Financial Accounting: Reporting, Analysis and Decision Making [5th ed.]

In recent years accounting education has seen numerous changes to the way financial accounting is taught. These changes reflect the demands of an ever-changing business world, opportunities created by new technology and instructional technologies, and an increased understanding of how students learn. The foundation of Financial Accounting is based on a number of unique principles and innovations in accounting education. The objective of Financial Accounting is to provide students with an understanding of those concepts that are fundamental to the preparation and use of accounting information. Most students will forget procedural details within a short period of time. On the other hand, concepts, if well taught, should be remembered for a lifetime. Concepts are especially important in a world where the details are constantly changing. Students learn best when they are actively engaged. The overriding pedagogical objective of Financial Accounting is to provide students with continual opportunities for active learning. One of the best tools for active learning is strategically placed questions. Discussions are framed by questions, often beginning with rhetorical questions and ending with review questions, and our analytical devices, called decision-making toolkits, use key questions to demonstrate the purpose of each.

The koala immunological toolkit: Sequence identification and comparison of key markers of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) immune response

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is an Australian marsupial that continues to experience significant population declines. Infectious diseases caused by pathogens such as Chlamydia are proposed to have a major role. Very few species-specific immunological reagents are available, severely hindering our ability to respond to the threat of infectious diseases in the koala. In this study, we utilise data from the sequencing of the koala transcriptome to identify key immunological markers of the koala adaptive immune response and cytokines known to be important in the host response to chlamydial infection in other species. This report describes the identification and preliminary sequence analysis of (1) T lymphocyte glycoprotein markers (CD4, CD8); (2) IL-4, a marker for the Th2 response; (3) cytokines such as IL-6, IL-12 and IL-1β, that have been shown to have a role in chlamydial clearance and pathology in other hosts; and (4) the sequences for the koala immunoglobulins, IgA, IgG, IgE and IgM. These sequences will enable the development of a range of immunological reagents for understanding the koala’s innate and adaptive immune responses, while also providing a resource that will enable continued investigations into the origin and evolution of the marsupial immune system.

Milling innovations at Rocky Point

This paper reviews the innovations that have been introduced in the milling train at Rocky Point mill since 2001 and provides some operational, performance and maintenance comparisons of the technologies in use. The decision to install BHEM mills in the #2 and #3 mill positions to complement the six-roll mills in the #1 and #4 mill positions has proven a good one. Satisfactory performance is being obtained by these mills while maintenance costs are significantly less. Very good #1 mill extraction and final bagasse moisture content are being achieved. The innovation of using Hägglunds hydraulic drives at higher speed…

Profiles of illicit drug use during annual key holiday and control periods in Australia: Wastewater analysis in an urban, a semi-rural and a vacation area

AIMS: To examine changes in illicit drug consumption between peak holiday season (23 December-3 January) in Australia and a control period two months later in a coastal urban area, an inland semi-rural area and an island populated predominantly by vacationers during holidays. DESIGN: Analysis of representative daily composite wastewater samples collected from the inlet of the major wastewater treatment plant in each area. SETTING: Three wastewater treatment plants. PARTICIPANTS: Wastewater treatment plants serviced approximately 350, 000 persons in the urban area, 120,000 in the semi-rural area and 1100-2400 on the island. MEASUREMENTS: Drug residues were analysed using liquid chromatography coupled to a tandem mass spectrometer. Per capita drug consumption was estimated. Changes in drug use were quantified using Hedges' g. FINDINGS: During the holidays, cannabis consumption in the semi-rural area declined (g = -2.8) as did methamphetamine (-0.8), whereas cocaine (+1.5) and ecstasy (+1.6) use increased. In the urban area, consumption of all drugs increased during holidays (cannabis +1.6, cocaine +1.2, ecstasy +0.8 and methamphetamine +0.3). In the vacation area, methamphetamine (+0.7), ecstasy (+0.7) and cocaine (+1.1) use increased, but cannabis (-0.5) use decreased during holiday periods. CONCLUSIONS: While the peak holiday season in Australia is perceived as a period of increased drug use, this is not uniform across all drugs and areas. Substantial declines in drug use in the semi-rural area contrasted with substantial increases in urban and vacation areas. Per capita drug consumption in the vacation area was equivalent to that in the urban area, implying that these locations merit particular attention for drug use monitoring and harm minimisation measures.

