You Are What You Drink—a Rockst*r or a Monster?: An Enviga-rating Regulatory Question

This paper briefly examines the regulation of caffeine in energy drinks. The FDA does not have specific regulations pertaining to the use of caffeine in energy drinks. Caffeine is generally safe, but may pose dangerous health risks to children, pregnant women, and people with caffeine sensitivities. I suggest that the Food and Drug Administration require energy drink companies to list the amount of caffeine on the product labels of energy drinks to facilitate informed product comparison

Lessons of Corporate Entrepreneurship for Motivating Public Sector Employees

This paper aims to contribute to the field of public entrepreneurship by addressing the question of what can public sector organizations learn from corporate entrepreneurship to create a more motivating work environment. The study develops a scale developed to measure key organizational work environment factors that influence employee discretionary work effort behaviours in public organizations. In doing so, it uses concepts from Morris & Douglas (2005; 2004) and expands on the work of Eisenhauer (1995) and Douglas & Shepherd (2000) by further unpacking the perceived psychic benefits and costs of working conditions associated with employment. While the relevance of corporate entrepreneurship to the public sector has been questioned (Terry, 1993; Frederickson, 1997 for example), the need for public organizations to be more entrepreneurial is also strongly espoused (Bellone & Goerl, 1992; Osborne & Gaebler, 1994; Morris & Jones, 1999). Today public institutions are perhaps in greater need of corporate renewal than many large established private sector firms. In the face of tight fiscal constraints, rising public demands and tight labour market conditions, new ways of acquiring revenues, combining resources, retaining talented employees and achieving better outcomes within statutory constraints are needed. This study supports the view that valuable lessons can be learned from corporate entrepreneurship in assisting public organizations to be more responsive and to provide higher quality public services. To find ways of doing business better public organizations need to not only foster entrepreneurial behaviours amongst their employees but also more generally motivate greater discretionary work effort, that is voluntary effort above and beyond what is minimally required for the benefit of the organization. The importance of contextual factors in influencing entrepreneurial behaviour at both the organizational and individual levels is well documented in the entrepreneurship literature (e.g. Hornsby, Kuratko & Zahra, 2002; Amabile, 1996; Zahra, 1993; Covin & Slevin, 1991; Kuratko, Montagno & Hornsby, 1990; Kant, 1988). The study focuses on how to create an internal environment to better motivate employees to contribute greater levels of discretionary effort, which includes initiative and proactive behaviours. As its emphasis is on individual level behaviour within organisations, this study follows the approach to corporate entrepreneurship used by Kuratko, Hornby and others (1990, 1993, 2002) which uses the ''initiative from below'' definition of corporate entrepreneurship (Vesper, 1984) to develop a measure for an effective internal entrepreneurial corporate environment

Amphetamine users and crime in Western Australia, 1999–2009

This current study aims to examine the relationship between amphetamine use and crime among police detainees in Western Australia. Further, the study provides a brief profile of detainee amphetamine users and compares this with the profile of a non-user. Amphetamines have been increasingly available on Australian drug markets since the early 1990s (National Drug Research Institute 2007). Clandestine laboratory detections increased from 50 in 1996 to 250 in 2002 (Ministerial Council on Drugs Strategy 2004), although use decreased slightly in the general population between 2004 (3.2%) and 2007 (2.3%) (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2008). There has also been an increase in the amount of high-grade amphetamine detected by Customs and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Amphetamine use has been associated with psychological, physical and social harm, criminal behaviour and violence (Dyer & Cruickshank 2005; Lynch, Kemp, Krenske, Conroy & Webster 2003; Wickes 1993). The Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) project has collected data since 1999. This current study aims to examine the relationship between amphetamine use and crime among police detainees in Western Australia. Further, the study provides a brief profile of detainee amphetamine users and compares this with the profile of a non-user

The Cellar Door Report: Margaret River Region Winery / Tourism Research

The Margaret River tourist is a well educated, professional person who visits the region to tour the wineries, enjoy the scenery and the beach, relax and go to the restaurants. The tourist considers the wineries one of the prime tourist destinations in the region and goes to the wineries primarily to taste and buy wine

Drug use monitoring in Australia: An expansion into the Pilbara

The relationship between alcohol, illicit drugs and offending is complex and dynamic. Substance misuse both nationally and internationally has been found to be prevalent in detained populations (Bennett & Holloway 2007, Pernanen, Cousineau, Brochu & Sun 2002, Sweeney & Payne 2012). With the cost of crime in Australia estimated to be $36 billion per annum (AIC 2009), it is important to establish some of the links that, if addressed, may reduce the level of commissions of crime and increase the wellbeing of Australians

Shrimp Allocation Policies and Regional Development Under Conditions of Environmental Change: Insights for Nunatsiavutimmuit

This report is part of a larger research program examining the relationship between fisheries policy and regional development in Atlantic Canada’s northern shrimp fisheries. Since the extension of Canadian jurisdiction over its 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone in 1977, federal policy makers have allocated shrimp licenses and quotas to cooperatives, community based organizations, inshore fish harvesters, large fishing companies as well as Indigenous groups. However, our knowledge of the relationship between fisheries policy and regional development outcomes in this fishery remains very limited, with the exception of case studies of a few organizations and regions in southeast Labrador and in Newfoundland. Despite the long history of substantial allocations of shrimp in northern Labrador/Nunatsiavut, we know little about how effective allocation policies have been in meeting regional development goals for Indigenous communities in the region. The objective of this research is to build on and extend our larger research project by identifying allocation policies that have enabled Nunatsiavut communities, and people to benefit from the shrimp fishery and to identify those development benefits in a systematic way. The research findings help us meet two further practical objectives: to provide research evidence to inform federal, provincial, and municipal policymaking and decision-making and to assist regional bodies and community groups in their decision-making and activities aimed at improving social, economic, cultural, and environmental conditions

