Energy Efficiency Resources for Undergraduate Engineering Education: Final Report

This report presents the findings of an investigation of energy efficiency resources for undergraduate engineering education, undertaken by web-based research, conversations with educators, and a university survey. The investigation draws on the results of a number of previous investigations undertaken by the research team for NFEE related to energy efficiency education and presents the following findings and recommendations, as explained in greater detail in the body of the report. The findings suggest that even though certain EE concepts and principles have been identified by lecturers as being important there is little to no coverage of a number of these concepts in some programs/courses. Similarly, many topics relating to the most important EE workforce skills and significant shortages as identified in industry research, do not rate highly in terms of both perceived importance by lecturers, or coverage within existing courses. Overall, these findings suggest that despite growing awareness of the importance of EE in both industry and academia, the current depth and breadth of EE content in courses does not reflect this. It confirms that efforts in these areas can be better supported.

Power quality improvements in low voltage distribution networks containing distributed energy resources

In this thesis various schemes using custom power devices for power quality improvement in low voltage distribution network are studied. Customer operated distributed generators makes a typical network non-radial and affect the power quality. A scheme considering different algorithm of DSTATCOM is proposed for power circulation and islanded operation of the system. To compensate reactive power overflow and facilitate unity power factor, a UPQC is introduced. Stochastic analysis is carried out for different scenarios to get a comprehensive idea about a real life distribution network. Combined operation of static compensator and voltage regulator is tested for the optimum quality and stability of the system.

Achieving service quality through service innovation exploration-exploitation: The critical role of employee empowerment and slack resources

Purpose This study investigates the effects of service innovation exploration-exploitation on financial performance through the delivery of quality services. Additional emphasis is also given to examining the extent to which employee empowerment and slack resources enhance or suppress the performance benefits of service firms engaging in service innovation exploration versus exploitation. Design/methodology/approach Data were drawn from a multi-informant survey of service firms using a drop-and-collect approach. The survey gathered data from managers, customer service employees and customers to test the hypotheses. Findings The results show that excelling at both exploitative and exploratory innovation helps enhance the quality of services, which in turn yield superior financial performance. Further, empowering employees enhances the relationship between exploratory and exploitative service innovation and service quality. We also show that the extent managers’ perceived their market to be competitive influences in the pursuit of high levels of both service innovation exploration and exploitation and that this relationship is impacted by the extent they believe they have available slack resources. Practical implications The findings suggest that service firms need to pursue both exploitation and exploration at high levels simultaneously and empower their employees to stay ahead of competitors in delivering quality services, which ultimately contribute to the achievement of superior financial outcomes. Also, the findings highlight the importance of employee empowerment, market competitiveness and slack resources in the pursuit of high levels of both service innovation exploration and exploitation. Originality/value These findings and our theory indicate that this study is the first to empirically examine organizational ambidexterity in the context of service innovation exploration – exploitation adopting the principles of combined and balanced innovation. The study provides insights into the critical role of customers’ perceptions of service quality in contributing to firms’ financial performance. Our insights are unique in that the study incorporates managers, employees and customers in an integrated service innovation model.

Choose wisely: Network, ontology and annotation resources for the analysis of Staphylococcus aureus omics data

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a prominent human and livestock pathogen investigated widely using omic technologies. Critically, due to availability, low visibility or scattered resources, robust network and statistical contextualisation of the resulting data is generally under-represented. Here, we present novel meta-analyses of freely-accessible molecular network and gene ontology annotation information resources for S. aureus omics data interpretation. Furthermore, through the application of the gene ontology annotation resources we demonstrate their value and ability (or lack-there-of) to summarise and statistically interpret the emergent properties of gene expression and protein abundance changes using publically available data. This analysis provides simple metrics for network selection and demonstrates the availability and impact that gene ontology annotation selection can have on the contextualisation of bacterial omics data.

Coteaching for parent-school-community engagement: Seen through the four resources model

This paper reflects on a 2008 project in which a teacher invited two parents1 of students in his class to coteach with him on the topic of War and Refugees (Willis, 2013). Although the project occurred in a Year eight context, it has utility for all teachers in showing how the four resources model (FRM) (Freebody and Luke, 1990) of language and literacy teaching and learning may provide a viewing platform for seeing the benefits and potential of coteaching for parent-school-community engagement. For decades, governments nationally and internationally have actively supported parentschool- community involvement initiatives. In Australia, these include the establishment in 2008 of The Family-School and Community Partnerships Bureau and its recent publication, Parental engagement in learning and schooling: Lessons from research (Emerson, Fear, Fox, and Sanders, 2012). These initiatives derive from strong, consistent research evidence that parent involvement in schools not only benefits students, teachers, and schools but also has wide-ranging implications for education reform, employers and communities, and ultimately Australia's future economic prosperity. These initiatives also continue to inform the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) in identifying ways teachers and school leaders can generate and sustain professional engagement with colleagues, parents, and the community to meet new national teaching standards.

