316 research outputs found
An Experimental Investigation of the Scaling of Columnar Joints
Columnar jointing is a fracture pattern common in igneous rocks in which
cracks self-organize into a roughly hexagonal arrangement, leaving behind an
ordered colonnade. We report observations of columnar jointing in a laboratory
analog system, desiccated corn starch slurries. Using measurements of moisture
density, evaporation rates, and fracture advance rates as evidence, we suggest
an advective-diffusive system is responsible for the rough scaling behavior of
columnar joints. This theory explains the order of magnitude difference in
scales between jointing in lavas and in starches. We investigated the scaling
of average columnar cross-sectional areas due to the evaporation rate, the
analog of the cooling rate of igneous columnar joints. We measured column areas
in experiments where the evaporation rate depended on lamp height and time, in
experiments where the evaporation rate was fixed using feedback methods, and in
experiments where gelatin was added to vary the rheology of the starch. Our
results suggest that the column area at a particular depth is related to both
the current conditions, and hysteretically to the geometry of the pattern at
previous depths. We argue that there exists a range of stable column scales
allowed for any particular evaporation rate.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, for supporting online movies, go to
http://www.physics.utoronto.ca/nonlinear/movies/starch_movies.htm
Configuring urban carbon governance: insights from Sydney, Australia
In the political geography of responses to climate change, and the governance of carbon more specifically, the urban has emerged as a strategic site. Although it is recognized that urban carbon governance occurs through diverse programs and projectsâinvolving multiple actors and working through multiple sites, mechanisms, objects, and subjectsâsurprisingly little attention has been paid to the actual processes through which these diverse elements are drawn together and held together in the exercise of governing. These processesâtermed configurationâremain underspecified. This article explores urban carbon governance interventions as relational configurations, excavating how their diverse elementsâhuman, institutional, representational, and materialâare assembled, drawn into relation, and held together in the exercise of governing. Through an analysis of two contrasting case studies of urban carbon governance interventions in Sydney, Australia, we draw out common processes of configuring and specific sets of devices and techniques that gather, align, and maintain the relations between actors and elements that constitute intervention projects. We conclude by reflecting on the implications of conceiving of governing projects as relational configurations for how we understand the nature and practice of urban carbon governance, especially by revealing the diverse modes of power at work within processes of configuring
Cities and the Transformation of Biodiversity Governance
The governing of nature has been an essential part of the story of urbanization. Whether through the conversion of rivers for transportation, the creation of urban drainage systems for wastewater removal or the installation of parks for their recreational and aesthetic value (Gandy, 2004; Gleeson and Low, 2000; Rydin, 1998), nature has played a critical role in urban development. Yet, conservationist thinking, which has dominated environmental governance and policy, has tended to equate the environment as belonging to either âruralâ or âwildernessâ places that needed to be protected from the encroachment of (urban) society (Owens, 1992). As a result, much of the governance of biodiversity at the urban scale during the twentieth century was focused on the designation and enforcement of protected areas (Vaccaro et al., 2013)
Integrating evidence into policy and sustainable disability services delivery in western New South Wales, Australia: the 'wobbly hub and double spokes' project
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Policy that supports rural allied health service delivery is important given the shortage of services outside of Australian metropolitan centres. The shortage of allied health professionals means that rural clinicians work long hours and have little peer or service support. Service delivery to rural and remote communities is further complicated because relatively small numbers of clients are dispersed over large geographic areas. The aim of this five-year multi-stage project is to generate evidence to confirm and develop evidence-based policies and to evaluate their implementation in procedures that allow a regional allied health workforce to more expeditiously respond to disability service need in regional New South Wales, Australia.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>The project consists of four inter-related stages that together constitute a full policy cycle. It uses mixed quantitative and qualitative methods, guided by key policy concerns such as: access, complexity, cost, distribution of benefits, timeliness, effectiveness, equity, policy consistency, and community and political acceptability.</p> <p>Stage 1 adopts a policy analysis approach in which existing relevant policies and related documentation will be collected and reviewed. Policy-makers and senior managers within the region and in central offices will be interviewed about issues that influence policy development and implementation.</p> <p>Stage 2 uses a mixed methods approach to collecting information from allied health professionals, clients, and carers. Focus groups and interviews will explore issues related to providing and receiving allied health services. Discrete Choice Experiments will elicit staff and client/carer preferences.</p> <p>Stage 3 synthesises Stage 1 and 2 findings with reference to the key policy issues to develop and implement policies and procedures to establish several innovative regional workforce and service provision projects.</p> <p>Stage 4 uses mixed methods to monitor and evaluate the implementation and impact of new or adapted policies that arise from the preceding stages.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The project will provide policy makers with research evidence to support consideration of the complex balance between: (i) the equitable allocation of scarce resources; (ii) the intent of current eligibility and prioritisation policies; (iii) workforce constraints (and strengths); and (iv) the most effective, evidence-based clinical practice.</p
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The 'new majority' and the academization of journalism
The academization of journalism is reliant on the development of the field founded in scholarship demonstrated through the publication of research in peer-reviewed specialist journals. Given the profile of journalism faculty, this means inducting practitioners into a culture of critical research. In Australia at least, this cohort of neophytes is predominantly comprised of middle-aged women who were surveyed about their personal attitudes to research. They were mostly open to the idea of becoming researchers but were inclined to proceed cautiously without necessarily severing their ties with practice. There was evidence to suggest that a generally positive orientation to research was not capitalized on and that they remained uncertain about the role of research. On the other hand, they appeared not to have adopted the orthodoxy of implacable opposition to scholarly inquiry. The change in gender composition in the academy may provide, contrary to historical, but more in line with contemporary, evidence, a renewed impetus to the project of academizing the field
Marine Tourism Development in the Arkhangelsk Region, Russian Arctic : Stakeholderâs Perspectives
Author's accepted version (postprint).This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Springer in Springer Polar Sciences on (07/03/2020).Available online: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-28404-6_17acceptedVersio
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