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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Bryophyte Species Composition Over Moisture Gradients In The Windmill Islands, East Antarctica: Development Of A Baseline For Monitoring Climate Change Impacts, J Wasley, S A. Robinson, J D. Turnbull, D H. King, W Wanek, M Popp Oct 2012

Bryophyte Species Composition Over Moisture Gradients In The Windmill Islands, East Antarctica: Development Of A Baseline For Monitoring Climate Change Impacts, J Wasley, S A. Robinson, J D. Turnbull, D H. King, W Wanek, M Popp

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Extreme environmental conditions prevail on the Antarctic continent and limit plant diversity to cryptogamic communities, dominated by bryophytes and lichens. Even small abiotic shifts, associated with climate change, are likely to have pronounced impacts on these communities that currently exist at their physiological limit of survival. Changes to moisture availability, due to precipitation shifts or alterations to permanent snow reserves, will most likely cause greatest impact. In order to establish a baseline for determining the effect of climate change on continental Antarctic terrestrial communities and to better understand bryophyte species distributions in relation to moisture in a floristically important Antarctic …


Seed Bank Persistence And Climate Change, Mark K. J Ooi Feb 2012

Seed Bank Persistence And Climate Change, Mark K. J Ooi

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

"The strong mechanistic relationship between climatic factors and seed dormancy and germination suggests that forecast climatic changes will significantly affect seed bank persistence. This review focuses on the potential impact of changing temperature, rainfall and fire regimes on the longevity of long-term persistent seed-banks. Currently, there are few studies investigating the mechanistic responses of demographic processes, such as seed-bank dynamics, to forecast climate change. However, from the work that has been published, several key points have been highlighted. First, increased air temperatures will produce significantly higher soil temperatures in open and sparsely vegetated habitats. Some evidence shows that this could …


Radiocarbon Bomb Spike Reveals Biological Effects Of Antarctic Climate Change, Laurence J Clarke, Sharon A. Robinson, Quan Hua, David J. Ayre, David Fink Jan 2012

Radiocarbon Bomb Spike Reveals Biological Effects Of Antarctic Climate Change, Laurence J Clarke, Sharon A. Robinson, Quan Hua, David J. Ayre, David Fink

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

The Antarctic has experienced major changes in temperature, wind speed and stratospheric ozone levels during thelast 50 years. However, until recently continental Antarctica appeared to be little impacted by climate warming, thusbiological changes were predicted to be relatively slow. Detecting the biological effects of Antarctic climate changehas been hindered by the paucity of long-term data sets, particularly for organisms that have been exposed to thesechanges throughout their lives. We show that radiocarbon signals are preserved along shoots of the dominant Antarcticmoss flora and use these to determine accurate growth rates over a period of several decades, allowing us toexplore the …


Meteorological Modes Of Variability For Fine Particulate Matter (Pm2.5) Air Quality In The United States: Implications For Pm2.5 Sensitivity To Climate Change, A. P K. Tai, L J. Mickley, D J. Jacob, E M. Leibensperger, L Zhang, J A. Fisher, H. O T. Pye Jan 2012

Meteorological Modes Of Variability For Fine Particulate Matter (Pm2.5) Air Quality In The United States: Implications For Pm2.5 Sensitivity To Climate Change, A. P K. Tai, L J. Mickley, D J. Jacob, E M. Leibensperger, L Zhang, J A. Fisher, H. O T. Pye

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

We applied a multiple linear regression model to understand the relationships of PM2.5 with meteorological variables in the contiguous US and from there to infer the sensitivity of PM2.5 to climate change. We used 2004–2008 PM2.5 observations from ~1000 sites (~200 sites for PM2.5 components) and compared to results from the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model (CTM). All data were deseasonalized to focus on synoptic-scale correlations. We find strong positive correlations of PM2.5 components with temperature in most of the US, except for nitrate in the Southeast where the correlation is negative. Relative humidity (RH) is …


Weight Change In Control Group Participants In Behavioural Weight Loss Interventions: A Systematic Review And Meta-Regression Study, Lauren Waters, Alexis B. St George, Tien Chey, Adrian E. Bauman Jan 2012

