Wave energy advocates argue that consistency is an advantage in the mix of renewable energy technologies, particularly in a future low-emission society.
New research by Griffith University reveals seasonal and inter-annual variations in wave energy generation are considerable and should be factored into wave energy feasibility assessments.
Scientists from Griffith’s School of Engineering and Built Environmentand Griffith Centre for Coastal Management based on 31 years of high-resolution simulated historical wave data, examined the temporal variability in the wave energy resource off the Australia’s southeastern shelf and in the conversion of wave power into electricity at three promising sites along the NSW central coast using a range of wave conversion devices.
It has been estimated ocean wave energy alone could contribute up to 10% of Australian renewable energy needs by 2050.
There are a few wave energy farm projects planned for Australia along the coasts of Victoria and Western Australia (Albany, Carnegie Clean Energy Ltd) – that are financially supported by State Government Schemes, using wave energy technology comparable in maturity with international wave conversion devices.
Griffith’s research team – including Dr Nick Cartwright, Dr Darrell Strauss, Amir Etemad-Shahidi, and PhD candidate Joao Morim – combined the simulated wave data from the coasts of Newcastle, Sydney, and Seal Rocks, with conversion efficiency data obtained from 10 ‘pre-commercial’ wave energy devices (national and international), examining the variability of wave energy production and performance from between months and from year-to-year.
According to the researchers, temporal variations of wave power production can be highly significant and should be accounted for. The researchers said that recent assessments of the economic viability of wave energy farm projects failed to consider these variations and were instead based on annual and/or seasonal averaged assessments.
Morim said such assumptions could be misleading in terms of anticipating the revenue of wave energy farm projects. He said the findings instead support the long-proposed viability of wave energy farm projects.
“We have shown that inter- and intra-annual variations of monthly wave energy production can reach ~30 to 70% depending on the device and site, showing thateconomicalfeasibility studies based on stationary annual/seasonal-averaged analysis are misleading,” Morim said.
“Our preliminary analysis finds that smaller-scale wave energy devicesoptimisedto local sea states can not only potentially lead to a much higher wave conversion performance, but also lead to reduced electrical production variations between months (~30 to 80%) and between years (~11 to 80%) – which plays a key role in the cost-efficiency of wave farm projects.”
“These results show that using wave technology specifically developed for certain sea-states characteristic of a region is key to significantly enhance energy conversionperformance, anddecrease variations in electricity supply – which represents a promising finding for the future of wave energy exploitation and support future estimations of economic viability of wave energy farm projects within Australia and other countries.”
These findings are particularly valuable since wave energy is largely uncorrelated with wind power and has only a third of the natural variability exhibited by wind energy. Furthermore, waves can be forecast three times further ahead than wind.
Queensland College of Art alumnus Jasmine Dowling was recently named Creative of the Year at the Cosmopolitan Women of the Year awards, capping off a stellar run that has seen her become one of the country’s most successful young creative entrepreneurs.
The Brisbane-based typographer and blogger studied graphic design at the Queensland College of Art – launching her freelance business, blog and online store during her final year at Griffith.
She is known for her stunning hand lettering projects and prints, and has also attracted a devoted following on social media, with more than 200,000 Instagram followers.
“I am such an introvert and I didn’t have any contacts when I started my business,” she said.
“It was through social media that clients were able to discover my work and I was able to build my own audience base.
“Social media has also made it possible for your work to go viral and be seen by huge numbers that weren’t possible before.”
Jasmine credits her time at the Queensland College of Art for giving her the freedom to experiment and the confidence to push the boundaries of design.
“I had design tutors that rewarded creativity, experimentation, the unconventional, and the not so perfect,” she said.
“That sort of attitude to design really helped me let go with my process and not be afraid to try something new.”
“The projects where brands have put their full trust in me to try something new are huge milestones for me,” she said.
“On a recent collaboration, I was creative director, photographer and hand letterer.
“I was a little out of my comfort zone but they gave me so much creative control and trusted in that. I couldn’t have been happier with how it turned out.
“I also recently did lettering for a Brisbane City Council campaign so that was super special because it meant I could see my lettering on billboards around my hometown.”
“At first I got shaky at the thought that I had to get up in front of a room of women that I look up to give a speech, but then honestly I was just in disbelief,” she said.
“I have worked by myself, for myself for so many years now that it really gave me a opportunity to sit back and look at what I have worked on and achieved.
“To be recognized for that work was so special and meaningful.”
How has the digital revolution transformed journalism practices? Can the professionalisation of banking restore its integrity?
These questions will be explored in two twilight sessions as part of the Professional Futures Conference at Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University on February 6 and 7.
“While journalists have a critical role in holding governments to account, they have never professionalised in the way other occupations have,’’ says conference convenor Professor Charles Sampford.
