ePublications@SCU

A study of the enabling factors that would impact the efficacy of direct marketing in early childhood education industry in Singapore

Chandran@T. Chandroo Thirumalai — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:20:30 PST

Education is an important part of life. Lifelong learning is important in acquiring new knowledge and upgrading one’s skills, particularly in this age of rapid technological and economic changes. The educational services industry includes a variety of institutions that offer academic education, vocational and professional education that trained millions of students each year. The amount and type of education that individuals receive are a major influence on both the types of learning provided by various centres (Woodrow 1999). This is particularly true for the case in early childhood education as discussed in United Nation Educational, UNESCO 2007 EFA (Education For All) Global Monitoring Report. The challenges arise on how to reach out to the parents (Knopf and Swick 2006). There are different approaches such as advertisements, media and direct marketing. Early Childhood Education companies have amassed massive wealth through Direct Marketing as compared to other industries (Wilson 2006; Virginia 1995; Gronroos 1991; Hunt 1976).

The common feature among many global players in Early Childhood Education is that they use Direct Marketing, a form of marketing that dispenses the middlemen, the intermediaries who usually are retailers or businesses that own a chain of shops to sell their suppliers’ products for profit. By eliminating re-sellers, the principals make huge savings (Spiller and Baier 2005; Virginia, 1995). It is not uncommon for any agency in the United States, United Kingdom and Singapore to demand for at least 50 per cent as fees for being a re-seller. This includes the cost of curriculum development. The Proposed Research will involve the development of a direct marketing approach as applied to the early childhood education industry in Singapore. Subsequently, the research question formulates around the key concepts and issues on the influences by the enabling factors and efficacy in the implementation of direct marketing strategies. From the analysis, only 3 variables namely person presenting, with kids presence, image of the promoter are positively corrected to direct marketing strategy. Hence when formulating the direct marketing strategy, these 3 factors will be considered.

The research has contributed to the body of knowledge in the parent discipline of direct marketing. It is important for Early Childhood Education centres that used direct marketing to woo customers to understand the needs and wants of the parents so that they can implement the suitable direct marketing strategy. The research model in this thesis has provided a platform for the understanding the efficacy factors of direct marketing and Early Childhood Education industry.

This research provides an insight to the efficacy factors of direct marketing strategy in Singapore Early Childhood Education industry. There are a total of 341 valid questionnaires which equates to 341 parents, guardians and relatives responding, thus, the research results will be able to provide some generalization and implications to Singapore Early Childhood Education providers. Evidences have shown that 3 variables namely person presenting, with kids presence and image of the promoters are important variables influencing the efficacy factors of direct marketing. With this finding, any direct marketing strategy by the education centre should be tailored with emphasis on these 3 variables. For example, to select the right category of person presenting the presentation, the acknowledgment of kids’ presence and influencing the decisions, the company should also look at the image of the promoters being professional, knowledgeable and caring.

Negotiation across China: how to build and manage guanxi during the negotiation process

Chia Heng Liu — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:38:28 PST

This thesis examines the practical issue of how to build and manage guanxi during the negotiation process. China has become a major topic of conversation in academic, business and negotiation literature in recent times, as has the concept of guanxi behaviour. However, we know little about how guanxi in non-Eastern cultures, such as Australians, feel about this idea. For this reason, three research questions were developed in the Literature Review. The research methodology is qualitative, based on the interpretivism paradigm using a phenomenology research design. In-depth interviews were conducted with 24 Australian and Chinese participants. The findings were also triangulated using the focus group interviews.

The research data analysis is based on the Stevick-Colaizzi-Jeen method by Moustakas (1994). The results show that guanxi itself is a quality built on relationships, favours, dependence, competency, experience and adaptation rather than inter-organisation relationships. Furthermore, the study of guanxi needs to be done by examining both internal factors (for example, cooperate) and external factors (for example, macro-environment) which influence the negotiation of an enterprise. Finally, guanxi strategies aim to improve: (1) guanxi quality; (2) negotiation performance; (3) competitive position; and (4) competitive advantage for win-win negotiation purposes.

Based on the findings, a new conceptual framework is proposed in an attempt to develop theories of guanxi perception, the influence of guanxi in business negotiation, and guanxi strategies.

Identifying suitable invertebrate species from a unique habitat for ecotoxicological testing

Hughes R et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:56:40 PST

In this study a variety of Australian rocky shore species were used to identify a suitable species for future ecotoxicological testing. Static-renewal experiments were conducted to determine the sensitivity of several rocky shore species exposed to a range of copper concentrations for 96 hours. The copper 96-h LC50 values for the flatworm, Phrikoceros baibaiye, ranged from 14 to 17 μg/L. The larvae of this flatworm showed phototactic responses, which may be suitable for sub lethal studies in the future. The shrimp, Alope orientalis, also had low 96-h LC50 values for copper from 54 to 128 μg/L. The sea anemone, Actinia sp., was relatively tolerant to copper with LC50 values ranging from 182 to 347 μg/L. Austrocochlea constricta was unsuitable for toxicity tests as it moved out of the water in the test containers for long periods of time. No one species meets all the criteria of an ideal test species, however, further work is warranted on three of the species.

