Strengthening local road safety capacity in Cambodia

Road crashes and injuries have become a growing issue worldwide. In 2011, more than 75,000 people died in road crashes in the ten member countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and many times this number sustained long term injuries. In 2014, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), funded by the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, commenced a package of actions to improve road safety in ASEAN. In 2015, as part of the technical assistance for this project, a Road Safety Advisor was appointed for Cambodia for four months. The assignment produced several primary outputs, which included the organization of national training on traffic law enforcement and road safety management, the conduct of a training needs survey and cost analysis study, and the development of a proposal for strengthening speed management. It is important to note that unlike other ADB technical assistance projects, this assignment adopted a capacity building approach, which promoted and encouraged the local road safety team in the government to step up and take action. The research capacity building approach adopted in this project highlighted the feasibility of increasing participation from existing stakeholders, especially the government in identifying existing human resources, building the capacity of relevant government officials and supporting them to take the ownership of the project. It is hoped that similar outcomes will occur in the other ASEAN countries.

Embedding EfS in teacher education through a multi-level systems approach: Lessons from Queensland

This paper reports on the fourth stage of an evolving study to develop a systems model for embedding education for sustainability (EfS) into pre-service teacher education. The fourth stage trialled the extension of the model to a comprehensive state-wide systems approach involving representatives from all eight Queensland teacher education institutions and other key policy agencies and professional associations. Support for trialling the model included regular meetings among the participating representatives and an implementation guide. This paper describes the first three stages of developing and trialling the model before presenting the case study and action research methods employed, four key lessons learned from the project, and the implications of the major outcomes for teacher education policies and practices. The Queensland-wide multi-site case study revealed processes and strategies that can enable institutional change agents to engage productively in building capacity for embedding EfS at the individual, institutional and state levels in pre-service teacher education. Collectively, the project components provide a system-wide framework that offers strategies, examples, insights and resources that can serve as a model for other states and/or territories wishing to implement EfS in a systematic and coherent fashion.

New Generation Rollingstock Depot: Case Study Report

This report summarises the findings of a case study on Queensland’s New Generation Rollingstock (NGR) Project carried out as part of SBEnrc Project 2.34 Driving Whole-of-life Efficiencies through BIM and Procurement. This case study is one of three exemplar projects studied in order to leverage academic research in defining indicators for measuring tangible and intangible benefits of Building Information Modelling (BIM) across a project’s life-cycle in infrastructure and buildings. The NGR is an AUD 4.4 billion project carried out under an Availability Payment Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the Queensland Government and the Bomabardier-led QTECTIC consortium comprising Bombardier Transportation, John Laing, ITOCHU Corporation and Aberdeen Infrastructure Investments. BIM has been deployed on the project from conceptual stages to drive both design and the currently ongoing construction at the Wulkuraka Project Site. This case study sourced information from a series of semi-structured interviews covering a cross-section of key stakeholders on the project. The present research identified 25 benefits gained from implementing BIM processes and tools. Some of the most prominent benefits were those leading to improved outcomes and higher customer satisfaction such as improved communications, data and information management, and coordination. There were also a number of expected benefits for future phases such as: • Improved decision making through the use of BIM for managing assets • Improved models through BIM maturity • Better utilisation of BIM for procurement on similar future projects • New capacity to specify the content of BIM models within contracts There were also three benefits that were expected to have been achieved but were not realised on the NGR project. These were higher construction information quality levels, better alignment in design teams as well as project teams, and capability improvements in measuring the impact of BIM on construction safety. This report includes individual profiles describing each benefit as well as the tools and processes that enabled them. Four key BIM metrics were found to be currently in use and six more were identified as potential metrics for the future. This case study also provides insights into challenges associated with implementing BIM on a project of the size and complexity of the NGR. Procurement aspects and lessons learned for managers are also highlighted, including a list of recommendations for developing a framework to assess the benefits of BIM across the project life-cycle.

