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Multi-objective optimisation for wire EDM cutting: a comprehensive study for machining AL6061 aluminium alloy
No full textThis paper investigates the optimal setup for machining aluminium alloy AL6061 materials by using Wire Electrical-Discharge Machining (WEDM). A robust design technique L27 orthogonal array with three distinct levels of process parameters and four machine input factors has been applied to optimise a multiple-objective-optimisation problem. Process parameters including feed rate, wire feed rate, discharge pulse time, and discharge stop time are addressed in experimental study to minimise surface roughness (SR) and wire wear ratio (WWR), and to maximise material removal rate (MRR). Response surface methodology (RSM) is used to formulate a regression model, which represents the relationship between factors and responses. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) table are examined influences of each factor and interaction on objectives. Results indicate that the feed rate significantly influences on surface roughness, wire wear ratio, and material removal weight. While feed rate has a negative effect on surface roughness and wire wear ratio and has a positive impact on material removal weight. In addition, a set of optimal parameters for multi-objective optimisation of surface roughness and material removal weight is achieved by the genetic algorithm (GA) and compared to the actual experimental values to validate the proposed approach.</p
Easing the cognitive load of general practitioners: AI design principles for future-ready healthcare
No full textGeneral practitioners (GPs) worldwide face increasing cognitive demands, especially in after-hours and voluntary primary care, where urgent decision-making and resource constraints exacerbate workload pressures. Studies across North America, Europe, and Asia indicate that GPs encounter similar challenges globally, with administrative burdens and patient complexity contributing to high cognitive loads. While prior research has examined technological interventions, workflow optimization, and cognitive assistance independently, an integrated, actionable framework tailored to GPs’ needs remains lacking. This study employs a design science approach to develop and evaluate a Neural Assistant for Optimized Medical Interactions (NAOMI), a prototype AI agent designed to support triage and clinical decision-making in after-hours and voluntary care settings. Through 80 simulated consultations and clinician feedback, we identify three key design principles: Comprehensive Data Collection and Analysis, Clinical Reasoning Transparency, and Adaptive Triage and Risk Assessment. These design principles provide a structured foundation for developing AI-driven solutions that reduce cognitive burden, enhance clinical workflows, and improve healthcare equity. By advancing AI integration in primary care, this study offers a scalable roadmap for AI-driven healthcare research and innovation, addressing systemic workforce challenges while optimizing patient outcomes.</p
A Tourist, a (mangrove) tree and a ton of carbon
No full textThis video explores how regenerative tourism can play a powerful role in restoring coastal ecosystems like mangroves while also helping to offset tourism-related carbon emissions. Through engaging visuals and simple explanations, it highlights how tourists, scientists, and local communities can work together to turn travel into a force for climate action and biodiversity conservation.</p
Development and evaluation of seismic protection techniques to preserve historic masonry structures in Melbourne
No full textThis one-minute video explains my PhD research on protecting Melbourne’s nineteenth-century bluestone masonry buildings from earthquakes. Laboratory shake-table tests on half-scale walls, finite-element ‘digital twins’, and an innovative fibre-reinforced lime coating are combined to map risk across 4 000 heritage structures and offer a cost-effective retrofit that increases drift capacity by sixty percent while preserving cultural value.</p
Unveiling hidden norms: towards a new scale for measuring social endorsement of sexual double standards
No full textMy research focuses on sexual double standards which refer to social norms of sexual conduct that differ for men and women. Existing scales fail to distinguish between personal beliefs and perceived social expectations. Yet people may recognise societal double standards without personally endorsing them, a critical distinction often overlooked in research. I am developing a new, psychometrically sound scale to measure social endorsement of these standards — that is, what individuals believe most others in society believe. This scale will offer researchers a more accurate and relevant tool for understanding contemporary gendered sexual norms and for informing efforts to address gender inequality in sexual and relationship contexts.</p
Privacy Protection for Verifiable Data Structures
No full textVerifiable Data Structures (VDSs), such as Merkle trees, Verkle trees, and Commitment schemes, are widely used in industry applications, for example, in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Google's Certificate Transparency, and Amazon DynamoDB to ensure efficient data integrity verifiability. These structures allow clients to verify that specific items in a database stored on untrusted servers remain unaltered by committing the data, making it publicly available and enabling efficient confirmation of each data item's integrity. VDSs transform a system requiring unconditional trust in server honesty into a trustless system where clients do not have to trust the servers. However, privacy is a significant concern for VDSs. For example, with Certificate Transparency (CT) logs, clients inadvertently reveal their browsing behaviours to log servers after verifying certificate membership. In Blockchain, once a client verifies their transaction's membership, a full node, which stores all blocks in the system, can identify the client's transaction. This thesis proposes several novel solutions for protecting clients' privacy, data integrity, and efficient data retrieval. TreePIR and qTreePIR enable light clients to securely retrieve membership proofs along any root-to-leaf path in q-ary