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Performance Evaluation Of Ethanol Production Through Continuous Fermentation, Harvinder S. Sidhu, John M. Kavanagh, Simon D. Watt, Mark I. Nelson Jan 2008

Performance Evaluation Of Ethanol Production Through Continuous Fermentation, Harvinder S. Sidhu, John M. Kavanagh, Simon D. Watt, Mark I. Nelson

Faculty of Informatics - Papers (Archive)

We investigate the production of ethanol through continuous fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a single reactor and cascades of two or three reactors. We use path following methods to investigate how the ethanol yield varies with the residence time in each reactor configuration of the cascade. Yields currently obtained in industry using yeast are approximately 0.48. We find reactor designs where the product yield approaches the stoichiometric limit of 0.51. We also estimate the financial benefits that can be achieved in typical US ethanol plants through increasing the product yield from 0.48 to 0.51.


The Relationship Between Driving Anxiety And Driving Skill: A Review Of Human Factors And Anxiety-Performance Theories To Clarify Future Research Needs, Joanne Taylor, Frank P. Deane, John Podd Jan 2008

The Relationship Between Driving Anxiety And Driving Skill: A Review Of Human Factors And Anxiety-Performance Theories To Clarify Future Research Needs, Joanne Taylor, Frank P. Deane, John Podd

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This article examines theory and identifies gaps in research related to the role of driving skills in driving anxiety. Increasingly, investigators have examined the clinical features of driving anxiety and the more severe situation of driving fear and phobia, but the possible involvement of driving skills has been neglected. This is surprising given the potential implications for skills training and remediation in the assessment and treatment of some of those who experience driving anxiety, fear, and phobia. The largest body of relevant research comes from the driving and human factors literature on the relationship between anxiety and driving performance. The …


Time Orientation, Task Characteristics, And Customer Performance, Nina Reynolds, Salvador Ruiz De Maya Jan 2008

Time Orientation, Task Characteristics, And Customer Performance, Nina Reynolds, Salvador Ruiz De Maya

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

The present study illustrates that consumer time use preference moderates the effect of satisfaction with the task solution, but has no impact on level of performance. Results show that more complex tasks produce higher (lower) levels of satisfaction for polychronic (monochronic) consumers than simpler tasks. In contrast, prioritizing complex activities increases (decreases) satisfaction for monochronic (polychronic) consumers. Unlike task solution satisfaction, time orientation does not impact on task performance. These findings suggest that online retailers should emphasize site factors related to consumers' tasks that best suit the time use preference of their primary users in order to maximize customer satisfaction.


A Model Of Predictors Of Managers Performance, Peter Hosie, Zeenobiyah N. Hannif Jan 2008

A Model Of Predictors Of Managers Performance, Peter Hosie, Zeenobiyah N. Hannif

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The 'happy-productive worker' thesis is a commonsense theory that has recently evolved into the 'performing-managers' proposition. This paper summarises the research that was conducted to develop a Partial Model of Managers' Affective Wellbeing, Intrinsic Job Satisfaction and Performance. This lays the groundwork for developing a more comprehensive Model of Predictors of Managers' Performance. This represents a far more complete and sophisticated conceptualisation of the predictors of managers' performance than what is currently available in the literature. Job characteristics, role conflict, role overload, role ambiguity, organisational commitment and extrinsic job satisfaction are introduced as logical extensions to the Partial Model, and …


Enhanced Performance Of Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Utilizing Platinum Electrodeposit Counter Electrodes, Attila J. Mozer, George Tsekouras, Gordon G. Wallace Jan 2008

Enhanced Performance Of Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Utilizing Platinum Electrodeposit Counter Electrodes, Attila J. Mozer, George Tsekouras, Gordon G. Wallace

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Enhanced performance was observed for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) utilizing counter electrodes based on Pt electrodeposits compared to counter electrodes based on sputtered Pt. Scanning electron microscopy of Pt electrodeposits revealed that the use of an initial cathodic overpotential pulse followed by steady electrodeposition at a mild cathodic potential yielded ∼40nm particles, compared to ∼600nm particles when no such pulse was used. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) of electrode materials suggested that Pt electrodeposits would give enhanced performance as DSSC counter electrodes compared to sputtered Pt, and this was confirmed by device testing. EIS characterization of DSSCs under …


