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Investigating the ways teachers and their students in their final year of primary school perceive their flexible learning environment
No full textTeachers and students are faced with increasing access to information and new ways of learning and participating within and beyond the classroom as innovative educational tools and practices bring the world to the classroom space (Brock, Exley & Rigney, 2023). Mulcahy and colleagues (2015) argue that schools continually strive for balance in providing new buildings to keep up with modern demands of education, spaces for learning and teaching that provide functionality, and a sense of being a part of the process. A gap in the literature exists in how schools can offer opportunities to develop teacher and student agency in learning space design. Examined in this thesis are the perspectives of students and their teachers in their current physical and virtual learning spaces and their ideas for learning space design change.This qualitative study is underpinned by Lefebvre’s (1991) spatial triad of perceived, conceived and lived spaces. It discusses the importance of gaining multiple perspectives on how physical and virtual learning spaces are utilised, and how participants interact with them during teaching and learning processes. Important to this study is the concept that elements of learning space design are both within and beyond teachers and students’ control, and that nested and relational agency plays a role in opportunities and constraints of that design.This study focuses on Year 6 students and their teachers in a kindergarten to Year 12 Australian school setting. Data were gathered in the form of observations, learning tours, written responses, student interviews about both physical and virtual spaces, and work samples as students engaged in a teacher co-created unit of work to gain an understanding of learning space perspectives. This study contributes to theory, methodology, practice and policy through examining the nature of teaching and the purpose of learning spaces with the focus on who really holds the agency in learning space design.This study’s findings argue that there are many factors affecting the design of physical and virtual learning spaces. Schools needs to provide their teaching staff with rich professional learning opportunities that enable them to engage in professional dialogue and effective pedagogical practices to benefit learners in the spaces. Students require access to opportunities to be agentic within the spaces in ways that support their learning, through opportunities for design, action and reflection.</p
Simulating longshore shoreline change: Improving performance of one-line models
No full textOne-line models are a popular reduced-complexity approach to simulating shoreline change driven by gradients in longshore sediment transport. The rate of sediment transport is typically calculated using an empirical formula based on the direction of incident waves relative to the shoreline, such as the CERC (US Army Corps of Engineers, 1984) or Kamphuis (1991) equations. Examples utilising this approach include well- known standalone models of longshore change like GENESIS (Hanson, 1989), CEM (Ashton et al., 2001), and more recently ShorelineS (Roelvink et al., 2020), as well as hybrid models combining cross-shore and longshore processes such as CoSMoS-COAST (Vitousek et al., 2017), COCOONED (Antolínez et al., 2019), and ShorelineEvol (de Santiago et al., 2021).</p
Longshore Sediment Transport and Morphological Changes Under Climate Change—A Comparison Between CMIP5- and CMIP6-Derived Forcings and the Use of Wave Climate Bias Correction
No full textChanges in wave climate can impact coastal zones by altering the sediment supplied to coastal compartments via longshore sediment transport (LST). Estimating these changes is challenging, and biases and uncertainty in wave climate projections contribute to uncertainty in LST and morphological change projections. This paper compares wave climate, LST projections, and morphological changes derived from two iterations of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP), and the implications of applying wave climate bias correction in these projections for the late 21st century under high emission scenarios. LST and morphological changes were simulated in a process-based model calibrated with data from a sand bypassing system. Bias correction improved representation of wave climate, including extremes, and reduced variance between climate models. Although bias correction did not change projected mean LST, it reduced the spread of model ensembles by 20% and 10% for CMIP5 and CMIP6, respectively. Both CMIP5 and CMIP6 suggest a future reduction of LST in the study area. However, CMIP6-derived projections show: (a) 50% less variance in wave forcing; (b) greater consistency between ensemble members; and (c) double the reduction in LST. This reduction is attributed to changes in the frequency, intensity and direction of modal and extreme waves. Morphological changes suggest steepening of the beach profiles in line with the historical record. This contribution highlights the value of a bias-corrected model ensemble and improvements in CMIP iterations in providing coherent projections of future wave climate change and its impacts on regional coastal processes.</p
The Search for a Sustainability Champion in Eco-efficient New Product Development A study of Australian Manufacturing Organisations
