Referral of the Halocypridina Thaumatocypris (Miocene, Australia) to the Cladocopina (Ostracoda, Halocyprida)

B. K. Nadeau in 1955 identified as Thaumatocypris ostracodes from the middle Miocene Glenample Clay of Victoria, southeastern Australia. Nadeau's collection of Ostracoda from the Glenample Clay was located in the collections of the Museum of Victoria, Melbourne. Examination of that material indicates that the Glenample Clay specimens attributed by Nadeau to Thaumatocypris belong to Polycope sanctacatherinae Whatley & Downing 1983. As a result, it is concluded that Thaumatocypris has not been collected in the Miocene of Australia. Furthermore, in a broader  biostratigraphic/palaeobiogeographic context, the result confirms that no member of the Suborder Halocypridina has been reported so far from the Tertiary Period.

In our own image? The socialisation of journalism`s new recruits

This paper examines the role of a key group of primary refiners in the socialisation of new entrants to journalism: that is, the trainers, generally called cadet counsellors or editorial training managers. While the paper highlights the historical and structural tensions still current in the training of young journalists in Australia, it identifies the two main determining forces as technology and the increasingly virulent commercial imperative driving modern journalism. This paper also taps into continuing and current debates surrounding accreditation and professionalism. It confirms the fundamental identity crisis for trainers: should they confirm and consolidate current practice or be innovators and catalysts for change within the newsroom?

The effects of short-term sprint training on MCT expression in moderately endurance-trained runners

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of short-term sprint training on transient changes in monocarboxylate lactate transporter 1 (MCT1) and MCT4 protein and mRNA content. Seven moderately endurance-trained runners (mean ± SE; age 27.7±2.9 years, body mass 81.1±5.9 kg, VO₂ max 58.1±2.0 ml kg⁻¹ min⁻¹) completed a VO₂ max and a supramaximal running test to exhaustion (RTE) before and after a 6-week period of sprint training. The sprint training was progressive and consisted of 18 sessions of near maximal short duration (5–15 s) sprints to compliment the athlete’s endurance training. Prior to the training period there was a significant (P<0.05) increase in MCT1, but not MCT4 protein, 2 h after the RTE. This occurred without any change in corresponding mRNA levels. After the training period, there was a significant increase in MCT1 protein but no significant change in the MCT4 isoform. Both MCT1 and MCT4 mRNA was significantly lower at rest and 2 h post-RTE after the completion of the training period. After the training period, there was a significant increase in the time to exhaustion and distance covered during the RTE. This study demonstrates that sprint training of this length and type results in an upregulation of MCT1 protein, but not MCT4 content. Additionally, this study shows conflicting adaptations in MCT1 and MCT4 protein and mRNA levels following training, which may indicate post-transcriptional regulation of MCT expression in human muscle.

The employment effects of gender discrimination in Australia 1994-95

Interpreting the unexplained component of the gender wage gap as indicative of discrimination, the empirical literature to date has tended to ignore the potential impact wage discrimination may have on employment. Clearly, employment effects will arise if discrimination lowers the female offered wage and the labour supply curve is upward sloping. The empirical analysis employs the ABS Income Distribution Survey 1994–95 and finds evidence of both wage and associated employment effects. The analysis is replicated for the earlier period 1989–90. A comparison across time is of interest given the substantial deregulation of the Australian labour market over the period.

The gender wage gap in Australia- the path of future convergence

The paper attempts to project the future trend of the gender wage gap in Australia up to 2031. The empirical analysis utilises the Income Distribution Survey (1996) together with Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) demographic projections. The methodology combines the ABS projections with assumptions relating to the evolution of educational attainment in order to project the future distribution of human capital skills and consequently the future size of the gender wage gap. The analysis suggests that female relative pay will continue to rise up to 2031. However, gender wage convergence will be relatively slow, with a substantial gap remaining in 2031.

Addressing training needs for community care assessment in remote Indigenous communities

Access to Home and Community Care services in Australia is based on the assessed needs of individual clients, with individual Home and Community Care organisations generally being responsible for initial assessment of eligibility and need. Home and Community Care funded services are expected to operate within the agency's program guidelines and to adhere to minimum service standards. However, service delivery contexts in remote areas of Australia present particular challenges for staff in the practice of assessment and care planning. This paper discusses the findings of a project which investigated approaches to assessment of client needs in remote Home and Community Care services. Some of the challenges of providing care in remote/Indigenous contexts are discussed. The research project highlighted that there was an inadequate knowledge base to assist staff with assessment and care planning in these cross-cultural contexts; a greater focus on developing the assessment skills of staff was needed. Subsequently, an education program incorporating the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health was developed for Home and Community Care assessment staff in remote communities. Rather than focusing on process skills and procedures, the program was designed to equip staff with a solid and consistent conceptual framework to assist with assessment and care planning.

