Establishing sustainable and reliable smart grids

This paper addresses challenges part of the shift of paradigm taking place in the way we produce, transmit and use power related to what is known as smart grids. The aim of this paper is to explore present initiatives to establish smart grids as a sustainable and reliable power supply system. We argue that smart grids are not isolated to abstract conceptual models alone. We suggest that establishing sustainable and reliable smart grids depend on series of contributions including modeling and simulation projects, technological infrastructure pilots, systemic methods and training, and not least how these and other elements must interact to add reality to the conceptual models. We present and discuss three initiatives that illuminate smart grids from three very different positions. First, the new power grid simulator project in the electrical engineering PhD program at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Second, the new smart grids infrastructure pilot run by the Norwegian Centers of Expertise Smart Energy Markets (NCE SMART). And third, the new systemic Master program on next generation energy technology at østfold University College (Hiø). These initiatives represent future threads in a mesh embedding smart grids in models, technology, infrastructure, education, skills and people.

Establishing definitions and modeling public transport travel time variability

Public transport travel time variability (PTTV) is essential for understanding deteriorations in the reliability of travel time, optimizing transit schedules and route choices. This paper establishes key definitions of PTTV in which firstly include all buses, and secondly include only a single service from a bus route. The paper then analyses the day-to-day distribution of public transport travel time by using Transit Signal Priority data. A comprehensive approach using both parametric bootstrapping Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and Bayesian Information Creation technique is developed, recommends Lognormal distribution as the best descriptor of bus travel time on urban corridors. The probability density function of Lognormal distribution is finally used for calculating probability indicators of PTTV. The findings of this study are useful for both traffic managers and statisticians for planning and researching the transit systems.

Effectiveness of pilot car operations in reducing speeds in a long-term rural highway work zone

Pilot cars are used in one-lane two-way work zones to guide traffic and keep their speeds within posted limits. While many studies have examined the effectiveness of measures to reduce vehicle speeds in work zones, little is known about the reductions achievable through the use of pilot cars. This paper examines the effectiveness of a pilot car in reducing travel speeds in a rural highway work zone in Queensland, Australia. Analysis of speed data covering a period of five days showed that a pilot car reduced average speeds at the treatment location, but not downstream. The proportion of vehicles speeding through the activity area was also reduced, particularly those traveling at 10 km/h or more above the posted limit. Motorists were more likely to speed during the day, under a 40 kh/h limit, when traffic volumes were higher and when there were fewer vehicles in the traffic stream. Medium vehicles were less likely to speed in the presence of a pilot car than light vehicles. To maximize these benefits, it is necessary to ensure that the pilot car itself is not speeding.

An interactive planning and scheduling framework for optimising pits-to-crushers operations

In this paper, an interactive planning and scheduling framework are proposed for optimising operations from pits to crushers in ore mining industry. Series of theoretical and practical operations research techniques are investigated to improve the overall efficiency of mining systems due to the facts that mining managers need to tackle optimisation problems within different horizons and with different levels of detail. Under this framework, mine design planning,mine production sequencing and mine transportation scheduling models are integrated and interacted within a whole optimisation system. The proposed integrated framework could be used by mining industry for reducing equipment costs, improving the production efficiency and maximising the net present value.

Vulnerability held not to be pre-requisite for establishing a duty of care in claims of pure economic Loss

Case note Apache Energy Ltd v Alcoa of Australia Ltd (No 2) [2013] In 2011, headlines were made when Alcoa sued Apache Energy and its partners for $158 million, a loss it claimed was a consequence of Apache Energy failing to adequately inspect and maintain the gas pipelines that supplied the gas used by Alcoa in its business. As the loss was not a consequence of any property damage or injury to Alcoa, the loss is characterised as pure economic loss...

Establishing a framework for transforming student engagement, success and retention in higher education institutions [Final Report]

The perennial issues of student engagement, success and retention (SESR) in higher education continue to attract attention as key indicators of learning and teaching quality. This project aimed to establish and provide a holistic framework that would allow higher education institutions (HEIs) manage and improve their student engagement and retention strategies and programs. The framework and main project deliverable is a Maturity Model (MM) for Student Engagement, Success and Retention (SESR-MM). The project involved three Australian universities with experience and reputations in SESR activities: Queensland University of Technology (lead institution), the University of Queensland and Griffith University, working cooperatively to develop and trial the project deliverables. Project findings suggest that the SESR-MM has the potential to positively transform the holistic—academic, social and personal—engagement experiences of students in Australian universities, and that the SESR-MM is a useful mechanism for sharing good practice and improving programs designed to enhance the student experience.

Establishing research in a palliative care clinical setting : perceived barriers and implemented strategies

There are many challenges in developing research projects in research-naïve clinical settings, especially palliative care where resistance to participate in research has been identified. These challenges to the implementation of research are common in nursing practice and are associated with attitudes towards research participation, and some lack of understanding of research as a process to improve clinical practice. This is despite the professional nursing requirement to conduct research into issues that influence palliative care practice. The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of implementing a clinical research project in collaboration with the clinicians of a palliative care community team and to reflect on the strategies implemented to overcome the challenges involved. The challenges presented here demonstrate the importance of proactively implementing engagement strategies from the inception of a research project in a clinical setting.

