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2011

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Individuals With Chronic Low Back Pain Have Greater Difficulty In Engaging In Positive Lifestyle Behaviours Than Those Without Back Pain: An Assessment Of Health Literacy, Andrew Briggs, Joanne Jordan, Peter O'Sullivan, Rachelle Buchbinder, Angus Burnett, Richard Osborne, Leon Straker Jan 2011

Individuals With Chronic Low Back Pain Have Greater Difficulty In Engaging In Positive Lifestyle Behaviours Than Those Without Back Pain: An Assessment Of Health Literacy, Andrew Briggs, Joanne Jordan, Peter O'Sullivan, Rachelle Buchbinder, Angus Burnett, Richard Osborne, Leon Straker

Research outputs 2011

Background: Despite the large volume of research dedicated to understanding chronic low back pain (CLBP), patient outcomes remain modest while healthcare costs continue to rise, creating a major public health burden. Health literacy - the ability to seek, understand and utilise health information - has been identified as an important factor in the course of other chronic conditions and may be important in the aetiology of CLBP. Many of the currently available health literacy measurement tools are limited since they measure narrow aspects of health literacy. The Health Literacy Measurement Scale (HeLMS) was developed recently to measure broader elements of …

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Evaluation Of A Resistance Training Program For Adults With Or At Risk Of Developing Diabetes: An Effectiveness Study In A Community Setting, Karl Minges, Glen Cormick, Edna Unglik, David Dunstan Jan 2011

Evaluation Of A Resistance Training Program For Adults With Or At Risk Of Developing Diabetes: An Effectiveness Study In A Community Setting, Karl Minges, Glen Cormick, Edna Unglik, David Dunstan

Research outputs 2011

Background: To examine the effects of a community-based resistance training program (Lift for Life (R)) on waist circumference and functional measures in adults with or at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Methods: Lift for Life is a research-to-practice initiative designed to disseminate an evidence-based resistance training program for adults with or at risk of developing type 2 diabetes to existing health and fitness facilities in the Australian community. A retrospective assessment was undertaken on 86 participants who had accessed the program within 4 active providers in Melbourne, Australia. The primary goal of this longitudinal study was to assess the …

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Teaching Software Engineering Project Management-A Novel Approach For Software Engineering Programs, Craig Caulfield, David Veal, Stanislaw Maj Jan 2011

Teaching Software Engineering Project Management-A Novel Approach For Software Engineering Programs, Craig Caulfield, David Veal, Stanislaw Maj

Research outputs 2011

In response to real and perceived short-comings in the quality and productivity of software engineering practices and projects, professionally-endorsed graduate and post-graduate curriculum guides have been developed to meet technical developments and evolving industry demands. Each of these curriculum guidelines identifies better software project management skills as critical for all graduating students, but they provide little guidance on how to achieve this. One possible way is to use a serious game - a game designed to teach and educate players about some of the dynamic complexities of the field in a safe and inexpensive environment. This paper presents the results …

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A Randomized Controlled Trial Of Whole Body Vibration Exposure On Markers Of Bone Turn-Over In Postmenopausal Women, Sarah Turner, Margaret Torode, Mike Climstein, Geraldine Naughton, David Greene, Michael Baker, Maria Fiatarone Singh Jan 2011

A Randomized Controlled Trial Of Whole Body Vibration Exposure On Markers Of Bone Turn-Over In Postmenopausal Women, Sarah Turner, Margaret Torode, Mike Climstein, Geraldine Naughton, David Greene, Michael Baker, Maria Fiatarone Singh

Research outputs 2011

Purpose. To examine the effects of two doses of low-frequency (12 Hz), low-magnitude (0.3 g), whole body vibration on markers of bone formation and resorption in postmenopausal women. Methods. Women were recruited and randomized into a sham vibration control group, one time per week vibration group (1×/week), or three times per week vibration group (3×/week). Vibration exposure consisted of 20 minutes of intermittent vibration for the 1×/week and 3×/week groups, and sham vibration (<0.1 g) for the control group for eight weeks. Double-blinded primary outcome measures were urine markers of bone resorption: N-telopeptide X normalised to creatinine (NTx/Cr) and bone formation: bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Results. Forty-six women (59.8 ± 6.2 years, median 7.3 years since menopause) were enrolled. NTx/Cr was significantly reduced (34.6%) in the 3×/wk vibration group but not in the 1×/wk vibration group compared with sham control (P<.01) group. No effect of time or group allocation was observed on the bone formation marker ALP (P=.27). Conclusion. We have shown for the first time that low-frequency, low-magnitude vibration 3×/week for eight weeks in postmenopausal women results in a significant reduction in NTx/Cr, a marker of bone resorption, when compared with sham vibration exposure.

