Post-collisional lamprophyric event in Sierra Norte, Cordoba, Argentina: Mineralogical, geochemical and isotopic characteristics

Over 20 lamprophyre dykes, varying in width between a few centimeters and several meters, have been identified in central Sierra Norte - Eastern Pampean Ranges, Cordoba, Argentina. Their mineralogy and chemistry indicate that they are part of the calc-alkaline lamprophyres clan (CAL). They contain phenocrysts of magnesiohomblende +/- augite set in a groundmass of magnesiohornblende, calcic-plagioclase, alkali feldspar, and opaque minerals, which designate them as spessartite-type lamprophyres. Alteration products include chlorite, calcite and iron oxides after malfic phenocrysts, though some are partially replaced by actinolite. Feldspars are replaced by carbonate and clay minerals. The dykes are relatively primitive, and show restricted major element variation (SiO(2) 51.1-55.3 wt.%, Al(2)O(3) 12-16.6 wt.%, total alkalies 1.5-4.7 wt.%), high Mg# (55-77), high Cr contents (27-988 ppm) and moderate to high Ni contents (60-190 ppm). Lamprophyre LILE (e.g. Rb averages 110 ppm, Sr 211-387 ppm, Ba 203-452 ppm) are high relative to HFSE (e.g., Ta 0.2-1.6 ppm, Nb 4-11 ppm, Y 17-21 ppm), and are enriched in LREE (30-70 times chondrite). They are characterized by relatively high (208)Pb/(204)Pb (38.8-39.9), (207)Pb/(204)Pb(similar to 15.7), and (206)Pb/(204)Pb (18.7-20.1), combined with low (epsilon)epsilon(Nd) (-4.69 to -1.52) and a relative moderately high ((87)Sr/(86)Sr)(i) of 0.7055-0.7074. The Rb-Sr whole rock isochron indicates an Early Ordovician age of 485 +/- 25 Ma. The calculated T(DM) (1.7 Ga) suggests that these rocks appear to have originated from a reservoir that was created during a mantle metasomatism event related to the Pampean orogeny. The Sierra Norte lamprophyres show affinities with a subduction-related magma in an active continental margin. Their geochemical and isotopic features suggest a multicomponent source, composed of enriched mantle material variably contaminated by crustal components. The lamprophyric suite emplacement occurred at the dawning stage of the Pampean orogeny, in a regional post-collisional extensional setting developed in the Sierra Norte-Ambargasta batholith (SNAB) in Early Ordovician times. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Archaeological Mounds in Marajo Island in Northern Brazil: A Geological Perspective Integrating Remote Sensing and Sedimentology

Earthen mounds with archaeological artifacts have been well known in Marajo Island since the 19th century. Their documented dimensions are impressive, e.g., up to 20m high, and with areas large as 90 ha. The mounds, locally known as lesos, impose a significant. relief on the very low-lying landscape of this region, which averages 4 to 6 in above present. sea level. These features have been traditionally interpreted as artificial constructions of the Marajoara culture, designed for defense, cemetery purposes, or escape from flooding. Here, we provide sedimentological and geomorphological data that suggest an alternative origin for these structures that is more consistent with their monumental sizes. Rather than artificial, the Marajoara tesos seem to consist of natural morphological features related to late Pleistocene and Holocene fluvial, and possibly tidal-influenced, paleochannels and paleobars that became abandoned as depositional conditions changed through dine. Although utilized and modified by the Marajoara since at least 2000 years ago, these earthen mounds contain a significant non-anthropogenically modified sedimentary substratum. Therefore, the large Marajoara tesos are not entirely artificial. Ancient, Marajoara cultures took advantage of these natural, preexisting elevated surfaces to base their communities and develop their activities, locally increasing the sizes of these fluvial landforms. This alternative interpretation suggests less cumulative labor investment, in the construction of the mounds and might. have significant implications for reconstructing the organization of the Marajoara culture. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Discontinuous Galerkin approximation of two-phase flows in heterogeneous porous media with discontinuous capillary pressures

