Golden Years of Australian Radio Astronomy

The evolution of Australian radio astronomy from 1945 to 1960 has been studied in detail by numerous historians of science in recent years. This Open Access book is the first to present an overview of this remarkable chapter in Australian science. The book begins in the post-war period, as the Radiophysics Laboratory in Sydney switched from secret wartime research on radar to peacetime applications of this new technology. Next follows the detection of radio waves from space and the ensuing transformation of this fledgling science into the dominant research program at the Radiophysics Lab. Drawing from this history, the book shows how by 1960 the Radiophysics Lab had become the largest and most successful radio astronomy group in the world. The final chapter presents an overview of Australian radio astronomy from 1960 to the present day, as Australia prepares to co-host the multi-national, multi-billion-dollar Square Kilometre Array. Nearly 300 high-quality images complement the text, drawn from a wide range of sources including the extensive collection held by the CSIRO Radio Astronomy Image Archive. The book will be an essential reference for readers interested in the scientific and cultural development of radio astronomy. This book is published open access under a CC BY 4.0 license

Golden Years of Australian Radio Astronomy

The evolution of Australian radio astronomy from 1945 to 1960 has been studied in detail by numerous historians of science in recent years. This Open Access book is the first to present an overview of this remarkable chapter in Australian science. The book begins in the post-war period, as the Radiophysics Laboratory in Sydney switched from secret wartime research on radar to peacetime applications of this new technology. Next follows the detection of radio waves from space and the ensuing transformation of this fledgling science into the dominant research program at the Radiophysics Lab. Drawing from this history, the book shows how by 1960 the Radiophysics Lab had become the largest and most successful radio astronomy group in the world. The final chapter presents an overview of Australian radio astronomy from 1960 to the present day, as Australia prepares to co-host the multi-national, multi-billion-dollar Square Kilometre Array. Nearly 300 high-quality images complement the text, drawn from a wide range of sources including the extensive collection held by the CSIRO Radio Astronomy Image Archive. The book will be an essential reference for readers interested in the scientific and cultural development of radio astronomy. This book is published open access under a CC BY 4.0 license

Golden Years of Australian Radio Astronomy

The evolution of Australian radio astronomy from 1945 to 1960 has been studied in detail by numerous historians of science in recent years. This Open Access book is the first to present an overview of this remarkable chapter in Australian science. The book begins in the post-war period, as the Radiophysics Laboratory in Sydney switched from secret wartime research on radar to peacetime applications of this new technology. Next follows the detection of radio waves from space and the ensuing transformation of this fledgling science into the dominant research program at the Radiophysics Lab. Drawing from this history, the book shows how by 1960 the Radiophysics Lab had become the largest and most successful radio astronomy group in the world. The final chapter presents an overview of Australian radio astronomy from 1960 to the present day, as Australia prepares to co-host the multi-national, multi-billion-dollar Square Kilometre Array. Nearly 300 high-quality images complement the text, drawn from a wide range of sources including the extensive collection held by the CSIRO Radio Astronomy Image Archive. The book will be an essential reference for readers interested in the scientific and cultural development of radio astronomy. This book is published open access under a CC BY 4.0 license

Can the application of rare earth elements improve yield and decrease the uptake of cadmium in ryegrass-dominated pastures?

Rare earth elements (REEs) have been linked to increases and decreases in plant growth and the uptake of biotoxic metals such as Cadmium (Cd). We hypothesised that under the right soil and climatic conditions the application REEs to soil may improve yield of ryegrass-dominated pasture and inhibit Cd uptake in foliage. A soil survey measuring REEs concentrations in soils from across New Zealand showed that REEs were enriched in Volcanic compared with Sedimentary-derived soils, and in soils used for dairying compared with those used for sheep and beef. From a range of REEs applied to ryegrass with and without N, lanthanum (La) showed minor yield improvement under glasshouse conditions, but only for Sedimentary (not Volcanic) soils low in REE concentration and at 40% available soil moisture or less. A similarly mixed yield response occurred in a field trial. Decreases in the Cd concentration of ryegrass (mgkg-1) only occurred in the harvests after application (40% at 20kg La ha-1 for one soil) and did not translate into an annual effect. We conclude that there was insufficient evidence to recommend the use of La (screened from a range of REEs as the most promising) to increase annual dry matter yield or decrease Cd uptake from ryegrass-dominated pastures