Digital image databases support GIS operations

Evaluates trends in the imagery built into GIS applications to supplement existing vector data of streets, boundaries, infrastructure and utilities. These include large area digital orthophotos, Landsat and SPOT data. Future developments include 3 to 5 metre pixel resolutions from satellites, 1 to 2 metres from aircraft. GPS and improved image analysis techniques will also assist in improving resolution and accuracy.

Distributed private matching and set operations

Motivated by the need of private set operations in a distributed environment, we extend the two-party private matching problem proposed by Freedman, Nissim and Pinkas (FNP) at Eurocrypt’04 to the distributed setting. By using a secret sharing scheme, we provide a distributed solution of the FNP private matching called the distributed private matching. In our distributed private matching scheme, we use a polynomial to represent one party’s dataset as in FNP and then distribute the polynomial to multiple servers. We extend our solution to the distributed set intersection and the cardinality of the intersection, and further we show how to apply the distributed private matching in order to compute distributed subset relation. Our work extends the primitives of private matching and set intersection by Freedman et al. Our distributed construction might be of great value when the dataset is outsourced and its privacy is the main concern. In such cases, our distributed solutions keep the utility of those set operations while the dataset privacy is not compromised. Comparing with previous works, we achieve a more efficient solution in terms of computation. All protocols constructed in this paper are provably secure against a semi-honest adversary under the Decisional Diffie-Hellman assumption.

Social licence to operate and the coal seam gas industry : lessons from social issues in established mining operations?

The recent growth of the coal seam gas industry has increased pressure on regional communities. Debate surrounding the industry is intense and a social licence to operate has yet to be granted to the industry in its entirety. This article presents an analysis of social issues surrounding the coal seam gas industry, making comparisons between two case studies: the Ranger and Jabiluka mines and the Yandicoogina mine. It presents the results of a desktop study, focussed on three topics: community identity; procedural justice and distributive justice, which provides a means for comparison and draws attention to central concerns. It is found that: power imbalances; changing community identities; potentially inequitable distributions of long term benefits and the process to distribute those benefits and negative perceptions of the industry as a whole serve to undermine the provision of a social licence to operate by communities and has the potential to impose significant negative impacts on companies within the industry.

The sideways hourglass : establishing the lemniscate as a narrative structure for writing and reading non-linear stories

This thesis is a study in narratology that examines the pre-theoretical ideas that underlie the study of narrative and time. The thesis explores how the lemniscate can be transported from geometry to narrative in order to structure a non-linear story that breaks the rules of causality and chronology by coupling physical movement through space with the backward pull of memory. The findings offer new possibilities for understanding the nexus between shape and story and for recording non-linear narratives that are marked by simultaneity, counterpoint, and reversal.

Collaboration to improve evacuation centre operations in disaster-affected communities

Emergency sheltering is a temporary source of safety and support for people affected by disasters. People access emergency sheltering just prior to or soon after a disaster; therefore they are often scared, stressed, and/or experiencing loss/grief. The gathering of people in shelters also increases several environmental health risks. Therefore ensuring emergency shelters contain adequate facilities (permanent or temporary) and are well managed is essential in providing immediate support to disaster-affected communities and providing a level of assurance that the agencies involved are capable of supporting them through the recovery process. This paper will be presented by representatives of Australian Red Cross and Environmental Health Australia (Queensland), which both have an interest in emergency sheltering in Queensland. The paper will cover the development, content and application of the ‘Preferred Sheltering Practices for Emergency Sheltering in Australia’ and the roles of various organisations in relation to emergency sheltering. The importance of or- ganisational collaboration will also be discussed, with a focus on the experience of the two organisations fol- lowing the 2011 floods in Queensland and how they are collaborating to improve future operations in evacu- ation centres, which are a common form of emergency sheltering in Queensland. The organisations are con- tinuing to work together with the ultimate goal of improving services to disaster-affected communities and supporting such communities to start the recovery process.

BIM, specifications and cost planning: establishing the connections

The overarching research work is based on two approaches: - Conceptual Analysis, Extraction and Linking - Experimentation with Product Libraries - Conceptual Analysis, Extraction and Linking: This aspect of the research has been achieved through the development of a conceptual framework for facilitating the understanding of the constituting components of BIM, Specifications and Cost Planning under investigation. The framework builds on theories spanning the constituent research themes and was used as a basis for justifying the elected approaches adopted throughout the research work. By means of tags and codes, a system for classifying building specification information has been developed as a differentiator between the chosen research approach and existing classification strategies in industry. Furthermore, syntactic links between extracted classes of specification information and cost planning have been established and will be adopted as a basis for authenticating the impact of specification information within BIM models. - Experimentation with Product Libraries Following the extraction and classification of BIM, Specifications and Cost Planning information, early experimentation on linking specifications to BIM models by means of a raas-based product library have been successful. A comparative analysis between a range of existing product libraries has also been realised. The outcomes have been amply documented in papers, all of which have received positive reviews. Ongoing experiments and analysis with the product library involve integrating the cost planning component for authenticating the completeness, relevance and impact of embedded specification within BIM models.