“It now faces new challenges in loss of media revenue, casualisation, fake news and ‘echo-chambers’.”
Meanwhile in banking he said the Hayne Royal Commission, reporting this week, has highlighted serious, comprehensive and systemic wrongdoing.
“The litany of revelations has shocked even those with a low opinion of banks. Public trust in bankers and banking is plumbing depths not seen since the 1890s and 1930s depressions. Is professionalisation of banking part of the answer — as is currently being attempted with Financial Advisors?”
Professor Graeme Samuel – Monash University, former executive director — Macquarie Bank and ACCC Chair
Professor Dimity Kingsford Smith – University of New South Wales
Stephen Glenfield, Chief Executive Officer – Financial Advisor Standards and Ethics Authority
Christine Cupitt – Executive Director, Policy, Australian Banking Association
‘Trophy Specimen’ by Priscilla Bracks & Gavin Sade.
Students at the Queensland College of Art are repurposing, redesigning and recycling to create stunning works of art, forgoing paints and canvas in favour of bed linen, data cables, plastic bottles, CDs and bubble wrap.
The exhibition,which includes sculpture, video installation, paintings and photography, is on display at the QCA’sGrey Street Gallery and the Flight Centre foyer until 9 February.
Flight Centre Environmental & Communications Manager Tara Young with QCA doctoral candidate Claire Tracey
Doctoral candidate Claire Tracey curated the exhibition, after completing several sustainable artworks during a residency at Flight Centre’s global headquarters at South Bank last year.
“My doctorate examines arts-led engagement, so I approached Flight Centre last year about how we could work together,” she said.
“They are based right across the road from the QCA at South Bank, and they share the university’s commitment to sustainability, so it made sense to team up.
“Flight Centre were amazing – they ended up giving me studio space and access to all of their recyclable plastic waste.”
Claire became aware of other students at the QCA working with sustainable materials and decided to put together an exhibition to showcase their work.
“The QCA has a lot of talent, and there are a lot of students working in this space who are really pushing the boundaries,” she said.
“It’s a great chance for students to exhibit their work off-campus,explore sustainable transformations, and look at how art can guide the way to a greener society.”
‘In the Water’ by Pamela See (Xue Mei-Ling)
Queensland College of Art Director Professor Derrick Cherrie said the exhibition was a model of collaboration between big business and emerging artists.
“It’s a fabulous example of a large organisation with a keen interest in environmental issues working with creative young people who want to express their desire to improve the environment,” he said.
‘Metamorphoses’ by Claire Tracey
Flight Centre Chief Operating Officer Melanie Waters-Ryan said the company was delighted to support the exhibition.
“Claire was our artist-in-residence last year, and during this period, she collected our plastic waste to create the magnificent sculpture that has transformed the entrance to our global headquarters,” she said.
“We have embraced the opportunity to be part of this exciting project with a host of emerging artists, and are in discussions with QCA about how to continue working together across a range of sustainability initiatives.”
The exhibition includes work byAnthony Elliott Baker, Priscilla Bracks, Rae Cooper, Deborah Eddy, Abraham Jr Garcia, Annique Goldenberg, Susan Gourley, Rachelle Mcintyre,Mathew Newkirk, Paula Payne, Gavin Sade, Ronda Sharpe, Stefania Shevchenko, Karen Stone, Pamela See (Xue Mei-Ling), Jody Rallah and Claire Tracey.
Morphosis is currently on display at the QCA’s Grey Street Gallery and Flight Centre foyer at South Bank. It is open to the public Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm until 9 February 2019.
Professor Evans joins the Griffith community following her role as Deputy Vice Chancellor (Graduate and International) and Deputy Provost at the University of Melbourne.
Griffith University Chancellor Mr Henry Smerdon AM has described Professor Evans as “a dynamic, experienced and outstanding university leader with the drive to take Griffith into the future”.
In her introductory address to the community, Professor Evans said she was honoured to step into the role of Vice Chancellor — she is only the fifth person to hold the title since Griffith’s inception in 1971 — and highlighted the University’s dedication to progressive, socially inclusive values in its research and operating environment as a key drawcard for leaving her Melbourne post.
“I was attracted to Griffith because of its dual commitments to excellence in all aspects of its work alongside a commitment to strong values, particularly around inclusion and social justice,” Professor Evans said.
“I am looking forward to building on that legacy and, indeed, on the broader legacy of Griffith, which was established with a distinctive identity that embraced interdisciplinarity, a focus on Asia and research excellence.”
Also key to Professor Evans’ enthusiasm to make the move north are Griffith’s close ties to — and demonstrable impact in — its local communities, with the University’s geographically and socially distinct campuses each contributing its own strengths and flavours to the GU cultural stew.
