Social ecological influences on preferences for care provided at the end of life amongst Taiwanese city-dwelling adults

Social and cultural elements are an essential part of the contexts within which people understand their word and make end-of-life decisions. A developmental social ecological model was used in this thesis to provide a comprehensive framework for examining influences on end-of-life preferences. The findings support claims made by social ecologists that individual's health-related choices can be influenced by cultural, social contextual and environmental factors over the course of life. The results of this study have implications for health professionals and the practices they can adopt to enhance end-of-life care.

ÉLET [LIFE]

Élet [pronounced air-let] is the Hungarian word for Life. The work is informed by the lyrics of six songs performed by French cover band Nouvelle Vague. Whilst Élet [Life] is created to be absorbed and interpreted openly by each individual, at the core of the choreography lies a desire to move forwards, to communicate – to be seen and heard. The work embraces aspects such as loneliness, joy and tension that we experience in our lives and relationships. As the movement opens out from these ideas, the physical shapes of our personal moments are infused with the elements of sound, colour and rhythm. A rich translation of personal movements through life.

Life cycle analysis for sustainability assessment of road projects

Road infrastructure has been considered as one of the most expensive and extensive infrastructure assets of the built environment globally. This asset also impacts the natural environment significantly during different phases of life e.g. construction, use, maintenance and end-of-life. The growing emphasis for sustainable development to meet the needs of future generations requires mitigation of the environmental impacts of road infrastructure during all phases of life e.g. construction, operation and end-of-life disposal (as required). Life-cycle analysis (LCA), a method of quantification of all stages of life, has recently been studied to explore all the environmental components of road projects due to limitations of generic environmental assessments. The LCA ensures collection and assessment of the inputs and outputs relating to any potential environmental factor of any system throughout its life. However, absence of a defined system boundary covering all potential environmental components restricts the findings of the current LCA studies. A review of the relevant published LCA studies has identified that environmental components such as rolling resistance of pavement, effect of solar radiation on pavement(albedo), traffic congestion during construction, and roadway lighting & signals are not considered by most of the studies. These components have potentially higher weightings for environment damage than several commonly considered components such as materials, transportation and equipment. This paper presents the findings of literature review, and suggests a system boundary model for LCA study of road infrastructure projects covering potential environmental components.

Validation of a parent-proxy quality of life questionnaire for paediatric chronic cough (PC-QOL)

Background Quality of life (QOL) measures are an important patient-relevant outcome measure for clinical studies. Currently there is no fully validated cough-specific QOL measure for paediatrics. The objective of this study was to validate a cough-specific QOL questionnaire for paediatric use. Method 43 children (28 males, 15 females; median age 29 months, IQR 20–41 months) newly referred for chronic cough participated. One parent of each child completed the 27-item Parent Cough-Specific QOL questionnaire (PC-QOL), and the generic child (Pediatric QOL Inventory 4.0 (PedsQL)) and parent QOL questionnaires (SF-12) and two cough-related measures (visual analogue score and verbal category descriptive score) on two occasions separated by 2–3 weeks. Cough counts were also objectively measured on both occasions. Results Internal consistency for both the domains and total PC-QOL at both test times was excellent (Cronbach alpha range 0.70–0.97). Evidence for repeatability and criterion validity was established, with significant correlations over time and significant relationships with the cough measures. The PC-QOL was sensitive to change across the test times and these changes were significantly related to changes in cough measures (PC-QOL with: verbal category descriptive score, rs=−0.37, p=0.016; visual analogue score, rs=−0.47, p=0.003). Significant correlations of the difference scores for the social domain of the PC-QOL and the domain and total scores of the PedsQL were also noted (rs=0.46, p=0.034). Conclusion The PC-QOL is a reliable and valid outcome measure that assesses QOL related to childhood cough at a given time point and measures changes in cough-specific QOL over time.

Feeling the life : a look into the visual culture of life scientists

In order to deal with human biological problems, life scientists have started investigating artificial ways of generating tissues and growing cells ? leading to the evolution of tissue engineering. In this paper we explore visualization practices of life scientists working within the domain of tissue engineering. We carried out a small scale ethnographic exploration with 8 scientists and explored that the real value of scientists' experiments (and simulations), reasoning and collaborative processes go beyond their end results. We observed that these scientists' three-dimensional reasoning, corporeal knowledge and intimacy with biological objects and tools play a vital role in overall success.

