Whatever happened in Torres Strait?: interpreting the Anglican split of 1998

Recent movements within world Anglicanism towards a more democratic representation of the church are in contrast to Torres Strait Islanders' assertion of their own male-led conservative and hierarchical body. These characteristics have marked Torres Strait Island Anglicanism for many years. On the surface, the various strands leading to a conflict over a choice of leader in 1997 focused upon discordant relationships and faulty decision-making procedures, especially the surrender of the diocese of Carpentaria to the adjacent diocese of North Queensland and a subsequent choice of a bishop where Torres Strait clergy claimed that the terms of the surrender had been dishonoured. Yet below the surface, the cleavage between Island and European leadership was also a sign of the ideological shift which was occurring in the Anglican Church of Australia. Supported by European elements within that church opposed to the ordination of women, Islander clergy charged that the mainland body was deserting the faith and order of the 'church of the fathers'. With the Islanders newly empowered, as they perceived it, by the Mabo judgement of the High Court of Australia in 1992, their perception appears to have been that, in spirit, the mainland church denied what the High Court's decision recognised: the ultimate control by Islanders over their own affairs.

Interpreting changes in heroin supply in melbourne: droughts, gluts or cycles?

In this Harm Reduction Digest Paul Dietze and John Fitzgerald provide another possible way of understanding what has come to be referred to as Australia's heroin 'drought'. They examine evidence from Melbourne, Victoria and suggest that the apparent downturn in heroin availability in 2000 may, in part, be the result of an end of a heroin 'glut' and that perceptions of this phenomenon may be coloured by the development of more sophisticated indicators of the heroin market. They conclude with claims that the reasons for the reduction in drug consumption and adverse health outcomes, such as those attributed to interdiction, are thus premature.

Distribution of logs in a dry sclerophyll forest, Brisbane Ranges, Victoria

Fallen timber is an important habitat resource for small vertebrate and invertebrate animals in forests. This exploratory study investigated the pattern of distribution of fallen timber (here termed 'logs') in a dry sclerophyll forest in the Brisbane Ranges, Victoria, by sampling transects located in
gully, mid-slope and ridge positions, at each of 10 sites. Gullies supported a significantly higher density and volume of logs than ridges. The lowest abundance of logs was on ridges. The mean volume of logs was 98.6 m3/ha for gullies, 38.5 m3/ha at mid-slope positions and 13.1 m3/ha for ridges. The
volume of logs at transects was significantly positively correlated with the density of larger trees (diameter >40 em). A number of animal species in the Brisbane Ranges potentially use logs as a resource for shelter, foraging or perching, and hence the retention ofwoody debris will aid in habitat
management. The uneven distribution of logs in relation to forest topography and the size strueture of trees suggests that gullies, and forest stands with many large trees, are likely to be important habitats for species that use fallen timber. (The Victorian Naturalist 120 (2), 2003, 55-60)

Globalization, nationalism and world heritage : interpreting Luang Prabang

This paper examines the interpretation of the World Heritage city Luang Prabang (the former royal capital of Laos), investigating the relationships between the goals and strategies of international organizations such as UNESCO and the priorities of the Lao state. Refuting the idea that the World Heritage system represents a form of cultural globalization, the authors instead suggest that there is a marked convergence of the interests of international heritage bodies managing World Heritage and the Lao authorities anxious to portray a particular vision of national identity through selective recognition of cultural heritage locations.

Plasma phospholipid and dietary fatty acids as predictors of type 2 diabetes: interpreting the role of linoleic acid 1-3

Background: Dietary fatty acids may be associated with diabetes but are difficult to measure accurately.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the associations of fatty acids in plasma and diet with diabetes incidence.

Design: This was a prospective case-cohort study of 3737 adults aged 36-72 y. Fatty acid intake (/kJ) and plasma phospholipid fatty acids (%) were measured at baseline, and diabetes incidence was assessed by self-report 4 y later. Logistic regression excluding (model 1) and including (model 2) body mass index and waist-hip ratio was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) for plasma phospholipid and dietary fatty acids.

Results: In plasma phospholipid, positive associations with diabetes were seen for stearic acid [OR model 1, highest versus lowest quintile: 4.14 (95% CI: 2.65, 6.49), P for trend < 0.0001] and total saturated fatty acids [OR model 1: 3.76 (2.43, 5.81), P for trend < 0.0001], whereas an inverse association was seen for linoleic acid [OR model 1: 0.22 (0.14, 0.36), P for trend < 0.0001]. Dietary linoleic [OR model 1: 1.77 (1.19, 2.64), P for trend = 0.002], palmitic [OR model 1: 1.65 (1.12, 2.43), P for trend = 0.012], and stearic [OR model 1: 1.46 (1.00, 2.14), P for trend = 0.030] acids were positively associated with diabetes incidence before adjustment for body size. Within each quintile of linoleic acid intake, cases had lower baseline plasma phospholipid linoleic acid proportions than did controls.

