Vibrational spectroscopy of the borate mineral pinnoite MgB2O(OH)6

There is a large number of boron containing minerals with water and/or hydroxyl units of which pinnoite MgB2O(OH)6 is one. Some discussion about the molecular structure of pinnoite exists in the literature. Whether water is involved in the structure is ill-determined. The molecular structure of pinnoite has been assessed by the combination of Raman and infrared spectroscopy. The Raman spectrum is characterized by an intense band at 900 cm−1 assigned to the BO stretching vibrational mode. A series of bands in the 1000–1320 cm−1 spectral range are attributed to BO antisymmetric stretching modes and in-plane bending modes. The infrared spectrum shows complexity in this spectral range. Multiple Raman OH stretching vibrations are found at 3179, 3399, 3554 and 3579 cm−1. The infrared spectrum shows a series of overlapping bands with bands identified at 3123, 3202, 3299, 3414, 3513 and 3594 cm−1. By using a Libowitzky type function, hydrogen bond distances were calculated. Two types of hydrogen bonds were identified based upon the hydrogen bond distance. It is important to understand the structure of pinnoite in order to form nanomaterials based upon the pinnoite structure.

A case study of pedagogical responses to internationalisation at a faith-based secondary school in Australia

This case study investigated pedagogical responses to internationalisation by a faith-based secondary school in Australia. Using social constructivism as the theoretical framework the study examined teaching and learning for culturally and linguistically diverse students. Data generated through questionnaires, focus groups, individual interviews and document archives were analysed and interpreted using thematic analysis. The findings showed that teachers believed themselves to be ill-equipped to teach international students. Their concerns centred on a lack of explicit pedagogical, cultural and linguistic knowledge to help the students acculturate and learn. Recommendations include the dissemination of school policies to teachers, intentional staff collaboration and professional development to address the teachers’ needs for internationalisation.

The effectiveness of health education using the teach-back method on adherence and self-management in chronic disease: A systematic review protocol

Review question/objective What is the effect of using the teach-back method for health education to improve adherence to treatment regimen and self-management in chronic disease? Inclusion criteria Types of participants This review will consider all studies that include adult patients (aged 18 years and over) in any healthcare setting, either as inpatients (eg acute care, medical and surgical wards) or those who attend primary health care, family medical practice, general medical practice, clinics, outpatient departments, rehabilitation or community settings. Participants need to have been diagnosed as having one or more chronic diseases including heart failure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, arthritis, epilepsy or a mental health condition. Studies that include seriously ill patients, and/or those who have impairments in verbal communication and cognitive function will be excluded. Types of intervention This review will consider studies that investigate the use of the teach-back method alone or in combination with other supporting education, either in routine or research intervention education programs; regardless of how long the programs were and whether or not a follow-up was conducted. The intervention could be delivered by any healthcare professional. The comparator will be any health education for chronic disease that does not include the teach-back method. Types of outcomes Primary outcomes of interest are disease-specific knowledge, adherence, and self-management knowledge, behavior and skills measured using patient report, nursing observation or validated measurement scales. Secondary outcomes include knowledge retention, self-efficacy, hospital readmission, hospitalization, and quality of life, also measured using patient report, nursing observation, hospital records or validated measurement scales.

Living with Illness : psychosocial challenges

"Living with Illness: Psychosocial Challenges focuses on developing and strengthening understanding of the illness experience. It encourages students to critically appraise conventional approaches to understanding and caring for those who are ill, to empower readers to off true holistic care and to, where appropriate, change nursing practice in light of current research findings. Traditionally nurses have drawn on knowledge from sociology and psychology as two separate but related disciplines to nursing, leaving the beginning level nurse to relate, integrate and translate knowledge gained into nursing practice. Living with Illness combines, in a unique way, sociological and psychological perspectives to creatively represent psychosocial knowledge that is innovative and directly applicable to contemporary nursing practice."-publisher website

