Who is publishing in the Journal of Sociology? an analysis of author trends 1965–2008

This paper presents the author characteristics of papers published in The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) journal, the Journal of Sociology (formerly the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology) between 1965 and 2008. The aim of the paper is empirically to identify trends in authorship. The review examines all articles published in the period (excluding book reviews). The rationale of the study is to reveal trends in who publishes in the journal in terms of authors’ academic rank, gender, institution, and country. A table of those who have published the greatest number of papers is also presented. Findings show that over time the gap between the proportion of males and females publishing has closed; more PhD students and research fellows are publishing in the journal in recent decades; the highest proportion of authors consistently come from the Australian National University and The University of Queensland; and most authors are located in Australia. Information such as this can inform editorial practices and serve to inform the membership and readership on the nature of the journal.

The three little pigs and the art of playfulness

A number of pictorial based texts for children use animals as models for displaying or approaching aspects of childhood. Although authors and illustrators utilise various tactics for including anthropomorphic animals in their books, those that are used as 'surrogate' children can be seen to focus in the main on issues of behaviour, socialisation and maturity - issues that reflect the everyday life of the growing child. This paper aims to explore three pictorial texts that specifically utilise the pig character as a child model, to facilitate for authors/illustrators the opportunity to deal with examples of childhood experience. The paper also tentatively examines how such roles might encourage a reassessment of other more stereotypical associations some audiences have historically/culturally formed about the pig.

Modern construction economics [Book Review]

The editor, Gerard de Valence, points out in the preface, this book is neither a textbook nor a guide to what is done by construction managers and construction economists – read quantity surveyors and the like. Rather, de Valence notes it comprises a collection of chapters each of which focus on matters at the industry level and, in doing so, illustrates that a substantially improved understanding of the building and construction industry can be gained beyond the economics of delivering projects. Before giving some thought to how far each of the chapters achieve this, it’s worth reflecting on the virtues of developing construction economics as its own discipline or sub-discipline in general economics and the bold manner by which de Valence is proposing we do this. That is, de Valence proposes partitioning industry and project economics - as explained in the preface and in Chapter 1. de Valence’s view that “the time seems right” for these developments is also worthy of some consideration.

Selling James Bond : product placement in the James Bond films

The character of James Bond for many people is intrinsically linked in their minds with particular brands – Aston Martin, Bollinger, Omega, Smirnoff vodka, and so on. This direct association between character and brand highlights the intrinsic role of product placement in the film industry, and in the James Bond films in particular. Selling James Bond: Product Placement in the James Bond Films provides a comprehensive overview of the history of product placement in the James Bond series – charting the progression of the practice and drawing direct correlations to significant cultural and historical events that impacted upon the number and types of products incorporated into the series. While primarily a financial arrangement, it is also important that the practice of product placement be examined and understood in relation to these cultural contexts, an area of research so far largely ignored by academic study. Through extensive content analysis of the official James Bond film series, as well as utilising directors’ commentary and industry reports, this book illustrates the strong impact specific cultural and historical events have had on the practice of product placement in the series. In doing so, it provides an exciting and in-depth “behind the scenes” look at the James Bond film series, and its complicated and sometimes contentious history of product placement. In the process, it charts the gradual emergence of product placement from the more traditional background shot to becoming so embedded in the actual film narrative that they have become simply yet another method for filmmakers to produce cultural meaning.

Undrained sediment loading key to long-runout submarine mass movements : evidence from the Caribbean Volcanic Arc

Long undersea debris runout can be facilitated by a boundary layer formed by weak marine sediments under a moving slide mass. Undrained loading of such offshore sediment results in a profound drop of basal shear resistance, compared to subaerial shear resistance, enabling long undersea runout. Thus large long-runout submarine landslides are not truly enigmatic (Voight and Elsworth 1992, 1997), but are understandable in terms of conventional geotechnical principles. A corollary is that remoulded undrained strength, and not friction angle, should be used for basal resistance in numerical simulations. This hypothesis is testable via drilling and examining the structure at the soles of undersea debris avalanches for indications of incorporation of sheared marine sediments, by tests of soil properties, and by simulations. Such considerations of emplacement process are an aim of ongoing research in the Lesser Antilles (Caribbean Sea), where multiple offshore debris avalanche and dome-collapse debris deposits have been identified since 1999 on swath bathymetric surveys collected in five oceanographic cruises. This paper reviews the prehistoric and historic collapses that have occurred offshore of Antilles arc islands and summarizes ongoing research on emplacement processes.

