The effectiveness of a short-term group music therapy intervention for young parents and their children

The quality of early life experiences are known to influence a child’s capacities for emotional, social, cognitive and physical competence throughout their life (Peterson, 1996; Zubrick et al., 2008). These early life experiences are directly affected by parenting and family environments. A lack of positive parenting has significant implications both for children, and the broader communities in which they live (Davies & Cummings, 1994; Dryfoos, 1990; Sanders, 1995). Young parents are known to be at risk of experiencing adverse circumstances that affect their ability to provide positive parenting to their children (Milan et al., 2004; Trad, 1995). There is a need to provide parenting support programs to young parents that offer opportunities for them to come together, support each other and learn ways to provide for their children’s developmental needs in a friendly, engaging and non-judgemental environment. This research project examines the effectiveness of a 10 week group music therapy program Sing & Grow as an early parenting intervention for 535 young parents. Sing & Grow is a national early parenting intervention program funded by the Australian Government and delivered by Playgroup Queensland. It is designed and delivered by Registered Music Therapists for families at risk of marginalisation with children aged from birth to three years. The aim of the program is to improve parenting skills and parent-child interactions, and increase social support networks through participation in a group that is strengths-based and structured in a way that lends itself to modelling, peer learning and facilitated learning. During the 10 weeks parents have opportunities to learn practical, hands-on ways to interact and play with their children that are conducive to positive parent-child relationships and ongoing child development. A range of interactive, nurturing, stimulating and developmental music activities provide the framework for parents to interact and play with their children. This research uses data collected through the Sing & Grow National Evaluation Study to examine outcomes for all participants aged 25 years and younger, who attended programs during the Sing & Grow pilot study and main study from mid-2005 to the end of 2007. The research examines the change from pre to post in self-reported parent behaviours, parent mental health and parent social support, and therapist observed parent-child interactions. A range of statistical analyses are used to address each Research Objective for the young parent population, and for subgroups within this population. Research Objective 1 explored the patterns of attendance in the Sing & Grow program for young parents, and for subgroups within this population. Results showed that levels of attendance were lower than expected and influenced by Indigenous status and source of family income. Patterns of attendance showed a decline over time and incomplete data rates were high which may indicate high dropout rates. Research Objective 2 explored perceived satisfaction, benefits and social support links made. Satisfaction levels with the program and staff were very high. Indigenous status was associated with lower levels of reported satisfaction with both the program and staff. Perceived benefits from participation in the program were very high. Employment status was associated with perceived benefits: parents who were not employed were more likely than employed parents to report that their understanding of child development had increased as a result of participation in the program. Social support connections were reported for participants with other professionals, services and parents. In particular, families were more likely to link up with playgroup staff and services. Those parents who attended six or more sessions were significantly more likely to attend a playgroup than those who attended five sessions or less. Social support connections were related to source of family income, level of education, Indigenous status and language background. Research Objective 3 investigated pre to post change on self-report parenting skills and parent mental health. Results indicated that participation in the Sing & Grow program was associated with improvements in parent mental health. No improvements were found for self-reported parenting skills. Research Objective 4 investigated pre to post change in therapist observation measures of parent-child interactions. Results indicated that participation in the Sing & Grow program was associated with large and significant improvements in parent sensitivity to, engagement with and acceptance of the child. There were significant interactions across time (pre to post) for the parent characteristics of Indigenous status, family income and level of education. Research Objective 5 explored the relationship between the number of sessions attended and extent of change on self-report outcomes and therapist observed outcomes, respectively. For each, an overall change score was devised to ascertain those parents who had made any positive changes over time. Results showed that there was no significant relationship between high attendance and positive change in either the self-report or therapist observed behavioural measures. A risk index was also constructed to test for a relationship between the risk status of the parent. Parents with the highest risk status were significantly more likely to attend six or more sessions than other parents, but risk status was not associated with any differences in parent reported outcomes or therapist observations. The results of this research study indicate that Sing & Grow is effective in improving outcomes for young parents’ mental health, parent-child interactions and social support connections. High attendance by families in the highest category for risk factors may indicate that the program is effective at engaging and retaining parents who are most at-risk and therefore traditionally hard to reach. Very high levels of satisfaction and perceived benefits support this. Further research is required to help confirm the promising evidence from the current study that a short term group music therapy program can support young parents and improve their parenting outcomes. In particular, this needs to address the more disappointing outcomes of the current research study to improve attendance and engagement of all young parents in the program and especially the needs of young Indigenous parents.

