Comments on the special issue of communications in statistics (vol.a8, no. 10) concerned with weather modification experiments

As stated by the Editors of the Special Issue. It was complied with reference to two of my statements; that much of the current weather modification literature is slanted and unreliable. and(2) that progress in the building of a reliable weather modification technology requires an interdisciplinary study of as many completed cloud seeding experiments as possible. The material published in the Special Issue relates to two completed experiments, the Tasmania and the Israeli experiments. It is shown that a realistic appraisal of a completed experiment requires a prolonged effort, including an examination of quite a few relevant publications and, on occasion, Some numerical work on published raw data. It appears that an interdisciplinary reanalysis of the Tasmania experiment can contribute to the development of a reliable cloud seeding technology.     

Social Housing Policy Challenges in Tasmania

This paper considers the social policy discourses that senior public housing and Non‐Government Organisation (NGO) housing managers employ to articulate and explain changes in social housing provision in Tasmania. We suggest that the Tasmanian social housing reform agenda is reflective of reforms in other Australian states. The period 2003–10 marked a time of policy change affecting social housing supply and policy discourse, which were influenced by neo‐liberal practices favouring multi‐actor governance models and financing. Interviews reveal that contradictory values and discourses were commonplace. Divergent views centred on the social goals and the efficiency elements of the new social policy focus, the Affordable Housing Strategy (AHS) and its eventual key delivery organisation, Tasmanian Affordable Housing Limited (TAHL). Despite constrained application, neo‐liberal processes remained strong within accounts of new social housing governance practices. We suggest that neo‐liberal practices have extended economic considerations into areas of social housing provision that were previously sheltered from market concerns.     

‘New concepts for unknown lands’: Deleuze and Guattari's non-nationalitarianisms

This article responds to the arguments of Hardt and Negri through the work of Deleuze and Guattari, seeking to show that the latter offer a range of concepts that reveal the diminishing role of the nation-state and national identity in the contemporary world.     

Leadership and change in the Tasmanian environment movement

Semi-structured interviews with key environmentalists conducted in 2002 suggest strategic decision makers, organisational spokespeople and Green politicians are key leaders of the Tasmanian environmental movement, although charismatic leadership persists following movement routinisation. Routinisation is associated with the rise of non-protest environmental movement organisations addressing mainstream issues such as soil erosion, while protest oriented organisations champion the protection of old growth forests. Disproportionate federal government funding of non-protest organisations underpins tensions between movement leaders. An environmental council representing the diverse interests of the groups and organisations comprising the movement mitigates tensions and strengthens leader integration. Entrenched leaders from the ‘baby boom’ generation hinder the rise of younger leaders. Leader mentoring schemes adopted by movement organisations offer a potential solution to leadership succession in a mature social movement.     

澳大利亚塔斯玛尼亚大学的地质学教育

澳大利亚塔斯玛尼亚大学是澳大利亚历史最长的名牌大学之一 ,其地质学专业已有近 16 0年的历史 ,具有较高的教育水平 ,在矿业界有较大的影响。本文从人才培养目标、课程体系、教学内容、教学方法、教学要求、教学管理等方面介绍了该校地质学教育的基本情况。