The role of life friendly policies on employees’ work-life balance

Employees' inability to balance work and non-work related responsibilities have resulted in an increase in stress related illnesses. Historically, research into the relationship between work and non-work has primarily focused on work/family conflict, predominately investigating the impact of this conflict on parents, usually mothers. To date research has not sufficiently examined the management practices that enable all 'individuals' to achieve a 'balance' between work and life. This study explores the relationship between contemporary life friendly HR management policies and work/life balance for individuals as well as the effect of managerial support to the policies. Self-report questionnaire data from 1,241 men and women is analysed and discussed to enable organizations to consider the use of life friendly policies and thus create a convergence between the well-being of employees and the effectiveness of the organization.

The role of cognitive and visual abilities as predictors in the Multifactorial Model of Driving Safety

Objective The current study evaluated part of the Multifactorial Model of Driving Safety to elucidate the relative importance of cognitive function and a limited range of standard measures of visual function in relation to the Capacity to Drive Safely. Capacity to Drive Safely was operationalized using three validated screening measures for older drivers. These included an adaptation of the well validated Useful Field of View (UFOV) and two newer measures, namely a Hazard Perception Test (HPT), and a Hazard Change Detection Task (HCDT). Method Community dwelling drivers (n = 297) aged 65–96 were assessed using a battery of measures of cognitive and visual function. Results Factor analysis of these predictor variables yielded factors including Executive/Speed, Vision (measured by visual acuity and contrast sensitivity), Spatial, Visual Closure, and Working Memory. Cognitive and Vision factors explained 83–95% of age-related variance in the Capacity to Drive Safely. Spatial and Working Memory were associated with UFOV, HPT and HCDT, Executive/Speed was associated with UFOV and HCDT and Vision was associated with HPT. Conclusion The Capacity to Drive Safely declines with chronological age, and this decline is associated with age-related declines in several higher order cognitive abilities involving manipulation and storage of visuospatial information under speeded conditions. There are also age-independent effects of cognitive function and vision that determine driving safety.

Mothers of young children with special health care needs : maternal well-being and engagement in work

This thesis reports research focused on the well-being and employment experiences of mothers who have a child with special health care needs. Data are drawn from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). This is a public access database. The thesis uses the social ecological theory of Bronfenbrenner (1984) and the work of Zubrick et al. (2000) on human and social capital to inform the conceptual framework developed for the research. Four studies are reported. LSAC has a nationally representative sample of Australian children and their families. The study is tracking the development of 10,000 children, with data collected every two years, from 2004 to 2018. This thesis uses data from the Kindergarten Cohort of LSAC. The 4,983 children in the Kindergarten Cohort were aged 4 years at recruitment into the study in 2004. The analyses in this thesis use child and family data from Wave 1 (2004) and Wave 2 (2006) for a subsample of the children who are identified as having special health needs. This identification is based on a short screening questionnaire included in the Parent 1 Interview at each wave of the data collection. It is the children who are identified as having special health care needs which can be broadly defined as chronic health conditions or developmental difficulties. However, it is the well-being and employment experiences of the mothers of these children that are the primary focus in three of the four studies reported in this thesis.

A novel method for the synthesis of monodisperse gold-coated silica nanoparticles

Monodisperse silica nanoparticles were synthesised by the well-known Stober protocol, then dispersed in acetonitrile (ACN) and subsequently added to a bisacetonitrile gold(I) coordination complex ([Au(MeCN)2]?) in ACN. The silica hydroxyl groups were deprotonated in the presence of ACN, generating a formal negative charge on the siloxy groups. This allowed the [Au(MeCN)2]? complex to undergo ligand exchange with the silica nanoparticles and form a surface coordination complex with reduction to metallic gold (Au0) proceeding by an inner sphere mechanism. The residual [Au(MeCN)2]? complex was allowed to react with water, disproportionating into Au0 and Au(III), respectively, with the Au0 adding to the reduced gold already bound on the silica surface. The so-formed metallic gold seed surface was found to be suitable for the conventional reduction of Au(III) to Au0 by ascorbic acid (ASC). This process generated a thin and uniform gold coating on the silica nanoparticles. The silica NPs batches synthesised were in a size range from 45 to 460 nm. Of these silica NP batches, the size range from 400 to 480 nm were used for the gold-coating experiments.

