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Australia's national laws for worker psychological health: a policy evaluation and psychosocial safety climate analysis
No full textImproving workers’ psychological health is an international priority. This multi-study policy evaluation research integrates institutional and organisational theory to determine if—and why—the introduction of enhanced pro-worker psychological health law (Work Health and Safety [WHS] Regulations) within a country (Australia) can lead to impact in organisations within jurisdictions (i.e., regions) and industry sectors. We assess organisational impact via changes in Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC), which captures perceptions of the organisational safety system for worker psychological health, as well as worker psychological distress. Study 1 explores the international legal context, using expert reports from 19 countries to assess national work-related psychological health law development between 2021 and 2024. Results verify that Australia had an increased legislative work-related psychological health focus. Study 2, a quasi-experimental design, using large national data sets, compared jurisdictions within which the national law was implemented in 2023 (Legislated group) or not (Comparison group). Significant group-by-time interaction effects were found for PSC, aligning with expectations whereby PSC increased significantly in the Legislated group. Study 3, a longitudinal field experimental study explored the reach of the legal changes in a specific industry sector (university). With three-waves of data (n = 339), comparing universities across different jurisdictions, a group-by-time interaction was found for PSC and psychological distress. Findings show a positive impact of targeted psychosocial law on organisations’ safety system and workers’ health. The current study provides a theory-driven framework for evaluating and explaining legislated policy effects—across jurisdictions and within sectors—showing it can be a wide-reaching lever for improving work conditions and psychological health in the longer term
Investigating the Role of Innovative Community-based Rehabilitation (CBR) Programs at CBR Centres in Promoting Healthy Ageing in China
Get PDFThe purpose of this research was to evaluate the role of community-based rehabilitation programs in promoting healthy ageing for the older population in China. The research provides new evidence about older Chinese adults’ levels of chronic disease and physical fitness and how programs provided by community health service centres in China can improve physical fitness for older adults living with chronic disease
Policy opportunities to initiate nutrition-focused food banking in Australia
No full textThis thesis explores the policy opportunities for Australian food banks to improve the quality of donated food through nutrition-focused food banking. It includes four studies: a scoping review, an audit of donated food, and the evaluation of the food safety and nutritional quality of donated food. Findings highlight the operational challenges food banks face in prioritising nutritious food, with the proposed nutrition classification scheme offering a practical solution to contribute to food safety and nutritional quality
Governance Quality Under Economic Uncertainty: Global Insights
Get PDFThis study examines the impact of economic uncertainty on governance quality using a cross-country panel data set from 1993 to 2022. Governance quality is measured through control of corruption, regulatory quality, government effectiveness and political stability. Results show that economic uncertainty significantly weakens governance, with pronounced effects on political stability and government effectiveness, particularly in higher-income countries. Robustness checks, including inverse probability weighting and alternative uncertainty measures, confirm these findings. The study underscores the critical role of economic stability in mitigating corruption, reducing political instability and supporting Sustainable Development Goal 16 by fostering stronger governance globally
Dynamic behaviour of fibre-reinforced recycled aggregate concrete beams under low-velocity impact load
Get PDFDespite increasing interest in recycled aggregate concrete (RAC), most structural-level studies have focused on the performance of RAC beams under static loads, with limited studies assessing their dynamic performance. No studies have been reported on the impact response of RAC or fibre-reinforced recycled aggregate concrete (FRRAC) beams with fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcement. In this study, seven beams (one made of natural aggregate concrete as the control, three RAC and three FRRAC) reinforced with steel bars, basalt FRP (BFRP) bars or steel-basalt FRP composite bars (SBCBs) were prepared and subjected to multiple impacts using a pendulum impact system. The influences of aggregate type, reinforcement type, and fibre addition (macro-basalt and recycled macro-polypropylene fibres at 1.34 % by volume dosage) were assessed by comparing the failure mode, impact force, reaction force, deflection and reinforcement strain. Compared to steel-reinforced RAC beams, beams reinforced with BFRP bars and SBCBs experienced higher peak impact forces, lower residual deflections, and withstanding higher impact velocity (up to the 3rd impact) without failure. The hybrid fibre addition to RAC beams led to higher peak impact forces and reduced the maximum and residual deflections. In addition, spalling damage and concrete crushing failure modes were effectively mitigated
Behavioral analytics for optimized self-scheduling in sustainable local multi-carrier energy systems: A prospect theory approach
Get PDFThe transition towards sustainable energy systems demands innovative solutions to overcome the challenges of integrating diverse energy carriers, fluctuating market dynamics, and operator decision-making complexities. The active involvement of local multi-carrier energy systems (LMCES) as virtual power plants in upstream energy markets is particularly hindered by the limitations of conventional optimization methods, which fail to capture the nuanced behavioral aspects of decision-making. This paper presents a novel prescriptive behavioral analytics framework for LMCES self-scheduling, integrating insights from prospect theory to address the operator's behavioral tendencies, including loss aversion, subjective risk attitudes, and mental reference points. By embedding these behavioral considerations into a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model, the proposed approach accounts for real-world decision-making complexities often overlooked in conventional economic theories based on rationality. Comparative analyses demonstrate that the proposed framework not only enhances the modeling of LMCES operators’ decision-making processes but also improves energy scheduling efficiency and supports sustainable energy transitions. The findings provide actionable insights for optimizing LMCES operations, advancing their role in achieving energy sustainability goals
The dynamics of stability and flexibility: How attentional and cognitive control support multitasking under time pressure
