Supporting the development of inclusive products : the effects of everyday ambient illumination levels and contrast on older adults' near visual acuity

Current older adult capability data-sets fail to account for the effects of everyday environmental conditions on capability. This article details a study that investigates the effects of everyday ambient illumination conditions (overcast, 6000 lx; in-house lighting, 150 lx and street lighting, 7.5 lx) and contrast (90%, 70%, 50% and 30%) on the near visual acuity (VA) of older adults (n= 38, 65-87 years). VA was measured at a 1-m viewing distance using logarithm of minimum angle of resolution (LogMAR) acuity charts. Results from the study showed that for all contrast levels tested, VA decreased by 0.2 log units between the overcast and street lighting conditions. On average, in overcast conditions, participants could detect detail around 1.6 times smaller on the LogMAR charts compared with street lighting. VA also significantly decreased when contrast was reduced from 70% to 50%, and from 50% to 30% in each of the ambient illumination conditions. Practitioner summary: This article presents an experimental study that investigates the impact of everyday ambient illumination levels and contrast on older adults' VA. Results show that both factors have a significant effect on their VA. Findings suggest that environmental conditions need to be accounted for in older adult capability data-sets/designs.

Comparison between analytical and 3D finite element solutions for borehole stresses in anisotropic elastic rock

We present a rigorous validation of the analytical Amadei solution for the stress concentration around an arbitrarily orientated borehole in general anisotropic elastic media. First, we revisit the theoretical framework of the Amadei solution and present analytical insights that show that the solution does indeed contain all special cases of symmetry, contrary to previous understanding, provided that the reduced strain coefficients b11 and b55 are not equal. It is shown from theoretical considerations and published experimental data that the b11 and b55 are not equal for realistic rocks. Second, we develop a 3D finite element elastic model within a hybrid analytical–numerical workflow that circumvents the need to rebuild and remesh the model for every borehole and material orientation. Third, we show that the borehole stresses computed from the numerical model and the analytical solution match almost perfectly for different borehole orientations (vertical, deviated and horizontal) and for several cases involving isotropic, transverse isotropic and orthorhombic symmetries. It is concluded that the analytical Amadei solution is valid with no restriction on the borehole orientation or the symmetry of the elastic anisotropy.

Anisotropic damage mechanics as a novel approach to improve pre-and post-failure borehole stability analysis

Anisotropic damage distribution and evolution have a profound effect on borehole stress concentrations. Damage evolution is an irreversible process that is not adequately described within classical equilibrium thermodynamics. Therefore, we propose a constitutive model, based on non-equilibrium thermodynamics, that accounts for anisotropic damage distribution, anisotropic damage threshold and anisotropic damage evolution. We implemented this constitutive model numerically, using the finite element method, to calculate stress–strain curves and borehole stresses. The resulting stress–strain curves are distinctively different from linear elastic-brittle and linear elastic-ideal plastic constitutive models and realistically model experimental responses of brittle rocks. We show that the onset of damage evolution leads to an inhomogeneous redistribution of material properties and stresses along the borehole wall. The classical linear elastic-brittle approach to borehole stability analysis systematically overestimates the stress concentrations on the borehole wall, because dissipative strain-softening is underestimated. The proposed damage mechanics approach explicitly models dissipative behaviour and leads to non-conservative mud window estimations. Furthermore, anisotropic rocks with preferential planes of failure, like shales, can be addressed with our model.

A method for predicting rain-induced instability of an individual slope

Awareness to avoid losses and casualties due to rain-induced landslide is increasing in regions that routinely experience heavy rainfall. Improvements in early warning systems against rain-induced landslide such as prediction modelling using rainfall records, is urgently needed in vulnerable regions. The existing warning systems have been applied using stability chart development and real-time displacement measurement on slope surfaces. However, there are still some drawbacks such as: ignorance of rain-induced instability mechanism, mislead prediction due to the probabilistic prediction and short time for evacuation. In this research, a real-time predictive method was proposed to alleviate the drawbacks mentioned above. A case-study soil slope in Indonesia that failed in 2010 during rainfall was used to verify the proposed predictive method. Using the results from the field and laboratory characterizations, numerical analyses can be applied to develop a model of unsaturated residual soils slope with deep cracks and subject to rainwater infiltration. Real-time rainfall measurement in the slope and the prediction of future rainfall are needed. By coupling transient seepage and stability analysis, the variation of safety factor of the slope with time were provided as a basis to develop method for the real-time prediction of the rain-induced instability of slopes. This study shows the proposed prediction method has the potential to be used in an early warning system against landslide hazard, since the FOS value and the timing of the end-result of the prediction can be provided before the actual failure of the case study slope.

