Showing items 21 - 40 of 13205

Incremental DC optimization algorithm for large-scale clusterwise linear regression

- Bagirov, Adil, Taheri, Sona, Cimen, Emre

  • Authors: Bagirov, Adil , Taheri, Sona , Cimen, Emre
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics Vol. 389, no. (2021), p. 1-17
  • Relation: https://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP190100580
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  • Description: The objective function in the nonsmooth optimization model of the clusterwise linear regression (CLR) problem with the squared regression error is represented as a difference of two convex functions. Then using the difference of convex algorithm (DCA) approach the CLR problem is replaced by the sequence of smooth unconstrained optimization subproblems. A new algorithm based on the DCA and the incremental approach is designed to solve the CLR problem. We apply the Quasi-Newton method to solve the subproblems. The proposed algorithm is evaluated using several synthetic and real-world data sets for regression and compared with other algorithms for CLR. Results demonstrate that the DCA based algorithm is efficient for solving CLR problems with the large number of data points and in particular, outperforms other algorithms when the number of input variables is small. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.

Influences on Islamists : an analysis of radicalisation and terrorism in an Australian context

- Dimaksyan, Margarita

  • Authors: Dimaksyan, Margarita
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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  • Description: Terrorism has long existed throughout history. However the Islamist terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 (known as 9/11) in the United States represented a fundamental turning point and a significant change in the terrorism landscape. Since 9/11, terrorism discourse has dominated not only the media, but also a sense of security and safety globally. Over a decade after 9/11, there was another significant shift with the declaration of a caliphate in June 2014 by terrorist organisation, Daesh. The atrocities committed by and in the name of this terrorist group sparked global outrage and horror and have had long lasting impacts around the world. Despite the fact that the conflict originated in the Middle East, the impact was felt domestically with a number of terrorist attacks perpetrated and planned in Australia in the name of an extremist neojihadist ideology. To understand Islamist terrorism in an Australian context, this thesis explores the factors which have influenced the radicalisation of domestic Islamist terrorists who have engaged in terrorist acts. This is achieved having regard to the characteristics of 194 Islamist terrorists from Australia who engaged in a multitude of terrorist acts between 2001 and 2018 (either domestically or overseas), their motives and the role of social and familial networks on their radicalisation and involvement in terrorism. In responding to the central research question – In an Australian context, what has influenced the radicalisation of Islamist terrorists who have engaged in terrorist acts? – this thesis:
  • Description: Doctor of Philosophy

Introduction: Older women and later life transitions in industrialized societies

- Taylor, Philip, Earl, Catherine, Brooke, Elizabeth, McLoughlin, Christopher

  • Authors: Taylor, Philip , Earl, Catherine , Brooke, Elizabeth , McLoughlin, Christopher
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Retiring women : work and post work transitions p. 1-7
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  • Description: With current policy concerns about shortfalls of labour supply and effects on the social welfare system due to population ageing, there is a need to understand the factors that shape women's choices about if, when and how to retire. Recent trends indicating the increased workforce participation of women demand new policy responses to the end of careers and retirement transitions to sustain acceptable levels of participation and productivity. This book is innovative in that it will examine constellations of factors that disadvantage or advantage women's career and retirement trajectories against a backdrop of public policy efforts to extend working lives.

Learning needs of Iranian patients with coronary heart disease : a cross-sectional, comparative study

- Hassankhani, Hadi, Haririan, Hamidreza, Jafari, Arezoo, Porter, Joanne, O’Brien, Frances, Feizollahzadeh, Hossein

  • Authors: Hassankhani, Hadi , Haririan, Hamidreza , Jafari, Arezoo , Porter, Joanne , O’Brien, Frances , Feizollahzadeh, Hossein
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Clinical Nursing Research Vol. 30, no. 2 (2021), p. 193-199
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  • Description: Background: Patient education requires modification as it is either nonexistent or implemented irregularly or inadequately. Study’s purpose: To examine the learning needs of patients with coronary heart disease from the perspective of the patients, their relatives, and health care providers. Methodology: The cross-sectional, comparative study conducted at two cardiac hospitals of Tabriz and Ardebil, Iran from May 2016 to September 2016.Through convenience sampling perceptions of 137 patients, 137 relatives, 33 cardiologists, and 108 nurses were compared using the Cardiac Learning Need Inventory questionnaire. Major results: The most important learning needs of patients from the perspective of physicians, nurses, and patients’ relatives was information about risk factors. In contrast, patient’s perceived information about medication to be their most important learning need. Clinical implications: Patients’ perceptions of their educational needs was different from the perceptions of physicians, nurses, and relatives of the patients. Therefore, when planning patient education a comprehensive review of the patients’ learning needs is required in order to develop a suitable education plan by prioritizing patients’ educational needs. © The Author(s) 2020.

