Search

Purposes: This study aimed to compare between electronic medication administration records and paper-based records in the nursing time spent on various activities in a medication round and the medication administration processes followed by nurses in an Australian residential aged care home. It also aimed to identify the benefits and unintended adverse consequences of using the electronic medication administration records.Methods: Time-motion observation, taking of field notes, informal conversation and document review were used to collect data in two units of a residential aged care home. Each unit had one nurse administer medication. Seven nurses were observed over 12 morning shifts. Unit 1 used electronic medication administration records and Unit 2 used paper-based records.Results: No significant difference between the two units was found in the nursing time spent on various activities in a medication round, including documentation, verbal communication, medication administration, infection control and transit. Comparison of the medication administration processes between the electronic and paper-based medication administration records identified a procedural problem which violated the organization's documentation requirement. This problem was documenting before providing medication to a resident when using the paper-based records. It was not observed with the electronic medication administration records. Benefits of introducing the electronic medication administration records included improving nurses' compliance with documentation requirements, freedom from the error of signing twice, reducing the possibility of forgetting to medicate a resident, facilitating nurses to record the time of medication administration to a resident and increasing documentation space. Unintended adverse consequences of introducing the electronic medication administration records included inadequate information about residents, late addition of a new resident's medication profile in the records and nurses' forgetting to medicate a resident due to power outage of the portable device.Conclusions: The electronic medication administration records may not change nursing time spent on various activities in a medication round or substantially alter the medication administration processes, but can generate both benefits and unintended adverse consequences. Future research may investigate whether and how the adverse consequences can be prevented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon reduction has become one of the most significant challenges for economic growth. This paper presents the preliminary analysis of undesirable output reduction targets and emission schedules in temporal–spatial comparisons based on Data Envelopment Analysis. The reduction targets of undesirable outputs are investigated, including the maximum, input, technical and ideal reduction targets. Four Data Envelopment Analysis models that are based on a sequential benchmark technology and variable returns to scale are introduced to measure these reduction percentages. In order to formulate the optimal emission schedule of undesirable outputs, an optimal model is provided without inflation. Data from the Australian construction industry from 2000 to 2010 are employed to develop the models. The results of the analysis indicate that the Australian Government could achieve its promised carbon reduction targets in the construction industry. Most Australian regions' construction industries possess carbon mitigation potential and some of them could increase their desirable outputs if carbon were decreased. This paper suggests that policymakers can benefit from formulating various suitable undesirable output reduction objectives and schedules through the models developed. The research method can be replicated for other sectors and regions focussing on undesirable output reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When distributed solar photovoltaic systems (PV) provide the majority of supply in electricity grids, system operators and network service providers require increased control of customer-owned assets to maintain system security, reliability and equity. Several programs of reform for distributed energy resources (DER) in Australia, USA and Europe have emphasised the importance of placing customers at the centre of any energy transition, but this has occurred against a haphazard backdrop of proposed solar export taxes, decreasing feed-in tariffs, time-varying export incentives and updated inverter standards. Absent is a conversation of how the social contract of connecting to the electricity grid is evolving beyond the passive expectation of electricity supply of the 19th and 20th centuries to a two-way engagement that must support fairness for both DER-owners and non-owners in grids that are at times dominated by DER. This paper proposes a first attempt at a 'DER Bill of Rights and Responsibilities' to provide a template for this required social-license, distinguishing between passive grid participation (passive loads, traditional use, PV self-consumption) and active grid participation (grid interaction for remuneration). Guiding principles of fairness are presented with practical definitions for implementation, referencing existing instruments including inverter standards, network connection agreements, reliability standards, and central ancillary service markets. The intent is that clarity on rights to self-consumption and passive participation will support customer trust in the responsibilities for active DER integration and control. We highlight how proposed rights are already being breached regularly in Australia, as an example jurisdiction, before outlining a pathway to enshrine them for a DER-dominated future with broad sector endorsement. These questions are critical for Australia to address now; other jurisdictions will likely be required to do so in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing awareness of the undesirable environmental impact of cement-based products has led to rethinking earth construction within the digitally mechanised framework of Industry 4.0. The attempts to mechanise earth construction started nearly a decade ago, yet, the past four years have seen a surge in the intensity of research on the advanced manufacturing of earth construction. Additive manufacturing of clay-rich soil, like in cob and adobe methods, has been attracting the primary attention, while on the contrary, considerably limited research has been conducted to mechanise other methods such as rammed earth. This paper collected, reviewed, and analysed the state-of-the-art research on the advanced manufacturing of rammed earth construction, with a focus on process design aspects and machine development. Two case studies of recent digitally manufactured rammed earth projects in Australia and Switzerland were comprehensively analysed to provide a realistic feasibility assessment of the potential and technical challenges. The insights from this research provide a holistic and tangible roadmap to the digital manufacturing of rammed earth construction, which aids in making it more desirable and capable of meeting contemporary demands of the architecture and construction of Industry 4.0. • State-of-the-art advanced manufacturing methods for rammed earth construction are critically reviewed. • Two case studies of digitally manufactured rammed earth projects in Australia and Switzerland are comprehensively analysed. • Potential and challenges of advanced manufacturing for rammed earth construction are discussed. • Information for enhanced utilisation of digital techniques in rammed earth construction is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pretension is the pre-added axial tensile force on fully grouted bolt systems, which include rock bolts and cable bolts. Although a series of studies via lab testing and analytical modelling proved the importance of pretension in cable bolts, there is no systematic analysis to guide the optimal pretension values to be applied on cable bolts in different engineering geological conditions. Complicated geological conditions, such as anisotropic in-situ stress, bedding plane detachment and country rock deformation, cannot be fully represented in the lab or analytical work. In addition, field scale numerical models to investigate cable bolt performance and its interaction with various geological conditions are rare. This paper analyses the effect of pretension on the performance of cable bolts in underground coal mines via field scale numerical models, with considering different geological conditions (in-situ stress, bedding plane stiffness and rock mass properties). Numerical models were developed based on a case study mine in Australia with challenging ground conditions. The in-situ stress, properties of claystone and bedding planes are considered critical variables to be analysed. The results show higher pretension contributes to higher force along the cable bolt. Neutral points, where shear force in grout materials is zero, are used to describe the pretension-induced stress redistribution on cable bolts. Pretension also has a positive effect on roof and bedding plane management, resulting in a more stable roof condition. In addition, high pretension and high in-situ stress are more likely to result in cable-grout (CG) interface failure since the relative vertical displacement difference between cable bolts and the surrounding rock mass is higher. Once CG interface failure is generated, the pretension effect turns out to be negative, leading to severe roof sagging and bedding plane aperture. This paper provides a guide to the application of pretension in coal mining. • Developed a numerical model to illustrate the effect of pretension on cable bolts. • Analysed effects of pretension and cable-grout (CG) interface failure on cable bolts. • Investigated the relationship between pretension applied and CG interface failure generated along cable bolts. • CG interface failure induced by excessive pretension is more sensitive to bedding plane properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last two decades, the olive oil industry in Australia has been growing at an annual rate of 9%. Nevertheless, the highly polluting solid waste and wastewater generated by the industry poses significant challenges for the environmental sustainability of the industry. This paper analysed five alternatives for managing this waste stream using life cycle assessment methodology. The options included manufacturing briquettes as solid fuel for home heating; pellets for domestic or industrial water heating; pyrolysis and composting. The functional unit used in this study is the processing of 1 Mg of olive solid waste at the mill. Emissions were categorised into eight impact categories: ozone layer depletion potential (ODP), global warming potential (GWP100), eutrophication potential (EP), acidification potential (AP), human toxicity (HTP), fossil fuel depletion potential (FDP), ionising radiation potential (IRP), and photochemical oxidant formation potential (POFP). The study showed that although composting (current best practices – CBP) can achieve significant environmental benefits, using the olive waste to produce