Controls on iron in soils and soil waters of a forested, coastal catchment in subtropical Australia

Soluble organic matter derived from exotic Pinus vegetation forms stronger complexes with iron (Fe) than the soluble organic matter derived from most native Australian species. This has lead to concern about the environmental impacts related to the establishment of extensive exotic Pinus plantations in coastal southeast Queensland, Australia. It has been suggested that the Pinus plantations may enhance the solubility of Fe in soils by increasing the amount of organically complexed Fe. While this remains inconclusive, the environmental impacts of an increased flux of dissolved, organically complexed Fe from soils to the fluvial system and then to sensitive coastal ecosystems are potentially damaging. Previous work investigated a small number of samples, was largely laboratory based and had limited application to field conditions. These assessments lacked field-based studies, including the comparison of the soil water chemistry of sites associated with Pinus vegetation and undisturbed native vegetation. In addition, the main controls on the distribution and mobilisation of Fe in soils of this subtropical coastal region have not been determined. This information is required in order to better understand the relative significance of any Pinus enhanced solubility of Fe. The main aim of this thesis is to determine the controls on Fe distribution and mobilisation in soils and soil waters of a representative coastal catchment in southeast Queensland (Poona Creek catchment, Fraser Coast) and to test the effect of Pinus vegetation on the solubility and speciation of Fe. The thesis is structured around three individual papers. The first paper identifies the main processes responsible for the distribution and mobilisation of labile Fe in the study area and takes a catchment scale approach. Physicochemical attributes of 120 soil samples distributed throughout the catchment are analysed, and a new multivariate data analysis approach (Kohonen’s self organising maps) is used to identify the conditions associated with high labile Fe. The second paper establishes whether Fe nodules play a major role as an iron source in the catchment, by determining the genetic mechanism responsible for their formation. The nodules are a major pool of Fe in much of the region and previous studies have implied that they may be involved in redox-controlled mobilisation and redistribution of Fe. This is achieved by combining a detailed study of a ferric soil profile (morphology, mineralogy and micromorphology) with the distribution of Fe nodules on a catchment scale. The third component of the thesis tests whether the concentration and speciation of Fe in soil solutions from Pinus plantations differs significantly from native vegetation soil solutions. Microlysimeters are employed to collect unaltered, in situ soil water samples. The redox speciation of Fe is determined spectrophotometrically and the interaction between Fe and dissolved organic matter (DOM) is modelled with the Stockholm Humic Model. The thesis provides a better understanding of the controls on the distribution, concentration and speciation of Fe in the soils and soil waters of southeast Queensland. Reductive dissolution is the main mechanism by which mobilisation of Fe occurs in the study area. Labile Fe concentrations are low overall, particularly in the sandy soils of the coastal plain. However, high labile Fe is common in seasonally waterlogged and clay-rich soils which are exposed to fluctuating redox conditions and in organic-rich soils adjacent to streams. Clay-rich soils are most common in the upper parts of the catchment. Fe nodules were shown to have a negligible role in the redistribution of dissolved iron in the catchment. They are formed by the erosion, colluvial transport and chemical weathering of iron-rich sandstones. The ferric horizons, in which nodules are commonly concentrated, subsequently form through differential biological mixing of the soil. Whereas dissolution/ reprecipitation of the Fe cements is an important component of nodule formation, mobilised Fe reprecipitates locally. Dissolved Fe in the soil waters is almost entirely in the ferrous form. Vegetation type does not affect the concentration and speciation of Fe in soil waters, although Pinus DOM has greater acidic functional group site densities than DOM from native vegetation. Iron concentrations are highest in the high DOM soil waters collected from sandy podosols, where they are controlled by redox potential. Iron concentrations are low in soil solutions from clay and iron oxide rich soils, in spite of similar redox potentials. This is related to stronger sorption to the reactive clay and iron oxide mineral surfaces in these soils, which reduces the amount of DOM available for microbial metabolisation and reductive dissolution of Fe. Modelling suggests that Pinus DOM can significantly increase the amount of truly dissolved ferric iron remaining in solution in oxidising conditions. Thus, inputs of ferrous iron together with Pinus DOM to surface waters may reduce precipitation of hydrous ferric oxides and increase the flux of dissolved iron out of the catchment. Such inputs are most likely from the lower catchment, where podosols planted with Pinus are most widely distributed. Significant outcomes other than the main aims were also achieved. It is shown that mobilisation of Fe in podosols can occur as dissolved Fe(II) rather than as Fe(III)-organic complexes. This has implications for the large body of work which assumes that Fe(II) plays a minor role. Also, the first paper demonstrates that a data analysis approach based on Kohonen’s self organising maps can facilitate the interpretation of complex datasets and can help identify geochemical processes operating on a catchment scale.

