Extending the analytical utility of acidic potassium permanganate chemiluminescence

The purpose of this work was to improve the analytical usefulness of acidic potassium permanganate chemiluminescence for the determination of various analytical compounds. This thesis also examined the fundamental chemistry involved with these types of reactions.

The social life of categories : an empirical study of term categorization

Most classification schemes in common use are actually categorization schemes which fall somewhere on a continuum between unstructured, uncontrolled lists of terms and formal classifications. Over time, terms change meaning and acquire new definitions. This paper presents the results of an approach that used the librarianship principle of consensus to form categories of terms and to relate those categories using a domain reference group. Boisot's Social Learning Cycle (SLC) was then used as a model with which to explain category variations. The single study undertaken in this investigation demonstrated the value of the SLC for explaining the variations between reference group members, and showed the potential for explaining category changes over time. This identifies areas in which consensus is breaking down or emerging, allowing for focused maintenance of categorical schemes.

The social side of social media : technology or collaboration?

This paper discusses how course design may draw upon social media in order to teach students appropriate skills for a network society in the context of team-work based learning. The emphasis is not upon web 2.0 and social media as inherently suited to providing educational solutions, but upon the ways in which they can be adapted by course designers within the framework of explicit learning objectives. More specifically, we provide a case study of how the use of social media in a blended or wholly-online learning environment provides affordances for team-based collaborative learning, especially when incorporated within a course design that encourages independent, self-directed and authentic learning. This paper argues we need to assess the social aspects of social media, rather than upon the technological, that is, avoid the fetishisation of 'apps,' through the creation of assessment that alternately foregrounds a critical appraisal of web 2.0 technologies and places onus upon the students to develop, with guidance, teamwork skills and processes. We provide an example of how it is possible to integrate web 2.0 technologies into their learning processes and assessment, in order to teach about the realities of collaborating with others in small teams in a work environment increasingly mediated by the Internet. In order to achieve these learning outcomes, course design needs to balance scaffolding with the need to place the imperative for learning specific content and skills upon the students, the latter through the provision of assessment outcomes and resources that the students need to work towards together.

Judicial valuation of the social costs of crime

The true economic functions of the criminal courts are, first, to deter potential prospective offenders from committing offences, and in so doing reduce the total social costs of crime in the future; and secondly, to force the convicted offender to bear some of the costs, which the crime has externalised onto the victim(s) and wider society through retributive justice. These objectives are achieved through the sentencing function. Critics have lamented that too many extraneous factors are taken into account when setting penalties but the authors argue in this article that nevertheless these sentences are optimal because of the judges' comparative advantage. What is of great interest, and the focus of this article, are the implicit valuations of the social costs of crime that these sentences imply. Using the South Australia higher criminal courts as a case study, the authors estimate and utilise these judicial valuations to suggest a methodology for measuring the true economic value of the criminal courts. The analysis helps put into perspective the courts' very valuable contribution to social welfare.

An examination of the mediating role of salt knowledge and beliefs on the relationship between socio-demographic factors and discretionary salt use: a cross-sectional study

Background Discretionary salt use varies according to socio-demographic factors. However, it is unknown whether salt knowledge and beliefs mediate this relationship. This study examined the direct and indirect effect of socio-demographic factors on salt knowledge and discretionary salt use in a sample of 530 Australian adults.

Methods An internet based cross-sectional survey was used to collect data for this study. Participants completed an online questionnaire which assessed their salt knowledge, beliefs and salt use behaviour. Mplus was used to conduct structural equation modelling to estimate direct and indirect effects.

Results The mean age of the participants was 49.2 years, and about a third had tertiary education. Discretionary salt use was inversely related to age (r=-0.11; p<0.05), and declarative salt knowledge (knowledge of factual information) scores (r = -0.17; p<0.01), but was positively correlated with misconceptions about salt (r = 0.09; p<0.05) and beliefs about the taste of salt (r = 0.51; p<0.001). Structural equation modelling showed age, education and gender were indirectly associated with the use of discretionary salt through three mediating pathways; declarative salt knowledge, misconceptions about salt and salt taste beliefs.

Conclusions Inequalities observed between socio-demographic groups in their use of discretionary salt use can potentially be reduced through targeted salt knowledge and awareness campaigns.

Promoting social inclusion of frail older people living in the community

The increasingly diverse needs and wants of Australia's ageing population, like those in many other societies, are drawing attention to aged care as an increasingly important area of broader health and social policy. Active qgeing and a focus on enabling people to remain living in their own homes in the community are two of the key components of this policy shift.

The policy shift towards active ageing recognises and aims to support the desires of older people to remain active members of their communities as they age. Active ageing is 'the process of optimising opportunities for physical, social and mental wellbeing throughout the life-course, in order to extend healthy life expectancy, productivity and quality oflife in older age' (AIPC 2008: 26).

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the rights, needs, preferences and capacities of older people should be central to active ageing policies, and these should be framed by a life-course approach to ageing (WHO 2002). The development of age-friendly communities, social inclusion and engagement are emerging as key policy issues in the context of an ageing population.

Recent research demonstrates the importance of a sense of belonging in maintaining a sense of identity and increasing the wellbeing of an individual. The sense of belonging that comes about through community engagement also plays a role in successful adjustment to ageing, including prolonging good health and reduced risk of entry into residential aged care.

The musical and social benefits of community choir membership in Melbourne (Australia)

Prosecutors' perceptions of the utility of 'relationship' evidence in sexual abuse trials

For successful prosecution of sex offences, defined elements that comprise each charge (such as the acts that occurred and offenders’ identities) need to be established beyond reasonable doubt. This study explored the potential benefit (from a prosecution perspective) of eliciting another type of evidence; evidence regarding the relationship between the victim and perpetrator that may explain the victim’s responses.

Fourteen prosecutors representing every major Australian jurisdiction participated in individual interviews or a focus group where they were asked to reflect on the perceived relevance of relationship evidence in sex offence trials, and the potential impact of this evidence on court process and outcomes.

All prosecutors gave strong support for the premise of including relationship evidence in victim and witness statements, as well as in suspect interviews; however, this type of evidence was not routinely being included in interviews or admitted in trials.

The majority of the discussion centred on:

That social side of things: students' experiences of social and physical place

This paper highlights the experience of social and physical place as experienced by
students at aTAFE (Technical and Further Education) college in Victoria, Australia, and TAFE diploma graduates who transitioned to a degree course at a university in Victoria, Australia.

Effects of entrepreneurial knowledge on entrepreneurial intentions: a longitudinal study of selected South-east Asian business students

Drawing on the theory of planned behaviour, this study examines the direct and indirect effects of knowledge gained from a formal entrepreneurship education programme on an individual’s entrepreneurial intentions (EI). It tracks the changes in students’ entrepreneurial knowledge (EK), perceptions of desirability of, and self-efficacy in, engaging in entrepreneurship and the impact of those changes on students’ EI upon completion of an entrepreneurship course. It uses longitudinal survey data of 245 business students in a Philippine university. Using cross-lagged panel method and partial-least squares-based structural equation modelling, the study builds and tests the measurement and structural models to examine the hypothesised interactions of EK, perceived desirability of, self-efficacy towards entrepreneurship, and EI. The findings underscore the importance of developing knowledge to nurture students’ self-confidence and attitudinal propensity to engage in entrepreneurship.