A systematic literature review of alcohol education programmes in middle and high school settings (2000-2014)

Purpose Social marketing benchmark criteria were used to understand the extent to which single-substance alcohol education programmes targeting adolescents in middle and high school settings sought to change behaviour, utilised theory, included audience research and applied the market segmentation process. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review retrieved a total of 1,495 identified articles; 565 duplicates were removed. The remaining 930 articles were then screened. Articles detailing formative research or programmes targeting multiple substances, parents, families and/or communities, as well as elementary schools and universities were excluded. A total of 31 articles, encompassing 16 qualifying programmes, were selected for detailed evaluation. Findings The majority of alcohol education programmes were developed on the basis of theory and achieved short- and medium-term behavioural effects. Importantly, most programmes were universal and did not apply the full market segmentation process. Limited audience research in the form of student involvement in programme design was identified. Research limitations/implications This systematic literature review focused on single-substance alcohol education programmes targeted at middle and high school student populations, retrieving studies back to the year 2000. Originality/value The results of this systematic literature review indicate that application of the social marketing benchmark criteria of market segmentation and audience research may represent an avenue for further extending alcohol education programme effectiveness in middle and high school settings.

Spot Form of Net Blotch Resistance in a Diverse Set of Barley Lines in Australia and Canada.

The responses of 95 barley lines and cultivars to spot form of net blotch (SFNB) caused by Pyrenophora teres f. maculata were analyzed as seedlings and adults in Australia and Canada. Cluster analyses revealed complex reaction responses. Only 2 lines (Esperance Orge 289 and TR3189) were resistant to all isolates at the seedling stage, whereas 15 lines and cultivars (81-82/033, Arimont, BYDV-018, CBSS97M00855T-B2-M1-Y1-M2-Y-1M-0Y, C19776, Keel, Sloop, Torrens, TR326, VB0111, Yarra, VB0229, WI-2477, WI2553, and Wisconsin Pedigree) were resistant toward the two Canadian isolates and mixture of Australian isolates at the adult stages. In Australian field experiments, the effectiveness of SFNB resistance in three barley cultivars (Barque. Cowabbie, and Schooner) and one breeding line (VB9104) with a different source of resistance was tested. Barque, which possessed a resistance gene that provided complete resistance to SFNB, was the most effective and showed no effect on grain yield or quality in the presence of inoculum. Generally, cultivars with seedling or adult resistance had less disease and better grain quality than the susceptible control. Dash, but they were not as effective as Barque. A preliminary differential set of 19 barley lines and cultivars for P teres I. maculata is proposed.

Current and emerging screening methods to identify post-head-emergence frost adaptation in wheat and barley

Cereal crops can suffer substantial damage if frosts occur at heading. Identification of post-head-emergence frost (PHEF) resistance in cereals poses a number of unique and difficult challenges. Many decades of research have failed to identify genotypes with PHEF resistance that could offer economically significant benefit to growers. Research and breeding gains have been limited by the available screening systems. Using traditional frost screening systems, genotypes that escape frost injury in trials due to spatial temperature differences and/or small differences in phenology can be misidentified as resistant. We believe that by improving techniques to minimize frost escapes, such ofalse-positive' results can be confidently identified and eliminated. Artificial freezing chambers or manipulated natural frost treatments offer many potential advantages but are not yet at the stage where they can be reliably used for frost screening in breeding programmes. Here we describe the development of a novel photoperiod gradient method (PGM) that facilitates screening of genotypes of different phenology under natural field frosts at matched developmental stages. By identifying frost escapes and increasing the efficiency of field screening, the PGM ensures that research effort can be focused on finding genotypes with improved PHEF resistance. To maximize the likelihood of identifying PHEF resistance, we propose that the PGM form part of an integrated strategy to (i) source germplasm;(ii) facilitate high throughput screening; and (iii) permit detailed validation. PGM may also be useful in other studies where either a range of developmental stages and/or synchronized development are desired.