We design and investigate a sequential discontinuous Galerkin method to approximate two-phase immiscible incompressible flows in heterogeneous porous media with discontinuous capillary pressures. The nonlinear interface conditions are enforced weakly through an adequate design of the penalties on interelement jumps of the pressure and the saturation. An accurate reconstruction of the total velocity is considered in the Raviart-Thomas(-Nedelec) finite element spaces, together with diffusivity-dependent weighted averages to cope with degeneracies in the saturation equation and with media heterogeneities. The proposed method is assessed on one-dimensional test cases exhibiting rough solutions, degeneracies, and capillary barriers. Stable and accurate solutions are obtained without limiters. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Molecular mass distribution of dextran in Brazilian sugar and insoluble deposits of cachaca

The dextran molecular mass distribution profile in 77 sugar samples from Brazil and twelve insoluble deposits (alcoholic flocks) samples from sugared cachacas (Brazilian sugar cane spirit) is described in terms of number-average molecular mass M,,, weight-average molecular mass M(w), Z-average molecular mass M,, and polydispersity. The analyses were performed by size-exclusion chromatography, using a refractive index detector. In most of the sugar samples, it was possible to identify two major groups of dextrans with Mw averages of 5 x 10(6) and 5 x 10(4) Da. Based on the evaluated parameters, the dextran distribution profile is about the same in samples analyzed over five seasons, and, therefore, it is likely that the Brazilian product pattern will not change very much over the years. In insoluble deposits from sugared cachacas, dextrans with Mw values in the order of the 10(5) Da were the most frequent ones, being present in 58% of the samples. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Personalized Communications : A Cross Media tool for the future

Personalized communication is when the marketing message is adapted to each individual by using information from a databaseand utilizing it in the various, different media channels available today. That gives the marketer the possibility to create a campaign that cuts through today’s clutter of marketing messages and gets the recipients attention. PODi is a non-profit organization that was started with the aim of contributing knowledge in the field of digital printingtechnologies. They have created a database of case studies showing companies that have successfully implemented personalizedcommunication in their marketing campaigns. The purpose of the project was therefore to analyze PODi case studies with the main objective of finding out if/how successfully the PODi-cases have been and what made them so successful. To collect the data found in the PODi cases the authors did a content analysis with a sample size of 140 PODi cases from the year 2008 to 2010. The study was carried out by analyzing the cases' measurable ways of success: response rate, conversion rate, visited PURL (personalized URL:s) and ROI (Return On Investment). In order to find out if there were any relationships to be found between the measurable result and what type of industry, campaign objective and media vehicle that was used in the campaign, the authors put up different research uestions to explore that. After clustering and merging the collected data the results were found to be quite spread but shows that the averages of response rates, visited PURL and conversion rates were consistently very high. In the study the authors also collected and summarized what the companies themselves claim to be the reasons for success with their marketing campaigns. The resultshows that the creation of a personalized campaign is complex and dependent on many different variables. It is for instance ofgreat importance to have a well thought-out plan with the campaign and to have good data and insights about the customer in order to perform creative personalization. It is also important to make it easy for the recipient to reply, to use several media vehicles for multiple touch points and to have an attractive and clever design.

Measuring wellness through interdisciplinary community development: linking the physical, economic and social environment

The aim of this study is to answer the question: Is there evidence that the quality of life of residents in a community that has had community development intervention is different as compared to the quality of life of residents in a nearby community that did not have community development initiatives? This was done by administering community development initiatives in a local area and comparing it to a similar community that did not receive this intervention. The residents of these communities rated the quality of their lives and communities in two purposively selected suburbs in Perth, Western Australia using the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index to measure individual and neighbourhood well-being. The quality of life of residents in both communities is then compared to national averages for quality of life or well-being. Answering this question provides empirical evidence of variation between ratings of quality of life of residents in different communities and highlights the utility of the Wellbeing Index for the evaluation of interdisciplinary community development

How prepared was Australia for international financial reporting standards? The case of listed firms

We measure the preparedness of listed firms for international financial reporting standards (IFRS) by changes in explanations from Australian GAAP to IFRS between the half-year and annual accounts. About one-third of sample firms changed their explanations for earnings, cashflows or equity by averages of about −7%, 67% and 3% respectively. Most changes are less than 5% for earnings and equity, and tax is the item most commonly revised. More profitable firms and firms with more reconciling items are most likely to change an explanation. In a telephone survey of chief financial officers, 70% revealed that the change followed an incorrect application of an accounting rule in the half-year accounts.

Blended and online learning : student perceptions and performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to improve educator knowledge of the antecedents and consequences of blended learning in higher education.