Illicit drug use between an annual key holiday and a control period: Wastewater analysis in a semi-rural, an urban and a vacation area

Introduction and Aims: Holiday periods are potentially a time for increased substance use as social events and private parties are more common. Data on community illicit drug consumption during holiday periods are limited. Besides existing methods for determining drug use, such as population surveys, one emerging method is to measure illicit drugs and/or their metabolites in wastewater samples. This study examined the change in consumption of cannabis, methamphetamine, cocaine and 3,4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine in three different types of areas (an inland semi-rural area, a coastal urban area and a vacation island) with respect to holiday times. Design and Methods: Samples were collected at the inlet of the major wastewater treatment plant in each area during a key annual holiday (i.e. the summer holiday including Christmas and New Year) and control period. Illicit drug residues in the daily composited samples were measured by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Results: Drug use varied substantially among the three areas within each monitoring period as well as between the holiday and control period within each area. Use consistently increased and peaked over New Year particularly for cocaine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine whereas cannabis and methamphetamine were relatively less subjected to holiday times in all the areas. Discussion and Conclusions: Wastewater sampling and analysis provides higher spatio-temporal resolution than national surveys and supplements drug epidemiology studies originating primary in metropolitan locations. Such data is essential for policy makers to plan potential intervention strategies associated with these illicit substances in regional areas and other settings besides urban areas in the future.

Keeper of the key

"Keeper of the Key", a song by the Australian band Dear Anonymous, was produced as part of the Indie 100 research intensive project within the Independent Music Project (IMP). The IMP is an ongoing, interdisciplinary research arm within QUT. The song's author is Georgia Hahn.

Integrated genome-wide chromatin occupancy and expression analyses identify key myeloid pro-differentiation transcription factors repressed by Myb

To gain insight into the mechanisms by which the Myb transcription factor controls normal hematopoiesis and particularly, how it contributes to leukemogenesis, we mapped the genome-wide occupancy of Myb by chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by massively parallel sequencing (ChIP-Seq) in ERMYB myeloid progenitor cells. By integrating the genome occupancy data with whole genome expression profiling data, we identified a Myb-regulated transcriptional program. Gene signatures for leukemia stem cells, normal hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and myeloid development were overrepresented in 2368 Myb regulated genes. Of these, Myb bound directly near or within 793 genes. Myb directly activates some genes known critical in maintaining hematopoietic stem cells, such as Gfi1 and Cited2. Importantly, we also show that, despite being usually considered as a transactivator, Myb also functions to repress approximately half of its direct targets, including several key regulators of myeloid differentiation, such as Sfpi1 (also known as Pu.1), Runx1, Junb and Cebpb. Furthermore, our results demonstrate that interaction with p300, an established coactivator for Myb, is unexpectedly required for Myb-mediated transcriptional repression. We propose that the repression of the above mentioned key pro-differentiation factors may contribute essentially to Myb's ability to suppress differentiation and promote self-renewal, thus maintaining progenitor cells in an undifferentiated state and promoting leukemic transformation. © 2011 The Author(s).

Evolution of the concept of compulsory licensing: A critical analysis of key developments before and after TRIPS

Patents provide monopoly rights to patent holders. There are safeguards in patent regime to ensure that exclusive right of the patent holder is not misused. Compulsory licensing is one of the safeguards provided under TRIPS using which patent granting state may allow a third party to exploit the invention without patent holder’s consent upon terms and conditions decided by the government. This concept existed since 1623 and was not introduced by TRIPS for the first time. But this mechanism has undergone significant changes especially in post-TRIPS era. History of evolution of compulsory licensing is one of the least explored areas of intellectual property law. This paper undertakes an analysis of different phases in the evolution of the compulsory licensing mechanism and sheds light on reasons behind developments especially after TRIPS.

