Malnutrition and poor food intake are associated with prolonged hospital stay, frequent readmissions, and greater in-hospital mortality: Results from the Nutrition Care Day Survey 2010

Background & aims The Australasian Nutrition Care Day Survey (ANCDS) ascertained if malnutrition and poor food intake are independent risk factors for health-related outcomes in Australian and New Zealand hospital patients. Methods Phase 1 recorded nutritional status (Subjective Global Assessment) and 24-h food intake (0, 25, 50, 75, 100% intake). Outcomes data (Phase 2) were collected 90-days post-Phase 1 and included length of hospital stay (LOS), readmissions and in-hospital mortality. Results Of 3122 participants (47% females, 65 ± 18 years) from 56 hospitals, 32% were malnourished and 23% consumed ≤ 25% of the offered food. Malnourished patients had greater median LOS (15 days vs. 10 days, p < 0.0001) and readmissions rates (36% vs. 30%, p = 0.001). Median LOS for patients consuming ≤ 25% of the food was higher than those consuming ≤ 50% (13 vs. 11 days, p < 0.0001). The odds of 90-day in-hospital mortality were twice greater for malnourished patients (CI: 1.09–3.34, p = 0.023) and those consuming ≤ 25% of the offered food (CI: 1.13–3.51, p = 0.017), respectively. Conclusion The ANCDS establishes that malnutrition and poor food intake are independently associated with in-hospital mortality in the Australian and New Zealand acute care setting.

Bilingual asynchronous online discussion groups : design and delivery of an e-Learning distance study module for nurse academics in a developing country

The advent of eLearning has seen online discussion forums widely used in both undergraduate and postgraduate nursing education. This paper reports an Australian university experience of design, delivery and redevelopment of a distance education module developed for Vietnamese nurse academics. The teaching experience of Vietnamese nurse academics is mixed and frequently limited. It was decided that the distance module should attempt to utilise the experience of senior Vietnamese nurse academics - asynchronous online discussion groups were used to facilitate this. Online discussion occurred in both Vietnamese and English and was moderated by an Australian academic working alongside a Vietnamese translator. This paper will discuss the design of an online learning environment for foreign correspondents, the resources and translation required to maximise the success of asynchronous online discussion groups, as well as the rationale of delivering complex content in a foreign language. While specifically addressing the first iteration of the first distance module designed, this paper will also address subsequent changes made for the second iteration of the module and comment on their success. While a translator is clearly a key component of success, the elements of simplicity and clarity combined with supportive online moderation must not be overlooked.

Library research support in Queensland : a survey

University libraries worldwide are reconceptualising the ways in which they support the research agenda in their respective institutions. This paper is based on a survey completed by member libraries of the Queensland University Libraries Office of Cooperation (QUL OC), the findings of which may be informative for other university libraries. After briefly examining major emerging trends in research support, the paper discusses the results of the survey specifically focussing on support for researchers and the research agenda in their institutions. All responding libraries offer a high level of research support, however, eResearch support, in general, and research data management support, in particular, have the highest variance among the libraries, and signal possible areas for growth. Areas for follow-up, benchmarking and development are suggested.

Leadership change, policy issues and voter defection in the 2010 Australian election

Leadership change formed the backdrop to the 2010 Australian federal election, with the replacement of Kevin Rudd as prime minister by Julia Gillard, the country’s first female prime minister. This article uses the 2010 Australian Election Study, a post-election survey of voters, to examine patterns of voter defection between the 2007 and 2010 elections. The results show that the predominant influence on defection was how voters rated the leaders. Julia Gillard was particularly popular among female voters and her overall impact on the vote was slightly greater than that of Tony Abbott. Policy issues were second in importance after leadership, particularly for those moving from the Coalition to Labor, who were concerned about health and unemployment. Labor defectors to the Greens particularly disliked Labor’s education policies. Overall, the results point to the enduring importance of leaders as the predominant influence on how voters cast their ballot.

Design minds : an online design education platform for non-designers to enact cultural change

Education in the 21st century demands a model for understanding a new culture of learning in the face of rapid change, open access data and geographical diversity. Teachers no longer need to provide the latest information because students themselves are taking an active role in peer collectives to help create it. This paper examines, through an Australian case study entitled ‘Design Minds’, the development of an online design education platform as a key initiative to enact a government priority for state-wide cultural change through design-based curriculum. Utilising digital technology to create a supportive community, ‘Design Minds’ recognises that interdisciplinary learning fostered through engagement will empower future citizens to think, innovate, and discover. This paper details the participatory design process undertaken with multiple stakeholders to create the platform. It also outlines a proposed research agenda for future measurement of its value in creating a new learning culture, supporting regional and remote communities, and revitalising frontline services. It is anticipated this research will inform ongoing development of the online platform, and future design education and research programs in K-12 schools in Australia.

