University of the Sunshine Coast
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Economic assessment of community-based pearl oyster spat collection and mabé pearl production in the western Pacific
No full textCultured pearl production, and associated activities, are of crucial social and economic importance to remote coastal communities in Polynesia and the western Pacific. This study determined the potential profitability of (1) community-based pearl oyster spat collection operations targeting Pinctada margaritifera, and the subsequent sale of pearl oysters to round pearl farms; and (2) the use of Pteria penguin, collected incidentally from P. margaritifera spat collection operations, for mabé pearl production. The spat collection farm modelled in this study comprised four 100-m longlines supporting 1240 commercial spat collectors, with an estimated capital cost of 10,439. The MIRR generated was 12.24%, with a benefit-cost ratio was 1.52, and a payback period of 4 years. The downstream mabé pearl farm modelled in this study comprised two 100-m longlines supporting 2000 implanted Pt. penguin oysters with an estimated capital cost of 491,864. The MIRR and benefit-cost ratio of the modelled mabé pearl farm were 22.64% and 7.24, respectively, with a payback period of 3 years. Incorporating production and price risk into the model reduced the expected NPV of the mabé pearl farm to $297,507. The models developed in this study provide valuable new information for prospective pearl oyster spat and mabé pearl farming community groups, donors, funding bodies and other stakeholders, and provide a valuable extension tool supporting further development of the pearl sector in Fiji and the broader Indo-Pacific region
Cultural safety training for allied health students in Australia
No full textCulturally safe health practitioners are essential for effective service provision to culturally diverse populations, including Indigenous Australians. Therefore, cultural safety education during training as a health care professional is an essential component in helping improve the health of Indigenous Australians. This study examined whether the implementation of an Indigenous cultural safety education workshop increased self-rated cultural safety knowledge and attitudes of allied health students. The study employed a quantitative before-and-after design using pre- and post-surveys to determine the level of attitudinal change in students who attended a day long workshop. The study sample consisted of 1st year (n = 347) and 4th year (n = 149) allied health students at a regional Australian university over the years 2007–2011. Whilst the results of this current study are varied in terms of achieving positive change across all of the taught items of knowledge and attitude, they provide some evidence around the value of this type of curriculum intervention in helping develop culturally safe practitioners. An important finding was around the student's becoming self-aware about their own values and cultural identity, combined with acknowledging the importance of this cultural identity to interactions with clients. This form of ‘cultural humility’ appears to be an important step to becoming a culturally safe practitioner. These types of interventions would be enhanced through embedding and scaffolding throughout the curricula
Soluble mediators in packed red‐blood‐cells augment lipopolysaccharide‐induced monocyte interleukin‐1β production
No full textBackground and objectives:
Soluble mediators in packed red‐blood‐cell (PRBC) units have been hypothesized as a mechanism associated with transfusion‐related immune modulation. Soluble mediators including damage‐associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) are known to activate inflammasomes. Inflammasome complexes maturate caspase‐1 and interleukin (IL)‐1β. We assessed whether PRBC supernatants (SN) modulated IL‐1β driven inflammation and whether macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) was a contributing factor.
Materials and methods:
Isolated monocytes were incubated with PRBC‐SN in an in vitro transfusion model. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was added in parallel to model a bacterial infection. Separately, recombinant MIF was used in the model to assess its role in IL‐1β driven inflammation. IL‐1β and caspase‐1 were quantified in the PRBC‐SN and culture SN from the in vitro model.
Results:
PRBC‐SN alone did not induce IL‐1β production from monocytes. However, PRBC‐SN alone increased caspase‐1 production. LPS alone induced both IL‐1β and caspase‐1 production. PRBC‐SN augmented LPS‐driven IL‐1β and caspase‐1 production. Recombinant MIF did not modulate IL‐1β production in our model.
Conclusions:
Soluble mediators in PRBC modulate monocyte IL‐1β inflammation, which may be a contributing factor to adverse effects of transfusion associated with poor patient outcomes. While MIF was present in PRBC‐SN, we found no evidence that MIF was responsible for IL‐1β associated immune modulation
The power of nonfiction life story narratives to communicate conservation to a non-specialist audience
No full textWithout significant adaptation and response to climate change and environmental destruction, human behaviour has the capacity to lead to our eventual demise. However, in our fast-paced media world, conservation messages and warnings are often ignored by the public, politicians and commercial concerns. This article proposes that long-form nonfiction narratives are an important communication tool for the dissemination of conservation science in the Anthropocene. Furthermore, it suggests that future-focused nature biographies have the capacity to present science in a way that is accessible to a non-specialist audience, evoking the necessary responsibilities and stewardship outside of scientific circles. This article compares biographical exemplars with the author’s practice-led research exploring the life of Malaysian biologist and tropical ecologist, Dr Wong Siew Te
Mature-age student nurses and graduates: The hidden solution for a looming workforce shortage?
