The significance of social influences and established housing values

Investment in housing represents the largest single source of wealth for individuals and has an important role in the macro economy. Traditional economic indicators cannot always observe the degree of purchaser and vendor willingness and therefore consideration should also be given to characteristics of buyers and sellers in the marketplace. This study draws the disciplines of housing research and demography closer and looks to social indicators for an insight into residential housing markets.

The research analysed changes in the value of established residential house prices in Brisbane and the influence of variations in social structure on a longitudinal time series basis. Results confirmed the existence of strong linkages between social constructs and established house prices. While it is acknowledged that established house values are significantly influenced by external! economic and political factors, this research confirmed that serious consideration must also be given to social factors and demographic variables.

Morphological signals of sex and status in spotted bowerbirds

The Spotted Bowerbird, Chlamydera maculata, appears to be sexually monomorphic. We caught and marked 118 birds in central Queensland, and sexed 88 using molecular methods. We found that our catch was strongly male-biased, both at bower sites and at non-bower feeding sites. We continued to observe the bird's behaviour after their release and so sub-divided males into sexual status groups as either bower-owners or non-owners. We searched for morphological measures, subjectively judged colour differences and quantitatively collected spectral measures of the visual properties of the crest feathers that would allow us to separate birds of differing sex and status. We found that bower owners had larger crests than non-owner males or females and that crest area provided the most accurate predictor of a bird's sex and status in a discriminant function analysis. We studied a cohort of seven males who went from non-owners to bower owners over three years, and found that their change in status was accompanied by a change in crest size – the only significant change in their morphology. Crest size did not relate to the mating success of a bower-owner. Instead, we suggest why the crest may differ between status groups and the implications that this may have for the sexual behaviour of male and female Spotted Bowerbirds.

Women's cognitive and emotional processing during sexual arousal : the effects of erotic film and absorption

Sexual arousal is a complex and dynamic element of women’s sexuality. Accounts vary, however most multidimensional models highlight the cognitive, affective and physiological components of the female sexual arousal response. While literature examining the peripheral physiological changes that occur during female sexual arousal abounds, there has been a dearth of literature pertaining to the cognitive and affective components. Thus, while many authors have included cognitive and emotions as independent components of the female sexual arousal response, there has been little empirical research to validate this approach. The aim of the current thesis was to examine the cognitive and affective components of female sexual arousal in more depth, investigating the nature of the relationship between these components under various experimental conditions. In order to do so, two integrated studies were conducted, each highlighting the effects of either external or internal variables on women’s subjective sexual arousal, absorption, positive affect and negative affect. Study One was designed to evaluate women’s emotional and cognitive processing of two elements of erotic film – foreplay and erotic context. 60 women were asked to report their subjective sexual arousal, absorption, positive affect and negative affect in response to one of four erotic film excerpts. The erotic excerpts varied in accordance with the degree of foreplay (low vs. high) depicted and the context in which the sexual activities took place (novel vs. habitual context). Women in the study responded more favourably to the high foreplay erotic film excerpt, subsequently reporting higher degrees of subjective sexual arousal, absorption and positive affect. Women also responded favourably to the erotic excerpt filmed in a novel context, reporting greater subjective sexual arousal as a result. The environment in which the sexual encounters were filmed failed to have an effect however, on women’s absorption or their positive or negative affect. The results of Study One suggest that stimulus specific variables, such as the degree of foreplay depicted, have a significant influence on female cognitive and emotional processing of erotic film. The results also suggest that a relationship exists between absorption, subjective sexual arousal and positive affect, albeit a correlational one. Specifically, there was evidence of parallel processing during sexual arousal, as participant reported sexual arousal, absorption and positive affect all increased and decreased in unison. Based on the results it was suggested that future research attempt to experimentally manipulate one of these variables, to examine its direct effect on the remaining variable. Thus, Study Two aimed to examine the effects of absorption on women’s cognitive and emotional processing of erotica. Study Two manipulated absorption at two levels (high vs. low), examining the impact of these states on participants’ subsequent absorption, subjective sexual arousal and positive and negative affect. 62 women were asked to read one of two sets of test session instructions. The first, participant-oriented instruction set, instructed participants to immerse themselves in the erotic film excerpt, as if they were active participants in the sexual exchange. The second, spectator-oriented instruction set, directed participants to observe and evaluate the erotic film. These instructions were designed to elicit high and low degrees of absorption, respectively. The utility of this approach when manipulating female absorption, was demonstrated by self reported ratings of absorption, given at the conclusion of the film presentation. Participants were also asked to report their subjective sexual arousal and positive and negative affect at the conclusion of the erotic film presentation. The findings of this study suggest that the adoption of a participant-oriented (high absorption) perspective elicits more favourable responses from participants than a spectator-oriented (low absorption) perspective, with participants in the former experimental group reporting greater degrees of subjective sexual arousal and positive affect. Negative affect was equivalent across experimental conditions, with the participants reporting that they experienced little to no aversive feelings during either of the experimental conditions. The results suggest that the degree to which a women immerses and absorbs herself in a sexual stimulus has a significant impact in her subsequent cognitive and affective processing of that stimulus. More specifically, it appears that women respond more favourably when they are highly absorbed and immersed in a stimulus, reporting greater subjective sexual arousal and positive affect. Overall, the results of Studies One and Two highlight the dynamic and complex nature of female sexual arousal. It appears that women have definite cognitive and affective responses to sexual stimuli. The magnitude of these responses may be mediated by a number of factors however, including the intrinsic qualities of the stimulus and the degree to which the woman attends to the stimulus. Both these variables act to either enhance or inhibit the sexual arousal response. There results have important implications for current sexuality literature. While women’s cognitions and emotions in response to erotic film were generally highly correlated, in some instances they differed, warranting their inclusion as separate elements in models of female sexual arousal. Furthermore, it might be suggested that the inclusion of an additional variable – absorption – into current models of female sexual arousal would prove beneficial, aiding researchers to better understand and predict the arousal process. As such, recommendations are made for a revised model of female sexual arousal. In terms of future directions, the results of the present thesis have implications for the treatment of sexual dysfunctions, suggesting that clinicians need to understand the internal and external variables that might contribute to the aetiology and maintenance of their presenting problems.

