Main Roads Western Australia

BackgroundTechnology can deliver culturally and linguistically appropriate resources to support ethnically diverse family carers (hereafter referred to as carers) of people living with dementia. However, carers’ involvement in research on the development and evaluation of such digital health interventions is limited.ObjectiveThis study aims to user-test the co-designed Draw-Care multilingual, web-based dementia resource with and for carers.MethodsWe evaluated the web-based resource through observation sessions to collect carer feedback, using a mixed methods approach. This comprised the online, validated eHealth Literacy Scale and survey questions assessing the perceived usefulness and importance of the internet for health-related decision-making and access to health resources. In addition, “think-aloud” website navigation sessions were conducted, and Hotjar analytics were used to capture participants’ behavior on the website. Quantitative and analytics data were analyzed descriptively, and qualitative data were analyzed using instant data analysis, followed by thematic analysis.ResultsBetween March and April 2023, a total of 30 carers participated in the user-testing sessions (women, n=20, 67%; mean age 61, SD 13.5 years). The mean eHealth Literacy Scale score was 30 (SD 6.1). Overall, 18 (60%) participants perceived the internet as useful, and laptops and tablets were the most commonly used devices for accessing resources, each used by 9 (30%) participants. Vietnamese (n=5, 17%), Mandarin (n=5, 17%), and English (n=5, 17%) were the top 3 languages the resource was accessed in. A total of 28 (93%) participants could navigate and log in to the website with little to no support. Qualitative results showed that overall, the Draw-Care web-based resource was acceptable, culturally responsive, engaging, and usable. However, navigation was more complicated for those using smaller screens (eg, smartphones and tablets). There were linguistic discrepancies arising from translation issues in Vietnamese and Mandarin, and 14 (46%) participants found it difficult to identify and use the chatbot (ie, virtual helper interface). Issues identified with the prototype Draw-Care website and the proposed improvements included eliminating the virtual helper, simplifying the rating scale from a 5-point smiling emoticon scale to a 3-star rating scale, improving the visibility of the feedback button, and ensuring translation accuracy.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate a bespoke multilingual website delivering a novel, co-designed, and culturally adapted digital intervention in 10 languages for ethnically diverse family carers of people living with dementia. Findings from this user-testing study undertaken with carers uncovered usability issues requiring remediation and emphasized the importance of inclusive, accessible, culturally sensitive, engaging, and beneficial content and design. Key revisions were implemented before the randomized controlled trial commenced.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)RR2-10.1177/20552076231205733

White margate ( Haemulon album ) are a large species of grunt that represent an important part of commercial and subsistence fisheries. Yet, little is known about the reproductive biology of this species. Here, we present direct evidence of white margate spawning at an active Nassau grouper spawning aggregation site in the southern Bahamas. Two days before the full moon, on 12 January, 2025, about 50 white margate were observed, with some individuals displaying coloration associated with courtship behavior. During the sunset dive, surveyors observed a group of 8‐12 white margate engaged in a spawning rush, accompanied by the release of a gamete cloud, which was recorded on video. This finding is significant given the ecological and socioeconomic importance of fish spawning aggregations and the paucity of information on spawning for this species.

Business Performance and Governance Visual Presentation B02 At a time when productivity and unit costs are at the forefront of executives’ agenda, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are a key focus, with USD 51 billion in deals completed globally in Q1 2024, continuing a similar trend from 2023. Australian oil and gas companies are equally active with nine M&A deals announced in the first quarter of 2024, totalling USD 2.2 billion. The M&A landscape is changing, with increasing focus on clean energy investments. The oil and gas industry has experienced mixed success from M&A, and the complexity of adding clean energy assets to the portfolio further threatens the attainment of targeted value from the deal. Effective M&A integration is crucial for realising the full potential of these transactions. This abstract examines the key challenges and opportunities associated with integrating clean energy assets into traditional oil and gas portfolios. It will further identify best practices for successful integration, focussing on strategic alignment, cultural integration, value creation, and effective leadership. These practices are essential for maximising deal value and achieving both financial and environmental objectives in this evolving energy landscape. To access the Visual Presentation click on the link on the right. To read the full paper click here

River systems once safeguarded from water development are being developed. This includes intermittent rivers that annually dry to a series of pools. Describing fish species relationships between abundance and pool depth can help managers set water-take rules that protect fish in dry-season pools. We sampled fish in main-channel and floodplain pools that spanned a gradient of depths and overcame sampling challenges by accounting for interacting effects of species mean length, environmental attributes, and sampling attributes on fish capture probabilities. Fish abundance-depth relationships varied systematically with species mean length, mesohabitat type (main channel, floodplain), water turbidity, and structural complexity, highlighting system complexity and the potential generality of abundance-depth relationships. Similarly, fish length moderated the effects of environmental attributes on capture probability for all sampling methods. We evaluated impacts of hypothetical water-take regulations on fish species’ distributions. Results suggested that water-take rules prohibiting draining of main-channel pools below 1.65 m and reducing floodplain pools by no more than 14% minimises impacts to species’ distributions, promoting conservation of the fish community. Additionally, our approach demonstrates the capacity of species length for predicting distributional and sampling patterns of fish species.

