University Of New South Wales Research Articles

“The NOSCA Mafia”: overseas student activism in Australia, 1985–1994

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to explore and analyse the history of the predominantly Malaysian Network of Overseas Students Collectives in Australia (NOSCA), that existed from 1985–1994.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on extensive archival research in the State Library of New South Wales, the National Library of Australia and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Archives. It makes particular use of the UNSW student newspaper Tharunka and the NOSCA publications Truganini and Default. It also draws upon nine oral history interviews with former members of NOSCA.FindingsThe NOSCA was particularly prominent at the UNSW, building a base there and engaging substantially in the student union. Informed by anarchism, its activists were interested in an array of issues–especially opposition to student fees and in solidarity with struggles for democracy and national liberation in Southeast Asia, especially around East Timor. Moreover, the group would serve as a training ground for a layer of activists, dissidents and opposition politicians throughout Southeast Asia, with a milieu of ex-NOSCA figures sometimes disparagingly referred to as “the NOSCA Mafia.”Originality/valueWhile there has been much research on overseas students, there has been far less on overseas students as protestors and activists. This paper is the first case study to specifically hone in on NOSCA, one of the most substantial and left wing overseas student groups. Tracing the group's history helps us to reframe and rethink the landscape of student activism in Australia, as less white, less middle class and less privileged.

Towards Integrating Heterogeneous Data: A Spatial DBMS Solution from a CRC-LCL Project in Australia

Over recent decades, more and more cities worldwide have created semantic 3D city models of their built environments based on standards across multiple domains. 3D city models, which are often employed for a large range of tasks, go far beyond pure visualization. Due to different spatial scale requirements for planning and managing various built environments, integration of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Building Information Modeling (BIM) has emerged in recent years. Focus is now shifting to Precinct Information Modeling (PIM) which is in a more general sense to built-environment modeling. As scales change so do options to perform information modeling for different applications. How to implement data interoperability across these digital representations, therefore, becomes an emerging challenge. Moreover, with the growth of multi-source heterogeneous data consisting of semantic and varying 2D/3D spatial representations, data management becomes feasible for facilitating the development and deployment of PIM applications. How to use heterogeneous data in an integrating manner to further express PIM is an open and comprehensive topic. In this paper, we develop a semantic PIM based on multi-source heterogeneous data. Then, we tackle spatial data management problems in a Spatial Database Management System (SDBMS) solution for our defined unified model. Case studies on the University of New South Wales (UNSW) campus demonstrate the efficiency of our solution.

Intrusion detection using data mining

Intrusion detection plays very important role in securing information servers. Classification and clustering data mining algorithms are very effective to deal with intrusion detection. However, classification (supervised) results with false negative detection and clustering (unsupervised) results with false positive detection. This paper introduces a unique framework consisting of pre-processing unit, intrusion detection using quad split (IDTQS), intrusion detection using correlation-based quad split (IDTCA) and intrusion detection using clustering (IDTC). In this proposed framework, IDTQS and IDTCA shows accuracy improvement for University of New South Wales (UNSW) dataset is in the range 4%-34% for DoS, probe, R2L, U2R and normal classes. IDTC clustering algorithm performs with 97% accuracy. Training and testing time is improved by 14% for IDTCA in comparison with IDTQS.

Cell Scientist to Watch – Elizabeth Hinde

ABSTRACT Elizabeth Hinde received a Bachelor of Science majoring in physics and chemistry from the Australian National University in Canberra, followed by a Master of Arts in painting conservation and a PhD in fluorescence spectroscopy at the University of Melbourne. She then moved to the University of California at Irvine, USA, to work as a postdoctoral fellow with Enrico Gratton on quantitative imaging of protein diffusion within the nucleus. In 2013, Elizabeth returned to Australia and joined the research group of Katharina Gaus at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, with a Vice-Chancellor Fellowship and subsequently established her own research group at UNSW with a Cancer Institute NSW Early Career Fellowship. In 2017, Elizabeth moved to the University of Melbourne as an NHMRC Career Development Fellow within the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Bio21 Institute, and has recently moved to the School of Physics as the Jacob Haimson Beverley Mecklenburg Lecturer. Her research focuses on fluorescence microscopy methods to quantify live-cell nuclear organisation and the role chromatin dynamics play in maintaining genome function.

