Mechanistic investigations into interactions between IGF-I and IGFBPs and their impact on facilitating cell migration on vitronectin

Numerous studies have reported links between insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and the extra-cellular matrix protein vitronectin (VN). We ourselves have reported that IGF-I binds to VN via IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) to stimulate HaCaT and MCF-7 cell migration. Here, we detail the functional evaluation of IGFBP-1, -2, -3, -4 and -6 in the presence and absence of IGF-I and VN. The data presented here, combined with our prior data on IGFBP-5, suggest that IGFBP-3, -4 and -5 are the most effective at stimulating cell migration in combination with IGF-I and VN. In addition, we demonstrate that different regions within IGFBP-3 and -4 are critical for complex formation. Furthermore, we examine whether multi-protein complexes of IGF-I and IGFBPs associated with fibronectin and collagen IV are also able to enhance functional biological responses.

Paradigm shifters : tricksters and cultural science

This paper seeks to link anthropological and economic treatments of the process of innovation and change, not only within a given ‘complex system’ (e.g. a cosmology; an industry) but also between systems (e.g. cultural and economic systems; but also divine and human systems). The role of the ‘Go-Between’ is considered, both in the anthropological figure of the Trickster (Hyde 1998) and in the Schumpeterian entrepreneur. Both figures parlay appetite (economic wants) into meaning (cultural signs). Both practice a form of creativity based on deception, ‘creative destruction’; renewal by disruption and needs-must adaptation. The disciplinary purpose of the paper is to try to bridge two otherwise disconnected domains – cultural studies and evolutionary economics – by showing that the traditional methods of the humanities (e.g. anthropological, textual and historical analysis) have explanatory force in the context of economic actions and complex-system evolutionary dynamics. The objective is to understand creative innovation as a general cultural attribute rather than one restricted only to accredited experts such as artists; thus to theorise creativity as a form of emergence for dynamic adaptive systems. In this context, change is led by ‘paradigm shifters’ – tricksters and entrepreneurs who create new meanings out of the clash of difference, including the clash of mutually untranslatable communication systems (language, media, culture).

The impact of changes to the graduated driver licensing program in Queensland, Australia on the experiences of learner drivers

Purpose: Graduated driver licensing (GDL) has been introduced in numerous jurisdictions in Australia and internationally in an attempt to ameliorate the significantly greater risk of death and injury for young novice drivers arising from road crashes. The GDL program in Queensland, Australia, was extensively modified in July 2007. This paper reports the driving and licensing experiences of Learner drivers progressing through the current-GDL program, and compares them to the experiences of Learners who progressed through the former-GDL program. ----- ----- Method: Young drivers (n = 1032, 609 females, 423 males) aged 17 to 19 years (M = 17.43, SD = 0.67) were recruited as they progressed from a Learner to a Provisional driver’s licence. They completed a survey exploring their sociodemographic characteristics, driving and licensing experiences as a Learner. Key measures for a subsample (n = 183) of the current-GDL drivers were compared with the former-GDL drivers (n = 149) via t-tests and chi-square analyses. ----- ----- Results: As expected, Learner drivers progressing through the current-GDL program gained significantly more driving practice than those in the former program, which was more likely to be provided by mothers than in the past. Female learners in the current-GDL program reported less difficulty obtaining supervision than those in the former program. The number of attempts needed to pass the practical driving assessment did not change, nor did the amount of professional supervision. The current-GDL Learners held their licence for a significantly longer duration than those in the former program, with the majority reporting that their Logbook entries were accurate on the whole. Compared to those in the former program, a significantly smaller proportion of male current-GDL Learners reported being detected for a driving offence while the females reported significantly lower crash involvement. Most current-GDL drivers reported undertaking their supervised practice at the end of the Learner period. ----- ----- Conclusions: The enhancements to the GDL program in Queensland appear to have achieved many of their intended results. The current-GDL learners participating in the study reported obtaining a significantly greater amount of supervised driving experience compared to former-GDL learners. Encouragingly, the current-GDL Learners did not report any greater difficulty in obtaining supervised driving practice, and there was a decline in the proportion of current-GDL Learners engaging in unsupervised driving. In addition, the majority of Learners do not appear to be attempting to subvert logbook recording requirements, as evidenced by high rates of self-reported logbook accuracy. The results have implications for the development and the evaluation of GDL programs in Australia and around the world.