No full textWith the ever-increasing global emphasis on sustainability and the pursuit of long-term Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), manufacturing organisations are increasingly challenged to adapt and integrate eco-efficiency practices into their new product development processes. This imperative for sustainability in organisations has become increasingly pronounced in the face of growing environmental concerns, regulatory pressures, and consumer demands for eco-friendly practices. However, many manufacturing organisations struggle to achieve significant and lasting impacts despite the proliferation of theories and practices aimed at enhancing sustainability. This thesis explores the complex interplay of internal and external drivers that influence the success of eco-innovation and new product development (ENPD) within organisations.One of the ways manufacturing organisations have responded to the sustainability imperative has been to employ a dedicated manager with environmental and sustainability responsibilities, which has added another dimension to the inherently conflict-prone marketing/operations interface when developing new products. The primary purpose of this research is to investigate the intricacies of eco-efficient New Product Development (ENPD) within manufacturing organisations in Australia, focusing on the interaction and collaboration between the “new triad” of the functional managers from marketing, operations, and environmental functions with a goal to develop a new theoretically based conceptualisation which is drawn from the respondent data analysis that has practical application to meeting sustainability goals and as well as addressing key stakeholder concerns.Paralleling the acceptance of the marketing function into traditionally engineering-dominated companies, our understanding of the role of the new environmental function in the organisations' sustainable decision-making, especially in new product development, is limited. Hence one of the significant questions that demands a response is To what extent does the addition of an “Environmental Manager” drive the sustainability and eco-efficiency discussion during NPD, what role do they play in driving sustainability and eco-innovation, what influence do they hold, and how do they exercise their power within the organisation, and, importantly, as much of the literature suggests, are they the “Sustainability Champions” essential to drive the transformation of manufacturing organisations from cost focussed to sustainable manufacturers.Employing a qualitative multiple-case study approach, this research draws upon the perspectives of functional managers across five manufacturing organisations in Australia, collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews to gain their perspectives on this interesting and challenging problem. Through an in-depth analysis of cross-functional collaboration and the role of top management commitment, resource allocation, and socio-political dynamics, one of the key findings is that cross-functional relationships are low in conflict, less social, and very professional but transactional, where short-term project goals often outweigh long-term sustainability engagement.Therefore, a new conceptualisation is developed using content analysis to identify critical themes. This captures the reality of the situation and highlights that the traditional functional integration and interface literature, which has been predominantly focussed on the functional manager level, examining communication, cooperation and collaboration to explain successful NPD project work now requires an organisational-level response with empowerment from the board, supportive top management signalling and fully resourced to create a new System-level Sustainability Unit (SSU). This newly created SSU must be independent of operations and marketing, holding an independent chair that provides and monitors strategic direction and drives the organisation’s sustainability and ENPD performance.The findings offer several practical applications for manufacturing organisations, highlighting the need for a dedicated sustainability unit that can act as a catalyst for cross-functional collaboration, ensuring adopting sustainability and eco-efficiency remains a priority throughout the ENPD process, addressing operational barriers where the operations function can become enablers of ENPD, rather than being the perceived barrier, transform the transactional nature of the functions to foster an innovation culture and shift from a reactive cost-justification approach to having sustainability and eco-efficiency embedded in the core strategy.This research has been motivated by my personal experience working in operations as a Safety, Health, Environment, and Quality professional across manufacturing, engineering, packaging, and utility industries. Over the last twenty years, I have been involved in NPD projects with marketing, R&D, and operations, where my greatest frustration was seeing the gap between corporate rhetoric and tangible, sustainable actions.The actions to the commitment to reduce the carbon footprint often were cost savings to reduce electricity consumption, water savings, and waste reduction, but, at the same time, unsustainable procurement practices. Such inconsistency between the desired image and actions, observed across various industries, highlighted the need for deeper integration of sustainability and eco-efficiency practices into organisational operations. With my background in management systems, post-graduate education in Safety Management (M OHSMS) and Environment Management (M EMS) and an MBA from UOW, I became motivated to explore how a more systematic and structured approach could bridge this gap and drive a genuine, lasting sustainability, eco-efficiency and ENPD efforts within the organisation. It is my hope that the theoretical contributions and practical recommendations I make will guide the sustainability strategy at the organisational level and guide managerial practices and external stakeholders involved in developing policies to achieve SDGs in manufacturing organisations.</p
Trade-offs and rebound effects from fish-based livelihood projects in the Pacific