Helping and servicing regional small businesses: an evaluation of the Business Grow Program in the South West region of Western Australia

In October 1997 the Edith Cowan University was invited to evaluate the performance of the Business Grow Program. The program commenced on July 1, 1995, and its evaluation, scheduled to be completed by April 1998, has been undertaken to assess the performance of the Program since its instigation. The evaluation team has relied substantially on information provided by small business owners, local government representatives, industry associations, and the manager of the Program. The evaluation team would like to thank Kate Loughton for her assistance in facilitating the administration of this project. The evaluation was undertaken by Small and Medium Enterprise Research Centre (SMERC). The team consisted of Dr Xueli (Charles) Huang, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at SMERC, Associate Professor Alan Brown, Director of SMERC, Barry Chapman, Graduate and Higher Degree Coordinator, and Robyn Morris, Senior Lecturer in Faculty of Business and Head of Business Program, Bunbury campus. SMERC is the principal research centre in the Faculty of Business at Edith Cowan University and harnesses the SME expertise of the staff in the Faculty

Community Walking in People with Parkinson's Disease

People with Parkinson's disease often have walking difficulty, and this is likely to be exacerbated while walking in places in the community, where people are likely to face greater and more varied challenges. This study aims to understand the facilitators and the barriers to walking in the community perceived by people with Parkinson's disease. This qualitative study involved 5 focus groups (n = 34) of people with Parkinson's disease and their partners residing in metropolitan and rural regions in Queensland, Australia. Results found that people with PD reported to use internal personal strategies as facilitators to community walking, but identified primarily external factors, particularly the environmental factors as barriers. The adoption of strategies or the use of facilitators allows people with Parkinson's disease to cope so that participants often did not report disability

Suboptimal Omega-3 Levels in Australian Adolescents

Design, Setting and Participants:A cross-sectional descriptive study of 251 apparently healthy adolescents (192 female, 59 male) aged 15-17 years, in year 11, from 10 schools within the Northern Sydney and Central Coast areas of New South Wales. Participants provided a morning non-fasting blood sample via finger-prick and written answers to specific demographic and lifestyle questions. Omega-3 index was calculated by adding %EPA and %DHA values in the whole blood. Equivalent erythrocyte omega-3 index values were obtained by using conversion factors (1.33 for EPA and 2.22 for DHA) from published erythrocyte/whole blood values. Main Outcome Measures: Quantitation of the individual, and estimation of the group average, blood omega-3 Index. Results:The blood omega-3 Index for this adolescent cohort ranged from 2.1-22.3 with a mean of 8.3±3.2, and median of 7.8. On average males had a higher omega-3 Index compared to females (10.5±3.7 vs 7.7±2.6, p8. Three percent had an Index of On average, adolescents from low or medium socioeconomic communities had a significantly lower omega-3 Index compared to those from higher socioeconomic neighbourhoods (mean difference=1.4, p=0.018). Overall 20% of boys and 17% of girls reported regularly taking omega-3 supplements. Regular use of omega-3 supplements was associated with a higher average omega-3 Index (9.8±3.7, n=44 compared to 8.0±3.0, n=203, p=0.001 in those not taking supplements). Conclusion:This study indicates that Australian adolescents, even when from advantaged homes, have a high probability of below optimum omega-3 levels. As reduced omega-3 levels are linked to conditions of public health concern such as diabetes, asthma and depression, targeted strategies to improve the omega-3 status in the childhood population may be warranted

The Relative Value of Measures of Omega-3 Index, Perceived Stress, Cortisol and Sleep Time in Identifying Depression Among a Cohort of Australian Adolescents

Objective: To assess the relative prognostic value of 11 variables including, omega-3, perceived stress, cortisol and sleep duration, in predicting adolescent depression. Design, Setting and Participants: A cross-sectional study of 444 healthy adolescents aged 16-18 years, from 10 schools within the Northern Sydney and Central Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia. Participants provided blood and saliva samples and completed questionnaires. Statistical classification methods were used to model the relationships between the predictors and depression. Main Outcome Measures: relative predictive value of each variable in correctly classifying depression. Results: 6% of boys and 9% of girls were categorised as experiencing severe to extremely severe depression. 4% of boys and 10% of girls were categorised as experiencing severe to extremely severe stress. The mean AM:PM cortisol for boys, 22±101, was higher than that of girls, 11±10. The average omega-3 index for boys, 10.5±3.7, was also higher than that of girls, 7.7±2.6. The average sleep duration of 7.8±1.1 hrs showed no gender differences. The best classification model identified perceived stress as the most significant predictor of depression followed by BMI and omega-3 index. Cortisol ratio was a significant discriminator for boys but not girls. When stress was excluded, shorter sleep duration became a significant discriminator in both boys and girls with waist to hip ratio providing further discrimination in girls only. Conclusion: The strongest predictor of depression in adolescents was perceived stress followed by higher BMI and lower omega-3 levels. These findings provide a rational basis for establishing program priorities for the prevention and treatment of adolescent depression