The visceral embodiment of digital pleasures
- Smith, Naomi, Davis, Jenny, Maddox, Alexia Maddox, Patella-Rey, P.
- Authors: Smith, Naomi , Davis, Jenny , Maddox, Alexia Maddox , Patella-Rey, P.
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 20th Annual conference of the Association of Internet Researchers, Brisbane, Australia p. 18
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- Description: This panel explores digital pleasures that arise through the entanglement of bodies and digital technologies. Focusing on the digital structures and affordances that facilitate seeking, receiving and giving pleasure we analyse the ways in which intimacy is not only interactive, but also profoundly embodied. Haraway’s work in particular highlights the importance of taking seriously the nexus of human bodies and technologies and attending to the ways in which technologies not only deliver and mediate pleasure, but potentially expand upon our capacity to experience it. This panel explores how mediated practices engage the body as a site of pleasure and embodied affective intensity. Within this frame, we suggest that digitally mediated pleasures, while widely consumed, still have a hint of the ‘fringe’ or ‘subversive’. As well as proposing a theoretical framework for understanding embodied digital pleasures, this panel also examines specific examples of digital pleasure from sex to drugs and sound. To date the research corpus has largely focused upon the micro-social interactions of digital intimacies. This emphasis on relational intimacy puts the body into the background of the digitally mediated encounter and limits the ways in which we can talk about embodiment, sex and pleasure online. Embodied pleasure is intrinsic to the human condition, and digital media is deeply embedded in contemporary life. How these intersect is a key piece of the puzzle of what it means to be human in contemporary society.
- Authors: Smith, Naomi , Davis, Jenny , Maddox, Alexia Maddox , Patella-Rey, P.
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 20th Annual conference of the Association of Internet Researchers, Brisbane, Australia p. 18
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This panel explores digital pleasures that arise through the entanglement of bodies and digital technologies. Focusing on the digital structures and affordances that facilitate seeking, receiving and giving pleasure we analyse the ways in which intimacy is not only interactive, but also profoundly embodied. Haraway’s work in particular highlights the importance of taking seriously the nexus of human bodies and technologies and attending to the ways in which technologies not only deliver and mediate pleasure, but potentially expand upon our capacity to experience it. This panel explores how mediated practices engage the body as a site of pleasure and embodied affective intensity. Within this frame, we suggest that digitally mediated pleasures, while widely consumed, still have a hint of the ‘fringe’ or ‘subversive’. As well as proposing a theoretical framework for understanding embodied digital pleasures, this panel also examines specific examples of digital pleasure from sex to drugs and sound. To date the research corpus has largely focused upon the micro-social interactions of digital intimacies. This emphasis on relational intimacy puts the body into the background of the digitally mediated encounter and limits the ways in which we can talk about embodiment, sex and pleasure online. Embodied pleasure is intrinsic to the human condition, and digital media is deeply embedded in contemporary life. How these intersect is a key piece of the puzzle of what it means to be human in contemporary society.
Transactive energy trading of residential prosumers using battery energy storage systems
- Nizami, M. J., Hossain, M. J., Amin, B.M. Ruhul, Kashif, Muhammad, Fernandez, Edstan, Mahmud, Khizir
- Authors: Nizami, M. J. , Hossain, M. J. , Amin, B.M. Ruhul , Kashif, Muhammad , Fernandez, Edstan , Mahmud, Khizir
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 2019 IEEE Milan PowerTech, PowerTech 2019, Milan, 23 June to 27 June 2019
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- Description: In a transactive energy (TE) framework, prosumers can participate in peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading with neighbors. TE also allows prosumers to participate in grid services by trading their excess energy or energy consumption flexibility with the grid operators, energy suppliers, and third-party energy companies (e.g., Aggregators). This paper presents a novel bidding strategy for small-scale residential prosumers for energy trading in the day-ahead TE market using the flexibilities of residential battery energy storage systems to maximize the profit from energy trading. The bidding model is formulated as a bi-level optimization problem that determines energy trading bids to maximize profits for the prosumer in the upper level, while the lower-level problem schedules the operation of residential storage units with respect to minimum storage degradation and optimum user comfort. A comprehensive storage model is developed that incorporates the operational constraints and the degradation of storage units when they undergo frequent charge-discharge cycles for the energy trading. The proposed bidding model is evaluated via a case study for a typical Australian prosumer and results indicate the efficacy of the proposed model in terms of profit maximization for the prosumer while satisfying user preferences and constraints related to the operation of the storage units. © 2019 IEEE.
- Authors: Nizami, M. J. , Hossain, M. J. , Amin, B.M. Ruhul , Kashif, Muhammad , Fernandez, Edstan , Mahmud, Khizir
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 2019 IEEE Milan PowerTech, PowerTech 2019, Milan, 23 June to 27 June 2019
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In a transactive energy (TE) framework, prosumers can participate in peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading with neighbors. TE also allows prosumers to participate in grid services by trading their excess energy or energy consumption flexibility with the grid operators, energy suppliers, and third-party energy companies (e.g., Aggregators). This paper presents a novel bidding strategy for small-scale residential prosumers for energy trading in the day-ahead TE market using the flexibilities of residential battery energy storage systems to maximize the profit from energy trading. The bidding model is formulated as a bi-level optimization problem that determines energy trading bids to maximize profits for the prosumer in the upper level, while the lower-level problem schedules the operation of residential storage units with respect to minimum storage degradation and optimum user comfort. A comprehensive storage model is developed that incorporates the operational constraints and the degradation of storage units when they undergo frequent charge-discharge cycles for the energy trading. The proposed bidding model is evaluated via a case study for a typical Australian prosumer and results indicate the efficacy of the proposed model in terms of profit maximization for the prosumer while satisfying user preferences and constraints related to the operation of the storage units. © 2019 IEEE.
Use of MEA oxidation intermediates to monitor oxidation conditions during post-combustion capture of CO2
- Reynolds, Alicia, Verheyen, Vincent
- Authors: Reynolds, Alicia , Verheyen, Vincent
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 14th Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies Conference (GHGT-14); Melbourne 21-26 ; October 2018 p.
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- Description: Amine oxidation is a serious concern for post-combustion capture (PCC) of CO2 from fossil-fuel fired power stations. Organic acids are important oxidation products and have been measured in different ratios at different pilot plants. The concentrations of acetate, formate, glycolate and oxalate were measured in samples of degraded monoethanolamine from a variety of PCC pilot plants as well as laboratory-scale degradation experiments. The results suggest that the ratios of monoethanolamine oxidation intermediates (particularly glycolate and oxalate) have potential as process monitoring tools. Ultimately, ratios of these oxidation intermediates could be used to proactively manage and minimise oxidation of amine-based PCC absorbents by indicating the need for oxygen-scavenger addition or alerting operators to imminent increases in oxidative degradation rates.
- Authors: Reynolds, Alicia , Verheyen, Vincent
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 14th Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies Conference (GHGT-14); Melbourne 21-26 ; October 2018 p.
