Working as one: A road map to disaster resilience for Australia

Natural disasters cause widespread disruption, costing the Australian economy $6.3 billion per year, and those costs are projected to rise incrementally to $23 billion by 2050. With more frequent natural disasters with greater consequences, Australian communities need the ability to prepare and plan for them, absorb and recover from them, and adapt more successfully to their effects. Enhancing Australian resilience will allow us to better anticipate disasters and assist in planning to reduce losses, rather than just waiting for the next king hit and paying for it afterwards. Given the scale of devastation, governments have been quick to pick up the pieces when major natural disasters hit. But this approach (‘The government will give you taxpayers’ money regardless of what you did to help yourself, and we’ll help you rebuild in the same risky area.’) has created a culture of dependence. This is unsustainable and costly. In 2008, ASPI published Taking a punch: building a more resilient Australia. That report emphasised the importance of strong leadership and coordination in disaster resilience policymaking, as well as the value of volunteers and family and individual preparation, in managing the effects of major disasters. This report offers a roadmap for enhancing Australia’s disaster resilience, building on the 2011 National Strategy for Disaster Resilience. It includes a snapshot of relevant issues and current resilience efforts in Australia, outlining key challenges and opportunities. The report sets out 11 recommendations to help guide Australia towards increasing national resilience, from individuals and local communities through to state and federal agencies.

Associated schools of construction of southern Africa infrastructure design and delivery workshop - Report. CIB task group 91 infrastructure

This workshop comprised a diverse group of African construction experts, ranging far wider than RSA. Each of the attendees had attended the annual ASOCSA conference and was additionally provided with a short workshop pre-brief. The aim was to develop a view of their 15-20 year vision of construction improvement in RSA and the steps necessary to get there. These included sociological, structural, technical and process changes. Whilst some suggestions are significantly challenging, none are impossible, given sufficient collaboration between government, industry, academia and NGOs. The highest priority projects (more properly, programmes) were identified and further explored. These are: 1. Information Hub (‘Open Africa’). Aim – to utilise emerging trends in Open Data to provide a force for African unity. 2. Workforce Development. Aim – to rebuild a competent, skilled construction industry for RSA projects and for export. 3. Modular DIY Building. Aim – to accelerate the development of sustainable, cost-efficient and desirable housing for African economic immigrants and others living in makeshift and slum dwellings. Open Data is a maturing theme in different cities and governments around the world and the workshop attendees were very keen to seize such a possibility to assist in developing an environment where Africans can share information and foster collaboration. It is likely that NGOs might be keen to follow up such an initiative. There are significant developments taking place around the world in the construction sector currently, with comparatively large savings being made for taxpayers (20% plus in the UK). Not all of these changes would be easy to transplant to RSA (even more so to much of the rest of Africa). Workforce development was a keen plea amongst the attendees, who seemed concerned that expertise has leaked away and is not being replaced with sufficient intensity. It is possible today to develop modular buildings in such a way that even unskilled residents can assist in their construction, and even their appropriate design. These buildings can be sited nearly autonomously from infrastructures, thus relieving the tensions on cities and townships, whilst providing humane accommodation for the economically disadvantaged. Development of suitable solutions could either be conducted with other similarly stressed countries or developed in-country and the expertise exported. Finally, it should be pointed out that this was very much a first step. Any opportunity to collaborate from an Australian, QUT or CIB perspective would be welcomed, whilst acknowledging that the leading roles belong to RSA, CSIR, NRF, ASOCSA and the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Action learning in partnership with Landcare and catchment management groups to support increased pasture sowings in southern inland Queensland

