Environmental history of the Willunga Basin 1830s to 1990s

Environmental History is a relatively new field of study which seeks to establish historic trends relative to environmental change and to use the insight gained to assist future management. As yet there are few such Australian studies on a detailed regional basis. The Willunga Basin is an important region within South Australia in physical, economic and social terms, but it currently experiences a variety of environmental problems, including a minimal amount of native vegetation, winter flooding and gully erosion. It was perceived that these problems could benefit from some knowledge of the area's environmental history. Therefore , using a range of sources and methods, historical trends were established in the key aspects of rainfall, surface and groundwater drainage, gully erosion, vegetation , population, settlement and land use, and these trends were t hen compiled to provide this Environmental History of the Willunga Basin from t he 1830s to the 1990s. It was ascertained that the Willunga Basin environment had changed significantly in some respects since -the first Europeans moved into the area in the 1830s. The nature, timing and magnitude of various changes were compared to provide some explanation of the contemporary environmental problems. These were found to have resulted from both human and non- human forces. Although one significant non-human change was a long-term decline in average annual rainfall over the 155 years from 1839 to 1993, European land use activities introduced since settlement in 1840 had often combined with natural processes and events to produce change. Extensive and intensive land use changes had made the environment more susceptible to change or had accelerated natural change in a particular direction.Thesis (B.A.(Hons.)) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of Geography, 199

Overview of ICTs and health

Open access journal.Community informatics links economic and social development efforts at the community level with emerging opportunities in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). In recent years in public health there has been an increased focus on the broader social determinants of health and on social inclusion, as evidenced in the 2008 Final Report of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health1. Broader determinants include education, income, social connection, and other opportunities that support improved health and wellbeing

Compared to conventional, ecological intensive management promotes beneficial proteolytic soil microbial communities for agro-ecosystem functioning under climate change-induced rain regimes

Projected climate change and rainfall variability will affect soil microbial communities, biogeochemical cycling and agriculture. Nitrogen (N) is the most limiting nutrient in agroecosystems and its cycling and availability is highly dependent on microbial driven processes. In agroecosystems, hydrolysis of organic nitrogen (N) is an important step in controlling soil N availability. We analyzed the effect of management (ecological intensive vs. conventional intensive) on N-cycling processes and involved microbial communities under climate change-induced rain regimes. Terrestrial model ecosystems originating from agroecosystems across Europe were subjected to four different rain regimes for 263 days. Using structural equation modelling we identified direct impacts of rain regimes on N-cycling processes, whereas N-related microbial communities were more resistant. In addition to rain regimes, management indirectly affected N-cycling processes via modifications of N-related microbial community composition. Ecological intensive management promoted a beneficial N-related microbial community composition involved in N-cycling processes under climate change-induced rain regimes. Exploratory analyses identified phosphorus-associated litter properties as possible drivers for the observed management effects on N-related microbial community composition. This work provides novel insights into mechanisms controlling agro-ecosystem functioning under climate change

The interplay between structure and agency in shaping the mental health consequences of job loss

Main themes that emerged from the qualitative exploration of the psychological distress of job loss included stress, changes to perceived control, loss of self-esteem, shame and loss of status, experiencing a grieving process, and financial strain. Drawing on two models of agency we identified the different ways workers employed their agency, and how their agency was enabled, but mainly constrained, when dealing with job loss consequences. Respondents’ accounts support the literature on the moderating effects of economic resources such as redundancy packages. The results suggest the need for policies to put more focus on social, emotional and financial investment to mediate the structural constraints of job loss. Our study also suggests that human agency must be understood within an individual’s whole of life circumstances, including structural and material constraints, and the personal or interior factors that shape these circumstances.The authors acknowledge support from the National Health and Medical Research Council Capacity Building Grant (324724). The research was supported by the SA Department of Health and the SA Department of Families and Communities through the Human Services Research and Innovation Program (HSRIP), and the Australian Research Council Linkage Program (LP0562288), with the Department of Health (DOH) serving as Industry Partner. Professor Fran Baum was supported by an ARC Federation Fellowship and Drs Newman and Ziersch by the SA Premier’s Science and Research Fund

Identification of microbial signatures linked to oilseed rape yield decline at the landscape scale