Teacher organizational citizenship behaviours and job efficacy : implications for student quality of school life

The present study investigated the impact of teachers' organizational citizenship behaviours (OCBs) on student quality of school life (SQSL) via the indirect effect of job efficacy. A measure of teacher OCBs was developed, tapping one dimension of individual-focused OCB (OCBI – student-directed behaviour) and two dimensions of organization-focused OCB (OCBO – civic virtue and professional development). In line with previous research suggesting that OCBs may enhance job efficacy, as well as studies demonstrating the positive effects of teacher efficacy on student outcomes, we expected an indirect relationship between teachers OCBs and SQSL via teachers' job efficacy. Hypotheses were tested in a multi-level design in which 170 teachers and their students (N=3,057) completed questionnaires. A significant proportion of variance in SQSL was attributable to classroom factors. Analyses revealed that the civic virtue and professional development behaviours of teachers were positively related to their job efficacy. The job efficacy of teachers also had a positive impact on all five indicators of SQSL. In regards to professional development, job efficacy acted as an indirect variable in the prediction of four student outcomes (i.e., general satisfaction, student–teacher relations, achievement, and opportunity) and fully mediated the direct negative effect on psychological distress.

Life transitions and changing physical activity patterns in young women

Background Physical activity (PA) patterns are likely to change in young adulthood in line with changes in lifestyle that occur in the transition from adolescence to adulthood. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether key life events experienced by young women in their early twenties are associated with increasing levels of inactivity. Methods This was a 4-year follow-up of 7281 participants (aged 18 to 23 years at baseline) in the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women’s Health, with self-reported measures of PA, life events, body mass index (BMI), and sociodemographic variables. Results The cross-sectional data indicated no change in PA between baseline (57% “active”) and follow-up (56% “active”). However, for almost 40% of the sample, PA category changed between baseline and follow-up, with approximately 20% of the women changing from being “active” to “inactive,” and another 20% changing from being “inactive” to “active.” After adjustment for age, other sociodemographic variables, BMI, and PA at baseline, women who reported getting married, having a first or subsequent child, or beginning paid work were more likely to be inactive at follow-up than those who did not report these events. Conclusions The results suggest that life events such as getting married, having children, and starting work are associated with decreased levels of PA in young adult women. Strategies are needed to promote maintenance of activity at the time when most women experience these key life-stage transitions.

The importance of use and end-of-life phases to the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of concrete : a review

Global climate change is one of the most significant environmental impacts at the moment. One central issue for the building and construction industry to address global climate change is the development of credible carbon labelling schemes for building materials. Various carbon labelling schemes have been developed for concrete due to its high contribution to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, as most carbon labelling schemes adopt cradle-to-gate as system boundary, the credibility of the eco-label information may not be satisfactory because recent studies show that the use and end-of-life phases can have a significant impact on the life cycle GHG emissions of concrete in terms of carbonation, maintenance and rehabilitation, other indirect emissions, and recycling activities. A comprehensive review on the life cycle assessment of concrete is presented to holistically examine the importance of use and end-of-life phases to the life cycle GHG quantification of concrete. The recent published ISO 14067: Carbon footprint of products – requirements and guidelines for quantification and communication also mandates the use of cradle-to-grave to provide publicly available eco-label information when the use and end-of-life phases of concrete can be appropriately simulated. With the support of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and other simulation technologies, the contribution of use and end-of-life phases to the life cycle GHG emissions of concrete should not be overlooked in future studies.

Practice and procedure - Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 s45 - duty of claimant to cooperate with insurer

In Suncorp Metway Insurance Limited v Brown [2004] QCA 325 the Queensland Court of Appeal considered the extent of the duty of cooperation imposed on a claimant under s45 of the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld). The issue is an important one because it affects virtually all claims made under the Act.

Mandatory offers under the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 - with interest please!

In Windon v Edwards [2005] QDC 029 Robin QC DCJ considered the cost consequence of mandatory final offers under the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld)

Practice and Procedures - Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 ss 39 and 57

In Bermingham v Priest [2002] QSC 057 jones J considered the position of persons seeking to claim damages where the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 applies prior to its amendment by the Motor Accident Insurance Amendment Act 2000, and where proceedings are brought close to expiration of the statutory limitation period.

Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 - obligation to disclose

In Turpin v Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd (unreported, Supreme Court of Queensland, S5216 of 2001), Mullins J, 17.10.2001) the plaintiff applied for a declaration that the respondent disclose pursuant to s47 of the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 copies of three statements referred to in a loss assessor's investigation report as "attached". The issue involved determination of whether the statements must be disclosed under s48(2) even though protected by legal professional privilege. The Court applied the decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal in James v Workcover Queensland.