The temporal price relationship between the stock index futures and the underlying stock index : evidence from Malaysia

The stock index futures was introduced in Malaysia in December 1995 with the launching of the futures contract on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index. Due to its recentness in the country, many issues pertaining to this equity derivatives instrument have not been explored. Thus, the development of stock index futures opens many opportunities for research in this area. This study examines the temporal relationship between the price of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index futures contract (FKLI) and its underlying stock index, the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index (KLSE CI). The five-year period under study is split into three subperiods to observe the price co-movement pattern under different volatility levels. The study finds that futures market tends to lead the spot market by one day during the periods of stable market, and there is a mixed lead-lag relationship between the two markets during the period of highly volatile market.

Non-standard work schedules and health outcomes in Australia : some evidence from the HILDA Panel

What does the around-the-clock economic activity mean for workers' health? Despite the fact that non-standard work accounts for an increasing share of the job opportunities, relatively little is known about the potential consequences for health and the existing evidence is ambiguous. In this paper I examine the associations between non-standard job schedules and workers' physical and mental health outcomes using longitudinal data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA). Specifically, the four health indicators considered are self-rated health and the SF-36 health indices for general health, mental health and physical functioning. Overall results generally suggest a negative relationship between non-standard work schedules and better health for both males and females. Regarding the statistical significance and magnitudes of the associations, however, we observe apparent differences between males and females. Among females, most of the coefficients in all models are statistically insignificant, which implies very small magnitudes in terms of the correlation between non-standard working hours and health. These results apply uniformly to all health measures investigated. Among males, on the other hand, the negative relationship is more noticeable for self-rated health, general health and physical functioning than for mental health. The pooled OLS and random effects coefficients are usually larger in magnitude and more significant than the fixed effects parameters. Nonetheless, even the more significant coefficients do not imply large effects in absolute terms.

Acceptability, impact and sustainability of the national pilot quality assurance system for self management programs

