24,562 research outputs found
Field Based Forest Carbon Assessment Griffith University, Nathan Campus
No full textThe native forests of Griffith University contribute a range of important ecosystem services and functions including sequestering carbon, and hence are an important component of Griffith University’s Sustainability Goals including in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals SDG13: Climate Action as well as SDG15: Life on Land. To estimate the carbon currently stored within the native forests on the Nathan campus of Griffith University, and potential for future carbon sequestration, field estimation of the carbon in the forests was undertaken along 14 transects across 7 of the 12 Regional Ecosystems (RE) on the campus in 2023. Specifically, Above Ground Biomass was estimated by converting measurements of the height and width of all wood plants and standing dead trees with a Diameter at Breast Height of 5cm along 14 10m * 50m transects (two per RE, randomly located) using standard allometric calculations. These field values were then converted to tons of Above Ground Carbon per ha (12.5.3a = 98.1, 12.9‐10.17c = 155.2, 12.9‐10.26 = 168.2, 12.9‐10.4 = 141.3 12.11.24 = 177.2, 12.11.25 = 106.8, 12.11.26 = 94.4, weighted average across RE = 150 t C ha‐1 ) which when combined with the area of each sampled RE and other RE on campus (144.6 ha) to give a final estimate of the amount of Above Ground Carbon (21,749 t carbon) (living and standing dead) as well as both Above and Below (in roots) Carbon in woody plants (living and standing dead) (27,186 t carbon). There were lots of dead standing trees in the forest (20.9% of wood plants). When they were removed from the calculations the carbon values were slightly lower per RE (12.5.3a = 85.1, 12.9‐10.17c = 144.2, 12.9‐10.26 = 161.3, 12.9‐10.4 = 132.3 12.11.24 = 158.5, 12.11.25 = 102.4, 12.11.26 = 64.0, weighted average across RE = 139.4 t C ha‐1 ) while the total Above Ground Carbon in living wood plants was estimated as 20,193 t carbon and both Above and Below (in roots) Carbon in living woody plants was estimated as 25,241 t carbon. These values are broadly similar to those for a range of wet open forests in subtropical Queensland and reflect the generally high BioCondition of the forests at Nathan. It is also possible to estimate carbon flux for the forests on campus based on a rate of 2.92 t ha‐1 y‐1 given for similar forests in the region. Using this value, the Nathan forests may be sequestering carbon from the atmosphere at the rate of 423 t ha‐1 y‐1 . However, too frequent/hot bushfires, further clearing, drought conditions and the spread of weeds will reduce biodiversity in the forests and their capacity as carbon stores and carbon sinks.Full Tex
A Prospective Evaluation of Interprofessional Team-Based Clinical Education at the School of Dentistry and Oral Health, Griffith University
No full textStudents in diverse health programs taught separately from each other with a focus on profession ‘specific’ content rather than comprehensive collaborative patient care promotes a limited understanding of and respect for the collaborative role of different health professionals when undertaking treatment planning and patient-centred care. This may result in oral health graduates educated within a uniprofessional context becoming ill-prepared to manage patients with complex conditions that require collaboration with different oral health professionals (OHPs) through a team-based patient-centred approach.
As the potential value of interprofessional education (IPE) is strongly advocated in the literature, the Griffith University School of Dentistry and Oral Health (DOH) introduced the interprofessional teams-based treatment planning (TBTP) process in 2009 to address these educational challenges and facilitate IPE. The TBTP process incorporated student practice teams and an expansion of peer learning through collaboration between students enrolled in three different oral health programs, namely dentistry, dental technology and oral health therapy. It was perceived that shared learning, understanding of complementary knowledge, collaborative participation in managing patient care, and having knowledge/respect for each professions’ role were all necessary to improve communication and teamwork skills in a pre-qualification context in readiness for collaborative oral health practice.
However, a systematic evaluation of the TBTP process, its contribution to student clinical learning and experiences, and whether those experiences contributed to advancing interprofessional competencies and capabilities at DOH has not been conducted since its commencement. This thesis documents an evaluation that researched the attitudes, perceptions and experiences of students, clinical teaching staff, patients and newly graduated OHPs involved with the TBTP process at DOH between 2012 and 2015. The evaluation framework proposed in this research uses the first three levels of Kirkpatrick’s expanded typology of learner outcomes for educational interventions as a feedback process. The levels include student reaction to the learning experience such as a change in attitude towards interprofessional practice, acquisition of knowledge/skills which incorporates collaborative oral health learning experiences and behavioural change.
This study employed a mixed methodology, primarily quantitative supplemented by a qualitative approach where data were collected prospectively and annually at similar points in time between 2012 and mid-2015. The first phase of this study developed, and pilot tested instruments to collect relevant information from the cohorts included in the study and conducted a psychometric evaluation of the student survey to establish its validity and reliability. The second phase prospectively collected data utilising instruments specific for each of these cohorts. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of collected data and an interpretation of the results were then employed to answer the research question: ‘What is the impact of interprofessional student team-based processes, based on best practice principles, on attitudes, perceptions and experiences of students, clinical teaching staff, patients and newly graduated OHPs affiliated with DOH?’