Vision based control for fixed wing UAVs inspecting locally linear infrastructure using skid-to-turn maneuvers

The following paper proposes a novel application of Skid-to-Turn maneuvers for fixed wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) inspecting locally linear infrastructure. Fixed wing UAVs, following the design of manned aircraft, traditionally employ Bank-to-Turn maneuvers to change heading and thus direction of travel. Commonly overlooked is the effect these maneuvers have on downward facing body fixed sensors, which as a result of bank, point away from the feature during turns. By adopting Skid-to-Turn maneuvers, the aircraft is able change heading whilst maintaining wings level flight, thus allowing body fixed sensors to maintain a downward facing orientation. Eliminating roll also helps to improve data quality, as sensors are no longer subjected to the swinging motion induced as they pivot about an axis perpendicular to their line of sight. Traditional tracking controllers that apply an indirect approach of capturing ground based data by flying directly overhead can also see the feature off center due to steady state pitch and roll required to stay on course. An Image Based Visual Servo controller is developed to address this issue, allowing features to be directly tracked within the image plane. Performance of the proposed controller is tested against that of a Bank-to-Turn tracking controller driven by GPS derived cross track error in a simulation environment developed to simulate the field of view of a body fixed camera.

Sociopathic attitudes to road safety

Injuries and deaths due to unsafe driving practices are a substantial health and socioeconomic burden to the community. Young socially disadvantaged males who are involved in a lifestyle of risky behaviour, crime and motor vehicle accidents seem unaffected by educational campaigns to improve safer driving. The aim is to develop a driving and social behavioural profile that may explain the lack of effectiveness of road safety advertising and suggest ways to refine educational strategies to reduce the risky lifestyle and associated harms among those most vulnerable, the 15-25 year olds. The procedure involved a quantitative and qualitative analysis through questionnaires, surveys and focus groups involving a comparison of populations (n = 668) by age, gender and socioeconomic status in three discrete Australian sites. Information gathered included issues related to road safety awareness, knowledge of advertising, personal and peer group attitudes as well as driving and life style history. The results indicate that within the community a highly visible profile of strong anti-social road safety activities by an educationally and economically disadvantaged sub-culture exists and this group seem impervious to road safety advertising and education initiatives. As the overall unsafe driving and risky antisocial behaviour is significant among 15-25 year olds within the community the solution is seen to be community based. A long-term (five to ten year) program has been posited; promoting community partnerships through consultative and local action committees at all levels creating locally designed formal and informal educational and mutual support programs.

Learning multidimensional joint control of a robot using receding horizon locally weighted regression

In this paper we explore the ability of a recent model-based learning technique Receding Horizon Locally Weighted Regression (RH-LWR) useful for learning temporally dependent systems. In particular this paper investigates the application of RH-LWR to learn control of Multiple-input Multiple-output robot systems. RH-LWR is demonstrated through learning joint velocity and position control of a three Degree of Freedom (DoF) rigid body robot.

