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The Impact of Rising Cost of Food on Shopping and Eating in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven
No full textThe "Let’s Talk About Food" survey, conducted with >700 households in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions aimed to understand the impact of rising food costs on consumer shopping behaviours, diet satisfaction, and the barriers they face in healthy eating. Key findings reveal residents have significant concerns over the increasing prices of essential food items, leading to notable changes in food purchasing behaviours, dietary adjustments, and emotional stress. Only a fraction of respondents eat enough fruits and vegetables. This report proposes strategic recommendations to support the community in maintaining a nutritious diet despite financial constraints. The survey findings have spurred the establishment of the Illawarra Shoalhaven Food Futures Taskforce, a network of health experts and community advocates working collaboratively to promote a healthier, more accessible regional food system.</p
Food Insecurity in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven
No full textThe "Let’s Talk About Food" survey, conducted with >600 households in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions assessed food insecurity, and use of food relief. • Food Insecurity Prevalence: Over a third (38%) of Illawarra and Shoalhaven households experience food insecurity, with 19% moderately and 12% severely affected, including 30% of households with children. • Food Relief Access: Only 23% of severely food-insecure households and 10% of moderately food-insecure households accessed emergency food relief. Our findings highlight the urgency for local policy and community action to address food insecurity and improve access to nutritious, affordable food for vulnerable groups. These survey findings have spurred the establishment of the Illawarra Shoalhaven Food Futures Taskforce, a network of health experts and community advocates working collaboratively to promote a healthier, more accessible regional food system.</p
Rheological behaviour of shear thickening fluids and their protection application
No full textNon-Newtonian fluids do not follow Isaac Newton’s law of viscosity or constant fluid viscosity independent of stress applied to them. In non-Newtonian fluids, viscosity can change when force is applied so they become more liquid or more solid. Fluids that experience an increase in viscosity when a shear force is applied are commonly known as shear thickening fluids (STF). For the last 40 years, STFs have been studied extensively and they have created huge attention due to their very large potential for commercial applications. This study gave special consideration to their applications in protective body armour and personal protective equipment. The fabrication process, materials and rheological properties were collected and analysed for the STF produced in a laboratory. These experiments were conducted based on the previous research work done world-wide in this area, with a constant drive and efforts to develop new and better performance characteristics, which could benefit future applications. Three types of STFs were synthesised, namely standard STF made from fumed silica mixed with ethylene glycol carrier fluid, magnetorheological shear thickening fluid (MRSTF) made with the inclusion of carbonyl iron particles with the previously manufactured STF and shear thickening gel (STG) made from mixing boric acid, dimethyl silicone oil, ethanol and benzoyl peroxide. All of the above STFs were fabricated from predefined recipes and their rheological properties were measured with a rheometer under extensive rotational steady state and dynamic amplitude and frequency sweep testing experiments. Data was collected and analysed. Magnetorheological properties of MRSTFs were examined and correlated for different magnetic fields and different contents of carbonyl iron particles using the same rheometer, with the inclusion of the MCR Magneto-Rheological device unit. Special attention was given to the assessment of the performance of the current conventional Protective Body Armours (PBA), measuring their strengths and weaknesses. Current research indicates that the inclusion of STGs into manufacturing novel protective body armour could lead to achieving even better protective ballistic impact improvements and improvements in the flexibility and weight of the novel armour. Extensive lab testing experiments were conducted to validate this STF application. All of the experimental testing had to be limited to laboratory conditions but nevertheless, they clearly showed that usage of shear thickening fluids can significantly improve the ballistic protection of the garments used while at the same time reducing the weight and increasing the flexibility. Also, a significant effort within this study was to evaluate and assess the rheological performances of STFs in subzero temperatures. This was achieved using the Electro-Rheological Device (ERD) with achieved temperatures in testing down to -20 ͦ. Finally the ultimate aim of this study is expected to be the production of novel PBA impregnated with STG and would optimise its performance on ballistic protection.</p
Mechanocatalysis for free radical generation based on ultrasonication
No full textMechanocatalysis often aligns with the principles of green chemistry in which the need for traditional solvents can be reduced or eliminated to promote energy-efficient processes. This can contribute to more sustainable and environmentally friendly chemical reactions. Ultrasonication, employing ultrasound as a mechanical power source, offers distinctive advantages in mechanocatalysis, such as easy scalability, high penetration, enhanced accessibility of catalyst surfaces, and environmental friendliness. Utilizing these benefits, this research concentrates on employing ultrasonication for mechanocatalysis, aiming to produce free radicals in water primarily for applications in clean energy and environmental treatment. Piezocatalysis has garnered significant attention in mechanocatalysis, owing to the energy conversion capabilities of piezoelectric materials, enabling the transformation of mechanical energy into electrical energy and vice versa. Nevertheless, the non-centrosymmetric structural constraint and the limited availability of suitable piezoelectric materials may impose restrictions on the variety of piezocatalytic applications. Hence, the goal of this thesis work is to explore innovative and adaptable mechanocatalytic mechanisms, contributing to the enrichment of mechanochemistry and expanding the range of catalyst candidates capable of fulfilling the demand for multifield applications.</p
Pathways to Strong Parent-Educator Partnerships: A Professional Development Program for Early Childhood Educators Working with Families Experiencing Disadvantage