Government entity contribution to an effective partnership privatisation

The partnership form of privatisation is increasingly being used, in particular to carry out complex and evolving bundles of services. These have not previously been privatised because of incomplete contracts and contract management difficulties. Improved performance of the government entity as contract administrator and member of the partnership is crucial to modern service delivery expectations yet the privatisation literature has focused on other aspects of partnerships leaving the understanding of factors impacting the effectiveness of the government entity underdeveloped. This paper proposes the development of knowledge as to the range of factors which impact the effectiveness of the government entity. There is limited data available as to the operation of trust in the partnership relationship, and as to the capability of a range of privatisation forms to achieve stewardship of infrastructure. This research will utilise the findings from that research to build a tentative framework which will be utilised in staged research interrogating first the privatization literature and then the literature of other disciplines and sectors. The combined data will be analysed to provide government and practitioners such as government entity CEO’s with a complete listing of the operation of the factors which impact the effectiveness of the government entity in contributing to improved service delivery.

Mannans as film formers and emulsion stabilizers

Mannans are abundant plant polysaccharides found in the endosperm of certain leguminous seeds (guar gum galactomannan, GG; locust bean gum galactomannan, LBG), in the tuber of the konjac plant (konjac glucomannan, KGM), and in softwoods (galactoglucomannan, GGM). This study focused on the effects of the chemical structure of mannans on their film-forming and emulsion-stabilizing properties. Special focus was on spruce GGM, which is an interesting new product from forest biorefineries. A plasticizer was needed for the formation of films from mannans other than KGM and the optimal proportion was 40% (w/w of polymers) glycerol or sorbitol. Galactomannans with lower galactose content (LBG, modified GG) produced films with higher elongation at break and tensile strength. The mechanical properties of GG-based films were improved by decreasing the degree of polymerization of the polysaccharide with moderate mannanase treatments. The improvement of mechanical properties of GGM-based films was sought by blending GGM with each of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH), corn arabinoxylan (cAX), and KGM. Adding other polymers increased the elongation at break of GGM blend films. The tensile strength of films increased with increasing amounts of PVOH and KGM, but the effect of cAX was the opposite. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed two separate loss modulus peaks for blends of GGM and PVOH, but a single peak for all other films. Optical and scanning electron microscopy confirmed good miscibility of GGM with cAX and KGM. In contrast, films blended from GGM and PVOH showed phase separation. GGM and KGM were mixed with cellulose nanowhiskers (CNW) to form composite films. Addition of CNW to KGM-based films induced the formation of fiberlike structures with lengths of several millimeters. In GGM-based films, rodlike structures with lengths of tens of micrometers were formed. Interestingly, the notable differences in the film structure did not appear to be related to the mechanical and thermal properties of the films. Permeability properties of GGM-based films were compared to those of films from commercial mannans KGM, GG, and LBG. GGM-based films had the lowest water vapor permeability when compared to films from other mannans. The oxygen permeability of GGM films was of the same magnitude as that of commercial polyethylene / ethylene vinyl alcohol / polyethylene laminate film. The aroma permeability of GGM films was low. All films were transparent in the visible region, but GGM films blocked the light transmission in the ultraviolet region of the spectra. The stabilizing effect of GGM on a model beverage emulsion system was studied and compared to that of GG, LBG, KGM, and cAX. In addition, GG was enzymatically modified in order to examine the effect of the degree of polymerization and the degree of substitution of galactomannans on emulsion stability. Use of GGM increased the turbidity of emulsions both immediately after preparation and after storage of up to 14 days at room temperature. GGM emulsions had higher turbidity than the emulsions containing other mannans. Increasing the storage temperature to +45 ºC led to rapid emulsion breakdown, but a decrease in storage temperature increased emulsion stability after 14 days. A low degree of polymerization and a high degree of substitution of the modified galactomannans were associated with a decrease in emulsion turbidity.

