Australian adults’ knowledge of Australian agriculture

Purpose – Agriculture is a major generator of wealth and employment in Australia. However, it faces a range of economic and environmental challenges which require substantial community support. The purpose of this paper is to examine Australian adults’ Australian knowledge of, and attitudes towards, Australian agriculture. Design/methodology/approach – Online questionnaire survey of 1,026 adults conducted nationwide during August 2012. Findings – Most respondents had little knowledge of even the basic aspects of the industry but they approved of farmers’ performance of their roles. Latent class analysis showed that there are two groups of consumers with low and lower levels of knowledge. The respondents’ age, rural residence and universalist values were positive predictors of agricultural knowledge. Research limitations/implications – This was a cross-sectional, quota-based survey which examined only some aspects of agriculture. However, the findings suggest that more communication with the general public about the industry is required in order to build on the positive sentiment that exists within the community. Practical implications – More education about agriculture in schools and higher education is indicated. Social implications – The poor state of knowledge of agriculture threatens the social contract upon which agricultural communities depend for survival. Originality/value – The study highlights the poor state of general knowledge about agriculture in Australia. The findings could be used as a baseline against which the efficacy of future education programmes could be assessed

Measurements of Nitric Oxide During a Stratospheric Warming

The altitude distribution of NO was measured between 12 and 33 km near 54°N during the stratospheric warming of February, 1979. The NO mixing ratios were considerably smaller compared to summer conditions, especially below 23 km. The measurements are used to estimate the distribution of NO2 for comparison with ground‐based column measurements and to show that during the warming NOx is at least a factor of two lower than is observed in summer at this latitude. This reduction in NOx is shown to be consistent with a larger fraction of odd‐nitrogen existing as N2O5

Exploring the efficacy of different electric field models in driving a model of the plasmasphere

The dynamics of the plasmasphere are strongly controlled by the inner magnetospheric electric field. In order to capture realistically the erosion of the nightside plasmapause and the formation of the drainage plume in a model of the plasmasphere, the electric field must be accurate. This study investigates how well five different electric field models drive the Dynamic Global Core Plasma Model during eight storm periods. The five electric field models are the Volland‐Stern analytic formula with Maynard‐Chen Kp dependence, two versions of the Weimer statistical models (96 and 05), and two versions of the Assimilative Mapping of Ionospheric Electrodynamics (AMIE) technique using magnetometer and DMSP satellite data. Manually extracted plasmapause locations from images taken by the EUV instrument on the Imager for Magnetopause‐to‐Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) satellite, as described by Goldstein et al. (2005), were compared to the simulation results throughout the main phase of the eight events. Three methods of calculating the plasmapause were employed to determine the best fit to EUV data, using the maximum gradient, a constant density contour (fit method), and the location in which the modeled density fell significantly below the specified saturation density for the given radial position (saturation method). It was found that the simulations driven by the Weimer (1996) model produced the best fit overall and that the fit and saturation methods worked best for matching the model results to the observations. Key Points The Weimer [1996] model works quite well for driving the plasmasphere A saturation technique for determining the plasmapause location in introduced Plasmapause determined by IMAGE may not be the steepest gradient in densityPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108010/1/jgra51094.pd

Spin Readout and Initialization in a Semiconductor Quantum Dot

Electron spin qubits in semiconductors are attractive from the viewpoint of long coherence times. However, single spin measurement is challenging. Several promising schemes incorporate ancillary tunnel couplings that may provide unwanted channels for decoherence. Here, we propose a novel spin-charge transduction scheme, converting spin information to orbital information within a single quantum dot by microwave excitation. The same quantum dot can be used for rapid initialization, gating, and readout. We present detailed modeling of such a device in silicon to confirm its feasibility.Comment: Published versio

Resistance management and the ecology of Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) in subtropical Australia

