Leadership change, policy issues and voter defection in the 2010 Australian election

Leadership change formed the backdrop to the 2010 Australian federal election, with the replacement of Kevin Rudd as prime minister by Julia Gillard, the country’s first female prime minister. This article uses the 2010 Australian Election Study, a post-election survey of voters, to examine patterns of voter defection between the 2007 and 2010 elections. The results show that the predominant influence on defection was how voters rated the leaders. Julia Gillard was particularly popular among female voters and her overall impact on the vote was slightly greater than that of Tony Abbott. Policy issues were second in importance after leadership, particularly for those moving from the Coalition to Labor, who were concerned about health and unemployment. Labor defectors to the Greens particularly disliked Labor’s education policies. Overall, the results point to the enduring importance of leaders as the predominant influence on how voters cast their ballot.

Are we keeping the bastards honest? Perceptions of corruption, integrity and influence on politics

The words of the late Don Chipp, the founder of the Australian Democrats, have a perennial relevance to politics. When Chipp talked about ‘keeping the bastards honest’, it related to a minor political party playing a role of keeping the major political parties true to their word (Warhurst 1997). Yet it is also a democratic role that citizens play on an ongoing basis, particularly through the mechanism of elections. At the ballot box, governments that are widely perceived to have acted with a lack of integrity are roundly punished. This chapter explores public opinion on issues of integrity, corruption, influence and trust in politics and politicians in Australia. The evidence paints a differentiated picture of a public which sees little sign of overtly corrupt political practices but on the other hand does not feel terribly influential and is not always confident of fair treatment from public officials...

Gender and Leader Effects in the 2010 Australian Election

The impact of voters’ gender on leader evaluations in parliamentary systems has been largely unexplored, while the impact of female leaders on voter attitudes and preferences remains to be fully established. This paper uses Julia Gillard’s historic candidacy in the 2010 Australian federal election to explore how voters evaluated Australia’s first female prime minister, and to test the impact of their assessments on vote choice. The authors also examine whether Gillard’s high-profile candidacy affected women’s levels of political interest, awareness and engagement in what had been largely a ‘man’s game’. Their findings confirm that Gillard enjoyed a gender-affinity effect in 2010 in terms of both leader evaluations and vote choice, and women’s political engagement was significantly affected by the Gillard candidacy.

Melt-textured YBa2Cu3O7-x wires having plate-like grains

YBCO wires which consist of well oriented plate-like fine grains are fabricated using a moving furnace to achieve higher mechanical strength. Melt-texturing experiments have been undertaken on YBCO wires with two different compositions: YBa1.5Cu2.9O7-x, and YBa1.8Cu3.0O7-x. Wires are extruded from a mixture of precursor powders (formed by a coprecipitation process) then textured by firing in a moving furnace. Size of secondary phases such as barium cuprate and copper oxide, and overall composition of the sample affect the orientation of the fine grains. At zero magnetic field, the YBa1.5Cu2.9O7-x wire shows the highest critical current density of 1,450 Acm-2 and 8,770 Acm-2 at 77K and 4.2K, respectively. At 1 T, critical current densities of 30 Acm-2 and 200 Acm-2, respectively, are obtained at 77K and 4.2K. Magnetisation curves are also obtained for one sample to evaluate critical current density using the Bean model. Analysis of the microstructure indicates that the starting composition of the green body significantly affects the achievement of grain alignment via melt-texturing processes.

Coffee and chemoprevention – the genotype decides

In a human intervention study comprising 49 healthy participants, coffee combining natural green coffee bean constituents and dark roast products was identified as a genotype-dependent inducer of Nrf2, significantly affecting Nrf2 gene expression and downstream transcription. Specifically, with 65% of participants showing ≥1.5 fold increase in Nrf2-transcription, the presence of the -651G/A SNP in the Nrf2 gene in conjunction with heterozygosity of the 6/7 AT repeat sequence in the UGT1A1 gene significantly down-regulated coffee-mediated gene expression. Considering the role of the Nrf/ARE pathway in the regulation of antioxidative and chemopreventive phase II efficacy, individual genotype must be considered when examining the potency of bioactive food/food constituents and therapeutic potential.

The Enamovirus P0 protein is a silencing suppressor which inhibits local and systemic RNA silencing through AGO1 degradation

The P0 protein of poleroviruses and P1 protein of sobemoviruses suppress the plant's RNA silencing machinery. Here we identified a silencing suppressor protein (SSP), P0PE, in the Enamovirus Pea enation mosaic virus-1 (PEMV-1) and showed that it and the P0s of poleroviruses Potato leaf roll virus and Cereal yellow dwarf virus have strong local and systemic SSP activity, while the P1 of Sobemovirus Southern bean mosaic virus supresses systemic silencing. The nuclear localized P0PE has no discernable sequence conservation with known SSPs, but proved to be a strong suppressor of local silencing and a moderate suppressor of systemic silencing. Like the P0s from poleroviruses, P0PE destabilizes AGO1 and this action is mediated by an F-box-like domain. Therefore, despite the lack of any sequence similarity, the poleroviral and enamoviral SSPs have a conserved mode of action upon the RNA silencing machinery. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Australian rice cultivars Jarrah and Amaroo using modified promoters and selectable markers

