Population genetic structure of the Australian caddisfly Lectrides varians Mosely (Trichoptera: Leptoceridae) and the identification of cryptic species in south-eastern Australia

Lectrides varians (Mosely) is a large, ecologically-important, caddisfly found in perennial and intermittent streams throughout much of eastern Australia. We conducted a population genetic analysis to investigate the dispersal potential of L. varians, building on previous works that have assessed life-history traits associated with drought resistance. Genetic analyses of L. varians from the Grampians region of Victoria, based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data, revealed extensive gene flow and a lack of genetic structure across the sample range (ΦST = 0.04). This suggests that the species is a strong disperser and is likely to be resilient to increased drying and habitat fragmentation under climate change considering other known resistance traits. However, during this study, two divergent genotypes were identified, indicating a potential species complex. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of L. varians across its current range was subsequently performed, confirming the species is indeed paraphyletic, consisting of one lineage that is restricted to the Grampians National Park and the other being widespread throughout south-eastern Australia. Further analyses revealed consistent morphological differences between these lineages supporting the notion that L. varians is a species complex. We discuss the implications of these findings with regard to conservation and taxonomy of this important invertebrate group.

Keeping connected: the lives of young people with ongoing health conditions in Australia

This chapter draws from a three year longitudinal Australian Research Council (ARC) project conducted in Victoria, Australia with 31 young people who were living with ongoing health conditions. The aim of the Keeping Connected project was to elicit the young people’s views of schooling, their relationships with peers and teachers, and their altered educational opportunities, given their ongoing and widely varying health conditions. Elsewhere in the literature these young people are often described as living with chronic illness (Hopkins et al., 2013; Moss, 2012). Victoria, Australia, is home to more than 1.2 million children and young people, representing just under 25% of the national child population. The Royal Children’s Hospital Education Institute (RCHEI), one of the sponsoring research partners for this study is located in Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria. The study makes a unique contribution to our knowledge of chronic illness, or what we prefer to refer to as ongoing health conditions, which affect 12% of school age students in Australia. One of my ongoing observations is that not all research that is produced in the name of social justice or analysing exclusions in schooling is approached through the repositioning of the qualitative research which has occurred over the past two decades. Throughout this chapter I aim to demonstrate how a post qualitative approach can produce a secondary analysis of data once a large scale project is completed. Data can be reworked and represented through networks of the social world, in this case the networks of living with an ongoing health condition as a young person in Australia at the end of the first decade of the twentieth first century.

Integrated practice in the early years in Australia: The assumptions, omissions and contradictions of policy reform

The aim of this article is to examine current national early years’ policy reform, which emphasises the importance of service integration, national quality standards and a quality knowledge base for educators concerning the provision of early childhood education and care. Using Queensland, Australia, as an example, a policy discourse analysis identifies two problematics of implementing current national policy – the early childhood education and care problematic and the integration problematic. The article argues that speedy implementation of a national policy in order to meet national targets has unintended consequences for the knowledge base of educators and the possibility of collaboration within service provision. Although government commitment in this area is evident, these consequences and the current difficulties surrounding integration are the result of the lack of a specific integration strategy, and government investment focussed on the development of an integrated workforce.

A Bourdieuian analysis of the aspirations associated with international students' investment in VET

An increasing number of students around the globe have pursuedtertiary education outside their national borders over the past few decades. There are over 4.5 million international students currently undertaking overseas study (OECD, 2014). Despite the growing focus of institutions around the world on internationalisation of education and increasing research interests in international education, the ‘mobility’ of international students remains a largely under-theorised phenomenon. This paper provides insights into the mobility of an often-neglected group within the field of international education –international students in vocational education and training (VET). It draws on a four-year study funded by the Australian Research Council that involves 105 semi-structured interviews with international students from the Asia Pacific region, Europe and America in 25 VET institutions and dual sector universities in Australia.

The lure of the local: community activism and place in Australia

The intertwined relationship between the built and natural environments characterises and defines coastal towns, especially those with significant heritage values. Our research is located in the context of the “sea change” phenomenon, which is fundamentally changing the coastal towns of Australia. Barbara Norman, a past national president of the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA), summarised the current struggle occurring in many of Australia’s coastal regions when she wrote: “the Australian coastline is littered with exhausted communities battling to save the character and environment of their townships” (Norman, 2008). The Australian National Sea Change Taskforce was established in 2004, as a response to these wider community and professional concerns, and seeks “to ensure that coastal development is managed with a focus on the sustainability of coastal communities and the coastal environment” (Gurran et al., 2006) concluded that more detailed research is needed to develop new responses to coastal development, particularly in terms of promoting community wellbeing, strengthening social cohesion, avoiding socio-economic and socio-spatial polarisation and preserving sense of place.