Design/methodology/approach – A longitudinal case study approach is adopted. Three case studies each involve tracking a student evaluations of teaching (SET) measure (willingness to recommend) and grade point average for three subjects from the same business discipline over six years. The cases involve comparison of: a business subject taught solely online; a business subject where experimentation in the blend of face-to-face teaching and learning is involved; and a business subject where face-to-face teaching is primarily used, and where in the most recent iteration online content supplements the learners' experiences.

Findings – The findings suggest that there are situations where integrated use of blended learning involving face-to-face teaching, digital media and digital communication with simple navigation between the content items leads to positive student perceptions. This is in contrast to negative student perceptions in the situation where learners must navigate in online learning, and where there is little or no face-to-face instruction. While not examined in detail, nor part of the research question, it is not surprising to find no relationship between learning mode and grade point averages is evidenced.

Research limitations/implications – The effects of prior computer literacy and language proficiency across the students used in this study, and potential demographic and experiential differences between on-campus and off-campus students are not controlled for. Additionally, only three business subjects are investigated and it is recognised that there is a need for a broader study. Finally, with response levels to the university-controlled SET that typically range between 20-43 per cent for these large subjects, there is possible non-response bias that it was not possible to counter over the six years involved.

Practical implications – The findings in this study suggest that while blended learning offers many benefits to higher education institutions and learners alike, care needs to be taken in the manner in which such approaches are implemented in light of possible negative learner perceptions where a less traditional approach is taken.

Originality/value – A major contribution of this study is the fact that experimentation has taken place in terms of the degree of face-to-face and online learning that have been blended in at least one subject (case study two), and the fact that the SET for this subject are compared, longitudinally, with two other subjects which lie on either side of this subject in terms of the extent of online and face-to-face teaching and learning employed – 100 per cent online in case study one and almost 100 per cent face-to-face in case study three.

Energy analysis of the construction of office buildings /by Graham J. Treloar

Buildings have a significant impact on the environment due to the energy required for the manufacture of construction materials. The method of assessing the energy embodied in a product is known as energy analysis. Detailed office building embodied energy case studies are very rare. However, there is evidence to suggest that the energy requirements for the construction phase of commercial buildings, including the energy embodied in materials, is a significant component of the life cycle energy requirements. This thesis sets out to examine the current state of energy analysis, determine the national average energy intensities < i.e. embodied energy rates < for building materials and assess the significance of using national average energy intensities for the energy analysis of a case study office building. Likely ranges of variation in the building material embodied energy rates from the national averages are estimated and the resulting distribution for total embodied energy in the case study building simulated. Strategies for improving the energy analysis methods and data are suggested. Detailed energy analysis is shown to be a useful indicative method of quantifying the energy required for the construction of buildings.

Sweet talking to ethnic customers : a field experiment on the links between entrepreneurial business planning, cultural sensitivity and sales growth

The purpose of this study was to test whether calculated inclusion of cultural sensitivity in a selected entrepreneurial business planning (EBP) process could increase sales growth in a test market and to explore the implications of a positive answer for the theory and practice of entrepreneurial business planning. Execution of a pretest-posttest control group experimental design measured and compared the implemented effectiveness of a planned entrepreneurial initiative based on cultural sensitivity. Though small in scale and limited in focus, the initiative qualified as an example of entrepreneurial business planning (EBP) and could be used to apply, test and extend aspects of the developing theory in this field of entrepreneurship research. Since the initiative was planned to overcome a culturally-defined impediment to business growth, it also offered opportunity to explore the specific importance of cultural variables in the context of EBP.

A planned sales-promotion was offered to a control group (receiving information in English) and a treatment group (who received the information in the language of ethnic origin). The sixty subjects had been chosen at random from a population of route-trade retailers of defined ethnic origins (Greek, Lebanese and Chinese) and randomly assigned to control and treatment groups. Monthly sales averages of the promoted product were measured before and after treatment. A Chi Square test was used to evaluate the relative proportion of the control and treatment groups who accepted the promotional offer. A two sample t-test procedure and complementary non-parametric Mann-Whitney test were performed to compare the mean sales-performance change of the two groups. Analysis showed that there was a significant increase in mean sales when the planned entrepreneurial initiative was communicated in the relevant language of origin.

The experimental results have specific practical relevance to revitalising the deteriorating route-trade segment of the Australian confectionery market through increasing the sales growth of wholesalers who are prepared to act entrepreneurially and include cultural sensitivity as an element in planning and implementation. By introducing cultural sensitivity as a necessary extension of a plan’s communications role, the results also have general theoretical implications for the developing paradigm of entrepreneurial business planning.

