761 research outputs found

    Unleashing the power of artificial intelligence for climate action in industrial markets

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    Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a game-changing capability in industrial markets that can accelerate humanity's race against climate change. Positioned in a resource-hungry and pollution-intensive industry, this study explores AI-powered climate service innovation capabilities and their overall effects. The study develops and validates an AI model, identifying three primary dimensions and nine subdimensions. Based on a dataset in the fast fashion industry, the findings show that the AI-powered climate service innovation capabilities significantly influence both environmental and market performance, in which environmental performance acts as a partial mediator. Specifically, the results identify the key elements of an AI-informed framework for climate action and show how this can be used to develop a range of mitigation, adaptation and resilience initiatives in response to climate change

    Development of Innovative Ultra-Filtration Fibre Technologies for Waste-Water Treatment in Membrane Bio-Reactors (MBR)

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    The design of advanced hollow fibre ultrafiltration (UF) membrane technologies for use in wastewater treatment facilities has culminated from a combination of improvements in plant operation and optimising feed water interactions. With global demands in water quality increasing, this has placed increased pressure on MBR factories to develop high strength, anti-fouling fibre modules with improved permeabilities. The fabrication of such membranes, however, is restricted by the trade-off that exists between mechanical strength and filtration properties, as well as scalability concerns that arise when transitioning from laboratory trials to field testing of prototypes. This places increased importance on the need to establish a reliable formulation plan that addresses these trade-off limitations, in addition to furthering our understanding of membrane-foulant interactions. Modifications of polymer concentration will offer deeper insight into the role that polymer phase materials have on membrane formation and high strength performance. Further variations in pore-former content will provide a route towards optimising membrane surface porosity, translating into potential improvements in fibre permeability and anti-fouling propensity. Three different experimental approaches were implemented to assess the impact of fibre composition on membrane performance. These include (1) modifying the total concentration of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) material, (2) tailoring the composition of PVDF material with distinct molecular weights, and (3) adjusting the proportion of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) pore-forming additives. Microscopy techniques were used to document any structural changes across each formulation series, whilst porometer and tensile testing instruments were utilised to provide insight into membrane permeability and strength, respectively. Membranes formulated with elevated PVDF concentrations were found to exhibit improvements in mechanical integrity at the expense of reduced clean water fluxes. This was overcome by optimizing the incorporated PVDF molecular weight, which allowed for incremental boosts in toughness without adversely affecting permeability. Testing also revealed that fibres formed with higher concentrations of pore-forming agents, most notably PEG material, were found to be more permeable. Feedwater filtration cycling was implemented to provide insight into the relative fouling behaviour of membranes formed via these three approaches. Changes in resistance were found to be primarily dictated by membrane pore size, with intermediary pore size distributions being desirable targets for balancing out the effects of short- and long-term filtration. By tracing these trends in fouling propensity back to underlying fibre compositions, this study reinforces the importance of adjusting polymer formulations for achieving high strength, anti-fouling membranes. This study also acknowledges the limitations that exist in comparing laboratory-scale filtration data of fibre samples to prototype field testing of full-scale modules. Addressing these drawbacks through an analysis of feedwater conditions used in research and industry allows us to reach an informed decision on selecting appropriate formulations in the design of innovative membrane technologies

    The Development of Microdosimetric Instrumentation for Quality Assurance in Heavy Ion Therapy, Boron Neutron Capture Therapy and Fast Neutron Therapy

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    This thesis presents research for the development of new microdosimetric instrumentation for use with solid-state microdosimeters in order to improve their portability for radioprotection purposes and for QA in various hadron therapy modalities. Monte Carlo simulation applications are developed and benchmarked, pertaining to the context of the relevant therapies considered. The simulation and experimental findings provide optimisation recommendations relating to microdosimeter performance and possible radioprotection risks by activated materials. The first part of this thesis is continuing research into the development of novel Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) microdosimeters in the application of hadron therapy QA. This relates specifically to the optimisation of current microdosimeters, development of Monte Carlo applications for experimental validation, assessment of radioprotection risks during experiments and advanced Monte Carlo modelling of various accelerator beamlines. Geant4 and MCNP6 Monte Carlo codes are used extensively in this thesis, with rigorous benchmarking completed in the context of experimental verification, and evaluation of the similarities and differences when simulating relevant hadron therapy facilities. The second part of this thesis focuses on the development of a novel wireless microdosimetry system - the Radiodosimeter, to improve the operation efficiency and minimise any radioprotection risks. The successful implementation of the wireless Radiodosimeter is considered as an important milestone in the development of a microdosimetry system that can be operated by an end-user with no prior knowledge