Modeling key compromise impersonation attacks on group key exchange protocols

Two-party key exchange (2PKE) protocols have been rigorously analyzed under various models considering different adversarial actions. However, the analysis of group key exchange (GKE) protocols has not been as extensive as that of 2PKE protocols. Particularly, an important security attribute called key compromise impersonation (KCI) resilience has been completely ignored for the case of GKE protocols. Informally, a protocol is said to provide KCI resilience if the compromise of the long-term secret key of a protocol participant A does not allow the adversary to impersonate an honest participant B to A. In this paper, we argue that KCI resilience for GKE protocols is at least as important as it is for 2PKE protocols. Our first contribution is revised definitions of security for GKE protocols considering KCI attacks by both outsider and insider adversaries. We also give a new proof of security for an existing two-round GKE protocol under the revised security definitions assuming random oracles. We then show how to achieve insider KCIR in a generic way using a known compiler in the literature. As one may expect, this additional security assurance comes at the cost of an extra round of communication. Finally, we show that a few existing protocols are not secure against outsider KCI attacks. The attacks on these protocols illustrate the necessity of considering KCI resilience for GKE protocols.

Verbal instruction abolishes fear conditioned to racial out-group faces

Previous research has shown resistance to extinction of fear conditioned to racial out-group faces, suggesting that these stimuli may be subject to prepared fear learning. The current study replicated and extended previous research by using a different racial out-group, and testing the prediction that prepared fear learning is unaffected by verbal instructions. Four groups of Caucasian participants were trained with male in-group (Caucasian) or out-group (Chinese) faces as conditional stimuli; one paired with an electro-tactile shock (CS+) and one presented alone (CS). Before extinction, half the participants were instructed that no more shocks would be presented. Fear conditioning, indexed by larger electrodermal responses to, and blink startle modulation during the CS+, occurred during acquisition in all groups. Resistance to extinction of fear learning was found only in the racial out-group, no instruction condition. Fear conditioned to a racial out-group face was reduced following verbal instructions, contrary to predictions for the nature of prepared fear learning.

A fast tabu search algorithm for the group shop scheduling problem

Three types of shop scheduling problems, the flow shop, the job shop and the open shop scheduling problems, have been widely studied in the literature. However, very few articles address the group shop scheduling problem introduced in 1997, which is a general formulation that covers the three above mentioned shop scheduling problems and the mixed shop scheduling problem. In this paper, we apply tabu search to the group shop scheduling problem and evaluate the performance of the algorithm on a set of benchmark problems. The computational results show that our tabu search algorithm is typically more efficient and faster than the other methods proposed in the literature. Furthermore, the proposed tabu search method has found some new best solutions of the benchmark instances.

Has increasing the age for child passengers to wear child restraints improved the extent to which they are used? Results from an Australian focus group and survey study.

Acknowledgement that many children in Australia travel in restraints that do not offer them the best protection has led to recent changes in legislation such that the type of restraint for children under 7 years is now specified. This paper reports the results of two studies (observational; focus group/ survey) carried out in the state of Queensland to evaluate the effectiveness of these changes to the legislation. Observations suggested that almost all of the children estimated as aged 0-12 years were restrained (95%). Analysis of the type of restraint used for target-aged children (0-6 year olds) suggests that the proportion using an age-appropriate restraint has increased by an estimated 7% since enactment of the legislation. However, around 1 in 4 children estimated as aged under 7 years were using restraints too large for good fit. Results from the survey and focus group suggested parents were supportive of the changes in legislation. Non-Indigenous parents agreed that the changes had been necessary, were effective at getting children into the right restraints, were easy to understand as well as making it clear what restraint to use with children. Moreover, they did not see the legislation as too complicated or too hard to comply with. Indigenous parents who participated in a focus group also regarded the legislation as improving children’s safety. However, they identified the cost of restraints as an important barrier to compliance. In summary, the legislation appears to have had a positive effect on compliance levels and on raising parental awareness of the need to restrain children child-specific restraints for longer. However, it would seem that an important minority of parents transition their children into larger restraints too early for optimal protection. Intervention efforts should aim to better inform these parents about appropriate ages for transition, especially from forward facing childseats. This could potentially be through use of other important transitions that occur at the same age, such as starting school. The small proportion of parents who do not restrain their children at all are also an important community sector to target. Finally, obtaining restraints presents a significant barrier to compliance for parents on limited incomes and interventions are needed to address this.