Assessing performance in critical care nursing practice using the Benner Novice to expert model: A pilot study

Background It is often believed that by ensuring the ongoing completion of competency documents and life-long learning in nursing practice guarantees quality patient care. This is probably true in most cases where it provides reassurances that the nursing team is maintaining a safe “generalised” level of practice. However, competency does not always promise quality performance. There are a number of studies that have reported differences in what practitioners know and what they actually do despite being deemed competent. Aim The aim of this study was to assess whether our current competency documentation is fit for purpose and to ascertain whether performance assessment needs to be a key component in determining competence. Method 15 nurses within a General ICU who had been on the unit <4 years agreed to participate in this project. Using participant observation and assessing performance against key indicators of the Benner Novice to Expert5 model the participants were supported and assessed over the course of a ‘normal’ nursing shift. Results The results were surprising both positively and negatively. First, the nurses felt more empowered in their clinical decision making skills; second, it identified individual learning needs and milestones in educational development. There were some key challenges identified which included 5 nurses over estimating their level of competence, practice was still very much focused on task acquisition and skill and surprisingly some nurses still felt dominated by the other health professionals within the unit. Conclusion We found that the capacity and capabilities of our nursing workforce needs continual ongoing support especially if we want to move our staff from capable task-doer to competent performers. Using the key novice to expert indicators identified the way forward for us in how we assess performance and competence in practice particularly where promotion to higher grades is based on existing documentation.

The genetic structure of Australasian green turtles (Chelonia mydas): Exploring the geographical scale of genetic exchange

Ecological and genetic studies of marine turtles generally support the hypothesis of natal homing, but leave open the question of the geographical scale of genetic exchange and the capacity of turtles to shift breeding sites. Here we combine analyses of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation and recapture data to assess the geographical scale of individual breeding populations and the distribution of such populations through Australasia. We conducted multiscale assessments of mtDNA variation among 714 samples from 27 green turtle rookeries and of adult female dispersal among nesting sites in eastern Australia. Many of these rookeries are on shelves that were flooded by rising sea levels less than 10 000 years (c. 450 generations) ago. Analyses of sequence variation among the mtDNA control region revealed 25 haplotypes, and their frequency distributions indicated 17 genetically distinct breeding stocks (Management Units) consisting either of individual rookeries or groups of rookeries in general that are separated by more than 500 km. The population structure inferred from mtDNA was consistent with the scale of movements observed in long-term mark-recapture studies of east Australian rookeries. Phylogenetic analysis of the haplotypes revealed five clades with significant partitioning of sequence diversity (Φ = 68.4) between Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asian/Indian Ocean rookeries. Isolation by distance was indicated for rookeries separated by up to 2000 km but explained only 12% of the genetic structure. The emerging general picture is one of dynamic population structure influenced by the capacity of females to relocate among proximal breeding sites, although this may be conditional on large population sizes as existed historically across this region.

A near Optimal Cane Rail Scheduler under Limited and Unlimited Capacity Constraints

Australia is the world’s third largest exporter of raw sugar after Brazil and Thailand, with around $2.0 billion in export earnings. Transport systems play a vital role in the raw sugar production process by transporting the sugarcane crop between farms and mills. In 2013, 87 per cent of sugarcane was transported to mills by cane railway. The total cost of sugarcane transport operations is very high. Over 35% of the total cost of sugarcane production in Australia is incurred in cane transport. A cane railway network mainly involves single track sections and multiple track sections used as passing loops or sidings. The cane railway system performs two main tasks: delivering empty bins from the mill to the sidings for filling by harvesters; and collecting the full bins of cane from the sidings and transporting them to the mill. A typical locomotive run involves an empty train (locomotive and empty bins) departing from the mill, traversing some track sections and delivering bins at specified sidings. The locomotive then, returns to the mill, traversing the same track sections in reverse order, collecting full bins along the way. In practice, a single track section can be occupied by only one train at a time, while more than one train can use a passing loop (parallel sections) at a time. The sugarcane transport system is a complex system that includes a large number of variables and elements. These elements work together to achieve the main system objectives of satisfying both mill and harvester requirements and improving the efficiency of the system in terms of low overall costs. These costs include delay, congestion, operating and maintenance costs. An effective cane rail scheduler will assist the traffic officers at the mill to keep a continuous supply of empty bins to harvesters and full bins to the mill with a minimum cost. This paper addresses the cane rail scheduling problem under rail siding capacity constraints where limited and unlimited siding capacities were investigated with different numbers of trains and different train speeds. The total operating time as a function of the number of trains, train shifts and a limited number of cane bins have been calculated for the different siding capacity constraints. A mathematical programming approach has been used to develop a new scheduler for the cane rail transport system under limited and unlimited constraints. The new scheduler aims to reduce the total costs associated with the cane rail transport system that are a function of the number of bins and total operating costs. The proposed metaheuristic techniques have been used to find near optimal solutions of the cane rail scheduling problem and provide different possible solutions to avoid being stuck in local optima. A numerical investigation and sensitivity analysis study is presented to demonstrate that high quality solutions for large scale cane rail scheduling problems are obtainable in a reasonable time. Keywords: Cane railway, mathematical programming, capacity, metaheuristics