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Gradients In The Number Of Species At Reef-Seagrass Ecotones Explained By Gradients In Abundance, Fernando Tuya, Mathew Vanderklift, Thomas Wernberg, Mads Thomsen Jan 2011

Gradients In The Number Of Species At Reef-Seagrass Ecotones Explained By Gradients In Abundance, Fernando Tuya, Mathew Vanderklift, Thomas Wernberg, Mads Thomsen

Research outputs 2011

Gradients in the composition and diversity (e. g. number of species) of faunal assemblages are common at ecotones between juxtaposed habitats. Patterns in the number of species, however, can be confounded by patterns in abundance of individuals, because more species tend to be found wherever there are more individuals. We tested whether proximity to reefs influenced patterns in the composition and diversity ('species density' = number of species per area and 'species richness' = number of species per number of individuals) of prosobranch gastropods in meadows of two seagrasses with different physiognomy: Posidonia and Amphibolis. A change in the species …

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Inoculations With Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Increase Vegetable Yields And Decrease Phoxim Concentrations In Carrot And Green Onion And Their Soils, Fa Yuan Wang, Rui Jian Tong, Zhao Yong Shi, Xiao Feng Xu, Xinhua He Jan 2011

Inoculations With Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Increase Vegetable Yields And Decrease Phoxim Concentrations In Carrot And Green Onion And Their Soils, Fa Yuan Wang, Rui Jian Tong, Zhao Yong Shi, Xiao Feng Xu, Xinhua He

Research outputs 2011

Background As one of the most widely used organophosphate insecticides in vegetable production, phoxim (C12H15N2O3PS) is often found as residues in crops and soils and thus poses a potential threat to public health and environment. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi may make a contribution to the decrease of organophosphate residues in crops and/or the degradation in soils, but such effects remain unknown. Methodology/Principal Findings A greenhouse pot experiment studied the influence of AM fungi and phoxim application on the growth of carrot and green onion, and phoxim concentrations in the two vegetables and their soil media. Treatments included three AM fungal …

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Reinforcement Learning Of Competitive And Cooperative Skills In Soccer Agents, Jinsong Leng, Chee Lim Jan 2011

Reinforcement Learning Of Competitive And Cooperative Skills In Soccer Agents, Jinsong Leng, Chee Lim

Research outputs 2011

The main aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive numerical analysis on the efficiency of various reinforcementlearning (RL) techniques in an agent-based soccer game. The SoccerBots is employed as a simulation testbed to analyze the effectiveness of RL techniques under various scenarios. A hybrid agent teaming framework for investigating agent team architecture, learning abilities, and other specific behaviours is presented. Novel RL algorithms to verify the competitiveandcooperativelearning abilities of goal-oriented agents for decision-making are developed. In particular, the tile coding (TC) technique, a function approximation approach, is used to prevent the state space from growing exponentially, hence avoiding …

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A New Seal Verification For Chinese Color Seal, Zhihu Huang, Jinsong Leng Jan 2011

A New Seal Verification For Chinese Color Seal, Zhihu Huang, Jinsong Leng

Research outputs 2011

Automatic seal imprint identification system is highly demanded in oriental countries. Even though several seal identification techniques have been proposed, it is seldom to find the papers on the recovery of lost seal imprint strokes caused by superimposition. In this paper, a new seal verification for Chinese color seal is proposed. This approach segments the seal imprint from the input image in terms of the adaptive thresholds. The lost seal imprint strokes are recovered based on the text stroke width that can be detected automatically. In addition, the moment-based seal verification is to compare the reference seal imprint and the …

