Telescopes on the Moon or pie in the sky?

The question is examined of whether it makes sense to believe that there will one day be an interferometric array of telescopes on the Moon. The question is really one of national commitment to a lunar base, since it is not likely that a scientific undertaking of this magnitude would occur in the absence of permanent human presence on the Moon. A discussion is also given of the real possibility if the exploration of space should be a multinational effort

Stability of water on the Galilean satellites

The selective loss of water from Io under currently prevailing physical conditions was studied to determine whether a large quantity of water can be lost from the satellite over the lifetime of the solar system. Loss processes considered include: thermal escape, photolysis, sputtering, and gas-phase charged particle interactions

A study of the Io-associated plasma and neutral sodium cloud

Narrow-band interference filter images were obtained for the Io torus at the S II wavelengths of 6716, 6731 and at the wavelenght of the S III, 9532 spectrum. The purpose of these observations is to study the short term temporal behavior of the torus and to gain a better understanding of the systematic morphology of the torus. From these images, estimates were obtained for the electron and ion densities and ion temperatures as a function of longitude, latitude, radius from Jupiter, and time. From the analysis of images taken in 1983 and 1984, extremely sharp longitudinal variations in plasma density were detected, subcorotational velocities were measures in the torus plasma, the presence of an optical east-west brightness asymmetry was confirmed in the ion emissions, and longitudinal variations were detected in torus ion temperatures

High Transmissibility During Early HIV Infection Among Men Who Have Sex With Men-San Francisco, California.

We estimate the relative transmission rate in early versus later infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) in San Francisco, California, by studying the characteristics of a sample of transmitters, recruited through newly diagnosed, recently infected MSM between 1996 and 2009. Of 36 transmitters identified, 9 were determined on the basis of testing history and serologic testing to have been recently infected. The unadjusted odds ratio of transmitting during early infection was 15.2 (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.3–33.4; P < .001); the odds ratio was 8.9 (95% CI, 4.1–19.4) after adjustment for self-reported antiretroviral treatment. This high transmissibility could be due to both high infectiousness and high rates of sex partner change or concurrent partnerships

Expenditure on education and training in Australia: analysis and background paper

Education and training is a continuum, from early childhood, through schooling, to tertiary study and training. Yet our public policy and funding settings continue to reflect a piecemeal approach. This analysis and background paper shows that Australian governments are prioritising their investment in some aspects of education over others - with schools and universities the beneficiaries and vocational education and training (VET) in real decline. Further, this is occurring in the absence of an explicit, or even apparent, policy logic or rationale.&nbsp; The analysis was previewed at the TAFE Directors Australia Conference on 2 September 2014 by one of the report authors, Mitchell Professorial Fellow Peter Noonan. Summary of key findings: Comparative analysis of expenditure on education across the three sectors shows a clear trend – while spending on schools and universities has risen significantly over the last decade, there has been a much lower rate of growth in VET spending. Total expenditure grew only 15 per cent for VET over the ten years to 2012‐13, while schools and higher education experienced growth of 23 and 40 per cent respectively over the same period. Expenditure on VET amongst the states and territories is uneven. In Victoria, expenditure on VET grew at an average of 4.2 per cent per year over the ten years to 2012‐13, whereas New South Wales and Queensland averaged zero and negative growth over the same period. Analysis of expenditure per student also saw VET falling short. In higher education, expenditure per student has been relatively stable, while spending per student in government secondary and primary schools has increased 20 per cent 30 per cent respectively. Meanwhile expenditure per hour of training in VET actually decreased around 25 per cent over the same period

Empowering, Degrading or a ‘Mutually Exploitative’ Exchange For Women?: Characterising the Power Relations of the Strip Club

This paper seeks to characterise the gendered and sexualised power relations of both female and male strip clubs, and to signal what this means for establishing positive definitions of female desire. It is argued that while it is not useful to present female strippers, or female patrons of male strip clubs as purely passive victims of male heterosexism within these venues, it is equally damaging to assume that these venues represent a whole-scale challenge to conventional oppressive gender and sexual relations for women. Some research has even suggested that both strippers and their patrons are engaged in a ‘mutually exploitative’ power relationship. Moreover, further empirical research documents key points where female dancers have perhaps wielded ‘more’ power over patrons at certain moments, and female dancers have highlighted feelings of empowerment and highlighted potential for gender and sexual relations which position women as passive to be subverted within stripping. However, such feelings are often temporally specific and are not applicable to all women in the strip industry. It may be particularly hard for these to manifest in women concentrated in the least economically-rewarding areas of the industry who have less ‘power’ to resist compromising their bodily boundaries. Furthermore, it is argued that women watching male strippers does little to reverse the ‘male gaze’, and nor does this male occupation carry as much negative social stigma with it as female stripping suffers. It is thus argued that the overwhelming picture, stemming largely from accounts of former dancers and from empirical studies of individual clubs, suggests these venues in fact do very little to challenge normative hetero-oppressive sexual scripts