The incorporation of sown pastures as short-term rotations into the cropping systems of northern Australia has been slow. The inherent chemical fertility and physical stability of the predominant vertisol soils across the region enabled farmers to grow crops for decades without nitrogen fertiliser, and precluded the evolution of a crop–pasture rotation culture. However, as less fertile and less physically stable soils were cropped for extended periods, farmers began to use contemporary farming and sown pasture technologies to rebuild and maintain their soils. This has typically involved sowing long-term grass and grass–legume pastures on the more marginal cropping soils of the region. In partnership with the catchment management authority, the Queensland Murray–Darling Committee (QMDC) and Landcare, a pasture extension process using the LeyGrain™ package was implemented in 2006 within two Grain & Graze projects in the Maranoa-Balonne and Border Rivers catchments in southern inland Queensland. The specific objectives were to increase the area sown to high quality pasture and to gain production and environmental benefits (particularly groundcover) through improving the skills of producers in pasture species selection, their understanding and management of risk during pasture establishment, and in managing pastures and the feed base better. The catalyst for increasing pasture sowings was a QMDC subsidy scheme for increasing groundcover on old cropping land. In recognising a need to enhance pasture knowledge and skills to implement this scheme, the QMDC and Landcare producer groups sought the involvement of, and set specific targets for, the LeyGrain workshop process. This is a highly interactive action learning process that built on the existing knowledge and skills of the producers. Thirty-four workshops were held with more than 200 producers in 26 existing groups and with private agronomists. An evaluation process assessed the impact of the workshops on the learning and skill development by participants, their commitment to practice change, and their future intent to sow pastures. The results across both project catchments were highly correlated. There was strong agreement by producers (>90%) that the workshops had improved knowledge and skills regarding the adaptation of pasture species to soils and climates, enabling a better selection at the paddock level. Additional strong impacts were in changing the attitudes of producers to all aspects of pasture establishment, and the relative species composition of mixtures. Producers made a strong commitment to practice change, particularly in managing pasture as a specialist crop at establishment to minimise risk, and in the better selection and management of improved pasture species (particularly legumes and the use of fertiliser). Producers have made a commitment to increase pasture sowings by 80% in the next 5 years, with fourteen producers in one group alone having committed to sow an additional 4893 ha of pasture in 2007–08 under the QMDC subsidy scheme. The success of the project was attributed to the partnership between QMDC and Landcare groups who set individual workshop targets with LeyGrain presenters, the interactive engagement processes within the workshops themselves, and the follow-up provided by the LeyGrain team for on-farm activities.

FactCheck: is our grocery market one of the most concentrated in the world?

With one of the most concentrated food retail sectors in the world dominated by the supermarket duopoly, the barriers to making it easy to buy local food in Australia are significant. It is time for Australia to learn from the example of other countries and provide assistance to rebuild local food systems.” – The Australian Greens. However, the percentage of market share controlled by the two major supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths, depends on which groceries you include.

Suomi ja Euroopan kirkollinen jälleenrakentaminen 1945-1948

The international aid that the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland received between 1945 and 1948 is the topic of this historical study, in which the process of reconstruction of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is examined in a European context. The key questions are related not only to the achievements of the reconstruction programs but also to the purposes and objectives of the donating churches. The study pays particular attention to the changes in the ecclesiastical, political and economic fields after the Second World War and asks how the tense political atmosphere of a divided world affected the reconstruction programs of the churches. It is possible to distinguish three periods within the European church reconstruction process. To begin with, the year 1945 was, in general, the year of organization. Many churches had started planning reconstruction work already during the war, but only after the conflict in Europe had ceased did they have a chance to renew contacts, assess the damage and begin operations. The years 1946 and 1947 were the main years of the work. Large reconstruction organizations from American churches donated money, food, clothes and vitamins worth millions of dollars to the European churches. The work started to diminish as early as 1948, partly because Marshall Plan aid and the rising standard of living had reduced the need for material assistance in many countries and partly because other problems overshadowed the reconstruction work of the World Council of Churches: for example, most WCC resources at this time were directed to refugee programs and to Third World churhces. The most important donors from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland's point of view were the American Section of the Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches and the Churches of Denmark, Sweden and England. The amount of money and value of goods received by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland totaled approximately 2.5 million dollars, from which about 60 per cent came from the Lutheran churches of America. The importance of the Lutheran World Federation was even greater because of the productive financial arrangements that increased the American Lutheran funds. In addition the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland imported hundreds of tons of tax-free coffee and sold this to Finns. The money gained was used mostly to rebuild destroyed church buildings and to support the work of different ecclesiastical organizations. Smaller amounts were used for scholarship programs, youth work, and supporting sick and disabled church workers.

O governo de Tibério e a difícil arte de suceder bons imperadores

Resumo: Neste artigo, propomo-nos a analisar o Governo do Imperador Romano Tibério, da forma como foi descrito por Dion Cássio Cocceiano na obra História Romana. Dion Cássio foi senador na passagem do II para o III século d.C. e sua narrativa nos chegou bastante fragmentada, reconstruída a partir dos excertos de Xifilino e Zonaras. A autoridade do Príncipe não era hereditária. Assim, tornavase necessário refazer os laços de patronato e amicitia no início de cada governo. E esta não era uma tarefa fácil, nem mesmo para Tibério que sucedeu o considerado bom Imperador Otávio Augusto.