Group law computations on Jacobians of hyperelliptic Curves

We derive an explicit method of computing the composition step in Cantor’s algorithm for group operations on Jacobians of hyperelliptic curves. Our technique is inspired by the geometric description of the group law and applies to hyperelliptic curves of arbitrary genus. While Cantor’s general composition involves arithmetic in the polynomial ring F_q[x], the algorithm we propose solves a linear system over the base field which can be written down directly from the Mumford coordinates of the group elements. We apply this method to give more efficient formulas for group operations in both affine and projective coordinates for cryptographic systems based on Jacobians of genus 2 hyperelliptic curves in general form.

Compact multiport antenna with isolated ports

The small element spacing of compact multiport arrays introduces strong mutual coupling between the antenna ports. Due to this coupling, the input impedance of the array changes when elements excitations are varied, and consequently, the array cannot be matched for an arbitrary excitation. Decoupling networks have in the past been used to provide an additional connection between antenna ports in order to cancel the coupling between elements. An alternative approach is to design the antenna so that each port does not excite a single element, but all elements simultaneously instead. The geometry of the antenna is optimized so that this direct excitation of elements counteracts the mutual coupling, thus yielding decoupled ports. This paper describes the design of such a 4-port antenna.

The role of insulin and IGF2 signalling on metabolic pathways in prostate cancer progression