Intensity, productivity and efficiency in agriculture in Finland and implications for N and P fertiliser management

The purpose of this study was to evaluate intensity, productivity and efficiency in agriculture in Finland and show implications for N and P fertiliser management. Environmental concerns relating to agricultural production have been and still are focused on arguments about policies that affect agriculture. These policies constrain production while demand for agricultural products such as food, fibre and energy continuously increase. Therefore the importance of increasing productivity is a great challenge to agriculture. Over the last decades producers have experienced several large changes in the production environment such as the policy reform when Finland joined the EU 1995. Other and market changes occurred with the further EU enlargement with neighbouring countries in 2005 and with the decoupling of supports over the 2006-2007 period. Decreasing prices a decreased number of farmers and decreased profitability in agricultural production have resulted from these changes and constraints and of technological development. It is known that the accession to the EU 1995 would herald changes in agriculture. Especially of interest was how the sudden changes in prices of commodities on especially those of cereals, decreased by 60%, would influence agricultural production. The knowledge of properties of the production function increased in importance as a consequence of price changes. A research on the economic instruments to regulate productions was carried out and combined with earlier studies in paper V. In paper I the objective was to compare two different technologies, the conventional farming and the organic farming, determine differences in productivity and technical efficiency. In addition input specific or environmental efficiencies were analysed. The heterogeneity of agricultural soils and its implications were analysed in article II. In study III the determinants of technical inefficiency were analysed. The aspects and possible effects of the instability in policies due to a partial decoupling of production factors and products were studied in paper IV. Consequently connection between technical efficiency based on the turnover and the sales return was analysed in this study. Simple economic instruments such as fertiliser taxes have a direct effect on fertiliser consumption and indirectly increase the value of organic fertilisers. However, fertiliser taxes, do not fully address the N and P management problems adequately and are therefore not suitable for nutrient management improvements in general. Productivity of organic farms is lower on average than conventional farms and the difference increases when looking at selling returns only. The organic sector needs more research and development on productivity. Livestock density in organic farming increases productivity, however, there is an upper limit to livestock densities on organic farms and therefore nutrient on organic farms are also limited. Soil factors affects phosphorous and nitrogen efficiency. Soils like sand and silt have lower input specific overall efficiency for nutrients N and P. Special attention is needed for the management on these soils. Clay soils and soils with moderate clay content have higher efficiency. Soil heterogeneity is cause for an unavoidable inefficiency in agriculture.

Profiling ellagic acid content: The importance of form and ascorbic acid levels

As the importance of plant-based antioxidants to human health becomes clearer there is a rapidly expanding search for rich sources of these compounds. Much attention is currently focussed on the antioxidant potential of ellagic acid (EA). Making assessment difficult is that EA occurs in different forms: free EA, EA glycosides and polymeric ellagitannins. The overall structure of these forms has a pronounced effect on their antioxidant efficiency and is responsible for widely differing reactivity, solubility and hence bioavailability properties. Often associated with EA is vitamin C which also contributes to the plant foods total antioxidant activity. Previous studies have suggested that ascorbic acid may have protective effects on the polyphenol content of plants. With a view to gaining evidence that the bioactive forms of vitamin C influence EA content, several fruits with a range of EA and vitamin C contents were examined. To facilitate a more detailed assessment of the selected fruits antioxidant potential the relative proportions of EA forms were also determined. In strawberries and boysenberries EA content was predominantly in the polymeric form (21% and 12% free EA plus EA glycoside vs total EA levels for strawberry and boysenberry respectively), while in Kakadu plum it was mainly in the free form (70% of total EA). An increasing percentage of dehydroascorbic acid (9 to 14% of total vitamin C) indicating enhanced transformation of ascorbic acid to its oxidative degradation product together with stable free EA levels (≈ 950 mg/100 g DW) over the 4 month frozen storage period for the Kakadu plum samples are consistent with a possible protective effect of EA by ascorbic acid.

