Means are the Ends: The Command Issue

Means are the Ends: The Command Issue (2014) was an exhibition of sculptural works exhibited at LEVEL Artist-Run Initiative, Brisbane. The exhibition playfully critiqued the portrayal of women’s desire in cultural production and symbolic discourse through a focus on fetish sensibilities. Developed during a summer residency, the artworks looked to the rituals, materials and iconographies associated with certain divergent subcultures. Employing strategies of sculptural intervention and appropriation, the exhibition consisted of found objects, which had been deconstructed, altered and intervened; a dildo became a faux drawing machine, a butt-plug a makeshift horn. Reconstructing these visual codes through the formal and theoretical language of contemporary sculptural practice, Means are the Ends: The Command Issue spoke to the problematic, humorous and often paradoxical relationship between depictions of the feminine and women’s desire and agency.

Bridging the gap: Curriculum practices in community language schools and their challenges

This study investigated curriculum practices in Queensland community language schools and how these practices are supported by government policy. The conceptual framework drew on theories of ethnolinguistic vitality and curriculum dimensions. The research design involved case studies of two community language schools of different sizes, using classroom observation and interviews. Cross–case analysis revealed contrasting curriculum practices determined by student enrolments, and different capacities to access and benefit from what policy support was available. This study offers some implications and possibilities to better support quality curriculum practices in community language schools.

Impact of malnutrition on 12-month mortality following acute hip fracture

Background Studies investigating the relationship between malnutrition and post-discharge mortality following acute hip fracture yield conflicting results. This study aimed to determine whether malnutrition independently predicted 12-month post-fracture mortality after adjusting for clinically relevant covariates. Methods An ethics approved, prospective, consecutive audit was undertaken for all surgically treated hip fracture inpatients admitted to a dedicated orthogeriatric unit (November 2010–October 2011). The 12-month mortality data were obtained by a dual search of the mortality registry and Queensland Health database. Malnutrition was evaluated using the Subjective Global Assessment. Demographic (age, gender, admission residence) and clinical covariates included fracture type, time to surgery, anaesthesia type, type of surgery, post-surgery time to mobilize and post-operative complications (delirium, pulmonary and deep vein thrombosis, cardiac complications, infections). The Charlson Comorbidity Index was retrospectively applied. All diagnoses were confirmed by the treating orthogeriatrician. Results A total of 322 of 346 patients were available for audit. Increased age (P = 0.004), admission from residential care (P < 0.001), Charlson Comorbidity Index (P = 0.007), malnutrition (P < 0.001), time to mobilize >48 h (P < 0.001), delirium (P = 0.003), pulmonary embolism (P = 0.029) and cardiovascular complication (P = 0.04) were associated with 12-month mortality. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that malnutrition (odds ratio (OR) 2.4 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3–4.7, P = 0.007)), in addition to admission from residential care (OR 2.6 (95% CI 1.3–5.3, P = 0.005)) and pulmonary embolism (OR 11.0 (95% CI 1.5–78.7, P = 0.017)), independently predicted 12-month mortality. Conclusions Findings substantiate malnutrition as an independent predictor of 12-month mortality in a representative sample of hip fracture inpatients. Effective strategies to identify and treat malnutrition in hip fracture should be prioritized.

Dislocation after total hip replacement: there is no such thing as a safe zone for socket placement with the posterior approach

Introduction Malorientation of the socket contributes to instability after hip arthroplasty but the optimal orientation of the cup in relation to the pelvis has not been unequivocally described. Large radiological studies are few and problems occur with film standardisation, measurement methodology used and alternative definitions of describing acetabular orientation. Methods A cohort of 1,578 patients from a single institution is studied where all patient data was collected prospectively. Risk factors for patients undergoing surgery are analysed. Radiological data was compared between a series of non-dislocating hips and dislocating cases matched 2:1 by operation type, age and diagnosis. Results The overall dislocation rate for all 1,578 cases was 3.23% but the rate varied according to the type of surgery performed. The rate in uncomplicated primary cases was 2.4% which increased to 9.3% for second stage implantation for a two stage procedure for infection. There was no significant difference in the variability of the dislocating and non-dislocating groups for either inclination (p = 0.393) or anteversion (p = 0.661). Conclusions A “safe zone” for socket orientation to avoid dislocation could not be defined. The cause of dislocation is multifactorial, re-establishing the anatomic centre of rotation, balancing soft tissues and avoidance of impingement around the hip are important considerations.

