Review of community facilities in Australian retirement villages : a content analysis

Aim Facilities in retirement villages form a supportive environment for older residents. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the provision of these facilities in retirement villages, which are regarded as a viable accommodation option for the ever-increasing ageing population in Australia. Method A content analysis of 124 retirement villages operated by 22 developers in Queensland and South Australia was conducted for the research purpose. Results The most widely provided facilities are community centres, libraries, barbeque facilities, hairdressers/salons and billiards/snooker/pool tables. Commercial operators provide more facilities than not-for-profit organisations and larger retirement villages normally have more facilities due to the economics of scale involved. Conclusions The results of the study provide a useful reference for providing facilities within retirement villages that may support the quality lifestyles for the older residents.

An improved chemically inducible gene switch that functions in the monocotyledonous plant sugar cane

Chemically inducible gene switches can provide precise control over gene expression, enabling more specific analyses of gene function and expanding the plant biotechnology toolkit beyond traditional constitutive expression systems. The alc gene expression system is one of the most promising chemically inducible gene switches in plants because of its potential in both fundamental research and commercial biotechnology applications. However, there are no published reports demonstrating that this versatile gene switch is functional in transgenic monocotyledonous plants, which include some of the most important agricultural crops. We found that the original alc gene switch was ineffective in the monocotyledonous plant sugar cane, and describe a modified alc system that is functional in this globally significant crop. A promoter consisting of tandem copies of the ethanol receptor inverted repeat binding site, in combination with a minimal promoter sequence, was sufficient to give enhanced sensitivity and significantly higher levels of ethanol inducible gene expression. A longer CaMV 35S minimal promoter than was used in the original alc gene switch also substantially improved ethanol inducibility. Treating the roots with ethanol effectively induced the modified alc system in sugar cane leaves and stem, while an aerial spray was relatively ineffective. The extension of this chemically inducible gene expression system to sugar cane opens the door to new opportunities for basic research and crop biotechnology.

Effect of Al content on the structure of Al-substituted goethite : a micro-Raman spectroscopic study

The characterization of X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and field emission scanning electron microscope were used to confirm the successful preparation of Al-substituted goethite with different Al content. The micro-Raman spectroscopy was utilized to investigate the effect of Al content on the goethite lattice. The results show that all the feature bands of goethite shifted to high wavenumbers after the occurrence of Al substitution for Fe in the structure of goethite. The shift of wavenumber shows a good linear relationship as a function of increasing Al content especially for the band at 299 cm−1 (R2 = 0.9992). The in situ Raman spectroscopy of thermally treated goethite indicated that the Al substitution not only hinders the transformation of goethite, but also retarded the crystallization of thermally formed hematite. All the results indicated that Raman spectrum displayed an excellent performance in characterizing Al-substituted goethite, which implied the promising application in other substituted metal oxides or hydroxides.

Histories of user-generated content : between formal and informal media economies

Debates about user-generated content (UGC) often depend on a contrast with its normative opposite, the professionally produced content that is supported and sustained by commercial media businesses or public organisations. UGC is seen to appear within or in opposition to professional media, often as a disruptive, creative, change-making force. Our suggestion is to position UGC not in opposition to professional or "producer media", or in hybridised forms of subjective combination with it (the so-called "pro-sumer" or "pro-am" system), but in relation to different criteria, namely the formal and informal elements in media industries. In this article, we set out a framework for the comparative and historical analysis of UGC systems and their relations with other formal and informal media activity, illustrated with examples ranging from games to talkback radio. We also consider the policy implications that emerge from a historicised reading of UGC as a recurring dynamic within media industries, rather than a manifestation of consumer agency specific to digital cultures.

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.

Australian screen content in education research project

Researchers from Queensland University of Technology have teamed up with the Australian Research Council (ARC), Screen Australia, The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) to investigate the use of Australian screen content in primary, secondary and tertiary education. Over the next three years (2014-2016), researchers and investigators will undertake a national survey of schools and universities, and will conduct in-depth interviews with hundreds of industry representatives, teachers, principals, librarians and students. Furthermore, new approaches to developing screen content and curricula will be trialled. The project aims to develop a comprehensive picture of why, how, how much and where Australian screen content is used in education.