Book Review: "Safe Design and Construction of Machinery – Regulation, Practice and Performance [First edition]"

With Safe Design and Construction of Machinery, the author presents the results of empirical studies into this significant aspect of safety science in a very readable, well-structured format. The book contains 436 references, 17 tables, one figure and a comprehensive index. Liz Bluff addresses a complex and important, but often neglected domain in OHS – the safety of machinery – in a holistic and profound, yet evidence based analysis; with many applied cases from her studies, which make the book accessible and a pleasant lecture. Although research that led to this remarkable publication might have been primarily focused on the regulators, this book can be highly recommended to all OHS academics and practitioners. It provides an important contribution to the body of knowledge in OHS, and establishes one of the few Australian in-depth insights into the significance of machinery producers, rather than machinery users in the wider framework of risk management. The author bases this fresh perspective on the well-established European Machinery Safety guidelines, and grounds her mixed-methods research predominantly in qualitative analysis of motivation and knowledge, which eventually leads to specific safety outcomes. It should be noted that both European and Australian legal aspects are investigated and considered, as both equally apply to many machinery exporters. A detailed description of the research design and methods can be found in an appendix. Overall, the unique combination of quantitative safety performance data and qualitative analysis of safety behaviours form a valuable addition to the understanding of machinery safety. The author must be congratulated on making these complex relationships transparent to the reader through her meticulous inquiry.

Computational Studies on Bimetallic Clusters

The chemical and physical properties of bimetallic clusters have attracted considerable attention due to the potential technological applications of mixed-metal systems. It is of fundamental interests to study clusters because they are the link between atomic surface and bulk properties. More information of metal-metal bond in small clusters can be hence released. The studies in my thesis mainly focus on the two different kinds of bimetallic clusters: the clusters consisting of extraordinary shaped all metal four-membered rings and a series of sodium auride clusters. As described in most general organic chemistry books nowadays, a group of compounds are classified as aromatic compounds because of their remarkable stabilities, particular geometrical and energetic properties and so on. The notation of aromaticity is essentially qualitative. More recently, the connection has been made between aromaticity and energetic and magnetic properties. Also, the discussions of the aromatic nature of molecular rings are no longer limited to organic compounds obeying the Hückel’s rule. In our research, we mainly applied the GIMIC method to several bimetallic clusters at the CCSD level, and compared the results with those obtained by using chemical shift based methods. The magnetically induced ring currents can be generated easily by employing GIMIC method, and the nature of aromaticity for each system can be therefore clarified. We performed intensive quantum chemical calculations to explore the characters of the anionic sodium auride clusters and the corresponding neutral clusters since it has been fascinating in investigating molecules with gold atom involved due to its distinctive physical and chemical properties. As small gold clusters, the sodium auride clusters seem to form planar structures. With the addition of a negative charge, the gold atom in anionic clusters prefers to carry the charge and orients itself away from other gold atoms. As a result, the energetically lowest isomer for an anionic cluster is distinguished from the one for the corresponding neutral cluster. Mostly importantly, we presented a comprehensive strategy of ab initio applications to computationally implement the experimental photoelectron spectra.

North American Jewish Students Appeal records, undated, 1962, 1964-1996 (bulk 1971-1995)

The records of the North American Jewish Students Appeal (NAJSA or APPEAL) contains documents on two levels of concern: those documents dealing with the NAJSA as a student-run organization promoting Jewish identity among college-aged youth; and those documents dealing with the APPEAL as a fundraising organization for several well-known student constituent organizations. The Constituents were: the Jewish Student Press Service, Lights in Action, the North American Jewish Students Network, the Progressive Zionist Caucus, Response: A Contemporary Jewish Review, Yavneh Religious Students Organization, and Yugntruf Youth for Yiddish. Documents include correspondence, financial records, minutes, press releases, information on grants awarded to student organizations for programming and publishing, student journals, and newspapers, photographs, and ephemera.

Validation of a new spot form of net blotch differential set and evidence for hybridisation between the spot and net forms of net blotch in Australia

A recently developed spot form of blotch differential set of 16 barley lines was tested for reaction response to 60 Pyrenophora teres f. maculata isolates from geographically disperse barley crops of Australia. Twelve barley lines (Arimont, Barque, Chebec, CI5286, CI5791, CI9214, CII6150, Dairokkaku, Esperance Orge 289, Galleon, Keel, Skiff, Torrens and TR250) provided differential response between the isolates. The susceptible controls Gairdner and Kombar provided indication of isolate virulence or avirulence. Abundant pathogenic diversity was revealed with 33 designated pathotypes, some of which related to geographic region. AFLP analysis also revealed abundant diversity with each of the isolates representing a unique genotype and one isolate that contained both AFLP bands unique to P. teres f. maculata and P. teres f. teres, the cause of spot form and net form of net blotch respectively, suggesting that sexual recombination between the net form and spot form isolates may have occurred naturally in the field.