Chronic condition self-management education and training interventions such as the Stanford Self Management Programs (SMP) have the capacity to improve health and quality of life of people with chronic conditions whilst reducing the use of health services. This is in line with the outcomes from the recent Council of Australian Governments’ meeting where it was indicated that self-management will be a centrepiece in forthcoming chronic disease initiatives.
Aim: report on a large national pilot quality assurance program involving the implementation and of an evaluation and quality monitoring system for SMPs including the provision of structured feedback to courses course leaders and service providers. During 2005/06 the quality assurance program was implemented at 11 diverse organisations across Australia. The program involved assisting organisations apply the 42-item Health Education Impact Questionnaire (HEIQ), a chronic disease health education outcome measure, and then observe and evaluate the value and impact of the quality program. Interviews with course leaders (n=60) and course participants (n=35) have elicited views about course quality and feedback processes.
Results: The evaluation revealed enablers and barriers to effective implementation and sustainability. Important enablers were:
- Course Leaders and organisations valued an Australia-wide system that provided feedback on course
quality and the impact on participants.
- Course Leaders were strongly personally motivated to respond appropriately to HEI-Q course
report feedback.
- Completing the questionnaire provided participants with the opportunity to reflect on issues that
emerge in the course content and reflect on their progression at the end of the SSMP.
Sustainability issues included:
- Organisations and course leaders require support, training and flexibility on how to administer and
manage the use of the HEI-Q.
- Availability of administrative resources in organisations to support the quality assurance activities.
- The requirement that course leaders are trained in interpreting HEI-Q course report data.
A quality improvement framework was developed which identified the actions required of key stakeholders to
support effective implementation.
Discussion: With the increasing endorsement of SMP across sectors it is important that course quality is known, is acceptable, and is communicated to stakeholders to inform and engender confidence in the SSMP. To effectively implement and sustain a quality improvement program for SMP, the processes and tools for measuring outcomes need to be responsive, flexible and easily integrated into the organisation and delivery of programs.

Design and simulation of an interdigital-chaotic advection micromixer for lab-on-a-chip applications

The paper presents the design and simulation of a novel passive micromixer. The micromixer consists of two inlet tanks, one mixing channel and two outlet channels. In order to maximise the mixing efficiency, the following considerations are made : (i) The inlet tanks are followed by a series of microchannels, in which the flow is split. The microchannels are arranged in an interdigital manner to  maximise the contact area between the two flows. (ii) The microchannels attached to the lower inlet tank have an upward slope while those attached to the upper tank have a downward slope. The higher-density flow is fed to the lower inlet tank and gets an upward velocity before entering the mixing channel. (iii) Two triangular barriers are placed within the mixing channel to impose chaotic advection and perturb the less-mixed flow along the top and bottom surfaces of the channel. (iv) Finally, two outlet channels are incorporated to discard the less-mixed flow. Three-dimensional simulations are carried out to evaluate the performance of the micromixer. Simulations are performed in the absence and presence of the gravitational force to analyse the influence of gravity on the micromixer. Mixing efficiencies of greater than 92 % are achieved using water and a low-density biological solvent as the mixing fluids.

Examination of the stability and consistency of investigative interviewer performance across similar mock interview contexts

Purpose. Three studies examined the degree to which investigative interviewers’ adherence to best-practice guidelines is consistent across similar mock interviews.
Method. In each study, two interviews were administered within a period of several hours. Further, group and individual stability of interviewer performance was analysed, and performance was measured by calculating the proportion of open-ended and leading questions as well as the presence of predetermined problem behaviours. The studies varied depending on the type of interview paradigm employed. Interviewer performance in Study 1was measured in a group context where participants rotated between the role of interviewer, child respondent, and observer. In Study 2, an adult played the role of a child recalling abuse but this occurred in isolation (participants did not observe others or play the child). Study 3 was similar to Study 2 except that in each interview an unfamiliar child aged 5–7 years recalled an innocuous event.
Results. Interviewer performance was relatively stable across tasks, although the strength of the relationship between measures varied across analyses. Improvement in open-ended question usage occurred in Study 1 but not Studies 2 and 3. Irrespective of the assessment context, the dichotomous rating scale yielded greater consistency than when questions were tallied. Further, group stability overestimated individual stability. The practical implications of these findings for trainers and researchers are discussed.

Situating situatedness through Æffect and the architectural body of Arakawa and Gins

This paper explores the situated body by briefly surveying the historical studies of effect and of affect which converge in current work on attention. This common approach to the situated body through attention prompted the coining of a more inclusive term, Æffect, to indicate the situated body’s mode of observation. Examples from the work of artist-turned-architects, Arakawa and Gins, will be discussed to show how architectural environments can act as heuristic tools that allow the situated body to research its own conditions. Rather than isolating effect from affect, observer from subject, organism from environment, Arakawa and Gins’ work optimises the use of situated complexity in the study of the site of person. By constructing surrounding in which to observe and learn about the shape of awareness, their procedural architecture suggests ways in which the interaction of top-down conceptual knowledge and bottom-up perceptual learning may construct possibilities in emergent rather than programmatic ways.