energy products may achieve better results, especially when displacing electricity from the main grid. The production of pellets for use in domestic hot water boilers (PHWH) is the option that is likely to deliver the highest environmental benefits. For example, GWP100 and ODP of the PHWH were estimated to be −1057 kg CO 2 -Eq, −1.5 × 10 −5 kg CFC-11-Eq compared to −12.4 kg-CO 2 -Eq and 5.3 × 10 −8 kg CFC-11-Eq achieved by the CBP, respectively. Future energy scenario and transportation distances were identified as significant parameters affecting the performance of the options. Sensitivity analysis showed that the expected change in the future Australian energy mix to cleaner energy sources is unlikely to have a significant effect on the performance of the alternatives. The results also showed little sensitivity to transportation distances of the energy product to the end user. This paper is the first to evaluate options for energy utilisation of olive solid waste using life cycle assessment and compare it to industry current best practices (composting). Although the paper focuses on the Australian olive oil industry, the results are also relevant to other countries and regions were olive solid waste is generated in relatively moderate quantities but distributed over large geographic area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climatic change is driving research and development in low emissions technologies. One such technology is the use of charcoal from biomass in steelmaking. This paper adapts social life cycle assessment methodologies to analyse the social dimensions of energy supply alternatives in steelmaking using regionalised production scenarios in Australia. Three energy supply alternatives are investigated: charcoal produced from Radiata pine plantation forestry; charcoal produced from Mallee eucalypt revegetation on agricultural land; and metallurgical coal. Impact indicators analysed include land-use, employment, workplace health & safety and a qualitative analysis of identified stakeholder issues. The research finds that biomass alternatives are significant generators of direct employment at the regional level; have concomitantly higher rates of workplace injuries and represent a significant change in land-use. Charcoal produced from Mallee biomass planted as a conservation measure on farmland, however, has the benefit of representing a shared land-use that provides an additional farm revenue stream and assists dryland salinity management. The paper finds that full substitution of coal by pine or Mallee charcoal does not provide a unique solution for optimising the social performance of the energy supply alternatives across all indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substance flow analysis (SFA) provides a helpful tool for the study of the industrial metabolism of a certain substance within a regional level. This paper presents SFA of steel in four countries, namely Australia, Brazil, China and India. These countries are traditionally economically mineral dependent and are major contributors in global iron ore production. For example, in 2010 together these countries produced 81% of world iron ore. Based on the analysis it was found that Australian and Brazilian iron ore stocks will deplete rapidly while China and India are accumulating. This paper then presents a discussion on sustainability issues related to substance flows of steel stocks. The study is aimed at providing better understanding of stocks and flows and to inform the policy making for achieving the industrial metabolism and consequently leading to better management of resources and recycling of steel in the countries under study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Defining drug-related mortality is complex as these deaths can include a wide range of diseases and circumstances. This paper outlines a method to identify deaths that are directly due to fatal opioid toxicity (i.e. overdose), utilising coronial data.Materials and Methods: The National Coronial Information System (NCIS), an online coronial database containing information on all deaths that are reported to a coroner in Australia, is used to develop methods to more accurately identify opioid overdose deaths. The NCIS contains demographic information, Medical Cause of Death, and associated documentation on toxicology, clinical and police investigations.Results: Identifying overdose deaths using the coroner determined Medical Cause of Death provided greater capture, and specificity, of opioid overdose deaths. Distinguishing morphine from heroin-related deaths presented challenges, requiring analysis of clinical and investigative information in addition to toxicology results. One-quarter of the deaths attributed to morphine were recorded to heroin as a result of further investigation. There was also some underestimation of codeine-related deaths. Access to clinical and investigative information also yields important information in relation to comorbid conditions among these decedents, such as history of chronic pain, substance use issues and mental health problems.Conclusions: Reliance on toxicology results alone leads to an underestimate of heroin-related deaths. Differentiating between heroin and pharmaceutical opioid (e.g. morphine) overdose deaths has important public health and policy implications, particularly in relation to prescribing practices and development of a strategic response. Understanding comorbidities among these decedents is also important in efforts to reduce preventable causes of death such as opioid overdose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background A heatwave can be a devastating natural disaster to human health, and elderly people are particularly vulnerable. With the continuing rise in earth's surface temperature alongside the world's aging population, research on the mortality burden of heatwave for the older population remains relatively sparse. The potential magnitude of benefits of averting such deaths may be considerable. Objectives This paper examined the short-term mortality displacement (or “harvesting”) of heatwave, characterized the heatwave-mortality relationship, and estimated death burden and health costs attributable to heatwave among the elderly in Australia. Methods We collected daily data on the temperature and deaths of people aged ≥75 years in the five largest cities of Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide), totaling 368,767 deaths in different periods between 1988 and 2011. A total of 15-tiered heatwave definitions, based on intensity (95th to 99th percentiles of temperature distribution) and duration (two or more consecutive days), were used to quantify heatwave effects, using time-series regression and random-effects meta-analysis. We calculated attributable deaths for each city and by different types of heatwave. Potential economic benefits in monetary terms were also estimated, considering that heat-related deaths are avoidable. Results Among the Australian elderly population, we found significant associations between heatwave and deaths, with raised mortality immediately in the first few days followed by lower-than-expected mortality. In general, heatwave was associated with an average death increase of 28% (95% confidence interval: 15% to 42%), and greater increases were mostly observed for more intense heatwaves across multiple megacities. During the study period, there were dozens to hundreds of deaths attributable to heatwave for each city, equating to an economic loss of several million Australian dollars every year. Although the estimated attributable deaths varied by heatwave intensity and duration, the pattern was not consistent across cities. Conclusions Heatwave caused harvesting effects on mortality in the elderly population of Australia, and contributed to a substantial amount of death burden and indirect financial costs. To lessen the health impacts of heatwave in the affected regions, effective heatwave early warning systems and interventions targeted at the elderly population could be beneficial, both now and in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bayesian networks (BNs) are increasingly being used to model complex coastal processes due to their ability to integrate non-linear systems, their transparent probabilistic framework, and low computational cost. A BN may be suited to descriptive or predictive application. Descriptive BNs are highly calibrated models that are useful for better understanding the physics and causal relationships driving a system. Predictive BNs are generalisations of a system that have skill at predicting outside of the training domain. The predictive and descriptive usefulness of a BN depends on its complexity and the amount of data available to train it, but there is often a trade-off; higher descriptive skill comes at the cost of reduced predictive skill. To demonstrate the differences between predictive and descriptive BNs in a coastal engineering context, a BN to predict shoreline recession caused by coastal storm events is developed and tested using an extensive 10-year dataset incorporating 137 individual storms events monitored at Narrabeen-Collaroy Beach, Australia. A parsimonious approach to BN development is used to separately determine the optimum predictive and descriptive BNs for this dataset. Results show that for this dataset two quite different BNs can be developed: one that is optimized to achieve the highest predictive skill, and a second network that is optimized to maximize descriptive skill. The optimum predictive BN is found to comprise 3 nodes (variables) and can predict the shoreline recession caused by unseen storm events with a skill of 65%. The optimum descriptive BN is composed of 5 nodes and can reproduce 88% of the training dataset, but with more limited predictive capabilities. The uses and limitations of these two different approaches to BN formulation are illustrated with example applications to coastal process modelling. It is anticipated that the insights provided in this paper will help to clarify the further development of Bayesian Networks applied to coastal modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NATM (new Austrian tunneling method) tunnel construction is unable to proceed under instable states of working face, so the stability of working face has been regarded as a key scientific issue. In this paper, a horizontal slice method based on the limit equilibrium analysis theory is employed to establish a model for the tunnel face stability. This model can overcome the shortcomings of the intersections between the slices and the bolts. In particular, an equivalent pressure coefficient is proposed to analyze the reinforcement of tunnel face bolts. Furthermore, based on the model, the influence of soil parameters and reinforcing strength of tunnel face bolt on the limit support forces are investigated. Moreover, based on the limit analysis upper bound theorem, the tunnel face failure model is also established, and the factors such as the soil parameters, the length and support force for unsupported section, tunnel depth and reinforcing strength of tunnel face bolt, are studied in order to investigate the limit support forces for tunnel faces. It is found