The return of manhood suffrage to Queensland, 1863-1872

In 1859, Queensland was separated from New South Wales as an independent colony. At this time the new Governor conspired to ensure the citizens did not inherit the old colonies system of full male suffrage. This was not returned until the Elections Act of 1872. However, the extended franchise was not a result of either democratic values or other ideological intentions. This article will analyse parliamentary debates to show that the revision to full suffrage was a result of administrative expediency driven by an inability to prevent abuse of the limited franchise.

Masculinity, rurality and violence

The assumption that the size, anonymity and weakened social controls of urban living generates social conflict, disorganization and higher rates of crime and violence has been an article of faith in much criminological and social scientific inquiry since the nineteenth century (i.e. Tönnies 1897; Shaw and McKay 1931; Levin and Lindesmith 1937; Nisbet 1970; Baldwin and Bottoms 1976; Felson 1994). The paper challenges this article of criminological faith and questions the utility of urban centric criminological theorizing about the causes of violence in rural settings. Drawing on descriptive data that show that rural men present a relatively high risk of inflicting harm upon themselves and others, this paper explores the larger socio-criminological question as to why this might be. The question is examined in relation to the processes of community formation that shape the everyday architecture of rural life. We explore how that architecture has historically valorized violent expressions of masculinity grounded in a relationship between men's bodies and the rural landscapes they inhabit - but how the legitimacy of these violent expressions are being challenged by sweeping social, economic and political changes. One psycho-social response to these sweeping social changes to rural life, we conclude, is a resort to violence as a largely strategic practice deployed to recreate an imagined rural gender order.

Building a USDL repository as a service using MDE

The decision to represent the USDL abstract syntax as a metamodel, shown as a set of UML diagrams, has two main benefits: the ability to show a well- understood standard graphical representation of the concepts and their relation- ships to one another, and the ability to use object-oriented frameworks such as Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF) to assist in the automated generation of tool support for USDL service descriptions.

Enabling USDL by tools

Fundamental tooling is required in order to apply USDL in practical settings. This chapter discusses three fundamental types of tools for USDL. First, USDL editors have been developed for expert and casual users, respectively. Second, several USDL repositories have been built to allow editors accessing and storing USDL descriptions. Third, our generic USDL marketplace allows providers to describe their services once and potentially trade them anywhere. In addition, the iosyncrasies of service trading as opposed to the simpler case of product trading. The chapter also presents several deployment scenarios of such tools to foster individual value chains and support new business models across organizational boundaries. We close the chapter with an application of USDL in the context of service engineering.

Experimental evaluation of MCDTK, the Monte Carlo DICOM Tool-Kit

The Monte Carlo DICOM Tool-Kit (MCDTK) is a software suite designed for treatment plan dose verification, using the BEAMnrc and DOSXYZnrc Monte Carlo codes. MCDTK converts DICOM-format treatment plan information into Monte Carlo input files and compares the results of Monte Carlo treatment simulations with conventional treatment planning dose calculations. In this study, a treatment is planned using a commercial treatment planning system, delivered to a pelvis phantom containing ten thermoluminescent dosimeters and simulated using BEAMnrc and DOSXYZnrc using inputs derived from MCDTK. The dosimetric accuracy of the Monte Carlo data is then evaluated via comparisons with the dose distribution obtained from the treatment planning system as well as the in-phantom point dose measurements. The simulated beam arrangement produced by MCDTK is found to be in geometric agreement with the planned treatment. An isodose display generated from the Monte Carlo data by MCDTK shows general agreement with the isodose display obtained from the treatment planning system, except for small regions around density heterogeneities in the phantom, where the pencil-beam dose calculation performed by the treatment planning systemis likely to be less accurate. All point dose measurements agree with the Monte Carlo data obtained using MCDTK, within confidence limits, and all except one of these point dose measurements show closer agreement with theMonte Carlo data than with the doses calculated by the treatment planning system. This study provides a simple demonstration of the geometric and dosimetric accuracy ofMonte Carlo simulations based on information from MCDTK.

