Nerves of steel? Stress, work performance and elite athletes

There is a notable shortage of empirical research directed at measuring the magnitude and direction of stress effects on performance in a controlled environment. One reason for this is the inherent difficulties in identifying and isolating direct performance measures for individuals. Additionally, most traditional work environments contain a multitude of exogenous factors impacting individual performance, but controlling for all such factors is generally unfeasible (omitted variable bias). Moreover, instead of asking individuals about their self-reported stress levels, we observe workers’ behaviour in situations that can be classified as stressful. For this reason, we have stepped outside the traditional workplace in an attempt to gain greater controllability of these factors using the sports environment as our experimental space. We empirically investigate the relationship between stress and performance, in an extreme pressure situation (football penalty kicks) in a winner take all sporting environment (FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Cup competitions). Specifically, we examine all the penalty shootouts between 1976 and 2008 covering in total 16 events. The results indicate that extreme stressors can have a positive or negative impact on individuals’ performance. On the other hand, more commonly experienced stressors do not affect professionals’ performances.

Analyzing the literature for the link between the conservative Islamic culture of Saudi Arabia and the design of sustainable housing

Saudi Arabia experiences housing shortage for mid and low-income families, which is caused by rapid population growth. This condition is worsened by the fact that the current housing supply has problems in meeting both sustainable requirements and cultural needs of those families. This paper aims to investigate the link between the unique conservative Saudi culture and the design of sustainable housing, while keeping the housing cost affordable for mid and low-income families. The paper is based on a review of literatures on the issues of the Islamic culture and how can they be integrated into the design process of a Saudi house. Findings from literature reveiw suggest several design requirements for accommodating the conservative Saudi Culture in low cost sustainable houses. Such requirements include the implementation of proper usage of windows, and house orientation with a courtyard inside rather than facing the main street will provide natural ventilation while maintaining privacy. The main contribution to the body of knowledge is that this is a new approach to sustainable housing in Saudi Arabia considering not only energy use and architectural design issues but also socio-cultural issues as an essential part of sustainability.

Telephone support to rural and remote patients with heart failure : the Chronic Heart failure Assessment by Telephone (CHAT) study

Background Heart failure (HF) remains a condition with high morbidity and mortality. We tested a telephone support strategy to reduce major events in rural and remote Australians with HF, who have limited healthcare access. Telephone support comprised an interactive telecommunication software tool (TeleWatch) with follow-up by trained cardiac nurses. Methods Patients with a general practice (GP) diagnosis of HF were randomised to usual care (UC) or UC and telephone support intervention (UC+I) using a cluster design involving 143 GPs throughout Australia. Patients were followed for 12 months. The primary end-point was the Packer clinical composite score. Secondary end-points included hospitalisation for any cause, death or hospitalisation, as well as HF hospitalisation. Results Four hundred and five patients were randomised into CHAT. Patients were well matched at baseline for key demographic variables. The primary end-point of the Packer Score was not different between the two groups (P=0.98), although more patients improved with UC+I. There were fewer patients hospitalised for any cause (74 versus 114, adjusted HR 0.67 [95% CI 0.50-0.89], p=0.006) and who died or were hospitalised (89 versus 124, adjusted HR 0.70 [95% CI 0.53 – 0.92], p=0.011), in the UC+I vs UC group. HF hospitalisations were reduced with UC+I (23 versus 35, adjusted HR 0.81 [95% CI 0.44 – 1.38]), although this was not significant (p=0.43). There were 16 deaths in the UC group and 17 in the UC+I group (p=0.43). Conclusions Although no difference was observed in the primary end-point of CHAT (Packer composite score), UC+I significantly reduced the number of HF patients hospitalised amongst a rural and remote cohort. These data suggest that telephone support may be an efficacious approach to improve clinical outcomes in rural and remote HF patients.