Spot form of net blotch resistance in barley is under complex genetic control

Key message: Evaluation of resistance toPyrenophora teresf.maculatain barley breeding populations via association mapping revealed a complex genetic architecture comprising a mixture of major and minor effect genes. Abstract: In the search for stable resistance to spot form of net blotch (Pyrenophora teres f. maculata, SFNB), association mapping was conducted on four independent barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) breeding populations comprising a total of 898 unique elite breeding lines from the Northern Region Barley Breeding Program in Australia for discovery of quantitative trait loci (QTL) influencing resistance at seedling and adult plant growth stages. A total of 29 significant QTL were validated across multiple breeding populations, with 22 conferring resistance at both seedling and adult plant growth stages. The remaining 7 QTL conferred resistance at either seedling (2 QTL) or adult plant (5 QTL) growth stages only. These 29 QTL represented 24 unique genomic regions, of which five were found to co-locate with previously identified QTL for SFNB. The results indicated that SFNB resistance is controlled by a large number of QTL varying in effect size with large effects QTL on chromosome 7H. A large proportion of the QTL acted in the same direction for both seedling and adult responses, suggesting that phenotypic selection for SFNB resistance performed at either growth stage could achieve adequate levels of resistance. However, the accumulation of specific resistance alleles on several chromosomes must be considered in molecular breeding selection strategies.

Structure of a new crystal form of 2-{[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]amino}benzoic acid (flufenamic acid)

C14Ht0F3NO2, P2.Jc, a = 12.523 (4), b = 7.868(6), c = 12.874 (3)A, fl = 95.2 (2) ° , O,,, = 1.47 (4), D e = 1.47 Mg m -3, Z = 4. Final R = 0.074 for 2255 observed reflections. The carboxyl group and the phenyl ring bearing the carboxyl group are nearly coplanar whereas the two phenyl rings are inclined with respect to each other at 52.8 ° . The difference between the two polymorphs of flufenamic acid lies in the geometrical disposition of the [3-(trifluoromethyl)- phenyl]amino moiety with respect to the benzoic acid moiety. As in other fenamate structures, the carboxyl group and the imino N atom are connected through an intramolecular hydrogen bond; also, pairs of centrosymmetrically related molecules are connected through hydrogen bonds involving carboxyl groups.

Whiteness scholarship in early childhood education

This paper explores how whiteness scholarship can support deep engagement with both historical and contemporary forms of whiteness and racism in early childhood education. To this point, the uptake of whiteness scholarship in the field of early childhood has focused predominantly on autobiographical narratives. These narratives recount white educators’ stories of ‘becoming aware’ or ‘unmasking’ their whiteness. In colonising contexts including Australia, New Zealand and Canada, understanding how whiteness operates in different ways and what this means for educational research and practice, can support researchers and educators to identify and describe more fully the impacts of subtle forms of racism in their everyday practices. In this paper, whiteness is explored in a broader sense as: a form of property; an organising principle for institutional behaviours and practices; and as a fluid identity or subject position. These three intersecting elements of whiteness are drawn on to analyse data from a doctoral study about embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in early childhood education curricula in two Australian urban childcare settings. Analysis is focused on how whiteness operated within the research site and research processes, along with the actions, inaction and talk of two educators engaged in embedding work. Findings show that both the researcher and educators reinforced, rather than reduced the impacts of whiteness and racism, despite the best of intentions.

Democratic Party invitation (form letter)

Form political letter. Printed on Executive Committee stationery with handwritten salutation in blue ink. Invitation to be a Vice President to ratify nominations of Greely and Brown, Democratic party.