Holidaying in a disaster zone isn't as crazy as it might seem

This article focuses on the valuable role of volunteer tourism in the recovery of tourism to Nepal following the 2015 earthquake. It shows that sustainable tourism practices can positively contribute to post disastare rebuilding

An Assessment of Tarong Bottom Ash for Use on Agricultural Soils

Coal combustion by-products (CCBs), including fly ash and bottom ash, present a waste disposal problem in Australia due to a continuing demand for coal fired power. Pozzolanic Enterprises handle ash produced by the Tarong Energy coalfired power station in SouthWest Queensland, which produces approximately 1,200,000 tonnes per annum of CCBs. This comprises roughly 1,100,000 tonnes of fly ash and 100,000 tonnes of furnace bottom ash. The volume and unique properties of the Tarong bottom ash present a significant opportunity for agronomic use. Of particular interest is the ability of Tarong bottom ash to markedly improve the water holding capacity of soils. Given Australia's rural environment is currently enduring a 'one-in-one- hundred-year' drought a study of the ability of Tarong bottom ash to improve water holding capacity is timely. This paper details physical and chemical properties relevant to agronomic use and water holding capacity of ash/soil blends along with some results from initial field trials

Waters of belonging : Al-miyahu Tajma'unah: Arabic Australians and the Georges River Parklands

This series arises from Parklands, Culture and Communities, a project which looks at how cultural diversity shapes people's understandings and use of the Georges River and green spaces in Sydney's south west. We focus on the experiences of four local communities (Aboriginal, Vietnamese, Arabic and Anglo Australians) and their relationships with the river, parks and each other. Culturally diverse uses and views have not often been recognised in Australia in park and green space management models, which tend to be based on Anglo-Celtic 'norms' about nature and recreation. UTS and the Office of Environment and Heritage supported this research because they have been interested in how the more diverse cultural knowledges held by Australians today might offer support for managing green spaces more effectively

Which wets TiB2 inoculant particles: Al or Al3Ti?

TiB2 particles are proven effective nucleants of commercial purity aluminium, resulting in smaller grains and hence greater desired mechanical properties; however, there is uncertainty as to the mechanism by which it operates. Here we clarify what happens in the initial stages by computing the total Gibbs energy change associated with four possible nucleation mechanisms, each characterised by the termination of the TiB2(0001) substrate (Ti or B) and the solid that forms on it (Al or Al3Ti). The appropriate solid//solid interfacial energies are derived from Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations, while the bulk energies are derived from thermodynamic data, supplemented with strain energies calculated from DFT. Solid//liquid interfacial energies are estimated using simple models with parameters based on the literature and DFT calculations. The results suggest that the Ti termination of TiB2 is more stable than the B termination in the melt, and that the direct formation of Al off a Ti-terminated TiB2 substrate is the most favourable mechanism for the nucleation of Al rather than the previously proposed formation of a Al3Ti interlayer. On the B termination of TiB2, Al formation is more stable for thick solid layers, but this is much more uncertain for thin solid layers where it is possible that Al3Ti formation is more stable

Waterborne: Vietnamese Australians and Sydney's Georges River parks and green spaces

Waterborne: Vietnamese Australians and Sydney's Georges River parks and green spaces, has been created by talking with the Vietnamese Australians who live around the Georges River and who often visit its parklands. They explain here their memories of their early homelands, which are given a context with information about the histories of rivers and parks in Vietnam. Then these Vietnamese Australians talk about their hopes about parks in Australia and their actual experiences in the parks and rivers around their new homes near the Georges River

Classical and quantum calculations of the temperature dependence of the free energy of argon

The free energy is central to statistical mechanics and thermodynamics, and its accurate calculation via. computational modelling is important for a large number of applications, especially when its experimental value is hard to obtain. Several established and general methods for calculating the Helmholtz free energy across different length scales, including continuum, atomistic and quantum mechanical, are compared and analyzed. A computational approach is then proposed to calculate the temperature dependences of internal energy and absolute Helmholtz free energy for solid and liquid phases with the coupling of thermodynamic integration (TI) and harmonic approximation calculations from both classical molecular dynamics (MD) and density functional theory (DFT). We use the Lennard-Jones system as an example (i.e. argon) for the demonstration of the approach. It is observed that the free energy transits smoothly from being describable by the harmonic approximation to including anharmonic effects at a transition temperature around 0.56 Tm; below this temperature, the quantum behavior of atoms is important. At higher temperatures (T > 0.56 Tm), the TI and harmonic approximation results for the Helmholtz free energy functions become increasingly divergent with the increase of temperature. This work demonstrates that a multiscale approach employing TI, MD, and DFT can provide accurate calculations of the temperature dependence of absolute Helmholtz free energy for both solid and liquid phases

Self-assembly, structure and electronic properties of a quasiperiodic lead monolayer

A quasiperiodic Pb monolayer has been formed on the five-fold surface of the Al-Pd-Mn quasicrystal. Growth of the monolayer proceeds via self-assembly of an interconnected network of pentagonal Pb stars, which are shown to be tau-inflated compared to similar structural elements of the quasiperiodic substrate. Measurements of the electronic structure of the system using scanning tunnelling spectroscopy and ultra-violet photoemission spectroscopy reveal that the Pb monolayer displays a pseudo-gap at the Fermi level which is directly related to its quasiperiodic structure.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure