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Who knew that i, of all people, could be an academic, and even do well at it?
Alex Russell never thought he'd be an academic. He failed a few subjects at uni until he found a topic that interested him: wine. That led to an opportunity for a PhD with a fantastic supervisor in Prof Bob Boakes, and the opportunity to teach statistics under another fantastic mentor, Dr Margaret Charles. While wine was an interesting and fun research topic, an opportunity in gambling came up, working with Prof Nerilee Hing, and gambling became the focus of his work. He's won a bunch of awards along the way and has been involved in a lot of great projects and papers, but he's never really shaken that "imposter syndrome" that so many of us feel, especially due to some harsh comments along the way. His favourite goal is to help others be the best they can be, through supervision and mentorship, and through his approach to teaching a topic that many people dread: statistics. He's also conducted research on a bunch of interesting topics, like how video games are becoming more like gambling, how people describe the way that wine smells, synaesthesia and who is most at risk of harm from gambling. What he hopes that you'll take away from his story is that even if you fail a few times along the way, sometimes it's just a matter of finding what you're passionate about. And while there will always be detractors out there, it's so much more fun and rewarding lifting people up
Ecological effects of strong winds on forests
Strong winds are a major natural disturbance affecting forest ecosystems globally. Windstorms, hurricanes, and cyclones kill some plants and animals but create opportunities for regrowth and succession. Wind damage depends on factors like wind speed, tree size and species, topography, and soil. At the tree level, winds cause defoliation, branch and stem breakage, and uprooting. At the stand level, winds open gaps in the canopy. Landscape effects include increased heterogeneity. Wind-caused litterfall spikes nutrient inputs. Forest recovery timescales vary by biome. Tropical forests rebound more quickly than temperate and boreal zones. Intermediate wind disturbances may maximize biodiversity. Climate change brings more extreme winds and slower-moving storms, interacting with stressors like habitat fragmentation. Forests may not recover their original state after severe winds. Managers must prepare for altered trajectories where composition and structure differ from pre-disturbance conditions
Leftover love: Exploring the behavioural heterogeneity of household meal wasters
Meal leftovers are a major component of household food waste. However, there is a limited understanding of leftover food management behaviours, which can assist in reducing food waste in household settings. This study segments households with distinctive behaviours associated with meal leftover management. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used for consumer segmentation. Data on meal leftovers and food management behaviours were collected using a national-level survey of 1728 Australian households. We identified two heterogenous groups of households regarding leftover meal management, ‘Self-sufficient savers’ (59% of the sample) and ‘Naïve discarders’ (41% of the sample). The findings indicate that inefficient cooking and storing behaviours lead to cooked meals being discarded. ‘Naïve discarders’ dispose of leftover meals either immediately or after storing them because they do not have sufficient cooking skills to repurpose leftovers or judge the safety of the food after storing them. They also lack meal-planning skills. In contrast, the ‘Self-sufficient savers’ demonstrated efficient cooking skills and storing behaviours. They read and followed the storage and meal portioning instructions. Results highlight the need for customised interventions targeting consumers with low cooking and storing knowledge to contribute towards overall food waste minimisation
Application of Bacillus as Probiotics in Dexamethasone Challenged Broilers
Probiotics are routinely added to chicken feed for decades to help improve intestinal health under high industry pressure. With a new understanding of the importance of gut microbiota, the industry is now trying to colonise the birds with good bacteria from the moment they hatch. Probiotics ability to colonise the birds and provide protection against common issues in industry such as enteric infections and leaky gut which results in diarrhea and wet litter is an important animal welfare issue. Diarrhea and wet litter, which in turn gives birds severe foot lesions, are leading problems in the poultry industry since the birds across Australia had to move to vegetarian diets. In this application we will evaluate the ability of Bacillus probiotics to provide protection from the diarrhea and wet litter. Each proposed trial is fully industry funded.</p
Qualitative research approaches to social phenomena
Qualitative research methods have rapidly gained acceptance in mainstream academic psychology over the past four decades. As qualitative methods become more valued in psychology, particularly for their ability to illuminate social phenomena that quantitative approaches cannot address alone, scholars and practitioners alike are seeking out different qualitative methods to include in their investigations. This chapter provides a brief overview of eight of the most popular types of qualitative research methods: ethnography, phenomenology, discourse analysis, narrative research, grounded theory, action research, historical research, and case study research. As in quantitative or mixed methods approaches, each qualitative method needs to be examined for goodness of fit on a project-by-project basis, and the appropriate methodological choice depends on the research design and questions. Though there is an increasingly large range of qualitative methods or variations, this chapter is a useful starting point for psychologists, scholars, or practitioners who are interested in engaging with qualitative method
Research ethics for human research and legal issues
Ethics is generally defined as the branch of philosophy that focuses on the establishment of right and wrong. The terms ‘research ethics’ and ‘research integrity’ are often used interchangeably. This chapter discusses human research ethics matters and the ethical practice responsibilities for researchers at all stages of a research project – from the rationale for the research through the design and data stages and then ongoing, such as how the outputs are disseminated. The important elements of ethical risks, consent, and privacy are considered. It is proposed that the feedback and recommendations from research ethics review panels should be viewed as a positive constructive approach to improve research project designs – not as a compliance and enforcement process