Knowledge inquiry in the construction management domain through structured research process and methodology

Construction works are project-based and interdisciplinary. Many construction management (CM) problems are ill defined. The knowledge required to address such problems is not readily available and mostly tacit in nature. Moreover, the researchers, especially the students in the higher education, often face difficulty in defining the research problem, adopting an appropriate research process and methodology for designing and validating their research. This paper describes a ‘Horseshoe’ research process approach and its application to address a research problem of extracting construction-relevant information from a building information model (BIM). It describes the different steps of the process for understanding a problem, formulating appropriate research question/s, defining different research tasks, including a methodology for developing, implementing and validating the research. It is argued that a structure research approach and the use of mixed research methods would provide a sound basis for research design and validation in order to make contribution to existing knowledge.

Premonolayer oxidation of nanostructured gold : an important factor influencing electrocatalytic activity

The study of the electrodeposition of polycrystalline gold in aqueous solution is important from the viewpoint that in electrocatalysis applications ill-defined micro- and nanostructured surfaces are often employed. In this work, the morphology of gold was controlled by the electrodeposition potential and the introduction of Pb(CH3COO)2•3H2O into the plating solution to give either smooth or nanostructured gold crystallites or large dendritic structures which have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The latter structures were achieved through a novel in situ galvanic replacement of lead with AuCl4−(aq) during the course of gold electrodeposition. The electrochemical behavior of electrodeposited gold in the double layer region was studied in acidic and alkaline media and related to electrocatalytic performance for the oxidation of hydrogen peroxide and methanol. It was found that electrodeposited gold is a significantly better electrocatalyst than a polished gold electrode; however, performance is highly dependent on the chosen deposition parameters. The fabrication of a deposit with highly active surface states, comparable to those achieved at severely disrupted metal surfaces through thermal and electrochemical methods, does not result in the most effective electrocatalyst. This is due to significant premonolayer oxidation that occurs in the double layer region of the electrodeposited gold. In particular, in alkaline solution, where gold usually shows the most electrocatalytic activity, these active surface states may be overoxidized and inhibit the electrocatalytic reaction. However, the activity and morphology of an electrodeposited film can be tailored whereby electrodeposited gold that exhibits nanostructure within the crystallites on the surface demonstrated enhanced electrocatalytic activity compared to smaller smooth gold crystallites and larger dendritic structures in potential regions well within the double layer region.

The multi-platform user engagement and data visualisation tool

The ability to identify and assess user engagement with transmedia productions is vital to the success of individual projects and the sustainability of this mode of media production as a whole. It is essential that industry players have access to tools and methodologies that offer the most complete and accurate picture of how audiences/users engage with their productions and which assets generate the most valuable returns of investment. Drawing upon research conducted with Hoodlum Entertainment, a Brisbane-based transmedia producer, this project involved an initial assessment of the way engagement tends to be understood, why standard web analytics tools are ill-suited to measuring it, how a customised tool could offer solutions, and why this question of measuring engagement is so vital to the future of transmedia as a sustainable industry. Working with data provided by Hoodlum Entertainment and Foxtel Marketing, the outcome of the study was a prototype for a custom data visualisation tool that allowed access, manipulation and presentation of user engagement data, both historic and predictive. The prototyped interfaces demonstrate how the visualization tool would collect and organise data specific to multiplatform projects by aggregating data across a number of platform reporting tools. Such a tool is designed to encompass not only platforms developed by the transmedia producer but also sites developed by fans. This visualisation tool accounted for multiplatform experience projects whose top level is comprised of people, platforms and content. People include characters, actors, audience, distributors and creators. Platforms include television, Facebook and other relevant social networks, literature, cinema and other media that might be included in the multiplatform experience. Content refers to discreet media texts employed within the platform, such as tweet, a You Tube video, a Facebook post, an email, a television episode, etc. Core content is produced by the creators’ multiplatform experiences to advance the narrative, while complimentary content generated by audience members offers further contributions to the experience. Equally important is the timing with which the components of the experience are introduced and how they interact with and impact upon each other. Being able to combine, filter and sort these elements in multiple ways we can better understand the value of certain components of a project. It also offers insights into the relationship between the timing of the release of components and user activity associated with them, which further highlights the efficacy (or, indeed, failure) of assets as catalysts for engagement. In collaboration with Hoodlum we have developed a number of design scenarios experimenting with the ways in which data can be visualised and manipulated to tell a more refined story about the value of user engagement with certain project components and activities. This experimentation will serve as the basis for future research.

