History of the Geelong Regional Commission

This thesis is the first systematic history of the Geelong Regional Commission (GRC), and only the second history of a regional development organisation formed as a result of the growth centres policy of the Commonwealth Labor Government in the first half of the 1970s. In particular, the thesis examines the historical performance of the GRC from the time of its establishment in August 1977 to its abolition in May 1993. The GRC Commissioners were subject to ongoing criticism by some elements of the region\u27s political, business, rural and local government sectors. This criticism focused on the Commissioners\u27 policies on land-use planning, their interventionist stance on industrial land development, major projects and industry protection and their activities in revitalising the Geelong central business district. This thesis examines these criticisms in the light of the Commission\u27s overall performance. This thesis found that, as a statutory authority of the Victorian Government, the GRC was successful over its lifetime, when measured against the requirements of the Geelong Regional Commission Act, the Commission\u27s corporate planning objectives and performance indicators, the corporate performance standards of private enterprise in the late 1990s, and the performance indicator standards of today\u27s regional economic development organisations in the United States of America, parts of the United Kingdom and Australia. With the change of Government in Victoria in October 1992 came a new approach to regional development. The new Government enacted legislation to amalgamate six of the nine local government councils of the Geelong region and returned regional planning responsibilities to the newly formed City of Greater Geelong Council. The new Government also made economic development a major objective of local government. As a result, the raison d\u27etre for the GRC came to an end and the organisation was abolished

Near-Infrared Observations of the Environments of Radio Quiet QSOs at z >~ 1

We present the results of an infrared survey of QSO fields at z=0.95, 0.995 and 1.5. Each z<1 field was imaged to typical continuum limits of J=20.5, Kprime=19 (5 sigma), and line fluxes of 1.3E10{-16}ergs/cm^2/s (1 sigma)in a 1% interference filter. 16 fields were chosen with z~0.95 targets, 14 with z~0.995 and 6 with z~1.5. A total area of 0.05 square degrees was surveyed, and two emission-line objects were found. We present the infrared and optical photometry of these objects. Optical spectroscopy has confirmed the redshift of one object (at z=0.989) and is consistent with the other object having a similar redshift. We discuss the density of such objects across a range of redshifts from this survey and others in the literature. We also present number-magnitude counts for galaxies in the fields of radio quiet QSOs, supporting the interpretation that they exist in lower density environments than their radio loud counterparts. The J-band number counts are among the first to be published in the J=16--20.Comment: 34 pages, including 12 figures; accepted for publication in the Ap

Fuel conservative guidance concept for shipboard landing of powered-life aircraft

A simulation study was undertaken to investigate the application of energy conservative guidance (ECG) software, developed at NASA Ames Research Center, to improve the time and fuel efficiency of powered lift airplanes operating from aircraft carriers at sea. When a flightpath is indicated by a set of initial conditions for the aircraft and a set of positional waypoints with associated airspeeds, the ECG software synthesizes the necessary guidance commands to optimize fuel and time along the specified path. A major feature of the ECG system is the ability to synthesize a trajectory that will allow the aircraft to capture the specified path at any waypoint with the desired heading and airspeed from an arbitrary set of initial conditions. Five paths were identified and studied. These paths demonstrate the ECG system's ability to save flight time and fuel by more efficiently managing the aircraft's capabilities. Results of this simulation study show that when restrictions on the approach flightpath imposed for manual operation are removed completely, fuel consumption during the approach was reduced by as much as 49% (610 lb fuel) and the time required to fly the flightpath was reduced by as much as 41% (5 min). Savings due to ECG were produced by: (1) shortening the total flight time; (2) keeping the airspeed high as long as possible to minimize time spent flying in a regime in which more engine thrust is required for lift to aid the aerodynamic lift; (3) minimizing time spent flying at constant altitude at slow airspeeds; and (4) synthesizing a path from any location for a direct approach to landing without entering a holding pattern or other fixed approach path

Infrared images of merging galaxies

Infrared imaging of interacting galaxies is especially interesting because their optical appearance is often so chaotic due to extinction by dust and emission from star formation regions, that it is impossible to locate the nuclei or determine the true stellar distribution. However, at near-infrared wavelengths extinction is considerably reduced, and most of the flux from galaxies originates from red giant stars that comprise the dominant stellar component by mass. Thus near infrared images offer the opportunity to study directly components of galactic structure which are otherwise inaccessible. Such images may ultimately provide the framework in which to understand the activity taking place in many of the mergers with high Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) luminosities. Infrared images have been useful in identifying double structures in the nuclei of interacting galaxies which have not even been hinted at by optical observations. A striking example of this is given by the K images of Arp 220. Graham et al. (1990) have used high resolution imaging to show that it has a double nucleus coincident with the radio sources in the middle of the dust lane. The results suggest that caution should be applied in the identification of optical bright spots as multiple nuclei in the absence of other evidence. They also illustrate the advantages of using infrared imaging to study the underlying structure in merging galaxies. The authors have begun a program to take near infrared images of galaxies which are believed to be mergers of disk galaxies because they have tidal tails and filaments. In many of these the merger is thought to have induced exceptionally luminous infrared emission (cf. Joseph and Wright 1985, Sanders et al. 1988). Although the optical images of the galaxies show spectacular dust lanes and filaments, the K images all have a very smooth distribution of light with an apparently single nucleus