Bioaccumulation of metals in Eisenia fetida after exposure to a metal-loaded bauxsol™ reagent

Gregory Arthur Maddocks et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:44:48 PST

The present sudy investigated the acute toxic effects of a metal-loaded Bauxsol^™ reagent (MLBR), containing more than 6,450 mg kg⁻¹ of bound metal, on the earthworm Eisenia fetida. Bauxsol is manufactured by Virotec Global Solutions of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The E. fetida were exposed to 0, 10, 20, 40, 60, and 80% treatments of MLBR plus cow manure for 28 d. Good motility and no mortality of E. fetida were found in all treatments after 28 d of exposure. The greatest bioaccumulation of metals by E. fetida occurred in the 20 and 40% MLBR treatments. The bioaccumulation of metals in the worms and bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) were less than the reported toxicity thresholds to cause mortality and less than the reported BAF for moderately contaminated soils, indicating that metals bound to Bauxsol reagents are mostly nonbioavailable. Analyses of the 20% MLBR treatment at 28 d using a sequential extraction procedure showed that more than 95% of the metals are bound within the Fe/Mn oxide fractions. However, changes occurred in metal fractionation after exposure to E. fetida for Cd/Cr, and Fe/Mn. The data also showed that the exchangeable (1 M MgCl₂) and the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure extractant are useful as indicators of metal bioavailability from MLBR to E. fetida.

Effects of copper on the fertilization success of the soft coral Lobophytum compactum

Amanda J. Reichelt-Brushett et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:36:37 PST

This study provides the first information on the effects of various concentrations of copper on the fertilization success of gametes from the soft coral Lobophytum compactum. Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of copper on fertilization success during the mass coral spawning in 2004 on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The results from the first experiment showed a surprising resistance to copper with control treatments showing 90% fertilization compared to 65% fertilization in measured copper concentrations up to 132 μg/L. Copper concentrations of 69 μg/L and higher resulted in significantly reduced fertilization success when compared to the controls. Copper doses were increased in experiment 2 and the EC50 value for copper effects on fertilization success was 261 μg/L (208–328 μg/L, 95% confidence limits). In this follow-up experiment, fertilization success was significantly lower than the controls after exposure to copper concentrations of 117 μg/L and above. The EC50 value reported here is much higher than those found in the literature on fertilization experiments conducted on hard coral gametes and also for the fertilization success of other marine organisms, including sea urchins, oysters and fish.

The effect of selected trace metals on the fertilization success of several scleractinian coral species

Amanda J. Reichelt-Brushett et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:22:00 PST

This study provides new information on the effects of various concentrations of the trace metals copper, lead, zinc, cadmium, and nickel on fertilization success of gametes from the scleractinian reef corals Goniastrea aspera,Goniastrea retiformis, Acropora tenuis, and Acropora longicyathus. The EC50 values (the concentration that reduces the fertilization rate by 50% relative to the control fertilization) for copper effects on fertilization success of these coral species range from 15 to 40 lg/L, which is similar to responses of other marine invertebrates. The EC50 values for lead were 1450– 1800 lg/L for the Acropora species, and >2400 lg/L for G. aspera gametes, which indicates that lead was much less toxic than copper. Fertilization responses to zinc and nickel were variable and a significant reduction in fertilization success for A. tenuis gametes was found only at very high cadmium concentrations. The data from this study and other recent research clearly demonstrate that some trace metals impair the fertilization success of gametes from faviid and acroporiid reef corals. Trace metal inputs into reef waters should be limited and controlled to avoid potential interference with sexual reproductive processes of reef corals.

Re-establishing a saltmarsh vegetation structure in a changing climate

Joanne Green et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:08:21 PST

A major management decision in an ecological restoration or rehabilitation project is whether supplementary planting or natural vegetation regeneration is the better alternative or if a combination can be applied. Management decisions are further complicated when the project involves saltmarsh as tidal cycles, the effects of salinity and sea level rise add to the complexity of decisions. The ecological values of the saltmarsh community in Australia were only recognized relatively recently but the endangered ecological community listing in 1994 (under the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995) highlighted the need to protect, rehabilitate and restore saltmarsh.

This project measured vegetation change after soil profile reconstruction in saltmarsh surrounding Sponsors Lagoon, Fingal Peninsula in north coastal New South Wales, Australia. Restored sites (planted and non-planted) were compared with nearby disturbed (control) and reference sites. The dominant species in the community to be restored were Saltwater Couch (Sporobolus virginicus), Suaeda (Suaeda australis), Sarcocornia (Sarcocornia quinqueflora ssp. quinqueflora and Sea Rush (Juncus kraussii ssp. australiensis). Changes in percentage cover of the species in the first three years after soil reconstruction work showed that the dominant Saltwater Couch established only from vegetative growth arising from remnant vegetation but there was strong seedling regeneration of several other species. It was concluded that planting is important for species that are less vagile, in larger, denuded parts of this site where their resilience is lower and natural regeneration potential is limited. An understanding of the biology of the individual species is therefore likely to be essential in saltmarsh restoration projects. A combination of techniques, incorporating planting of slower establishing species and encouragement of seed-germinated colonizers is useful for initial site stabilization and progressive ecological recovery at this site. The inclusion of migration zones in the planning phase will allow for the long-term viability of this restoration project.

