Poetry, politics and place : black and white perceptions of landscape in modern Australian poetry 1965-1990

Argues that the most influential landscape poetry deals with landscape as an aesthetic concept, and also with the politics of land ownership. Several "landscape poets". Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, have given voice to some of the most compelling social currents in society, and their work has an important place in contemporary political debate.

Trapped in white space : the allegations and denials of organ trafficking

Allegations of body parts trafficking implicating the West have been surfacing persistently in the media of many non Western countries for almost 20 years. Western media has responded to the allegations with denials and denunciations. This thesis considers the competing accounts and places them in a framework for analysis.

Patient recall of receiving lifestyle advice for overweight and hypertension from their general practitioner

Background
Overweight, obesity and hypertension can be prevented through improvements in lifestyle including nutrition and physical activity. General practitioners (GPs) in Australia have access to over 90% of the population in the course of a year and therefore, the general practice setting may be ideal to assist patients with lifestyle change for weight management and hypertension. The present study aimed to determine the proportion of overweight/obese patients that recalled receiving advice by their GP to make lifestyle changes for weight loss. Recall of advice received by hypertensive patients to reduce salt intake was also measured.

Methods
A face to face survey was conducted on a representative sample (urban, suburban and rural) of South Australian residents. Respondents provided information on height and weight (self-report), whether they had received lifestyle advice from their GP for weight loss, and for those with self reported hypertension if they had received advice to reduce dietary salt.

Results
The sample included 2947 South Australian adult residents (58% female; BMI (mean (SD)), 26.6 (5.3) kg/m2; age, 50.7 (18.0) years). Ninety-six percent had visited their GP in the past 12 months. Forty-one percent of males and 25% of females were overweight and 19% of males and 20% of females were obese. Twenty-seven percent of overweight/obese respondents reported receiving lifestyle advice for weight loss purposes. Of the 33% who reported they had hypertension, 34% reported receiving advice to reduce salt intake.

Conclusions
Less than 1/3 of overweight/obese patients reported that they had received lifestyle advice that could assist with weight loss from their GP. About a third of respondents with hypertension reported that they received advice to reduce salt intake. There are potentially missed opportunities in which GPs could provide re-enforcement of benefits of lifestyle changes with respect to weight and blood pressure control.

Hypertension induced by ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid deficiency is alleviated by α-linolenic acid regardless of dietary source

Ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid deficiency, particularly during the prenatal period, can cause hypertension in later life. This study examined the effect of different sources of α-linolenic acid (canola oil or flaxseed oil) in the prevention of hypertension and other metabolic symptoms induced by an ω-3 fatty acid-deficient diet. Dams were provided one of three experimental diets from 1 week before mating. Diets were either deficient (10% safflower oil-DEF) or sufficient (7% safflower oil+3% flaxseed oil-SUF-F; or 10% canola oil-SUF-C) in ω-3 fatty acids. The male offspring were continued on the maternal diet from weaning for the duration of the study. Body weight, ingestive behaviors, blood pressure, body composition, metabolic rate, plasma leptin and brain fatty acids were all assessed. The DEF animals were hypertensive at 24 weeks of age compared with SUF-F or SUF-C animals; this was not evident at 12 weeks. These results suggest that different sources of ALA are effective in preventing hypertension related to ω-3 fatty acid deficiency. However, there were other marked differences between the DEF and, in particular, the SUF-C phenotype including lowered body weight, adiposity, leptin and food intake in SUF-C animals. SUF-F animals also had lower, but less marked reductions in adiposity and leptin compared with DEF animals. The differences observed between DEF, SUF-F and SUF-C phenotypes indicate that body fat and leptin may be involved in ω-3 fatty acid deficiency hypertension.

Black and white : in search of an ‘apt’ response to Indigenous writing

‘The good editor,’ suggests Thomas McCormack in his Fiction Editor, the Novel and the Novelist, ‘reads, and … responds aptly’ to the writer’s work, ‘where “aptly” means “as the ideal appropriate reader would”.’ McCormack develops an argument that encompasses the dual ideas of sensibility and craft as essential characteristics of the fiction editor. But at an historical juncture that has seen increasing interest in the publication of Indigenous writing, and when Indigenous writers themselves may envisage a multiplicity of readers (writing, for instance, for family and community, and to educate a wider white audience), who is the ‘ideal appropriate reader’ for the literary works of the current generation of Australian Indigenous writers? And what should the work of this ‘good editor’ be when engaging with the text of an Indigenous writer? This paper examines such questions using the work of Margaret McDonell and Jennifer Jones, among others, to explore ways in which non-Indigenous editors may apply aspects of McCormack’s ‘apt response’ to the editing of Indigenous texts.