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A Process For Transition To Sustainability: Implementation, Sandra Wooltorton, Marilyn Palmer, Fran Steele Jan 2011

A Process For Transition To Sustainability: Implementation, Sandra Wooltorton, Marilyn Palmer, Fran Steele

Research outputs 2011

This paper reports the outcomes of the second action cycle of an ongoing project at Edith Cowan University (ECU) called "Transition to Sustainability: ECU South West" which is located in a small, single faculty regional university campus. The overall project has comprised three action research cycles, the first of which was the planning cycle which established the importance of building a community of practice with a learning stance for sustainability transition. It also highlighted the issue of a common definition of the term sustainability; of including cross-disciplinary perspectives; and of working with the local community. The second action cycle which …

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Enhancing Psychology Students' Experiences: The Development Of An Undergraduate Leadership Programme, Lynne Cohen, Paul Chang, Joyce Hendricks, Vicki Cope, Bronwyn Harman Jan 2011

Enhancing Psychology Students' Experiences: The Development Of An Undergraduate Leadership Programme, Lynne Cohen, Paul Chang, Joyce Hendricks, Vicki Cope, Bronwyn Harman

Research outputs 2011

Leadership is a practical skill, highly valued by employers but not formally taught in Australian psychology curricula. The Edith Cowan University School of Psychology and Social Science developed a programme aimed at addressing the lack of leadership training in undergraduate psychology students. This 12-month extracurricular programme provided theoretical and practical experience in leadership, and incorporated a formal series of workshops and seminars with three curricular components: leadership knowledge, leadership skills, and leadership in action. Students were then provided with the opportunity to develop and practise their leadership skills by participating in a series of expert-driven seminars, through role-playing, perspective taking, …

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Family Systems And Mental Health Issues: A Resilience Approach, Lynne Cohen, Catherine Ferguson, Craig Harms, Julie Ann Pooley, Stuart Tomlinson Jan 2011

Family Systems And Mental Health Issues: A Resilience Approach, Lynne Cohen, Catherine Ferguson, Craig Harms, Julie Ann Pooley, Stuart Tomlinson

Research outputs 2011

In many cases the consumers of mental health information and support are the families of mental health sufferers. The aim of the project was to understand resilience in people who live with or support a family member with a diagnosed or undiagnosed mental illness. Participants were 15 carers (one male, 14 female). Semi-structured interviews were transcribed and analysed using content analysis. Eight recurring themes emerged which indicated the challenges the carers faced and provided indications of the positive and negative personal, family and social factors that impacted on their lives. These themes were 'Getting to CLAN WA', 'Accessing help including …

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A Fibre Bragg Grating Sensor As A Receiver For Acoustic Communications Signals, Graham Wild, Steven Hinckley Jan 2011

A Fibre Bragg Grating Sensor As A Receiver For Acoustic Communications Signals, Graham Wild, Steven Hinckley

Research outputs 2011

A Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) acoustic sensor is used as a receiver for acoustic communications signals. Acoustic transmissions were generated in aluminium and Carbon Fibre Composite (CFC) panels. The FBG receiver was coupled to the bottom surface opposite a piezoelectric transmitter. For the CFC, a second FBG was embedded within the layup for comparison. We show the transfer function, frequency response, and transient response of the acoustic communications channels. In addition, the FBG receiver was used to detect Phase Shift Keying (PSK) communications signals, which was shown to be the most robust method in a highly resonant communications channel.

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The Relationship Between Water, Health And Global Environmental Change, As Interpreted Through Five Key Multilateral Environmental Agreements (Meas), Pierre Horwitz, Lucilla Spini, Kathryn Campbell, R J Thomas, Jo Mulongoy Jan 2011

The Relationship Between Water, Health And Global Environmental Change, As Interpreted Through Five Key Multilateral Environmental Agreements (Meas), Pierre Horwitz, Lucilla Spini, Kathryn Campbell, R J Thomas, Jo Mulongoy