The use of codes of ethics in the marketplace in corporate Australia : a longitudinal study

The stock market crash of 1987 was a defining moment in Australian corporate life. As a nation, we became acutely aware of the ‘moral bankruptcy’ that had come to permeate our corporate world. The focus on business ethics or the lack of it, in corporate Australia in the late 1980s, prompted this research.

The research for this paper that was first conducted in 1995 and replicated in 2001 focussed on the top 500 companies in Australia. These companies were surveyed on a raft of issues, one of which was their use of their codes of ethics in the marketplace. This paper examines the data sets from 1995 and 2001 and concludes that many of Australia’s largest enterprises have recognised the need for business ethics. As perceived by them, they can and do use their codes of ethics in a positive manner in the marketplace and attribute benefits to this interaction.

Changing work and OHS: the challenge of labour hire employment

The expansion of labour hire employment from traditional clerical placements to a range of blue collar occupations raises concerns about the level of occupational safety risks labour hire workers encounter. Overseas evidence points to a higher incidence and severity of injury for such workers. Is this pattern of injury replicated in Australia? This paper explores this issue through an analysis of workers’ compensation claims in Victoria, and preliminary investigation into case histories of 220 injured Victorian labour hire employees. Overseas research findings in relation to injury are confirmed through aggregate data analysis. The paper then provides a preliminary examination of agency-related employment factors such as the extent and nature of training and supervision provided by the host, and the timing of injuries in relation to commencement with the host. The evidence suggests both agency and host employers need to be more proactive in overcoming the vulnerability experienced by these workers.

Performance of ventilated hollow core concrete panel systems in Australia

Performance of advanced fabric energy storage systems has not been reported for Australian conditions. The influence pf slab thickness and air flow rate on the annual thermal load, and maximum heating and cooling demands for a typical office module using a ventilated hollow core concrete slab system has been investigated by simulation. Performance results for Melbourne are presented and comments made on other locations.

Learning opportunities for Australian prevocational hospital doctors: exposure, perceived quality and desired methods of learning.

Objective:

To survey prevocational doctors working in Australian hospitals on aspects of postgraduate learning.
Participants and setting:

470 prevocational doctors in 36 health services in Australia, August 2003 to October 2004.
Design:

Cross-sectional cohort survey with a mix of ordinal multicategory questions and free text.
Main outcome measures:

Perceived preparedness for aspects of clinical practice; perceptions of the quantity and usefulness of current teaching and learning methods and desired future exposure to learning methods.
Results:

64% (299/467) of responding doctors felt generally prepared for their job, 91% (425/469) felt prepared for dealing with patients, and 70% (325/467) for dealing with relatives. A minority felt prepared for medicolegal problems (23%, 106/468), clinical emergencies (31%, 146/469), choosing a career (40%, 188/468), or performing procedures (45%, 213/469). Adequate contact with registrars was reported by 90% (418/465) and adequate contact with consultants by 56% (257/466); 20% (94/467) reported exposure to clinical skills training and 11% (38/356) to high-fidelity simulation. Informal registrar contact was described as useful or very useful by 94% (433/463), and high-fidelity simulation by 83% (179/216). Most prevocational doctors would prefer more formal instruction from their registrars (84%, 383/456) and consultants (81%, 362/447); 84% (265/316) want increased exposure to high-fidelity simulation and 81% (283/350) to professional college tutorials.
Conclusion:

Our findings should assist planning and development of training programs for prevocational doctors in Australian hospitals.

Community attitudes towards the early detection of cancer in Victoria, Australia

Objectives: To describe people's attitudes towards early detection of cancer.

Methods: We conducted a telephone survey of Victorian adults aged 18+ years, during April-May 2005, using a market research company.

Results: 1,502 (41%) people participated; 80% of respondents believed that detecting cancer early meant that treatment saved lives most of the time or always; 88% believed finding cancer early enabled more effective treatment most of the time or always; and 70% indicated they would want to be tested for a cancer even if no treatment were available.  Two-thirds or more of adults considered survival would be very much improved by early detection for breast, melanoma and prostate cancers; 49% for bowel cancer, and 30% for lung cancer.

Conclusions and Implications : Community support for the early detection of cancer was evident even in the absence of effective treatment.  There was a lower perceived survival benefit for the early diagnosis of bowel cancer or melanoma.  An education campaign is required that focuses on the gains associated with early detection and benefits of screening for bowel cancer.