Emergency Health Services (EHS) : demand and service delivery models. monograph 3 : patients’ reasons and perceptions

Executive Summary Emergency health is a critical component of Australia’s health system and emergency departments (EDs) are increasingly congested from growing demand and blocked access to inpatient beds. The Emergency Health Services Queensland (EHSQ) study aims to identify the factors driving increased demand for emergency health and to evaluate strategies which may safely reduce the future demand growth. This monograph addresses the perspectives of users of both ambulance services and EDs. The research reported here aimed to identify the perspectives of users of emergency health services, both ambulance services and public hospital Emergency Departments and to identify the factors that they took into consideration when exercising their choice of location for acute health care. A cross-sectional survey design was used involving a survey of patients or their carers presenting to the EDs of a stratified sample of eight hospitals. A specific purpose questionnaire was developed based on a novel theoretical model which had been derived from analysis of the literature (Monograph 1). Two survey versions were developed: one for adult patients (self-complete); and one for children (to be completed by parents/guardians). The questionnaires measured perceptions of social support, health status, illness severity, self-efficacy; beliefs and attitudes towards ED and ambulance services; reasons for using these services, and actions taken prior to the service request. The survey was conducted at a stratified sample of eight hospitals representing major cities (four), inner regional (two) and outer regional and remote (two). Due to practical limitations, data were collected for ambulance and ED users within hospital EDs, while patients were waiting for or under treatment. A sample size quota was determined for each ED based on their 2009/10 presentation volumes. The data collection was conducted by four members of the research team and a group of eight interviewers between March and May 2011 (corresponding to autumn season). Of the total of 1608 patients in all eight emergency departments the interviewers were able to approach 1361 (85%) patients and seek their consent to participate in the study. In total, 911 valid surveys were available for analysis (response rate= 67%). These studies demonstrate that patients elected to attend hospital EDs in a considered fashion after weighing up alternatives and there is no evidence of deliberate or ill-informed misuse. • Patients attending ED have high levels of social support and self-efficacy that speak to the considered and purposeful nature of the exercise of choice. • About one third of patients have new conditions while two thirds have chronic illnesses • More than half the attendees (53.1%) had consulted a healthcare professional prior to making the decision. • The decision to seek urgent care at an ED was mostly constructed around the patient’s perception of the urgency and severity of their illness, reinforced by a strong perception that the hospital ED was the correct location for them (better specialised staff, better care for my condition, other options not as suitable). • 33% of the respondent held private hospital insurance but nevertheless attended a public hospital ED. Similarly patients exercised considered and rational judgements in their choice to seek help from the ambulance service. • The decision to call for ambulance assistance was based on a strong perception about the severity of the illness (too severe to use other means of transport) and that other options were not considered appropriate. • The decision also appeared influenced by a perception that the ambulance provided appropriate access to the ED which was considered most appropriate for their particular condition (too severe to go elsewhere, all facilities in one spot, better specialised and better care). • In 43.8% of cases a health care professional advised use of the ambulance. • Only a small number of people perceived that ambulance should be freely available regardless of severity or appropriateness. These findings confirm a growing understanding that the choice of professional emergency health care services is not made lightly but rather made by reasonable people exercising a judgement which is influenced by public awareness of the risks of acute health and which is most often informed by health professionals. It is also made on the basis of a rational weighing up of alternatives and a deliberate and considered choice to seek assistance from a service which the patient perceived was most appropriate to their needs at that time. These findings add weight to dispensing with public perceptions that ED and ambulance congestion is a result of inappropriate choice by patients. The challenge for health services is to better understand the patient’s needs and to design and validate services that meet those needs. The failure of our health system to do so should not be grounds for blaming the patient, claiming inappropriate patient choices.

