Distribution and diversity of exotic plant species in montane to alpine areas of Kosciuszko National Park

Diversity and distribution of exotic plant taxa in Kosciuszko National Park in south-eastern Australia were reviewed based on 1103 records of exotics from 18 vegetation surveys conducted between 1986 and 2004. 154 taxa from 23 families were recorded in the alpine to montane zones, with eleven taxa in the alpine, 128 taxa in the subalpine and 69 taxa in the montane zone. Nearly all taxa were associated with anthropogenic disturbance with only four taxa exclusively recorded in natural areas. 62 taxa were recorded from subalpine ski resort gardens, and although not recorded as naturalised in the vegetation surveys, their presence in the Park is a concern. Road verges provided habitat for numerous exotics (65 taxa). 44 taxa were recorded in both disturbed and natural locations but most were uncommon (33 taxa < 2% frequency). Nine common taxa Acetosella vulgaris, Achillea millefolium, Agrostis capillaris, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Cerastium spp., Dactylis glomerata, Hypochaeris radicata, Taraxacum officinale and Trifolium repens comprised 68% of records. These species are common to disturbed areas in other areas of Kosciuszko National Park, NSW and worldwide. The forb Acetosella vulgaris was the most ubiquitous species particularly in natural areas where it was recorded at 36% frequency. Based on the data presented here and a recent review of other data sets, there are at least 231 exotic taxa in the Park (including exotics in gardens). The increasing diversity and abundance of exotics is a threat to the natural values of this Park

Electricity deregulation and the valuation of visibility loss in wilderness areas: A research note.

Visibility in most wilderness areas in the northeastern United States has declined substantially since the 1970s. As noted by Hill et al. (2000), despite the 1977 Clean Air Act and subsequent amendments, human induced smog conditions are becoming increasingly worse. Average visibility in class I airsheds, such as the Great Gulf Wilderness in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, is now about one-third of natural conditions. A particular concern is that deregulation of electricity production could result in further degradation because consumers may switch to lower cost fossil fuel generation (Harper 2000). To the extent that this system reduces electricity costs, it may also affect firm location decisions (Halstead and Deller 1997). Yet, little is known about the extent to which consumers are likely to make tradeoffs between electric bills and reduced visibility in nearby wilderness areas. This applied research uses a contingent valuation approach in an empirical case study of consumers’ tradeoffs between cheaper electric bills and reduced visibility in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. We also examine some of the problems associated with uncertainty with this type of analysis; that is, how confident respondents are in their answers to the valuation questions. Finally, policy implications of decreased visibility due to electricity deregulation are discussed

An Open Framework for Integrating Widely Distributed Hypermedia Resources

The success of the WWW has served as an illustration of how hypermedia functionality can enhance access to large amounts of distributed information. However, the WWW and many other distributed hypermedia systems offer very simple forms of hypermedia functionality which are not easily applied to existing applications and data formats, and cannot easily incorporate alternative functions which would aid hypermedia navigation to and from existing documents that have not been developed with hypermedia access in mind. This paper describes the extension to a distributed environment of the open hypermedia functionality of the Microcosm system, which is designed to support the provision of hypermedia access to a wide range of source material and application, and to offer straightforward extension of the system to incorporate new forms of information access

Unifying Distributed Processing and Open Hypertext through a Heterogeneous Communication Model

A successful distributed open hypermedia system can be characterised by a scaleable architecture which is inherently distributed. While the architects of distributed hypermedia systems have addressed the issues of providing and retrieving distributed resources, they have often neglected to design systems with the inherent capability to exploit the distributed processing of this information. The research presented in this paper describes the construction and use of an open hypermedia system concerned equally with both of these facets

Improving the Measurement of Maternal Mortality: The Sisterhood Method Revisited

Background: Over the past several decades the efforts to improve maternal survival and the consequent demand for accurate estimates of maternal mortality have increased. However, measuring maternal mortality remains a difficult task especially in developing countries with weak information systems. Sibling histories included in household surveys (most notably the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)) have emerged as an important source of maternal mortality data. Data have been mainly collected from women and have not been widely collected from men due to concerns about data quality. We assess data quality of histories obtained from men and the potential to improve the efficiency of surveys measuring maternal mortality by collecting such data. Methods and Findings: We used data from 10 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) that have included a full sibling history in both their women’s and men’s questionnaires. We estimated adult and maternal mortality indicators from histories obtained from men and women. We assessed the completeness and accuracy of these histories using several indicators of data quality. Our study finds that mortality estimates based on sibling histories obtained from men do not systematically or significantly differ from those obtained from women. Quality indicators were similar when comparing data from men and women. Pooling data obtained from men and women produced narrower confidence intervals. Conclusion: From experience across nine developing countries, sibling history data obtained from men appear to be a reliable source of information on adult and maternal mortality. Given that there are no significant differences between mortality estimates based on data obtained from men and women, data can be pooled to increase efficiency. This finding improves the feasibility for countries to generate robust empirical estimates of adult and maternal mortality from surveys. Further we recommend that male sibling histories be collected from all sample households rather than from a subsample

Connections: A Journal of Public Education Advocacy - Winter 2001, Vol. 8. No. 1

Contents:Building "Social Capital" Through Advocacy, Alliances & ForumsWorking With School LeadershipLEFs: A Proud History of Evolving to Meet ChallengesTranslating Public Concerns Into a Shared ResponsibilitySummary of PEN's 2000 Annual Surve

Examining mental health literacy, help seeking behaviours, and mental health outcomes in UK university students

PurposeMany university students in the UK experience mental health problems and little is known about their overall mental health literacy and help-seeking behaviours. The purpose of this paper is to ascertain levels of mental health literacy in UK university students and to examine whether mental health literacy is associated with better mental health outcomes and intentions to seek professional care.Design/methodology/approachA total of 380 university students at a university in the south of England completed online surveys measuring multiple dimensions of mental health literacy, help-seeking behaviour, distress, and well-being.FindingsMental health literacy in the students sampled was lower than seen in previous research. Women exhibited higher levels of mental health literacy than men and postgraduate students scored higher than undergraduate students. Participants with previous mental health problems had higher levels of mental health literacy than those with no history of mental health problems. Individuals were most likely to want to seek support from a partner or family member and most participants indicated they would be able to access mental health information online. Mental health literacy was significantly positively correlated with help-seeking behaviour, but not significantly correlated with distress or well-being.Practical implicationsStrategies, such as anonymous online resources, should be designed to help UK university students become more knowledgeable about mental health and comfortable with seeking appropriate support.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine multiple dimensions of mental health literacy in UK university students and compare it to help-seeking behaviour, distress, and well-being

Connecting the study of wild influenza with the potential for pandemic disease

Continuing outbreaks of pathogenic (H5N1) and pandemic (SOIVH1N1) influenza have underscored the need to understand the origin, characteristics, and evolution of novel influenza A virus (IAV) variants that pose a threat to human health. In the last 4–5 years, focus has been placed on the organization of large-scale surveillance programs to examine the phylogenetics of avian influenza virus (AIV) and host–virus relationships in domestic and wild animals. Here we review the current gaps in wild animal and environmental surveillance and the current understanding of genetic signatures in potentially pandemic strains.National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (U.S.) (Contract HHSN266200700010C)Massachusetts Institute of Technolog

Reviews

Review of Management and the Multi-racial Workforce, Diversity and Decomposition in the Labour Market, Studies in the Labour Market, Industrial Relations in Britain, Women's Rights in the Workplace, Eclipse of Equalit