astronomy

John Crawford (economist)

John Crawford (economist) is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand John Crawford (economist) rather than just read about it. In short: Sir John Grenfell Crawford (4 April 1910 – 28 October 1984) was an agricultural economist and a key architect of Australia's post-war growth. Early life, education and family Born in Hurstville, Sydney, Crawford was the tenth of twelve children of Henry Crawford and Harriet Isabel Crawford, née Wood.

Key takeaways

John Crawford (economist) belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect John Crawford (economist) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of John Crawford (economist) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sir John Grenfell Crawford (4 April 1910 – 28 October 1984) was an agricultural economist and a key architect of Australia's post-war growth.

Early life, education and family Born in Hurstville, Sydney, Crawford was the tenth of twelve children of Henry Crawford and Harriet Isabel Crawford, née Wood. He was the younger brother of historian Max Crawford and a nephew of state MPs James Crawford and Thomas Crawford. Crawford was educated at Sydney Boys High School and the University of Sydney. Crawford married Jessie Morgan on 18 May 1935 and together they had a daughter.

Career In 1941 Crawford helped to create the Agricultural Economics Section of the New South Wales Government's Department of Agriculture. In 1942 he began working at the Department of War Organisation of Industry, before being appointed Director of Research at the Department of Post-War Reconstruction in 1943. In 1945 he was appointed inaugural Director of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, followed by Secretary of the Department of Commerce and Agriculture (later Department of Trade), and then Secretary of the Department of Trade, where he played an important role in forging new trade relationships with the United Kingdom and Japan. He helped to establish the Australian Development Assistance Agency (now Australian Aid), the Industries Assistance Commission, and Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. He was also an adviser to the World Bank, Washington D.C., and Director, Australian Japanese Economic Research Project. Crawford was a founding member and inaugural chair of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, a statutory authority focusing on improving sustainable production in developing countries. He was also first chair of the Technical Advisory Committee to CGIAR (formerly Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) from 1971 to 1976. Crawford held several positions at the Australian National University: Director of the Research School of Pacific (and Asian) Studies (1960-1967); Vice-Chancellor (1968-1973); and then Chancellor (1976–1984).

Recognition and awards Crawford was appointed a Commander of the Order of British Empire (CBE) in the 1954 New Years Honours List. He was knighted in 1959 New Years Honours List. In the 1978 Australia Day Honours List he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC). He was the second president of the Australian Agricultural Economics Society, and in 1983 was made an honorary life member. He was named Australian of the Year in 1981. In 2009, a street in the Canberra suburb of Casey was named John Crawford Crescent in Crawford's honour.

Legacy at ANU The Crawford School of Public Policy is named after Crawford, and the school runs the annual Crawford Leadership Forum, opened by the J. G. Crawford Oration. It is also hosts the Sir John G Crawford Chair in Agricultural Economics.

The J.G. Crawford Prize was established by ANU in 1973, as Crawford was ending his term as vice-chancellor, in recognition of his contribution to the university. PhD Graduate students are nominated by college deans, and two (one for the natural sciences and one for social sciences/ humanities) and occasionally a third (for interdisciplinary work) are selected on the basis of academic excellence by a committee. Since mid-2013 and as of July 2021, the ANU is undertaking a research project with the title "J.G. Crawford: Shaping Australia's Place in the World". Partnered by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Crawford Fund, the project won an ARC Linkage Grant worth A$197,580. A biography will be written by historian Nicholas Brown, while Frank Bongiorno is also involved in the project.

Crawford Fund The Crawford Fund, a body established in Australia to support international agricultural research was also named in his honour. The fund awards the annual Sir John Crawford Fellowship to support scientists from developing countries, and since 1985 has hosted the Sir John Crawford Memorial Address. Notable speakers include Ross Garnaut, Frances Adamson, Catherine Bertini, Florence Chenoweth, Craig Venter, Shridath Ramphal and Robert McNamara.

References

External links Miller, J. D. B. (2007). "Sir John Grenfell (Jack) Crawford". Australian Dictionary of Biography.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John Crawford (economist)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John Crawford (economist) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to John Crawford (economist) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about John Crawford (economist) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of John Crawford (economist)

In research: John Crawford (economist) appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses John Crawford (economist) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: John Crawford (economist) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1910 births, 1984 deaths, 20th-century Australian economists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John Crawford (economist) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study John Crawford (economist) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what John Crawford (economist) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain John Crawford (economist) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is John Crawford (economist) in simple terms?

Sir John Grenfell Crawford (4 April 1910 – 28 October 1984) was an agricultural economist and a key architect of Australia's post-war growth. Early life, education and family Born in Hurstville, Sydney, Crawford was the tenth of twelve children of Henry Crawford and Harriet Isabel Crawford, née Woo…

Why does John Crawford (economist) matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study John Crawford (economist)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on John Crawford (economist).