THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE: A PERSPECTIVE*

Abstract: The Australian diplomatic service receives a fair degree of criticism, some misconceived, but some directed constructively at improving its economy and efficiency. The traditional objectives of Australian overseas representation are not questioned; rather the debate centres on the vast range of choice in the ways in which these broad objectives can be met—on such matters as how elaborately the task of overseas representation should be performed, where, and how large, overseas missions should be, how the diplomatic service should be staffed, and whether the pattern of coordination between the diplomatic service and other parts of the public service is appropriate. The complex issues involved in these areas of debate form part of the background against which the everyday work of the diplomatic service is set. This work includes political and economic reporting, the usual consular business, and “one-off” occasions ranging from the preparation of major bilateral treaties to war or revolution. Language and cultural differences make the carrying out of these tasks more difficult. Recruits to the diplomatic service are usually graduates in their mid-twenties with strong university qualifications, which are supplemented by formal training and by experience in different posts abroad and in Australia. The trend to greater specialization of diplomatic staff suggests a need for closer contact between the foreign service and other parts of the Australian Public Service, universities and the private sector. The past few years have been a period of questioning and criticism in all parts of the public sector, including the diplomatic service. At the same time the role played by the diplomatic service has grown more difficult. It is time that discussion focused on the key question—the need for comprehensive representation of Australia overseas—rather than on those who service this representation.     

THE EFFECTS OF SELECTION SYSTEM ON JURY COMPOSITION

The Supreme Court and judicial scholars have argued that the demographic composition of grand and petit juries is important. To the extent that composition is a function of the selection system used, this suggests that the method of selecting grand and petit jurors is important. This article tests the link between selection system and composition by comparing the representation of blacks, Mexican-Americans, and women on grand juries selected by commissioners with the same three classes' representation on grand juries selected at random from the voter registration lists. For these jurisdictions, only female representation is consistently higher under random selection procedures.     

Disruption of pheromone communication with micro-encapsulated antipheromones against Adoxophyes orana

The antipheromone of the summer fruit tortrix moth,Adoxophyes orana F.v.R. (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae), a mixture oftrans-9 andtrans-11-tetradecenyl acetate in the proportion 9: 1, has been formulated in microcapsules for spraying in a disruption experiment. Three sprays with 2 weeks interval have been applied against the second flight ofA. orana during August and September 1974 in an unsprayed 0.2 hectare plot of an apple orchard. The fact that fewer moths have been caught in the monitoring sex pheromone traps in the treated area indicates that sufficient antipheromone was present in the orchard to cause disruption of the pheromone communication. The lower number of larvae of the next generation found in the treated area provides further support to favourable prospects for this pest control method.

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Résumé L'antiphéromone de la tordeuse du pommier,Adoxophyes orana, un mélange de trans-9 et trans-11 tetradecenyl acétate, dans une proportion 9:1, a été formulée en microcapsules en vue d'un essai d'interruption de la reproduction. Pendant le deuxième vol deA. orana en ao?t-septembre, 3 pulvérisations ont été effectuées dans une partie d'un verger de pommiers de 0,2 ha. Dans la z?ne traitée, les captures très réduites dans les pièges à phéromone sexuelle indiquent qu'il y avait assez d'antiphéromone répandue dans le verger pour entra?ner une interruption de la communication entre les sexes. Le fait que le nombre de chenilles de la génération suivante était également diminué dans la parcelle traitée, offre de bonnes perspectives pour cette méthode de lutte.

     

When random assignment fails: Some lessons from the Minneapolis Spouse Abuse Experiment

In this paper, we consider what may be done when researchers anticipate that in the implementation of field experiments, random assignment to experimental and control groups is likely to be flawed. We then reanalyze data from the Minneapolis Spouse Abuse Experiment in a manner that explicitly models violations of random assignment. As anticipated, we find far larger treatment effects than previously reported. The techniques developed should be useful in a wide variety of settings when random assignment is implemented imperfectly.     

Hypervariable regions of DNA for parentage testing and individual identification

Four kinds of DNA probes that recognize hypervariable regions (HVR) were studied for parentage testing and individual identification. Allele frequencies and their confidence intervals among unrelated Japanese individuals were obtained. Codominant segregation of the polymorphism was confirmed in family studies. Two a priori probabilities were calculated for each HVR locus: the exclusion probabilities for an alleged father/mother/child trio and for an alleged parent/child duo, and the probabilities of matching of genotypes of two unrelated individuals or two siblings. The ease of availability of the probes and their highly discriminating polymorphic patterns mean they could be very useful for forensic purposes.     

The shielding capacity of the standard military flak jacket against ballistic injury to the kidney

An animal model was designed to evaluate the ability of the standard military flak jacket to protect the kidneys from direct ballistic trauma. Yorkshire swine were anesthetized and their flanks were protected by flak jackets. Ballistic insults ranging from a low-velocity handgun to a high-velocity rifle were evaluated. The results demonstrate that a flak jacket provides adequate protection against low- and mid-velocity projectiles since none of the animals from this group had evidence of internal trauma and because only minor superficial surgical attention would have been required. Survivability in each case was considered to be excellent. The flak jacket failed to provide any protection against several types of high-velocity bullets. These weapons caused severe internal injury to the genitourinary system as well as to other major organ systems. Survival would have been unlikely.