Optical absorption near infrared and EPR studies of mottramite

Mottramite mineral originated from Tsumeb Corporation Mine, Tsumeb, Otavi, Namibia, is used in the present work. The mineral contains of vanadium and copper to the extent of 22.73% and 16.84% by weight respectively as V2O5 and CuO. An EPR study of sample confirms the presence of Cu(II) with g = 2.2. Optical absorption spectrum of mottramite indicates that Cu(II) is present in rhombic environment. NIR results are due to water fundamentals.

Building climate change resilience and adaptive capacity in Australia’s community sector using social media and technology innovation

Public and private sector organisations worldwide are putting strategies in place to manage the commercial and operational risks of climate change. However, community organisations are lagging behind in their understanding and preparedness, despite them being among the most exposed to the effects of climate change impacts and regulation. This poster presents a proposal for a multidisciplinary study that addresses this issue by developing, testing and applying a novel climate risk assessment methodology that is tailored to the needs of Australia’s community sector and its clients. Strategies to mitigate risks and build resilience and adaptive capacity will be identified including new opportunities afforded by urban informatics, social media, and technologies of scale making.

Safety implications of increased moped and scooter use in an Australian city

Drawing on two studies within a larger program of research into scooter and moped safety in Queensland, Australia, some key safety concerns specific to the use of these vehicles are discussed. A five phase observational study is used to identify distribution of powered two-wheeler (PTW) types in the city centre of Brisbane, Australia’s third largest city. Data were first collected in August 2008, and thereafter at six-monthly intervals. Stationary PTWs were directly observed in designated parking areas. Four focus groups involving 23 Brisbane riders were held in March 2009, aiming to explore perspectives on safety and transport planning in a semi-structured format. Information gathered in the focus groups informed development of a questionnaire targeting a larger sample of scooter and moped riders. The observations made to date indicate that 36% of all PTWs parked in Brisbane’s inner city are either mopeds or larger scooters, with the remaining 64% accounted for by motorcycles (n = 2037). These data suggest that mopeds and scooters are a significant transport mode in Brisbane, yet little is known about their safety relative to that of motorcycles. In focus groups, main motivating factors for scooter or moped use included parking availability, traffic congestion, cost, time-efficiency and enjoyment. Moped riders were generally younger and less experienced than other scooter riders, less likely to wear protective clothing, and less likely to have undertaken rider training. The focus groups have helped to identify some particular safety concerns regarding moped use in a jurisdiction requiring no motorcycle licence or rider training.

In Bed with Autobiography: Unravelling the Fabric of Gender and Genre in Women’s Bed(room) Confessions

This thesis consists of a confessional narrative, What My Mother Doesn’t Know, and an accompanying exegesis, And Why I Should (Maybe) Tell Her. The creative piece employs the confessional mode as a subversive device in three separate narratives, each of which situates the bed as a site of resistance. The exegesis investigates how this self-disclosure in a domestic space flouts the governing rules of self-representation, specifically: telling the truth, respecting privacy and displaying normalcy. The female confession, I argue, creates an alternative space in women’s autobiography where notions of truth-telling can be undermined, the political dimensions of personal experience can be uncovered and the discourse of normality can be negotiated. In particular, women’s confessions told in, on or about the bed, dismantle the genre’s illusion of self and confirm the representative aspects of women’s experience. Framed within these parameters of power and powerlessness, the exegesis includes textual analyses of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper (1892), Tracey Emin’s My Bed (1999) and Lauren Slater’s Lying (2000), each of which exposes in a bedroom space, the author’s most obscure, intimate and traumatic experiences. Situated firmly within and against the genre’s traditional masculine domain, the exegesis also includes mediations on the creative work that validate the bed as my fabric for confession.

Evolution and change in industrial clusters : an analysis of Hsinchu and Sophia Antipolis

The aim of this paper is to advance understandings of the processes of cluster-building and evolution, or transformative and adaptive change, through the conscious design and reflective activities of private and public actors. A model of transformation is developed which illustrates the importance of actors becoming exposed to new ideas and visions for industrial change by political entrepreneurs and external networks. Further, actors must be guided in their decision-making and action by the new vision, and this requires that they are persuaded of its viability through the provision of test cases and supportive resources and institutions. In order for new ideas to become guiding models, actors must be convinced of their desirability through the portrayal of models as a means of confronting competitive challenges and serving the economic interests of the city/region. Subsequent adaptive change is iterative and reflexive, involving a process of strategic learning amongst key industrial and political actors.