Sydney Project Research Articles

Meaningful Public Accountability in Collaborative Infrastructure Governance: Lessons from Sydney’s Western Parkland City

ABSTRACT Within infrastructure governance research, conceptual gaps remain in how to understand public accountability’s manifestations in complex collaborative planning projects. Contrasted with literature, this case study of infrastructure governance in the Western Parkland City project in Sydney, Australia explores social understandings of accountability drawn from 56 stakeholder interviews. Multiple intersecting accountability conceptions are revealed, including institutional transparency, clear communication, social legitimacy and community engagement, governance coherence, and effective implementation capacities. In seeking meaningful accountability approaches, we emphasise the need for multidimensional, and contextually and collaboratively developed understandings of accountability towards rebuilding public trust foundations and embracing relational and systemic approaches.

Ontological foundations of urban health policy ideas: the case of planning Sydney’s Western Parkland City

ABSTRACT This case study examines the ontological backgrounds of urban health policy ideas in planning the Western Parkland City, a large-scale regional development project in Sydney, Australia. Using an empirical approach, the study identifies seven key urban health policy ideas and analyses the nature of these ideas using urban health ontological frameworks. The dominant ontological paradigms appear as the medical-industrial and urban health science paradigms with strong alignment with the sustainable urban development and healthy urban planning research traditions. Additionally, the dominant ideas adopt a view of systems that is complicated more than complex, favour change driven by structure rather than agency, and involve perspectives that transcend across multiple scales. These findings highlight the importance of recognising the influence of paradigms in shaping policies and the need for transdisciplinary approach to policymaking.

Challenges in predicting and managing construction noise impacts in urban environments. Case studies from Sydney, Australia

Approval of major infrastructure projects in Australia is contingent on a vigorous environmental assessment process demonstrating that the impacts from such proposals are acceptable and can be satisfactorily managed. As part of this process, an assessment of construction noise is undertaken by predicting the level and duration of impact. Given the scale, complexity and programs for delivery of major infrastructure projects such as the Sydney Metro, the approach to assessment of environmental impacts is typically undertaken based on early concept designs, and assumptions which enable potential worst-case impacts to be considered. Ongoing design development and construction methodologies continue to occur, and are finalised by the contractor responsible for delivering the package of works for the project. Layers of conservatism could therefore be built into the process to ensure that environmental impacts are understood, and appropriate mitigation measures are considered. Moreover, common predictive noise modelling tools are believed to under-estimate the level of barrier insertion loss provided by residential buildings in urban scenarios, further exacerbating the over-prediction of construction noise impacts. By use of case studies, the present paper examines the challenges of assessing and managing construction noise associated with a major infrastructure project in Sydney, Australia.

Innovative design of slender rock pillar formed within large span road tunnels and cavern Y-junction in Hawkesbury Sandstone

This paper presents an innovative design method for a slender rock pillar formed in a road tunnel Y-junction. This method has been successfully implemented in two of Sydney's widest-span road tunnel projects. The pillar strength is estimated based on synthetic or virtual uniaxial compression testing results on pillar models with anticipated adverse geological features and conditions encountered in Hawkesbury Sandstone of Sydney using distinct element numerical modelling. The proposed pillar design comprises two main steps. Firstly, the Factor of Safety against rock pillar failure is calculated based on the estimated peak pillar strength with and without rock bolt stitching and induced stresses. If the target Factor of Safety is not achieved, a set of longer rock/cable bolts to install adjacent to the rock pillar as a new type of pillar treatment is proposed to minimise the support contribution of the rock pillar. The required minimum support pressure the rock pillar provides is calculated using a ground reaction curve concept. Then the safety factor against the Y-junction's global failure is calculated based on the rock pillar's minimum required support pressure and residual strength. The proposed design method is demonstrated in the context of a recent large road tunnel project in Sydney, Australia. The proposed design method can provide confidence in rock pillar stability, potentially preventing costly and carbon-intensive full pillar replacement with concrete.