The Governance of human resources in the Vietnamese healthcare system: A critical analysis of maternity services

This thesis utilised mixed-methods study design to understand the factors that influence the translation and implementation of central human resources in health policy at the district and commune health levels. It provided recommendations for changes to enhance governance approaches to human resources for health policy implementation at local and national levels. This thesis has also contributed to the evolution of the theory on health staff motivation and performance through the description and testing of a new model, using data from a survey on 262 health staff and 43 in-depth interviews conducted in two northern mountainous provinces of Vietnam.

Archival analysis of service desk research: New perspectives on design and delivery

ur analysis of service desk studies shows the extent to which researchers have neglected important aspects of service desk design and delivery. The observations are made through an archival analysis of 58 peer reviewed publications in top tier outlets. Our analysis led to the development of a generic framework which identified three themes in service desk design: (1) user groups, (2) support models, and; (3) technology types And two themes in service desk delivery: (1) direction of delivery, and; (2) executive support level. This paper makes a twofold contribution to service desk research. First, it provides an understanding of service desk functions and the challenges faced by organisations in delivering those functions. Second, it identifies established and emerging areas in the service desk field. This archival analysis is the first attempt to systematically analyse the service desk literature.

Retaining a diverse workforce: The impact of gender-focused human resource management

Demography theory suggests that high gender diversity leads to high turnover. As turnover is costly, we tested the following: a main effect prediction derived from demography theory, and a moderating effect prediction derived from the relational framework. Data on 198 publicly listed organizations were collected through a human resources decision maker survey and archival databases. The results indicate that higher gender diversity leads to lower turnover in organizations with many gender-focused policies and practices. Findings suggest that organizations can lower their turnover rates by increasing their gender diversity and by implementing gender-focused policies and practices.

An archival analysis of green information technology: The current state and future directions

This thesis provides a review of 199 papers published on Green IT/IS between 2007−2014, in order to present taxonomy of segments in Green IT/IS publications, where the segments are later used for multiple analyses to facilitate future research and to provide a retrospective analysis of existing knowledge and gaps thereof. This research also attempts to make a unique contribution to our understanding of Green IT/IS, by consolidating papers it observes current patterns of literature through approach analysis and segmentation, as well as allocating studies to the technology, process, or outcome (TPO) stage. Highlighting the necessity of a consolidated approach, these classification systems have been combined into a TPO matrix so that the studies could be arranged according to which stage of the Green IT/IS cycle they were focused on. We believe that these analyses will provide a solid platform from which future Green IT/IS research can be launched.

Report: The Canadian Best Practices Educational Toolkits: Translating evidence-based stroke recommendations into practical implementation resources

The Canadian Best Practice Recommendations for Stroke Care are intended to reduce variations in stroke care and facilitate closure of the gap between evidence and practice (Lindsay et al., 2010). The publication of best practice recommendations is only the beginning of this process. The guidelines themselves are not sufficient to change practice and increase consistency in care. Therefore, a key objective of the Canadian Stroke Network (CSN) Best Practices Working Group (BPWG) is to encourage and facilitate ongoing professional development and training for health care professionals providing stroke care. This is addressed through a multi-factorial approach to the creation and dissemination of inter-professional implementation tools and resources. The resources developed by CSN span pre-professional education, ongoing professional development, patient education and may be used to inform systems change. With a focus on knowledge translation, several inter-professional point-of-care tools have been developed by the CSN in collaboration with numerous professional organizations and expert volunteers. These resources are used to facilitate awareness, understanding and applications of evidence-based care across stroke care settings. Similar resources are also developed specifically for stroke patients, their families and informal caregivers, and the general public. With each update of the Canadian Best Practice Recommendations for Stroke Care, the BPWG and topic-specific writing groups propose priority areas for ongoing resource development. In 2010, two of these major educational initiatives were undertaken and recently completed—one to support continuing education for health care professionals regarding secondary stroke prevention and the other to educate families, informal caregivers and the public about pediatric stroke. This paper presents an overview of these two resources, and we encourage health care professionals to integrate these into their personal learning plans and tool kits for patients.