- Full Text:
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- Description: Amine oxidation is a serious concern for post-combustion capture (PCC) of CO2 from fossil-fuel fired power stations. Organic acids are important oxidation products and have been measured in different ratios at different pilot plants. The concentrations of acetate, formate, glycolate and oxalate were measured in samples of degraded monoethanolamine from a variety of PCC pilot plants as well as laboratory-scale degradation experiments. The results suggest that the ratios of monoethanolamine oxidation intermediates (particularly glycolate and oxalate) have potential as process monitoring tools. Ultimately, ratios of these oxidation intermediates could be used to proactively manage and minimise oxidation of amine-based PCC absorbents by indicating the need for oxygen-scavenger addition or alerting operators to imminent increases in oxidative degradation rates.
Utilising novel green binders in ground improvement applications
- Yaghoubi, Mohammadjavad;, Arulrajah, A., Disfani, M., Horpibulsuk, S., Darmawan, S., Bo, Myint
- Authors: Yaghoubi, Mohammadjavad; , Arulrajah, A. , Disfani, M. , Horpibulsuk, S. , Darmawan, S. , Bo, Myint
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 13th Australia New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics, 1-3 April 2019, Perth, Australia
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- Description: Special attention is being paid currently to geopolymers as novel binders in ground improvement applications. The use of industrial by-products such as fly ash (FA) and slag (S) in the synthesis of geopolymers makes these alternatives to traditional binders, such as Portland cement, sustainable binders with low-carbon footprint. Geopolymers have been studied and used in a variety of applications, such as concrete or ceramic manufacturing, with controllable conditions of production environment. There are however limited knowledge on the use of geopolymers, as stabilising binders, in ground improvement projects and lack of certainties as to how these new binders would behave in the field where varying factors such as water table or temperature could affect the strength development. This study evaluates the reliability of using a FA and S based geopolymer to stabilise a soft marine clay. The strength development and the mineralogy of the mixtures were studied. The combined FA+S contents were 10, 20 and 30%, and mixtures were prepared at water contents of 0.75, 1.0 and 1.25 liquid limit (LL). Samples were cured for 28 days at temperatures of 10, 25 and 40°C. Strength development was significantly increased by adding the FA+S content, particularly at 20% and higher. Moreover, when the water content was increased from 0.75 to 1.0 LL, strength development was enhanced, followed by a decrease at water content of 1.25 LL. Furthermore, by increasing the curing temperature, higher strengths were achieved and the strength development was accelerated. The results indicated that green geopolymeric binders could be used as reliable binders in ground improvement applications.
- Authors: Yaghoubi, Mohammadjavad; , Arulrajah, A. , Disfani, M. , Horpibulsuk, S. , Darmawan, S. , Bo, Myint
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 13th Australia New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics, 1-3 April 2019, Perth, Australia
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Special attention is being paid currently to geopolymers as novel binders in ground improvement applications. The use of industrial by-products such as fly ash (FA) and slag (S) in the synthesis of geopolymers makes these alternatives to traditional binders, such as Portland cement, sustainable binders with low-carbon footprint. Geopolymers have been studied and used in a variety of applications, such as concrete or ceramic manufacturing, with controllable conditions of production environment. There are however limited knowledge on the use of geopolymers, as stabilising binders, in ground improvement projects and lack of certainties as to how these new binders would behave in the field where varying factors such as water table or temperature could affect the strength development. This study evaluates the reliability of using a FA and S based geopolymer to stabilise a soft marine clay. The strength development and the mineralogy of the mixtures were studied. The combined FA+S contents were 10, 20 and 30%, and mixtures were prepared at water contents of 0.75, 1.0 and 1.25 liquid limit (LL). Samples were cured for 28 days at temperatures of 10, 25 and 40°C. Strength development was significantly increased by adding the FA+S content, particularly at 20% and higher. Moreover, when the water content was increased from 0.75 to 1.0 LL, strength development was enhanced, followed by a decrease at water content of 1.25 LL. Furthermore, by increasing the curing temperature, higher strengths were achieved and the strength development was accelerated. The results indicated that green geopolymeric binders could be used as reliable binders in ground improvement applications.
Vulnerability modelling for hybrid IT systems
- Ur-Rehman, Attiq, Gondal, Iqbal, Kamruzzuman, Joarder, Jolfaei, Alireza
- Authors: Ur-Rehman, Attiq , Gondal, Iqbal , Kamruzzuman, Joarder , Jolfaei, Alireza
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 2019 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology, ICIT 2019; Melbourne, Australia; 13th-15th February 2019 Vol. 2019-February, p. 1186-1191
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- Description: Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) is an industry standard that can assess the vulnerability of nodes in traditional computer systems. The metrics computed by CVSS would determine critical nodes and attack paths. However, traditional IT security models would not fit IoT embedded networks due to distinct nature and unique characteristics of IoT systems. This paper analyses the application of CVSS for IoT embedded systems and proposes an improved vulnerability scoring system based on CVSS v3 framework. The proposed framework, named CVSSIoT, is applied to a realistic IT supply chain system and the results are compared with the actual vulnerabilities from the national vulnerability database. The comparison result validates the proposed model. CVSSIoT is not only effective, simple and capable of vulnerability evaluation for traditional IT system, but also exploits unique characteristics of IoT devices.
- Description: Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology
- Authors: Ur-Rehman, Attiq , Gondal, Iqbal , Kamruzzuman, Joarder , Jolfaei, Alireza
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 2019 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology, ICIT 2019; Melbourne, Australia; 13th-15th February 2019 Vol. 2019-February, p. 1186-1191
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) is an industry standard that can assess the vulnerability of nodes in traditional computer systems. The metrics computed by CVSS would determine critical nodes and attack paths. However, traditional IT security models would not fit IoT embedded networks due to distinct nature and unique characteristics of IoT systems. This paper analyses the application of CVSS for IoT embedded systems and proposes an improved vulnerability scoring system based on CVSS v3 framework. The proposed framework, named CVSSIoT, is applied to a realistic IT supply chain system and the results are compared with the actual vulnerabilities from the national vulnerability database. The comparison result validates the proposed model. CVSSIoT is not only effective, simple and capable of vulnerability evaluation for traditional IT system, but also exploits unique characteristics of IoT devices.
