An assessment tool for sub-catchment to catchment scale indicators of sustainability - a case study in south west Victoria, Australia

The research reported in this paper represents an attempt to produce a practical, indicator-based sustainability assessment tool incorporating all these elements is based on relationships between indicators determined considering spatial influences. Through the use of an existing sustainability indicator set and data currently available, relationships will be determined using Arcview Geographic Information Systems (GIS), correlation analysis and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Indicator interactions will be identified at two spatial scales and compared to determine impacts of changing spatial scale. Further PCA and multiple regression analyses will then be used to reduce the complexity of the indicator set. These findings will be incorporated into a practical indicator-based assessment tool through the adoption of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) combined with GIS techniques that will then be validated. Once validated the tool can be used to aid in guiding planning and decision-making regarding sustainable development in the Glenelg Hopkins catchment, Victoria; while also moving towards producing a standard set of procedures for assessing sustainability.

The impact of consumer ethnocentrism and country of origin sub-components for high involvement products on young Chinese consumers' product assessments

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of country of origin (COO) sub-components (i.e. design, assembly and parts), as well as the extent to which consumer ethnocentrism tendencies interact with these COO sub-components for young Chinese consumers with regards to product quality assessments and purchase intentions.

Design/methodology/approach – A 2?×?2?×?2 factorial experimental design was used to examine the effects of the three sub-components of COO with two levels of sourcing location – Home (China) and Foreign (Germany), for two high involvement products (an automobile and a digital camera). Chinese students in China represented the sample of 272 respondents. MANOVA was used to examine the direct effects and interactions of the three COO components, as well as ethnocentrism, measured using the CETSCALE.

Findings – It was found that the three COO sub-components did not influence young Chinese consumers’ evaluation of product quality or purchase intentions. In addition, consumers’ level of ethnocentrism also did not have a direct effect on perceived product quality or purchase intentions. There was only one statistically significant interaction effect between ethnocentrism and country of parts for one of the two products. As such, COO dimensions and young Chinese consumers’ ethnocentrism appears to have limited influence on their assessments of product quality or purchase intentions. This may occur because young Chinese consumers perceive that hybrid products are the norm for high involvement products in China as these products are all these consumers have experienced.

Originality/value – The findings of this research dispute the commonly held belief and evidence that sub-components of COO have an impact on the perceptions of product quality and purchase intentions. Young Chinese consumers may be different to consumers from western countries because they have been extensively exposed to hybrid products. Given the size and growth potential of China, young Chinese are an important, under-researched segment within the Chinese market.

A protocol for the combined sub-fractionation and delipidation of lipid-binding proteins by hydrophobic interaction chromatography

Cellular lipids frequently co-purify with lipid binding proteins isolated from tissue extracts or heterologous host systems and as such hinder in vitro ligand binding approaches for which the apo-protein is a prerequisite. Here we present a technique for the complete removal of unesterified fatty acids, phospholipids, steroids and other lipophilic ligands bound to soluble proteins, without protein denaturation. Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma ligand binding domain and intracellular fatty acid binding proteins were expressed in an Escherichia coli host and completely delipidated by hydrophobic interaction chromatography using phenyl sepharose. The delipidation procedure operates at room temperature with complete removal of bound lipids in a single step, as ascertained by mass spectrometry analysis of organic solvent extracts from purified protein samples. The speed and capacity of this method makes it amenable to scale-up and high-throughput applications. The method can also easily be adapted for other lipid binding proteins that require delipidation under native conditions.

Multi-tenure reserve networks as a means to facilitate landscape and sub-continental connectivity?

There has been increased focus on establishing landscape and sub-continental scale linkages and corridors in Australia in recent years. These include the WildCountry, Alps to Atherton, Naturelinks and Gondwana Link initiatives. However, there has been little discussion as to what the underlying tenure, land use and protection mechanisms might look like on the ground. The development of Biosphere Reserves and Conservation Management Networks (collectively ‘multi-tenure reserve networks’) which incorporate public and private conservation lands under a variety of tenures and protection mechanisms provides example of how this might be achieved.

Whilst the rhetoric has been strong the amount of actual research on what multi-tenure reserve networks mean in practice has been limited. This paper reflects on the lessons acquired from research into these networks and discusses with this practical insight the difference between rhetoric and performance in this vital area. In particular we discuss some of the ecological, social, governance and legal aspects of these networks. We will also proceed to hypothesise on what the future challenges are for multi-tenure reserve networks and what will be needed to overcome these challenges.