“I firmly believe that the best universities are transformative,” she said. “They change the lives of the individual students by the experience of education and the support they provide.
“They change the lives of all those who benefit from the research, public intellectual engagement, clinics, performances and exhibitions, and a myriad of community connections they create.
“All of this is only possible through a strong partnership between academics, staff, students, alumni and so many others who create a vibrant and strong university community. I am just delighted to now be part of that community here at Griffith.”
In addition to her work at the University of Melbourne, Professor Evans’ academic credentials also include a doctorate from Oxford University, at which she studied as a Rhodes Scholar and received the esteemed Fulbright Senior Scholarship.
Outside academia, Professor Evans is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and, prior to her time in tertiary education, she worked as a lawyer for a leading national law firm.
Many people can probably remember one special teacher who influenced them in a way no others did as a child — who shone a light on learning and helped them understand subjects which were particularly difficult. Or perhaps they inspired them to follow a path they may not otherwise have taken.
It’s no surprise then, that education and training is one of Australia’s top four growing industries with primary and secondary school teachers among the highest in demand as identified by the Federal Government.
“In Queensland, the teacher workforce is ageing with many teachers and education leaders nearing or at retirement. This year the teacher workforce is undergoing a literal facelift with an influx of new, mostly Generation Y teachers.
“This means new opportunities for teachers. Experienced teachers with a good track record are eligible to apply for positions of added responsibility in their areas of specialisation.”
In Queensland, experienced senior teachers earn a base salary of $94,532 p/a, a head of department earns a base salary of $108, 818 p/a, and an executive principal earns a base salary of $166,272 p/a.
“As well as the monetary benefits, since time immemorial people who choose to be teachers do so because they want to make a difference to young people’s lives and they value the intrinsic career rewards of teaching,” Professor Pendergast said.
“This is why we become teachers and why we are still serving the profession, and why so many people from all walks of life continue to choose teaching as a career today.
The School of Education and Professional Studies is among the world’s leading education schools, ranked in the top 100 worldwide.
Griffith University has the highest education graduate success rates in Australia. Graduates are in demand and find employment in the independent, Catholic and State education systems in Queensland as well as overseas.
A web app developed by Griffith University researchers could encourage governments and wetland managers globally to reduce carbon emissions by protecting mangrove forests.
It calculates the tons of carbon that would be released if a pre-determined area of mangrove forest was cut down.
The team’s research has shown the amount of carbon that mangroves are capable of storing is 10 times higher than commonly believed. Coastal wetlands in general store more carbon than rainforests.
Dr Brown said this had major implications for national carbon accounting by governments globally.
“They can use this to assess if the wetlands in their areas of interest are being properly valued in terms of their carbon storage,” Dr Brown said.
“So aside from the environmental benefits of reducing carbon emissions into the atmosphere, calculating carbon storage also offers an economic incentive – carbon that we can avoid emitting is what can be sold to the carbon market.”
DrAdamesaid there was worldwide interest in accounting for how much carbon is stored, how much carbon is emitted, and how much carbon is protected.
“The problem is that calculating carbon emissions from coastal wetland degradation and deforestation is difficult and not everyone can do them,”she said.
“With the web app, people can see how much carbon they can avoid emitting and protect these areas.”
DrAdamehaspreviously beenfunded by theLeonardoDiCaprioFoundation to help value the carbon stored in some of Mexico’s mangrove forests, where sheused the web app toreport onhow much carbon was saved through protection, which can be used to value the carbon for carbon trading schemes.
This meanscommunitiescan receive income to keep protecting their mangroves.
The release of the Mangrove Carbon Emission Simulator coincides with World Wetlands Day on Saturday, February 2.
Examining the knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes surrounding portable pool safety behaviours of parents of children aged five years and younger is the focus of new Griffith University and Royal Life Saving Society — Australia research, which aims to understand how we can reduce the number of fatalities.
On average, one child per year drowns in a portable swimming pool in Australia and many more are hospitalised due to a non-fatal drowning. In the past 16 years, 20 children under the age of five have drowned in portable pools.
The collaborative study will interview 20 parents of children aged five years and younger who own a portable pool. Interviews will be confidential and will be done by phone.
“By participating in this study, you will be helping us to create better strategies to make portable pools safer for people who use them to enjoy.”
Potential participants can register their interest in participating in the study atbit.ly/2LX8xRXor can contact Jacob Keech via email at[email protected]
Participants will receive a department store gift voucher to thank them for their time.
“At Royal Life Saving, we are keen to hear more about the views of people who have purchased and use portable pools, including awareness of drowning risk and awareness of and attitudes towards fencing,” said Royal Life Saving Society — Australia National Manager Research & Policy, Amy Peden.