- Description: Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology
Young people’s decision-making as they leave school in non-metropolitan areas in Australia : insights from those working with young people
- Smith, Erica, Foley, Annette
- Authors: Smith, Erica , Foley, Annette
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: SCUTREA (Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research in the Education of Adults) Adult Education 100: Reflections & Reconstructions, University of Nottingham, U.K., 2-4 July 2019 p. 107-114
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- Authors: Smith, Erica , Foley, Annette
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: SCUTREA (Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research in the Education of Adults) Adult Education 100: Reflections & Reconstructions, University of Nottingham, U.K., 2-4 July 2019 p. 107-114
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An Attention-Based Approach for Single Image Super Resolution
- Liu, Yuan, Wang, Yuancheng, Li, Nan, Cheng, Xu, Zhang, Yifeng, Huang, Yongming, Lu, Guojun
- Authors: Liu, Yuan , Wang, Yuancheng , Li, Nan , Cheng, Xu , Zhang, Yifeng , Huang, Yongming , Lu, Guojun
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 2018 24th International Conference on Pattern Recognition, ICPR 2018; Beijing, China; 20th-24th August 2018 Vol. 2018, p. 2777-2784
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- Description: The main challenge of single image super resolution (SISR) is the recovery of high frequency details such as tiny textures. However, most of the state-of-the-art methods lack specific modules to identify high frequency areas, causing the output image to be blurred. We propose an attention-based approach to give a discrimination between texture areas and smooth areas. After the positions of high frequency details are located, high frequency compensation is carried out. This approach can incorporate with previously proposed SISR networks. By providing high frequency enhancement, better performance and visual effect are achieved. We also propose our own SISR network composed of DenseRes blocks. The block provides an effective way to combine the low level features and high level features. Extensive benchmark evaluation shows that our proposed method achieves significant improvement over the state-of-the-art works in SISR.
- Authors: Liu, Yuan , Wang, Yuancheng , Li, Nan , Cheng, Xu , Zhang, Yifeng , Huang, Yongming , Lu, Guojun
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 2018 24th International Conference on Pattern Recognition, ICPR 2018; Beijing, China; 20th-24th August 2018 Vol. 2018, p. 2777-2784
- Full Text:
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- Description: The main challenge of single image super resolution (SISR) is the recovery of high frequency details such as tiny textures. However, most of the state-of-the-art methods lack specific modules to identify high frequency areas, causing the output image to be blurred. We propose an attention-based approach to give a discrimination between texture areas and smooth areas. After the positions of high frequency details are located, high frequency compensation is carried out. This approach can incorporate with previously proposed SISR networks. By providing high frequency enhancement, better performance and visual effect are achieved. We also propose our own SISR network composed of DenseRes blocks. The block provides an effective way to combine the low level features and high level features. Extensive benchmark evaluation shows that our proposed method achieves significant improvement over the state-of-the-art works in SISR.
Analysis of Classifiers for Prediction of Type II Diabetes Mellitus
- Barhate, Rahul, Kulkarni, Pradnya
- Authors: Barhate, Rahul , Kulkarni, Pradnya
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 4th International Conference on Computing, Communication Control and Automation, ICCUBEA 2018
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- Description: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease and a health challenge worldwide. According to the International Diabetes Federation, 451 million people across the globe have diabetes, with this number anticipated to rise up to 693 million people by 2045. It has been shown that 80% of the complications arising from type II diabetes can be prevented or delayed by early identification of the people who are at risk. Diabetes is difficult to diagnose in the early stages as its symptoms grow subtly and gradually. In a majority of the cases, the patients remain undiagnosed until they are admitted for a heart attack or begin to lose their sight. This paper analyzes the different classification algorithms based on a patient's health history to aid doctors identify the presence of as well as promote early diagnosis and treatment. The experiments were conducted on Pima Indian Diabetes data set. Various classifiers used include K Nearest Neighbors, Logistic Regression, Decision Trees, Random Forest, Gradient Boosting, Support Vector Machine and Neural Network. Results demonstrate that Random Forests performed well on the data set giving an accuracy of 79.7%. © 2018 IEEE.
- Description: E1
- Authors: Barhate, Rahul , Kulkarni, Pradnya
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 4th International Conference on Computing, Communication Control and Automation, ICCUBEA 2018
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease and a health challenge worldwide. According to the International Diabetes Federation, 451 million people across the globe have diabetes, with this number anticipated to rise up to 693 million people by 2045. It has been shown that 80% of the complications arising from type II diabetes can be prevented or delayed by early identification of the people who are at risk. Diabetes is difficult to diagnose in the early stages as its symptoms grow subtly and gradually. In a majority of the cases, the patients remain undiagnosed until they are admitted for a heart attack or begin to lose their sight. This paper analyzes the different classification algorithms based on a patient's health history to aid doctors identify the presence of as well as promote early diagnosis and treatment. The experiments were conducted on Pima Indian Diabetes data set. Various classifiers used include K Nearest Neighbors, Logistic Regression, Decision Trees, Random Forest, Gradient Boosting, Support Vector Machine and Neural Network. Results demonstrate that Random Forests performed well on the data set giving an accuracy of 79.7%. © 2018 IEEE.
- Description: E1
Enhanced colour image retrieval with cuboid segmentation
- Murshed, Manzur, Karmakar, Priyabrata, Teng, Shyh, Lu, Guojun
- Authors: Murshed, Manzur , Karmakar, Priyabrata , Teng, Shyh , Lu, Guojun
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 2018 International Conference on Digital Image Computing: Techniques and Applications, DICTA 2018; Canberra, Australia; 10th-13th December 2018
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- Description: In this paper, we further investigate our recently proposed cuboid image segmentation algorithm for effective image retrieval. Instead of using all cuboids (i.e. segments), we have proposed two approaches to choose different subsets of cuboids appropriately. With the experimental results on eBay dataset, we have shown that our proposals outperform retrieval performance of the existing technique. In addition, we have investigated how many segments are required for the most effective image retrieval and provide a quick method to determine the suitable number of cuboids.
- Description: 2018 International Conference on Digital Image Computing: Techniques and Applications, DICTA 2018
- Authors: Murshed, Manzur , Karmakar, Priyabrata , Teng, Shyh , Lu, Guojun
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 2018 International Conference on Digital Image Computing: Techniques and Applications, DICTA 2018; Canberra, Australia; 10th-13th December 2018
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In this paper, we further investigate our recently proposed cuboid image segmentation algorithm for effective image retrieval. Instead of using all cuboids (i.e. segments), we have proposed two approaches to choose different subsets of cuboids appropriately. With the experimental results on eBay dataset, we have shown that our proposals outperform retrieval performance of the existing technique. In addition, we have investigated how many segments are required for the most effective image retrieval and provide a quick method to determine the suitable number of cuboids.