State convergence and keyspace reduction of the mixer stream cipher

This paper presents an analysis of the stream cipher Mixer, a bit-based cipher with structural components similar to the well-known Grain cipher and the LILI family of keystream generators. Mixer uses a 128-bit key and 64-bit IV to initialise a 217-bit internal state. The analysis is focused on the initialisation function of Mixer and shows that there exist multiple key-IV pairs which, after initialisation, produce the same initial state, and consequently will generate the same keystream. Furthermore, if the number of iterations of the state update function performed during initialisation is increased, then the number of distinct initial states that can be obtained decreases. It is also shown that there exist some distinct initial states which produce the same keystream, resulting in a further reduction of the effective key space

Gold coating of silica and zinc oxide nanoparticles by the surface reduction of gold(I) chloride

The possibility of a surface inner sphere electron transfer mechanism leading to the coating of gold via the surface reduction of gold(I) chloride on metal and semi-metal oxide nanoparticles was investigated. Silica and zinc oxide nanoparticles are known to have very different surface chemistry, potentially leading to a new class of gold coated nanoparticles. Monodisperse silica nanoparticles were synthesised by the well known Stöber protocol in conjunction with sonication. The nanoparticle size was regulated solely by varying the amount of ammonia solution added. The presence of surface hydroxyl groups was investigated by liquid proton NMR. The resultant nanoparticle size was directly measured by the use of TEM. The synthesised silica nanoparticles were dispersed in acetonitrile (MeCN) and added to a bis acetonitrile gold(I) co-ordination complex [Au(MeCN)2]+ in MeCN. The silica hydroxyl groups were deprotonated in the presence of MeCN generating a formal negative charge on the siloxy groups. This allowed the [Au(MeCN)2]+ complex to undergo ligand exchange with the silica nanoparticles, which formed a surface co-ordination complex with reduction to gold(0), that proceeded by a surface inner sphere electron transfer mechanism. The residual [Au(MeCN)2]+ complex was allowed to react with water, disproportionating into gold(0) and gold(III) respectively, with gold(0) being added to the reduced gold already bound on the silica surface. The so-formed metallic gold seed surface was found to be suitable for the conventional reduction of gold(III) to gold(0) by ascorbic acid. This process generated a thin and uniform gold coating on the silica nanoparticles. This process was modified to include uniformly gold coated composite zinc oxide nanoparticles (Au@ZnO NPs) using surface co-ordination chemistry. AuCl dissolved in acetonitrile (MeCN) supplied chloride ions which were adsorbed onto ZnO NPs. The co-ordinated gold(I) was reduced on the ZnO surface to gold(0) by the inner sphere electron transfer mechanism. Addition of water disproportionated the remaining gold(I) to gold(0) and gold(III). Gold(0) bonded to gold(0) on the NP surface with gold(III) was reduced to gold(0) by ascorbic acid (ASC), which completed the gold coating process. This gold coating process of Au@ZnO NPs was modified to incorporate iodide instead of chloride. ZnO NPs were synthesised by the use of sodium oxide, zinc iodide and potassium iodide in refluxing basic ethanol with iodide controlling the presence of chemisorbed oxygen. These ZnO NPs were treated by the addition of gold(I) chloride dissolved in acetonitrile leaving chloride anions co-ordinated on the ZnO NP surface. This allowed acetonitrile ligands in the added [Au(MeCN)2]+ complex to surface exchange with adsorbed chloride from the dissolved AuCl on the ZnO NP surface. Gold(I) was then reduced by the surface inner sphere electron transfer mechanism. The presence of the reduced gold on the ZnO NPs allowed adsorption of iodide to generate a uniform deposition of gold onto the ZnO NP surface without the use of additional reducing agents or heat.

The quantum inspired modelling of changing attitudes and self-organising societies

We utilise the well-developed quantum decision models known to the QI community to create a higher order social decision making model. A simple Agent Based Model (ABM) of a society of agents with changing attitudes towards a social issue is presented, where the private attitudes of individuals in the system are represented using a geometric structure inspired by quantum theory. We track the changing attitudes of the members of that society, and their resulting propensities to act, or not, in a given social context. A number of new issues surrounding this "scaling up" of quantum decision theories are discussed, as well as new directions and opportunities.