Professional development and social networks in digital content industry micro businesses

This study explores the professional development strategies of digital content professionals in Australian micro businesses. This thesis presents the argument that as these professionals are working in cutting edge creative fields where digital technology drives ongoing change, formal education experiences may be less important than for other professionals, and that specific types of online and face-to-face socially mediated informal learning strategies may be critical to currency. This thesis documents the findings of a broad survey of industry professionals' learning needs and development strategies, in conjunction with rich data from in-depth interviews and social network analyses.

Australian content

There has long been widespread community, political and industry agreement over the important place of Australian content in the media mix, but debate continues over what counts as such in different media, how that content is defined, how much there should be, whether particular genres should be privileged, who should finance production, and how all of these things should be regulated.

Tuning of magnetization in vertical graphenes by plasma-enabled chemical conversion of organic precursors with different oxygen content

Different magnetization in vertical graphenes fabricated by plasma-enabled chemical conversion of organic precursors with various oxygen atom contents and bonding energies was achieved. The graphenes grown from fat-like precursors exhibit magnetization up to 8 emu g−1, whereas the use of sugar-containing precursors results in much lower numbers. A relatively high Curie temperature exceeding 600 K was also demonstrated.

On-the-fly web content integrity check boosts users' confidence

Web servers are accessible by anyone who can access the Internet. Although this universal accessibility is attractive for all kinds of Web-based applications, Web servers are exposed to attackers who may want to alter their contents. Alterations range from humorous additions or changes, which are typically easy to spot, to more sinister tampering, such as providing false or damaging information.

Effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on user-generated content

User-generated content where content is created and shared among consumers is of key importance to marketers. This study investigates consumer intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to understand why people create user-generated branded video content. Specifically, we examine the role of altruism (individual difference – intrinsic motivation), social benefits (extrinsic reward), and economic incentives (extrinsic reward) on intentions to create user-generated content. Results show that extrinsic rewards (economic incentives) result in more positive intentions to create user-generated content than intrinsic motivations. However, an effect for altruism is also evident revealing that high altruism consumers are more likely to create positive user-generated content. The implication of these findings is that marketers wanting to encourage user-generated content about their brands should target high altruism consumers and offer economic incentives for content creation.

Influence of the diesel fuel sulfur content on the formation of nanoparticles

In recent years fine and ultra fine particles emitted from internal combustion engines have attracted an increasing level of attention. This attention has arisen from epidemiological studies conducted by a number of research groups and pointing to the health effects resulting from inhalation of fine particles. Previous studies on the influence of fuel sulfur level on diesel vehicle emissions were mainly concentrated on particle mass emissions. This study aims at investigating the influence of the reduction of diesel fuel sulfur level on the emission and formation of nanoparticles

Doubly Fed Induction Generator for wind energy generation using nine-switch power converter

A Three-Phase Nine-Switch Converter (NSC) topology for Doubly Fed Induction Generator in wind energy generation is proposed in this paper. This converter topology was used in various applications such as Hybrid Electric Vehicles and Uninterruptable Power Supplies. In this paper, Nine-Switch Converter is introduced in Doubly Fed Induction Generator in renewable energy application for the first time. It replaces the conventional Back-to-Back Pulse Width Modulated voltage source converter (VSC) which composed of twelve switches in many DFIG applications. Reduction in number of switches is the most beneficial in terms of cost and power switching losses. The operation principle of Nine-Switch Converter using SPWM method is discussed. The resulting NSC performance of rotor side current control, active power and reactive control are compared with Back-to Back voltage source converter performance. DC link voltage regulation using front end converter is also presented. Finally the simulation results of DFIG performances using NSC and Back-to-Back VSC are analyzed and compared.

Australian screen content in education

Our presentation today will introduce our current ARC Linkage project on Australian screen content in education. We will then go on to discuss our initial research, which is attempting to quantify the use of screen content in Australian education. The presentation concludes with a brief discussion of some of the emerging video on demand services available to schools and universities.