Muscle morphometry of the individual hamstring muscles in semi-elite AFL Players: Preliminary findings from a longitudinal study

Hamstring strains in the Australian Football League (AFL) have a high incidence (15%) and recurrence rate (34%) with lateral hamstring injuries most common (83%). Retrospective studies have found significant muscle volume asymmetries ≤23 months post hamstring injury; however examination of the association between hamstring strains and muscle asymmetry has not been investigated prospectively. This study presents baseline data from a longitudinal study focusing on individual hamstring morphometry in uninjured and injured semi-elite AFL players.

Various Methods of Designing Spillway Capacity of Dams and Estimating Flood Discharges

Abstract is not available.

Perceptions on the causes of individual and fraudulent co-offending: Views of forensic accountants

Individual and/or co-offenders fraudulent activities can have a devastating effect on a company’s reputation and credibility. Enron, Xerox, WorldCom, HIH Insurance and One.Tel are examples where stakeholders incurred substantial financial losses as a result of fraud and led to a loss of confidence in corporate dealings by the public in general. There are numerous theoretical approaches that attempt to explain how and why fraudulent acts occur, drawing on the fields of sociology, organisational, management and economic literature, but there is limited empirical evidence published in accounting literature. This qualitative inductive study analyses perceptions and experiences of forensic accountants to gain insights into individual fraud and co-offending in order to determine whether the conceptual framework developed from literature accurately depicts the causes of fraud committed by individuals and groups in the twenty-first century. Findings from the study both support and extend the conceptual framework, demonstrating that strain and anomie can result in fraud, that deviant sub-groups recruit and coerce members by providing relief from strain, and that inadequate corporate governance mechanisms both contribute to fraud occurring, and provide the opportunity for fraudulent activities to be executed and often remain undetected. Additional factors emerging from this study (the ‘technoconomy’, addiction and IT measures) were also identified as contributors to fraud, particularly relevant to the twenty-first century, and consequently, a refined conceptual framework is presented in the discussion and conclusion to the paper.

Empowering PNG Women through Building Media Arts Production Capacity as Cultural Drivers: Showreel

The creative work comprises six short digital screen stories and emerges from a collaboration between the Discipline of Film Screen and Animation at Queensland University of Technology and the Centre for Social and Creative Media at University of Goroka, funded via the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Australia Awards Fellowship. Six fellows traveled from Papua New Guinea to Brisbane for a two-week intensive course to learn the advanced skills necessary in order to create media that will empower women and girls to make more of their own economies in Papua New Guinea, and increase the representation of women and their well-being through leadership and decision-making. The resulting creative work is evidence of innovative media teaching-making methods designed to build human and cultural assets in PNG and address the increasing demand for media materials driven by the influx of mobile phones and internet services. The creative work provides a platform to directly address and positively impact gender issues in PNG and builds on the success of the Pawa Meri project, which trained six female directors to tell stories of women in leadership roles in PNG. One of the directors was a producer of this creative work. The creative work frames but problematises the complex issues influencing gender equity through the selection of content and narrative structures in ways which address the dynamics of male/female relationships and power in PNG society and will include strategies to illustrate transformed male and female behaviours. The creative work adopts a scaffolded approach, incorporating the findings of the Train the Trainer approach developed by UoG and QUT for the Life Drama research project. The creative work takes into account current developmental themes and approaches in the production of rich media products, and skills the key participants so that they are able to in turn train others in the wider community. The creative work was presented to partners and key stakeholders on 3 July 2015 at the Glasshouse, QUT Creative Industries Precinct and at the Dean’s Research Seminar Poster Exhibition 15 July 2015 at Room 212-213, Level 2, J Block, Gardens Point QUT and subsequent eBook. It has since returned to PNG to be showcased and distributed, and the skills and strategies disseminated.

