Improving attainment? Interventions in education by the New Deal for Communities Programme

"The New Deal for Communities (NDC) Programme was announced in 1998 and designed to reduce gaps between some of the most deprived areas in England and the rest of the country... This report presents the findings of one element of the second phase of the evaluation of the NDC Programme: research in four case study NDC partnerships focusing on interventions and outcomes under the theme of education." - introduction

Motivations of Sport Volunteers in England: A review for Sport England

This review is the first to combine the findings of commercial reports and academic research into the motivations of sports volunteers with general theory understanding volunteers and volunteering. This provides a broader understanding of volunteering in sport. It provides a useful resource for anyone in the planning, management and delivery of sports volunteering and a stepping stone for further research

Families’ perceptions of and experiences related to a pediatric weight management program.

Objective: To examine parents' and children's perceptions of and experiences related to a Parents as Agents of Change (PAC) intervention for managing pediatric obesity. Methods: Ten families were recruited from a PAC intervention. Participants were interviewed before (10 adults and 9 children), during (9 adults and 8 children), and after (8 adults) the intervention. Results: Before the intervention, families reported goals to increase physical activity, plan and eat healthier meals, reduce screen time, and lose weight. During the intervention, families described different approaches to making behavior changes depending on who assumed responsibility (parent, child, or shared responsibility). After the intervention, group setting, goal setting, and portion size activities were viewed positively. Suggestions for improvement included engaging children and reducing intervention length. Conclusions and Implications: Practitioners delivering PAC interventions should discuss families' goals and concerns, and who is responsible for making lifestyle changes. Practical activities are valuable. The length of interventions and engagement of children should be considere

Sheep Updates 2007 - part 3

This session covers seven papers from different authors: PROFITABILITY 1. Benchmarking demonstrates both the potential and realised productivity gains in the sheep and wool industry, Andrew Ritchie, Edward Riggall and James Hall, ICON Agriculture, Darkan 2. Improving sheep genetics will increase farm profitability, Gus Rose, Johan Greeff Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, John Young Farming Systems Analysis Service, WA 3. Meat, Merinos and making money in WA Pastoral Zone, M. Alchin, M. Young and T. Johnson, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, GRAZING 4. Nitrogen - farmers\u27 friend or foe? John Lucy and Martin Staines, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia 5. Drought proofing grazing systems - a case study from Binnu 2006/7, Tim Wiley & Rob Grima, Department of Agriculture & Food Western Australia 6. Minimising \u27Esperance Storm\u27 livestock losses, Sandra Prosser and Matt Ryan, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia 7. Sub-tropical grasses in WA - what is their potential? Geoff Moore, Tony Albertsen, Department of Agriculture & Food Western Australia, Phil Barrett-Lennard, Evergreen Farming, George Woolston, John Titterington, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, Sarah Knight, Irwin-Mingenew Group, Brianna Peake, Liebe Group, Buntine, W

A history of high-power laser research and development in the United Kingdom

The first demonstration of laser action in ruby was made in 1960 by T. H. Maiman of Hughes Research Laboratories, USA. Many laboratories worldwide began the search for lasers using different materials, operating at different wavelengths. In the UK, academia, industry and the central laboratories took up the challenge from the earliest days to develop these systems for a broad range of applications. This historical review looks at the contribution the UK has made to the advancement of the technology, the development of systems and components and their exploitation over the last 60 years

The collective impact of rare diseases in Western Australia: an estimate using a population-based cohort.

PURPOSE: It has been argued that rare diseases should be recognized as a public health priority. However, there is a shortage of epidemiological data describing the true burden of rare diseases. This study investigated hospital service use to provide a better understanding of the collective health and economic impacts of rare diseases. METHODS: Novel methodology was developed using a carefully constructed set of diagnostic codes, a selection of rare disease cohorts from hospital administrative data, and advanced data-linkage technologies. Outcomes included health-service use and hospital admission costs. RESULTS: In 2010, cohort members who were alive represented approximately 2.0% of the Western Australian population. The cohort accounted for 4.6% of people discharged from hospital and 9.9% of hospital discharges, and it had a greater average length of stay than the general population. The total cost of hospital discharges for the cohort represented 10.5% of 2010 state inpatient hospital costs. CONCLUSIONS: This population-based cohort study provides strong new evidence of a marked disparity between the proportion of the population with rare diseases and their combined health-system costs. The methodology will inform future rare-disease studies, and the evidence will guide government strategies for managing the service needs of people living with rare diseases.Genet Med advance online publication 22 September 2016Genetics in Medicine (2016); doi:10.1038/gim.2016.143

