26564 research outputs found
Sort by
Soil Microbiome Restoration in Queensland Pasture Dieback
No full textAustralia has consistently been one of the top beef exporters in the world. However, the Australian beef industry has faced two decades of struggle with pasture dieback (PDB), a syndrome affecting pasture production in Queensland. This complex issue impacts various aspects of the pasture system, including the soil microbiome, metabolism, and pasture growth. Despite attempts to restore affected soil, success has been elusive. In response, the search for natural, eco-friendly solutions has intensified, aiming to overcome the issues of soil microbiome restoration and improve pasture production. This thesis investigates the effects of Activo SOL®, a phytogenic product, on the soil microbial community. It focuses on its potential for soil microbiome restoration, microbial metabolism, and its influence on pasture production. The thesis also examines the impact of domestic legumes on the soil microbiome and grass development in a grass-legume coculture environment, offering a sustainable solution to this pressing agricultural issue. Chapter 1 reviews the Australian beef industry, pasture dieback, and the role of soil microbiota in plant growth. It explores natural products like Activo SOL®, highlighting the role of phytogenic products in sustainable agriculture. It also provides a brief overview of current genomics techniques for studying soil microbiota. Chapter 2 details a field trial of Activo SOL® on affected paddocks. This phytogenic product was tested for its ability to recover pasture dieback. It improved post-drought recovery, altered soil microbial community dynamics, reduced harmful biomarkers such as Rubrobacter, Acidothermus and Gaiella which were prevalent in extreme climate conditions, and promoted beneficial bacteria, such as Solirubrobacter, Bacillus, and Plantospotangium, which brought morphometric benefits and provided stress tolerance to plants, enhancing plant morphology and pasture productivity for over 18 months. In Chapter 3, we used shotgun metagenomic sequencing to evaluate how Activo SOL® affects soil microbial functional richness and diversity, detecting 65 altered functional pathways. The treatment boosts biomolecule production, enhances soil nutrition, and promotes soil detoxification and carbon sequestration. Chapter 4 examines the impact of Activo SOL® on buffel grass seedling emergence and gene expression. It reveals that Activo SOL® promotes seedling establishment optimally at a 0.5% concentration, highlighting its alterations in energy metabolism and critical metabolic pathways. Chapter 5 investigates the interaction between legumes and soil microbes in grass-legume cocultures. Cocultures enhance microbial diversity. Transcriptomics reveals gene expression changes in buffel grass and the distinct influence of each legume on nitrogen metabolism. The findings offer insights for optimising coculture systems. This program will benefit the region by providing new knowledge and a better understanding of pasture dieback and educating local soil health and recovery experts. This research demonstrates the potential of phytogenic product Activo SOL®, to restore soil microbial communities and enhance pasture productivity in Queensland pasture dieback-affected soils. The findings provide a foundation for developing sustainable agricultural practices that leverage soil microbiome restoration to improve pasture health and resilience. By identifying key microbial functional pathways and their role in soil detoxification, nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestration, this study offers actionable insights for farmers to optimize soil management strategies. The results suggest that integrating phytogenic treatments into pasture systems could lead to long-term improvements in soil health, pasture productivity, and livestock performance, contributing to the sustainability of the Australian beef industry. This research highlights that farmers can infer soil microbial health through indirect indicators such as plant performance, soil structure, and organic matter dynamics. By adopting practices like cover cropping, reduced tillage, and organic amendments, farmers can foster microbial communities critical for soil fertility even without advanced genomic analyses. These strategies provide a practical pathway to sustain beneficial microbes and improve long-term pasture productivity.</p
Experiences of Registered Nurses Working in Residential Aged Care Facilities–A Narrative Inquiry
No full textAim: To explore the experiences of registered nurses working in residential aged are facilities in Australia.Background: The number of aged care residents with high acuity and complex care needs in aged care facilities is steadily increasing. However, despite the Aged Care Royal Commission’s recent mandated staffing determination, the number of registered nurses employed in aged care has declined. Instead, unregistered care workers now make up 70% of the aged care workforce. This shift, coupled with organisational challenges such as inadequate education, inappropriate skill mix, and suboptimal registered nurse to resident ratios, has negatively impacted the ability of registered nurses to deliver high-quality care. Additionally, attracting qualified nurses to specialise in gerontological care in residential aged care facilities remains a persistent challenge due to the sector’s low-status, poor renumeration, and lack of career advancement opportunities. Research Design: This study employed a qualitative narrative inquiry methodology to explore the experiences of registered nurses working in residential aged care facilities in Australia. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight registered nurses from around Australia who had worked in residential aged care facilities with at least 12 months of experience in the setting. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Braun and Clarke’s six-step guide to thematic analysis. These themes were then interpreted through the lens of Clandinin and Connelly’s three-dimensional framework, focussing on the interconnected concepts of temporality, sociality, and place. Findings: The findings identified three major themes and eight subthemes and highlighted how work intensification impacted on delivery of care to older residents in aged care. The major themes identified included staff shortages, lack of education and training, and ii compromising care. The findings highlighted the challenges registered nurses faced due to the many constraints placed upon them working in residential aged care including, paperwork and documentation, compromising care, inadequate staffing, lack of support and lack of education and training. Conclusion: Registered nurses working in residential aged care facilities experienced many challenges related to working in the sector including a lack of support, conflicting roles and demands, inadequate staffing, and a lack of time in maintaining relationships, and providing quality care. Recommendations to support registered nurses included designing clear career pathways, increasing the education and training by having an educator on site., focus on staffing ratios and skill mix to ensure the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care, maintain a registered nurse with appropriate skill mix be on site 24 hours seven days a week to ensure quality care is delivered.</p
Intelligent internet of everything for automated and sustainable farming
No full textWith the convergence of technology in agriculture, intelligent Internet of Everything (IoE) creates efficient sustainable farming practices. The integration of Internet of Things (loT), robotics, and data analytics optimize the technology used for efficient farming practices and improved environmental conditions. By leveraging the power of IoE, this approach enhances productivity and crop quality and addresses critical challenges such as climate change, labor shortages, and food security, laying the groundwork for a resilient and tech-driven agricultural future.
Intelligent Internet of Everything for Automated and Sustainable Farming explores IoE in smart farming applications. It examines the advancements of drone technologies and AI in agriculture sustainability, using real world issues as examples on how to expertly use IoE in smart sustainable agriculture. This book covers topics such as agriculture technology, smart farming, and autonomous weeding, and is a useful resource business owners, engineers, agriculturalists, farmers, academicians, scientists, and researchers
Towards Accurate Modelling of Customer Purchase Behaviour in E-commerce: An Enhanced Machine Learning Approach
No full textThe landscape of e-commerce has revolutionized retail, simplifying the customer purchasing journey while generating vast amounts of behavioral data. Despite this, accurately predicting customer purchasing activities remains a significant challenge. This thesis presents the findings of a completed research project aimed at developing a machine learning-based model to understand and predict customer shopping behavior in e-commerce environments. The study focuses on three primary objectives: firstly, constructing a comprehensive dataset tailored to the research model; secondly, training the machine learning model using this dataset; and thirdly, evaluating the model's predictive accuracy and reliability. To achieve these objectives, the research employs Gradient Boosting Random Forest (GBRF) and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) techniques, chosen for their effectiveness in handling complex predictive tasks and large-scale datasets. The dataset is meticulously curated through an extensive literature review to identify relevant existing models and the collection of purchase details and customer information. Subsequently, the dataset is partitioned into train and test sets, with the former utilized for model learning and the latter for parameter tuning. Each customer session is represented as a click stream, incorporating factors such as the number of clicks, products clicked, and timing of clicks for analysis. Machine learning models, specifically GBRF and XGBoost, are then designed and implemented to predict customer purchase behavior. Performance evaluation of the models is conducted using established metrics such as f1-score, accuracy, recall, and precision. The proposed hybrid model demonstrates a notable accuracy rate of 91.1%, surpassing existing algorithms. This research not only contributes to advancing predictive models in e-commerce but also addresses critical research questions regarding the feasibility of developing machine learning models for predicting customer purchase behavior. By leveraging advanced machine learning techniques, the study offers valuable insights into understanding and predicting ii customer behavior in e-commerce platforms. The findings of this completed research project