Medicinal value of three agricultural weed species of the asteraceae family : a review

- Jayasundera, Mithila, Florentine, Singarayer, Tennakoon, Kushan, Chauhan, Bhagirath

  • Authors: Jayasundera, Mithila , Florentine, Singarayer , Tennakoon, Kushan , Chauhan, Bhagirath
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: Pharmacognosy Journal Vol. 13, no. 1 (2021), p. 264-277
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  • Description: Ageratum conyzoides L., Tridax procumbens L. and Bidens pilosa L. are well known plant species of the Asteraceae family that are considered weeds in intensive agriculture. These weeds are traditionally known to have medicinal properties and have been used for therapeutic treatments. However, it is only the lack of proper knowledge, awareness and screening that have limited their use in pharmaceutical sectors. This review attempts to consolidate the traditional, phytochemical and pharmacological studies that have been carried out on Ageratum conyzoides L., Tridax procumbens L. and Bidens pilosa L., which we note are widely spread throughout the world. This study was conducted through a coherent search on Ageratum conyzoides L., Tridax procumbens L. and Bidens pilosa L. with respect to traditional uses, phytochemical and pharmacological studies that have been performed on these three agricultural weeds all over the world. An exploration of reported descriptions of the potential medical importance of three agricultural weed species (A. conyzoides, T. procumbens and B. pilosa) has been presented. The present review would encourage further clinical investigations into these three plants and their extracts to more closely define the range of uses of these herbs for clinical applications. This, in turn, would give a clear understanding whether these weed species might be targeted to be conserved in a sustainable manner rather than eradicated. © 2021 Phcogj.Com. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

Model predictive control of microgrids – An overview

- Hu, Jiefeng, Shan, Yinghao, Guerrero, Josep, Ioinovici, Adrian, Chan, Ka, Rodriguez, Jose

  • Authors: Hu, Jiefeng , Shan, Yinghao , Guerrero, Josep , Ioinovici, Adrian , Chan, Ka , Rodriguez, Jose
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews Vol. 136, no. (2021), p.
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  • Description: The development of microgrids is an advantageous option for integrating rapidly growing renewable energies. However, the stochastic nature of renewable energies and variable power demand have created many challenges like unstable voltage/frequency and complicated power management and interaction with the utility grid. Recently, predictive control with its fast transient response and flexibility to accommodate different constraints has presented huge potentials in microgrid applications. This paper provides a comprehensive review of model predictive control (MPC) in individual and interconnected microgrids, including both converter-level and grid-level control strategies applied to three layers of the hierarchical control architecture. This survey shows that MPC is at the beginning of the application in microgrids and that it emerges as a competitive alternative to conventional methods in voltage regulation, frequency control, power flow management and economic operation optimization. Also, some of the most important trends in MPC development have been highlighted and discussed as future perspectives. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
  • Description: This work was supported by School of Engineering, IT and Physical Sciences, Federation University Australia , under Project RGS20-5 .

Older women and the transition to retirement

- Taylor, Philip, Earl, Catherine, Brooke, Elizabeth, McLoughlin, Christopher

  • Authors: Taylor, Philip , Earl, Catherine , Brooke, Elizabeth , McLoughlin, Christopher
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Retiring women : work and post work transitions Chapter 6 p. 99-110
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  • Description: Chapter 6 reports older women survey respondents’ expectations about retirement; their financial preparation for retirement; and factors that pushed them out of the workforce such as declining health and poor working conditions. Older women workers demonstrated a generally positive orientation to retirement. However, financial preparedness was a concern, with a significant proportion reporting that their understanding of their superannuation was poor. Findings with regards to self-esteem and social contact point to the need to support older women in building post-work identity and structures outside of work.