that the tunnel face bolts can effectively increase the shearing strength of the front core soil. However, the strength of surrounding rocks cannot be enhanced too much because such an enhancement is not economical and effective. Finally, based on the comparison analysis, it is demonstrated that the variation trends of support force with the above relevant factors are almost the same in the proposed stability models, indicating the promising and wide applications of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian federal fisheries policy identifies maximising net economic returns as the primary objective of fisheries management. This has largely been interpreted as maximising the net economic yield (MEY) in fisheries. More recently, the influence of reducing yields to achieve MEY on prices and the transfer of consumer surplus to producers has been raised as a potential issue. Achieving fishery MEY may result in a reduction in net economic returns in a broader sense if the loss to consumers exceeds the gain to the industry. The transfer of consumer surplus to producers is also potentially undesirable, and may result in a dead weight loss. Similarly, the disutility associated with bycatch in fisheries may also affect our interpretation of “optimal” yields if non-monetary values are considered. These externalities are generally not considered in determining MEY. In this paper, we develop a generic multispecies bioeconomic model that is used to estimate the impact of broadening the consideration of net economic returns to include changes in consumer surplus as well as the inclusion of non-market values associated with bycatch. We find that traditional measures of MEY may not achieve maximum returns to society overall if these externalities exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is currently a limited use of timber products in residential development in Australia due to the dominance of heavy materials such as concrete, steel and brick. This dominant use of heavy materials is a reversal of the traditional material choice that was based predominantly on timber products. Technological advances and efficiencies drove the change to heavy materials to use in residential construction. The emerging issue with this reliance on heavy materials is the impact of their use on the environment. The carbon impact and problem of finite resource depletion associated with concrete, steel and bricks need to be addressed due to the increasing pressure from national and international requirements and legislations. The construction industry needs to reduce its negative impact on the environment and the renewable nature of timber presents a material solution to the problem. Timber from sustainably managed forests and plantations can be utilised as lumber or manufactured into engineered products for residential development. This paper examines the benefits of timber used in building envelopes when compared with conventional high-density materials such as brick and concrete when construction is designed with equivalent thermal performance. Multiple case studies were used to demonstrate the reduced life cycle energy and costs, and the time of construction benefits of timber when used as an alternative to heavy materials. Results revealed that Life cycle energy and time of construction showed noticeable differences between timber construction and heavy materials and cost showing marginal differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active load shifting of the electricity demand unlocks a variety of benefits. Examples of such advantages include the increased stability of energy systems, reduced electricity costs and financial savings in the transmission as well as generation infrastructure. Although the technology necessary for demand response has been extensively studied for individual appliances or at the micro-grid level, evaluations of its nationwide impact are scarce. Yet governments and policy-makers require quantitative assessments in order to understand the underlying value and derive appropriate policies. For this purpose, this paper utilizes real-world data from the German-Austrian electricity market in order to calculate ex post the impact of demand response on electricity spot prices and load. As a result, we find that a 25% adoption rate of the available potential for load shifting could have decreased nationwide electricity expenses by approximately €500 million, or 6%, in 2014. At the same time, we observe that the price volatility rises under this scheme and thus impairs non-flexible electricity customers. This observation entails significant implications in terms of designing effective policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB) is a term, subject to ambiguity, that could be used to describe a building with characteristics such as equal energy generation to usage, significantly reduced energy demands, energy costs equalling zero or net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Despite lacking an authoritative definition of NZEBs, this relatively new emerging concept in Australia provides significant opportunities to reduce GHG emissions, energy usage and operational energy costs for buildings owners. This paper aims to explore the existing NZEB models, assess the progression of NZEB literature, identify key policies encouraging NZEB development and recognise potential areas of NZEB research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To move to holistic indoor environmental quality (IEQ) assessment methods of residential building performance in Australia, a relevant evidence base on the comfort behaviour and preferences of contemporary households is needed. A lack of information on the environmental conditions, behaviour and preferences relevant to dwellings in Australia’s hot humid climates has been revealed as an area of ongoing policy and research interest. This paper explores the cooling practices of households living in predominantly naturally ventilated dwellings in Darwin, the Northern Territory through a survey of behaviour, preferences and dwelling construction (n = 102) and a 12-month longitudinal thermal comfort study in 20 houses (n = 2535). The results show that these households employ a range of adaptive behaviours in response to warm and hot conditions. The houses were almost always naturally ventilated, with the assistance of ceiling fans for approximately 50% of the time. The limited use of air-conditioning in these houses is more strongly associated with indoor humidity levels than temperature. These patterns of comfort behaviour provide a basis for the enhancement of building simulation models for the performance assessment of dwellings in naturally ventilated mode in hot humid climates in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia’s commercial building stock exceeds 134 million m 2 of net lettable area, with retail buildings contributing 35% to this sector’s energy use. The energy intensity of retail buildings in hotter climates is higher than the national average, as is the energy intensity of smaller buildings (under 1500 m 2 ) that are not considered ‘high-end’ commercial properties. Little attention has been paid to improving the energy efficiency of these types of buildings through regulation (for new buildings) or through market mechanisms (for retrofitting). As many of these buildings are single storey ‘warehouse’ type buildings, their predominant heat load comes through the roof, and thus are well suited to benefit from cool roof technology. Despite this, there remains a deficiency in quantifying the benefit of such technology in the context of single-storey retail buildings in Australia. This paper reports on an experimentally validated numerical study aimed at addressing this deficiency. Results show that application of cool roof technology to a warehouse type building in a subtropical environment increases the energy efficiency by shifting space temperature towards the design set point (21–23 °C), and thus reducing cooling energy demand. This study also indicates an energy saving every month with the application of cool roof, with the largest saving in hotter months and no heating penalty in cooler months. Application of cool roof technology on warehouse style buildings across Australian buildings indicates energy savings can be achieved in all broad Australian climatic zones, with the greatest energy reduction associated with tropical, subtropical and desert environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy retrofits of buildings usually ignore the amount of embodied energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions needed to reduce the operating energy and related emissions. Focusing on the Greater Melbourne Area (GMA), the fastest growing capital city in Australia, this paper analyses the embodied impacts of different dwelling stock retrofit programs using a combination of a top-down and a bottom-up approach. We look at dwelling stocks that have been built before 2005 (i.e., before a minimum 5-star rating in energy performance was introduced in Australia) because these are expected to consume, without any retrofit or upgrade, about 34.9 TWh of energy or emit 8.57 × 10 6 t-CO 2 eq GHG for heating and cooling every year. Retrofit options to improve their energy star rating range from relatively cheap and easy options (e.g., draught sealing) to relatively expensive options (e.g. double glazing of windows). If all these buildings' energy efficiency is improved to the level of a 6-energy rated dwelling across the metropolitan region, we can save about 25.5 TWh per year in heating and cooling energy (or 6.25 × 10 6 t -CO 2 eq GHG each year). However, the retrofit program is estimated to consume 4.75 TWh of embodied energy, or have 1.89 × 10 6 t -CO 2 eq embodied GHG emissions. This is equivalent to 50% of the annual heating and cooling energy for the stock, or 81% of operational GHG emissions due to heating and cooling of existing dwellings. Considering the total life cycle energy and GHG emissions over the life of the buildings, although reducing the operational heating and cooling energy will remain to be the primary driver for action, the proportion of the embodied impacts’ contribution is expected to increase in the coming years especially as the implementation of net-zero energy/emissions concepts become more commonplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archival research into episodes of frontier violence in the Kimberley region of Western Australia indicate that the bodies of Aboriginal victims of massacres were frequently incinerated following the event. This paper presents the results of a scientific investigation of a reported massacre at Sturt Creek where burnt bone fragments were identified in two adjacent sites and documents the archaeological signatures associated with the sites. The methodology used to undertake the project brought together three systems of knowledge: the oral testimonies of the descent group originating from a sole adult survivor of the massacre; archival, historical and scientific research. An archaeological survey defined the two distinct sites containing hundreds of fragile bone fragments; a third site was found to be highly disturbed. Scientific