The implementation of Music Life Skills in Schools for Specific Purposes

This mixed methods study explores the implementation of Music Life Skills in Schools for Specific Purposes (SSPs) in New South Wales, focusing on the perceptions of educators and their programming methods, in order to determine the suitability of this program for students with intellectual disabilities and/or developmental disorders. Case studies of two schools were conducted. Participants were students with special needs and their classroom teacher. In these settings, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with teachers and observations of music lessons. Additional questionnaire data were collected from educators at a selection of SSPs. Data were analysed through open and axial coding. Three common themes emerged from the data: experience and perceptions of educators; programming and teaching strategies; and student responsiveness. The findings of this study contribute to the limited body of research in regard to Music Life Skills and programs available for students with disabilities in Australia. Recommendations are made for further study, including implementation of Music Life Skills in other contexts, such as the inclusive setting

A re-appraisal of the fertility response to the Australian baby bonus

The Australian baby bonus offering parents $3,000 on the birth of a new child was announced on May 11 2004. The availability of five years of birth data following the introduction of the baby bonus allows for a more comprehensive analysis of the policy implications than is current in the literature. The focus of this paper is to identify if there is a positive fertility choice response to the introduction of the Australian baby bonus policy and if this response is sustained over time. To do this 19 years of birth and macroeconomic data, beginning 1990, is analysed using an unobservable components model. The results indicate a significant increase in birth numbers ten months following the announcement of the baby bonus, and this overall increase was sustained up to the end of the observed period. A cumulative growth in birth numbers which commenced in January 2006 slows in 2008 and 2009. It is suggested that the initial increase in births, identified in March 2005, is a direct fertility response to the introduction of the policy and that the subsequent change in the growth of birth numbers may be the result of a delayed effect working through a number of channels. It is estimated that approximately 119,000 births are attributable to the baby bonus over the period, at an approximate cost of$39000 per extra child.Fertility Rate, Time Series, baby bonus

A re-appraisal of the fertility response to the Australian baby bonus

The Australian baby bonus offering parents $3,000 on the birth of a new child was announced on May 11 2004. The availability of five years of birth data following the introduction of the baby bonus allows for a more comprehensive analysis of the policy implications than is current in the literature. The focus of this paper is to identify if there is a positive fertility choice response to the introduction of the Australian baby bonus policy and if this response is sustained over time. To do this 19 years of birth and macroeconomic data, beginning 1990, is analysed using an unobservable components model. The results indicate a significant increase in birth numbers ten months following the announcement of the baby bonus, and this overall increase was sustained up to the end of the observed period. A cumulative growth in birth numbers which commenced in January 2006 slows in 2008 and 2009. It is suggested that the initial increase in births, identified in March 2005, is a direct fertility response to the introduction of the policy and that the subsequent change in the growth of birth numbers may be the result of a delayed effect working through a number of channels. It is estimated that approximately 119,000 births are attributable to the baby bonus over the period, at an approximate cost of$39000 per extra child

A re-appraisal of the fertility response to the Australian baby bonus

The Australian baby bonus offering parents $3,000 on the birth of a new child was announced on May 11 2004. The availability of five years of birth data following the introduction of the baby bonus allows for a more comprehensive analysis of the policy implications than is current in the literature. The focus of this paper is to identify if there is a positive fertility choice response to the introduction of the Australian baby bonus policy and if this response is sustained over time. To do this 19 years of birth and macroeconomic data, beginning 1990, is analysed using an unobservable components model. The results indicate a significant increase in birth numbers ten months following the announcement of the baby bonus, and this overall increase was sustained up to the end of the observed period. A cumulative growth in birth numbers which commenced in January 2006 slows in 2008 and 2009. It is suggested that the initial increase in births, identified in March 2005, is a direct fertility response to the introduction of the policy and that the subsequent change in the growth of birth numbers may be the result of a delayed effect working through a number of channels. It is estimated that approximately 119,000 births are attributable to the baby bonus over the period, at an approximate cost of$39000 per extra child

Is the fertility response to the Australian baby bonus heterogeneous across maternal age? Evidence from Victoria.

The Australian baby bonus, offering parents $3,000 on the birth of a child, was announced on May 11 2004. The focus of this paper is to analyse the response to the policy across maternal age levels in order to separate policy effects from prevailing demographic trends such as recuperation of previously postponed births. Using multivariate time series analysis, we find that all age groups except teenagers show a positive fertility response to the policy. The results suggest that the policy may have elicited fertility behaviour change, evidenced by a higher cumulative growth in fertility of maternal age groups 20-24 and 24-30 which is sustained past 2008 even as a growth in birth ratios of older age groups was stabilising. A short term birth timing effect was also estimated to further explore the extent to which incentives matter for decisions around family formation

Experiences of the Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Community in the University Setting

