Diagnosis of the redox levels of TCNQF4 compounds using vibrational spectroscopy

The vibrational spectroscopy of TCNQF4, TCNQF41- and TCNQF42- has been investigated by means of density functional theory. Band assignments in infrared and Raman spectra have been clarified and a series of diagnostics developed for redox level characterisation of TCNQF4 compounds. In the C£C stretching region (1460-1600 cm-1), TCNQF40 and TCNQF 41- show two bands, with the more energetic being at 1600 cm-1 in TCNQF40 and at approximately 1535 cm-1 in TCNQF41-; in TCNQF42- both modes absorb below 1500 cm-1, often merging to give a single band. In the C-F and endocyclic C-C stretching region (1290 and 1360 cm-1), TCNQF40 and TCNQF41- show strong bands, whereas TCNQF42- absorbs weakly or not at all. (Additional bands, e.g. from co-crystallised solvent molecules, may complicate this region.) In the nitrile stretching region (2000-2250 cm-1), modes are highly sensitive to nitrile coordination by metal cations. All three redox levels can produce bands above 2200 cm -1, however bands below 2150 cm-1 are usually due to TCNQF42-. This sensitivity to coordination is likely to affect the spectra of many organic molecular ions. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Lynsey Martin: A case study in 1970s Australian experimental animation

Lynsey Martin’s short experimental Animations remain largely unknown internationally. His graphic 16mm films Approximately Water (4 minutes 1972), Whitewash (1973, 4 minutes), Interview (25 minutes 1973) and Leading Ladies (1975 5 minutes) are analysed for their technique and cultural position, artifacts of a productive if marginalized period of artist made films. These graphic films stand as critical works at the heart experimental filmmaking in Australia and speak through their design and production method to current trends in digital media. Martin’s work includes the use of collage and its erasure, the grain of the photographic image and handpainting and drawing imagery directly on the film surface. Martin deals with the graphic and material elements of the filmstrip, the nature of filmic movement and the nature of photography in public space. For martin his films deal with films deal abstraction and illusionism, elements of chance, the deconstruction of film language, the diary film and process as content. These films stand as historic aesthetic traces of an immediate hands-on approach to image making that came into crisis in Australia through the disappearance of technical education in the 1980s when Martin taught graphic design in technical schools.

Indigenous Australian accountants : why so few? A historical and cultural perspective

At a time when there is a growing call for Indigenous Australians to become self-sustainable and self-governing (Smith, 2002, Dodson & Smith, 2003, Martin, 2003) the very small number of Indigenous Australians in the accounting profession raises the question "why so few?" The number of Certified Practicing Accountants and Chartered Accountants of Australia is approximately 150,000 and to date only nine (9) qualified Indigenous Australian accountants have been located, representing 0.006%. This paper analyses the barriers faced by Indigenous Australians within the context of theories of cultral identity and colonisation of Australia. These theories are propounded as a means of exploring why there are so few Indigenous Australians represented in the accounting profession. An overview of colonial rule implemented by the British government from settlement of Australia in 1788, through to modern day Australia will be forwarded in an effort to draw out the implication of colonial rule on the development of Indigenous Australians whilst paying particular attention to the cultural identity of Indigenous Australians and the influence this has had on their career choices.

Glycogen availability does not affect the TCA cycle or TAN pools during prolonged, fatiguing exercise

The hypothesis that fatigue during prolonged exercise arises from insufficient intramuscular glycogen, which limits tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) activity due to reduced TCA cycle intermediates (TCAI), was tested in this experiment. Seven endurance-trained men cycled at approximately 70% of peak O(2) uptake (Vo(2 peak)) until exhaustion with low (LG) or high (HG) preexercise intramuscular glycogen content. Muscle glycogen content was lower (P < 0.05) at fatigue than at rest in both trials. However, the increase in the sum of four measured TCAI (>70% of the total TCAI pool) from rest to 15 min of exercise was not different between trials, and TCAI content was similar after 103 +/- 15 min of exercise (2.62 +/- 0.31 and 2.59 +/- 0.28 mmol/kg dry wt for LG and HG, respectively), which was the point of volitional fatigue during LG. Subjects cycled for an additional 52 +/- 9 min during HG, and although glycogen was markedly reduced (P < 0.05) during this period, no further change in the TCAI pool was observed, thus demonstrating a clear dissociation between exercise duration and the size of the TCAI pool. Neither the total adenine nucleotide pool (TAN = ATP + ADP + AMP) nor IMP was altered compared with rest in either trial, whereas creatine phosphate levels were not different when values measured at fatigue were compared with those measured after 15 min of exercise. These data demonstrate that altered glycogen availability neither compromises TCAI pool expansion nor affects the TAN pool or creatine phosphate or IMP content during prolonged exercise to fatigue. Therefore, our data do not support the concept that a decrease in muscle TCAI during prolonged exercise in humans compromises aerobic energy provision or is the cause of fatigue.

