Perceptions and attitudes of land managers in multi-tenure reserve networks and the implications for conservation

Multi-tenure reserve networks aim to connect areas managed for biodiversity conservation across public and private land and address the impacts of fragmentation on both biotic and social systems. The operation and function of Australian multi-tenure reserve networks as perceived by their land managers was investigated. Overall, the conservation of natural assets was the most frequently reported primary reason for involvement in a network. The perceived aims of the respective networks largely reflected the response identified for involvement and management. Over 88% of managers considered their involvement in multi-tenure reserve networks to be a positive or very positive experience. A lack of resources and time for management were considered major limitations of these networks. The majority (80%) of private land managers within networks were willing to be included in a national reserve system of conservation lands. As the Australian National Reserve System currently incorporates mostly public land, these findings have important and potentially positive implications for a greater role for protected private land.

Multiculturalism in arts education: engaging schools in effective and authentic pedagogies

Serious questions have been raised by arts educators and community members about the effectiveness of multiculturalism that is usually enacted in Australian school settings by multi-arts festivals and related classroom activities. By exploring resources available to teachers, snapshots can be created of school practices that purport to be multicultural. Often these are only thematically integrated interdisciplinary exercises that do not reflect the complexity and diversity of true multiculturalism. Australia has for some time positioned itself as part of the global community. How this has been enacted in schools' multi-arts practices demonstrates our changing understanding of multiculturalism. The recent Australian National Review of School Music Education (2005) exhorts us to recognise cultural diversity, encourage participation and engagement and form partnerships, connections and networks. To achieve this we need to demonstrate authentic practice. Tucker (1992) has created an authenticity checklist that argues that materials should be prepared with the involvement of someone within the culture and include cultural context. Without this, we risk stripping the arts of much of its meaning. The authors contend that it should be possible in 21st century Australia to create authentic, meaningful arts education practices in schools given the rich cultural mosaic that forms our contemporary society.

Gendered (s)explorations among same-sex attracted young people in Australia

This paper seeks to import a more complex understanding of gendered subjectivity into discussions of young people and homosexuality, and is based on an Australian national survey (n=749) of same-sex attracted youth (SSAY) aged between 14 and 21. Results revealed significant gender differences with regard to patterns of sexual attraction, behaviour and identity labels among participants. For the young men in the study, there was more congruence between feelings of gender a-typicality, same-sex attractions and same-sex behaviours. Overall, young women displayed more fluidity with regard to their sexual feelings, behaviours and identities. Young women were more likely to be engaged in private explorations of lesbianism, concurrent with participation in heterosexual sex and relationships. Young women were also grappling with more limited and emotionally risky opportunities for sex with other girls who were already known to them as friends. The invisibility of lesbianism as an identity or practice led to confusion about what feelings meant for the future in the arena of lived experience. The paper concludes that more research is needed into the impact of gender on the development of young people's experiences of homosexuality, particularly the manner in which invisibility and lack of social acceptance of a full spectrum of sexual diversity may disadvantage young women's emotional health and well-being.

Acute pain management: Implications of scientific evidence for nursing practice in the postoperative context

Unrelieved acute pain remains prevalent in hospitalized patients despite advances in pain management. A decade after the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council called for improved pain management practices by health professionals, it released clinical guidelines to provide clinicians with current scientific evidence to augment their clinical decision-making. This paper examines the implications of national guidelines on nursing practice and highlights the inadequacies of current implementation policies. Pain management guidelines have failed to decrease patients' postoperative pain because organizations and researchers have ignored the impact of contextual influences on clinicians' decision-making. It is recommended that for successful implementation of national guidelines to occur at the local level of practice, organizations must assist clinicians to identify local influences on their decision-making, to address the issues specific to their own work environment and to evaluate any changes in practice.

Dietary intakes and food sources of Omega-6 and Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Both n−6 and n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are recognized as essential nutrients in the human diet, yet reliable data on population intakes are limited. The aim of the present study was to ascertain the dietary intakes and food sources of individual n−6 and n−3 PUFA in the Australian population. An existing database with fatty acid composition data on 1690 foods was updated with newly validated data on 150 foods to estimate the fatty acid content of foods recorded as eaten by 10,851 adults in the 1995 Australian National Nutrition Survey. Average daily intakes of linoleic (LA), arachidonic (AA), α-linolenic (LNA), eicosapentaenoic (EPA), docosapentaenoic (DPA), and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids were 10.8, 0.052, 1.17, 0.056, 0.026, and 0.106 g, respectively, with longchain (LC) n−3 PUFA (addition of FPA, DPA, and DHA) totaling 0.189 g; median intakes were considerably lower (9.0 g LA, 0.024 g AA, 0.95 g LNA, 0.008 g EPA, 0.006 g DPA, 0.015 g DHA, and 0.029 g LC n−3 PUFA). Fats and oils, meat and poultry, cereal-based products and cereals, vegetables, and nuts and seeds were important sources of n−6 PUFA, while cereal-based products, fats and oils, meat and poultry, cereals, milk products, and vegetable products were sources of LNA. As expected, seafood was the main source of LC n−3 PUFA, contributing 71%, while meat and eggs contributed 20 and 6%, respectively. The results indicate that the majority of Australians are failing to meet intake recommendations for LC n−3 PUFA (>0.2 g per day) and emphasize the need for strategies, to increase the availability and consumption of n−3-containing foods.