Calculating Bias-Free Volumetric Fracture Counts (VFCs) in Underground Works and Their Use in Estimating Rock Mass Strength and Deformability Parameters

This paper initially provides a practical example on how to estimate a bias-free volumetric fracture count (VFC—fractures/m3) in a tunnel and incorporate it into a new and unified volumetric-based Geological Strength Index (V-GSI) chart. The quantified V-GSI chart and the methods shown in the practical example were used extensively as tools to assess rock mass conditions and assist in support determinations on the WestConnex M8 Motorway tunnel project in Sydney, Australia. The reliability of the strength and deformability estimates obtained using the V-GSI ratings while tunneling within the Hawkesbury Sandstone is demonstrated here by providing an example of deformation results obtained through 3-D finite element analysis in a single location in the tunnel. The modelling results are compared to measure convergence in the tunnel in this location, which demonstrated good correlation between predicted and observed deformation. This provides validation that the V-GSI chart and associated Hoek–Brown strength and deformability equations can be used with some confidence to determine potential deformation in underground works.

Does social support predict increased use of dental services in older men?

Past research on social support and dental visits in older people has been limited by cross-sectional design, limited social support dimensions and non-representative samples. Data came from men with natural teeth completing Waves 3 and 4 of the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project in Sydney, Australia. The relationship between social support at Wave 3 (2011-2012) and at least one dental visit per year at Wave 4 (2014-2016) was examined by Poisson regression. Social support was measured by structural (marital status, living arrangements, family support and social interaction) and functional (social support satisfaction) domains. About 673 men were analysed. Structural and functional social support were not associated with the pattern of usual dental visits 5 years later in univariable or multivariable analyses. The only consistent significant factor was income source, with older men who had other sources of income more likely to regularly visit the dentist than older men solely reliant on the pension for income (prevalence ratio: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.13-1.52). We found no differences in the pattern of usual dental visits between older men with different levels and types of social support. For older Australian men, income source seems to be the most important determinant of regular dental visits. © 2022 Australian Dental Association.

The effectiveness of passive land value capture mechanisms in funding infrastructure

PurposeThis study examines the effectiveness of passive value capture mechanisms as an effective form of mechanisms in funding infrastructure from an Australian perspective. The lukewarm response of active value capture mechanisms such as betterment levies in Australia is also discussed.Design/methodology/approachA case study of the Sydney Metro City and Southwest (SMCSW) project in Sydney is used to illustrate passive value capture mechanisms.FindingsUnlike many developed countries, passive value capture mechanisms have been adopted in Australia. This approach is an effective form of value capture mechanisms to capture the value uplift to offset the total development cost of the SMCSW project. However, this approach is highly sensitive to property transaction activities that could be affected by the general economic conditions and unprecedented events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, there is a widespread discussion of the efficiency of land tax in New South Wales (NSW) in capturing all properties subject to the value uplift. Consequently, a shift towards a broad-based land tax is recommended in which it would provide a more efficient way of infrastructure funding.Practical implicationsPolicymakers should consider a broad-based land tax for residential and commercial properties in order to improve the efficiency of passive value capture mechanisms. This also highlights property valuers should play a greater role in the development of broad-based land tax system.Originality/valuePrevious studies have extensively demonstrated property value impacts of transit investments; very little research assesses the growth of value capture funding mechanisms, particularly passive value capture mechanisms. Specifically, this paper is the first paper to assess the effectiveness of passive value capture mechanisms.

Enacting intimacy and sociality at a distance in the COVID-19 crisis: the sociomaterialities of home-based communication technologies

Significant restrictions on movement outside the home due to the global COVID-19 pandemic have intensified the importance of everyday digital technologies for communicating remotely with intimate others. In this article, we draw on findings from a home-based video ethnography project in Sydney to identify the ways that digital devices and software served to support and enhance intimacy and sociality in this period of crisis and isolation. Digital communication technologies had an increased presence in people’s domestic lives during lockdown. For many people, video calling software had become especially important, allowing them to achieve greater closeness and connection with their friends and family in enacting both everyday routines and special events. These findings surface the digital and non-digital materialities of sociality and intimacy, and the capacities opened by people’s improvisation with the affordances of home-based communication technologies at a time of extended physical isolation.

