Migration and the child protection system in Australia : examining African migrants’ parenting practices and parental experiences of child protection intervention

As international migration is increasing, scholars, policy-makers, institutions and practitioners who work with families are paying closer attention to the diverse parenting practices of migrant communities. For most Western nations such as Australia, child protection systems, usually established on individualistic principles, are in place to prevent child abuse and neglect by allowing children to live in safe, loving and supportive home environments. Often these objectives are governed by legal frameworks and monitored by the government (Australian Government, 2014, Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2016). Individualistic principles may be at odds with how migrants to Australia raise their children. Sub-Saharan African migrants represent a sub-set of migrants whose childrearing practices are grounded in collectivist worldviews and influenced by their cultural beliefs and values. This study focusses on sub-Saharan African migrant communities and the child protection system in Australia. It aims to explore and understand sub-Saharan African migrant childrearing practices and to what extent cultural beliefs, values, attitudes, practices, and migration experiences influence their parenting practices while settling in Australia. The study findings show how sub-Saharan African migrant parents negotiate the balance between finding ways to preserve their cultural values while parenting in a new culture. Some sub-Saharan African values and beliefs that shape childrearing practices were maintained, new dimensions were introduced, while others were rejected or resisted. The study found a need for an exhaustive appreciation by child protection practitioners of the influence that culture, migration and post-migration experiences have on sub-Saharan African migrant family functioning. To successfully make decisions that are in the best interest of sub-Saharan African migrant children that come to the attention of the child protection system, discussions about sub-Saharan African children can only yield good outcomes when the child’s socio-cultural environment is considered. Culture and migration experiences contribute to how sub-Saharan African migrant families engage with the child protection system. As such, while working with sub-Saharan African migrant families, service providers are required to be culturally competent and sensitive in order to successfully meet the needs of sub-Saharan African migrant children. This study provides evidence that will be useful for the development and implementation of culturally effective early intervention strategies within the Australia child protection system, particulary within the current era 2020, where there has been increased attention given to the response to race related issues due to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement and other global themes and trends pertaining to minority groups

Low temperature synthesis of multiwalled carbon nanotubes and incorporation into an organic solar cell

Abstract: Metal nanoparticle (MNP) catalysts used for the synthesis of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) consisted of single metals (Fe, Ni or Co) and bimetallic mixture (CoFe, NiFe or NiCo). MWCNTs were successfully synthesised at 200 _C in 10 min using liquefied petroleum gas as carbon source with non-equilibrium plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) method. The nanostructures and the morphology of the MNPs and the MWCNTs film were characterised using relevant microscopic and spectroscopic methods. The synthesised MWCNTs were used as part of the electrode material in organic solar cell (OSC) set-up. Poly (3,4- ethylenedioxythiophene): polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT: PSS) was used as an electron transporter and poly-3-hexyl thiophene (P3HT) as an electron donor. The performance of OSC devices was tested using standard electrical measurements and solar simulator operating at 100 mW/cm2. The measured power conversion efficiencies was found to be dependent on the metal catalyst used during synthesis. Among all the catalysts employed in this investigation, the best device performance was found from the synthesis of MWCNTs using Fe as a catalyst followed by Co and then Ni, respectively

Zinc Phthalocyanine−Graphene Hybrid Material for Energy Conversion: Synthesis, Characterization, Photophysics and Photoelectrochemical Cell Preparation

Graphene exfoliation upon tip sonication in o-­‐DCB was accomplished. Then, covalent grafting of (2-­‐ aminoethoxy)(tri-­‐tert-­‐butyl) zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc), to exfoliated graphene sheets was achieved. The newly formed ZnPc-­‐graphene hybrid material was found soluble in common organic solvents without any precipitation for several weeks. Application of diverse spectroscopic techniques verified the successful formation of ZnPc-­‐graphene hybrid materi-­‐ al, while thermogravimetric analysis revealed the amount of ZnPc loading onto graphene. Microscopy analysis based on AFM and TEM was applied to probe the morphological characteristics and to investigate the exfoliation of graphene sheets. Efficient fluorescence quenching of ZnPc in the ZnPc-­‐graphene hybrid material suggested that photoinduced events occur from the photoexcited ZnPc to exfoliated graphene. The dynamics of the photoinduced electron transfer was evaluated by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, thus, revealing the formation of transient species such as ZnPc+ yielding the charge-­‐separated state ZnPc•+–graphene•–. Finally, the ZnPc-­‐graphene hybrid material was integrated into a photoactive electrode of an optical transparent electrode (OTE) cast with nanostructured SnO2 films (OTE/SnO2), which exhibited sta le and reproducible photocurrent responses and the incident photon-­‐to-­‐current conversion efficien-­‐ cy was determine

Corruption and Human Rights Law in Africa (2016 Hart Publishing, Oxford)

This contribution reviews the book by Kolawole Olaniyan on corruption and human rights law in Africa. The book, Corruption and Human Rights Law in Africa, provides a framework for complementarity between promoting and protecting human rights and combatting corruption in Africa

Book Review: Corruption and Human Rights Law in Africa

Book Title: Corruption and Human Rights Law in AfricaBook Author: Olaniyan K(2016 Hart Publishing, Oxford) ISBN 978-1-84946-637-

Bacillus and Paenibacillus species associated with extended shelf life milk during processing and storage

Characterisation of spore formers associated with extended shelf life milk was performed by analysing the bacteriological quality of milk samples collected at various processing stages and during storage. Isolates were identified with MALDI ‐TOF ‐MS . Milk had spore counts <2 log10 cfu/mL and 4 log10 cfu/mL during processing and storage, respectively. Bacillus pumilus dominated the bacterial population. Bacterial species were inoculated into sterile milk for a shelf life study, and the population change was observed over 42 days at 7 °C. Although the extended shelf life milk process was effective in reducing bacterial counts and species diversity, the presence of Bacillus cereus shows a potential safety problem in extended shelf life milk

Diversity of bacillus cereus strains in extended shelf life

Characterisation of 49 Bacillus cereus strains obtained from extended shelf life (ESL) milk and filler nozzles was done using (GTG)5 rep PCR fingerprinting, determining the presence of the virulence genes cytK, nheA, cer and hblA, and discrimination of psychrotrophic and mesophilic strains with 16S rDNA. Fourteen isolates were selected for 16S partial sequencing. Fingerprinting and sequencing showed evidence of filler nozzles contaminating ESL milk despite high heterogeneity existing between the isolates. While there is high prevalence of cer, hblA and nheA; cytK was not widely distributed. There was 100% and 8% prevalence of mesophilic and psychrotrophic signatures, respectively. Despite the large diversity of the B. cereus strains in this study, there is evidence that filler nozzles and raw milk are a source of contamination of B. cereus in ESL milk