- Description: 2018 International Conference on Digital Image Computing: Techniques and Applications, DICTA 2018
Experimental evaluation of methods for reclaiming sulfur loaded amine absorbents
- Garg, Bharti, Pearson, Pauline, Cousins, Ashleigh, Verheyen, Vincent, Puxty, Graeme, Feron, Paul
- Authors: Garg, Bharti , Pearson, Pauline , Cousins, Ashleigh , Verheyen, Vincent , Puxty, Graeme , Feron, Paul
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 14th Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies Conference (GHGT-14); Melbourne, Australia; 21st-26th October 2018 p. 1-8
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- Description: Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a major flue gas contaminant that has a direct effect on the performance of amine-based carbon dioxide capture units operating on power plant flue gases. In many countries, flue gas desulfurisation (FGD) is an essential upstream requirement to CO2 capture systems, thereby increasing the overall operational and capital cost of the capture system. In Australia, the efficacy of CO2 capture may be compromised by the accumulation of SO2 in the absorption solvent. CSIRO’s CS-Cap process is designed to capture of both these acidic gases in one absorption column, thereby eliminating the need for a separate FGD unit which could potentially save millions of dollars. Previous research at CSIRO’s post-combustion capture pilot plant at Loy Yang power station has shown that mono-ethanolamine (MEA) solvent absorbs both CO2 and SO2, resulting in a spent amine absorbent rich in sulfates. Further development of the CS-Cap concept requires a deeper understanding of the properties of the sulfate-rich absorbent and the conditions under which it can be effectively regenerated. In the present study, thermal reclamation and reactive crystallisation processes were investigated, allowing the parameters affecting the regeneration of sulfate-loaded amine to be identified. It was found that amine losses were considerably higher in thermal reclamation than in reactive precipitation. During thermal reclamation, vacuum conditions were more effective than atmospheric, and pH of the initial solution played a significant role in recovery of MEA from the sulfate-rich absorbent. Reactive crystallisation could be effectively accomplished with the addition of KOH. An advantage of this process was that high purity K2SO4 crystals (~99%) were formed, despite the presence of degradation products in the solvent.
- Authors: Garg, Bharti , Pearson, Pauline , Cousins, Ashleigh , Verheyen, Vincent , Puxty, Graeme , Feron, Paul
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 14th Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies Conference (GHGT-14); Melbourne, Australia; 21st-26th October 2018 p. 1-8
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a major flue gas contaminant that has a direct effect on the performance of amine-based carbon dioxide capture units operating on power plant flue gases. In many countries, flue gas desulfurisation (FGD) is an essential upstream requirement to CO2 capture systems, thereby increasing the overall operational and capital cost of the capture system. In Australia, the efficacy of CO2 capture may be compromised by the accumulation of SO2 in the absorption solvent. CSIRO’s CS-Cap process is designed to capture of both these acidic gases in one absorption column, thereby eliminating the need for a separate FGD unit which could potentially save millions of dollars. Previous research at CSIRO’s post-combustion capture pilot plant at Loy Yang power station has shown that mono-ethanolamine (MEA) solvent absorbs both CO2 and SO2, resulting in a spent amine absorbent rich in sulfates. Further development of the CS-Cap concept requires a deeper understanding of the properties of the sulfate-rich absorbent and the conditions under which it can be effectively regenerated. In the present study, thermal reclamation and reactive crystallisation processes were investigated, allowing the parameters affecting the regeneration of sulfate-loaded amine to be identified. It was found that amine losses were considerably higher in thermal reclamation than in reactive precipitation. During thermal reclamation, vacuum conditions were more effective than atmospheric, and pH of the initial solution played a significant role in recovery of MEA from the sulfate-rich absorbent. Reactive crystallisation could be effectively accomplished with the addition of KOH. An advantage of this process was that high purity K2SO4 crystals (~99%) were formed, despite the presence of degradation products in the solvent.
Exploiting user provided information in dynamic consolidation of virtual machines to minimize energy consumption of cloud data centers
- Khan, Anit, Paplinski, Andrew, Khan, Abdul, Murshed, Manzur, Buyya, Rajkumar
- Authors: Khan, Anit , Paplinski, Andrew , Khan, Abdul , Murshed, Manzur , Buyya, Rajkumar
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 3rd International Conference on Fog and Mobile Edge Computing, FMEC 2018; Barcelona, Spain; 23rd-26th April 2018; p. 105-114
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- Description: Dynamic consolidation of Virtual Machines (VMs) can effectively enhance the resource utilization and energy-efficiency of the Cloud Data Centers (CDC). Existing research on Cloud resource reservation and scheduling signify that Cloud Service Users (CSUs) can play a crucial role in improving the resource utilization by providing valuable information to Cloud service providers. However, utilization of CSUs' provided information in minimization of energy consumption of CDC is a novel research direction. The challenges herein are twofold. First, finding the right benign information to be received from a CSU which can complement the energy-efficiency of CDC. Second, smart application of such information to significantly reduce the energy consumption of CDC. To address those research challenges, we have proposed a novel heuristic Dynamic VM Consolidation algorithm, RTDVMC, which minimizes the energy consumption of CDC through exploiting CSU provided information. Our research exemplifies the fact that if VMs are dynamically consolidated based on the time when a VM can be removed from CDC-a useful information to be received from respective CSU, then more physical machines can be turned into sleep state, yielding lower energy consumption. We have simulated the performance of RTDVMC with real Cloud workload traces originated from more than 800 PlanetLab VMs. The empirical figures affirm the superiority of RTDVMC over existing prominent Static and Adaptive Threshold based DVMC algorithms.
- Authors: Khan, Anit , Paplinski, Andrew , Khan, Abdul , Murshed, Manzur , Buyya, Rajkumar
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 3rd International Conference on Fog and Mobile Edge Computing, FMEC 2018; Barcelona, Spain; 23rd-26th April 2018; p. 105-114
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Dynamic consolidation of Virtual Machines (VMs) can effectively enhance the resource utilization and energy-efficiency of the Cloud Data Centers (CDC). Existing research on Cloud resource reservation and scheduling signify that Cloud Service Users (CSUs) can play a crucial role in improving the resource utilization by providing valuable information to Cloud service providers. However, utilization of CSUs' provided information in minimization of energy consumption of CDC is a novel research direction. The challenges herein are twofold. First, finding the right benign information to be received from a CSU which can complement the energy-efficiency of CDC. Second, smart application of such information to significantly reduce the energy consumption of CDC. To address those research challenges, we have proposed a novel heuristic Dynamic VM Consolidation algorithm, RTDVMC, which minimizes the energy consumption of CDC through exploiting CSU provided information. Our research exemplifies the fact that if VMs are dynamically consolidated based on the time when a VM can be removed from CDC-a useful information to be received from respective CSU, then more physical machines can be turned into sleep state, yielding lower energy consumption. We have simulated the performance of RTDVMC with real Cloud workload traces originated from more than 800 PlanetLab VMs. The empirical figures affirm the superiority of RTDVMC over existing prominent Static and Adaptive Threshold based DVMC algorithms.
