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Unravelling carbon formation behaviour and long-term stability of dry reforming of methane over Ru-doped ceria-zirconia catalyst
No full textCarbon formation has long posed a significant challenge in an application for dry reforming of methane (DRM). The focus of this study was to understand carbon formation over the surface of a hydrothermally synthesised ceria-zirconia catalyst with a small amount (0.10 wt%) of ruthenium dopant. The characterisation of textural properties for both fresh and post-reaction samples was conducted through nitrogen adsorption-desorption and X-ray diffraction analysis. Hydrogen temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR) was performed to examine reducibility of the catalyst samples before and after the DRM reaction. Characteristics of carbon formed during the DRM reaction at 600 °C (low temperature) and 850 °C (high temperature) were investigated using temperature programmed oxidation (TPO) coupled with a mass spectrometer, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. The results revealed that at 600 °C, both amorphous carbon and graphitic carbon were observed, accounting for 0.70 wt% in total of the sample mass. On the other hand, only amorphous carbon was formed at 850 °C with 2.33 wt%. The average carbon deposition rates were 0.07 mg-C/(g-cat·h) at 600 °C and 0.23 mg-C/(g-cat·h) at 850 °C. Despite the carbon formation, it did not deactivate the catalysts at either temperature and remained high and stable catalytic conversions of CH4 and CO2, i.e., 41.3 % and 56.3 % at 600 °C, 92.6 % and 97.4 % at 850 °C over the 100 h DRM reaction.</p
Catalytic and co-hydrothermal treatment of sewage sludge: Hydrochar properties and fate of heavy metals and per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
No full textUnderstanding the fate of heavy metals (HMs) and per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during hydrothermal treatment (HT) of sewage sludge (SS) is crucial for the development and adoption of the HT process for sludge valorisation. However, there are limited understanding on the conversion efficiency of SS, fate of contaminants, product distribution, and hydrochar properties during HT processes, including non-catalytic, catalytic, and co-hydrothermal treatments. Therefore, this study investigates the behaviour and fate of HMs and PFAS in hydrothermal products (hydrochar, bio-oil, and aqueous phase) under sole HT, catalytic HT with Ca(OH)₂, and co-HT with alum sludge at 270 °C for 30 min. Catalytic HT and co-HT enhanced bio-oil yields by 10 % and 15 %, respectively, while exhibiting contrasting effects on hydrochar yield. Co-HT increased hydrochar production to 51.3 %, while catalytic HT reduced hydrochar yield to 21 % compared to sole HT of PS. Both processes improved hydrochar porosity, enhancing its potential as an adsorbent. Heavy metals followed distinct pathways, including precipitation, adsorption, co-precipitation, and complexation. Catalytic HT concentrated HMs such as Cu (1151.4 mg/kg) and Zn (1569.5 mg/kg) in hydrochar under alkaline conditions, while co-HT increased mass percentages but diluted their concentrations with Cu and Zn reducing to 660.4 and 467.8 mg/kg. PFAS degradation varies by chemical structure. Approximately >99 % PFOA was degraded during HT, while PFOS degradation was limited, with a maximum of 41 % degradation observed. These findings highlight the need for further process optimisation to improve PFOS breakdown during catalytic HT and co-HT. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the fate of HMs and PFAS during HT, offering strategies to optimise HT for sustainable sludge management.</p
Digital Trade and Financial Development in European Transition Economies
No full textAdvancements in high‐speed Internet and mobile technology in the 2000s accelerated global digital trade growth. However, financial development in European transition economies remains low, and its connection to digital trade remains largely unexplored. This study analyzes how digital trade influences financial development, focusing on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services exports, goods trade, internet penetration, and key financial metrics, including development, institution, and market indices. The results reveal an inverted U‐shaped relationship, where initially digital trade growth strengthens financial depth, access, and efficiency, but benefits decline beyond a threshold. Current digital trade levels remain below the optimal point for maximizing financial development, highlighting the need for further growth.</p
Homelessness and becoming a mother: The continuing influence of Beverley Skeggs’ <i>Formations of Class and Gender</i>