Investigating gastropod habitat associations in saltmarsh

Joanne Green et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:00:11 PST

Recent studies have provided new information on the taxonomy of gastropods snails in Australian saltmarsh but little is known of their ecology. For fauna colonisation to be used as a measure of the success of restoration or rehabilitation of degraded saltmarsh, a detailed understanding of the microhabitat associations of the target species in ‘reference’ locations across a range of latitudes is necessary. This study measured the densities of saltmarsh gastropods in two locations in northern New South Wales to determine microhabitat associations that could influence the results of rehabilitation assessment using fauna colonisation in Australian saltmarsh. In this study, Ophicardelus spp. were common in tall vegetation, in particular, Juncus kraussii. Phallomedusa solida was commonly on mud substrates but was more evenly distributed across the saltmarsh than Ophicardelus ornatus. This study has implications for the design and assessment of restoration projects. If habitats of the individual species are not created by rehabilitation actions, or do not occur for whatever reason, densities of particular species will be lower than at reference sites, thus influencing assessment of the ‘success’ of saltmarsh rehabilitation using gastropod snails.

Assessment of metals and a metalloid in sediments from Hawaiian coral reef ecosystems

Laetitia Hedouin et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:51:08 PST

Carbon cycling in South-East Australian estuaries

Damien Troy Maher — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:48:06 PST

Our conceptual understanding of estuarine carbon cycling is based predominantly on northern hemisphere temperate systems which differ from south-east Australian estuaries in many ways. Further, significant information gaps exist in our understanding of the estuarine carbon cycle, in particular the biogeochemical cycling of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and air-water fluxes of CO2. The aim of this study was to measure the major biogeochemical fluxes of carbon within three estuaries of differing geomorphology over an annual cycle to develop a conceptual understanding of what drives estuarine metabolism, DOC cycling and air-water CO2 fluxes in these systems, and to compare and contrast the carbon cycle in these systems to other estuarine systems.

Benthic metabolism in each estuary was dominated by productivity and respiration in seagrass habitats, and integrated estuary-wide annual net benthic production in the three systems ranged from net heterotrophic in the river dominated estuary (-25 gC m-2 yr-1) to autotrophic in the two marine dominated systems (~100 gC m-2 yr-1). Artificial neural network (ANN) models were successfully implemented using a suite of readily measured parameters to model benthic metabolism, and may provide a suitable alternative to tradition linear regression models, particularly in seagrass habitats where relationships between metabolism and physico-chemical parameters are often non-linear. ANN models used to predict benthic metabolism changes associated with a modest 1 - 2°C increase in temperature indicate that net benthic production will increase by up to ~ 30% indicating a potential negative feedback mechanism to global climate change.

Benthic DOC fluxes exhibited seasonal and diel variation, with highest effluxes during summer from seagrass habitats (up to 50 mmolC m-2 d-1), and generally DOC uptake observed during the dark. Annually, the sediments within each estuary were a net source of DOC to the water column. DOC fluxes were driven by the interaction between autotrophic production (exudation) and heterotrophic (bacterial) consumption, and the quantity and source of organic matter loading to the sediments. A compilation of previous studies and the results from this study suggests that the benthic DOC flux from the coastal ocean may be up to four fold higher than previous estimates.

The composition of the water column dissolved organic matter pool was altered due to the benthic flux of DOC, with the shift in ratio of DOC to dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) indicating preferential uptake of “carbon rich” organic matter during the dark and release of carbon rich dissolved organic matter (DOM) during the light. The modeled δ13C value of the DOC taken up by the sediments during the dark indicated a terrestrial origin, and may be linked to flocculation of terrestrial derived DOM. During the light the modeled δ13C value of the effluxed DOC indicated that the source of DOC appeared to be early digenesis of higher order (non algae) plants based on the correlation between these values and the isotope value of sedimentary long chain fatty acids (LCFA).

Estuarine net ecosystem metabolism (NEM) was autotrophic and similar in magnitude in each estuary annually (~8 – 10 molC m-2 yr-1), however the contribution of different primary producers to this net production varied across the three estuaries. In the river-dominated system, NEM was solely supported by phytoplankton production, with the benthos being net heterotrophic annually. In the two marine dominated systems the contribution of phytoplankton varied between ~20 and 50% of total estuarine metabolism. Carbon burial was ~ four-fold higher in the two marine dominated systems (~4 mol C m-2 yr-1) than the river dominated estuary (~1 mol C m-2 yr-1). All three estuaries were a net sink of atmospheric CO2 annually ranging from 0.4 - 2 mol C m-2 yr-1. A compilation of data from this study and previous studies suggests that the estuarine air-water CO2 flux is coupled to NEM, and that previous global estimates based solely on heterotrophic systems may significantly over-estimate the magnitude of this efflux.