2nd Australian producer survey 2012 : understanding Australian screen content producers : wave 2

This report presents the top-line findings of the Australian Screen Producer survey conducted in December 2011. The report was prepared by Bergent Research and commissioned by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI), Queensland University of Technology, with assistance from the Centre for Screen Business, Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS). The 2011 producer survey was a national study of the demographics, motivations, sentiments and activities of screen producers across four industry segments: Film, Television, Commercial and Digital Media. This survey is the second Australian Screen Producer survey and builds upon research undertaken in the Australian Screen Content Producer Survey conducted in 2009. The 2011 study is referred to in this report as Wave 2 and the 2009 study is referred to as Wave 1.

Animating and sustaining niche social networks

Within the communicative space online Social Network Sites (SNS) afford, Niche Social Networks Sites (NSNS) have emerged around particular geographic, demographic or topic-based communities to provide what broader SNS do not: specified and targeted content for an engaged and interested community. Drawing on a research project developed at the Queensland University of Technology in conjunction with the Australian Smart Services Cooperative Research Centre that produced an NSNS based around Adventure Travel, this paper outlines the main drivers for community creation and sustainability within NSNS. The paper asks what factors motivate users to join and stay with these sites and what, if any, common patterns can be noted in their formation. It also outlines the main barriers to online participation and content creation in NSNS, and the similarities and differences in SNS and NSNS business models. Having built a community of 100 registered members, the staywild.com.au project was a living laboratory, enabling us to document the steps taken in producing a NSNS and cultivating and retaining active contributors. The paper incorporates observational analysis of user-generated content (UGC) and user profile submissions, statistical analysis of site usage, and findings from a survey of our membership pool in noting areas of success and of failure. In drawing on our project in this way we provide a template for future iterations of NSNS initiation and development across various other social settings: not only niche communities, but also the media and advertising with which they engage and interact. Positioned within the context of online user participation and UGC research, our paper concludes with a discussion of the ways in which the tools afforded by NSNS extend earlier understandings of online ‘communities of interest’. It also outlines the relevance of our research to larger questions about the diversity of the social media ecology.

The influence of online reviews on consumers’ attributions of service quality and control for service standards in hotels

Online travel reviews are emerging as a powerful source of information affecting tourists' pre-purchase evaluation of a hotel organization. This trend has highlighted the need for a greater understanding of the impact of online reviews on consumer attitudes and behaviors. In view of this need, we investigate the influence of online hotel reviews on consumers' attributions of service quality and firms' ability to control service delivery. An experimental design was used to examine the effects of four independent variables: framing; valence; ratings; and target. The results suggest that in reviews evaluating a hotel, remarks related to core services are more likely to induce positive service quality attributions. Recent reviews affect customers' attributions of controllability for service delivery, with negative reviews exerting an unfavorable influence on consumers' perceptions. The findings highlight the importance of managing the core service and the need for managers to act promptly in addressing customer service problems.

A comparison of perceived crash risk among cyclists and drivers in Brisbane

The Queensland Government has implemented strategies promoting a shift from individual car use to active transport, a transition which requires drivers to adapt to sharing the road with increased numbers of people cycling through transport network. For this to occur safely, changes in both road infrastructure and road user expectations and behaviors will be needed. Creating separate cycle infrastructure does not remove the need for cyclists to commence, cross or finish travel on shared roads. Currently intersections are one of the predominant shared road spaces where crashes result in cyclists being injured or killed. This research investigates how Brisbane cyclists and drivers perceive risk when interacting with other road users at intersections. The current study replicates a French study conducted by co-authors Chaurand and Delhomme in 2011 and extends it to assess gender effects which have been reported in other Australian cycling research. An online survey was administered to experienced cyclists and drivers. Participants rated the level of risk they felt when imagining a number of different road situations. Based on the earlier French study it is expected that perceived crash risk will be influenced both by the participant’s mode of travel and the type of interacting vehicle and perceived risk will be greater when the interaction is with a car than a bicycle. It is predicted that risk perception will decrease as the level of experience increases and that male participants will have a higher perception of skill and lower perception of risk than females. The findings of this Queensland study will provide a valuable insight into perceived risk and the traffic behaviours of drivers and cyclists when interacting with other road users and results will be available for presentation at the Congress.