investigations included macroscopic and microscopic examination of selected bone fragments by an anatomical pathologist and a zooarchaeologist and X-ray diffraction analysis of sixteen bone fragments. The anatomical pathologist and zooarchaeologist undertook macroscopic and microscopic examinations of selected bone samples to identify morphological evidence for human origin. It was concluded that three bone fragments examined may have been human, and two of the fragments may have been from the vault of a skull. It was concluded that the likelihood of them being human would be strengthened if it was found that the three samples had been subjected to high temperatures. X-ray diffraction analysis of 16 bone fragments provided this evidence. All fragments showed sharp hydroxylapatite peaks (crystallite sizes 9882nm and 597nm respectively) and all had been subjected to extreme temperatures of either 600°C for more than 80h, 650°C for more than 20h, 700°C for more than 4h or 800°C for more than 1h. XRD analyses were also done on bone samples collected from three cooking hearths at three different archaeological sites. It was found that two of the three samples had been exposed to substantially lower temperatures for a short time period. It was concluded that there was strong pathological and archaeological evidence that the bone fragments were human in origin, but that the evidence was not conclusive. This research also identified archaeological signatures for the identification of massacre sites in similar Australian environments and circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health helplines are integral to contemporary healthcare, offering fast, low-cost, and geographically unrestricted access to health information and advice. Although some health helplines offer support services (e.g., counselling), many function in ways that are similar to physically co-present (i.e., face-to-face) primary care consultations. However, due to the lack of physical presence, there are differences in the way health consultations are routinely managed on the telephone. This article explores some ways in which healthcare is managed at a distance, on a telephone helpline.Methods: Data are 196 recorded calls from the helpline, Healthdirect Australia. Using conversation analysis, this paper compares the delivery of healthcare over the telephone with what is known about physically co-present primary care consultations.Results: Through an exploration of the overall structure of these helpline calls, we show how Healthdirect Australia calls are organised in terms of eight distinct phases: call opening, establishment of reason-for-calling, check of caller safety, creation of a confidential patient file, medical information-gathering, health advice, caller survey questions, and call closing. We demonstrate how interactants organise their talk around these phases, with a particular focus on the shift between mandated administrative tasks and traditional medical tasks.Conclusions: Findings from this study suggest that there are systematic differences between the overall structure of health helplines and physically co-present primary care consultations. We demonstrate that the delivery of health information and advice via helplines can be challenging, but that service can be enhanced through continued efforts to inform understanding about how medical encounters routinely unfold in over-the-phone environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Activism has a substantial role within the specialization of Indigenous Australian public relations. • Indigenous women working in public relations utilize their activist skill set in their personal lives. • There are unique cultural connections between the concepts of Indigeneity, professional activism and personal activism. • Indigenous Australian public relations strategies can involve activism through fashion. The role of activism is important in the field of Indigenous Australian public relations as a strategy for creating change and giving back to Indigenous people and communities. However, there is a dearth of information on how, when, and why Indigenous women employed in public relations engage in activist practices. This paper aims to help fill this gap by exploring the activist practices used by Indigenous women working in public relations in their personal lives. By considering personal activism from the perspectives of Indigenous women in public relations, we can further conceptualize activism within the profession. Through the critical lens of Indigenous women's standpoint theory, and utilizing an Indigenous yarning method, five Indigenous women discuss their definitions of activism and the various ways in which they engage in activism within their personal lives. This paper builds upon the ideas of activism within public relations and demonstrates the power of public relations in terms of influencing social change for Indigenous people and others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Optimization model for the integrated assessment of the green ammonia value chain. • Case study for ammonia trade between Australia and Germany in 2030. • Sensitivity analysis on ammonia prices for technical and economic parameters. • Cost comparison of conventional and green ammonia production. This paper contributes to understanding the transformation of global energy trade to green energy carriers, focusing on green ammonia as the foreseeable first green hydrogen carrier. We provide a comprehensive overview of today's ammonia trade and assess scaling options for the trade of green ammonia. To that aim, we develop an optimization model for the integrated assessment of the green ammonia value chain that covers all steps from green ammonia production in an exporting country, up to delivery to a harbor in an importing country. The model endogenously chooses among different technology options and determines cost minimal operation. In a case study, we apply the model to the large-scale import of ammonia from Australia to Germany in a scenario for 2030. The results show that green ammonia can reach cost parity with gray ammonia even for moderate gas prices (but not necessarily with blue ammonia) if CO 2 prices are high enough. We also provide a sensitivity analysis with respect to the interest rate and other key technical and economic parameters and show that cracking ammonia to provide pure hydrogen comes at a 45 % cost markup per MWh at the destination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the least-cost greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement pathway for a coupled energy system. We consider the roles of diverse abatement technologies, such as renewable electricity generation, biomass and carbon capture and storage (CCS), as well as sources of operational flexibility, such as peaking generators, electricity storage, transmission and electrolysis. Scenario and sensitivity analyses are applied to explore plausible pathways to energy system decarbonization. All modelled pathways to a zero-emissions energy system feature an accelerating transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy with diverse technologies playing a role. This includes variable renewable generators (VRG), CCS, and sources of operational flexibility on different timescales. Specifically, synchronous condensers appear to be a cost-effective option to control system frequency, inter-seasonal hydrogen storage in engineered caverns can play a significant and complementary role to that of pumped hydro and battery storage, and technologies that capture and sequester atmospheric carbon, including biomass-to-CCS and direct air capture (DAC), can also play a significant role in the transition to net-zero emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Circular RNAs are differentially expressed in endometrial cancer. • The overall circRNA abundance is lower in cancer compering to control. • Identified circRNAs may serve as biomarkers for obesity-related endometrial cancer. The present study has investigated the circular RNA (circRNA) transcriptome of twenty obese and postmenopausal women, recruited in Australia, with endometrial cancer (EC). This paper expands on previous findings which evaluated the circRNA transcriptome of a similar cohort of six women recruited in the United States of America. EC is the most common gynaecological malignancy and the fifth most common cancer in women worldwide with obesity as one of its major risk factors. CircRNAs, a class of non-coding RNAs, are involved in many human diseases including cancer. As such the objective of this study was to investigate the circRNA transcriptome of these twenty women and identify circRNAs of interest. We obtained paired samples (EC and adjacent normal tissue) from the cohort of twenty women. Samples were subjected to ribosomal RNA depletion and sequencing performed using Illumina sequencing technology. CircRNAs were identified through CIRI2 and CIRCexplorer2 and common circRNAs extracted for differential expression with edgeR which met the criteria of counts per million > 0.1 and expressed in ≥ 10. We found that the overall abundance of circRNAs was lower in EC compared to adjacent non-cancerous endometrial tissue. We also identified hotspot genes, genes expressing over 10 distinct circRNA isoforms. There were 82 hotspot genes in normal tissue and 23 hotspot genes in EC. There were 174 significantly differentially expressed circRNAs, of which 172 were down-regulated and 2 were up-regulated in EC. The circRNAs identified from this study may act as diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers for EC in obese women. While the circRNA transcriptome of obesity-related EC has been investigated further work is required to determine their functional significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern power systems are experiencing the challenge of high uncertainty with the increasing penetration of renewable energy resources and the electrification of heating systems. In this paradigm shift, understanding electricity users' demand is of utmost value to the retailers, aggregators, and policymakers. However, behind-the-meter (BTM) equipment and appliances at the household level are unknown to the other stakeholders mainly due to privacy concerns and tight regulations. In this paper, we seek to identify residential consumers based on their BTM equipment, mainly rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems and electric heating, using imported/purchased energy data from utility meters. To solve this problem with an interpretable, fast, secure, and maintainable solution, we propose an integrated method called Interpretable Refined Motifs And binary Classification (IRMAC). The proposed method comprises a novel shape-based pattern extraction technique, called Refined Motif (RM) discovery, and a single-neuron classifier. The first part extracts a sub-pattern from the long time series considering the frequency of occurrences, average dissimilarity, and time dynamics while emphasising specific times with annotated distances. The second part identifies users' types with linear complexity while preserving the transparency of the algorithms. With the real data from Australia and Denmark, the proposed