Modeling detachment physics in the NSTX snowflake divertor

The snowflake divertor is a proposed technique for coping with the tokamak power exhaust problem in next-step experiments and eventually reactors, where extreme power fluxes to material surfaces represent a leading technological and physics challenge. In lithium-conditioned National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) discharges, application of the snowflake divertor typically induced partial outer divertor detachment and severalfold heat flux reduction. UEDGE is used to analyze and compare conventional and snowflake divertor configurations in NSTX. Matching experimental upstream profiles and divertor measurements in the snowflake requires target recycling of 0.97 vs. 0.91 in the conventional case, implying partial saturation of the lithium-based pumping mechanism. Density scans are performed to analyze the mechanisms that facilitate detachment in the snowflake, revealing that increased divertor volume provides most of the parallel heat flux reduction. Also, neutral gas power loss is magnified by the increased wetted area in the snowflake, and plays a key role in generating volumetric recombination. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

The Social Supply Chain and the Future High Street

Purpose: The paper examines how independent social and commercial activities have developed in response to the perceived decline in the UK High Street and in response to the challenges of increasing digital retailing opportunities. This examination is undertaken through the lens of the social supply chain as a means to understanding, suggesting and expanding on current research regarding retailing and the UK High Street. We reveal some of the challenges being posed by the changing patterns of growth and consumption in cities and couple these with shifting supply chain trends. Design: A case study approach is employed to explore the rapid advances and influence of digital technologies on businesses operating on the primary business street of suburban centre, towns or cities (described in the UK collectively as the ‘high street’). The study is conducted through the analytical lens of the social supply chain. Originality: For the purpose of this paper we use two distinct strategies relating to delivery and balancing and in relation to the actions of co-creation, co-production and co-consumption to emphasise and analyse changes currently occurring in the UK high street. We take a social supply chain management perspective to undertake a systematic critical review of the various recent efforts undertaken by local governments, communities and traders groups to revitalise the high street. Findings: Theoretically extending the ‘social’ in the social supply chain we illustrate the usefulness of the nuanced concept of the ‘social supply chain’ with two related strategies concerning delivery and balance. These strategies are themselves interlinked with the actions of co-creation, co-production and co-consumption. Examples of social supply chain strategies presented include retail businesses giving away something as an incentive, where the underlying requirement from the customer is that they will bring their own specialist product, skill or social network to a specified location (real or virtual)

What drives me there? The interplay of socio-psychological gratification and consumer values in social media brand engagement

The social behavioral perspective is under-researched in the extant literature. This hinders the holistic understanding of social media brand engagement. This study examines the interplay of socio-psychological gratification variables (perceived homophily, perceived critical mass, and self-status seeking) and consumer values (personal, interpersonal, and fun) on consumer participation in social media brand engagement. The conceptual model in this study is situated on the principles of Uses and Gratifications, Critical Mass, Homophily, and Values theories. Based on an online survey of 713 Facebook users, we examine the model using structural equation modeling (with Amos 23.0). The analysis disclosed insights on the interplay of motivational factors that underlie social media brand engagement. Our findings suggest that socio-psychological gratification variables (perceived homophily, perceived critical mass, and self-status seeking) drive consumers’ engagement with brand pages and brand communities on social media. This relationship is strengthened by the consumer values. These insights serve as an important basis for researchers and practitioners to understand social media brand engagement and its outcomes

Recreation of the terminal events in physiological integrin activation.

Increased affinity of integrins for the extracellular matrix (activation) regulates cell adhesion and migration, extracellular matrix assembly, and mechanotransduction. Major uncertainties concern the sufficiency of talin for activation, whether conformational change without clustering leads to activation, and whether mechanical force is required for molecular extension. Here, we reconstructed physiological integrin activation in vitro and used cellular, biochemical, biophysical, and ultrastructural analyses to show that talin binding is sufficient to activate integrin alphaIIbbeta3. Furthermore, we synthesized nanodiscs, each bearing a single lipid-embedded integrin, and used them to show that talin activates unclustered integrins leading to molecular extension in the absence of force or other membrane proteins. Thus, we provide the first proof that talin binding is sufficient to activate and extend membrane-embedded integrin alphaIIbbeta3, thereby resolving numerous controversies and enabling molecular analysis of reconstructed integrin signaling