Temporal introduction patterns of invasive alien plant species to Australia

We examined temporal introduction patterns of 132 invasive alien plant species (IAPS) to Australia since European colonisation in 1770. Introductions of IAPS were high during 1810–1820 (10 species), 1840– 1880 (51 species, 38 of these between 1840 and 1860) and 1930–1940 (9 species). Conspicuously few introductions occurred during 10-year periods directly preceding each introduction peak. Peaks during early European settlement (1810–1820) and human range expansion across the continent (1840-1860) both coincided with considerable growth in Australia’s human population. We suggest that population growth during these times increased the likelihood of introduced plant species becoming invasive as a result of increased colonization and propagule pressure. Deliberate introductions of IAPS (104 species) far outnumbered accidental introductions (28 species) and were particularly prominent during early settlement. Cosmopolitan IAPS (25 species) and those native solely to South America (53 species), Africa (27 species) and Asia (19 species) have been introduced deliberately and accidentally to Australia across a broad period of time. A small number of IAPS, native solely to Europe (5 species) and North America (2 species), were all introduced to Australia prior to 1880. These contrasting findings for native range suggest some role for habitat matching, with similar environmental conditions in Australia potentially driving the proliferation of IAPS native to southern-hemisphere regions. Shrub, tree and vine species dominated IAPS introduced prior to 1840, with no grasses or forbs introduced during early colonisation. Since 1840, all five growth forms have been introduced deliberately and accidentally in relatively large numbers across a broad period of time. In particular, a large number of grass and forb IAPS were deliberately introduced between 1840 and 1860, most likely a direct result of the introduction of legislation promoting intensive agriculture across large areas of the continent. Since the 1980s, only three IAPS have been introduced (all deliberately introduced forbs). The decline in IAPS introductions is most likely a reflection of both increased surveillance and biosecurity efforts and the likelihood that many potential IAPS are still within a pre-expansion lag period

A modified flood severity assessment for enhanced decision support: application to the Boscastle flash flood of 2004

A modified flash flood severity assessment is presented, based on scoring a set of factors according to their potential for generating extreme catchment-scale flooding. Improvements are made to the index through incorporation of parameter uncertainties, managing data absence, and clearer graphical communication. The motive for proposing these changes is to better inform flood managers during the development of a flash flood that may require an emergency response. This modified decision-support system is demonstrated for the Boscastle flood of 2004 and other historical floods in the United Kingdom. For Boscastle, the extreme nature of the flood is underestimated, which is likely to be due to the lack of sophistication in weighting flood parameters. However, the proposed amendments are able to rapidly reflect the reliability of a catchment severity rating, which may further enhance this technique as a decision-support tool alongside radar observations of localized storms

Technology Based Community Navigation Solutions for Individuals with Acquired Brain Injury and Executive Functioning Deficits

One Area of function that has been identified as particularly difficult for individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI) is that of community mobility and transportation. The aim of this project was to create an instructional manual describing a two-day training program to assist caregivers of individuals with ABI and resulting executive dysfunction. Caregivers can implement the training program to aid their care recipients in identifying and using technology devices to aid in community mobility. The first day focuses on assisting individuals with ABI in identifying cognitive strategies and appropriate technology for navigating public transportation. Caregivers and their care recipients also learn facts about public transportation, along with solutions to common barriers, such as route finding and appropriate behavior while on the bus. During the second day, caregivers guide participants in using technology to navigate King County public transit while taking a trip on the bus. After completing the training program, caregivers can be better prepared to teach individuals with ABI how to navigate public transportation with technology and know the next steps for assisting their care recipients to use public transportation. With assistance from caregivers, the participant can learn skills necessary to navigate public transportation with technology, thereby increasing their independence and sense of self-efficacy with community mobility

Differences in Leaf Flammability Leaf Traits and Flammability-Trait Relationships between Native and Exotic Plant Species of Dry Sclerophyll Forest

The flammability of plant leaves influences the spread of fire through vegetation. Exotic plants invading native vegetation may increase the spread of bushfires if their leaves are more flammable than native leaves. We compared fresh-leaf and dryleaf flammability (time to ignition) between 52 native and 27 exotic plant species inhabiting dry sclerophyll forest. We found that mean time to ignition was significantly faster in dry exotic leaves than in dry native leaves. There was no significant native-exotic difference in mean time to ignition for fresh leaves. The significantly higher fresh-leaf water content that was found in exotics, lost in the conversion from a fresh to dry state, suggests that leaf water provides an important buffering effect that leads to equivalent mean time to ignition in fresh exotic and native leaves. Exotic leaves were also significantly wider, longer and broader in area with significantly higher specific leaf area?but not thicker?than native leaves. We examined scaling relationships between leaf flammability and leaf size (leaf width, length, area, specific leaf area and thickness). While exotics occupied the comparatively larger and more flammable end of the leaf size-flammability spectrum in general, leaf flammability was significantly correlated with all measures of leaf size except leaf thickness in both native and exotic species such that larger leaves were faster to ignite. Our findings for increased flammability linked with larger leaf size in exotics demonstrate that exotic plant species have the potential to increase the spread of bushfires in dry sclerophyll forest

A Bird’s-Eye View of the Past: Digital History, Distant Reading and Sport History