method is tested and verified in identifying PV owners and electrical heating system users. The performance of the IRMAC is studied and compared with various state-of-the-art methods. The proposed method reached an accuracy of 96% in identifying rooftop PV users and 94.4% in identifying electric heating users, which is comparable to the best solution based on deep learning, while the speed of the inference model is a thousand times faster. Last but not least, the proposed method is a transparent algorithm, which can tackle the concerns regarding the agnostic decision-making process when policies prohibit some machine learning methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing constrained healthcare resources is an important and inescapable role of healthcare decision makers. Allocative decisions are based on downstream consequences of changes to care processes: judging whether the costs involved are offset by the magnitude of the consequences, and therefore whether the change represents value for money. Process mining techniques can inform such decisions by quantitatively discovering, comparing and detailing care processes using recorded data, however the scope of techniques typically excludes anything 'after-the-process' i.e., their accumulated costs and resulting consequences. Cost considerations are increasingly incorporated into process mining techniques, but the majority of healthcare costs for service and overhead components are commonly apportioned and recorded at the patient (trace) level, hiding event level detail. Within decision-analysis, event-driven and individual-level simulation models are sometimes used to forecast the expected downstream consequences of process changes, but are expensive to manually operationalise. In this paper, we address both of these gaps within and between process mining and decision analytics, by better linking them together. In particular, we introduce a new type of process model containing trace data that can be used in individual-level or cohort-level decision-analytical model building. Furthermore, we enhance these models with process-based micro-costing estimations. The approach was evaluated with health economics and decision modelling experts, with discussion centred on how the outputs could be used, and how similar information would otherwise be compiled. • An event log that can be compiled from linked hospital data that is routinely collected across Australia, with standardised nomenclatures, for the purpose of activity-based funding. • A new approach that combines process modelling with economic decision tree modelling, to express processes with explicit trace attributes, such as demographic data. • Discovery techniques, model visualisations and conformance checking techniques for such models. • Estimation of micro-cost information for activities of interest within the event-log, from aggregate episode-level costs recorded as trace attributes. • An approach to help inform real-world decisions for managing healthcare delivery based on 'value for money', by bringing the mining of processes, and the consideration of costs and outcomes, closer together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, we respond to the articles “Decoupling global environmental pressure and economic growth: scenarios for energy use, materials use and carbon emissions” by Heinz Schandl et al. (Journal of Cleaner Production, 132, 45–56) and “Australia is ‘free to choose’ economic growth and falling environmental pressures” by Hatfield-Dodds et al. (Nature, 527, 49–53). The authors of these papers suggest that policy settings are crucial for Australia to allow growing standard of living to coincide with lower environmental pressure and impact. Both papers make it clear that decoupling has not occurred in past, but stress that this does not mean it cannot occur in the future. Here, we undertake a comprehensive trend analysis by putting their decoupling scenarios into a historical context to assess the feasibility of decoupling economic growth from environmental impacts. To this end, we undertake a structural decomposition analysis to examine the drivers of a change in Australia's greenhouse gas emissions from 1976 to 2050. Using the well-known I = PAT equation, we appraise the contribution of population growth, affluence and technology in accelerating or decelerating the growth of emissions over the 75 year period. Our results suggest that population growth and affluence are key accelerators of greenhouse gas emissions. We argue that in order to decrease emissions from fuel consumption, unprecedented improvements in emissions intensity will be required both in Australia and globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green buildings are synonymous with environmental sustainability; however, it is unclear what role its occupants, specifically employees, play in promoting sustainability in green office buildings. This paper proposes that Green Human Resource Management (HRM), underpinned by Social Identity Theory (SIT), can maximize the potential of green behaviors to improve employees' outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction and work-related flow) in green office buildings by creating positive workplace behaviors (i.e., green behaviors). We collected multisource data from 549 employees and 91 managers working in 17 organizations in green office buildings across Australia. We confirm the double mediation effects of Green HRM, green behaviors and organizational identification on the relationships between organizational readiness, job satisfaction and work-related flow. The paper makes theoretical contributions by advancing the concept of Green HRM and green behaviors within the realm of SIT, thus taking a multidisciplinary stance in the built environment and sustainability literatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global concerns around climate change and the volatility of conventional fuel prices have prompted researchers and technologists to make significant efforts to identify and exploit alternative energy sources that are cleaner and more sustainable. Wind energy has seen considerable development among these alternative energy sources, mainly due to its abundance and global availability for extraction and the existing knowledge within the aviation and aerospace fields. Many nations, including European countries, already operate offshore wind farms (OWFs) and are progressively carrying out new projects and expanding on other projects. The Australian offshore environment provides unique opportunities for wind energy extraction, particularly along the southern coast of mainland Australia and the regions around Tasmania, where substantially strong winds blow most of the year. A significant challenge to establishing wind farms is the selection of site locations with optimal outputs. This can become a complex decision-making problem if there are numerous options and no information from previous projects. This paper aims to develop a decision-making framework to select the optimal location for installing OWFs while addressing financial, performance-related, and availability-related objectives. This paper adopts a game-theoretical approach to develop a decision-support tool to account for the interdependencies of influencing factors and possible conflicts amongst the parties. The game model is applied to an OWF development case study in the Bass Strait, known for its dominant and strong winds. • A framework to find the optimal location for installing Offshore Wind Farms (OWFs). • Game theory decision-making methodology for offshore renewable energy applications. • Define the influencing factors and conflicts amongst the interested parties. • Apply to OWFs development in Bass Strait, known for its dominant and strong winds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid urbanisation and infrastructure development projects have increased infinite property regeneration and construction projects in the developed countries. This study aims to examine the current construction waste management literature, including key authors, university networks, and relevant information systems, considering four selected countries, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This paper uses a set of novel metrics, query-based search, and social network analysis techniques for evaluating a dataset of 2337 papers published in a decade by authors from different countries investigating the topic of recycling and reuse of construction and demolition waste in order to identify prominent researchers, influential universities, collaboration practices, and research trends. The dataset of publications is collected from Scopus and analysed using a set of network analysis techniques and statistical analysis. An additional dataset of keywords was collected from the Twitter pages of engineering firms and other relevant industry organisations to assess any possible connection between industry interests and research trends. In order to present a solid analysis of the current investigations in the field, a scientometric analysis along with a rigor statistical method was adopted to carefully identify trends, detailed sub-topics, and the materials investigated in the literature. A probit regression model for testing differences between countries in recycling practices was utilised in the STATA environment. The findings show a set of network analysis and clusters that can help scholars to set their future studies based on the current advances and limitations identified in the literature. Within the dataset, 42% of publications referred to concrete waste, whilst only 2.2% included glass, 2.5% included brick, 4.3% included steel and none included wood, which shows the most common building materials have not been fully covered in the literature. Only 48 publications, or 7.4% of the dataset, originated from the three selected concrete-focused journals. It was also found that information systems appeared in the database lately; however, there is less discussion in the literature on how the integration of Geographic Information System (GIS), Buidling Information Model (BIM), 3D Printing and geo-spatial data analysis can help waste management in the field of construction. The bibliographic analysis of the selected cases shows that universities in Canada and the US exhibit more evidence of domestic collaboration and industry partnerships than universities in Australia and the UK. Additionally, there is evidence to suggest that publications with at least one industry co-author are more likely to address the issue of regulation. The outcome of this paper enables academics, engineers, and regulators to predict research trends, improve industry collaborations and utilise information systems and assign more research resources to address the identified gaps in the literature. • Developed a network of 1408 authors within the dataset and apply Total Publications metrics. • Examined the collaboration of 529 institutions within Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US. • Utilised a probit regression model for testing differences between countries in recycling practices. • Visualised an online GIS-based dashboard of landfills and recycling facilities using geo-spatial