This article proposes a new model for the engagement of sub-state units with the international legal order. “Trialogical subsidiarity” acknowledges that some areas are best regulated locally, but it also argues that international law has an increasing say in areas traditionally reserved for local law. The implementation of an international cultural heritage treaty by constituent units (CUs) in federal states, despite objections of the federal authorities, is a case study for the possibilities and implications of the use of international law by CUs without the filtering of the central state. This use enhances the legitimacy of international law and can lead to better outcomes for local populations, moving international law closer to its promise of being a law of peoples rather than of states.

Why do similar modern nations accord religion different roles in their public institutions? This paper engages this question by examining trends in religious instruction in the public schools of the United States and Australia from 1850 to 1950. I find that American education secularized farther and faster than Australian education because of its decentralized system of educational administration. In the United States, decentralized educational administration facilitated challenges to religious exercises by religious minorities, fostered professional development among educators, and allowed novel educational practices oriented in new educational theories rather than religion to spread. In Australia, by contrast, centralized state control over education insulated majoritarian religious exercises from minority criticism, suppressed professional development, and helped maintain traditional educational practices that sustained religious instruction. The state thus has both mediating and constitutive effects on secularization, a finding which opens new directions for research into the dynamics of secularization.

Introduction. Mango productivityis low in seasonally wet-dry tropical areas where breeding programsrequire information on factors affecting productivity of mango cultivars.Specifically, our study tested a novel hypothesis that, among Australian-and Florida-bred cultivars, the greater growth of vegetatively vigorouscultivars would contribute to lower levels of fruit production in comparisonwith less vegetatively vigorous cultivars, in a wet-dry tropical environment. Materials and methods. A field experiment was conductedon trees of the cultivars ‘Kensington Pride’ and ‘Strawberry’, both polyembryoniccultivars, and ‘Haden’, ‘Irwin’ and ‘Tommy Atkins’, all monoembryoniccultivars. Results. Shoot growth was recorded overtwo years; in both years the polyembryonic cultivars produced morenew shoot length than the monoembryonic cultivars; ‘Irwin’ was theleast vigorous cultivar in both years. Across cultivars, there wasa negative relationship between normalised (by flowering intensity andcanopy area) fruit number or yield and vegetative vigour as representedby new shoot length. Conclusion. The results supportedthe hypothesis that the greater shoot growth of vegetatively vigorouscultivars contributed to lower levels of fruit production in comparisonwith less vegetatively vigorous cultivars in a tropical environment.This is the first study which demonstrates that the extent of seasonalshoot growth had a fruit production cost for mango.

This paper examines the development of religious education policy in the government schools of New South Wales (Australia) since 1960. The New South Wales religious education curriculum features three components: (1) teacher-led “general religious education” (gre); (2) right-of-entry denominational instruction provided by visiting clergy (“special religious education”, or sre); and (3) occasional additional devotional exercises such as hymns and prayers. Between 1960 and 1980, this system underwent a partial secularization. gre was transformed from a straightforward course in Christianity built around government-produced Scripture readers to a flexible curricular component built around the academic study of multiple religions. At the same time, sre was strengthened and had its position in the curriculum secured; and devotional exercises were allowed to continue only in those settings where they formed an “appropriate” match with the community. I find that “secularizing” reforms were most consistently driven by teachers and administrators with practical motives: avoiding controversy, improving working conditions, and facilitating class management. This finding both challenges and complements recent works that interpret secularization as a political process driven by politicians and professionals primarily interested in enhancing their power or prestige at the expense of religious actors.

