad’s Megaphone project, a decade-long, global digital art project. Bree Hadley will speak on performative interventions in public space, performance art, live art, activism and culture hacking by artists with disabilities, such as pwd's online performances, and artist’s performative responses to the austerity agenda in the US, UK, and Australasia. Eddie, Lachlan and Sarah will discuss ideas arising from their work on the project Beyond Access: The Creative Case for Inclusive Arts, which involved research with six Melbourne-based artists/artistic companies with disability, supported by Arts Access Victoria. Chair: Dr Eddie Paterson (School of Culture and Communication, Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne) Dr Bree Hadley (Creative Industries, QUT) Professor Gerard Goggin (Professor of Media and Communication and ARC Future Fellow, University of Sydney) Dr Lachlan MacDowall (Head, Centre for Cultural Partnerships, University of Melbourne). Sarah Austin (PhD candidate, Theatre/Centre for Cultural Partnerships, VCA and MCM) Artists (tbc, based on existing relationships with artists developed in the Beyond Access research).

Avian diversification patterns across the K-Pg boundary: Influence of calibrations, datasets, and model misspecification

Birds represent the most diverse extant tetrapod clade, with ca. 10,000 extant species, and the timing of the crown avian radiation remains hotly debated. The fossil record supports a primarily Cenozoic radiation of crown birds, whereas molecular divergence dating analyses generally imply that this radiation was well underway during the Cretaceous. Furthermore, substantial differences have been noted between published divergence estimates. These have been variously attributed to clock model, calibration regime, and gene type. One underappreciated phenomenon is that disparity between fossil ages and molecular dates tends to be proportionally greater for shallower nodes in the avian Tree of Life. Here, we explore potential drivers of disparity in avian divergence dates through a set of analyses applying various calibration strategies and coding methods to a mitochondrial genome dataset and an 18-gene nuclear dataset, both sampled across 72 taxa. Our analyses support the occurrence of two deep divergences (i.e., the Palaeognathae/Neognathae split and the Galloanserae/Neoaves split) well within the Cretaceous, followed by a rapid radiation of Neoaves near the K-Pg boundary. However, 95% highest posterior density intervals for most basal divergences in Neoaves cross the boundary, and we emphasize that, barring unreasonably strict prior distributions, distinguishing between a rapid Early Paleocene radiation and a Late Cretaceous radiation may be beyond the resolving power of currently favored divergence dating methods. In contrast to recent observations for placental mammals, constraining all divergences within Neoaves to occur in the Cenozoic does not result in unreasonably high inferred substitution rates. Comparisons of nuclear DNA (nDNA) versus mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) datasets and NT- versus RY-coded mitochondrial data reveal patterns of disparity that are consistent with substitution model misspecifications that result in tree compression/tree extension artifacts, which may explain some discordance between previous divergence estimates based on different sequence types. Comparisons of fully calibrated and nominally calibrated trees support a correlation between body mass and apparent dating error. Overall, our results are consistent with (but do not require) a Paleogene radiation for most major clades of crown birds.

Evolution of isolated streamwise vortices in the late stages of boundary layer transition

Experiments were conducted with two, smooth hills, lying well within the boundary layer over a flat plate mounted in a wind tunnel. One hill was shallow, with peak height 1.5 mm and width 50 mm; the other, steep, 3 mm high and 30 mm wide. Since the hills occupied one-half of the tunnel span, streamwise vorticity formed near the hills' edge. At a freestream speed of 3.5 m/s, streaks formed with inflectional wall-normal and spanwise velocity profiles but without effecting transition. Transition, observed at 7.5 m/s, took different routes with the two hills. With the steep hill, streamwise velocity signals exhibited the passage of a wave packet which intensified before breakdown to turbulence. With the shallow hill there was a broad range of frequencies present immediately downstream of the hill. These fluctuations grew continuously and transition occurred within a shorter distance. Since the size of the streamwise vorticity generated at the hill edge is of the order of the hill height, the shallow hill generates vorticity closer to the wall and supports an earlier transition, whereas the steep hill creates a thicker vortex and associated streaks which exhibit oscillations due to their own instability as an additional precursor stage before transition.

