A framework for engaging stakeholders in solving real-world water resources management problems

Multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) are becoming increasingly popular for solving environmental and water resources optimisation problems. In the past, the focus of these studies has generally been on methodological issues related to the optimisation algorithm, while the incorporation of stakeholder preferences in the MOEA solution process has largely been ignored. In recent years, there has been increased recognition of the need to apply these approaches to real-world problems to facilitate the realisation of their full potential. However, in most of these studies, stakeholder input was only used to direct the optimisation search process or select the final optimal solution(s), while the contribution of stakeholder input to other important components of the problem solving process was not considered. The reason for this is that the full consideration of stakeholder input in solving environmental and water resources optimisation problems requires the development of a more holistic approach, which involves a range of additional challenges. To address these challenges, a framework for including stakeholder input in real-world optimisation problems has been developed as part of the Optimal Water Resources Mix (OWRM) project initiated by the South Australian Government through the Goyder Institute for Water Research. The framework includes a conceptual framework (Figure 1) and a procedure for its implementation. The framework was applied to an urban water supply security study for Adelaide, South Australia. A summary of the framework and how it was implemented to identify optimal water sourcing options for the Adelaide case study is presented in this paper. This study highlights the important role of stakeholder input at the various stages of the problem formulation and optimisation process, analysis and results, although it can be expensive and time consuming to do so. It is recommended that adequate resources be made available for stakeholder engagement in project plans and budgets, as there needs to be clear and ongoing communication between stakeholder groups throughout the project. It also demonstrates that the use of MOEAs as the optimisation engine, together with appropriate stakeholder input, provides a combination that is well-suited to solving real-world water resources problems.W. Wu, H. R. Maier, G. C. Dandy, R. Leonard c, K. Bellette, S. M. Cuddy and S. Maheepal

Reti e nuove tecnologie: strumenti per le politiche di internazionalizzazione

We determine the power spectrum of an ideal neuron which encodes information using a pulse interval modulation scheme in continuous time. We develop this by considering the rigorous derivation of the Digital Pulse Interval Modulation (DPIM) coding scheme spectra of L. Vangelista et al. in the limit of the coding slot size approaching zero. We show in this limit the spectrum is identical to that of a filtered renewal process frequently used to model neuroscience time series data. Using this renewal theory equivalence we then use the 'Fundamental Isometry Theorem' developed by Win &amp; Ridolfi to show that introducing firing time jitter (as a simple model for noise effects) removes non-Poisson structure and reduces the utility of spectral feature selection. Lastly we show with sufficient jittering that the Bartlett spectrum of any renewal process reduces to that of a Poisson process, with a spectral density consistent with Carson's theorem for shot noise.</p

Response of office building electricity consumption to urban weather in Adelaide, South Australia

Available online 7 October 2014Abstract not availableHuade Guan, Veronica Soebarto, John Bennett, Roger Clay, Robert Andrew, Yunhui Guo, Saeedeh Gharib, Kathryn Bellett

Investigation of a transitional wear model for wear and wear-type rail corrugation prediction

In this paper, a recently proposed mechanics-based model for the wear coefficient of rail steels is experimentally validated and implemented to obtain useful predictive wear models for some popular railway steels. The model is then implemented to investigate the feasibility of top of rail (TOR) friction modifiers (FMs) for wear-type rail corrugation control. The experimental results confirm the analytical prediction of the first transition (step change in value) of the wear coefficient based on known conditions of creep and load. The implementation of the model under dry and friction-modified conditions shows a substantial reduction in the wear coefficient from 1.6×10kg/Nm to 0.34×10kg/Nm, respectively. This along with an approximate 50% reduction in friction coefficient, is predicted to result in substantial decreases in corrugation growth rate and grinding costs of ∼20 times under the experimentally measured conditions of friction modifiers