Academic, industry and student perspectives on the inclusion of "vocational knowledge" in a 'learning and teaching academic standards statement' for agriculture

This paper reports on the perspective of industry stakeholders in a national project to develop a Learning and Teaching Academic Standards (LTAS) Statement for the Agriculture discipline. The AgLTAS Statement will be aligned with the Science LTAS Statement published in 2011 and comprise a discourse on the nature and extent of the Agriculture discipline and a set of Threshold Learning Outcome (TLO) statements specific to Agriculture. Agricultural research and teaching relies on strong links with industry due to the applied nature of the discipline. Without these links, sustainable and profitable practice change in agricultural systems cannot be achieved. A pilot project, in 2011-2012, with academic staff from three Australian universities identified vocational knowledge as a potential focus for a TLO. The AgLTAS project provides the opportunity to validate or refute this TLO by seeking input from a wider group of stakeholders, including industry. National consensus is being sought by a process of iterative consultation with academics, students and industry stakeholders and tested across four Australian universities. We have collected qualitative and quantitative data from industry participants who attended a series of workshops across most Australian States and Territories and through an online survey. Surprisingly, and contrary to the findings of the pilot project, industry representatives considered vocational knowledge of lesser importance to the need for students to attain highly developed problem solving and communication skills that can generate new opportunities and innovation in agriculture. Industryspecific(vocational) knowledge was generally regarded as attainable during on-the-job training after graduation. This finding prompts the question whether the AgLTAS Statement should be linked to professional accreditation that may be attaiined after graduation

Kinetics and thermogenesis of medium-chain monocarboxylic and dicarboxylic acids in man: sebacate and medium-chain triglycerides

The effects on oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production of a constant intravenous infusion of 0.15 g of disodium sebacate (Sb), the sodic salt of a medium-chain dicarboxylic acid with 10 carbon atoms, per kilogram of body weight per hour over 5 hours and a 50% mixture of medium- and long-chain triglycerides (MCT/LCT) were compared in 10 healthy men. Oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production were measured by indirect calorimetry. Mean oxygen consumption was about 19% higher than the basal oxygen consumption at the end of MCT/LCT infusion but was only 5% higher than the basal oxygen consumption when Sb was infused. There was an eightfold increase in plasma beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate concentrations and a threefold increase in serum insulin levels during MCT/LCT infusion, but no significant change in ketone bodies and insulin from basal values was observed during and after Sb infusion. Pharmacokinetic parameters were also computed, showing an average apparent volume of distribution of 167 mL/kg of body weight for MCTs and 112 mL/kg of body weight for Sb. The t1/2 of MCTs was 50 minutes and that of Sb was 78 minutes. Urinary excretion of Sb and its beta-oxidative by-product, suberic acid, globally accounted for 48% of the given amount of Sb. In spite of its urinary loss and slower tissue uptake compared with MCTs, Sb avoided ketone body formation or elevation in insulin levels and did not induce a significant increase in oxygen consumption.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS