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What values do tourists place on a marine protected area? White shark cage-dive tourists and the Neptune Islands
No full textManagement of protected areas is as much about understanding how society values these resources as it is about understanding ecological processes. Yet, in comparison to standard ecosystem monitoring and economic evaluation, social values are frequently overlooked because of the challenge to measure and define them. As marine protected areas are currently the fastest growing protected area type, this article argues the need to incorporate social value assessment in planning and policy decisions to improve ecological and social outcomes. This study surveyed 675 white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) cage-dive participants to investigate how tourists’ value the Neptune Islands group (Ron and Valerie Taylor) Marine Park. Applying a value typology previously used in forests, respondents were able to identify with 13 distinct values. Results demonstrate that tourists hold biocentric, indirect use, and nonconsumptive values of the marine park as most important. The relevance of these results as an indicator of tourists’ preference for management decisions is discussed
Enhancing inclusion, experience, and academic performance: peer-to-peer mentoring for equity group students in an Australian regional university
No full textThis chapter describes an undergraduate peer-to-peer mentoring program, UniMentor, at a regional Australian university, which aims to support students in equity groups. Key benefits identified are: enhanced retention rates; improved academic performance; and strengthened social networks. While the focus is on commencing students (mentees), significant positive outcomes for thirdyear mentors are also apparent. Internal and external challenges that may influence access to mentoring among students include shifting institutional support and roles and curriculum change. Enablers include training, clarity of purpose, strong support networks, and fostering student sense of ownership. The effect of disciplinary culture on uptake and effectiveness of mentoring is also important. Overall, the program compares well against published frameworks of successful student mentoring. Nevertheless, critical questions remain regarding the effectiveness of general versus targeted mentoring programs for students in equity groups
Container of dreams
No full textContainer of Dreams is an interdisciplinary research project that merges Social Sciences with Creative Arts processes to examine affordability through micro-housing. The aim of the project was to establish the best conceivable model for initiating Australia’s first-ever affordable micro-housing community project in the Northern Rivers. The project has explored innovation in new housing design by presenting tangible alternatives to conventional building methods and practices. The major outcome is a template for a pathway to home ownership which is intended to address some of the inequities of wealth which are created through home ownership for currently marginalised sections of society.
Using practice-led studio-based exploration methods to investigate micro-house solutions, the Container of Dreams project has established a prototype or demonstration model to act as a showcase for sustainable micro-housing solutions to directly address affordability. This model has major implications for the future of affordable housing across Australia. The project has engaged both creative art and anti-oppressive theories to establish a commitment to social justice and has endeavoured to enable the expansion of micro-housing in Australia. A body of small complementary works, which act as artefacts of the act of building the Container of Dreams, has been devised to be a portable interpretation of the project
Bromoperoxidase producing Bacillus spp. isolated from the hypobranchial glands of a muricid mollusc are capable of tyrian purple precursor biogenesis
No full textThe secondary metabolite Tyrian purple, also known as shellfish purple and royal purple, is a dye with historical importance for humans. The biosynthetic origin of Tyrian purple in Muricidae molluscs is not currently known. A possible role for symbiotic bacteria in the production of tyrindoxyl sulphate, the precursor to Tyrian purple stored in the Australian species, Dicathais orbita, has been proposed. This study aimed to culture bacterial symbionts from the purple producing hypobranchial gland, and screen the isolates for bromoperoxidase genes using molecular methods. The ability of bromoperoxidase positive isolates to produce the brominated indole precursor to Tyrian purple was then established by extraction of the culture, and analysis by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS). In total, 32 bacterial isolates were cultured from D. orbita hypobranchial glands, using marine agar, marine agar with hypobranchial gland aqueous extracts, blood agar, thiosulphate citrate bile salts sucrose agar, and cetrimide agar at pH 7.2. These included 26 Vibrio spp., two Bacillus spp., one Phaeobacter sp., one Shewanella sp., one Halobacillus sp. and one Pseudoalteromonas sp. The two Bacillus species were the only isolates found to have coding sequences for bromoperoxidase enzymes. LC–MS analysis of the supernatant and cell pellets from the bromoperoxidase producing Bacillus spp. cultured in tryptone broth, supplemented with KBr, confirmed their ability to produce the brominated precursor to Tyrian purple, tyrindoxyl sulphate. This study supports a potential role for symbiotic Bacillus spp. in the biosynthesis of Tyrian purple
Impact of wearable physical activity monitoring devices with exercise prescription or advice in the maintenance phase of cardiac rehabilitation: systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textBackground: Physical activity (PA) is a component of cardiac rehabilitation (CR). However, life-long engagement in PA is required to maintain benefits gained. Wearable PA monitoring devices (WPAM) are thought to increase PA. There appear to be no reviews which investigate the effect of WPAM in cardiac populations. We firstly aimed to systematically review randomised controlled trials within the cardiac population that investigated the effect WPAM had through the maintenance phase of CR. We specifically examined the effect on cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), amount and intensity of daily PA, and sedentary time. Secondly, we aimed to collate outcome measures reported, reasons for drop out, adverse events, and psychological impact from utilising a WPAM.Methods: A systematic search (up to January 2019) of relevant databases was completed, followed by a narrative