A cost-effective management practice to decrease phosphorus loss from dairy farms

Phosphorus (P) loss from land can impair surface water quality. A paired-catchment study was conducted on a grazed dairy farm that tested the hypothesis that cultivating and sowing a low-P-requiring grass in near stream areas and high-P-requiring clover (Trifolium repens L.) elsewhere lost less P to water and was potentially more profitable than a mixed grass-clover pasture managed for the cover component. Two catchments were treated the same for 2 yr, after which 40% of the treatment catchment was cultivated around the stream, sown in ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and fertilized with 150 kg nitrogen (N) ha ⁻¹ yr ⁻¹ and 10 kg P ha ⁻¹ yr ⁻¹ . White clover was established in the remainder of the catchment and received no N but 30 kg P ha ⁻¹ yr ⁻¹ . The control catchment received 150 kg N ha ⁻¹ yr ⁻¹ and 30 kg P ha ⁻¹ yr ⁻¹ . After the monocultures were installed, filterable reactive P and total P concentrations decreased by 44 and 26% respectively, while the better-quality forage suggested a possible improvement in profitability. We concluded that with some caveats (e.g., a 2% increase in modeled N loss), using grass-clover monocultures strategically across a dairy farm may decrease P loss to surface water and improve profitability compared with a mixed pasture

Practising academic mobilities: bodies, networks and institutional rhythms

Notions of what a successful academic should be doing – researching, publishing, teaching, serving the academic community – are often dependent upon particular practices of corporeal mobilities. These practices discursively and materially connect historically situated academic mobilities with the “modern,” globalised university system. At the same time, there is increasing attention being paid to the “hypocrisy of hypermobile academics” – often reliant on high‐carbon aeromobilities – in light of the unprecedented and urgent need to decarbonise transport to limit warming to 1.5°C. Using qualitative material gathered from one academic institution in Aotearoa New Zealand, we pay attention to the politics of academic mobilities at multiple scales, from the academic body, to social/family networks, and institutional rhythms. We contribute to the growing body of work that reflects on academic practice, and argue that detailed understandings of these processes are required to overcome the so‐called “climate hypocrisy” of high‐carbon academic work‐related travel

Public Perceptions of Small to-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in New Zealand - Implications for Policy Makers and Educators

THIS STUDY EXPLORES HOW OWNERS OF SMALL TO-MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SMEs) INTERPRET EARTHQUAKE RISKS AND RESPOND TO MITIGATION. THE RESEARCH EXAMINED THE VARIATIONS OF PERCEIVED SEISMIC RISKS AMONG SMEs BUSINESS OWNERS CONDUCTING THEIR OPERATIONS IN EARTHQUAKE-PRONE BUILDINGS (EPBs), AND HOW THESE VARIATIONS AFFECT THEIR DECISION TO OR NOT TO PREPARE FOR A POTENTIAL EARTHQUAKE DISASTER. THIS PROJECT FALLS UNDER THE FLAGSHIP THREE; EXAMINING SOCIETAL PERCEPTIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS, AND EXAMINES AN OBJECTIVE UNDER THE PROJECT TITLED; “WHERE PERCEPTIONS AND POLICY MEET: UNDERSTANDING PATHWAYS TO IMPROVING MITIGATION FOR EARTHQUAKE PRONE BUILDINGS”

Understanding disaster risk exposure to visitors to the South Island of New Zealand

1. Identify the risks posed by disasters to transient population groups in the New Zealand disaster risk management context. 2. Develop novel methods to assess disaster risk for transient populations in space and time, with focus on dynamic exposure and vulnerability. 3. Assess transient population disaster risk for a high disaster risk case study in New Zealand