The trouble with play

The Trouble with Play is a radical departure from some of the ideas about play that are held dear by many in early childhood education. For many, play is considered essential to children's development and learning, and is often promoted as a universal and almost magical 'fix'. Although play does have many proven benefits for children, the authors show that play in the early years is not always innocent, fun and natural. Play can also be political and involve morals, ethics, values and power.

Transition of chromium oxyhydroxide nanomaterials to chromium oxide : a hot stage Raman spectroscopic study

The transition of disc-like chromium hydroxide nanomaterials to chromium oxide nanomaterials has been studied by hot stage Raman spectroscopy. The structure and morphology of α-CrO(OH) synthesised using hydrothermal treatment was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The Raman spectrum of α-CrO(OH) is characterised by two intense bands at 823 and 630 cm-1 attributed to ν1 CrIII-O symmetric stretching mode, bands at 1179 cm-1 attributed to CrIII-OH δ deformation modes. No bands are observed above 3000 cm-1. The absence of characteristic OH vibrational bands may be due to short hydrogen bonds in the α-CrO(OH) structure. Upon thermal treatment of α-CrO(OH), new Raman bands are observed at 599, 542, 513, 396, 344 and 304 cm-1, which are attributed to Cr2O3. This hot-stage Raman study shows that the transition of α-CrO(OH) to Cr2O3 occurs before 350 °C.

Transition of synthetic chromium oxide gel to crystalline chromium oxide : a hot stage Raman spectroscopic study

Chromium oxide gel material was synthesised and appeared to be X-ray amorphous. The changes in the structure of the synthetic chromium oxide gel were investigated using hot-stage Raman spectroscopy based upon the results of thermogravimetric analysis. The thermally decomposed product of the synthetic chromium oxide gel in nitrogen atmosphere was confirmed to be crystalline Cr2O3 as determined by the hot-stage Raman spectra. Two bands were observed at 849 and 735 cm-1 in the Raman spectrum at 25 °C, which were attributed to the symmetric stretching modes of O-CrIII-OH and O-CrIII-O. With temperature increase, the intensity of the band at 849 cm-1 decreased, while the band at 735 cm-1 increased. These changes in intensity are attributed to the loss of OH groups and formation of O-CrIII-O units in the structure. A strongly hydrogen bonded water H-O-H bending band was found at 1704 cm-1 in the Raman spectrum of the chromium oxide gel, however this band shifted to around 1590 cm-1 due to destruction of the hydrogen bonds upon thermal treatment. Six new Raman bands were observed at 578, 540, 513, 390, 342 and 303 cm-1 attributed to the thermal decomposed product Cr2O3. The use of the hot-stage Raman microscope enabled low-temperature phase changes brought about through dehydration and dehydroxylation to be studied.

Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI) : a review of available techniques

Breast conservation therapy (BCT) is the procedure of choice for the management of the early stage breast cancer. However, its utilization has not been maximized because of logistics issues associated with the protracted treatment involved with the radiation treatment. Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI) is an approach that treats only the lumpectomy bed plus a 1-2 cm margin, rather than the whole breast. Hence because of the small volume of irradiation a higher dose can be delivered in a shorter period of time. There has been growing interest for APBI and various approaches have been developed under phase I-III clinical studies; these include multicatheter interstitial brachytherapy, balloon catheter brachytherapy, conformal external beam radiation therapy and intra-operative radiation therapy (IORT). Balloon-based brachytherapy approaches include Mammosite, Axxent electronic brachytherapy and Contura, Hybrid brachytherapy devices include SAVI and ClearPath. This paper reviews the different techniques, identifying the weaknesses and strength of each approach and proposes a direction for future research and development. It is evident that APBI will play a role in the management of a selected group of early breast cancer. However, the relative role of the different techniques is yet to be clearly identified.

Old Brisbane Botanic Gardens: Conservation Plan Review 2005, Report of Stage 1 Heritage Significance and Conservation Policies

Report for City Design, for Environment and Parks, within the Brisbane City Council. Context of this Project A Conservation Study for the Old Brisbane Botanic Gardens, formerly called the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens, was finalised in 1995 and prepared by Jeannie Sim for the Landscape Section of Brisbane City Council, the same author of the present report. This unpublished report was the first conservation plan prepared for the place and it was recommended that it be reviewed in five years time. That time has arrived finally with the preparation of the 2005 Review. The present project was commissioned by City Design on behalf of Environment and Parks Section of Brisbane City Council. The author has purposely chosen to call the study site the 'Old Brisbane Botanic Gardens' (OBBG) to differentiate it from the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mt. Coot-tha (BBG-MC), and to maintain the claim for this original garden to remain as a botanic garden for Brisbane. This name immediately brings to mind an association with history, as in the precedent set by the naming of the nearby 'Old Government House' at Gardens Point.

