Exploring information experience using social media during the 2011 Queensland floods : a pilot study

Social media networks have emerged as a powerful tool in allowing collaboration and sharing of information during times of crisis (Bruns, The Centre for Creative Industries Blog, comment posted on January 19,2011). The 2011 Queensland floods provided a unique opportunity to explore social media use during an emergency. This paper presents the findings of a pilot study that explored the information experiences of people using social media during the flooding of the Brisbane River. Analysis of data from four interviews supported the emergence of four categories of information experience. Examination of the categories revealed variation between the way in which individuals experienced social media and the point of the flooding at which each category of experience occurred. Information regarding individual’s use of social media has the potential to inform the development of social media platforms that can provide relevant and accessible information for the general public in event of a natural disaster.

Beyond broadcasting: customer service, community and information experience in the Twittersphere

What opportunities does a channel like Twitter offer to libraries, beyond the realm of marketing? We would like to highlight three roles for Twitter in the academic library environment: Twitter as a service delivery and service recovery channel; Twitter as a community builder; Twitter as a site for information experience.

The macrophage-inducible C-type lectin, Mincle, is an essential component of the innate immune response to Candida albicans

The recognition of carbohydrate moieties by cells of the innate immune system is emerging as an essential element in antifungal immunity, but despite the number and diversity of lectins expressed by innate immune cells, few carbohydrate receptors have been characterized. Mincle, a C-type lectin, is expressed predominantly on macrophages, and is here shown to play a role in macrophage responses to the yeast Candida albicans. After exposure to the yeast in vitro, Mincle localized to the phagocytic cup, but it was not essential for phagocytosis. In the absence of Mincle, production of TNF-_ by macrophages was reduced, both in vivo and in vitro. In addition, mice lacking Mincle showed a significantly increased susceptibility to systemic candidiasis. Thus, Mincle plays a novel and nonredundant role in the induction of inflammatory signaling in response to C. albicans infection.

The Roloffs

Short story published in REX: A Journal of New Writing.

Final call

Travel writing published by Swamp : A Journal of Post-graduate Creative Writing.

Shades of grey

Poem published in Islet

Where the bridge is

Memoir excerpt

The parents at playgroup research report : engaging families in supported playgroups

The past decade has seen increasing numbers of government programs funded to support vulnerable families with young children. Supported playgroups are one important strategy in Australia’s current family policies that are provided in all states and territories (ARTD, 2008). National policies have increasingly invested in family support programs, such as supported playgroups. Despite known challenges in engaging vulnerable families in support programs, little is known about the capacity of supported playgroups to effectively engage families to achieve desired outcomes. This project explores family patterns of attendance in supported playgroups and examines the extent to which parental characteristics and experiences of the playgroup explain variations in engagement. The findings can inform the delivery of other family support programs...

Writing about risky relatives and what might have been : the craft of historiographic metafiction

This practice-based research project consists of a 33,000-word novella, "Folly", and a 50,000-word exegesis that examines the principles of historiographic metafiction (HMF), the recontextualisation of historical figures and scenarios, and other narratological concepts that inform my creative practice. As an emerging sub-genre of historical fiction, HMF is one aspect of a national and international discourse about historical fiction in the fields of literature, history, and politics. Leading theorists discussed below include Linda Hutcheon and Ansgar Nünning, along with the recent critically-acclaimed work of contemporary Australian writers, Richard Flanagan, Kate Grenville, and Louis Nowra. "Folly" traces a number of periods in the lives of fictional versions of the researcher and his eighteenthcentury Irish relative, and experiments with concepts of historiographic metafiction, the recontextualisation of historical figures and scenarios, and the act of narratorial manipulation, specifically focalisation, voice, and point of view. The key findings of this research include: identifying the principles and ideas that support writing work of historiographic metafiction; a determination as to the value of recontextualisation of historical figures and scenarios, and narratorial manipulation, in the writing of historiographic metafiction; an account of the challenges facing an emerging writer of historiographic metafiction, and their resulting solutions (where these could be established); and, finally, some possible directions for future research.

Sentencing and public confidence : results from a national Australian survey on public opinions towards sentencing

This paper examines the critical issue of public confidence in sentencing, and presents findings from Phase I of an Australia-wide sentencing and public confidence project. Phase I comprised a nationally representative telephone survey of 6005 participants. The majority of respondents expressed high levels of punitiveness and were dissatisfied with sentences imposed by the courts. Despite this, many were strongly supportive of the use of alternatives to imprisonment for a range of offences. These nuanced views raise questions regarding the efficacy of gauging public opinion using opinion poll style questions; indeed the expected outcome from this first phase of the four phase sentencing and public confidence project. The following phases of this project, reported on elsewhere, examined the effects of various interventions on the robustness and nature of these views initially expressed in a standard ‘top of the head’ opinion poll.

Detection of right-to-left Atrial communication using agitated saline contrast imaging : experience with 1162 patients and recommendations for echocardiography

Background: Right-to-left shunting via a patent foramen ovale (PFO) has a recognized association with embolic events in younger patients. The use of agitated saline contrast imaging (ASCi) for detecting atrial shunting is well documented, however optimal technique is not well described. The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of ASCi via TTE for assessment of right-to-left atrial communication in a large cohort of patients. Method: A retrospective review was undertaken of 1162 consecutive transthoracic (TTE) ASCi studies, of which 195 had also undergone clinically indicated transesophageal (TEE) echo. ASCi shunt results were compared with color flow imaging (CFI) and the role of provocative maneuvers (PM) assessed. Results: 403 TTE studies (35%) had paradoxical shunting seen during ASCi. Of these, 48% were positive with PM only. There was strong agreement between TTE ASCi and reported TEE findings (99% sensitivity, 85% specificity), with six false positive and two false negative results. In hindsight, the latter were likely due to suboptimal right atrial opacification, and the former due to transpulmonary shunting. TTE CFI was found to be insensitive (22%) for the detection of a PFO compared with TTE ASCi. Conclusions: TTE ASCi is minimally invasive and highly accurate for the detection of right-to-left atrial communication when PM are used. TTE CFI was found to be insensitive for PFO screening. It is recommended that TTE ASCi should be considered the initial diagnostic tool for the detection of PFO in clinical practice. A dedicated protocol should be followed to ensure adequate agitated saline contrast delivery and performance of provocative maneuvers.