data. • Identified gaps in two different directions of material technology and management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper asks to what extent host language proficiency can insure immigrants against the risk of ending up in mismatched jobs. Using the 2003-2016 waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA), the paper discriminates between three forms of mismatch, overqualification, underqualification and overskilling. Host language proficiency is instrumented using Bleakley and Chin (Rev Econ Stat 86:481–496, 2004) strategy, which exploits the fact that younger children learn languages more easily than older ones. To differentiate between local average treatment effects (LATE) and average treatment effects (ATE), the paper considers two alternative models, 2SLS instrumental variables and biprobit. We find that treatment effects are heterogeneous. English language proficiency among immigrants in Australia reduces the probability of ending up in overqualified jobs, by between 17.2 (LATE) and 36.7 (ATE) percentage points. The ATE of overskilling is also significant and about -8.9 percentage points. In contrast, language skills tend to raise the probability of being underqualified at the job, by approximately 8.6 percentage points according to the ATE. Local effects of overskilling and underqualification fail to be statistically significant, suggesting that host language proficiency may be innocuous for some workers. Overall, the results indicate that host language proficiency is a country-specific, valuable form of human capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concrete is the second most used material after water and the production of cement is responsible for 5–8% of global carbon dioxide emissions. The development of low-carbon concretes is pursued worldwide to help the construction industry make its contribution to decarbonising the built environment and achieving carbon reduction targets agreed under the Paris Climate Agreement. However, there is uncertainty around the actual amount of greenhouse gas emissions that can be avoided by employing alternative types of concrete. This study quantifies the carbon footprint intensities of Australian cement and concrete production, including ordinary Portland cement, standard ordinary Portland cement concrete, blended cement-based concrete and geopolymer concrete production. For the first time, an input-output based hybrid life-cycle assessment method is used for these products. The main goal of this paper is therefore to make a methodological comparison between process-based and hybrid life cycle assessment using the Australian cement and concrete production as a case study. A comparison with published results from process-based life-cycle inventories as well as a decomposition of results into product categories is provided. The hybrid life cycle assessment resulted in higher greenhouse gas emissions for ordinary Portland cement and all types of concrete due to the methodology incorporating an economy-wide system boundary, which includes the emissions from upstream processes. For geopolymer concrete in particular, the results were also dependent on the method applied for allocating greenhouse gas emissions from fly ash and slag. The findings from this study are likely to inform the development of strategies and policies aimed at greenhouse gas reduction in the cement and concrete industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years there have been significant advances in online planning and decision support systems that encompass spatial and statistical analysis and visualisation services. In this paper we provide an analysis and evaluation of one particular online spatial-statistical platform, known as the Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network (AURIN) portal. By adopting the Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SMDX) format, more than 500 socio-economic data products can be dynamically searched, browsed, accessed and analysed via the AURIN portal. The significance of this approach is that urban geographers can access both the datasets and statistical analysis tools via the same online Portal and thus in theory, conduct their research more efficiently. In conducting our research we specifically focus on three practical use cases which utilise machine-to-machine access from the AURIN portal to the national census data maintained by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The first use case involves location quotient analysis in New South Wales to analyse the financial sector. The second use case focuses on understanding economic growth across industry sectors across Queensland using shift-share analysis. The third use case aims to identify spatial autocorrelation between low income and other spatial variables in South Australia. Through this in-depth case study approach we have identified there are some strengths and weaknesses with the AURIN portal. We have demonstrated that the portal can successfully search, interrogate and visualise spatial-statistical data from across Australia. We have also demonstrated that the AURIN portal can successfully conduct simple spatial-statistical analysis all via a single online platform. However, we have also found there remains significant challenges in manipulating and visualising complex multi-dimensional datasets through the portal. Yet these challenges are not considered insurmountable and further research should endeavour to address them. In conclusion, it is important to highlight that online platforms such as the AURIN portal hold significant promise as effective planning and decision support systems which can be used to better shape our cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire behaviour and spread predictions guides suppression strategies and public warnings during wildfires. The scientific understanding of fire behaviour forms the core of these predictions, but is incomplete, and expert judgement and experience are required to augment the evidence based knowledge. Amicus is a new decision support system that implements contemporary, published and operationalised bushfire behaviour models (e.g. rate of spread, flame height, fireline intensity, spotting distance) in the Australian bushfire context. It enables the inclusion of expert judgement and local knowledge, allows users to analyse temporal trends and uncertainty in inputs, and facilitates reliable and practical predictions. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of Amicus, including its operation and functionality, identifies the boundaries of the current understanding of fire science, discusses the major limitations in existing knowledge, and provides a framework for allowing deterministic and anecdotal/local knowledge to be incorporated into formal fire behaviour predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jens Rasmussen's seminal risk management framework and accompanying Accimap method have become highly popular in safety science circles. Despite this, widespread adoption of the model and method in practice has not yet been achieved. This paper describes a project involving the development and implementation of an incident reporting and learning system underpinned by Rasmussen's risk management framework and Accimap method. The system was developed for the led outdoor activity sector in Australia to enable reporting and analysis of injuries and near miss incidents, with the aim of supporting the development of more effective countermeasures. An analysis of the data derived from the first 3 months use of the system by 43 organisations is presented. The outputs provide an in-depth Accimap-based analysis of all incidents reported by participating organisations over the 3 month period. In closing, the importance of developing usable domain specific tools to support translation of Ergonomics theory and methods in practice is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the accuracy of 11 existing runup models against field data collected under moderate wave conditions from 11 non-truncated beaches in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. Beach types spanned the full range of intermediate beach types from low tide terrace to longshore bar and trough. Model predictions for both the 2% runup exceedance ( R 2% ) and maximum runup ( R max ) were highly variable between models, with predictions shown to vary by a factor of 1.5 for the same incident wave conditions. No single model provided the best predictions on all beaches in the dataset. Overall, model root mean square errors are of the order of 25% of the R 2% value. Models for R 2 % derived from field data were shown to be more accurate for predicting runup in the field than those developed from laboratory data, which overestimate the field data significantly. The most accurate existing models for predicting R 2% were those developed by Holman [12] and Vousdoukas et al. [40], with mean RMSE errors of 0.30 m or 25%. A new model-of-models for R 2% was developed from a best fit to the predictions from six existing field and one large scale laboratory R 2% data-derived models. It uses the Hunt [17] scaling parameter tan β H o L o and incorporates a setup parameterisation. This model is shown to be as accurate as the Holman and Vousdoukas et al. models across all tidal stages. It also yielded the smallest maximum error across the dataset. The most accurate predictions for R max were given by Hunt [17] but this tended to under predict the observed maximum runup obtained for 15-min records. Mase's [22] model has larger errors but yielded more conservative estimates. Greater observed values of R max are expected with increased record length, leading to greater differences in predicted values. Given the large variation in predictions across all models, however, it is clear that predictions by uncalibrated runup models on a given beach may be prone to significant error and this should be considered when using such models for coastal management purposes. It should be noted that in extreme events, which are lacking in the dataset, runup may be truncated by beach scarps, cliffs, and dunes, or may overtop, and as a result, the probability density functions will have different tail shapes. The uncertainty already present in current models is likely to increase in such conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tackling the overconsumption of discretionary foods (foods and drinks not necessary to provide the nutrients the body needs) is central to aligning human and planetary health. Whilst the adverse health impacts of discretionary foods are well documented, the environmental and broader sustainability impacts of these products deserve more attention, especially since their consumption has been increasing in recent decades, particularly amongst low income groups. This paper presents a quantitative case study analysis of discretionary food consumption and the associated environmental impacts for households from different income groups in Australia. Environmentally extended input-output analysis is used to estimate the full life cycle environmental impacts of discretionary food consumption on the basis of household expenditures. On average, discretionary foods