We report the first successful Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Australian elite rice cultivars, Jarrah and Amaroo, using binary vectors with our improved promoters and selectable markers. Calli derived from mature embryos were used as target tissues. The binary vectors contained hph (encoding hygromycin resistance) or bar (encoding herbicide resistance) as the selectable marker gene and uidA (gus) or sgfpS65T as the reporter gene driven by different promoters. Use of Agrobacterium strain AGL1 carrying derivatives of an improved binary vector pWBVec8, wherein the CaMV35S driven hph gene is interrupted by the castor bean catalase 1 intron, produced a 4-fold higher number of independent transgenic lines compared to that produced with the use of strain EHA101 carrying the binary vector pIG121-Hm wherein the CaMV35S driven hph is intronless. The Ubiquitin promoter produced 30-fold higher β-glucuronidase (GUS) activity (derivatives of binary vector pWBVec8) in transgenic plants than the CaMV35S promoter (pIG121-Hm). The two modified SCSV promoters produced GUS activity comparable to that produced by the Ubiquitin promoter. Progeny analysis (R1) for hygromycin resistance and GUS activity with selected lines showed both Mendelian and non-Mendelian segregation. Lines showing very high levels of GUS activity in T0 showed a reduced level of GUS activity in their T1 progeny, while lines with moderate levels of GUS activity showed increased levels in T1 progeny. Stable heritable green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression was also observed in few transgenic plants produced with the binary vector pTO134 which had the CaMV35S promoter-driven selectable marker gene bar and a modified CaMV35S promoter-driven reporter gene sgfpS65T.

Intron-mediated improvement of a selectable marker gene for plant transformation using Agrobacterium tumefaciens

In binary vectors, the antibiotic resistance gene used for selection of transformed plant cells is also usually expressed in the transforming Agrobacterium cells. This expression gives the bacterium antibiotic resistance, an unnecessary advantage on selective medium containing the antibiotic. Insertion of a castor bean catalase-1 (CAT-1) gene intron or a Parasponia andersonii haemoglobin gene intron into the coding region of the selectable marker gene, hph, completely abolished the expression of the gene in Agrobacterium, rendering it susceptible to hygromycin B. Use of these modified binary vectors minimized the overgrowth of Agrobacterium during plant transformation. Both of the introns were correctly spliced in plant cells and significantly enhanced hph gene expression in transformed rice tissue. The presence of these introns in the hph coding sequence not only maintained the selection efficiency of the hph gene, but with the CAT-1 intron also substantially increased the frequency of rice transformation. Transgenic lines with an intron-hph gene generally contained fewer gene copies and produced substantially more mRNA of the predicted size. Our results also indicate that transgenic plants with many copies of the transgene were more likely to show gene silencing than plants with 1-3 copies.

Seeds of cosmopolitan future? Young people and their aspirations for future mobility

Mobility across space is an exemplary characteristic of the global era and an important aspect of the cultural experience of many people in advanced industrialised nations. Mobility evokes powerful images that effectively counter any illusion of stationary life and provide a break from the insularity of the local and parochial. High levels of mobility are simultaneously a fact, a necessity and a cultural aspiration. In recent times, debates about mobility in social theory have considered the relationship between mobility and cosmopolitan culture and identities (Hannerz, 1990, Urry, 1990, 2000, Beck, 2006). Against this backdrop, this paper also draws on some of the more recent discussions about the emergence of globalised and cosmopolitan identities among young people (Beck and Beck-Gernsheim, 2009). Using data from a longitudinal study of young people in Queensland, this paper provides an insight into young people’s aspirations about future mobility. The data affirm Skeggs’ (2004) comment that mobility is an unequal resource, and demonstrate that aspirations of future mobility reflect numerous social, economic and cultural realities of young people’s lives. This inevitably leads us to problematise the established, and often abstract, nexus between cosmopolitanism and mobility in contemporary debates about cosmopolitanism.

pGreen : a versatile and flexible binary Ti vector for Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation

Binary Ti vectors are the plasmid vectors of choice in Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation protocols. The pGreen series of binary Ti vectors are configured for ease-of-use and to meet the demands of a wide range of transformation procedures for many plant species. This plasmid system allows any arrangement of selectable marker and reporter gene at the right and left T-DNA borders without compromising the choice of restriction sites for cloning, since the pGreen cloning sites are based on the well-known pBluescript general vector plasmids. Its size and copy number in Escherichia coli offers increased efficiencies in routine in vitro recombination procedures. pGreen can replicate in Agrobacterium only if another plasmid, pSoup, is co-resident in the same strain. pSoup provides replication functions in trans for pGreen. The removal of RepA and Mob functions has enabled the size of pGreen to be kept to a minimum. Versions of pGreen have been used to transform several plant species with the same efficiencies as other binary Ti vectors. Information on the pGreen plasmid system is supplemented by an Internet site (http://www.pgreen.ac.uk) through which comprehensive information, protocols, order forms and lists of different pGreen marker gene permutations can be found.

