Responses, relationships and responsibility : examining influences on organisational assets during crisis

This thesis explains how an organisation's relationships with its key stakeholders influence the public's view of its responsibility for a crisis event and how this subsequently influences the protective and reparative powers of its crisis response on its reputation and legitimacy. From the results, a continuum of the influencing effect of relationship history was developed which demonstrates the positive and negative frames through which stakeholders view an organisation in crisis and its response. Organisational age and the evaluative character of its relationships with key stakeholders were considered in the experimental design as descriptors of an organisation's relationship history. The findings provide guidance to crisis managers on effective crisis response selection.

Reduced biceps femoris myoelectrical activity influences eccentric knee flexor weakness after repeat sprint running

The aim of this study was to determine whether declines in knee flexor strength following overground repeat sprints were related to changes in hamstrings myoelectrical activity. Seventeen recreationally active males completed maximal isokinetic concentric and eccentric knee flexor strength assessments at 1800.s-1 before and after repeat sprint running. Myoelectrical activity of the biceps femoris (BF) and medial hamstrings (MH) was measured during all isokinetic contractions. Repeated measures mixed model (Fixed factors = time [pre- and post- repeat sprint] and leg [dominant and non-dominant], random factor = participants) design was fitted with the restricted maximal likelihood method. Repeat sprint running resulted in significant declines in eccentric, and concentric, knee flexor strength (eccentric = 25 ± 34 Nm, 15% p<0.001; concentric 11 Nm± 22 Nm, 10% p = 0.001). Eccentric BF myoelectrical activity was significantly reduced (10%; p= 0.033). Concentric BF and all MH myoelectrical activity were not altered. The declines in maximal eccentric torque were associated with the change in eccentric biceps femoris myoelectrical activity (p = 0.013). Following repeat sprint running there were preferential declines in the myoelectrical activity of the BF, which explained declines in eccentric knee flexor strength.

Exploring the influences of country-level factors on mid-age women’s drink driving attitudes

Drink driving remains a major cause of serious and fatal car crashes in Australia and internationally. While this problem is more prevalent among male drivers, the rates of female intoxicated drivers have increased steadily over the past decades in many motorised countries. A combination of police enforcement, media awareness campaigns, and community initiatives has played a key role in reducing incidents of illegal drink driving by targeting public drink driving attitudes. However, important cultural differences in regards to the tolerance towards drink driving have been noted. While many countries, including Australia, have a legal Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit of .05 or higher, some countries have moved towards a zero –or low tolerance approach to drink driving; several European countries, including Sweden, Hungary, Slovakia, and Estonia currently enforce .00 or .02 BAC limits.

Local stress-strain distribution and load transfer across cartilage matrix at micro-scale using combined microscopy-based finite element method

Articular cartilage is the load-bearing tissue that consists of proteoglycan macromolecules entrapped between collagen fibrils in a three-dimensional architecture. To date, the drudgery of searching for mathematical models to represent the biomechanics of such a system continues without providing a fitting description of its functional response to load at micro-scale level. We believe that the major complication arose when cartilage was first envisaged as a multiphasic model with distinguishable components and that quantifying those and searching for the laws that govern their interaction is inadequate. To the thesis of this paper, cartilage as a bulk is as much continuum as is the response of its components to the external stimuli. For this reason, we framed the fundamental question as to what would be the mechano-structural functionality of such a system in the total absence of one of its key constituents-proteoglycans. To answer this, hydrated normal and proteoglycan depleted samples were tested under confined compression while finite element models were reproduced, for the first time, based on the structural microarchitecture of the cross-sectional profile of the matrices. These micro-porous in silico models served as virtual transducers to produce an internal noninvasive probing mechanism beyond experimental capabilities to render the matrices micromechanics and several others properties like permeability, orientation etc. The results demonstrated that load transfer was closely related to the microarchitecture of the hyperelastic models that represent solid skeleton stress and fluid response based on the state of the collagen network with and without the swollen proteoglycans. In other words, the stress gradient during deformation was a function of the structural pattern of the network and acted in concert with the position-dependent compositional state of the matrix. This reveals that the interaction between indistinguishable components in real cartilage is superimposed by its microarchitectural state which directly influences macromechanical behavior.

The adaptive metabolic response to exercise-induced weight loss influences both energy expenditure and energy intake

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVEs A decline in resting energy expenditure (REE) beyond that predicted from changes in body composition has been noted following dietary-induced weight loss. However, it is unknown whether a compensatory downregulation in REE also accompanies exercise (EX)-induced weight loss, or whether this adaptive metabolic response influences energy intake (EI). SUBJECTS/METHODS Thirty overweight and obese women (body mass index (BMI)=30.6±3.6 kg/m2) completed 12 weeks of supervised aerobic EX. Body composition, metabolism, EI and metabolic-related hormones were measured at baseline, week 6 and post intervention. The metabolic adaptation (MA), that is, difference between predicted and measured REE was also calculated post intervention (MApost), with REE predicted using a regression equation generated in an independent sample of 66 overweight and obese women (BMI=31.0±3.9 kg/m2). RESULTS Although mean predicted and measured REE did not differ post intervention, 43% of participants experienced a greater-than-expected decline in REE (−102.9±77.5 kcal per day). MApost was associated with the change in leptin (r=0.47; P=0.04), and the change in resting fat (r=0.52; P=0.01) and carbohydrate oxidation (r=−0.44; P=0.02). Furthermore, MApost was also associated with the change in EI following EX (r=−0.44; P=0.01). CONCLUSIONS Marked variability existed in the adaptive metabolic response to EX. Importantly, those who experienced a downregulation in REE also experienced an upregulation in EI, indicating that the adaptive metabolic response to EX influences both physiological and behavioural components of energy balance.

Influences on compliance with standard precautions among operating room nurses

Background Occupational exposures of health care workers occur because of inconsistent compliance with standard precautions. The purpose of this study was to develop national estimates of compliance with standard precautions and occupational exposure reporting among operating room nurses (specifically, scrub nurses) in Australia and to assess variables that influence compliance. Methods A descriptive correlation design was used to investigate relationships between variables and compliance, using a theoretical framework, the Health Belief Model, to give meaning to the variables. Data collection was done through mail-out surveys to members of the Australian College of Operating Room Nurses. Results This article reports the results of compliance with the following 2 specific self-protective behaviors: double-gloving and wearing adequate eye protection. Mean compliance rates were 55.6% with always double-gloving during surgical procedures and 92% with always wearing adequate eye protection. In addition, the variable that had the most influence on compliance was the perception of barriers to compliance, specifically, that adhering to standard precautions interfered with duties. Conclusion These results have implications for the development of multifaceted perioperative infection control programs, including strategies for prevention, education, and policy development, to improve practices aimed at reducing occupational exposures among this high-risk group.

The impact of heatwaves on mortality and emergency hospital admissions from non-external causes in Brisbane, Australia

Objectives Heatwaves can have significant health consequences resulting in increased mortality and morbidity. However, their impact on people living in tropical/subtropical regions remains largely unknown. This study assessed the impact of heatwaves on mortality and emergency hospital admissions (EHAs) from non-external causes (NEC) in Brisbane, a subtropical city in Australia. Methods We acquired daily data on weather, air pollution and EHAs for patients aged 15 years and over in Brisbane between January 1996 and December 2005, and on mortality between January 1996 and November 2004. A locally derived definition of heatwave (daily maximum ≥37°C for 2 or more consecutive days) was adopted. Case–crossover analyses were used to assess the impact of heatwaves on cause-specific mortality and EHAs. Results During heatwaves, there was a statistically significant increase in NEC mortality (OR 1.46; 95% CI 1.21 to 1.77), cardiovascular mortality (OR 1.89; 95% CI 1.44 to 2.48), diabetes mortality in those aged 75+ (OR 9.96; 95% CI 1.02 to 96.85), NEC EHAs (OR 1.15; 95% CI 1.07 to 1.23) and EHAs from renal diseases (OR 1.41; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.83). The elderly were found to be particularly vulnerable to heatwaves (eg, for NEC EHAs, OR 1.24 for 65–74-year-olds and 1.39 for those aged 75+). Conclusions Significant increases in NEC mortality and EHAs were observed during heatwaves in Brisbane where people are well accustomed to hot summer weather. The most vulnerable were the elderly and people with cardiovascular, renal or diabetic disease.