No full textSecuring a sustainable supply of nutritious aquatic foods is a prevalent policy goal in the Pacific Islands. To address this goal, numerous projects have been implemented in the small-scale fisheries sector to either enhance, diversify, or transform household livelihood activities. Commonly underpinning these livelihoods projects are objectives to reduce poverty and/or increase resource sustainability. However, projects often struggle to benefit people in the way they intend, and many result in a series of adverse trade-offs or unintended rebound effects where some project objectives are achieved at the expense of others. Despite the significant research and investments to support fish-based livelihoods, there is still limited knowledge of how livelihoods projects can improve the lives of people while also supporting sustainable fisheries.This PhD research works towards increasing this knowledge through novel research questions that explore how fish-based livelihoods projects in the Pacific Islands can lead to win-win outcomes that both reduce poverty and increase resource sustainability. This was accomplished by 1) strengthening the understanding of how fishing fits within Pacific Island livelihoods; 2) unpacking the conceptual ambiguity around livelihood diversification; 3) synthesizing the evidence for livelihood diversification to facilitate win-win outcomes; 4) investigating potential trade-offs and rebound effects from livelihoods projects using hypothetical scenarios in a case study setting; and 5) distilling recommendations for how investments to support sustainable fish-based livelihoods may be able to maximize positive social and ecological interactions.The research produced primary data through regional and global literature reviews as well as a field-based case study and utilized secondary data from regional census surveys. Fieldwork was conducted over a total of three months in the Solomon Islands, and combined methods rooted in both rapid and participatory rural appraisal to form a mixed-methodological approach where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected.The regional data highlighted distinctions in how households engage with and generate income from commercial and subsistence fishing, including where activities are often conducted, and the types of aquatic foods targeted. These distinctions carry important implications for how livelihoods projects can be designed to enable win-win outcomes. Many projects to date fail to account for these distinctions which has resulted in practical misconceptions and a conceptual ambiguity regarding what is actually meant within the strategies they promote. This was demonstrated through a review of the Pacific regional literature, which identified three distinct pathways that projects have promoted the same strategy of livelihood diversification. Yet, evidence from global literature suggested no clear differences for the ability of each of these pathways to reduce poverty and improve sustainability. The contexts that shape people's actions as they navigate change are diverse and complex. Fisher responses to hypothetical scenarios helped illustrate some of these contexts and illuminated common poverty-sustainability trade-offs and rebound effects resulting from efforts to enhance existing livelihood activities or transform into alternative livelihood activities.Results emphasize the need for projects to engage with the highly nuanced and dynamic contexts in which they are implemented to minimize the risk of maladapted livelihood solutions resulting in adverse tradeoffs or unintended consequences. This and other learnings generated along the way carry significant practical application and meaning to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of livelihoods-focused investments so as to help navigate the unique development challenges facing coastal communities throughout the region.</p
Experimental investigation of green infrastructure for improving air quality in urban street canyons
No full textQuantification of pollutant reduction due to the presence of green infrastructure (GI) and their optimised design can improve air quality. Design and implementation of various GI options for improved air quality, specifically in street canyons, has not been explored. The overall objective of the thesis is to clarify the role of GIs on air quality improvement in street canyons. The approach started with a comprehensive literature review on air quality impacts of various GI in street canyons, followed by experimental investigations. Four experimental campaigns were conducted (i) to understand the pollution concentration and exposure variability in street canyons, (ii) to quantify the efficacy of a roadside hedge on air pollution reduction in a street canyon, (iii) to understand the influence of portable green barriers at a road traffic intersection, and (iv) to quantify the efficacy of green walls by assessment of deposition capacity of different species in relation to their morphological characters. All pollutant concentrations (PM1, PM2.5, PM10: aerodynamic particle diameter 1 µ m; ≤ 2.5 µ m; ≤ 10 µ m respectively; PNC- Particle number concentration; BC- Black carbon) were higher and respiratory deposition doses for PM2.5 and PM10 for females during running (11±6 and 37±21 µgh-1, respectively) were highest at street canyons in comparison with other urban microenvironments such as indoor, traffic intersections and parks. The presence of hedges in a street canyon revealed a reduction in concentrations of pollutants. BC showed a significant reduction at breathing height between -7 and -50%, and -15% for PNCs. Reduction in pollutant concentrations for heights between 1 and 1.7 m, with maximum reductions o f -16% (PM1 and PM10) and -17% (PM2.5) at ~1 m height, was also observed. From the study on green walls, it is concluded that the combination of macro- and micromorphology of plant species determines its PM removal potential. This PhD thesis summarises the findings for the implementation of GIs on urban streets for improved air quality.</p
Clinician codesign of cognitive function screening pathways for amputation care