account for a significant 35%, 39%, 33% and 35% of the overall diet-related life cycle water use, energy use, carbon dioxide equivalent and land use respectively. These significant percentages provide further support for the need to incentivise diets that are both healthier and more sustainable, including ‘divestment’ from discretionary food products. The study highlights the challenges ahead, including the need for further research on food substitutions to minimise environmental and social impacts whilst maximising nutritional quality – especially amongst poorer socioeconomic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we use a form of discourse analysis to explore the ‘activity’ that three quite different sustainability reports set up as companies communicate their social and environmental performance. Our aim is to show what sustainability reports ‘do’ – in order to offer insights about what they ‘could do’. We show that the companies are using sustainability reporting strategically, and that sustainability is embedded in to the company's strategic priorities. Where they mostly narrate and argue a point of view, sustainability reporting can offer additional benefits by transiting towards dialogue. Dialogue provides stakeholders with the means to engage substantially with companies, and also introduce new discourses that may open up new directions in how companies contribute to sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia and abroad screw-fixed, thin, high strength, profiled steel roof cladding systems are widely used on low rise industrial, commercial and residential buildings. Under extreme wind conditions, such as those produced by cyclones, these systems can fail as a result of low cycle metal fatigue. Current design of such systems is based entirely on standardised cyclic testing of full scale prototype assemblies. This paper describes the mechanism underlying this fatigue behaviour by studying the initiation of cracking in corrugated high strength steel cladding. When subject to repeated loading cracks initiate within the cladding at the fasteners, nucleating in the plane of maximum shear through the cladding thickness prior to propagating into the plane of the cladding. Crack initiation was considered to be the point in which the thickness of the cladding was entirely bisected and the crack was beginning to propagate into the plane of the cladding. Based on this characterisation, a crack initiation criterion dependent on the surface principal strains in the region of crack initiation was developed for both the longitudinal and transverse directions of the cladding. In combination with detailed stress analysis such criteria could be implemented in a numerical model to predict crack initiation in cladding, providing an analytical tool which could greatly assist the fatigue design process and lead to a reduction in the total reliance on prototype testing of each individual system used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia's mining sector periodically suffered huge losses both directly and indirectly from mismanagement of mine water during extreme climatic events. Mine water managers still lack cost-effective tools and strategies to manage both climate-influenced drought and flooding challenges. This paper aims to answer a fundamental question in mine water management: how much can a water sharing approach do to reduce unpermitted (unregulated) mine-affected water to overflow to the environment on a regional scale? To this end, we built a climate-driven hierarchical systems model (C-HSM) of sixteen coal mines in the Bowen Basin of Queensland, Australia. The C-HSM simulated the dynamics of the mine water systems, which was then the basis to assess the potential of mine water sharing to reduce unregulated discharge. We found that mine water sharing could greatly cut down regional unregulated discharge during the 2010–2011 wet season (which included an extreme flooding event). The cost of building such a regional-scale sharing infrastructure for redistributing water was found to be competitive to the lost revenue due to reduced coal production. The capital cost could potentially be further reduced by using existing water pipelines – such as those used for coal seam gas water management – or considering cheap transporting options. Once the sharing infrastructure has been installed, it can prevent periodic suffering of mines from climate extremes. Combined with an actively regulated discharge strategy, the water sharing approach could almost completely eliminate the unregulated discharge and maintain mine water storages at a secure level. The capital and operational cost for the combined approach can be considerably reduced and the shared water could be stored at other sites (mines, water holding ponds from coal seam gas industry) and used for water-limited periods. This is the first work that explores the theoretical potential of mine water sharing to mitigate the risk of unregulated discharge. The work presented here reveals that mine water sharing could help mine water managers respond to a sudden change in extremes such as switching from extreme ‘dry’ to extreme ‘wet’ conditions. A combined mine water sharing strategy would be worth considering by mine water managers, due to its advantages in regards to safety, relatively lower implementation costs, its effectiveness of reducing unregulated discharge that may cause environmental harm and conserving excess water for future water-limited periods. The ultimate value of water savings through a sharing scheme may be considerable as it influences mining industry's social license-to-operate in the long term, especially under conditions where there is a water security issue of decreasing availability and increasing competition. The work also highlights the benefits of systems modeling in supporting mine water managers with strategic decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impurities that are transferred to a crime scene or a body can have a significant negative impact on the investigation if the existence of the contamination is not known, and the source of the contamination is not identified. Forensic consumables, such as DNA swabs, have been known to have caused contaminations, wrongfully linking crimes throughout Europe. In that context, this study focused on body bags, widely used to transfer a corpse from the crime scene to the morgue. Our preliminary survey showed that several countries and Australian Jurisdictions are conducting the sampling of trace evidence at the morgue after the transportation of the body. Potential impurities present in body bags could thus interfere with pertinent traces. The aim of this work was to qualify and quantify the background contamination of trace evidence in body bags used within Australia. Fifteen body bags from four Australian Jurisdictions or laboratories were searched for micro traces. Impurities such as fibres and unidentified particles were detected in each examined body bag, with an estimated average of 3603 coloured fibres and 1429 unidentified particles. This number of fibres is similar to the amount found on a vinyl cinema seat in other studies. Various other contaminants such as pieces of fabric, hairs, parts of insects or feathers were also observed. It is hypothesised that these impurities are introduced during the manufacturing process. This high number of impurities can lead to incorrect conclusions and misleading investigative leads. This paper presents an overview of the problems these impurities can cause and proposes several strategies to prevent future issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current approach for protecting the receiving water environment from urban stormwater pollution is the adoption of structural measures commonly referred to as Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD). The treatment efficiency of WSUD measures closely depends on the design of the specific treatment units. As stormwater quality is influenced by rainfall characteristics, the selection of appropriate rainfall events for treatment design is essential to ensure the effectiveness of WSUD systems. Based on extensive field investigations in four urban residential catchments based at Gold Coast, Australia, and computer modelling, this paper details a technically robust approach for the selection of rainfall events for stormwater treatment design using a three-component model. The modelling results confirmed that high intensity-short duration events produce 58.0% of TS load while they only generated 29.1% of total runoff volume. Additionally, rainfall events smaller than 6-month average recurrence interval (ARI) generates a greater cumulative runoff volume (68.4% of the total annual runoff volume) and TS load (68.6% of the TS load exported) than the rainfall events larger than 6-month ARI. The results suggest that for the study catchments, stormwater treatment design could be based on the rainfall which had a mean value of 31 mm/h average intensity and 0.4 h duration. These outcomes also confirmed that selecting smaller ARI rainfall events with high intensity-short duration as the threshold for treatment system design is the most feasible approach since these events cumulatively generate a major portion of the annual pollutant load compared to the other types of events, despite producing a relatively smaller runoff volume. This implies that designs based on small and more frequent rainfall events rather than larger rainfall events would be appropriate in the context of efficiency in treatment performance, cost-effectiveness and possible savings in land area needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring changes in the terrestrial carbon cycle and vegetation health can only be undertaken over large areas and on a regular basis using ecological indicators derived from satellite-based sensors. Climate conditions in Mediterranean ecosystems have undergone, and are projected to undergo, significant change in the future with marked impacts on forest and shrubland vegetation. In the southwest of Australia (SWAU), endemic tree species have experienced significant declines in health and mortality since the early 1990s primarily due to these climatic changes. In this paper we examine trends in Net Primary Production (NPP) from 2000 to 2011 as an indicator of productivity and health condition of the woody vegetation across the SWAU region. To do so, we examine NPP estimates derived from satellite imagery and climate data to answer the questions: (1) what is the extent and rate of change in NPP for the SWAU region over the study period, and (2) how important is fire as a contributing factor in the observed trends? Our results suggest that, similar to the global trend in Mediterranean ecosystems, between 2000 and 2011, overall NPP declined across the study region, with the majority of declines occurring in the ecological transition zone between trees and shrubs. Twenty-six percent of the 37,042 square kilometre of woody vegetation that showed a declining NPP trend, was affected by fire. The overall rate of NPP decline for the region was estimated to be −0.38 megaton C per year since 2000, indicating a reduction in the capacity of the region to act as a carbon