Plasma-assisted self-catalytic vapour-liquid-solid growth of β-SiC nanowires

Long and straight β-SiC nanowires are synthesized via the direct current arc discharge method with a mixture of silicon, graphite and silicon dioxide as the precursor. Detailed investigations with x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, Raman scattering spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction confirm that the β-SiC nanowires, which are about 100–200 nm in stem diameter and 10–20 µm in length, consist of a solid single-crystalline core along the (1 1 1) direction wrapped with an amorphous SiO_x layer. A broad photoluminescence emission peak with a maximum at about 336 nm is observed at room temperature. A direct current arc plasma-assisted self-catalytic vapour–liquid–solid process is proposed as the growth mechanism of the β-SiC nanowires. This synthesis technique is capable of producing SiC nanowires free of metal contamination with a preferential growth direction and a high aspect ratio, without the designed addition of transition metals as catalysts.

Assessing client outcomes in youth justice services : current status and future directions

Youth justice services are increasingly expected to demonstrate that the services and programs they provide lead to measurable outcomes. This paper considers how client outcomes other than recidivism, which are considered important to youth justice service providers, might be conceptualized and reliably assessed. We conclude that there is a need to develop methods of assessment that are consistent with the principles of evidence-based assessment and we make a number of suggestions for the development of practice in this area.

A systematic review of outcomes of chronic disease self-management interventions

Purpose
To carry out a systematic review of program outcomes used in the evaluation of group-based self-management interventions aimed at people with arthritis and other chronic conditions.

Methods
The systematic search was performed across databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. Both between-group and within-group effect sizes (ES) were calculated. Results were interpreted as small (ES ~ 0.2), medium (ES ~ 0.5), or large (ES ~ 0.8) effects.

Results
The majority of 18 included trials investigated the effectiveness of arthritis-specific interventions. Across most outcomes, small effects on course participants were shown. While effects on knowledge were large (between-group ES = 0.78), effects on clinical outcomes such as pain (ES = 0.10) were negligible to small.

Conclusions
This paper is consistent with other reviews in this area, suggesting that people with arthritis receive only marginal benefits from participating in chronic disease self-management interventions. When looking at the types of outcomes that trials are based on, however, alternative explanations for these results seem probable. As evaluations heavily rely on patient self-report, current approaches to program evaluation may not be sufficient to assess the intended impact of self-management education. An in-depth investigation of the types of outcomes assessed is provided in a separate paper.

Fear of self and obsessionality: development and validation of the Fear of Self Questionnaire

Obsessions – particularly those directly relating to causing harm – often contain or imply evaluative dimensions about the self, reflecting a fear as to who the person might be – or might become. Following from research indicating that such beliefs are relevant to OCD, and the wider literature in social psychology regarding ‘feared’ or ‘undesired’ self-guides, the current study describes the development and validation of a new questionnaire—the Fear of Self Questionnaire, in 8- and 20-item versions.

The questionnaire was piloted in two non-clinical samples (n=258; n=292). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the unidimensionality of the measure. The questionnaire showed a strong internal inconsistency, and good divergent and convergent validity, including strong relationships to obsessional symptoms and with other processes implicated in cognitive models of OCD (e.g. obsessive beliefs, inferential confusion). Implications are discussed.

Self-regulation and the intention behaviour gap. Exploring dietary behaviours in university students

The aim of this study was to explore whether two aspects of self-regulation (impulsivity and temporal orientation) could reduce the intention–behaviour gap for two dietary behaviours: fruit and vegetable consumption and saturated fat consumption. Australian undergraduate students (N = 154) completed questionnaires (the Barratt impulsiveness scale and the consideration of future consequences scale) and intention measures, and 1 week later behaviour was measured using the Block rapid food screener. After controlling for demographics, intention was associated with fruit and vegetable consumption, but the self-regulation measures did not further improve the variance accounted for. For saturated fat, gender was associated with consumption, such that males tended to consume more saturated fat. Intention was significantly associated with consumption, and impulsivity further improved the model such that those who were more impulsive tended to consume more saturated fat. These findings suggest that health protective and health risk behaviours, such as those investigated in the current study, may have different determinants.

