The nature of work-related problems: messy, co-produced and wicked

Purpose – Work-based research is the applied form of work-based learning (WBL) and has been described as the systematic and methodical process of investigating work-related 'problems'. Such problems can either be associated with specific workplaces and domains of practice or may more broadly be described as practical, social or real-world in nature. However, the specific characteristics of work-related problems for organisations and society have yet to be explained, and inadequate problem definition, multiple and competing goals, and lack of agreement on cause-effect relationships have hampered understanding. The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of work-related problems and provides examples from real-world contexts in Australia. Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides models and examples of standard and non-standard work-related problems based on prior research and current practice. Findings – Research paradigms view work-related problems as either definable and solvable or ill-defined, complex, difficult to describe and not easily rectified. The former view is concerned with 'high ground problems' associated with traditional research methods; the latter with 'lowland, messy, confusing problems' more frequently associated with the social sciences. Irrespective of orientation and definition, work-related problems have one thing in common: they are typically messy, constantly changing and complex, and many are co-produced and wicked. Originality/value – Despite difficulties with identifying and isolating the various types of work-related problem, the paper establishes the importance of doing so for the practitioner. The definition and examination of work-related problems contribute to an evolving formulation of WBL and its application to private organisations, government agencies and work more generally

Removing phosphate from a municipal wastewater treatment plant in the United Kingdom using a waste-to-resource model

The dispersal of phosphorus from sewage, industrial waste, detergents, and urban and agricultural runoff has played a major part in the eutrophication of many freshwater and marine ecosystems in Europe. As a consequence, phosphate discharge consents on municipal and industrial effluent are being tightened to ≤2.0 mg/L. Many agricultural activities, industrial processes and water treatment companies therefore face additional requirements to reduce soluble phosphate in discharge waters. A new green filtration technology, which repurposes alumina refinery residue, offers a passive, flow-through treatment system for phosphorus removal. The technology has been shown elsewhere to reduce or eliminate the need for chemical dosing, allow for variations in hydraulic flow and nutrient loading, minimise sludge production, and provide an effective and straightforward treatment system when applied immediately prior to final effluent discharge. A four-month trial to evaluate the potential use of this waste-to-resource technology to enhance the removal of phosphate from municipal wastewater in line with these tighter standards was conducted in the United Kingdom. The primary objective was to determine if the technology could reliably maintain phosphate concentrations to extremely low consent limits. The trial was conducted at Yorkshire Water’s Kirk Smeaton wastewater treatment plant in North Yorkshire, and comprised three separate filter configurations in order to provide comparison data on different design scenarios, hydraulic residence times, removal efficiencies and projected filter life-spans. Filter Pairing A consisted of two columns operating in series with a hydraulic residence time of 12 hours. Influent phosphate concentrations averaged 10.3 mg/L for the duration of the trial and effluent concentrations averaged 2.6 mg/L, a removal efficiency across both columns of 74%. In addition, biological oxygen demand was reduced from 6.8 mg/L to 4.3 mg/L, and ammonia-nitrogen was reduced from 1.1 mg/L to 0.86 mg/L. Filter Pairing B again consisted of a two-stage filter system operating in series but with a shorter hydraulic residence time of two to three hours. Influent phosphate concentrations averaged 9.6 mg/L and effluent concentrations averaged 1.8 mg/L, a removal efficiency across both columns of 81%. Filter Pairing C, consisted of a three-stage filter system operated in series with a hydraulic residence time of 12 hours, but in contrast with Filter Pairing a each filter operated with a hydraulic residence time of four hours. Influent phosphate concentrations averaged 9.6 mg/L and effluent concentrations averaged 0.37 mg/L, a phosphate removal efficiency across both columns of 96%. Results of this study indicate that Filter Pairings B and C achieved phosphate removal efficiencies which conform to the tighter regimes being imposed throughout the UK and Europe

Industrial sustainability and the circular economy as counterparts to the self-referral structure of Natural Law: Part II – a global case study

Part I of this two-part series of research papers identified the theoretical foundations of industrial sustainability and circular economy in the structure of Natural Law, as explained by Maharishi Vedic Science. Part I showed that all levels of a manifest hierarchy are governed by self-referral and self-interacting feedback loops, and maintained that the circular economic model represents a counterpart to the self-referral mechanics of Natural Law and is therefore more in accord with Natural Law than the standard linear ‘take, make, dispose’ economic model, which is unsustainable due to its attitude to and management of energy and other resource portfolios, waste and end-of-life products. This Part II explores the self-referral structure of Natural Law in the context of one of the world’s largest industrial hazardous wastes: alumina refinery residue or ‘red mud’. The paper examines how this solid waste residue, which is generated at a rate of more than 120 million tonnes each year, can: a) be incorporated into a sustainable, circular economic model in order to reduce waste and improve productivity; and b) be reused or repurposed as either a feedstock to other industrial and municipal processes, such as concrete and cementitious product manufacture, agriculture and mine site rehabilitation, or, if such reuse applications generate other forms of waste, how these, too, can enter further cascading circular economies through beneficial reuse. I propose that a long-term economic and environmental benefit from alumina refinery residue can be liberated when its reuse is based on the principles of self-referral and self-interacting feedback loops as described by Maharishi Vedic Science, and suggest that the deep-rooted commercial, human and environmental risks posed by this industrial waste stream can be minimized or even eliminated through a circular approach to waste management, thereby leading to a more sustainable economic future for the world