A GEO-DATABASE SOLUTION FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND ANALYSIS OF BUILDING MODEL WITH MULTI-SOURCE DATA FUSION

Abstract. Over the last decades, building models have become valuable for a multitude of application scenarios, such as visualisation, simulations and decision support. As the growth of multi-source data consisting of semantic and 2D/3D spatial information, data management becomes feasibility means for facilitating the development and deployment of building model applications. In addition, most studies focus on modelling buildings at geometric level, while semantic analysis can become a promising approach to get a better understanding of built environment. How to utilize multi-source data in a joint manner to further express the building model, therefore, is an emerging challenge. In this paper, we develop a semantic 3D building model based on complex multi-source data. Then, we tackle data management and analysis problems in a geo-database solution for our unified building model. Performance studies on the University of New South Wales (UNSW) campus demonstrate the efficiency of our solution.

Infertility management in women and men attending primary care-patient characteristics, management actions and referrals.

How did general practitioners (GPs) (family physicians) manage infertility in females and males in primary care between 2000 and 2016? The number of GP infertility consultations for females increased 1.6 folds during the study period, with 42.9% of consultations resulting in a referral to a fertility clinic or specialist, compared to a 3-fold increase in the number of consultations for men, with 21.5% of consultations resulting in a referral. Infertility affects one in six couples and is expected to increase with the trend to later childbearing and reports of declining sperm counts. Despite GPs often being the first contact for infertile people, very limited information is available on the management of infertility in primary care. Data from the Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health programme were used, which is a national study of Australian primary care (general practice) clinical activity based on 1000 ever-changing, randomly selected GPs involved in 100 000 GP-patient consultations per year between 2000 and 2016. Females and males aged 18-49years attending GPs for the management of infertility were included in the study. Details recorded by GPs included patient characteristics, problems managed and management actions (including counselling/education, imaging, pathology, medications and referrals to specialists and fertility clinics). Analyses included trends in the rates of infertility consultations by sex of patient, descriptive and univariate analyses of patient characteristics and management actions and multivariate logistic regression to determine which patient and GP characteristics were independently associated with increased rates of infertility management and referrals. The rate of infertility consultations per capita increased 1.6 folds for women (17.7-28.3 per 1000 women aged 18-49years) and 3 folds for men over the time period (3.4-10.2 per 1000 men aged 18-49years). Referral to a fertility clinic or relevant specialist occurred in 42.9% of female infertility consultations and 21.5% of male infertility consultations. After controlling for age and other patient characteristics, being aged in their 30s, not having income assistance, attending primary care in later years of the study and coming from a non-English-speaking background, were associated with an increased likelihood of infertility being managed in primary care. In female patients, holding a Commonwealth concession card (indicating low income), living in a remote area and having a female GP all indicated a lower adjusted odds of referral to a fertility clinic or specialist. Data are lacking for the period of infertility and infertility diagnosis, which would provide a more complete picture of the epidemiology of treatment-seeking behaviour for infertility. Australia's universal insurance scheme provides residents with access to a GP, and therefore these findings may not be generalizable to other settings. This study informs public policy on how infertility is managed in primary care in different patient groups. Whether the management actions taken and rates of secondary referral to a fertility clinic or specialist are appropriate warrants further investigation. The development of clinical practice guidelines for the management of infertility would provide a standardized approach to advice, investigations, treatment and referral pathways in primary care. This paper is part of a study being funded by an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council project grant APP1104543. G.C. reports that she is an employee of The University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Director of the National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics Unit (NPESU), UNSW. The NPESU manages the Australian and New Zealand Assisted Reproductive Technology Database on behalf of the Fertility Society of Australia. W.L. reports being a part-time paid employee and minor shareholder of Virtus Health, a fertility company. R.N. reports being a small unitholder in a fertility company, receiving grants for research from Merck and Ferring and speaker travel grants from Merck. NA.

The number of oocytes associated with maximum cumulative live birth rates per aspiration depends on female age: a population study of 221 221 treatment cycles.

The number of oocytes associated with maximum cumulative live birth rates per aspiration depends on female age: a population study of 221 221 treatment cycles.