Advances in computer technologies have made it easier than ever before for historians to access a wealth of sources made available in the digital era. This article investigates one way that historians have engaged with the challenges and opportunities of this ‘infinite archive’: distant reading. We define distant reading as an umbrella term that embraces many practices, including data mining, aggregation, text analysis, and the visual representations of these practices. This paper investigates the utility of distant reading as a research tool via three newspaper case studies concerning Muhammad Ali, women’s surfing in Australia, and homophobic language and Australian sport. The research reveals that the usefulness, effectiveness, and success of distant reading is dependent on numerous factors. While valuable in many instances, distant reading is rarely an end in itself and can be most powerful when paired with the traditional historical skills of close reading

Quotas for Men: Reframing Gender Quotas as a Means of Improving Representation for All

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Routinely collected laboratory data : a neglected resource

This essay is based on the Professor Hendrik Koornhof's guest address delivered on 1st September 2011 by Professor Jill Murray at the Laboratory Medicine Congress held at the Sandton Convention Centre. Following the address, Professor Hendrik Koornhof was awarded a life-time achievement award in honour of his contribution to laboratory medicine. All health care professionals should keep abreast of the latest developments in their fields. The continuing quest for new knowledge is conducted through research. Many laboratory technologists make valuable contributions to research, however, most of the time their role is that of assistants to other health care professionals and scientists. Too few medical technologists conduct their own investigations. The absence of studies in routine laboratory practice implies a tacit assumption that current practice will not change and is therefore boring! Reasons given for not doing research include lack of time and lack of resources. There is also the problem of which area of laboratory medicine to study and being familiar enough with the subject to develop good research questions. Research is perceived as time consuming, requiring a lot of funding and specialist knowledge. By looking carefully at the resources within one’s own laboratory, the requirements for time and money can be minimised and you will be able to utilise your knowledge in your own area of expertise. As part of the routine service, which is an integral part of patient care, all laboratories produce and retain large amounts of data. Collecting, organizing and studying this data can increase medical knowledge. Researching routinely collected data minimises the time and costs associated with data collection. In addition the data is in an area of medicine in which the laboratory has experience and expertise. Because of the expert knowledge available in the laboratory there will be an understanding of what is known and what is not; a prerequisite for the formulation of research questions and hypotheses. This paper will look at the type of data available to laboratories; how to report and display this data and the type of research questions that routinely collected data can answer

The Existence of Sterile Neutrino Halos in Galactic Centers as an Explanation of the Black Hole mass - Velocity Dispersion Relation

If sterile neutrinos exist and form halos in galactic centers, they can give rise to observational consequences. In particular, the sterile neutrinos decay radiatively and heat up the gas in the protogalaxy to achieve hydrostatic equilibrium, and they provide the mass to form supermassive blackholes. A natural correlation between the blackhole mass and velocity dispersion thus arises $\log(M_{BH,f}/M_{\odot})=\alpha \log (\sigma /200 {\rm km s^{-1}})+ \beta$ with $\alpha \approx 4$ and $\beta \approx 8$.Comment: Accepted in Ap

Wikipedia and history: a worthwhile partnership in the digital era?

It is hard to ignore the changes that have occurred to history-making in the digital age. Historians in the academy have observed, critiqued and, in some instances, engaged in the different forms of contemporary history that are related to the integration of the internet and related technologies into everyday lives. While digital history takes many forms, this paper examines Wikipedia as a mode of historical expression in the context of a project on the history of the Australian Paralympic Movement. Wikipedia’s key core content policies of verification, no original research, and neutral point of view (NPOV) as well as the collaborative premise that underpins the online encyclopaedia are the focal points of analysis. This analysis demonstrates that Wikipedia challenges historians who have traditionally produced the professionally approved artefacts of monographs and journal articles. In essence, Wikipedia requires historians to produce knowledge as part of a collaborative community of practice and, in the process, abandon popular theories of truth that underpin empirical-analytical history. Even given these challenges, the history of the Australian Paralympic Movement shows that Wikipedia can be important to history-making in the digital age in at least two ways. Wikipedia provides a mode of historical expression that is complementary to the narratives of traditional books, and the online encyclopaedia generates a community which has produced articles that have enhanced knowledge about the history of disability sport

UMA AVALIAÇÃO CRÍTICA DA NARRATIVA NA HISTÓRIA DO ESPORTE: LENDO O DEBATE SOBRE O SALVAMENTO NO MAR

Resumo: Esse artigo é uma tentativa de solucionar a disputa e o debate histórico sobre o salvamento no mar envolvendo dois especialistas, Ed Jaggard e Douglas Booth. Tendo em vista a base de seus conhecimentos, seus esforços de pesquisa e suas experiências de vida, não é minha intenção criticar seus trabalhos especificamente a partir de uma perspectiva empírica. Minha tática não será a de adotar o caminho tradicional e questionar suas produções históricas relacionando-as com as evidências contextualizadas, mas a de olhar para a construção literária de suas narrativas históricas, com base nas obras de Hayden White.Palavras-Chave: narrativa e história, salvamento no mar, teoria da história A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF NARRATIVE IN SPORT HISTORY: READING THE SURF LIFESAVING DEBATEAbstract: This article is an attempt of resolving the historical debate and dispute involving surf lifesaving by two experts, Ed Jaggard and Douglas Booth. Given their knowledge bases, their research efforts and their lived experiences, it is not my intention to critique their work specifically from an empirical perspective. The tack I will adopt is not to take the traditional path by questioning their historical production in relation to the contextualized evidence but to look at the literary construction of their historical narratives, based on the works of Hayden White.Keywords: historical narratives, surf lifesaving, theory of histor