Background: Transgender and gender non-conforming individuals face daily challenges in higher education due to a lack of gender-inclusive resources. This shortcoming is rooted in the minimal knowledge about what barriers affect this population. Aims: The aims of this study were to identify fitness-related barriers faced by the transgender community in higher education and emphasize the need to develop fitness standards for the transgender population to reduce those barriers in higher education. Methods: Participants completed one or both aspects of this study. A survey was sent to students to gather information about experiences in fitness at a university and how it relates to their gender. Several of the survey respondents then agreed to participate in a series of fitness assessments to evaluate muscular strength, endurance, and body composition. Results: Seventy-nine students responded to the survey (n = 68 cisgender females, n = 5 cisgender males, n = 2, non-binary, n = 4 transgender males). Proportionally, more transgender and non-binary people (84%) felt that gendered fitness standards did not apply to them when compared to cisgender people (31%). Further, more transgender and non-binary respondents (50%) reported that they were not comfortable working out in all areas of their gym when compared to the cisgender respondents (37%). Twenty-eight students participated in the fitness assessment. The BOD POD assessment of body composition utilizes gender to calculate body fat percentage. When using both male and female classifications, results were not different, meaning the estimated body fat percentage was calculated as the same despite a different gender in the calculation. Conclusions: This study begins to identify fitness-related barriers faced by the transgender community in higher education. Additionally, these small-scale results provide a starting point for future research on developing gender-neutral fitness standards

Is the fertility response to the Australian baby bonus heterogeneous across maternal age? Evidence from Victoria.

The Australian baby bonus, offering parents $3,000 on the birth of a child, was announced on May 11 2004. The focus of this paper is to analyse the response to the policy across maternal age levels in order to separate policy effects from prevailing demographic trends such as recuperation of previously postponed births. Using multivariate time series analysis, we find that all age groups except teenagers show a positive fertility response to the policy. The results suggest that the policy may have elicited fertility behaviour change, evidenced by a higher cumulative growth in fertility of maternal age groups 20-24 and 24-30 which is sustained past 2008 even as a growth in birth ratios of older age groups was stabilising. A short term birth timing effect was also estimated to further explore the extent to which incentives matter for decisions around family formation

Alterations in macrophage G proteins are associated with endotoxin tolerance

AbstractPrevious studies have suggested that endotoxin tolerance induces macrophage desensitization to endotoxin through altered guanine nucleotide regulatory (G) protein function. In the present study the binding characteristics of the nonhydrolyzable GTP analogue GTPγ[35S] to macrophage membranes from endotoxin tolerant and control rats were determined. Membranes were prepared from peritoneal macrophages harvested from rats 72 h after two sequential daily doses of vehicle or Salmonella enteritidis endotoxin (100 μg/kg on day 1 and 500 μg/kg on day 2). GTPγ[35S] bound to a single class of sites that were saturable and displaceable in control and endotoxin tolerant macrophage membranes. The maximum specific binding of GTPγ[35S] was significantly (P < 0.01) decreased in membranes from tolerant rats compared to control (Bmax = 39 ± 7 pmol/mg protein in control vs. 11 ± 2 pmol/mg protein in endotoxin tolerant; n = 5). There were no significant differences in the Kd values. To determine whether the reduced GTPγS binding was due to decreases in G proteins, macrophage membrane G protein content was determined by western blotting with specific antisera to Gi1,2 α, Gi3α, Gs α, and the β subunit of G. Scanning densitometric analysis demonstrated differential decreases in tolerant macrophage membrane G proteins. Gi3α was reduced the most to 48 ± 8% of controls (n = 3), and this reduction was significant compared to those of other G proteins. Gi1,2α and Gβ were reduced to 73 ± 5% (n = 3) and 65 ± 4% (n = 3) of control values, respectively. Gs α) (L) and Gs α(H) were reduced to 61 ± 5% (n = 3) and 68 ± 3% (n = 3) of control, respectively. These results demonstrate that endotoxin tolerant macrophages exhibit decreased membrane GTP binding capacity and differential reductions in the content of specific G proteins. The cellular mechanisms leading to such alterations in G proteins and their functional significance in the acquisition of endotoxin tolerance merit further investigation

Volume segmentation and analysis of biological materials using SuRVoS (Super-region Volume Segmentation) workbench

Segmentation is the process of isolating specific regions or objects within an imaged volume, so that further study can be undertaken on these areas of interest. When considering the analysis of complex biological systems, the segmentation of three-dimensional image data is a time consuming and labor intensive step. With the increased availability of many imaging modalities and with automated data collection schemes, this poses an increased challenge for the modern experimental biologist to move from data to knowledge. This publication describes the use of SuRVoS Workbench, a program designed to address these issues by providing methods to semi-automatically segment complex biological volumetric data. Three datasets of differing magnification and imaging modalities are presented here, each highlighting different strategies of segmenting with SuRVoS. Phase contrast X-ray tomography (microCT) of the fruiting body of a plant is used to demonstrate segmentation using model training, cryo electron tomography (cryoET) of human platelets is used to demonstrate segmentation using super- and megavoxels, and cryo soft X-ray tomography (cryoSXT) of a mammalian cell line is used to demonstrate the label splitting tools. Strategies and parameters for each datatype are also presented. By blending a selection of semi-automatic processes into a single interactive tool, SuRVoS provides several benefits. Overall time to segment volumetric data is reduced by a factor of five when compared to manual segmentation, a mainstay in many image processing fields. This is a significant savings when full manual segmentation can take weeks of effort. Additionally, subjectivity is addressed through the use of computationally identified boundaries, and splitting complex collections of objects by their calculated properties rather than on a case-by-case basis