This study shows that the carbon cycle in these autotrophic, relatively pristine estuaries differs significantly from our conceptual understanding of estuarine carbon biogeochemistry which is based predominantly on heterotrophic and/or impacted systems. Therefore a different management approach is required to maintain ecosystem health in these benthic driven systems.

An investigation of soil algal abundance using chlorophyll a in a subtropical saltmarsh after surface restoration

Joanne Green et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:40:39 PST

The recent listing of saltmarsh in northern New South Wales, Australia, as an endangered ecological community has highlighted the need to rehabilitate damaged saltmarsh and create new areas to offset losses. Land managers require scientific measurements of the early stages of restoration for adaptive management but the interpretation of the data should account for environmental factors. In this study of a degraded and rehabilitated subtropical saltmarsh on the east coast of Australia, measurements of the changes in the soil microalgal community using chlorophyll a showed the differences between reference sites and treatment sites. Analyses of across-site variables showed that solar radiation, rainfall, and tidal inundation influenced microalgal growth, highlighting the importance of seasonal studies. Microalgal abundances showed relationships with developing site variables such as percentage soil moisture, total organic carbon, and total nitrogen. MDS analyses using chlorophyll a showed that the restoration sites were progressing towards, but were not equivalent to the reference state in the short time since restoration (two years) despite the fast growth rates of soil algae.

Grain size normalization: a case for post extraction normalization and inclusion of selective extraction procedures

Darren J. Akhurst et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:24:33 PST

The spatial mapping of trace metal and/or nutrient elemental concentrations in surface is often aided by normalization approaches that allow comparison of texturally, geochemically, and mineralogically dissimilar sites. Frequently, this is a grain-size normalization at < 62.5 μm before chemical analysis. However, material that is >62.5 μm (generally geochemically inert) may have fine-grained coatings that bind components of interest and/or may consist of aggregates of fine-grained sediment. The misplacement of these essential components within the coarse fraction of size-normalized sediments may skew data and subsequent geochemical interpretations, especially when these components make up a substantial proportion of the sediment metal and/or nutrient binding capacity. In this article, sedimentary contaminant data were normalized using size normalization (wet sieving < 62.5 μm) and a post-extraction normalization (PEN). PEN is a size-based normalization procedure devised to minimize the misplacement of fine-grained coatings/aggregates by applying a size and mineralogical normalization to inert digestion residuals, post-chemical extraction. The data show that PEN provides a more ecologically and diagenetically interpretable representation of partitioning of elements between sediments in a freshwater reservoir. In addition, PEN samples are more rapidly collected, and consequently, PEN provides a cheaper alternative to traditional size normalization. In addition, application of the PEN allows the collection of data not only relevant to ecological health, but also relevant sedimentary diagenetic mobility data using a single sediment sample.

Toxicity of raw and neutralized bauxite refinery residue liquors to the freshwater cladoceran Ceriodaphnia dubia and the marine amphipod Paracalliope australis

Pelli Louise Howe et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:08:10 PST

The extraction of alumina from bauxite produces a highly toxic residue, termed bauxite refinery residue (BRR) or red mud. The toxicity of this material is due to chemical and biological effects of high pH, alkalinity, electrical conductivity (EC), and Na⁺ and Al³⁺ concentrations. Several neutralization techniques may allow BRR to be used for environmental remediation. The present study investigated standardized 48-h acute toxicity tests with a freshwater cladoceran, Ceriodaphnia dubia, and a marine amphipod, Paracalliope australis, against raw supernatant BRR liquor (RL) versus liquors neutralized with acid (ANL), CO₂ (CNL), seawater (SNL), and a hybrid method (HNL). Based on 48-h LC50 values, the toxicity of the liquors to C. dubia increased in the following order; HNL ≤ SNL < ANL ≤ CNL < RL, with comparable responses from P. australis. The high toxicity of RL likely is due to high pH (∼12), alkalinity, and Al concentration. Toxicity of CNL likely is due to high EC and alkalinity. Sulfate and Na⁺ concentrations are considered sources of toxicity in ANL. Seawater-neutralized liquor and HNL were considerably less toxic to both test species. These data provide evidence of the acute lethal toxicity of raw supernatant liquor from BRR and four neutralized supernatant liquors to the freshwater cladoceran C. dubia and the marine amphipod P. australis, providing valuable baselines for further ecotoxicological investigations of BRR materials in aquatic environments. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2011;30:2817–2824. © 2011 SETAC

The evolution of a coastal peatland at Byron Bay, Australia: multi-proxy evidence from the microfossil record

Kathryn H. Taffs et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:51:29 PST