Sir George Simpson : 19th century fur trade governor and precursor of systematic management

Purpose – Sir George Simpson, the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) from 1821 to his death in 1860, was the subject of numerous biographical works that described various facets of the man including his managerial abilities, literary prowess, physical stamina, abundant energy, extensive art collection and ethnological specimens. Two related aspects of his outstanding management style have been overlooked: the genesis of his management style and where it can be placed in the evolution of management practices during the 19th century.

Design/methodology/approach – Primary data from the Hudson's Bay Company archives plus secondary sources.

Findings – Simpson's management abilities came from his grammar school education and his apprenticeship to a counting house. More importantly, it can be attributed to his association with his mentor Andrew Wedderburn, his dedication to the HBC, and his high level of physical and intellectual energy. His information intensive management style was also a significant precursor to systematic management, which occurred later in the 19th century.

Research limitations/implications – Future research should examine other examples of the evolution of management during the 19th century, particularly the transition from sub-unit accountability to systematic management.

Originality/value – The paper emphasizes the importance of managers in making management systems work.

Conflict resolution and policy making mediation in the Mekong River Basin

The Mekong River serves China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam covering an area of approximately 795, 000 square kilometres and the Mekong River basin is a delicate eco-system rich in natural resources and bio-diversity. Competing demands for increasingly scarce supplies of water, the reciprocal impacts of land and water uses and inadequate governance arrangements have given rise to conflicts that has to be resolved by policy making to facilitate a process, whereby the main principles adopted in the Mekong River Agreement can be implemented.

Screening Michael Jackson's face : reading Martin Bashir's living with Michael Jackson

The screening of Martin Bashir's Living with Michael Jackson on Australian television elicited a phenomenal amount of interest in the news media, at water coolers and on the Internet. Much of the response in the Australian print media was critical of Bashir's representation of Jackson, as well as denouncing Jackson as sad victim, warped predator and allround freakshow. This article considers these interpretations to argue that the production and consumption of 'wacko Jacko' is underpinned by the increasing instability of the natural in an age of information technologies, as well as the collapse of boundaries between documentary and fictional entertainment forms.

Sir, can x equal x plus two?

Technology in classrooms has brought opportunities to develop new ways of teaching and learning, as well as new ways of thinking and communicating. The author describes a lesson which aimed to have the grade four children in the class construct on the computer screen images of rectangles. The lesson provided the opportunity to learn about some powerful generalisations about rectangles as well to learn about their geometric and algebraic understandings.

Book reviews : David Palmer, Ross Shanahan, and Martin Shanahan, eds., Australian Labor history reconsidered

An objective of this collection is to bring the history of the Australian labor movement to international attention. The editors introduce the collection with a brief overview of Australian labor history, emphasizing differences between the Australian and American experiences. The introduction argues that a unique aspect of Australian labor history is “laborism,” which is defined as the central place of the labor movement in Australian culture, as compared with the more marginal position of the labor movement in America. In Australia, this centrality is reflected in the embedding of trade unions and labor in the state through wage-fixing tribunals, a social security system designed to support the families of male wage earners, and the Australian Labor Party's strong links to the trade union movement. The introduction is informative and especially benefits from the insights of David Palmer, an American historian teaching at Adelaide's Flinders University. However, the introduction was apparently written later at the suggestion of an American reader and has thus not been fully integrated into the structure of the book.