Characteristcs of conducting textiles in the microwave frequency range

This investigation of textiles coated with a polymer that conducts electricity showed that they can be used for effectively reflecting and absorbing microwaves. These conducting textiles are an economical, flexible and lightweight alternative to traditional materials for electromagnetic interference shielding of, for instance, sensitive electronic equipment.

An examination of the range of self-funding options available to regional galleries and an assessment of their suitability for use in those institutions

Researches the suitability of a variety of self-funding options available to regional galleries in Australia. An overview of the range of current self-funding practices is given. Each option is mapped according to its impact on core/value added services and its effect on primary/secondary users and assessed for suitability using these criteria.

Compounding factors and their effect on the design of long range battery electric vehicles

 It is well known that the one of the main problems concerning battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is their short range compared to conventional petrol and diesel vehicles. In this work the technical factors that will enable long range BEVs are investigated. The concept of Compounding Factors is presented and shows that if certain parameters can be met then BEV’s can have a comparable performance to conventional petrol cars. The development and initial testing of a long range BEW prototype is presented and discussed.

The influence of different nanoparticles on a range of organic ionic plastic crystals

The addition of nanoparticles to an organic ionic plastic crystal can result in orders of magnitude increases in ionic conductivity, which makes these materials of interest as solid state electrolytes. However, this effect is not universal and depends on both the nature of the organic ionic plastic crystal and on the type of nanoparticle used. The effect of addition of TiO₂, Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ nanoparticles to a range of ionic materials with varying plasticity and rotator phase behaviour has been studied by thermal analysis and conductivity and the effect on the different materials is compared.

The exact distribution of the maximum, minimum and the range of multinomial/dirichlet and multivariate hypergeometric frequencies

The exact distribution of the maximum and minimum frequencies of Multinomial/Dirichlet and Multivariate Hypergeometric distributions of n balls in m urns is compactly represented as a product of stochastic matrices. This representation does not require equal urn probabilities, is invariant to urn order, and permits rapid calculation of exact probabilities. The exact distribution of the range is also obtained. These algorithms satisfy a long-standing need for routines to compute exact Multinomial/Dirichlet and Multivariate Hypergeometric maximum, minimum, and range probabilities in statistical computation libraries and software packages.

Cross-Territorial heritage sites : towards a cross-cultural heritage practice

This paper will describe a current research project at Deakin University’s Cultural Heritage Centre for Asia and the Pacific which aims to develop our current understanding of heritage beyond the national frame usually given to it. The project focuses on a number of heritage sites associated with Australia’s war time heritage. However, all of these sites are located on foreign soil, in land which is not owned by the Australian government. Moreover, because of their location, these sites may or may not have significance for the countries where they are located or to other participants in the same war. Their location in another country and in other people’s narratives poses a complex problem for those who want to conserve, manage and interpret these sites in a manner which preserves their significance to Australia. Is it possible to do this while also recognising other people’s investment or lack of, in these sites? What do we need to think about when recognising the existence of dissonant heritage not only within a nation but across nations? And can this dissonance be used to encourage crosscultural dialogue? Using current understandings of heritage as potentially dissonant, and accepting the need to work within a pluralist frame which supports and argues for cultural diversity, this project explores what happens when this dissonance and diversity occurs not simply within a nation but across national borders. The paper will explore these issues by looking at the interpretation of the Thai-Burma railway, one of a handful of sites which Australians use to mark Anzac Day, the national day of remembrance for those who died fighting for their country.

Native title rights in the territorial sea and beyond: exclusivity and commerce in the Akiba decision

The principles that regulate the recognition and enforcement of native title rights and interests in both the territorial and the high seas are discussed. The context of the territorial and high seas, where a parallel structure provides a strong foundation for the promotion and recognition of co-coordinated practices, a far greater potential exists for the endorsement of native title rights which connect to evolving social and economic frameworks, as can be seen in the recent decision of Finn J in Akiba.

Southward range expansion of the Mourning Gecko Lepidodactylus lugubris on mainland Australia and nearshore islands

The Mourning Gecko Lepidodactylus lugubris is a species that colonises areas of human habitation and its spread is assisted by humans. This note documents southward range expansion of this species down the Queensland coast.

Range size-abundance relationships in Australian passerines

Aim  To investigate the relationship between geographical range size and abundance (population density) in Australian passerines.
Location  Australia (including Tasmania).
Methods   We analysed the relationship between range size and local abundance for 272 species of Australian passerines, across the whole order and within families. We measured abundance as mean and maximum abundance, and used a phylogenetic generalized least-squares regression method within a maximum-likelihood framework to control for effects of phylogeny. We also analysed the relationship within seven different habitat types.
Results  There was no correlation between range size and abundance for the whole set of species across all habitats. Analyses within families revealed some strong correlations but showed no consistent pattern. Likewise we found little evidence for any relationship or conflicting patterns in different habitats, except that woodland/forest habitat species exhibit a negative correlation between mean abundance and range size, whilst species in urban habitats exhibit a significant positive relationship between maximum abundance and range size. Despite the general lack of correlation, the raw data plots of range size and abundance in this study occupied a triangular space, with narrowly distributed species exhibiting a greater variation in abundances than widely distributed species. However, using a null model analysis, we demonstrate that this was due to a statistical artefact generated by the frequency distributions for the individual variables.
Conclusions   We find no evidence for a positive range size-abundance relationship among Australian passerines. This absence of a relationship cannot be explained by any conflicting effects introduced by comparing across different habitats, nor is it explained by the fact that large proportions of Australia are arid. We speculate that the considerable isolation and evolutionary age of Australian passerines may be an explanatory factor.