Research outputs 2011

For five Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), we have examined the way the relationship between water, health and global environmental change is expressed and how it has evolved recently. We recognize a distinction between an emphasis on water and reservoirs of water for health (for drinking water supplies, sanitation and hygiene), and a focus on places of water, where wetland ecosystems provide a service for human well-being which encompasses health. We also recognize a trend over time for the MEAs to increasingly address water, health and global change issues as a reaction to emerging infectious diseases and global pandemics. For both …

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Recovery From The Impact Of Light Reduction On The Seagrass Amphibolis Griffithii, Insights For Dredging Management, Kathryn Mcmahon, Paul Lavery, Michael Mulligan Jan 2011

Recovery From The Impact Of Light Reduction On The Seagrass Amphibolis Griffithii, Insights For Dredging Management, Kathryn Mcmahon, Paul Lavery, Michael Mulligan

Research outputs 2011

A large-scale, manipulative experiment was conducted to examine the extent and rate of recovery of meadows of the temperate Australian seagrass, Amphibolis griffithii to different light-reduction scenarios typical of dredging operations, and to identify potential indicators of recovery from light reduction stress. Shade cloth was used to mimic different intensities, durations and start times of light reduction, and then was removed to assess the recovery. The meadow could recover from 3 months of light stress (5–18% ambient) following 10 months re-exposure to ambient light, even when up to 72% of leaf biomass was lost, much faster recovery rates than has …

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Segmenting Chinese Outbound Tourists By Perceived Constraints, Mimi Li, Hanqin Zhang, Iris Mao, Clare Deng Jan 2011

Segmenting Chinese Outbound Tourists By Perceived Constraints, Mimi Li, Hanqin Zhang, Iris Mao, Clare Deng

Research outputs 2011

This study examines travel constraints experienced by Chinese outbound tourists. Four constraint factors are identified from visitor data collected in 2006: structural constraint, cultural constraint, information constraint, and knowledge constraint. Information constraint is identified as a factor unique to outbound tourists from China. Among the four constraint factors, structural constraint is the most dominant. Four clusters of visitors are therefore identified: culturally constrained, structurally constrained, absence of sufficient information, and knowledge constrained. The four clusters are distinct in terms of their destination loyalty. The characteristics of each segment are given, and the practical implications of the findings are discussed.

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In Search Of Wellness: Allied Health Professionals' Understandings Of Wellness In Childhood Disability Services, Lauren Breen, Helen Wildy, Sherry Saggers, Jeannine Millsteed, P Raghavendra Jan 2011

In Search Of Wellness: Allied Health Professionals' Understandings Of Wellness In Childhood Disability Services, Lauren Breen, Helen Wildy, Sherry Saggers, Jeannine Millsteed, P Raghavendra

Research outputs 2011

Purpose. Wellness approaches are not routine in childhood disability services, despite theoretical and empirical support and an increasing demand for them from health consumers and disability activists. We aimed to investigate how health professionals define or understand wellness and its practice in the context of childhood disability. Method. A qualitative, interpretive approach was taken. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 health professionals (allied health therapists and managers) providing early intervention and ongoing therapy within four Australian childhood health and disability services. Years of experience providing services to children with disabilities and their families ranged from 6 months to 30 years …

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Cultural Botany: Toward A Model Of Transdisciplinary, Embodied, And Poetic Research Into Plants, John C. Ryan Jan 2011

Cultural Botany: Toward A Model Of Transdisciplinary, Embodied, And Poetic Research Into Plants, John C. Ryan

Research outputs 2011

Since the eighteenth century, the study of plants has reflected an increasingly mechanized and technological view of the natural world that divides the humanities and the natual sciences. In broad terms, this article proposes a context for research into flora through an interrogation of existing literature addressing a rapprochement between ways to knowledge. The natureculture dichotomy, and more specifically the plant-to-human sensory disjunction, follows a parallel course of resolution to the schism between objective (technical, scientific, reductionistic, visual) and subjective (emotive, artistic, relational, multi-sensory) forms of knowledge. The foundations of taxonomic botany, as well as the allied fields of environmental …

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The Effectiveness Of Back Belts In Reducing The Incidence, Duration And Cost Of Low Back Pain Claims Associated With Manual Handling Injury In A Retail Hardware Chain, Nick Merdith, Jacques Oosthuizen, Milos Nedved Jan 2011