No full textHigh quality Early Childhood and Education Care (ECEC) has been shown to enhance children’s developmental outcomes. For children whose families experience disadvantage, the opportunities provided by higher quality ECEC are considerable. However, the extent to which these children gain from higher quality ECEC is influenced by the ability of early childhood educators to build trusting and respectful relationships with families and to collaborate for the child's benefit. Strong partnerships between educators and parents have been found to enhance children's learning and development and minimise the adverse effects of disadvantage on children's development and well-being. Despite the evidence of the numerous benefits associated with strong parent-educator partnerships in early childhood settings, many early childhood educators still experience difficulties in effectively engaging with families, especially when those families experience challenges associated with disadvantage. Educators report a lack of skills in knowing how to respond to the diversity of families and their needs, and a lack of confidence to communicate with parents regarding sensitive child related matters. Recent literature highlights the need to establish practical strategies that enable educators to form strong partnerships with parents and to develop professional development (PD) programs that provide educators with a pathway to the formation of strong partnerships with families experiencing disadvantage. This thesis is reporting on a study that sought to understand how to enhance educators’ engagement with families experiencing disadvantage. Using a Design-Based Research approach within a qualitative paradigm, this study examines the perspectives of a small cohort of educators regarding the challenges that influence their practice with families. Informed by Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory, and Moll and colleagues' Household Funds of Knowledge Theory, the study sought to devise a set of design principles to guide the development and delivery of a PD aimed at enhancing educator engagement with families experiencing disadvantage. The thesis concludes by reflecting on the efficacy of the PD and its design principles for enhancing educator practice. According to the findings of this study, educators' ability to develop trusting and respectful relationships with parents and to collaborate regarding the needs of their children improved as a result of their participation in the PD. Educator reports were supported by direct observation and parent feedback. The major findings of the study are encapsulated in the six design principles that underpin effective professional development, covering two major areas: content of professional development (the ‘what’); and the process of its delivery (the ‘how’). Specifically, these included research and theory-based knowledges of working with families experiencing disadvantage that educators need to master, and what changes need to occur in their attitudes and beliefs (principles 1-4). Further design principles related to the effective ways of delivering the PD, including ‘when’ (at what stage of learning), where (whether at a workshop, in the ECEC setting or in the Director’s office) and how (through instruction, modelling, reflection and mentoring).</p
The use of data recorded in general practice electronic health records for longitudinal medical research
No full textThere are abundant clinical data recorded in general practice electronic health records (EHR) which are suitable for longitudinal analysis to inform clinical care. This thesis proposes a novel research approach which has potential to deliver clinically relevant outcomes using real-world data and at the same time provide individual general practices with important feedback. This thesis includes a literature review which demonstrates the utility of longitudinal research, specifically survival analysis using primary care EHR data. The growing trend of this approach reflects its usefulness in general practice research.</p
Likelihood-Free Parameter Estimation with Neural Bayes Estimators
No full textNeural Bayes estimators are neural networks that approximate Bayes estimators. They are fast, likelihood-free, and amenable to rapid bootstrap-based uncertainty quantification. In this article, we aim to increase the awareness of statisticians to this relatively new inferential tool, and to facilitate its adoption by providing user-friendly open-source software. We also give attention to the ubiquitous problem of estimating parameters from replicated data, which we address using permutation-invariant neural networks. Through extensive simulation studies we demonstrate that neural Bayes estimators can be used to quickly estimate parameters in weakly identified and highly parameterized models with relative ease. We illustrate their applicability through an analysis of extreme sea-surface temperature in the Red Sea where, after training, we obtain parameter estimates and bootstrap-based confidence intervals from hundreds of spatial fields in a fraction of a second.</p
Popular Literature as a Critical Framework for Youth Legal Activism
No full textThis thesis seeks to provide an account of the construction of the youth legal activist. That is, the critical frameworks that surround youth legal activists. It is an examination of the construction of youth identity, particularly in the context of their legal identity; namely the way that they comprehend issues of justice and interpret the law. The thesis explores the development of knowledge as a catalyst for social identity changes, individual participation, and collective action. Ultimately, it asserts that popular literature is a source of and mechanism for understanding activist identity construction, individual participation, and collective action. To achieve this, I ask: How does popular literature catalyse legal activism and contribute to legal awareness in young adults through the provision of a critical framework?</p
Development of Thin Non-loadbearing Precast Panels using Reinforced Foamed Concrete incorporating Recycled Glass Powder
No full textFoamed concrete is a type of lightweight aerated concrete that is characterised by its homogeneous void or cellular structure and its lower density than normal-weight aggregate concrete. Foamed concrete is produced by blending preformed foam with a cementitious slurry. The mixture then hardens with a cellular structure. The use of foamed concrete in the construction of large precast elements is not common, which is reflected by the lack of design and construction guidelines in Australian, European, American, and other international building codes. In a step to address this, research is carried out into the application of foamed concrete to the construction of the common precast concrete element, non-loadbearing precast panels. This study aims to develop, structurally design, and construct thin precast foamed concrete panels and investigate the characteristics, behaviour, and performance of the developed panels. The practical limits of using foamed concrete for the construction of thin non-loadbearing precast panels were investigated and the performance of the precast panel prototypes developed in this study was examined with respect to performance requirements generally expected of non-loadbearing precast concrete panels. Two case studies were used as part of this research. In each case, a precast foamed concrete panel prototype was manufactured and installed on a life-size building.</p
Chinese Business in Samoa before World War II
No full textThe legacy of Chinese traders in the early Samoan economy is well known in Samoan history. Today, many families celebrate the memory of their Chinese heritage and the varied family businesses established over the last century. Even so, Chinese economic success throughout the colonial era required constant negotiation with often antagonistic authorities. Chinese plantation labour was encouraged by colonial authorities but small business owners had to make their own way, with some support from the Chinese consulate.</p