The exemplification of governance principles within state asset management laws and policies : the case of Indonesia

This chapter reviews aspects of the challenge of reviewing and reforming Indonesian practice within state asset management law and policy specifically related to public housing, public buildings, parklands, and vacant land. A critical issue in beginning this review is how Indonesia currently conceptualizes the notion of asset governance and how this meaning is embodied in recent changes in law and policy and importantly in options for future change. This chapter discusses the potential complexities uniquely Indonesian characteristics such as decentralisation and regional autonomy regime, political history, and bureaucratic culture.

The exemplification of governance principles within state asset management laws and policies : the case of Indonesia

Efficient state asset management is crucial for governments as they facilitate the fulfillment of their public functions, which include the provision of essential services and other public administration support. In recent times economies internationally and particularly in South east Asia, have displayed increased recognition of the importance of efficiencies across state asset management law, policies and practice. This has been exemplified by a surge in notable instances of reform in state asset management. A prominent theme in this phenomenon is the consideration of governance principles within the re-conceptualization of state asset management law and related policy, with many countries recognizing variability in the quality of asset governance and opportunities for profit as being critical factors. This issue is very current in Indonesia where a major reform process in this area has been confirmed by the establishment of a new Directorate of State Asset Management. The incumbent Director-General of State Asset Management has confirmed a re-emphasis on adherence to governance principles within applicable state asset management law and policy reform. This paper reviews aspects of the challenge of reviewing and reforming Indonesian practice within state asset management law and policy specifically related to public housing, public buildings, parklands, and vacant land. A critical issue in beginning this review is how Indonesia currently conceptualizes the notion of asset governance and how this meaning is embodied in recent changes in law and policy and importantly in options for future change. This paper discusses the potential complexities uniquely Indonesian characteristics such as decentralisation and regional autonomy regime, political history, and bureaucratic culture.

The influence of online reviews on consumers’ attributions of service quality and control for service standards in hotels

Online travel reviews are emerging as a powerful source of information affecting tourists' pre-purchase evaluation of a hotel organization. This trend has highlighted the need for a greater understanding of the impact of online reviews on consumer attitudes and behaviors. In view of this need, we investigate the influence of online hotel reviews on consumers' attributions of service quality and firms' ability to control service delivery. An experimental design was used to examine the effects of four independent variables: framing; valence; ratings; and target. The results suggest that in reviews evaluating a hotel, remarks related to core services are more likely to induce positive service quality attributions. Recent reviews affect customers' attributions of controllability for service delivery, with negative reviews exerting an unfavorable influence on consumers' perceptions. The findings highlight the importance of managing the core service and the need for managers to act promptly in addressing customer service problems.

The probability archive : from essence to uncertainty in the mediation of knowledge

This volume puts together the works of a group of distinguished scholars and active researchers in the field of media and communication studies to reflect upon the past, present, and future of new media research. The chapters examine the implications of new media technologies on everyday life, existing social institutions, and the society at large at various levels of analysis. Macro-level analyses of changing techno-social formation – such as discussions of the rise of surveillance society and the "fifth estate" – are combined with studies on concrete and specific new media phenomena, such as the rise of Pro-Am collaboration and "fan labor" online. In the process, prominent concepts in the field of new media studies, such as social capital, displacement, and convergence, are critically examined, while new theoretical perspectives are proposed and explicated. Reflecting the inter-disciplinary nature of the field of new media studies and communication research in general, the chapters interrogate into the problematic through a range of theoretical and methodological approaches. The book should offer students and researchers who are interested in the social impact of new media both critical reviews of the existing literature and inspirations for developing new research questions.

The primary school as a logic machine

This paper makes a case for thinking about the primary school as a logic machine (apparatus) as a way of thinking about processes of in-school stratification. Firstly we discuss related literature on in-school stratification in primary schools, particularly as it relates to literacy learning. Secondly we explain how school reform can be thought about in terms of the idea of the machine or apparatus. In which case the processes of in-school stratification can be mapped as more than simply concerns about school organisation (such as students grouping) but also involve a politics of truth, played out in each school, that constitutes school culture and what counts as ‘good’ pedagogy. Thirdly, the chapter will focus specifically on research conducted into primary schools in the Northern Suburbs of Adelaide, one of the most educationally disadvantaged regions in Australia, as a case study of the relationship between in-school stratification and the reproduction of inequality. We will draw from more than 20 years of ethnographic work in primary school in the northern suburbs of Adelaide and provide a snapshot of a recent attempt to improve literacy achievement in a few Northern Suburbs public primary schools (SILA project). The SILA project, through diagnostic reviews, has provided a significant analysis of the challenges facing policy and practice in such challenging school contexts that also maps onto existing (inter)national research. These diagnostic reviews said ‘hard things’ that required attention by SILA schools and these included: · an over reliance on whole class, low level, routine tasks and hence a lack of challenge and rigour in the learning tasks offered to students ; · a focus on the 'code breaking' function of language at the expense of richer conceptualisations of literacy that might guide teachers’ understanding of challenging pedagogies ; · the need for substantial shifts in the culture of schools, especially unsettling deficit views of students and their communities ; · a need to provide a more ‘consistent’ approach to teaching literacy across the school; · a need to focus School Improvement Plans in order to implement a clear focus on literacy learning; and, · a need to sustain professional learning to produce new knowledge and practice . The paper will conclude with suggestions for further research and possible reform projects into the primary school as a logic machine.