No full textBeverley Skeggs’ landmark text Formations of Class and Gender was at the forefront of identifying how gendered and classed subjectivities are produced. This work changed the landscape of sociology, and it continues to open up opportunities for sociologists to consider how intersectional privileges and oppressions are instrumental in subjectivity construction. Building on Skeggs’ legacy, this article considers how women experiencing homelessness navigate the shifting and complex dynamics of this field in the construction of mothering subjectivities. Drawing on qualitative research conducted in Australia that explored women’s experiences of homelessness and pregnancy, this article discusses how mothering subjectivities are generated through constructed notions of the ‘good’ mother and the barriers mothers face in both enacting these discourses and in meeting the high moral standards of ‘good’ mothering without adequate resources and structural supports. We explore how, in an effort to overcome internalised shame and questions of respectability, they actively contest the negative associations which call into question their moral standing as good mothers by engaging in forms of invisible labour. By expanding on Skeggs’ theoretical framework, this article challenges hegemonic concepts of homelessness that neglect alternative subjectivities, and instead explores the processes and practices that are shaped by social positioning to reveal the punitive consequences and transformative possibilities involved in becoming a mother while homeless.</p
Working futures in Australia’s renewable industries?
No full textIn this article, we consider the future of work in Australia’s renewable energy industry sectors through a consideration of the evolving political and economic context that will continue to shape it in years to come. We are particularly concerned about the quantity and quality of jobs, how these jobs will be realised, who secures them, and who will provide them. Further complicating matters, the debate is being carried out in the context of generalised skill shortages and recruitment difficulties. This article draws on and develops arguments we have put forward recently. Our focus in this article has been on the political economy of work and employment in Australia, especially implications of the polycrisis and associated geopolitics, the militarisation of industrial policy, renewable industries, regional development, just transitions, and the future of work and workers. In developing our argument, we consider Australia’s focus on ‘Renewable Energy Industrial Zones’ in an era of the ‘new state capitalism’, the impact of the US Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act particularly and new geopolitics generally, and the dominance of multinational corporations in renewable industries.</p
Interpreter Communication Quality in Cognitive Assessments for Dementia
No full textImportance With increasing dementia prevalence due to population aging, interpreters are needed to facilitate timely dementia diagnosis by supporting the complex verbal and nonverbal interplay between clinicians and patients during cognitive assessments. However, to our knowledge, no randomized clinical trials have previously evaluated interventions to improve interpreter communication during cognitive assessments for dementia.Objective To assess whether online training codesigned by interpreters, clinicians, and multilingual family carers improves the quality of interpreter communication during cognitive assessments for dementia.Design, Setting, and Participants The Improving Interpreting for Dementia Assessments (MINDSET) study was a single-blind, parallel-group randomized clinical trial including certified interpreters and certified provisional interpreters of Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Italian, Mandarin, or Vietnamese with at least 6 months’ experience. The trial was community based and conducted online across Australia between June 26, 2022, and April 2, 2023, with follow-up at 3 and 6 months after baseline.Intervention Participants were randomized 1:1 to receive interpreter training during the study or, if assigned to the waiting list control, after their 6-month assessment. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was change in the quality of interpreted communication, as measured by a weighted score comprising 5 domains: (1) knowledge of dementia, (2) cross-cultural communication, (3) briefings and debriefings, (4) interpreting skills for cognitive assessments, and (5) ethical principles relevant during a cognitive assessment. Mixed-effects generalized linear regression was conducted with random effects accounting for repeated measures from participating interpreters. Secondary analyses were conducted for differences in individual interpreting domains. A secondary per-protocol analysis included only participants who completed at least 70% of the training in the intervention group.ResultsAt baseline, there were 126 participants (106 [84.1%] women); mean (SD) age was 44.13 (12.71) years, mean years of interpreting experience was 8.57 (8.48) years, and 106 of 120 (88.3%) lived in an