The Effectiveness Of Back Belts In Reducing The Incidence, Duration And Cost Of Low Back Pain Claims Associated With Manual Handling Injury In A Retail Hardware Chain, Nick Merdith, Jacques Oosthuizen, Milos Nedved

Research outputs 2011

The objective of this intervention study was to examine the effect of the mandatory introduction of back belts on the incidence, days lost and cost of occupational low back injuries resulting from manual handling in a retail hardware chain in Western Australia. The pre-intervention period extended for 21 months and included 2,265,933 work hours or 647 full-time equivalent positions, while the intervention period was 32 months for 4,411,352 hours worked or 827 full-time equivalent positions. Workers’ compensation claims for all occupational injuries occurring during the study period were analysed. During the intervention period there was a 14% reduction in the …

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Structure-Property-Performance Ofnnanocomposite Cr-Si-N Films Synthesized By A Duplex Surface Treatment Technique, Daohui Lai, Jiang Xu, Zong-Han Xie, Paul R. Munroe Jan 2011

Structure-Property-Performance Ofnnanocomposite Cr-Si-N Films Synthesized By A Duplex Surface Treatment Technique, Daohui Lai, Jiang Xu, Zong-Han Xie, Paul R. Munroe

Research outputs 2011

Nanocomposite Cr–Si–N films were prepared on to Ti–6Al–4V substrates by a novel duplex surface treatment technique. Coatings consisting of a Cr3Si surface layer were deposited using a double cathode glow plasma and subsequent surface plasma nitriding. The surface topography, chemical composition, and microstructure of these treated alloys were analyzed by a variety of surface characterization techniques. The resulting Cr–Si–N films consisted of nanocrystallite CrN grains embedded in amorphous SiNx phase. Nanoindentation tests showed that with increasing nitrogen partial pressure the hardness of the Cr–Si–N films increased and the elastic modulus decreased. Wear experiments showed that the Cr–Si–N films produced at …

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Associatioin Of Plasma Aβ Peptides With Blood Pressure In The Elderly, Jean-Charles Lambert, Jean Dallongeville, Kathryn A. Ellis, Susanna Schraen-Maschke, James Lui, Simon Laws, Julie Dumont, Florence Richard, Dominque Cottel, Claudine Berr, David Ames, Colin L. Masters, Christopher C. Rowe, Cassandra Szoeke, Christophe Tzourio, Jean-Francois Dartigues, Luc Buee, Ralph Martins, Philippe Amouyel Jan 2011

Associatioin Of Plasma Aβ Peptides With Blood Pressure In The Elderly, Jean-Charles Lambert, Jean Dallongeville, Kathryn A. Ellis, Susanna Schraen-Maschke, James Lui, Simon Laws, Julie Dumont, Florence Richard, Dominque Cottel, Claudine Berr, David Ames, Colin L. Masters, Christopher C. Rowe, Cassandra Szoeke, Christophe Tzourio, Jean-Francois Dartigues, Luc Buee, Ralph Martins, Philippe Amouyel

Research outputs 2011

Background Aß peptides are often considered as catabolic by-products of the amyloid ß protein precursor (APP), with unknown physiological functions. However, several biological properties have been tentatively attributed to these peptides, including a role in vasomotion. We assess whether plasma Aß peptide levels might be associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure values (SBP and DBP, respectively). Methodology/Principal Findings Plasma Aß1-40 and Aß1-42 levels were measured using an xMAP-based assay in 1,972 individuals (none of whom were taking antihypertensive drugs) from 3 independent studies: the French population-based 3C and MONA-LISA (Lille) studies (n = 627 and n = 769, respectively) …

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Selling Sin: How Culture Influences The Sale Of Firearm Suppressors In Australia And New Zealand, Martin Maccarthy, Martin O'Neill, Helen Cripps Jan 2011

Selling Sin: How Culture Influences The Sale Of Firearm Suppressors In Australia And New Zealand, Martin Maccarthy, Martin O'Neill, Helen Cripps