The social foundations of risk

Ulrich Beck's argument about risk society emphasises, among other things, the pervasiveness of risk. As a feature of the human condition in the contemporary, globalised, world that distinguishes the present from the past, risk is widespread across society and affects all social strata. While Beck has gestured towards the irregular distribution of contemporary risks, nonetheless he has suggested that traditional structural entities – class and wealth – no longer provide the key interpretive frameworks for the calculation of susceptibility. In short, the tentacles of risk are long and almost no one is out of reach. Yet, while the risk society thesis has generated a large theoretical literature, there is very little in the way of research that marries theorising to original data collection. This paper represents an attempt to address this gap by using empirical data to investigate whether risk is more textured than Beck's account suggests. Focusing on health as a domain of risk, the paper uses data from a national sample survey of the Australian electorate to investigate the extent to which social divisions structure perceptions of risk within the general population. The findings suggest that various aspects of social stratification, such as income, occupation and education, do indeed play a role in shaping perceptions of risk.

Changing citizen confidence: Orientations towards political and social institutions in Australia, 1983-2010 [Review]

Since the early 1980s, when confidence in institutions was first measured in an Australian academic social survey, Australia - And the world - has faced many political, social and economic changes. From corporate scandals and company collapses, to unprecedented terrorist attacks, to major ongoing international conflicts, to changes in government and all manner of political machinations, to the global financial crisis and its aftermath. One consequence of such developments has been that many major political, social and economic institutions have come under intense pressure. Using survey research data, this paper investigates how public confidence in various Australian institutions and organisations has changed over time. The results are variable and in some instances surprising. Confidence in some institutions has remained high, and in some low, over an extended period of time. In other cases, confidence has varied quite markedly at different time points. As well as looking at trends in the level of public confidence in institutions, the paper examines different dimensions of confidence together with underpinning socio-political factors. It also discusses theoretical and practical implications of the data.

Soil N2O emissions under N2-fixing legumes and N-fertilised canola: A reappraisal of emissions factor calculations

Introducing nitrogen (N)-fixing legumes into cereal-based crop rotations reduces synthetic fertiliser-N use and may mitigate soil emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O). Current IPCC calculations assume 100% of legume biomass N as the anthropogenic N input and use 1% of this as an emission factor (EF)—the percentage of input N emitted as N2O. However, legumes also utilise soil inorganic N, so legume-fixed N is typically less than 100% of legume biomass N. In two field experiments, we measured soil N2O emissions from a black Vertosol in sub-tropical Australia for 12 months after sowing of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), canola (Brassica napus L.), faba bean (Vicia faba L.), and field pea (Pisum sativum L.). Cumulative N2O emissions from N-fertilised canola (624 g N2O-N ha−1) greatly exceeded those from chickpea (127 g N2O-N ha−1) in Experiment 1. Similarly, N2O emitted from canola (385 g N2O-N ha−1) in Experiment 2 was significantly greater than chickpea (166 g N2O-N ha−1), faba bean (166 g N2O-N ha−1) or field pea (135 g N2O-N ha−1). Highest losses from canola were recorded during the growing season, whereas 75% of the annual N2O losses from the legumes occurred post-harvest. Legume N2-fixation provided 37–43% (chickpea), 54% (field pea) and 64% (faba bean) of total plant biomass N. Using only fixed-N inputs, we calculated EFs for chickpea (0.13–0.31%), field pea (0.18%) and faba bean (0.04%) that were significantly less than N-fertilised canola (0.48–0.78%) (P < 0.05), suggesting legume-fixed N is a less emissive form of N input to the soil than fertiliser N. Inputs of legume-fixed N should be more accurately quantified to properly gauge the potential for legumes to mitigate soil N2O emissions. EF’s from legume crops need to be revised and should include a factor for the proportion of the legume’s N derived from the atmosphere.

Similarities in the Genomic Sequence and Coat Protein-Structure of Plant Viruses

The genomic sequences of several RNA plant viruses including cucumber mosaic virus, brome mosaic virus, alfalfa mosaic virus and tobacco mosaic virus have become available recently. The former two viruses are icosahedral while the latter two are bullet and rod shaped, respectively in particle morphology. The non-structural 3a proteins of cucumber mosaic virus and brome mosaic virus have an amino acid sequence homology of 35% and hence are evolutionarily related. In contrast, the coat proteins exhibit little homology, although the circular dichroism spectrum of these viruses are similar. The non-coding regions of the genome also exhibit variable but extensive homology. Comparison of the brome mosaic virus and alfalfa mosaic virus sequences reveals that they are probably related although with a much larger evolutionary distance. The polypeptide folds of the coat protein of three biologically distinct isometric plant viruses, tomato bushy stunt virus, southern bean mosaic virus and satellite tobacco necrosis virus have been shown to display a striking resemblance. All of them consist of a topologically similar 8-standard β-barrel. The implications of these studies to the understanding of the evolution of plant viruses will be discussed.