A gendered view of computer professionals: preliminary results of a survey

The under-representation of women in the computing profession in many parts the western world has received our attention through numerous publications, the noticeable low representation of women at computer science conferences and in the lecture halls. Over the past two decades, the situation had become worse. Please refer to the other articles in this special issue for detailed statistics, a discussion of factors that contribute to the low participation rate by women, and for suggestions on how to reverse the current trend.This paper seeks to add to the dialogue by presenting preliminary findings from a research project conducted in four countries. The aim of this research was to gain an insight into the perceptions future computer professionals hold on the category of employment loosely defined under the term of "a computer professional." One goal was to get insight into whether or not there is a difference between female and male students regarding their view of computer professionals. Other goals were to determine if there was any difference between female and male students in different parts of the world, as well as who or what most influences the students to undertake their courses in computing.The team of researchers gave an extensive questionnaire to undergraduate students enrolled in a variety of computing degree programs. The students enrolled in these programs at Victoria University of Technology in Melbourne, the University of East London, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Ithaca College located in Ithaca, New York. This article reports on the analysis of the results from the questionnaire. It discusses the gender differences in the responses from the students in these countries to try to get a worldwide perspective. At this time, it does not yet report on the similarities and differences between the groups of participants from each of the four countries. Instead, it investigates whether there are gendered differences in the views of this rather broad sample of student population of future computer professionals.

Not quite white (enough) : intersecting ethnic and gendered identities in 'Looking for Alibrandi'

The intersections between raced and gendered identity, treating identity-formation as a function of biological, cultural and ideological codifications that cannot be readily disentangled is assessed by an analysis of the novel Looking for Alibrandi. This novel embodies this intersection of identity politics in ways that suggest that rethinking multiculturalism and whiteness also mean rethinking gender.

Association of reduced riparian vegetation cover in agricultural landscapes with coarse detritus dynamics in lowland streams

Studies were conducted on streams flowing through agricultural floodplains in south-eastern Australia to quantify whether reductions in riparian canopy cover were associated with alterations to the input and benthic standing stocks of coarse allochthonous detritus. Comparisons were made among three farmland reaches and three reaches within reserves with intact cover of remnant overstorey trees. Detritus inputs to these reaches were measured monthly over 2 years using litter traps. Direct inputs to streams within the reserves were relatively high (550–617 g ash free dry weight (AFDW) m^–2 year^–1), but were lower at farmland reaches with the lowest canopy covers (83–117 gAFDW m^–2 year^–1). Only a minor fraction of the total allochthonous input (<10%) entered any of the study reaches laterally. The mean amounts of benthic detritus were lowest in the most open farmland reaches. Standing stocks of benthic detritus were found to be highly patchy across a large number of agricultural streams, but were consistently very low where the streamside canopy cover was below ~35%. Canopy cover should be restored along cleared agricultural streams because allochthonous detritus is a major source of food and habitat for aquatic ecosystems. Given the absence of pristine lowland streams in south-eastern Australia, those reaches with the most intact remnant overstorey canopies should be used to guide restoration.

Regional faunal decline – reptile occurrence in fragmented rural landscapes of south-eastern Australia

Many species of reptiles are sedentary and depend on ground-layer habitats, suggesting that they may be particularly vulnerable to landscape changes that result in isolation or degradation of native vegetation. We investigated patterns of reptile distribution and abundance in remnant woodland across the Victorian Riverina, south-eastern Australia, a bioregion highly modified (>90%) by clearing for agriculture. Reptiles were intensively surveyed by pitfall trapping and censuses at 60 sites, stratified to sample small (<30 ha) and large (>30 ha) remnants, and linear strips of roadside and streamside vegetation, across the regional environmental gradient. The recorded assemblage of 21 species was characterised by low abundance and patchy distribution of species. Reptiles were not recorded by either survey technique at 22% of sites and at a further 10% only a single individual was detected. More than half (53%) of all records were of two widespread, generalist skink species. Multivariate models showed that the distribution of reptiles is influenced by factors operating at several levels. The environmental gradient exerts a strong influence, with increasing species richness and numbers of individuals from east (moister, higher elevation) to west (drier, lower elevation). Differences existed between types of remnants, with roadside vegetation standing out as important; this probably reflects greater structural heterogeneity of ground and shrub strata than in remnants subject to grazing by stock. Although comparative historical data are lacking, we argue that there has been a region-wide decline in the status of reptiles in the Victorian Riverina involving: (1) overall population decline commensurate with loss of >90% of native vegetation; (2) disproportionate decline of grassy dry woodlands and their fauna (cf. floodplains); and (3) changes to populations and assemblages in surviving remnants due to effects of land-use on reptile habitats. Many species now occur as disjunct populations, vulnerable to changing land-use. The status of reptiles in rural Australia warrants greater attention than has been given to date. Effective conservation of this component of the biota requires better understanding of the population dynamics, habitat use and dispersal capacity of species; and a commitment to landscape restoration coupled with effective ecological monitoring.

