Grant M. Furnas Interview

Transcript of an oral history interview with Grant M. Furnas by John Ernst on his experiences during the Vietnam War on June 21, 1997

Nitrogen and phosphorus budgets for the central Great Barrier Reef Shelf

Shelf-scale budgets were developed for the nutrient elements nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the central Great Barrier Reef between Cape Tribulation (I 60 S} and Dunk Island (ca. 18°S). The intent was to quantify: I} stocks of nutrients (nitrogen (N). phosphorus (P) and silicon (Si}) naturally occurring in central Great Barrier Reef waters; 2) natural gradients and variability in water column nutrient concentrations; 3} natural fluxes of nutrients into and out of shelf waters for comparison with anthropogenic or anthropogenically affected nutrient sources

Report on status and trends of water quality and ecosystem health in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

Contributors: Rob Coles, Steve Delean, Miles Furnas, Len McKenzie, Munro Mortimer, Jochen Muller, Andrew Negri, Hugh Sweatman and Angus Thompson

Topology counts: force distributions in circular spring networks

Filamentous polymer networks govern the mechanical properties of many biological materials. Force distributions within these networks are typically highly inhomogeneous and, although the importance of force distributions for structural properties is well recognized, they are far from being understood quantitatively. Using a combination of probabilistic and graph-theoretical techniques we derive force distributions in a model system consisting of ensembles of random linear spring networks on a circle. We show that characteristic quantities, such as mean and variance of the force supported by individual springs, can be derived explicitly in terms of only two parameters: (i) average connectivity and (ii) number of nodes. Our analysis shows that a classical mean-field approach fails to capture these characteristic quantities correctly. In contrast, we demonstrate that network topology is a crucial determinant of force distributions in an elastic spring network.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Missing labels in Fig. 4 added. Reference fixe

The partisan ties of lobbying firms

This article examines lobbying firms as intermediaries between organized interests and legislators in the United States. It states a partisan theory of legislative subsidy in which lobbying firms are institutions with relatively stable partisan identities. Firms generate greater revenues when their clients believe that firms’ partisan ties are valued highly by members of Congress. It hypothesizes that firms that have partisan ties to the majority party receive greater revenues than do firms that do not have such ties, as well as that partisan ties with the House majority party lead to greater financial returns than do partisan ties to the Senate majority party. These hypotheses are tested using data available under the Lobbying Disclosure Act from 2008 to 2016. Panel regression analysis indicates that firms receive financial benefits when they have partisan ties with the majority party in the House but not necessarily with the Senate majority party, while controlling for firm-level covariates (number of clients, diversity, and organizational characteristics). A difference-in-differences analysis establishes that Democratically aligned lobbying firms experienced financial losses when the Republican Party reclaimed the House in 2011, but there were no significant differences between Republican and Democratic firms when the Republicans reclaimed the Senate in 2015

First Annual Marine Monitoring Programme Report September 2005

This report provides an overview of the development of the Marine Monitoring Programme, a description of each component of the programme, an overview of the current status of the components of the programme and an outline of the implementation of the programme as at June 2005. This report is GBRMPA’s inaugural report for the Marine Monitoring Programme. The structure of this report will form the basis of Annual Reports from the GBRMPA for the life of the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan Marine Monitoring Programme

Biological and chemical oceanographic measurements in Far Northern Great Barrier Reef - February 1990

This report presents and sununarises the results of biological and chemical oceanographic sampling carried out in the far northern Great Barrier Reef during February 1990. The region sampled (ca. 11-13°S), lies adjacent to the eastern side of Cape York Peninsula, locations on which are under consideration for national park declaration, the construction of a rocket launching facility and silica sand mining. As little is known regarding the biological and chemical oceanography of the region, a reconnaissance survey was carried out to obtain baseline data on hydrographic, nutrient and sediment characteristics of shelf waters and sediments. It is expected that the data presented herein will form part of the environmental assessment for development in, and conservation of, the region and serve as a basis for designing more detailed and focused water quality surveys

Topology Counts: Force Distributions in Circular Spring Networks

Filamentous polymer networks govern the mechanical properties of many biological materials. Force distributions within these networks are typically highly inhomogeneous, and, although the importance of force distributions for structural properties is well recognized, they are far from being understood quantitatively. Using a combination of probabilistic and graph-theoretical techniques, we derive force distributions in a model system consisting of ensembles of random linear spring networks on a circle. We show that characteristic quantities, such as the mean and variance of the force supported by individual springs, can be derived explicitly in terms of only two parameters: (i) average connectivity and (ii) number of nodes. Our analysis shows that a classical mean-field approach fails to capture these characteristic quantities correctly. In contrast, we demonstrate that network topology is a crucial determinant of force distributions in an elastic spring network. Our results for 1D linear spring networks readily generalize to arbitrary dimensions

Topology determines force distributions in one-dimensional random spring networks

Networks of elastic fibers are ubiquitous in biological systems and often provide mechanical stability to cells and tissues. Fiber-reinforced materials are also common in technology. An important characteristic of such materials is their resistance to failure under load. Rupture occurs when fibers break under excessive force and when that failure propagates. Therefore, it is crucial to understand force distributions. Force distributions within such networks are typically highly inhomogeneous and are not well understood. Here we construct a simple one-dimensional model system with periodic boundary conditions by randomly placing linear springs on a circle. We consider ensembles of such networks that consist of N nodes and have an average degree of connectivity z but vary in topology. Using a graph-theoretical approach that accounts for the full topology of each network in the ensemble, we show that, surprisingly, the force distributions can be fully characterized in terms of the parameters (N,z). Despite the universal properties of such (N,z) ensembles, our analysis further reveals that a classical mean-field approach fails to capture force distributions correctly. We demonstrate that network topology is a crucial determinant of force distributions in elastic spring networks

Marine Monitoring Program: Annual report of AIMS activities 2013-2014. Inshore water quality and coral reef monitoring

This report summarises the results of water quality and coral reef monitoring activities, carried out by the Australian Institute of Marine Science as part of the Marine Monitoring Program (MMP) from 2005 to 2014