Everyday Things Change: Australian Athlete Communication During the Coronavirus Lockdown

During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Australian professional sport leagues were impacted by temporary league shutdowns. One example is the Suncorp Super Netball, the world’s premier netball competition. This commentary paper explores the Suncorp Super Netball league shutdown from the perspective of the players. Our commentary has emerged from an ongoing ethnographic study supported by interviews with two players (a representative on the players association and a club captain) conducted during the league shutdown. Such a shutdown was the first in the history of the league, and it required an unprecedented response, coordinated by interdependent stakeholders. The authors outlined the importance of stakeholder communication in effectively navigating this extraordinary situation. In addition, the authors discussed the usefulness of technology-as-context for teamwork and leadership, given the limitations on physical interaction and geographical separation. In conclusion, the authors proposed recommendations for sport practitioners and potential research directions resulting from the coronavirus-related league shutdown.</jats:p

Immobilisation of Prototype Fast Reactor raffinate in a barium borosilicate glass matrix

The vitrification of Dounreay Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) Raffinate in a barium borosilicate glass matrix was investigated, with the aim of understanding process feasibility and the potential benefits over the current baseline of cement encapsulation. Laboratory scale glass melts demonstrated the production of homogeneous glasses incorporating at least 20 wt% simulant PFR waste (on an oxides basis), with no detectable crystalline accessory phases. The hardness and indentation fracture toughness of the simulant PFR waste glasses were determined to be comparable to those of current UK high level waste glass formulations. The normalised dissolution rate of boron from the simulant PFR glasses was determined to be 3 × 10−2 g m-2 d-1, in 18.2 MΩ water at 90 °C and surface area/volume ratio of 1500 m−1, only a factor of two greater than the French SON-68 simulant high level waste glass, under comparable conditions. Consequently, the simulant PFR waste glasses show considerable promise for meeting envisaged waste acceptance criteria for geological disposal. Overall, the superior stability of vitrified PFR wasteforms could enhance the safety case for long term near surface storage of radioactive wastes, mandated by current Scottish Government policy

Dehydration melting and the granulite transition in metapelites from southern Namaqualand, S. Africa

In a prograde amphibolite-granulite transition zone in the Namaqualand Metamorphic Complex, metapelites show an interbanding of the amphibolite facies association biotite+sillimanite+quartz with the granulite facies association garnet+cordierite+K-feldspar. Relict graded bedding shows that compositional banding is of sedimentary origin. The garnet-cordierite-K-feldspar gneisses contain quartzofeldspathic segregations surrounding garnets, and have more Fe-rich bulk compositions than the biotite-sillimanite schists. The contrasting asemblages could have formed at the same pressure and temperature provided that a(HO) was systematically lower in the garnet-cordierite-K-feldspar layers. The a(HO) reduction resulted from the production of silicate melt by a vapour-absent continuous Fe-Mg reaction such as biotite+sillimanite+quartz=garnet+K-feldspar+liquid which affects Fe-rich compositions before vapour-absent melting occurs in more Mg-rich rocks. The segregations represent the solid and liquid products of the reaction. Such processes imply local control of a(HO), and indicate that this granulite transition did not result from a regional influx of metasomatising fluids. © 1984 Springer-Verlag

Immobilisation of Prototype Fast Reactor raffinate in a barium borosilicate glass matrix

The vitrification of Dounreay Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) Raffinate in a barium borosilicate glass matrix was investigated, with the aim of understanding process feasibility and the potential benefits over the current baseline of cement encapsulation. Laboratory scale glass melts demonstrated the production of homogeneous glasses incorporating at least 20 wt% simulant PFR waste (on an oxides basis), with no detectable crystalline accessory phases. The hardness and indentation fracture toughness of the simulant PFR waste glasses were determined to be comparable to those of current UK high level waste glass formulations. The normalised dissolution rate of boron from the simulant PFR glasses was determined to be 3 × 10−2 g m-2 d-1, in 18.2 MΩ water at 90 °C and surface area/volume ratio of 1500 m−1, only a factor of two greater than the French SON-68 simulant high level waste glass, under comparable conditions. Consequently, the simulant PFR waste glasses show considerable promise for meeting envisaged waste acceptance criteria for geological disposal. Overall, the superior stability of vitrified PFR wasteforms could enhance the safety case for long term near surface storage of radioactive wastes, mandated by current Scottish Government policy.</p