Discretionary use of open briefings in the Australian continuous reporting environment

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) listing rule 3.1 requires listed companies to immediately disclose price sensitive information to the market via the ASX’s Company Announcements Platform (CAP) prior to release through other disclosure channels. Since 1999, to improve the communication process, the ASX has permitted third-party mediation in the disclosure process that leads to the release of an Open Briefing (OB) through CAP. An OB is an interview between senior executives of the firm and an Open Briefing analyst employed by Orient Capital Pty Ltd (broaching topics such as current profit and outlook). Motivated by an absence of research on factors that influence firms to use OBs as a discretionary disclosure channel, this study examines (1) Why do firms choose to release information to the market via OBs?, (2) What are the firm characteristics that explain the discretionary use of OBs as a disclosure channel?, and (3) What are the disclosure attributes that influence firms’ decisions to regularly use OBs as a disclosure channel? Based on agency and information economics theories, a theoretical framework is developed to address research questions. This theoretical framework comprises disclosure environments such as firm characteristics and external factors, disclosure attributes and disclosure consequences. In order to address the first research question, the study investigates (i) the purpose of using OBs, (2) whether firms use OBs to provide information relating to previous public announcements, and (3) whether firms use OBs to provide routine or non-routine disclosures. In relation to the second and third research questions, hypotheses are developed to test factors expected to explain the discretionary use of OBs and firms’ decisions to regularly use OBs, and to explore the factors influencing the nature of OB disclosure. Content analysis and logistic regression models are used to investigate the research questions and test the hypotheses. Data are drawn from a hand-collected population of 1863 OB announcements issued by 239 listed firms between 2000 and 2010. The results show that types of information disclosed via an OB announcement are principally on matters relating to corporate strategies and performance and outlook. Most OB announcements are linked with a previous related announcement, with the lag between announcements significantly longer for loss-making firms than profitmaking firms. The main results show that firms which tend to be larger, have an analyst following, and have higher growth opportunities, are more likely to release OBs. Further, older firms and firms that release OB announcements containing good news, historical information and less complex information tend to be regular OB users. Lastly, firms more likely to disclose strategic information via OBs tend to operate in industries facing greater uncertainty, do not have analysts following, and have higher growth opportunities are less likely to disclose good news, historical information and complex information via OBs. This study is expected to contribute to disclosure literature in terms of disclosure attributes and firm characteristics that influence behaviour in this unique (OB) disclosure channel. With regard to practical significance, regulators can gain an understanding of how OBs are disclosed which can assist them in monitoring the use of OBs and improving the effectiveness of communications with stakeholders. In addition, investors can have a better comprehension of information contained in OB announcements, which may in turn better facilitate their investment decisions.

Reconstructing the history of maize streak virus strain a dispersal to reveal diversification hot spots and its origin in southern Africa

Maize streak virus strain A (MSV-A), the causal agent of maize streak disease, is today one of the most serious biotic threats to African food security. Determining where MSV-A originated and how it spread transcontinentally could yield valuable insights into its historical emergence as a crop pathogen. Similarly, determining where the major extant MSV-A lineages arose could identify geographical hot spots of MSV evolution. Here, we use model-based phylogeographic analyses of 353 fully sequenced MSV-A isolates to reconstruct a plausible history of MSV-A movements over the past 150 years. We show that since the probable emergence of MSV-A in southern Africa around 1863, the virus spread transcontinentally at an average rate of 32.5 km/year (95% highest probability density interval, 15.6 to 51.6 km/year). Using distinctive patterns of nucleotide variation caused by 20 unique intra-MSV-A recombination events, we tentatively classified the MSV-A isolates into 24 easily discernible lineages. Despite many of these lineages displaying distinct geographical distributions, it is apparent that almost all have emerged within the past 4 decades from either southern or east-central Africa. Collectively, our results suggest that regular analysis of MSV-A genomes within these diversification hot spots could be used to monitor the emergence of future MSV-A lineages that could affect maize cultivation in Africa. © 2011, American Society for Microbiology.