Conclusions: Dietary saturated fat intake is inversely associated with diabetes risk. More research is required to determine whether linoleic acid is an appropriate dietary substitute.

Interpreting Fanger's comfort equation within the adaptive paradigm

This paper reviews the evolution of Fanger's heat balance equation in regard of adaptive opportunities. Heat balance and adaptive response are integrated into one model as two fundamental aspects of human-environment interaction that define thermal comfort perception, rather than being seen as two concepts of alternative comfort paradigms. The paper suggests to extent Fanger's model with a heat storage term in order to account for comfort perception under transient thermal conditions, and to review Fanger's modelling assumptions in order to allow for a greater variety of adaptive response options. In the presented model heat exchange is modulated through adaptation of physiological, environmental and behavioural parameters in the human-environment system defined through Fanger's heat exchange equations. A computational prototype is implemented to determine 'comfortable' values and ranges of the six comfort dimensions alternatively to Fanger's comfort indices. Thereby values of for example 'comfortable' clothing and metabolic rate are results rather than necessary input parameters, which are difficult to determine. This approach allows generating design advice for physical, organisational and social environments based on heat balance calculation in the six-dimensional opportunity space defined through Fanger's comfort equation. A starting point for the development of a dynamic adaptive comfort model is set.

Interpreting the public interest : A survey of professional accountants

The accounting profession, like all professions, has a commitment to advance the interests of the general community, as well as those they are contractually bound to serve. Providing services altruistically, at times without compensation, is a salient feature of the public interest ideal. A review of the literature indicates that the profession has abandoned its public interest role so that serving self-interest now appears to have primacy ( Bédard 2001 ; Canning and O'Dwyer 2001 ; Parker 1994 ; Saravanamuthu 2004 ). The aim of this paper is to examine members' interpretation of the public interest ideal and to elicit their perceptions on issues arising from the literature. The results of a survey to members of CPA Australia indicate that members can iterate the formal definition of the public interest, but their application of the public interest in conflict of interest situations is inconsistent with this definition.

Interpreting risk allocation mechanism in public-private partnership projects : an empirical study in a transaction cost economics perspective

Risk allocation in public-private partnership (PPP) projects is currently claimed as capability driven. While lacking theoretical support, the claim is often 'violated' by current industrial practice. There is thus a need for formal mechanisms to interpret why a particular risk is retained by government in one project while transferred to private partners in another. From the viewpoint of transaction cost economics (TCE), integrated with the resource-based view (RBV) of organizational capabilities, this paper proposed a theoretical framework for understanding risk allocation practice in PPP projects. The theories underlying the major constructs and their links were articulated. Data gathered from an industry-wide survey were used to test the framework. The results of multiple linear regression (MLR) generally support the proposed framework. It has been found that partners' risk management routine, mechanism, commitment, cooperation history, and uncertainties associated with project risk management could serve to determine the risk allocation strategies adopted in a PPP project. This theoretical framework thus provides both government and private agencies with a logical and complete understanding of the process of selecting the allocation strategy for a particular risk in PPP projects. Moreover, it could be utilized to steer the risk allocation strategy by controlling certain critical determinants identified in the study. Study limitations and future research directions have also been set out.

Interpreting and modeling baggage handling systems as a system of systems

The topic of systems of systems has been one of the most challenging areas in science and engineering due to its multidisciplinary scope and inherent complexity. Despite all attempts carried out so far in both academia and industry, real world applications are far remote. The purpose of this paper is to modify and adopt a recently developed modeling paradigm for system of systems and then employ it to model a generic baggage handling system of an airport complex. In a top-down design approach, we start modeling process by definition of some modeling goals that guide us in selection of some high level attributes. Then functional attributes are defined which act as ties between high level attributes (the first level of abstraction) and low level metrics/measurements. Since the most challenging issues in developing models for system of systems are identification and representation of dependencies amongst constituent entities, a machine learning technique is adopted for addressing these issues.

Kristeva reframed : interpreting key thinkers for the arts

For Kristeva, in a world immersed in readymade images, art or aesthetic experience is a practice that constitutes both a subject (a sense of self) and an object that is able to transform meaning and consciousness.Kristeva Reframed examines key ideas in Kristeva's work to show how they are most relevant to artists, and how they can be applied in interpreting artworks. With examples from the paintings of Van Gogh and Picasso, the work of contemporary feminist painters, the photography of Bill Henson and the film and animation work of Van Sowerine, Estelle Barrett demonstrates how Kristeva can illuminate the relationships between artist and art object, between artists, artworks and audiences, and between art and knowledge. Through these relationships she explores what Kristeva's work reveals about the role and function of art in society and offers a smooth passage through Kristeva's ideas and her relevance to visual culture.