hold significant implications for e-commerce organizations, government agencies, and consumers. Businesses can benefit from improved understanding and prediction of customer behavior, facilitating more targeted marketing strategies and personalized recommendations. Government agencies can utilize the insights to regulate and optimize e-commerce practices. Consumers stand to gain from a more seamless and personalized shopping experience. The research introduces a hybrid model that combines XGBoost and the RF classifier to accurately predict customer purchasing behavior in e-commerce platforms. Through rigorous evaluation, the hybrid model demonstrates superior performance in terms of accuracy, precision, sensitivity, F1-measure, and AUC score compared to existing algorithms. By leveraging the strengths of both models, this research contributes to overcoming limitations and providing a robust solution for modeling customer behavior in e-commerce. The study highlights the applicability of the hybrid model to handle large datasets efficiently, making it suitable for real-world scenarios. The results underscore the significance of combining machine learning techniques to enhance predictive accuracy in e-commerce settings. In conclusion, this thesis presents a comprehensive solution to the challenge of forecasting customer purchase behavior in e-commerce platforms. By integrating advanced machine learning techniques with a thorough analysis of customer behavior data, the study makes significant contributions to the field of e-commerce and offers practical implications for businesses and consumers alike.</p
Evaluation of Kabuli Chickpea genotypes for tropical adaptations including drought tolerance, disease resistance and functional food properties
No full textChickpea, a high value winter legume, is grown predominantly as a rainfed crop in Australia. The chickpea industry is expanding in northern Australia rapidly. The region’s summer dominant rainfall and changing climate patterns cause drought stress and diseases, limiting yield and quality in tropical production environments. Breeding tropically adapted, drought and disease tolerant high yielding Kabuli chickpea will support sustainable chickpea production in Northern Australian region. Eight chickpea genotypes were evaluated for tropical adaption and yield performance, in central Queensland, Australia, using garden raised beds in open field. There was significant variation in phenological, morphological, physiological and reproductive traits for these tested genotypes. Hand harvested seed yields of 746 g/m2 and 626 g/m2, equivalent to 7.46 and 6.26 t/ha was recorded for AVTCPK#6 and AVTCPK#19, respectively. Higher leaf photosynthetic rate, lower stomatal conductance, and lower transpiration rates contributed to higher water use efficiency (iWUE) in AVTCPK#6 and AVTCPK#19. Furthermore, higher %Ndfa in AVTCPK#6 (71%) followed by AVTCPK#19 (63%) indicated for greater symbiotic nitrogen fixation by these genotypes. Chickpea genotypes were also evaluated under glasshouse conditions using lysimeter with full irrigation (well-watered WW) and water withheld at flowering (water-stressed WS) treatments for assessing drought tolerance. Significant reduction in chlorophyll content, stomatal conductance, carbon assimilation rate, and internal carbon concentration were observed under water stress compared to well-watered plants indicating significant reduction of yield in water stress treatment. Genotype AVTCPK#6 and AVTCPK#19 were late maturing genotypes recorded high yield both on well-watered and water stress condition with higher WUE whereas, genotype AVTCPK#1 and AVTCPK#12 (early maturing) showed drought susceptibility with lower seed yield. The other genotypes (AVTCPK#3, AVTCPK#8, AVTCPK#24 and AVTCPK#25) with medium maturity showed medium seed yield with intermediate tolerant to drought stress. The Kabuli chickpea genotypes grown in the raised bed were also assessed for bioactive compounds namely for total phenolic content (TPC), total antioxidant capacity (using both FRAP and CUPRAC assays), and profiling of individual phenolic acids using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Significant variation in TPC (40.9 - 69.1 mg GAE/100g), FRAP (23.7-31.1 mg TE/100g), and CUPRAC (378-389 mg TE/100g) was recorded among the eight Kabuli genotypes. The presence of two phenolic acids (gallic acid and p-hydroxybenzoic acid) and two flavonoids (catechin and quercetin) in all tested genotypes, with significantly different concentrations between them, suggests substantial genetic variation. This diversity is crucial for targeted breeding programs aimed at developing high bioactive Kabuli chickpea. These genotypes not only offer good quality protein and carbohydrates but also contain phytochemicals with potential health benefits, allowing growers and producers to target premium markets for Kabuli chickpea. Finally, these Kabuli chickpea genotypes were also evaluated for Ascochyta blight (AB) tolerance at the seedling stage using spray inoculation and genotyped using the Marker Aided Selection (MAS) method with markers tightly linked to Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL). Genotypes AVTCPK#6 and AVTCPK#14 showed a moderately resistant response, with only AVTCPK#6 expressing markers associated with AB resistant bands. These moderately resistant genotypes can be exploited further in chickpea breeding program for the development of AB tolerant chickpea in commercial cultivars.</p
