Fighting, anger, frustration and tears: Matthew's story of hegemonic masculinity

This paper draws on Matthew's story to illustrate the conflicting discourses of being a boy and being a student. Matthew is 12 years old and in Grade Six, his final year at Banrock Primary ( a K- 6 Australian State School). School is far from a happy place for Matthew - his tearful accounts of his combative relationships with his peers and his teacher highlight his emotional distress. The paper's analytic focus draws attention to some of the ways Matthew's harmful storylines of hegemonic masculinity are made possible through, in particular, his teacher's gendered philosophies and her strategies of individualism and control. In this regard, Matthew's story provides insight into the potentially counterproductive realities of teacher practice in relation to addressing issues of masculinity within the school environment. Against this backdrop, the paper stresses the importance of teachers drawing on a sound research-based framework of gender knowledges that can illuminate how masculinities are constructed, regulated and, indeed, transformed through the power relations of everyday social practice, including teacher practice.

Recent advances in the molecular biology of Leifsonia xyli subsp xyli, causal organism of ratoon stunting disease

Twelve years ago our understanding of ratoon stunting disease (RSD) was confined almost exclusively to diagnosis of the disease and control via farm hygiene, with little understanding of the biology of the interaction between the causal agent (Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli) and the host plant sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids). Since then, research has focused on developing the molecular tools to dissect L. xyli subsp. xyli, so that better control strategies can be developed to prevent losses from RSD. Within this review, we give a brief overview of the progression in research on L. xyli subsp. xyli and highlight future challenges. After a brief historical background on RSD, we discuss the development of molecular tools such as transformation and transposon mutagenesis and discuss the apparent lack of genetic diversity within the L. xyli subsp. xyli world population. We go on to discuss the sequencing of the genome of L. xyli subsp. xyli, describe the key findings and suggest some future research based on known deficiencies that will capitalise on this tremendous knowledge base to which we now have access.

Population effects on individual systolic blood pressure: A multilevel analysis of the World Health Organization MONICA project

Individuals from the same population share a number of contextual circumstances that may condition a common level of blood pressure over and above individual characteristics. Understanding this population effect is relevant for both etiologic research and prevention strategies. Using multilevel regression analyses, the authors quantified the extent to which individual differences in systolic blood pressure (SBP) could be attributed to the population level. They also investigated possible cross-level interactions between the population in which a person lived and pharmacological (antihypertensive medication) and nonpharmacological (body mass index) effects on individual SBP. They analyzed data on 23,796 men and 24,986 women aged 35-64 years from 39 worldwide Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease (MONICA) study populations participating in the final survey of this World Health Organization project (1989-1997). SBP was positively associated with low educational achievement, high body mass index, and use of antihypertensive medication and, for women, was negatively associated with smoking. About 7-8% of all SBP differences between subjects were attributed to the population level. However, this population effect was particularly strong (i.e., 20%) in antihypertensive medication users and overweight women. This empirical evidence of a population effect on individual SBP emphasizes the importance of developing population-wide strategies to reduce individual risk of hypertension.

Design of artificial myocardial microtissues

Cultivation technologies promoting organization of mammalian cells in three dimensions are essential for gene-function analyses as well as drug testing and represent the first step toward the design of tissue replacements and bioartificial organs. Embedded in a three-dimensional environment, cells are expected to develop tissue-like higher order intercellular structures (cell-cell contacts, extracellular matrix) that orchestrate cellular functions including proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis with unmatched quality. We have refined the hanging drop cultivation technology to pioneer beating heart microtissues derived from pure primary rat and mouse cardiomyocyte cultures as well as mixed populations reflecting the cell type composition of rodent hearts. Phenotypic characterization combined with detailed analysis of muscle-specific cell traits, extracellular matrix components, as well as endogenous vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression profiles of heart microtissues revealed (1) a linear cell number-microtissue size correlation, (2) intermicrotissue superstructures, (3) retention of key cardiomyocyte-specific cell qualities, (4) a sophisticated extracellular matrix, and (5) a high degree of self-organization exemplified by the tendency of muscle structures to assemble at the periphery of these myocardial spheroids. Furthermore (6), myocardial spheroids support endogenous VEGF expression in a size-dependent manner that will likely promote vascularization of heart microtissues produced from defined cell mixtures as well as support connection to the host vascular system after implantation. As cardiomyocytes are known to be refractory to current transfection technologies we have designed lentivirus-based transduction strategies to lead the way for genetic engineering of myocardial microtissues in a clinical setting.

Issues in boys' education: A question of teacher threshold knowledges?

This paper explores the effects of specific teacher threshold knowledges about boys and gender on the implementation of a so-called 'boy friendly' curriculum at one junior secondary high school in Australia. Through semi-structured inter-views with selected staff at the school, it examines the normalizing assumptions and 'truth claims' about boys, as gendered subjects, which drive the pedagogical impetus for such a curriculum initiative. This research raises crucial questions about the need for the formulation of both school and governmental policy grounded in sound research-based knowledge about the social construction of gender and its impact on the lives of both boys and girls and their experiences of schooling. This is crucial, we argue, in light of the recent parliamentary report on boys' education in Australia which rejects gender theorizing and given the failure of key staff in the research school to interrogate the binary ways in which masculinity and femininity are socially constructed and institutionalized in schools through a particular 'gender regime'. While some good things are happening in the research school, the failure to acknowledge the social construction of gender means that ultimately the school's programs cannot be successful.

