The Richmond-Tweed region: an economic profile

Examines the Richmond-Tweed region in New South Wales, looking at its administrative and productive structure and the influences that currently bear on it. Introduction The Richmond-Tweed region (also known as the Northern Rivers) has experienced substantial changes. During the nineteenth century the driving force in production and employment, throughout the region, was primary production. During the twentieth century, the region effectively divided into two: a relatively urbanised coastal strip growing faster in association with neighbouring Queensland, and an inland zone that retains more of the region’s rural origins. In both portions of the region, nevertheless, the services sector has emerged as the predominant area of employment. This e-brief examines the region, looking at its administrative and productive structure and the influences that currently bear on it. There are at least four outstanding features which define the region: the sub-tropical climate; the long length of coastline (around 120 kilometres); the significant tracts of rainforest (preserved in areas such as the Mount Warning, Nightcap and Border Ranges national parks); and its proximity to Queensland. In this e-brief the name “Richmond-Tweed” is used primarily because that is the nomenclature adopted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in its new regional geography, which is relied on here for labour force data. Geographically, this region is very nearly identical to the Regional Development Australia (RDA) Northern Rivers region: with the exception that the RDA region includes the Clarence Valley LGA, which the ABS “Richmond-Tweed” SA4 does not

Rural sector: agriculture to agribusiness

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The agricultural sector is relatively small but contains certain well-performing areas (pp.1-12,23-24). In recent years, there have been substantial changes in the organisation of the sector (pp.14-16,17,20). Large-scale overseas companies are assuming a greater presence in Australian agriculture as the sector is transformed into agribusiness (pp.17-18). Certain problems, occurring within this transition, remain to be resolved (pp.22-23). INTRODUCTION Two previous papers, produced by the research service, have looked at the changes that have taken place in the rural sector as it has been transforming from pure primary production into agribusiness. The aim of this paper is to examine the current performance of the sector and to look at the changes that have recently taken place

KSC's work flow assistant

The work flow assistant (WFA) is an advanced technology project under the shuttle processing data management system (SPDMS) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). It will be utilized for short range scheduling, controlling work flow on the floor, and providing near real-time status for all major space transportation systems (STS) work centers at KSC. It will increase personnel and STS safety and improve productivity through deeper active scheduling that includes tracking and correlation of STS and ground support equipment (GSE) configuration and work. It will also provide greater accessibility to this data. WFA defines a standards concept for scheduling data which permits both commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) scheduling tools and WFA developed applications to be reused. WFA will utilize industry standard languages and workstations to achieve a scalable, adaptable, and portable architecture which may be used at other sites

The chemical structure of rabbit immunoglobulin IgG

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Life just got complicated

The fossil record of ancient life is, in general, poor. Certainly, fossils are abundant in many rock successions and may reveal remarkable details about evolution and environmental change, but they typically consist of disarticulated or broken skeletal material, such as shells, bones and teeth. Even worse, the record of entirely (or largely) soft-bodied organisms, such as jellyfish and worms, is extremely scant, despite the fact that such animals dominate modern marine environments and presumably did so in the past. The reason is obvious — such organisms are highly susceptible to post-mortem decay and typically decompose more rapidly than the ‘normal’ processes of fossilisation operate. This significantly blurs our view of ancient life, with obvious consequences for those interested in understanding evolution and past ecosystems

Linear transmitter design for MSAT terminals

One of the factors that will undoubtedly influence the choice of modulation format for mobile satellites, is the availability of cheap, power-efficient, linear amplifiers for mobile terminal equipment operating in the 1.5-1.7 GHz band. Transmitter linearity is not easily achieved at these frequencies, although high power (20W) class A/AB devices are becoming available. However, these components are expensive and require careful design to achieve a modest degree of linearity. In this paper an alternative approach to radio frequency (RF) power amplifier design for mobile satellite (MSAT) terminals using readily-available, power-efficient, and cheap class C devices in a feedback amplifier architecture is presented

The institutionalization of Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) in Brazil: organic and fair trade initiatives

Since the nineties the Brazilian organic movements have been looking for alternatives to certification. They have argued that in and of itself or alone certification of family farms and small enterprise is not enough to promote either the learning processes associated with organic production or stimulate development of the local market. The discussion on a Brazilian System for Fair Trade began in 2004, and PGS were considered helpful for organizing farmers, providing guarantees and improving the market. In 2007, a draft of PGS regulation for use in organic was elaborated. The same actors who helped build the Organic System are also discussing Fair Trade System. With the help of public resources, NGOs and family farmers have established systems that provide credibility to consumers with regard to organic qualities and fair trade criteria. The use of PGS is a trend for family farmers trying to access quality markets and also helps participatory research. To some, one perceived challenge is to integrate the two policies (organic and fair trade) since the target publics are similar and the international cooperation agencies give support to both. However, current international initiatives for regulating PGS do not take into account the position of local movements. In the nineties a strategy blind to such a weakness split the organic movements in Latin America and it is unlikely that a similar strategy will promote harmonization or equivalence in the future

Food security and the global agrifood system: Ethical issues in historical and sociological perspective

AbstractThe world food system was developed under the auspices of free trade. Very quickly though free trade was countered with protectionism in the form of policies favoring national and cultural food security. The traumas of World War led to the introduction of international commitments on individual rights with respect to labor and the right to freedom from hunger. From the seventies, the pendulum swung back in favor of free trade, this time provoking a response in the form of fair and ethical trade. The introduction of new food markets promoted by social movements as from the eighties where values were attached to the conditions and processes of production rather than the product itself led to agriculture and food markets becoming imbued with ethical attributes. At the same time, an increasingly holistic concept of food security became adopted in international forums pointing to the need for policies which were no longer reducible to food aid. While for a period, broader ethical values were identified only with alternative food networks, as from the turn of the new millennium, under the collective umbrella of economic, social and environmental sustainability, they became adopted by the global agri-food players as the triple bottom line for all agricultural and food markets. Although a new consensus has been achieved on the centrality of sustainability and food security a range of tensions and conflicts persist over the relation between food security and trade, investment, biofuels, producer and consumer rights, animal welfare, nature and the environment

Related photographic problems in the production of a 16mm health motion picture film

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston UniversityThe problem presented in the production of the motion picture film with which this thesis is concerned was that of conveying through the medium of the motion picture the idea that the function of a local health department is to serve the citizens of the community, and in order that it may better serve them, it is necessary for the citizens to understand and help the health department to perform its function -- giving the community better health