Leadership and the Australian Greens

This paper examines the inherent tension between a Green political party’s genesis and official ideology and the conventional forms and practices of party leadership enacted in the vast bulk of other parties, regardless of their place on the ideological spectrum. A rich picture is painted of this ongoing struggle through a case study of the Australian Greens with vivid descriptions presented on organisational leadership issues by Australian state and federal Green members of parliaments. What emerges from the data is the Australian Green MPs’ conundrum in retaining an egalitarian and participatory democracy ethos while seeking to expand their existing frame of leadership to being both more pragmatic and oriented towards active involvement in government

Mechanisms for inclusive governance

How mechanisms for inclusive governance are understood is built on the framing choices that are made about governance and that which is being governed. This chapter unpacks how governance can be understood and considers different historical and contemporary framings of water governance. A framing of “governance as praxis” is developed as a central element in the chapter. What makes governance inclusive is explored, drawing on theoretical, practical and institutional aspects before elucidating some of the different mechanisms currently used or proposed for creating inclusive water governance (though we argue against praxis based on simple mechanism). Finally, the factors that either constrain or enable inclusive water governance are explored with a focus on systemic concepts of learning and feedback

Understanding Marine Mussel Adhesion

In addition to identifying the proteins that have a role in underwater adhesion by marine mussels, research efforts have focused on identifying the genes responsible for the adhesive proteins, environmental factors that may influence protein production, and strategies for producing natural adhesives similar to the native mussel adhesive proteins. The production-scale availability of recombinant mussel adhesive proteins will enable researchers to formulate adhesives that are water-impervious and ecologically safe and can bind materials ranging from glass, plastics, metals, and wood to materials, such as bone or teeth, biological organisms, and other chemicals or molecules. Unfortunately, as of yet scientists have been unable to duplicate the processes that marine mussels use to create adhesive structures. This study provides a background on adhesive proteins identified in the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, and introduces our research interests and discusses the future for continued research related to mussel adhesion

An NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) investigation of the chemical association and molecular dynamics in asphalt ridge tar sand ore and bitumen

Preliminary studies on tar sand bitumen given in this report have shown that the reassociation of tar sand bitumen to its original molecular configuration after thermal stressing is a first-order process requiring nearly a week to establish equilibrium. Studies were also conducted on the dissolution of tar sand bitumen in solvents of varying polarity. At a high-weight fraction of solute to solvent the apparent molecular weight of the bitumen molecules was greater than that of the original bitumen when dissolved in chloroform-d/sub 1/ and benzene-d/sub 6/. This increase in the apparent molecular weight may be due to micellar formation or a weak solute-solvent molecular complex. Upon further dilution with any of the solvents studied, the apparent molecular weight of the tar sand bitumen decreased because of reduced van der Waals forces of interaction and/or hydrogen bonding. To define the exact nature of the interactions, it will be necessary to have viscosity measurements of the solutions. 30 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs

Phenylindolylmethyldiaminopyrimidines (PIDAPs) as Potent Antimicrobials Against Staphylococcus Aureus

We have ascertained that phenylindolylmethyldiaminopyrimidines (PIDAPs), stop the growth of USA300 MRSA at low micromolar concentrations. The controls, penicillin G and vancomycin, are able to stop the growth of MRSA at ~765 μM (256 μg/mL) and ~1.38 μM (2 μg/mL) respectively. We have also found out that PIDAPs are bactericidal at or close to the MIC. No activity was observed against Gram-negative pathogens. Other Gram-positive pathogens have not yet been tested. Based on a search through the ChEMBL database, PIDAPs are a novel class of chemicals with antimicrobial properties. A limited structure-function study suggests that the diaminopyrimidine is part of the pharmacophore. Unfortunately, we also detected potential dose-limiting toxicity on human cell lines. Further, detailed studies are needed

Portfolio Use and Practices in US Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy

Objectives. To identify the prevalence of portfolio use in US pharmacy programs, common components of portfolios, and advantages of and limitations to using portfolios