Analyzing the effectiveness of graph metrics for anomaly detection in online social networks

Online social networks can be modelled as graphs; in this paper, we analyze the use of graph metrics for identifying users with anomalous relationships to other users. A framework is proposed for analyzing the effectiveness of various graph theoretic properties such as the number of neighbouring nodes and edges, betweenness centrality, and community cohesiveness in detecting anomalous users. Experimental results on real-world data collected from online social networks show that the majority of users typically have friends who are friends themselves, whereas anomalous users’ graphs typically do not follow this common rule. Empirical analysis also shows that the relationship between average betweenness centrality and edges identifies anomalies more accurately than other approaches.

Identity theft, computers and behavioral biometrics

The increase of online services, such as eBanks, WebMails, in which users are verified by a username and password, is increasingly exploited by Identity Theft procedures. Identity Theft is a fraud, in which someone pretends to be someone else is order to steal money or get other benefits. To overcome the problem of Identity Theft an additional security layer is required. Within the last decades the option of verifying users based on their keystroke dynamics was proposed during login verification. Thus, the imposter has to be able to type in a similar way to the real user in addition to having the username and password. However, verifying users upon login is not enough, since a logged station/mobile is vulnerable for imposters when the user leaves her machine. Thus, verifying users continuously based on their activities is required. Within the last decade there is a growing interest and use of biometrics tools, however, these are often costly and require additional hardware. Behavioral biometrics, in which users are verified, based on their keyboard and mouse activities, present potentially a good solution. In this paper we discuss the problem of Identity Theft and propose behavioral biometrics as a solution. We survey existing studies and list the challenges and propose solutions.

Trip generation in Australia : Practical issues

An online survey was conducted to investigate the views and experiences of Australian traffic and transport professionals about practical problems and issues in terms of trip generation and trip chaining for use in Transport Impact Assessment (TIA). Findings from this survey revealed that there is a shortage of appropriate data related to trip generation estimation for use in TIAs in Australia. Establishing a National Trip Generation Database (NTGD) with a centralised responsible organisation for collecting and publishing trip generation data based on federal and state governments’ contribution was found the most accepted solution for resolving this shortage as well as providing national standards and guidelines associated with trip generation definitions, data collection methodology, and TIA preparation process based on updated research. Finally, the study recognised the importance of the trip chaining effects on trip generation estimation and identified most prevalent land uses subject to trip chaining in terms of TIA.

New graduate occupational therapists feelings of preparedness for practice in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand

Aim The development of competent future allied health professionals through academic programmes, professional support and practical education is continually evolving. The aim of this study was to explore the feelings of newly graduated occupational therapists in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand regarding their education and work preparedness. Methods Newly graduated occupational therapists from Australia (n = 178) and Aotearoa/New Zealand (n = 53) who had completed their occupational therapy studies in 2007 were recruited. Participants completed an online survey which explored their preparedness for work; based on professional competencies. Results Most newly graduated occupational therapists felt somewhat prepared for practice. However, only 17.1% of Australian new graduates, and even fewer (8.5%) of Aotearoa/New Zealand new graduates felt very well prepared. Participants felt more prepared for the competencies required for ‘managing inwards’ (including interpersonal skills) and less prepared for those required for ‘managing outwards’ (including evidence-based practice). Conclusions This study provides the first international comparison into the feelings of competence and preparedness for practice of new graduates of occupational therapy from Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand. Given the importance of competencies, such as evidence-based practice to the progress of the profession, there is a need to further explore methods to increase feelings of preparedness in these areas.

Sociocultural affordances of online peer engagement

University learning increasingly includes online learning experiences embedded within teaching with the dual policy intentions of increasing flexibility and learner engagement. In this research project, three university lecturers from different teaching contexts selected technologies for online learning to enhance learner engagement by encouraging peer learning. A sociocultural view of learning was used to conceptualise the technological and social affordances that might enable student peer participation and engagement. The research explored the question: “What are the benefits and barriers experienced by students engaging in online peer collaboration?” Students reported benefits including a sense of belonging that enhanced motivation, and professional identity. This article also reports on some of the challenges for students and University academics when engaging in online learning communities.

A hierarchical structural model of assessing innovation and project performance

Research in construction innovation highlights construction industry as having many barriers and resistance to innovations and suggests that it needs champions. A hierarchical structural model is presented, to assess the impact of the role of the project manager (PM) on the levels of innovation and project performance. The model adopts the structural equation modelling technique and uses the survey data collected from PMs and project team members working for general contractors in Singapore. The model fits well to the observed data, accounting for 24%, 37% and 49% of the variance in championing behaviour, the level of innovation and project performance, respectively. The results of this study show the importance of the championing role of PMs in construction innovation. However, in order to increase their effectiveness, such a role should be complemented by their competency and professionalism, tactical use of influence tactics, and decision authority. Moreover, senior management should provide adequate resources and a sustained support to innovation and create a conducive environment or organizational culture that nurtures and facilitates the PM’s role in the construction project as a champion of innovation.