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Bush Blitz is an innovative and ambitious partnership between the Australian Biological Resources Study, BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities and the Earthwatch Institute (Australia) that aims to fill critical gaps in the knowledge of the biodiversity of Australia (http://www.bushblitz.org.au). Since its inception in 2009, over 900 putative new species of animals and plants have been discovered in Australian conservation reserves. As a unique approach to surveys in often-remote areas of the Australian outback, the Bush Blitz program has been highly successful and highlights the need for ongoing exploration and research to adequately document the biodiversity of Australia. This special issue of Australian Systematic Botany describes some of the newly discovered species and showcases the botanical results of the Bush Blitz program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the study regarding the freshwater fish diversity in tributaries in Pentecost River in Kimberley, Western Australia.

Background: A strong evidence base for cognitive behavioural therapy has led to CBT models becoming available within mainstream mental health services. As the concept of stepped care develops, new less intensive mental health interventions such as guided self-help are emerging, delivered by staff not trained to the level of accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapists. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine how mental health staff evaluated the usefulness of a short training programme in CBT concepts, models and techniques for routine clinical practice. Method: A cohort of mental health staff (n = 102) completed pre- and posttraining self-report questionnaires measuring trainee perceptions of the impact of a short training programme on knowledge and skills. Mentors and managers were also asked to comment on perceived impact of the training. Results: Trainees and mentors reported perceived gains in knowledge and skills posttraining and at 1-year follow-up. Managers and trainees reported perceived improvements in skills and practice. Conclusion: A short Cognitive Behavioural skills programme can enable mental health staff to integrate basic CB knowledge and skills into routine clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Over the course of the thirty-five-year lifespan of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA ) there have been surprisingly few attempts to analyze the impact of the statute on company decision-making. Empirical studies have instead focused on macroeconomic indicators of foreign direct investment concluding that the statute deters investment in countries per-ceived to be corrupt. However, firm-level analysis of companies who have been subject to enforcement actions under the FCPA with either the United States Department of fustice (DoJ) or the Securities and Exchange Commis-sion (SEC) paints a different picture. An examination of firm-level decision-making through a case study and broader statistical quantification suggests that these companies do not, on balance, divest from these countries. Theo-ries which reconcile these potentially contrasting observations of the FCPA's impact in emerging markets suggest changes to the statute's enforcement pol-icy which should be considered seriously by regulators. This Note serves as an initial attempt to offer a more nuanced view of the impact of FCPA enforcement on company decision-making and provide suggestions for fur-ther research and reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first records of the genusStenotusJakovlev, 1877 in Australia are presented including the type speciesStenotus binotatus(Fabricius, 1794). A comparative diagnosis for the genus is given and descriptions and illustrations of male and female genitalia are provided. Two new Australian species ofStenotusare described,Stenotus gressittisp. nov., from Queensland andStenotus witchelinasp. nov. from South and Western Australia. A list of mirine species from the Witchelina Nature Reserve (South Australia) is given, including digital habitus images of both sexes ofChimsunchartella schwartziChérot and Pauwels, 2000,Creontiades dilutus(Stål, 1859) andTaylorilygus apicalis(Fieber, 1861).http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:54669460-8AF4-4415-A8FE-EC55CCE6F301 [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses research on the discovery of two new species of the Australian goblin spider genus Cavisternum from the Wongalara Wildlife Sanctuary in the Northern Territory, published in 2013. It presents a description of Cavisternum gillespieae and Cavisternum leichhardti. The material and methods used to conduct the study are also discussed.