Participatory content creation and collective intelligence in Rio de Janeiro's favelas [Virtual presentation]

This proposal combines ethnographic techniques and discourse studies to investigating a collective of people engaged with audiovisual productions who collaborate in Curta Favela’s workshops in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. ‘Favela’ is often translated simply as ‘slum’ or ‘shantytown’, but these terms connote negative characteristics such as shortage, poverty, and deprivation referring to favelas which end up stigmatizing these low income suburbs. Curta Favela (Favela Shorts) is an independent project which all participants join to use photography and participatory audiovisual production as a tool for social change and raising consciousness. As cameras are not affordable for favelas dwellers, Curta Favela’s volunteers teach favela residents how they can use their mobile phones and compact cameras to take pictures and make movies, and afterwards, how they can edit the data using free editing video software programs and publish it on the Internet. To record audio, they use their mp3 or mobile phones. The main aim of this study is to shed light not only on how this project operates, but also to highlight how collective intelligence can be used as a way of fighting against the lack of basic resources.

Participatory content creation and collective intelligence in Rio de Janeiro's favelas

This proposal combines ethnographic techniques and discourse studies to investigate a collective of people engaged with audiovisual productions who collaborate in Curta Favela’s workshops in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. ‘Favela’ is often translated simply as ‘slum’ or ‘shantytown’, but these terms connote negative characteristics such as shortage, poverty, and deprivation which end up stigmatizing these low income suburbs. Curta Favela (Favela Shorts) is an independent project in which all participants join to use photography and participatory audiovisual production as tools for social change and to raise consciousness. As cameras are not affordable for favela dwellers, Curta Favela’s volunteers teach favela residents how they can use their mobile phones and compact cameras to take pictures and make movies, and afterwards, how they can edit the data using free editing video software programs and publish it on the Internet. To record audio, they use their mp3 or mobile phones. The main aim of this study is to shed light not only on how this project operates, but also to highlight how collective intelligence can be used as a way of fighting against a lack of basic resources.

Photojournalism in Brazil's favelas

In modern day Brazil, new media initiatives centred in local communities are attempting to change the face of mainstream ideas about favelas and their inhabitants. Two of these initiatives are Viva Favela and Imagens do Povo which are ideologically and physically supported by, respectively, Viva Rio and Observatório de Favelas (NGOs) that are based in Rio de Janeiro. ‘Favela’ is often translated simply as ‘slum’ or ‘shantytown’, but these terms connote negative characteristics such as shortage, poverty, and deprivation referring to favelas which end up stigmatizing these low income suburbs.

Post-discharge surveillance : can patients reliably diagnose surgical wound infections?

Post-discharge surgical wound infection surveillance is an important part of many infection control programs. It is frequently undertaken by patient self-assessment, prompted either by a telephone or postal questionnaire. To assess the reliability of this method, 290 patients were followed for six weeks postoperatively. Their wounds were photographed and also covertly assessed for signs of infection by two experienced infection control nurses (ICNs). Patients also responded to a postal questionnaire seeking evidence of infection at both week four and week six post-surgery. Correlation between the patient's assessment of their wound and the ICNs diagnosis was poor (r=0.37) with a low positive predictive value (28.7%), although negative predictive value was high (98.2%). Assessment of photos for signs of infection by two experienced clinicians also correlated poorly with the ICNs diagnosis of infection (r=0.54). The patient's recall of prescription of an antibiotic by their general practitioner (GP) for wound infection during the postoperative period correlated best with the ICNs diagnosis (r=0.76). This latter measure, particularly when confirmed by the GP in those patients reporting an infection, appears to provide the most valid and resource efficient marker of post-discharge surgical wound infection.

Peer-led diabetes self-management programme for community-dwelling older people in China : study protocol for a quasi-experimental design

Aim. A protocol for a new peer-led self-management programme for communitydwelling older people with diabetes in Shanghai, China. Background. The increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes poses major public health challenges. Appropriate education programmes could help people with diabetes to achieve self-management and better health outcomes. Providing education programmes to the fast growing number of people with diabetes present a real challenge to Chinese healthcare system, which is strained for personnel and funding shortages. Empirical literature and expert opinions suggest that peer education programmes are promising. Design. Quasi-experimental. Methods. This study is a non-equivalent control group design (protocol approved in January, 2008). A total of 190 people, with 95 participants in each group, will be recruited from two different, but similar, communities. The programme, based on Social Cognitive Theory, will consist of basic diabetes instruction and social support and self-efficacy enhancing group activities. Basic diabetes instruction sessions will be delivered by health professionals, whereas social support and self-efficacy enhancing group activities will be led by peer leaders. Outcome variables include: self-efficacy, social support, self-management behaviours, depressive status, quality of life and healthcare utilization, which will be measured at baseline, 4 and 12 weeks. Discussion. This theory-based programme tailored to Chinese patients has potential for improving diabetes self-management and subsequent health outcomes. In addition, the delivery mode, through involvement of peer leaders and existing community networks,is especially promising considering healthcare resource shortage in China.