urban area. A total of 22 (17.5%) were Arabic interpreters; 14 (11.1%), Cantonese; 6 (4.8%), Greek; 14 (11.1%), Italian; 64 (50.8%), Mandarin; and 6 (4.8%), Vietnamese. The primary outcome of communication quality in the main analysis did not significantly improve in the intervention group compared with controls (mean score difference, 2.10; 95% CI, −0.43 to 4.62; P = .10). Per-protocol findings showed a significant intervention effect (mean score difference, 2.73; 95% CI, 0.14-5.31; P = .04), suggesting that the MINDSET-trained interpreters benefited in the primary outcome when they completed at least 70% of the training. Of the 5 domains, a significant intervention effect was shown in only domain 1 (knowledge of dementia) in the main analysis (mean score difference, 1.15; 95% CI, 0.54-1.77; P Conclusions and Relevance In this randomized clinical trial, results of the primary, intention-to-treat analysis showed that interpreters’ overall interpreting communication quality did not improve in the intervention group compared with controls, but in the secondary, per-protocol analysis, it was improved when at least 70% of the training was completed. These findings suggest that an online training intervention can improve interpreters’ communication quality during cognitive assessments for dementia if at least 70% of training is completed.Trial Registration ANZCTR Identifier: ACTRN12621001281886</p
Drug checking public communications report
No full textDrug checking services offer the public the opportunity to submit substances for chemical analysis and get results back within a health and harm reduction conversation. Beyond this primary function, broader dissemination of anonymised findings about market trends and concerning substances can amplify the harm reduction potential of drug checking.In this report, we reviewed different ways that global drug checking services communicate their findings to audiences beyond individual service users. Through partnering with community organisations and conducting a local consultation process, we gathered feedback from local communities of people who use drugs and people who work in the alcohol and other drug sector to provide local insights and context for how the strategies identified in other jurisdictions might work in Victoria.Five public outputs were identified: (1) alerts – where higher risk detections are communicated with specific actionable advice, (2) individual sample results – where all results are published individually, (3) dashboards – where all results are displayed in interactive graphics, (4) regular service reports, and (5) education and harm reduction supplements. Various communication channels/formats identified included social media, websites, databases and data dashboards, posters, apps, and community networks. These different types of information and different ways of disseminating had different benefits: the best way of sharing information about substances of concern depends on situation, audience and purpose.Preferences for data availability and format were highly variable among consultation participants, whose lived experience and contexts shaped what they conceived to be likely effects of such outputs. A significant tension was that wide dissemination and detailed information is likely to reach and be relevant to a wider range of people who use drugs; however, this could also increase risk of such information being used in stigmatising practices and to increase surveillance (e.g. in policing). Despite some complexities that require thoughtful planning and design, there was a strong preference among the Victorians who participated in our consultations for open access to the data produced by drug checking services.When planning and designing public outputs of DCS, it is crucial to consider audience, purpose and context to determine what data to collect and report, and how (and whether) to disseminate information. Community preferences in local contexts are likely to differ, including based on local drug markets (e.g. with presence of fentanyl and nitazenes), policing practices, and legal frameworks. Moving ‘beyond alerts’ to publication of anonymised drug checking information that caters for the differing needs of target audiences has the potential to amplify the health benefits of drug checking services – the effects of which can and should be evaluated.This report provides international exemplars and a framework outlining the considerations required to design, build and implement more fulsome public outputs of drug checking services. To be effective, such work must be done in full partnership with, or led by, people with lived and living experience of drug use.</p
Phantasms