A theoretical perspective of the Telepinu Myth : archetypes and initiation rites in historical contexts

Abstract: Research on the Telepinu Myth (CTH 324) has shown that it is an inexhaustibly rich document and that therefore the different, and sometimes conflicting, lines of analysis need to be pursued further. In the light of the symbolic evidence presented by this mythological tradition, we propose to focus on the privileged position granted to spatial symbols and to hypothesize the function this Myth served in specific contexts of the Hittite history, characterized by the increase and reduction of lands under Hittite jurisdiction. In this regard, we propose to evaluate the symbolic function that the Telepinu Myth displayed in order to rebuild the sacred space of the territories governed by the Hittites, when they were undergoing changes brought about by increased political and military contact with neighboring societies.

Desborde y herida de amor en la poesía mística de Hadewijch de Amberes

La autora ofrece un estudio sobre la voz místico-poética de Hadewijch de Amberes, una de las representantes más destacadas del movimiento beguinense del siglo XIII. Su finalidad es la reconstrucción de la interioridad cristiana desde la estética medieval en proyección hacia nuestro presente a partir de las figuras del “desborde” y la “herida” de amor, por coincidir en ellas la mística medieval y la actual.

The status of shark and ray fishery resources in the Gulf of California: applied research to improve management and conservation

Seasonal surveys were conducted during 1998–1999 in Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, and Sinaloa to determine the extent and activities of artisanal elasmobranch fisheries in the Gulf of California. One hundred and forty–seven fishing sites, or camps, were documented, the majority of which (n = 83) were located in Baja California Sur. Among camps with adequate fisheries information, the great majority (85.7%) targeted elasmobranchs during some part of the year. Most small, demersal sharks and rays were landed in mixed species fisheries that also targeted demersal teleosts, but large sharks were usually targeted in directed drift gillnet or, to a lesser extent, surface longline fisheries. Artisanal fishermen were highly opportunistic, and temporally switched targets depending on the local productivity of teleost, invertebrate, and elasmobranch fishery resources. Major fisheries for small sharks (< 1.5 m, “cazón”) were documented in Baja California during spring, in Sonora during autumn–spring, and in Sinaloa during winter and spring. Triakid sharks (Mustelus spp.) dominated cazón landings in the northern states, whereas juvenile scalloped hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini) primarily supported the fishery in Sinaloa. Large sharks (> 1.5 m, “tiburón”) were minor components of artisanal elasmobranch fisheries in Sonora and Sinaloa, but were commonly targeted during summer and early autumn in Baja California and Baja California Sur. The pelagic thresher shark (Alopias pelagicus) and silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis) were most commonly landed in Baja California, whereas a diverse assemblage of pelagic and large coastal sharks was noted among Baja California Sur landings. Rays dominated summer landings in Baja California and Sinaloa, when elevated catch rates of the shovelnose guitarfish (Rhinobatos productus, 13.2 individuals/vessel/trip) and golden cownose ray (Rhinoptera steindachneri, 11.1 individuals/vesse/trip) primarily supported the respective fisheries. The Sonoran artisanal elasmobranch fishery was the most expansive recorded during this study, and rays (especially R. productus) dominated spring and summer landings in this state. Seasonal catch rates of small demersal sharks and rays were considerably greater in Sonora than in other surveyed states. Many tiburón populations (e.g., C. leucas, C. limbatus, C. obscurus, Galeocerdo cuvier) have likely been overfished, possibly shifting effort towards coastal populations of cazón and rays. Management recommendations, including conducting demographic analyses using available life history data, determining and protecting nursery areas, and enacting seasonal closures in areas of elasmobranch aggregation (e.g., reproduction, feeding), are proposed. Without effective, enforceable management to sustain or rebuild targeted elasmobranch populations in the Gulf of California, collapse of many fisheries is a likely outcome. (PDF contains 243 pages)

The History, Present Condition, and Future of the Molluscan Fisheries of North and Central America and Europe: Volume 2, Pacific Coast and Supplemental Topics

Over 100 molluscan species are landed in Mexico. About 30% are harvested on the Pacific coast and 70% on the Atlantic coast. Clams, scallops, and squid predominate on the Pacific coast (abalone, limpets, and mussels are landed there exclusively). Conchs and oysters predominate on the Atlantic coast. In 1988, some 95,000 metric tons (t) of mollusks were landed, with a value of $33 million. Mollusks were used extensively in prehispanic Mexico as food, tools, and jewelry. Their use as food and jewelry continues. Except in the States of Baja California and Baja California Sur, where abalone, clams, and scallops provide fishermen with year-round employment, mollusk fishing is done part time. On both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, many fishermen are nomads, harvesting mollusks wherever they find abundant stocks. Upon finding such beds, they build camps, begin harvesting, and continue until the mollusks become so scarce that it no longer pays to continue. They then look for productive beds in other areas and rebuild their camps. Fishermen harvest abalones, mussels, scallops, and clams by free-diving and using scuba and hooka. Landings of clams and cockles have been growing, and 22,000 t were landed in 1988. Fishermen harvest intertidal clams by hand at wading depths, finding them with their feet. In waters up to 5 m, they harvest them by free-diving. In deeper water, they use scuba and hooka. Many species of gastropods have commercial importance on both coasts. All species with a large detachable muscle are sold as scallops. On the Pacific coast, hatchery culture of oysters prevails. Oyster culture in Atlantic coast lagoons began in the 1950's, when beds were enhanced by spreading shells as cultch for spat. (PDF file contains 228 pages.)

