A note on the rising cost of education in Australia

Human capital, or a better educated labour force, is a major determinant of economic growth and productivity. However, recent trends in the cost of education in Australia may cause growth and productivity to suffer. For example, during the period 1982-2003 inflation rose on average by 4.4 per cent per annum, whereas the cost of education grew overall on average by 7.8 per cent. This has made education a relatively expensive item among Australian households. This paper compares and contrasts the cost of education in Australia and comparable economies with the cost of other goods and services embedded in the CPI (Consumer Price Index) basket using the latest available quarterly data. Finally, the major determinants of the rising cost of education in Australia are examined. It is found, inter alia, that over the period 1986-2003 the increasing number of students enrolled at non-governmental primary and secondary schools and the introduction of the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) were two important determinants of the rising cost of education

Spectral scaling of the Leray-α\alpha model for two-dimensional turbulence

We present data from high-resolution numerical simulations of the Navier-Stokes-$\alpha$ and the Leray-$\alpha$ models for two-dimensional turbulence. It was shown previously (Lunasin et al., J. Turbulence, 8, (2007), 751-778), that for wavenumbers $k$ such that $k\alpha\gg 1$, the energy spectrum of the smoothed velocity field for the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes-$\alpha$ (NS-$\alpha$) model scales as $k^{-7}$. This result is in agreement with the scaling deduced by dimensional analysis of the flux of the conserved enstrophy using its characteristic time scale. We therefore hypothesize that the spectral scaling of any $\alpha$-model in the sub-$\alpha$ spatial scales must depend only on the characteristic time scale and dynamics of the dominant cascading quantity in that regime of scales. The data presented here, from simulations of the two-dimensional Leray-$\alpha$ model, confirm our hypothesis. We show that for $k\alpha\gg 1$, the energy spectrum for the two-dimensional Leray-$\alpha$ scales as $k^{-5}$, as expected by the characteristic time scale for the flux of the conserved enstrophy of the Leray-$\alpha$ model. These results lead to our conclusion that the dominant directly cascading quantity of the model equations must determine the scaling of the energy spectrum.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Characterisation of the effects of salicylidene acylhydrazide compounds on type three secretion in Escherichia coli O157:H7

Recent work has highlighted a number of compounds that target bacterial virulence by affecting gene regulation. In this work, we show that small-molecule inhibitors affect the expression of the type III secretion system (T3SS) of <i>Escherichia coli</i> O157:H7 in liquid culture and when the bacteria are attached to bovine epithelial cells. The inhibition of T3SS expression resulted in a reduction in the capacity of the bacteria to form attaching and effacing lesions. Our results show a marked variation in the ability of four structurally-related compounds to inhibit the T3SS of a panel of isolates. Using transcriptomics, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the conserved- and inhibitor-specific transcriptional responses to the four compounds. These analyses of gene expression show that numerous virulence genes, located on horizontally-acquired DNA elements, are affected by the compounds but the number of genes significantly affected varied markedly between the compounds. Overall, we highlight the importance of assessing the effect of such "anti-virulence" agents on a range of isolates and discuss the possible mechanisms which may lead to the co-ordinate down-regulation of horizontally acquired virulence genes

Using E. coli and Bacteroides distribution and abundance in a eutrophic lake as a tracer for nutrient inputs, Wilgreen Lake, Madison County, Kentucky

Wilgreen Lake is a eutrophic lake that has been listed on the EPA’s 303d list as nutrient impaired. Potential sources of this impairment are likely from humans, cattle manure, and fertilizers. We suspect that the majority of nutrients originate from human sources, namely from septic tank effluent emanating from key housing developments ringing the lakeshore. We test our hypothesis with conventional microbial assays (Escherichia coli) and RT-PCR techniques (Bacteroides). We took water samples at 19 sampling locations on 4 occasions, and measured the abundance of Escherichia coli using IDEXX methods. Corresponding sub-samples slated for potential PCR analysis were stored at -40oC. We chose PCR assay candidates on the basis of elevated E. coli levels, and the probability of differing source contributions. There is a systematic decline in E. coli microbial abundance distal to developments with closely-spaced septic units. This suggests that the principal source of microbial input is from septic systems; however, we cannot eliminate the possibility that fecal microbes are introduced into the lake via inflows. We used quantitative PCR analysis to measure Bacteroides abundance, and to distinguish between human and cattle sources. We measured 14 samples and found total fecal microbe concentrations in all samples targeting all Bacteroides species ranged from 45 mg/L to 142 mg/L. Unlike other studies, there was no apparent relationship between the concentration of all Bacteroides species and that of E. coli. We also attempted to quantitatively determine the proportion of Bacteroides contributions from specific sources, namely human and bovine fecal matter. Although fecal contamination was measured in all 14 samples, only 1 sample had significant amounts of human fecal contamination (21%) as measured by the human-associated Bacteroides assay. None of the samples had significant amounts bovine fecal concentration as measured by the bovine-associated Bacteroides assay. These inconclusive results suggest that either there are other unidentified sources of fecal contamination by Bacteroides and/or E. coli, or that the prevailing drought conditions skewed our results by not capturing fecal transport effects due to lack of surface and/or groundwater flow

Collective victimhood in populist media about Brexit: rage against the machine?