I’m friends with Louie the Fly, not Mortein : conceptualising the new brand relationships on social media [Reprint]

Social media offers many opportunities for building brand relationships. One method of fostering relationships is to create a social media presence for the company spokes-character. Anecdotal evidence suggests that such a strategy can be very effective, though empirical research is needed. This paper reviews what is known and highlights a concern, based on analysis of the case of Louie the Fly and Mortein, that consumers may interact with characters as if they were separate to their parent brand. Hence positive associations with the character may not translate into positive brand outcomes. Following discussion, a model is proposed for testing.

Antioxidants in Athlete's Basic Nutrition: Considerations towards a Guideline for the Intake of Vitamin C and Vitamin E

Antioxidants in acute physical exercise and exercise training remain a hot topic in sport nutrition, exercise physiology and biology, in general (Jackson, 2008; Margaritis and Rousseau, 2008; Gomez-Cabrera et al., 2012; Nikolaidis et al., 2012). During the past few decades, antioxidants have received attention predominantly as a nutritional strategy for preventing or minimising detrimental effects of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), which are generated during and after strenuous exercise (Jackson, 2008, 2009; Powers and Jackson, 2008). Antioxidant supplementation has become a common practice among athletes as a means to (theoretically) reduce oxidative stress, promote recovery and enhance performance (Peternelj and Coombes, 2011). However, until now, requirements of antioxidant micronutrients and antioxidant compounds for athletes training for and competing in different sport events, including marathon running, triathlon races or team sport events involving repeated sprinting, have not been determined sufficiently (Williams et al., 2006; Margaritis and Rousseau, 2008). Crucially, evidence has been emerging that higher dosages of antioxidants may not necessarily be beneficial in this context, but can also elicit detrimental effects by interfering with performance-enhancing (Gomez-Cabrera et al., 2008) and health-promoting training adaptations (Ristow et al., 2009). As originally postulated in a pioneering study on exercise-induced production of RONS by Davies et al. (1982) in the early 1980s, evidence has been increasing in recent years that RONS are not only damaging agents, but also act as signalling molecules for regulating muscle function (Reid, 2001; Jackson, 2008) and for initiating adaptive responses to exercise (Jackson, 2009; Powers et al., 2010). The recognition that antioxidants could, vice versa, interact with the signalling pathways underlying the responses to acute (and repeated) bouts of exercise has contributed important novel aspects to the continued discussion on antioxidant requirements for athletes. In view of the recent advances in this field, it is the aim of this report to examine the current knowledge of antioxidants, in particular of vitamins C and E, in the basic nutrition of athletes. While overviews on related topics including basic mechanisms of exercise-induced oxidative stress, redox biology, antioxidant defence systems and a summary of studies on antioxidant supplementation during exercise training are provided, this does not mean that this report is comprehensive. Several issues of the expanding and multidisciplinary field of antioxidants and exercise are covered elsewhere in this book and/or in the literature. Exemplarily, the reader is referred to reviews on oxidative stress (Konig et al., 2001; Vollaard et al., 2005; Knez et al., 2006; Powers and Jackson, 2008; Nikolaidis et al., 2012), redox-sensitive signalling and muscle function (Reid, 2001; Vollaard et al., 2005; Jackson, 2008; Ji, 2008; Powers and Jackson, 2008; Powers et al., 2010; Radak et al., 2013) and antioxidant supplementation (Williams et al., 2006; Peake et al., 2007; Peternelj and Coombes, 2011) in the context with exercise. Within the scope of the report, we rather aim to address the question regarding requirements of antioxidants, specifically vitamins C and E, during exercise training, draw conclusions and provide practical implications from the recent research.