Disciplinary unfairness in Queensland public service legislation

A just system of discipline within an organisation requires four characteristics: a clear set of offences, proportionate punishments clearly linked to the offences, oversight and appeals from disciplinary decisions and independence from political masters. This paper examines Queensland public sector legislation and policy from 1863 to the present to demonstrate how well these four criteria are addressed. An analysis of the presence of these four characteristics in the Queensland context finds that the public sector legislation in Queensland is in breach of the guidelines that define a just and fair system in which disciplinary action is dispensed. We argue that creation of arbitrary powers to punish or dismiss staff is unjust if the legislation does not fully inform staff of what constitutes a breach of discipline, does not guarantee proportionate punishments to offences, and/or it allows the disciplinary process to be used as a tool to coerce staff to perform in a politicised or otherwise unethical manner. We conclude by making recommendations as to how this situation may be rectified.

Mapping of multiple quantitative trait loci affecting bovine spongiform encephalopathy

A whole-genome scan was conducted to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) for BSE resistance or susceptibility. Cows from four half-sib families were included and 173 microsatellite markers were used to construct a 2835-cM (Kosambi) linkage map covering 29 autosomes and the pseudoautosomal region of the sex chromosome. Interval mapping by linear regression was applied and extended to a multiple-QTL analysis approach that used identified QTL on other chromosomes as cofactors to increase mapping power. In the multiple-QTL analysis, two genome-wide significant QTL (BTA17 and X/Y ps) and four genome-wide suggestive QTL (BTA1, 6, 13, and 19) were revealed. The QTL identified here using linkage analysis do not overlap with regions previously identified using TDT analysis. One factor that may explain the disparity between the results is that a more extensive data set was used in the present study. Furthermore, methodological differences between TDT and linkage analyses may affect the power of these approaches.

Interval training program optimization in highly trained endurance cyclists

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of three different high-intensity interval training (HIT) regimens on endurance performance in highly trained endurance athletes. METHODS: Before, and after 2 and 4 wk of training, 38 cyclists and triathletes (mean +/- SD; age = 25 +/- 6 yr; mass = 75 +/- 7 kg; VO(2peak) = 64.5 +/- 5.2 mL x kg(-1) min(-1)) performed: 1) a progressive cycle test to measure peak oxygen consumption (VO(2peak)) and peak aerobic power output (PPO), 2) a time to exhaustion test (T(max)) at their VO(2peak) power output (P(max)), as well as 3) a 40-km time-trial (TT(40)). Subjects were matched and assigned to one of four training groups (G(2), N = 8, 8 x 60% T(max) at P(max), 1:2 work:recovery ratio; G(2), N = 9, 8 x 60% T(max) at P(max), recovery at 65% HR(max); G(3), N = 10, 12 x 30 s at 175% PPO, 4.5-min recovery; G(CON), N = 11). In addition to G(1), G(2), and G(3) performing HIT twice per week, all athletes maintained their regular low-intensity training throughout the experimental period. RESULTS: All HIT groups improved TT(40) performance (+4.4 to +5.8%) and PPO (+3.0 to +6.2%) significantly more than G(CON) (-0.9 to +1.1%; P < 0.05). Furthermore, G(1) (+5.4%) and G(2) (+8.1%) improved their VO(2peak) significantly more than G(CON) (+1.0%; P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The present study has shown that when HIT incorporates P(max) as the interval intensity and 60% of T(max) as the interval duration, already highly trained cyclists can significantly improve their 40-km time trial performance. Moreover, the present data confirm prior research, in that repeated supramaximal HIT can significantly improve 40-km time trial performance.