Editorial introductions

Editorial introductions

Intrusion Detection using Data Mining

Intrusion detection plays very important role in securing information servers. Classification and clustering data mining algorithms are very effective to deal with intrusion detection. However, classification (supervised) results with false negative detection and clustering (unsupervised) results with false positive detection. This paper introduces a unique framework consisting of pre-processing unit, intrusion detection using quad split (IDTQS), intrusion detection using correlation-based quad split (IDTCA) and intrusion detection using clustering (IDTC). In this proposed framework, IDTQS and IDTCA shows accuracy improvement for University of New South Wales (UNSW) dataset is in the range 4%-34% for DoS, probe, R2L, U2R and normal classes. IDTC clustering algorithm performs with 97% accuracy. Training and testing time is improved by 14% for IDTCA in comparison with IDTQS.

Assessing societal and offender perspectives on the value of offender healthcare: a stated preference research protocol

IntroductionThe increasing burden that offenders place on justice and health budgets necessitates better methods to determine the benefits of and value society places on offender programmes to guide policy regarding...

Content of university alcohol policies in New South Wales, Australia.

This study aimed to develop a working checklist for university alcohol policies and apply this checklist to current policies in universities in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. We developed a working checklist of possible university alcohol policy approaches, drawn from the World Health Organization's alcohol policy recommendations, university alcohol policy research from the United States and norms and expectations currently incorporated in Australian university alcohol policies. We then conducted a content analysis of university alcohol policies in NSW, Australia, based on this checklist. All NSW university websites were searched for any policies or guidelines related to alcohol. The content of each policy or guideline was assessed in terms of whether it satisfied the various components of the checklist. All 11 universities in NSW have an alcohol policy, and these policies are readily available and accessible online. There were two main themes identified in the aims across documents: maximising health and safety of individuals and protecting the university as an institutional entity. Inclusiveness and safety were the predominant themes that satisfied policy content. No document incorporated methods for monitoring/evaluating policy impact. University alcohol policies that incorporated both individual-level and population-based approaches to alcohol harm reduction were more likely to score higher on the checklist. However, this analysis highlighted many opportunities to strengthen policies by increasing their comprehensiveness and incorporating means to evaluate their effectiveness. SO WHAT?: We present a working checklist that can be used for future research and policy development, regarding university alcohol policies and guidelines.

The youth-centricity of three university-associated general practices.

Young people are poor attenders of mainstream general practice; however, university general practices may be an exception, given the age demographic of the population from which they draw patients. The objective of this article was to explore the youth-centricity of 12 months of encounter data from three university-associated general practices: Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney and theUniversity of Melbourne (UniMelb). Encounter data from January to December 2016 were extracted from information management software and analysed using SPSS Statistics 24. The highest percentages of encounters were with patients aged 20-24 years at QUT (39.8%), UNSW (40.6%) and UniMelb (40%). The age encounter data from the general practices associated with QUT, UNSW and UniMelb demonstrate their youth-centricity, with almost 50% of encounters with patients aged 15-24 years. This result is unsurprising given the age demographic from which these practices draw patients, but a proportional under-representation of younger students suggests possible access issues that require further research. Questions regarding the role of these and other Australian university-associated general practices in the health of young people attending university are signposted for future enquiry.

Using Virtual Reality to Enhance Mineral Processing Education

Virtual Reality (VR) is playing an increasingly important role in education. It provides the opportunity to enhance the learning experience by representing complex systems in a 3D visualisation and freeing up cognitive capacity for learning. A 3D VR simulation of a base metal concentrator has recently been developed at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Australia. The module provides an interactive processing plant environment where the user can walk through and explore the entire processing flowsheet and simulations in the virtual world. This paper explores the potential benefits of VR for mineral processing teaching and learning by reporting results from a study comparing traditional and virtual reality mineral processing teaching environments. The main focus is on the understanding of the mineral processing system (equipment function, layout, flowsheet) by undergraduate and postgraduate students exposed to the two styles of education.

Preventing chronic disease in patients with low health literacy using eHealth and teamwork in primary healthcare: protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

IntroductionAdults with lower levels of health literacy are less likely to engage in health-promoting behaviours. Our trial evaluates the impacts and outcomes of a mobile health-enhanced preventive intervention in primary...

Application of a Protocol Based on Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) to Manage Unowned Urban Cats on an Australian University Campus.

