Polycaprolactone-based scaffold plus recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein (rhBMP-2) in an ovine model of anterior spinal fusion

Synthetic scaffolds combined with growth factors have the potential to replace allograft or autograft as a graft material for spinal interbody fusion. Such tissue engineering approaches may be useful in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) surgery, however there are no studies to date examining the use of such biodegradable implants in combination with biologics in a thoracic spine model. This in vivo study examines the use of biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL) based scaffolds with rhBMP-2 as a bone graft substitute in a sheep thoracic fusion model, where an anterior approach is used to simulate minimally invasive surgical deformity correction in the setting of AIS.

Wayfinding : a simple concept, a complex process

Wayfinding is the process of finding your way to a destination in a familiar or unfamiliar setting using any cues given by the environment. Due to its ubiquity in everyday life, wayfinding appears on the surface to be a simply characterised and understood process, however this very ubiquity and the resulting need to refine and optimise wayfinding has lead to a great number of studies that have revealed that it is in fact a deeply complex exercise. In this paper we examine the motivations for investigating wayfinding, with particular attention being paid to the unique challenges faced in transportation hubs, and discuss the associated principles and factors involved as they have been perceived from different research perspectives.We also review the approaches used to date in the modelling of wayfinding in various contexts. We attempt to draw together the different perspectives applied to wayfinding and postulate the importance of wayfinding and the need to understand this seemingly simple, but concurrently complex, process.

Serious playground : using Second Life to engage high school students in urban planning

Virtual world platforms such as Second Life have been successfully used in educational contexts to motivate and engage learners. This article reports on an exploratory workshop involving a group of high school students using Second Life for an urban planning project. Young people are traditionally an under-represented demographic when it comes to participating in urban planning and decision making processes. The research team developed activities that combined technology with a constructivist approach to learning. Real world experiences and purposes ensured that the workshop enabled students to see the relevance of their learning. Our design also ensured that play remained an important part of the learning. By conceiving of the workshop as a ‘serious playground’ we investigated the ludic potential of learning in a virtual world.

School-aged workers : industrial citizens in waiting?

While the literature points to significant shifts in young peoples’ labour market participation and the social, economic and political context in which this has occurred, it tells us little about whether and in what sense young people can be considered as industrial citizens. We explored the notion of youth citizenship using data derived from 48 focus groups conducted with 216 young people (13-16 years of age) at 19 high schools in Australia. The findings reveal the ways in which several key dimensions of industrial citizenship come to be shaped and have implications for addressing the vulnerability of youth in employment and informing policy and action.

How research findings can inform legislation and school policy on cyberbullying.

Recent empirical research has found that the psychological consequences for young people involved in cyberbullying are more severe than in the case of traditional bullying (Campbell, Spears, Slee, Butler, & Kift, 2012; Perren, Dooley, Shaw, & Cross, 2010). Cybervictimisation has been found to be a significant predictor of depressive symptoms over and above that of being victimised by traditional bullying (Perren et al., 2010). Cybervictims also have reported higher anxiety scores and social difficulties than traditional victims, with those students who had been bullied by both forms showing similar anxiety and depression scores to cyberbullying victims (Campbell et al., 2012). This is supported by the subjective views of many young people, not involved in bullying, who believed that cyberbullying is far more harmful than traditional bullying (Cross et al., 2009). However, students who were traditionally bullied thought the consequences of traditional bullying were harsher than did those students who were cyberbullied (Campbell, et al., 2012). In Slonje and Smith’s study (2008), students reported that text messaging and email bullying had less of an impact than traditional bullying, but that bullying by pictures or video clips had more negative impact than traditional bullying.

Multiple founders and firm value

In this paper, we highlight the existence of multi-founder firms, which were founded by multiple individuals (with no family connections) who are still actively involved in the firm as directors and/or managers. These firms provide a unique setting to shed further light on the net valuation effects of founder involvement. In particular, multi-founder firms provide us with the opportunity to examine the benefits and costs to shareholders of multiple founders involved as directors, CEOs and managers in the same firm. Our analysis indicates that multi-founder firms are more valuable than all other types of firms, including single-founder firms and family firms, with the valuation premium positively related to the number of founders involved in the firm. Further analysis confirms that this valuation premium is linked to the direct involvement of the multiple founders as directors and CEOs. However, further founder involvement in vice president positions has a negative relationship with firm value.