The neuroscience of inspirational leadership: the importance of collective-oriented language and shared group membership

Effective leaders are believed to inspire followers by providing inclusive visions of the future that followers can identify with. In the present study, we examined the neural mechanisms underlying this process, testing key hypotheses derived from transformational and social identity approaches to leadership. While undergoing functional MRI, supporters from the two major Australian political parties (Liberal vs. Labor) were presented with inspirational collective-oriented and noninspirational personal-oriented statements made by in-group and out-group leaders. Imaging data revealed that inspirational (rather than noninspirational) statements from in-group leaders were associated with increased activation in the bilateral rostral inferior parietal lobule, pars opercularis, and posterior midcingulate cortex: brain areas that are typically implicated in controlling semantic information processing. In contrast, for out-group leaders, greater activation in these areas was associated with noninspirational statements. In addition, noninspirational statements by in-group (but not out-group) leaders resulted in increased activation in the medial prefrontal cortex, an area typically associated with reasoning about a person’s mental state. These results show that followers processed identical statements qualitatively differently as a function of leaders’ group membership, thus demonstrating that shared identity acts as an amplifier for inspirational leadership communication.

Validating adult and paediatric nutrition screening and assessment tools in Vietnamese language in two acute hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Despite being commonly prevalent in acute care hospitals worldwide, malnutrition often goes unidentified and untreated due to a lack in the implementation of a nutrition care pathway. The aim of this study was to validate nutrition screening and assessment tools in Vietnamese language. After converting into Vietnamese, Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST) and Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) were used to identify malnutrition in the adult setting; and the Paediatric Nutrition Screening Tool (PNST) and paediatric Subjective Global Nutritional Assessment (SGNA) were used in the paediatric setting in two acute care hospitals in Vietnam. This cross-sectional observational study sampled 123 adults (median age 78 years [39–96 years], 63% males) and 105 children (median age 20 months [2–100 months], 66% males). In adults, nutrition risk and malnutrition were identified in 29% and 45% of the cohort respectively. Nutrition risk and malnutrition were identified in 71% and 43% of the paediatric cohort respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the screening tools were: 62% and 99% for the MST compared to the SGA; 89% and 42% for the PNST compared to the SGNA. This study provides a stepping stone to the potential use of evidence-based nutrition screening and assessment tools in Vietnamese language within the adult and paediatric Vietnamese acute care setting. Further work is required into integrating a complete nutrition care pathway within the acute care setting in Vietnamese hospitals.

Legacies of War--[Ten percent terror]

Ten Percent Terror brings together leading creatives from the fields of contemporary theatre, contemporary dance, music theatre, circus and digital arts in the first collaboration of its kind. Commissioned by Brisbane Powerhouse, with support from the Anzac Centenary Arts and Culture Fund and in partnership with Dancenorth and Company 2, this is an inter-disciplinary work that combines theatrical narrative with eloquent physicality, through circus and dance, to express certain truths of the soldiers' experience. This production will be a circus-narrative that uses the form and language of circus to express the key themes of risk, panic and brotherhood. Ten Percent Terror is intended to be a work of scale, yet also intimacy: of stillness and panic, inertia and chaos. Project partners, Dancenorth and Company 2, share the vision to use contemporary artistic disciplines to connect younger and modern audiences to the ANZAC legacy, perhaps offering a connection for those audiences that they may not find through more traditional art forms. The development process has included a community research project in Townsville, conducted by Shane Pike, which explored contemporary Australians’ stories through interviews with serving military personnel and the local community, as well as collecting photographic documentation and other artefacts from around Townsville. This was followed by an archival research project in Brisbane, where Pike reviewed letters, photographs and personal accounts of soldiers from WW1. The results of these projects will be used by the creative team to inform the development of Ten Percent Terror. Given Townsville’s reputation as Australia’s ‘garrison’ city, the project partners plan to deliver the world premiere performance of Ten Percent Terror in Townsville in late 2015. It is intended that Ten Percent Terror will receive its Brisbane premiere in November 2015 at Brisbane Powerhouse, as part of a four-performance season. This expert panel included discussion of the project and its place in analysing key aspects of Australia's wartime history.

