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To date, 53 helminth species have been discovered in the gastrointestinal tracts and other internal organs of Barents Sea birds. These parasites circulate in pelagic and coastal biocenoses. This paper analyzes their spatial distribution and host preferences in other geographical regions based on data collected by the author in the course of long-term studies and literature data. It is established that the only Barents Sea endemic is the cestode Tetrabothrius morschtini. Fifty-two species were recorded in the North Atlantic, 48 species in the North Pacific, six species in the South Atlantic, six in the Australia–New Zealand region, five in the Antarctic, four in the South Pacific, and three in the Indian Ocean basin. Analysis showed that these parasites feature two main distribution types. The amphiboreal distribution typical for the majority of species is determined by the existence of a single transarctic range of many intermediate and definitive helminth hosts in the Pliocene and the dispersion of their eggs by birds during interglacial periods of the Pleistocene. The bipolar distribution typical for 12 species is likely determined by the transfer of parasites from the Holarctic realm by their definitive hosts in the course of species divergence or during seasonal migrations. It cannot be ruled out that some helminth species have migrated from the Antarctic region to the Holarctic realm with their definitive hosts. The roles of key evolutionary–environmental factors (e.g., mobility of definitive hosts, presence of intermediate hosts, and life spans of sexually mature helminth stages) determining the biogeographical patterns of various host–parasite complexes were examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite decades of managerial university reforms, collegiality emerges as an idea that unites academics, and that both symbolises and legitimises the collective aspirations of the academy. Typically, collegiality is positioned as an unquestionably "good thing"—an unproblematic academic ideal or an academic structure—obscuring the contingency of social arrangements in universities. This paper investigates the plurality of collegial practices that unfold "on the ground" in the context of university reforms and the diversification of the academic workforce over recent decades. The paper presents a qualitative and exploratory study of collegial practices in seven contemporary Australian and New Zealand/Aotearoa universities, employing a social cartographic analysis. Eleven types of logics underpinning collegial practices are identified and described in detail, by drawing on examples of collegial practices offered by fifteen research participants. A reconfigured picture of academic relations is presented, revealing the range of collegial practices that tend to be subsumed under a generic notion of collegiality. The effects of different types of collegial practices are examined, contesting exclusionary collegial relations and highlighting practices that have the potential to produce a more inclusive and socially just academy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tradescantia fluminensis is an invasive plant species in New Zealand, Australia and parts of the USA. It reproduces vegetatively and can grow to form dense mats up to 60 cm deep. Growth is limited by available light, and shading is one of the few effective methods of control. In this paper, we develop a dynamic model of a vertical cross section of a T. fluminensis mat, capturing vertical variation in its biomass and internal light intensity. We measure both variables at different heights in experimental mats of the species and use these data to parameterize the model. The model produces realistic vertical biomass and light intensity profiles. We show that the mat grows to a steady-state biomass that depends only on: (i) the light absorption coefficient, which we estimate from experimental data and (ii) the ratio of photosynthesis to respiration rate. This steady state undergoes a transcritical bifurcation; when the ambient light intensity falls below a critical level, the biomass shrinks to zero and the mat cannot survive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term air temperature prediction is of major importance in a large number of applications, including climate-related studies, energy, agricultural, or medical. This paper examines the performance of two Machine Learning algorithms (Support Vector Regression (SVR) and Multi-layer Perceptron (MLP)) in a problem of monthly mean air temperature prediction, from the previous measured values in observational stations of Australia and New Zealand, and climate indices of importance in the region. The performance of the two considered algorithms is discussed in the paper and compared to alternative approaches. The results indicate that the SVR algorithm is able to obtain the best prediction performance among all the algorithms compared in the paper. Moreover, the results obtained have shown that the mean absolute error made by the two algorithms considered is significantly larger for the last 20 years than in the previous decades, in what can be interpreted as a change in the relationship among the prediction variables involved in the training of the algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to describe paediatric infectious diseases consultations across Australia and New Zealand. We surveyed infectious diseases physicians at 51 hospitals over a period of 2 weeks in 2012. Compared with adult consults, paediatric consults were more frequently received from general paediatricians/physicians and intensive care, yet less frequently from surgeons and emergency. Respiratory, skin/soft tissue and bone/joint infections were the most frequent consultations in children. These data demonstrate the breadth of formal infectious diseases consults in children. Differences between paediatric and infectious diseases consultations need to be considered when planning both paediatric and adult physician training and future curriculum development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we assess the impact of climate change, at a