Simple SummaryIn Australia, management of the unowned urban cat population is a continuing challenge. This is because the numbers of cats culled in trap-and-kill programs are inadequate to balance the breeding rate of the remaining cats, and also because of immigration of sexually active cats from surrounding areas in a “vacuum” effect into areas where culling has been applied. In contrast, programs based on management of cat reproduction, such as trap-neuter-return (TNR), supplemented by rehoming of socializable cats and kittens, have been shown to produce significant reductions in free-living cat populations. However, evidence is lacking that these approaches are effective in an Australian context. In this paper, we document a nine-year TNR program on an Australian university campus, supplemented by rehoming, that reduced a free-living cat population from 69 to 15 cats, while also rehoming 19 campus-born kittens and managing a further 34 immigrant cats that either joined the resident colony (n = 16), were rehomed (n = 15), or died/disappeared (n = 3). Subsequent institutional support for the program was strong because of a reduction in complaints from campus staff and students, the minimal institutional costs, and the improved health status of the remaining cats, all of which are desexed, microchipped, registered and fed on a daily basis.In August 2008, the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, commenced a trap-neuter-return (TNR) program to manage the population of approximately 69 free-roaming unowned urban cats on its Kensington campus. The goals of the program included an ongoing audit of cats on campus, stabilization of cat numbers through TNR, and a subsequent reduction in cat numbers over time while maintaining the health of remaining campus cats. Continuation of the TNR program over nine years resulted in a current population, as of September 2017, of 15 cats, all desexed (78% reduction). Regular monitoring of the cats through a daily feeding program identified a further 34 cats that immigrated on to campus since initiation of the program; these comprised 28 adult cats (16 unsocialized, 12 socialized) and six solitary kittens. In addition, 19 kittens were born on campus, 14 of which were born to immigrant pregnant females. Unsocialized adult immigrants were absorbed into the resident campus population. Where possible, socialized adult immigrants, solitary kittens, and campus-born kittens were removed from campus through rehoming. Overall, reasons for reductions in the cat population (original residents, immigrants, campus-born kittens; n = 122) included rehoming or return to owner (30%), death/euthanasia (30%) and disappearance (29%). This successful animal management program received some initial funding from the university to support desexing, but was subsequently funded through donations, and continues with the university’s approval and support.

George William Kenneth 'Ken' Cavill 1922–2017

Ken Cavill knew from his high school years that his career lay in science. Whilst completing his Bachelor of Science at the University of Sydney he chose to focus on organic chemistry and made his academic career in that field. Ken gained his PhD at Liverpool University in England in 1949 and was awarded a DSc from that university in 1957. He was employed during World War 2 at W. Hermon Slade & Co., and then as a lecturer in chemistry at Sydney Technical College, becoming a senior lecturer at the newly formed University of New South Wales (UNSW), where he had a distinguished career in research and teaching until his retirement in 1982. He received the first personal chair awarded by the university in 1964 and was made a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 1969. He was made an emeritus professor by UNSW in 1983. He actively pursued collaboration between chemistry and biology, and pioneered studies in Australia on the chemistry of insect venoms, attractants and repellents, leaving a legacy of a well-respected body of work in this field. Ken was awarded a Centenary of Federation Medal in 2001 for his service to Australian society and science in the field of organic biological chemistry. Pursuing his love of Australiana, he devoted his retirement to researching and writing about Australian silverware and jewellery manufacturers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The health and well-being of Australia’s future medical doctors: protocol for a 5-year observational cohort study of medical trainees

IntroductionClinical training in the undergraduate medical course places multiple stressors on trainees, which have been held to lead to heightened distress, depression, suicide, substance misuse/abuse and poor mental health outcomes....

