The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • 11

11 THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD SATURDAY APRIL 26 1997 Scientists fickle with project partners Pacific Drive runs out of soap By ROBIN OUVER A new campaign by the Nine Network to include Australian-made afternoon TV soaps in the local drama quota that commercial networks must fill has begun with Nine halting production of its daily serial Pacific Drive The program made for Nine by Village Roadshow Pictures and sold overseas is on hold until its future is decided later this year By pulling the plug and at the same time renewing its quota campaign Nine hopes to turn necessity into virtue gaining political clout with the Australian Broadcasting Authority by drawing attention to the drastic action of cancelling (albeit it temporarily) a program it cannot find the time to screen network program director Mr John Stephens explained yesterday that because of the summer commitment to live coverage of cricket it now has a backlog of about 290 episodes of Pacific Drive which was being screened almost a year after filming have asked the producers to go into hiatus until we can catch up and synchronise production and air Mr Stephens said The drama director Mr Kris Noble said Pacific Drive succeeded in its 330 pm timeslot consistently drawing a 40 per cent national audience share and 70 to 80 per cent share of its target audience: women aged 18 to 39 quality Australian drama programs can compete with American soaps in the afternoon then they should be able to qualify for local content he said Pacific Drive filmed on the Gold Coast began as a late-night serial on Nine where it attracted quota points but unacceptably few viewers Last year it was moved to the afternoon and gained more solid support The drama quota involves a complicated system of points scoring in which mini-series and drama features shown in prime time score more highly than series and sitcom productions Soaps attract an even lower score Smoking and the pill a high-risk mix: WHO Women smokers who take the pill are more than 20 times more likely to suffer a heart attack than non-smokers or those using alternative contraceptives the World Health Organisation reported in Geneva on Thursday According to new research on the subject that focused particularly on developing countries pill users over 35 who are also smokers or suffer from high blood pressure or diabetes are also in a high-risk category for heart attacks Conversely pill-takers who have no predisposing factors for cardiovascular disease high blood pressure smoking or diabetes face a risk of heart attack according to the study which will be published in the April issue of the British medical journal The Lancet study is important because it provides for the first time reliable data on the risk of heart attack in pill users in developing said Mr Giuseppe Benagiano director of the joint research program that conducted the study confirms that young women in both developed and developing countries who have no risk factors for cardiovascular disease can use the pill In young women who neither smoke nor use the pill less than one case of heart attack would occur a year in a million women the study says the same 1 million women were using the pill about 35 cases would occur in one the WHO stated However in women under 35 who smoke and use the pill the incidence of heart attack increases to about 40 cases per million women and in older women who do both the incidence rate is estimated to be as high as 500 cases per million women a year or one in 2000 women The study unearthed no difference in the risk of heart attack according to the oestrogen dosage of the pill The research was co-sponsored by the UN Development Program the UN Population Fund the WHO and the World Bank Agence France-Presse By LEIGH DAYTON Science Writer Australian scientists are increasing their links with European and Asian researchers at a rapid rate while spuming traditional ties to United States and British colleagues according to a study of international research collaboration patterns in 1 1 countries And the shift has little to do with government policy says historian Professor Paul Bourke head of the Research Evaluation and Policy Project at the Australian National University in Canberra has been an absolute explosion in the last 10 years of people running around signing memorandums of understanding university linkage agreements all that stuff having very little impact on basic research at he claimed this week at a science policy workshop hosted by the British Council and Sydney University Professor Ben Martin director of the Science Policy Research Unit at University of Sussex agreed basically do their own he said collaboration normally starts at a meeting like this or over a glass of He added that such collaborations really took off in the 1970s with the arrival of wide-bodied jets and lower air fares Professor Bourke said United States researchers still participate in most of international projects But that is down to roughly 35 per cent in 1995 from nearly 40 per cent in 1990 Meanwhile scientists from North-East Asian nations like China and Japan combined with those from European countries such as Germany France and The Netherlands were partners in roughly 33 per cent of all collaborations with Australians in 1995 Professor Bourke found 4 There has been an absolute explosion in the last 10 years of people running around signing memorandums of understanding university linkage agreements And share of collaborations with Australia has dropped from roughly 23 per cent to 18 per cent over the same period he reported at the workshop attended by Chief Scientist Dr John Stocker and his British counterpart Professor Sir Robert May In Britain Professor Martin noted scientists are working on fewer projects with United States researchers and more with Europeans Although it is not clear why Australians and Britons are developing these new networks Professor Martin suggested may play a role Professor Bourke hoped government officials might base policy on such developments rather than attempting to drive them Both Professor