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As a trending mobility choice, e-scooters have become popular in many cities. A number of authorities have initiated shared e-scooter trial schemes to assess the feasibility of the vehicles prior to enacting official legalisation. This paper aims to provide an evidence review of shared e-scooters and investigate how existing evidence may inform long-term policies. This carries significant relevance for jurisdictions that are in a conflicting position with e-scooters, such as New South Wales (NSW), Australia whose context motivates this study. The evidence review focuses on three themes derived from experience with shared e-scooters within the broader micromobility landscape, namely: safety; where shared e-scooters fit into the modal landscape; and the environmental impacts. Findings confirm that ensuring the safety of shared e-scooters requires complex solutions, which may include a clear regulatory framework for e-scooters, safety education and skill training, innovative data collection and analysis methods, and an approach to safety management that is user-based, location-based, and time-based. In terms of modal fit policymakers should encourage first and last-mile combinations with public transport, with consideration of user characteristics; while climate impact is strongly correlated to the mode replaced by e-scooter trips. The paper provides insights for policymakers on the regulation and positioning of shared e-scooters. • Many jurisdictions are struggling to determine policies for e-scooters. • Existing e-scooter evidence sheds light on possible long-term policies. • Safety management should consider different users, locations, and times. • First and last-mile combinations with public transport should be encouraged. • Climate impact is strongly correlated to the mode replaced by e-scooter trips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supporters of hydrogen energy urge scaling up technology and reducing costs for competitiveness. This paper explores how hydrogen energy technologies (HET) are perceived by Australia's general population and considers the way members of the public imagine their role in the implementation of hydrogen energy now and into the future. The study combines a nationally representative survey (n = 403) and semi-structured interviews (n = 30). Results show age and gender relationships with self-reported hydrogen knowledge. Half of the participants obtained hydrogen information from televised media. Strong support was observed for renewable hydrogen, while coal (26%) and natural gas (41%) versions had less backing. Participants sought more safety-related information (41% expressed concern). Most felt uncertain about influencing hydrogen decisions and did not necessarily recognise they had agency beyond their front fence. Exploring the link between political identity and agency in energy decision-making is needed, with energy democracy a potentially productive direction. • Hydrogen's strongest appeal to Australians is its benefit for climate change mitigation. • Although widely accepted, there is limited knowledge about hydrogen in terms of how it is produced or used. • The more people know about hydrogen, the more willing they are to participate in the decision-making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Phasing out coal-fired power is inevitable, but a deeply complex process from a social-institutional standpoint. • The nature of the coal-fired power transition is comparable to the automotive industry closures observed in Australia's recent industrial past. • This paper draws on just transitions and the transition management analytical frameworks. • Four key insights offer pointers for policymakers to support the transition away from coal-fired power in Australia and globally. Nearly three-quarters of Australia's electricity generation is coal-dependent with fossil fuel-led electricity contributing to over a third of Australia's CO 2 emissions. Climate change imperatives are calling for permanent shifts to these patterns, leading to early closure announcements of several coal-fired power plants across the country. Although the pace and scale of the energy transition are unprecedented, the closure of large-scale industries is not uncommon. The most recent closure in Australia's industrial past that remains vivid in the nation's collective memory was the end of nearly 70 years of automotive manufacturing. Drawing on expert consultations, and applying just transitions and transition management thinking, this paper identifies four key insights from the auto sector closure experience. These offer compelling pointers to guide socio-economic transformations in frontline regions that are likely to face challenging, often deeply personal, impacts resulting from the closure of coal-fired power stations over the coming decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Nationwide streamflow projections for Australia informed by CMIP5 and CMIP6. • Vast majority of CMIP5 and CMIP6 GCMs project less winter rainfall across Australia. • Lower winter rainfall translates to a significant reduction in annual runoff. • Modelled median projection of runoff shows a 50% reduction in far southwest Australia. • Modelled median projection of runoff shows a 20% reduction in far southeast Australia. Projections of streamflow under future climate are essential for developing adaptation strategies in the water and related sectors. This paper presents nationwide streamflow projections for Australia informed by climate change signals in CMIP6 GCMs and compares the projections with those from CMIP5 GCMs. The modelled future runoff projections driven by CMIP5 and CMIP6 GCMs are relatively similar for far southern Australia. The median projection is a 50% reduction in mean annual runoff in far southwest Australia and 20% reduction in far southeast Australia by 2046–2075 relative to 1976–2015 under the high SSP5-8.5/RCP8.5 global warming scenario. The vast majority of CMIP5 and CMIP6 GCMs project less winter rainfall across Australia. As most of the runoff in far southern Australia occurs in winter and spring, the lower winter rainfall translates to a significant reduction in annual runoff. It is therefore prudent to plan and manage for a reduction in future water resources, particularly in the densely populated and important agricultural regions in southeast Australia. There is less agreement between GCMs in the summer rainfall projection, with the CMIP6 GCMs generally projecting a wetter future (or smaller decrease in rainfall) than the CMIP5 GCMs. The modelled median projection for mean annual runoff is a 10% reduction in the south-east coast, 5% reduction in the north-east coast and little change in northern Australia. More GCMs project an increase rather than a decrease in the interannual variability of rainfall, and this would further amplify multi-year hydrological droughts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agritourism is an important supplementary activity in agricultural regions, attracting numerous visitors in search of new experiences and providing alternative incomes to those in rural areas. Whilst tourism literature has progressed in defining and characterising agritourism, there continues to be limited knowledge concerning