Black fella land – white fella tax : changing the CGT implications of aboriginal/native title

The taxation of aboriginal/native title payments gives rise to a number of complex and difficult legal and policy issues. Reform measures announced on 13 February 1998 by the then Federal Treasurer and Attorney-General did not address the possible capital gains tax (‘CGT’) implications and even those relating to ordinary income under s 6-5 Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) remain unimplemented. The much anticipated Report of the Native Title Payments Working group (6 February 2009), while primarily focusing on non-taxation issues, also recognises the need for taxation reform and makes some recommendations in regard to such. Most recently, on 18 May the Assistant Treasurer, Senator Nick Sherry, the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin, and the Attorney General, Robert McClelland, announced the commencement of a national consultation on the tax treatment of native title, including the interaction of native title, Indigenous economic development and the tax system. The Assistant Treasurer recognised the need for “greater clarity and increased certainty for native title holders on how the tax system and native title interact.” At the same time, they released a paper entitled Native Title, Indigenous Economic Development and Tax to guide the national consultation. The proposed measures considered in the paper, including exempting Native title payments and/or creating a new tax exempt Indigenous Community Fund, provide a welcome step towards reform in this area. This article is part of a broader research project that explores the CGT implications of aboriginal/native title. While these provisions impact on both Indigenous traditional owners and relevant payers, such as mining companies, the focus in the project is particularly on the CGT implications for the traditional owners. This first part of the project examines the status of aboriginal/native title and incidental/ ancillary rights as CGT assets. The broader research project will then build on this analysis in the context of relevant CGT events. As the preliminary findings in this article evidence the CGT implications of aboriginal/native title are far from certain. The application of CGT to aboriginal/native title raises more issues than it answers. The key reason is that the current law is entirely unsuitable to communally held inalienable aboriginal/native title. Nevertheless, it will be seen that it is arguable that aboriginal/native title and/or incidental rights are post-CGT assets and acts in relation to such could trigger a CGT event with tax implications for the traditional owners. It will be suggested that these current tax provisions provide a very pertinent example where the law operates as a blunt tool that does not appropriately promote justice and reconciliation. To tax Indigenous communities as a result of acts that extinguish or impair their traditional ownership is incongruous. A specific provision(s) should be included in the capital gains provisions to ensure any such payments are exempt from taxation. This is not only fair given the history of uncompensated extinguishment of aboriginal title Australia, but also promotes the ability of Indigenous communities to optimise the financial benefits stemming from aboriginal/native title agreements.

Thin white women in advertising : deathly corporeality

This article examines the way that contemporary British women’s magazine advertising employs idealized images of thin white women to confer status on a range of beauty products and services. These lean, pure, radiant images of white women are imagined to be natural sources of light, beauty, and the entry point (with the product) to a higher state of female grace. However, the article also addresses what is argued to be the ‘absence’ effect and the lack of corporeal life that is also at the core of many of these ‘lacking’ images of white women. The article argues that such textual ruptures and contradictions, in turn, point to the way that thinness itself, as a self-willed body project, can be considered to be a resistant body practice, or one that draws attention to the life and death struggle at the heart of what it means to be a ‘good’ white woman in a patriarchal society

Role of angiotensin II in the hypertension induced by renal artery stenosis

Identical degrees of renal artery stenosis were induced in 5 dogs on two separate occasions; once during continuous inhibition of angiotensin I converting enzyme with enalapril, and once with the dogs untreated. Arterial pressure rose about 25 mm Hg during 3 days of stenosis in untreated dogs, due to increased total peripheral resistance. When the dogs were treated with enalapril, blood pressure had risen 14.5 ± 3.4 mm Hg 24 hours after stenosis due to a 35% increase in cardiac output while total peripheral resistance fell by 16%. By the third day, blood pressure had returned to pre-stenosis levels, cardiac output was close to normal and total peripheral resistance had increased. The stenosis on the renal artery increased the resistance to blood flow of the kidneys in both untreated and enalapril treated dogs. This increase in kidney resistance in the untreated dogs accounted for about 30% of the change in total peripheral resistance. In the enalapril treated dogs, the increased kidney resistance helped offset the vasodilatation in the rest of the vasculature. These results suggest that angiotensin II mediated vasoconstriction of nonrenal vascular beds was responsible for about ⅔ of the hypertension following renal artery stenosis, and the resistance of the stenosis responsible for about ⅓.

New directions in biodiversity policy and governance? : a critique of Victoria's land and biodiversity white paper

The overall condition of biodiversity in many parts of Australia is poor and declining, despite the establishment of national parks and other reserves, and the adoption of conservation activities on private land. The impacts of climate change add further challenges to sustaining biodiversity. In response to these issues, in December 2009, the State Government of Victoria released a major policy statement that aimed to provide the framework and directions to secure the health of Victoria's biodiversity and associated land and water resources over the next 50 years. Given Victoria's reputation for environmental policy reform and innovation, the question arises as to whether the Victorian approach will provide a model for other Australian jurisdictions to adopt or adapt. Drawing on insights from environmental policy, discourse theory, and ecological theory, this article provides a critique of Victoria's approach, focusing on the way in which biodiversity is conceptualised and governed.