Developments in self escape and aided rescue arising for the Moura No.2 Wardens Inquiry - A Special Report by the Joint Coal Industry Committee from Queensland and New South Wales

Although the coal industry in Australia continues to expand and chase improvements in technology, equipment, training and safety , the industry still suffers from underground incidents which have tragic consequences for individuals and families. The responsibility is for all stakeholders, employers, employees and support agencies to remove causes and behaviors which create such incidents. This will make underground coal mining safer for all personnel. The fundamental mind set to safety perfomlance has changed dramatically over the last 15 years. During the early 1980\u27s, the recognition was made that the industry safety perfomlance was ve:ry poor. At the end of that decade and by the early 1990\u27s many large companies, together with government and the unions were supporting safety training programs to reduce Lost Time Injuries -the high level measure of safety. These programs produced varying levels of success, but developed a sceptism amongst some parts of the industry where the reslllts were managed, not the risks. A few incidents occurred in the early to mid 1990\u27s which showed that the rate of change and the approaches to the management of safety were not good enough. The industry started to look at Risk Management and the need to formally quantify the risks, controls and protection to improve safety performan(;e. The Wardens Inquiry into the accident at Moura No.2 in 1994 highlighted the need to review rescue operations for persons underground. A coal industry committee, already set up to review the fundamentals of coal mines rescue, was given the task to review escape and rescue options by the Queensland Chief Inspector of Coal Mines. The committee consisted of a broad cross section of major stakeholders of the NSW and Queensland coal industry .The process of review was fundamental, exhaustive and widespread in its scope. It was clearly appreciated by all the committee members that escape and rescue options for mine personnel could be substantially updated and improved. The mind set previously held, That mines rescue was the calvary charging over the will to rescue people, needed to be changed in response to recent major incidents. This change would encompass the techniques, equipment, design of mines aJrld the role of the rescue service. The work has taken 2.5 years to get to this stage and will require the stakeholders in this industry to implement the recommendations, complete R and D projects and participate in the infonnation sharing that will be necessary to sustain these improvements. I would like to thank all those who have contributed including the sub committee participants. The active involvement, participation and dedication of everyone, has recognised only the need to improve safety without the barriers of state, political or industrial interference. It is encouraging to know that we can work together for the common good when the need is greatest

Participatory natural resource management: a comparison of four case studies

This paper presents an overview of four recent participatory resource management projects carried out on three continents. The aim is to elicit from these case studies a description of participatory process structures as well as an analysis of the driving forces behind the selection of stakeholders and their involvement in management projects. The case studies represent four different process structures set up to achieve two categories of process goal. They also suggest four main drivers in the design of such structures: process goals, existing power structures, process direction and stakeholder numbers. The concept of scale of action mismatch is introduced as directly affecting two out of four studies. Such mismatches reduce the chance of achieving the participation goals (e.g. greater equity and effectiveness) of the stakeholder involvement. The consequential need for greater institutional safeguards for participation is discussed

ORAL CREATINE SUPPLEMENTATION AND SHORT-TERM DYNAMIC POWER PRODUCTION IN HEALTHY YOUNG MEN

This experiment examined the effect of creatine monohydrate supplementation on corrected peak power output and peak acceleration during repeated, high intensity sprint cycling. The investigation was randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind and adopted a crossover design. Eight male, adult volunteers participated in this study. Subjects were administered with creatine monohydrate (0.28g.kg-1 per day) or a glucose placebo. Following experimental treatments, subjects underwent 10 maximal effort, 6-s sprints on a cycle ergometer with a work to rest ratio of 5:1. The exercise protocol was fatiguing in nature with peak power output and peak acceleration decreasing significantly from the first to last sprint. Creatine supplementation significantly attenuated the decline in peak power output in the latter stages of the intermittent sprint cycling

CHIMP: A SIMPLE POPULATION MODEL FOR USE IN INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

We present the Canberra-Hamburg Integrated Model for Population (CHIMP), a new global population model for long-term projections. Distinguishing features of this model, compared to other model for secular population projections, are that (a) mortality, fertility, and migration are partly driven by per capita income; (b) large parts of the model have been estimated rather than calibrated; and (c) the model is in the public domain. Scenario experiments show similarities but also differences with other models. Similarities include rapid aging of the population and an eventual reversal of global population growth. The main difference is that CHIMP projects substantially higher populations, particularly in Africa, primarily because our data indicate a slower fertility decline than assumed elsewhere. Model runs show a strong interaction between population growth and economic growth, and a weak feedback of climate change on population growth.population model, long term projections, global change, integrated assessment

Practical identifiability analysis of environmental models

Identifiability of a system model can be considered as the extent to which one can capture its parameter values from observational data and other prior knowledge of the system. Identifiability must be considered in context so that the objectives of the modelling must also be taken into account in its interpretation. A model may be identifiable for certain objective functions but not others; its identifiability may depend not just on the model structure but also on the level and type of noise, and may even not be identifiable when there is no noise on the observational data. Context also means that non-identifiability might not matter in some contexts, such as when representing pluralistic values among stakeholders, and may be very important in others, such as where it leads to intolerable uncertainties in model predictions. Uncertainty quantification of environmental systems is receiving increasing attention especially through the development of sophisticated methods, often statistically-based. This is partly driven by the desire of society and its decision makers to make more informed judgments as to how systems are better managed and associated resources efficiently allocated. Less attention seems to be given by modellers to understand the imperfections in their models and their implications. Practical methods of identifiability analysis can assist greatly here to assess if there is an identifiability problem so that one can proceed to decide if it matters, and if so how to go about modifying the model (transforming parameters, selecting specific data periods, changing model structure, using a more sophisticated objective function). A suite of relevant methods is available and the major useful ones are discussed here including sensitivity analysis, response surface methods, model emulation and the quantification of uncertainty. The paper also addresses various perspectives and concepts that warrant further development and use