“We want to examine awareness of portable safety behaviours and we want to understand the suitability and effectiveness of current product safety labelling.”
“This will be an in-depth qualitative study, which will discuss with participants confidentially their portable pool safety knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours,” A/Prof Hamilton said.
“I think we will uncover rich and interesting insights as we really want to get a good understanding of what drives these behaviours and how we can promote greater safety and reduce drowning and injury around portable pools.”
“We have a strong culture around water in Australia, but as yet we do not have a lot of research around the attitudes towards water safety and this research will provide valuable information that can inform safety messages in the future.”
A/Prof Hamilton said the results of the study would be used to positively influence public education and advocacy work undertaken by Royal Life Saving aimed at drowning prevention around portable pools. It is also hoped it will address a key area of the Australian Water Safety Strategy that aims to reduce drowning in children under five.
Debunking misinformation about autism interventions is an ongoing challenge for health practitioners.
Now a new study led by Griffith University and published in PLOS Onehas found that optimised-debunking interventions are effective in reducing support for practices that are not backed by research.
“This is due to the plethora of practices available with no scientific evidence or even evidence of harm. These are often aggressively marketed using emotional appeals, anecdotes and celebrity endorsements,’’ she said.
“This can lead to practitioners being confused about the evidence base, however it can be difficult to correct misinformation; corrections can increase belief in the misinformation”
Eighty-six people took part in the study, including early childhood educators, speech pathologists, teachers, occupational therapists, and social workers from four different autism early intervention centres in four Australian states.
In the context of professional development training they were randomly assigned to “optimised debunking” or “treatment-as-usual” training and compared support for practices not backed by research evidence before, after, and six weeks after completion of online training.
“Initial results demonstrated that an optimised-debunking intervention was more effective than existing information sheets at reducing support for practices not backed by research,’’ Dr Paynter said.
“Our general approach was that corrections are more effective if they do not just communicate that a piece of information is false, but also explain why it is false, what led people to believe it in the first place, and provide alternatives explanations or practices.”
“For example, in the case of a person falsely believing in an autism epidemic caused by vaccinations, then it is crucial to refute the misinformation and to provide alternative information to fill the “gap” created by the correction — that the observed rise in autism rates is mostly due to broadened diagnostic criteria and awareness of the condition.”
While short-term results were promising, a six-week follow-up highlighted the need for ongoing supports for teachers and health professionals. The researchers highlight the need for professional development and resources that cover not only what practices to use, but what practices not to use, and why.
“Our approach has potential to serve as a flexible template for both real-world application and future research,’’ Dr Paynter said.
Griffith University has jumped on board with Surfing Australia to ride the wave of shaping the next generation of surfing talent.
The partnership will see Griffith become the official university of the sport’s peak association body.
The move will benefit both Griffith University and surfing’s national network of coaches, athletes, performance support providers and industry partners alike, with Surfing Australia to provide opportunity for Griffith students to gain industry placements and internships within Surfing Australia across a range of disciplines.
Kim Crane, Surfing Australia’s National High Performance Director, said the partnership will take the sport into an existing new era.
“One of our National High Performance Program objectives is to proactively seek new knowledge by capturing, developing, interpreting, sharing, applying and retaining facts, information and skills to achieve a range of performance outcomes right across our pathway”.
“To stay ahead on an international level, any High Performance sport requires investment and expertise when considering research and innovation partnerships, and we are thrilled that Griffith has committed to come on an exciting journey with surfing.
Surfing Australia will also produce digital content on behalf of Griffith, which will be published across Surfing Australia’s digital and broadcast platforms – including mySURF.tv and on the Nine Network.
Duncan Free OAM, Director at Griffith Sports College, said the university was delighted to partner with Surfing Australia.
Griffith Sport science student works on an injured surfer.
“Griffith’s sportingexpertise and knowledge using cutting edge technology and facilitieswill certainly be of value toSurfing Australiacontributing tohighperformance, sports research and innovation,”
Griffith’s research excellence in areas like wave modelling, sports engineering and wearable technologies can potentially contribute to further knowledge and progress in high performance surfing.
“With surfing being introduced to the Olympics in Tokyo 2020, this is a timely opportunity for us as a university and our students. Exciting placements will be available for our students to work and gain experience alongside some of the leaders in the field” Mr free said
Associate Professor Clare Minahan, an expert in sport physiology and performance said the partnership spans the breadth of the University.
“It encompasses the four main academic groups including health, business, sciences and arts ,education and law while the start of the process is at the basics with student placements building into key research projects advancing this great sport.”
It has been estimated ocean wave energy alone could contribute up to 10% of Australian renewable energy needs by 2050.
Lead author and senior lecturer in the 