The basis of the discovery process for a new pharmaceutical product is in understanding the mechanism of action of a particular disease or processes in the organism related to the disease and/or its symptoms. The essence of a pharmaceutical is in the active ingredient capable of affecting processes within the organism beneficially. The discovery process includes a particular sequence of activities of various profiles of experts, about which various authors agree. The history of pharmaceutical industry (and pharmacy) is measured from one discovery of an innovative drug or approach to treatment of a particular disease to the next one. The cost of pharmaceutical products is one of the key causes of controversy related to this industry. Numerous cultures have proverbs expressing the opinion that health is priceless or that health is the greatest wealth. What if health does have a price? One of the basic premises of marketing is that price should reflect consumer value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essay explores the reception of early scientific photography through an examination of the work of John William Draper (1811-82). Throughout the 1840s, Draper - a chemist and trained medical doctor - used the daguerreotype as a tool to investigate various philosophical and scientific questions pertaining to the nature of light. While Draper sought both US and European audiences for his work, his focus on the process of the daguerreotype, rather than the results of that process, in addition to the unsettled terrain of the sciences and of the photograph itself during this period, caused many of his accomplishments to remain unknown by his contemporaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bush Blitz is a three-year multimillion dollar program to document the plants and animals in hundreds of properties across Australia's National Reserve System. The core focus is on nature discovery - identifying and describing new species of plants and animals. The Bush Blitz program has enabled the collection and description of beeflies (Diptera, Bombyliidae) from surveys in Western Australia and Queensland. Three new species of Australian beeflies belonging to the Exoprosopini are described; Palirika mackenziei Lambkin, sp. n., Palirika culgoafloodplainensis Lambkin, sp. n., and Larrpana bushblitz Lambkin, sp. n. Phylogenetic analysis of 40 Australian exoprosopine species belonging to the Balaana generic-group Lambkin & Yeates, 2003 supports the placement of the three new species into existing genera, and the erection and description of the new genus Ngalki Lambkin, gen. n. for Ngalki trigonium (Lambkin & Yeates, 2003), comb. n. Revised keys are provided for the genera of the Australian Balaana genus-group and the species of Palirika Lambkin & Yeates, 2003 and Larrpana Lambkin & Yeates, 2003. With the description of the three new species and the transferral of Munjua trigona Lambkin & Yeates, 2003 into the new genus Ngalki Lambkin, gen. n., three genera are rediagnosed; Munjua Lambkin & Yeates, 2003, Palirika and Larrpana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study raises two questions: have terror attacks been globalized and if so, is the phenomenon somehow linked with globalization. Two opposite hypotheses are tested by trend analysis for the years 1968-2007, using several statistical tools. The principal conclusions are that terror attacks have not become globalized and even display signs of localization since the 1990s. Furthermore, globalization is not significantly connected, positively or negatively, with transnational terror attack trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Faculty of Political Science is the property of Journal of Faculty of Political Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the theme of eating and consuming in art. The author addresses the sculpture "Eve Tempted" by Hiram Powers, which portrays the biblical character Eve looking at a piece of fruit and contemplating its consumption, and explores the artwork's portrayal of the connection between visual consumption of art and images and the consumption of food and taste. The role of art patronage, the press, and art museums in creating markets for mass consumption of art is discussed. The author examines the ink drawing "I Expand and Live in the Warm Day, Like Corn & Melons," by Christopher Pearse Cranch and suggests that taste has an influence on sight.

Copyright of International Journal of Cross Cultural Management is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Geographer is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article presents an essay on the importance of aboriginal oral histories to the historical and geographical record, especially that of the File Hills farm colony located in Saskatchewan, Canada on the Peepeekisis Reserve. The colony was founded in 1898 by Indian agent William Morris Graham to prevent the possible regression of former pupils who might revert to traditional ways once they had completed schooling.

This paper examines how country of origin, in particular country of manufacture (COM), impacts the assessment of blame by observers to a product-harm crisis when information is unclear as to a firm's culpability for the crisis. In a pilot study and experiment involving three product categories, we find evidence that a negative country of manufacture increases blame attributions to the company when consumers are not familiar with the brand involved. However, when consumers are familiar with the brand, country of manufacture information does not impact blame attributions. In addition, we find evidence that brand affects how consumers process information pertaining to firm culpability. An unknown brand causes observers to assess information associated with company blame as more important when compared to a well-known brand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights the papers presented at the 47th meeting of the Society for History of Technology, held at the Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada from October 12 to 15 2006. Papers include "Dirt Never Sleeps: A Preliminary Enquiry Into the Manufacturing Origins of Clean Room Technology," "Technology, Architecture and the Presidency: Early Developments of the West Wing" and "Technological Discussions in Iron and Steel, 1871-1885."