Exploring a flow regime and its historical changes downstream of an urbanised catchment
- Ebbs, David, Dahlhaus, Peter, Barton, Andrew, Kandra, Harpreet
- Authors: Ebbs, David , Dahlhaus, Peter , Barton, Andrew , Kandra, Harpreet
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 10th International Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design: Creating water sensitive communities (WSUD 2018 & Hydropolis 2018), Perth, Western Australia p. 131-141
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- Description: The rapid growth of Ballarat's urban area, an inland city of approximately 100,000 people in south-eastern Australia, suggests that it is suitable for stormwater capture and reuse. With a threefold increase in the number of dwellings in recent decades, along with a 90% increase in their average size, it should follow that there is evidence of more flow being generated from the urban areas. However, while additional runoff from the growth of impervious areas may be occurring, the overall flow in the receiving river has dramatically reduced with a 60% decrease in the rainfall-runoff relationship since 1997. This reduction in river flow seems disproportionate to any association with the Millennium Drought which occurred during 1997 to 2009. The evidence of river flow has been complicated by other changes in the catchment. A change in the rainfall-runoff relationship has been identified in other similar catchments, and may lead to significant impacts on water resource management over the long term. To better understand the impacts on river flow downstream of an urbanised catchment, the flow has been partitioned into various components over time using the daily stream flow data available from 1957. Base flow, calculated as the stream flow after periods of four or more days without rain, has decreased. Transfers, predominantly from other catchments for use as potable supply and entering the river via the waste water treatment plant, have remained steady, but now make up the vast majority of dry weather flow. While climatic variations have impacted the river significantly the actual streamflow reduction has been twice that predicted by data from the Australian Water Resources Assessment. A significant increase in the number of small farm dams due to the expansion of peri-urban living around Ballarat explains a further portion of the flow reduction. This paper highlights multiple factors which influence river flow and demonstrates how increases in urbanised area do not necessarily create additional river flow at larger aggregate scales. The investigation therefore provides a cautionary tale around assumptions of stormwater harvesting and any perceived benefit to river flow, and provides insights into the importance of collecting water information of the correct type and scale to help inform future integrated urban water management efforts.
- Authors: Ebbs, David , Dahlhaus, Peter , Barton, Andrew , Kandra, Harpreet
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 10th International Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design: Creating water sensitive communities (WSUD 2018 & Hydropolis 2018), Perth, Western Australia p. 131-141
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- Description: The rapid growth of Ballarat's urban area, an inland city of approximately 100,000 people in south-eastern Australia, suggests that it is suitable for stormwater capture and reuse. With a threefold increase in the number of dwellings in recent decades, along with a 90% increase in their average size, it should follow that there is evidence of more flow being generated from the urban areas. However, while additional runoff from the growth of impervious areas may be occurring, the overall flow in the receiving river has dramatically reduced with a 60% decrease in the rainfall-runoff relationship since 1997. This reduction in river flow seems disproportionate to any association with the Millennium Drought which occurred during 1997 to 2009. The evidence of river flow has been complicated by other changes in the catchment. A change in the rainfall-runoff relationship has been identified in other similar catchments, and may lead to significant impacts on water resource management over the long term. To better understand the impacts on river flow downstream of an urbanised catchment, the flow has been partitioned into various components over time using the daily stream flow data available from 1957. Base flow, calculated as the stream flow after periods of four or more days without rain, has decreased. Transfers, predominantly from other catchments for use as potable supply and entering the river via the waste water treatment plant, have remained steady, but now make up the vast majority of dry weather flow. While climatic variations have impacted the river significantly the actual streamflow reduction has been twice that predicted by data from the Australian Water Resources Assessment. A significant increase in the number of small farm dams due to the expansion of peri-urban living around Ballarat explains a further portion of the flow reduction. This paper highlights multiple factors which influence river flow and demonstrates how increases in urbanised area do not necessarily create additional river flow at larger aggregate scales. The investigation therefore provides a cautionary tale around assumptions of stormwater harvesting and any perceived benefit to river flow, and provides insights into the importance of collecting water information of the correct type and scale to help inform future integrated urban water management efforts.
Losing stormwater: 60 years of urbanisation and reduced downstream flow
- Ebbs, David, Dahlhaus, Peter, Barton, Andrew, Kandra, Harpreet
- Authors: Ebbs, David , Dahlhaus, Peter , Barton, Andrew , Kandra, Harpreet
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 10th International Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design: Creating water sensitive communities (WSUD 2018 & Hydropolis 2018), 12-15 February 2018, Perth, Western Australia p. 142-151
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The potential for stormwater to supplement traditional water supplies from upstream catchments or groundwater is high, with claims that the quantity of additional runoff from impervious surfaces in a modern city in a temperate climate is greater than the total potable water demand. To ensure the success of Integrated Urban Water Management, it must consider the broad context of catchment management and the cumulative effect of all factors including river health. Ballarat, an inland city of approximately 100,000 people in south-eastern Australia, has many attributes necessary to potentially exploit stormwater. Given the doubling of population, tripling of residences and 90% increase in average residence size over the past 60 years, over which time flow data is available for the downstream waterway, it might be expected that the flow in the river downstream of the city within the catchment would reflect additional stormwater runoff. However, no increase in flow was detected between 1957 and 1996 while flow over the past 20 years has reduced by 60%. A water balance shows this decrease was not due to extractions as the stream has been a consistent net receiver of water from other catchments. Modelling data from the Australian Water Resources Assessment indicates that the reduction in streamflow is double what might be expected due to climatic variations. Between 1957 and 1996 there was no significant difference between modelled runoff and actual flow, however from 1997 onwards there is a significant divergence. While lower runoff may be expected during the period of drought, the rainfall-runoff relationship does not return to previous levels during latter years of rainfall. The effect is greater during higher flow months, which has significance when identifying potential additional water resources. Base flow has been reduced to the point where dry weather flow is reliant on waste water treatment plant and mine discharge. This study indicates that while impervious surfaces generate higher runoff which can cause environmental damage, making stormwater an attractive water source, consideration must be given to the impacts on the whole catchment when assessing alternative supply options.
- Authors: Ebbs, David , Dahlhaus, Peter , Barton, Andrew , Kandra, Harpreet
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 10th International Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design: Creating water sensitive communities (WSUD 2018 & Hydropolis 2018), 12-15 February 2018, Perth, Western Australia p. 142-151
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The potential for stormwater to supplement traditional water supplies from upstream catchments or groundwater is high, with claims that the quantity of additional runoff from impervious surfaces in a modern city in a temperate climate is greater than the total potable water demand. To ensure the success of Integrated Urban Water Management, it must consider the broad context of catchment management and the cumulative effect of all factors including river health. Ballarat, an inland city of approximately 100,000 people in south-eastern Australia, has many attributes necessary to potentially exploit stormwater. Given the doubling of population, tripling of residences and 90% increase in average residence size over the past 60 years, over which time flow data is available for the downstream waterway, it might be expected that the flow in the river downstream of the city within the catchment would reflect additional stormwater runoff. However, no increase in flow was detected between 1957 and 1996 while flow over the past 20 years has reduced by 60%. A water balance shows this decrease was not due to extractions as the stream has been a consistent net receiver of water from other catchments. Modelling data from the Australian Water Resources Assessment indicates that the reduction in streamflow is double what might be expected due to climatic variations. Between 1957 and 1996 there was no significant difference between modelled runoff and actual flow, however from 1997 onwards there is a significant divergence. While lower runoff may be expected during the period of drought, the rainfall-runoff relationship does not return to previous levels during latter years of rainfall. The effect is greater during higher flow months, which has significance when identifying potential additional water resources. Base flow has been reduced to the point where dry weather flow is reliant on waste water treatment plant and mine discharge. This study indicates that while impervious surfaces generate higher runoff which can cause environmental damage, making stormwater an attractive water source, consideration must be given to the impacts on the whole catchment when assessing alternative supply options.
