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Purpose: While parents' influence on their children's smoking behaviour is widely recognised, little is known about parents of four to eight year olds' attitudes and beliefs around smoking cessation and how they communicate with their children about smoking. The purpose of this paper is to explore parents' perceptions of quitting smoking and their beliefs and actions related to the use of parenting practices to discourage smoking by their children. Design/methodology/approach: Four focus groups and 17 interviews were conducted with parents (n = 46) of four to eight year old children in Perth, Western Australia. Findings: Many parents indicated their children strongly influenced their quitting behaviours, however, some resented being made to feel guilty about their smoking because of their children. Parents were divided in their beliefs about the amount of influence they had on their children's future smoking. Feelings of hypocrisy appear to influence the extent to which parents who smoked talked with their child about smoking. Parents recommended a variety of resource options to support quitting and talking with their child about smoking. Practical implications: Interventions aimed at parents who smoke and have young children should: reinforce parents' importance as role models; highlight the importance of talking to children about smoking when they are young and provide strategies for maintaining ongoing communication; be supportive and avoid making parents feel guilty; and emphasise that quitting smoking is the best option for their child's health (and their own), while also providing effective harm minimisation options for parents who have not yet quit. Originality/value: Parents of children of lower primary school age can be highly influential on their children's later smoking behaviours, thus, effective interventions that address the current beliefs and practices of these parents may be particularly advantageous.

This paper discusses responses provided by 31 Pro Vice-Chancellors (PVCs) and Deputy Vice-Chancellors (DVCs) who were part of a larger study of more than 500 higher education leaders in roles ranging from DVC to head of programme in 20 Australian universities. Using both quantitative and qualitative data the paper gives an insider's perspective on what the roles of DVC and PVC are like at the daily level. It identifies the key focus of the roles, highlights the criteria these leaders use to judge that they are effectively performing them and outlines the relative impact of different influences on their work. It then discusses their views on what being in such a role is like, including its key satisfactions and challenges; and identifies the capabilities seen to be central to managing in such a context. Finally, it provides insights into how such leaders have gone about learning their role. The paper indicates how these findings can be used to address the current succession crisis for leaders in such critical roles. It shows how the data generated can be used to build leadership from within by identifying leaders with potential early on in their career, how the findings can be used to give selection processes more focus and how leadership development programmes can best be shaped to be effective. Having a high level of emotional intelligence is identified as a key ingredient in the successful delivery of such roles. (Contains 5 tables.)

This paper outlines the need for adopting a more scientific approach to specifying and assessing academic standards in higher education. Drawing together insights from large-scale studies in Australia, it advances a definition of academic standards, explores potential indicators of academic quality and looks at approaches for setting standards. As learner outcomes need to be placed at the forefront of work on academic standards, this paper concludes by exploring the implications of this position for student assessment and institutional change.

The reactions of the compound Ru2(mu-CO)(CO)4(mu- RO 2 PN Et P OR 2)2, where R = Me and Pr, with tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) and 7,7,8,8-tetracyano-para-quinodimethane (TCNQ) were investigated. These reactions were revealed to be dependent on the solvent type and on the order and rate of addition of the reactants. The reaction of a toluene solution of the compound and TCNQ in toluene resulted in the salts (Ru2 CO5 mu-RO 2 PN Et P OR 2 2 eta1-TCNQ)TCNQ, while reaction with TCNE in toluene resulted in (Ru2 CO 5 mu-RO 2 PN Et P OR 2 2 eta1-TCNE)TCNE.

Describes how the School of Practical Nursing illustrates CETA's success in the Columbus public school system. Illustrates the roles of the city, the school, and the CETA prime sponsor. A section on program evaluation is also included. (CT)