Soil washing, ozofractionation and metal sequestration: removing organic and inorganic species from contaminated soil and water

Most research of soil washing conducted around the world has involved the removal of inorganic species from contaminated soil matrices. Few have considered its potential for removing organic species, although it has been used to remove volatile organic compounds and diesel. Similarly, a significant amount of research has considered the roles of advanced oxidation and ozonation in destroying organic species in water, but few have examined the potential of ozofractionation to perform this role. The purpose of this study was to assess the capacity of soil washing to remove both organic and inorganic species from a complex contaminated industrial soil, and once contaminants had been liberated from the solid phase, examine whether ozofractionation destroyed organic and inorganic species and whether a chemical reagent sequestered inorganic species in the flushing solution. Findings suggest that soil washing had a salutary effect on liberating organic and inorganic species from contaminated soil, reducing total petroleum hydrocarbons, for example, from 1,290 mg/kg to 320 mg/kg. The study also found that ozofractionation destroyed organic and inorganic species, for example reducing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from 13.2 mg/L to <0.5 mg/L and cyanide from 5.9 mg/L to 0.02 mg/L, and reagents sequestered heavy metals in the flushing solution

Advances in soil amendment: vermicomposting, alumina refinery residue and cotton production in Australia

Cotton production is an important primary industry in Australia. However, the industry faces several challenges, including access to fresh water, disposal of cotton waste, and the ability of Australian soil to sustain pesticide-intensive cultivation. Research programs into a variety of techniques aimed at amending soil with fertilisers, particularly those produced from novel organic sources rather than industrial fertilisers, have also been developed. This paper therefore considered the relationship of worm castings produced from a municipal vermicomposting facility and a modified form of alumina refinery residue (MARR) as a possible nutrient source for cotton farming, and examined their combined potential as a biological fertiliser to amend agricultural soil and improve cotton yields. The study found the addition of MARR enhanced the chemical and biological properties of worm castings, for example improving caution exchange capacity and increasing the total microbial biomass of castings by 38%, and the combined effect of applying 240 L/ha of this non-traditional organic fertiliser increased cotton yields by 9% over a nine-week growing period

Lines-of-inquiry and sources of evidence in work-based research

There is synergy between the investigative practices of police detectives and social scientists, including work-based researchers. They both develop lines-of-inquiry and draw on multiple sources of evidence in order to make inferences about people, trends and phenomena. However, the principles associated with lines-of-inquiry and sources of evidence have not so far been examined in relation to work-based research methods, which are often unexplored or ill-defined in the published literature. We explore this gap by examining the various direct and indirect lines-of-inquiry and the main sources of primary and secondary evidence used in work-based research, which is especially relevant because some work-based researchers are also police detectives. Clearer understanding of these intersections will be useful in emerging professional contexts where the work-based researcher, the detective, and the social scientist cohere in the one person and their research project. The case we examined was a Professional Studies programme at a university in Australia, which has many police detectives doing work-based research, and from their experience we conclude there is synergy between work-based research and lines of enquiry. Specifically, in the context of research methods, we identify seven sources of evidence: 1) creative, unstructured, and semi-structured interviews; 2) structured interviews; 3) consensus group methods; 4) surveys; 5) documentation and archives; 6) direct observations and participant observations; and 7) physical or cultural artefacts, and show their methodological features related to data and method type, reliability, validity, and types of analysis, along with their respective advantages and disadvantages. This study thereby unpacks and isolates those characteristics of work-based research which are relevant to a growing body of literature related to the messy, co-produced and wicked problems of private companies, government agencies, and non-government organisations and the research methods used to investigate them

Beneficial reuse: A field trial to remediate and a bench-scale test to revegetate coal seam gas dam sediments from Queensland