Research outputs 2011

This paper is a summary of a 2011 academic study commissioned by the New South Wales Government (Game Council) investigating the possible legalizing of firearm sound moderators for hunting and shooting. The study examined the pragmatic advantages and disadvantages of this product in the event it could be made available to the general public in Australia. A comparison between Australia and New Zealand vis-à-vis public access to sound moderators highlights not only the opposite ends of the continuum adopted by two similar countries, but also the arbitrary nature of how attitudes influence product acceptability and availability. Advantages of de-criminalisation in …

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Staff Perspectives On The Role Of English Proficiency In Providing Support Services, Sophia Harryba, Andrew Guilfoyle, Shirlee-Ann Knight Jan 2011

Staff Perspectives On The Role Of English Proficiency In Providing Support Services, Sophia Harryba, Andrew Guilfoyle, Shirlee-Ann Knight

Research outputs 2011

A case study approach was applied to understand the challenges of offering support services to international students (IS) within a university setting. A social constructivist theoretical framework informed the collection and analysis of data. Perspectives from service providers - general and academic staff members and international students were triangulated. To date, 63 participants have been interviewed and preliminary findings show that although international students encounter a number of academic and socio-cultural difficulties during university transition, many do not access support services offered by university for various reasons including; perceived language and cultural barriers, unawareness, feeling uncomfortable; and avoiding any stigma …

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Limiting Factors For Crayfish And Finfish In Acidic Coal Pit Lake, C. D. Mccullough, Mark Lund Jan 2011

Limiting Factors For Crayfish And Finfish In Acidic Coal Pit Lake, C. D. Mccullough, Mark Lund

Research outputs 2011

World-wide, open-cut mining operations often leave pit lakes at closure. The Collie Lake District in south-west Australia has 13 pit lakes from open-cut coal extraction, with more expected. Many lakes may offer beneficial end uses as fisheries habitat for biodiversity or for recreational species. However, pit lakes may have degraded water quality due to Acid and Metalliferous Drainage (AMD). A literature review and survey for marron (endemic crayfish of biodiversity and recreational value) and fin-fish (of only biodiversity value) found that crayfish were likely more limited by habitat and food availability, and fin-fish by water quality. Management of these mild …

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Model-Based Investigations Of Acidity Sources And Sinks Of A Pit Lake In Western Australia, Mike Mueller, Katja Eulitz, C. D. Mccullough, Mark Lund Jan 2011

Model-Based Investigations Of Acidity Sources And Sinks Of A Pit Lake In Western Australia, Mike Mueller, Katja Eulitz, C. D. Mccullough, Mark Lund

Research outputs 2011

Lake Kepwari is a rehabilitated lake in the Collie Basin lignite mining area in Western Australia. The water quality of Lake Kepwari was modeled with the pit lake hydrodynamic and water quality model PITLAKQ. Based on a hydrodynamically validated model, water quality scenarios were used to quantify the sensitivity of different acidity sources including groundwater exchange, surface runoff and erosion, providing new insights into the system. The technique of monthly aggregation of all sources and sinks of acidity, based on detailed model output, provided the basis for useful conclusions. Model results suggest a new focus of field investigations to improve …

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Potential Of Sewage And Green Waste For Acidic Pit Lake Bioremediation, Naresh Radhakrishnan, C. D. Mccullough, Mark Lund Jan 2011

Potential Of Sewage And Green Waste For Acidic Pit Lake Bioremediation, Naresh Radhakrishnan, C. D. Mccullough, Mark Lund

Research outputs 2011

Bacterial sulfate reduction-based bioremediation was trialled in an acidic pit lake, divided into two sections by an earth wall. Sewage and green waste was added to the smallest section, while the other was kept untreated as a control. Bioremediation initially increased the pH of the hypolimnion of the treatment lake but after 12 months the pH suddenly returned to pre-treatment levels. This proved to be only temporary and pH bounced quickly back to previous highs. The pH decreases appeared to be associated with heavy rainfall events. These rainfall events affected the bioremediation by mixing the lake and increasing acidity inputs …

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Evaluating The Factors Limiting Algal Biomass In Acidic Pit Lakes Of The Collie Lake District, Western Australia, Naresh Radhakrishnan, C. D. Mccullough, Mark Lund, Santiago Larranaga Arrizabalaga Jan 2011

