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Scholarship on feedback format tends to demonstrate that students prefer video feedback; however, the characteristics of study participants are often absent. This study builds on the scholarship of feedback practice mediated by technology and feedback literacy in intercultural contexts. A mixed methods approach examined international postgraduate students' experience of, preferences for and attitudes towards three feedback formats: text, audio and video. Eighty-four participants in an Australian university completed a survey, and twelve participated in semi-structured phone interviews. The participants were mainly women from India, aged between 25 and 34 years old and declared English as a second language. Participants scored their experience with video, audio and written feedback. Written feedback was ranked first, followed by video and audio feedback. Participants reported that written feedback allows students to easily locate areas that need improvement. The role of the disciplinary traditions and respondents' educational background is discussed to make sense of the results.

In this research, the durability performance of sustainable concrete with the incorporation of reactive magnesium oxide (MgO) and fly ash (FA) was evaluated. The partial replacement of cement with these two materials is an appealing solution for the construction sector due to sustainability benefits and shrinkage reduction. The incorporation of FA by partial replacement of cement was carried out at 0%, 15% and 30%. The incorporation of MgO in concrete was carried out at 0%, 5%, 10% and 20%. Two types of MgO were used, one from Australia and another of Spanish origin. These two materials were evaluated in terms of their individual incorporation, and then an evaluation was carried out when the two were simultaneously used. In terms of durability, performance losses between 3% and 95% were obtained in all tests (water absorption by capillarity and immersion, carbonation depth and resistance to chloride penetration). However, over time, the difference in performance relative to the reference concrete tends to decrease due to the slow hydration that characterizes these two alternative materials. It was found that, in most of the tests, no overlapping of the negative effects occurred. In other words, the simultaneous incorporation of MgO and FA caused performance losses lower than the sum of the losses of their individual incorporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is evidence of improved adherence and treatment outcomes when patients' treatment preferences are considered, and shared decision making is utilized. Purpose: We aimed to better understand treatment preferences among Australians with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), focusing on the specific treatment attributes that people value (such as effectiveness, risk of side effects and cost) and their relative importance. The risk-benefit trade-offs that characterize treatment choices were also examined. Patients and Methods: An online survey of 75 patients with experience of TRD was conducted, consisting of two discrete choice experiment (DCE) components – a medication DCE and a treatment plan DCE. Participants were able to prioritize and trade off different features of medications and treatment plans. Additional questions aimed to better define this population group, which in Australia is poorly understood. Results: In both DCEs, two distinct latent classes were identified. In the medication DCE, the classes were distinguished by willingness to consider new treatment alternatives. Participants in class 1 were reluctant to give up current treatment, while those in the slightly larger class 2 preferred new treatment options. In both classes, treatment effectiveness and cost were the greatest contributors to preference. Similar behavior was seen in the treatment plan DCE, with the larger class more likely to choose a new plan over their current treatment arrangement. Participants preferred medications that were low-cost, taken orally, had a high percentage improvement in mood symptoms, high rate of remission and low risk of weight gain. A similar result was found in preferences for treatment plans such that plans with the greatest effectiveness and lowest cost were most favorable. Conclusion: Patient preferences should routinely be considered and discussed to guide informed decisions regarding the value of new and existing medications for TRD and how they sit in the context of treatment plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creontiades dilutus (green mirid) and C. pacificus (brown mirid) are major hemipteran pests of transgenic (Bt) cotton in Australia. Current integrated pest management (IPM) guidelines for mirids in Australian cotton, based on economic thresholds and sampling recommendations, were developed and disseminated to industry at the start of the 2005–06 growing season and have remained largely unchanged since then. However, adoption of mirid IPM guidelines by industry has been highly variable and generally well below expectation. Annual surveys of crop protection practices across the Australian cotton industry, from 2010 to 2017, indicate that a third of all mirid sprays are applied below the recommended thresholds each year. More than half of all survey respondents in the 2017 survey indicated lack of confidence in the mirid thresholds due to highly variable and disproportionate damage, a phenomenon best described as the 'mirid enigma'. A critical review of RD&E outputs since 1998 shows that potential contributors to the mirid enigma include but are not limited to biological, ecological and methodological factors. Mirid feeding damage is likely to vary with developmental stage, gender and reproductive status. Ecological factors including trophic effects and multiple host plant usage are potential modifiers of mirid feeding damage. Methodological and technological constraints and shortcomings are evident in the threshold research done to date. Inadequate commercial sampling that results in unreliable estimates of pest density in the crop is a major contributor to the mirid enigma. Failure to account for the complexity of factors that can influence the nature and severity of mirid damage to cotton often results in fruit loss due to non-mirid related factors being incorrectly attributed to mirids. An alternative approach to mirid management based on modelling the dynamics of net fruit load (production–loss) proposed over 15 years ago is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The koala ( Phascolarctos cinereus) occurs in the eucalypt forests of eastern and southern Australia and is currently threatened by habitat fragmentation, climate change, sexually transmitted diseases, and low genetic variability throughout most of its range. Using data collected during the Great Koala Count (a 1-day citizen science project in the state of South Australia), we developed generalized linear mixed-effects models to predict habitat suitability across South Australia accounting for potential errors associated with the dataset. We