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A systematic investigation to understand the effect of altering the active layer chemistry on the desalination potential of nanofiltration membranes by incorporating varied aliphatic multi-amines during interfacial polymerization
No full textThe current study employs a systematic approach to enhance the desalination performance of polyamide (PA) thin film composite (TFC) membranes by modifying the chemistry of the PA active layer. Four aliphatic amines containing two to five primary/secondary amino groups in the amine structure were used. These aliphatic amines include ethylene diamine (2A), diethylene triamine (3A), 1,3-bis(2-aminoethylamino)propane (4A), and tetraethylenepentamine (5A). The aliphatic amines (XA; X = 2, 3, 4, and 5) were added in a fixed percentage of 0.2 wt% to 1.8 wt% of PIP, and hence, four different aqueous phases were prepared. Interfacial polymerization (IP) between PIP/XA on a polysulfone support yielded four PA-TFC membranes. The yielded membranes showed variations in features, such as surface morphologies and wettabilities attributed to varied chemistry. The membranes showed an increase in hydrophilicity with an increase in the chain length of the aliphatic amine with water contact angles of 51o, 42o, 25o, and 26◦ for PIP/2A-TMC, PIP/3A-TMC, PIP/4A-TMC, and PIP/5A-TMC membranes, respectively. Among different membranes, the behavior of the 3A and 5A amines was similar in terms of PA growth and performance of the membrane. However, in terms of optimized desalination performance, the PIP/3A-TMC membrane proved to be better than the other membranes, with a permeate flux of 65 ± 4 LMH at 20 bar with Na2SO4 and MgSO4 rejection rates of 97%, followed by 95% rejection of CaCl2. The PIP/3A-TMC membrane showed the highest flux recovery among other membranes, reaching a value of 96%
Face Detection Based on Central Geometrical Moments of Face Components
No full textThis paper presents a face detection framework based on up to the third-order two-dimensional central geometrical moments (CGMs) of face components and their horizontal and vertical gradients. To detect faces in an image an exhaustive search over space and scale is carried out by using a multistage classifier which quickly discards background regions and spends more computation on promising face-like regions. A new method for fast computation of up to the third-order local geometrical moments, suitable for sliding window applications is presented whose computational complexity is invariant to scale and is much faster compared to previous methods for PC-based applications. The presented results show that the proposed system yields good performance in terms of detection and false positive rates
Health and Physical Education Workplace Research and Development: An Australian Perspective
No full textOur chapter is concerned with the Australian context. In Part 1, we consider the nature and positioning of Health and Physical Education (HPE), the title of our learning area in most jurisdictions, and explore its development and professional workforce. In Part 2, we respond to the Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy (PESP) workforce development agenda. Specifically, we name and address the obstacles, challenges and opportunities for HPE workforce development in Australia and within the context of COVID-19. Finally, in Part 3, we turn to the accountability demands of HPE teacher education and identify trends and the future needs that must be met for school HPE to flourish
Roman Catholicism and the History of Christianity in Modern Japan
No full textThis review article aims to provide an overview of the existing literature on Roman Catholicism in modern Japan post-1873, focussing on works that address its societal impact. It orients readers in the historical context of Roman Catholic mission and social contributions to modern Japan. The scholarship indicates the conservative beginnings of the French mission in Japan, and the uneven development of the Church, fuelled by the ‘conversion’ of low socio-economic groups of so-called ‘Hidden Christians’ in the south. As time went on there was a gradual expansion of Catholic educational institutions that were attended by those who had higher socio-economic means, or with elite status. Topics covered in this article include the Catholic missions, education, women's contributions and recent demographic changes that impact Catholic identity. As a reflection of the author’s area of interest, special attention is paid to the case of the Urakami, or Nagasaki Catholics, and the 1945 atomic bombing
Higher Education Success Factor Model: A Means to Explore Factors Influencing Indigenous Australian Completion Rates
No full textThe number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students enrolled at universities continues to increase; however, completion rates have not. In this study, we sought to understand what contributes to university completion rates by Indigenous Australian students. We employed a mixed-method approach, utilising the higher education success factor (HESF) model to investigate the factors that influence completion. In total, we surveyed 308 Indigenous Australians who had graduated between 2018 to 2022. We found that the economic conditions, social environment and individual characteristics were identified as three factors influencing the completion of Indigenous university graduates. We report that this model has worked well to provide a means to identify factors influencing Indigenous Australian success in higher education. Academic institutions can now use this model to identify how they can best support Indigenous Australian students by examining the three factors we have identified to see where their weaknesses may lie and where improvement can be made
Preservation and maintenance of Indigenous histories, languages, and cultures: The role of education