No full textBackground: Vascular conditions, including infection, peripheral vascular disease and diabetes are the primary causes of amputation globally. In Australia, approximately 8,000 lower limb amputations occur annually, with 5,300 amputations attributed to diabetes, a growing health concern.Assessing cognitive function in individuals undergoing amputation is crucial for several reasons. As the ageing population grows, age-related cognitive changes become more prevalent. Also, research suggests that individuals with diabetes may experience cognitive function alterations like mild cognitive impairment. These challenges are particularly relevant when patients adapt to new prostheses post-surgery. The Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI), the lead agency for innovation in clinical care in New South Wales, Australia, recognises the importance of comprehensive and collaborative care, and recommends cognitive assessment be integrated into the care plan as part of a holistic approach to post-amputation.Aim: To determine the utility of cognitive screening for vascular lower limb prosthetic rehabilitation and discharge planning. To test this, three research objectives were identified:Phase 1: To determine the level of adherence to cognitive screening component of the ACI minimum care standards.Phase 2: To understand the factors clinicians consider when prescribing prosthetic rehabilitation, as well as to understand the clinicians’ views on the role of cognition in prosthetic rehabilitation.Phase 3: To codesign a process that facilitates routine cognitive screening into the inpatient journey of persons with an amputation (PWA).Methods: This research used an action orientated research methodology, underpinned by a pragmatic worldview. The integrated Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services translational research model, and the Knowledge to Action cycle were the guiding frameworks that underpinned this research. Staff involved in the hospital journey of a PWA i.e. vascular surgeons, rehabilitation physicians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, podiatrists and psychologists engaged in three action research cycles to meet the objectives.Phase one was a retrospective notes audit to determine the current rate of cognitive screening within one local Australian health district to establish a baseline snapshot for the practice of cognitive screening for PWAs. Phase two involved interviews, focus groups and survey methods to understand the factors that are considered when prescribing prosthetic rehabilitation, as well as to understand the clinicians’ views on the role of cognition in prosthetic rehabilitation. Phase three involved all clinicians relevant to the PWA journey to explore whether it was possible to codesign a pathway to routinely complete cognitive screening for PWA within the local health district. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis.Findings: Phase one found that over a 2-year period, 178 episodes of amputation care were completed. Of these, a typical PWA was male aged over 60 years. Only 21.9% of episodes of care recorded a cognitive screen during their inpatient admission. This provided a strong driver to move into phase two. Phase two demonstrated there were several considerations when prescribing prosthetic rehabilitation (e.g. cognition, patients’ goals, and medical history). Despite differences in who clinicians believed should undergo prosthetic rehabilitation, they were unanimous that cognition played a role in prosthetic rehabilitation, paving the way for phase three. Phase three illustrated that it was possible to codesign a pathway that added cognitive screening to the journey, with the establishment of an inpatient and outpatient pathway.Conclusion: This research demonstrated that within the health district is that minimal cognitive screening is completed with the PWA population, that clinicians believe that cognitive screening is important for prosthetic rehabilitation and discharge, and that there is an appetite for, and plan to engage in routine cognitive screening with PWAs moving forward. Inpatient and outpatient cognitive screening pathways were generated. Implications for practice, policy and research exist from these findings. From a practice perspective, factors such as patient goals, medical history, quality of life, cognition and support on discharge should inform prosthetic rehabilitation prescription. From a research standpoint future study could look to broaden the scope and assess the validity of cognitive screening in other surgical populations. When considering policy, there needs to be discussion beyond state based ACI guidelines to ensure that PWA nationwide are receiving cognitive screening routinely as part of best practice care. Understanding patients’ cognitive profile is vital for effective prosthetic rehabilitation and discharge planning.</p
Remote Sensing: A Media Archaeology of Photography’s Planetary Aesthetics
No full textWhen NASA's Lunar Orbiter 1 took the first lunar earthrise in 1966, the low- resolution black and white image unnerved some commentators. Today images of our whole planet can seem ubiquitous. In the age of the Anthropocene, an emerging generation of photographers are experimenting with how to represent the Earth through new visual vocabularies. A new planetary aesthetics is emerging which incorporates broader understandings of geological and evolutionary time and includes a networked perspective on human and more-than-human systems. Remote Sensing is a practice-based research project that explores how the imbrication of photography with scientific and technological developments in planetary science, telescopy and astronomy, contributed to key historical moments of cosmological shift. This project asks: How has photography as a medium coevolved with changing planetary aesthetics to generate an ever-changing world picture? And what traces do contemporary emerging planetary aesthetics display of this rich history?This research project employs a media archaeological approach to excavate three key moments in the history of photography’s co-evolution with planetary science: ‘The Birth of Photography’ (1830 – 1875); ‘The Earthrise Era’ (1968 – 1972) and ‘Now’ (2010 - 2024). My analyses focus on how the medium’s optical precision