A molecular phylogeny for the Tribe Dacini (Diptera: Tephritidae) : systematic and biogeographic implications

With well over 700 species, the Tribe Dacini is one of the most species-rich clades within the dipteran family Tephritidae, the true fruit flies. Nearly all Dacini belong to one of two very large genera, Dacus Fabricius and Bactrocera Macquart. The distribution of the genera overlap in or around the Indian subcontinent, but the greatest diversity of Dacus is in Africa and the greatest diversity of Bactrocera is in south-east Asia and the Pacific. The monophyly of these two genera has not been rigorously established, with previous phylogenies only including a small number of species and always heavily biased to one genus over the other. Moreover, the subgeneric taxonomy within both genera is complex and the monophyly of many subgenera has not been explicitly tested. Previous hypotheses about the biogeography of the Dacini based on morphological reviews and current distributions of taxa have invoked an out-of-India hypothesis; however this has not been tested in a phylogenetic framework. We attempted to resolve these issues with a dated, molecular phylogeny of 125 Dacini species generated using 16S, COI, COII and white eye genes. The phylogeny shows that Bactrocera is not monophyletic, but rather consists of two major clades: Bactrocera s.s. and the ‘Zeugodacus group of subgenera’ (a recognised, but informal taxonomic grouping of 15 Bactrocera subgenera). This ‘Zeugodacus’ clade is the sister group to Dacus, not Bactrocera and, based on current distributions, split from Dacus before that genus moved into Africa. We recommend that taxonomic consideration be given to raising Zeugodacus to genus level. Supportive of predictions following from the out-of-India hypothesis, the first common ancestor of the Dacini arose in the mid-Cretaceous approximately 80 mya. Major divergence events occurred during the Indian rafting period and diversification of Bactrocera apparently did not begin until after India docked with Eurasia (50–35 mya). In contrast, diversification in Dacus, at approximately 65 mya, apparently began much earlier than predicted by the out-of-India hypothesis, suggesting that, if the Dacini arose on the Indian plate, then ancestral Dacus may have left the plate in the mid to late Cretaceous via the well documented India–Madagascar–Africa migration route. We conclude that the phylogeny does not disprove the predictions of an out-of-India hypothesis for the Dacini, although modification of the original hypothesis is required.

Deriving a preference-based measure for cancer using the EORTC QLQ-C30 : a confirmatory versus exploratory approach

Background: To derive preference-based measures from various condition-specific descriptive health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measures. A general 2-stage method is evolved: 1) an item from each domain of the HRQOL measure is selected to form a health state classification system (HSCS); 2) a sample of health states is valued and an algorithm derived for estimating the utility of all possible health states. The aim of this analysis was to determine whether confirmatory or exploratory factor analysis (CFA, EFA) should be used to derive a cancer-specific utility measure from the EORTC QLQ-C30. Methods: Data were collected with the QLQ-C30v3 from 356 patients receiving palliative radiotherapy for recurrent or metastatic cancer (various primary sites). The dimensional structure of the QLQ-C30 was tested with EFA and CFA, the latter based on a conceptual model (the established domain structure of the QLQ-C30: physical, role, emotional, social and cognitive functioning, plus several symptoms) and clinical considerations (views of both patients and clinicians about issues relevant to HRQOL in cancer). The dimensions determined by each method were then subjected to item response theory, including Rasch analysis. Results: CFA results generally supported the proposed conceptual model, with residual correlations requiring only minor adjustments (namely, introduction of two cross-loadings) to improve model fit (increment χ2(2) = 77.78, p < .001). Although EFA revealed a structure similar to the CFA, some items had loadings that were difficult to interpret. Further assessment of dimensionality with Rasch analysis aligned the EFA dimensions more closely with the CFA dimensions. Three items exhibited floor effects (>75% observation at lowest score), 6 exhibited misfit to the Rasch model (fit residual > 2.5), none exhibited disordered item response thresholds, 4 exhibited DIF by gender or cancer site. Upon inspection of the remaining items, three were considered relatively less clinically important than the remaining nine. Conclusions: CFA appears more appropriate than EFA, given the well-established structure of the QLQ-C30 and its clinical relevance. Further, the confirmatory approach produced more interpretable results than the exploratory approach. Other aspects of the general method remain largely the same. The revised method will be applied to a large number of data sets as part of the international and interdisciplinary project to develop a multi-attribute utility instrument for cancer (MAUCa).