Developing guidelines for intervention to reduce risk of low-speed vehicle run-overs of young children

In Australia, research suggests that up to one quarter of child pedestrian hospitalisations result from driveway run-over incidents (Pinkney et al., 2006). In Queensland, these numbers equate to an average of four child fatalities and 81 children presenting at hospital emergency departments every year (The Commission for Children, Young People and Child Guardian). National comparison shows that these numbers represent a slightly higher per capita rate (23.5% of all deaths). To address this issue, the current research was undertaken with the aim to develop an educative intervention based on data collected from parents and caregivers of young children. Thus, the current project did not seek to use available intervention or educational material, but to develop a new evidence-based intervention specifically targeting driveway run-overs involving young children. To this end, general behavioural and environmental changes that caregivers had undertaken in order to reduce the risk of injury to any child in their care were investigated. Broadly, the first part of this report sought to: • develop a conceptual model of established domestic safety behaviours, and to investigate whether this model could be successfully applied to the driveway setting; • explore and compare sources of knowledge regarding domestic and driveway child safety; and • examine the theoretical implications of current domestic and driveway related behaviour and knowledge among caregivers. The aim of the second part of this research was to develop and test the efficacy of an intervention based on the findings in the first part of the research project. Specifically, it sought to: • develop an educational driveway intervention that is based on current safety behaviours in the domestic setting and informed by existing knowledge of driveway safety and behaviour change theory; and • evaluate its efficacy in a sample of parents and caregivers.

Educational stress among Chinese adolescents : individual, family, school and peer influences

Educational stress is common among school children and adolescents, especially in Asian countries. This study aims to identify factors associated with perceived educational stress among students in China. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted with 1627 students (Grades 7–12) from six secondary schools in rural and urban areas of Shandong Province. A wide range of individual, family, school and peer factors were associated with stress measured using the Educational Stress Scale for Adolescents (ESSA). Rural school location, low school connectedness, perceived poor academic grades, female gender, older age and frequent emotional conflicts with teachers and peers were among the strongest correlates, and most of them are school- or study-related. Unexpectedly, family and parental factors were found to have little or no association with children’s perceived educational stress. These findings may offer directions for interventions in secondary school settings.

The entrepreneurial process

This chapter revolves around research-based insights into the entrepreneurial process. By is meant the process of setting up a new business activity resulting in a new market offer. This new offer may be made by a new or an existing firm, although the main focus here is on the start-up of new, independent firms. Further, the new offer may be innovative, bringing to the market something that was not offered before or imita­tive i.e., a new competitor enters the market with products or services very similar to what other firms are already offering. Although the lsatter type of process may be less complex and also have less market impact, it still entails most of the steps that typically have to be taken in order to get a business up and running. If successful, it also shares, at least to some degree, the consequences that signify entrepreneurial processes: - it gives consumers new choice alternatives - it gives incumbent firms reason to shape up - it attracts additional followers to enter the market, further reinforcing the first two effects (Davidsson, 2004). Besides, imitatlve starr-ups outnumber by far innovative ones (Reynolds et al., 2003; Samuelsson and Davidsson, 2009).

Teaching in Inclusive School Communities

"Teaching in Inclusive School Communities, 1st Edition is the essential resource to provide pre-service teachers with the most contemporary, ethical and useful framework for incorporating diversity and inclusive practices in today’s classroom. Fourteen concise chapters compose a focused picture of the values and beliefs that inform the inclusive education approach, with the most up-to-date connections to curriculum and pedagogy throughout. Complemented by the latest research in the field, this text provides the practical knowledge and skills needed for inclusive classroom teaching in Australia and New Zealand, as well as a thorough analysis of exactly what is required to build respectful relationships in modern school communities."--publisher website

Impact of physical, psychological, and sexual violence on social adjustment of school children in India

and sexual violence on the social adjustment of Grade 8 and 9 school children in the state of Tripura, India. The study participants, 160 boys and 160 girls, were randomly selected from classes in eight English and Bengali medium schools in Agartala city, Tripura. Data were collected using a self-administered Semi-structured Questionnaire for Children/Students and a Social Adjustment Inventory which were custom-made for the study based on measures in the extant research adapted for the Indian context. Findings revealed that students experienced physical (21.9%), psychological (20.9%), and sexual (18.1%) violence at home, and 29.7% of the children had witnessed family violence. Boys were more often victims of physical and psychological violence while girls were more often victims of sexual violence. The social adjustment scores of school children who experienced violence, regardless of the nature of the violence, was significantly lower when compared with scores of those who had not experienced violence (p<0.001). Social adjustment was poorer for girls than boys (p<0.001). The study speaks in favour of early detection and intervention for all child maltreatment subtypes and for children exposed to interparental violence, and highlights the crucial role of schools and school psychology in addressing the problem.