Analysing stillbirth data using dynamic self organizing maps

Even with the presence of modern obstetric care, stillbirth rate seems to stay stagnant or has even risen slightly in countries such as England and has become a significant public health concern [1]. In the light of current medical research, maternal risk factors such as diabetes and hypertensive disease were identified as possible risk factors and are taken into consideration in antenatal care. However, medical practitioners and researchers suspect possible relationships between trends in maternal demographics, antenatal care and pregnancy information of current stillbirth in consideration [2]. Although medical data and knowledge is available appropriate computing techniques to analyze the data may lead to identification of high risk groups. In this paper we use an unsupervised clustering technique called Growing Self organizing Map (GSOM) to analyse the stillbirth data and present patterns which can be important to medical researchers.

Diet and physical activity in the self-management of type 2 diabetes: barriers and facilitators identified by patients and health professionals

Aim: 

Pauline Kael and the Western genre as critical displacement of self & nation: metaphorics and affects of 'taste' in American film criticism

Pauline Kael (1919–2001) is one of the most influential American film critics of the second half of the twentieth century. Many people are writing on her presently, with at least half an eye to her future cultural, political and historical importance. Certainly the full impact of Kael’s work, both within and beyond the borders of cinema (however defined), has not yet been established. This article unpacks the mechanisms and operations of ‘taste’ in Kael’s writings by using two notions drawn from Roland Barthes’ observations about another key figure of current cultural critique: Julia Kristeva. The comparison of Kael with Kristeva is not dwelt upon; instead, the article focuses on how Kael used the concepts of ‘taste’ and ‘dis-taste’ to draw her readership into a field of what might be termed ‘permanent dissent’. This article concludes by sketching out why Jewish-American Kael’s taste might endure, through the dual transition she occupies from a Cold War to a post-Cold War period, and from an era when cinema was the supreme, undisputed, screen artform, to the rise of the myriad screen technologies of the networked, Internet age.

Does screening high school students for psychological distress, deliberate self-harm, or suicidal ideation cause distress--and is it acceptable? An Australian-based study

Programs designed to detect students at risk of depression and suicidality have shown success (Shaffer et al., 2004). The current study sought to examine whether or not such a program was acceptable to participants and whether or not it caused distress. Participants were boys aged 14 to 16. Participants were assessed using an on-line questionnaire; acceptability was measured via postal questionnaire. Of 272 participants, 31 (11.4%) were considered at-risk; 13 required ongoing support, 8 of whom had not previously sought help. Overall screening did not appear to cause significant undue distress, although some differences were evident between at-risk and not at-risk students. All participants found the program acceptable. When conducted carefully, early detection programs can be an effective and acceptable method of identifying at-risk adolescents.

Motivation, self-assessment and tacit knowledge in e-learning context selection

Formal consideration of the links between students' Motivation, Self-Assessment abilities and Tacit Knowledge is shown in this paper to provide a useful model (MSATK) for planning postgraduate, Web-based education. The design of effective e-Learning courses requires a Learning Framework that emphasizes contextanalysis within knowledge-mediated processes. Contextual analysis ensures that self-assessment will be effective in complex domains that rely on Web sources of experiential knowledge, usually accessible as Professional practice models that employ diagnostic tools for scenario simulation processes. Demographic trends now facing Japan and Western countries, and the knowledge management support requirements of global e-Learning initiatives are challenging the value of current selfassessment processes. Building a Culture of Critique is highly desirable, but the lack of an Learning Framework that reflects student ownership of their learning process has obscured the need for tools to correctly interpret domain contexts, or for student freedom to drive the need for modified scenarios. The value of a Learning Framework that links motivation, tacit knowledge, selfassessment practice and contextual analysis is examined in this paper with consequential implications for Web support.

Preschoolers' body-knowledge inaccuracy: perceptual self-deficit and attitudinal bias

Body image research with young children has typically examined their body satisfaction and overlooked developmental theories pertaining to their emergent body-knowledge. Though existing research suggests that preschoolers do demonstrate anti-fat attitudes and weight-related stigmatisation, body dissatisfaction can be difficult to assess in preschoolers due to developmental differences in their (i) ability to perceive their actual body size accurately and (ii) make comparisons with a hypothetical ideal. We review current findings on the attitudinal component of body image in preschoolers, together with findings on the accuracy of their body size perceptions and their emergent body awareness abilities. Such an integration of the cognitive development literature is key to identifying when and how young children understand their physical size and shape; this in turn is critical for informing methodological design targeted at assessing body dissatisfaction and anti-fat attitudes in early childhood.