Laboratory measurement of hydraulic conductivity functions of two unsaturated sandy soils during drying and wetting processes

The importance of applying unsaturated soil mechanics to geotechnical engineering design has been well understood. However, the consumption of time and the necessity for a specific laboratory testing apparatus when measuring unsaturated soil properties have limited the application of unsaturated soil mechanics theories in practice. Although methods for predicting unsaturated soil properties have been developed, the verification of these methods for a wide range of soil types is required in order to increase the confidence of practicing engineers in using these methods. In this study, a new permeameter was developed to measure the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils using the steady-state method and directly measured suction (negative pore-water pressure) values. The apparatus is instrumented with two tensiometers for the direct measurement of suction during the tests. The apparatus can be used to obtain the hydraulic conductivity function of sandy soil over a low suction range (0-10 kPa). Firstly, the repeatability of the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity measurement, using the new permeameter, was verified by conducting tests on two identical sandy soil specimens and obtaining similar results. The hydraulic conductivity functions of the two sandy soils were then measured during the drying and wetting processes of the soils. A significant hysteresis was observed when the hydraulic conductivity was plotted against the suction. However, the hysteresis effects were not apparent when the conductivity was plotted against the volumetric water content. Furthermore, the measured unsaturated hydraulic conductivity functions were compared with predictions using three different predictive methods that are widely incorporated into numerical software. The results suggest that these predictive methods are capable of capturing the measured behavior with reasonable agreement.

The Politics of Sex Trafficking : a Moral Geography

This book offers a unique insight into the moral politics behind the making of human trafficking policy in Australia and the United States of America. As governments around the world rush to meet their international obligations to combat human trafficking, a heated debate has emerged over the rights, wrongs, and harms of prostitution, and its relationship to sex trafficking. The Politics of Sex Trafficking identifies and challenges intrinsic notions of moral harm that have pervaded trafficking discourse and resulted in a distinctly anti-prostitution agenda in trafficking policy in recent decades. Including rare interviews with key political actors, this book charts the competing perspectives of feminist, faith-based, and sex-worker activists, and their efforts to influence policy-makers. This critical account of the creation of anti-trafficking policy challenges the sex trafficking narrative dominant in US Congressional and Australian Parliamentary hearings, and demonstrates the power of a moral politics in shaping policy. This book will appeal to academics across the fields of criminology, criminal justice, law, human rights and gender studies, as well as policy-makers.

Constitutional Law

"This book systematically explores and clarifies the complexities of Austrealian Constitutional law and provides valuable critical analysis suitable for students, academics and government departments." -- book cover "Constitutional Law examines the foundational principles and concepts of this area of law. Written by practicing lawyers and lecturers in the subject, this book aims to provide an accessible yet comprehensive introductory text for Australian students. In eight parts this book systematically explores and clarifies the complexities of Australian Constitutional law and provides valuable critical analysis suitable for students, academics and government departments. An excellent resource for law students, Constitutional Law provides visual summaries in the form of flow charts, and each chapter includes key concepts and end-of-chapter discussion questions, further reading and useful websites and links. It also introduces students to key examinable areas, legal style essays, problems and assessment." -- publisher website

Queer criminology, critique, and the "art of not being governed"

This article builds on previous work that argues that a useful path for a ‘‘queer/ed criminology’’ to follow is one that takes ‘‘queer’’ to denote a position. It suggests that one way of developing such an approach is to adopt a particular understanding of critique—specifically one that draws from Michel Foucault’s view of critique as ‘‘the art of not being governed.’’ It then charts some of the possible directions for such a ‘‘queer/ed criminology.’’ While such an approach to critique has previously been discussed within critical criminologies, this article suggests that it is useful for queer criminologists to explore the opportunities that it affords, particularly in order to better appreciate how ‘‘queer/ed criminology’’ might connect to, draw from, or push against other currents among critical criminologies, and help to delineate the unique contribution that this kind of ‘‘queer/ed criminology’’ might make.

