A unique isolate of beak and feather disease virus isolated from budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) in South Africa

Beak and feather disease virus (BFDV), the causative agent of psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) infects psittaciformes worldwide. We provide an annotated sequence record of three full-length unique genomes of BFDV isolates from budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) from a breeding farm in South Africa. The isolates share >99% nucleotide sequence identity with each other and ~96% nucleotide sequence identity to two recent isolates (Melopsittacus undulatus) from Thailand but only between 91. 6 and 86. 6% identity with all other full-length BFDV sequences. Maximum-likelihood analysis and recombination analysis suggest that the South African budgerigar BFDV isolates are unique to budgerigars, are non-recombinant in origin, and represent a new genotype of BFDV. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.

A phenomenological study of dream interpretation among the Xhosa-speaking people in rural South Africa

Psychologists investigating dreams in non-Western cultures have generally not considered the meanings of dreams within the unique meaning-structure of the person in his or her societal context. The study was concerned with explicating the indigenous system of dream interpretation of the Xhosa-speaking people, as revealed by acknowledged dream experts, and elaborating upon the life-world of the participants. Fifty dreams and their interpretations were collected from participants, who were traditional healers and their clients. A phenomenological methodology was adopted in explicating the data. Themes explicated included : the physiognomy of the dreamer's life-world as revealed by significant dreams, the interpretation of significant dreams as revealed through action, and human bodiliness as revealed in dream interpretations. The participants' approach to dreams is not based upon an explicit theory, but upon an immediate and pathic understanding of the dream phenomenon. The understanding is based upon the interpreter's concrete understanding of the life-world, which includes the possibility of cosmic integration and continuity between personal and trans-personal realms of being

Estimation of illuminance on the south facing surfaces for clear skies in Iran

Background: Daylight availability data are essential for designing effectively day lighted buildings. In respect to no available daylight availability data in Iran, illuminance data on the south facing vertical surfaces were estimated using a proper method. Methods: An illuminance measuring set was designed for measuring vertical illuminances for standard times over 15 days at one hour intervals from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at three measuring stations (Hamadan, Eshtehard and Kerman). Measuring data were used to confirm predicted by the IESNA method. Results: Measurement of respective illuminances on the south vertical surfaces resulted in minimum values of 10.5 KLx, mean values of 33.59 KLx and maximum values of 79.6 KLx. Conclusion: In this study was developed a regression model between measured and calculated data of south facing vertical illuminance. This model, have a good linear correlation between measured and calculated values (r= 0.892).

"Food For Thought" Selected Design Installation DIA Homegrown 2011 Life In the Slow Lane Exhibition: Little Stanley Street, South Bank, Brisbane

'Homegrown is an initiative of the Design Institute of Australia–Queensland Branch to promote the collaboration and cultivation of local design talent in Queensland and strengthen the connection between design, plate, planet, people and culture.' Homegrown 2011 Exhibition Catalogue Excerpt

Lessons on sin and forgiveness : a crisis in the Roman Catholic Church

One of the greatest challenges facing the Roman Catholic Church (the Church) across the world continues to be found in addressing complaints of child sexual abuse (csa) by clergy. The list of Catholic clergy in Australia who have been criminally processed for sexual offences against children is disturbingly long. As disturbing as this list is, more disturbing are the accounts of clergy who have not been criminally prosecuted, but protected within the cloister of the Church. It is increasingly recognised that the significant difficulty with child sexual abuse in Catholic Churches, in particular, has not been the presence of perpetrators but the response of Church leadership to allegations of csa by clergy. Those who have faced criminal charges have often done so due to the resilience of victim/survivors and not because of the support of Church structures or culture. The Church has been slow to come to terms with the realities of the perpetration of csa by its clergy and even slower to recognise the need to prioritise victims in any effective, just response. The church has been slowest of all recognising that there are significant cultural and discursive challenges to confront in addressing the management of csa by clergy. There is, however, progressive recognition of the role that discursive constructs of forgiveness have played in perpetuating the crises and ultimately in perpetuating abuse. The institutional praxis of forgiveness can be demonstrated not only in the Church, but in lessons learned from use of forgiveness as an institutional response to mass violations of human rights. This paper explores the juncture between criminality, church culture and forgiveness in responding to csa by clergy.

Remove, rehabilitate, return? The use and effectiveness of behaviour schools in New South Wales, Australia

Research indicates that enrolments in separate special educational settings for students with disruptive behaviour have increased in a number of educational jurisdictions internationally. Recent analysis of school enrolment data has identified a similar increase in the New South Wales (NSW) government school sector; however, questions have been raised as to their use and effectiveness. To situate the NSW experiment with behaviour schools in a broader context, the paper begins with a review of the international research literature. This is followed by a discussion of the NSW experience with the aim of identifying parallels and gaps in the research. The paper concludes by outlining important questions and directions for research to better understand and improve the educational experiences and outcomes of disruptive disaffected students in Australia’s largest school system.

Detaining the usual suspects : charting the use of segregated settings in New South Wales government schools, Australia

In this paper, we examine the increase in segregated placements in the New South Wales government school sector. Using disaggregated enrolment data, we point to the growing over-representation of boys in special schools and classes; particularly those of a certain age in certain support categories. In the discussion that follows, we question the role of special education in the development of new and additional forms of being “at risk.” In effect, we invert the traditional concept by asking: Who is at risk of what? In focusing on the containment of risk, are modern practices of diagnosis and segregation perpetuating risks that already disproportionately affect certain groups of individuals? Do these perceptions of and responses to risk in local schools now place these students at greater personal risk of school failure and a future marked by social exclusion? And, finally, is that risk worth the cost?

From vision to reality : views of primary school principals on inclusive education in New South Wales, Australia

This paper discusses the findings of a research study that used semi-structured interviews to explore the views of primary school principals on inclusive education in New South Wales, Australia. Content analysis of the transcript data indicates that principals’ attitudes towards inclusive education and their success in engineering inclusive practices within their school are significantly affected by their own conception of what “inclusion” means, as well as the characteristics of the school community, and the attitudes and capacity of staff. In what follows, we present two parallel conversations that arose from the interview data to illustrate the main conceptual divisions existing between our participants’ conceptions of inclusion. First, we discuss the act of “being inclusive” which was perceived mainly as an issue of culture and pedagogy. Second, we consider the mechanics of “including,” which reflected a more instrumentalist position based on perceptions of individual student deficit, the level of support they may require and the amount of funding they can attract.