Commission Impossible? A New Approach To Workplace Relations in the PSMPC

This is a short story about turning commitment into action. It tells how the Public Service and Merit Protection Commission negotiated with its employees to create a certified agreement under the new Workplace Relations Act 1996. The authors conclude that a careful, consultative process has built greater trust within their organisation.     

Population,resources, and technology: political implications of the environmental crisis

An examination is made of the political and potentially conflicting implications of the current global predicament with regard to population growth, finite resources, and the negative environmental influence of technological development. The problem is borken down and discussed in the following manner: 1) the international implications of population dynamics, resource constraints and distribution, and technological developments; 2) the interdependencies and reverberating effects associated with efforts to cope with any one dimension singly; and 3) the ways by which the conduct of research in the academic community can address itself more clearly to environmental problems. A prime objective is to highlight the implications for the developed as well as the less developed world. Thus, the empirical analysis centers around Japan, the People's Republic of China, the Soviet Union, and the U.S.     

STR-genotyping from human medieval tooth and bone samples

We extracted the DNA contained in samples of bones and teeth from 10 skeletons excavated from the Gravette site (400-1000 AD, south of France). Ancient DNA was analysed by autosomal short tandem repeats (STRs). The DNA present in these ancient remains appeared very degraded, but nevertheless, better conserved in tooth than in bone samples. Moreover, we showed that the DNA extracted from ancient dental pulp was not exempt from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) inhibitors, which could result from extreme DNA fragmentation. An adapted protocol with a supplementary step of purification removed this inhibition.     

Analysis of explosive damage in metals using orientation imaging microscopy

The goal of this project was to determine whether quantitative information concerning the size and nature of an explosive blast could be determined using Orientation Imaging Microscopy (OIM) to analyze the texture of blast-affected metal. Selected 1018 steel and 2024 aluminum samples were subjected to various explosive blasts chosen to simulate a wide range of possible pressure waves. The explosives used were PBX 9404, Comp-C4, Gelmax, and Bullseye. The explosive tests were carried out at Sandia National Laboratory, and the OIM analysis was conducted at Ames Laboratory. It was discovered that while suitable patterns could be obtained from the steel samples, the oxide layer present on the surface of the aluminum samples prevented these samples from being studied. The results of the OIM studies on the steel samples indicate that damage can be tracked using OIM imaging and that Comp-C4 seems to produce patterns significantly different than the other explosives.     

Prenatal diagnosis,genetics and reproductive decision-making

Recent developments in genetic science will potentially have a significant impact on reproductive decision-making by adding to the list of conditions which can be diagnosed through prenatal diagnosis. This article analyses the jurisdictional variations that exist in Australian abortion laws and examines the extent to which Australian abortion laws specifically provide for termination of pregnancy on the grounds of fetal disability. The article also examines the potential impact of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis on reproductive decision-making and considers the meaning of reproductive autonomy in the context of the new genetics.     

Breaking New Ground

<正>The first Sino-Egyptian joint archaeological dig marks a milestone in Chinese archaeology’s overseas cooperation For Gao Wei,breaking ground is nothing new.As a Chinese archaeologist,he has taken part in countless digs throughout the country.But when the f irst Chinese shovel hits the dirt in Egypt,as expected in October this year,it takes on special