Older women in labour market transitions: leaving, looking for and moving into work

- Taylor, Philip, Earl, Catherine, Brooke, Elizabeth, McLoughlin, Christopher

  • Authors: Taylor, Philip , Earl, Catherine , Brooke, Elizabeth , McLoughlin, Christopher
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Retiring women : work and post work transitions Chapter 5 p. 85-98
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  • Description: With current policy concerns about shortfalls of labour supply and effects on the social welfare system due to population ageing, there is a need to understand the factors that shape women's choices about if, when and how to retire. Recent trends indicating the increased workforce participation of women demand new policy responses to the end of careers and retirement transitions to sustain acceptable levels of participation and productivity. This book is innovative in that it will examine constellations of factors that disadvantage or advantage women's career and retirement trajectories against a backdrop of public policy efforts to extend working lives.

Older women workers in Australia: the study

- Taylor, Philip, Earl, Catherine, Brooke, Elizabeth, McLoughlin, Christopher

  • Authors: Taylor, Philip , Earl, Catherine , Brooke, Elizabeth , McLoughlin, Christopher
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Chapter 3 p. 53-69
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  • Description: This book reports on a large mixed-methods project Retiring Women: Understanding Older Female Work-Life Transitions funded by the AUstralian Research Council and three industry partners. The project aimed to explore, firstly, transitios into, within and out of the labour market from the perspectives of older women workers, their employers and industry stake-holders across three industry sectors, and secondly, the development of policy related to the recruitment and retention of such workers in the Australian workforce.

Older women, public policy and work

- Taylor, Philip, Earl, Catherine, Brooke, Elizabeth, McLoughlin, Christopher

  • Authors: Taylor, Philip , Earl, Catherine , Brooke, Elizabeth , McLoughlin, Christopher
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Retiring women : work and post work transitions Chapter 1 p. 7-45
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  • Description: With current policy concerns about shortfalls of labour supply and effects on the social welfare system due to population ageing, there is a need to understand the factors that shape women's choices about if, when and how to retire. Recent trends indicating the increased workforce participation of women demand new policy responses to the end of careers and retirement transitions to sustain acceptable levels of participation and productivity. This book is innovative in that it will examine constellations of factors that disadvantage or advantage women's career and retirement trajectories against a backdrop of public policy efforts to extend working lives.

Older women’s experiences of working

- Taylor, Philip, Earl, Catherine, Brooke, Elizabeth, McLoughlin, Christopher

  • Authors: Taylor, Philip , Earl, Catherine , Brooke, Elizabeth , McLoughlin, Christopher
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Retiring women : work and post work transitions Chapter 4 p. 70-83
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  • Description: Chapter 4 reports the experiences of older women survey respondents in terms of job satisfaction, work-life balance, perceptions of working hours and what determined these, perceptions of treatment by managers and co-workers, perceptions of labour market age barriers, and participation in skills development activities. The findings are indicative of relatively benign workplace environments. Job satisfaction was high and women generally appeared able to juggle work and other responsibilities. Working hours were a concern for some women, particularly those in casualized employment. Participation in learning and development activities declined with age and was more common among those with higher skill levels. Workplace discrimination was not a major feature of the experiences of these women.

Public policy, ageing and work, and longer working lives

- Taylor, Philip, Earl, Catherine, Brooke, Elizabeth, McLoughlin, Christopher

  • Authors: Taylor, Philip , Earl, Catherine , Brooke, Elizabeth , McLoughlin, Christopher
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Chapter 2 p. 46-56
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  • Description: With current policy concerns about shortfalls of labour supply and effects on the social welfare system due to population ageing, there is a need to understand the factors that shape women's choices about if, when and how to retire. Recent trends indicating the increased workforce participation of women demand new policy responses to the end of careers and retirement transitions to sustain acceptable levels of participation and productivity. This book is innovative in that it will examine constellations of factors that disadvantage or advantage women's career and retirement trajectories against a backdrop of public policy efforts to extend working lives.