Response of a buried tunnel to surface blast using different numerical techniques

This paper presents a comparative study on the response of a buried tunnel to surface blast using the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) and smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) techniques. Since explosive tests with real physical models are extremely risky and expensive, the results of a centrifuge test were used to validate the numerical techniques. The numerical study shows that the ALE predictions were faster and closer to the experimental results than those from the SPH simulations which over predicted the strains. The findings of this research demonstrate the superiority of the ALE modelling techniques for the present study. They also provide a comprehensive understanding of the preferred ALE modelling techniques which can be used to investigate the surface blast response of underground tunnels.

An audit of first-aid treatment of pediatric burns patients and their clinical outcome

This study describes the first aid used and clinical outcomes of all patients who presented to the Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia in 2005 with an acute burn injury. A retrospective audit was performed with the charts of 459 patients and information concerning burn injury, first-aid treatment, and clinical outcomes was collected. First aid was used on 86.1% of patients, with 8.7% receiving no first aid and unknown treatment in 5.2% of cases. A majority of patients had cold water as first aid (80.2%), however, only 12.1% applied the cold water for the recommended 20 minutes or longer. Recommended first aid (cold water for >or=20 minutes) was associated with significantly reduced reepithelialization time for children with contact injuries (P=.011). Superficial depth burns were significantly more likely to be associated with the use of recommended first aid (P=.03). Suboptimal treatment was more common for children younger than 3.5 years (P<.001) and for children with friction burns. This report is one of the few publications to relate first-aid treatment to clinical outcomes. Some positive clinical outcomes were associated with recommended first-aid use; however, wound outcomes were more strongly associated with burn depth and mechanism of injury. There is also a need for more public awareness of recommended first-aid treatment.

Perioperative medication management: expanding the role of the preadmission clinic pharmacist in a single centre, randomised controlled trial of collaborative prescribing

Objectives Current evidence to support non-medical prescribing is predominantly qualitative, with little evaluation of accuracy, safety and appropriateness. Our aim was to evaluate a new model of service for the Australia healthcare system, of inpatient medication prescribing by a pharmacist in an elective surgery preadmission clinic (PAC) against usual care, using an endorsed performance framework. Design Single centre, randomised controlled, two-arm trial. Setting Elective surgery PAC in a Brisbane-based tertiary hospital. Participants 400 adults scheduled for elective surgery were randomised to intervention or control. Intervention A pharmacist generated the inpatient medication chart to reflect the patient's regular medication, made a plan for medication perioperatively and prescribed venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis. In the control arm, the medication chart was generated by the Resident Medical Officers. Outcome measures Primary outcome was frequency of omissions and prescribing errors when compared against the medication history. The clinical significance of omissions was also analysed. Secondary outcome was appropriateness of VTE prophylaxis prescribing. Results There were significantly less unintended omissions of medications: 11 of 887 (1.2%) intervention orders compared with 383 of 1217 (31.5%) control (p<0.001). There were significantly less prescribing errors involving selection of drug, dose or frequency: 2 in 857 (0.2%) intervention orders compared with 51 in 807 (6.3%) control (p<0.001). Orders with at least one component of the prescription missing, incorrect or unclear occurred in 208 of 904 (23%) intervention orders and 445 of 1034 (43%) controls (p<0.001). VTE prophylaxis on admission to the ward was appropriate in 93% of intervention patients and 90% controls (p=0.29). Conclusions Medication charts in the intervention arm contained fewer clinically significant omissions, and prescribing errors, when compared with controls. There was no difference in appropriateness of VTE prophylaxis on admission between the two groups.