Analysis of Alternative Strategies for the Teaching of Difficult Threshold Concepts in Large Undergraduate Medicine and Science Classes

Threshold concepts have a transformative effect on student understanding and are often difficult or ‘troublesome’. Students in undergraduate Medicine and Science must understand many threshold concepts, but are often presented with these ideas in large introductory classes with limited individual assistance. Effective approaches for the teaching of threshold concepts have not been evaluated in this context. Students in two large introductory Medicine and Science classes at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) were taught a genetics threshold concept (the Hardy-Weinberg law) using a lecture-based simulation, small group tutorials, computer simulation and a variety of learning resources. Student knowledge of the concept was then assessed using a test and an examination. A survey and exploratory factor analysis were used to assess student responses to the different teaching methods. Factor and survey response analysis showed that students in both Medicine and Science were divided in their preference for either small group tutorials or lecture-based simulations when learning difficult concepts. Medicine students showed a stronger preference for tutorials than Science students, and a proportion of Medicine students were anti-simulation. In contrast, Science students were more likely to report that the simulation improved their understanding. Students used all of the learning resources provided, but few students preferred computer simulation. Students in large Science and Medicine classes are polarised in their preferences for the teaching of difficult threshold concepts. This suggests that introductory courses will only effectively teach difficult concepts if they use a variety of teaching approaches. This has important implications for course design and resourcing and provides a foundation for the improved teaching of threshold concepts in undergraduate Medicine and Science.

Heterologous Production of Functional Chloroform Reductive Dehalogenase

BackgroundReductive dehalogenases (RDase) are key enzymes involved in the respiratory process of anaerobic organohalide respiring bacteria (ORB). RDases are membrane‐associated proteins whose activity is dependent on protein‐associated cobalamin and iron‐sulfur clusters. The heterologous expression of respiratory RDases is reported to be extremely challenging. Dehalobacter strain UNSWDHB is an ORB capable of respiring chloroform (CF, or trichloromethane) as an electron acceptor for the generation of cellular energy and as a consequence, dechlorinates CF to dichloromethane. TmrA enzyme is responsible for this reaction (i.e. CF‐RDase) and has been purified from Dehalobacter strain UNSWDHB and partly characterized. This study explores heterologous expression of the same enzyme.MethodsWe cloned a codon optimized tmrA with an N‐terminal hexa‐His‐tag replacing the TAT signal sequence and potential transmembrane helix region into the pPT7 plasmid. The pPT7‐tmrA plasmid was transformed into Bacillus megaterium MS941 containing the pT7‐RNAP plasmid. Xylose‐inducible expression of tmrA was performed aerobically in TB media at 17°C. The cells were disrupted anaerobically using a French press. CF dechlorination activity of the soluble protein fraction was measured by gas chromatography using Ti(III)citrate and methyl viologen as electron donors.ResultsWe expressed the N‐His tagged TmrA protein in B. megaterium cells. Soluble protein fractions exhibited CF dechlorination activity in vitro. Further biochemical characterizations will be undertaken on the purified enzyme.ConclusionThis is the first report of heterologous expression of soluble and active respiratory RDase in B. megaterium. The CF reducing TmrA enzyme was expressed in cobalamin‐producing B. megaterium cells, and dichloromethane production could be demonstrated in the soluble protein fractions.Support or Funding InformationThe authors wish to acknowledge the University of New SouthWales (UNSW) for providing scholarship support for BJ.

Vibration response characterisation and fault-size estimation of spalled ball bearings

Research efforts have increased to investigate the ability to quantify localised bearing faults, ie spalls. These efforts revolve around extending the useful service life of the bearing after the detection of spalls. A number of studies have investigated a linear correlation between the size of spalls and three geometric points that may be recognised in the vibration response: the entry into the spall; the exit from the spall; and a third impact point between the first two. The time difference between these points, calculated using different signal processing techniques, has been widely exploited for quantifying spall size. Currently, there are two main challenges: the first is to enhance the entry point, which typically has weak excitation; the second is to distinguish the impact and the exit points investigated in the literature based on the spall size. However, for practical applications, there is no prior rough estimation of the fault size (ie small or large) and a method is needed for the interpretation of responses. This paper provides insights into the movement of the rolling element within the spall region and shows that the rolling element strongly strikes the bearing races at a minimum of two points. A new technique is then presented to quantify the spall and determine the inherent scaling factor without comparison to any reference data. The technique is based on evaluating two root-mean-square (RMS) energy envelopes, one for the vibration signal and one for a numerical differentiation of this signal. A geometric scaling factor is then used to give a generalised quantification for the small and large spalls. Serviceable estimations of spall size have been achieved for several seeded faults measured on two dissimilar test-rigs provided by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and the University of New South Wales (UNSW).