A Model Of Predictors Of Managers Performance, P. Hosie, Z. Hannif Jan 2008

A Model Of Predictors Of Managers Performance, P. Hosie, Z. Hannif

University of Wollongong in Dubai - Working Paper Series

The 'happy-productive worker' thesis is a commonsense theory evolved into the 'performing-managers' proposition. This paper summarises the research that was conducted to develop a Parial Model of managers' affective wellbeing, intrinsic job satisfaction and performance. This lays the groundwork for developing a more comprehensive model of predictors of managers' performance. This represents a far more complete and sopfisticated conceptualisation of the predictors of managers' performance than what is currently available in the literature. Job characteristics, role conflict, role overload, role ambiguity, organisational commitment and extrinsic job satisfaction are introduced as logical extensions to the Partial Model, and are rendered suitable …


The Impact Of Uncertain Environment On Rice Supply Chain Performance In Northeast Thailand, Phatcharee T. Thongrattana, Peter W. Robertson Jan 2008

The Impact Of Uncertain Environment On Rice Supply Chain Performance In Northeast Thailand, Phatcharee T. Thongrattana, Peter W. Robertson

Sydney Business School - Papers

Rice is a key agricultural product of Thailand and plays a vital role in the Thai economy. Rice production, however, is dependent upon environmental factors. Environmental uncertainty therefore, can impact rice crop areas in term of influencing the rice yield, rice production and generating ripple effects along the overall rice supply chain. The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of uncertain rice supply caused by drought years on the rice supply chain performance in Thailand. Three stochastic simulation models in different assumptions of rough rice production situations were developed which were based on historical data of normal …


Network Structure, Ict Use And Performance Attitudes Of Knowledge Workers, Kon Shing Kenneth Chung, Liaquat Hossain Jan 2008

Network Structure, Ict Use And Performance Attitudes Of Knowledge Workers, Kon Shing Kenneth Chung, Liaquat Hossain

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

In this study, we examine the effect of social network structure and information and communication technologies (ICT) use on performance attitudes of knowledge-intensive workers in dispersed occupational communities. We first develop a theoretical framework and use it to develop a valid and reliable survey instrument. Secondly, we apply structural hole measures (constraint and efficiency) for exploring the association with ICT use and attitudes to performance. Empirical results suggest that density of knowledge workers' professional network is positively associated with ICT use whereas network efficiency is negatively correlated with ICT use at both task and communication-structure level. The findings show that …


Study Of The Energy Performance Of Korean Apartment Buildings With Alternative Balcony Configurations, Jo Clarke, Cameron Johnstone, Jaemin Kim, Georgios Kokogiannakis, Paul Strachan, Kyung-Hun Woo, Boo-Sik Kang Jan 2008

Study Of The Energy Performance Of Korean Apartment Buildings With Alternative Balcony Configurations, Jo Clarke, Cameron Johnstone, Jaemin Kim, Georgios Kokogiannakis, Paul Strachan, Kyung-Hun Woo, Boo-Sik Kang

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the new regulations design changes on heating loads of apartment buildings and identify the construction configurations (e.g. glazing types, thermal properties, window area ratio, etc.) of the new designs that will ensure the energy performance is at least on the same level as those with a traditional balcony configuration.


Performance Analysis Of Multi-Ary Systems With Iterative Linear Minimum-Mean-Square-Error Detection, Li Ping, Jun Tong, Xiaojun Yuan, Qinghua Guo Jan 2008

Performance Analysis Of Multi-Ary Systems With Iterative Linear Minimum-Mean-Square-Error Detection, Li Ping, Jun Tong, Xiaojun Yuan, Qinghua Guo

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper is concerned with coded multi-ary systems over linear channels. Based on a semi-analytical evolution technique, the impact of signaling schemes on the performance of low-cost iterative linear minimum-mean-square-error (LMMSE) detection is studied. It is shown that superposition coded modulation (SCM) maximizes the output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of LMMSE detectors. Consequently, SCM may potentially outperform other conventional signaling schemes when LMMSE detectors are used. Numerical examples are provided to verify the theoretical analysis. © 2008 IEEE.


Testosterone Effects On Avian Basal Metabolic Rate And Aerobic Performance: Facts And Artefacts, W A. Buttemer, S Warne, C Bech, Lee Astheimer Jan 2008

Testosterone Effects On Avian Basal Metabolic Rate And Aerobic Performance: Facts And Artefacts, W A. Buttemer, S Warne, C Bech, Lee Astheimer

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

We examined the effects of cage size and testosterone (T) levels on basal and peak metabolic rates (BMR and PMR, respectively) and on pectoral and leg muscle masses of male house sparrows (Passer domesticus). Birds were housed either in small birdcages or in flight aviaries for at least 2 weeks prior to the initial metabolic evaluations. They were then implanted with either empty or T-filled silastic capsules and remeasured 5-6 weeks later. Birds treated with single T implants achieved breeding levels (4-6 ng/mL) and one group given double implants reached 10 ng/mL. There was no effect of T on BMR …