No full textResearch Background Phantasms for Future Ecologies comprises digital projection artworks installed throughout public spaces in Tai Kok Tsui, Hong Kong, as part of the Hong Kong Arts Centre's RE: Tai Kok Tsui urban renewal initiative. This collaboration between RMIT University School of Art and HKAC, supported by the Australian Government's Cultural Diplomacy Grants Program, responds to the neighbourhood's ecological and social transformation. Through poetic projections of the locally familiar barn swallow, the work examines how urban renewal impacts ecological systems while exploring public art's capacity to connect community, place, and heritage. The project establishes a research framework for understanding how creative practice can imagine sustainable urban futures through site-responsive digital interventions. Research Contribution This research advances methodologies for using digital projection as a conduit for community connection and ecological consciousness in rapidly changing urban environments. By deploying the barn swallow as a symbolic intermediary between human and non-human inhabitants of Tai Kok Tsui, Dwyer creates ephemeral encounters that transform public infrastructure into sites of ecological reflection. The work contributes to discourse on how immaterial digital practices can activate physical space without permanent alteration, offering models for art interventions that respect heritage contexts while addressing contemporary environmental concerns. The project develops innovative approaches to public art that prioritize accessibility, temporal experience, and cross-cultural exchange between Australian and Hong Kong creative communities. Research Significance Phantasms for Future Ecologies demonstrates how artistic research can facilitate international dialogue on sustainable urbanism while promoting Australian creative excellence in the Asia-Pacific region. The work's significance lies in its proposition that poetic, species-centred imagery can generate new imaginaries for urban ecological futures, making visible the often-overlooked relationships between built environments and migratory life. By deepening institutional connections between RMIT and HKAC, the project creates new pathways for collaborative research addressing shared challenges of urban density, ecological loss, and community cohesion, establishing frameworks for how public art can meaningfully contribute to conversations about environmental sustainability and cultural diplomacy.</p
Australian nationwide assessment of social vulnerability in two decades through its linkage to the built environment
No full textEvaluating social vulnerability and identifying at-risk populations are foundational to hazard risk mitigation and sustainable human settlement, yet these tasks entail distinct challenges that vary across urban-rural contexts and temporal scales. Despite Australia's escalating exposure to natural disasters, longitudinal, nationwide metrics of social vulnerability remain absent, with prior research constrained to localized or temporally fragmented analyses. Grounded in Cutter's social vulnerability framework, this study develops fine-grained, longitudinal indices of social vulnerability for urban and rural Australia across five census cycles (2001–2021). Spatial inequities, temporal trends, and associations between social vulnerability and 30 built environment indicators were analyzed using interpretable machine learning techniques. Key findings reveal that while the geographic distribution of the most vulnerable areas has remained stable over time, socioeconomic inequities of such areas have diminished whereas spatial clustering intensified. Resilient regions are characterized by enhanced access to public amenities, housing diversity, and commercial density—factors that collectively attenuate vulnerability. Furthermore, upgraded built environments attract socioeconomically advantaged populations, amplifying aggregated resilience. To our knowledge, this represents the first comprehensive, longitudinal, and spatially explicit national assessment of social vulnerability in Australia over two decades. The results elucidate critical trends in vulnerability and their interplay with built environment dynamics, offering actionable insights for place-based hazard mitigation, urban-rural sustainability, and infrastructure resilience. By bridging data gaps, this work addresses Australia's pressing need for evidence-driven policy and spatially targeted interventions to counter intensifying natural hazards and prioritize the resilience of human settlement.</p
Liveability scorecard for LGA of Burwood 2021: Understanding liveability inequities across the suburbs of Burwood
No full textThis Local Government Area (LGA) Liveability Scorecard has been prepared by the Australian Urban Observatory in partnership with the Health Promotion Unit of the Sydney Local Health District. It has been designed to understand the liveability of individual suburbs within an LGA that can be used to prioritise future actions and investments of interest to councils, community, urban planners, developers, and other decision makers to achieve healthier and more liveable places across an entire LGA.</p