A Typology of Shared Service Provision in Australian Local Government

Disappointment with the results of forced amalgamation programs across almost all Australian local government jurisdictions has created great interest in shared service models as an alternative method of improving the operational efficiency of local councils, while at the same time preserving local democracy and local autonomy. While an embryonic literature on shared service provision in the Australian municipal milieu does exist, much remains to be done. This paper seeks to contribute to this nascent literature in two main ways: (a) to locate shared services in local government within broader global trends and theoretical disputations on devolution and local economic development, highlighting the importance of political geography in these debates; and (b) in the light of this complexity and ambiguity, develop a new typology of local government shared service provision to inform public policy making on real-world problems in Australian local government.     

Determining the acceleration height of the electrons responsible for bremsstrahlung gamma-ray bursts with energies above 10 MeV during the solar flares of April 2, 1982, and March 26, 1991

We determined the acceleration height of the electrons that produced short high-energy gamma-ray bursts with E _γ > 10 MeV during the development of the solar flares on March 26, 1991, and April 2, 1982. In both cases, the height was found to be h _acc<4×10⁹ cm. This result suggests that the low acceleration location is a typical and, possibly, necessary condition for electron acceleration up to tens and hundreds of MeV. We describe two different methods of height determination that are based on a multi-wave analysis of flares.     

Evaluation of formation pore pressure behind the casing using borehole gravity data

Reliable estimates of the fluid pressure in the pore space of rocks are critical for different aspects of petroleum exploration and production including injection operations and scenarios of water flooding. Numerous approaches are available for formation pore pressure evaluation, however, these measurements become a challenge inside a cased borehole, and a list of possible options is short: either the casing is to be perforated, or the production tubing needs to be disconnected to perform the pressure tests. We present a method for through-casing evaluation of formation pore pressure without shutting down production. We suggest equipping an observation well with a borehole gravimeter and acquiring time variations of the vertical component of the gravity field. Changes in gravity occur during gas production and are related to time variations of formation pore pressure. Gravity changes obtained in the observation well are supposed to be inverted for time-dependent formation pore pressure variations beyond the casing. Our results and recommendations are based on numerical modeling of pore pressure spatial distribution during gas field exploitation and relevant changes in borehole gravity. Benchmark models were elaborated in order to consider a dynamic process of pressure changes in time and space under conditions similar to those in the Medvezhye gas field (Russia). Different modeling scenarios are considered for early and late stages of gas field exploitation. The sensitivity analysis was performed to estimate quantitatively a sensitivity of borehole temporal gravity changes to variations in formation pore pressure behind the casing. Based on resolution analysis we justify the possibility to extract the gravity measurements directly related to changes in pore pressure from the total changes in the gravity field due to reservoir exploitation. The impact of pore pressure on the gravity field measured in boreholes during the water flooding is also evaluated, and obtained results are discussed.     

The Characteristic Sizes of the Sunspots and Pores in Solar Cycle 24

Recent dedicated Hinode polar region campaigns revealed the presence of concentrated kilogauss patches of the magnetic field in the polar regions of the Sun, which are also shown to be correlated with facular bright points at the photospheric level. In this work, we demonstrate that this spatial intermittency of the magnetic field persists even up to the chromospheric heights. The small-scale bright elements visible in the bright network lanes of the solar network structure as seen in the Ca ii H images are termed network bright points. We use special Hinode campaigns devoted to the observation of polar regions of the Sun to study the polar network bright points during the phase of the last extended solar minimum. We use Ca ii H images of chromosphere observed by the Solar Optical Telescope. For magnetic field information, level-2 data of the spectro-polarimeter is used. We observe a considerable association between the polar network bright points and magnetic field concentrations. The intensity of such bright points is found to be correlated well with the photospheric magnetic field strength underneath with a linear relation existing between them.

     

Hyperstatic reaction method for calculations of tunnels with horseshoe-shaped cross-section under the impact of earthquakes

Tunnels are now an integral part of the infrastructure in major cities around the world. For many reasons, these tunnels have horseshoe-shaped cross-sections with round top and flat bottom. This paper presents some improvements to the use of the Hyperstatic Reaction Method-HRM for analysing tunnels with horseshoe-shaped cross-sections when these tunnels operate under the influence of earthquakes, particularly in cases when the tunnel lining is a continuous lining. The analysis used parameters of a tunnel from the Hanoi metro system, as well as parameters of the strongest earthquake that may occur in the central Hanoi area in the improved HRM and 2 D numerical methods using the ABAQUS software. On the basis of the results obtained, the paper gives conclusions about the HRM methodology when it is used to calculate tunnels that have horseshoe cross-sections operating under the influence of earthquakes.     

