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Cumulative exposure to urban heat can affect the learning capacity of students and penalize the vulnerable and low-income young population: A systematic review
No full textElevated temperatures pose significant threats to human health, with young people particularly susceptible to impaired cognitive performance and increased mental health risks. Prolonged exposure to heat may compound these effects, especially in educational settings. This systematic review synthesizes existing research on the long-term and cumulative effects of heat stress on students’ cognitive performance. It evaluates the scale and mechanisms of cognitive decline, explores adaptation strategies and technologies designed to mitigate these impacts, and examines social and economic disparities in vulnerability to heat. The review also considers projections of future overheating and its cognitive consequences. A comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Google Scholar for peer-reviewed studies published in English between 2009 and December 2024. Inclusion criteria focused on research examining prolonged temperature exposure effects on school and university students’ learning capacity, socioeconomic inequalities, applied adaptation measures, and future climate-related cognitive risks. Studies focused on short-term heat effects, clinical trials, theses, and reviews were excluded. Eligible studies were selected for their large sample sizes and methodological robustness to minimize bias. The findings were synthesized narratively. Seven studies from six articles, encompassing data on nearly 14.5 million students across 61 countries, met the inclusion criteria. Long-term heat exposure was found to impair students’ cumulative learning, with complex tasks (e.g., mathematics) more affected than simpler ones (e.g., reading). Adaptation via acclimatization and increased air conditioning use showed protective effects. However, lower socioeconomic groups faced disproportionately greater impacts, underlining critical inequalities. As global temperatures rise, these disparities may widen. The review notes challenges related to methodological differences and population heterogeneity across studies (S1 Checklist).</p
Paper Machine (Carbon Sampler 1.0) - Revisiting Australian CD-ROM Art of the 1990s
No full textThis research focuses on early interactive digital art developed in the 1990s, particularly for CD-ROM—a medium often seen as transitional en route to internet-based media. In Australia, CD-ROMs were central to the federal government’s Creative Nation policy (1994), which aimed to prepare the country to become a producer of digital content. As part of this, 5.25 million for experimental multimedia projects via the Australian Film Commission—some of which supported artists exploring the new medium.
CD-ROMs enabled artists to create complex, non-linear works using image, text, sound, and video. Tools like Macromedia Director lowered the technical barrier, allowing creatives from various disciplines to engage with interactive media. Artists could self-produce and distribute CD-ROMs, reaching international audiences and becoming part of a growing global digital arts network.
The format also allowed art to circulate beyond traditional galleries. For example, the Lycette Bros’ Carbon Sampler functioned as both portfolio and commercial introduction. Despite its creative potential, CD-ROM’s built-in obsolescence—highlighted by critics like Douglas Kahn—limited its long-term viability. As access to CD-ROM technology faded, so too did visibility of the works.
This erasure was evident in the National Gallery of Victoria’s 2017 exhibition Every Brilliant Eye, which omitted CD-ROM art despite its relevance. The 1990s saw robust discourse in journals like ArtLink and Real Time on how emerging technologies were reshaping Australian art—raising enduring questions about art's place within electronic consumer culture.</p
The Things of the Internet: Participatory Object Culture and the Maker Movement
No full textA key imaginary of the early development of the internet was that of a utopian space for sharing and participation. This imaginary, which has strong foundations in countercultural, academic, and hacker communities, presented the internet as a unique medium that enabled more open social relations simply through access to the network. Yet over time, the internet has also integrated with the world of material objects. One example of this is the emergence of the Internet of Things, or the integration of objects into Internet-based systems through the embedding of sensors, which can be thought of as an enfolding of the world of material objects into online networks. This thesis examines an opposite process, where network activity and artefacts condense into material objects; a phenomenon I call the Things of the Internet. It focuses particularly on ways in which the participatory orientation of the internet has turned towards material artefacts, creating the conditions for a ‘participatory object culture’. While this suggests a utopian horizon, similar to the foundational imaginaries of the internet, the thesis pays close attention to the way online participatory cultures can be thwarted or opposed. This tension between participation and enclosure is conceptualised through Ivan Illich’s distinction between conviviality, which prioritises vernacular culture and openness, and ‘radical monopoly’, which favours corporate and proprietary regimes. In constructing this analysis, I draw upon Maker culture—a merging of hacker ethics and a turn towards material artefacts—and related practices through a series of case studies aligned with specific object families. These case studies share participatory, open-source and online cultural foundations, exemplifying participatory object culture and the Things of the Internet.</p