Development And Performance Evaluation Of A Flexible, Low Cost Manet, Mehran Abolhasan, Brett Hagelstein, Jerry Chun-Ping Wang, D. Franklin, Farzad Safaei, Tadeusz A. Wysocki Jan 2008

Development And Performance Evaluation Of A Flexible, Low Cost Manet, Mehran Abolhasan, Brett Hagelstein, Jerry Chun-Ping Wang, D. Franklin, Farzad Safaei, Tadeusz A. Wysocki

Faculty of Informatics - Papers (Archive)

Performance evaluations of multi-hop ad hoc network routing protocols have been primarily conducted through analytic and simulation-based studies, which frequently fail to accurately predict real-world performance and behaviour. One reason for this is the challenge in developing low cost, representative test beds with the degree of flexibility and mobility required. We have developed a Portable Wireless Ad hoc Node (PWAN) device which establishes multi-hop routes using the OLSR routing protocol. The PWAN’s performance has been investigated using two test bed configurations to evaluate its capacity under conditions of high node density in a short-range, multi-hop environment. Our results illustrate that …


Chemical Synthesis, Characterisation And Gas Sensing Performance Of Copper Oxide Nanoribbons, Xing L. Gou, Guoxiu Wang, Juan Yang, Jinsoo Park, David Wexler Jan 2008

Chemical Synthesis, Characterisation And Gas Sensing Performance Of Copper Oxide Nanoribbons, Xing L. Gou, Guoxiu Wang, Juan Yang, Jinsoo Park, David Wexler

Faculty of Engineering - Papers (Archive)

Single crystalline copper oxide nanoribbons were synthesized via a surfactant-assisted hydrothermalroute. The resulting CuO nanoribbons contain substantial amounts of nanorings and nanoloops. Highresolution TEM analysis identified CuO nanoribbons growing along the [010] direction. CuOnanoribbons exhibited excellent sensing performance towards formaldehyde and ethanol vapours withrapid response and high sensitivity at low operating temperatures. We found that the loading of a smallamount of Au or Pt nanoparticles on the surface of CuO nanoribbons can effectively enhance andfunctionalize the gas sensing performance of CuO nanoribbons.


Optimal Target Performance For Cost-Effective Seismic Design Of Bridges, M Neaz Sheikh, Frederic Legeron Jan 2008

Optimal Target Performance For Cost-Effective Seismic Design Of Bridges, M Neaz Sheikh, Frederic Legeron

Faculty of Engineering - Papers (Archive)

A systematic approach is proposed for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of existing bridge design codes based on expected lifecycle cost. In the life cycle cost formulation, costs of construction, damage cost, road user cost, as well as discount cost over the design life of the bridge are considered. The optimal performance is selected on the basis of minimum life cycle cost. The performance of a typical two-span bridge designed according to a current code provision for different earthquake ground motion levels is predicted and optimal target performance is selected based on life cycle cost with different assumptions of user cost. It …


Cfd Analysis Of The Performance Of Blade Cascades For Air Turbines In Oscillating Water Column Wave Energy Conversion Systems, Andrei Gareev, Paul Cooper, Prabuono B. Kosasih Jan 2008

Cfd Analysis Of The Performance Of Blade Cascades For Air Turbines In Oscillating Water Column Wave Energy Conversion Systems, Andrei Gareev, Paul Cooper, Prabuono B. Kosasih

Faculty of Engineering - Papers (Archive)

This paper presents the results of a detailed CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) analysis of the performance of blade cascades in reversing flow axial flow turbines for use as power take-off systems in Oscillating Water Column (OWC) Wave Energy Conversion (WEC) systems. In the first part of the paper a fundamental CFD analysis of the lift and drag data for various aerofoil profiles, using a number of different turbulence models, is described and quantitative comparisons are made with experimental data previously published by other researchers. The second part of the paper then describes CFD results of the performance of various rotors …


Social Capital Renewal And The Academic Performance Of International Students In Australia, Frank V. Neri, Simon Ville Jan 2008

Social Capital Renewal And The Academic Performance Of International Students In Australia, Frank V. Neri, Simon Ville

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Many believe that social capital fosters the accumulation of human capital. Yet international university students arrive in their host country generally denuded of social capital and confronted by unfamiliar cultural and educational institutions. This study investigates how, and to what extent, international students renew their social networks, and whether such investments are positively associated with academic performance. We adopt a social capital framework and conduct a survey of international students at a typical Australian university in order to categorise and measure investments in social capital renewal, and test a multivariate model of academic performance that includes social capital variables, amongst …


