18397 research outputs found
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Patterning and alloying on silicon surfaces by ultra-short laser pulses (solar cells and external fields)
No full textAfter the recent realisation of photonic crystals, the pursuit to create new structured matter that controls light has added to our civilisations growing technological advances. The works included in this thesis focus on developing a conceptual background for efficient fabrication of light trapping surfaces on silicon. The rapidly maturing technology of laser fabrication by ultra-short laser pulses is heavily utilised and ablation under applied external fields is also demonstrated. The findings in this thesis contribute to the body of knowledge of laser fabrication processes for nano-texturing of silicon surfaces and ablation processes, and will further inspire the manufacture of light trapping surfaces for both research and industrial applications
Homemaking processes in rental housing cooperatives: An exploratory analysis of Australia and Honduras
No full textThis thesis investigates how people create a sense of home in rental housing cooperatives in Australia and Honduras, where housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable and insecure, especially for low-income families. Using interviews with cooperative residents, both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, the research explores how shared spaces, economic factors, and community support contribute to feelings of security, control, and belonging. By comparing these cooperatives, the research shows how these alternative housing models can provide stable, supportive living environments. The findings can help improve housing policies and provide better solutions for families facing housing insecurity.</p
White Box Enterprises’ Financial Wellbeing Program for Jobs-Focused Social Enterprises: Cycle 1 Evaluation Report
No full textThis report shares findings from the first year of an evaluation of White Box Enterprises’ Financial Wellbeing Program, funded by Ecstra Foundation. The Financial Wellbeing Program is delivered to jobs-focused social enterprises in Australia, with the aim of supporting them to provide tailored training to enhance social enterprise employees’ financial knowledge, confidence and skills.The Program is three years long and CSI Swinburne is in charge of evaluating its impact. The evaluation research is based on interviews, focus groups and survey of the program managers, those delivering it and its participants. </p
Responsible AI for Net Zero: An Australia and India Collaborative Approach Towards Practice, Governance and Ethics in Energy Future
No full textArtificial intelligence (AI) is poised to reshape all parts of the global energy sector. While this critical set of evolving technologies offers vast potential in achieving energy efficiency and sustainable net zero goals, it also presents ethical and security risks. This project – Responsible AI for net zero: An Australia and India Collaborative Approach towards Practice, Governance and Ethics in Energy Future – has been funded by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), under the Australia-India Cyber and Critical Technology Partnership (AICCTP) Round 3. It aimed to: (a) Establish current knowledge and ethical principles relevant to AI adoption in energy sector in Australia, India and Indo-Pacific region, (b) Identify key ethical issues shaping the use of AI in developing smart energy systems to achieve ‘net zero’, and (c) Recommend guidelines for translating ethical
principles into AI energy governance practice. Drawing on diverse perspectives from across the sector in these two national contexts this report will help policy makers and stakeholders from across the energy sector chart a pathway toward the implementation of responsible AI principles.</p
Reducing Turnover Intention Among Expatriate Teachers in K-12 International Schools in China: The Roles of Leadership, Cultural Intelligence, Leader Member Exchange, and Harmonious Passion
No full textThis study examined factors influencing turnover intention among expatriate teachers in Chinese international schools, focusing on paternalistic and transformational leadership. It investigated the mediating roles of leader-member exchange (LMX) quality and harmonious passion, along with the moderating effect of leaders’ cultural intelligence. Using a quantitative approach with 773 survey responses analyzed via Structural Equation Modelling, the study found transformational leadership more impactful than paternalistic leadership. Both leadership styles reduced turnover intention through LMX and harmonious passion, with cultural intelligence enhancing transformational leadership's effect. The findings address theoretical gaps, highlighting leadership's role in cross-cultural settings and offering practical recommendations for education managers.</p
Endophytic Fungi of Native Australian <i>Eremophila </i>Plants as a Source of Antibacterial Compounds
No full textAs antibiotic resistance increases, so does the need for alternative options for treating and preventing harmful infections. In this research, fungi that live within Australian native plants were isolated and investigated for their ability to produce chemicals that could be useful for such purposes, showing promising results. These findings provide valuable insight into an enormous and relatively unexplored source of antibacterial chemicals, which could help towards alleviating some of the burden associated with our fight against antibiotic resistance.</p
Numerical Modelling of Biomass and Plastic Gasification and Agglomeration Formation in Fluidized Bed Reactor
No full textThis study introduces a novel numerical modeling approach aimed at improving the yield and quality of hydrogen-rich syngas through co-pyrolysis in a fluidized bed reactor, using catalytic bed materials. It enhances the understanding of gasification processes and supports the optimization of clean energy production. A key innovation is the development of an affordable, simplified CFD model to predict particle agglomeration in fine iron particles. This model shows potential for scalability, offering reduced costs and computational time, and could be adapted for future investigations into agglomeration in biomass combustion.</p
A Standardised 3D Cell Culture System for Developing Imaging and Spectroscopy Techniques
No full textIn this thesis, a dermal 3D cell culture model was developed to study light-matter interactions in microscopy, using human fibroblast cells (BJ5ta) embedded in collagen or gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA). The feasibility of endoscopy tools for monitoring cells in living 3D systems was investigated using confocal endomicroscopy, FT-NIR endospectroscopy and Raman endospectroscopy. The model was then extended to study fibrosis, using TGF-β1, and compared against human cirrhotic liver tissue biopsies. Finally, the model was adapted to study how the thermal lens generation affects mechanical contrast in photothermal microscopy. This thesis contributed to advancing the understanding of light-matter interactions that occur when imaging complex 3D cell culture models.</p
Cross-Domain Plant Classification with Triplet Networks
No full textAutomated plant recognition using deep learning remains challenging, specifically for species that lack training images such as those in tropical regions. Herbaria (dried plant specimens) images have been adopted to mitigate this shortfall since they are more accessible, however, it is hindered by the plants' appearance changes during the drying process. This research addresses the issue by exploring how deep convolutional neural network can be constructed to integrate images of plants in the field with herbaria for model training. The devised convolutional neural network has shown to better encapsulate herbarium-field features than conventional neural networks, making it an important reference.</p