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Responses of six species of proteaceae, in containers, to controlled-release fertilizer
No full textSeedlings of Adenanthos sericeus, Banksia ericifolia, Banksia hookeriana, Conospermum caeruleum, Protea cv. Masquerade, and Leucadendron cv. Sundance were grown in a soilless potting medium containing controlled-release Osmocote® fertilizer (17:1.6:8.7) at eight treatment levels: 0, 1.25, 2.5, 3.75, 5.0, 6.25, 12.5, and 18.75 kg m-3. After 6 months, shoot dry mass and the concentrations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) in recently matured leaves were determined. At the lowest rate of applied fertilizer, growth was stunted for all species. Maximum shoot dry mass was associated with a fertilizer rate of 2.0 kg m-3 for L. cv. Sundance, 2.5 kg m-3 for C. caeruleum and B. ericifolia, and 3.75 kg m-3 for P. cv. Masquerade, B. hookeriana, and A. sericeus. At the highest fertilizer rate, for all species except A. sericeus, plants displayed foliar symptoms typical of fertilizer excess, and growth was reduced. A range of concentrations of N, P, and K in leaves at optimum growth was determined for each species
Continuous product innovation : learning behaviours and knowledge management
No full textThe research reported in this paper considers Product Innovation from a broader perspective than that of the isolated NPD (New Product Development) project commonly discussed in the literature. In this perspective, Product Innovation is a continuous and cross-functional process involving the sharing and transfer of knowledge within the many steps of the innovation process, and the integration of a growing number of different competencies inside and outside the organisational boundaries. This paper examines two in-depth case studies that were carried out to establish if and how learning occurred within companies developing new products. Based on a model developed as part of a joint Euro-Australian research project, the way in which the selected companies share and transfer knowledge and learning experiences during their product innovation processes have been examined and analysed. This model uses a number of interrelated variables including performance, behaviours and levers to stimulate improvement, contingencies, and learning/innovation capabilities to describe the learning and knowledge transfer in product innovation processes within the case studies. This paper discusses some of the skills the research has identified that managers need to enable their companies to gain a competitive advantage through improved product innovation. The ongoing research has developed, tested and disseminated a computer-based methodology to assess organisational knowledge capture and transfer in the new product development process. The research is part of the Euro-Australian co-operation project known as CIMA (Continuous Improvement and Product Innovation Management)
Language specific speech perception and the onset of reading
No full textIn two studies the relationship between the onset of reading and language specific speech perception, the degree to which native speech perception is superior to non-native speech perception, was investigated. In Experiment 1 with children of 4, 6, and 8 years, language specific speech perception occurred maximally at 6 years and was positively related to reading ability for age and language comprehension level. In Experiment 2, with an expanded range of ages and various stimulus and task changes, the relationship between reading and language specific speech perception still held, and maximal language specific speech perception occurred around the onset of reading instruction for three different sets of speech contrasts, but not for a control set of non-speech contrasts. The results show that language specific speech perception is a linguistic rather than an acoustic phenomenon. Results are discussed in terms of early speech perception abilities, experience with oral communication, cognitive ability, reading bility, alphabetic versus logographic languages, phonics versus whole word reading instruction, and the effect of age versus instruction
Barbie, the Wiggles and Harry Potter. Can popular culture really support young children's literacy development
No full textResearch has increasingly highlighted the importance of children's social and cultural experiences for understanding about learning, what is learned and what is perceived as being important for learning. The development of literacy learning begins well before children start school as they engage in the literate practices of their homes and communities, allowing them to take and make meaning. Emergent literacy theories acknowledge the many literacies children engage with in their environment, such as signs, shopping catalogues and popular culture. Contemporary research has shown that children develop literacy understanding along a continuum, rather than in lock-step developmental stages, as they practice using literacies in everyday situations. From a social justice perspective, children have the right to access socially and culturally relevant pathways with respect to literacy and to this end, the role of popular culture in the acquisition of literacy has been acknowledged. Moreover, early childhood educators have an important role to play in bringing together the literacy experiences of home and the community with those offered in early childhood settings. This paper draws on sociocultural theory, critical theory and social interactionist perspectives to demonstrate that popular culture is important in the lives of young children in the 21st century. It advocates that literacy curricula in early childhood settings must reflect children's interests and build on their already acquired strengths developed within their social and cultural milieux