Linking the macroscopic and sub-microscopic levels : diagrams

Explanations of chemical phenomena are nearly always focused at the sub-micro level, a level that cannot be observed, yet are normally provided with diagrams at the symbolic level. These diagrams represent the macro and sub-micro levels of matter. The connections between the macro level and the diagrams of the sub-micro level are not always apparent to students, indicating a need for chemical diagrams to be used carefully and explicitly. Having students draw and annotate chemical diagrams representing chemical phenomena at the sub-micro level can provide some insight into their understanding of chemistry at the macro level. Misinterpretation of diagrams can occur when the representations are not understood, when links are not made between the macro and sub-micro levels, or when the diagram is unfamiliar. Responding to these difficulties, strategies based on research and our experiences of teaching with diagrams are suggested for the choice and use of chemical diagrams depicting the sub-micro level in the teaching and learning of chemistry. These strategies provide opportunities for learners to construct acceptable personal mental models of the sub-micro level.

Evaluation of heat stress indices using physiological comparisons in an alumina refinery in a sub-tropical climate

The production of alumina involves the use of a process known as the Bayer process. This method involves the digestion of raw bauxite in sodium hydroxide at temperatures around 250°C. The resultant pregnant liquor then goes through a number of filtering and precipitation processes to obtain the aluminium oxide crystals which are then calcined to obtain the final product. The plant is situated in a sub tropical climate in Northern Australia and this combined with the hot nature of the process results in a potential for heat related illnesses to develop. When assessing a work environment for heat stress a heat stress index is often employed as a guideline and to date the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) has been the recommended index. There have been concerns over the past that the WBGT is not suited to the Northern Australian climate and in fact studies in other countries have suggested this is the case. This study was undertaken in the alumina plant situated in Gladstone Queensland to assess if WBGT was in fact the most suitable index for use or if another was more applicable. To this end three indices, Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), Heat Stress Index (HSI) and Required Sweat Rate (SWreq) were compared and assessed using physiological monitoring of heart rate and surrogate core temperature. A number of different jobs and locations around the plant were investigated utilising personal and environmental monitoring equipment. These results were then collated and analysed using a computer program written as part of the study for the manipulation of the environmental data . Physiological assessment was carried out using methods approved by international bodies such as National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) and International Standards Organisation (ISO) and incorporated the use of a ‘Physiological Factor’ developed to enable the comparison of predicted allowable exposure times and strain on the individual. Results indicated that of the three indices tested, Required Sweat Rate was found to be the most suitable for the climate and in the environment of interest. The WBGT system was suitable in areas in the moderate temperature range (ie 28 to 32°C) but had some deficiencies above this temperature or where the relative humidity exceeded approximately 80%. It was however suitable as a first estimate or first line indicator. HSI over-estimated the physiological strain in situations of high temperatures, low air flows and exaggerated the benefit of artificial air flows on the worker in certain environments ie. fans.

Does democracy facilitate economic growth or does economic growth facilitate democracy? an empirical study of Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines the relationship between democracy and economic growth in 30 Sub-Saharan African countries. As our proxy for democracy we first use the democracy index constructed by Freedom House and then check the sensitivity of our findings using, as an alternative proxy for democracy, the Legislative Index of Electoral Competitiveness (LIEC). We find support for the Lipset hypothesis - in the long run, real GDP Granger causes democracy and an increase in GDP results in an improvement in democracy ??? in Botswana and Niger with both datasets, for Chad with the Freedom House data only and for Cote d???Ivoire and Gabon with the LIEC data only. Support for the compatibility hypothesis - in the long run democracy Granger causes real income and an increase in democracy has a positive effect on real income - is found for Botswana with the Freedom House data and for Madagascar, Rwanda, South Africa and Swaziland with the LIEC data. Support for the conflict hypothesis - in the long run democracy Granger causes real income and an increase in democracy has a negative effect on real income - is found for Gabon with the Freedom House data and Sierra Leone with the LIEC data.

Sub-surface geology of the Kerang District, Murray Basin, Southeast Australia

The subsurface geology of the Kerang District was examined. The stratigraphic relationships between the Cenozoic western marine and eastern non-marine provinces of the Riverine Plain of the Murray Basin are now far better understood. A new three-fold subdivision of the Renmark Group, including the new Mystic Park Formation, is proposed.