Participatory photography and self-empowerment in different nations

Volunteering Qld’s Project Creatives continues to explore the critical role creative disciplines and creative people play in providing new models of engagement and action in social change and community work. This article explores three different non-profit organisations that have used collaborative photography to enable locals to empower themselves. Written by Alice Baroni a volunteer with the Education, Research and Policy Unit of Volunteering Qld. Alice is undertaking a PhD at the Queensland University of Technology, exploring (photo) journalism, participatory content creation and community photography in Brazil’s low income suburbs. She is part of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, and a Brazilian research group ‘Storytellers and Narratives: Contemporary Journalism’. Two of the initiatives explored in this publication are Viva Favela and Imagens do Povo that are ideologically and physically supported by, respectively, Viva Rio and Observatório de Favelas, based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ‘Favela’ is often translated simply as ‘slum’ or ‘shantytown’, but these terms connote negative characteristics such as shortage, poverty, and deprivation, which end up stigmatising these low-income suburbs. Fotografi Senza Frontiere (FSF) (Photographers Without Borders) is an Italian non-governmental organisation that gathers together a group of photographers who aim to provide youth from extreme regions in Nicaragua, Algeria, Argentina, Panama, Uganda, and Palestine with skills to photograph and document their own reality by establishing permanent photo laboratories. This idea, which is similar to that of Viva Favela and Imagens do Povo, is to enable youth to become professional photographers as a means of self-representation and self-empowerment. Afterwards, students become educators in established photographic labs so as to pass on what they have learnt through FSF’s photographic courses.

Ask : a health advocacy program for adolescents with an intellectual disability : a cluster randomised controlled trial

Background Adolescents with intellectual disability often have poor health and healthcare. This is partly as a consequence of poor communication and recall difficulties, and the possible loss of specialised paediatric services. Methods/Design A cluster randomised trial was conducted with adolescents with intellectual disability to investigate a health intervention package to enhance interactions among adolescents with intellectual disability, their parents/carers, and general practitioners (GPs). The trial took place in Queensland, Australia, between February 2007 and September 2010. The intervention package was designed to improve communication with health professionals and families’ organisation of health information, and to increase clinical activities beneficial to improved health outcomes. It consisted of the Comprehensive Health Assessment Program (CHAP), a one-off health check, and the Ask Health Diary, designed for on-going use. Participants were drawn from Special Education Schools and Special Education Units. The education component of the intervention was delivered as part of the school curriculum. Educators were surveyed at baseline and followed-up four months later. Carers were surveyed at baseline and after 26 months. Evidence of health promotion, disease prevention and case-finding activities were extracted from GPs clinical records. Qualitative interviews of educators occurred after completion of the educational component of the intervention and with adolescents and carers after the CHAP. Discussion Adolescents with intellectual disability have difficulty obtaining many health services and often find it difficult to become empowered to improve and protect their health. The health intervention package proposed may aid them by augmenting communication, improving documentation of health encounters, and improving access to, and quality of, GP care. Recruitment strategies to consider for future studies in this population include ensuring potential participants can identify themselves with the individuals used in promotional study material, making direct contact with their families at the start of the study, and closely monitoring the implementation of the educational intervention.