A closer look at business planning : early stage outcome effects of how it is prepared and used

The widespread use of business planning in combination with the mixed theoretical and empirical support for its effect suggest research is needed that takes a deeper into the quality of plans and how they are used. In this study we longitudinally examine use vs. non-use; degree of formalizations; revision of plans, and moderation of planning effects by product novelty,among nascent firms. We relate these to attainment of profitability after 12 months. We find that business planning is negatively related to profitability, but that revising plans is positively related to profitability. Both these effects are stronger under conditions of high product novelty.

12 fingers or one, it’s how you play? Genetic discrimination in the Australian workforce

For quite some time, debate has raged about what the human race can and should do with its knowledge of genetics. We are now nearly 60 years removed from the work of Watson and Crick who determined the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), yet our opinions as how best to employ scientific knowledge of the human genome, remain as diverse and polarised as ever. Human judgment is often shaped and coloured by popular media and culture, so it should come as no surprise that box office movies such as Gattaca (1997) continue to play a role in informing public opinion on genetics. In order to perform well at the box office, movies such as Gattaca take great liberty in sensationalising (and even distorting) the implications that may result from genetic screening and testing. If the public’s opinion on human genetics is strongly derived from the box office and popular media, then it is no wonder that the discourse on human genetics is couched in the polar parlances of future utopias or future dystopias. When legislating in an area like genetic discrimination in the workforce, we must be mindful of not overplaying the causal link between genetic predisposition towards a disability and an employee’s ability to perform the inherent requirements of their job. Genetic information is ultimately about people, it is not about genes. Genetic discrimination is ultimately about actions, it is not about the intrinsic value of genetic information.

A Two-stage information filtering based on rough decision rule and pattern mining

Information Overload and Mismatch are two fundamental problems affecting the effectiveness of information filtering systems. Even though both term-based and patternbased approaches have been proposed to address the problems of overload and mismatch, neither of these approaches alone can provide a satisfactory solution to address these problems. This paper presents a novel two-stage information filtering model which combines the merits of term-based and pattern-based approaches to effectively filter sheer volume of information. In particular, the first filtering stage is supported by a novel rough analysis model which efficiently removes a large number of irrelevant documents, thereby addressing the overload problem. The second filtering stage is empowered by a semantically rich pattern taxonomy mining model which effectively fetches incoming documents according to the specific information needs of a user, thereby addressing the mismatch problem. The experimental results based on the RCV1 corpus show that the proposed twostage filtering model significantly outperforms the both termbased and pattern-based information filtering models.

Hoodie-wearing Hamlet mixes horror with humour in a play for our times [REVIEW]

Hamlet By Shakespeare. La Boite Theatre Company, Brisbane, February 10 LA Boite Theatre Company begins this year's season with a new look, a new logo and a new interpretation of Hamlet directed by artistic director David Berthold. In this production, Berthold contemporises Shakespeare's tragedy by focusing on the family relationships and introducing modern references in the set, sound and costume design: this Hamlet wears jeans and a hoodie.

A lesson in tension yet to be taut : a review

NOBEL prize-winning British writer Harold Pinter is best known for his social commentaries and for dark, sometimes violent "comedies of menace" that capture the cruelty at the heart of human relationships. It has been a while since a Pinter play was on the Brisbane stage, and it is exciting to see one of his lesser known early works, Betrayal, as part of Queensland Theatre Company's session. Betrayal moves backwards from a potentially scandalous moment. In a pub one night, Emma tells Jerry that his best friend Robert is divorcing her. Robert has been unfaithful. And, what's more, Robert now knows about their lengthy affair. What follows is a series of scenes that look back at the stages of that affair and the secrets that have lain unspoken at the heart of their comfortable middle-class lives for so long. Betrayal is characterised by the sparsity of action and language, dark humour, and sudden outbreaks of seemingly excessive cruelty that are a trademark of Pinter's writing for the theatre.