derived spatial environmental predictors for vegetation (based on dominant species of Eucalyptus or other vegetation), topographic water features, rain, elevation, and temperature range. We also included predictors accounting for human disturbance based on transport infrastructure (sealed and unsealed roads). We generated random pseudo-absences to account for the high prevalence bias typical of citizen-collected data. We accounted for biased sampling effort along sealed and unsealed roads by including an offset for distance to transport infrastructures. The model with the highest statistical support ( wAIC c ~ 1) included all variables except rain, which was highly correlated with elevation. The same model also explained the highest deviance (61.6%), resulted in high R2( m) (76.4) and R2( c) (81.0), and had a good performance according to Cohen's κ (0.46). Cross-validation error was low (~ 0.1). Temperature range, elevation, and rain were the best predictors of koala occurrence. Our models predict high habitat suitability in Kangaroo Island, along the Mount Lofty Ranges, and at the tips of the Eyre, Yorke and Fleurieu Peninsulas. In the highest-density region (5576 km2) of the Adelaide-Mount Lofty Ranges, a density-suitability relationship predicts a population of 113,704 (95% confidence interval: 27,685-199,723; average density = 5.0-35.8 km−2). We demonstrate the power of citizen science data for predicting species' distributions provided that the statistical approaches applied account for some uncertainties and potential biases. A future improvement to citizen science surveys to provide better data on search effort is that smartphone apps could be activated at the start of the search. The results of our models provide preliminary ranges of habitat suitability and population size for a species for which previous data have been difficult or impossible to gather otherwise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bemisia tabaci, biotype B, commonly known as the silverleaf whitefly (SLW) is an alien species that invaded Australia in the mid-90s. This paper reports on the invasion ecology of SLW and the factors that are likely to have contributed to the first outbreak of this major pest in an Australian cotton cropping system. Population dynamics of SLW within whitefly-susceptible crop (cotton and cucurbit) and noncrop vegetation (sowthistle, Sonchus spp.) components of the cropping system were investigated over four consecutive growing seasons (September-June) 2001/02- 2004/05 in the Emerald Irrigation Area (EIA) of Queensland, Australia. Based on fixed geo-referenced sampling sites, variation in spatial and temporal abundance of SLW within each system component was quantified to provide baseline data for the development of ecologically sustainable pest management strategies. Parasitism of large (3rd and 4th instars) SLW nymphs by native aphelinid wasps was quantified to determine the potential for natural control of SLW populations. Following the initial outbreak in 2001/02, SLW abundance declined and stabilised over the next three seasons. The population dynamics of SLW is characterised by inter-seasonal population cycling between the non-crop (weed) and cotton components of the EIA cropping system. Cotton was the largest sink for and source of SLW during the study period. Over-wintering populations dispersed from weed host plant sources to cotton in spring followed by a reverse dispersal in late summer and autumn to broad-leaved crops and weeds. A basic spatial source-sink analysis showed that SLW adult and nymph densities were higher in cotton fields that were closer to over-wintering weed sources throughout spring than in fields that were further away. Cucurbit fields were not significant sources of SLW and did not appear to contribute significantly to the regional population dynamics of the pest. Substantial parasitism of nymphal stages throughout the study period indicates that native parasitoid species and other natural enemies are important sources of SLW mortality in Australian cotton production systems. Weather conditions and use of broad-spectrum insecticides for pest control are implicated in the initial outbreak and on-going pest status of SLW in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Data on seasonal population abundance of Bemisia tabaci biotype B (silverleaf whitefly (SLW)) in Australian cotton fields collected over four consecutive growing seasons (2002/2003–2005/2006) were used to develop and validate a multiple-threshold-based management and sampling plan. Non-linear growth trajectories estimated from the field sampling data were used as benchmarks to classify adult SLW field populations into six density-based management zones with associated control recommendations in the context of peak flowering and open boll crop growth stages. Control options based on application of insect growth regulators (IGRs) are recommended for high-density populations (>2 adults/leaf) whereas conventional (non-IGR) products are recommended for the control of low to moderate population densities. A computerised re-sampling program was used to develop and test a binomial sampling plan. Binomial models with thresholds of T=1, 2 and 3 adults/leaf were tested using the field abundance data. A binomial plan based on a tally threshold of T=2 adults/leaf and a minimum sample of 20 leaves at nodes 3, 4 or 5 below the terminal is recommended as the most parsimonious and practical sampling protocol for Australian cotton fields. A decision support guide with management zone boundaries expressed as binomial counts and control options appropriate for various SLW density situations is presented. Appropriate use of chemical insecticides and tactics for successful field control of whiteflies are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An efficient systems approach is used to estimate and test two alternative models regarding the pricing of Australian dollar futures contracts traded on the International Monetary Market of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Cointegrating relationships among the Australian dollar spot and futures prices, and the US and Australian risk-free rates of interest, suggest alternative error-correction representations for the cost-of-carry model which, with appropriate zero restrictions, yields the unbiased expectations hypothesis. A structural break in the futures price series permits estimation of appropriate models for the full sample in the presence of the break, for the full sample without explicitly modelling the break, and for two separate sub-samples created by the structural break. The restricted and unrestricted cost-of-carry formulations are estimated for all sample sets, the models obtained are found to be statistically adequate, and the qualitative results are reasonably robust across different sample sets for both models. On the basis of the tests of zero restrictions, the cost-of carry model is found to be empirically superior to the unbiased expectations hypothesis for the four sample sets considered, regardless of the number of cointegrating relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]