Modelling the Nature-Based Treatment Systems To Improve the Water Quality in Port Phillip Bay Catchment
No full textPort Phillip Bay (PPB), one of Australia’s largest bays, is increasingly threatened by water quality degradation linked to urban development. This study explores the impact of rapid urbanization and climate change on stormwater quality in the Port Phillip Bay catchment. The research also considers future climate projections—such as rising temperatures, decreased rainfall, and increased evapotranspiration—likely to worsen stormwater quality. The study emphasizes the role of nature-based solutions, particularly constructed wetlands, in mitigating these impacts and highlights the need to adapt wetland design to cope with projected changes in pollutant concentration and hydrological patterns. At the first stage of this study, a detailed literature review was conducted covering different types of nature-based treatment systems, a detailed investigation of microbiome wetlands, government policy to protect Port Phillip Bay, etc. At the next stage, a methodology was developed to assess the impact of urbanization on stormwater quality and evaluate the efficiency of nature-based treatment systems like wetlands and swales. This study uses hydrological data and the eWater SOURCE and eWater MUSIC model to evaluate the effect of urbanization on downstream quality and quantity and to check the efficiency of nature-based treatment systems to improve water quality before it enters the bay. This study investigates the combined effects of urbanization and climate change on water quality in the Maribyrnong catchment, Australia, highlighting the challenges posed by increasing urban development and changing climate patterns. Using advanced tools like Principal Component Analysis (PCA), eWater SOURCE, and MUSIC models, the study reveals that urban expansion leads to higher runoff and increased pollutant loads, particularly Total Nitrogen (TN) and Total Phosphorus (TP). In contrast, areas with higher native vegetation cover tend to exhibit better water quality outcomes. Furthermore, climate change exacerbates these challenges by altering rainfall patterns and increasing the frequency and intensity of storms, which further impacts water quality. The land-use changes in the Maribyrnong catchment between 1985 and 2019 reflect a significant urbanization trend, especially in sub-catchments like Taylor Creek, Moonee Ponds Creek, and Stony Creek. Urban land increased by 3.26% during this period, while agricultural and native vegetation areas declined by 2.2%. Wetland areas, crucial for mitigating water pollution, also decreased from 3.5% to 2.1%. The urbanization process, particularly in Stony Creek (which became 75.3% urbanized), highlights the loss of natural landscapes and their associated ecosystem services. PCA analysis revealed a strong positive correlation between TN, TP, and urban areas, built environments, and disturbed lands, confirming that urbanization leads to worsening water quality. Conversely, wetlands showed a negative correlation with pollutants, reinforcing their role in water quality improvement. This pattern held across all seasons and was corroborated by Pearson correlation results. To assess the impact of urbanization on stormwater discharge, simulations were run with urban land cover incrementally expanded by 10%, 20%, and 30%. The results showed a linear increase in downstream discharge, highlighting the direct impact of impervious surfaces on runoff volume. A similar pattern was observed under climate change scenarios, with an expected increase in discharge due to more intense rainfall, despite lower average rainfall. Additionally, simulations of different land-use and climate change scenarios in all Port Phillip Bay catchments showed a clear increase in sediment and nutrient loads (TSS, TN, and TP) with the expansion of urban areas. Climate change scenarios analyzed in the study further compound these challenges. Projections indicate that rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns will exacerbate water quality degradation. Increased storm intensity and frequency are expected to heighten the transport of pollutants, while reduced rainfall may limit the dilution capacity of water bodies, worsening constituent concentrations. The combined effects of urbanization and climate change create a dual pressure on the catchment’s water systems, emphasizing the urgency for adaptive management strategies. In the second phase of the study, wetlands were modeled as a nature-based solution to mitigate the impacts of urbanization. Wetlands, covering between 0.5% and 3.5% of each sub-catchment, demonstrated significant pollutant removal efficiencies—averaging 93% for Total Suspended Solids (TSS), 68% for TN, and 65% for TP. But this wetland area depends on the surrounding land use categories, such as the greater percentage of agricultural land, urban, and built areas, which require more wetland area to remove pollutants. However, the effectiveness of these wetlands was compromised under extreme climate conditions combined with high urbanization, with pollutant discharge to Port Phillip Bay nearly tripling. At the last stage of this study, a specialized compartment-based wetland system for total nitrogen (TN) removal is described, consisting of five chambers, each integrating aerobic, anoxic, and anaerobic zones with specific substrates and hydraulic retention times (HRTs). These zones sequentially promote nitrification (aerobic), denitrification (anoxic), and further chemical and physical nitrogen removal (anaerobic). Removal efficiency increases progressively across chambers, starting