National survey of viruses in pastures of subterranean clover. II. Statistical methodology for large scale quantitative ELISA

Statistical methodology was applied to a survey of time-course incidence of four viruses (alfalfa mosaic virus, clover yellow vein virus, subterranean clover mottle virus and subterranean clover red leaf virus) in improved pastures in southern regions of Australia. -from Authors

National survey of viruses in pastures of subterranean clover. I. Incidence of four viruses assessed by ELISA

A nationwide survey was made of the time-course incidence of alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV), clover yellow vein virus (CYVV), subterranean clover mottle virus (SCMoV) and subterranean clover red leaf virus (SCRLV) in improved pastures in southern regions of Australia. Averaged over all states, the highest mean incidence recorded for samples infected with individual viruses in either winter or spring was 9.4% for AMV, 5.7% for CYVV, 10.9% for SCMoV and 7.5% for SCRLV. For AMV and SCRLV, there was an increasing trend from spring 1984 to spring 1986. A similar increasing trend for SCMoV was more evident in winter than in spring. For CYVV, no time-course pattern was evident. Results support the proposition that viruses contribute significantly to "clover-decline', a well-known problem in pastures of Trifolium subterraneum. -from Authors

The national railway of Sarah Island : Richard Flanagan's Gould's Book of Fish

In the latter half of the nineteenth century the railway became an emblem of technological advancement, stood for the improvement and progression of European life, and became a recognizable symbol for the achievements of governments and citizens. The implementation and use of the railway became closely linked with notions of national identity and character. The railway became an identifiable artefact in official history but at the same time it became a part of everyday life. Richard Flanagan’s Gould’s Book of Fish retells the life-story of a fictionalized convict sent to Sarah Island and who paints fish, eventually he metamorphoses into one. It could be thought that a novel set in convict times would have little to do with notions of national identity, technological advancement, and railway travel. However, Richard Flanagan, in this very complex, almost surreal, novel, has used the construction of a fictional national railway as one of the ways to explore Australia's complex relationship with history and space. The novel tells of the plans of a history-loving Commandant and his desire to build a national railway on Sarah Island. This paper explores how Sarah Island becomes a metonym for Australia as a whole and Flanagan's novel takes on a metaphysical dimension as he reveals the struggles that emerge when official history collides with non-official versions. The fabulations of the novel contribute to an historical reconstruction of the spatial/architectural history of the Tasmanian colonial project.

Current dementia research in Australia : a report from the Alzheimer's Australia 15th National Conference

The Alzheimer’s Australia 15th National Conference held on 14–17 May 2013 in Hobart (Tasmania, Australia) attracted a wide range of attendees, including people living with dementia, family caregivers, health professionals and researchers. The conference theme, The Tiles of Life Coloring the Future, invoking a vision of a better future for those affected by dementia, had seven subthemes: liberation, rehabilitation, leisure,service, creativity, wellbeing and research.

The relationship between teachers' perceptions of school leadership and their perceptions of the implementation of the National Curriculum

The National Curriculum is an innovation in Australian schooling history and is likely to have a widespread and long-term impact on schools, teachers and students. This research used theoretical frameworks informed by Leithwood (1994) and Fullan (2007), and concepts related to innovation, to contribute to an understanding that may support a better understanding of teachers' perceptions when leading curriculum change such as a National Curriculum in schools. This research concludes that teachers who participated in the research demonstrated that their perceptions of a National Curriculum implementation are influenced by their perceptions of school leadership. Specifically, teachers with positive perceptions of their Principal's leadership also had positive perceptions of their capacity to implement the new National Curriculum.

Joseph Maiden and the national and transnational circulation of Wattle Acacia spp

During the nineteenth century and in the early years of the twentieth century wattle was circulated by botanists, botanical institutions, interested individuals, commercial seedsmen and government authorities. Wattle bark was used in the production of leather and was the subject of debate regarding its commercial development and conservation in Australia. It was also trialled in many other locations including America, New Zealand, Hawaii and Russia. In the process, South Africa became a major producer of wattle bark for a global market. At the same time wattle was also promoted as a symbol of Australian nationalism. This paper considers this movement of wattles, wattle material and wattle information by examining the career of one active agent in these botanical transfers: Joseph Maiden. In doing so it demonstrates that these seemingly different uses of the wattle overlap transnational and national spheres.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme Handbook

"The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) was launched on 1 July 2013. The NDIS Act 2013 is an historic piece of legislation that is the foundation for a national scheme which will deliver meaningful change for people with disabilities across Australia. The NDIS seeks to support the independence and social and economic participation of people with a disability, mainly by funding the provision of reasonable and necessary supports, including early intervention supports. The NDIS establishes three main criteria for access to the scheme - age, residence and disability. The National Disability Insurance Scheme Handbook written by Bill Madden, Janine McIlwraith and Ruanne Brell examines the NDIS from the viewpoint of a person seeking to access the NDIS and those advising or assisting them. The three key criteria are examined, along with the powers of the NDIS Chief Executive Officer and the scope for review of adverse decisions. The important area of interplay between the NDIS and compensation entitlements is carefully scrutinised. This handbook provides scheme users, carers, lawyers and health practitioners with an easy to understand guide to this watershed legal development."--Publisher website

Modeling perceived influences on journalism : evidence from a cross-national survey of journalists

Surveying 1,700 journalists from seventeen countries, this study investigates perceived influences on news work. Analysis reveals a dimensional structure of six distinct domains—political, economic, organizational, professional, and procedural influences, as well as reference groups. Across countries, these six dimensions build up a hierarchical structure where organizational, professional, and procedural influences are perceived as more powerful limits to journalists' work than political and economic influences.