Reduced renal function may explain the higher prevalence of hyperuricemia in older people

- Wang, Yutang, Zhang, Wanlin, Qian, Tingting, Sun, Hui, Xu, Qun, Hou, Xujuan, Hu, Wenqi, Zhang, Guang, Drummond, Grant, Sobey, Chris, Charchar, Fadi, Golledge, Jonathan, Yang, Guang

  • Authors: Wang, Yutang , Zhang, Wanlin , Qian, Tingting , Sun, Hui , Xu, Qun , Hou, Xujuan , Hu, Wenqi , Zhang, Guang , Drummond, Grant , Sobey, Chris , Charchar, Fadi , Golledge, Jonathan , Yang, Guang
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Scientific Reports Vol. 11, no. 1 (2021), p.
  • Relation: https://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1062671
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  • Description: This study aimed to investigate the contribution of renal dysfunction to enhanced hyperuricemia prevalence in older people. A cohort of 13,288 Chinese people aged between 40 and 95 years were recruited from January to May 2019. Serum uric acid concentration and estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] were measured. The associations between age or eGFR and serum uric acid or hyperuricemia were analyzed using linear or binary logistic regression adjusting for risk factors. Uric acid concentration and prevalence of hyperuricemia were greater in older participants. Adjustment for reduced renal function (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) eliminated the associations between older age and higher uric acid concentration and between older age and higher prevalence of hyperuricemia diagnosis, whereas adjustment for other risk factors did not change those associations. Lower eGFR was associated with higher uric acid concentration both before (β = − 0.296, P < 0.001) and after adjustment for age (β = − 0.313, P < 0.001). Reduced renal function was associated with hyperuricemia diagnosis both before (odds ratio, OR, 3.64; 95% CI 3.10–4.28; P < 0.001) and after adjustment for age (adjusted OR, 3.82; 95% CI 3.22–4.54; P < 0.001). Mean serum uric acid and prevalence of hyperuricemia were higher in people with eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 than those with eGFR ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m2. The prevalence of reduced renal function increased with older age (P < 0.001). This study suggests that reduced renal function can explain the increased uric acid levels and hyperuricemia diagnoses in older people. © 2021, The Author(s).

Retiring women : work and post work transitions

- Taylor, Philip, Earl, Catherine, Brooke, Elizabeth, McLoughlin, Christopher

  • Authors: Taylor, Philip , Earl, Catherine , Brooke, Elizabeth , McLoughlin, Christopher
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Book
  • Relation: Ageing, work and welfare
  • Full Text: false
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  • Description: With current policy concerns about shortfalls of labour supply and effects on the social welfare system due to population ageing, there is a need to understand the factors that shape women's choices about if, when and how to retire. Recent trends indicating the increased workforce participation of women demand new policy responses to the end of careers and retirement transitions to sustain acceptable levels of participation and productivity. This book is innovative in that it will examine constellations of factors that disadvantage or advantage women's career and retirement trajectories against a backdrop of public policy efforts to extend working lives.

Risk assessment of SARS-CoV-2 in Antarctic wildlife

- Barbosa, Andres, Varsani, Arvind, Morandini, Virginia, Grimaldi, Wray, Vanstreels, Ralph, Diaz, Julia, Boulinier, Thierry, Dewar, Meagan, González-Acuña, Daniel, Gray, Rachael, McMahon, Clive, Miller, Gary, Power, Michelle, Gamble, Amandine, Wille, Michelle

  • Authors: Barbosa, Andres , Varsani, Arvind , Morandini, Virginia , Grimaldi, Wray , Vanstreels, Ralph , Diaz, Julia , Boulinier, Thierry , Dewar, Meagan , González-Acuña, Daniel , Gray, Rachael , McMahon, Clive , Miller, Gary , Power, Michelle , Gamble, Amandine , Wille, Michelle
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Science of the Total Environment Vol. 755, no. 2 (2021), p. 1-8
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  • Description: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This pathogen has spread rapidly across the world, causing high numbers of deaths and significant social and economic impacts. SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus with a suggested zoonotic origin with the potential for cross-species transmission among animals. Antarctica can be considered the only continent free of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, concerns have been expressed regarding the potential human introduction of this virus to the continent through the activities of research or tourism to minimise the effects on human health, and the potential for virus transmission to Antarctic wildlife. We assess the reverse-zoonotic transmission risk to Antarctic wildlife by considering the available information on host susceptibility, dynamics of the infection in humans, and contact interactions between humans and Antarctic wildlife. The environmental conditions in Antarctica seem to be favourable for the virus stability. Indoor spaces such as those at research stations, research vessels or tourist cruise ships could allow for more transmission among humans and depending on their movements between different locations the virus could be spread across the continent. Among Antarctic wildlife previous in silico analyses suggested that cetaceans are at greater risk of infection whereas seals and birds appear to be at a low infection risk. However, caution needed until further research is carried out and consequently, the precautionary principle should be applied. Field researchers handling animals are identified as the human group posing the highest risk of transmission to animals while tourists and other personnel pose a significant risk only when in close proximity (< 5 m) to Antarctic fauna. We highlight measures to reduce the risk as well as identify of knowledge gaps related to this issue. © 2020 The Authors