The media, marketing, and single sex schooling

The Australian media's interest in education, as in many Anglophone countries, is frequently dominated by concerns about boys in schools. In 2002, in a country region of the Australian State of Queensland, this concern was evident in a debate on the merits of single sex schooling that took place in a small local newspaper. The debate was fuelled by the inclusion in this newspaper of an advertising brochure for an elite private girls' school. The advertisement utilized the current concerns about boys in schools to advocate the benefits of girls' only schools. Drawing on research that suggests that boys are a problem in school, and utilising a peculiar mix of liberal feminism alongside a neo-liberal class politics, it implicitly denigrated the education provided by government co-educational schools. The local government high and primary school principals, incensed at this advertisement, contacted the paper to refute many of its claims and assumptions and to assert the benefits, to both boys and girls, of their particular schools. A letters to the editor debate then followed an article representing these government school principals' views. These letters were from two private school principals. This country newspaper thus became a medium through which various school principals engaged with the current boys' debate, and research associated with it, in order to market their schools. This paper examines this particular newspaper debate and argues that, in the absence of nuanced, research based, and thoughtful policy responses to gender issues, many school policies on gender are being shaped through and by the media in ways that elide the complexities of the issues involved.

Molecular characterization and cancer risk associated with BRCA1 and BRCA2 splice site variants identified in multiple-case breast cancer families

Genetic screening of women from multiple-case breast cancer families and other research-based endeavors have identified an extensive collection of germline variations of BRCA1 and BRCA2 that can be classified as deleterious and have clinical relevance. For some variants, such as those in the conserved intronic splice site regions which are highly likely to alter splicing, it is not possible to classify them based on the identified DNA sequence variation alone. We studied 11 multiple-case breast cancer families carrying seven distinct splice site region genetic alterations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 (BRCA1, c.IVS6-2delA, c.IVS9-2A>C, c.IVS4-1G>T, c.IVS20+1G>A and BRCA2, c.IVS17-1G>C, c.IVS20+1G>A, c.IVS7-1G>A) and applied SpliceSiteFinder to predict possible changes in efficiency of splice donor and acceptor sites, characterized the transcripts, and estimated the average age-specific cumulative risk (penetrance) using a modified segregation analysis. SpliceSiteFinder predicted and we identified transcipts that illustrated that all variants caused exon skipping, and all but two led to frameshifts. The risks of breast cancer to age 70 yrs, averaged over all variants, over BRCA1 variants alone, and over BRCA2 variants alone, were 73% (95% confidence interval 47-93), 64% (95%CI 28-96) and 79% (95%CI 48-98) respectively (all P

Brand loyalties: rethinking content within global corporate media

Translating content from one media platform to another, a process here dubbed content streaming, is the leitmotif of contemporary globalized media. Yet widely divergent interpretations of the phenomenon have emerged. Academic political economy interprets content streaming as powerfully inimical to cultural diversity, media competition and freedom of speech. Mainstream business reporting, working from an opposing media economics schema, pillories ‘synergy’-based content strategies as oversold in theory and unworkable in practice. Challenging this established trend for the disciplines to develop in parallel, the article harnesses mainstream critique of content streaming to political economy’s traditionally circumspect view of corporate media. Examining first the commercial rationales for pursuing content streaming, before turning to the financial and managerial constraints on realizing these goals, the article positions content streaming as less all-pervasive than political economists have feared, but more commercially entrenched than the financial press currently allows.

Socioeconomic disadvantage and changes in health risk behaviours in Australia: 1989-90 to 2001

Objective. Lower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated in industrialized countries with unhealthy lifestyle characteristics, such as smoking, physical inactivity and being overweight or obese. This paper examines changes over time in the association between SES and smoking status, physical activity and being overweight or obese in Australia. Methods. Data were taken from three successive national health surveys in Australia carried out in 1989-90 (n = 54 576), 1995 (n = 53 828) and 2001 (n = 26 863). Participants in these surveys were selected using a national probability sampling strategy, and aggregated data for geographical areas are used to determine the changing association between SES and lifestyle over time. Findings. Overall, men had less healthy lifestyles, In 2001 inverse SES trends for both men and women showed that those living in lower SES areas were more likely to smoke and to be sedentary and obese, There were some important socioeconomic changes over the period 1989-90 to 2001. The least socioeconomically disadvantaged areas had the largest decrease in the percentage of people smoking tobacco (24% decrease for men and 12% for women) and the largest decrease in the percentage of people reporting sedentary activity levels (25% decrease for men and 22% for women). While there has been a general increase in the percentage over time of those who are overweight or obese, there is a modest trend for being overweight to have increased (by about 16% only among females) among those living in areas of higher SES. Conclusion. Socioeconomic inequalities have been increasing for several key risk behaviours related to health; this suggests that T specific population-based prevention strategies intended to reduce health inequalities are needed.