Technological tools for science classrooms : choosing and using for productive and sustainable teaching and learning experiences

In this age of rapidly evolving technology, teachers are encouraged to adopt ICTs by government, syllabus, school management, and parents. Indeed, it is an expectation that teachers will incorporate technologies into their classroom teaching practices to enhance the learning experiences and outcomes of their students. In particular, regarding the science classroom, a subject that traditionally incorporates hands-on experiments and practicals, the integration of modern technologies should be a major feature. Although myriad studies report on technologies that enhance students’ learning outcomes in science, there is a dearth of literature on how teachers go about selecting technologies for use in the science classroom. Teachers can feel ill prepared to assess the range of available choices and might feel pressured and somewhat overwhelmed by the avalanche of new developments thrust before them in marketing literature and teaching journals. The consequences of making bad decisions are costly in terms of money, time and teacher confidence. Additionally, no research to date has identified what technologies science teachers use on a regular basis, and whether some purchased technologies have proven to be too problematic, preventing their sustained use and possible wider adoption. The primary aim of this study was to provide research-based guidance to teachers to aid their decision-making in choosing technologies for the science classroom. The study unfolded in several phases. The first phase of the project involved survey and interview data from teachers in relation to the technologies they currently use in their science classrooms and the frequency of their use. These data were coded and analysed using Grounded Theory of Corbin and Strauss, and resulted in the development of a PETTaL model that captured the salient factors of the data. This model incorporated usability theory from the Human Computer Interaction literature, and education theory and models such as Mishra and Koehler’s (2006) TPACK model, where the grounded data indicated these issues. The PETTaL model identifies Power (school management, syllabus etc.), Environment (classroom / learning setting), Teacher (personal characteristics, experience, epistemology), Technology (usability, versatility etc.,) and Learners (academic ability, diversity, behaviour etc.,) as fields that can impact the use of technology in science classrooms. The PETTaL model was used to create a Predictive Evaluation Tool (PET): a tool designed to assist teachers in choosing technologies, particularly for science teaching and learning. The evolution of the PET was cyclical (employing agile development methodology), involving repeated testing with in-service and pre-service teachers at each iteration, and incorporating their comments i ii in subsequent versions. Once no new suggestions were forthcoming, the PET was tested with eight in-service teachers, and the results showed that the PET outcomes obtained by (experienced) teachers concurred with their instinctive evaluations. They felt the PET would be a valuable tool when considering new technology, and it would be particularly useful as a means of communicating perceived value between colleagues and between budget holders and requestors during the acquisition process. It is hoped that the PET could make the tacit knowledge acquired by experienced teachers about technology use in classrooms explicit to novice teachers. Additionally, the PET could be used as a research tool to discover a teachers’ professional development needs. Therefore, the outcomes of this study can aid a teacher in the process of selecting educationally productive and sustainable new technology for their science classrooms. This study has produced an instrument for assisting teachers in the decision-making process associated with the use of new technologies for the science classroom. The instrument is generic in that it can be applied to all subject areas. Further, this study has produced a powerful model that extends the TPACK model, which is currently extensively employed to assess teachers’ use of technology in the classroom. The PETTaL model grounded in data from this study, responds to the calls in the literature for TPACK’s further development. As a theoretical model, PETTaL has the potential to serve as a framework for the development of a teacher’s reflective practice (either self evaluation or critical evaluation of observed teaching practices). Additionally, PETTaL has the potential for aiding the formulation of a teacher’s personal professional development plan. It will be the basis for further studies in this field.