Weight Change In Control Group Participants In Behavioural Weight Loss Interventions: A Systematic Review And Meta-Regression Study, Lauren Waters, Alexis B. St George, Tien Chey, Adrian E. Bauman

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background Unanticipated control group improvements have been observed in intervention trials targeting various health behaviours. This phenomenon has not been studied in the context of behavioural weight loss intervention trials. The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review and meta-regression of behavioural weight loss interventions to quantify control group weight change, and relate the size of this effect to specific trial and sample characteristics. Methods Database searches identified reports of intervention trials meeting the inclusion criteria. Data on control group weight change and possible explanatory factors were abstracted and analysed descriptively and quantitatively. Results 85 trials were …


Environmental Effects Of Ozone Depletion And Its Interactions With Climate Change: Progress Report, 2011, Anthony L. Andrady, Pieter J. Aucamp, Amy T. Austin, Alkiviadis F. Bais, Carlos L. Ballare, Lars Olof Bjorn, Janet F. Bornman, Martyn Caldwell, Anthony P. Cullen, David J. Erickson, Frank R. De Gruijl, Donat-P Hader, Walter Helbling, Mohammad Ilyas, Janice Longstreth, Robyn Lucas, Richard L. Mckenzie, Sasha Madronich, Mary Norval, Nigel D. Paul, Halim Redhwi, Sharon Robinson, Min Shao, Keith R. Solomon, Barbara Sulzberger, Yukio Takizawa, Xiaoyan Tang, Ayako Torikai, Jan C. Van Der Leun, Craig Williamson, Stephen R. Wilson, Robert C. Worrest, Richard G. Zepp Jan 2012

Environmental Effects Of Ozone Depletion And Its Interactions With Climate Change: Progress Report, 2011, Anthony L. Andrady, Pieter J. Aucamp, Amy T. Austin, Alkiviadis F. Bais, Carlos L. Ballare, Lars Olof Bjorn, Janet F. Bornman, Martyn Caldwell, Anthony P. Cullen, David J. Erickson, Frank R. De Gruijl, Donat-P Hader, Walter Helbling, Mohammad Ilyas, Janice Longstreth, Robyn Lucas, Richard L. Mckenzie, Sasha Madronich, Mary Norval, Nigel D. Paul, Halim Redhwi, Sharon Robinson, Min Shao, Keith R. Solomon, Barbara Sulzberger, Yukio Takizawa, Xiaoyan Tang, Ayako Torikai, Jan C. Van Der Leun, Craig Williamson, Stephen R. Wilson, Robert C. Worrest, Richard G. Zepp

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The parties to the Montreal Protocol are informed by three panels of experts. One of these is the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP), which deals with two focal issues. The first focus is the effects of increased UV radiation on human health, animals, plants, biogeochemistry, air quality, and materials. The second focus is on interactions between UV radiation and global climate change and how these may affect humans and the environment. When considering the effects of climate change, it has become clear that processes resulting in changes in stratospheric ozone are more complex than believed previously. As a result of …


Global Change And Fire Regimes In Australia, Geoffrey J. Cary, Ross A. Bradstock, A Malcolm Gill, Richard J. Williams Jan 2012

Global Change And Fire Regimes In Australia, Geoffrey J. Cary, Ross A. Bradstock, A Malcolm Gill, Richard J. Williams

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Global change can be defined strictly in terms of changes in atmospheric composition, climate and land use (Walker and Steffen 1996), although broader definitions also include human population, economy and urbanisation (Steffen et al. 2004). In Australia, global change significantly affects the drivers of fire activity and there is potential for considerable changes in fire regimes. It is widely accepted that carbon dioxide (C02) concentration in the atmosphere is steadily increasing (see Steele et al. 2007), as is nitrous oxide (Forster et al. 2007). Atmospheric methane concentration has also risen significantly, but is now relatively constant (Beer et al. 2006). …


Incorporating Estuaries As A Source Or Sink Of Sediment Within Assessments Of Coastline Risk And Adaptation To Climate Change, K Rogers, C D. Woodroffe Jan 2012