what contributes directly and indirectly to enhancing and deepening the agritourism experience, particularly the role of visitor-provider interaction and the emotional connection to place. In this paper, we address this gap by exploring agritourism in Western Australia, drawing on a survey of providers and ten semi-structured interviews. We find that agritourism was comprised of four key experiential dimensions (location, authenticity, interaction, and learning) differentiated by six contextual factors which are either endogenous or exogenous to the provider. Our findings show how the agritourism experience can be curated, contributing to the establishment of a better understanding of how providers can improve visitor experience and the attraction of rural areas. The research offers a framework for understanding the role of location as a cross-cutting experiential dimension to better inform policymakers, regional development agencies and agritourism providers in developing agritourism 'products' that may increase visitor numbers and sales, improve regional development outcomes, and enhance rural understandings. • Agritourism is an increasingly important for rural economies. • There is limited understanding on how agritourism relates to unique local and regional contexts. • Agritourism experiential dimensions (location, authenticity, interaction, and learning) are framed by six provider factors. • Highlights location as a cross-cutting ad important dimension in improving regional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural diversity can contribute to improving agriculture and food systems sustainability, but it is commonly associated with smallholdings and subsistence farming. The drivers and trade-offs around diversification strategies in high-income countries remain poorly understood. Tasmania, due to its diverse climate and geography, is among the most agro-diverse regions in Australia, which makes it an interesting case to study. This paper addresses three main research questions: (1) How do farmers define agricultural diversity and diversification? 2) How is diversification 'used' as a farming strategy? and 3) What incentives and barriers are currently structuring the adoption of these strategies? We conducted Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviews with 95 farmers across Tasmania and analyse them qualitatively using thematic analysis. Our findings show that attitudes and motivations towards agricultural diversity vary among farmers depending on personal experiences, values and farming backgrounds and context. These motivations may influence the role that agricultural diversity plays within farms. We could identify a net distinction between farmers using diversification strategies: (1) as integral components of their business to respond to different needs and purposes, (2) purely as additional business opportunities or (3) for motivations that go beyond the financial value. Nevertheless, other farmers prefer specialisation as they find it more profitable or consider that investing in additional activities is too demanding or financially risky. As only 14 farms in our sample specialised in a single product, our results suggest that agricultural diversification strategies can also represent viable options also in a high-income country. However, the variety of responses and perspectives among the participants of this study indicates that future research and policy interventions promoting agricultural diversity should aim to identify and address the specific challenges encountered by the different approaches to diversification employed by farmers. • Qualitative analysis of a diverse sample of 95 farmers in Tasmania. • We identified a wide range of specific definitions, approaches, and uses of agricultural diversification strategies. • Farmers define diversity by the number of activities and enterprises adopted, or by values and outcomes associated with it. • Agricultural diversification can be a viable and sometimes necessary strategy also in high-income countries. • Funding opportunities, information, skills and labour availability emerged as major incentives for diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, the finfish aquaculture industry has experienced a decline in social acceptance, as the industry has been linked to coastal and marine environmental impacts. The causality, magnitude and intensity of these impacts are contested and controversial. To address these social concerns and perceptions, new lower-impact forms of production have been integrated in planning processes for the expansion of the salmon industry. This paper identifies a range of stakeholder views on coastal and marine ecosystem services associated with the expansion of salmon aquaculture using lower-impact forms of production in Tasmania, Australia. Stakeholder surveys combined with Q methodology interviews were used to capture stakeholders' 'subjectivities' or perspectives—described here as 'preferences'. The application of Q methodology identified three factors or perspectives—'utilitarian ecological', 'ecological primacy' and 'recreational amenity'—which explain the majority of the variance in stakeholder preferences. The 'utilitarian ecological' label accounted for the largest cluster of stakeholders' preferences, while the 'ecological primacy' and 'recreational amenity' perspectives accounted for small subsets of stakeholder preferences. Q methodology was an effective approach for identifying the range of stakeholder preferences for and the relative importance of ecosystem services in these coastal and marine environs. Environmental attributes such as seabed health and water quality were identified as being the most important regulating and supporting coastal and marine ecosystem services, followed by the subsequent flow of benefits to regional communities through employment in the Q results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately predicting estuaries water quality is essential to support immediate intervention to water quality problem management. Deep learning is used to improve forecasting of water quality parameters in many aquatic systems. However, it is frequently constrained by low data frequency and quality. High-frequency, continuous monitoring using integrated in-situ water quality and environmental sensors can be an input to deep learning models resulting in highly accurate water quality and environmental predictions. This paper proposes a novel approach to improve forecasting of water quality and environmental variables. The results of the real-world data from the Swan Canning Estuary sites show how well the suggested model works. With different sizes of training and testing sets, the model can still predict the increased number of hours in high scores. Eliminating highly correlated variables impact the model's performance, emphasising the usefulness of strongly correlated variables in scarce data scenarios. • This article proposes a framework to enhance water quality variable forecasting. • The framework reframes the time series problem as a supervised learning problem. • The results on the set of data from the estuary show how well the framework works. • The approach is envisaged to support management in detecting water quality issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]