Oscillations in low-dimensional cyclic differential delay systems
- Ivanov, Anatoli,, Dzalilov, Zari
- Authors: Ivanov, Anatoli, , Dzalilov, Zari
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: International conference on Applied Mathematics, Modeling and Computational Science, AMMCS 2017, Waterloo, Canada, August 20–25, 2017 Vol. 259, p. 603-613
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- Description: Nonlinear autonomous N-dimensional systems of cyclic differential equations with delays and overall negative feedback are considered. Such systems serve as mathematical models of numerous real world phenomena in physics and laser optics, physiology and mathematical biology, economics and life sciences among others. In the case of lower dimensions and sufficient conditions are derived for the oscillation of all solutions about the unique equilibrium. Open problems and conjectures are discussed for the higher dimensional case and for more convoluted sign feedbacks. © 2018, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
- Authors: Ivanov, Anatoli, , Dzalilov, Zari
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: International conference on Applied Mathematics, Modeling and Computational Science, AMMCS 2017, Waterloo, Canada, August 20–25, 2017 Vol. 259, p. 603-613
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Nonlinear autonomous N-dimensional systems of cyclic differential equations with delays and overall negative feedback are considered. Such systems serve as mathematical models of numerous real world phenomena in physics and laser optics, physiology and mathematical biology, economics and life sciences among others. In the case of lower dimensions and sufficient conditions are derived for the oscillation of all solutions about the unique equilibrium. Open problems and conjectures are discussed for the higher dimensional case and for more convoluted sign feedbacks. © 2018, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
Passive detection of splicing and copy-move attacks in image forgery
- Islam, Mohammad, Kamruzzaman, Joarder, Karmakar, Gour, Murshed, Manzur, Kahandawa, Gayan
- Authors: Islam, Mohammad , Kamruzzaman, Joarder , Karmakar, Gour , Murshed, Manzur , Kahandawa, Gayan
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 25th International Conference on Neural Information Processing, ICONIP 2018; Siem Reap, Cambodia; 13th-16th December 2018; published in Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics) Vol. 11304 LNCS, p. 555-567
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- Description: Internet of Things (IoT) image sensors for surveillance and monitoring, digital cameras, smart phones and social media generate huge volume of digital images every day. Image splicing and copy-move attacks are the most common types of image forgery that can be done very easily using modern photo editing software. Recently, digital forensics has drawn much attention to detect such tampering on images. In this paper, we introduce a novel feature extraction technique, namely Sum of Relevant Inter-Cell Values (SRIV) using which we propose a passive (blind) image forgery detection method based on Discrete Cosine Transformation (DCT) and Local Binary Pattern (LBP). First, the input image is divided into non-overlapping blocks and 2D block DCT is applied to capture the changes of a tampered image in the frequency domain. Then LBP operator is applied to enhance the local changes among the neighbouring DCT coefficients, magnifying the changes in high frequency components resulting from splicing and copy-move attacks. The resulting LBP image is again divided into non-overlapping blocks. Finally, SRIV is applied on the LBP image blocks to extract features which are then fed into a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier to identify forged images from authentic ones. Extensive experiment on four well-known benchmark datasets of tampered images reveal the superiority of our method over recent state-of-the-art methods.
- Authors: Islam, Mohammad , Kamruzzaman, Joarder , Karmakar, Gour , Murshed, Manzur , Kahandawa, Gayan
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 25th International Conference on Neural Information Processing, ICONIP 2018; Siem Reap, Cambodia; 13th-16th December 2018; published in Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics) Vol. 11304 LNCS, p. 555-567
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Internet of Things (IoT) image sensors for surveillance and monitoring, digital cameras, smart phones and social media generate huge volume of digital images every day. Image splicing and copy-move attacks are the most common types of image forgery that can be done very easily using modern photo editing software. Recently, digital forensics has drawn much attention to detect such tampering on images. In this paper, we introduce a novel feature extraction technique, namely Sum of Relevant Inter-Cell Values (SRIV) using which we propose a passive (blind) image forgery detection method based on Discrete Cosine Transformation (DCT) and Local Binary Pattern (LBP). First, the input image is divided into non-overlapping blocks and 2D block DCT is applied to capture the changes of a tampered image in the frequency domain. Then LBP operator is applied to enhance the local changes among the neighbouring DCT coefficients, magnifying the changes in high frequency components resulting from splicing and copy-move attacks. The resulting LBP image is again divided into non-overlapping blocks. Finally, SRIV is applied on the LBP image blocks to extract features which are then fed into a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier to identify forged images from authentic ones. Extensive experiment on four well-known benchmark datasets of tampered images reveal the superiority of our method over recent state-of-the-art methods.
Permit-to-work systems as a health and safety risk control strategy in mining : A prospective study in resilience engineering
- Pillay, Manikam, Tuck, Michael
- Authors: Pillay, Manikam , Tuck, Michael
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: AHFE 2017 International Conference on Human Error, Reliability, Resilience, and Performance, 2017 : Advances in Human Error, Reliability, Resilience, and Performance; Los Angeles, USA; 17th-21st July 2017; published in Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing Vol. 589, p. 145-154
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- Description: Mining is an important contributor to the social and economic fabric of our society. However, it is also considered to be one of the most dangerous industries. Compared to manufacturing, mining is generally regarded as a more complex industry to work in, creating additional challenges for policy makers, researchers and practitioners. This paper first discusses the state of mining health and safety in Australia, followed by an examination of some of the complexities that characterizes the industry. Next one contemporary approach, permit-to-work systems (PTW), is introduced, followed by a review of the literature relating to its use as a health and safety risk control strategy. This is followed by a discussion of Resilience engineering (RE) as an innovation in health and safety management, and a case made for investigating RE as a safety management strategy using PTW systems. The paper concludes by suggesting a pragmatism research framework and two organizational theories upon which such research can be advanced. © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of United Kingdom 2018.
- Authors: Pillay, Manikam , Tuck, Michael
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: AHFE 2017 International Conference on Human Error, Reliability, Resilience, and Performance, 2017 : Advances in Human Error, Reliability, Resilience, and Performance; Los Angeles, USA; 17th-21st July 2017; published in Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing Vol. 589, p. 145-154
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Mining is an important contributor to the social and economic fabric of our society. However, it is also considered to be one of the most dangerous industries. Compared to manufacturing, mining is generally regarded as a more complex industry to work in, creating additional challenges for policy makers, researchers and practitioners. This paper first discusses the state of mining health and safety in Australia, followed by an examination of some of the complexities that characterizes the industry. Next one contemporary approach, permit-to-work systems (PTW), is introduced, followed by a review of the literature relating to its use as a health and safety risk control strategy. This is followed by a discussion of Resilience engineering (RE) as an innovation in health and safety management, and a case made for investigating RE as a safety management strategy using PTW systems. The paper concludes by suggesting a pragmatism research framework and two organizational theories upon which such research can be advanced. © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of United Kingdom 2018.