Influence Of Inductance Variation On Performance Of A Permanent Magnet Claw Pole Soft Magnetic Composite Motor, Youguang Guo, Jian Zhu, Zhi Lin, Haiyan Lu, Xiaolin Wang, Jiaxin Chen Jan 2008

Influence Of Inductance Variation On Performance Of A Permanent Magnet Claw Pole Soft Magnetic Composite Motor, Youguang Guo, Jian Zhu, Zhi Lin, Haiyan Lu, Xiaolin Wang, Jiaxin Chen

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

Winding inductance is an important parameter in determining the performance of electrical machines, particularly those with large inductance variation. This paper investigates the influence of winding inductance variation on the performance of a three-phase three-stack claw pole permanent magnet motor with soft magnetic composite (SMC) stator by using an improved phase variable model. The winding inductances of the machine are computed by using a modified incremental energy method, based on three-dimensional nonlinear time-stepping magnetic field finite element analyses. The inductance computation and performance simulation are verified by the experimental results of an SMC claw pole motor prototype.


High Field Performance Of Nano-Diamond Doped Mgb2 Superconductor, Arpita Vajpayee, V P. Awana, H Kishan, Anant Narlikar, G L. Bhalla, Xiaolin Wang Jan 2008

High Field Performance Of Nano-Diamond Doped Mgb2 Superconductor, Arpita Vajpayee, V P. Awana, H Kishan, Anant Narlikar, G L. Bhalla, Xiaolin Wang

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

The results from magnetotransport and magnetization of nanodiamond doped MgB2-nDx are reported. Superconducting transition temperature (Tc) is not affected significantly by x up to x =0.05 and latter decreases slightly for higher x>0.05. R(T) vs H measurements show higher Tc values under same applied magnetic fields for the nanodiamond added samples, resulting in higher estimated Hc2 values. From the magnetization measurements, it was found that irreversibility field value Hirr for the pristine sample is 7.5 T at 4 K and the same is increased to 13.5 T for 3 wt % …


Ambitious Angel: Jean Batten And The Performance Of Gender In A Man's Country, Anne A. Collett Jan 2008

Ambitious Angel: Jean Batten And The Performance Of Gender In A Man's Country, Anne A. Collett

Faculty of Arts - Papers (Archive)

Sydney has witness similar demonstrations of enthusiasm, but never one that was more spontaneous, wrote one Sydney reportetr of Jean Battens arrivalo in Mascot in October 1936 on completion of her record breaking solo-flight from England to Australia. Batten greeted the crowd that had waited long hours for her arrival, with and apology and the reminder that it was of course a womens prerogative to be a little late.


Performance Analysis Of Ofdm-Idma Systems With Peak-Power Limitation, Jun Tong, Qinghua Guo, Li Ping Jan 2008

Performance Analysis Of Ofdm-Idma Systems With Peak-Power Limitation, Jun Tong, Qinghua Guo, Li Ping

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper is concerned with orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing interleave-division multiple-access (OFDM-IDMA) systems over frequency-selective fading channels. Deliberate clipping is applied to reduce the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of each user's transmitted signal. An iterative multiuser detection (MUD) technique is developed to recover the performance loss due to clipping. A semi-analytical signal-to- noise ratio (SNR) evolution technique is proposed, which can provide quick and accurate prediction of the iterative MUD performance. Numerical results show that the performance of OFDM-IDMA is not sensitive to the frequency selectivity of channels, and OFDM-IDMA is more power-efficient than other alternative multi-carrier transmission techniques. © 2008 …


Tangential Sphere Bounds On The Ensemble Performance Of Ml Decoded Gallager Codes Via Their Exact Ensemble Distance Spectrum, Sheng Tong Jan 2008

Tangential Sphere Bounds On The Ensemble Performance Of Ml Decoded Gallager Codes Via Their Exact Ensemble Distance Spectrum, Sheng Tong

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

An efficient numerical approach to the exact ensemble distance spectrum of Gallager codes has been developed by evaluating powers of polynomials. With the exact ensemble distance spectrum of Gallager codes, tangential sphere upper bounds on their maximum likelihood (ML) decoding performance over binary input AWGN channels are investigated. Numerical results indicate improved bounds have been obtained, better than Sason and Shamai's results (which are based on Gallager's upper bound on the ensemble distance spectrum), especially in the error floor region. Furthermore, some critical properties of Gallager codes, including typical minimum distance and the performance tradeoff in the waterfall and error …