Chemical variability of groundwater samples collected from a Coal Seam Gas exploration well, Maramarua, New Zealand

A pilot study has produced 31 groundwater samples from a coal seam gas (CSG) exploration well located in Maramarua, New Zealand. This paper describes sources of CSG water chemistry variations, and makes sampling and analytical recommendations to minimize these variations. The hydrochemical character of these samples is studied using factor analysis, geochemical modelling, and a sparging experiment. Factor analysis unveils carbon dioxide (CO2) degassing as the principal cause of sample variation (about 33%). Geochemical modelling corroborates these results and identifies minor precipitation of carbonate minerals with degassing. The sparging experiment confirms the effect of CO2 degassing by showing a steady rise in pH while maintaining constant alkalinity. Factor analysis correlates variations in the major ion composition (about 17%) to changes in the pumping regime and to aquifer chemistry variations due to cation exchange reactions with argillaceous minerals. An effective CSG water sampling program can be put into practice by measuring pH at the well head and alkalinity at the laboratory; these data can later be used to calculate the carbonate speciation at the time the sample was collected. In addition, TDS variations can be reduced considerably if a correct drying temperature of 180°C is consistently implemented.

The porcine circovirus type 1 capsid gene promoter improves antigen expression and immunogenicity in a HIV-1 plasmid vaccine

Background. One of the promising avenues for development of vaccines against Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and other human pathogens is the use of plasmid-based DNA vaccines. However, relatively large doses of plasmid must be injected for a relatively weak response. We investigated whether genome elements from Porcine circovirus type 1 (PCV-1), an apathogenic small ssDNA-containing virus, had useful expression-enhancing properties that could allow dose-sparing in a plasmid vaccine. Results. The linearised PCV-1 genome inserted 5' of the CMV promoter in the well-characterised HIV-1 plasmid vaccine pTHgrttnC increased expression of the polyantigen up to 2-fold, and elicited 3-fold higher CTL responses in mice at 10-fold lower doses than unmodified pTHgrttnC. The PCV-1 capsid gene promoter (Pcap) alone was equally effective. Enhancing activity was traced to a putative composite host transcription factor binding site and a "Conserved Late Element" transcription-enhancing sequence previously unidentified in circoviruses. Conclusions. We identified a novel PCV-1 genome-derived enhancer sequence that significantly increased antigen expression from plasmids in in vitro assays, and improved immunogenicity in mice of the HIV-1 subtype C vaccine plasmid, pTHgrttnC. This should allow significant dose sparing of, or increased responses to, this and other plasmid-based vaccines. We also report investigations of the potential of other circovirus-derived sequences to be similarly used. © 2011 Tanzer et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Welfare-to-work and the experience of single mothers in Australia : where are the benefits?

In July 2006 ‘welfare-to-work’ policies were introduced for single parents in Australia. These policies require most single parents with school aged children to be employed or seeking employment of 15-25 hours per week in return for their income support payment. The changes represented a sharp increase in the obligations applying to single parents on income support. This paper is concerned with how the well-being of single mothers who are combining income support and paid employment is being influenced by these stepped up activity requirements. The paper draws on data from semi-structured interviews with 21 Brisbane single mothers. The analysis explores participants’ experiences in the new policy environment utilizing the theoretical framework of ‘relational autonomy’. Relational approaches to autonomy emphasize the importance of relations of dependency and interdependency to the development of autonomy and well-being. The findings indicate that in their dealings with the welfare bureaucracy participants experienced a lack of recognition of their identities as mothers, paid workers and competent decision makers. These experiences have negative consequences for self worth, relational autonomy and ultimately the well-being of single parent families.

The use of CCTV to police public spaces : a case of big brother or big friend?