at 19% in the first and peaking around 56–64% by the fifth chamber, demonstrating a diminishing return beyond a certain treatment point. But this system is based on theoretical first-order decay constants from literature, so, it needs laboratory-scale experiments to validate the design. Key design recommendations for effective nutrient removal include alternating redox zones, optimized HRT, tailored substrates, and the selection of appropriate plant and microbial communities. Slow water movement and enhanced microbial activity are also critical for improving long-term nitrogen and phosphorus removal performance In conclusion, this study demonstrates a clear picture of the impact of land use on stormwater quality and quantity and how to protect Port Phillip Bay using nature-based treatment systems to treat stormwater pollutants. Also, it gives an idea regarding the wetland size based on the land use pattern of the catchment. This will help catchment management, combining sustainable land-use planning, climate adaptation, and the implementation of nature-based solutions, like wetlands, to protect water quality and enhance resilience against urbanization and climate change impacts.</p
Navigating Workplace Inclusion: Non-English Speaking Background (NESB) Skilled Migrants’ Inclusion Experiences and Agency in Australia
No full textAustralia is a nation of immigrants and continues to encourage foreign talents to migrate. Although research has been conducted on Australian skilled migrants in the areas such as underemployment, occupational downward mobility, workplace discrimination and social integration, there is a lack of critical empirical research on recent skilled migrants, particularly regarding their experiences and agency in relation to workplace inclusion. Workplace inclusion fosters an environment where all employees feel valued, respected and empowered to contribute fully. It is vital for skilled migrants’ psychological well-being, job performance and career growth. This study has adopted a critical realist (CR) lens to investigate how recent skilled migrants from non-English-speaking backgrounds (NESB) experience workplace inclusion in Australia. This study captures their perspectives of their inclusivity and examines how the interplay of structure and agency influences their experiences of inclusion and exclusion within their workplaces. More specifically, underpinned by Archer’s social theory, a qualitative study of semi-structured interviews was conducted with 30 participants of diverse backgrounds and different visa categories. The findings reveal that for NESB skilled migrants, workplace inclusion extends beyond the workplace itself, with their experiences varying significantly. This study also demonstrates their agential responses to existing structural and cultural barriers hindering their inclusion, as well as factors that foster workplace inclusion. Furthermore, intersecting identities such as their migrant status, ethnicity and gender shape their experiences and perceptions of inclusion which in turn influence their agency. By extending the literature of workplace inclusion and migration, this study contributes to a deeper theoretical understanding of recent NESB skilled migrant workers’ workplace experiences and the factors shaping them through their agential responses.</p
I am a migrant entrepreneur and I can make it: Enabling identities to overcome marginalisation
No full textDespite an increase in migrant entrepreneurship research in recent years, the current literature mainly focuses on the personal characteristics of migrant entrepreneurs and the influence of structural changes, often overlooking the role of the agency of migrants in overcoming marginalisation. The study addresses this gap by drawing on the identity work perspective and recategorisation theory to explore how migrant entrepreneurs use identity work as a form of agency to overcome marginalisation. Through in-depth interviews with migrant entrepreneurs in Australia, our study identifies three forms of marginalisation: structural, relational and sociocultural. We propose a typology of three forms of identity work – identity construction, mobilisation and recategorisation – which act as mechanisms through which migrant entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of their multiple identities to overcome marginalisation. Our study makes important theoretical and practical contributions by highlighting that migrant entrepreneurs are not passive subjects of marginalisation embedded within social structures but have the agency to construct and reshape their identities to overcome marginalisation in their new home country.</p
Groundbreaking: Fieldnotes from Forty Walks Across Stockholm’s Landscapes of Extraction
No full textGroundbreaking: Fieldnotes from Forty Walks Across Stockholm’s Landscapes of Extraction takes “breaking ground” as a lens from which to explore the dialectical relationship between acts of building, and their broader territorial entanglements. Every act of building is intertwined with multiple forms of destruction, unfurling at varying scales and intensities throughout time and space—from the tangible transformations brought about by excavation, demolition, and new construction, to the more removed ruination caused by mining and resource extraction, the accrued concentrations of carbon released into the atmosphere, and the gradual seepage of toxins into seas, lakes, and groundwater. Following the flows of broken earth—the mundane materials of sand, gravel, crushed rock, and excavation waste, otherwise known as building aggregates—I embark upon an intrepid exploration of the myriad landscapes of extraction scattered throughout the hinterlands of the city of Stockholm. Observing what is actually happening