A stakeholder process evaluation of a social marketing walking intervention targeting children

One quarter of Australian children are overweight or obese (ABS, 2010), putting them at increased risk of physical and psychological health problems (Reilly et al., 2003). Overweight and obesity in childhood tends to persist into adulthood and is associated with premature death and morbidity (Reilly & Kelly, 2011). Increases in Australian children’s weight have coincided with declines in active transportation, such as walking, to school (Salmon et al., 2005). To address this problem, the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth), which is an independent statutory authority which advises government and contributes to promoting good health in Victoria (VicHealth, 2014), developed the Walk to School program. Walk to School aims to encourage primary school children in Victoria to walk to and from school more often. Walking to school is a low cost and effective means of reducing excess weight (Rosenberg et al., 2006) that can be easily integrated into daily routine (Brophy et al., 2011). The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the stakeholder process evaluation of Walk to School 2013, which forms part of a broader outcome evaluation that is currently in field. Although there is an emphasis on outcome evaluation of programs, process evaluation can be equally important in determining program success (Saunders et al., 2005). Further, process evaluation to assess program delivery and utilization is explicitly recommended by two social marketing frameworks (see Lefebvre et al., 1988; Walsh et al., 1993).

Lifesaver

Lifesaver is an installed object as well as a performance aid. A re-contextualised life jacket has been adapted to include soothing sounds of a beach landscape. The work aims to provide a reprieve from the stresses of everyday life to the wearer and their surrounds. It explores the relationship between the outside world and the gallery, the performer and the viewer and the role of art in contemporary society. This work was included in the group exhibitions 'Conversation Pieces' at Boxcopy Contemporary Art Space (2014) and 'Extended Conversation Pieces' curated by Boxcopy as part of the Melbourne Art Fair (2014).

Reggae borderzones, reggae graveyards: Bob Marley fandom in Bali

The road from Bali’s international airport to the island’s most renowned tourist area, Kuta Beach, leads past a number of establishments claiming affiliation to reggae music and Rastafarianism in large, appropriately coloured billboards. A sign outside a tee shirt shop bears the words RASTA MANIA within a green, yellow and red border, and a stick figure caricaturing negritude, the logo of this clothing label. In the window display hangs a tee shirt, and upon it Bob Marley’s wizened face. His lips pinch a cone-shaped spliff, and he squints behind a veil of airbrushed smoke. A leanto sign on the sidewalk outside Apache Bar announce REGGAE BANDS NIGHTLY. This barn of coconut wood and thatch nestles behind Wendy’s Ice Cream Parlour and Chi Chi’s Mexican Bar. Its timber walls emulate a rustic, spaghetti Western aesthetic and are adorned with portraits of native Americans. In addition to the reggae bands, nightly, Apache bar unites young Japanese women with local ‘guides’.2

Numerical investigation of motion and deformation of a single red blood cell in a stenosed capillary

It is generally assumed that influence of the red blood cells (RBCs) is predominant in blood rheology. The healthy RBCs are highly deformable and can thus easily squeeze through the smallest capillaries having internal diameter less than their characteristic size. On the other hand, RBCs infected by malaria or other diseases are stiffer and so less deformable. Thus it is harder for them to flow through the smallest capillaries. Therefore, it is very important to critically and realistically investigate the mechanical behavior of both healthy and infected RBCs which is a current gap in knowledge. The motion and the steady state deformed shape of the RBCs depend on many factors, such as the geometrical parameters of the capillary through which blood flows, the membrane bending stiffness and the mean velocity of the blood flow. In this study, motion and deformation of a single two-dimensional RBC in a stenosed capillary is explored by using smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method. An elastic spring network is used to model the RBC membrane, while the RBC's inside fluid and outside fluid are treated as SPH particles. The effect of RBC's membrane stiffness (kb), inlet pressure (P) and geometrical parameters of the capillary on the motion and deformation of the RBC is studied. The deformation index, RBC's mean velocity and the cell membrane energy are analyzed when the cell passes through the stenosed capillary. The simulation results demonstrate that the kb, P and the geometrical parameters of the capillary have a significant impact on the RBCs' motion and deformation in the stenosed section.

Effective communication during disasters: What effects community decision making & action?

