Environmental factors of food literacy in Australian high schools: views of home economics teachers

This study set out to examine environmental factors impacting on the food literacy of adolescents. It utilized data from a nation‐wide survey of home economics teachers regarding their experience of food literacy education in Australian high schools. Content analysis and the ANGELO framework were applied to analyse free‐text comments from 78 of the respondents that were collected as part of a more extensive data set. The analysis of environmental factors revealed three enablers and ten barriers that could influence food literacy education delivered by high schools in Australia. High schools are well positioned to improve adolescents’ food literacy through a comprehensive, hands‐on approach in home economics. However, many environmental barriers were reported that could influence food literacy education in Australian high schools such as: lack of teaching materials and facilities, and human resources; the perceived inadequacy of the Australian school curriculum; non‐supportive school canteens; and negative role modelling. This study points to the need to eliminate or reduce these environmental barriers impacting on the capacity for effective food literacy education in high schools to help adolescents increase their food literacy and thereby support them in making informed food choices.     

Asset arbitrage and the price of oil

It is commonly understood that macroeconomic shocks influence commodity prices and that one channel for this is the link between interest rates, expected future asset returns and stock-holding. In this paper the link is extended to the petroleum market with the recognition that recorded stocks of oil comprise a small share of annual demand and that the parallel with storable commodities is the decision to produce the oil in the first place, as opposed to holding it in the ground as reserve. Oil reserves are then a key asset in producing countries, which is arbitraged against financial assets. Thus, when the yield on financial assets falls, retaining oil reserves becomes more attractive to producing countries, which then have less incentive to accommodate demand rises, and so the oil price rises. This perspective on oil pricing is modeled in a dynamic multi-region general equilibrium framework in which regional households manage portfolios of assets that include oil reserves. When the model is calibrated to match observed data over two decades, simulation results indicate that asset arbitrage made a large contribution to the high pre-GFC oil price.     

PERIODIC SEQUENCES OF ARBITRAGE: A TALE OF FOUR CURRENCIES

This paper investigates arbitrage chains involving four currencies and four foreign exchange trader‐arbitrageurs. In contrast with the three‐currency case, we find that arbitrage operations when four currencies are present may appear periodic in nature, and not involve smooth convergence to a ‘balanced’ ensemble of exchange rates in which the law of one price holds. The goal of this article is to understand some interesting features of sequences of arbitrage operations, features which might well be relevant in other contexts in finance and economics.     

Trends in fall injuries associated with children's outdoor climbing frames

Falls from publicly owned climbing equipment are often cited as the major cause of injury on children's outdoor playgrounds and have been the focus of substantial interventions in the UK since the early 1980s. Analysis of national data on falls from climbing frames for 1988 to 2002 shows that the main discernible trend during this period is an increase in the occurrence of injuries to the lower arm. Whether this is attributable to a behavioural response to some of the interventions, or to some other factor, is unknown.     

At‐home meat consumption in China: an empirical study*

The remarkable economic changes occurring within China since 1978 have resulted in a striking alteration in food consumption patterns, and one marked change is the increasing consumption of meat. Given China’s large population, a small percentage change in per capita meat consumption could lead to a dramatic impact on the production and trade of agricultural products. Such changes have major implications for policy makers and food marketers. This paper concentrates on meat consumption patterns in the home in China. A censored linear approximate almost ideal demand system model was employed in the study, and major economic parameters were estimated for different meat items. Data used in this study were collected from two separate consumer surveys – one urban and one rural in 2005.     

All consuming surveillance: surveillance as marketplace icon

With consumers and their activities routinely visible through online, mobile and social media, to both their peers and to corporations, this article examines surveillance as a marketplace icon. Surveillance is central to the construction of consumers and markets. Many contemporary marketing practices are surveillant as they rely on the collection, analysis and application of consumer data to place advertising, define market segments and to nudge consumer behaviours. Consumer surveillance is also an enactment of corporate power, attempting to align individual preferences with corporate goals. The historical origins of surveillance and the emergence of the surveillance–industrial–entertainment complex are explored, which highlights how surveillance, as well as a process for defining markets is also an object of consumption. The future sees a huge struggle for consumer data between two great centres of surveillance power – the state and the corporation – as they battle over data use for national security.     

Age and gender differences in risk-taking behaviour as an explanation for high incidence of motor vehicle crashes as a driver in young males

Risk-taking behaviour has been identified as a possible explanation for the high incidence of motor vehicle crashes involving young male drivers. This study examines the extent to which differences in risk-taking behaviour explain the differential crash rates by age and gender. A random sample of 689 adults aged 17-88 were selected from motor vehicle license holders within randomly selected geographical areas across Queensland. Participants completed a questionnaire covering their attitudes towards driving behaviour and general risk-taking behaviour, selected demographic characteristics and self-reported history of road crashes as a driver. Univariate analysis showed that males scored higher means than females in driver aggression and thrill seeking and in their general risk acceptance. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that males were twice as likely (OR 2.46, CI 1.59-3.83) to have reported at least one crash as a driver compared to females and nearly three times as likely (OR 2.88, CI 1.84-4.49) to have reported two or more crashes. Drivers aged 17-29 were also twice as likely (OR 2.31, CI 1.10-4.19) to have reported at least one crash when compared to those aged over 50 years. When risk-taking behaviours were introduced into the logistic model the odds of males (OR 1.70, CI 1.29-3.30) or 17-29 year olds (OR 1.30, CI 0.93-3.91) being involved in at least one crash substantially reduced. An increased risk of a crash as a driver can, in part, be explained by the age and gender differential in risk-taking behaviour. The challenge for public health professionals is to determine suitable strategies to modify risk-taking behaviour in young or male drivers.     

Equilibrium Prices When the Sunspot Variable Is Continuous

We analyze sunspot-equilibrium prices in nonconvex economies with perfect markets and a continuous sunspot variable. Our primary result is that every sunspot equilibrium allocation can be supported by prices that, when adjusted for probabilities, are constant across states. This result extends to the case of a finite number of equally-probable states under a nonsatiation condition, but does not extend to general discrete state spaces. We use our primary result to establish the equivalence of the set of sunspot equilibrium allocations based on a continuous sunspot variable and the set of lottery equilibrium allocations. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: D51, D84, E32.     

Japan's economic slowdown and its global implications: a review of the economic modelling

Despite its role as a driver of global economic growth through the 1970s, in recent decades the rise of China has seen the international importance of Japan's economic performance recede from the public discourse. This is notwithstanding its continuing key role as economic partner to both industrial and developing countries and changes in its economic performance that would otherwise be a matter for global concern. In particular, the tendency for the Japanese economy and its external trade to stagnate not only has immediate consequences for global performance but also foreshadows a path to industrial transition for other key Asian economies. This paper reviews quantitative studies of Japan's performance. It identifies a paucity of results addressing global implications and suggests new research in this direction.