Incorporating Estuaries As A Source Or Sink Of Sediment Within Assessments Of Coastline Risk And Adaptation To Climate Change, K Rogers, C D. Woodroffe

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Complex coastal landforms exhibit variable behaviour in response to sea-level rise. A proposed modelling framework that integrates shoreline changes associated with longterm recession, short-term variability and sea-level rise advocates that coastal risk assessment be undertaken within the context of a geomorphologically-based modelling framework whereby a coastline is subdivided into coastal compartments or cells, thereby recognising the sedimentary links between compartments. For example, the Narrabeen coastline includes bounding headland compartments, a bay compartment and an estuary compartment; and the behaviour of the coastline varies according to the response of each of these compartments to variable climatic and oceanic conditions. This approach …


Change In Maternity Provision In Ireland: "Elephants On The Move", Patricia Kennedy Jan 2012

Change In Maternity Provision In Ireland: "Elephants On The Move", Patricia Kennedy

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In an attempt to understand how change can occur in health services this article focuses on two recent developments in Ireland which came about as a result of an unexpected event and a consequent shift in policy which as Hinrichs (2001) and Castles (2010) suggest can be slow to move. Drawing on path dependency theory this article argues that maternity policies in Ireland were "locked in" between 1951 and 2001 in the wake of the Mother and Child controversy, an infamous milestone which led policy to develop along a very specific path and institutionalised the medical model of childbirth which …


Neoliberalising Adaptation To Environmental Change: Foresight Or Foreclosure?, Romain Felli, Noel Castree Jan 2012

Neoliberalising Adaptation To Environmental Change: Foresight Or Foreclosure?, Romain Felli, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The UK's Government Office for Science has recently released an important report, produced by its internal think tank Foresight. Over seventy peer-reviewed studies have been commissioned and some 350 experts and `stakeholders' have been involved in creating Migration and Global Environmental Change (Foresight, 2011). Its lead authors have recently published a summary of the main conclusions in the leading scientific journal Nature (Black et al, 2011), and the report has already received extensive media coverage. By virtue of its scope and authorship, the report can be considered a milestone in the scientific and practitioner fields related to environment and migration. …


Dynamic Change Impact Analysis For Maintaining And Evolving Agent Systems, Hoa Khanh Dam, Aditya Ghose Jan 2012

Dynamic Change Impact Analysis For Maintaining And Evolving Agent Systems, Hoa Khanh Dam, Aditya Ghose

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

In contrast to an increasing number of agent-based applica- tions in various domains, there has been very little work on maintenance and evolution of agent systems. This paper ad- dresses this gap with a focus on change impact analysis, i.e. estimating the potential eects of changes before they are made as an agent system evolves. We propose a technique for performing impact analysis in an agent system using dy- namic information about agent behaviour. Our approach builds a representation of an agent's behaviour by analyzing its execution traces which consist of goals and plans, and uses this representation to estimate …


Thermal, Microstructural And Mechanical Coupling Analysis Model For Flatness Change Prediction During Run-Out Table Cooling In Hot Strip Rolling, Xiao-Dong Wang, Fei Li, Zheng-Yi Jiang Jan 2012

Thermal, Microstructural And Mechanical Coupling Analysis Model For Flatness Change Prediction During Run-Out Table Cooling In Hot Strip Rolling, Xiao-Dong Wang, Fei Li, Zheng-Yi Jiang

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Non-uniformity of temperature distribution across strip width direction is the ultimate reason why the flatness defect occurs on the strip after cooling process although the strip is flat at the exit of finishing mill. One thermal, microstructural and mechanical coupling analysis model for predicting flatness change of steel strip during the run-out table cooling process was established using ABAQUS finite element software. K Esaka phase transformation kinetics model was employed to calculate the phase transformation, and coupled with temperature calculation using the user subroutine program HETVAL. Elasto-plasticity constitutive equations of steel material, in which conventional elastic and plastic strains, thermal …


