The promise of recent and future observatories and instruments

The identification of the carrier(s) of diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) is one of the oldest mysteries in stellar spectroscopy. With the advent of 8-10m-class telescopes substantial progress has been made in measuring the properties of DIBs in the optical and near-infrared wavelength domain, not only in the Galaxy, but also in different environments encountered in Local Group galaxies and beyond. Still, the DIB carriers have remained unidentified. The coming decade will witness the development of extremely large telescopes (GMT, TMT and E-ELT) and their instrumentation. In this overview I will highlight the current instrumentation plan of these future observatories, emphasizing their potential role in solving the enigma of the DIBs.Comment: Talk presented at IAU Symposium 297 "The Diffuse Interstellar Bands", CUP proceedings editors: Jan Cami and Nick Co

Why Do That?

This essay offers one poet\u27s view on why he chooses to write poetry

The First Weeks of June

Lex Runciman examines learning, life, and community following the death of a former student

Writing Waikato: John Muir's contribution to environmental awareness

John Muir was an experienced and widely published observer of both physical and social environments, Muir kept a record of his time in Waikato that is distinctive. His texts, both journals and correspondence, are of interest precisely because they are science embedded in a social and philosophical discourse. The details of formal observations are recorded: the plant species, the landforms, the heights and distances, and these observations are complemented by drawings. But much more is conveyed by Muir's language of reporting in his journal and correspondence, and the extent to which this language reveals his philosophy of environmental awareness and concern

Mapping and cartography futures in secondary geography

In an era of change such as that induced by the NCEA, questions about the role and relevance of traditional skills tend to be overlooked. In my opinion, an important component in our `bank of skills' Ministry of Education, 1990, 17; New Zealand Geographical Society, 1992, 10-11 are threatened by institutional sidelining and lack of awareness of the potential for their technological resuscitation. With reference to skills, the use of prepared maps and map construction cartography are fundamental geographic skills. Having asserted this, I also want to make it clear that, in my view, these skills should be as broadly applied as possible

Developments in getting GIS technologies into classrooms

The paper maps progress in the adoption of GIS in secondary education over more than 15 years, As it explores the incentives and impediments in the adoption of GlS in secondary schools, it notes the rich technology base in North America, and benefits of national geography curriculum and support structures in Britain

Wage Elasticities of the Supply of R & D Workers in the Netherlands

No abstract.