micro-scale for a selection of four sites in New Zealand and Australia. These sites are representative of the key destination ski regions. In contrast to previous work, our work will for the first time, allow for a direct comparison between these two countries and enable both an estimate of the absolute impacts at a given site, as well as the relative impacts between the two countries. This direct comparison is possible because we have used exactly the same snow model, the same 3 global climate models (GCMs) and the same techniques to calibrate the model for all locations. We consider the changes in natural snow at these locations for the 2030-2049 and 2080-2099 time periods, for one mid-range emissions scenario (A1B). This future scenario is compared to simulations of current, 1980-1999, snow at these locations. We did not consider the snowmaking or economic components of the ski industry vulnerability, only the modelled changes in the natural snow component. At our New Zealand sites, our model indicates that by the 2040s there will be on average between 90 % and 102 % of the current maximum snow depth (on 31 August) and by the 2090s this will be on average reduced to between 46 % and 74 %. In Australia, our models estimates that by the 2040s there will be on average between 57 % and 78 % of the current maximum snow depth and by the 2090s this will be on average further reduced to between 21 % and 29 %. In terms of days with snowdepths equal to or exceeding a ski industry useable levels of 0.30 m, at our lowest elevation, and most sensitive sites, we observe a change from 125 days (current) to 99-126 (2040s) and 52-110 (2090s) in New Zealand. In Australia, a reduction from 94 to 155 days (current) to 81-114 (2040s) and 0-75 (2090s) is observed. In each case the changes are highly depended on the GCM used to drive the climate change scenario. While the absolute changes will have direct impacts at each location, so too will the relative changes with respect to future potential Australia-New Zealand tourism flows, and beyond. Our study provides an approach by which other regions or countries with climate sensitive tourism enterprises could assess the relative impacts and therefore the potential wider ranging ramifications with respect to destination attractiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Adoption of Mechanistic Empirical pavement design is growing steadfastly in many countries around the world. Australia and New Zealand adopted Mechanistic Empirical more than a decade ago. However, the success of the empirical design method depends on the use of well designed, calibrated and validated transfer functions. The transfer functions are the empirical component of the design procedure that relates pavement response with certain pavement performance indicators. In the Austroads Mechanistic Empirical pavement design, fatigue and rutting are the two performance indicators used in the design. Austroads guidelines adopted the Shell fatigue transfer function to predict the fatigue life of asphalt pavements. However, it was observed by many practitioners and confirmed by this study that Shell Transfer function significantly overestimates the design thickness or in other words underestimates the fatigue life of asphalt mixes. In this paper, calibration and validation of the Shell fatigue transfer function which is currently adopted in the Austroads design guidelines are demonstrated. The calibrated Shell fatigue performance model is integrated with the Austroads design method. A case study from the Christchurch Southern Motorway project has been analyzed using both the current design method and the suggested calibrated Shell performance model. The calibration factor based on the tested beams was found to be in the order of 5.6824. Using the calibrated Shell model produced a 26% to 27% thinner asphalt thickness compared to the current Austroads design guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses missionization in New Zealand and Australia during the nineteenth century. Despite sharing aspects of colonial history and a geographical proximity in the South Pacific, the development of missions in both countries was disparate, leading to two very different types of missions, types I have identified as the “household” mission in New Zealand and the “institutional” mission in Australia. In both types common themes can be found, concerned with the “civilizing mission,” domesticity, and gender roles. These two types of missions were replicated in other parts of the globe, such as North America and the Pacific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As globalization increases and competition grows, firms are becoming increasingly dependent upon group work and collaboration. The recent surge of reengineering efforts to reinforce a process view of organizational work and the emergence of virtual corporations spanning the globe indicate that firms are relying more on group work today than ever before. Information technology (IT) may have the capability to greatly enhance the quality of collaboration in accomplishing group tasks. This paper focuses on electronic meeting systems (EMS), which are mostly aimed at supporting group work in a face-to-face setting, and empirically assesses their adoption and use in supporting task-oriented collaborative work in Australian and New Zealand organizations. Results from survey data collected from 147 organizations indicate that EMS adoption has been somewhat limited. Most organizations had not adopted EMS to support group work. Further, both the level of adoption and level of use of EMS within the organizations was very low. Barriers to adoption were identified along with implications for future research. Organizational barriers, including compatibility with cognitive styles, lack of incentives and resistance to change, were the most important adoption obstacles. Technological and costs issues were somewhat less significant. Overall, the findings are fairly similar to the US study on which the survey instrument was based, though some adoption differences occurred which may be related to the structure and ownership of the organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]