Does calcium deposition play a role in the stability of atheroma? Location may be the key

Background: Rupture of vulnerable atheromatous plaque in the carotid and coronary arteries often leads to stroke and heart attack respectively. The role of calcium deposition and its contribution to plaque stability is controversial. This study uses both an idealized and a patient-specific model to evaluate the effect of a calcium deposit on the stress distribution within an atheromatous plaque. Methods: Using a finite-element method, structural analysis was performed on an idealized plaque model and the location of a calcium deposit within it was varied. In addition to the idealized model, in vivo high-resolution MR imaging was performed on 3 patients with carotid atheroma and stress distributions were generated. The individual plaques were chosen as they had calcium at varying locations with respect to the lumen and the fibrous cap. Results: The predicted maximum stress was increased by 47.5% when the calcium deposit was located in the thin fibrous cap in the model when compared with that in a model without a deposit. The result of adding a calcium deposit either to the lipid core or remote from the lumen resulted in almost no increase in maximal stress. Conclusion: Calcification at the thin fibrous cap may result in high stress concentrations, ultimately increasing the risk of plaque rupture. Assessing the location of calcification may, in the future, aid in the risk stratification of patients with carotid stenosis.

May the best Tweeter win : The Twitter strategies of key campaign accounts in the 2012 US election

The 2008 US election has been heralded as the first presidential election of the social media era, but took place at a time when social media were still in a state of comparative infancy; so much so that the most important platform was not Facebook or Twitter, but the purpose-built campaign site my.barackobama.com, which became the central vehicle for the most successful electoral fundraising campaign in American history. By 2012, the social media landscape had changed: Facebook and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Twitter are now well-established as the leading social media platforms in the United States, and were used extensively by the campaign organisations of both candidates. As third-party spaces controlled by independent commercial entities, however, their use necessarily differs from that of home-grown, party-controlled sites: from the point of view of the platform itself, a @BarackObama or @MittRomney is technically no different from any other account, except for the very high follower count and an exceptional volume of @mentions. In spite of the significant social media experience which Democrat and Republican campaign strategists had already accumulated during the 2008 campaign, therefore, the translation of such experience to the use of Facebook and Twitter in their 2012 incarnations still required a substantial amount of new work, experimentation, and evaluation. This chapter examines the Twitter strategies of the leading accounts operated by both campaign headquarters: the ‘personal’ candidate accounts @BarackObama and @MittRomney as well as @JoeBiden and @PaulRyanVP, and the campaign accounts @Obama2012 and @TeamRomney. Drawing on datasets which capture all tweets from and at these accounts during the final months of the campaign (from early September 2012 to the immediate aftermath of the election night), we reconstruct the campaigns’ approaches to using Twitter for electioneering from the quantitative and qualitative patterns of their activities, and explore the resonance which these accounts have found with the wider Twitter userbase. A particular focus of our investigation in this context will be on the tweeting styles of these accounts: the mixture of original messages, @replies, and retweets, and the level and nature of engagement with everyday Twitter followers. We will examine whether the accounts chose to respond (by @replying) to the messages of support or criticism which were directed at them, whether they retweeted any such messages (and whether there was any preferential retweeting of influential or – alternatively – demonstratively ordinary users), and/or whether they were used mainly to broadcast and disseminate prepared campaign messages. Our analysis will highlight any significant differences between the accounts we examine, trace changes in style over the course of the final campaign months, and correlate such stylistic differences with the respective electoral positioning of the candidates. Further, we examine the use of these accounts during moments of heightened attention (such as the presidential and vice-presidential debates, or in the context of controversies such as that caused by the publication of the Romney “47%” video; additional case studies may emerge over the remainder of the campaign) to explore how they were used to present or defend key talking points, and exploit or avert damage from campaign gaffes. A complementary analysis of the messages directed at the campaign accounts (in the form of @replies or retweets) will also provide further evidence for the extent to which these talking points were picked up and disseminated by the wider Twitter population. Finally, we also explore the use of external materials (links to articles, images, videos, and other content on the campaign sites themselves, in the mainstream media, or on other platforms) by the campaign accounts, and the resonance which these materials had with the wider follower base of these accounts. This provides an indication of the integration of Twitter into the overall campaigning process, by highlighting how the platform was used as a means of encouraging the viral spread of campaign propaganda (such as advertising materials) or of directing user attention towards favourable media coverage. By building on comprehensive, large datasets of Twitter activity (as of early October, our combined datasets comprise some 3.8 million tweets) which we process and analyse using custom-designed social media analytics tools, and by using our initial quantitative analysis to guide further qualitative evaluation of Twitter activity around these campaign accounts, we are able to provide an in-depth picture of the use of Twitter in political campaigning during the 2012 US election which will provide detailed new insights social media use in contemporary elections. This analysis will then also be able to serve as a touchstone for the analysis of social media use in subsequent elections, in the USA as well as in other developed nations where Twitter and other social media platforms are utilised in electioneering.