With the increasing desire for products suitable for widely varying markets worldwide, this study offers insight into capabilities associated with successful robust design in global product markets. These robust design capabilities (i.e., the possibility for success under varying circumstances or scenarios) are a potential organizational response to rapid change and uncertainty, which also improve the likelihood of product acceptance on a global basis. From literature, executive interviews, and anecdotal evidence, four capabilities associated with robust product design are derived: (1) functional; (2) aesthetic; (3) technological; and (4) quality based. A model is proposed and an empirical test conducted that considers the moderating influence of environmental uncertainty on the relationship between these robust capabilities and firm performance. The findings suggest that the use of robust design capabilities are affected by uncertainty and have an important influence on firm performance and speed to market. Specifically, the product development process tends to be characterized by aesthetic and technological robust design capabilities in more certain environments and functional robust design capabilities in more uncertain environments when seeking to improve firm performance. Alternatively, technological design capabilities in more certain environments and functional design capabilities in more uncertain environments are associated with improved speed to market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite repeated crackdowns, over the past two decades corruption in China has become steadily more 'intense' as the amounts of corrupt monies and the number of senior cadres implicated in corruption have increased dramatically, leading many to view China's 'war on corruption' as half-hearted and ineffectual. In this article, I analyze the efficacy of China's campaign-style anticorruption strategy using a combination of formal modeling and empirical data. The analysis suggests that while this sort of strategy may succeed in keeping corruption 'under control', it is likely to do so by deterring low-level corruption, but not high-level, high stakes corruption, and may encourage inflation of the size of bribes. The article thus concludes that campaign-style enforcement may have actually contributed to the 'intensification' of corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most existing research examines export promotion organization (EPO) performance by assessing how firms benefit from their awareness, perceptions and use of EPO services. Remarkably, few studies examine how EPO decide which services they will offer. This paper is resented as a call for further research to better understand how and why EPO determine, deliver and amend their service offerings. This paper first reviews the EPO literature linking EPO service offering to firm awareness, perceptions and use of EPO services, all of which ultimately impact firm performance. Next, it is proposed that both macro- and micro-level approaches derived from the organizational studies literature can be used to explore more fruitfully the effect of EPO genesis and change on EPO services. Each approach is followed by a brief illustrative example. In conclusion suggestions for further research, proposed methodologies, and a discussion of the policy implications of this line of inquiry are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the conflict between the U.S. and Iraq. Opponents of U.S. warfare in Iraq; Assessment of the decision of the U.S. to attack Iraq; Terrorist risks to U.S. interests.

This article discusses several issues associated with racism. The confluence of race and geography is critical, since, within colonial discourse, differences-and indeed the presumed racial inferiority-of colonized populations was often explained as a by-product of the peculiar climatic and natural differences among the colonized regions they inhabited. This western tradition of representing the racial/geographical Other is centuries old. However, the specific manifestation of the theme of the four continents was impossible in the west prior to a knowledge of "other" lands and peoples on a global scale. It is important to note that the signs of the slave subject were not always corporeal, but often, were external symbols of the supposedly essentialized state of racial inferiority and economic commodification. The production of race on the body was made most explicitly through the use of specific media or the application of colour, sometimes termed "polychromy" or "chryselephantine" sculpture.

This article explores differences in blame attributions between men and women in a consumer context. The first experiment finds that women blame a company more than men for a product harm crisis. A second experiment replicates these results in a different product harm crisis and suggests the process underlying these differences. The results of tests of mediation suggest that women blame a company more than men for a product harm crisis because they feel more personally vulnerable to a similar crisis occurring to them. The tests of mediation also show that empathic concern is not the reason driving the differences between men and women in consumer attributions of blame despite observed differences on this personality trait. The theoretical and practical implications of this research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While world trading institutions such as GATT and its successor, the WTO, have made significant progress in addressing tariff barriers as well as some non-tariff barriers, trade disputes over product standards appear to be increasing in number and intensity. Product standards refer to measures governments take to ensure that products sold in their home market meet health, safety, and quality requirements consistent with the public interest. The longstanding controversy between the European Union and the United States over the export of hormone treated beef is used as a case study to illustrate the difficulty of resolving product standards disputes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces a series of articles which focused on the internationalization of small and medium enterprises. Conference attended by scholars from international business enterprises in September 2000; Convergence of International Business and Entrepreneurship; Perspectives from entrepreneurship.