    Peering into the Dark: Investigating dark matter and neutrinos with cosmology and astrophysics

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    The LCDM model of modern cosmology provides a highly accurate description of our universe. However, it relies on two mysterious components, dark matter and dark energy. The cold dark matter paradigm does not provide a satisfying description of its particle nature, nor any link to the Standard Model of particle physics. I investigate the consequences for cosmological structure formation in models with a coupling between dark matter and Standard Model neutrinos, as well as probes of primordial black holes as dark matter. I examine the impact that such an interaction would have through both linear perturbation theory and nonlinear N-body simulations. I present limits on the possible interaction strength from cosmic microwave background, large scale structure, and galaxy population data, as well as forecasts on the future sensitivity. I provide an analysis of what is necessary to distinguish the cosmological impact of interacting dark matter from similar effects. Intensity mapping of the 21 cm line of neutral hydrogen at high redshift using next generation observatories, such as the SKA, would provide the strongest constraints yet on such interactions, and may be able to distinguish between different scenarios causing suppressed small scale structure. I also present a novel type of probe of structure formation, using the cosmological gravitational wave signal of high redshift compact binary mergers to provide information about structure formation, and thus the behaviour of dark matter. Such observations would also provide competitive constraints. Finally, I investigate primordial black holes as an alternative dark matter candidate, presenting an analysis and framework for the evolution of extended mass populations over cosmological time and computing the present day gamma ray signal, as well as the allowed local evaporation rate. This is used to set constraints on the allowed population of low mass primordial black holes, and the likelihood of witnessing an evaporation

    SCENARIO DEVELOPMENT FOR URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT PLANNING FOR UNCERTAINTY

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    The urban water sector is confronted with a multitude of challenges. Rapid population growth, changing political landscapes, aging water infrastructures, and the worsening climate crisis are creating a range of uncertainties in the sector around managing water. Scenarios have been used extensively in the environmental domain to plan for and capture uncertainties to develop plausible futures, including the field of urban water management. Scenarios are key in enabling plans and creating roadmaps to attain desired futures. Despite the advantages and opportunities that scenarios offer for planning, they also have limitations; generally, and within the urban water space. Firstly, the growing uncertainty surrounding urban water management systems necessitates a focused review specifically aimed at the use of scenarios in urban water management. This thesis presents a systematic review to empirically investigate the crucial dimensions of urban water scenarios. Through this review, key knowledge gaps are highlighted, and recommendations are proposed to address these gaps. Secondly, scenarios often depict distressing, almost dystopian futures. Though negative future visions help understand the consequences of present trends and aid in anticipating imminent threats, the limited exploration of positive future visions can make it challenging to find the direction to transform. Optimistic scenarios delve into what people want for the future and capture how their aspirations shape them. Imagining positive visions encourage innovative thinking, creates agency, and creates pathways to desired futures. There is therefore a recognition to move towards more positive, desirable futures. This thesis uses a narrative, participatory scenario process, the SEEDS method, to develop positive visions of urban water futures. The Greater Sydney region in New South Wales, Australia is used as a case study to evaluate the applicability of this approach for urban water management. The urban water sector in the Greater Sydney region faces a multitude of challenges including impacts from climate change, managing diverse water supply sources, and meeting future water demand. These challenges create an increasingly uncertain future for the water sector, where the scale and nature of water services needed in the Greater Sydney region can be unclear. Hence, the Greater Sydney region is selected as the case study region to apply the SEEDS method and develop scenarios for urban water management to plan for future uncertainties. Thirdly, only a few scenario studies include surprises, the unexpected events, which make scenarios useful for planning. Challenges around capturing surprises in scenarios include a lack of structured approaches as well as a lack of evaluation of those methods that have been developed. This thesis discusses the effectiveness and suitability of various surprise methods for scenario development. These methods have been applied in the context of the SEEDS method for urban water management. Finally, there is a lack of evaluation of the tools used to cope with surprises as well as a lack of evaluation efforts of urban water management scenario studies. The assessment of the SEEDS approach for urban water management as well as the different surprise methods for scenario development requires evaluation criteria. This thesis develops and presents an evaluation criteria list based on existing literature that captures key criteria required for adequate assessment of the surprise methods and the scenario process. This thesis contributes to the fields of scenario development and urban water management, and the use of surprises within scenarios. Critical gaps in existing urban water management scenario practices are highlighted and key recommendations are proposed to fill the gaps. Through the pilot study and full-scale implementation of a positive-visioning, narrative-based scenario approach - the SEEDS method, the thesis demonstrates that the SEEDS method is applicable for urban water planning and shows potential for use at different stages of water planning. The positive visions generated through the SEEDS method highlight fundamental aspirations for the urban water sector, possible challenges, and conflicts, and discuss pathways to achieve positive future visions. By using in-situ experimentation and engaging participants with expertise in the relevant field, this thesis provides a realistic evaluation of the scenario process and surprise methods. This thesis thus fills the critical gap about the lack of evaluation in urban water management scenario processes by assessing the scenario method using selected evaluation criteria. Further, the thesis contributes towards the development of quality surprise methods through application and evaluation, thus addressing the gap about the lack of evaluation of the methods used to explore surprise events. Finally, the lack of surprises in scenarios is addressed by presenting different methods that can be used to explore surprise events. Guidance is provided to researchers working with scenario development to understand the different surprise methods available and for choosing the appropriate method(s) to plan for uncertain futures