Managerial implications for construction practices as a consequence of using a psychological contract of safety

PurposeDespite many studies that aim to argue, develop and position the concept of psychological contracts, few have explored how a psychological contract may be applied to safety in the construction industry. A psychological contract of safety (PCS) describes an individual's conceptualized belief that relates to mutual safety obligations, drawn from explicit or implicit promises of associated workers or its supervisor. This study investigates safety practices on construction sites through the lens of the widely applied and researched psychological contract theory emanating from a business paradigm.Design/methodology/approachThe process of validating a PCS scale within the construction industry required the collection of data from a mega-construction project in Sydney, Australia. A quantitative methodology was used to collect data from 352 construction workers through a survey instrument designed to reveal their perception of procedures, policies and practices. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to ensure data reliability and data validity of the survey findings together with goodness of fit of PCS model.FindingsThe findings showed the presence of a PCS in a construction safety setting examined. A two-factor model underlying aspects, namely employer and employee obligations was recommended since the four-factor model, including relational and transactional components of both parties' safety obligations, could not be validated due to the discriminant validity associated with the particular constructs.Originality/valueConceptualizing the extant PC theory as a framework from which to leverage safety management initiatives brings a new approach to construction safety studies, revealing the influential role of supervisors in interpreting safety practices. The research aimed to identify safety obligations, which are influential in the development of PSC scale, further the research provides an explanation as to how a PCS may be contextualized in the construction industry.

Evaluating an Aboriginal tobacco social marketing project in Sydney, Australia

A partnership between three Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and a mainstream health service was formed to develop, implement and evaluate a comprehensive and culturally appropriate social marketing project which aimed to encourage smokers to quit smoking. The project also supported quit attempts and promoted denormalisation of smoking. The project was evaluated through baseline (n=427) and follow-up (n=611) surveys carried out face-to-face with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander participants 18years and older recruited through convenience sampling at community events and venues during 2010-2011 and 2015. The proportion of participants who had made one or more quit attempts increased significantly between baseline and follow-up surveys (54%, 101 out of 187; vs 64%, 189 out of 297; P<0.05). Participants who had intended to quit within 6months (AOR, 3.29; 95% CI 1.90-5.68; P<0.01); and participants disagreeing with the statement "I don't mind if people smoke inside my home" (AOR, 1.74; 95% CI 1.06-2.84; P<0.05) were significantly more likely to have made one or more quit attempts compared to the respective reference groups. Study findings demonstrate that the project was associated with increased quit attempts. Intention to quit and attitude were found to be the predictors of making a quit attempt. SO WHAT?: Many studies suggest the need to denormalise smoking; this study demonstrated both change in attitudes and an increase in quit attempts. It is recognised that many quit attempts may be needed for long-term smoking cessation.

New Education beyond the school: Rosemarie Benjamin’s Theatre for Children, 1937-1957

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the work of Rosemary Benjamin’s Theatre for Children in Sydney as a compelling narrative of the New Education in Australia in the late 1930s, an historical moment when theatre for children emerged as a cultural experiment rich in educational ideas.Design/methodology/approachContemporary sources and archival records are explored through several interpretive frames to develop a historical account of Benjamin’s Theatre for Children from 1937 to 1957.FindingsBenjamin’s concept of children’s theatre was shaped by English progressive education as much as the Soviet model she extolled. She pursued her project in Sydney from 1937 because she found there a convivial European emigré community who encouraged her enterprise. They understood her Freudian ideas, which commended the use of the symbolic resources of myth and fairy tales to help children deal with difficult unconscious material. Benjamin also analysed audience reactions applying child study principles, evidence of the influence of Susan Isaacs and the New Education Fellowship. More successful as a Publicist than a Producer, Benjamin was able to mobilise support for her educational cause among performers, parents, cultural figures and educational authorities. Her contribution was to pave the way for those who would succeed with different models of theatre for children.Originality/valueThis is the first study to employ archival sources to document the history of the Theatre for Children, Sydney and address its neglect as a theatre project combining educational and theatrical values.