The establishment and development of neurosurgery services in Papua New Guinea

BACKGROUND: Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a developing Pacific Nation of 7.3 million people. Although neurosurgery training was introduced to PNG in the year 2000, it was in 2003 that a neurosurgery service was established. Prior to this time, neurosurgery in PNG was performed by general surgeons, with some assistance from visiting Australian neurosurgeons. Neurosurgical training was introduced to PNG in 2000. The model involved a further 3 years of training for a surgeon who had already completed 4 years of general surgical training. We aim to review the output, outcomes and impact achieved by training the first national neurosurgeon. METHODS: The data on activity (output) and outcomes were collected prospectively from 2003-2012. Ongoing mentoring and continuing professional development were provided through annual neurosurgical visits from Australia. There were serious limitations in the provision of equipment, with a lack of computerized tomographic or MR imaging, and adjuvant oncological services. RESULTS: There were 1618 neurosurgery admissions, 1020 neurosurgical procedures with a 5.74 % overall mortality. Seventy percent of cases presented as emergencies. There were improved outcomes, particularly for head injuries, whilst hydrocephalus was managed with an acceptable morbidity and revision rate. CONCLUSIONS: The training of a neurosurgeon resulted in PNG patients receiving a better range of surgical services, with a lower mortality. The outcomes able to be delivered were limited by late presentations of patients and lack of resources including imaging. These themes are familiar to all low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and this may serve as a model for other LMIC neurosurgical services to adopt as they consider whether to establish and develop neurosurgical and other sub-specialist surgical services.

Pedagogy and ePortfolios: purpose aligned to design (or the why and how)

While research surrounding ePortfolios abounds, few studies make explicit the pedagogical underpinnings of their use. Some suggest that the decision to use new technologies, like ePortfolios, is often made in ignorance of pedagogic evidence. Developed over the course of a two-year national study on the implementation of ePortfolios, this paper argues the importance of a considered approach to ePortfolio use; one that is premised on carefully linking the purpose and context to the type of portfolio. The paper explores the potential of ePortfolios as they align with four specific pillars of learning: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be. It discusses the pedagogic underpinnings – that is, the why – of ePortfolios including: skills and competencies; transformative potential; reflection; identity; active learning; employability; and assessment. The succeeding section provides recommendations for practical ePortfolio use – that is, the how – and an original framework linking ePortfolio purpose to design is proposed.

Modeling Ice Cover on Trails at Grand Canyon National Park

This project used data from the National Park Service, the SRTM data set, and recorded weather conditions to predict snow deposition and snow and ice melt in the Grand Canyon National Park. This model, a simplified version of previous research, shows the location of persistent ice and snow on the Canyon slopes in March.

Evaluating the existence of structural change in the brazilian term structure of interest: evidence based on cointegration models with structural break

This paper investigates whether there is evidence of structural change in the Brazilian term structure of interest rates. Multivariate cointegration techniques are used to verify this evidence. Two econometrics models are estimated. The rst one is a Vector Autoregressive Model with Error Correction Mechanism (VECM) with smooth transition in the deterministic coe¢ cients (Ripatti and Saikkonen [25]). The second one is a VECM with abrupt structural change formulated by Hansen [13]. Two datasets were analysed. The rst one contains a nominal interest rate with maturity up to three years. The second data set focuses on maturity up to one year. The rst data set focuses on a sample period from 1995 to 2010 and the second from 1998 to 2010. The frequency is monthly. The estimated models suggest the existence of structural change in the Brazilian term structure. It was possible to document the existence of multiple regimes using both techniques for both databases. The risk premium for di¤erent spreads varied considerably during the earliest period of both samples and seemed to converge to stable and lower values at the end of the sample period. Long-term risk premiums seemed to converge to inter-national standards, although the Brazilian term structure is still subject to liquidity problems for longer maturities.

Potential and costs for the production of electrolytic hydrogen in alcohol and sugar cane plants in the central and south regions of Brazil

This project verified the potential for the production of hydrogen via water electrolysis by using the exceeding electrical energy resultant from alcohol and sugar plants that use sugar cane bagasse as fuel. The studies were carried out in cogeneration plants authorized by the Electrical Energy National Agency (ANEEL). The processing history of sugar cane considered was based on the 2006/2007 harvests. The total bagasse produced, electrical energy generated and exceeding electrical energy in a year were calculated. It was obtained an average energy consumption value of 5.2 kWh Nm(-3) and the hydrogen production costs regarding the amount of sugar cane processed that ranged from US$ 0.50 to US$ 0.75 Nm(-3). The results pointed that the costs for the production of hydrogen via the bagasse exceeding energy are close to the production costs that use other sources of energy. As the energy generated from the bagasse is a renewable one, this alternative for the production of hydrogen is economical and environmentally viable. (C) 2008 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Greenhouse gas balance due to the conversion of sugarcane areas from burned to green harvest in Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Anuario Estadístico de América Latina y el Caribe 1997 = Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean 1997

Incluye Bibliografía

Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2010

Includes bibliography

Economics of climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean: summary 2009

Includes bibliography

The problems of intellectual property in Latin America and how to address them

Includes bibliography