Hot Neutral H in the Heliosphere: Elastic H-H, H-p Collisions

Williams et al. (1997) have suggested that a population of hot hydrogen atoms is created in the heliosphere through elastic H-H collisions between energetic `solar' atoms (neutralized solar wind) and interstellar atoms. They used a BGK-like approximation (Bhatnagar et al., 1954) for the Boltzmann collision term and the collision cross sections suggested by Dalgarno (1960). We show that both assumptions result in a significant overestimation of the the H-H collision effect. On the basis of calculated momentum transfer cross-sections for elastic H-H collisions, we argue that elastic H-H and H-p collisions cannot produce hot H atoms in the heliosphere. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The evolution of the behavior and physico-chemical characteristics of solutions in the new geyser in Uzon Caldera, Kamchatka

This paper is a study of variations in the behavior and physico-chemical characteristics of solutions in the geyser that formed in 2008 in the place of a pulsating spring in Uzon Caldera. We describe the features of this geyser??s activity in 2009 and 2010. Overheating of water is for the first time described, rising to reach100.13°C at the mouth of a geyser during an eruption. We discuss the compositions of the solutions and free gases in the geyser, the possible source depths of the solutions, and the causes of geyser generation.     

Dualistic distribution coefficients of elements in the system mineral-hydrothermal solution. II. Gold in magnetite

The system magnetite-Au-hydrothermal solution was employed to continue studying the distribution coefficients of trace elements in system with real crystals. The role of surface nonautonomous phase (NP) is elucidated. The distribution coefficient of an Au structural admixture between magnetite and hydrothermal solution at the experimental conditions [450°C, 1 kbar (100 MPa), and fluid sampling by a trap] is, according to the most representative data, 1.0 ± 0.3, and Au is thus not an incompatible element in magnetite, in contrast to pyrite and arsenopyrite [1], minerals for which this coefficient is much lower than one. The NP is enriched in Au with respect to the rest of the crystal by a factor of more than 4000, and this results in an one order of magnitude increase in the bulk distribution coefficient. Similar to pyrite, the reason for the dualistic nature of the distribution coefficient is the presence of an NP, which contains ∼2000 ± 500 ppm Au. The NP occupies the approximately 330-nm surface layer of the crystal, and the chemically bound Au [Au(III), according to XPS data] admixture is evenly distributed with depth within the layer, which is the reason for the strongly determinate dependences of the concentrations of the evenly distributed Au admixture on the size and specific surface area of the crystal. The occurrence of an NP is controlled by the chemistry of the system. The partial substitution of Fe for Mn and the synthesis of a phase close to jacobsite MnFe₂O₄ results in the disappearance of both the NP itself and the size dependence of the Au concentration. The XPS spectra of O 1s and Fe 2p are used to analyze two models: (i) a single goethite-like (O²⁻/OH⁻∼ 1) phase of variable composition and Fe in more than one valence state and (ii) a heterogeneous structure of alternating domains of wuestite- and goethite-like NP. The reason for the “excess” admixture in the former instance can be vacancies at Fe sites, whereas that in the latter one is the interaction of the admixture with nanometer-in-size nanometer in-size strained domains on the surface of the crystal.     

Mineralogy, geochemistry and stratigraphy of the Maslovsky Pt–Cu–Ni sulfide deposit, Noril’sk Region, Russia

We report new data on the stratigraphy, mineralogy and geochemistry of the rocks and ores of the Maslovsky Pt–Cu–Ni sulfide deposit which is thought to be the southwestern extension of the Noril’sk 1 intrusion. Variations in the Ta/Nb ratio of the gabbro-dolerites hosting the sulfide mineralization and the compositions of their pyroxene and olivine indicate that these rocks were produced by two discrete magmatic pulses, which gave rise to the Northern and Southern Maslovsky intrusions that together host the Maslovsky deposit. The Northern intrusion is located inside the Tungusska sandstones and basalt of the Ivakinsky Formation. The Southern intrusion cuts through all of the lower units of the Siberian Trap tuff-lavas, including the Lower Nadezhdinsky Formation; demonstrating that the ore-bearing intrusions of the Noril’sk Complex post-date that unit. Rocks in both intrusions have low TiO₂ and elevated MgO contents (average mean TiO₂ <1 and MgO?=?12?wt.%) that are more primitive than the lavas of the Upper Formations of the Siberian Traps which suggests that the ore-bearing intrusions result from a separate magmatic event. Unusually high concentrations of both HREE (Dy+Yb+Er+Lu) and Y (up to 1.2 and 2.1?ppm, respectively) occur in olivines (Fo_79.5 and 0.25% NiO) from picritic and taxitic gabbro-dolerites with disseminated sulfide mineralization. Thus accumulation of HREE, Y and Ni in the melts is correlated with the mineral potential of the intrusions. The TiO₂ concentration in pyroxene has a strong negative correlation with the Mg# of both host mineral and Mg# of host rock. Sulfides from the Northern Maslovsky intrusion are predominantly chalcopyrite–pyrrhotite–pentlandite with subordinate and minor amounts of cubanite, bornite and millerite and a diverse assemblage of rare precious metal minerals including native metals (Au, Ag and Pd), Sn–Pd–Pt–Bi–Pb compounds and Fe–Pt alloys. Sulfides from the Southern Maslovsky intrusion have δ ³⁴S?=?5–6‰ up to 10.8‰ in two samples whereas the country rock basalt have δ ³⁴S?=?3–4‰, implying there was no in situ assimilation of surrounding rocks by magmas.