Background: The plant microbiome plays a vital role in determining host health and productivity. However, we lack real-world comparative understanding of the factors which shape assembly of its diverse biota, and crucially relationships between microbiota composition and plant health. Here we investigated landscape scale rhizosphere microbial assembly processes in oilseed rape (OSR), the UK’s third most cultivated crop by area and the world's third largest source of vegetable oil, which suffers from yield decline associated with the frequency it is grown in rotations. By including 37 conventional farmers’ fields with varying OSR rotation frequencies, we present an innovative approach to identify microbial signatures characteristic of microbiomes which are beneficial and harmful to the host. Results: We show that OSR yield decline is linked to rotation frequency in real-world agricultural systems. We demonstrate fundamental differences in the environmental and agronomic drivers of protist, bacterial and fungal communities between root, rhizosphere soil and bulk soil compartments. We further discovered that the assembly of fungi, but neither bacteria nor protists, was influenced by OSR rotation frequency. However, there were individual abundant bacterial OTUs that correlated with either yield or rotation frequency. A variety of fungal and protist pathogens were detected in roots and rhizosphere soil of OSR, and several increased relative abundance in root or rhizosphere compartments as OSR rotation frequency increased. Importantly, the relative abundance of the fungal pathogen Olpidium brassicae both increased with short rotations and was significantly associated with low yield. In contrast, the root endophyte Tetracladium spp. showed the reverse associations with both rotation frequency and yield to O. brassicae, suggesting that they are signatures of a microbiome which benefits the host. We also identified a variety of novel protist and fungal clades which are highly connected within the microbiome and could play a role in determining microbiome composition. Conclusions: We show that at the landscape scale, OSR crop yield is governed by interplay between complex communities of both pathogens and beneficial biota which is modulated by rotation frequency. Our comprehensive study has identified signatures of dysbiosis within the OSR microbiome, grown in real-world agricultural systems, which could be used in strategies to promote crop yield. [MediaObject not available: see fulltext.

Images and impacts of parenthood: explaining fertility and family size in contemporary Australia

This thesis was written against the backdrop of Australia’s low fertility rate to investigate perceptions at the individual level, and within the social context, of influences on fertility and family size. The thesis aligns itself with cultural, ideational and institutional theories of fertility change. It seeks to augment contemporary debate and policy, which centre around work-family compatibility and the financial costs of children, by also investigating the influence of individuals’ expectations and experiences of conception, pregnancy, birth and early parenthood. For several decades the geographical, medical and sociological literature has shown these reproductive events to heavily impact on the physical and mental well-being of parents in developed societies, but it is only recently that some demographers have suggested that they warrant renewed investigation in low fertility research. These aspects are all the more salient as postmodern values associated with concern about personal well-being have risen to prominence and have become associated with the transition to below replacement fertility. The primary research in the thesis comprises 62 in-depth interviews with parents from across metropolitan South Australia, and a small survey of 45 individuals intending to start a family within two years. The thesis intentionally includes the views of men and of parents with larger families. Analysis of 1996 Census data establishes fertility patterns at the macro level as a basis for exploring the qualitative data. The thesis findings contribute new knowledge by showing that in South Australia cultural and family influences shape images of family life and family size despite the rhetoric of modern reproductive “choice”. They also demonstrate how lower fertility can result from individuals with postmodern preferences finding their experiences of parenthood clashing with their preferences for autonomy, rationality, personal achievement and quality of life. The thesis argues that such experiences can diffuse socially to negatively influence the images and anticipated impacts of parenthood, and hence the fertility desires, of others. In identifying gender differences in the impacts, the thesis concludes that low fertility theory and policy must diversify to better reflect the concerns of women as mothers, and to consider the embodied and social aspects of reproductive behaviour.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Social Sciences, 200

Overview of ICTs and Health

Community informatics links economic and social development efforts at the community level with emerging opportunities in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). In recent years in public health there has been an increased focus on the broader social determinants of health and on social inclusion, as evidenced in the 2008 Final Report of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health1. Broader determinants include education, income, social connection, and other opportunities that support improved health and wellbeing

A bait-trap assay to characterize soil microbes that exhibit chemotaxis to root exudates

Here, we describe a novel "bait-trap" assay, which facilitates capture of soil microorganisms that exhibit chemotaxis to chemical attractants, such as root exudates. These multi-population assemblages represent potential guilds and can be characterized using a wide-range of culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. While in this example, we use root exudates as bait, any water-soluble compound(s) could be used. Hence, the potential applications for the assay are diverse