Subtropical Australia is a demonstrated hotspot for phosphine resistance in stored product pests. Rhyzopertha dominica and Tribolium castaneum are common pests of stored grain in this region and management of these pests is increasingly impeded through the spread of resistance to phosphine, the most desirable control method. A number of field-oriented studies were conducted from the 1970’s to 1990’s to understand the ecology of these pests in subtropical Australia, including seasonal abundance, flight and population growth in stored grain. To manage the evolution and spread of resistance we require an understanding of movement of these beetles among foci of infestation. This paper presents preliminary analyses of two aspects of new research on these species: (1) a trapping program using pheromones to investigate beetle numbers in spatial and temporal contexts, and (2) characterisation of beetles leaving infested farm silos. Adults of both species were trapped throughout the year with the lowest numbers corresponding to the coldest part of the year. The coldest trapping period had mean maximum and minimum temperatures of 21.1 and 3.5°C respectively. Trapping also revealed distinct differences between the two species, both in terms of numbers caught and where they were caught. In general, more R. dominica were caught than T. castaneum, similar numbers of R. dominica were caught near farm silos and in paddocks at least 1 km from the nearest silo, and more T. castaneum were caught near silos than in paddocks. Individual adults intercepted flying from farm silos are being characterised in the laboratory, and results to date show that these adults are long-lived, the females have mated before emigrating and are highly fecund. By undertaking research of the type summarised here we aim to develop an understanding of how these two species interact with their environment and how these interactions influence resistance development. Keywords: Ecology, Rhyzopertha dominica, Tribolium castaneum, Australi

The effect of ring current electron scattering rates on magnetosphere‐ionosphere coupling

This simulation study investigated the electrodynamic impact of varying descriptions of the diffuse aurora on the magnetosphere‐ionosphere (M‐I) system. Pitch angle diffusion caused by waves in the inner magnetosphere is the primary source term for the diffuse aurora, especially during storm time. The magnetic local time (MLT) and storm‐dependent electrodynamic impacts of the diffuse aurora were analyzed using a comparison between a new self‐consistent version of the Hot Electron Ion Drift Integrator with varying electron scattering rates and real geomagnetic storm events. The results were compared with Dst and hemispheric power indices, as well as auroral electron flux and cross‐track plasma velocity observations. It was found that changing the maximum lifetime of electrons in the ring current by 2–6 h can alter electric fields in the nightside ionosphere by up to 26%. The lifetime also strongly influenced the location of the aurora, but the model generally produced aurora equatorward of observations.Key PointsA ring current model is updated to include self‐consistent auroral precipitation in its electric field solverThe electron scattering rate controls where conductance producing aurora is altering the entire electrodynamic systemFor best results, ring current models should include a self‐electric field, including both diffuse and discrete auroraPeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137355/1/jgra53401_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137355/2/jgra53401.pd

Comment on “Nonlinear response of the polar ionosphere to large values of the interplanetary electric field” by C. T. Russell et al.

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95504/1/jgra16638.pd

Self-Consistent Model of Magnetospheric Electric Field, Ring Current, Plasmasphere, and Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves: Initial Results

Further development of our self-consistent model of interacting ring current (RC) ions and electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves is presented. This model incorporates large scale magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling and treats self-consistently not only EMIC waves and RC ions, but also the magnetospheric electric field, RC, and plasmasphere. Initial simulations indicate that the region beyond geostationary orbit should be included in the simulation of the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling. Additionally, a self-consistent description, based on first principles, of the ionospheric conductance is required. These initial simulations further show that in order to model the EMIC wave distribution and wave spectral properties accurately, the plasmasphere should also be simulated self-consistently, since its fine structure requires as much care as that of the RC. Finally, an effect of the finite time needed to reestablish a new potential pattern throughout the ionosphere and to communicate between the ionosphere and the equatorial magnetosphere cannot be ignored

Thermoelectric properties of the bismuth telluride nanowires in the constant-relaxation-time approximation

Electronic structure of bismuth telluride nanowires with the growth directions [110] and [015] is studied in the framework of anisotropic effective mass method using the parabolic band approximation. The components of the electron and hole effective mass tensor for six valleys are calculated for both growth directions. For a square nanowire, in the temperature range from 77 K to 500 K, the dependence of the Seebeck coefficient, the electron thermal and electrical conductivity as well as the figure of merit ZT on the nanowire thickness and on the excess hole concentration are investigated in the constant-relaxation-time approximation. The carrier confinement is shown to play essential role for square nanowires with thickness less than 30 nm. The confinement decreases both the carrier concentration and the thermal conductivity but increases the maximum value of Seebeck coefficient in contrast to the excess holes (impurities). The confinement effect is stronger for the direction [015] than for the direction [110] due to the carrier mass difference for these directions. The carrier confinement increases maximum value of ZT and shifts it towards high temperatures. For the p-type bismuth telluride nanowires with growth direction [110], the maximum value of the figure of merit is equal to 1.3, 1.6, and 2.8, correspondingly, at temperatures 310 K, 390 K, 480 K and the nanowire thicknesses 30 nm, 15 nm, and 7 nm. At the room temperature, the figure of merit equals 1.2, 1.3, and 1.7, respectively.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, typos added, added references for sections 2-