Genomic reconstruction of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in England.

The evolution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus leads to new variants that warrant timely epidemiological characterization. Here we use the dense genomic surveillance data generated by the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium to reconstruct the dynamics of 71 different lineages in each of 315 English local authorities between September 2020 and June 2021. This analysis reveals a series of subepidemics that peaked in early autumn 2020, followed by a jump in transmissibility of the B.1.1.7/Alpha lineage. The Alpha variant grew when other lineages declined during the second national lockdown and regionally tiered restrictions between November and December 2020. A third more stringent national lockdown suppressed the Alpha variant and eliminated nearly all other lineages in early 2021. Yet a series of variants (most of which contained the spike E484K mutation) defied these trends and persisted at moderately increasing proportions. However, by accounting for sustained introductions, we found that the transmissibility of these variants is unlikely to have exceeded the transmissibility of the Alpha variant. Finally, B.1.617.2/Delta was repeatedly introduced in England and grew rapidly in early summer 2021, constituting approximately 98% of sampled SARS-CoV-2 genomes on 26 June 2021

Deadline 2025: AIATSIS and the audiovisual archive

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), Australia’s archival repository for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage, is the nation’s peak body for collecting, recording, archiving and returning Indigenous-related knowledge and information. Since 1964 AIATSIS has amassed the world’s largest collection of print, audio and film materials on Australian First Nations peoples. This paper canvasses the Deadline 2025 campaign for audiovisual collections at risk and the complexities of preserving audiovisual archives. It argues that while the Plan’s institutional focus is essential, equally essential is institutional leadership in establishing integration with community-held archives, supported by appropriately resourced and skilled community-based partnerships

Aboriginal Trade with Macassan Seafarers

Indonesian fishermen established a trading relationship with Aboriginal people in northern Australia, harvesting sea cucumbers before processing them for markets as far away as China

Crashes along the super highway: the information continuum

When the term ‘information superhighway’ was coined in the mid-1990s, it was a metaphor for both the speed with which information could be transmitted and accessed in electronic form, and the speed with which the technology for this transmission and access was changing. Optimism about increased access to and democratisation of information often belies the complications associated with internet protocol negotiations, commercialised product, rapid and often incompatible developments in hardware and software, and ultimately the transient and ephemeral nature of digitised and born-digital information. Add to this the complex technical issues relating to the digitised world, and it is clear that the speed of information technology (IT) developments along the superhighway can often lead to information fatalities. Part of the reason for such fatalities is the technical complications related to archiving and storing electronic data. However, while those on the ground wait for the IT technocrats to develop integrated guides and standards for the preservation of electronic records, important digital and born-digital records are being jeopardised or lost. While traditional, physical forms of record-keeping — paper, art and objects — may be lost due to poor preservation practices, there are nonetheless guidelines around their care and preservation that are clearly understood. Such guidelines include national and international record-keeping and archival standards, as well as agreed professional practices. More importantly, these guidelines are well documented and readily available, and they provide a good model for effective programs for the preservation of digitised and born-digital material that can be implemented in small organisations and communities. For example, simple conservation practices relating to choice of materials, environmental parameters for handling and storage, filing and record retrieval, and physical care are all relevant for preserving digital content