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Abstract: This paper presents characteristics of droughts simulated by global climate models (GCMs) under enhanced greenhouse gases conditions. We used a drought index called the Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI) which takes both rainfall and potential evapotranspiration into account to investigate variations of droughts among 12 regions in Australia. The RDI was applied to simulated climate variables from 14 GCMs performed for the IPCC 4th Assessment Report. The results show a general increase in drought areal extent and/or frequency for most regions. However, the increases are not significant over the North West, North Queensland, Queensland East Coast and Central Queensland. For most regions, the change beyond 2030 is larger than that prior to 2030, but the uncertainty in the projections also increases with time. By 2030, there is a likely (>66% probability) risk of twice or more drought affected area and/or twice as often drought frequency over South West Western Australia. By 2050, this will include the Murray-Darling Basin, South Australia and Victoria, and by 2070 this will extend to New South Wales and Tasmania. For North Queensland such a risk is unlikely (<33% probability) for the next 100 years. This information can be considered indicative in long-term planning focussing on sustainability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper contains a description of a new species of oribatid mite, Birobates hepaticolus sp. nov., from eucalypt woodland and rainforest in North Queensland, Australia. Adults and immatures of B. hepaticolus live completely enclosed within the ventral lobules of the corticolous liverwort Frullania ferdinandi-muelleri Steph. The ventral lobes provide a protected, moisture-buffered microhabitat on tree bark that would otherwise be subject to extremes of wetting and drying. Analysis of gut contents indicates that B. hepaticolus appears to feed on liverwort tissue. To our knowledge this is the first documented example of an association between an oribatid mite and a leafy liverwort based on the provision of food and habitat. The genus Birobates is redefined and diagnosed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe the extent and nature of demonstrated professional partnerships between occupational therapists and Aboriginal health workers in rural and remote communities of North Queensland. The study identifies ways in which professional partnerships improve client services and enhance occupational therapy outcomes through exploring the aspects of communication, collaboration and bridging cultural boundaries. Design: Data collected via in-depth, semistructured telephone interviews. Setting: Aboriginal and mainstream health and human service organisations in rural and remote North Queensland. Rural and remote areas were identified using the Accessibility and Remoteness Index of Australia codes. Participants: Seven participants working in rural and remote areas of North Queensland, comprising four occupational therapists and three Aboriginal health workers. All participants were female. Results: Participants identified five core themes when describing the extent and nature of professional partnerships between occupational therapists and Aboriginal health workers. Themes include: professional interaction; perception of professional roles; benefits to the client; professional interdependence; and significance of Aboriginal culture. According to participants, when partnerships between occupational therapists and Aboriginal health workers were formed, clients received a more culturally appropriate service, were more comfortable in the presence of the occupational therapist, obtained a greater understanding of occupational therapy assessment and intervention, and felt valued in the health care process. Conclusions: This study substantiates the necessity for the formation of professional partnerships between occupational therapists and Aboriginal health workers. The findings suggest that participation in professional partnerships has positive implications for occupational therapists working with Aboriginal clients and Aboriginal health workers in rural and remote regions of North Queensland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of succession planning, particularly in small and medium accounting practices, continues to become increasingly important with the impending retirement of the 'baby boomer' generation. Planning for succession and retirement within a small practice is even more critical in rural, regional and remote areas where staff recruitment and retention is already an issue. This study provides insight into the views of principals of small accounting practices toward succession planning within a regional area of Australia. Applying Sambrook's model of succession, findings reveal that formal succession planning is no longer considered possible by these principals given the perception of generational differences and a change in employment and workplace expectations within the small accounting practice environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the coastal development of North Queensland. It states that the coastal development in the country has been started on the Gold Coast wherein developers and entrepreneurs recognized two potential markets such as homeowners and holiday makers. It states that the Sunshine Coast was developed following Gold Coast in which developers and business operators moved in to cater for tourists.

This article reflects upon collaborative research relationships between indigenous communities and universities in social health and empowerment programmes. This article is focused on Family Well Being programme and Indigenous Men's Support Groups conducted over the last decade at Yarrabah in northern Queensland. These programmes have incorporated a process whereby the community has set research agendas, local researchers have been employed, and university researchers have facilitated the development of appropriate programmes, the capacity of the community to manage these, and programme evaluation. This article draws upon reflective data derived from intensive group workshops and semistructured, in-depth interviews with both community and university-based researchers conducted in late 2006 and early 2007. These workshops and interviews describe, often in the words of participants, the experiences, challenges and strategies for research collaborations. This article recommends positive strategies for successful partnerships and outlines some challenges faced by both community and university researchers in programmes. The findings of the interviews and workshops are thematically discussed in relation to international literature on collaborative research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollen and diatom analyses of organic sediments from Three-Quarter Mile Lake, a perched lake on Cape York Peninsula, north Queensland, indicate that significant changes in vegetation and hydrology occurred during the Holocene. Early Holocene grass-dominated landscapes were replaced in mid-Holocene times by increasingly woody vegetation comprising tropical heathlands, savanna and rainforest. Early-Holocene lake levels fluctuated widely. From mid-Holocene times, lake levels stabilized and water became increasingly acidic as a mature swamp forest developed adjacent to the lake and contributed tannins to the lake water. The timing and character of changes are consistent with those described from the Atherton Tableland in wet tropical Queensland. Holocene dry phases described from the Northern Territory and the western shores of Cape York cannot be identified from Three-Quarter Mile Lake. Rainforest is currently close to its greatest Holocene extent, suggesting that the rainforest-dependent endemic fauna of northern Cape York have been isolated from rainforest blocks to the south throughout the last 10 000 years and, by inference, throughout at least the 120 000 years beyond that. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian Nymphulinae are a diverse group of moths with aquatic caterpillars that probably play an important role in determining the composition and abundance of aquatic macrophytes in Australian freshwater systems. Less than 10% of the nymphuline larvae in Australia have been described. As part of a project to develop biological control agents for hydrilla, Hydrilla verticillata, we encountered a variety of Nymphulinae larvae feeding on this and other aquatic plants. We illustrate, describe and provide a key to five species of Nymphulinae larvae ( Ambia ptolycusalis (Walker), Parapoynx diminutalis Snellen, Hygraula nitens Butler, Margarosticha repititalis (Warren) and Theila siennata (Warren)) that feed on hydrilla in North Queensland. Information on their host plants also is included. Our field research indicates that none of these species should be considered as potential biological control agents for hydrilla. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]