This paper considers the role of CCTV (closed circuit television) in the surveillance, policing and control of public space in urban and rural locations, specifically in relation to the use of public space by young people. The use of CCTV technology in public spaces is now an established and largely uncontested feature of everyday life in a number of countries and the assertion that they are essentially there for the protection of law abiding and consuming citizens has broadly gone unchallenged. With little or no debate in the U.K. to critique the claims made by the burgeoning security industry that CCTV protects people in the form of a ‘Big Friend’, the state at both central and local levels has endorsed the installation of CCTV apparatus across the nation. Some areas assert in their promotional material that the centre of the shopping and leisure zone is fully surveilled by cameras in order to reassure visitors that their personal safety is a matter of civic concern, with even small towns and villages expending monies on sophisticated and expensive to maintain camera systems. It is within a context of monitoring, recording and control procedures that young people’s use of public space is constructed as a threat to social order, in need of surveillance and exclusion which forms a major and contemporary feature in shaping thinking about urban and rural working class young people in the U.K. As Loader (1996) notes, young people’s claims on public space rarely gain legitimacy if ‘colliding’ with those of local residents, and Davis (1990) describes the increasing ‘militarization and destruction of public space’, while Jacobs (1965) asserts that full participation in the ‘daily life of urban streets’ is essential to the development of young people and beneficial for all who live in an area. This paper challenges the uncritical acceptance of widespread use of CCTV and identifies its oppressive and malevolent potential in forming a ‘surveillance gaze’ over young people (adapting Foucault’s ‘clinical gaze’c. 1973) which can jeopardise mental health and well being in coping with the ‘metropolis’, after Simmel, (1964).

Infrared and Raman spectroscopic characterization of the phosphate mineral kosnarite KZr2(PO4)3 in comparison with other pegmatitic phosphates

In this research, we have used vibrational spectroscopy to study the phosphate mineral kosnarite KZr2(PO4)3. Interest in this mineral rests with the ability of zirconium phosphates (ZP) to lock in radioactive elements. ZP have the capacity to concentrate and immobilize the actinide fraction of radioactive phases in homogeneous zirconium phosphate phases. The Raman spectrum of kosnarite is characterized by a very intense band at 1,026 cm−1 assigned to the symmetric stretching vibration of the PO4 3− ν1 symmetric stretching vibration. The series of bands at 561, 595 and 638 cm−1 are assigned to the ν4 out-of-plane bending modes of the PO4 3− units. The intense band at 437 cm−1 with other bands of lower wavenumber at 387, 405 and 421 cm−1 is assigned to the ν2 in-plane bending modes of the PO4 3− units. The number of bands in the antisymmetric stretching region supports the concept that the symmetry of the phosphate anion in the kosnarite structure is preserved. The width of the infrared spectral profile and its complexity in contrast to the well-resolved Raman spectrum show that the pegmatitic phosphates are better studied with Raman spectroscopy.

A vibrational spectroscopic study of the phosphate mineral zanazziite - Ca2(MgFe2+)(MgFe2+Al)4Be4(PO4)6⋅6(H2O)

Zanazziite is the magnesium member of a complex beryllium calcium phosphate mineral group named roscherite. The studied samples were collected from the Ponte do Piauí mine, located in Itinga, Minas Gerais. The mineral was studied by electron microprobe, Raman and infrared spectroscopy. The chemical formula can be expressed as Ca2.00(Mg3.15,Fe0.78,Mn0.16,Zn0.01,Al0.26,Ca0.14)Be4.00(PO4)6.09(OH)4.00⋅5.69(H2O) and shows an intermediate member of the zanazziite–greinfeinstenite series, with predominance of zanazziite member. The molecular structure of the mineral zanazziite has been determined using a combination of Raman and infrared spectroscopy. A very intense Raman band at 970 cm−1 is assigned to the phosphate symmetric stretching mode whilst the Raman bands at 1007, 1047, 1064 and 1096 cm−1 are attributed to the phosphate antisymmetric stretching mode. The infrared spectrum is broad and the antisymmetric stretching bands are prominent. Raman bands at 559, 568, 589 cm−1 are assigned to the ν4 out of plane bending modes of the PO4 and HPO4 units. The observation of multiple bands supports the concept that the symmetry of the phosphate unit in the zanazziite structure is reduced in symmetry. Raman bands at 3437 and 3447 cm−1 are attributed to the OH stretching vibrations; Raman bands at 3098 and 3256 are attributed to water stretching vibrations. The width and complexity of the infrared spectral profile in contrast to the well resolved Raman spectra, proves that the pegmatitic phosphates are better studied with Raman spectroscopy.