Development And Validation Of A Concept Inventory For Introductory-Level Climate Change Science, Lorna Jarrett, Brian Ferry, George Takacs Jan 2012

Development And Validation Of A Concept Inventory For Introductory-Level Climate Change Science, Lorna Jarrett, Brian Ferry, George Takacs

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper follows on from Jarrett, Takacs and Ferry (2011) which reported the first stage in development of a high school level concept inventory (CI) for the science of climate change: the climate change concept inventory (CCCI). In order to develop a reliable and valid instrument, it is necessary to follow appropriate procedures. This paper details the process of CI item development; reports statistical results of initial field trials and outlines how these will be used to further refine the CCCI. Item difficulty, discrimination, and point biserial coefficient were calculated for each item. Cronbach's alpha and test-retest data were used …


Climate Change And Displacement: Multidisciplinary Perspectives - Book Review, Carol Farbotko Jan 2012

Climate Change And Displacement: Multidisciplinary Perspectives - Book Review, Carol Farbotko

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

In the small but growing field of research into climate change and migration, there is much debate about terms. Attempts to definitively count the numbers or pinpoint the characteristics of 'climate refugees' are being discarded in favour of more nuanced descriptors, such as climate-induced migration, that are better attuned to the agency and complexity of populations on the move in a warming world. The choice of the word 'displacement' in the title of this book, therefore, reveals much about its editor's intent.


Climate Change And Rural Child Health: Results And New Directions From An International Collaboration, Bastian Seidel Jan 2012

Climate Change And Rural Child Health: Results And New Directions From An International Collaboration, Bastian Seidel

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

No abstract provided.


Predicting Clinically Signficant Change In An Inpatient Program For People With Severe Mental Illness, Talia Gonda, Frank P. Deane, Ganapathi A. Murugesan Jan 2012

Predicting Clinically Signficant Change In An Inpatient Program For People With Severe Mental Illness, Talia Gonda, Frank P. Deane, Ganapathi A. Murugesan

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: The first aim of this study was to assess the proportion of patients who achieved reliable and clinically significant change over the course of treatment in an inpatient psychosocial rehabilitation program. The second aim was to determine whether age, gender, length of stay, and diagnosis and co-morbid diagnosis predicted those who were classified as improved or not improved, using clinical significance criteria. Method: Three hundred and thirty-seven patients from inpatient units at Bloomfield Hospital, Orange, New South Wales, Australia were assessed at admission, 3-month reviews and discharge using the expanded Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, the Health of the Nation …


Climate Change, Fuel And Fire Behaviour In A Eucalypt Forest, Stuart Matthews, Andrew L. Sullivan, Penny Watson, Richard J. Williams Jan 2012

Climate Change, Fuel And Fire Behaviour In A Eucalypt Forest, Stuart Matthews, Andrew L. Sullivan, Penny Watson, Richard J. Williams

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

A suite of models was used to examine the links between climate, fuels and fire behaviour in dry eucalypt forests in south-eastern Australia. Predictions from a downscaled climate model were used to drive models of fuel amount, the moisture content of fuels and two models of forest fire behaviour at a location in western Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. We found that a warming and drying climate produced lower fine fuel amounts, but greater availability of this fuel to burn due to lower moisture contents. Changing fuel load had only a small effect on fuel moisture. A warmer, drier …


The First Climate Refugees? Contesting Global Narratives Of Climate Change In Tuvalu, Carol Farbotko, Heather Lazrus Jan 2012

The First Climate Refugees? Contesting Global Narratives Of Climate Change In Tuvalu, Carol Farbotko, Heather Lazrus

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Climate change effects such as sea-level rise are almost certain. What these outcomes mean for different populations, however, is far less certain. Climate change is both a narrative and material phenomenon. In so being, understanding climate change requires broad conceptualisations that incorporate multiple voices and recognise the agency of vulnerable populations. In climate change discourse, climate mobility is often characterised as the production of 'refugees', with a tendency to discount long histories of ordinary mobility among affected populations. The case of Tuvalu in the Pacific juxtaposes migration as everyday practice with climate refugee narratives. This climate-exposed population is being problematically …