    Planning Urban Mobility within the UN Sustainable Development Goal Framework

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    Sustainable development is about raising human well-being and protecting the environment. In the context of urban sustainability, cities have prioritized cars leading to negative impacts on society and the environment. Some scholars are concerned that planners do not incorporate equity in the state of the practice. Individuals facing social exclusion are more vulnerable to low air quality, traffic collisions, and noise. Moreover, stronger mitigation measures are needed since the transport sector is the second largest contributor to emissions. A conceptual investment framework was designed to interconnect the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for planning and designing sustainable urban mobility under five strategic areas: social justice, health, climate change, economic development, and governance. Policies, modeling tools, and methodologies were reviewed to construct this framework under a systems approach. To analyze the 2050 net-zero policy of changing the vehicle fleet from Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) to Electric Vehicles (EVs), a bottom-up regional average speed emission model relying on a four-step travel demand was developed. Four scenarios were explored: business as usual (BAU), low, moderate, and aggressive to evaluate the potential reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), and Particulate Matter PM2.5. The emission model included vehicle speed and weight, fuel type, and vehicle emission standards. In the case study of Costa Rica, it was found that attaining zero CO2 emissions by 2050 requires shifting to EVs at least 25% and 50% by 2030 and 2040, respectively. For ICE vehicles, changing the minimum vehicle emission standards from EURO 1 to EURO IV and EURO VI positively impacted the reduction of NOx and PM2.5 despite the growth of traffic volumes. This research explored the barriers women face to having equal opportunities and differentiating urban mobility needs and patterns. A vertical equity transport planning approach that is pro-poor, gender-sensitive, and considers intermediary social health determinants is developed. This research is the first approach to incorporate the most at-risk demographics (material deprivation, disabilities, and single mothers' car ownership) and their exposure to NOx and PM2.5 in identifying high-priority areas

    Beam scanning by liquid-crystal biasing in a modified SIW structure

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    A fixed-frequency beam-scanning 1D antenna based on Liquid Crystals (LCs) is designed for application in 2D scanning with lateral alignment. The 2D array environment imposes full decoupling of adjacent 1D antennas, which often conflicts with the LC requirement of DC biasing: the proposed design accommodates both. The LC medium is placed inside a Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) modified to work as a Groove Gap Waveguide, with radiating slots etched on the upper broad wall, that radiates as a Leaky-Wave Antenna (LWA). This allows effective application of the DC bias voltage needed for tuning the LCs. At the same time, the RF field remains laterally confined, enabling the possibility to lay several antennas in parallel and achieve 2D beam scanning. The design is validated by simulation employing the actual properties of a commercial LC medium

    (b2023 to 2014) The UNBELIEVABLE similarities between the ideas of some people (2006-2016) and my ideas (2002-2008) in physics (quantum mechanics, cosmology), cognitive neuroscience, philosophy of mind, and philosophy (this manuscript would require a REVOLUTION in international academy environment!)

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    (b2023 to 2014) The UNBELIEVABLE similarities between the ideas of some people (2006-2016) and my ideas (2002-2008) in physics (quantum mechanics, cosmology), cognitive neuroscience, philosophy of mind, and philosophy (this manuscript would require a REVOLUTION in international academy environment!
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