Research files for Writing the Rugby League Film: Defining the ‘Greatest Game of All’ Through Genre
Rugby league in cinema is an overlooked research area. The sport enjoys tremendous cultural and financial prominence in some parts of the world, particularly Australia and the UK, and is depicted in several feature films from these countries. Cinematic representations of rugby league are largely unexamined by screen scholars, however, despite the existence of a large “sports” film genre. This leaves an important question: Can films in which rugby league is a central narrative component constitute their own subgenre? From a screenwriting perspective, categorising films into genres based on common narrative elements is an appealing exercise because it tests known forms and craft. If film genre theory and practice help to inform film analysis and industry norms, respectively, how does the screenwriter feature in this? In this research, I combine my passions of screenwriting and rugby league to test the legitimacy of the “rugby league film” as a narrative type in its own right. Using a creative (screenwriting) practice approach, the study fills the knowledge gap in two ways. First, with original textual analysis of rugby league films within a genre framework (exegesis), and second, with an original feature film screenplay (creative artefact) titled “The Goalkicker” that responds to and embodies the research findings. By showcasing cinematic depictions of rugby league through a screenwriting lens, this research offers an original creative-critical exploration of rugby league in cinema.</p
The last bite: Exploring behavioural and situational factors influencing leftover food waste in households
Food leftovers are a major contributor to household food waste. However, the drivers of household food leftover management practices are less understood. This study analyses the leftover food management behaviour using the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability framework. A Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis was used to empirically test the influence of motivation, opportunity, ability, and competing goals on self-reported leftover food management practices of Australian consumers. The results show consumers’ motivation is strongly associated with leftover food management practices. Particularly, consumers are motivated not to waste food because of negative feelings towards wasting food and understanding the consequences of leftover food waste. Consumer abilities in meal planning, efficient cooking, food inventory management, interpreting expiry dates, and food storage also significantly affected leftover food management in the home. The availability of time, information technology and lifestyle showed a relatively weaker impact on leftover food management. Competing goals of eating healthy, safe, and tasty food and having enough food lower the interest in leftover food management in the home. Understanding the drivers of leftover food management can guide designing interventions to promote behaviour change in preventing leftover waste
Pragmatic investigation of the effect of ether additives on biodiesel combustion to reduce NOx and other harmful emissions
The addition of oxygenated additives such as ethers has shown better results with improved combustion and reduced emissions. Ethers have a lower viscosity and higher oxygen concentrations that can improve combustion and have lower calorific value, which can control the cylinder temperature. Hence, three ethers: diethyl ether (DEE), Diethylene Glycol Dimethyl Ether (DME), and Tri-propylene-Glycol Monomethyl ether (TME) were selected as biodiesel additives to conduct engine tests for reducing NOx and CO emissions. These three ethers were added at 10 % volume to the Tucuma B10 blend, and the results were compared with diesel, TB10, and TB20. The performance, combustion, and emission characteristics were investigated through engine tests conducted at 2400 rpm with varying loads of 25 %, 50 %, 75 %, and 100 %. The study found that adding oxygenated additives into the TB10 blend has led to a decrease in both CO and NOx compared to the TB10 blend alone. However, the NOx was higher for the ether-TB10 blends than diesel. At full load, TB10DME10 reduced CO emissions by 22.3 %, 45 %, and 38 %, compared to diesel, TB10, and TB20, respectively. Also, TB10TME10 showed reduced NOx by 8.5 %, 5.2 %, 6.62 %, and 0.12 % compared to TB10 at 25 %, 50 %, 75 %, and 100 % loads, respectively. Peak pressure values for ether blends were lower than diesel but higher than TB10 and TB20. The study concluded that the TB10DEE10 has shown better results in reducing CO, NOx, and BSFC and improved BTE. The study recommends a detailed computational fluid dynamics study to investigate more combustion aspects of ether blends. In addition, further investigation on oxidative stability, tribological behaviour, and cold flow performance of the ether blends is much needed.</p
Effect of different chamber geometries on combustion formation to reduce harmful emissions
The combustion process in internal combustion engines is the primary aspect of engine performance and emissions. Combustion chamber geometries such as grooved combustion chamber (GCC), shallow depth combustion chamber (SCC), and bathtub combustion chamber (BTCC) are used to investigate the effect of combustion rates on the emission parameters with respect to the standard flat combustion chamber (FCC). The impact of chamber modifications was simulated with an IC engine model using advanced chemical kinetics. Combustion parameters such as in-cylinder temperature, turbulence, and heat release rates were observed. The validated computational model assisted in analyzing combustion formations and their correlation with emissions like mass fractions, CO, CO2, and NOx. The results revealed that the modified chambers avoided the formation of fuel pockets and improved combustion behaviour compared to FCC. At 440 oCA, peak NOx emissions were higher by 14.95%, 27.10%, and 15.89% for GCC, SCC, and BTCC chambers, respectively, compared to the FCC chamber. At 440 oCA, CO2 emissions increased by 2.22%, 2.78%, and 2.78% for GCC, SCC, and BTCC chambers, respectively, compared to the FCC. The GCC chamber’s geometry influences the air–fuel mixture distribution, leading to stratified combustion zones and utilizing both bowl and squish regions. The study concludes that GCC chambers can significantly enhance efficiency and reduce emissions by influencing temperature profiles and mass fraction distributions. The study recommends using the GCC chamber with optimized injection profiles for better combustion and improved swirl rates.</p