Crop Updates 2009 - Genetically Modified Crops, Nutrition, Soils, & Others

This session covers fifteen papers from different authors: 1. Performance of Canola Breeders Roundup Ready® canola hybrid CHYB-166 in 2008, Wallace Cowling, Canola Breeders Western Australia Pty Ltd 2. The implications of GM glyphosate resistant lupin, Art Diggle, Caroline Peek, Frank D’Emden, Fiona Evans, Bob French, Rob Grima, Sam Harburg, Abul Hashem,, John Holmes, Jeremy Lemon, Peter Newman, Janet Paterson, Steve Penny,Department of Agriculture and Food, Peter Portmann, Agriconnect 3. Nufarm Roundup Ready® Canola Systems Trials— 2008 Mark Slatter, Research and Development Officer, Victoria, Nufarm (0438 064 845) Angus MacLennan, Business Development Manager, New South Wales, Nufarm (0408 358 024) Cooperators: Monsanto, Nuseed, Pacific Seeds, Pioneer Seeds 4. Roundup Ready® canola—2008 Limited Commercial Release. Getting the system right, Andrew Wells and Mark Slatter, Nufarm Australia Limited (Reprint from 2008 GRDC Cropping Updates with Introductory note) NUTRITION 5. Fertilising in a changing price environment, Bill Bowden1, Wayne Pluske2 and Jeremy Lemon1, 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2Back Paddock Company 6. Making better fertiliser for Western Australian cropping systems, Wen Chen1 2, Geoff Anderson1, Ross Brennan1and Richard Bell2 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University 7. The nitrogen fertiliser replacement value of biosolids from wastewater treatment, Hannah Rigby1, Deborah Pritchard1, David Collins1, Katrina Walton2, David Allen2 and Nancy Penney31School of Agriculture and Environment,Curtin University of Technology, Muresk Campus, 2Chemistry Centre of Western Australia 3Water Corporation of Western Australia 8. Fertilising to soil type (usually) pays, Michael Robertson, Bill Bowden and Roger Lawes, CSIRO, Floreat and Department of Agriculture and Food SOILS 9. Management of subsoil acidity and compaction using a combination of lime, deep ripping and controlled traffic, Stephen Davies, Chris Gazey, Breanne Best and David Gartner, Department of Agriculture and Food 10. Optimising gypsum applications through remote sensing and Variable Rate Technology, Frank D’Emden, Department of Agriculture and Food and Quenten Knight,Precision Agronomics Australia 11. Case study of a 17 year agricultural lime trial, Chris Gazey1, Joel Andrew2and Ryan Pearce3 1Department of Agriculture and Food; 2Precision SoilTech; 3ConsultAg 12. Soil organic carbon in WA agricultural soils, FC Hoyle and A Bennett, Department of Agriculture and Food OTHER 13. Is the no-till revolution complete in WA? Frank D’Emden1, Rick Llewellyn2 and Ken Flower3 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, 3University of Western Australia 14. Progression Planning (The Concept), Julian Krieg and Owen Catto, Wheatbelt Men’s Health 15. Is the Department of Agriculture and Food still a primary source of cropping information? Cindy Parsons, Department of Agriculture and Foo

Crop Updates 2001 - Grower Booklet

1. Strategies for leaf disease management in wheat, Jatinderpal Bhathal1, Cameron Weeks2, Kith Jayasena1 and Robert Loughman1, 1Agriculture Western Australia. 2Mingenew-Irwin Group Inc. 2. Burn stubble windrows: to diagnose soil fertility problems, Bill Bowden, Chris Gazey and Ross Brennan, Agriculture Western Australia 3. Rainfall – what happened in 2000 and the prospects for 2001, Ian Foster, Agriculture Western Australia 4. Strategies for leaf disease management in malting barley, K. Jayasena1, Q. Knight2 and R. Loughman1, 1Agriculture Western Australia, 2IAMA Agribusiness 5. Planning your cropping program in season 2001, Dr Ross Kingwell, Agriculture Western Australia and University of Western Australia 6. Rotational crops and varieties for management of root lesion nematodes in Western Australia, S.B. Sharma, S. Kelly and R. Loughman, Crop Improvement Institute, Agriculture Western Australia 7. When and where to grow oats, Glenn McDonald, Agriculture Western Australia 8. Managing Gairdner barley for quality, Kevin Young and Blakely Paynter, Agriculture Western Australia FARMING SYSTEMS, PASTURES AND WEEDS 9.Evaluation of pasture species for phase pasture systems, Keith Devenish, Agriculture Western Australia 10. Competitiveness of wild radish in a wheat – lupin rotation, Abul Hashem, Nerys Wilkins, and Terry Piper, Agriculture Western Australia 11. Can we eradicate barley grass? Sally Peltzer, Agriculture Western Australia 12. Short term pasture phase for weed control, Clinton Revell and Candy Hudson, Agriculture Western Australia 13. Herbicide tolerance of some annual pasture legumes adapted to coarse textured sandy soils, Clinton Revell and Ian Rose, Agriculture Western Australia 14. Integrated weed management: Cadoux, Alexandra Wallace, Agriculture Western Australia LUPINS 15. Inter-row knockdowns for profitable lupins, Paul Blackwell, Agriculture Western Australia and Miles Obst, farmer, Mingenew 16.. Wild radish – the implications for our rotations, Dr David Bowran, Centre for Cropping Systems 17. Lupin variety performance: Are you making the most of it? Bevan J. Buirchell, Senior Plant Breeder, Agriculture Western Australia 18. Anthracnose in lupins – understanding the risk, Moin Salam, Art Diggle, Geoff Thomas, Mark Sweetingham and Bill O’Neill, Agriculture Western Australia OILSEEDS 19. Effect of stubble, seeding technique and seed size on crop establishment and yield of canola, Rafiul Alam, Glen Riethmuller and Greg Hamilton, Agriculture Western Australia 20. Canola – More responses to lime, Chris Gazey and Paul Carmody,Agriculture Western Australia 22. Performance of new canola varieties in AGWEST variety trials in 2000, G. Walton, Crop Improvement Institute, Agriculture Western Australia PULSES 23. The ascochyta management package for 2001, B. MacLeod, Agriculture Western Australia 24. Herbicide tolerance of new field pea varieties and lines, M. Seymour, H. Dhammu, T. Piper, D. Nicholson, M. D\u27Antuono, Agriculture Western Australi