Ten Journeys to Cameron’s Farm

Three decades after what he called ‘a dreadful air crash, almost within sight of my windows’ Robert Menzies wrote ‘I shall never forget that terrible hour; I felt that for me the end of the world had come…’ Ten Journeys to Cameron’s Farm tells the lives of the ten men who perished in Duncan Cameron’s Canberra property on 13 August 1940: three Cabinet ministers, the Chief of the General Staff, two senior staff members, and the RAAF crew of four. The inquiries into the accident, and the aftermath for the Air Force, government, and bereaved families are examined. Controversial allegations are probed: did the pilot F/Lt Bob Hitchcock cause the crash or was the Minister for Air Jim Fairbairn at the controls? ‘Cameron Hazlehurst is a story-teller, one of the all-too rare breed who can write scholarly works which speak to a wider audience. In the most substantial, original, and authoritative account of the Canberra aircraft accident of August 1940 he provides unique insights into a critical, poignant moment in Australian history. Hazlehurst’s account is touched with irony and quirks, set within a framework of political, social, and military history, distinctions of class, education, and rank, and the machinations of parliamentary and service politics and of the ‘official mind’. The research is meticulous and wide-ranging, the analysis is always balanced, and the writing at once skilful and compelling. This is a work of an exceptional historian.’ (Ian Hancock, author of Nick Greiner: A Political Biography, John Gorton: He Did It His Way, and National and Permanent? The Federal Organisation of the Liberal Party of Australia) ‘Ten Journeys to Cameron’s Farm is a monumental work of historical research pegged on a single, lethal moment at the apex of government at an extraordinarily sensitive time in Australia’s history. The book embodies top drawer scholarship, deep sensitivity to antipodean class structures and sensibilities, and a nuanced understanding of both democratic and bureaucratic politics.’ (Christine Wallace, author of Germaine Greer Untamed Shrew and The Private Don: the man behind the legend of Don Bradman

Writing miracles in tenth-century Winchester

This thesis examines a number of miracle collections and hagiographies written by Winchester monks in the late tenth century. It compares three different accounts of the cult of Swithun by Lantfred, Wulfstan and Ӕlfric, as well as comparing Wulfstan‟s and Ӕlfric‟s Vita Ӕthelwoldi. There were two main objectives to the thesis. The first was to examine whether an analysis of miracle narratives could tell us anything important about how a monastic community perceived itself, especially in relation to the wider world? This was tested by applying approaches used by Thomas Head and Raymond Van Dam to an Anglo- Saxon context. It does seem that miracle narratives can be used to analyse power relations, for instance, and that cults could be used to reconcile secular clerks with the new monastic community. The second aim was to examine why churchmen wrote about saints‟ cults in the way they did. One noteworthy finding was the fact that Ӕlfric seemed to significantly alter or omit instances of dream visions involving women in his hagiography. The thesis also tests a conclusion of Mechthild Gretsch that Ӕlfric generally omitted instances of posthumous miracles in his hagiographies, and found that the evidence supported her findings

Aerobic Oxidations Mediated by Allylnickel(N-Heterocyclic Carbene)Chloride Complexes: Investigating the Role of a Pendent Amine Group

Molecular oxygen (O2) represents the most ideal green oxidant for the large-scale oxidation of organic compounds, due to its inexpensive and environmentally benign characteristics. However, a number of challenges remain for its use in the fine chemical and pharmaceutical industry, including the development of highly selective catalytic transformations. NiCl(allyl)(NHC) complexes have been shown to react with O2 to promote the oxidation of the allylic ligand, however non-catalytically. This report details the synthesis and characterization of novel NiCl(cinnamyl/allyl)(NHC) complexes, containing a pendent 2° amine arm on the NHC ligand to act as a hydrogen-bond donor group. The complexes prove to exhibit dynamic behavior, with the pendent amine showing the ability for hydrogen-bonding and/or hemi-labile ligand coordination to the metal. Dioxygen reactivity studies indicate that the complexes are active for aerobic oxidation, and that the product distribution is different than that of previously reported systems. However, the observed reactivity currently is non-catalytic

Evolution of highly buoyant thermals in a stratified layer

The buoyant rise of thermals (i.e. bubbles of enhanced entropy, but initially in pressure equilibrium) is investigated numerically in three dimensions for the case of an adiabatically stratified layer covering 6-9 pressure scale heights. It is found that these bubbles can travel to large heights before being braked by the excess pressure that builds up in order to drive the gas sideways in the head of the bubble. Until this happens, the momentum of the bubble grows as described by the time-integrated buoyancy force. This validates the simple theory of bubble dynamics whereby the mass entrainment of the bubble provides an effective braking force well before the bubble stops ascending. This is quantified by an entrainment parameter alpha which is calculated from the simulations and is found to be in good agreement with the experimental measurements. This work is discussed in the context of contact binaries whose secondaries could be subject to dissipative heating in the outermost layers.Comment: 12 pages, 18 figures, A&A (accepted

Targeting Intrinsic and Extrinsic Vulnerabilities for the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignant plasma cell disorder, clinically characterized by osteolytic lesions, immunodeficiency, and renal disease. Over the past decade, MM therapy is significantly improved by the introduction of novel therapeutics such as immunomodulatory agents (thalidomide, lenalidomide, and pomalidomide), proteasome inhibitors (bortezomib, carfilzomib, and ixazomib), monoclonal antibodies (daratumumab and elotuzumab), histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors (Panobinostat). The clinical success of these agents has clearly identified vulnerabilities intrinsic to the MM cell- as well as targets that emanate from the tumor microenvironment. Despite these significant improvements, MM remains incurable due to the development of drug resistance. This perspective will discuss more recent strategies which take advantage of multiple targets within the proteome recycling pathway, chromatin remodeling, and disruption of nuclear export. In addition, we will review the development of strategies designed to block opportunistic survival signaling that occurs between the MM cell and the tumor microenvironment including strategies for inhibiting myeloma-induced immune suppression. It has become clear that MM tumors continue to evolve on therapy leading to drug resistance. It will be important to understand the mechanism and additional vulnerabilities that occur due to the development of clinical resistance

Cats Teach Stats: An Interactive Module to Help Reduce Anxiety When Learning Statistics in Biology

Tools that teach quantitative skills and foster positive student attitudes toward these skills are important in biology curricula. Math and statistics anxiety is common and can interfere with student learning in biology courses. We describe a new framework for alleviating this anxiety. In our module, students watch a cute internet cat video, which inspires them to ask scientific questions about animal behavior and collect, analyze, and interpret data. We developed two freely available interactive tools to implement our module. We successfully implemented these tools with undergraduate students at two institutions. Based on this experience, we provide ideas for extension along with assessment

Networks and policy making: from theory to practice in Australian social policy

Traditional approaches to policy-making, in Australia and elsewhere, have assumed that policy-making processes are, and ought to be, centralised and hierarchical. However, policy networks have emerged as an alternative model of policy-making, particularly in Europe. Policy networks have been a regular feature of Australian policy-making, though usually under government sponsorship and on the government’s terms. Recent developments suggest that governments may be encouraging a more independent and less ‘top-down’ approach to the use of policy networks. The Coalition Government’s engagement of a ‘social coalition’ in welfare reform, particularly through the Reference Group on Welfare Reform, provides an interesting case study of this trend