Flinders University

About: Flinders University is a education organization based out in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 12033 authors who have published 32831 publications receiving 973172 citations. The organization is also known as: Flinders University of South Australia.

The Challenge of Change: Australian Cities and Urban Planning in the New Millennium

Abstract: This paper reviews recent research on the changing spatial structure of Australia’s major cities from the early 1990s, concentrating on (a) the location of employment and journey to work patterns, (b) the changing nature of housing, and (c) patterns of residential differentiation and disadvantage. The paper argues that the 1990s was a watershed decade during which some taken-for-granted aspects of Australian urban character experienced significant change. It then examines the latest generation of strategic planning documents for these major metropolitan areas, all published between 2002 and 2005, and argues that there is a mismatch between the strategies’ consensus view of desirable future urban structure, based on containment, consolidation and centres , and the complex realities of the evolving urban structures. In particular, the current metropolitan strategies do not come to terms with the dispersed, suburbanised nature of much economic activity and employment and the environmental and social issues that flow from that, and they are unconvincing in their approaches to the emerging issues of housing affordability and new, finer-grained patterns of suburban inequality and disadvantage. Overall, the paper contends that current metropolitan planning strategies suggest an inflexible, over-neat vision for the future that is at odds with the picture of increasing geographical complexity that emerges from recent research on the changing internal structure of our major cities.

Housing Affordability and Planning in Australia: The Challenge of Policy Under Neo-liberalism

Abstract: Housing affordability has once again appeared on the policy agenda of Australian governments. House prices have risen in response to booming demand and constraints on the supply of dwellings, especially a shortage of land in the capital cities and skill shortages within the housing industry. Many young and low-income households have experienced great difficulty in gaining access to homeownership and in being able to afford private rental housing. This paper briefly considers the characteristics of public debate around housing affordability in Australia. It examines the role of neo-liberalism in shaping policy responses to housing affordability problems and assesses the argument that affordability goals can be achieved through manipulation of the planning system. It contends that neo-liberal philosophies of government direct policy action to the planning system, but such strategies have a limited capacity to improve housing affordability. Australian governments need to adopt more effective housing policies...

Lithium-Ion Battery Separators for Ionic-Liquid Electrolytes: A Review.

Abstract: Ionic liquids (ILs) are widely studied as a safer alternative electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries. The properties of IL electrolytes compared to conventional electrolytes make them more thermally stable, but they also have poor wetting with commercial separators. In a lithium-ion battery, the electrolyte should completely wet out the separator and electrodes to reduce the cell internal resistance. Investigations of cell materials with IL electrolytes have shown that the wetting issues in IL-electrolyte cells are most likely due to poor separator compatibility, not electrode compatibility. A compatible separator must be developed before IL electrolytes can be used in commercial lithium-ion batteries. Herein, separators for IL electrolytes, including commercial and novel separators, are reviewed. Separators with different processing methods, polymers, additives, and different IL electrolytes are considered. Collated, the separator studies show a strong correlation between ionic conductivity and membrane porosity, even more than the electrolyte type. The challenge of a suitable separator for IL electrolytes is not solved yet. Herein, it is revealed that a separator for IL electrolytes will most likely require a combination of high thermal and mechanical stability polymer, ceramic additives, and an optimized manufacturing process.