No full textManaging the trade-off between stability (robustness to interference) and flexibility (readiness to adapt to change) places considerable demands on human attention, cognitive control, and meta-control processes. However, little is known about the cognitive mechanisms driving stability–flexibility adaptation in multitasking contexts, and such mechanisms have implications for effective task completion in everyday life and in complex work settings, particularly when individuals enter performance “red zones” where task demands exceed capacity to manage them. We present a computational model that explains how individuals, in a cognitively demanding prospective memory (PM) paradigm, cognitively adapt to the relative prevalence of competing task responses to achieve more stable or more flexible performance under conditions in and out of the “red zone” (high vs. low time pressure). The model explained observed ongoing- and PM-task performance in terms of the quality and quantity of attentional capacity directed to each task and context-sensitive differences in proactive and reactive cognitive control. The results are consistent with a view of stability and flexibility as potentially independent dimensions of control, the management of which is subject to human processing/capacity constraints. The model furthers understanding of human cognitive flexibility, with potential implications for humans working in dynamic, information-rich settings requiring behavioral flexibility
A Field-Scale Framework for Assessing the Influence of Measure-While-Drilling Variables on Geotechnical Characterization Using a Boruta-SHAP Approach
Get PDFThis study presents an application of Boruta-SHapley Additive ExPlanations (Boruta-SHAP) for geotechnical characterization using Measure-While-Drilling (MWD) data, enabling a more interpretable and statistically rigorous assessment of feature importance. Measure-While-Drilling data collected at the scale of an open-pit mine was used to characterize geotechnical properties using regression-based machine learning models. In contrast to previous studies using MWD data to recognize rock type using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), which only identifies the directions of maximum variance, the Boruta-SHAP method quantifies the individual contribution of each Measure-While-Drilling variable. This method ensures interpretable and reliable geotechnical characterization as well as robust feature selection by comparing predictors against randomized ‘shadow’ features. The Boruta-SHAP analysis revealed that bit air pressure and torque-to-penetration ratio were the most significant predictors of rock strength, contradicting previous assumptions that rate of penetration was the dominant factor. Moreover, feature importance was conducted for fracture frequency and Geological Strength Index (GSI), a rock mass classification system. A comparative analysis of prediction performance was also performed using a range of different machine learning algorithms that resulted in strong coefficient of determinations of actual field or laboratory results versus predicted values. The results are plausible, confirming that MWD data could provide a high-resolution description of geotechnical conditions prior to mining, leading to a more confident prediction of subsurface geotechnical properties. Therefore, the fragmentation from blasting as well as downstream operational phases, such as digging, hauling, and crushing, could be improved effectively
The quick and the dead: Behavioral plasticity of anti-predator responses in an Endangered mammal
Get PDFPopulations isolated from predation inside predator-free havens often exhibit a reduction in anti-predator traits. The loss of such traits has a critical bearing on strategic conservation management, and so it is important to understand the basis of trait shift and how anti-predator traits may be retained or restored. We explored plasticity in anti-predator behaviors in an Endangered mammal, the woylie (Bettongia penicillata ogilbyi) at both the individual and population level. We quantified anti-predator responses in individual woylies sourced from either a predator-free haven (havened) or from an indigenous wild population (non-havened) before and after translocation to a site with low densities of introduced predators, providing the first experimental test of anti-predator responses and corresponding survival consequences in this species. Initially, the havened woylies had weak anti-predator responses (lower agitation) compared with non-havened animals. After exposure to predators, apparent survival was lower in the havened cohort compared to the non-havened cohort. Those havened individuals that did survive, however, had stronger anti-predator responses at the end of the study, approaching the level of response shown by their non-havened counterparts. This within-individual shift in behavior provides evidence for behavioral plasticity in this particular trait, suggesting that some aspects of anti-predator behavior may be regained following exposure to predators and that this behavioral flexibility can be advantageous. At the same time, evidence of lower survival in previously havened individuals indicates that fixed differences in other traits remain and likely also contribute to survival. We discuss the implications of these findings for conservation management
Effects of Burial Depth, Watering Regime and Soil Amendments on the Establishment of Four Arid Zone Species
Get PDFDirect seeding of restorative plants is a difficult task in arid environments due, in part, to the low moisture levels inherent to these areas. This barrier to restoration has stimulated a number of methods to help combat this issue, including the burial of seeds just below the soil surface, the addition of fertiliser and the use of other suitable low-cost soil amendments aimed at improving germination and survival. This study examines the effects of burial depth and application of soil amendments on seedling emergence under different watering regimes on four semi-arid zone species. The soil amendments used were hydrogel (EarthCare Water Crystals), fertiliser (Osmocote), and a commercial soil microbial inoculant (Bactivate5). It was found that, while heavier seeded species were able to emerge from deeper below the soil surface, all seeds in the study preferred to emerge from shallow burial depths of around 6–10 mm. Soil amendments were shown to have minimal effect on emergence rates, regardless of the watering regime, while the watering regime was found to have the largest impact. Seedlings under a low watering regime (30% water holding capacity) were found to have the lowest emergence rate, while a moderate watering regime (55% water holding capacity) produced the highest emergence across most species. Results obtained from this study suggest that shallow burial of seeds 6–10 mm below the soil surface, as opposed to surface placement or deeper burial, may enhance emergence for the species tested. Although the soil amendments did not improve plant species emergence, amendment application may still be beneficial for developing seedlings by enhancing seedling resilience to adverse growing conditions such as moisture stress or extreme temperatures