This impressive collection celebrates the work of Peter Kershaw, a key figure in the field of Australian palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Over almost half a century his research helped reconceptualize ecology in Australia, creating a detailed understanding of environmental change in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Within a biogeographic framework one of his exceptional contributions was to explore the ways that Aboriginal people may have modified the landscape through the effects of anthropogenic burning. These ideas have had significant impacts on thinking within the fields of geomorphology, biogeography, archaeology, anthropology and history. Papers presented here continue to explore the dynamism of landscape change in Australia and the contribution of humans to those transformations. The volume is structured in two sections. The first examines evidence for human engagement with landscape, focusing on Australia and Papua New Guinea but also dealing with the human/environmental histories of Europe and Asia. The second section contains papers that examine palaeoecology and present some of the latest research into environmental change in Australia and New Zealand. Individually these papers, written by many of Australia’s prominent researchers in these fields, are significant contributions to our knowledge of Quaternary landscapes and human land use. But Peopled Landscapes also signifies the disciplinary entanglement that is archaeological and biogeographic research in this region, with archaeologists and environmental scientists contributing to both studies of human land use and palaeoecology. Peopled Landscapes reveals the interdisciplinary richness of Quaternary research in the Australasian region as well as the complexity and richness of the entangled environmental and human pasts of these lands.

- Prof. Peter Hiscock, The Australian National University

The Burrum River estuary: identifying reference sites for Australian sub-tropical esturine systems using paleolimnological methods

Brendan Logan et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:29:22 PST

Palaeolimnology in eastern and southern Australian estuaries

John Tibby et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:23:55 PST

"Something amazing I guess": children's views on having a say about supervised contact

Robyn Margaret Fitzgerald et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:14:08 PST

This paper reports on a small-scale, qualitative study on children's perspectives about their participation in decision-making processes regarding supervised contact. The paper begins with an overview of the study and a summary of findings in relation to four key research questions framed around the idea of children having a say, that is, children's views and perspectives of their participation in family law decision-making processes. These key questions include: What are children's experiences of having a say? What are children's understandings of having a say? Did children want a say in the decision for them to have supervised contact? How did having (or not having) a say feel? Discussion focuses on what importance children place on having a say in family law matters, a finding that is contrasted with children's experiences of marginalisation and exclusion from decision-making processes and of ambivalence and reluctance sometimes expressed around having a say. Children's idea of having a say as taking place in and through particular forms of dialogue and conversation, thus enabling the recognition of children and respect for what they have to say, are also explored. We conclude by reflecting on the implications of the study for professionals working in family law

The changing status of children within family law from vision to reality?

Robyn Fitzgerald et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:14:07 PST

Responses of Palau's coral reefs to disturbances at multiple scales

Yimnang Golbuu — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:31:51 PST

The coral reefs of Palau are being increasingly exposed to local and global threats. Among these threats, two of the most serious impacts are ocean warming and sedimentation through local land-use change. This thesis examines how Palau’s coral reefs respond to, and recover from, thermal stress and land-use change. The 1998 thermal stress event caused extensive bleaching and coral mortality that reduced mean coral cover from 50-70% to 14-23% on most reefs around Palau. However, the extent of mortality depended on reef types, with nearshore fringing reefs experiencing less mortality from bleaching than patch and exposed barrier reefs. Coral cover increased rapidly after 1998 in the sheltered bays (6.6 % per year), despite a low recruitment rate, suggesting that recovery in bays was primarily a consequence of remnant regrowth. Recruitment densities were consistently high on the wave-exposed reefs, particularly the western slopes. Recovery was initially more rapid at 10 m than at 3 m on outer reefs, but in 2004 recovery rates were similar at both depths and recovery was attributed to both recruitment and regrowth of remnants. Rapid recovery was possible because Palau’s coral reefs were buffered by remnant survival plus recruitment from the less impacted habitats.

The most river-impacted coral reefs of Palau were characterized by high accumulation of mud, low-coral cover and low-coral diversity. River-sediment yield was the best indicator of land-use development. Although reef geomorphology and hydrodynamic regimes affected the flow of sediments onto the reef, the greatest contribution to reef sedimentation was from land development. Coral diversity increased with increasing distance from the heavily impacted watersheds. Yet, total coral cover was not a suitable indicator of river impact. More suitable and sensitive indicators of land-use change were the abundance of Fungiidae, Pavona spp., Acropora spp., Pachyseris spp. and Porites rus, all of which significantly increased in cover with distance from the river.

Coral cover was related to mean suspended solid concentration, while coral richness, and density and recruits richness were related to terrestrial sedimentation. Indeed, the reefs adjacent to land with little development had high coral cover and high coral richness, while reefs adjacent to developed watersheds had low-coral cover and low-coral richness. Reefs were less impacted by sedimentation at sites farther from land, but their condition was also dependent on the presence of consolidated substrate. A transplant study along the watershed gradient showed that Acropora digitifera pigmentation was clearly different among sites, yet survival rates and coral growth did not differ significantly. This is most likely due to their large initial size, which enabled the transplants to ‘escape’ severe sedimentation stress.