A checklist for ecological management of landscapes for conservation

The management of landscapes for biological conservation and ecologically sustainable natural resource use are crucial global issues. Research for over two decades has resulted in a large literature, yet there is little consensus on the applicability or even the existence of general principles or broad considerations that could guide landscape conservation. We assess six major themes in the ecology and conservation of landscapes. We identify 13 important issues that need to be considered in developing approaches to landscape conservation. They include recognizing the importance of landscape mosaics (including the integration of terrestrial and aquatic areas), recognizing interactions between vegetation cover and vegetation configuration, using an appropriate landscape conceptual model, maintaining the capacity to recover from disturbance and managing landscapes in an adaptive framework. These considerations are influenced by landscape context, species assemblages and management goals and do not translate directly into on-the-ground management guidelines but they should be recognized by researchers and resource managers when developing guidelines for specific cases. Two crucial overarching issues are: (i) a clearly articulated vision for landscape conservation and (ii) quantifiable objectives that offer unambiguous signposts for measuring progress.

Future landscapes in South-eastern Australia : the role of protected areas and biolinks in adaptation to climate change

The extent and rapidity of global climate change is the major novel threatening process to biodiversity in the 21 st century. Globally, numerous studies suggest movement of biota to higher latitudes and altitudes with increasing empirical -evidence emerging. As biota responds to the direct and consequent effects of climate change the potential to profoundly affect natural systems (including the reserve system) of south-eastern Australia is becoming evident. Climate change is projected to accelerate major environmental drivers such as drought, fire and flood regimes. Is the reserve system sufficient for biodiversity conservation under a changing climate? Australia is topographically flat, biologically mega-diverse with high species endemism, and has the driest and most variable climate of any inhabited continent. Whilst the north-south orientation and aftitude gradient of eastern Australia's forests and woodlands provides some resilience to projected climatic change, this has been eroded since European settlement, particularly in the cool-moist Bassian zone of the south-east. Following settlement, massive land-use change for agriculture and forestry caused widespread loss and fragmentation of habitats; becoming geriatric in agricultural landscapes and artificially young in forests. The reserve system persists as an archipelago of ecological islands surrounded by land uses of varying compatibility with conservation and vulnerable to global warming. The capacity for biota to adapt is limited by habitat availability. The extinction risk is exacerbated. Re-examination of earlier analysis of ecological connectivity through biolink zones confirms biolinks as an appropriate risk management response within a broader suite of measures. Areas not currently in the reserve system may be critical to the value and ecological function of biological assets of the reserve system as these assets change. Ecological need and the rise of ecosystem services, combined with changing socio-economic drivers of land-use and social values that supported the expansion of the reserve system, all suggest biolink zones represent a new, necessary and viable multi-functional landscape. This paper explores some of the key ecological elements for restoration within biolink zones (and landscapes at large) particularly through currently agricultural landscapes.

Landscapes of learning : lifelong learning in rural communities

Reviews the non-fiction book 'Landscapes of Learning: Lifelong Learning in Rural Communities,' edited by Fred Gray.

Animal movement in dynamic landscapes : interaction between behavioural strategies and resource distributions

Most ecological and evolutionary processes are thought to critically depend on dispersal and individual movement but there is little empirical information on the movement strategies used by animals to find resources. In particular, it is unclear whether behavioural variation exists at all scales, or whether behavioural decisions are primarily made at small spatial scales and thus broad-scale patterns of movement simply reflect underlying resource distributions. We evaluated animal movement responses to variable resource distributions using the grey teal (Anas gracilis) in agricultural and desert landscapes in Australia as a model system. Birds in the two landscapes differed in the fractal dimension of their movement paths, with teal in the desert landscape moving less tortuously overall than their counterparts in the agricultural landscape. However, the most striking result was the high levels of individual variability in movement strategies, with different animals exhibiting different responses to the same resources. Teal in the agricultural basin moved with both high and low tortuosity, while teal in the desert basin primarily moved using low levels of tortuosity. These results call into question the idea that broad-scale movement patterns simply reflect underlying resource distributions, and suggest that movement responses in some animals may be behaviourally complex regardless of the spatial scale over which movement occurs.