synthesis, meta-analysis and qualitative analysis. Results: Nine studies involving 1,352 participants were included. CRF was improved to a greater extent in participants using WPAM with exercise prescription or advice compared with controls (MD 1.65 mL/kg/min;95% confidence interval [CI; 0.64–2.66]; p = 0.001; I2 = 0%). There was no significant between group difference in six-minute walk test distance. In 70% of studies, step count was greater in participants using a WPAM with exercise prescription or advice, however the overall effect was not significant (SMD 0.45;95% [CI; − 0.17-1.07] p = 0.15; I2 = 81%). A sensitivity analysis resulted in significantly greater step counts in participants using a WPAM with exercise prescription or advice and reduced the heterogeneity from 81 to 0% (SMD 0.78;95% [CI;0.54–1.02]; p \u3c 0.001; I2 = 0%). Three out of four studies reporting on intensity, found significantly increased time spent in moderate and moderate-vigorous intensity PA. No difference between groups was found for sedentary time. Three of six studies reported improved psychological benefits. No cardiac adverse events related to physical activity were reported and 62% of non-cardiac adverse events were primarily musculoskeletal injuries. Reasons for dropping out included medical conditions, lack of motivation, loss of interest, and technical difficulties.Conclusions: Our meta-analysis showed WPAM with exercise prescription or advice are superior to no device in improving CRF in the maintenance phase of CR and no cardiac adverse events were reported with WPAM use. Our qualitative analysis showed evidence in favour of WPAM with exercise prescription or advice for both CRF and step count. WPAM with exercise prescription or advice did not change sedentary time. Psychological health and exercise intensity may potentially be enhanced by WPAM with exercise prescription or advice, however further research would strengthen this conclusion
Integrating measures of long-distance dispersal into vertebrae conservation planning: scaling relationships and parentage-based dispersal analysis in the koala
No full textImproved knowledge of dispersal parameters across multiple populations is essential for the effective management of species exposed to ongoing threats from habitat loss, fragmentation and climate change. Currently, management decisions are based on incomplete or insufficient knowledge of key dispersal parameters, especially long-distance dispersal, and its role in maintaining metapopulation connectivity, facilitating range shifts under climate change, or enabling the colonization of new habitats. Using a combination of microsatellite-based population genetic analyses, scaling relationships and parentage-based dispersal analysis we investigated levels and patterns of long-distance dispersal in the koala. Using home range size as a scalar predicted spatial variation in maximum dispersal distance amongst regional populations (range 13.4–43.4 km), while parentage-based dispersal analysis showed that long-distance dispersal (\u3e 11.2 km) accounted for 16.7–18.5% of movements in a focal population. Common movement patterns were discerned, despite varying levels of imprecision and bias, that suggest an important role for long-distance dispersal in maintaining metapopulation connectivity. Our results suggest that implementation of a systematic approach to the estimation of dispersal across multiple populations would benefit koala conservation and management. This will require the use of both empirical and simulation studies to quantify and minimize sources of imprecision and bias that can occur including those related to incomplete sampling, the presence of fine-scale spatial genetic structure and areas of localized inbreeding. As limitations associated with partial sampling are likely to remain an inherent feature of large-scale dispersal studies, a large number of loci should be assayed
Convict to settler : an analysis of the transition of the female convicts of the second fleet vessel Neptune from the status of convict to settler and the role they played in the early colonisation of Australia during the period 1790-1792
No full textAn analysis of the lives of sixty-one women from the convict class reveals the pivotal role women played as agents of colonisation. As homemakers, landholders, farmers, partners and neighbours, they contributed significantly to the spread of white settlement and the corresponding dispossession of First Peoples. The fact that these women arrived in June 1790 and were, therefore, amongst the earliest settlers of Sydney, Norfolk Island and Parramatta, placed them in a social context unique to the period 1788 to 1792. This not only expedited their transition from the status of convict to that of settler, but also greatly enhanced their impact as agents of settler colonisation
Optimising flow through material engagements in the visual arts : an a/r/tographic inquiry
No full textThis study engaged seventeen middle years student-participants in a Visual Arts program to explore material engagement and flow experiences in the secondary school setting. Engaging A/r/tography as methodology, the study found the majority of student-participants experienced flow from active engagement with Art materials and that the Visual Art Program promoted social cooperative behaviours within the classroom. This study proposes a shift from current neoliberal economic agendas influencing educational directives, towards the prioritisation of the social, emotional, moral and intellectual development of the whole child in educational settings that are inclusive of persistent patterns of human engagement, such as the Arts
Creating space for protest and possibility: Nimbin, Australia, from 1973
No full textThis article brings together the ideas of protest and counterculture in a productive engagement. If protest is understood as publicly bearing witness in opposition to something, then countercultures often do this as rejections of dominant cultures that are folded into everyday life in order to create spaces for possible futures. The countercultural experiments undertaken in the region around Nimbin, Australia, are an example of such space creation. Using interviews, presentations, and archival materials collected at a 2013 community conference marking the 40th anniversary of the 1973 Nimbin Aquarius Festival, I will explore these experiments in the context of countercultural protest. The Festival not only gathered together people under the banner of the counterculture, but provided a unique space for gathering around common matters of concern to create an ongoing countercultural community. This community continues to develop practical knowledge regarding sustainable living and innovations in grassroots environmental protest