Regression modelling for prediction of clogging in non-vegetated stormwater filters
- Meade, Ben, Khorshidi, Hadi, Kandra, Harpreet, Barton, Andrew
- Authors: Meade, Ben , Khorshidi, Hadi , Kandra, Harpreet , Barton, Andrew
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 10th International Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design: Creating water sensitive communities (WSUD 2018 & Hydropolis 2018), 12-15 February 2018, Perth, Western Australia p. 8
- Full Text:
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- Authors: Meade, Ben , Khorshidi, Hadi , Kandra, Harpreet , Barton, Andrew
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 10th International Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design: Creating water sensitive communities (WSUD 2018 & Hydropolis 2018), 12-15 February 2018, Perth, Western Australia p. 8
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
Review of the roadmap for implementing the SDGs in Timor-Leste: Achievements and limitations
- Courvisanos, Jerry, Boavida, Matias
- Authors: Courvisanos, Jerry , Boavida, Matias
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Timor-Leste Studies Association's 'New Research on Timor-Leste' conference, Sixth TLSA, 29th- 30th June, 2017 p. 186-193
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- Description: On 23 September 2015 under Government Resolution No34/2015, the Timor-Leste Government (RDTL) adopted the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for attainment by 2030. The ‘roadmap’, as set up by the Prime Minster (PM), His Excellency Dr Rui Maria de Araújo and his SDG Working Group, specified the need to ‘harmonise’ the SDGs in the context of its strong commitment to the 2011-2030 Strategic Development Plan (SDP). This ‘roadmap’ approach was endorsed by the RDTL (2017). This paper reviews the roadmap by asking the following question: How has the RDTL been able to harmonise the SDGs with the existing SDP that currently guides policy in the economy? Based on an ‘eco- sustainable framework’ originally developed in Courvisanos (2005), this paper identifies both achievements and limitations of this roadmap. A deep six-month country-wide field-based method was undertaken for this review. Elements of a transition path towards an alternative sustainable development economic development for this fledgling nation are noted at the end.
- Authors: Courvisanos, Jerry , Boavida, Matias
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Timor-Leste Studies Association's 'New Research on Timor-Leste' conference, Sixth TLSA, 29th- 30th June, 2017 p. 186-193
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: On 23 September 2015 under Government Resolution No34/2015, the Timor-Leste Government (RDTL) adopted the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for attainment by 2030. The ‘roadmap’, as set up by the Prime Minster (PM), His Excellency Dr Rui Maria de Araújo and his SDG Working Group, specified the need to ‘harmonise’ the SDGs in the context of its strong commitment to the 2011-2030 Strategic Development Plan (SDP). This ‘roadmap’ approach was endorsed by the RDTL (2017). This paper reviews the roadmap by asking the following question: How has the RDTL been able to harmonise the SDGs with the existing SDP that currently guides policy in the economy? Based on an ‘eco- sustainable framework’ originally developed in Courvisanos (2005), this paper identifies both achievements and limitations of this roadmap. A deep six-month country-wide field-based method was undertaken for this review. Elements of a transition path towards an alternative sustainable development economic development for this fledgling nation are noted at the end.
Testing the robustness of optimal operating plans under various future hydro-climatic scenarios
- Godoy, Walter, Barton, Andrew, Wilson, K., Perera, B.
- Authors: Godoy, Walter , Barton, Andrew , Wilson, K. , Perera, B.
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 2018 Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium: Water and Communities, HWRS 2018 p. 267-283
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: A key challenge for water resources planning processes around the world is to develop operating plans that are optimal under a range of hydro-climatic conditions. The consequences of such long term planning decisions can vary in terms of the social, economic, and environmental impacts. Given these potential impacts, it is important that operating plans are tested under a range of hydro-climatic conditions to ensure that they are sufficiently robust to withstand future changes in climate. The aim of this study is to present a procedure for testing the robustness of optimal operating plans for complex water resources systems using a combined multi-objective optimisation and sustainability assessment approach. The approach embeds an optimisation-simulation (O-S) model which is applied to an 18-objective function multi-objective optimisation problem of the Wimmera-Mallee Water Supply System (WMWSS). The WMWSS is a multi-reservoir system located in Western Victoria (Australia) which is operated to meet a range of competing interests for water using complex operating rules. The O-S model is applied to the WMWSS to search for optimal operating plans over a 100-year period into the future assuming two plausible greenhouse gas (GHG) emission levels. The two GHG emission scenarios represent lower and higher ends of the estimated range of projected GHG emissions, providing a wide range of future hydro-climatic conditions. A robustness test is used to evaluate the validity of the most sustainable optimal operating plans under the two GHG emmission scenarios and also those found previously under a historic hydro-climatic sequence. The test results show that the status quo or base case operating plan is optimal but is neither the highest nor the lowest in terms of the level of sustainability that could be achieved in the WMWSS, under historic and the higher GHG emission scenario. Moreover, the results show that the most sustainable optimal operating plans found under the three hydro-climatic scenarios are sufficiently robust to withstand the full range of hydro-climatic conditions considered whereas the base case operating plan is not as robust. The risks involved in the implementation of operating plans which exhibit large deviations from the base case operating plan are discussed. These risks highlight the importance of problem formulation and sensitivity analysis of the optimal operating plans in order to find real world solutions to real world problems. © CURRAN-CONFERENCE. All rights reserved.
- Authors: Godoy, Walter , Barton, Andrew , Wilson, K. , Perera, B.
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 2018 Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium: Water and Communities, HWRS 2018 p. 267-283
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: A key challenge for water resources planning processes around the world is to develop operating plans that are optimal under a range of hydro-climatic conditions. The consequences of such long term planning decisions can vary in terms of the social, economic, and environmental impacts. Given these potential impacts, it is important that operating plans are tested under a range of hydro-climatic conditions to ensure that they are sufficiently robust to withstand future changes in climate. The aim of this study is to present a procedure for testing the robustness of optimal operating plans for complex water resources systems using a combined multi-objective optimisation and sustainability assessment approach. The approach embeds an optimisation-simulation (O-S) model which is applied to an 18-objective function multi-objective optimisation problem of the Wimmera-Mallee Water Supply System (WMWSS). The WMWSS is a multi-reservoir system located in Western Victoria (Australia) which is operated to meet a range of competing interests for water using complex operating rules. The O-S model is applied to the WMWSS to search for optimal operating plans over a 100-year period into the future assuming two plausible greenhouse gas (GHG) emission levels. The two GHG emission scenarios represent lower and higher ends of the estimated range of projected GHG emissions, providing a wide range of future hydro-climatic conditions. A robustness test is used to evaluate the validity of the most sustainable optimal operating plans under the two GHG emmission scenarios and also those found previously under a historic hydro-climatic sequence. The test results show that the status quo or base case operating plan is optimal but is neither the highest nor the lowest in terms of the level of sustainability that could be achieved in the WMWSS, under historic and the higher GHG emission scenario. Moreover, the results show that the most sustainable optimal operating plans found under the three hydro-climatic scenarios are sufficiently robust to withstand the full range of hydro-climatic conditions considered whereas the base case operating plan is not as robust. The risks involved in the implementation of operating plans which exhibit large deviations from the base case operating plan are discussed. These risks highlight the importance of problem formulation and sensitivity analysis of the optimal operating plans in order to find real world solutions to real world problems. © CURRAN-CONFERENCE. All rights reserved.
