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Use of digital technology for research data and information transfer within the Australian grains sector : a case study using Online Farm Trials

- Ollerenshaw, Alison, Murphy, Angela, Walters, Judi, Robinson, Nathan, Thompson, Helen

  • Authors: Ollerenshaw, Alison , Murphy, Angela , Walters, Judi , Robinson, Nathan , Thompson, Helen
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Agricultural Systems Vol. 206, no. (2023), p.
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  • Description: CONTEXT: Agriculture is experiencing rapid change with the widespread availability of industry-specific technological and digital innovations. One example of this is Online Farm Trials (OFT), a user-facing web portal that systematises on-farm and field-based cropping research trial data for Australia's grains industry. The portal delivers access to research data, including legacy data, from thousands of grains trials projects that have been supplied by industry contributors. The portal is well established, having been informed by regular stakeholder input that has guided and informed the continued improvement of the portal from its development and implementation to continued operations. OBJECTIVE: Research was conducted across three time-points to assess the usage and application of OFT, and to examine its perceived impact on users to facilitate access to information supporting on-farm decision making and practice change within the Australian grains industry. METHODS: Quantitative and qualitative data (portal usage and website analytics, surveys, in-depth interviews) were collected at three time points over 6 years with the aim of examining the usage and application of the portal. Portal users, data contributors, and other stakeholders from the grains and agriculture industries participated in this research. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Over the three time points, a total of 89 surveys were completed and 49 interviews were conducted. Portal usage data confirms consistency in the number of visitors over time; most users of the portal were from Australia, with many accessing the portal on multiple occasions. Survey and interview data demonstrate that OFT is valued, widely used, and that the data on the portal are being broadly applied. Access to information and data through the portal (including legacy data) is used to support knowledge and to make sector-relevant decisions, and is assisting portal users in their workplace and work practices. The availability of data and information through the portal is increasing connections between industry and stakeholders across the grains sector. However, the trust and quality of contributor data has been consistently raised as a point of discussion by some portal users. SIGNIFICANCE: This research demonstrates the contribution that this data portal has on usage, adoption and application within the Australian grains industry. The insights and learnings about the application of digital technology for data and information access for the grains sector may be applicable to other agricultural sectors. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd

Development and governance of FAIR thresholds for a data federation

- Wong, Megan, Levett, Kerry, Lee, Ashlin, Box, Paul, Simons, Bruce, David, Rakesh, MacLeod, Andrew, Taylor, Nicolas, Schneider, Derek, Thompson, Helen

  • Authors: Wong, Megan , Levett, Kerry , Lee, Ashlin , Box, Paul , Simons, Bruce , David, Rakesh , MacLeod, Andrew , Taylor, Nicolas , Schneider, Derek , Thompson, Helen
  • Date: 2022
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Data Science Journal Vol. 21, no. (2022), p.
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  • Description: The FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and re-usable) principles and practice recommendations provide high level guidance and recommendations that are not research-domain specific in nature. There remains a gap in practice at the data provider and domain scientist level demonstrating how the FAIR principles can be applied beyond a set of generalist guidelines to meet the needs of a specific domain community. We present our insights developing FAIR thresholds in a domain specific context for self-governance by a community (agricultural research). ‘Minimum thresholds’ for FAIR data are required to align expectations for data delivered from providers’ distributed data stores through a community-governed federation (the Agricultural Research Federation, AgReFed). Data providers were supported to make data holdings more FAIR. There was a range of different FAIR starting points, organisational goals, and end user needs, solutions, and capabilities. This informed the distilling of a set of FAIR criteria ranging from ‘Minimum thresholds’ to ‘Stretch targets’. These were operationalised through consensus into a framework for governance and implementation by the agricultural research domain community. Improving the FAIR maturity of data took resourcing and incentive to do so, highlighting the challenge for data federations to generate value whilst reducing costs of participation. Our experience showed a role for supporting collective advocacy, relationship brokering, tailored support, and low-bar tooling access particularly across the areas of data structure, access and semantics that were challenging to domain researchers. Active democratic participation supported by a governance framework like AgReFed’s will ensure participants have a say in how federations can deliver individual and collective benefits for members. © 2022 The Author(s).

