Brand Equity in the Australian domestic beef market

Branding remains in a fairly nascent state within the Australian domestic beef market. Several brands have begun to emerge in recent years including Certified Angus, 1824, Hereford Prime, Stockyard Beef and Diamantina. However, these primarily cater for restaurant rather than household trade. This contrasts with other countries, such as the US, where branded beef makes up a large proportion of the domestic market. Using random parameter logit models we examine the willingness of consumers to pay for one type of branded beef, as well specific beef attributes, in a regional area of NSW. We find that there is evidence that segments of the population would be willing to pay for branded beef. The value of the brand is related to several sociodemographic characteristics, as well as attitudinal variables.Agricultural and Food Policy, Marketing,

The living specimen : Guan Wei : a Chinese-Australian artist

This thesis focuses on the work and experience of Guan Wei. Guan Wei is a Chinese born artist now living and working in Australia. He is one of a number of mainland Chinese who came to live in Australia in the late 1989s and early 1990s. While there are certain commonalities between the experiences of these artists, I have concentrated on Guan Wei not merely as a case study for recent emigre Chinese artists in Australia, but because of his prominent place in Australian contemporary art

How Contemporary Curatorial Practice Co-opts Participatory Art

Instagram users post photos in art exhibitions all of the time. Contemporary art curators and museums have a role to play in this new phenomenon. Programming and curating participatory art exhibitions allows for the perfect art selfie which draws in visitors from around the world. But, how do curators and museums affect the significance of these artworks by placing them within the Instagram age? This thesis uses the three exhibitions as case studies: Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors at the Broad Museum in Los Angeles, Take Me (I\u27m Yours) at the Jewish Museum in New York, and Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Through an examination of the curatorial and marketing tactics used in mounting these exhibitions, this thesis determines whether or not the use of Instagram crosses a curatorial boundary

Association of low level viremia with inflammation and mortality in HIV-infected adults.

BackgroundWhether HIV viremia, particularly at low levels is associated with inflammation, increased coagulation, and all-cause mortality is unclear.MethodsThe associations of HIV RNA level with C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, interleukin (IL)-6 and mortality were evaluated in 1116 HIV-infected participants from the Study of Fat Redistribution and Metabolic Change in HIV infection. HIV RNA level was categorized as undetectable (i.e., "target not detected"), 1-19, 20-399, 400-9999, and ≥ 10,000 copies/ml. Covariates included demographics, lifestyle, adipose tissue, and HIV-related factors.ResultsHIV RNA level had little association with CRP. Categories of HIV RNA below 10,000 copies/ml had similar levels of IL-6 compared with an undetectable HIV RNA level, while HIV RNA ≥ 10,000 copies/ml was associated with 89% higher IL-6 (p<0.001). This association was attenuated by ~50% after adjustment for CD4+ cell count. Higher HIV RNA was associated with higher fibrinogen. Compared to an undetectable HIV RNA level, fibrinogen was 0.6%, 1.9%, 4.5%, 4.6%, and 9.4% higher across HIV RNA categories, respectively, and statistically significant at the highest level (p = 0.0002 for HIV RNA ≥ 10,000 copies/ml). Higher HIV RNA was associated with mortality during follow-up in unadjusted analysis, but showed little association after adjustment for CD4+ cell count and inflammation.ConclusionHIV RNA ≥ 10,000 copies/ml was associated with higher IL-6 and fibrinogen, but lower levels of viremia appeared similar, and there was little association with CRP. The relationship of HIV RNA with IL-6 was strongly affected by CD4 cell depletion. After adjustment for CD4+ cell count and inflammation, viremia did not appear to be substantially associated with mortality risk over 5 years

An Interpretative Phenomenological Study to Understand the Perceived Value and Impact of Feedback on the Learning Experience of Pre-Registration Healthcare Students

This thesis examines how feedback is used by pre-registration healthcare students to support their learning. It investigates feedback experiences in authentic academic and practice-based environments, using the student's experience as the main vehicle by which to develop an understanding about the value and impact of feedback. This interpretative phenomenological study utilises a small sample of pre-registration healthcare students and staff from a single UK university and explores their lived experiences of feedback through a lifeworld lens. Situated learning and the theory of communities of practice is used to understand the data. The study identifies the significance of the healthcare discipline to shape the learning from feedback experiences of the students in relation to their developing identity as practitioners. The situation in which learning takes place for pre-registration healthcare students is complex. Students learn across multiple sites and have a dual role of learner and clinician. This complexity of the learning experience alongside the students’ uncertainties in relation to their developing identity affects how they engage with feedback. The students’ perception of “self” also influences how feedback is understood and internalised. The study argues that relationships and learning-focussed communities of practice are core to the way that feedback is experienced by these students. The dual role that these students occupy, and lack of direction from their educators in making clear how feedback should be used, appears to create a lack of clarity regarding the purpose of feedback. The authenticity of the learning experience was also found to be significant in supporting the students’ learning. The relationship between the learner “self”, the purpose of feedback, the authenticity of the learning experience, and the membership of multiple communities of practice are intertwined and appear to be significant to the impact and value of learning from feedback for the pre-registration healthcare students

Commentary: Preserving discretion in economic policy

Monetary policy

Cattle Grazing and Conservation of a Meadow-Dependent Amphibian Species in the Sierra Nevada

World-wide population declines have sharpened concern for amphibian conservation on working landscapes. Across the Sierra Nevada's national forest lands, where almost half of native amphibian species are considered at risk, permitted livestock grazing is a notably controversial agricultural activity. Cattle (Bos taurus) grazing is thought to degrade the quality, and thus reduce occupancy, of meadow breeding habitat for amphibian species of concern such as the endemic Yosemite toad (Anaxyrus [ = Bufo] canorus). However, there is currently little quantitative information correlating cattle grazing intensity, meadow breeding habitat quality, and toad use of meadow habitat. We surveyed biotic and abiotic factors influencing cattle utilization and toad occupancy across 24 Sierra Nevada meadows to establish these correlations and inform conservation planning efforts. We utilized both traditional regression models and Bayesian structural equation modeling to investigate potential drivers of meadow habitat use by cattle and Yosemite toads. Cattle use was negatively related to meadow wetness, while toad occupancy was positively related. In mid and late season (mid July–mid September) grazing periods, cattle selected for higher forage quality diets associated with vegetation in relatively drier meadows, whereas toads were more prevalent in wetter meadows. Because cattle and toads largely occupied divergent zones along the moisture gradient, the potential for indirect or direct negative effects is likely minimized via a partitioning of the meadow habitat. During the early season, when habitat use overlap was highest, overall low grazing levels resulted in no detectable impacts on toad occupancy. Bayesian structural equation analyses supported the hypothesis that meadow hydrology influenced toad meadow occupancy, while cattle grazing intensity did not. These findings suggest cattle production and amphibian conservation can be compatible goals within this working landscape