Appliance level data analysis of summer demand reduction potential from residential air conditioner control

Residential air-conditioner loads are known to be a key driver of summer demand peaks for some electricity industries. Such demand peaks occur infrequently but have potentially severe implications for network and peaking generation plant investment, and hence electricity prices for end users. Detailed assessments of air-conditioner peak demand have, however, been hampered by limited residential consumption data, and even when interval meter data is available, the complexities of other household loads and behavior. This study utilizes data from a significant appliance level consumption monitoring project in Sydney, Australia, to analyze the actual contribution of air-conditioners to regional summer demand peaks. K-means clustering is used to characterize air-conditioner load profiles across a large number of households at times of these overall demand peaks. These clustered air-conditioning load profiles, combined with a number of possible load control strategies, are then used to estimate possible peak load reductions from air-conditioner demand response across the Australian State of New South Wales. Our findings suggest that residential air-conditioning presents a significant demand response opportunity, approaching perhaps 9% of total peak demand in some circumstances.

Facilitating communities of practice as social learning systems: a case study of trialling sustainable sanitation at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

While social learning is advocated as critical for inducing large-scale shifts toward sustainability, methodological issues associated with designing the opportunities for social learning or guidelines for practitioners seeking to facilitate such learning in cross-disciplinary teams working on sustainability-oriented projects are lacking. This paper draws on a two-year pilot project in Sydney, in which government, industry and academic partners collaborated to learn about the development potential of urine diversion (UD) systems in practice. The concept of ‘Communities of Practice’ was used to identify inherent challenges and opportunities for social learning. An outcome of the project has been the identification of overarching principles for designing opportunities for social learning in such projects, particularly the need (1) to facilitate community-oriented leadership, (2) to develop strategic exercises for collaborative engagement and (3) involvement of actors beyond the boundaries of the experiment to introduce novelty, diversity and cumulative learning opportunities.

Quantitative analysis of two low-cost aerial photography platforms: A case study of the site of Zagora, Andros, Greece

Aerial photography provides a valuable recording method for archaeological sites and is often underutilized. In the past, aerial photographic platforms were expensive and often required highly specialized equipment. However, with new technology a variety of different platforms are now available. This paper will analyze two low cost aerial photographic platforms used at the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens/University of Sydney's project at Zagora, on the island of Andros, Greece. Over two years, both kites and drones were used with relative success. Through a review of the application of both systems on the project, along with a quantitative analysis of the cost, transportability, operation and quality of photographs, the strengths and weaknesses of both platforms will be discussed.

Global and local health burden trade-off through the hybridisation of quantitative microbial risk assessment and life cycle assessment to aid water management

Life cycle assessment (LCA) and quantitative risk assessment (QRA) are commonly used to evaluate potential human health impacts associated with proposed or existing infrastructure and products. Each approach has a distinct objective and, consequently, their conclusions may be inconsistent or contradictory. It is proposed that the integration of elements of QRA and LCA may provide a more holistic approach to health impact assessment. Here we examine the possibility of merging LCA assessed human health impacts with quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) for waterborne pathogen impacts, expressed with the common health metric, disability adjusted life years (DALYs). The example of a recent large-scale water recycling project in Sydney, Australia was used to identify and demonstrate the potential advantages and current limitations of this approach. A comparative analysis of two scenarios – with and without the development of this project - was undertaken for this purpose.LCA and QMRA were carried out independently for the two scenarios to compare human health impacts, as measured by DALYs lost per year. LCA results suggested that construction of the project would lead to an increased number of DALYs lost per year, while estimated disease burden resulting from microbial exposures indicated that it would result in the loss of fewer DALYs per year than the alternative scenario. By merging the results of the LCA and QMRA, we demonstrate the advantages in providing a more comprehensive assessment of human disease burden for the two scenarios, in particular, the importance of considering the results of both LCA and QRA in a comparative assessment of decision alternatives to avoid problem shifting. The application of DALYs as a common measure between the two approaches was found to be useful for this purpose.