Does gender determine journalists' professional views? A reassessment based on cross-national evidence

Research into journalism and gender to date has found somewhat contradictory evidence as to the ways in which women and men practice journalism. While some scholars claim that women have inherently different concepts and practices of journalism and that this has led to a feminization of journalism, others have found little evidence to suggest that men and women differ significantly in terms of their role conceptions. While numerous studies have been conducted into this issue around the world, few have taken a truly comparative approach. This paper presents results from a large-scale comparative survey into gender differences in journalists’ professional views in 18 diverse countries around the world. Results suggest that women and men do not differ in any meaningful ways in their role conceptions on neither the individual level, in newsrooms dominated by women, nor in socio-cultural contexts where women have achieved a certain level of empowerment.

National curriculum reform and equipping pre-service teachers to teach about Australia in the Asian Century

Currently a range of national policy settings are reshaping schooling and teacher education in Australia. This paper presents some of the findings from a small qualitative pilot study conducted with a group of final year pre-service teachers studying a secondary social science curriculum method unit in an Australian university. One of the study’s research objectives aimed at identifying how students reflected on their capacity to navigate curriculum change and, more specifically, on teaching about Australia and Asia in the forthcoming implementation of the first national history curriculum. The unit was designed and taught by the researcher on the assumption that beginning social science teachers need to be empowered to deal with the curriculum change they’ll encounter throughout their careers. The pilot study’s methodology was informed by a constructivist approach to grounded theory and its scope was limited to one semester with volunteer students. Of the pre-service teacher reflections on their preparedness to teach, this paper reports on the content, pedagogy and learning they experienced in one segment of the unit with specific reference to the new history curriculum’s ‘Australia in a world history’ approach and the development of Asia literacy. The findings indicate that whilst pre-service teachers valued the opportunity to engage with learning experiences which enhanced their intercultural understanding and extended their pedagogical and content knowledge on campus, the nature of the final practicum in schools was also influential in shaping their preparedness to enter the profession.

Standards and Research in Geographical Education: Current Trends and International Issues

What is the state of geographical education in the second decade of the 21st century? This volume presents a selection of peer reviewed papers presented at the 2012 Cologne Congress of the International Geographical Union (IGU) sessions on Geographical Education as representative of current thinking in the area. It then presents (perhaps for the first time) a cross-case analysis of the common factors of all these papers as a current summary of the “state of the art” of geographical education today. The primary aim of the individual authors as well as the editors is not only to record the current state of the art of geographical education but also to promote ongoing discussions of the longer term health and future prospects of international geographical education. We wish to encourage ongoing debate and discussion amongst local, national, regional and international education journals, conferences and discussion groups as part of the international mission of the Commission on Geographical Eduction. While the currency of these chapters in terms of their foci, breadth and recency of the theoretical literature on which they are based and the new research findings they present justifies considerable confidence in the current health of geographical education as an educational and research endeavour, each new publication should only be the start of new scholarly inquiry. Where should we, as a scholarly community, place our energies for the future? If readers are left with a new sense of direction, then the aims of the authors and editors will have been amply met.

Using a public key registry for improved trust and scalability in national E-health systems

An increasing number of countries are faced with an aging population increasingly needing healthcare services. For any e-health information system, the need for increased trust by such clients with potentially little knowledge of any security scheme involved is paramount. In addition notable scalability of any system has become a critical aspect of system design, development and ongoing management. Meanwhile cryptographic systems provide the security provisions needed for confidentiality, authentication, integrity and non-repudiation. Cryptographic key management, however, must be secure, yet efficient and effective in developing an attitude of trust in system users. Digital certificate-based Public Key Infrastructure has long been the technology of choice or availability for information security/assurance; however, there appears to be a notable lack of successful implementations and deployments globally. Moreover, recent issues with associated Certificate Authority security have damaged trust in these schemes. This paper proposes the adoption of a centralised public key registry structure, a non-certificate based scheme, for large scale e-health information systems. The proposed structure removes complex certificate management, revocation and a complex certificate validation structure while maintaining overall system security. Moreover, the registry concept may be easier for both healthcare professionals and patients to understand and trust.

The development of a simple multi-nodal tool to identify performance issues in existing commercial buildings

Australia’s building stock includes many older commercial buildings with numerous factors that impact energy performance and indoor environment quality. The built environment industry has generally focused heavily on improving physical building design elements for greater energy efficiency (such as retrofits and environmental upgrades), however there are noticeable ‘upper limits’ to performance improvements in these areas. To achieve a stepchange improvement in building performance, the authors propose that additional components need to be addressed in a whole of building approach, including the way building design elements are managed and the level of stakeholder engagement between owners, tenants and building managers. This paper focuses on the opportunities provided by this whole-of-building approach, presenting the findings of a research project undertaken through the Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre (SBEnrc) in Australia. Researchers worked with a number of industry partners over two years to investigate issues facing stakeholders at base building and tenancy levels, and the barriers to improving building performance. Through a mixed-method, industry-led research approach, five ‘nodes’ were identified in whole-of-building performance evaluation, each with interlinking and overlapping complexities that can influence performance. The nodes cover building management, occupant experience, indoor environment quality, agreements and culture, and design elements. This paper outlines the development and testing of these nodes and their interactions, and the resultant multi-nodal tool, called the ‘Performance Nexus’ tool. The tool is intended to be of most benefit in evaluating opportunities for performance improvement in the vast number of existing low-performing building stock.