and evidentiary value as well as its performative and discursive aspects informed how planetary aesthetics evolved at these critical junctures of modern history, and how these world pictures influenced human values of Earth.The project braids theoretical knowledge with creative investigations to build a richer understanding of how humans understand the world through photographic imagery. By engaging in close analyses of the world picture over time, this project examines how contemporary photographers contribute to emerging planetary aesthetics by using new imaging techniques and technologies. My creative component – a body of photographic artworks – builds on these findings through practical experimentations with a range of photographic techniques from photograms, re-photography, large-format photography and printing, and working with collections. Remote Sensing contributes to the contemporary discourse of planetary aesthetics by bringing together findings unearthed from my media archaeological journeys and new knowledge produced through creative practice. The research outcomes contribute to a clearer understanding of the history of planetary aesthetics and the ways its emerging characteristics show the continued influence of key historical moments of photography’s co-evolution with Space sciences.</p
Application of Big Data Analytics to Energy Pipeline Integrity Management
No full textThe energy industry is undergoing a transformative shift towards more efficient and reliable infrastructure management, driven by technological advancements and the increasing complexity of energy pipeline systems. This PhD thesis investigates the application of Big Data Analytics (BDA) to energy pipeline integrity management, aiming to enhance the overall pipeline system safety, reliability, and integrity by predicting defects, and enhance the performance of these critical assets.A comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by energy pipeline operators in ensuring the integrity of these pipelines is first established. These challenges encompass a wide range of factors, including corrosion, material degradation, external threats, environmental changes, third party damages, and operational anomalies. Traditional methods of pipeline integrity management often fall short in handling the large volume and variety of data generated by these factors, especially real time, or process data. This requires investigation of the application of big data analytics to predict defects and its ability to instruct pipeline operators to take proactive action to avoid any breakdowns or emergency shutdowns.The role of data quality may have a significant impact on the use of big data techniques. Quality in data driven decision making is a big concern for most of the oil and gas companies. The data collected from various sensors has been found to be insufficiently reliable for modelling purposes. This is primarily due to incomplete, missing, and incorrect data, as well as the presence of outliers. Most datasets used for analyzing the current condition of pipelines and for asset decision analysis, particularly those including In-Line Inspection (ILI) data, contain missing values. Inappropriate treatment of such data can cause large errors in the classification of data patterns, leading to inaccurate anomaly detection and predictions. A case study using ILI data shows that outliers in particular impact on overall decision making relating to pipeline condition assessment. Five outlier detection methods have been applied to the testing of ILI datasets selected to make sure the robust outlier detection results to be achieved. The contribution of this study is to present an approach for outlier detection of ILI data, which is robust and makes the detection results accurate.To utilize real-time data collected from the sensors installed on pipelines, a novel framework is proposed for the integration of Big Data Analytics into the pipeline integrity management process. Leveraging current data collection technologies, including Internet of Things (IoT) devices and sensor networks, the research focuses on the use of large volumes of real-time data from pipeline assets. This data was processed and analyzed using advanced machine learning algorithms and data mining techniques to identify patterns, anomalies, and potential threats and anomalies to pipeline integrity. It was found that the application of BDA enables predictive maintenance strategies, allowing operators to proactively address potential issues before they escalate, thereby minimizing downtime and reducing the risk of catastrophic failures.Most of the existing machine learning models to detect faults in oil and gas pipelines are not tested on real field inspection, real-time data. Using ILI data, this study explored fitting models and proved how these fitting model (s) can assist pipeline operators to predict growth of pipeline anomalies using simple models with 2~3 parameters, achieving a higher prediction accuracy.</p
Particle projection of fire-induced shotcrete spalling
No full textAs mining operations extend deeper underground, reliable support systems and workplace safety become more critical. In particular, rock bursts, blasts, and fire damage present significant challenges to the stability of deep mining operations. Shotcrete is commonly applied as ground support to mitigate the risks associated with rock falls; however, fires in underground mines can cause structural damage to the shotcrete linings. Under intense heat, shotcrete can experience spalling, where the surface breaks apart and ejects particles at varying velocities, potentially leading to support failure. This study investigates the spalling behaviour of shotcrete during fire exposure and evaluates its impact on particle projection and associated safety hazards. Advanced imaging techniques were employed to monitor changes in shotcrete during spalling events, using 3D (stereo) high-speed cameras to capture the phenomenon and motion analysis software to calculate the velocity of spalled particles.</p