Part-time employment trends for full-time undergraduate property and construction students : results of a two year sequential investigation

This paper reports on the initial findings of an investigation into the experiences and part-time work practices of undergraduates enrolled in the Bachelor of Property and Construction (BPC) and combined degree courses at the University of Melbourne. Initial data was collected from final year students during 2001 and for all four years of the course in 2002. The results suggest that students in earlier years of the course are more likely to work in non-industry (casual) related employment and work fewer hours. Students in later years of the BPC course are more likely to work in jobs in the construction industry and also to work longer hours than those in earlier years. An analysis of final year students shows that the students employed by contracting organisations work significantly more hours than students employed by other types of organisations including architectural practices. The consequences of part-time semester employment on academic performance and students' well-being are considered and proposals are put forward as to how to better manage the industry experience-University relationship.

Volume confinement induced microstructural transitions and property enhancements of supramolecular soft materials

The rheological properties of supramolecular soft functional materials are determined by the networks within the materials. This research reveals for the first time that the volume confinement during the formation of supramolecular soft functional materials will exert a significant impact on the rheological properties of the materials. A class of small molecular organogels formed by the gelation of N-lauroyl-L-glutamic acid din-butylamide (GP-1) in ethylene glycol (EG) and propylene glycol (PG) solutions were adopted as model systems for this study. It follows that within a confined space, the elasticity of the gel can be enhanced more than 15 times compared with those under un-restricted conditions. According to our optical microscopy observations and rheological measurements, this drastic enhancement is caused by the structural transition from a multi-domain network system to a single network system once the average size of the fiber network of a given material reaches the lowest dimension of the system. The understanding acquired from this work will provide a novel strategy to manipulate the network structure of soft materials, and exert a direct impact on the micro-engineering of such supramolecular materials in micro and nano scales.

Real-time observation of fiber network formation in molecular organogel : supersaturation-dependent microstructure and its related rheological property

Low-molecular mass organic gelators self-organizing into three-dimensional fiber networks within organic solvents have attracted much attention in recent years. However, to date, how the microstructure of fiber network is formed in a gelation process and the key factors that govern the topological structure of a gel network remain to be determined. In this work, we address these issues by investigating the in situ formation of the gel networks in the N-lauroyl-l-glutamic acid di-n-butylamide (GP-1)/propylene glycol (PG) system. By using optical microscopy, the time evolution of the gel network microstructure was investigated under various supersaturation conditions. It is found that supersaturation is one of the key factors that govern the topological structure of a gel network. In particular, the creation of the junctions turns out to be supersaturation-dependent. The rheological experiments further revealed the correlation between topological structure and mechanical properties. It suggests that the rheological properties can be effectively modified by tuning the microstructure topology of the gel network. Our results reported here provide new physical insight into the formation kinetics of a molecular gel. Furthermore, this work could be important in constructing and engineering a supramolecular structure for the purpose of applications.

Spherulitic networks : from structure to rheological property

A finite element method based on ABAQUS is employed to examine the correlation between the microstructure and the elastic response of planar Cayley treelike fiber networks. It is found that the elastic modulus of the fiber network decreases drastically with the fiber length, following the power law. The power law of elastic modulus G′ vs the correlation length ξ obtained from this simulation has an exponent of −1.71, which is close to the exponent of −1.5 for a single-domain network of agar gels. On the other hand, the experimental results from multidomain networks give rise to a power law index of −0.49. The difference between −1.5 and −0.49 can be attributed to the multidomain structure, which weakens the structure of the overall system and therefore suppresses the increase in G′. In addition, when the aspect ratio of the fiber is smaller than 20, the radius of the fiber cross-section has a great impact on the network elasticity, while, when the aspect ratio is larger than 20, it has almost no effect on the elastic property of the network. The stress distribution in the network is uniform due to the symmetrical network structure. This study provides a general understanding of the correlation between microscopic structure and the macroscopic properties of soft functional materials.

Traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and intellectual property law in the Asia-Pacific region

Contents

* The international debate about traditional knowledge and approaches in the Asia-Pacific region / Christoph Antons
* How are the different views of traditional knowledge linked by international law and global governance? / Christopher Arup
* Protection of traditional knowledge by geographical indications / Michael Blakeney
* An analysis of WIPO's latest proposal and the Model Law 2002 of the Pacific Community for the Protection of Traditional Cultural Expressions / Silke von Lewinski
* The role of customary law and practice in the protection of traditional knowledge related to biological diversity / Brendan Tobin
* Can modern law safeguard archaic cultural expressions? : observations from a legal sociology perspective / Christoph Beat Graber
* Branding identity and copyrighting culture : orientations towards the customary in traditional knowledge discourse / Martin Chanock
* Being indigenous' in Indonesia and the Philippines / Gerard A. Persoon
* Indigenous heritage and the digital commons / Eric Kansa
* Traditional cultural expression and the internet world / Brian Fitzgerald and Susan Hedge
* Cultural property and "the public domain" : case studies from New Zealand and Australia / Susy Frankel and Megan Richardson
* The recognition of traditional knowledge under Australian biodiscovery regimes : why bother with intellectual property rights? / Natalie Stoianoff
* Protection of traditional knowledge in the SAARC region and India's efforts / S.K. Verma
* The protection of expressions of folklore in Sri Lanka / Indunil Abeyesekere
* Traditional medicine and intellectual property rights : a case study of the Indonesian jamu industry / Christoph Antons and Rosy Antons-Sutanto.