trees, such as Merkle and Verkle trees. These mechanisms surpass current leading Probabilistic Batch Codes (PBC) in all metrics, offering significantly lower total storage, reduced communication costs, and faster server computation and client query generation times. The TreePIR approach, specifically designed for private retrieval of nodes along an arbitrary root-to-leaf path in a Merkle tree, achieves zero storage overhead for tree-shaped databases. The qTreePIR approach is a more general design for the private retrieval of nodes along an arbitrary root-to-leaf path in a q-ary tree. Furthermore, the thesis introduces a Committed Private Information Retrieval (CPIR) scheme, a generic construction that combines a Linear Map Commitment (LMC) with an arbitrary linear Private Information Retrieval (PIR) scheme to create a k-verifiable PIR scheme. This scheme ensures the client will not be deceived into accepting incorrect data, even if all servers collude.</p
Exposure to mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls affects the thyroid function of an Australian seabird (Ardenna carneipes)
No full textAs top predators in the marine environment, seabirds can be exposed to high levels of persistent pollutants that can bioaccumulate and biomagnify making these predators excellent indicators of ecosystem health. Commonly found in the marine environment, mercury (Hg) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are known to interfere with the thyroid system in wildlife. This study quantified PCBs and Hg concentrations and investigated the relationship with thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) levels, in fledgling and adult sable shearwaters (Ardenna carneipes). Hg and PCBs were measured in feathers and red blood cells, respectively. The results indicate Hg and PCBs were more abundant in adult shearwaters than in fledglings. Negative associations were found between Hg/PCB body burdens and circulating thyroid hormone concentrations in both age categories. However, some of these correlations were not statistically significant. This study presents an empirical dataset of these contaminants and the thyroid function of adult and juvenile birds. This is a significant step towards better understanding the threat posed by Hg and PCBs to the health of seabirds.</p
Integrating circular economy principles in construction: comparing product data templates, material passports, and other digital tools
No full textThe construction industry is increasingly adopting Circular Economy (CE) principles to transition from
traditional linear processes to sustainable practices such as recycling, reusing, and remanufacturing.
Digital tools like Building Information Modeling (BIM), digital twins (DTs), and material passports
(MPs) have emerged as key enablers, offering innovative solutions for lifecycle management and
resource optimization. This paper presents a systematic review of 21 studies to explore how these
technologies integrate with CE principles in construction workflows. Using a structured methodology
involving keyword-based searches and thematic analysis, nine initial themes were refined into four
overarching categories: product data management in BIM, CE strategies, BIM-prefabrication
synergies, and digital tools for deconstruction. The findings highlight significant advancements in
managing construction data, fostering modular construction, and enabling real-time decision-making,
while also revealing persistent barriers such as interoperability issues, lack of standardized
frameworks, and insufficient stakeholder collaboration. By addressing research gaps such as unified
data standards and integration challenges, the study offers actionable insights for practitioners and
policymakers. It concludes by emphasizing the need for policy-driven initiatives, enhanced technology
adoption, and cross-sector collaboration to overcome barriers and achieve scalable, sustainable
solutions for the construction industry.</p
Advanced manufacturing of waste-integrated concrete roof tiles: Scaling up to TRL 6
No full textThis research examines the integration of pond ash and unwashed glass sand in concrete roof tiles. After suc?cessfully completing a laboratory-based trial with the optimal composition of 10 % pond ash and 10 % glass sand, a manufacturing trial was conducted in collaboration with a leading Australian roofing manufacturer to produce the concrete roof tile specimens. The optimized roof tiles met AS 2049–2002 standards for roof tiles, including transverse strength, water absorption, permeability, and salt attack. The waste-integrated concrete roof tiles were up to 5 % lighter and exhibited better performance under fire exposure compared to conventional roof tiles. Roof tiles incorporated with waste and exposed to 120 ◦C and 300 ◦C showed up to a 6 % increase in transverse strength, attributed to additional C-S-H formation. Although strength decreased at 600 ◦C and 800 ◦C under fire exposure due to thermal expansion incompatibility and a loss of bonding strength in the interfacial transition zone between the aggregates and matrix, waste-integrated roof tiles retained 11–13 % of their original strength, whereas conventional roof tiles retained only 6 % of their unexposed strength. The inclusion of pond ash increased alumina products, promoting additional Si-O-Al bonds and resulting in additional C-A-S-H formation. Pond ash also helped refine pores due to its micro filler effect and pozzolanic activity. However, incorporating more than 10 % recycled glass reduced performance, as its smooth surface weakened the bond between the cement matrix and the glass aggregates. Overall, the roof tile product explored in this study demonstrates strong potential as an eco-friendly concrete solution, offering notable advantages by mitigating the environmental impact of unwashed glass sand and pond ash. This waste-integrated concrete roof tile was successfully demonstrated in a real-world setting, achieving a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 6.</p
Unravel Community Clothing Repair – A Guide
No full textThis compilation from our ‘Wear & Care’ Research Project is designed to help you activate clothing repair in your community. It is not a definitive guide, but rather a collection of our insights to help empower you to bring your community on a repair journey too.</p