Coding for information storage

Storage systems are widely used and have played a crucial rule in both consumer and industrial products, for example, personal computers, data centers, and embedded systems. However, such system suffers from issues of cost, restricted-lifetime, and reliability with the emergence of new systems and devices, such as distributed storage and flash memory, respectively. Information theory, on the other hand, provides fundamental bounds and solutions to fully utilize resources such as data density, information I/O and network bandwidth. This thesis bridges these two topics, and proposes to solve challenges in data storage using a variety of coding techniques, so that storage becomes faster, more affordable, and more reliable.

We consider the system level and study the integration of RAID schemes and distributed storage. Erasure-correcting codes are the basis of the ubiquitous RAID schemes for storage systems, where disks correspond to symbols in the code and are located in a (distributed) network. Specifically, RAID schemes are based on MDS (maximum distance separable) array codes that enable optimal storage and efficient encoding and decoding algorithms. With r redundancy symbols an MDS code can sustain r erasures. For example, consider an MDS code that can correct two erasures. It is clear that when two symbols are erased, one needs to access and transmit all the remaining information to rebuild the erasures. However, an interesting and practical question is: What is the smallest fraction of information that one needs to access and transmit in order to correct a single erasure? In Part I we will show that the lower bound of 1/2 is achievable and that the result can be generalized to codes with arbitrary number of parities and optimal rebuilding.

We consider the device level and study coding and modulation techniques for emerging non-volatile memories such as flash memory. In particular, rank modulation is a novel data representation scheme proposed by Jiang et al. for multi-level flash memory cells, in which a set of n cells stores information in the permutation induced by the different charge levels of the individual cells. It eliminates the need for discrete cell levels, as well as overshoot errors, when programming cells. In order to decrease the decoding complexity, we propose two variations of this scheme in Part II: bounded rank modulation where only small sliding windows of cells are sorted to generated permutations, and partial rank modulation where only part of the n cells are used to represent data. We study limits on the capacity of bounded rank modulation and propose encoding and decoding algorithms. We show that overlaps between windows will increase capacity. We present Gray codes spanning all possible partial-rank states and using only ``push-to-the-top'' operations. These Gray codes turn out to solve an open combinatorial problem called universal cycle, which is a sequence of integers generating all possible partial permutations.

Potential use of offshore marine structures in rebuilding an overfished rockfish species, bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis)

Although bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis) was an economically important rockfish species along the west coast of North America, overfishing has reduced the stock to about 7.4% of its former unfished population. In 2003, using a manned research submersible, we conducted fish surveys around eight oil and gas platforms off southern California as part of an assessment of the potential value of these structures as fish habitat. From these surveys, we estimated that there was a minimum of 430,000 juvenile bocaccio at these eight structures. We determined this number to be about 20% of the average number of juvenile bocaccio that survive annually for the geographic range of the species. When these juveniles become adults, they will contribute about one percent (0.8%) of the additional amount of fish needed to rebuild the Pacific Coast population. By comparison, juvenile bocaccio recruitment to nearshore natural nursery grounds, as determined through regional scuba surveys, was low in the same year. This research demonstrates that a relatively small amount of artificial nursery habitat may be quite valuable in rebuilding an overfished species.

Readaptar ou reconstruir o trabalho no serviço público?: um estudo em um hospital universitário