Trustworthiness: self-assessment of an institutional repository against ISO 16363-2012

Today, almost every document we create and the output from almost every research-related project, is a digital object. Not everything has to be kept forever, but materials with scholarly or historical value should be retained for future generations. Preserving digital objects is more challenging than preserving items on paper. Hardware becomes obsolete, new software replaces old, storage media degrades. In recent years, there has been significant progress made to develop tools and standards to preserve digital media, particularly in the context of institutional repositories. The most widely accepted standard thus far is the Trustworthy Repositories Audit and Certification: Criteria and Checklist (TRAC), which evolved into ISO 16363-2012. Deakin University Library undertook a self-assessment against the ISO 16363 criteria. This experience culminated in the current report, which provides an appraisal of ISO 16363, the assessment process, and advice for others considering embarking on a similar venture.

"I tell ya who needs educatin’”: non-Indigenous cultural self-awareness and prisoner education.

Glen says, “current education is colonial; it ain’t ours. I tell ya who needs educatin’, wadjellas”. Glen is a Noongar man who, along with several other Aboriginal adults living in Western Australia, teaches me in a PhD research project about prisoner education from their perspective. His words pose a question for wadjellas like myself who are raised, taught and work in a white neo-colonial society. We have been raised in, taught in and work in a colonial system. As non-Aboriginal people we have unearned privileges which are often invisible and unacknowledged. How then to address the outcomes of this in a way that might lead to working co-operatively alongside Aboriginal people? What kind of ‘educatin’ could teach us about our own unacknowledged privilege and the disadvantage this can lead to for others? Is the standard cross-cultural awareness training enough?This paper shares some of the teachings of Glen and other participants in this research. It expresses the view that, ultimately, the usually unacknowledged legacy of colonisation and associated issue of denied Aboriginal sovereignty lies at the heart of much of the disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal people today when considering education and the prison system. Addressing gaps in non-Indigenous cultural self-awareness by learning from Aboriginal people is an important factor in improving their experiences of education.

Drug use in Australian nightlife settings: estimation of prevalence and validity of self-report

AIMS: This study aimed to 1) estimate the prevalence of illicit drug use in night-time entertainment districts across five major cities in Australia; and 2) validate self-reported drug use using biochemical marker oral swabs. DESIGN: Street intercept surveys and oral drug swabs conducted over a seven-month period during 2011-2012. SETTING: The night-time entertainment districts of three metropolitan cities (Sydney, Melbourne and Perth) and two regional cities (Wollongong and Geelong) in Australia, between the hours of 10 pm and 5 am. PARTICIPANTS: 7,340 individuals agreed to participate in the survey (a 93% response rate). More than half (62%) of the sample was male, with a median age of 22 years (range 18-73). MEASUREMENTS: Patrons were approached in thoroughfares, and while entering and leaving licensed venues. Data collected included demographics and current session alcohol and other substance use. Drug swabs (n = 401) were performed with a sub-sample of participants. FINDINGS: Approximately 9% (95% CI, 7% to 12%) of participants self-reported consumption of illicit or non-prescribed pharmaceutical drugs prior to interview; of those, 81% identified psychostimulants as the drug used. One in five drug swabs returned a positive result, with psychostimulants the most commonly detected drugs (15%; 95% CI, 12%-19%). Kappa statistics indicate agreement between self-report of any illicit drug and a positive drug swab is in the slight range (κ = 0.12 (95% CI, .05 to .20) p = .000). CONCLUSIONS: Self-report findings suggest drug use in the nightlife in Australia is common, though still very much a minority past-time. Drug swabs indicate a higher prevalence of use (20%) than self-report (9%), which suggests that self-reported drug use may not be reliable in this context. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Persona as method: exploring celebrity and the public self through persona studies

Researching persona is a study in the production, dissemination and exchange of public identity. One starting point in the process is to look at the production of the presentation of the self online, which allows for a particularly valuable way of exploring celebrity and public personalities. In order to advance on this point, this article examines three emerging and complementary methods of persona studies that work to capture different elements in the production of public identity. In the following we provide an introduction to the research currently being generated using three intersectional methods as a primer to the study of persona. We first present an adaptation of interpretative phenomenological analysis for the investigation of online identity as a means for understanding the strategic and negotiated agency that constructing a public persona entails. Second, we outline the potential for methods of social network analysis and data visualisation to contribute to the investigation of networked structures of public identities, and to further explore the assembly of a professional persona in the creative and niche paratextual industry roles enabled by social media. Finally, to explore reputation and relational cultural power we consider how persona is constituted by connections, adapting prosopography – an historical method for identifying relational status in a community – to the study of current public production of the self and relational reputation as a form of cultural field. All of these techniques are equally useful for the direct study of celebrity persona, and function dynamically together as means to access the wider dimensions of public persona.