Evaluating The Factors Limiting Algal Biomass In Acidic Pit Lakes Of The Collie Lake District, Western Australia, Naresh Radhakrishnan, C. D. Mccullough, Mark Lund, Santiago Larranaga Arrizabalaga

Research outputs 2011

Acidic pit lakes often have elevated metal concentrations, very low nutrient concentrations and very low algal primary productivity. A microcosm experiment was performed to identify the main limiting factor(s) for algal biomass. Nutrients (N, P and C) were added in all possible combinations to pit lake water in the presence or absence of pit lake sediment. Microcosms without sediment showed higher chlorophyll a concentrations compared to the treatments with sediment. Microcosms where nitrogen and phosphorus were added showed highest chlorophyll a concentrations. Results suggest that algal biomass in pit lakes may be primarily limited by low nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations.

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Simulation Of A Mobile Robot Navigation System, Ahmed Khusheef, Ganesh Kothapalli, Majid Tolouei Rad Jan 2011

Simulation Of A Mobile Robot Navigation System, Ahmed Khusheef, Ganesh Kothapalli, Majid Tolouei Rad

Research outputs 2011

Mobile robots are used in various application areas including manufacturing, mining, military operations, search and rescue missions and so on. As such there is a need to model robot mobility that tracks robot system modules such as navigation system and visi on based object recognition. For the navigation system it is important to locate the position of the robot in surr ounding environment. Then it has to plan a path towards desired destination. The navigation system of a robot has to identify all potential obstacles in order to find a suitable path. The objective of this research is to develop …

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Design Of Modular Fixtures Using A 3d-Modelling Approach, U Farhan, M Tolouei-Rad Jan 2011

Design Of Modular Fixtures Using A 3d-Modelling Approach, U Farhan, M Tolouei-Rad

Research outputs 2011

The need for improved productivity and reduced time to market has been increased significantly in manufacturing processes in recent decades. There are many factors that play a role in providing manufacturing processes with more productivity. One is the use of modular fixtures (MFs). MFs have brought many benefits to manufacturing industries including reduced costs and times of production. An MF can be defined as a complete system that consist different elements for effectively and securely holding the workpiece in place for performing various machining operations. Generally an MF is made by assembling a number of fixture elements in a feasible …

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Assessing The Dynamic Relationship Between Small And Large Cap Stock Prices, K. Ho, B. Ernst, Zhaoyong Zhang Jan 2011

Assessing The Dynamic Relationship Between Small And Large Cap Stock Prices, K. Ho, B. Ernst, Zhaoyong Zhang

Research outputs 2011

The historical long-run return on small capitalization stocks has unquestionably outperformed large capitalization stocks since 1926. The phenomenon of small capitalization stocks having higher risk- adjusted returns compared with large capitalization stocks is an equity market anomaly first discovered in 1981. Since then, many academics and investors have strongly argued that “size is dead”. This paper argues that far from being dead, the phenomenon of size effect appears alive and well and it could be exploited effectively over long-term investment horizons. To analyze this phenomenon, we focus specifically on the dynamics of small cap and large cap prices. We test …

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Modeling The Conditional Volatility Asymmetry Of Business Cycles In Four Oecd Countries: A Multivariate Garch Approach, K Ho, A Tsui, Zhaoyong Zhang Jan 2011

Modeling The Conditional Volatility Asymmetry Of Business Cycles In Four Oecd Countries: A Multivariate Garch Approach, K Ho, A Tsui, Zhaoyong Zhang

Research outputs 2011

There are many studies on the business cycle indicators in the past decades, but mostly focusing on the asymmetric and non-linear features of business cycles incorporated into the conditional mean equation rather than the conditional variance formulation. Recently, the hypothesis of volatility asymmetry in business cycle indicators has been re-examined by, for instance, Ho and Tsui (2003 and 2004) using univariate asymmetric power ARCH (APARCH) and EGARCH models. However, the main drawback of univariate GARCH analysis is that it fails to capture the co-movement of macroeconomic variables. These co-movement relationships are important issues emphasised by the business cycle researchers, yet …

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