Focuses on the export assistance of small and medium-sized firms in the California EnviroTech industry. Provision of public sector assistance; Recommendation to increase the effectiveness of export assistance programs; Advantage of a single industry study for providing sector export assistance.

This essay examines the relationship between corruption and political stability, with particular emphasis on Mexico. Through careful analysis of public opinion surveys from 1997–1998, exploring the differential attitudes towards ‘normal time corruption’ and ‘special time corruption’ (e.g. in connection with disaster relief), the data highlights how attitudes to corruption are context‐dependent. Natural disasters constitute ‘special times’ with a low level of acceptance of corruption, which sheds light on why societies that show at least grudging acceptance of ‘everyday corruption’ respond with unexpected negativity to ‘post‐disaster corruption’. Furthermore, the analysis illustrates how the poorer segments of the population, who have fewer interactions with government representatives, perceive a lower level of corruption. These findings thus begin to explain the political stability in Mexico, where the majority are poor, and therefore do not consider the system particularly corrupt and, as a consequence, illegitimate. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Discusses the need for balance between private and public interests in the restructuring of the petroleum industry of Europe. Key issues of interest; Analysis of pertinent topics and relevant issues; Implications on the energy industries and economic development.

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977 and its amendment – the Trade and Competitive Act of 1988 – are unique not only in the history of the accounting and auditing profession, but also in international law. The Acts raised awareness of the need for efficient and adequate internal control systems to prevent illegal acts such as the bribery of foreign officials, political parties and governments to secure or maintain contracts overseas. Its uniqueness is also due to the fact that the USA is the first country to pioneer such a legislation that impacted foreign trade, international law and codes of ethics. The research traces the history of the FCPA before and after its enactment, the role played by the various branches of the United States Government – Congress, Department of Justice, Securities Exchange commission (SEC), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); the contributions made by professional associations such as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICFA), the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), the American Bar Association (ABA); and, finally, the role played by various international organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). A cultural, ethical and legalistic background will give a better understanding of the FCPA as wll as the rationale for its controversy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a list of books and articles on the international business and management. Some of these books are: "Mobilizing Invisible Assets," by Hiroyuki Itami and Thomas W. Roehl; "The Reckoning," by David Halberstam; "Witness to History," by Armand Hammer; "The Technology War: A Case for Competitiveness," by David H. Brandin and Michael A. Harrison; "Alliance Politics and Economics: Multinational Joint Ventures in Commercial Aircraft," by David C. Mowers; "Strategic Management Research: A European Perspective," edited by John Mcgee and Howard Thomas; "Witness to History," by Armand Hammer; "Technology and Global Industry," edited by Bruce R. Guile and Harvey Brooks; and "The General Trading Company: Concept and Strategy," by Dong-Sung Cho.

Generating exports is a primary policy concern of most governments. Many dollars are devoted to export promotion programs designed to increase the propensity of small companies to export. This study uses a regression-based methodology to develop a preliminary screening device which is intended to assist government agencies in allocating their scarce time and financial resources for assistance and support services. The model developed is based on data collected from small and medium-sized Norwegian exporters. The model uses profitability as a dependent variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses data from a recent survey of 102 small Wisconsin exporters to identify characteristics that contribute to the success of a firm's export program. A model dividing firms into three categories based on export success measures was developed from the previous literature. Export success was measured concurrently by two variables (export as a percentage of total sales and export growth) in order to provide a better picture of export performance. The study revealed the overwhelming influence of firm characteristics on export success. Management characteristics and expectations were found to be insignificant variables. Managerial implications are presented at the end of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the problems and perspectives associated with political corruption. Reference to the corruption in national elections in the United States of America and the United Kingdom; Examples of political corruption in democratic nations; Causes of corruption; Details on the processes of political corruption; Consequences of political corruption.