While nearshore reefs were less impacted by the 1998 bleaching event, they are the reefs most susceptible to sedimentation stress from land-use change. These results strongly suggest that reducing threats to coral reefs from local land-use change, increases the likelihood of recovery from thermal stress, under an increasingly warming ocean.

'Australian secondary students secondary students' views about global warming: beliefs about actions, and willingness to act

Keith Skamp et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:02:52 PST

NSW secondary students’ views (n=500) about how useful various specific actions might be at reducing global warming, their willingness to undertake the various actions, and the extent to which these two might be linked were determined using a constructed questionnaire. The degree to which students were willing to act was often greater or less than might be expected from the extent to which they believed particular proenvironmental actions to be useful. The strength of the relationships, for each action, between students’ willingness to act and their belief that an action would be effective were explored. This suggested a measure of the potential effectiveness of education about that action. Where this relationship was weakaltering belief about the usefulness of the action might not be expected to produce major changes in behaviour. Where the relationship was stronger environmental education could well be effective, especially if a large proportion of the population are not already willing to undertake that action.

A comparative study: beliefs and willingness to act about global warming: comparing secondary students' responses in Australia and England

Keith Skamp et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:57:37 PST

A comparative study: beliefs and willingness to act about global warming: comparing secondary students' responses in Australia and England (Conference)

Keith Skamp et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:52:34 PST

Limitation of liability for maritime claims and its place in the past present and future: how can it survive?

Serge Killingbeck — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:36:06 PST

Historical outline of the limitation of liability for maritime claims along with its application and whether it continues to have relevance in US, UK and Australian jurisdictions.

Assessment of genetically diverse international barley germplasm for development of food product applications

Abderrazek Jilal — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:19:50 PST

Barley landraces have experienced years of natural and farmer massal selection in favour of his particular trait of interest (food, feed or malt) without any scientific background on their performance, quality or inner properties. Eight hundred and seventy eight barley landraces, collected from farmers’ sites typically used for food belonging to forty three countries, were investigated to uncover the elite properties of this international barley landraces. Series of agro-morphological, physiological and quality analyses were performed. Greater genotype effect over environment for agro-morphological and physiological traits was detected by GGE Biplot analysis when considering cultivars grown under adverse environmental conditions of the two ICARDA’s experiment stations. Strong evident correlations between traits for individuals from different countries were observed (positive: grain yield and biomass; peduncle extrusion and peduncle length, negative: heading date with grain yield and peduncle properties. The wild relative Hordeum ssp spontaneum was clearly distinct from the cultivated barley as depicted with principal coordinate and cluster analyses. The geographical representation of the agro-morphological and physiological traits based on their averages could guide an efficient collection of a specific trait of interest (e.g. trait: material with high canopy temperature depression to be collected in Morocco, high fluorescence ratio in China and high chlorophyll content in Iran). Genetic diversity study of 304 subset barley landraces from 29 countries with twenty SSR markers was also conducted. Out of them, 19 highly polymorphic markers have identified three distinct germplasm pools: 1) Eastern Africa and South America, 2) Caucasus and 3) Central Asia, Near East, Northern Africa and Eastern Asia. Barley subspecies (H. vulgare ssp vulgare convar. vulgare, H. vulgare ssp vulgare convar. distichon, H.ssp spontaneum and H. vulgare ssp vulgare convar. vulgare f agriochrithon) were separated into three distinct groups (cultivated barleys, H.ssp spontaneum and H. vulgare ssp vulgare convar. vulgare f agriochrithon) leading to the possibility of rejection the hybrid origin of H. vulgare ssp vulgare convar. vulgare f agriochrithon.

Modernization of barley landraces, staple food used traditionally for making typical recipes, for food uses through assessing its food quality richness is indeed possible. Out of 878 barley landraces, 45 samples have been identified as being suitable for use in the production of pearled barley, barley flour and/or barley flakes. This project has disclosed the richness of the wild barley Hordeum ssp spontaneum in terms of protein content and β-glucans content. The significant correlation between protein content and the minerals Zn and Fe confirmedprevious reports in the literature. In addition, this work revealed that barley landraces are potential source β-glucans and micronutrients (i.e. Zn and Fe) thereby highlighting the potential for these landraces to be utilized in breeding programs that are targeting the enhancement of barley for use in food applications.

The genotype by environmental effect of ß-Glucan determined by Megazyme kit on a subset of 242 barley landraces from 31 countries grown during the cropping seasons 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 in two ICARDA’s contrasting environmental experiment stations was supported disclosing high ß-Glucan values in Eritrea, Palestine and Algeria.

Barley landraces were also characterized by high amylose content mainly the wild relative and by diverse viscosity properties leading to the possibility of developing food barley products like noodles or cookies. Correlation between amylose content and ß-Glucan was revealed same as soft kernel and viscosity parameters. This latter was also correlated positively with TKW and ß-Glucan and negatively with protein content. H.ssp spontaneum also features high viscosity values. The results spotlight the interest of barley landraces especially Hordeumssp spontaneum in food industries for making various food barley products with typical characteristics e.g. barley food rich in amylose content for obese patients.