Understanding the factors influencing safe and unsafe motorcycle rider intentions

The increasing popularity of motorcycles in Australia is a significant concern as motorcycle riders represent 15% of all road fatalities and an even greater proportion of serious injuries. This study assessed the psychosocial factors influencing motorcycle riders’ intentions to perform both safe and risky riding behaviours. Using an extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB), motorcycle riders (n = 229) from Queensland, Australia were surveyed to assess their riding attitudes, subjective norm (general and specific), perceived behavioural control (PBC), group norm, self-identity, sensation seeking, and aggression, as well as their intentions, in relation to three safe (e.g., handle my motorcycle skilfully) and three risky (e.g., bend road rules to get through traffic) riding behaviours. Although there was variability in the predictors of intention across the behaviours, results revealed that safer rider intentions were most consistently predicted by PBC, while riskier intentions were predicted by attitudes and sensation seeking. The TPB was able to explain a greater proportion of the variance for intentions to perform risky behaviours. Overall, this study has provided insight into the complexity of factors contributing to rider intentions and suggests that different practical strategies need to be adopted to facilitate safer and reduce risky rider decisions.

The psychological distress of the young driver : a brief report

Objective: To explore the role of psychological distress in the self-reported risky driving of young novice drivers. Design: Cross-sectional online survey of 761 tertiary students aged 17-25 years with an intermediate (Provisional) driving licence who completed Kessler’s Psychological Distress Scale and the Behaviour of Young Novice Drivers Scale. Setting: Queensland, Australia, August-October 2009. Main outcome measures: Psychological distress, risky driving. Results: Regression analyses revealed that psychological distress uniquely explained 8.5% of the variance in young novice’s risky driving, with adolescents experiencing psychological distress also reporting higher levels of risky driving. Psychological distress uniquely explained a significant 6.7% and 9.5% of variance in risky driving for males and females respectively. Conclusions: Medical practitioners treating adolescents who have been injured through risky behaviour need to aware of the potential contribution of psychological distress, whilst mental health professionals working with adolescents experiencing psychological distress need to be aware of this additional source of potential harm. The nature of the causal relationships linking psychological distress and risky driving behaviour are not yet fully understood, indicating a need for further research so that strategies such as screening can be investigated.

Overcoming the organ donation dilemma

A book review of: Jason T. Siegel and Eusebio M. Alvaro Understanding organ donation: Applied behavioral science perspectives. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010, 392 pp. US$124.95 (hbk); ISBN 978-1-4051-9213-2

A comparison of registered and unregistered organ donors’ perceptions about transplant recipients

Background: We examined whether registered and unregistered donors’ perceptions about transplant recipients’ previous behavior (e.g., substance use) and responsibility for illness differed based on their deceased organ donor registration decisions. ----- ----- ----- Methods: Students and community members from Queensland, Australia were surveyed about their perceptions of transplant recipients.----- ----- ----- Results: Respondents (N = 465) were grouped based on their organ donor registration status to determine if their perceptions about transplant recipients differed. Compared to registered respondents, a higher proportion of unregistered respondents held more negative and less favorable perceptions of recipients. Multivariate analysis of variance confirmed statistically that unregistered respondents evaluated recipients more negatively than registered respondents, F(6,449) = 5.33, p <.001. Unregistered respondents were more likely to view recipients as a smoker, substance user, or alcohol dependent and as undeserving of a transplant, blameworthy, and responsible for their illness. ----- ----- ----- Conclusion: Potential donors’ perceptions of transplant recipients’ behavior and responsibility for illness differ according to their registration status. Future interventions should challenge negative perceptions about recipients’ deservingness and responsibility and promote the perspective that people from all walks of life need transplants in the aim of ultimately encouraging an increase in donor registration.

Teacher change and professional development in mathematics education

It is generally agreed that if authentic teacher change is to occur then the tacit knowledge about how and why they act in certain ways in the classroom be accessed and reflected upon. While critical reflection can and often is an individual experience there is evidence to suggest that teachers are more likely to engage in the process when it is approached in a collegial manner; that is, when other teachers are involved in and engaged with the same process. Teachers do not enact their profession in isolation but rather exist within a wider community of teachers. An outside facilitator can also play an active and important role in achieving lasting teacher change. According to Stein and Brown (1997) “an important ingredient in socially based learning is that graduations of expertise and experience exist when teachers collaborate with each other or outside experts” (p. 155). To assist in the effective professional development of teachers, outside facilitators, when used, need to provide “a dynamic energy producing interactive experience in which participants examine and explore the complex components of teaching” (Bolster, 1995, p. 193). They also need to establish rapport with the participating teachers that is built on trust and competence (Hyde, Ormiston, & Hyde, 1994). For this to occur, professional development involving teachers and outside facilitators or researchers should not be a one-off event but an ongoing process of engagement that enables both the energy and trust required to develop. Successful professional development activities are therefore collaborative, relevant and provide individual, specialised attention to the teachers concerned. The project reported here aimed to provide professional development to two Year 3 teachers to enhance their teaching of a new mathematics content area, mental computation. This was achieved through the teachers collaborating with a researcher to design an instructional program for mental computation that drew on theory and research in the field.