Associations between area-level disadvantage and DMFT among a birth cohort of Indigenous Australians

Background Individual-level factors influence DMFT, but little is known about the influence of community environment. This study examines associations between community-level influences and DMFT among a birth cohort of Indigenous Australians aged 16–20 years. Methods Data were collected as part of Wave 3 of the Aboriginal Birth Cohort study. Fifteen community areas were established and the sample comprised 442 individuals. The outcome variable was mean DMFT with explanatory variables including diet and community disadvantage (access to services, infrastructure and communications). Data were analysed using multilevel regression modelling. Results In a null model, 13.8% of the total variance in mean DMFT was between community areas, which increased to 14.3% after adjusting for sex, age and diet. Addition of the community disadvantage variable decreased the variance between areas by 4.8%, indicating that community disadvantage explained one-third of the area-level variance. Residents of under-resourced communities had significantly higher mean DMFT (β=3.86, 95% CI 0.02¬, 7.70) after adjusting for sex, age and diet. Conclusions Living in under-resourced communities was associated with greater DMFT among this disadvantaged population, indicating that policies aiming to reduce oral health-related inequalities among vulnerable groups may benefit from taking into account factors external to individual-level influences.

Modeling perceived influences on journalism : evidence from a cross-national survey of journalists

Surveying 1,700 journalists from seventeen countries, this study investigates perceived influences on news work. Analysis reveals a dimensional structure of six distinct domains—political, economic, organizational, professional, and procedural influences, as well as reference groups. Across countries, these six dimensions build up a hierarchical structure where organizational, professional, and procedural influences are perceived as more powerful limits to journalists' work than political and economic influences.

A multidimensional model of client success when engaging external consultants

Too often the relationship between client and external consultants is perceived as one of protagonist versus antogonist. Stories on dramatic, failed consultancies abound, as do related anecdotal quips. A contributing factor to many "apparently" failed consultancies is a poor appreciation by both the client and consultant of the client's true goals for the project and how to assess progress toward these goals. This paper presents and analyses a measurement model for assessing client success when engaging an external consultant. Three main areas of assessment are identified: (1) the consultant;s recommendations, (2) client learning, and (3) consultant performance. Engagement success is emperically measured along these dimensions through a series of case studies and a subsequent survey of clients and consultants involved in 85 computer-based information system selection projects. Validation fo the model constructs suggests the existence of six distinct and individually important dimensions of engagement success. both clients and consultants are encouraged to attend to these dimensions in pre-engagement proposal and selection processes, and post-engagement evaluation of outcomes.

Nutritional influences over the life course on lean body mass of individuals in developing countries

The double burden of childhood undernutrition and adult-onset adiposity in transitioning societies poses a significant public health challenge. The development of suboptimal lean body mass (LBM) could partly explain the link between these two forms of malnutrition. This review examines the evidence on both the role of nutrition in “developmental programming” of LBM and the nutritional influences that affect LBM throughout the life course. Studies from developing countries assessing the relationship of early nutrition with later LBM provide important insights. Overall, the evidence is consistent in suggesting a positive association of early nutritional status (indicated by birth weight and growth during first 2 years) with LBM in later life. Evidence on the impact of maternal nutritional supplementation during pregnancy on later LBM is inconsistent. In addition, the role of nutrients (protein, zinc, calcium, vitamin D) that can affect LBM throughout the life course is described. Promoting optimal intakes of these important nutrients throughout the life course is important for reducing childhood undernutrition as well as for improving the LBM of adults.

