Open access to infinite content (or "in praise of law reviews")

This Article is about legal scholarly publication in a time of plenitude. It is an attempt to explain why the most pressing questions in legal scholarly publishing are about how we ensure access to an infinity of content. It explains why standard assumptions about resource scarcity in publication are wrong in general, and how the changes in the modality of publication affect legal scholarship. It talks about the economics of open access to legal material, and how this connects to a future where there is infinite content. And because student-edited law reviews fit this future better than their commercially-produced, peer-refereed cousins, this Article is, in part, a defense of the crazy-beautiful institution that is the American law review.

Shaping lecturers’ beliefs about teaching and learning in higher education in the Pacific

The aim of this study was to describe the educational experiences shaping the teaching and learning beliefs held by a group of beginning lecturers in higher education at various tertiary institutions in the Pacific Island Countries (PICs). A total of sixty three essays written by participants in an online course on teaching in higher education comprised the data for the study. A modified version of narrative analysis was used. This is a powerful methodology in qualitative research that can provide remarkable insights into individuals’ beliefs. The critical experiences that were thought to shape their beliefs in teaching and learning were identified and discussed in the light of relevant literature. The participants described a range of influences that shaped their beliefs about teaching and learning including realisation about the need to work harder and know more, the importance of independence, support systems, curriculum, qualities of a teacher, teaching and learning process, teaching and learning strategies, and learning environments. This information was useful in teaching these students and for further courses.

Written in code : diversity and the new genetics

Modern genetic research holds out the promise of a bold new future in which humanity has identified and conquered the genetic roots of many diseases. Genetic science also promises to shed light on who we are, what it is that makes us tick, what it is that makes us the way we are — in short, what it is that makes us human. Yet while genetics are a potential saviour (saving us from disease), it also appears as a threat that at the extremes appears to be the stuff of our worst nightmares, such as the prospect, probably more imagined than real, of rows of cloned individuals. The new genetics hold out the promise that through genetics we will be able to determine what we are, a promise that is simultaneously appealing and terrifying. This chapter discusses the cloning of people and parts, the law’s response to cloning, genetics and diversity, a framework for law reform.

Practice & procedure : gratuitous services

In Carroll v Coomber [2006] QDC 146 the plainliff was injured in a motor vehicle accident on September 7, 2003. Liability was admitted and it remained to assess the plaintiff's damages. In light of the date of the accident, the damages were to be assessed under the Civil Liability Act 2003 (the act) and the Civil Liability Regulations.

Children's perspectives on values and rules in Australian early education

In recent years, issues relating to moral and conventional values have been emphasized in educational policies. This study examines young children’s (100 children aged 4–8 years) own understandings of values and rules for how to treat others and participate in school. Eleven classrooms, within seven different elementary schools in Queensland, were visited. Children were interviewed regarding their views about moral and conventional issues, rules and participation in everyday school life. According to the children, ‘doing the right thing’ in school involved both a concern for others’ wellbeing and for the social order in school, including conventions, rules and behaviour connected with discipline. The children’s responsibility seemed, however, to be to adapt to the (school) system, rather than being an active participant in constructing the system.

Pteridine-, thymidine-, choline- and imidazole-derived alkaloids from the Australian ascidian, Leptoclinides durus

Four new acylated pteridine alkaloids, duramidines A-D, two new acylated thymidine alkaloids, leptoclinidines A and B, two new 1-acylglyceryl-3-(O- carboxyhydroxymethylcholine) alkaloids, durabetaines A and B, three new 1,3-dimethyl-5-methylsulfanylimidazole alkaloids, leptoclinidamines D-F, and the known alkaloids leptoclinidamines B and C and 6-bromo-1H-indolo-3-yl-oxoacetic acid methyl ester were isolated from the Australian ascidian Leptoclinides durus. The duramidines are the first pteridine alkaloids, possessing a three carbon side chain esterified at C-1′ with a 4-hydroxy-2′- methoxycinnamic acid, and are either hydroxylated or sulfated at C-2′. The leptoclinidines are the first 3′-indole-3-carboxylic acid ester derivatives of thymidine to be reported in the literature. The durabetaines are the first glyceryl-3-(O-carboxyhydroxymethylcholine) alkaloids to be reported from an animal source and are also the only known derivatives from this class to be acylated with aromatic carboxylic acids. MS and NMR data analysis established the structures of the new compounds. All compounds were shown to be inactive when tested for cytotoxic activity against prostate (LNCaP) and breast (MDA-MB-231) cancer cell lines and antimicrobial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus.