Being true to oneself : the role of authenticity in promoting youth mental health

Discusses self-indulgence and pleasure of youth. Definition of pleasure in hedonic philosophy as what is good; Desirability of happiness or feeling good; Possibility that the search to feel good can lead to unhelpful ideas if an evolved framework of values is absent.

Energy system contribution during 200- to 1500-m running in highly trained athletes

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to profile the aerobic and anaerobic energy system contribution during high-speed treadmill exercise that simulated 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-m track running events.

Methods: Twenty highly trained athletes (Australian National Standard) participated in the study, specializing in either the 200-m (N = 3), 400-m (N = 6), 800-m (N = 5), or 1500-m (N = 6) event (mean O₂ peak [mL·kg^-1·min^-1] ± SD = 56 ± 2, 59 ± 1, 67 ± 1, and 72 ± 2, respectively). The relative aerobic and anaerobic energy system contribution was calculated using the accumulated oxygen deficit (AOD) method.

Results: The relative contribution of the aerobic energy system to the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-m events was 29 ± 4, 43 ± 1, 66 ± 2, and 84 ± 1% ± SD, respectively. The size of the AOD increased with event duration during the 200-, 400-, and 800-m events (30.4 ± 2.3, 41.3 ± 1.0, and 48.1 ± 4.5 mL·kg^-1, respectively), but no further increase was seen in the 1500-m event (47.1 ± 3.8 mL·kg^-1). The crossover to predominantly aerobic energy system supply occurred between 15 and 30 s for the 400-, 800-, and 1500-m events.

Conclusions: These results suggest that the relative contribution of the aerobic energy system during track running events is considerable and greater than traditionally thought.

Evidence of high-skilled VET practitioners and high-performing VET organisations : findings from an evaluation of the long-term impacts of Framing the Future projects conducted in 1999-2000

Framing the Future is a major staff development initiative of the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA), designed to support the implementation of the National Training Framework (NTF). Since 1997 over 20,000 vocational education and training (VET) practitioners have participated in the program. The program was renamed Reframing the Future in 2001.

This study reports on research conducted on the long-term impacts of projects funded by Framing the Future in 1999 and 2000. John Mitchell and Sarah Wood from John Mitchell & Associates conducted the research from May 2000–May 2001.

Using twenty four case studies and the results of interviews and an extensive survey, the report provides evidence of high-skilled VET practitioners and high-performing VET organisations who ensure that their involvement in Framing the Future projects leads to long-term gains, particularly in support of the implementation of the NTF.

A new model of workbased learning in the VET sector

This report provides a revised model of workbased learning for the vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia, in response to emerging needs. The study provides a brief review of the theoretical foundations of the contemporary discussions surrounding workbased learning, drawn from literature on adult education and learning organisations. Literature on adult learning and learning organisations in the 1990's explored new dimensions of these topics and this new theorising enriched the concept of workbased learning. This examination of the literature enables the development of a model of an integrated approach to workbased learning. The model integrates compatible ideas from adult learning, learning organisations and action learning/research and facilitates new ways of thinking about workbased learning as a staff development model. This model confirms that workbased learning is an appropriate and relevant approach to staff development in contemporary times.

The never-ending quest : effective strategy-making and change management for high-performing VET organisations

This report summarises the evaluation of projects undertaken in 2001-02 as part of Reframing the Future's sub-program on Strategic Management and Change Management. It argues every Registered Training Organisation (RTO) in the vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia needs managers who can design effective strategies.

Emerging futures : innovation in teaching and learning in VET

This report on Innovation in Teaching and Learning in the vocational education and training (VET) sector demonstrates that pressures for change are flowing with increasing force into teaching and learning practice within VET. As a consequence of this ongoing change, wider, deeper and more frequent innovation is now needed in VET teaching and learning practices. However, this report shows that there are good grounds for optimism about the quality and scope of current innovation in teaching and learning practices in VET. The particular and local instances of practitioner innovation found in the research for this project serve as a reminder of the many different ways in which VET practitioners are knowledgeable and innovative. Positive futures for VET are emerging, as a result of this practitioner innovation. A literature review, interviews, focus groups and case study research inform the key findings.