The Viggers & Hearn conundrum : a kangaroo home range study with no implications for land management

1.
Viggers & Hearn (2005) examined the encroachment of native herbivores on to farmland.
They presented kangaroo home range estimates and pasture biomass data for
three sites in south-eastern Australia, then made broad management recommendations
regarding the preservation of remnant habitat.
2.
While Viggers & Hearn identified potentially important patterns, we believe that
their data were neither sufficient nor appropriate to reveal the processes that underlie
these patterns.
3.
Specifically, their study was unreplicated at the land-use level, used inappropriate
density estimates for their study populations, failed to measure resources adequately,
used flawed methods of home range analysis, and demonstrated limited understanding
of key concepts and of their study species and thus could not draw valid conclusions.
4.
Synthesis and applications.
In view of these fundamental problems, we recommend
that decisions on the management of kangaroos

The foraging range of Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor) during winter

Although the movements of seabirds at sea during various stages of breeding in spring and summer have been the focus of many studies in recent years, there is still little known about the non-breeding period for most species. Satellite telemetry was used to determine the at-sea movements and foraging range of 47 Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor) from Phillip Island, south-eastern Australia, during the winter non-breeding period. Individuals conducting single-day trips (72% of individuals) typically foraged 8–14 km from the colony, whereas individuals conducting longer trips (28%; 2–49 days) foraged either within Port Phillip Bay or in the coastal waters of western Bass Strait at maximum distances of 62–147 km from the colony. Although there was no difference between sexes in duration of foraging trips, the overall foraging range of males (841 km2) was substantially smaller than that of females (1983 km2) across all months, and showed an overlap of only 34%. Our results show that the foraging range of Little Penguins in the non-breeding period is greater than that observed during the summer breeding period, which suggest a reduction in local food abundance in winter and highlights the importance of foraging areas distant to the colony during a time of increased energetic costs and higher mortality.

Low-cost interactive active range finder

This paper describes a new type of low-cost interactive active range finder and illustrates the effect of introducing interactivity to the range-acquisition process. The new range finder consists of only one camera and a laser pointer to which three LEDs are attached. When a user scans the laser, the camera captures the image of spots (one from the laser and the others from LEDs), and triangulation is carried out using the camera's viewing direction and the optical axis of the laser. The user interaction allows the range finder to acquire range data in which the sampling rate varies across the object depending on the underlying surface structures. Moreover, the processes of separating objects from the background and/or finding parts in the object can be achieved using the operator's knowledge of the objects.

Low-cost interactive active monocular range finder

This paper describes a low-cost interactive active monocular range finder and illustrates the effect of introducing interactivity to the range acquisition process. The range finder consists of only one camera and a laser pointer, to which three LEDs are attached. When a user scans the laser along surfaces of objects, the camera captures the image of spots (one from the laser, and the others from LEDs), and triangulation is carried out using the camera's viewing direction and the optical axis of the laser. The user interaction allows the range finder to acquire range data in which the sampling rate varies across the object depending on the underlying surface structures. Moreover, the processes of separating objects from the background and/or finding parts in the object can be achieved using the operator's knowledge of the objects.

The central-place territorial model does not apply to space-use by juvenile brook charr Salvelinus fontinalis in lakes

1. Territoriality is widely accepted as the mechanism responsible for density-dependent mortality, emigration, and 'self-thinning' of populations of juvenile salmonine fishes in streams. Numerous studies have focused on territoriality exclusively in stream (lotic) environments and thus have fostered a stereotyped view of juvenile salmonines as sedentary and territorial. We term this behavioural paradigm the central-place territorial model (CPTM).

2. We tested predictions characterizing the CPTM for young-of-the-year (YOY) brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) in two Canadian lakes to determine if territoriality may also potentially limit space and population size of brook charr in lakes.

3. Our findings were not consistent with the CPTM. Fish in both lakes were not central-place forages. Maximum displacement distance did not increase with body length as predicted by the general salmonine model of Grant and Kramer (1990). Net displacement distanced increased with the proportion of time spent moving. Aggressive frequency was greatest for fish which spent large proportions of time moving and did not defend from a central-place.

4. Fish in both lakes were rarely aggressive, highly active, and often moved back over the same areas. However, lake fish which migrated to a tributary stream had no net displacement (central-place foraging) illustrating the immediate effects of current on foraging tactics and space-use.

5. The effect of hydrodynamic environment (flowing vs. still water) on fish behaviour needs to be explicitly considered in future models of salmonine behaviour.

Multiple emitter localization using range only measurements considering geometrical constraints

This paper proposes a constrained optimization approach to improve the accuracy of a Time-of-Arrival (ToA) based multiple target localization system. Instead of using an overdetermined measurement system, this paper uses local distance measurements between the targets/emitters as the geometric constraint.Computer simulations are used to evaluate the performance of the geometrically constrained optimization method.