Robust modelling of implicit interfaces by the scaled boundary finite element method

- Dsouza, Shaima, Pramod, A. L. N., Ooi, Ean Tat, Song, Chongming, Natarajan, Sundarajan

  • Authors: Dsouza, Shaima , Pramod, A. L. N. , Ooi, Ean Tat , Song, Chongming , Natarajan, Sundarajan
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Engineering Analysis with Boundary Elements Vol. 124, no. (2021), p. 266-286
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  • Description: In this paper, we propose a robust framework based on the scaled boundary finite element method to model implicit interfaces in two-dimensional differential equations in nonhomegeneous media. The salient features of the proposed work are: (a) interfaces can be implicitly defined and need not conform to the background mesh; (b) Dirichlet boundary conditions can be imposed directly along the interface; (c) does not require special numerical integration technique to compute the bilinear and the linear forms and (d) can work with an efficient local mesh refinement using hierarchical background meshes. Numerical examples involving straight interface, circular interface and moving interface problems are solved to validate the proposed technique. Further, the presented technique is compared with conforming finite element method in terms of accuracy and convergence. From the numerical studies, it is seen that the proposed framework yields solutions whose error is O(h2) in L2 norm and O(h) in the H1 semi-norm. Further the condition number increases with the mesh size similar to the FEM. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd

Sensitive universal detection of blood parasites by selective pathogen-DNA enrichment and deep amplicon sequencing

- Flaherty, Briana, Barratt, Joel, Lane, Meredith, Talundzic, Eldin, Bradbury, Richard

  • Authors: Flaherty, Briana , Barratt, Joel , Lane, Meredith , Talundzic, Eldin , Bradbury, Richard
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Microbiome Vol. 9, no. 1 (2021), p.
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  • Description: Background: Targeted amplicon deep sequencing (TADS) has enabled characterization of diverse bacterial communities, yet the application of TADS to communities of parasites has been relatively slow to advance. The greatest obstacle to this has been the genetic diversity of parasitic agents, which include helminths, protozoa, arthropods, and some acanthocephalans. Meanwhile, universal amplification of conserved loci from all parasites without amplifying host DNA has proven challenging. Pan-eukaryotic PCRs preferentially amplify the more abundant host DNA, obscuring parasite-derived reads following TADS. Flaherty et al. (2018) described a pan-parasitic TADS method involving amplification of eukaryotic 18S rDNA regions possessing restriction sites only in vertebrates. Using this method, host DNA in total DNA extracts could be selectively digested prior to PCR using restriction enzymes, thereby increasing the number of parasite-derived reads obtained following NGS. This approach showed promise though was only as sensitive as conventional PCR. Results: Here, we expand on this work by designing a second set of pan-eukaryotic primers flanking the priming sites already described, enabling nested PCR amplification of the established 18S rDNA target. This nested approach facilitated introduction of a second restriction digestion between the first and second PCR, reducing the proportional mass of amplifiable host-derived DNA while increasing the number of PCR amplification cycles. We applied this method to blood specimens containing Babesia, Plasmodium, various kinetoplastids, and filarial nematodes and confirmed its limit of detection (LOD) to be approximately 10-fold lower than previously described, falling within the range of most qPCR methods. Conclusions: The assay detects and differentiates the major malaria parasites of humans, along with several other clinically important blood parasites. This represents an important step towards a TADS-based universal parasite diagnostic (UPDx) test with a sufficient LOD for routine applications. [MediaObject not available: see fulltext.]. © 2021, The Author(s).