Prostate cancer (CaP) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in males in Australia, North America, and Europe. If found early and locally confined, CaP can be treated with radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy; however, 25-40% patients will relapse and go on to advanced disease. The most common therapy in these cases is androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), which suppresses androgen production from the testis. Lack of the testicular androgen supply causes cells of the prostate to undergo apoptosis. However, in some cases the regression initially seen with ADT eventually gives way to a growth of a population of cancerous cells that no longer require testicular androgens. This phenotype is essentially fatal and is termed castrate resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). In addition to eventual regression, there are many undesirable side effects which accompany ADT, including development of a metabolic syndrome, which is defined by the U.S. National Library of Medicine as “a combination of medical disorders that increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes.” This project will focus on the effect of ADT induced hyperinsulinemia, as mimicked by treating androgen receptor positive CaP cells with insulin in a serum (hormone) deprived environment. While this side effect is not widely explored, in this thesis it is demonstrated for the first time that insulin upregulates pathways important to CaP progression. Our group has previously shown that during CaP progression, the enzymes necessary for de novo steroidogenesis are upregulated in the LNCaP xenograft model, total steroid levels are increased in tumours compared to pre castrate levels, and de novo steroidogenesis from radio-labelled acetate has been demonstrated. Because of the CaP dependence on AR for survival, we and other groups believe that CaP cells carry out de novo steroidogenesis to survive in androgen deprived conditions. Because (a) men on ADT often develop metabolic syndrome, and (b) men with lifestyle-induced obesity and hyperinsulinemia have worse prognosis and faster disease progression, and because (c) insulin causes steroidogenesis in other cell lines, the hypothesis that insulin may contribute to CaP progression through upregulation of steroidogenesis was explored. Insulin upregulates steroidogenesis enzymes at the mRNA level in three AR positive cell lines, as well as upregulating these enzymes at the protein level in two cell lines. It has also been demonstrated that insulin increases mitochondrial (functional) levels of steroid acute regulatory protein (StAR). Furthermore, insulin causes increased levels of total steroids in and induction of de novo steroid synthesis by insulin has been demonstrated at levels induced sufficient to activate AR. The effect of insulin analogs on CaP steroidogenesis in LNCaP and VCaP cells has also been investigated because epidemiological studies suggest that some of the analogs developed may have more cancer stimulatory effects than normal insulin. In this project, despite the signalling differences between glargine, X10, and insulin, these analogs did not appear to induce steroidogenesis any more potently that normal insulin. The effect of insulin of MCF7breast cancer cells was also investigated with results suggesting that breast cancer cells may be capable of de novo steroidogenesis, and that increase in estradiol production may be exacerbated by insulin. Insulin has also been long known to stimulate lipogenesis in the liver and adipocytes, and has been demonstrated to increase lipogenesis in breast cancer cells; therefore, investigation of the effect of insulin on lipogenesis, which is a hallmark of aggressive cancers, was investigated. In CaP progression sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP) is dysregulated and upregulates fatty acid synthase (FASN), acetyl CoA-carboxylase, and other lipogenesis genes. SREBP is important for steroidogenesis and in this project has been shown to be upregulated by insulin in CaP cells. Fatty acid synthesis provides building blocks of membrane growth, provides substrates for acid oxidation, the main energy source for CaP cells, provides building blocks for anti-apoptotic and proinflammatory molecules, and provides molecules that stimulate steroidogenesis. In this project it has been shown that insulin upregulates FASN and ACC, which synthesize fatty acids, as well as upregulating hormone sensitive lipase (HSL), diazepam-binding inhibitor (DBI), and long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase 3 (ACSL3), which contribute to lipid activation of steroidogenesis. Insulin also upregulates total lipid levels and de novo lipogenesis, which can be suppressed by inhibition of the insulin receptor (INSR). The fatty acids synthesized after insulin treatment are those that have been associated with CaP; furthermore, microarray data suggests insulin may upregulate fatty acid biosynthesis, metabolism and arachidonic acid metabolism pathways, which have been implicated in CaP growth and survival. Pharmacological agents used to treat patients with hyperinsulinemia/ hyperlipidemia have gained much interest in regards to CaP risk and treatment; however, the scientific rationale behind these clinical applications has not been examined. This thesis explores whether the use of metformin or simvastatin would decrease either lipogenesis or steroidogenesis or both in CaP cells. Simvastatin is a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) inhibitor, which blocks synthesis of cholesterol, the building block of steroids/ androgens. It has also been postulated to down regulate SREBP in other metabolic disorders. It has been shown in this thesis, in LNCaP cells, that simvastatin inhibited and decreased insulin induced steroidogenesis and lipogenesis, respectively, but increased these pathways in the absence of insulin. Conversely, metformin, which activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) to shut down lipogenesis, cholesterol synthesis, and protein synthesis, highly suppresses both steroidogenesis and lipogenesis in the presence and absence of insulin. Lastly, because it has been demonstrated to increase steroidogenesis in other cell lines, and because the elucidation of any factors affecting steroidogenesis is important to understanding CaP, the effect of IGF2 on steroidogenesis in CaP cells was investigated. In patient samples, as men progress to CRPC, IGF2 mRNA and the protein levels of the receptors it may signal through are upregulated. It has also been demonstrated that IGF2 upregulates steroidogenic enzymes at both the mRNA and protein levels in LNCaP cells, increases intracellular and secreted steroid/androgen levels in LNCaPs to levels sufficient to stimulate the AR, and upregulated de novo steroidogenesis in LNCaPs and VCaPs. As well, inhibition of INSR and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R), which IGF2 signals through, suggests that induction of steroidogenesis may be occurring predominantly through IGF1R. In summary, this project has illuminated for the first time that insulin is likely to play a large role in cancer progression, through upregulation of the steroidogenesis and lipogenesis pathways at the mRNA and protein levels, and production levels, and demonstrates a novel role for IGF-II in CaP progression through stimulation of steroidogenesis. It has also been demonstrated that metformin and simvastatin drugs may be useful in suppressing the insulin induction of these pathways. This project affirms the pathways by which ADT- induced metabolic syndrome may exacerbate CaP progression and strongly suggests that the monitoring and modulation of the metabolic state of CaP patients could have a strong impact on their therapeutic outcomes.

Negotiating group dynamics for better safety performance

Safety psychology and workplace safety Commitment, Motivational and attitudinal components of safety Leadership Group Dynamics and Group Change Case Study from Construction

Promoting Adult Resilience (PAR): Group Leaders Manual

RAP-A was developed to meet the need for a universal resilience building program for teenagers which could be readily implemented in a school setting. A universal program targets all teenagers in a particular grade as opposed to those at higher risk for depression (indicated or selective approaches) or a treatment group. It is easier to recruit and engage adolescents in a universal approach where students do not face the risk of stigmatisation by being singled out for intervention. The Resourceful Adolescent Program (RAP: Shochet, Holland & Whitefield, 1997) was developed to meet this need.