This paper outlines an ongoing qualitative study in social psychology, with a pilot study completed and the main study currently at the data analysis stage. We examine how collective and competitive victimhood are invoked in populist rhetoric and media coverage of the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union (Brexit). Brexit has been portrayed by its proponents as a project on behalf of ordinary British people against an out-of-touch liberal elite and a malevolent European Union (EU), with the opposing campaign to remain in the EU commonly characterised as an alarmist “project fear” (see Bartholomew, 2017; Durrheim et al., 2018; Forsyth, 2016; Malik, 2018). This populist idea of ordinary people as victims of manipulative and mendacious elites seems to relate to social-psychological work on collective and competitive victimhood (Bar-Tal et al., 2009; Noor et al., 2008a, 2008b, 2012; Vollhardt et al., 2014). According to this account, victimhood can be used as political capital to justify grievances and intergroup conflict. Research on this topic has mostly used quantitative methods, but first attempts have been made to use qualitative methods to show rhetorical functions of collective and competitive victimhood (McNeill et al., 2017). Building on these theoretical and methodological foundations, we use thematic analysis and discourse analysis to show how victimhood is mobilised in British media to garner support for Brexit, and how this connects with concepts such as collective relative deprivation (e.g. Abrams & Grant, 2012; Runciman, 1966) and relative gratification (Dambrun et al., 2006; Guimond & Dambrun, 2002; Jetten et al., 2015). In doing so, we contribute to a social-psychological perspective on Brexit, develop further the concepts of collective and competitive victimhood, and connect the micro-level of language used in the media sphere to the macro-level of populist movements in democratic societies

Research Notes : United States : Genes for resistance to Phytophthora megasperma f. sp. glycinea in PI 273483D, PI 64747, PI 274212, PI 82312N, and PI 340046

Several years ago, we identified seven plant introductions resistant to the 16 races of Phytophthora megasperma f. sp. glycinea Kuan and Erwin (Pmg) known at that time. Each of these was crossed to the eight cultivars in Table 1 to determine how resistance was controlled. They were not crossed to cultivars that contained Rps2 or Rps5 because Rps2 was found using root inoculation in a liquid culture solution, and Rps5 was described after this study was started

Genome sequence of the Bacteroides fragilis phage ATCC 51477-B1

The genome of a fecal pollution indicator phage, Bacteroides fragilis ATCC 51477-B1, was sequenced and consisted of 44,929 bases with a G+C content of 38.7%. Forty-six putative open reading frames were identified and genes were organized into functional clusters for host specificity, lysis, replication and regulation, and packaging and structural proteins

Kelp forest restoration in Australia

Kelp forests dominate the rocky coasts of temperate Australia and are the foundation of the Great Southern Reef. Much like terrestrial forests, these marine forests create complex habitat for diverse communities of flora and fauna. Kelp forests also support coastal food-webs and valuable fisheries and provide a suite of additional ecosystem services. In many regions of Australia and around the world, kelp forests are in decline due to ocean warming, overgrazing, and pollution. One potential tool in the conservation and management of these important ecosystems is habitat restoration, the science and practice of which is currently undergoing substantial expansion. We summarize the present state of Australian kelp forests and emphasize that consideration of the initial drivers of kelp decline is a critical first step in restoration. With a focus on Australian examples, we review methods, implementation and outcomes of kelp forest restoration, and discuss suitable measures of success and the estimated costs of restoration activities. We propose a workflow and decision system for kelp forest restoration that identifies alternative pathways for implementation and acknowledges that under some circumstances restoration at scale is not possible or feasible. As a case study, we then apply the Society for Ecological Restoration’s 5-star evaluation to Operation Crayweed, Australia’s primary example of kelp forest restoration. Overall, no single method of kelp forest restoration is suitable for all situations, but outcomes can be optimized by ameliorating the driver(s) of kelp decline and achieving ongoing natural recruitment of kelp. Whilst scalability of kelp forest restoration to the seascape-scale remains a considerable challenge, the present review should provide a platform for future restoration efforts. However, it is also crucial to emphasize that the challenges of restoration place a high value on preventative conservation and protection of existing kelp forest ecosystems – prevention is invariably better than cure