Pulmonary innate immunity in children with protracted bacterial bronchitis

Objective To determine bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) levels of 3 innate immunity components (human alpha-defensin-2 [hBD2], mannose-binding lectin [MBL], and surfactant protein-A [SP-A], the relationship with airway neutrophilia and infection, and cytokine production of stimulated BAL cells in children with current protracted bacterial bronchitis (PBB), children with resolved PBB (PBB well), and controls. Study design BAL of 102 children (mean age 2.8 years) fulfilling predefined criteria of current PBB (n=61), PBB well (n=20), and controls (n=21) was cultured (quantitative bacteriology) and viruses examined by polymerase chain reaction. hBD2, MBL, and SP-A were measured, and cytokine production of lipopolysaccharide-stimulated BAL cells were determined. Results Median hBD2 and MBL levels were significantly higher in the current PBB group (hBD2 = 164.4, IQR 0-435.5pg/mL; MBL = 1.7, 0.4-4ng/mL) than in the PBB well group (hBD2 = 0, IQR 0-85.2; MBL = 0.6, IQR 0.03-2.9) and controls (hBD2 = 3.6, IQR 0-126; MBL = 0.4, IQR 0.02-79). hBD2 was significantly higher in children with airway infection (n = 54; median 76.9, IQR 0-397.3) compared with those without (n = 48; 0, IQR 0-236.3), P=0.04. SP-A levels and cytokine production of stimulated BAL cells were similar between groups. Conclusion In children's airways, hBD2, but not MBL and SP-A, relates to inflammation and infection. In children with PBB, mechanisms involving airway hBD2 and MBL are augmented. These pulmonary innate immunity components and the ability of BAL cells to respond to stimuli are unlikely to be deficient.

Issues in Learning and Education for the Ageing

The population is ageing worldwide. This chapter is a discussion of issues in ageing, the importance of learning and education for the elderly, and then the more specific issues of why, how and what elders want to learn.

Teaching for quality learning at university

by J. Biggs and C. Tang, Maidenhead, England, Open University Press, 2007, 360 pp., £29.99, ISBN-13: 978-0-335-22126-4

Ageing in Fiji : how older teachers perceive ageing and their lives

Worldwide the population is ageing and data concerning how people want to age actively is limited. The paper is a description of an inductive interpretive-descriptive study of how a sample of older retired teachers in Fiji viewed ageing and their lives as older people. The objectives were to determine and describe perceptions of ageing held by a sample of retired teachers. The methodology consisted of responses to an open ended questionnaire similar to a phenomenographic approach and the analysis was interpretive – descriptive. A purposive sample of 30 retired teachers between the ages of 55 and 60 responded to the questionnaire. The results indicate that most of the respondents were positive about lifelong learning and in particular learning new things; that they were involved in a range of post retirement activities for personal and financial reasons; that there were some barriers and facilitators to their activities; that they generally accepted ageing and being older; and that more should be done by Government and other agencies to provide for a better life for older people in Fiji. These results should be considered in future planning for ageing populations in Fiji, the Pacific region and in other developing countries.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students conceptions of formal learning and experiences of informal learning

This paper describes an investigation of conceptions of learning held by 22 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from three universities in Queensland, Australia. Other areas investigated were students' experiences of informal learning, their reasons for studying and the strategies they used to learn. Research into conceptions of learning is gaining impetus and current beliefs include the premise that approaches to learning adopted by university students, and hence learning outcomes, are closely related to their conceptions of learning. There is substantial research focused on Aboriginal learning styles in early childhood and primary school which indicates that Aboriginal children prefer to learn in a practical way as well as through observation and imitation and trial and error. Very little research has focused specifically on Aboriginal university students' conceptions of learning. Results of this study found that these students view and approach formal university learning in much the same way as other university students and most hold quantitative conceptions of learning. The most interesting result was the difference between students' conceptions of formal learning and their experiences of informal learning. Many students' experiences of informal learning were grounded in practical activities or exhibited a cultural focus, however, most formal learning is not dependent upon practical or cultural knowledge. It is proposed that formal learning for Indigenous students recognise and include an Indigenous perspective such as integrating, where appropriate, practical strategies for learning. We also suggest that Indigenous students be helped to develop conceptions that will enable them to learn formal, theoretical material successfully.