Quantitative photoacoustic tomography from boundary pressure measurements: noniterative recovery of optical absorption coefficient from the reconstructed absorbed energy map

We describe a noniterative method for recovering optical absorption coefficient distribution from the absorbed energy map reconstructed using simulated and noisy boundary pressure measurements. The source reconstruction problem is first solved for the absorbed energy map corresponding to single- and multiple-source illuminations from the side of the imaging plane. It is shown that the absorbed energy map and the absorption coefficient distribution, recovered from the single-source illumination with a large variation in photon flux distribution, have signal-to-noise ratios comparable to those of the reconstructed parameters from a more uniform photon density distribution corresponding to multiple-source illuminations. The absorbed energy map is input as absorption coefficient times photon flux in the time-independent diffusion equation (DE) governing photon transport to recover the photon flux in a single step. The recovered photon flux is used to compute the optical absorption coefficient distribution from the absorbed energy map. In the absence of experimental data, we obtain the boundary measurements through Monte Carlo simulations, and we attempt to address the possible limitations of the DE model in the overall reconstruction procedure.

Investigations of planetary boundary layer processes and particle formation in the atmosphere of planet Mars

The planet Mars is the Earth's neighbour in the Solar System. Planetary research stems from a fundamental need to explore our surroundings, typical for mankind. Manned missions to Mars are already being planned, and understanding the environment to which the astronauts would be exposed is of utmost importance for a successful mission. Information of the Martian environment given by models is already now used in designing the landers and orbiters sent to the red planet. In particular, studies of the Martian atmosphere are crucial for instrument design, entry, descent and landing system design, landing site selection, and aerobraking calculations. Research of planetary atmospheres can also contribute to atmospheric studies of the Earth via model testing and development of parameterizations: even after decades of modeling the Earth's atmosphere, we are still far from perfect weather predictions. On a global level, Mars has also been experiencing climate change. The aerosol effect is one of the largest unknowns in the present terrestrial climate change studies, and the role of aerosol particles in any climate is fundamental: studies of climate variations on another planet can help us better understand our own global change. In this thesis I have used an atmospheric column model for Mars to study the behaviour of the lowest layer of the atmosphere, the planetary boundary layer (PBL), and I have developed nucleation (particle formation) models for Martian conditions. The models were also coupled to study, for example, fog formation in the PBL. The PBL is perhaps the most significant part of the atmosphere for landers and humans, since we live in it and experience its state, for example, as gusty winds, nightfrost, and fogs. However, PBL modelling in weather prediction models is still a difficult task. Mars hosts a variety of cloud types, mainly composed of water ice particles, but also CO2 ice clouds form in the very cold polar night and at high altitudes elsewhere. Nucleation is the first step in particle formation, and always includes a phase transition. Cloud crystals on Mars form from vapour to ice on ubiquitous, suspended dust particles. Clouds on Mars have a small radiative effect in the present climate, but it may have been more important in the past. This thesis represents an attempt to model the Martian atmosphere at the smallest scales with high resolution. The models used and developed during the course of the research are useful tools for developing and testing parameterizations for larger-scale models all the way up to global climate models, since the small-scale models can describe processes that in the large-scale models are reduced to subgrid (not explicitly resolved) scale.

Older male and female drivers in car-dependent settings: How much do they use other modes, and do they compensate for reduced driving to maintain mobility?

Among the societal and health challenges of population ageing is the continued transport mobility of older people who retain their driving licence, especially in highly car-dependent societies. While issues surrounding loss of a driving licence have been researched, less attention has been paid to variations in physical travel by mode among the growing proportion of older people who retain their driving licence. It is unclear how much they reduce their driving with age, the degree to which they replace driving with other modes of transport, and how this varies by age and gender. This paper reports research conducted in the state of Queensland, Australia, with a sample of 295 older drivers (>60 years). Time spent driving is considerably greater than time spent as a passenger or walking across age groups and genders. A decline in travel time as a driver with increasing age is not redressed by increases in travel as a passenger or pedestrian. The patterns differ by gender, most likely reflecting demographic and social factors. Given the expected considerable increase in the number of older women in particular, and their reported preference not to drive alone, there are implications for policies and programmes that are relevant to other car-dependent settings. There are also implications for the health of older drivers, since levels of walking are comparatively low.