A weighted sustainability index for selection of optimal operating plans
- Godoy, W., Barton, Andrew, Perera, B., Szemis, J.
- Authors: Godoy, W. , Barton, Andrew , Perera, B. , Szemis, J.
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 22nd International Congress on Modelling and Simulation: Managing Cumulative Risks through Model-Based Processes, MODSIM 2017 - Held jointly with the 25th National Conference of the Australian Society for Operations Research and the DST Group led Defence Operations Research Symposium, DORS 2017 p. 1378-1384
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The Wimmera Mallee Pipeline Project (WMPP) provides reticulated water to 36 towns and about 6000 farms across an area of approximately 2 million hectares and forms part of the Wimmera-Mallee Water Supply System (WMWSS). The WMWSS is a multi-reservoir system located in Western Victoria (Australia) which is operated to meet a range of conflicting interests for water using complex operating rules. Since completion in 2010, the pipeline has vastly improved efficiencies in the supply of water, with water savings being returned to the environment, existing consumptive use and new development. However, one of the major challenges for managers of these water recovery projects is to determine the most effective or optimal operational strategy to meet the needs of all water users. In Victoria, these often conflicting interests to water have traditionally been addressed through a consultative process supported by surface water simulation modelling. Simulation models attempt to represent all the major characteristics of a system and are suited to examine “what if?” scenarios. Whilst such models are highly effective in demonstrating the effect of changes in system operation, the modelling process is limited to finding one solution at a time for a given set of conditions. Optimisation models have also proven to be effective tools but unlike simulation models are characterised by a numeric search technique and are better suited to address “what should be?” questions. In recent times there has been growing interest in linking optimisation techniques with simulation models in order to build on the strengths of both modelling approaches in the search for optimal solutions. The general structure of this combined modelling technique provides for an iterative process; simulation outputs are used to quantify the effect of candidate solutions which are in turn passed to the search engine to find optimal solutions. The process of selecting the most preferred optimal solution brings together two aspects of multi-objective optimisation, namely; (i) the quantitative characteristics of these solutions relative to other solutions; and (ii) the higher level qualitative information in the form of stakeholders’ preferences. The aim of this study is to incorporate stakeholder preferences into a sustainability index which has been previously used to evaluate and compare optimal operating plans for the WMWSS. In that previous study, Godoy et al. (2015) applied a multi-objective optimisation and sustainability assessment approach to an 18-objective function multi-objective optimisation problem (MOOP) which represented a range of interests for water. For the present study, the same interests are described in terms of three broad categories i.e. strong environmental preferences, strong social preferences, and strong preferences for the needs of consumptive users. A weighted sustainability index is presented which incorporates these preferences in the original sustainability index formulation. This weighted sustainability index is used to select preferred optimal operating plans previously found by the optimisation-simulation modelling. The results showed that the weighted sustainability index provided a simple means to incorporate stakeholders’ preferences into the selection process and inform the decision maker of a stakeholder’s uncertainty about their values and priorities for water. © 2017 Proceedings - 22nd International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, MODSIM 2017. All rights reserved.
- Authors: Godoy, W. , Barton, Andrew , Perera, B. , Szemis, J.
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 22nd International Congress on Modelling and Simulation: Managing Cumulative Risks through Model-Based Processes, MODSIM 2017 - Held jointly with the 25th National Conference of the Australian Society for Operations Research and the DST Group led Defence Operations Research Symposium, DORS 2017 p. 1378-1384
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The Wimmera Mallee Pipeline Project (WMPP) provides reticulated water to 36 towns and about 6000 farms across an area of approximately 2 million hectares and forms part of the Wimmera-Mallee Water Supply System (WMWSS). The WMWSS is a multi-reservoir system located in Western Victoria (Australia) which is operated to meet a range of conflicting interests for water using complex operating rules. Since completion in 2010, the pipeline has vastly improved efficiencies in the supply of water, with water savings being returned to the environment, existing consumptive use and new development. However, one of the major challenges for managers of these water recovery projects is to determine the most effective or optimal operational strategy to meet the needs of all water users. In Victoria, these often conflicting interests to water have traditionally been addressed through a consultative process supported by surface water simulation modelling. Simulation models attempt to represent all the major characteristics of a system and are suited to examine “what if?” scenarios. Whilst such models are highly effective in demonstrating the effect of changes in system operation, the modelling process is limited to finding one solution at a time for a given set of conditions. Optimisation models have also proven to be effective tools but unlike simulation models are characterised by a numeric search technique and are better suited to address “what should be?” questions. In recent times there has been growing interest in linking optimisation techniques with simulation models in order to build on the strengths of both modelling approaches in the search for optimal solutions. The general structure of this combined modelling technique provides for an iterative process; simulation outputs are used to quantify the effect of candidate solutions which are in turn passed to the search engine to find optimal solutions. The process of selecting the most preferred optimal solution brings together two aspects of multi-objective optimisation, namely; (i) the quantitative characteristics of these solutions relative to other solutions; and (ii) the higher level qualitative information in the form of stakeholders’ preferences. The aim of this study is to incorporate stakeholder preferences into a sustainability index which has been previously used to evaluate and compare optimal operating plans for the WMWSS. In that previous study, Godoy et al. (2015) applied a multi-objective optimisation and sustainability assessment approach to an 18-objective function multi-objective optimisation problem (MOOP) which represented a range of interests for water. For the present study, the same interests are described in terms of three broad categories i.e. strong environmental preferences, strong social preferences, and strong preferences for the needs of consumptive users. A weighted sustainability index is presented which incorporates these preferences in the original sustainability index formulation. This weighted sustainability index is used to select preferred optimal operating plans previously found by the optimisation-simulation modelling. The results showed that the weighted sustainability index provided a simple means to incorporate stakeholders’ preferences into the selection process and inform the decision maker of a stakeholder’s uncertainty about their values and priorities for water. © 2017 Proceedings - 22nd International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, MODSIM 2017. All rights reserved.