Genre and second-language academic writing

The term ‘genre’ first came into the field of second-language (L2) writing and, in turn, the field of English for specific purposes (ESP) in the 1980s, with the research of John Swales, first carried out in the UK, into the introduction section of research articles. Other important figures in this area are Tony Dudley-Evans, Ann Johns and Ken Hyland, who have argued for the value of genre in the teaching of L2 academic writing. ESP genre analysis is a development of text linguistics and the description of academic genres, moving from a focus on lexicogrammatical features to rhetorical moves and, later, to a focus on rhetorical context (see Swales 2001 for a review). Systemic functional genre analysis (typically called the ‘Sydney school’) is a development of research such as that of Longacre (1976) and Labov &amp; Waletzky (1967) and their analyses of the discourse structures of texts. Jim Martin and Joan Rothery are two important figures in the early development of systemic functional genre analysis; their work became the basis for the Disadvantaged Schools Project in Sydney (see Rose &amp; Martin 2012 for a history). As an approach to the teaching of writing, genre-based pedagogy came into prominence in the US, in part as a response to process writing, which, it was felt, did not realistically prepare students for the demands of writing in academic contexts (Horowitz 1986). Genre-based pedagogy in Australia has a similar history and was a reaction to whole language and process writing, which were dominant in the teaching of writing in Australian schools at the time.

Creative Strategic Communications: A Case Study of Earth Hour

This article examines how Earth Hour used creative strategic communication to scale up a local community event to a global event promoting climate change. Developed and run as a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) project in Sydney, Australia, Earth Hour was launched in 2007 as a symbolic “lights off” event. Five years later, 152 countries and over 6,895 towns, cities and municipalities have participated in this “global display of climate action.” Using a case study approach, this article discusses the key elements of Earth Hour's campaign development and raises questions on the impact and sustainability of single events in changing behaviours.

Assessing the wider economy impacts of transport infrastructure investment with an illustrative application to the North-West Rail Link project in Sydney, Australia

This paper identifies the employment agglomeration impact of transport investments through a measure of change in effective employment density, using new empirical estimates of the elasticity of productivity with respect to effective density in order to calculate the uplift in benefits (or impact) from this key wider economy impact. The approach combines the behavioural richness of an integrated transport and location choice modelling system (TRESIS) and its outputs to a spatial computable general equilibrium model (SGEM), which uses data at a more aggregate level to compute the additional impacts of transport infrastructure change on the wider economy. This has allowed the development of an integrated transport–location–economy-wide model system known as TRESIS–SGEM. The model system is applied to the introduction of the North-West Rail Link project in Sydney, Australia to illustrate the capability of TRESIS–SGEM, identifying a 17.6% markup over the conventional transport user benefit.

Modelling property management decisions using ‘iconCUR’

Making appropriate decisions concerning the ongoing management of existing built facilities is an important activity for property and facilities managers. This paper describes the development of a new conceptual framework for making better decisions about built assets at an early stage in the process, with a view to identifying which course of action to pursue. The resulting model, known as iconCUR, uses a weighted matrix methodology to obtain performance scores for condition, utilization and reward that are capable of mapping property decisions in 3D space over time. Via a case study of a real project in Sydney (Australia), the application of iconCUR is shown to be both practical and an example of decision-making using an adaptive management (or ‘learning by doing’) philosophy. The benefit of adopting iconCUR to assist with property management decisions lies in its ability to quickly assess, identify and rank available opportunities according to potential value added. The spatial coordinates that underpin the 3D model enable certainty levels to be reported objectively through measuring the distance between current property performance and optimum decision corners that define the cubic boundaries of the model.

Staying Safe From Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a significant global public health problem. In developed countries, 90% of new infections occur among people who inject drugs (PWID), with seroprevalence increasing rapidly among new injectors. Staying Safe is an international, qualitative, social research project, the aim of which is to draw on the experiences of long-term PWID to inform a new generation of HCV prevention strategies. The Sydney project team employed life history interviews and computer-generated timelines to elicit detailed data about unexposed participants' (n =13) injecting practices, circumstances, and social networks over time. The motivations and strategies that enabled participants to avoid risk situations, and which might have helped them to "stay safe," appeared not to be directly related to harm-reduction messages or HCV avoidance. These included the ability and inclination to maintain social and structural resources, to mainly inject alone, to manage withdrawal, and to avoid injecting-related scars. These findings point to the multiple priorities that facilitate viral avoidance among PWID and the potential efficacy of nonspecific HCV harm-reduction interventions for HCV prevention.