Multiscale study on hydrogen mobility in metallic fusion divertor material

For achieving efficient fusion energy production, the plasma-facing wall materials of the fusion reactor should ensure long time operation. In the next step fusion device, ITER, the first wall region facing the highest heat and particle load, i.e. the divertor area, will mainly consist of tiles based on tungsten. During the reactor operation, the tungsten material is slowly but inevitably saturated with tritium. Tritium is the relatively short-lived hydrogen isotope used in the fusion reaction. The amount of tritium retained in the wall materials should be minimized and its recycling back to the plasma must be unrestrained, otherwise it cannot be used for fueling the plasma. A very expensive and thus economically not viable solution is to replace the first walls quite often. A better solution is to heat the walls to temperatures where tritium is released. Unfortunately, the exact mechanisms of hydrogen release in tungsten are not known. In this thesis both experimental and computational methods have been used for studying the release and retention of hydrogen in tungsten. The experimental work consists of hydrogen implantations into pure polycrystalline tungsten, the determination of the hydrogen concentrations using ion beam analyses (IBA) and monitoring the out-diffused hydrogen gas with thermodesorption spectrometry (TDS) as the tungsten samples are heated at elevated temperatures. Combining IBA methods with TDS, the retained amount of hydrogen is obtained as well as the temperatures needed for the hydrogen release. With computational methods the hydrogen-defect interactions and implantation-induced irradiation damage can be examined at the atomic level. The method of multiscale modelling combines the results obtained from computational methodologies applicable at different length and time scales. Electron density functional theory calculations were used for determining the energetics of the elementary processes of hydrogen in tungsten, such as diffusivity and trapping to vacancies and surfaces. Results from the energetics of pure tungsten defects were used in the development of an classical bond-order potential for describing the tungsten defects to be used in molecular dynamics simulations. The developed potential was utilized in determination of the defect clustering and annihilation properties. These results were further employed in binary collision and rate theory calculations to determine the evolution of large defect clusters that trap hydrogen in the course of implantation. The computational results for the defect and trapped hydrogen concentrations were successfully compared with the experimental results. With the aforedescribed multiscale analysis the experimental results within this thesis and found in the literature were explained both quantitatively and qualitatively.

If dung beetles (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) arose in association with dinosaurs, did they also suffer a mass co-extinction at the K-Pg boundary?

The evolutionary success of beetles and numerous other terrestrial insects is generally attributed to co-radiation with flowering plants but most studies have focused on herbivorous or pollinating insects. Non-herbivores represent a significant proportion of beetle diversity yet potential factors that influence their diversification have been largely unexamined. In the present study, we examine the factors driving diversification within the Scarabaeidae, a speciose beetle family with a range of both herbivorous and non-herbivorous ecologies. In particular, it has been long debated whether the key event in the evolution of dung beetles (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) was an adaptation to feeding on dinosaur or mammalian dung. Here we present molecular evidence to show that the origin of dung beetles occurred in the middle of the Cretaceous, likely in association with dinosaur dung, but more surprisingly the timing is consistent with the rise of the angiosperms. We hypothesize that the switch in dinosaur diet to incorporate more nutritious and less fibrous angiosperm foliage provided a palatable dung source that ultimately created a new niche for diversification. Given the well-accepted mass extinction of non-avian dinosaurs at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, we examine a potential co-extinction of dung beetles due to the loss of an important evolutionary resource, i.e., dinosaur dung. The biogeography of dung beetles is also examined to explore the previously proposed "out of Africa" hypothesis. Given the inferred age of Scarabaeinae as originating in the Lower Cretaceous, the major radiation of dung feeders prior to the Cenomanian, and the early divergence of both African and Gondwanan lineages, we hypothesise that that faunal exchange between Africa and Gondwanaland occurred during the earliest evolution of the Scarabaeinae. Therefore we propose that both Gondwanan vicariance and dispersal of African lineages is responsible for present day distribution of scarabaeine dung beetles and provide examples.

Boundary value problems for third-order nonlinear ordinary differential equations

In this paper, we describe how to analyze boundary value problems for third-order nonlinear ordinary differential equations over an infinite interval. Several physical problems of interest are governed by such systems. The seminumerical schemes described here offer some advantages over solutions obtained by using traditional methods such as finite differences, shooting method, etc. These techniques also reveal the analytic structure of the solution function. For illustrative purposes, several physical problems, mainly drawn from fluid mechanics, are considered; they clearly demonstrate the efficiency of the techniques presented here.