Predicting timely doctoral completions : an institutional case study of 2000-2005 doctoral graduates

Federal government changes to the funding of doctoral students have focussed the attention of university management on their completion rates. The aims are to inform the allocation of institutional resources in a manner that improves the likelihood of timely doctoral completions and to highlight a process that can also be used for analyses of other key indicators of progression and attrition. The analyses and model development used national data readily available to all universities, which is collected in a standard approach through the Graduate Destinations Survey (GDS). The findings show that the most important variable for timely completion was attendance (full‐ versus part‐time), where in terms of full‐time equivalent (FTE) years of study, part‐time students were far more likely to complete quickly than full‐time students. For the full‐time students the key predictors of timely completion were residency, field of study and English‐speaking background (ESB). The timeliness of part‐time students was predicted by field of study and ESB. This study confirms that there is considerable variation by discipline for timely doctoral completions. The pragmatic application and prospective test of the derived models present a variety of opportunities for research student administrators. For example, those full‐time students scoring highly represented a concentration of timely graduates more than 7.5 times higher than the lowest‐scoring group – almost an order of magnitude of difference. In short, university management could gain tremendous value from more widely using the data available.

Hollow avowals of human rights protection-time for an Australian federal bill of rights?

Unlike the constitutions of many nations, such as the United States of America and the Republic of South Africa, the constitutions of the Australian States and Territories and the Commonwealth Constitution Act 1901 (UK) contain no bill of rights. Australia is the only western democracy without a federal bill of rights. The debate regarding the need for a bill of rights necessitates an understanding of what human rights the people of Australia already enjoy. If sufficient protection can be found in existing sources, does Australia really need a federal bill of rights? Opponents of a bill of rights state that we have sufficient protection from arbitrary government intervention in our personal affairs and thus a bill of rights is unnecessary. There are a number of potential sources of human rights in Australia that might provide the suggested existing protection, including the common law, specific domestic legislation, international law and constitutional law. Each of these sources of human rights has, however, important limitations. The focus of this article is on the inadequacy of the Australian constitutions as a source of purported protection. This in turn suggests that an alternative source of rights is needed - a federal bill of rights? In the course of this analysis the author makes suggestions for reform; specifically how a federal bill of rights may address the paucity of constitutional protection.

Double disadvantage : the influence of ethnicity over socioeconomic position on childhood overweight and obesity: findings from an inner urban population of primary school children

Objective: To examine the relationship between overweight/obesity in children, socioeconomic status and ethnicity/cultural background.

Design: Cross-sectional survey of children aged 4–13 years.

Setting: A total of 23 primary (elementary) schools in an inner urban municipality of Melbourne, Australia.

Participants: A total of 2685 children aged 4–13 years and their parents.

Main exposure measures: Ethnicity/cultural background – maternal region of birth; socioeconomic position (SEP) indicators – maternal and paternal educational attainment, family employment status, possession of a healthcare card, ability to buy food, indicator of disadvantage (Socioeconomic Index for Areas, SEIFA) score for school; parental weight status.

Main outcome measure: Prevalence of overweight/obesity.

Results: Prevalence of overweight/obesity approached 1 in 3 (31%) in this sample. Prevalence of overweight/obesity was greater for children of both North Africa and Middle Eastern background and children of Southern, South Eastern and Eastern European background compared with children of Australian background. This difference remained after adjusting for age, sex, height, clustering by school, SEP indicators and parental weight status; odds ratio, OR=1.57 (95% confidence interval, CI 1.12–2.19) and 1.88 (95%CI 1.24–2.85), respectively.

Conclusions: There is a clear independent effect of ethnicity above and beyond the effect of socioeconomic status on overweight and obesity in children. Further research is required to explore the mediators of this gradient.

Development and use of a model system to monitor clubroot disease progression with an Australian field collection of Plasmodiophora brassicae

A modified sand–liquid culture method facilitated easy visualisation of the primary life cycle stages of Plasmodiophora brassicae within clean root hairs of the Arabidopsis host. Pathogen penetration occurred from day 4 onwards and then primary plasmodia developed within the host root. Several Arabidopsis ecotypes tested in varying growth conditions showed differences in disease expression. Defined growth cabinet conditions were found most suitable for studying disease progression in the ecotypes and for achieving uniform infection and disease development. Arabidopsis ecotypes Ta-0 and Tsu-0 known to be partially resistant to a German single-spore isolate of P. brassicae were susceptible to an Australian (Victorian) field population of P. brassicae. The European clubroot differential test was used to confirm virulence and describe the pathotype of the Victorian field population. Knowledge of the interaction of an Australian population of P. brassicae with its host will provide valuable information on a disease which is very difficult to control.