Study/Objective This paper describes a program of research examining emergency messaging during the response and early recovery phases of natural disasters. The objective of this suite of studies is to develop message construction frameworks and channels that maximise community compliance with instructional messaging. The research has adopted a multi-hazard approach and considers the impact of formal emergency messages, as well as informal messages (e.g., social media posts), on community compliance. Background In recent years, media reports have consistently demonstrated highly variable community compliance to instructional messaging during natural disasters. Footage of individuals watching a tsunami approaching from the beach or being over-run by floodwaters are disturbing and indicate the need for a clearer understanding of decision making under stress. This project’s multi-hazard approach considers the time lag between knowledge of the event and desired action, as well as how factors such as message fatigue, message ambiguity, and the interplay of messaging from multiple media sources are likely to play a role in an individual’s compliance with an emergency instruction. Methods To examine effective messaging strategy, we conduct a critical analysis of the literature to develop a framework for community consultation and design experiments to test the potential for compliance improvement. Results Preliminary results indicate that there is, as yet, little published evidence on which to base decisions about emergency instructional messages to threatened communities. Conclusion The research described here will contribute improvements in emergency instructional message compliance by generating an evidence-based framework that takes into account behavioural compliance theory, the psychology of decision making under stress, and multiple channels of communication including social media.

Effective communication during disasters

This paper describes a program of research examining emergency messaging during the response and early recovery phases of natural disasters. The objective of this suite of studies is to develop message construction frameworks and channels that maximise community compliance with instructional messaging. The research has adopted a multi-hazard approach and considers the impact of formal emergency messages, as well as informal messages (e.g., social media posts), on community compliance. In recent years, media reports have consistently demonstrated highly variable community compliance to instructional messaging during natural disasters. Footage of individuals watching a tsunami approaching from the beach or being over-run by floodwaters are disturbing and indicate the need for a clearer understanding of decision making under stress. This project’s multi-hazard approach considers the time lag between knowledge of the event and desired action, as well as how factors such as message fatigue, message ambiguity, and the interplay of messaging from multiple media sources are likely to play a role in an individual’s compliance with an emergency instruction. To examine effective messaging strategy, we conduct a critical analysis of the literature to develop a framework for community consultation and design experiments to test the potential for compliance improvement. Preliminary results indicate that there is, as yet, little published evidence on which to base decisions about emergency instructional messages to threatened communities. The research described here will contribute improvements in emergency instructional message compliance by generating an evidence-based framework that takes into account behavioural compliance theory, the psychology of decision making under stress, and multiple channels of communication including social media.

Wake angle for surface gravity waves on a finite depth fluid

Linear water wave theory suggests that wave patterns caused by a steadily moving disturbance are contained within a wedge whose half-angle depends on the depth-based Froude number $F_H$. For the problem of flow past an axisymmetric pressure distribution in a finite-depth channel, we report on the apparent angle of the wake, which is the angle of maximum peaks. For moderately deep channels, the dependence of the apparent wake angle on the Froude number is very different to the wedge angle, and varies smoothly as $F_H$ passes through the critical value $F_H=1$. For shallow water, the two angles tend to follow each other more closely, which leads to very large apparent wake angles for certain regimes.

Enhancing current density using vertically oriented organic photovoltaics

We report a new organic photovoltaics (OPV) design, a wrapped OPV, which can circumvent both challenges of short exciton diffusion length [1], and low charge carrier mobility [2] of organic semiconductors by orienting the OPV vertically, to capture; manage; guide and use all incident photons and therefore, generate higher current. Resonant light, on being transmitted into a wrapped OPV, makes multiple passes through the photoactive layer and is absorbed completely, thus achieving benefits of thick photoactive layer while maintaining its ultra-thin thickness requirement. The current density generated from a wrapped OPV is twice than that generated by a similar OPV with flat orientation.

Vertically stacked photovoltaic and thermal solar cell

According to some embodiments, the present invention provides a novel photovoltaic solar cell system from photovoltaic modules that are vertically arrayed in a stack format using thin film semiconductors selected from among org. and inorg. thin film semiconductors. The stack cells may be cells that are produced in a planar manner, then vertically oriented in an angular form, also termed herein tilted, to maximize the light capturing aspects. The use of a stack configuration system as described herein allows for the use of a variety of electrode materials, such as transparent materials or semitransparent metals. Light concn. can be achieved by using fresnel lens, parabolic mirrors or derivs. of such structures. The light capturing can be controlled by being reflected back and forth in the photovoltaic system until significant quantities of the resonant light is absorbed. Light that passes to the end and can be reflected back through the device by beveling or capping the end of the device with a different refractive index material, or alternatively using a reflective surface. The contacting between stacked cells can be done in series or parallel. According to some embodiments, the present invention uses a concentrator architecture where the light is channeled into the cells that contain thermal fluid channels (using a transparent fluid such as water) to absorb and hence reduce the thermal energy generation.