sink. Under climate change projections, the observed decline trends are likely to continue and our results suggest that the carbon storage potential in this region is gradually decreasing following an ecological shift from tall tree-dominated to lower shrub-dominated vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes insights gained from a decade of autonomous marine systems development at the University of Sydney’s Australian Centre for Marine Robotics. Over the course of this time, we have deployed numerous vehicles and imaging platforms in support of applications in engineering science, marine ecology, archaeology and geoscience. We have operated an Australia-wide benthic observing program designed to deliver precisely navigated, repeat imagery of the seafloor. This initiative makes extensive use of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) to collect high-resolution stereo imagery, multibeam sonar and water column measurements on an annual or semi-annual basis at sites around Australia, spanning the full latitudinal range of the continent from tropical reefs in the north to temperate regions in the south. We have also contributed to expeditions to document coral bleaching, cyclone recovery, submerged neolithic settlement sites, ancient shipwrecks, methane seeps and deepwater hydrothermal vents. We briefly consider how automated tools for working with this imagery have facilitated the resulting science outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Pedogenon classes are created by K means clustering on soil forming factors. • Pedogenons define unique soils and characterise the pedodiversity of the study area. • Soil properties of genosoil and phenosoil are predicted using VisNIR spectra. • The result shows that genosoils had twice the variation of phenosoils. Mapping soil classes can support the understanding of soil origin and development, subsequently the soil classes can be used to support monitoring and assessing soil change due to human influence. Pedogenon was proposed as a conceptual soil taxon derived from a set of quantitative state variables representing the soil-forming factors for a given reference time. This study aims to test the pedogenon concept in the Edgeroi region in New South Wales. This paper developed local pedogenons, designed a sampling scheme to capture soil variation under natural conditions and under intensive human activities, and tested the hypothesis that pedogenon is an efficient method of stratifying the landscape to capture soil variation. This study derived the 14 pedogenons by employing layers of soil-forming factors (soil, climate, organism, topography, and parent material and age) using an unsupervised classification technique (k-means clustering). Within each pedogenon, genosoils were identified based on areas with native vegetation, while phenosoils were identified as areas with cropping practises. One meter soil cores were collected for each genosoil and phenosoil, and scanned using Vis-NIR spectrometer for predicting soil properties (clay, sand, cation exchange capacity, pH, and organic carbon). Results show that each pedogenon was characterised by a soil type formed under a dominant parent material occupying a unique position in the landscape. Redundancy discriminant analysis of the soil properties as a function of pedogenon and depth of observations show that pedogenon significantly explained the variation in soil properties. Variance partitioning analysis confirmed that pedogenon explained a large proportion of the variation (49 %) as opposed to landuse (5 %). Principal component analysis of the soil properties shows that genosoils had twice the variation of phenosoils. The results indicate that agricultural activities homogenised the variation of soil profiles. This study demonstrated that pedogenon clasess can effectively characterise soil variation and be used as a benchmark to compare how human activities have altered soil conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel integrated short-term power load forecasting system is proposed. • The fuzzy granulation technique simplifies the large-scale dataset and extracts the effective characteristics of the raw data. • A novel multi-objective variant of the tuna swarm optimizer is utilized to integrate multiple forecasting sequences. • The optimal weight coefficients of the ensemble model are theoretically demonstrated to be the Pareto optimal solutions. • Our proposed forecasting system can gauge the uncertainty of future electricity load. As an irreplaceable power source, electricity is responsible for sustaining the national economy and social development, and the precondition for the power system's stable operation is to perform an accurate short-term load forecast (STLF). However, with the increasing forms of social power consumption and the emergence of large-scale sustainable resources on the grid, which make STLF increasingly challenging as the power load exhibits greater stochasticity and instability. Therefore, a novel STLF system is developed in this paper, which incorporates data fuzzy granulation, a high-performance optimizer for integrating forecasting sequences, point and interval forecasts. Moreover, the performance tests of the optimization algorithm verify that our proposed optimizer can obtain more approximate solution sets to the real Pareto front and outshines the traditional optimization algorithm concerning convergence and diversity. Load data from three regions of Australia demonstrate that our developed system can remarkably contribute to the accuracy and stability of the STLF , and also quantify the volatility and uncertainty of the power load, which allows power workers to better capture the fluctuation interval of future loads and effectively enhance the flexibility of grid operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particulate matter (PM) or particle pollution include the tiny particles of dust and fly ash particles are expelled from coal-burning power plants. Coal combustion is an extremely prevalent source of air pollution, and resulting PM has substantial impacts on human health, especially in industrial zones. This paper aims to design a novel hybrid deep learning framework based on long short-term memory (LSTM) integrated with a two-stage data filtering technique to accurately predict the air quality indices (i.e., PM 2.5 and PM 10) in a chosen study region 'Miles Airport, Queensland,' that meets the needs of the coal seam gas industry in Australia. The data used to construct the novel hybrid two-stage data filtering technique based on LSTM comprising of six meteorological parameters (i.e., wind direction, wind speed, air temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, and rainfall) and two environmental factors (i.e., ozone and total suspended particulate). In the first stage, two robust feature selection methods, namely, extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) and the classification and regression tree (CART) approach, were adopted to explore the most significant predictors. Then in the second stage, the best subset regression (BSR) technique is utilized to determine the best subsets input combinations i.e., C1, C2, and C3 based on several particular metrics. The three BSR-based input combinations were employed in the LSTM model to estimate the PM 2.5 and PM 10. Furthermore, to validate the main hybrid framework, two advanced machine learning (ML) methods (i.e., LightGBM and ridge kernel regression (KRR)) and two traditional ML methods (i.e., Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and multilayer perceptron neural network (MLP)) were hybridized with the multi-level data filtering strategy by examining the optimal input combinations. Several statistical metrics, graphical tools, and diagnostic analyses evaluated the hybrid models. The outcomes of the PM 2.5 simulation based on 2375 data samples showed that the LSTM-C3 containing all the selected predictors yielded the most promising accuracy, followed by the LightGBM-C3 and MLP-C3 models. On the other hand, the simulation of PM 10 distribution demonstrated that the LSTM-C3 was superior to other models, followed by the KRR-C3 and LightGBM-C3 models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Control of the superheated steam temperature is a significant technical challenge to coal-fired power plants due to the strong nonlinearity, large inertia and parameter uncertainties with external disturbances. This paper proposes a robust proportion–integration–differentiation (PID) control of the superheated steam temperature with proven stability and the external disturbance rejection. The design is based on the proposed data-driven feedback compensator (DFC) which is a neural network (NN) trained to isolate the nonlinearity and inertia from the PID controller, allowing the system for tuning the PID controller can be simplified as an approximate linear system with the modeling error based-feedback and feed-forward compensations. Then, the PID controller is tuned by the Nyquist stability criterion to place every closed-loop pole to a specific region in the left-half s-plane to guarantee the stability with considering the modeling error. Besides, a NN based feed-forward compensator is trained as the inverse model of the feedback compensator to further smooth the temperature fluctuation caused by the disturbance. The simulations and engineering implementation of the superheated steam temperature controls for a coal-fired power plant in Australia show the effectiveness. • A data-driven compensation based robust control with considering uncertainties. • A neural feedback compensator to compensate the nonlinearity and inertia. • Approximation errors handled by the robust PID control with proven stability. • The effectiveness verified by the implementation in a physical coal-fired plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rapidly warming planet provides a significant challenge to the design, delivery, and maintenance of habitable housing across Australia. Information on the adequacy of current measures for cooling Indigenous houses in regional and remote communities in relation to climate change and rising energy consumption costs is lacking. Such information is needed to better protect low socio-economic status householders, people with pre-existing health conditions, and people living in climatically exposed regions. This article models the thermal performance of both existing and 'improved' (built to current national construction code standards) housing stock in relation to various occupancy density, cooling system, and ventilation practice scenarios. This modelling was undertaken for housing in Australia's tropical, arid, and hot/mild climate zones, matching the sites where most discrete Indigenous communities are located. Results show that retrofitting existing housing stock and even building new stock to meet recommended standards are not adequate measures for current or future climate changes. This paper challenges current knowledge, policy, and practices regarding Indigenous housing, demonstrating that significant reform is necessary to maintain habitable conditions and improve energy resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]