What future the cane industry: is training a vehicle for change?

This paper summarised research into the training needs of cane growers in Queensland and Northern New South Wales for the Sugar Research and Development Corporation (SRDC). The full report supplied comprehensive insights into industry training needs from the perspective of those most directly involved in the production side. As a result of historically low price returns and in some areas, lingering effects of lower than average rainfall, many cane growers are faced with difficult prospects: exiting the industry, seeking to augment incomes by off-farm employment, or diversifying their farming operations. Prior research has shown that farmers undertaking training in other farm business sectors have markedly higher gross operating surpluses when compared with those who did not train. Findings from this research revealed a significant unrecognised demand for competency-based training and a need for adoption strategies to be developed and championed at a whole of industry level. By adopting lessons learnt from other industry re-structures, cane growers can maintain their viability from high-level business management training which is not currently offered. The industry is challenged by a need to engage multiple stakeholders and to develop client designed training programs to enable them to remedy farming-related problems

The Ontogeny of Anxiety-Like Behavior in Rats from Adolescence to Adulthood

In human beings, susceptibility to anxiety disorders can be relatively high during adolescence. Understanding the ontogeny of anxiety-like behavior in laboratory rodents has implications for developing anxiolytic drugs that are suitable for this age group. Given the dearth of information about adolescent rodents, this study examined the response of both male and female adolescent, late adolescent, young adult, and older adult rats to three tests of anxiety-like behavior: the emergence test (ET), open field (OF), and elevated plus-maze (EPM). The results showed that adolescent rats exhibited a higher anxiety-like response than adults on each test; the amount of locomotion in the OF and percentage of time spent on the open arms of the EPM increased across the age groups, while older adult rats made the fewest start box re-entries in the ET. These results support the hypothesis that adolescent rats have a more pronounced response to stressors than do adults. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 52: 731–739, 2010

An Empirical Analysis Of Underlying Factors Affecting The Choice Of Accounting Major

This study explores the factors that influence a student’s choice of major along with students’ perceptions of accounting classes and the accounting profession The results indicate that students are most strongly influenced in their choice of major by a genuine interest in the subject matter.  This finding is the same regardless of major and gender.  Other influential factors include availability of employment, starting pay, and the ability to interact with people.  The factor with the least amount of influence on selection of a major is the expected ease of earning a degree

Who Decides in Giving to Education? A Study of Charitable Giving by Married Couples

Using data from the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study and the Panel Study on Income Dynamics, we analyzed whether husbands or wives were more likely to determine whether and how much money to donate to educational institutions. Among donor households, we are able to examine what socio-economic-demographic factors explain differences in whether men or women are more likely to decide to give to educational institutions. We also compare the “who decides” question for education to who decides about giving overall. We find that after controlling for other factors in multiple regression analyses, the educational attainment of both spouses is positively associated with increased giving to education, as is the number of children living at home, family income, and wealth (excluding home values). The age of the husband does not matter but there is a positive association with the age of the wife and amounts given to education. Men have little or no influence on the decision to give to education at all or the amounts donated to education. Conversely, women decision-makers are more likely to have a positive effect on both the likelihood of giving to education and the amounts given to education

Understanding Collegiate Aviation Pilot Mental Performance Studies and Future Research Opportunities

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (2022), fatigue is defined as “a condition characterized by increased discomfort with lessened capacity for work, reduced efficiency of accomplishment, loss of power or capacity to respond to stimulation, and is usually accompanied by a feeling of weariness and tiredness” (p. 2). Further outcomes of fatigue include tiredness, weakness, lack of energy, lethargy, depression, and lack of motivation (ICAO, 2016). Stress can release cortisol which can in turn cause sleep issues leading to fatigue (Harvard, 2021). In one study Mendonca, Keller, and Albelo (2023) found 69% (n = 192) percent of collegiate aviation pilots reported mild or severe psychological distress. There is an opportunity to help students improve the quality of their educational experience. This presentation will provide recent research results from studies focused on fatigue and stress among collegiate aviation pilots. Practical implications such as improved fatigue training, successful mental health initiatives, and linkage to safety programs will be discussed. Lastly, the authors will discuss future research opportunities which utilize technology to obtain objective measures to enhance existing programs

Gender differences in charitable giving

This paper examines the mechanisms for giving by investigating the psychological and values differences between men and women’s motivations for giving. We explored two of the eight mechanisms for giving developed by Bekkers and Wiepking as a framework for why people give—principle of care and empathic concern. Are there differences in these motives for giving by gender, and can these differences in values and the psychological benefits that people receive when making donations explain gender differences in charitable giving? Are women more likely to give and give more than men because of their higher levels of empathic concern and principle of care? We used two US national data sets to test our hypotheses. Our results for both data sets indicate significant differences in motives by gender, as well as differences in the probability of giving and amount given by gender, even after controlling for empathic concern and principle of care measures. Our findings are discussed in terms of the importance of viewing charitable giving through a gender lens as well as practical implications for practitioners