Slope stability analysis using deterministic and probabilistic approaches for poorly defined stratigraphies

- Ghadrdan, Moshen, Dyson, Ashley, Shaghaghi, Tahereh, Tolooiyan, Ali

  • Authors: Ghadrdan, Moshen , Dyson, Ashley , Shaghaghi, Tahereh , Tolooiyan, Ali
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources Vol. 7, no. 1 (2021), p.
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  • Description: The stability of slopes directly affects human lives, the environment, and the economy. Inaccurate geological profiles within numerical slope stability models can lead to potentially catastrophic consequences when model conditions do not appropriately reflect real-life stratigraphy. In cases where localised deposits are prevalent, probabilistic methods are often necessary to accommodate for unknown or poorly defined stratigraphies. Currently, there are no commercial geotechnical software packages that simulate probabilistic constitutive behaviour of materials within finite element methods for large-scale stratigraphic analysis. Instead, commercially available probabilistic methods such as the random limit equilibrium method are incapable of incorporating non-linear constitutive soil behaviour. For this reason, advanced constitutive models are seldom coupled with probabilistically varying soil layers or spatially variable soil parameters. The objective of this research is the implementation of a simplified method for probabilistic stratigraphic analysis within a commercially available FE environment, providing a technique to assess the effects of stratigraphic uncertainty on slope stability. The proposed method is presented, highlighting the impact of localised thin layers of soft material as well as their frequency and location on the slope of an operational open-pit mine. The significance of these stratigraphic effects is presented through a case study of Australia’s second-largest open-pit mine, at which the stability of a collapsed coal slope is analysed. To improve the reliability of the finite element method for slope stability assessment, the Monte Carlo approach has been incorporated to consider varying shear strength distributions for models incorporating advanced constitutive behaviour. Thicker probabilistically generated deposits of silty material resulted in increased slope Factors of Safety. Similarly, greater proportions of silty deposits within a predominantly clayey interseam produced larger safety factors than slopes without localised thin silty layers. Stratigraphic analysis indicated that the Factor of Safety was most sensitive to localised silt layers at depths greater than 83 m below ground level. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Submission of original research paper for agriculture, ecosystems & environment ant community responses to farmland use and revegetation in a fragmented agricultural landscape

- Ng, Katherine, Nowrouzi, Somayeh, Staunton, Kyran, Barton, Philip, Driscoll, Don

  • Authors: Ng, Katherine , Nowrouzi, Somayeh , Staunton, Kyran , Barton, Philip , Driscoll, Don
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment Vol. 311, no. (2021), p.
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  • Description: Recent alarming losses of insects from agricultural landscapes in multiple countries around the world have brought into sharp focus the urgent need to identify ways to manage these landscapes to avoid further biodiversity decline. Identifying the drivers of insect declines, such as land use change, is critical to this effort. We examined ant communities at the interface between remnant vegetation patches and three adjoining farmland types (wheat crop, rested from cropping and restoration plantings) in a fragmented landscape in temperate Australia. We asked: do ant communities and occurrence of individual species differ between remnant patches and farmlands with more intensive farmland use (restoration plantings < rested farmlands < wheat crop)? We recorded 13,283 ants belonging to 102 species from 30 genera. Excluding 21 singletons, 27 species only occurred in remnant patches compared to ten species found only in farmlands. Ant community composition in wheat crop and rested farmlands significantly differed from their adjacent remnant patches and were more homogeneous. In contrast, ant communities from restoration plantings in farmland were not significantly different in composition from those in the adjacent remnant patch. The large, aggressive Australian meat ant (Iridomyrmex purpureus) showed significantly higher occurrence in the remnant patch than all farmland types, and we suggest that the absence of this strongly interacting species from farmlands may have contributed to biotic homogenisation. Our findings show that native vegetation provides crucial habitat resources for many ant species that are not provided by farmlands, and native plantings can, in some cases, ameliorate negative effects of farmland clearing over relatively short time scales (<7 years). Agricultural intensification that involves loss of remnant native vegetation or reduced revegetation will contribute to ongoing losses and changes to ant biodiversity in farming landscapes. However, replanting native vegetation can lead to rapid restoration, signifying a possible simple remedy to insect declines. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.

Teachers as older women workers: stakeholder comments

- Taylor, Philip, Earl, Catherine, Brooke, Elizabeth, McLoughlin, Christopher

  • Authors: Taylor, Philip , Earl, Catherine , Brooke, Elizabeth , McLoughlin, Christopher
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Retiring women : work and post work transitions Chapter 9 p. 136-146
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  • Description: Chapter 9 explores conceptions older workers, drawing from interviews with human resources managers and expert stakeholders. Analysis revealed pervasive discrimination based on age and gender and a lack of recognition of the diversity of older workers. They are generally understood in essentialized terms as a single group sharing certain stereotypical attributes. An essentialized discourse of decline underpins representations of older workers. It is argued that the idea of the older worker needs to be problematized.