Importance of literature profiling: An archival analysis with illustrative examples for IS researchers

The importance of a thorough and systematic literature review has long been recognised across academic domains as critical to the foundation of new knowledge and theory evolution. Driven by an exponentially growing body of knowledge in the IS discipline, there has been a recent influx of guidance on how to conduct a literature review. As literature reviews are emerging as a standalone research method in itself, increasingly these method focused guidelines are of great interest, receiving acceptance at top tier IS publication outlets. Nevertheless, the finer details which offer justification for the selected content, and the effective presentation of supporting data has not been widely discussed in these method papers to date. This paper addresses this gap by exploring the concept of ‘literature profiling’ while arguing that it is a key aspect of a comprehensive literature review. The study establishes the importance of profiling for managing aspects such as quality assurance, transparency and the mitigation of selection bias. And then discusses how profiling can provide a valid basis for data analysis based on the attributes of selected literature. In essence, this study has conducted an archival analysis of literature (predominately from the IS domain) to present its main argument; the value for literature profiling, with supporting exemplary illustrations.

'Create a better online you': Designing online learning resources to develop undergraduate social media skills

‘Create a Better Online You’ (CBOY) is an emerging initiative from QUT Library. CBOY focusses on developing the social media skills of undergraduates at QUT. While many students will have encountered ‘cybersafety’ training in primary or secondary school, a comprehensive environmental scan revealed little in the way of social media resources targeted at undergraduates. In particular, there was little to no focus on the ways in which social media could be used strategically to develop a positive online reputation and enhance chances of employability post tertiary education. The resources created as part of CBOY are the result of a literature review, environmental scan, and discussions with staff and students at QUT. Following the comprehensive environmental scan, it appears that CBOY represents one of the first free, openly accessible, interactive resources targeting the social media skills of undergraduates.

Financially optimized scheduling of electric energy storage in presence of renewable energy resources

The increasing integration of Renewable Energy Resources (RER) and the role of Electric Energy Storage (EES) in distribution systems has created interest in using energy management strategies. EES has become a suitable resource to manage energy consumption and generation in smart grid. Optimize scheduling of EES can also maximize retailer’s profit by introducing energy time-shift opportunities. This paper proposes a new strategy for scheduling EES in order to reduce the impact of electricity market price and load uncertainty on retailers’ profit. The proposed strategy optimizes the cost of purchasing energy with the objective of minimizing surplus energy cost in hedging contract. A case study is provided to demonstrate the impact of the proposed strategy on retailers’ financial benefit.

Females as mobile resources: communal roosts promote the adoption of lek breeding in a temperate bat

Males of lek-breeding species defend clustered territories from which they display to visiting females. However, the mechanisms leading to the adoption of clustered male display sites are often unknown. In this study, we examined the possibility of a resource-based lek in New Zealand’s lesser short-tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata) (Mammalia: Chiroptera), by assessing the placement of “singing roosts” used by males in relation to communal roosting sites used by females. The “resource-based lek” model posits that males settle near resources required by females to increase female encounter rates. For most bat species, where females are highly mobile and widely dispersed across landscapes while foraging, communal daytime roosts dominated by females may represent such a resource. Through use of video footage, spatial analyses of singing-roost locations, and passive-integrated transponder tags we confirmed that M. tuberculata employs a lek mating system. We found that male singing roosts were significantly clustered in space, were defended by resident individuals, and were visited by females (who did not receive resources from males) for mating purposes. Transponder records also indicated that some singing roosts were shared between multiple males. Spatial logistic regression indicated that singing-roost locations were associated with communal roosting sites. Communal roosts are selected based on criteria independent of the locations of singing roosts, suggesting that males responded to the location of communal roosts and not the reverse. Mystacina tuberculata thus provides evidence of a resource-based lek, and is only the second bat species worldwide confirmed to use a lek-mating system.

Somali perspectives on physical activity: PhotoVoice to address barriers and resources in San Diego

Although many immigrants enter the United States with a healthy body weight, this health advantage disappears the longer they reside in the United States. To better understand the complexities of obesity change within a cultural framework, a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, PhotoVoice, was used, focusing on physical activity among Muslim Somali women. The CBPR partnership was formed to identify barriers and resources to engaging in physical activity with goals of advocacy and program development. Muslim Somali women (n = 8) were recruited to participate, trained and provided cameras, and engaged in group discussions about the scenes they photographed. Participants identified several barriers, including safety concerns, minimal culturally appropriate resources, and financial constraints. Strengths included public resources and a community support system. The CBPR process identified opportunities and challenges to collaboration and dissemination processes. The findings laid the framework for subsequent program development and community engagement.