Budgie Smuggler: Selected work for 2015 Swell Sculpture Festival

Budgie Smuggler is the first work of a series entitled slang, reflecting upon other, often unintended meanings behind popular Australian expressions. Synonymous with Australian beach humour, the term budgie smuggler unintentionally masks the desperately tragic plight of wildlife trafficked every year within and beyond our borders. Bird wildlife are fiercely protectively of their kin, often flocking to a site of distress of those trapped or injured - a commotion ensues, helping to scare predators away. The work contemplates our own position and action in response to our captive feathered friends. Budgie Smuggler is a soft resin/silicon, cotton material, fibreglass and recycled object based artwork.

Memory of past random wave conditions in submarine groundwater discharge

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is an integral part of the hydrological cycle and represents an important aspect of land-ocean interactions. We used a numerical model to simulate flow and salt transport in a nearshore groundwater aquifer under varying wave conditions based on yearlong random wave data sets, including storm surge events. The results showed significant flow asymmetry with rapid response of influxes and retarded response of effluxes across the seabed to the irregular wave conditions. While a storm surge immediately intensified seawater influx to the aquifer, the subsequent return of intruded seawater to the sea, as part of an increased SGD, was gradual. Using functional data analysis, we revealed and quantified retarded, cumulative effects of past wave conditions on SGD including the fresh groundwater and recirculating seawater discharge components. The retardation was characterized well by a gamma distribution function regardless of wave conditions. The relationships between discharge rates and wave parameters were quantifiable by a regression model in a functional form independent of the actual irregular wave conditions. This statistical model provides a useful method for analyzing and predicting SGD from nearshore unconfined aquifers affected by random waves

Secret Squirrel Stuff in the Australian Curriculum English: The genesis of the ‘new’ grammar

In much the same way that a squirrel stores a range of food in a range of places, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority’s (ACARA) Australian Curriculum: English (ACARA, 2015) stores references to grammar in a range of places. This paper explores some seemingly ‘hidden’ grammars within the AC:E to (re)discover their genesis and how they unfold across Foundation to Year 6. The first ‘Secret Squirrel’ moment centres on the introduction of a new grammar which weaves traditional Latin-based and Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) theory. The second ‘Secret Squirrel’ moment centres on the use of one sub-system of SFL Theory, the System of Appraisal, and its potential to provide an analytical lens for ‘reading’ the interpersonal meaning within narratives. The remainder of the paper draws on Goodson’s (1990) notion of curriculum as a social construction, paying attention to the levels of processes and (potential) practice. This part of the paper focuses on the System of Appraisal as it is introduced in the AC:E and then translates the Content Descriptions to an example analysis. One stimulus text, Melanie Watt’s (2012) children’s picture book ‘Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach’, is introduced then analysed using the System of Appraisal as an analytical lens for identifying how language choices ‘go to work’ (Macken-Horarik, 2003, p. 285) on readers, that is how Watt’s language choices are crafted so a ‘compliant’ child reader (Martin & White, 2005, p. 62) has the opportunity to ‘feel with’ and thus ‘adjudicate’ the behaviour of characters in particular ways (Macken-Horarik, 2003, p. 285).

Inland Salt

This work, a small single room installation, was my contribution to the 2015 Palimpsest Biennale in Mildura, and was shown at the ADFA building in the town's centre. On an initial research trip in July, 2015, I stopped at a dried out salt lake near Wentworth. Beach-like, the lake left a tidal line along a curving shore. The vegetation looked like ocean flora; there was the glimmering saltiness of everything, and saltbush everywhere. It brought to mind Sturt's hankering for an inland sea, and his wishful voyage along the Murray, that led him out, not in. This work puts these observations together: a drawing, made from the sanded emboss of saltbush leaves, runs, riverlike, across the space. A looped film of clouds reflected in a shallow saltlake, recalls the dream of an inland sea, supported by the sound of ocean.

Autism; it's for life, not just the weekend

An article about holidaying with a child with autism on a popular Australian website has sparked exasperation among many parents and advocates. Ian Rogerson, Nicole Rogerson and Michael Whelan respond. Against a backdrop of a middle-class vacation at a beach house, disability arrives and Lives are Changed when a kid "steals" a sausage roll. No. This is not the premise for a rejected David Williamson screenplay. It's the work of a writer who felt her weekend away with a family whose number happened to include an autistic kid deserved some attention. As parents of children on the autism spectrum we too think the piece published on a major Australian website yesterday deserves some attention. Just, perhaps, not in the way its author had hoped.