O presente estudo tem como objeto de análise a readaptação funcional de servidores públicos enquanto uma expressão das condições objetivas de trabalho em um hospital universitário no Brasil e seus possíveis impactos na saúde dos trabalhadores; sendo ainda, momento potencial para análise das possibilidades de reconstrução do trabalho público. Os objetivos da investigação consistem em: identificar através do processo de readaptação funcional se o crescente adoecimento do servidor público seria uma expressão dos impactos do ajuste neoliberal no desmantelamento do Estado, via instituições públicas, precariedade das condições de trabalho e de suas formas de gestão; refletir sobre a intervenção interprofissional voltada para a reinserção do trabalhador ao processo produtivo em função da readaptação funcional e avaliar em que dimensões e processos as tendências de gestão pública, no campo analisado, interferem na saúde dos trabalhadores da área estudada e como poderiam contribuir para a mudança dos seus condicionantes. A metodologia de investigação baseou-se em pesquisa bibliográfica e documental e entrevistas individuais com técnicos da equipe interdisciplinar, gestores e representante sindical e entrevistas em grupo com auxiliares de enfermagem readaptados. O estudo confirmou a relevância da reconstrução do trabalho no serviço público por meio de uma gestão democrática com controle social, garantindo a participação da comunidade em todo o processo, para a definição de uma política institucional, norteada pelos pressupostos da saúde do trabalhador.

A escola como espaço formador de professores: um estudo sobre interações e possibilidades do exercício da docência

A experiência de uma escola localizada na periferia da Baixada Fluminense em que os desafios do cotidiano mobilizam os docentes para a construção coletiva do PPP (Projeto Político Pedagógico), suscitou a realização desse trabalho. A presente pesquisa investigou as possíveis relações que se estabelecem entre a formação continuada construída na escola e a mobilização dos saberes dos docentes, como caminho para elaboração de um PPP emancipador. Tem-se como referencial teórico: 1- As contribuições de Nóvoa sobre a escola como lócus privilegiado de formação docente, construtor de novos entendimentos acerca dos processos educativos e da profissionalização docente, 2- As análises de Contreras sobre a autonomia docente e a necessidade da reflexão dos docentes sobre o sentido político que orienta as suas ações 3- O reconhecimento da elaboração de saberes pelos docentes na constituição de seu trabalho e a necessidade de uma nova epistemologia da profissão com foco na interação humana em acordo a Tardif. Buscou-se desvelar a concepção de formação continuada presente, apreender os significados deste processo pelos professores desta escola e suas repercussões no trabalho docente. Tratou-se de um estudo de caso de cunho etnográfico aplicado à Educação, de abordagem metodológica qualitativa, estruturado em pesquisa bibliográfica, observações das reuniões de formação continuada, análise documental, relatos orais e entrevistas semi-estruturadas individuais. Indagou-se aos professores sobre as características da proposta de formação continuada da escola, sua organização, gestão e os efeitos sobre o trabalho cotidiano. As análises permitiram constatar alguns elementos que definem as características dessa escola: busca pela gestão democrática, trabalho interativo docente e as repercussões desses processos na constituição do PPP, pautados no compromisso com os alunos e a comunidade. Dessa forma, destaca-se a importância de se considerar a escola como lócus significativo de formação continuada, pois é a instância onde os professores constroem, reconstroem, mobilizam, manifestam e interagem vários saberes que permitirão a especificidade, a significação e a atribuição dos sentidos de sua ação docente, passando a constituir sua profissionalidade

Juventude brasileira e inserção no trabalho: as políticas do governo Lula

O estudo analisa as políticas de inserção dos jovens no mundo do trabalho no Brasil durante os anos de 2003-2010. A principal questão deste trabalho é o desvendamento dos fundamentos que sustentam estas políticas, sublinhando a historicidade que as envolve. A pesquisa deu, então, especial relevância à apreensão das categorias explicativas de uma forma histórica, e dentro das complexas relações, contraditórias e mediadas entre os processos de produção da vida material pelo trabalho e os processos formativos educacionais. Essa foi à perspectiva que orientou a metodologia e a revisão bibliográfica e documental, a fim de construir um instrumento de análise capaz de dar conta das especificidades dos programas. A exposição do estudo está dividida em três partes. Na primeira, apresentaremos o processo de construção do mercado de trabalho assalariado livre no Brasil, a partir de 1850, assim como o modelo teórico de análise plasmado nas categorias que se trabalham em toda a pesquisa. Isso nos ajuda a compreender o processo de transformação que aconteceu ao longo dos anos. Em uma segunda parte focalizamos os fundamentos das políticas de inserção no mundo do trabalho para os jovens, de que maneira estão organizadas, como foram produzidas, divulgadas e executadas. Na terceira parte refletimos a partir do concreto revelado em peculiaridades nos programas do PNPE e Pro Jovem na modalidade Pro Jovem Trabalhador. Nas considerações finais é reconstruído o caminho inverso que vai desde o particular às relações mais gerais, de modo a sustentar a ideia de que apesar dos esforços de reduzir os impactos do desemprego para os jovens, os argumentos de apoio das políticas dirigidas a tal fim não são sustentáveis desde o planejamento na medida em que estão sustentadas como políticas de assistência, focalistas e emergenciais.