Increasing the digital literacy skills of regional SMEs through high-speed broadband access

- Ollerenshaw, Alison, Corbett, Jennifer, Thompson, Helen

  • Authors: Ollerenshaw, Alison , Corbett, Jennifer , Thompson, Helen
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Small Enterprise Research Vol. 28, no. 2 (May 2021), p. 115-133
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  • Description: Universal challenges exist for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in regional and rural areas to utilize digital technologies for entrepreneurial advancement. Barriers include insufficient understanding of digital technologies and a lack of skills necessary for digital adoption. In Australia, training programs were introduced to enhance the digital uptake for the business and community sectors. Research was conducted to examine the impact on participants’ perceived digital literacy awareness and knowledge of online services, and their skills development. Survey data was collected from program participants (n = 101) comprising SMEs and not-for-profit organizations (NFP), and from program mentors/facilitators (n = 9). The findings show that training supports knowledge transfer, learning and skills development, fostering confidence about digital technologies. It is recommended that ongoing training is delivered regionally so that SMEs and NFPs can exploit digital innovations within their businesses and organizations.

Opportunities for intra-university collaborations in the new research environment

- Steel, Kathryn, Thompson, Helen, Wright, Wendy

  • Authors: Steel, Kathryn , Thompson, Helen , Wright, Wendy
  • Date: 2019
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Higher Education Research and Development Vol. 38, no. 3 (2019), p. 638-652
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  • Description: New opportunities for research collaborations within universities are explored through reflection on a recent collaboration between an academic researcher, the library and the eResearch Centre at a regional Australian university. Such opportunities arise from significant changes to the research landscape, including increased emphasis on open access publication of research outputs and the growth of eResearch capabilities. The latter has resulted in increases in data size and complexity and provides opportunities for collaboration across research institutions. This article reflects on the dynamics and assesses the outcomes of a collaboration formed during an externally funded open research data project. This project and a precursor project are briefly described, together with the specific contribution of each collaborator. Collaboration dynamics and the reasons for project success are assessed, as are implications for future research practice. Outcomes from eResearch collaborations may provide broader benefits to universities, as well as rewards to academic researchers.

The role of interoperable data standards in precision livestock farming in extensive livestock systems : A review

- Bahlo, Christiane, Dahlhaus, Peter, Thompson, Helen, Trotter, Mark

  • Authors: Bahlo, Christiane , Dahlhaus, Peter , Thompson, Helen , Trotter, Mark
  • Date: 2019
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: Computers and Electronics in Agriculture Vol. 156, no. (2019), p. 459-466
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  • Description: Livestock industries are increasingly embracing precision farming and decision support tools. As a result, sensors, weather stations, individual animal tracking, feed monitoring and other sources create large data volumes, much of which is used only for a single purpose. There are unrealised potential benefits of making on farm data interoperable and accessible and federating it with public data sources. We reviewed recent literature on precision livestock farming (PLF) technologies in relation to the use of public data, open standards and interoperability. Livestock farms produce rising volumes of disparate private datasets, reflecting a variety of information needs and technological opportunities, but typically lacking interoperable formats and metadata. These as well as large amounts of accessible public datasets are currently underutilised in decision support tools. Tools that demonstrate the use of interoperable standards and bring together public and private data for decision support can enhance the value proposition and help lower barriers to the sharing and re-use of data. This review of interoperable standards in extensive livestock farming systems concludes that there is a need for not only a new type of decision support tool, but also a consensus on data exchange standards to prove the value of shared data at farm scale (commercial benefit) and a regional scale (public good). © 2018

An overview of geospatial methods used in unintentional injury epidemiology

- Singh, Himalaya, Fortington, Lauren, Thompson, Helen, Finch, Caroline

  • Authors: Singh, Himalaya , Fortington, Lauren , Thompson, Helen , Finch, Caroline
  • Date: 2016
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Injury Epidemiology Vol. 3, no. 32 (2016), p. 1-12
  • Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058737
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  • Description: BACKGROUND: Injuries are a leading cause of death and disability around the world. Injury incidence is often associated with socio-economic and physical environmental factors. The application of geospatial methods has been recognised as important to gain greater understanding of the complex nature of injury and the associated diverse range of geographically-diverse risk factors. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to provide an overview of geospatial methods applied in unintentional injury epidemiological studies. METHODS: Nine electronic databases were searched for papers published in 2000-2015, inclusive. Included were papers reporting unintentional injuries using geospatial methods for one or more categories of spatial epidemiological methods (mapping; clustering/cluster detection; and ecological analysis). Results describe the included injury cause categories, types of data and details relating to the applied geospatial methods. RESULTS: From over 6,000 articles, 67 studies met all inclusion criteria. The major categories of injury data reported with geospatial methods were road traffic (n = 36), falls (n = 11), burns (n = 9), drowning (n = 4), and others (n = 7). Grouped by categories, mapping was the most frequently used method, with 62 (93%) studies applying this approach independently or in conjunction with other geospatial methods. Clustering/cluster detection methods were less common, applied in 27 (40%) studies. Three studies (4%) applied spatial regression methods (one study using a conditional autoregressive model and two studies using geographically weighted regression) to examine the relationship between injury incidence (drowning, road deaths) with aggregated data in relation to explanatory factors (socio-economic and environmental). CONCLUSION: The number of studies using geospatial methods to investigate unintentional injuries has increased over recent years. While the majority of studies have focused on road traffic injuries, other injury cause categories, particularly falls and burns, have also demonstrated the application of these methods. Geospatial investigations of injury have largely been limited to mapping of data to visualise spatial structures. Use of more sophisticated approaches will help to understand a broader range of spatial risk factors, which remain under-explored when using traditional epidemiological approaches.