The association studies of Granule Bound Starch Synthase I (GBSSI) and Starch Synthase IIa (SSIIa) genes single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) with food quality characteristics in barley, comprising amylose content, viscosity properties and physicochemical parameters, revealed many SNPs of GBSS1 and SSIIa genes that were significantly related to food quality traits and amongst them few ones have led to amino acid changing (amylose, amylopectin, hardness, β-glucans, viscosity parameters, plumpness, protein and zinc. From these results, barley landraces might be considered as source of food barley products development and SNPs starch genes (GBSSI and SSIIa) as tools for food quality traits changing via mutations at the appropriate associated SNP.

The place of legislation and regulation and the role of policy: lessons from the CPRS

Serge Killingbeck et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:18:00 PST

This article discusses the hierarchical relationship between legislation, regulation and the place of policy in that relationship. In particular, it outlines how this was represented in the development of a legislative framework for the introduction of an Australian emissions trading scheme (ETS) under the banner of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS). It is argued that the authors of the draft CPRS and the policy statements made in the White Paper (the blueprint for the CPRS regulations) did not pay sufficient regard to the necessity to provide clear connections between regulations and the provisions of the proposed Act. The potential dysfunction that this creates is viewed through the prism of the treatment of carbon offsets, since this area of the proposed scheme was most demonstrative of such deficiencies. The article proposes that not paying sufficient attention to the relationship between draft regulations and the draft enabling Act could have undesirable consequences. With respect to the implementation of an ETS or any other form of carbon pricing, entities reluctant to move from business as usual to a lower emissions business model may choose to challenge the validity of their liabilities on the basis of a disconnection between the provisions of the enabling Act and the associated regulations.

Forestry at Southern Cross University: fifteen years in review

David J. Lloyd et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:46:09 PST

After 15 years, it is timely to review the 4-year bachelor degree in forestry offered by Southern Cross University (SCU), now the only remaining such 4-year degree in Australia. The SCU program is characterised by innovative teaching, a strong fieldwork component, emphasis on research, and strong links with local interest groups (both environmental and industrial). The progressive introduction of two-site delivery and on-line lectures has maintained the viability of the course despite modest student demand.

Forest growth and yield modeling

Aaron R. Weiskittel et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:19:45 PST

Completely updated and expanded new edition of this widely cited book, Modelling Forest Growth and Yield, 2nd Edition synthesizes current scientific literature, provides insights in how models are constructed, gives suggestions for future developments, and outlines keys for successful implementation of models.The book describes current modeling approaches for predicting forest growth and yield and explores the components that comprise the various modeling approaches. It provides the reader with the tools for evaluating and calibrating growth and yield models and outlines the steps necessary for developing a forest growth and yield model

An evaluation of the Australia Research Council's journal ranking

Jerome K. Vanclay — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:02:07 PST

As part of its program of ‘Excellence in Research for Australia’ (ERA), the Australian Research Council ranked journals into four categories (A*, A, B, and C) in preparation for their performance evaluation of Australian universities. The ranking is important because it likely to have a major impact on publication choices and research dissemination in Australia. The ranking is problematic because it is evident that some disciplines have been treated very differently than others. This paper reveals weaknesses in the ERA journal ranking and highlights the poor correlation between ERA rankings and other acknowledged metrics of journal standing. It highlights the need for a reasonable representation of journals ranked as A* in each scientific discipline.

What was wrong with Australia's journal ranking?

Jerome K. Vanclay — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:46:38 PST

Publication patterns of award-winning forest scientists and implications for the Australian ERA journal ranking

Jerome K. Vanclay — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:32:03 PST

Publication patterns of 79 forest scientists awarded major international forestry prizes during 1990–2010 were compared with the journal classification and ranking promoted as part of the ‘Excellence in Research for Australia’ (ERA) by the Australian Research Council. The data revealed that these scientists exhibited an elite publication performance during the decade before and two decades following their first major award. An analysis of their 1703 articles in 431 journals revealed substantial differences between the journal choices of these elite scientists and the ERA classification and ranking of journals. Implications from these findings are that additional cross-classifications should be added for many journals, and there should be an adjustment to the ranking of several journals relevant to the ERA Field of Research classified as 0705 Forestry Sciences.

