http://hdl.handle.net/10453/19979 2026-05-14T07:09:14Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194963 Title: Intelligent Decision Support for Dynamic Carbon Finance Management Authors: Liu, Zhenzhong Abstract: The growing urgency of climate change mitigation has positioned carbon finance as a key mechanism within sustainable environmental economics. However, the dynamic and cross disciplinary nature of carbon credits spanning environmental, economic, social, and financial domains poses significant challenges for effective decision making. This doctoral research proposes an intelligent knowledge assembly based decision support system for the dynamic management of carbon finance. The study addresses critical challenges including heterogeneous and sparse data integration, dynamic interactions between environmental and market factors, decision bias, and limited computing resources. By leveraging machine learning and intelligent computing, the proposed system integrates diverse data and expert knowledge into a unified and adaptive decision making framework. The research further explores strategies for supporting decisions under data scarcity and computational constraints while ensuring consistency and objectivity across stakeholder perspectives. The results demonstrate that intelligent knowledge assembly combined with high performance computing can effectively support dynamic carbon finance management. This work provides a technical foundation for improving carbon credit decision making and contributes to the sustainable development of environmental economic systems. Description: University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194956 Title: An approach for quantifying the Social Impact of Carbon Credit Projects and developing a GenAI Tool for UN SDG Claims Authors: Leuva, Drishtant A. Abstract: Climate change has become one of the most serious problems of our time, affecting not only the environment but also economies, societies, and human well-being. Governments and industries across the world are under pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and one widely used approach has been the adoption of carbon credit mechanisms. These systems allow organisations to earn carbon credits by reducing or capturing emissions, which can then be traded with others seeking to offset their carbon footprint. In theory, this creates a market-based incentive for emission reduction without directly harming economic growth. However, carbon credit projects are usually assessed almost entirely on the basis of how much carbon they reduce or store. This narrow focus ignores the fact that such projects operate within real communities and real social systems. In many cases, carbon credit initiatives influence employment, income stability, access to resources, health outcomes, and long-term development opportunities for local populations. When these effects are not properly considered, projects may meet technical emission targets while offering limited benefits to host communities or, in some cases, contributing to social exclusion and inequality. This research argues that carbon credit evaluation needs to move beyond carbon accounting alone. To address this gap, the study integrates the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) into the assessment of carbon credit projects. The SDGs provide a widely accepted framework that captures social, economic, and environmental dimensions of development, including poverty reduction, education, gender equality, decent work, and climate action. Incorporating these goals into project evaluation allows for a more realistic and fair assessment of overall impact. The first objective of this research is to develop an integrated assessment framework that evaluates both environmental and social outcomes of carbon credit projects using SDG-based indicators. Rather than treating social impacts as secondary, this framework places them alongside emission reduction outcomes. The second objective focuses on building and validating statistical and machine learning models that can quantify and predict the social impacts of carbon credit initiatives. These models will use socio-economic and environmental data from diverse projects and regions to support more informed planning and decision-making. The final objective is the development of a GenAI Auditor, an AI-based system designed to review project documentation and verify reported SDG contributions. This tool aims to improve transparency, accountability, and trust within carbon markets by reducing unsupported or exaggerated claims. Description: University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology. 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194955 Title: Exploiting the Power of Quantum Computers: Programming, Access Control and Concurrency Authors: Zhang, Zhicheng Abstract: Exploiting the power of quantum computing relies on foundational software that ensures its convenient, efficient, and safe utilisation. The distinct nature of quantum mechanics introduces new challenges for quantum software design. This thesis contributes to identifying and addressing such challenges from the following three perspectives: • Programming: The first part explores quantum recursive programming, an emerging paradigm that enables compact and elegant programming of complex quantum algorithms. We focus on efficiently implementing such programs, which involve an intricate interplay between two features: quantum control flow and recursive procedure calls. To handle this interplay, we propose the quantum register machine, a new architecture that provides simultaneous instruction-level support for both features. Based on this, we describe a comprehensive implementation process, including compilation, partial evaluation of quantum control flow, and execution on the quantum register machine. Significantly, our efficient implementation of quantum recursive programs also offers automatic parallelisation of quantum algorithms. • Access control: To ensure the security of multi-programming quantum computers, the second part investigates access control in quantum operating systems. Access control is a cornerstone of computer security that prevents unauthorised access to resources. We identify a security threat arising from quantum entanglement as existing operating systems integrate quantum computing. In particular, we present an explicit scenario in which a security breach occurs when a classically secure access control system is straightforwardly adapted to the quantum setting. To protect against such threats, we propose several new models of quantum access control and rigorously analyse their security, flexibility, and efficiency. • Concurrency: The third part examines the atomicity assumption in distributed quantum computing, a fundamental concept in concurrency control, which is crucial for scaling up quantum computational power through distributed systems. While atomic actions have well-established guarantees in classical computing, their rigorous basis in quantum computing remains largely unexplored. We identify key challenges in guaranteeing the atomicity assumption that arise from quantum entanglement and the quantum measurement problem. To address these challenges, we establish a formal model of non-atomic distributed quantum systems and use it to provide a rigorous guarantee for the atomicity of local actions in the quantum setting. Description: University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194927 Title: Optimising care transitions from hospital to home for carers of people with palliative care needs Authors: Marston, Celia Kate Abstract: Transitions from hospital to home are often distressing for people with palliative care needs and their carers, who frequently experience unmet needs and limited support. Although the optimal way to support carers at discharge remains unclear, the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool–Intervention (CSNAT-I) may be suitable for hospital settings. This research aimed to identify the core elements of a carer-focused intervention to strengthen hospital-to-home transitions. The thesis comprised a systematic review, a mixed-methods study evaluating implementation of the CSNAT-I and a Phase II feasibility study (CARENET). The review showed that carers of people with advanced cancer are routinely overlooked in transition interventions, highlighting the need to examine the CSNAT-I in practice. Across studies, clinicians and carers accepted the CSNAT-I and valued its structured approach to identifying and following up carer needs. However, operationalising a carer-focused intervention within acute care proved challenging; clinicians adapted components for contextual fit, and the CARENET protocol did not accommodate the diversity of carers’ support needs or personalised discharge processes. To ensure equitable support at discharge, intervention models must be flexible and informed by diverse carer perspectives. Co-design research involving multiple carer groups is needed before further intervention testing and implementation. Description: University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Health. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z