An empirically justified theory of successful indigenous entrepreneurship : a case study of the Osoyoos Indian Band

The Osoyoos Indian Band case study signals the beginning of a PhD research project that will take approximately three years to complete. Taken in isolation, the objectives for the Osoyoos case study are modest. We want to refine our theoretical model and improve the case study protocol before embarking on a set of 5 case studies to explore Indigenous entrepreneurship; what it is, what communities do to succeed and a generalized definition of a successful venture from an Indigenous Canadian perspective.

Revelationary art of Joyce Lorraine Sullivan : an artist's experience of her inner dimensions, an inner journey of discovery

[No Abstract]

Is phase-specific, community-oriented treatment of early psychosis- an economically viable method of improving outcome?

Objective: The Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre (EPPIC) provides a comprehensive 'real-world' model of early intervention to young people experiencing an emerging psychotic disorder. A prospective study has already provided evidence of improved clinical outcome at 12 months after entry. The present study examined whether the service was also cost-effective.

Method: A cost-effectiveness analysis compared EPPIC with its immediate precursor service, from the perspective of the government funding agency. Only direct costs were included.

Results: EPPIC proved to be more cost-effective. The weighted average cost per patient for the first 12 months was cheaper (by äD 7110 per patient), while treatment outcomes were superior. The savings were due to the marked reduction in in-patient costs outweighing substantial increases in the costs of community care.

Conclusion: These results, while encouraging in terms of the further development of integrated, phase-specific intervention programmes for early psychosis, are not conclusive, and further research is required.

Cerebral cortex : an MRI-based study of volume and variance with age and sex

The aim of the present study was to examine quantitative differences in lobar cerebral cortical volumes in a healthy adult population. Quantitative volumetric MRI of whole brain, cerebral and cerebellar volumes was performed in a cross-sectional analysis of 97 normal volunteers, with segmented frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital cortical volumes measured in a subgroup of 60 subjects, 30 male and 30 female, matched for age and sex. The right cerebral hemisphere was larger than the left across the study group with a small (<1%) but significant difference in symmetry (P < 0.001). No difference was found between volumes of right and left cerebellar hemispheres. Rightward cerebral cortical asymmetry (right larger than left) was found to be significant across all lobes except parietal. Males had greater cerebral, cerebellar and cerebral cortical lobar volumes than females. Larger male cerebral cortical volumes were seen in all lobes except for left parietal. Females had greater left parietal to left cerebral hemisphere and smaller left temporal to left cerebral hemisphere ratios. There was a mild reduction in cerebral volumes with age, more marked in males. This study confirms and augments past work indicating underlying structural asymmetries in the human brain, and provides further evidence that brain structures in humans are differentially sensitive to the effects of both age and sex.

Interventions to prevent obesity in 0-5 year olds : an updated systematic review of the literature

The small number and recency of the early childhood obesity-prevention literature identified in a previous review of interventions to prevent obesity, promote healthy eating, physical activity, and/or reduce sedentary behaviors in 0-5 year olds suggests this is a new and developing research area. The current review was conducted to provide an update of the rapidly emerging evidence in this area and to assess the quality of studies reported. Ten electronic databases were searched to identify literature published from January 1995 to August 2008. Inclusion criteria: interventions reporting child anthropometric, diet, physical activity, or sedentary behavior outcomes and focusing on children aged 0-5 years of age. Exclusion criteria: focusing on breastfeeding, eating disorders, obesity treatment, malnutrition, or school-based interventions. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study quality. Twenty-three studies met all criteria. Most were conducted in preschool/childcare (n = 9) or home settings (n = 8). Approximately half targeted socioeconomically disadvantaged children (n = 12) and three quarters were published from 2003 onward (n = 17). The interventions varied widely although most were multifaceted in their approach. While study design and quality varied most studies reported their interventions were feasible and acceptable, although impact on behaviors that contribute to obesity were not achieved by all. Early childhood obesity-prevention interventions represent a rapidly growing research area. Current evidence suggests that behaviors that contribute to obesity can be positively impacted in a range of settings and provides important insights into the most effective strategies for promoting healthy weight from early childhood.

An artificial intelligence examination of the influence of geological conditions and changes in climate on damage to light structures in Victoria

Damage to light structures in the state of Victoria can be caused by movements of expansive soils. The presentation will present the results of an examination of reports of increasing complaints of house damage in Victoria and particularly in the Melbourne area. The examination analyses the influence of geology and change in climate using Neural Network and Genetic Algorithm approaches and assesses their relative importance in contributing to the cause of the damage.