Climate Change and Human Displacement

This paper will focus on the legal issues associated with people displaced as a result of water scarcity. Human displacement can lead to internal displacement (displacement of people within their country) and external displacement (displacement of people into another country). If the displacement takes place as a result of climate change these people may be referred to as climate refugees. The majority of work on climate refugees has focused on those people that will lose their homes as a result of sea –level rise. The number of people that could be displaced as a result of prolonged drought and lack of adequate water supplies is likely to be far more significant in number. There are estimates that around 2.8 billion people will suffer water shortages by 2025 and many of these people are at increased risk of internal or external displacement. Certain groups are more likely to be displaced as a result of prolonged drought or water scarcity. These groups include indigenous and minorities groups living in areas that are more susceptible to climate change and groups living in areas with a history of water shortage and supply issues. People displaced as a result of water scarcity are at increased risks of malnutrition and of dehydration. Furthermore the lack of adequate water supplies in such areas increases the risk and spread of disease among the population. In certain instances internal and external displacement may lead to escalation of conflict and competition for water resources in newly settled territories. This paper will use case studies from Australia (indigenous groups and rural landholders) and East Africa (Ethiopia, Sudan and Kenya) to demonstrate the significance of human displacement arising as a result of water scarcity. Climate adaptation policy frameworks will need to address a number of legal issues, arising as a result of climate displacement from water scarcity. There are a number of unresolved legal issues for both categories of environmental displaced people. The major legal issue for externally environmentally displaced people is lack of international recognition and support for these people. The Climate Change Convention, the Refugee Convention, the Desertification Convention and Human Rights instruments all fail to provide recognition for people externally displaced as a result of environmental conditions. Similarly there is a lack of legal recognition and legal support mechanisms to assist those people internally displaced by environmental conditions. The lack of developed environmental rights in most countries contributes to this problem. Polices and governance frameworks must be put in place which aims to prevent such displacement through programs identifying populations at risk and instigating damage mitigation and relocation programs. In addition there are a number of legal issues which may arise such as; rights of compensation, property and tenure disputes, increases on the water demand and environmental degradation in places of relocation and jurisdictional issues arising in federal countries. This paper will provide an overview of the legal issues at the international and national levels arising as a result of climate displacement from water scarcity.  

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.

Mid-Career professionals in STEM transiting to school teaching : barriers at the border

In many countries there is a shortage of quality teachers in areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Additional to the low levels of recruitment is an extraordinary high attrition rate with some 50% of beginning teachers leaving the profession within five years. One solution implemented in several countries has been to encourage mid-career professionals in the area of STEM to become school teachers. These professionals are said to bring to teaching enthusiasm, knowledge and a passion for their subject which will impact engagement and learning by students. However, these career-changers have constructed professional identities and are accustomed to working within a culture of collaboration and inquiry. In contrast, school cultures are quite different and often teaching is a lonely solitary affair with little opportunity for collegial relationships aimed at knowledge building in the context of teaching. Crossing from a culture of STEM to a culture of schools and teaching can be challenging. This study was conducted with 13 teachers who were followed for three years. However, this paper reports on the experiences of one teacher with an engineering background crossing the boundaries from practising STEM to Teaching STEM.

Critical Literacy in the Early Years : Emergence and Sustenance in an Age of Accountability

The work of early childhood educators in facilitating young children’s literacy acquisition has never received more attention than in the new millennium. Media hype about literacy crises, falling standards, teacher quality and government promises of minimum standards for all children have simultaneously increased the ‘visibility’ of literacy and the stakes for school performance. Indeed the last two decades could be seen as an age of pronouncements with respect to literacy, with politicians internationally promising to cure supposed low literacy with standardized tests and mandated programmes. As the rhetoric around literacy intensifies many late-capitalist economies are experiencing shifts that have increased the gaps between rich and poor, changed the very nature of work, and fundamentally altered the cultural mix of their populations. More and more children attending schools where English is the language of instruction speak it as a second or third language. Many children have experienced the effects of war, terrorism, migration and poverty. Many live in fractured, fragmented and changing families. Teacher populations are changing too. In some places aging teacher workforces mean that there is already a shortage of qualified teachers. Literacy is also changing as the impact of digital technologies on global and local communication, economies and knowledges begins to bite in everyday and working lives. It is challenging to think about how spaces for the emergence and sustenance of critical literacy in early childhood education might be created.

Healthcare teams : a practical framework for integration

Background: Delivering integrated team care is a major priority for many countries. In Australia this is a component of the GP Super Clinic Program but it is also a focus of the broader primary care sector. Explicit consideration of human dynamics and team process is often absent from the move to integrated team care. Objective: To provide a practical framework that will inform the development and evaluation of integrated healthcare teams. Discussion: The Team Focused and Clinical Content Framework is an approach to building integrated teams. This has the potential to be used to monitor and evaluate team development and functioning. Both the framework and clinical pathways provide practical tools for clinics to address the need to build integration into teams.