Swinburne University of Technology

About: Swinburne University of Technology is a education organization based out in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Galaxy & Population. The organization has 7223 authors who have published 25530 publications receiving 667955 citations. The organization is also known as: Swinburne Technical College & Swinburne College of Technology.

Observations of the naked-eye grb 080319b: implications of nature's brightest explosion

Abstract: The first gamma-ray burst (GRB) confirmed to be bright enough to be seen with the naked eye, GRB 080319B at redshift z = 0.937, allowed for exquisite follow-up observations across the electromagnetic spectrum. We present our detailed optical and infrared (IR) observations of the afterglow, consisting of over 5000 images starting 51 s after the GRB trigger, in concert with our own analysis of the Swift UVOT, Burst Alert Telescope (BAT), and XRT data. The event is extreme not only in observed properties but also intrinsically: it was the most luminous event ever recorded at optical and IR wavelengths and had an exceedingly high isotropic-equivalent energy release in γ-rays. At early times, the afterglow evolution is broadly consistent with being reverse-shock dominated, but then is subsumed by a forward shock at around 1000 s. The overall spectral energy distribution, spanning from ultraviolet through near-IR wavelengths, shows no evidence for a significant amount of dust extinction in the host frame. The afterglow evolution, however, is highly chromatic: starting at about 1000 s the index shifts blueward before shifting back to the red at late times. In our deepest late-time observations, we find tentative evidence for an optical jet break and a luminous supernova. Finally, we examine the detectability of such events with current and future facilities and find that such an event could be detected in gamma rays by BAT out to z = 10.7 (8σ), while the nominal EXIST sensitivity would allow detection to z 32. At the K band, this source would have been easily detected with meter-class telescopes to z 17.

Recent advances in vibration control of offshore platforms

Abstract: Offshore platforms are widely used to explore, drill, produce, storage, and transport ocean resources and are usually subject to environmental loading, such as waves, winds, ice, and currents, which may lead to failure of deck facilities, fatigue failure of platforms, inefficiency of operation, and even discomfort of crews. In order to ensure reliability and safety of offshore platforms, it is of great significance to explore a proper way of suppressing vibration of offshore platforms. There are mainly three types of control schemes, i.e., passive control schemes, semi-active control schemes, and active control schemes, to deal with vibration of offshore platforms. This paper provides an overview of these schemes. Firstly, passive control schemes and several semi-active control schemes are briefly summarized. Secondly, some classical active control approaches, such as optimal control, robust control, and intelligent control, are briefly reviewed. Thirdly, recent advances of active control schemes with delayed feedback control, sliding model control, sampled-data control, and network-based control are deeply analyzed. Finally, some challenging issues are provided to guide future research directions.

Help-seeking by rural residents for mental health problems: the importance of agrarian values

Abstract: Objective: To examine the role of stoicism, self-effficacy and perceived stigma in predicting help-seeking by rural residents, for mental health problems.Method: A cross-sectional community survey was conducted with a sample of 467 rural residents (58% female), who completed self-report questionnaires assessing current levels of symptomatology, disability, perceived stigma, self-effficacy, stoicism, attitudes towards and experience of seeking help for psychological problems.Results: Overall, 27.6% (n = 129) of respondents had sought help from a general practitioner and/or mental health professional for psychological problems or a mental health issue. More women than men reported having sought such help. Lifetime helpseeking for a psychological problem or mental health issue was positively associated with higher levels of distress and lower levels of stoicism and, to a lesser extent, lower levels of self-effficacy.Conclusions: Efforts to improve help-seeking by rural residents for mental health problems sh...