Presented on Wednesday 22 May: Session 20 Over the next 7 years, according to Wood Mackenzie, it is estimated that as many as 380 fields oil and gas facilities will be decommissioned across Asia–Pacific (Wood Mackenzie 2018). Many companies leave Decommissioning and Restoration (D&R) up to the respective project groups using their normal project management and control systems. However, managing D&R requires a different approach and mindset, as the value drivers and risk profiles for D&R projects are different compared to conventional construction projects. For D&R to be efficient – from operational, sustainability, regulatory compliance, environmental and financial perspectives – delivery must not be limited to an isolated project group. Rather, it must leverage corporate and operational knowledge, lessons learned from other decommissioning projects and industry best-practice to support the identification and management of the decommissioning risk profile and successful delivery thereof. Planning for D&R is essential at every stage of the life of an asset and should start as early as possible. Ideally, facilities are designed with D&R in mind at the project conception stage as the scope of D&R is often broader and more complex than operators realise, contributing to D&R projects often exceeding original cost estimates and timelines. Decommissioning and restoration opportunities may be missed or associated risks increased without timely recognition and management. In this paper, dss+ will provide companies with pragmatic guidance on how to plan and implement a D&R process that is managed well from an operational, risk, financial, contractor management and importantly, a stakeholder management point of view. To access the Oral Presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here

Abstract Groundwater is an essential source of freshwater that supports surface ecosystems as well as organisms adapted to living underground. The impacts of anthropogenic climate change, extraction, and pollution pose major threats to groundwater ecosystem health, prompting a need for efficient and reliable means to detect and monitor subterranean faunal communities. Conventional survey of subterranean fauna relies on the collection of organisms for morphological identification, which can be biased, labor intensive, and often indeterminate at lower taxonomic levels. Environmental DNA (eDNA)‐based methods can dramatically improve on stygofaunal surveys, but currently rely on time consuming active water filtration that limits the number of samples that can be processed. Passive eDNA sampling, which involves submersion of absorbent material (e.g. filter membrane, sponge etc.) into the sampled environment for a fixed period, has shown promise as a viable alternative to active filtration in aquatic ecosystems and may be applicable to groundwater systems. Here, we compared groundwater eDNA collected from active pump filtered water samples, membranes submerged in water for 10 min and 24 h, and haul‐net samples morphologically identified from bores at two geographically distinct locations in Western Australia. Our results show that while the relative abundance of eDNA in groundwater (measured through qPCR) is 100–800 times lower in passive samples, the species richness detected is comparable between passive and active eDNA collection. Additionally, standard metabarcoding assays (18S and COI) of passive eDNA samples detected most subterranean orders identified morphologically (12/17), and this proportion may be improved with increased sampling and application of DNA extraction methods that increase DNA yield. Our findings demonstrate that passive eDNA sample collection is a non‐invasive survey method with the potential to improve the efficiency and replication level of stygofaunal surveys but will benefit from further development.

Presented on Tuesday 16 May: Session 3 Oil, gas and new energy companies are facing multiple competing priorities and challenges, from ongoing high-injury rates, a challenging economic climate, reduced capital funding, increasing social pressures and disengaged talent – all leading to pressure to transform at pace. Riding the commodity price cycle and taking a piecemeal approach to transformation is no longer a viable operating strategy. An integrated approach is required, to improve safety, risk, unit cost, growth, culture and decarbonisation performance concurrently, whilst making new energy assets viable. Critical to this integrated approach is an agile, well-designed operating system. Operating systems are not new to the oil, gas and new energy industry; however, dss+ has witnessed the limited effectiveness many of them have in enabling businesses to transform holistically and rapidly. Through this presentation, dss+ will give practical guidance on the elements critical to an effective operating system, using the real-life example of a recent project which saw dss+ partnering with a global oil and gas operator to deliver a reduction in tier 1 and tier 2 safety events, reduce business operating expenditure by US$90 m, reduce capital expenditure by US$20 m and deliver an additional 350 000 boe above budget at a critical asset in the region. To access the Oral Presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here

Landscape management by First Nations Peoples often involves sustainably enhancing environments to increase availability of resources. Granite outcrops, globally, can exhibit such modifications. Propped-up rock slabs constructed by First Nations Peoples for catching reptiles (lizard traps) are a widespread, overlooked, and threatened cultural component of granites of the Southwest Australian Floristic Region. Our team, which includes three Merningar/Menang Elders (co-authors LK, HC, and AE), has undertaken a systematic and culturally informed review of the current scientific literature and Traditional Ecological Knowledge with the subsequent aim of using that data to raise awareness and advocate for lizard trap protection. We collated information and identified knowledge gaps regarding lizard traps: their definition, function, distribution, related Traditional Ecological Knowledge, threats, and conservation. Elders explained that lizard traps do not restrain or contain animals. They provide reptiles with shelter from aerial predators, and opportunities for basking, shade, and foraging. They work as a trap because startled reptiles run beneath a lizard trap, are surrounded by people, and extracted. All 317 published lizard trap records are in southwest Western Australia, across Noongar, Yamaji, and Ngadju lands. Ten papers expressed concern over threats to lizard traps. Overall, lizard traps highlight how sustainable ecosystem enhancement requires deep knowledge of the land and culture that is embedded in the ecological system. Further cross-cultural ecological studies are required to document, understand, and protect these culturally significant structures, and the Traditional Ecological Knowledge and biodiversity that they sustain.