Lifestyle Journalism

Lifestyle journalism has experienced enormous growth in the media over the past two decades, but scholars in the fields of journalism and communication studies have so far paid relatively little attention to a field that is still sometimes seen as “not real journalism”. There is now an urgent need for in-depth exploration and contextualisation of this field, with its increasing relevance for 21st century consumer cultures. For the first time, this book presents a wide range of studies which have engaged with the field of lifestyle journalism in order to outline the various political, economic, social and cultural tensions within it. Taking a comparative view, the collection includes studies covering four continents, including countries such as Australia, China, Norway, Denmark, Singapore, the UK and the USA. While keeping the broader lifestyle field in mind, the chapters focus on a variety of sub-fields such as travel, music, food, health, fashion and personal technology journalism. This volume provides a fascinating account of the different facets of lifestyle journalism, and charts the way forward for a more sustained analysis of the field. This book was originally published as a special issue of Journalism Practice.

Cartographic Strategies of Postmodernity : the Figure of the Map in Contemporary Theory and Fiction

The last fifty years have witnessed the growing pervasiveness of the figure of the map in critical, theoretical, and fictional discourse. References to mapping and cartography are endemic in poststructuralist theory, and, similarly, geographically and culturally diverse authors of twentieth-century fiction seem fixated upon mapping. While the map metaphor has been employed for centuries to highlight issues of textual representation and epistemology, the map metaphor itself has undergone a transformation in the postmodern era. This metamorphosis draws together poststructuralist conceptualizations of epistemology, textuality, cartography, and metaphor, and signals a shift away from modernist preoccupations with temporality and objectivity to a postmodern pragmatics of spatiality and subjectivity. Cartographic Strategies of Postmodernity charts this metamorphosis of cartographic metaphor, and argues that the ongoing reworking of the map metaphor renders it a formative and performative metaphor of postmodernity.

State-of-the-art : track degradation at bridge transitions

Transition zones between bridge decks and rail tracks suffer early failure due to poor interaction between rail vehicles and sudden changes of stiffness. This has been an ongoing problem to rail industry and yet still no systematic studies appear to have been taken to maintain a gradually smoothening transmission of forces between the bridge and its approach. Differential settlement between the bridge deck and rail track in the transition zone is the fundamental issue, which negatively impacts the rail industry by causing passenger discomfort, early damage to infrastructure and vehicle components, speed reduction, and frequent maintenance cycles. Identification of mechanism of the track degradation and factors affecting is imperative to design any mitigation method for reducing track degradation rate at the bridge transition zone. Unfortunately this issue is still not well understood, after conducting a numbers of reviews to evaluate the key causes, and introducing a wide range of mitigation techniques. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of the available literature has been carried out to develop either a novel design framework or a mitigation technique for the bridge transition zone. This paper addresses three critical questions in relation to the track degradation at transition zone: (1) what are the causes of bridge transition track degradation?; (2) what are the available mitigation techniques in reducing the track degradation rate?; (3) what are the factors affecting on poor performance of the existing mitigation techniques?. It is found that the absence of soil-water response, dynamic loading response, and behaviour of geotechnical characteristics under long-term conditions in existing track transition design frameworks critically influence on the failures of existing mitigation techniques. This paper also evaluates some of the existing design frameworks to identify how each design framework addresses the track degradation at the bridge transition zone.

Soil moisture monitoring at the field scale using neutron probe

Measurement of the moisture variation in soils is required for geotechnical design and research because soil properties and behavior can vary as moisture content changes. The neutron probe, which was developed more than 40 years ago, is commonly used to monitor soil moisture variation in the field. This study reports a full-scale field monitoring of soil moisture using a neutron moisture probe for a period of more than 2 years in the Melbourne (Australia) region. On the basis of soil types available in the Melbourne region, 23 sites were chosen for moisture monitoring down to a depth of 1500 mm. The field calibration method was used to develop correlations relating the volumetric moisture content and neutron counts. Observed results showed that the deepest “wetting front” during the wet season was limited to the top 800 to 1000 mm of soil whilst the top soil layer down to about 550mmresponded almost immediately to the rainfall events. At greater depths (550 to 800mmand below 800 mm), the moisture variations were relatively low and displayed predominantly periodic fluctuations. This periodic nature was captured with Fourier analysis to develop a cyclic moisture model on the basis of an analytical solution of a one-dimensional moisture flow equation for homogeneous soils. It is argued that the model developed can be used to predict the soil moisture variations as applicable to buried structures such as pipes.