Airborne hyperspectral image data of Heron Reef, Australia

This airborne hyperspectral (19 bands) image data of Heron Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Australia is derived from Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) data acquired on 1st and 3rd of July 2002, latitude -23.45, longitude 151.92. Processing and correction to at-surface data was completed by Karen Joyce (Joyce, 2004). Raw imagery consisted several images corresponding to the number of flight paths taken to cover the entire Heron Reef. Spatial resolution is one meter. Radiometric corrections converted the at-sensor digital number values to at surface spectral radiance values using sensor specific calibration coefficients and CSIRO's c-WomBat-c atmospheric correction software. Geometric corrections were done using field collected coordinates of features identified in the image. Projection used was Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 56 South and Datum used was WGS 84. Image data is in TIFF format.

Queensland, Australia, 1896 (Image 1 of 2) (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: Queensland and British New Guinea : prepared for educational purposes, Survey Deptartment, Brisbane. It was published by The Dept. in 1896. Scale [ca. 1:1,710,720]. This layer is image 1 of 2 total images of the two sheet source map, representing north portion of the map. Covers primarily northeast Australia and a portion of Papua New Guinea.The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994 Map Grid of Australia Zone 54 projected coordinate system. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as roads, railroads and stations, drainage, coastal features, selected places of interest, administrative boundaries, and more. Relief shown by shading and spot heights. This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from the Harvard Map Collection. These maps typically portray both natural and manmade features. The selection represents a range of originators, ground condition dates, scales, and map purposes.

Queensland, Australia, 1896 (Image 2 of 2) (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: Queensland and British New Guinea : prepared for educational purposes, Survey Deptartment, Brisbane. It was published by The Dept. in 1896. Scale [ca. 1:1,710,720]. This layer is image 2 of 2 total images of the two sheet source map, representing south portion of the map. Covers primarily northeast Australia and a portion of Papua New Guinea.The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994 Map Grid of Australia Zone 54 projected coordinate system. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as roads, railroads and stations, drainage, coastal features, selected places of interest, administrative boundaries, and more. Relief shown by shading and spot heights. This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from the Harvard Map Collection. These maps typically portray both natural and manmade features. The selection represents a range of originators, ground condition dates, scales, and map purposes.

Emergence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in Queensland, Australia

Objectives: To investigate the incidence and epidemiology of non-multiresistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (nmMRSA) infection in south-east Queensland, Australia. Study design: A retrospective survey was done of hospital records of all patients who had non-multiresistant MRSA isolated at Ipswich Hospital (a 250-bed general hospital, 40 km south-west of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) between March 2000 and June 2001. Laboratory typing of these isolates was done with antibiogram, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, bacteriophage typing and coagulase gene typing. Results: There were 44 infections caused by nmMRSA. Seventeen infections (39%) occurred in patients from the south-west Pacific Islands (predominantly Samoa, Tonga and New Zealand). Laboratory typing showed that the isolates in Pacific Islanders were Pacific Island strains, and 16/17 of these infections were community acquired. Twenty-three infections (52%) occurred in Caucasians. Eleven of the isolates from Caucasians (48%) were a new predominantly community-acquired strain that we have termed the ‘R’ pulsotype, nine (39%) were Pacific Island strains, and three (13%) were health care institution-associated strains. Four infections occurred in patients who were not Caucasians or Pacific Islanders. Overall, 34 of all 44 infections (77%) were community' acquired. Conclusions: Non-multiresistant MRSA infection, relatively frequently observed in Pacific Islanders in south-east Queensland, is now a risk for Caucasians as well, and is usually community acquired. Clinicians should consider taking microbiological specimens for culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing in patients with suspected staphylococcal infections who are not responding to empirical therapy with β-lactam antibiotics.

The public's knowledge of and support for conservation of Australia's tree-kangaroos and other animals

After providing background on Dendrolagus species in Australia, two consecutive surveys of Brisbane's residents are used to assess public knowledge of tree-kangaroos and the stated degree of support for their conservation in Australia. The responses of participants in Survey I are based on their pre-survey knowledge of wildlife. The same set of participants completed Survey II after being provided with additional information on all the wildlife species mentioned in Survey I. Changes in the attitudes of respondents and their degree of support for the protection and conservation of Australia's tree-kangaroos are measured, including changes in their contingent valuations and stated willingness to provide financial support for such conservation. Reasons for wanting to protect tree-kangaroos are specified and analysed. Furthermore, changes that occur in the relative importance of these reasons with increased knowledge are also examined. Support for the conservation of tree-kangaroos is found to rise with the additional knowledge supplied about all species and is compared with variations in support for protection of other mammals. Support for the conservation of Australia's less well known tropical mammals is found to increase relative to better known mammals (icons) present in temperate areas, such as koalas and red kangaroos. Possible implications of the results for government conservation policies in Australia are examined.

Diversification and extensible networks: The strategies of Chinese businesses in Australia

The paper reports on a study of 28 ethnic Chinese businesses in Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth, carried out in 2000 and 2001. It focuses on their strategies of vertical, horizontal, and unrelated diversification often combining different activities, products, and markets at the same time. It demonstrates how these practices are socially embedded in their preference for using personal networks. Non-related diversification, in particular, promotes and is facilitated by using weak ties that serve as bridges, leading into new networks (Granovetter, 1973). This can create links to Chinese of different national and dialect origins and to those of other ethnicities. It is suggested that open networks and diversification mutually interact to support each other and may have evolved in tandem from earlier, more closed and niche bound business cultures and practices.

Phytotoxicity of surface waters of the Thames and Brisbane River Estuaries: A combined chemical analysis and bioassay approach for the comparison of two systems

The Thames Estuary, UK, and the Brisbane River, Australia, are comparable in size and catchment area. Both are representative of the large and growing number of the world's estuaries associated with major cities. Principle differences between the two systems relate to climate and human population pressures. In order to assess the potential phytotoxic impact of herbicide residues in the estuaries, surface waters were analysed with a PAM fluorometry-based bioassay that employs the photosynthetic efficiency (photosystem II quantum yield) of laboratory cultured microalgae, as an endpoint measure of phytotoxicity. In addition, surface waters were chemically analysed for a limited number of herbicides. Diuron atrazine and simazine were detected in both systems at comparable concentrations. In contrast, bioassay results revealed that whilst detected herbicides accounted for the observed phytotoxicity of Brisbane River extracts with great accuracy, they consistently explained only around 50% of the phytotoxicity induced by Thames Estuary extracts. Unaccounted for phytotoxicity in Thames surface waters is indicative of unidentified phytotoxins. The greatest phytotoxic response was measured at Charing Cross, Thames Estuary, and corresponded to a diuron equivalent concentration of 180 ng L-1. The study employs relative potencies (REP) of PSII impacting herbicides and demonstrates that chemical analysis alone is prone to omission of valuable information. Results of the study provide support for the incorporation of bioassays into routine monitoring programs where bioassay data may be used to predict and verify chemical contamination data, alert to unidentified compounds and provide the user with information regarding cumulative toxicity of complex mixtures. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.