No full textNo abstract available
Human interactions with turtles and tortoises: An annotated bibliography
No full textNo abstract available
Supporting Women’s Participation in Developing A Seaweed Supply Chain in Kiribati for Health and Nutrition
No full textAbstract: Seaweeds are a source of food throughout the Pacific region. Kiribati, however, does not have a strong history of using seaweed in their diets, despite having reliable access to indigenous edible seaweeds. A series of peer-led seaweed training workshops held in Kiribati between 2018 and 2019 provided women with knowledge, skills, and motivational support needed to engage in the seaweed supply chain, from harvesting, processing, and marketing to consumption. This study aimed to identify opportunities and enablers to support women’s participation across the seaweed supply chain. Structured interviews with 49 women explored their interest and expected costs and benefits from involvement in the supply chain. There was high interest in most seaweed-related activities and the key motivators were health and nutrition for themselves and their family. Participants were also interested in developing and sharing new skills and saw the potential for income generation. However, there were also clear barriers including a desire for further training in seaweed harvesting, processing, and recipe creation; additional social support; and in public promotion. Given the natural resources and desire of women to engage in developing this new edible seaweed supply chain in Kiribati, there is now a need for capacity development to build social and economic wellbeing and food security across the broader community. Additional peer-to-peer training opportunities may look to other Pacific Islands where seaweed is already an established and traditional food
From impulse to action? Cognitive mechanisms of impulsivity-related risk for externalizing behavior
No full textTrait impulsivity is an established risk factor for externalizing behavior problems in adolescence, but little is understood about the cognitive mechanisms involved. Negative automatic thoughts are associated with externalizing behaviors and impulsivity is associated with less cognitive reappraisal. This study sought to adapt the bioSocial Cognitive Theory (bSCT) of impulsivity and substance use (an externalizing behavior) for externalizing behavior in general. It was predicted that only the component of impulsivity characterized by lack of forethought (rash impulsiveness; RI) would be associated with (non-substance use-related) externalizing behaviors, not reward sensitivity/drive. Further, this association would be mediated by negative automatic thoughts. Participants were 404 (226 female, 63%) adolescents from 6 high schools across South-East Queensland (age = 13-17 years, mean age = 14.97 years, SD = 0.65 years) of mostly Australian/New Zealand (76%) or European (11%) descent. Participants completed self-report measures of impulsivity, negative automatic thoughts, and externalizing behaviors. Path analysis revealed that, as predicted, only RI was uniquely associated with negative automatic thoughts and externalizing behaviors. However, only negative automatic thoughts centered around hostility mediated the positive association between RI and externalizing behaviors, with the indirect mediation effect being smaller than the direct association. In contrast to substance use, only one component of impulsivity, RI, was associated with general adolescent externalizing behavior. Hostile automatic thoughts may be an important mechanism of risk, supporting a role for cognitive-behavioral interventions. Other biopsychosocial mechanisms are clearly involved and the bSCT may provide a useful framework to guide future research
Towards a (Limited) Cascading Right: What is the Appropriate Scope of Protection for Plant Breeding?
No full textIntellectual Property and Agriculture addresses the important but largely neglected question of intellectual property’s relationship to the production, processing, marketing, and circulation of agricultural inputs, products, and practices. Together with an original introduction this comprehensive two-volume set brings together scholars from law, history, anthropology, science and technology studies, economics, and plant science who write on plants and plant genetic resources, late twentieth century international intellectual property agreements, and geographical indications of origin. [Book Synopsis]First published: Jay Sanderson (2011), ‘Towards a (Limited) Cascading Right: What is the Appropriate Scope of Protection for Plant Breeding?’, UNSW Law Journal, 34 (3), November, 1104–21</a
Comparison of survival, growth and burying behavior of cultured and wild sandfish (Holothuria scabra) juveniles: Implications for ocean mariculture
No full textThe success of mariculture activities involving the release of cultured marine invertebrates into the ocean is contingent on high survival and appropriate growth rates. Physical, physiological or behavioral characteristics that differ from those of wild conspecifics may be acquired through hatchery rearing, or as a result of stress induced by the release process. Such differences may compromise the ‘fitness’ of cultured animals. We investigated the influence of hatchery rearing and transport/handling stress on a commercial sea cucumber, sandfish (Holothuria scabra), by comparing survival, growth and behavior of release-size (5–15 g) cultured juveniles to those of like-size wild conspecifics. At the conclusion of an 85-day growth experiment in natural habitat, there was no significant difference in weight between cultured and wild sandfish juveniles. Burying behavior of cultured and wild sandfish juveniles was observed over a 48-h period in natural habitat with or without seagrass. A generalized additive model showed that cultured juveniles were slower to bury in the substrate after release, less likely to be buried at most times, and more likely to be buried in substrate where seagrass was present. However, they became better synchronized with their wild counterparts after 30 h. Survival of cultured and wild sandfish was high in both experiments (> 85%), but reduced burying by cultured individuals may increase the potential for predation because diel burying is the main predator avoidance strategy of sandfish juveniles