Research communication for immediate impact: climate adaptation in Australia

Abstract Research into climate change adaptation is challenged by funding organisations to demonstrate immediate research impact through near term reference in sector- specific communication and policy documents. Critically, research funded to inform decision makers and current policy about adapting to climate change must engage with end users and implement communication initiatives that lead to research adoption. Moreover, researchers need to better understand the components that contribute to effective engagement and communication to plan successful strategies to engage with the range of vulnerable sectors affected by climate change. Given the importance of research application, Primary Investigators for National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF) funded projects had to consider end user engagement and communication. This paper identifies some common factors in three NCCARF cases which successfully demonstrated swift access to climate adaptation research in three sectors; human health, emergency management, and settlements and infrastructure. Early and ongoing engagement between researchers and the intended knowledge users shaped both the research focus and output formats. Stakeholders involved in coordinated and sustained communication programs disseminated and promoted the research through multiple channels. These agents of dissemination included; funders (NCCARF, universities and industry bodies); information users (government agencies and professional bodies), and both mass media and social media

New mobilities across the lifecourse: a framework for analysing demographically-linked drivers of migration

Migration, along with fertility and mortality, is one of the fundamental drivers of population change. Taking the lifecourse as the central concern, the authors set out a theoretical framework and define some key research questions for a programme of research that explores how the linked lives of mobile people are situated in time-space within the economic, social and cultural structures of contemporary society. Drawing on methodologically innovative techniques, these perspectives can offer conceptually significant and policy relevant insights into the changing nature and meanings of migration across the lifecourse

2009 Program Booklet

Official Collection 2009 Program distributed at the event

Sparta Training Area Asian Carp Removal Report

Aquatic invasive species have long been associated with negative ecological and socioeconomic impacts on freshwater ecosystems. In order to mitigate these potential negative effects of invasive species introductions, management and control techniques must be developed. Asian carp species (Silver Carp, Bighead Carp, Grass Carp, and Common Carp) are a problematic group of invasive species that can cause negative effects on native fish species and freshwater ecosystems through a series of trophic cascades. The current focus of Asian carp management and control techniques is directed at reducing population sizes in the upper Illinois River to reduce probability of invasion further upstream at the Illinois River-Great Lakes connection. However, smaller freshwater systems and their associated lakes and impoundments are also vulnerable to invasion and may require management techniques to reduce Asian carp populations. Flooding has resulted in strip mine lakes within the Army National Guard Sparta Training Area being invaded by Asian carps. Therefore, we sought to develop a harvest protocol to remove Asian carps from three Sparta Training Area lakes (S3, S5, and S6) based on a technique developed for Illinois River floodplain lakes that combines multiple net types, electrofishing, and surface sounds and disturbances to drive fish to a pre-determined harvest location. More specifically, lakes were divided into three zones and fish were funneled and herded through strategically-placed monofilament gill nets by surface sounds and disturbances and electrofishing from one end of the lake (zone 1) to the other end of the lake (zone 3) where congregated fish could be more efficiently harvested. To determine our effectiveness of removing Asian carps from these lakes, we used hydroacoustic surveys to estimate reductions in Asian carp density and biomass pre- and post-harvest. A total of 1,232 kg (n = 469) of Asian carps were removed from the three lakes, with much of the biomass being Silver Carp from S5 (n 3 = 250; 720 kg) and S6 (n = 155; 272 kg); S3 contained few Asian carps and removal was minimal (97 kg). Harvest times ranged from 4.25-6.50 hours with a crew of nine people with three boats resulting in 7-14 kg of Asian carp biomass removed per person-hour of work in S5 and S6. Pre- and post-harvest Asian carp density (number of fish / 1000 m3) and biomass (kg / 1000 m3) were reduced by 58-75% in S5 and S6. Effectiveness of the harvest protocol was predicated on our ability to drive fish from zone 1 to zone 3 in each lake. Catch per unit effort for our capture gears was often double to one-hundred fold higher in zone 3 compared to zone 1, indicating that efforts to herd fish into zone 3 were successful. The harvest protocol was effective at removing Asian carps in a relatively short time period. Refining our techniques by adding more zones, or increasing entanglement gears or number of electrofishing boats may improve harvest rates and biomass removed from each lake. The harvest protocol used in this project would likely be applicable to other Sparta Training Area lakes infested with Asian carps that have similar lake morphologies and characteristics; it is unknown how effective this technique will be in larger lakes such as L1, L2 or S11. However, physical barriers would likely be needed at Sparta Training Area lakes to prevent future Asian carp (young-of-year or juvenile) invasions during flooding, particularly lakes in close proximity and elevation to Plum Creek. This study improved our knowledge and techniques for removing Asian carp populations from Sparta Training Area lakes and is anticipated to be applicable to similar small, recreational fishing lakes in other areas. Use of the removal technique described herein would help mitigate the negative ecological effects and nuisances of invasive Asian carps in small lakes. However, future research investigating the techniques used in this study and their effectiveness at removing invasive species should be conducted on lakes with different morphometric characteristics

Church of Scotland army chaplains in the second world war

This thesis is the first study of Church of Scotland chaplains serving with the Army during the Second World War. It explores the way in which the Church of Scotland accepted the challenge of the Second World War and how the Presbyterian chaplains were recruited, trained and how they performed their ministerial duties under wartime conditions. The thesis opens with an examination of the Church of Scotland during the inter-war years, with particular attention to the background of those ministers who were ordained in the 1930s and who were later recruited as Army Chaplains from 1939-45. The discussion highlights pacifism, anti-Semitism, and the Scottish response on the German Church struggle. The thesis then considers from a Scottish perspective the history of the Royal Army Chaplains' Department and the involvement of the Church of Scotland Chaplains' Committee in looking after the interests of Presbyterian chaplains and Scottish soldiers at home and overseas. The thesis considers the factors which led ministers to enlist as chaplains, and assesses the training which they received. It shows how Scottish chaplains integrated with both officers and men and the contribution they made to the moral and spiritual life of many units. Inevitably a number of chaplains were captured in the course of their duty and taken as prisoners of war. This thesis includes a chapter on ministry in the POW camps. The thesis includes two case studies on the wartime experiences of the Very Rev Prof. T.F. Torrance and the Very Rev Dr. R. Selby Wright. Torrance was enlisted into the Church of Scotland Huts and Canteens organisation and saw active service in Italy. Selby Wright meanwhile enlisted as a TA chaplain in 1939 but was later seconded to the BBC as the "Radio Padre". Finally, this thesis concludes with a chapter in which the chaplains are allowed to reflect on their wartime experience and an assessment is made of the overall work and worth of this particular wartime ministry

Misogyny, Islamophobia, and Muslim Supression Internal and Abroad

Contrary to assumptions of suppression in Islam, female sexual discourse and agency expresses freedom within the faith. Homosexual Muslim men face identity suppression. While many think Islamophobia hinders Muslims, in many cases it is shown to motivate and propel them. While some believe that Muslims have the right to practice their faith they don’t see what they experience daily to make them feel suppressed. Islamophobia is the perpetuated form of racism against those who practice the Islamic faith and incorrectly associate them with extremism and violence.https://ecommons.udayton.edu/roesch_symposium_content/1040/thumbnail.jp