Excitability at the motoneuron pool and motor cortex is specifically modulated in lengthening compared to isometric contractions

Excitability at the motoneuron pool and motor cortex is specifically modulated in lengthening compared to isometric contractions. J Neurophysiol 101: 2030–2040, 2009. First published January 28, 2008; doi:10.1152/jn.91104.2008. Neural control of muscle contraction seems to be unique during muscle lengthening. The present study aimed to determine the specific sites of modulatory control for lengthening compared with isometric contractions. We used stimulation of the motor cortex and corticospinal tract to observe changes at the spinal and cortical levels. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) and cervicomedullary MEPs (CMEPs) were evoked in biceps brachii and brachioradialis during maximal and submaximal lengthening and isometric contractions at the same elbow angle. Sizes of CMEPs and MEPs were lower in lengthening contractions for both muscles (by 28 and 16%, respectively; P 0.01), but MEP-to-CMEP ratios increased (by 21%; P 0.05). These results indicate reduced excitability at the spinal level but enhanced motor cortical excitability for lengthening compared with isometric muscle contractions.

Intellectual property law in Southeast Asia : Recent legislative and institutional developments

Over the last few decades, countries belonging to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) all had to revise their intellectual property systems. These revisions resulted at first from bilateral pressure of major trading partners such as the US and EU, then from the WTO-TRIPS Agreement and more recently from bilateral Free Trade Agreements. To observe the IP developments in ASEAN over this period is interesting, because this group of countries covers developed (Singapore), developing as well as least developed countries. All countries had to reform their outdated laws from the colonial era in very short time. However, in comparison to the early 1980s, important differences with regards to intellectual property policies have emerged in recent years.

This article will briefly sketch the developments in individual ASEAN countries and after that examine some broader trends in law making, IP administration, enforcement and the court system. It concludes that the ASEAN enlargement process has created a very diverse picture with regards to IP. With the fast pace of the legislative development, countries have been struggling to keep up with the creation of the institutional and administrative framework. Progress in the ASEAN harmonisation process has been limited. Statistics indicate that some of the new laws have been reasonably well received at the domestic level, while the patent sector remains foreign dominated.

Observing different faiths, learning about ourselves : practice with inter-married Muslims and Christians

The present article offers practitioners initial ideas for work with clients in mixed-faith relationships. Based on local, empirical research that investigated Muslim-Christian marriages, six patterns of adaptation to a mixed-faith marriage are outlined. In addition, from a practice-oriented review of the data, four questions are identified that can be used by practitioners to clarify their thinking and practice focus. Increasingly technical, these reference questions are: (i) how is the public-private divide being understood and managed; (ii) how is identity and selfhood being practiced; (iii) how may practitioners position themselves with respect to asymmetries related to gender; and (iv) should religious differences be reframed? Rather than practitioners seeking to be experts on the other, the belief animating the current contribution is that work with diverse clients offers workers a mirror upon which we practitioners can better observe our own outlines. In contrast with the pursuit of imperial generalisations, the authors of the present study commend the benefits of reflectively denaturalising our own positions.

Local energy and pre-envelope

We observe that the local energy is the pre-envelope for analytic function. The maxima and phase of this function can be used to compute and classify visual features such as motion and stereo disparity, texture, etc. We examine the construction of new filters for computing Local Energy, and compare these filters with the Gabor filters and the three-point-filter of Venkatesh and Owens.

Mental health telephone triage : managing psychiatric crisis and emergency

PURPOSE: The study aims to identify and articulate how mental health telephone triage (MHTT) clinicians manage psychiatric crisis and emergency via the telephone.

DESIGN AND METHODS: An observational design was employed in the study. Wireless headsets were used to observe 197 occasions of MHTT.

FINDINGS: Clinicians use a range of practical strategies, therapeutic skills, and psychosocial interventions to manage psychiatric crises and emergencies via the telephone.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The evidence base for managing psychiatric crisis/ emergency in MHTT is minimal. These findings contribute to the MHTT knowledge base and provide evidence-based strategies for high-quality emergency mental health care.

Information structure and the flow of translation

Translators are often recommended to highly observe the natural flow of the target language of the translated texts. The use and order of discoursal aspects of texts such as thematic information, topical elements, left-dislocation, and passive voice, among others, which constitute information structure may sometimes conflict with this viewpoint. It is argued that such discoursal elements are determinant in understanding the flow of the texts in the source language and should not, therefore, be frequently switched around in the translated texts to fit the norm of the target language. The order of these linguistic elements should be maximally maintained when translating a text into a target language. It is after all the employment of such information structure units by the writer of the source text which is significant at any given point in discourse both cognitively, when processing the text, and interactionally, when communicating with the reader.