Study on the observation of Eu(2+) and Eu(3+) valence states in low silica calcium aluminosilicate glasses

The optical, magnetic and structural properties of Eu doped low silica calcium aluminosilicate glasses were investigated. The optical absorption coefficient presented two bands at 39 246 and 29 416 cm(-1), which were assigned respectively to the 4f(7) ((8)S(7/2)) -> 4f(6) (4F(J)) 5d (T(2g)), and 4f(7) ((8)S(7/2)) -> 4f(6) (4F(J)) 5d (E(g)) transitions of Eu(2+). The fluorescence measured at 300 K on a sample doped with 0.5 wt% of Eu(2)O(3) exhibited a broad band centered at 17 350 cm(-1), which is attributed to the 4f(6)5d -> 4f(7) transition of Eu(2+), whereas the additional peaks are due to the (5)D(0) -> (7)F(J) (J = 1, 2, 4) transitions of Eu(3+). From magnetization and XANES data it was possible to evaluate the fractions of Eu(2+) and Eu(3+) for the sample doped with 0.5 and 5.0 wt% of Eu(2)O(3), the values of which were approximately 30 and 70%, respectively.

The Archaeology of No man's land: Indigenous camps at Corindi Beach, mid-north coast New South Wales

At Corindi Beach on the mid-north coast of New South Wales are five twentieth century campsites located on the fringes of the township, beside the town racecourse, an area called by local Aboriginal people 'No man's land'. These campsites are important symbols of the self-sufficient lifestyle followed by the Corindi Beach Indigenous community in the twentieth century and are a physical reminder of cross-cultural relationships between local people over the last hundred years. In a collaborative research project with Yarrawarra Aboriginal Corporation, these places are being documented through studying oral history, the cultural landscape and the material culture left behind at these places.

Event valence and unrealistic optimism

The effect of event valence on unrealistic optimism was studied. 94 Deakin University students rated the comparative likelihood that they would experience either a controllable or an uncontrollable health-related event. Valence was manipulated to be positive (outcome was desirable) or negative (outcome was undesirable) by varying the way a given event was framed. Particiapants either were told the conditions which promote the event and rated the comparative likelihood they would experience it or were told the conditions which prevent the event and rated the comparative likelihood they would avoid it. For both the controllable and the uncontrollable events, unrealistic optimism was greater for negative than positive valence. It is suggested that a combination of the 'motivational account' of unrealistic optimism and prospect theory provides a good explanation of the results. 

Event valence and unrealistic optimism: further evidence

Unrealistic optimism is assessed using either a single question, the rating of own likelihood of experience an event compared to that of the average person, or two questions, separate rating of own likelihood and that of the average person. The effect of using valence on more unrealistic optimism was studied in a sample of 175 students using the two-question measure. Valence was manipulated to be positive, i.e., outcome was desirable, or negative, i.e., outcome was undesirable, by 'framing' the same event appropriately. Unrealistic optimism was greater for negative than positive valence. The effect was of the same direction and magnitude as that found by Gold and Martyn (2003) using the single-question measure. The relationship between valence and unrealistic optimism does not depend on whether unrealistic optimism is assessed with one or two questions.

The value of asthma camps for young people in Victoria, Australia

Purpose: This paper investigates the impact of the Asthma Foundation of Victoria's educational camp program on children's knowledge of asthma and its management, their feelings about asthma, and their attitudes toward physical and social activities. Parents' observations of changes in their child's behaviour and attitudes are also reported.

Design and methods: This research was descriptive and applied. It used questionnaires at four stages (directly pre- and post- camp, three-four months and ten-15 months post-camp) of an asthma education camp program to assess child asthma knowledge levels. At three months post-camp, parental observations of children's attitudes and behaviours were assessed using a questionnaire. Children's feelings toward asthma were also assessed using a questionnaire pre- and post-camp.

Results: The children surveyed displayed a better knowledge of asthma and how to manage their condition immediately after the camp. This knowledge tended to return to pre-camp levels after ten months. The children also reported less anxiety and fear about their illness, a greater sense of wellbeing, and more confidence in participating in a whole range of physical and social activities. Many parents also noted positive changes in their children in terms of activities and asthma management at three months post-camp.