Historic urban landscapes and visualising Ballarat : Citizen participation for sustainable urban planning and design

- Murphy, Angela, Dahlhaus, Peter, Thompson, Helen

  • Authors: Murphy, Angela , Dahlhaus, Peter , Thompson, Helen
  • Date: 2016
  • Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
  • Relation: 3rd Annual Conference of Research@Locate, R@Loc 2016; Melbourne, Australia; 12th-14th April 2016; published in CEUR Workshop Proceedings
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  • Description: Technological innovation has provided enhanced capacity for knowledge building, for connection and for improved infrastructure planning in the development of the modern city. In parallel to the building of technology supported urban planning and design capacity, a debate has emerged around the need to maximise citizen participation in urban planning. The role of identity, culture and social context has been assessed as being as integral to sustainability in urban planning as is infrastructure management. In 2011 UNESCO, through the mechanism of the recommendation for Historic Urban Landscapes (HUL), created an imperative for the overt recognition of the role of culture, place and identity in sustainable urban planning. The City of Ballarat, Victoria, was the first of a series of international cities to pilot HUL and commit to inclusive citizen based collaboration in urban planning. Through online technology, a platform for partnership building was established. Developed and supported through the Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation at Federation University Australia, the HUL and Visualising Ballarat portals track the diversity of urban landscapes-from built environment to geomorphology to cultural identity-and facilitate their inclusion in planning and resource allocation. Crowdsourcing was promoted as pivotal in this process, while spatial innovation provided a means through which to bring to life the notion of distinctiveness, identity and place. Through mapping intangibles across complex and diverse groups within community, the potential for improving the quality and management of the planning process was found to be enhanced. Local Area Planning provided a mechanism for a conceptual alignment of past and present and the voice of community has gained a stronger (and more disruptive) voice in determining what communities' value within their lived environment. This shift was assessed as playing an important, and increasingly recognised, role in sustainable urban planning and design.
  • Description: CEUR Workshop Proceedings

Making the invisible visible : The impact of federating groundwater data in Victoria, Australia

- Dahlhaus, Peter, Murphy, Angela, MacLeod, Andrew, Thompson, Helen, McKenna, Kirsten, Ollerenshaw, Alison

  • Authors: Dahlhaus, Peter , Murphy, Angela , MacLeod, Andrew , Thompson, Helen , McKenna, Kirsten , Ollerenshaw, Alison
  • Date: 2016
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Hydroinformatics Vol. 18, no. 2 (2016), p. 238-255
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  • Description: The Visualising Victoria's Groundwater (VVG) web portal federates groundwater data for the State of Victoria, Australia, thus making legacy data, government datasets, research data and community sourced data and observations visible to the public. The portal is innovative because it was developed outside of the government and offers real-time accessto remote authoritative databases by integrating the interoperable web services they each provide. It includes tools for data querying and 3D visualisations that were designed to meet end-user needs and educate the broader community about a normally invisible resource. The social impact of the web portal was measured using multidisciplinary research that employed survey instruments, expert reference groups, and internet analytics to explore the extent to which the web portal has supported decision making by governments, industry, researchers and the community. The research found that single access, multiple data set web portals enhance capacity by providing timely, informed and accurate responses to answer queries and increase productivity by saving time. The provision of multiple datasets from disparate sources within a single portal has changed practices in the Victorian groundwater industry. © 2016 The Authors.