The baby boomers and beyond report : physical activity levels of older Western Australians 2006

Participation in sufficient levels of physical activity provides significant health benefits, particularly in older adults. The monitoring of physical activity levels in the Western Australian population is therefore necessary for developing and implementing strategies and programs for increasing participation. The Premier’s Physical Activity Taskforce (PATF) conducted a survey in 2006 to measure physical activity levels among Western Australian adults to follow-up the 1999 and 2002 state physical activity surveys. There is now widespread agreement that many health problems of older life – including the onset of frailty and disability – can be postponed or delayed by adopting health-enhancing habits such as physical activity. Adults over 65 years are the most rapidly growing age group and will continue to rise as more persons turn 65. If older adults could be encouraged to be more active as they age, frailty and disability associated with falls would be reduced, and function and physical and mental health in older people would be improved thereby reducing the burden of disease and injury. Given that physical inactivity is one of the most important and modifiable risk factors contributing to ill health, particularly for people as they age, the overall aim of this study was to examine patterns of physical activity in those aged 45 years and over – referred to hereafter as baby boomers+ – in more detail.

Fibrogenic stresses activate different mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways in renal epithelial, endothelial or fibroblast cell populations

Fibrogenic stresses promote progression of renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis, disparately affecting survival, proliferation and trans-differentiation of intrinsic renal cell populations through ill-defined biomolecular pathways. We investigated the effect of fibrogenic stresses on the activation of cell-specific mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in renal fibroblast, epithelial and endothelial cell populations. The relative outcomes (cell death, proliferation, trans-differentiation) associated with activation or inhibition of extracellular-regulated protein kinase (ERK) or stress activated/c-Jun N terminal kinase (JNK) were analysed in each renal cell population after challenge with oxidative stress (1 mmol/L H2O2), transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1, 10 ng/mL) or tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha, 50 ng/mL) over 0-20 h. Apoptosis increased significantly in all cell types after oxidative stress (P < 0.05). In fibroblasts, oxidative stress caused the activation of ERK (pERK) but not JNK (pJNK). Inhibition of ERK by PD98059 supported its role in a fibroblast death pathway. In epithelial and endothelial cells, oxidative stress-induced apoptosis was preceded by early induction of pERK, but its inhibition did not support a pro-apoptotic role. Early ERK activity may be conducive to their survival or promote the trans-differentiation of epithelial cells. In epithelial and endothelial cells, oxidative stress induced pJNK acutely. Pretreatment with SP600125 (JNK inhibitor) verified its pro-apoptotic activity only in epithelial cells. Transforming growth factor-beta1 did not significantly alter mitosis or apoptosis in any of the cell types, nor did it alter MAPK activity. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha caused increased apoptosis with no associated change in MAPK activity. Our results demonstrate renal cell-specific differences in the activation of ERK and JNK following fibrotic insult, which may be useful for targeting excessive fibroblast proliferation in chronic fibrosis.

Controlled Monte Carlo data generation for statistical damage identification employing Mahalanobis squared distance

The use of Mahalanobis squared distance–based novelty detection in statistical damage identification has become increasingly popular in recent years. The merit of the Mahalanobis squared distance–based method is that it is simple and requires low computational effort to enable the use of a higher dimensional damage-sensitive feature, which is generally more sensitive to structural changes. Mahalanobis squared distance–based damage identification is also believed to be one of the most suitable methods for modern sensing systems such as wireless sensors. Although possessing such advantages, this method is rather strict with the input requirement as it assumes the training data to be multivariate normal, which is not always available particularly at an early monitoring stage. As a consequence, it may result in an ill-conditioned training model with erroneous novelty detection and damage identification outcomes. To date, there appears to be no study on how to systematically cope with such practical issues especially in the context of a statistical damage identification problem. To address this need, this article proposes a controlled data generation scheme, which is based upon the Monte Carlo simulation methodology with the addition of several controlling and evaluation tools to assess the condition of output data. By evaluating the convergence of the data condition indices, the proposed scheme is able to determine the optimal setups for the data generation process and subsequently avoid unnecessarily excessive data. The efficacy of this scheme is demonstrated via applications to a benchmark structure data in the field.