No full textIndigenous Peoples of Australia are considered to have one of the oldest surviving civilization on the planet, having been living on the land we now call Australia for 60,000 years, compared with the 30,000 years ascribed to the Ainu people of Japan. Indigenous Australians report that at the time of the arrival of the first British settlers in 1788 there were 250-400 living Aboriginal languages being spoken in Australia. 229 years later, in 2017, only 147 of those languages still survive, and only 18 of them are considered to be strong and vital, with sufficient speakers of all generations to be presumed to be able to continue to thrive. In Australia, we have not yet agreed on the best way for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia to achieve social and economic justice, and specifically the role and responsibilities of education systems, as outlined under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (United Nations 2008; UNDRIPs). What we do know is that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander citizens are still not equals with non-Indigenous Australians. It is the Australian Government's intention that all teachers will have, as a minimum, a proficient level of demonstrable professional expertise in both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education and Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, and measures are being introduced in pre-service teacher education programs nationally to support this intention. In 2016 there were 394,762.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) in-school staff in Australia of whom 276,329.8 were teaching staff (ABS 2016) and many of these teachers have had no formal professional development in the rights-based approach to the education of Indigenous children or in the methods of educating non-Indigenous Australians about Indigenous histories, languages, and cultures. Many report a lack of confidence in this area of their professional skills, knowledge, and understanding (Ma Rhea, Anderson, and Atkinson 2012)
A first-principles alternative to empirical solvent parameters
No full textThe use of solvents is ubiquitous in chemistry. Empirical parameters, such as the Kamlet–Taft parameters and Gutmann donor/acceptor numbers, have long been used to predict and quantify the effects solvents have on chemical phenomena. Collectively however, such parameters are unsatisfactory, since each describes ultimately the same non-covalent solute–solvent and solute–solute interactions in completely disparate ways. Here we hypothesise that empirical solvent parameters are essentially proxy measures of the electrostatic terms that dominate solvent–solute interactions. On the basis of this hypothesis, we develop a new fundamental descriptor of these interactions and show that it is a self-consistent, probe-free, first principles alternative to established empirical solvent parameters
Hofmeister effects influence bulk nanostructure in a protic ionic liquid
No full textHypothesis: The origins and behaviour of specific ion effects have been studied in water for more than a century, and more recently in nonaqueous molecular solvents. However, the impacts of specific ion effects on more complex solvents such as nanostructured ionic liquids remains unclear. Here, we hypothesise that the influence of dissolved ions on the hydrogen bonding in the nanostructured ionic liquid propylammonium nitrate (PAN) constitutes a specific ion effect. Experiments: We performed molecular dynamics simulations of bulk PAN and 1–50 mol% PAN-PAX (X = halide anions F−, Cl−, Br−, I− ) and PAN-YNO3 (Y = alkali metal cations, Li+, Na+, K+ and Rb+) solutions to investigate how monovalent salts influence the bulk nanostructure in PAN. Findings: The key structural characteristic in PAN is a well-defined hydrogen bond network formed within the polar and non-polar domains in its nanostructure. We show that dissolved alkali metal cations and halide anions have significant and unique influences on the strength of this network. Cations (Li+, Na+, K+ and Rb+) consistently promote hydrogen bonding in the PAN polar domain. Conversely, the influence of halide anions (F− , Cl− , Br− , I− ) is ion specific; while F− disrupts PAN hydrogen bonding, I− promotes it. The manipulation of PAN hydrogen bonding therefore constitutes a specific ion effect – i.e. a physicochemical phenomena caused by the presence of dissolved ions, which are dependent on these ions’ identity. We analyse these results using a recently proposed predictor of specific ion effects developed for molecular solvents, and show that it is also capable of rationalising specific ion effects in the more complex solvent environment of an ionic liquid
A new dispute concerning the TRIPS agreement: The United States and China in the WTO
No full textOn 10 April last year, the United States filed a complaint against China in the Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organization with respect to the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. The United States has requested ‘consultations’ with China on four separate matters: the threshold requirements for criminal procedures and penalties in Chinese law; the disposal of goods confiscated by Chinese customs authorities that infringe intellectual property rights; the issue of copyright and related rights protection for works that have not been authorised for publication or distribution within China; and the unavailability of criminal procedures and penalties for persons engaged in unauthorised reproduction or unauthorised distribution of copyrighted works. Despite widespread allegations of intellectual property piracy, this is the first official complaint which has been lodged against China in the WTO with respect to its obligations under the TRIPS Agreement. A dispute settlement panel has now been established to investigate the complaint. This article will briefly outline the complaint against China, and will also revisit the controversial TRIPS Agreement — which is now in its thirteenth year of operation
Punch versus Punch: The Rise and (Rapid) Fall of the London Charivari in Australia, 1905–1907
No full textThis article examines the hitherto unknown attempt by the proprietors of the London Punch (1841–1992) to establish an Australian edition of the magazine in 1905–1907. This effort depended upon the personal and professional relationships established between publishers and printers on opposite sides of the world; including between Punch proprietors Bradbury, Agnew & Co., W. T. Stead's Review of Reviews, W. H. Fitchett (of Deeds that Won the Empire fame), and Alex McKinley (proprietor of the rival, Melbourne Punch (1855–1925)). Although the attempt was a failure, closer study of this episode extends our understanding of the transnational press cultures that helped foster local identities while still binding together the ‘British World’ and British Empire. Specifically, it also extends our knowledge of the intertwined press histories of Britain and British Australia, while adding another chapter to the storied history of Punch, adding nuance to the otherwise dominant triumphalist narrative of that remarkable periodical