Bourke and Professor Martin based their conclusions on data obtained by the Institute of Scientific Information which collects information about all papers published in 3500 leading scientific journals For instance the number of times researchers cite a paper in then-own publication is a measure of the research quality In their 1993 report A Crisis for Australian Science? Professor Bourke and ANU statistician Ms Linda Butler reported that Australian papers have commanded a declining share of world citations since the mid- to late-1980s Say cheese Jenny invention a flash of inspiration Photograph by peter rae built a better mousetrap them to ask real questions many cases the process can be far more better than the finished she said Last year two students at the school won first prizes in their award category This year most entries close on Friday August 29 while the entry for working models closes on Thursday September 11 Winning and selected entries will then be displayed at the Powerhouse Museum from October 15 to November 16 ahead of a six months tour around NSW Last overall winner was 16-year-old Trevor Francis from Dorrigo High School whose invention turned fog into drinking water By NICK PAPADOPOULOS Jenny Brian loves catching mice but not in a perverse way The 11 -year-old Year 6 student hates to see them suffer especially if they are native and caught in a trap So she releases them back into the bush A couple of months ago however when one mouse died and went unnoticed in trap house Thus an invention was born The Lucas Heights Community School student built a trap which lights up when a mouse has been caught tested an alarm but it was too annoying so I tried a light and it worked with a pretend Jenny said weak nuclear he says by way of explanation Michael a keen Star Trek and The Files fan who is convinced is out adds: universe is not only stranger than we think stranger than we can imagine I think mathematically impossible that alone in the Gavin Favelle also 14 discusses schizophrenia and depression in his creative writing piece which is aimed at giving people a better understanding of mental disorders The head teacher at the school Mrs Susan Brian said the competition made science more accessible to a wider range of students and gave them an opportunity for She is one of thousands entering this Young Scientist competition organised by the Science Association and sponsored by The Sydney Morning Herald The overall winner to be announced later this year will be awarded the title of Young Scientist of the Year and collect $500 in prize money Fourteen-year-old Michael Pinkerton a Year 9 student at Lucas Heights is examining Unified Field Theory' for the creative writing category a concept that links all aspects of our universe such as gravity electromagnetism space time and the strong and Our Client is at the forefront of technology development and has a name well knowm within the Australian business environment They now seek Ready for a Career Move? 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send or fax your resume only to: Paul Timmins CPA Austin Knight Pty Ltd 17th Floor Sanyo House 122-130 Arthur Street North Sydney NSW 2060 Fax: (02)9954 1886 Austin rMKnight AMP Investments Australia Limited is the country's largest investment manager with S40 billion funds under management UNITE KINGDOM FRANCK THE NETHERLANDS USA CANADA AUSTRALIA CHIEF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANT NorthPower is the Energy Services Company for northern New South Wales with a clear objective of being the leading Energy Business in Australia and a world class performer If you are a self starter with a attitude have exceptional interpersonal skills are interested in promotion and want to work in beautiful Port Macquarie then read on Reporting to the Chief Finance Officer and working closely with our Chief Executive Officer your key responsibilities include: Complex financial Modellinganalysis Business Planning Performance Measurement Budgeting Management Reporting Capital Evaluation Benchmarking Risk Analysis 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of $2 billion The successful candidate will report to the Senior Portfolio Manager and be expected to grow rapidly into the role and accept more responsibility This will include the development ol strategies and participation in bidding for privatisations and other infrastructure acquisitions and the on-going management of infrastructure and private debt assets The candidate should have some capital markets experience and knowledge ol credit analysis and lixed interest markets Listed equity analysts seeking to expand their horizons will also be considered This role will also involve significant contact with clients and their consultants Hours can be irregular and at various times high levels of stress are experienced Significant interstate travel at short notice can be expected Tertiary qualifications in accounting law finance or engineering are desirable Applicants who demonstrate an ability to think quickly and innovatively and lent under pressure will be highly regarded Computer literacy especially a high level ol knowledge ol spreadsheets such as Excel and Lotus is a prerequisite An appropriate remuneration package (including bonus) will be negotiated based on the successful candidate's qualifications and relevant experience Written applications in the strictest confidence can be directed to: Sharon Lang Human Resources Consultant AMP Investment Australia Limited P0 Box R227 Royal Exchange Sydney NSW 1225 Closing Date lor all applications is Wednesday 7 May 1997 AMP Investments Australia Limited is an equal opportunity employer and we provide a smoke tree workplace SITA owns and operates the world's largest international private value-added telecommunications network in over 220 countries This progressive dynamic and highly successful organisation is seeking a senior technically and commercially skilled person for its Australasian South Pacific Sales Marketing team This challenging position provides an outstanding opportunity for a professional to be a part 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