Australian Gen Z Perception towards Green Marketing of Sustainable Fashion
No full textUnderpinning the ‘Attitude-Behaviour Context’ (ABC) and ‘Theory of Planned Behaviour’ (TPB) model, this study explores the perception of Australian Generation Z (Gen Z) to gain a better understanding of their attitude towards green marketing of sustainable fashion. Young consumers, specifically Gen Z (born between 1997-2012), are becoming more conscious of their purchase behaviour and how this impacts the environment. In Australia, this generation is a major consumer of fashion products. Although they show support for sustainable products, this does not consistently reflect in their purchasing behaviour. While Gen Z consumers are aware of the negative impact of fast fashion on the environment, economic concerns and social media trends continues to influence their desire for fast fashion products. Furthermore, the complexity around green marketing limits the type of messaging delivered by companies. Therefore, further research is needed to understand the perception of Gen z towards green marketing in the context of sustainable fashion. This could also benefit companies from defining relevant marketing strategies and communications tailored for this growing audience. The research applied the ‘Thematic Analysis Method’ to understand the perception of Australian Gen Z on green marketing and sustainable fashion. This technique helped gain an understanding of the lived experience of Australian Gen Z which has not been well analysed in previous research. It used a semi-structured interview process with 21 participants to collect data. The findings which were analysed using the ‘Thematic Analysis’ approach indicated that both external determinants such as green product, price perception, country of origin, style, reviews and internal determinants such as green knowledge contribute to a green purchase behaviour. The results also showed that green persuasion and consumer purchase behaviour pattern are driven by both internal and external determinants thus confirming that green purchase behaviour cannot be studied without considering the integrated ABC and TPB model. Moreover, the findings revealed that a sustainable purchase behaviour could lead to an increased retrospective sustainable satisfaction among Australian Gen Z as this would address their environmental concern, hence benefiting society. This involves examining the benefits of the product purchased after a prolonged period of time and how it continues to deliver on its promises and add value through delayed gratifications. This thesis contributes to the existing literature by focusing on the relationship between behavioural theories and sustainable purchases. It also introduces a new concept of retrospective sustainable satisfaction observed among Australian Gen Z. This phenomenon occurs after a certain period and can potentially help address the current attitude-behaviour gap around green consumption. Further research will need to be carried out to analyse whether any external factors such as social influence or marketing communication messages could work as a reminder for consumers to purchase green products. The research also provides managerial insights to marketers and key decision makers on the various methods and strategies to be adopted to reach Australian Gen Z such as consideration being given to affordability and quality to appeal to Gen Z’s price sensitivity and expectations. Social media marketing and short form video content proved to be a preferred method of communication for Australian Gen Z consumers. Additionally, the use of micro-influences can potentially help alleviate the current lack of trust Australian Gen Z have towards brands. The results showed how green persuasion through green promotion, cause related marketing, education and green conversations can help reinforce the relationship Australian Gen Z express towards brands. Furthermore, a potential collaboration between governmental bodies and organisations corroborates with previous studies that suggested this partnership can help encourage Australian Gen Z to adopt a sustainable consumption behaviour and increase their awareness about sustainable brands in market.</p
A Maelstrom at Sea: hybrid fiction as a resource to transform attitudes and create change
No full textThis research explores how reflexivity and creating hybrid fiction can transform an
individual’s understanding of their experience of culture. The project examines how
the process of writing hybrid fiction developed a new understanding of attitudes and
perspectives towards the cultural experience of a female Royal Australian Navy
veteran.
The research – based on my experiences of serving in the Australian Defence Force
(ADF) during a border protection operation, being employed in multiple workplaces
and working as a secondary educator in Far North Queensland – utilises creative
practice to produce a hybrid fiction and exegesis, which together examine the
contribution of cultural conditioning to an individual’s perspective.
The creative artefact describes the culture of the military as experienced by women,
particularly workplace sexual harassment, and also explores the culture of xenophobia
and racism in Australian society. It is evaluated as a resource to transform attitudes
and create change.
Through the iterative analyses of practice-led research and research-led practice, the
exegesis examines the creative process and effect of the research.