Spatial epidemiology : A new approach for understanding and preventing sport injuries

- Singh, Himalaya, Fortington, Lauren, Eime, Rochelle, Thompson, Helen, Finch, Caroline

Sport and recreation spatial: Development of a national geographical information system for the sport and recreation sector

- Eime, Rochelle, Harvey, Jack, Thompson, Helen, Feely, Paul

  • Authors: Eime, Rochelle , Harvey, Jack , Thompson, Helen , Feely, Paul
  • Date: 2013
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 16, no. (2013), p. e10-e11
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  • Description: Introduction: The Sport and Recreation Spatial project is a collaborative partnership between national and state sport, recreation, health, government and university organisations. It involves the development of a geographical information system (GIS) for presenting spatial data relevant to all levels of the sport and recreation sector. Methods: The project was established to provide the sport and recreation sector with increased capacity for research, strategic planning, and development of participation programs and facilities. The integration of multiple large datasets provides a strong evidence base for the sport and recreation sector. The key research areas are: participation levels and trends; influences on participation; value of sport – the health benefits of participation; and places to play – the nexus between facilities and participation. The integrated, dynamic database system incorporates data about sport and recreation participation and facilities in conjunction with population demographic data. The initial tranche of participation data includes around 200,000 data records from the national Exercise, Recreation and Sport Survey (2001–2010) and over 1.8 million player, coach and umpire records from eight Victorian State Sporting Associations (2008–2012). Results: A live presentation of the GIS interface will demonstrate the wide range of interactive user-specified options and queries and the resulting “on-the-fly” generation of maps and associated tables illustrating participation trends across time and geographical locations. Discussion: This project is providing increased capacity for strategic planning and development of participation programs and facilities. Whilst we may know broad trends in participation across time, this project allows dynamic investigations across multiple datasets, of questions relating to specific geographical locations, which may pertain to population demographics, participation (player, coach and umpire) trends, and/or infrastructure development. National implementation of this system will provide social, health and economic benefits.

A web-GIS and landslide database for South West Victoria and its application to landslide zonation

- Dahlhaus, Peter, Miner, Anthony, MacLeod, Andrew, Thompson, Helen

  • Authors: Dahlhaus, Peter , Miner, Anthony , MacLeod, Andrew , Thompson, Helen
  • Date: 2012
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Australian geomechanics Vol. 46, no. 2 (2012), p. 203-209
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  • Description: The Australian Geomechanics Society's (AGS) guidelines on Landslide Risk Management emphasise landslide zonation as a key requirement for regulators dealing with landslide risk (AGS 2007a). The basis for zonation is a landslide inventory which reflects the nature and spatial distribution of landslide types in a particular locale, such as a local government area. This paper describes the design and implementation of a web-based landslide database for south west Victoria aimed at disseminating landslide inventory information to regulators. consultants and the general public. Although the 4,581 mapped landslides represent the most complete and extensive data set for the region, the current data quality and resolution does not meet the AGS guideline for landslide zonation at the municipal planning scale. However, with an essential need for landslide planning controls in this region, the data is the best available for the construction of zonat ion maps, resulting in conservative boundaries at the required map scale. The paper highlights the ongoing need to improve the spatial extent and quality of the landslide database if the statutory planning zonation maps are ultimately to comply with the AGS guidelines.

City of Ballarat and Golden Plains Shire GIS survey, 2011

- Thompson, Helen

  • Authors: Thompson, Helen
  • Date: 2011
  • Type: Text , Dataset
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  • Description: The University of Ballarat through its Centre for eCommerce and Communications (CeCC) was engaged by the Golden Plains Shire and the City of Ballarat to review the extent to which key objectives of past Geographic Information System (GIS) strategies have been achieved and also to gather information which can assist with future planning during. This dataset contains interviews to gauge current usage of online GIS systems and to obtain feedback to ascertain priorities which were conducted online and face-to-face in January 2011.

Great South Coast ICT survey, 2011

- Thompson, Helen, Fong, George

  • Authors: Thompson, Helen , Fong, George
  • Date: 2011
  • Type: Text , Dataset
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  • Description: A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods were utilised to collect information from across the Great South Coast(GSC) region   Victoria which included (5 municipalities:- Warrnambool City and the Shires of Corangamite, Glenelg, Moyne and Southern Grampians) and were aimed at information regarding telecommunications and broadband access and services, barriers and usage at local levels. Data collection methods included key stakeholder interviews, the online survey, case studies and spatial mapping of the responses and feedback garnered mainly from the surveys. Anticipated NBN access infrastructure has also been mapped.The adopted consultation and research methodology was designed to assess demand and support from business operators, local residents and other stakeholders for next generation broadband for the GSC region. The online survey was a major instrument for gathering data in the period to July 2011. The largest contributions to the 598 valid responses came from Warrnambool (n=166), Hamilton (n=94), Camperdown (n=29) and Portland (n=23). Summary available online. Qualitative data may be available by contacting CeCC.