Business process mining success

Process mining has developed into a popular research discipline and nowadays its associated techniques are widely applied in practice. What is currently ill-understood is how the success of a process mining project can be measured and what the antecedent factors of process mining success are. We consider an improved, grounded understanding of these aspects of value to better manage the effectiveness and efficiency of process mining projects in practice. As such, we advance a model, tailored to the characteristics of process mining projects, which identifies and relates success factors and measures. We draw inspiration from the literature from related fields for the construction of a theoretical, a priori model. That model has been validated and re-specified on the basis of a multiple case study, which involved four industrial process mining projects. The unique contribution of this paper is that it presents the first set of success factors and measures on the basis of an analysis of real process mining projects. The presented model can also serve as a basis for further extension and refinement using insights from additional analyses.

The Church of England : Charity Law and Human Rights

This book examines the interface between religion, charity law and human rights. It does so by treating the Church of England and its current circumstances as a timely case study providing an opportunity to examine the tensions that have now become such a characteristic feature of that interface. Firstly, it suggests that the Church is the primary source of canon law principles that have played a formative role in shaping civic morality throughout the common law jurisdictions: the history of their emergence and enforcement by the State in post-Reformation England is recorded and assessed. Secondly, it reveals that of such principles those of greatest weight were associated with matters of sexuality: in particular, for centuries, family law was formulated and applied with regard for the sanctity of the heterosexual marital family which provided the only legally permissible context for any form of sexual relationship. Thirdly, given that history, it identifies and assesses the particular implications that now arise for the Church as a consequence of recent charity law reform outcomes and human rights case law developments: a comparative analysis of religion related case law is provided. Finally, following an outline of the structure and organizational functions of the Church, a detailed analysis is undertaken of its success in engaging with these issues in the context of the Lambeth Conferences, the wider Anglican Communion and in the ill-fated Covenant initiative. From the perspective of the dilemmas currently challenging the moral authority of the Church of England, this book identifies and explores the contemporary ‘moral imperatives’ or red line issues that now threaten the coherence of Christian religions in most leading common law nations. Gay marriage and abortion are among the host of morally charged and deeply divisive topics demanding a reasoned response and leadership from religious bodies. Attention is given to the judicial interpretation and evaluation of these and other issues that now undermine the traditional role of the Church of England. As the interface between religion, charity law and human rights becomes steadily more fractious, with religious fundamentalism and discrimination acquiring a higher profile, there is now a pressing need for a more balanced relationship between those with and those without religious beliefs. This book will be an invaluable aid in starting the process of achieving a triangulated relationship between the principles of canon law, charity law and human rights law.

Reasons for non-urgent presentations to the emergency department in Saudi Arabia

Background The majority of patients who attend emergency departments (EDs) in Saudi Arabia have non-urgent problems, resulting in overcrowding, excessive waiting times and delayed care for more acutely ill patients. The purpose of this research was to examine the reasons for non-urgent visits to a Saudi ED and factors associated with patient perceptions of urgency. Methods We administered a survey to 350 consecutively presenting Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) IV or V adult patients at a large tertiary ED in Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia, during 25 days of data collection in March 2013. Results Over half of the sample usually visited the ED to access healthcare. The most common reasons for attending the ED were not having a regular healthcare provider (63%), being able to receive care on the same day (62%), and the convenience of and access to medical care 24/7 (62%). Approximately two-thirds of CTAS V patients and one-third of CTAS IV patients believed their condition was more urgent than their triage nurse rating. Conclusion Multiple factors influence non-urgent visits to the ED in the Saudi context including insufficient community awareness of the role of the ED and perceived lack of access to primary healthcare services.