A triangulation of data determined the amount of convergence in the study results thereby enhancing confidence in the findings and the research methodology as being well developed, comprehensive and robust. The results suggest that students had positive attitudes towards shared learning as indicated by their willingness to share information about patients with students in other oral health programs and engage in collaborative discussions to arrive at mutually agreed decisions about treatment plans within a team environment. The TBTP process was identified as a supportive environment where interprofessional clinical learning and experience was gained. It was perceived that effective supervision in this context facilitated collaborative treatment planning and teamwork skills, positive opinions of other OHPs, enhanced communication with colleagues and an improved understanding of clinical problems where students engaged in patient-centred collaborative care. New graduates noted that their behaviour became more respectful towards other OHPs as indicated through improved communication and by effectively contributing as part of a patient’s interprofessional team-based care.
Interprofessional shared learning alone had a large predictive effect and correlated strongly and significantly with students’ interprofessional clinical learning and experiences. The effect that chance, selection bias, measurement bias and confounding may have had on findings were considered and outcomes attributed to students were found to possess internal validity. Findings from clinical teaching staff were deemed valid and reliable within DOH, and information collected from other cohorts was considered innovative and provided meaning to help answer the research question. Through the TBTP process students acquired several interprofessional competencies and capabilities that included an understanding of roles and interprofessional values; interprofessional communication including collaborative decision-making and an ability to recognise and resolve conflict, and teamwork abilities relevant towards providing team-based patient-centred care.
This research provides valuable information for accrediting authorities and oral health educational providers seeking to incorporate interprofessional team-based clinical oral health education within their curricula to improve program outcomes. Strategies to guide a more efficient and effective interprofessional model of clinical oral health education at DOH have been proposed in this thesis. Recommendations have also been made for further research opportunities, both nationally and internationally, to improve an understanding of the educational needs of oral health students and graduates to better equip educational facilities to expedite students’ interprofessional clinical learning and experience reflective of best practice clinical oral health education.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)School of Dentistry&Oral HlthGriffith HealthFull Tex
Performance of retrofitted unreinforced masonry buildings during the Christchurch earthquake sequence
No full textAbstract not availableF. Turner, K. Elwood, M. Griffith, J. Ingham, and J. Marshal
Buck, Griffith J.
No full textBy the time of his retirement as a Professor of Horticulture from ISU in 1985, he had named and introduced 85 new roses, 15 geraniums, and a heliotrope.This article is published as Widrlechner, M. P. (2021). Buck, Griffith J. Iowa State University Biographical Dictionary. Retrieved from https://isubios.pubpub.org/pub/8luo9kd
S.W. Griffith: A Suitable Case for Indictment?
No full textIn his 2021 book ‘Truth-Telling: History, Sovereignty and the Uluru Statement’, Henry Reynolds called for an inquiry into the historical record of Samuel Walker Griffith, Federation ‘father’ and first Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia. Reynolds’ iconoclasm targeted a historical figure whose name is memorialised in a Riverina town, a Canberra suburb and a Queensland university. Reynolds charged that Griffith was morally and politically responsible for the violence carried out by an agency of the Queensland government, the Native Police. This historically grounded allegation relates to Griffith\u27s pre-Federation Queensland political career, 1874–93, when he served intermittently as Premier, Attorney-General and Colonial Secretary. In this article we consider the historical record of S.W. Griffith as law-maker and ministerial decision-maker, asking what elements of fact and context may be brought to the important work of reckoning with a violent colonial past and its memorialisation in the present
Dry stone masonry walls in bending - Part II: analysis
No full textWith the objective of developing analytical models for evaluation of the lateral strength of dry-stack masonry (DSM) walls subject to horizontal inertial loading, simple collapse mechanisms are proposed, which include a combination of out-of-plane flexural deformation along the main panel and in-plane shear deformation in the connecting return walls. The lateral strength is calculated using a virtual work approach incorporating moment capacities along different types of crack lines and shear resistance of in-plane panels participating in the mechanisms. The proposed treatment of the active in-plane panels assumes that they undergo frictional shear deformation (versus rigid body rocking), in consistency with the zero tensile strength nature of DSM. Allowance is also made for the presence of either restrained or unrestrained overburden loads at the top of the wall, which can generate either a strengthening or weakening effect, respectively. The accuracy of the analysis is assessed by comparing its predictions to the results of experimental tests on DSM reported in the companion study. These comparisons are favorable with respect to both the predicted values of strength and the critical failure mechanisms.Jaroslav Vaculik, Michael C. Griffith, and Guido Magene
Marvin B. Simpson Jr., Mrs. T. H. Griffith, Mrs. J. M. Appleman and Cecil A. Boles
No full textSeries on City Council water rationing hearing. Marvin B. Simpson Jr., Mrs. T. H. Griffith, Mrs. J. M. Appleman and Cecil A. Boles.https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/specialcollections_startelegram1950s/26609/thumbnail.jp
How can the process of diffusion be a method for artists and scientists to collaboratively reveal the functions of hidden nature?