Car ownership, mileage, and risky driving among young intermediate drivers

Introduction: Young drivers are at greatest risk of injury or death from a car crash in the first six months of independent driving. In Queensland, the graduated driver licensing (GDL) program was extensively modified in July 2007 and aims to minimise this risk. Increased mileage and car ownership have been found to play a role in risky driving, offences and crashes; however GDL programs typically do not consider these variables. The paper explores the mileage and car ownership characteristics of young newly-licensed intermediate (Provisional) drivers and their relation to risky driving, crashes and offences. Methods: Drivers (n = 1032) aged 17-19 years recruited from across Queensland for longitudinal research completed Survey 1 exploring pre-licence and Learner experiences and sociodemographic characteristics. Survey 2 explored the same variables with a subset of these drivers (n = 341) after they had completed their first six months of independent driving. Results: At Survey 2, most young drivers owned their vehicle. Novices who drove more kilometres and who spent more hours each week driving were more likely to report risky driving. These drivers were also more likely to report being detected by Police for a driving-related offence. Conclusions: GDL programs should incorporate education for the parent and novice driver regarding the increased risks associated with increased driving exposure, particularly where the novices own their vehicle. Parents should be encouraged to delay exclusive access to a vehicle for the novice driver.

The influence of sensitivity to reward and punishment, propensity for sensation seeking, depression, and anxiety on the risky behaviour of novice drivers : a path model

Young novice drivers are significantly more likely to be killed or injured in car crashes than older, experienced drivers. Graduated driver licensing (GDL), which allows the novice to gain driving experience under less-risky circumstances, has resulted in reduced crash incidence; however, the driver's psychological traits are ignored. This paper explores the relationships between gender, age, anxiety, depression, sensitivity to reward and punishment, sensation-seeking propensity, and risky driving. Participants were 761 young drivers aged 17–24 (M= 19.00, SD= 1.56) with a Provisional (intermediate) driver's licence who completed an online survey comprising socio-demographic questions, the Impulsive Sensation Seeking Scale, Kessler's Psychological Distress Scale, the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire, and the Behaviour of Young Novice Drivers Scale. Path analysis revealed depression, reward sensitivity, and sensation-seeking propensity predicted the self-reported risky behaviour of the young novice drivers. Gender was a moderator; and the anxiety level of female drivers also influenced their risky driving. Interventions do not directly consider the role of rewards and sensation seeking, or the young person's mental health. An approach that does take these variables into account may contribute to improved road safety outcomes for both young and older road users.

Mileage, car ownership, experience of punishment avoidance and the risky driving of young drivers

Objective: Young drivers are at greatest risk of injury or death from a car crash in the first six months of independent driving. In Queensland, the graduated driver licensing (GDL) program was extensively modified in July 2007 in order to reduce this risk. Increased mileage and car ownership have been found to play a role in risky driving, offences and crashes; however GDL programs typically do not consider these variables. In addition, young novice drivers’ experiences of punishment avoidance have not previously been examined. The paper explores the mileage (duration and distance), car ownership and punishment avoidance behaviour of young newly-licensed intermediate (Provisional) drivers and their relationship with risky driving, crashes and offences. Methods: Drivers (n = 1032) aged 17-19 years recruited from across Queensland for longitudinal research completed Survey 1 exploring pre-licence and Learner experiences and sociodemographic characteristics. Survey 2 explored the same variables with a subset of these drivers (n = 341) after they had completed their first six months of independent driving. Results: Most young drivers in Survey 2 reported owning a vehicle and paying attention to Police presence. Drivers who had their own car reported significantly greater mileage and more risky driving. Novices who drove more kilometres, spent more hours each week driving, or avoided actual and anticipated Police presence were more likely to report risky driving. These drivers were also more likely to report being detected by Police for a driving-related offence. The media, parents, friends and other drivers play a pivotal role in informing novices of on-road Police enforcement operations. Conclusions: GDL programs should incorporate education for the parent and novice driver regarding the increased risks associated with greater driving particularly where the novices own a vehicle. Parents should be encouraged to delay exclusive access to a vehicle for the novice driver. Parents should also consider whether their young novice will deliberately avoid Police if they tell them their location. This may reinforce not only the risky behaviour but also the young novice’s beliefs that their parents condone this behaviour.