The separation of diastereoisomers of polystyrene oligomers in reversed phase HPLC
No full textThe separation of diastereoisomers from oligomers of low molecular weight polystyrene was achieved using a carbon clad zirconia stationary phase and an acetonitrile mobile phase. The selectivity of the C18-methanol system separated the polystyrene oligomers based on molecular weight while the carbon clad zirconia surface in combination with an acetonitrile mobile phase allowed the expression of the isomeric sample dimensionality. Consequently, full utilisation of the different retention mechanisms on each surface greatly improved the isomeric separation from oligomers of low molecular weight polystyrene
Inside the software firm : co-production of knowledge and KISA in the innovation process
No full textThis paper discusses Knowledge Intensive Service Activities (KISA) as the context where co-production of knowledge is happening in the firm. Other elements in the innovation process of the firm such as KIBS, RTOs and networks where the firm is embedded are also discussed. The paper argues that the analysis of KISA provides a useful framework for understanding the innovation system that co-production of knowledge provides today to firms. Understanding the specific characteristics and functionalities of KISA within the firm's innovation system might constitute a competitive advantage for firms or clusters of firms
Impact of eastern dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium pusillum) infection on the needles of red spruce (Picea rubens) and white spruce (Picea glauca): oxygen exchange, morphology and composition
No full textEastern dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium pusillum Peck) is a hemiparasitic angiosperm that infects white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) and red spruce (P. rubens Sarg.) in northeastern North America. The effects of mistletoe infection differ substantially between white and red spruce, with white spruce suffering greater infection-induced mortality. In the present study, we sought to determine the role that species-specific differences in needle-scale responses to parasitism may play in the observed differences in the effect of infection on host tree health. Based on the measurements made, the most apparent effect of parasitism was a reduction in needle size distal to infections. The magnitude of this reduction was greater in white spruce than in red spruce. Eastern dwarf mistletoe was a sink for host photosynthate in red spruce and white spruce; however, there were no adjustments in needle photosynthetic capacities in either host to accommodate the added sink demands of the parasite. Needle total nonstructural carbohydrate concentrations (TNC) were also unaltered by infection. Red spruce needles had higher TNC concentrations despite having lower overall photosynthetic capacities, suggesting that red spruce may be more sink limited and therefore better able to satisfy the added sink demands of parasitic infection. However, if carbon availability limits the growth of the mistletoe, one may expect that the extent of the parasitic infection would be greater in red spruce. Yet in the field, the extent of infection is generally greater in white spruce. Taken together, these results suggest that dwarf mistletoe may not substantially perturb the carbon balance of either host spruce species and that species-specific differences in needle-scale responses to the parasite cannot explain the contrasting effects of infection on white spruce and red spruc
The source of anthropogenic heavy metals in fluvial sediments of a rural catchment : Coxs River, Australia
No full textA serious health scare involving the supply of drinking water to Sydney, Australia has recently focussed attention on the environmental status of river catchments of the main reservoir, Lake Burragorang. Although the Coxs River – a major catchment of Lake Burragorang – comprises mainly forests and grazing land, it supports a moderate sized town, power stations and coal mines. The heavy metal content of stream-bed sediments characterises environmental impact in this rural catchment and sources of contamination. Sediment in a creek flowing through a country town (population 12 000) is markedly enriched in Cr, Pb and Zn (3Ã, 18Ãand 52Ã, respectively) over background, probably due to a long history of metal-based industry. The highestCu, Pb and Zn concentrations (204, 332 and2460 g g-1, respectively) in fluvial sediment in the town are, however associated with discharges from a sewage treatment plant. Two coal-based power stations in the catchment contribute considerable Cu and Ni (maximum concentrations 562 and157 g g-1, respectively) to ambient fluvial sediments, possibly from cooling towers and coal storage areas. The highest Co and Cr concentrations(113 and 490 g g-1) in fluvial sediments of this catchment are associated with coal-mining activities. Selective extraction indicates that about 50% of the anthropogenic fraction may be bioavailable, whereas sequential extraction procedures suggest that <25% is associated with the easily exchangeable/adsorbed phase.Two dams restrict the migration of heavy metals down the Coxs River and sediment discharging into Lake Burragorang is low in metals