No full textThe fields of art and science are closely intertwined within modern society, and they are capable of supporting and enhancing each other in various ways. For example, art is able to create and simulate inferred systems or processes that cannot be observed directly by any scientific method; the microscopic world of living cells is one biological system evading observation, as the sample preparation methods used in microscopy in most cases only allows viewing and imaging of already dead subjects. Being an artist working with liquid media, I realised that diffusion—a physical process involved in the dilution of paint in water and also forming the basis of the functioning of any cell—is not just a means of building visually stimulating artistic models of real-life microscopic processes but also a conceptual key that allows us to understand how art and science interact.
The theoretical foundation of the methodology and subsequent discussion in this thesis is Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s theory of rhizome and its six major principles. The process of diffusion and its relationship with science and art are critical to my doctoral research. The importance of diffusion for living plant systems is viewed through a Deleuzian lens, using my practice-led outcomes to support and illustrate this approach.
The ways that science can benefit from art in modern and contemporary context are examined through the work of other artists whose practices exist in the broad field where art and science overlap. I show that, for an artist, the transition between art and science can occur in both directions and how this transition relies on diffusion in their practice.
The research reflects on my own art and science projects, outlining my involvement in microscopic studies of Australian nature, my work with Griffith University studying myrtle rust fungal disease in native Australian plants, and the discovery of aphids as a potential myrtle rust treatment. It provides insight into my diffusive practice as a trained artist and scientist, rhizomatically connected to the two different disciplines and to the microscopic world I study. The practice-led research outcomes are presented in different media, and they evidence that collaboration between art and science is capable of revealing the invisible forms of nature around us. This exegesis demonstrates that transdisciplinary collaboration has the potential for significant discoveries and that art offers another way to educate the public about urgent environmental problems.Thesis (Professional Doctorate)Doctor of Visual Arts (DVA)Queensland College of ArtArts, Education and LawFull Tex
Understanding the knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes of Australian learner drivers toward driving into floodwater
No full textFlood-related unintentional drowning claims the lives of an average of 13 people each year, with over half due to intentionally driving into floodwaters. A body of work produced jointly by Griffith University and Royal Life Saving Society – Australia (RLSSA) has been exploring the motivations for driving into floodwaters and avoiding driving into floodwaters. This work has expanded into the role of swift water rescue technicians in floodwater rescues of motorists who have driven into floodwaters and evaluation of a flood safety video infographic aimed at discouraging people from this risky behaviour. Research conducted to date has identified a knowledge gap associated with learner drivers. Initial investigations indicate that there is no education provided to learner drivers about the risks of driving into floodwaters. Evidence collected through previously published studies by Griffith University and RLSSA suggests a cohort of people had driven through floodwaters when they were younger at the behest of their parents. Assessing awareness and psycho-social factors underpinning flood safety for learner drivers is key to achieving long-term commitment to safe driving behaviours during floods. Building on our previous research, the current project provided the first investigation of the knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes of Australian learner drivers toward driving into floodwater. This study was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 (N = 44) was an elicitation study which employed qualitative methods to elicit the salient beliefs that Australian learner drivers hold in relation to risky driving behaviours during floods. Building on the results of Phase 1, Phase 2 (N = 250) employed quantitative methods to examine the key beliefs and social-cognitive processes impacting upon Australian learner drivers’ decisions toward driving through and avoiding driving through floodwater. Data from Phase 1 were analysed using content analyses, and data from Phase 2 were analysed using structural equation modelling. Results identified a range of key beliefs that predicted willingness to drive through floodwater. Beliefs regarding the behaviour included the belief that it will get them to their destination, and that it will be fun. The belief that it would put them in danger negatively predicted willingness to drive through floodwater. Normative beliefs that predicted willingness to drive through floodwater included perceived approval of parents, other family members, and authorities such as the police. Facilitators included needing to get to their destination, needing to escape danger, and support from other people. Barriers to driving through floodwater included water conditions not seeming appropriate, not wanting to damage their vehicle, and not being able to see what is beneath the water surface.Griffith Health, School of Applied PsychologyFull Tex
An evaluation of Screening Tool for Assessing Risk of Suicide (STARS) tailored training
No full textThe Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP), Griffith University, was commissioned by Brisbane North Primary Health Network (PHN) Region to deliver evidence-based suicide prevention assessment and intervention training, for professionals who work directly and extensively with people who experience suicidality. Thisscope emphasised a need for ‘high level’ more advanced training to those who have both regular contact with and an existing base knowledge about risk factors, protective factors and assessment processes. AISRAP undertook this commissioned piece of work in collaboration with Suicide Risk Assessment Australia (SRAA) and Roses in the Ocean (RITO)Full Tex
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