Coal seam gas (CSG) has become an increasingly common method of extracting methane from coal in Australia, with more than 20,000 wells expected to enter production by 2020. However, large quantities of 'produced water' also come to the surface with gas, and these several thousand litres of water per day per well have to be managed sustainably. Furthermore, up to five percent of produced water is composed of suspended or dissolved solids, most typically present in the form of salty brines and a range of other elements, sometimes including benzene and other hydrocarbons like phenols. CSG solids therefore have a high pH and total alkalinity, and hence have elevated electrical conductivity. As a consequence, the settled solids from CSG extraction have no proven beneficial reuse value, and successful revegetation of dams and untreated sediments is limited to salt-tolerant grass species but is often impossible using any species under any condition. The purpose of this study is to investigate the remediation of CSG dam sediments from Queensland for the purposes of determining their potential beneficial reuse as 'clean, usable soil' in revegetation projects. Experiment #1, a field trial conducted in the Bowen Basin, examined the impact of various additives to two different types of CSG dam sediments. Experiment #1 found that both types of sediment could be remediated, examples of which include decreases in pH from 10.0 to 7.4, chloride from 19,900mg/kg to 1,770mg/kg, cation-exchange capacity (CEC) from 23meq/100g to 4.0meq/100g, and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) from 931meq/100g to 44meq/100g, and increases in total phosphorus from 27mg/kg to 855mg/kg and total nitrogen from 950mg/kg to 3,520mg/kg. These findings confirm that contaminated CSG sediments have beneficial reuse potential in dam decommissioning and revegetation projects. Experiment #2, a bench-scale test utilizing samples of treated sediments from Experiment #1, examined the revegetation potential of these remediated CSG sediments. Experiment #2 showed that both types of CSG dam sediment could be effectively revegetated using non-salt-tolerant grass species, while untreated sediments were not suitable for revegetation. However, the design and scale of this work need to be expanded, and variables such as sediment pH, CEC and SAR should be monitored and controlled more carefully before fully reliable conclusions can be made about the revegetation potential of treated CSG dam sediments

A field trial to engender micro-concentrations of lead (II) using a novel sorbent in highly acidic industrial wastewater at a smelter site in Derbyshire

This study examines the relationship between extreme acidity and heavy metals (with a primary focus on lead) in industrial wastewater and the role of chemical reagents derived from alumina refinery residue to neutralize acid and reduce heavy metals to micro-concentrations (i.e., less than 150 μg/L) at a lead smelter in Derbyshire, England. The role of alumina refinery residue reagents in reducing the need for added flocculants and coagulants is also investigated. During the field trial, influent pH to the smelter’s wastewater treatment plant averaged 1.7, with lead concentrations of 4.2 mg/L, cadmium concentrations of 8.7 mg/L, and zinc concentrations of 49.7 mg/L. As a result of adding two chemical reagents at a rate of 0.25 g/L to Tanks 1 and 2 in the wastewater treatment plant, pH increased to an average of 9.5, lead concentrations decreased to 0.11 mg/L (a 96% reduction), cadmium concentrations decreased to an average 0.05 mg/L (a 98% reduction), and zinc concentrations decreased to 0.05 mg/L (a 99% reduction), all of which were under the 150 microgram target established for this trial. These post-treatment acidity and metal concentrations were within acceptable consent limits imposed by the UK’s Environment Agency for discharge to the local receiving environment, and other floccing and coagulating agents, normally used during routine wastewater processing at the site, could be discontinued during the trial

Socio-political violence in Cambodia between 1990 and 2008: an explanatory mixed methods study of social coherence

The relationship between individual and group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program and reductions in social stress, tension, and violence has been the topic of systematic exploration since the 1970s in Canada, India, Israel, Lebanon, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, and United States. Findings from these quantitative studies have been published in leading international conflict resolution and peace studies journals. However, research in Cambodia has to date only been of a descriptive and qualitative nature with a focus on economic and social variables not violence or crime. The purpose of the present study is therefore to examine socio-political violence in Cambodia between January 1990 and December 1992 (the baseline period) and the possible influence of group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program at Maharishi Vedic University (MVU) by 550 undergraduate students beginning in January 1993 through December 2008 (the impact-assessment period). This study uses an explanatory mixed methods design to examine socio-political violence using time series analysis of machine-coded news reports (quantitative data) and document analysis of national and international media reports, personal statements, and public documents (qualitative data). Results indicate that beginning in January 1993, when meditating students at MVU began their group practice, a marked downward shift occurred in the trends of socio-political violence and other forms of violent crime in Cambodia, contrary to predicted baseline trends and contrary to widespread community and media expectations. Such a conclusion can be drawn from both the quantitative and qualitative evidence when comparing baseline and impact-assessment periods, suggesting that the observed decline in socio-political violence during this time was associated with an increase in peace, order, and harmony—that is, a rise of social coherence—in the collective consciousness of Cambodia generated by the group of meditating students at MVU

Indigenous accounts of environmental stewardship in light of the theory and language of Maharishi Vedic Science

The principles and practice of sustainability have gained momentum in the last 15 years and now form a central part of conversations around social praxis and the future. It has been proposed that the theories driving sustainability science are embedded in Indigenous history, and it has been shown that many ancient traditions always concerned themselves with sustainable and ethical living. Among the traditions identified with environmental stewardship are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders of Australia and Māori of New Zealand. Of interest in this context is the Vedic tradition, a tradition of sustainability and ecological awareness which identifies the source of sustainability in Natural Law, the universal source of tradition, language, and knowledge. In this paper we survey two Indigenous traditions as they relate to environmental stewardship, and explore their relation to the Vedic tradition