The influence of irradiance on the severity of thermal bleaching in sea anemones that host anemonefish (Presentation)

Anna Scott et al. — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:17:11 PST

Tropical marine ecotoxicology

Amanda J. Reichelt-Brushett et al. — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:10:26 PST

Effects of feeding on the growth rates of captive-bred Heteractis crispa: a popular marine ornamental for aquariums

Anna Scott — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:43:38 PST

Heteractis crispa (Ehrenberg, 1834) is highly sought after in the marine aquarium trade due to its association with anemonefish. Individuals have been sourced entirely from the wild, adversely impacting populations. This study presents the results of a 12-wk feeding experiment using 36 juvenile anemones grown in captivity since fertilization. The anemones were divided among three treatments (unfed, fed weekly, and fed three times weekly), and changes in size (wet weight, pedal disc, and oral disc diameter) were recorded. Anemones fed once or three times a week did not differ significantly in size, indicating that feeding more than weekly did not increase growth. Although unfed anemones in some cases showed significant growth over time, presumably deriving nutritional benefits from their zooxanthellae, they grew less than the fed anemones. The findings of the present study may have important implications for the conservation of this species if captive breeding can be used to supply the aquarium trade or restock depleted reefs.

The influence of irradiance on the severity of thermal bleaching in sea anemones that host anemonefish

Ross Hill et al. — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:32:26 PST

Entacmaea quadricolor is a geographically widespread species of sea anemone that forms a three-way symbiosis with anemonefish and Symbiodinium. This species dominates the reef substrata at North Solitary Island, Australia, which is located in a region identified as a climate change hot spot. Their geographic location places these anemones under significant threat from rising ocean temperatures, although their upper thermal limit and risk of bleaching are unknown. To address this knowledge gap, anemones were exposed to one of four temperatures (23, 25, 27, or 29°C) and one of two irradiance treatments (high or low light) over 6 days. At moderate temperatures (27°C, 1°C above summer average), anemone bleaching was characterised by symbiont expulsion, while extreme temperatures (29°C) resulted in an additional loss of photosynthetic pigments from within symbionts, and in some cases, host mortality. Irradiance influenced the susceptibility to thermal stress with high light promoting the bleaching response, along with significant reductions in the effective quantum yield of anemone symbionts. The long-term loss of photosystem II photochemical efficiency within in hospite symbionts was observed during exposure to temperatures exceeding the summer average, indicating photosynthetic damage. The resident Symbiodinium, identified as clade C using 28S rRNA gene sequences, therefore represents the partner within the symbiosis that is likely to be most vulnerable to rising seawater temperatures. Results suggest that E. quadricolor is living within approximately 1°C of the upper thermal maximum at the Solitary Islands, and given the predictions for rising seawater temperature on Australia’s east coast, the thermal threshold at which bleaching will occur is expected to be reached and exceeded more frequently in the future.

The activists' handbook: a step-by-step guide to participatory democracy

Aidan Ricketts — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:41:10 PST

'The Activists' Handbook' is a powerful guide to grassroots activism. A priceless resource for everyone ready to make a difference. Environmental activist Aidan Ricketts offers a step-by-step handbook for citizens eager to start or get involved in grass-roots movements and beyond.

Providing all essential practical tools, methods and strategies needed for a successful campaign and extensively discussing legal and ethical issues, this book empowers its readers to effectively promote their cause. Lots of ready-to-use documents and comprehensive information on digital activism and group strategy make this book an essential companion for any campaign.

Including case studies from the US, UK, Canada and Australia, this is the ultimate guidebook to participatory democracy.

The nature of tourism studies

Arianne C. Reis et al. — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:26:08 PST

Nature-based tourism activities are highly modulated by how Nature has been constructed in modern Western societies. The way we have come to perceive what is “other-than-human” impacts on how we engage with, and experience, a location, a place, or a tourism space that is based on/aroundthe natural world. This review discusses how this construct has been formulated by different social scientists and philosophers, and how these constructions impact on nature-based tourism experiences in contemporary societies. In this review article, Reis and Shelton argue that in order to advance and refine our understandings of nature-based tourism practices, tourism scholars need to acknowledge, or, better, explore, how the different meanings attached to “nature,” or the different “natures” constructed by societies, intervene and sometimes dictate tourism practices and experiences. Likewise, practices and experiences in tourism management/development provide an everchanging context of human–nature relationships that highlight the worldmaking agency of tourism. Here, Reis and Shelton conclude by inviting scholars in Tourism Studies/Tourism Sciences to incorporate notions of embodiment, interagentivity, and indigenous perspectives, among others, into their discussions and analysis of nature-based tourism.

Turismo esportivo [Sports tourism]

Arianne Carvalhedo — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:48:28 PST

Sports tourism deals with trips for recreational purposes in which individuals take part in physical activities, watch sports events or visit attractions associated with sporting activities. With its roots in the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece, sports tourism started up in Brazil in the early 1940s with the first diving enterprises of leisure and competitions. Sport tourism has been mostly associated to eco-tourism in Brazil. Along the years many events have contributed to the development of sports tourism in Brazil such as the São Silvestre races (since 1945), the Maracanã stadium (1950), surf festivals (1970s), formula one races (1971), hang-gliding championships (1974), and mountain bike (1981) and rafting (1982) events among many others. Key features in Brazil as of 2002: more than half a million people do eco-tourism; it employs 30,000 people through 5,000 companies and private institutions within a market of about US$1.5 billion a year.