Introduction. During maturation, vanillin is accumulated in green vanilla beans as glucovanillin; it is hydrolyzed to free vanillin by endogenous glucosidases during curing and gives the characteristic flavor of vanilla. The objective of our study was to investigate methods of curing that could greatly reduce the time to complete the process and yield cured beans that retain high concentrations of vanillin and other flavor compounds with high sensory quality rating. Materials and methods. Mature green beans were obtained from a commercial grower (Cairns, Queensland, Australia). One batch of beans was continuously sweated at 35 °C at high relative humidity (RH) for 12 d. Two further batches were blanched in water at 67 °C for 3 min, and then sweated at 45 °C at high RH for 4 d or at 35 °C for 5 d. The beans were sweated until they turned brown. Three methods of drying were evaluated: a heat pump dryer at 40 °C and RH 15%, tunnel dryer at 60 °C and RH 20%, and tunnel dryer at 60 °C and RH 10%. Vanillin was extracted from powdered samples of beans with n-pentane and dichloromethane (1:1 v/v) and assayed by HPLC. Glucovanillin was measured as total vanillin after acid hydrolysis of powdered samples of beans. Results and discussion. About 90% of the glucovanillin was converted to vanillin in non-blanched beans continuously sweated at 35 °C, but there was only 70% conversion in beans blanched at 67 °C for 3 min and sweated at 45 °C for 4 d or at 35 °C for 5 d. The sensory quality of cured beans was assessed by untrained panelists. Profiling showed that the beans sweated continuously at 35 °C had superior aroma compared with beans blanched in hot water and sweated at 45 °C or at 35 °C but the appearance of non-blanched beans was less attractive. Conclusion. The study revealed that a mild hot water blanching treatment followed by sweating at 35–45 °C and rapid drying is required to produce cured beans with excellent appearance and attractive aroma.

Introduction. The peel of bananas that ripen at ≥ 24 ℃ does not turn fully yellow, but retains a green colour, reducing the commercial value of the fruit. Historically, in experimental studies of this problem, fruit are ripened at constant temperatures; for example, either 20 ℃ or 30 ℃. In our experiments, we systematically varied the temperature of banana storage during ripening to investigate early events in ripening that may determine whether or not the peel remained green. Materials and methods. Fruits were exposed to temperatures of 20 ℃ or 30 ℃ for short periods before then storing at 30 ℃ or 20 ℃ to complete ripening. The L* a* b* colour system was used to measure change in green colour in the banana peel. Results. If the temperature of the fruit stored was 20 ℃ for the first few hours (≥ 14 h), then the peel became fully yellow, even in fruit subsequently ripened at 30 ℃. Conversely, if the temperature of the bananas stored was 30 ℃ for the first few hours of ripening, then full yellow colour was not obtained even if fruits were subsequently ripened at 20 ℃. Conclusion. The temperature of the first few hours of banana ripening determines whether or not the peel reaches full yellow colour.

In the present paper Candonopsis murchisoni n. sp., C. dani n. sp., C. williami n. sp., C. kimberleyi n. sp., and C. westaustraliensisn. sp., are described, while C. tenuis (Brady, 1886) is redescribed. All species have been collected in the subterraneanwaters of Western Australia. The new species are easily distinguishable from the existing world species in details of the carapace,walking leg, cleaning leg, furca and hemipenis. Because of new features found, revised diagnosis and a key to the worldspecies are provided. Some species, previously described in the genus Candonopsis Vavra, 1891, are considered as incertaesedis, while others are removed from this genus, which now contains 25 species. Finally, the authors propose the elevation ofthe subgenera Caribecandona Broodbakker, 1983 and Cubacandona Broodbakker, 1983 to the generic level.

Introduction. The Australian almond [Prunus dulcis (Miller) D.A. Webb] improvement program commenced five years ago with the main aims of developing scion and rootstock cultivars that are better adapted to local conditions, and that provide a superior product for Australian and overseas markets. Approaches used. The program has a number of approaches including breeding, virus detection and elimination, and biotechnology. The classical hybridisation approach aimed at generation of diversity is combined with research into the more targeted techniques of plant tissue culture, genetic fingerprinting, genome mapping and transformation. Cryopreservation research is important for genebank storage, and tissue culture for micropropagation of new rootstocks and for transformation. Material is screened for Prunus Necrotic Ringspot (PNRV) and Prune Dwarf (PDV) Viruses. In addition, work has commenced into identifying Australian isolates of Colletotrichum acutatum, the pathogen causing anthracnose disease of almonds. The work is conducted in collaboration with overseas research groups, to take advantage of the long experience of these programs, and to contribute to the international effort in Prunus improvement. Outcomes from the almond project. The important outcomes achieved after the first five years of the project by the research team are listed.