Trade-offs between timber production and biodiversity in rainforest plantations: Emerging issues and an ecological perspective

During the past two centuries there have been three major paradigm shifts in the management of Australian rainforests and the use of their timbers: from felling native forests towards growing plantations; from viewing forests and plantations as mainly providers of timber to viewing them as sources of multiple benefits (e.g. timber, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, catchment protection, recreation, regional economic development); and from timber plantations being developed mainly by government on public land towards those established by private citizens, companies, or joint venture arrangements, on previously-cleared freehold land. Rainforest timber plantations are increasingly established for varied reasons, and with multiple objectives. Landholders are increasingly interested in the biodiversity values of their plantations. However, there are few guidelines on the changes to plantation design and management that would augment biodiversity outcomes, or on the extent to which this might require a sacrifice of production. [Abstract extract]

The importance of considering social issues in reforestation schemes

This paper reports the results of a survey of north Queensland landholder attitudes with respect to a number of issues relating to participation in forestry. The survey explored the reasons why landholders plant trees, perceived obstacles to greater farm forestry, and attitudes to tree planting programs such as the Community Rainforest Reforestation Program (CRRP) and Private Joint Venture Scheme (PJVS). The results of the survey are discussed in the context of possible policy prescriptions that can be made at local, state and federal government levels to facilitate greater tree planting in the region. Many of the problems faced by local landholders are shared by landholders in other parts of Australia and throughout the world. This survey can thus serve as a case study, providing information on a number of issues concerning small-scale forestry policies that are of general relevance to the development of farm forestry programs.

Does participation in a pain course based on the international association for the study of pain's curricula guidelines change student knowledge about pain?

The People in Pain course was set up as a joint initiative of the Departments of Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy within the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at The University of Queensland. It was instigated in response to the publication of Pain Curricula for Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) in 1994 (1). The first year it was offered, the "People in Pain" course comprised 14 h of lecture content. It was then expanded to encompass 28 h of lectures and seminar involvement. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of participation in a university pain course that meets the IASP pain curricula guidelines to increase health professional students' knowledge about pain. METHODS: Students who participated in the People in Pain course over the first three years were invited to complete the Revised Pain Knowledge and Attitudes Questionnaire (R-PKAQ) pre- and postcourse. Data obtained from 22 students in the short course formed a pilot project, and data from 22 students in the longer version of the course were used in the present study. RESULTS: Examination of the correlation matrix indicated substantial correlations between all R-PKAQ subscales except physiological basis of pain and pharmacological management of pain. In both the pilot project during the first year of the course and the expanded course in the following two years, significant improvement was found in the students' knowledge on five of the six subscales of the R-PKAQ: physiological basis of pain, psychological factors of pain perception, assessment and measurement of pain, cognitive-behavioural methods of pain relief, and pharmacological management of pain. Improvements in the developmental aspects of pain perception subscale failed to reach significance. CONCLUSIONS: An integrated pain course developed according to the pain curriculum guidelines developed by the IASP resulted in increased student knowledge regardless of the length of the program attended.

Developing students' critical literacy: Exploring identity construction in young adult fiction

The authors use a critical literacy stance to engage students in a discussion of young adult literature from Australia and America. They offer a framework teachers can use to initiate discussions based on critical literacy in their own classrooms.

Two knees or not two knees? Patient costs and outcomes following bilateral and unilateral total knee joint replacement surgery for OA

Aims: This study aims to address medical and non-medical direct costs and health outcomes of bilateral and unilateral total knee replacement from the patients' perspective during the first year post-surgery. Methods: Osteoarthritis patients undergoing primary unilateral total knee or bilateral total knee replacement (TKR) surgery at three Sydney hospitals were eligible. Patients completed questionnaires pre-operatively to record expenses during the previous three months and health status immediately prior to surgery. Patients then maintained detailed prospective cost diaries and completed SF-36 and WOMAC Index each three months for the first post-operative year. Results: Pre-operatively, no significant differences in health status were found between patients undergoing unilateral TKR and bilateral TKR. Both unilateral and bilateral TKR patients showed improvements in pain, stiffness and function from pre-surgery to 12 months post-surgery. Patients who had bilateral TKR spent an average of 12.3 days in acute hospital and patients who had unilateral TKR 13.6 days. Totally uncemented prostheses were used in 6% of unilateral replacements and 48% of bilateral replacements. In hospital, patients who had bilateral TKR experienced significantly more complications, mainly thromboembolic, than patients who had unilateral TKR. Regression analysis showed that for every one point increase in the pre-operative SF-36 physical score (i.e. improving physical status) out-of-pocket costs decreased by 94%. Out-of-pocket costs for female patients were 3.3 times greater than for males. Conclusion: Patients undergoing bilateral TKR and unilateral TKR had a similar length of stay in hospital and similar out-of-pocket expenditures. Bilateral replacement patients reported better physical function and general health with fewer health care visits one year post procedure. Patients requiring bilateral TKR have some additional information to aid their decision making. While their risk of peri-operative complications is higher, they have an excellent chance of good health outcomes at 12 months and are not going to be doubly 'out-of-pocket' for the experience. (C) 2004 OsteoArthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Through the lenses of organizational culture: A comparison of state-owned enterprises and joint ventures in China

This study compared state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and joint ventures (JVs) in light of organizational culture practices. Data were obtained via a survey participated by 781 respondents from five enterprises. Factoring identified four cultural dimensions: Participation, Teamwork, Supervision, and Meetings. All four dimensions, except Participation, were rated significantly higher by respondents from SOEs as compared to the ratings in JVs. Based on the findings, this study concluded that culture practices valued in one type of enterprise might be liability in another. The implication for management is to gear culture practices to the characteristics of the organization to make it successful.

Construction of an Intraplate Fault System Model of South Australia, and Simulation Tool for the iSERVO Institute Seed Project

To foster ongoing international cooperation beyond ACES (APEC Cooperation for Earthquake Simulation) on the simulation of solid earth phenomena, agreement was reached to work towards establishment of a frontier international research institute for simulating the solid earth: iSERVO = International Solid Earth Research Virtual Observatory institute (http://www.iservo.edu.au). This paper outlines a key Australian contribution towards the iSERVO institute seed project, this is the construction of: (1) a typical intraplate fault system model using practical fault system data of South Australia (i.e., SA interacting fault model), which includes data management and editing, geometrical modeling and mesh generation; and (2) a finite-element based software tool, which is built on our long-term and ongoing effort to develop the R-minimum strategy based finite-element computational algorithm and software tool for modelling three-dimensional nonlinear frictional contact behavior between multiple deformable bodies with the arbitrarily-shaped contact element strategy. A numerical simulation of the SA fault system is carried out using this software tool to demonstrate its capability and our efforts towards seeding the iSERVO Institute.