in the mud and fine-grain of the ground, “paying attention” to material flows, and reading the neglected stories embedded in the landscape, I ask what can we learn from these places? The act of “following” is a thread which weaves through the entire PhD, tracing material flows on the ground in the form of a creative walking practice. Walking becomes a means of entering these “landscapes of extraction,” perceiving their enduring processes of transformation, and becoming attuned to their social, material, and ecological entanglements. To walk is to be grounded, partial, and subjective, open to the unexpected and the unintended. It’s a method of artistic research practice which cultivates a form of spatial intimacy—a way of being-in-the-world—engaging the body as a sensory recording device to read and transcribe one’s surroundings. Over the course of forty individual walks across the peripheral spaces of Stockholm I developed a distinctive practice of walking, and this PhD offers a reflection on those experiences, building a walking methodology that has the potential to generate new knowledge, different ways of seeing, and different ways of being in the world. What follows is a collection of walks, essays, stories, photographs and fieldnotes gleaned from forty walks across Stockholm’s landscapes of extraction that together form a rich and nuanced narrative of a complex territory in a continuous state of transformation.</p
Methodology for the thermoelastic stress analysis of complex biomimetic structures: An alligator mandible case study
No full textBiomimetic designs that take inspiration from natural structures provide a unique approach to identifying innovative solutions to engineering problems. The experimental analysis of such structures, however, can be difficult due to complex, three-dimensional geometric features. This study presents a methodology for the analysis of complex biomimetic structures using thermoelastic stress analysis (TSA) illustrated through an alligator mandible case study. This structure has evolved to become optimal for its function and environment which has resulted in unique and intricate features. An additively manufactured alligator mandible structure was experimentally analysed using TSA under bending load conditions and compared to a finite element (FE) solution. TSA was found to be a suitable method for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the complex biomimetic structure which correlated well with the FE model. This study demonstrates the accuracy of TSA for the assessment of biomimetic designs with unique, arbitrary geometric features that can be utilised for future nature-inspired engineering applications.</p
The Planning for Liveability Toolkit: supporting local government health and wellbeing planning, evaluation and learning.
No full textThis Planning for Liveability Toolkit provides a suite of quick access and easy-to-use tools and resources that support connected and coordinated planning that promote enhanced liveability and better public health outcomes. It has been designed to consider a range of different planning practitioner needs and capabilities and different organizational contexts. The Planning for Liveability Toolkit has been designed for planning practitioners working within local governments with responsibility for municipal public health and wellbeing planning, contributing to the development of a Municipal Public Health Wellbeing Plan/Council Plan or working in corporate planning.The tools and resources have been designed to support conversations and facilitate opportunities for ongoing learning, evaluation and measurement and enhanced planning practices that support liveable places and healthy people. The resources are relevant to all councils supporting health and liveability regardless of whether a local government has a stand-alone Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan or a health and wellbeing plan that is incorporated into a Council Plan. The Planning for Liveability Toolkit tools and resources are designed to build a collaborative and continuous approach to learning, action and advocacy that enhance health, wellbeing and liveability of a community.</p
Falling off the floor
No full textBackground: This painting developed via a long-term research focus on ideas around being within unsettled conditions informed by feelings fluidity in our lives. The research investigates ideas of agency and passivity to reflect on how unstructured and unpredictable contexts may affect individual and collective psyches. This research is supported by Rebecca Fortnum and Elizabeth Fisher in their investigations into working via the merging of conscious and unconscious approaches to art practice (2013). The research is also informed by Boris Groys’ ideas that instability and uncanniness are central features of our times and that it is difficult to grasp our reality (2016).Significance: This painting poses the question that perhaps it’s not possible to devise an overarching view of our world and we should opt for a survival strategy of radical momentariness, where fragments can be experienced as a totalising instance. ‘Falling off the floor’, puts forward the idea that to be in the contemporary is to experience life as an accumulation of ubiquitous and peculiar moments. Rather than seeking structure within this tumult we could consider the chaotic moments as a sequence of equivalences where what matters is not a rationale, but rather, feeling our way forward. Contribution: The inaugural Sorrento Art Prize was selected by committee, with the prize awarded to Gareth Sansom, one of Australia’s most respected contemporary artists. The prize was judged by Alexander Grishin AM, FAHA, Emeritus Professor at the Australian National University.</p