Digital innovation in social marketing: A systematic literature of interventions using digital channels for engagement

Social marketing uses commercial marketing techniques to deliver interventions for social benefit in order to improve quality of life for individuals and communities. Behaviour change is the primary objective of social marketing interventions (Andreasen 2002). The aim of this systematic review is to provide insight into social marketing interventions and their evaluations published in peer-reviewed journals so as to identify the key elements of social marketing employed by these interventions. as well as understand the use of digital channels for engagement.

Recognising change and seeking affirmation: Themes for embeddding Indigenous knowledges on teaching practicum

The imperative for Indigenous education in Australia is influenced by national political, social and economic discourses as Australian education systems continue to grapple with an agreed aspiration of full participation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Innovations within and policies guiding our education systems are often driven by agendas of reconciliation, equity, equality in participation and social justice. In this paper, we discuss key themes that emerged from a recent Australian Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) research project which investigated ways in which preservice teachers from one Australian university embedded Indigenous knowledges (IK) on teaching practicum . Using a phenomenological approach, the case involved 25 preservice teacher and 23 practicum supervisor participants, over a 30 month investigation. Attention was directed to the nature of subjective (lived) experiences of participants in these pedagogical negotiations and thus preservice and supervising teacher voice was actively sought in naming and analysing these experiences. Findings revealed that change, knowledge, help and affirmation were key themes for shaping discourses around Indigenous knowledges and perspectives in the Australian curriculum and defined the nature of the pedagogical relationships between novice and experienced teachers. We focus particularly on the need for change and affirmation by preservice teachers and their teaching practicum supervisors as they developed their pedagogical relationships whilst embedding Indigenous knowledges in learning and teaching.

An exploratory study on the commercialisation of heat pump-fluidised bed drying technology

Fluidised bed-heat pump drying technology offers distinctive advantages over the existing drying technology employed in the Australian food industry. However, as is the case with many other examples of innovations that have had clear relative advantages, the rates of adoption and diffusion of this technology have been very slow. "Why does this happen?" is the theme of this research study that has been undertaken with an objective to analyse a range of issues related to the market acceptance of technological innovations. The research methodology included the development of an integrated conceptual model based on an extensive review of literature in the areas of innovation diffusion, technology transfer and industrial marketing. Three major determinants associated with the market acceptance of innovations were identified as the characteristics of the innovation, adopter information processing capability and the influence of the innovation supplier on the adoption process. This was followed by a study involving more than 30 small and medium enterprises identified as potential adopters of fluidised bed-heat pump drying technology in the Australian food industry. The findings revealed that judgment was the key evaluation strategy employed by potential adopters in the particular industry sector. Further, it was evidenced that the innovations were evaluated against a predetermined criteria covering a range of aspects with emphasis on a selected set of attributes of the innovation. Implication of these findings on the commercialisation of fluidised bed-heat pump drying technology was established, and a series of recommendations was made to the innovation supplier (DPI/FT) enabling it to develop an effective commercialisation strategy.

Fast Public Key Cryptosystem Based On Matrix Rings

A public key cryptosystem is proposed, which is based on the assumption that finding the square root of an element in a large finite ring is computationally infeasible in the absence of a knowledge of the ring structure. The encryption and decryption operations are very fast, and the data expansion is 1:2.

A high yield synthesis of (±)-5,8-dimethoxy-2-α-hydroxyethyl-3,4-dihydronaphthalene, a key intermediate in anthracyclinone synthesis

The dimethoxytetralol gives on Vilsmeier reaction the dihydronaphthaldehyde (yield,92%), which on Grignard reaction with MeMgI affords the title compound (yield,�100%), the reactions constituting a high yield synthesis of this important anthracyclinone intermediate.