Expenditure on education and training in Australia 2015

Previous analysis by the Mitchell Institute has shown a clear disjuncture in Australia’s expenditure on education and training, with spending on schooling and higher education far outstripping spending on vocational education and training. &nbsp; One year on, this trend has intensified. Analysis conducted by the Mitchell Institute in 2014 examined Australia’s expenditure on education and training over the last decade. The paper&nbsp;found that Australian governments had been clearly prioritising their investment in some aspects of education over others - with schools and universities the beneficiaries and vocational education and training (VET) in relative decline. This divergence also highlighted the absence of an explicit, or even apparent, policy logic or rationale to investment across the education continuum, and across the nation.&nbsp; It appears that, despite our best efforts, our public policy and funding settings across education continue to reflect a piecemeal approach. This update revisits the data one year on to see what, if anything, has changed. While spending on schools and universities has risen significantly over the last decade, there has been a much lower rate of growth in VET spending, and now even a decline. What we found was that the national disinvestment in VET has only intensified, with expenditure dropping significantly in the most recent year. We also found that growth in expenditure on schools and higher education has flattened, although off a much higher base. To get a more complete picture of spending, this year we have taken a closer look at two other important aspects of the education financing landscape in Australia; in tertiary education - income contingent loans, and in schooling - private contributions to non-government schools. Our analysis shows that government payments to tertiary education and training providers for income contingent loans have grown rapidly in recent years, rising from $3.3 billion in 2008 to nearly$6 billion in 2013. We also found considerable growth in private contributions to school education, with non-government school income from private sources increasing by over 20 per cent from 2005 to 2011 to reach $7.9 billion in 2011. Taken together, these analyses contribute to a more holistic picture of our collective investment in education and training. In a time when key reforms - such as deregulation of higher education and responsibilities for VET in the federation - are being considered, it’s useful to stop and look at just where our finite resources are being directed, and to consider whether our current investment is well targeted across the three sectors of Australian education. Summary of key findings Comparative analysis of expenditure on education across the three sectors shows a continuation of the existing trend – while spending on schools and universities has risen significantly over the last decade, there has been a much lower rate of growth in VET spending, and now even a decline, as the other sectors continue to grow. Expenditure on higher education has grown the fastest over the eleven years to 2013-14 – growing over 40 per cent. Expenditure on schooling has grown approximately 25 per cent over the same period. Expenditure on VET has grown much more slowly, by around 15 per cent until 2012-13, before experiencing a sharp decline in the most recent year. This has left total VET expenditure in 2013-14 only around 5 per cent higher than 2003-4 levels. In tertiary education new analysis shows the significant growth in HELP payments to VET and higher education providers over the period 2008-2013 – from$3.3 billion to nearly $6 billion over this period. It also shows the extent to which VET FEE-HELP has grown since its introduction in 2009, rising to 12 per cent of all income contingent loan payments to providers in 2013. There has been a significant increase in private contributions to the non-government school sector in recent years. Total income from private sources increased by over 20 per cent in both the Catholic and independent sectors from 2005 to 2011, to approximately$2.7 billion (Catholic schools) and $5.2 billion (independent schools)

Empowering, degrading or a 'mutually exploitative' exchange For women?: Characterising the power relations of the strip club

This paper seeks to characterise the gendered and sexualised power relations of both female and male strip clubs, and to signal what this means for establishing positive definitions of female desire. It is argued that while it is not useful to present female strippers, or female patrons of male strip clubs as purely passive victims of male heterosexism within these venues, it is equally damaging to assume that these venues represent a whole-scale challenge to conventional oppressive gender and sexual relations for women. Some research has even suggested that both strippers and their patrons are engaged in a 'mutually exploitative' power relationship. Moreover, further empirical research documents key points where female dancers have perhaps wielded 'more' power over patrons at certain moments, and female dancers have highlighted feelings of empowerment and highlighted potential for gender and sexual relations which position women as passive to be subverted within stripping. However, such feelings are often temporally specific and are not applicable to all women in the strip industry. It may be particularly hard for these to manifest in women concentrated in the least economically-rewarding areas of the industry who have less 'power' to resist compromising their bodily boundaries. Furthermore, it is argued that women watching male strippers does little to reverse the 'male gaze', and nor does this male occupation carry as much negative social stigma with it as female stripping suffers. It is thus argued that the overwhelming picture, stemming largely from accounts of former dancers and from empirical studies of individual clubs, suggests these venues in fact do very little to challenge normative hetero-oppressive sexual scripts