Stress in veterinary science students: A study at the University of Queensland

This paper reports on the results of a survey of selected University of Queensland (UQ) veterinary students aimed at elucidating factors causing stress during the five undergraduate years of the program. Students from each of the five years were asked to form six- or seven-member focus groups. Each focus group was then interviewed and their opinions sought on causes of ongoing stress and the ranking of those causes into predetermined categories. They were also asked to give their opinions on counseling services available within the university and what, if any, services they would like to see in place to help students with stress-related problems. Students in the first, third, and fourth years of the program rated academic issues as the most likely causes of ongoing stress, while students in the second and fifth years of the program ranked lifestyle and financial issues as more likely to cause ongoing stress. in most cases, students coped well with these causes of stress and tended not to use counseling services available to all UQ students. When faced with stressful issues, students looked to their classmates or family members for help and not to university counseling services. Students were also happy to approach staff members in the Veterinary School when faced with a problem. The authors nevertheless conclude that mechanisms set in place at the undergraduate level to help veterinary students cope with stress should particularly benefit those students when they become new graduates and are faced with the stresses of veterinary practice.

Fuel cells, hydrogen and energy supply in Australia

Australia is unique in terms of its geography, population distribution, and energy sources. It has an abundance of fossil fuel in the form of coal, natural gas, coal seam methane (CSM), oil, and a variety renewable energy sources that are under development. Unfortunately, most of the natural gas is located so far away from the main centres of population that it is more economic to ship the energy as LNG to neighboring countries. Electricity generation is the largest consumer of energy in Australia and accounts for around 50% of greenhouse gas emissions as 84% of electricity is produced from coal. Unless these emissions are curbed, there is a risk of increasing temperatures throughout the country and associated climatic instability. To address this, research is underway to develop coal gasification and processes for the capture and sequestration Of CO2. Alternative transport fuels such as biodiesel are being introduced to help reduce emissions from vehicles. The future role of hydrogen is being addressed in a national study commissioned this year by the federal government. Work at the University of Queensland is also addressing full-cycle analysis of hydrogen production, transport, storage, and utilization for both stationary and transport applications. There is a modest but growing amount of university research in fuel cells in Australia, and an increasing interest from industry. Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd. (CFCL) has a leading position in planar solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) technology, which is being developed for a variety of applications, and next year Perth in Western Australia is hosting a trial of buses powered by proton-exchange fuel cells. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

History and habit in the mobilization of ICT resources

Evidence demonstrates that the digital divide is deepening despite strategies mobilized worldwide to reduce it. In disadvantaged communities, beyond training and infrastructural issues, there often lies a range of cultural and historically formed relationships that affect people's adoption of ICTs. This article presents an analysis of local resident's engagement with their council's pilot project to develop a computer facility in their community center. We ask, to what extent can people in poor urban communities, once trained, be expected to volunteer to work on furthering community education and development in ICTs in their local area? Findings indicate four patterns of individual engagement with the computer project: reflexive, utilitarian, distributive, and nonparticipatory. It is argued that local people engaged with the intervention in historically patterned and locally distinctive ways that served immediate personal and pragmatic ends. They did not adopt the long-term strategic goals of the council or university.

Binge drinking in university students: A test of the cognitive model

The aim of this study was to test the cognitive model [Addict. Behav. 29 (2004) 159] of binge drinking in university students. In Study 1, 202 participants completed the Drinking Expectancy Questionnaire (DEQ), the Drinking Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (DRSEQ), and the Khavari Alcohol Test (KAT). The results showed that both alcohol expectancies (AEs) and drinking refusal self-efficacy (DRSE) are needed to discriminate between binge, social, and heavy drinkers. In general, binge drinkers tend to have higher AEs than social drinkers, and have slightly lower DRSE. However, young social and binge drinkers can only be discriminated on the basis of their AEs. One hundred and fourteen students were recruited for the second study, to predict which individuals would engage in binge drinking during a 4-week self-monitoring period. Over 80% of predicted binge drinkers binged at least once during the monitoring period. These two studies confirmed the cognitive model of binge drinking, and thus, hold implications for the prevention of binge drinking among adolescents and young adults. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Highlighting hybridity: A critical discourse analysis of teacher talk in science classrooms

There is evidence that alienation from science is linked to the dominant discourse practices of science classrooms (cf. Lemke, J. L. (1990). Talking Science: Language, Learning, and Values. Norwood, NJ: Ablex). Yet, in secondary science education it is particularly hard to find evidence of curriculum reform that includes explicit changes in pedagogic discourses to accommodate the needs of students from a wide range of backgrounds. However, such evidence does exist and needs to be highlighted wherever it is found to help address social justice concerns in science education. In this article, I show how critical discourse analysis can be used to explore a way of challenging the dominant discourse in teacher-student interactions in science classrooms. My findings suggest a new way of moving toward more socially just science curricula in middle years and secondary classrooms by using hybrid discourses that can serve emancipatory purposes. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals. Inc.

Eating disorder attitudes and psychopathology in Caucasian Australian, Asian Australian and Thai university students

Objective: To examine eating disorder attitudes and psychopathology among female university students in Australia and Thailand. Method: Participants were 110 Caucasian Australians, 130 Asian Australians and 101 Thais in Thailand. The instruments included the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) and the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI). Results: Eating disorder attitudes and psychopathology scores in the Thai group were found to be highest. The Asian Australian group did not have significantly higher scores on the EAT-26 than the Caucasian Australian group, but had higher scores in some subscales of the EDI-2. That the Thai group had the highest scores in susceptibility to developing an eating disorder and eating disorder psychopathology may be partially explained in sociocultural terms, with pressure to be thin more extreme in Thailand than in Australia. The evidence suggested that unhealthy eating disorder psychopathology is not limited to Western societies but is already present in Thai and other Asian societies.

Acculturation and eating disorders in Asian and Caucasian Australian university students

This study aimed to compare the attitudes and psychopathology of eating disorders of Asian and Caucasian university students using a survey method. The study also investigated the relationship between acculturation, attitudes and psychopathology of eating disorders in sub-groups of Asian girls. There were 130 Asian and 110 Caucasian adolescent girls, aged 18–24 who were screened using the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI-2) and an Acculturation Index. The Asian group did not have higher mean EAT score than the Caucasian group, but had higher mean score in some sub-scales of the EDI-2. Eating disordered attitudes and psychopathology was not significantly different in the low compared to the high accultured Asian girls. This study suggests that Asian and Caucasian university students in Western Australia are equally susceptible to eating disorders, and that the level of acculturation does not modify the susceptibility of Asian students for eating disorders.