Farming fit? Dispelling the Australian agrarian myth.

Background: Rural Australians face a higher mental health and lifestyle disease burden (obesity, diabetes and
cardiovascular disease) than their urban counterparts. Our ongoing research reveals that the Australian farming
community has even poorer physical and mental health outcomes than rural averages. In particular, farm men and
women have high rates of overweightness, obesity, abdominal adiposity, high blood pressure and psychological
distress when compared against Australian averages. Within our farming cohort we observed a significant
association between psychological distress and obesity, abdominal adiposity and body fat percentage in the
farming population.
Presentation of hypothesis: This paper presents a hypothesis based on preliminary data obtained from an
ongoing study that could potentially explain the complex correlation between obesity, psychological distress and
physical activity among a farming population. We posit that spasmodic physical activity, changing farm practices
and climate variability induce prolonged stress in farmers. This increases systemic cortisol that, in turn, promotes
abdominal adiposity and weight gain.
Testing the hypothesis: The hypothesis will be tested by anthropometric, biochemical and psychological analysis
matched against systemic cortisol levels and the physical activity of the subjects.
Implications of the hypothesis tested: Previous studies indicate that farming populations have elevated rates of
psychological distress and high rates of suicide. Australian farmers have recently experienced challenging climatic
conditions including prolonged drought, floods and cyclones. Through our interactions and through the media it is
not uncommon for farmers to describe the effect of this long-term stress with feelings of ‘defeat’. By gaining a
greater understanding of the role cortisol and physical activity have on mental and physical health we may
positively impact the current rates of psychological distress in farmers.

The underpricing of US REIT IPOs : 1996–2010

This study examines the underpricing cost of 123 US REIT IPOs over the period 1996 until June 2010, including the period of the global financial crisis. The study uses OLS multivariate regression to determine some potential factors behind underpricing. The underpricing cost of raising REIT external equity averaged 3.18% using an equal weighting for each of the 123 REIT IPOs. The study finds offer size is positively related to underpricing. A value weighted approach finds that underpricing averages 4.67% and suggests larger offer size is an important determinant for leaving more money on the table. Higher reputation underwriters, the industry differentiated auditor and post offer ownership structure negatively influence underpricing. The study documents declining underpricing over time with the period of 2007–2010 experiencing negative underpricing (overpricing) during the global financial crisis (GFC). Offers during the hot periods of 1997 and 2004 and the office/industrial property type were more highly underpriced. The 10-year treasury interest rate is identified as another significant positive determinant of underpricing.

Construction graduate salaries : the real story

Construction degrees are in significant demand in Australian universities. Entry students believe that graduation will lead to well-paid industry employment. Previous studies have identified trends in graduate starting salaries, but often combine categories of graduates to produce inadequate generalisations and salary averages. This study, conducted at RMIT University, Melbourne, examined a specific cohort of construction management students and provided an insight into their employment conditions and starting salaries. The results provide useful up to date information for undergraduate students and academic staff alike.

The mathematical and science skills of students who are deaf or hard of hearing educated in inclusive settings

This study examined the science and mathematics achievements of 16 Year 9 students with hearing loss in an inclusive high-school setting in Western Australia. Results from the Monitoring Standards in Education (MSE) compulsory state tests were compared with state and class averages for students with normal hearing. Data were collected from three cohorts of Year 9 students across a 3-year period (2005‐2007). Results from mathematics MSE9 and the MSE9 science assessments showed that the majority of students with hearing loss performed below the state average (88%). Findings in this study suggest that students with hearing loss demonstrated more mathematical strength in the areas of space and measurement, which use visuo-spatial skills. Results for students with hearing loss in the five sections of the science assessment suggest more consistency across the different areas tested in the MSE. Comparisons with the MSE9 English paper for the 2005 cohort of students with hearing loss suggest a strong relationship between reading and writing skills and performance on mathematics and science assessment. In particular, questions with high language content created difficulty. On the science assessment, questions requiring a written explanation appeared to be particularly challenging. These findings have implications for teaching and learning in these crucial areas for students with hearing loss in inclusive secondary school settings. Greater attention to the interpretation of the language of mathematics and to writing about science concepts may help to improve outcomes for students with hearing loss on statewide assessments