The acceptability, usability and short-term outcomes of Get Real: A web-based program for psychotic-like experiences (PLEs)

Background Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are subclinical delusional ideas and perceptual disturbances that have been associated with a range of adverse mental health outcomes. This study reports a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the acceptability, usability and short term outcomes of Get Real, a web program for PLEs in young people. Methods Participants were twelve respondents to an online survey, who reported at least one PLE in the previous 3 months, and were currently distressed. Ratings of the program were collected after participants trialled it for a month. Individual semi-structured interviews then elicited qualitative feedback, which was analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) methodology. PLEs and distress were reassessed at 3 months post-baseline. Results User ratings supported the program's acceptability, usability and perceived utility. Significant reductions in the number, frequency and severity of PLE-related distress were found at 3 months follow-up. The CQR analysis identified four qualitative domains: initial and current understandings of PLEs, responses to the program, and context of its use. Initial understanding involved emotional reactions, avoidance or minimization, limited coping skills and non-psychotic attributions. After using the program, participants saw PLEs as normal and common, had greater self-awareness and understanding of stress, and reported increased capacity to cope and accept experiences. Positive responses to the program focused on its normalization of PLEs, usefulness of its strategies, self-monitoring of mood, and information putting PLEs into perspective. Some respondents wanted more specific and individualized information, thought the program would be more useful for other audiences, or doubted its effectiveness. The program was mostly used in low-stress situations. Conclusions The current study provided initial support for the acceptability, utility and positive short-term outcomes of Get Real. The program now requires efficacy testing in randomized controlled trials.

Bearing capacity factor N-c under phi=0 condition for piles in clays

Bearing capacity factor N-c for axially loaded piles in clays whose cohesion increases linearly with depth has been estimated numerically under undrained (phi=0) condition. The Study follows the lower bound limit analysis in conjunction With finite elements and linear programming. A new formulation is proposed for solving an axisymmetric geotechnical stability problem. The variation of N-c with embedment ratio is obtained for several rates of the increase of soil cohesion with depth; a special case is also examined when the pile base was placed on the stiff clay stratum overlaid by a soft clay layer. It was noticed that the magnitude of N-c reaches almost a constant value for embedment ratio greater than unity. The roughness of the pile base and shaft affects marginally the magnitudes of N-c. The results obtained from the present study are found to compare quite well with the different numerical solutions reported in the literature.

Bearing capacity of square footings on geosynthetic reinforced sand

The results from laboratory model tests and numerical simulations on square footings resting on sand are presented. Bearing capacity of footings on geosynthetic reinforced sand is evaluated and the effect of various reinforcement parameters like the type and tensile strength of geosynthetic material, amount of reinforcement, layout and configuration of geosynthetic layers below the footing on the bearing capacity improvement of the footings is studied through systemati model studies. A steel tank of size 900 x 900 x 600 mm is used for conducting model tests. Four types of grids, namely strong biaxial geogrid, weak biaxial geogrid, uniaxial geogrid and a geonet, each with different tensile strength, are used in the tests. Geosynthetic reinforcement is provided in the form of planar layers, varying the depth of reinforced zone below the footing, number of geosynthetic layers within the reinforced zone and the width of geosynthetic layers in different tests. Influence of all these parameters on the bearing capacity improvement of square footing and its settlement is studied by comparing with the test on unreinforced sand. Results show that the effective depth of reinforcement is twice the width of the footing and optimum spacing of geosynthetic layers is half the width of the footing. It is observed that the layout and configuration of reinforcement play a vital role in bearing capacity improvement rather than the tensile strength of the geosynthetic material. Experimental observations are supported by the findings from numerical analyses.

Vertical uplift capacity of two interfering horizontal anchors in sand using an upper bound limit analysis

The vertical uplift resistance of two interfering rigid rough strip anchors embedded horizontally in sand at shallow depths has been examined. The analysis is performed by using an upper bound theorem o limit analysis in combination with finite elements and linear programming. It is specified that both the anchors are loaded to failure simultaneously at the same magnitude of the failure load. For different clear spacing (S) between the anchors, the magnitude of the efficiency factor (xi(gamma)) is determined. On account of interference, the magnitude of xi(gamma) is found to reduce continuously with a decrease in the spacing between the anchors. The results from the numerical analysis were found to compare reasonably well with the available theoretical data from the literature.