Yarra Ranges ICT survey, 2011

- Fong, George, Corbett, Jennifer, Thompson, Helen, Feely, Paul, Fong, Barbara, Turville, Kylie, Taylor, Meghan

  • Authors: Fong, George , Corbett, Jennifer , Thompson, Helen , Feely, Paul , Fong, Barbara , Turville, Kylie , Taylor, Meghan
  • Date: 2011
  • Type: Text , Dataset
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  • Description: Lateral Plains and the University of Ballarat’s Centre for eCommerce and Communications were commissioned by Yarra Ranges Council to undertake research to extend understanding of how better information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and its use can lead to greater levels of innovation across the municipality. The  online survey  was completed between the period- March, 2011- April, 2011 275 valid responses were received. An ICT survey in online and hardcopy formats was used to gather an evidence base to support ICT. Summary available online. Qualitatitve data may be available by contacting CeCC.

Central Highlands ICT Survey Results, 2010

- Thompson, Helen, Fong, George

  • Authors: Thompson, Helen , Fong, George
  • Date: 2010
  • Type: Text , Dataset
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  • Description: The Central Highlands ICT dataset comprises results from a survey conducted during April to September, 2010. A total of 305 responses were received. Where comparable questions were asked through the Moorabool ICT Study, these responses have been included bringing the number of respondents to 525. Respondents came from Moorabool Shire, Ararat Rural City, Northern Grampians, Pyrenees Shire and Hepburn Shire. The survey collected data to Study to review ICT in the Central Highland Region. The survey was paper-based and online and comprised 40 possible questions. The Central Highlands ICT study included mapping ICT adoption levels and service satisfaction, and attempted to identify area of pent up demand for services. The goal was to develop an evidence base to assist the region in building and shaping its ICT policy in the coming years.

Gippsland regional GIS survey 2010

- Thompson, Helen

Moorabool ICT Survey Results-2010

- Fong, George, Thompson, Helen, Fong, Barbara

  • Authors: Fong, George , Thompson, Helen , Fong, Barbara
  • Date: 2010
  • Type: Text , Dataset
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  • Description: Lateral Plains and the Centre for eCommerce and Communication were engaged by Moorabool Shire and Multimedia Victoria to review ICT in the Moorabool region. Background information on this study is available here. The study was completed in the period between April 2009 and April 2010. 238 survey responses were received. The opportunity to participate in the survey was promoted through direct email, flyers to schools, at Bacchus Marsh and Ballan Railway stations, notices on Moorabool websites, media releases and via community groups The responses to the survey formed an important part of the Moorabool Community Broadband and Telecommunications Strategy which will build and shape the Moorabool Shire's ICT policy for the coming years. Another way that the community got involved was by informing the project team of local examples of ICT usage that demonstrate the positive impacts of local adoption.

Wimmera Southern Mallee ICT Survey, June- November, 2010

- Thompson, Helen, Fong, George, Corbett, Jennifer, Fong, Barbara

  • Authors: Thompson, Helen , Fong, George , Corbett, Jennifer , Fong, Barbara
  • Date: 2010
  • Type: Text , Dataset
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  • Description: The Wimmera Southern Mallee region dataset comprises results from a survey conducted June 2010 – 2011. The Wimmera Southern Mallee region has a population of 57,100. A total of 318 responses were received. More than 350 residents, businesses and local governmentrepresentatives were actively engaged through community forums, business and community surveys and case studies. The survey collected data to review ICT in the Central Highland Region.

Young farmers for the Wimmera project

- Thompson, Helen, Corbett, Jennifer, Cox, Angela

Spatial infrastructure, information access and knowledge building

- Thompson, Helen, MacLeod, Andrew, Dahlhaus, Peter

  • Authors: Thompson, Helen , MacLeod, Andrew , Dahlhaus, Peter
  • Date: 2008
  • Type: Text , Conference proceedings
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  • Description: Most decisions involve a spatial component, though few people realise its significance (Williamson & Wallace, 2006). Recent advances in web-based geographical information systems (GIS) are bringing the spatial component to the forefront. As a result new opportunities are available for getting decision useful information and data into an environment where it can be shared with and accessed by organisations and members of the general public (Geomatic Technologies, 2008). This paper explores the emerging area of web-based GIS and its impact. Barriers which often limit spatial information access and knowledge building are identified. Recent advances in spatial infrastructure are introduced. A potential model for stimulating the dissemination and use of spatial information is presented. Early implementation activities and associated results are detailed. Future work and parallel research focussed on establishing the value and contribution of spatial information to regional planning outcomes are then briefly described. Copyright © 2008 COSI.
  • Description: 2003006851