Stage 1 of the Yueyang Urban Water System Project: Landscape planning and design of Wangjia River

Chinese landscape architects are largely focused on objective practical solutions to environmental problems. In the West, theoretical landscape knowledge is largely conceptual and abstract. This research debated how Australian ecological concepts could or should be transposed to Chinese landscapes. This project responded to severe water and soil pollution issues in the estuarine and riparian zones of rivers flowing into Dongting Lake, in Yueyang City, Hunan Province. This work proposed a range of waterfront design innovations that challenged the notion of corridor as habitat, filter, barrier and conduit in a Chinese riparian context.

Dialogical mindfulness in supervision role-play

Aims: This exploratory pilot study investigated Mindfulness-based Role-play (MBRP) supervision to find out how therapists would experience the approach, and to what extent they would find it useful, particularly in relation to empathy toward clients. Method: Thirteen therapists participated in a workshop, introducing mindfulness and MBRP supervision, and subsequently had one individual MBRP supervision session. Data collection and analysis: Qualitative data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews and analysed with regard to participants' supervision experiences by means of a modified version of the Consensual Qualitative Research method. Findings: Participants predominantly had positive emotional and cognitive responses to their supervision experiences. The main supervision outcomes were empathy with the client's emotional experience, enhanced awareness of functioning as a therapist, and thoughts about how to proceed in therapy. A subset of participants also reported observed effects in therapy with clients. Conclusions: Even taking into account the methodological limitations of the study, these findings are promising and suggest that further research into the MBRP supervision approach is warranted.

Endochondral ossification in vitro is influenced by mechanical bending

Bone development is influenced by the local mechanical environment. Experimental evidence suggests that altered loading can change cell proliferation and differentiation in chondro- and osteogenesis during endochondral ossification. This study investigated the effects of three-point bending of murine fetal metatarsal bone anlagen in vitro on cartilage differentiation, matrix mineralization and bone collar formation. This is of special interest because endochondral ossification is also an important process in bone healing and regeneration. Metatarsal preparations of 15 mouse fetuses stage 17.5 dpc were dissected en bloc and cultured for 7 days. After 3 days in culture to allow adherence they were stimulated 4 days for 20 min twice daily by a controlled bending of approximately 1000-1500 microstrain at 1 Hz. The paraffin-embedded bone sections were analyzed using histological and histomorphometrical techniques. The stimulated group showed an elongated periosteal bone collar while the total bone length was not different from controls. The region of interest (ROI), comprising the two hypertrophic zones and the intermediate calcifying diaphyseal zone, was greater in the stimulated group. The mineralized fraction of the ROI was smaller in the stimulated group, while the absolute amount of mineralized area was not different. These results demonstrate that a new device developed to apply three-point bending to a mouse metatarsal bone culture model caused an elongation of the periosteal bone collar, but did not lead to a modification in cartilage differentiation and matrix mineralization. The results corroborate the influence of biophysical stimulation during endochondral bone development in vitro. Further experiments with an altered loading regime may lead to more pronounced effects on the process of endochondral ossification and may provide further insights into the underlying mechanisms of mechanoregulation which also play a role in bone regeneration.

Ethnography in the kindergarten:examining childrens'play experiences

This paper describes an ethnographic study completed within a kindergarten environment with the view of gaining insights into the development of new technology for young children. Ethnography within HCI has primarily focused on studies of work practices. This project explored the effectiveness of ethnography in supporting the design of playful technology for a constantly changing, creative, and (sometimes) messy environment. The study was effective in drawing out patterns in observations and as such provides useful suggestions for the development of technology for kindergarten settings.

Team role preference and online role play

Role play approaches have been used in online environments in an effort to create a mix of contested ideas and to promote participant engagement. While it is recognised that there is an aspect of ‘fun’ associated with role play there is a need to understand role assignment more rigorously than simply levels of reported participation and enjoyment. It is the contention of this paper that individuals are unlikely to be able to authentically play a role and, that in fact, there may be little purpose to contrived roles. Additionally, the literature has widely reported that personality factors, such as introversion and extroversion continue to be of significance in the way that individuals contribute in online contexts. The findings in the study reported in this paper confirm that introversion and extroversion do, indeed, play a role in the way individuals contribute in online environments. Thus, this paper argues that an active consideration needs to be given to individuals preferred (or natural) way of working even where use is made of online role play.