Judicious ambition: international policy priorities for the new Australian Government

In this paper a number of experts outline what they believe should be some key international priorities for the new Australian Government.Executive summaryAustralia faces both challenges and opportunities on the international stage. Changes to the global economic and strategic order are forcing Australia to rethink many of the assumptions that have traditionally underpinned its security and prosperity. At the same time Australia’s elevation to the world’s leading economic and political forums provides it with an opportunity to influence this changing world. The new Australian Government should approach these international challenges and opportunities with judicious ambition. It should restore focus and funding to defence policy, re-energise the G20, add substance to the Australia-China strategic dialogue, work with China in the Pacific Islands region and adopt a measured and sustainable approach to people-smuggling.Authored by Dr Michael Fullilove, Anthony Bubalo, Rory Medcalf, James Brown, Mike Callaghan AM, Linda Jakobson, Jenny Hayward-Jones, Dr Philippa Brant and Dr Khalid Koser

The audacity of reasonableness: Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, US foreign policy and Australia

At first glance, the differences between the two candidates for president of the United States in 2012, President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, are striking. Each candidate is doing his best to emphasise these differences. Most commentators have drawn sharp distinctions between the two candidates on foreign policy. Global perceptions of the two men are also noticeably different: most of the Western world wants Obama to win. The argument of this Analysis, however, is that when it comes to foreign policy, the similarities between the two men are more striking than the differences. President Obama is not as left-wing and dovish as many believe, and Governor Romney is not as right-wing and hawkish as he would have us believe. Americans face an important choice on 6 November. Their decision will be felt here in Australia. But the world is not at a crossroads

Community Lynching and the US Asthma Epidemic

We explore the implications of IR Cohen's work on immune cognition for understanding rising rates of asthma morbidity and mortality in the US. Immune cognition is inherently linked with central nervous system cognition, and with the cognitive function of the embedding sociocultural networks by which individuals are acculturated and through which they work with others to meet challenges of threat and opportunity. Externally-imposed patterns of 'structured stress' can, through their effect on a child's socioculture, become synergistic with the development of immune cognition, triggering the persistence of an atopic Th2 phenotype, a necessary precursor to asthma and other immune diseases. Structured stress in the US particularly includes the cross sectional and longitudinal effects of a systematic destruction of minority urban communities occurring since the end of World War II which we characterize as community lynching. Reversal of the rising tide of asthma and related chronic diseases in the US thus seems unlikely without a 21st Century version of the earlier Great Urban Reforms which ended the scourge of infectious diseases, in particular an end to the de-facto ethnic cleansing of minority neighborhoo

Immune cognition, social justice and asthma: structured stress and the developing immune system

We explore the implications of IR Cohen's work on immune cognition for understanding rising rates of asthma morbidity and mortality in the US. Immune cognition is conjoined with central nervous system cognition, and with the cognitive function of the embedding sociocultural networks by which individuals are acculturated and through which they work with others to meet challenges of threat and opportunity. Using a mathematical model, we find that externally- imposed patterns of 'structured stress' can, through their effect on a child's socioculture, become synergistic with the development of immune cognition, triggering the persistence of an atopic Th2 phenotype, a necessary precursor to asthma and other immune disease. Reversal of the rising tide of asthma and related chronic diseases in the US thus seems unlikely without a 21st Century version of the earlier Great Urban Reforms which ended the scourge of infectious diseases

Functional Group Fun: Piloting a Series of Minigames Help Students Learn Functional Groups

Functional groups are a foundational concept for Organic Chemistry students to master; however, they are a common stumbling block due to the structural similarities between related functional groups and the variety of functional groups that appear in the course. Prior work at other institutions have had success using a games-based approach to teach and reinforce functional group concepts. In this work, first semester Organic Chemistry and Intro to Organic Chemistry laboratory students participated in a virtual “Functional Group Field Day” consisting of a series of mini games primarily administered through the streaming platform, Twitch. Three main styles of mini games were utilized in the field day: a tile matching game, a “Heads Up” style game, and several fastest-finger multiple choice games. Pre- and post-surveys were used to assess student confidence and improvement in identifying and utilizing functional groups. From preliminary data analysis, an increase in student confidence and correct functional group identification from pre- to post-survey data have been observed

Cooking for Kids!

My thesis, “Cooking for Kids!”, follows the current trends in exploring the problem of childhood obesity. The epidemic of childhood obesity has been steadily climbing for the past two decades. The number of obese children has reached its highest ever with over 9 million children and adolescents being classified as overweight or obese. The weight problem stems from decreased physical activity in children and eating foods that are not nutritious. My personal answer to the obesity problem was to create a cookbook for children ages 8-13. I intended for parents to use the cookbook as a way to teach the importance of healthy eating from an early age. The cookbook has very simple and healthy step-by-step recipes for all meal periods. There are sections with recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and even a few beverages. I incorporated mostly new recipes using foods children eat most often, but I also included four personal recipes from my own childhood. My initial goal for the project was to provide a tool for parents to promote better eating habits in their children. I believe what sets my project apart from other “Kid’s Cookbooks” is that rather than change what children were eating, which has proven to be unsuccessful, I chose another approach. I spoke to a few children to find out what they are eating most often and modified those foods to be more nutritionally balanced. As the project developed I also decided I wanted to encourage children to experiment with new, different foods they may not be used to eating. Another side benefit is that children are able to interact with their parents and other siblings in a new way

The Direct Connection between Art Education and a Student\u27s Well-Being in Our Ever-Changing World

It is my belief that many of our world\u27s problems could be solved or eliminated if we put more focus on art and other creative outlets instead of relegating art to the bottom of academically important studies. Art instruction gives students tools that are applicable anywhere, anytime, and in any situation that occurs for the rest of their lives. The process of making art teaches problem-solving skills and creative thinking. Art also teaches tolerance and acceptance of other points of view. It provides us with a way of seeing what the other person is thinking. Knowing this, how can art be less important than other academic areas of study

The Challenges of Using of Information Technology to Counter Human Trafficking

In our society, many social entrepreneurs have endeavored to create and distribute technology designed to impact society for good. In this paper we highlight technologies used to counter human trafficking, namely sex trafficking. While these technologies offer significant promise to identify both victims and perpetrators of human trafficking, there are significant reasons why users (i.e., law enforcement officers) resist using information systems that may help with rescuing victims and bringing traffickers to justice. Based on interviews with (1) members of a non-profit organization that trains law enforcement officers to use information systems to counter human trafficking and (2) law enforcement officers, we identify several reasons why law enforcement officers fail to use new information systems or adapt their existing use of information systems to counter human trafficking