Entrepreneurial training project in China : retraining laid-off workers

Despite the tremendous economic progress made by the Chinese economy, averaging a nine percent growth per year, one section of the community remains outside the economic boom. As state-owned enterprises (SOEs) restructure into more efficient organisations able to compete in the global economy, the plight of workers within these enterprises has become a pressing issue. No longer able to depend on a job for life, these workers present challenges for local governments. One initiative proposed by the International Labour Organisation called the Start Your Own Business (SYB) Program has been identified as a way to retrain laid-off workers, xiagang. By focussing on one city in China, this paper analyses some of the key issues associated with this program. Using anecdotal evidence from workers who have undergone the retraining, the paper has identified at least three areas of concern for workers participating in the SYB retraining program. Access to seed funding, the implementation of knowledge and skills into practice, and furthering support and guidance in market analysis remain issues for the continued success of this program.

Turning off the tap : sustainability imperatives, historic watering regimes, and historic landscape futures

This paper surveys the dilemma faced by the heritage-registered Adelaide Park Lands in terms of changing watering regimes, Agenda 21 sustainability policy objectives, climate change realities, tree senescence, biodiversity health, and raises some topical questions as to how to care for a significant cultural landscape when water, climate change and tree senescence will become key dilemmas.

Hybridization of Southern Hemisphere blue whale subspecies and a sympatric area off Antarctica : impacts of whaling or climate change?

Understanding the degree of genetic exchange between subspecies and populations is vital for the appropriate management of endangered species. Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) have two recognized Southern Hemisphere subspecies that show differences in

Better off dead? Prices realised for Australian paintings sold at auction

Using auction sales data on Australian paintings over the period 1995 and 2003 we investigate the relationship between artists‟ living status and the price of paintings sold at auction. For deceased artists we consider the time since their death and for living artists their conditional life expectancy. Hedonic regression analysis is applied separately to the data on Indigenous and non-Indigenous paintings. Comparing the modelling results across Indigenous and non-Indigenous paintings we see evidence of two different patterns of response to an artist‟s living status. Both yield non-linear impacts but for Indigenous paintings these are quadratic and for non-Indigenous they are quartic. Thus the response to living status in the more recent market for Indigenous paintings is different to the more established market for non-Indigenous paintings. Whilst the responses differ for the two types of paintings, in answer to the question posed and in terms of the price of a painting at auction an artist is better off long dead or close to death.

Increasing the level of sustainability via off-site production : a study of the residential construction sector in China

Even though the use of off-site production in the construction process for residential buildings is seen as a viable means of increasing the level of sustainability with respects to its significant economic, environmental and social contributions, there have been very few studies to-date into off-site construction within the context of developing countries where the places have crucial demands for accommodations. Accordingly this research involves the rapidly growing developing nation, China, as a representative developing country with the objective to investigate the current status of off-site practices in the urban residential construction sector. This paper also examines the factors affecting demand for and potential barriers against a wider uptake of off-site technologies in China. The findings provide a rare insight into off-site construction in China’s housing industry and this information will be transferable to other developing countries. This study also contributes to a broader understanding about the off-site construction in developing from an international perspective.

A potential-controlled switch on/off mechanism for selective excitation in mixed electrochemiluminescent systems

We demonstrate the complete, rapid, and reversible switching between the emissions from two electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) systems contained within the same solution, controlled by simple modification of the applied potential. The fundamental bases of the approach are the ability to selectively 'switch on' luminophores at distinct oxidation potentials, and an intriguing observation that the emission from the well-known electrochemiluminescent complex, fac-Ir(ppy)3, (where ppy is 2-phenylpyridinato), can be selectively 'switched-off' at high overpotentials. The dependence of this phenomenon on high concentrations of the co-reactant implicates quenching of the excited [Ir(ppy)3]* state by electron transfer. Rapid spectral scanning during modulation of the applied potential reveals well resolved maxima for mixtures comprising either green and red or green and blue luminophores, illustrating the vast potential of this approach for multiplexed ECL detection.

Using an online simulation to address equity issues for off-campus students

The Middle East Politics Simulation (MEPS) is an online role-play exercise aimed at providing students with an improved level of understanding of the political dimensions of the Middle East, including the complexities of negotiation and decision making that face actors in this turbulent region. An online version of MEPS has been running since 1993, initially from Macquarie University, and since 2008 from Deakin University. This longevity provides a useful longitudinal perspective on utilising a collaborative online workplace to offer enhanced learning outcomes in the study of a political topic. The wholly online nature of the simulation means that students of all study modes and even different institutions can participate and benefit equally, thus negating some of the disadvantages faced by off-campus students in learning and assessment. Additionally, the student experience and depth of learning provided by the simulation constitute an excellent example of using the strengths of an e-learning environment to offer an alternative method of engaging and assessing students, which may be beneficial for accommodating the needs of those with differing learning styles.

A review of migratory behaviour of sea turtles off southeastern Africa

The survival of sea turtles is threatened by modern fishing methods, exploitation of eggs and habitat destruction. Forming keystone species in the ocean, their extinction would disrupt the marine food chain in ways as yet unknown. The Indian Ocean has many breeding areas for sea turtles, the southernmost ones being on the Maputaland coast of KwaZulu-Natal, where loggerhead and leatherback turtles nest in large numbers thanks to long-lasting protection programmes. For the leatherback this is the only known nesting site in the entire western Indian Ocean. At the end of the reproductive season, both loggerheads and leatherbacks undertake migrations towards disparate feeding areas. To contribute to their conservation, the migratory behaviour of these animals needs to be understood. Here we review 10 years studying this behaviour using transmitters that telemeter data via satellite. It emerges that these species frequent widely dispersed areas ranging from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mozambique Channel. The migratory behaviour of leatherback and loggerhead turtles is, however, very different, probably due to their differing food requirements. While loggerhead postnesting movements have a truly migratory nature, the large-scale wanderings of leatherbacks are better described as prolonged sojourns in extended feeding areas.