The construction of feminism in Indonesian film: Arisan 2!

Feminism in Indonesian society is related to the emancipation term that women nowadays have still been bringing up this issue. However, Arisan 2! film showed a shift in film discourse regarding the representation of cosmopolitan women in Indonesia. This research examines on how Arisan 2! film as a media portrays feminism in the society of Jakarta. Feminism in Arisan 2! film was likely to expose the liberal feminism in nowadays modern society through several issues of women’s emancipation, specifically in the areas of marriage, job, and social life.

Modelling user profiles for recommender systems

Recommender systems assist users in finding what they want. The challenging issue is how to efficiently acquire user preferences or user information needs for building personalized recommender systems. This research explores the acquisition of user preferences using data taxonomy information to enhance personalized recommendations for alleviating cold-start problem. A concept hierarchy model is proposed, which provides a two-dimensional hierarchy for acquiring user preferences. The language model is also extended for the proposed hierarchy in order to generate an effective recommender algorithm. Both Amazon.com book and music datasets are used to evaluate the proposed approach, and the experimental results show that the proposed approach is promising.

Quick Draw

'Quick Draw' is an installation integrating large-scale fabric works along with a lecture performance recorded as a digital video. 'Quick Draw' engages pictorial, literary and vernacular quotations in order to replay and reveal the complexities of gender politics, representation and language. In particular, it examines the relationship between abstraction, feminism and painting, following through an iconoclastic impulse that is at play in these histories. 'Quick Draw' was developed and presented as a solo exhibition for Seventh Gallery, Melbourne in 2015. 'Quick Draw II' was revised for the exhibition ‘Like A Burden’, held at Metro Arts Galleries, Brisbane in 2015.

Language is, language is not

‘Language is, Language is not’ is an installation comprising wall drawings, a fabric drawing prosthetic, performance and digital video. This work investigates ‘redrawing’ as a revisionist feminist strategy, taking as it’s starting point Mel Bochner’s work ‘Language is not Transparent’ (1970). 'Language is, Language is not' functions as both homage and critique, drawing on the legacy of conceptual art and questioning the engendering of language that it implies. This work was developed and presented for Bus Projects, Melbourne in 2012, and subsequent versions exhibited at Screen Space, Melbourne and Metro Arts Galleries, Brisbane.

Re-inventing the f word - it's feminism!

This article discusses approaches to feminist art practice by early career Australian women artists in the context of 'Contemporary Australia: Women', an exhibition held at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Brisbane in 2012.

The language of lighting design

From 23 August until 2 October 2010, the successful Richard Kelly exhibition and symposium held at the Yale Architecture School in New Haven, US drew attention to the many contributions of this pioneering designer. Luminous opens the debate with five international lighting designers on the role and relevance of Kelly's vocabulary today.

Developing and testing readability measurements for second language learners

This research constructed a readability measurement for French speakers who view English as a second language. It identified the true cognates, which are the similar words from these two languages, as an indicator of the difficulty of an English text for French people. A multilingual lexical resource is used to detect true cognates in text, and Statistical Language Modelling to predict the predict the readability level. The proposed enhanced statistical language model is making a step in the right direction by improving the accuracy of readability predictions for French speakers by up to 10% compared to state of the art approaches. The outcome of this study could accelerate the learning process for French speakers who are studying English. More importantly, this study also benefits the readability estimation research community, presenting an approach and evaluation at sentence level as well as innovating with the use of cognates as a new text feature.