Young people whose parents are separated or divorced: A case for researching their experiences at the intersection of home and school

Background: Young people whose parents are separated or divorced form a significant and increasing proportion of young people who attend school. To date, empirical research with young people whose parents are separated or divorced has tended to focus on either their household context, or their school context, rather than on both contexts together. This paper redresses this singular focus by examining the intersection of the experiences of young people at both home and school. Purpose: The paper seeks to map the empirical evidence of young people's home and school experiences as they move between households and schools. Sources of evidence: The paper provides a narrative review of the literature from the 1990s to the present, locating Australian research within an international context. The review is framed by four main questions. What is the impact upon young people of the family transitions that occur when parents separate or divorce? What is the everyday impact upon young people of moving between one household and another? What does the research reveal regarding educational, social and emotional outcomes for this group? What does the research reveal regarding their school experiences? Main argument: The review reveals a paucity of Australian research at the intersection of home and school. It shows that, while young people from these contexts form a growing proportion of the school population, there is little empirical evidence of what is actually occurring in their everyday lives. The review reveals the importance of researching from the perspectives of the young people themselves. Conclusions: Evidence provided in the paper shows that many young people whose parents separate or divorce are affected socially, emotionally and educationally. Such evidence points to the need for research into the everyday experiences of the young people at school, in order to identify, from their perspective, how schools can better cater for these young people and their families.

School nurses and health education : the classroom experience.

Objective: The aim of the study is to explore school nurses’ experience of health education. Design: A qualitative approach; phenomenology was used to answer the question. Method: Sixteen participants were recruited through purposeful and snowball sampling. Participants undertook an audio-recorded interview which was transcribed and analysed. Results: Five themes represent school nurses’ experience of health education. Within these five themes, three issues were identified by the participants as having a negative impact on their experience of health education. These were: (1) feeling unwanted by the school; (2) not supported by the school hierarchy; and (3) a lack of role definition. Conclusion: These three issues provide important insight into school nurses’ experience of health education and have implications for other school nurses and professionals in the school environment.

Lifestyle risk factor modification in midlife women with type 2 diabetes : theoretical modelling of perceived barriers

Objective: The aim of this paper is to propose a ‘Perceived barriers and lifestyle risk factor modification model’ that could be incorporated into existing frameworks for diabetes education to enhance lifestyle risk factor education in women. Setting: Diabetes education, community health. Primary argument: ‘Perceived barriers’ is a health promotion concept that has been found to be a significant predictor of health promotion behaviour. There is evidence that women face a range of perceived barriers that prevent them from engaging in healthy lifestyle activities. Despite this, current evidence based models of diabetes education do not explicitly incorporate the concept of perceived barriers. A model of risk factor reduction that incorporates ‘perceived barriers’ is proposed. Conclusion: Although further research is required, current approaches to risk factor reduction in type 2 diabetes could be enhanced by identification and goal setting to reduce an individual’s perceived barriers.

School children’s personal exposure to ultrafine particles in urban environments

This work was motivated by the limited knowledge on personal exposure to ultrafine (UF) particles, and it quantifies school children’s personal exposure to UF particles, in terms of number, using Philips Aerasense Nano Tracers (NTs). This study is being conducted in conjunction with the “Ultrafine Particles from Traffic Emissions and Children’s Health (UPTECH)” project, which aims to determine the relationship between exposure to traffic related UF particles and children’s health (http://www.ilaqh.qut.edu.au/Misc/UPTECH%20 Home.htm). To achieve this, air quality and some health data are being collected at 25 schools within the Brisbane Metropolitan Area in Australia over two years. The school children’s personal exposure to UF particles in the first 17 schools are presented here. These schools were tested between Oct 2010 and Dec 2011. Data collection is expected to be complete by mid 2012.