Textual analysis evaluates the impact of fiction to develop greater understanding and
empathy, challenge the construction of gender in the workplace, and act as an agent
for change. As identified through the literature review, the study addresses significant
gaps in understanding the perspective of women in the ADF. The project evaluates
personal narrative storytelling through hybrid fiction as a resource to transform
attitudes and perspectives towards the past, in order to inform the present and future.</p
“Nothing about us without us”: Analyzing the potential contributions of lived experience to penological pedagogy
No full textThis paper explores the necessity and considerations of integrating Lived Experience Criminology (LEC) into penological pedagogy. It critically analyses the underutilized, yet transformative, potential of lived experiences of the CJS to enrich academic curricula and further inform student understanding, particularly in Australia. Drawing on initiatives such as the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, Learning Together, and Walls to Bridges, the paper highlights how such programs operationalize LEC’s dimensions—particularly Persistent Experiential Narratives (PEN) and Common Experiential Narratives (CEN)—to build criminological knowledge. However, the need for cautious and ethical expansion of these programs is emphasized, considering potential objectification of people with lived experience of the CJS. The paper advocates for greater inclusion of lived experience perspectives in criminology curricula, underscoring the value they could bring to the preparation of future practitioners, the design of robust research, and the advancement of penological epistemology. Additionally, it stresses the importance of context, locality, and specialization within LEC, and the ethical considerations inherent to these pedagogical approaches. The paper concludes by calling for a stronger commitment from academia towards inclusion and empowerment of individuals with lived experience of the CJS, echoing the maxim “Nothing About Us Without Us” from the disability rights movement. The paper posits that significant strides in the CJS and academic discipline are achievable only through meaningful and sustained involvement of these individuals.</p
A systematic review of influences and outcomes of body image in postpartum via a socioecological framework
No full textBackground: Women in the postpartum period come under multi-level pressure to return to pre-pregnancy body shape and size. This pressure can lead to reduced body image satisfaction, self-esteem, and mood. In this systematic review we explored the influences and outcomes of body dissatisfaction during the postpartum period. Methods: Four databases were searched using keywords: postpart* OR postnatal OR peripart* OR ‘new mother’ OR ‘breast feed*’ AND ‘body image’ OR ‘body dissatisf*’ OR ‘body satisf*’ OR ‘body attitude’ OR ‘body shape’. Results: The influences and outcomes of body image dis/satisfaction in the postpartum period from 55 international studies were found to align within four of the five factors of the socioecological model. Intrapersonal factors: weight and body shape concerns, mental health and stressors, attitudes and behaviours, and protective coping skills and interventions. Interpersonal factors: social support (partner, family, and friends) and sexual functioning. Institutional factors: experiences with the healthcare system and returning to work. Societal factors: culture and ethnicity, media influences and social norms such as the thin ideal. Conclusions: A focus on intrapersonal factors alone is insufficient to understand women’s experiences of body dis/satisfaction during the postpartum period. This suggests a need for better education and policy practices in pre-natal and postpartum care directed at body image and education to dispel societal norms such as the thin ideal. Doing so shifts the focus to include interpersonal, institutional, and societal influences alongside intrapersonal experiences. Research is needed to explore the utility and efficacy of broader approaches for women during this vulnerable life period.</p
Multi-matrix HPLC investigation of preservatives employing a recent validated method: A Monte Carlo simulation approach to health risks in Bangladeshi processed foods and healthcare
No full textTo determine the amounts of benzoic acid, sorbic acid, methylparaben, and propylparaben in an assortment of products, this study provides a validated HPLC-PDA method. Linearity, recovery, accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, system suitability, and robustness were all examined throughout validation in compliance with ICH criteria. The method of measurement showed high reliability, precision, and linear calibration curves (5–50 mg/L) with correlation values over 0.999, demonstrating that it is suitable for consistent analysis. Reliability across various matrices was validated by robustness testing. Goods such as fruit juices, ketchup, cakes, herbal goods, and pharmaceuticals were subjected to health risk assessments including CDI, THQ, and HI. Significant sorbate and high benzoate levels, in particular in herbal products (up to 6636 mg/kg), were found in processed meals, while methylparaben surpassed the recommended limit in some herbal and pharmaceutical products. Levels of propylparaben remain low. Risk evaluations revealed that consumption of herbal products was the main cause of significant worry, especially for children with lower body weights. THQ levels below the threshold were found in Monte Carlo simulations (5th, median, and 95th percentiles), indicating that food preservatives provide little non-carcinogenic risk to the majority of the population.</p