Clinical implications: Although there were limitations to sustaining knowledge gained in the asthma camping program, the camping experience provided a benefit for children in terms of promoting their mental and social wellbeing. When readers consider modernising asthma education (eg shorter camps, education in everyday social settings such as schools), they need to consider retaining the key ingredients of the more traditional camping program that supports good asthma management, wellbeing and social participation.

The Cultural Construction of the Maine Sporting Camps

Maine sporting camps were a cultural and social phenomenon of the urban upper and middle class. They originated in Maine in the late 1870s and early 1880s and reached their zenith around the turn of the century with over 160 in operation in eight of the sixteen counties in Maine in 1906. The period from 1880 until World War I can be considered the 'golden era' of the Maine sporting camps. After the war, with technological advancements such as the outboard motor, the proliferation of the automobile, and the introduction of a road system into rural Maine, the camps underwent significant change that warrants an entirely different cultural analysis. A number of elements came together to produce a cultural atmosphere permissive of sporting camp creation in Maine. These include changing national views upon nature, health, sport and the leisure time in which to pursue them. In the late nineteenth century, with the rise of large industrially based cities, overcrowding fostered crime and disease. An upper and middle class emerged that desired escape and separation from the lower classes. Maine was chosen for such an escape because it offered, through sporting camps, a chance to "get back to nature," by pursuing the healthful activities of hunting and fishing. At the same time these urban sportsmen and sportswomen distinguished themselves on the social Hierarchical scale from the rural inhabitants. What happened in rural Maine during the period between 1880 and World War I was the introduction of a new cultural order on the landscape. Coming primarily from urban centers on the East Coast of the United States were men, women and children who looked to Maine for vacations. These vacations were designed to put them in touch with nature by pursuing healthful activities, especially those of fishing and hunting. Coming from an environment that emphasized social standing, they ensured that these trips would perpetuate this hierarchy. They experienced nature through the Maine sporting camps, which provided them with the services and skills necessary to experience it while enjoying a degree of luxury that they were accustomed to in the urban world. The Maine sporting camps were a cultural manifestation of the urban upper and middle class, the groups that the camps were established to serve. Despite this the camps did not represent a structural duplication of urban society. Instead, the camps represented a cultural construction that was produced by interaction between members of two different conceptual and physical worlds, the blending of which, on a social level, was determined by urban mentality and rural knowledge. In the production of a cultural world meaningful to the clients, the rural world of the Maine woods was altered to meet their needs. It was not a one-sided process, however, as the clients were forced to acknowledge the importance of the rural inhabitants on the basis of their value to the clients.

The measurement of the number, uniqueness, and valence of brand associations across three product categories

The research reported in this paper investigated the measurement of brand associations across three product categories. Brand associations had not been tested previously across all three categories of fast-moving consumer good, service, and durable in the one study. A free association method was used to generate brand associations for a fast-moving consumer good (shampoo), a service (banks) and a durable good (cars). The findings indicate that the first brand a respondent recalled has the greatest number of positive, unique and total brand associations. In addition, the findings indicated that durable goods have the highest number of associations, and the greatest number of unique and favourable brand associations. Further, banks and financial services had the fewest positive associations, which may have reflected attitudes to banks at the time of the research. These findings have implications for the manner in which respondents use information to recall brands, and how they process brand information when faced with a cue. Respondents use a depth and breadth of brand associations to generate brand information.

Effectiveness of asthma education camps as a learning environment for children

This study's main purpose was to determine if the children attending one of the Asthma Foundation of Victoria's camps learnt about asthma management and developed skills and behavior that are positive for self management to occur. Final conclusions showed that the program has a positive effect on the management of a child's asthma.

A cultural battlefront in the total war : theatre in Australian internment camps

In 1943, at the Berlin Sportspalast, Joseph Goebbels made his infamous speech on 'total war', appealing to the crowd to represent Germany as a nation and asking them whether they wanted a war 'more total and radical' than had been previously imagined. In Australia in 1944, the idea of this 'total war' struck a resonance with German civilians interned in Tatura, Victoria. Writing to protest a planned release of internees, these Camp 3 internees claimed an involvement in the 'total war', arguing that any release from the camp would necessitate working towards the 'total destruction of the political, economical and cultural existence of the German Reich and the German nation.' A curious, and important, part of their argument was that such a release would mean that their 'cultural life would be endangered.' It is precisely this 'cultural life' within internment that I wish to examine in this paper.