Wine and metaphor: cross-cultural [dis]harmony

When influential Australian wine judge and critic James Halliday describes an Australian 2008 Shiraz as 'an undoubtedly full-bodied wine, with a peacock's tail display of blackberry fruit, dark chocolate and vanillin oak, and with impeccable balance and line, the finish subtle' (Dan Murphy's, 2011, October, p. 7) he endeavours to capture its essence in prose. The use of such expressive and evocative language is intended to conjure visual, emotive and synaesthetic perceptions from his audience. This chapter explores the bond between metaphorical language and wine discourse in the specialised genre of wine tasting notes

The weevil-watermilfoil interaction at different spatial scales: what we know and what we need to know

The North American weevil ( Euhrychiopsis lecontei (Dietz)) is being considered as a biological control agent for Eurasian watermilfoil ( Myriophyllum spicatum L.). This native insect damages watermilfoil plants and is frequently associated with declining watermilfoil population

Marry & Burn by Rachel Rose

Review of Rachel Rose\u27s Marry & Burn

Mental tactility: the ascendance of writing in online management education

A qualitative study of online management education and the role of writing as an indicative measure of thinking and learning. Established educational models, such as Dale\u27s Cone of Experience, are expanded and redeveloped to illustrate the central role of writing as a critical thinking process which appears to be increasing, rather than decreasing, with the advent of online multimedia technology. In an environment of increasing reliance on audiovisual stimulus in online education, the authors contend that tertiary educators may witness an ascendance or re-emergence of writing as central to the academic experience. This may be both supply and demand driven. Drawing on a study of two undergraduate units in the Bachelor of Commerce and applying hermeneutics to develop challenging insights, the authors present a case for educators to remain conversant with the art of teaching writing, and to promote writing to improve educational outcomes. <br /

Environmental management system and electronic communication : Is it the need of the hour?

Implementation and certification of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) is a reality for many businesses. Communication with an organisation&rsquo;s stakeholders is a required element of any EMS. In the last five years companies have steadily moved towards integrating their different management systems, such as quality, environmental, and occupational health and safety, in an attempt to reduce their costs and increase efficiency. Legislation requires extensive reporting in each of these areas, so compliance is another important driver. During this period, communication by digital technology, or electronic communication, has gained prominence and acceptance amongst all groups of people including businesses primarily as a means to disseminate crucial EMS information to geographically diverse employees in a cost effective and instantaneous manner. Some perspectives have emerged to suggest that change processes in organisations may be hindered or helped in various ways through the application of digital technology in EMS. There are, however, gaps in the literature that document the impact and effectiveness of electronic communication amongst EMS stakeholders. In this paper we will discuss employees as one of the major stakeholders and whether the move to electronic communication has been assisting or hindering transformations in awareness and understanding of issues amongst employees. We highlight opportunities and challenges presented by an increased use of electronic communication in light of the environmental and climate change debates, which underpin EMS.</div

Distance Education Practice: Training and Rewarding Authors

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Understanding the differential benefits of training for the unemployed

[Abstract]: This study examined the connection between background variables (such as length of unemployment and number of previous training courses), contextual variables (perceptions of training climate), dispositional variables (positive affect and negative affect), and psychological outcomes for unemployed trainees who attended either a five week occupational skills training program (control group) or the same five week program with an additional two day intervention before the start of the program (treatment group). The trainees in both the treatment and control conditions were found to reduce their levels of psychological distress over the course of a five-week training program. Trainees in the treatment condition who started with the lowest levels of general self-efficacy and the highest levels of psychological distress showed the greatest improvements at time 2 (T2). The measures of length of unemployment, number of previous training courses, and the perceptions of the training climate (with one exception) did not account for any unique variance in either of the well-being measures at time 3 (T3). Positive and negative affect (PA and NA respectively) accounted for 30% of the variance in initial levels of general self-efficacy and 43% of the variance in initial levels of psychological distress. However, PA and NA measured at T1 did not account for any unique variance in the T3 levels of general self-efficacy and psychological distress, after the initial levels of each of the variables were controlled. It was concluded that components of dispositional affect are the main influence on how individuals perceive stimuli in the environment and subsequently regulate their emotional response

ANNUAL AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK

Farm Management,