Do MBA degrees matter? A study of boards of directors in Australia's top 200 companies

Pfeffer and Fong (2002) suggest that “business school enrolments have soared and business education has become a big business”. The Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree has often been held out to be useful in the career development of managers. The highest level that managers can aspire to, is to be a director of a large public company. This study investigates how many directors within the boards of Australia’s top 200 companies by market capitalization hold an MBA degree. We find that larger companies have proportionally more MBA holding directors than smaller companies. Interestingly we also find that proportionally more women hold MBAs than men; nearly one in five women directors hold an MBA within the top 200 companies dataset.

Leadership, culture and employee deceit : the case of the National Australia Bank

The National Australia Bank (NAB), one of Australia's largest banks, announced losses in 2004 of AUD$360 million due to unauthorised foreign currency trading activities by four employees who incurred and deceptively concealed the losses. The NAB had in place risk limits and supervision to prevent trading desks ever reaching positions of this magnitude. However, the risk management policies and procedures proved ineffective. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the deceit, via a content analysis of official investigative reports and other published documents, to determine the extent to which the Bank's culture and leadership may have influenced the rogue traders' behaviour. The findings suggest that cultural issues, and the role played by the Bank's leaders, were influential in creating a profit-driven culture that ultimately impacted the Bank's foreign exchange operating activities.

It's time to determine the cost of a healthy diet in Australia

Economic factors are important determinants of food security. In terms of food access, financial resources determine an individual’s ability to procure food; on the supply side, the cost of food is equally important. The interplay of these two factors, financial resources and cost, is perhaps the most immediate and important determinant of what people do (or do not) put into their shopping trolleys or purchase at the takeaway and ultimately eat – if you cannot afford it you cannot eat it even if you want to!

Fun or profit : primary students' perceptions of mathematics and science

As the number of students pursuing mathematics and science in higher education decline, it becomes imperative· that we look for the causes of the decline. As part of the Australian Improving Middle Years Mathematics and Science (IMYMS) project, students were asked to rate their perceptions of classroom practice in mathematics and science and their attitudes to these subjects. Results of this survey reveal little difference in perceptions of classroom practice, but significant differences in students' attitudes between mathematics and science. Differences were particularly evident for items relating to the usefulness of mathematics and science (mathematics was more useful) and enjoyment of the subjects (science is more fun). If teachers are aware of such perspectives, it may be possible to change students' attitudes.

Effective student engagement depends on students enjoying their studies in mathematics and science, being confident in their ability and recognising the relevance of these subjects to everyday life, now and in the future.
(Education Training Committee, 2006, p. xvii)

Science and technology are the widely acknowledged foundation of Australia's future development. Underpinning these are the key learning areas of mathematics and science. However, Australia is experiencing a decline in numbers of mathematics and science students in higher education. Moreover, studies over the last two decades have shown a general decline in Australian students' interest and enjoyment of science across the compulsory secondary school years, with a particularly sharp decline across the primary to secondary school transition (e.g. Adams, Doig, & Rosier 1991; Goodrum, Hackling, & Rennie, 200 I) and a decline in the numbers of students studying' advanced mathematical courses in upper secondary school (Thomas, 2000).

Improving teaching and learning in the middle years of schooling (Years 5 to 9) is receiving particular attention because of the coincidence of the disengagement of students with the significance of these years for the preparation of students for their future role in society. Thus the Improving Middle Years Mathematics and Science: The role of subject cultures in school and teacher change (IMYMS) project, which is the source of data for this paper, is investigating the role of mathematics and science' knowledge and subject cultures in mediating change processes in the middle years of schooling.

Mathematics and science are sometimes seen as "love-hate" subjects, rating highest for subjects disliked, but also rating relatively highly among preferred subjects (Hendley & Stables, 1996). Students, even primary aged students, can often shed light on what constitutes good practice (see, for example, 'van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, 2005). Students' attitudes towards mathematics and science and their perceptions of what they regard as positive aspects of classroom practice have been shown to decline from the primary years to junior secondary (Race, 2000). The decline in interest in science in the early years of secondary school is of particular concern, since it is in these years that attitudes to the pursuit of science subjects and careers are formed (Speering & Rennie, 1996). Students' negative attitude towards the relevance of science ,content for their lives was a strong theme in the report by Goodrum, Hackling, & Rennie (2001) on the status and quality of teaching and learning of science.

As part of the IMYMS project, the IMYMS Student Survey was administered to all students in 2004 and 2005. The survey included a 36 item section on students' perceptions of classroom practice and attitudes towards mathematics and science, and a 24 item section on students' learning preferences. Students completed separate, parallel surveys for mathematics and science.

This paper focuses on students' perceptions and attitudes. It explores the differences in 700 Year 5 and 6 students' perceptions of their learning environment and their attitudes to mathematics and science during 2005, the second (and final) year of schools , involvement in the IMYMS project.