Context-resonant systems perspectives in career theory

"The focus of this chapter is on context-resonant systems perspectives in career theory and their implications for practice in diverse cultural and contextual settings. For over two decades, the potential of systems theory to offer a context-resonant approach to career development has been acknowledged. Career development theory and practice, however, have been dominated for most of their history by more narrowly defined theories informed by a trait-and-factor tradition of matching the characteristics of individuals to occupations. In contrast, systems theory challenges this parts-in-isolation approach and offers a response that can accommodate the complexity of both the lives of individuals and the world of the 21st century by taking a more holistic approach that considers individuals in context. These differences in theory and practice may be attributed to the underlying philosophies that inform them. For example, the philosophy informing the trait-and-factor theoretical position, logical positivism, places value on: studying individuals in isolation from their environments; content over process; facts over feelings; objectivity over subjectivity; and views individual behavior as observable, measurable, and linear. In practice, this theory base manifests in expert-driven practices founded on the assessment of personal traits such as interests, personality, values, or beliefs which may be matched to particular occupations. The philosophy informing more recent theoretical positions, constructivism, places value on: studying individuals in their contexts; making meaning of experience through the use of subjective narrative accounts; and a belief in the capacity of individuals known as agency. In practice, this theory base manifests in practices founded on collaborative relationships with clients, narrative approaches, and a reduced emphasis on expert-driven linear processes. Thus, the tenets of constructivism which inform the systems perspectives in career theory are context-resonant. Systems theory stresses holism where the interconnectedness of all elements of a system is considered. Systems may be open or closed. Closed systems have no relationship with their external environment whereas open systems interact with their external environment and are open to external influence which is necessary for regeneration. Congruent with general systems theory, the systems perspectives emerging within career theory are based on open systems. Such systems are complex and dynamic and comprise many elements and subsystems which recursively interact with each other as well as with influences from the surrounding environment. As elements of a system should not be considered in isolation, a systems approach is holistic. Patterns of behavior are found in the relationships between the elements of dynamic systems. Because of the multiplicity of relationships within and between elements of subsystems, the possibility of linear causal explanations is reduced. Story is the mechanism through which the relationships and patterns within systems are recounted by individuals. Thus the career guidance practices emanating from theories informed by systems perspectives are inherently narrative in orientation. Narrative career counseling encourages career development to be understood from the subjective perspective of clients. The application of systemic thinking in practice takes greater account of context. In so doing, practices informed by systems theory may facilitate relevance to a diverse client group in diverse settings. In a world that has become increasingly global and diverse it seems that context-resonant systems perspectives in career theory are essential to ensure the future of career development. Translating context-resonant systems perspectives into practice offers important possibilities for methods and approaches that are respectful of diversity."--publisher website

Mechanical influences on endothelial cell network formation in vitro

While both the restoration of the blood supply and an appropriate local mechanical environment are critical for uneventful bone healing, their influence on each other remains unclear. Human bone fracture haematomas (<72h post-trauma) were cultivated for 3 days in fibrin matrices, with or without cyclic compression. Conditioned medium from these cultures enhanced the formation of vessel-like networks by HMEC-1 cells, and mechanical loading further elevated it, without affecting the cells’ metabolic activity. While haematomas released the angiogenesis-regulators, VEGF and TGF-β1, their concentrations were not affected by mechanical loading. However, direct cyclic stretching of the HMEC-1 cells decreased network formation. The appearance of the networks and a trend towards elevated VEGF under strain suggested physical disruption rather than biochemical modulation as the responsible mechanism. Thus, early fracture haematomas and their mechanical loading increase the paracrine stimulation of endothelial organisation in vitro, but direct periodic strains may disrupt or impair vessel assembly in otherwise favourable conditions.

Social ecological influences on preferences for care provided at the end of life amongst Taiwanese city-dwelling adults

Social and cultural elements are an essential part of the contexts within which people understand their word and make end-of-life decisions. A developmental social ecological model was used in this thesis to provide a comprehensive framework for examining influences on end-of-life preferences. The findings support claims made by social ecologists that individual's health-related choices can be influenced by cultural, social contextual and environmental factors over the course of life. The results of this study have implications for health professionals and the practices they can adopt to enhance end-of-life care.

Design, characterisation and in vivo testing of a new, adjustable stiffness, external fixator for the rat femur

Very little is known about the infl uence of the mechanical environment on the healing of large segmental defects. This partly reflects the lack of standardised, well characterised technologies to enable such studies. Here we report the design, construction and characterisation of a novel external fixator for use in conjunction with rat femoral defects. This device not only imposes a predetermined axial stiffness on the lesion, but also enables the stiffness to be changed during the healing process. The main frame of the fi xator consists of polyethylethylketone with titanium alloy mounting pins. The stiffness of the fi xator is determined by interchangeable connection elements of different thicknesses. Fixators were shown to stabilise 5 mm femoral defects in rats in vivo for at least 8 weeks during unrestricted cage activity. No distortion or infections, including pin infections, were noted. The healing process was simulated in vitro by inserting into a 5 mm femoral defect, materials whose Young’s moduli approximated those of the different tissues present in regenerating bone. These studies confirmed that, although the external fixator is the major determinant of axial stiffness during the early phase of healing, the regenerate within the lesion subsequently dominates this property. There is much clinical interest in altering the mechanics of the defect to enhance bone healing. Our data suggest that, if alteration of the mechanical environment is to be used to modulate the healing of large segmental defects, this needs to be performed before the tissue properties become dominant.