Predicting changes in lifestyle and clinical outcomes in preventing diabetes : The Greater Green Triangle Diabetes Prevention Project

Objectives : To analyse how psychosocial determinants of lifestyle changes targeted in the Greater Green Triangle Diabetes Prevention Project conducted in Southeast Australia in 2004–2006 predict changes in dietary behaviour and clinical risk factors.

Methods : A longitudinal pre-test and post-test study design was used. The group program was completed by 237 people at high risk of type 2 diabetes. Associations between changes in the variables were examined by structural equation modelling using a path model in which changes in psychological determinants for lifestyle predicted changes in dietary behaviours (fat and fibre intake), which subsequently predicted changes in waist circumference and other clinical outcomes. Standardised regression weights are presented, with β = ± 0.1 and β = ± 0.3 representing small and medium associations, respectively.

Results : Improvements in coping self-efficacy and planning predicted improvements in fat (β = − 0.15, p < 0.05 and β = − 0.32, p < 0.001, respectively) and fibre intake (β = 0.15, p < 0.05 and β = 0.23, p < 0.001, respectively) which in turn predicted improvements in waist circumference (β = 0.18, p < 0.01 and β = − 0.16, p < 0.05, respectively). Improvements in waist circumference predicted improvements in diastolic blood pressure (β = 0.13, p < 0.05), HDL (β = − 0.16, p < 0.05), triglycerides (β = 0.17, p < 0.01), and fasting glucose (β = 0.15, p < 0.05).

Conclusions : Psychological changes predicted behaviour changes, resulting in 12-month biophysical changes. The findings support the theoretical basis of the interventions.

Semiotic, rhetoric and democracy

This paper unites Deely’s call for a better understanding of semiotics with Jaeger’s insight into the sophists and the cultural history of the Ancient Greeks. The two bodies of knowledge are brought together to try to better understand the importance of rhetorical processes to political forms such as democracy. Jaeger explains how cultural expression, particularly poetry, changed through the archaic and classical eras to deliver, or at least to be commensurate with contemporary politics and ideologies. He explains how Plato (429-347 BCE) struggled against certain poetry and prose manifestations in his ambition to create a ‘perfect man’ – a humanity which would think in a way which would enable the ideal Republic to flourish. Deely’s approach based on Poinsot and Peirce presents a theoretical framework by means of which we can think of the struggle to influence individual and communal conceptualisation as a struggle within semiotics. This is a struggle over the ways reality is signified by signs. Signs are physical and mental indications which, in the semiotic tradition, are taken to produce human subjectivity – human ‘being’. Deely’s extensive body of work is about how these signs are the building blocks of realist constructions of understanding. This paper is concerned with the deliberate use of oral and written signs in rhetorical activity which has been deliberately crafted to change subjectivity. We discuss: (1) what thought and culture is in terms of semiotics and (2) Jaeger’s depiction of Ancient Greece as an illustration of the conjunction between culture and subjectivity. These two fields are brought together in order to make the argument that rhetoric can be theorised as the deliberate harnessing of semiotic affects. The implication is that the same semiotic, subjectivity-changing potency holds for 21st century rhetoric. However fourth century BCE Athens is the best setting for a preliminary discussion of rhetoric as deliberate semiotic practice because this was when rhetoric was most clearly understood for what it is. By contrast a discussion concentrating on modern rhetoric: public relations; advertising; lobbying; and public affairs would open wider controversies requiring considerably more complex explanation.

ICT to enhance the triangle of life : the soil, the seed, and the life-giver farmer

This paper reports on the outcomes of an ICT enabled social sustainability project “Green Lanka1” trialled in the Wilgamuwa village, which is situated in the Dambulla district of Sri Lanka. The main goals of the project were focused towards the provision of information about market prices, transportation options, agricultural decision support and modern agriculture practices of the farmer communities to improve their livelihood with the effective use of technologies. The project used Web and Mobile (SMS) enabled systems. The Green Lanka project was sponsored by the Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka under the Institutional Capacity Building Programme (ICBP) grant scheme which was sponsored by the World Bank. Six hundred families in Wilgamuwa village participated in the project activities. The project was designed, executed and studied through an Action Research approach. The lessons learned through the project activities provide an important understanding of the complex interaction between different stakeholders in the process of implementation of ICT enabled solutions within digitally divided societies. The paper analyses the processes used to reduce the resistance to change and improved involvement of farmer communities in ICT enabled projects. It also analyses the interaction between stakeholders involved in design and implementation of the project activities to improve the chances of project success.

A comparison of Australian rural and metropolitan cardiovascular risk and mortality: the Greater Green Triangle and North West Adelaide population surveys

Objectives:
Cardiovascular (CVD) mortality disparities between rural/regional and urban-dwelling residents of Australia are persistent. Unavailability of biomedical CVD risk factor data has, until now, limited efforts to understand the causes of the disparity. This study aimed to further investigate such disparities.

Stress triangle: do introduced predators exert indirect costs on native predators and prey?

Non-consumptive effects of predators on each other and on prey populations often exceed the effects of direct predation. These effects can arise from fear responses elevating glucocorticoid (GC) hormone levels (predator stress hypothesis) or from increased vigilance that reduces foraging efficiency and body condition (predator sensitive foraging hypothesis); both responses can lead to immunosuppression and increased parasite loads. Non-consumptive effects of invasive predators have been little studied, even though their direct impacts on local species are usually greater than those of their native counterparts. To address this issue, we explored the non-consumptive effects of the invasive red fox Vulpes vulpes on two native species in eastern Australia: a reptilian predator, the lace monitor Varanus varius and a marsupial, the ringtail possum Pseudocheirus peregrinus. In particular, we tested predictions derived from the above two hypotheses by comparing the basal glucocorticoid levels, foraging behaviour, body condition and haemoparasite loads of both native species in areas with and without fox suppression. Lace monitors showed no GC response or differences in haemoparasite loads but were more likely to trade safety for higher food rewards, and had higher body condition, in areas of fox suppression than in areas where foxes remained abundant. In contrast, ringtails showed no physiological or behavioural differences between fox-suppressed and control areas. Predator sensitive foraging is a non-consumptive cost for lace monitors in the presence of the fox and most likely represents a response to competition. The ringtail's lack of response to the fox potentially represents complete naiveté or strong and rapid selection to the invasive predator. We suggest evolutionary responses are often overlooked in interactions between native and introduced species, but must be incorporated if we are to understand the suite of forces that shape community assembly and function in the wake of biological invasions.

The importance of Sino-Australian sister city type relationships in regional development

Using the Jiangsu-Victoria and Greater Green Triangle-Yangzhou relationships as case studies this paper provides an initial analysis of the origins, objectives, achievements, and limitations of SinoAustralian Sister City Type Relationships. Based on research to date, we suggest that certain factors, including the development of inappropriate SCTRs have seriously limited the capacity of these relationships to achieve their stated and unstated regional development objectives. After reviewing the recent history and perceived effectiveness of Sino Australian SCTRs. the paper concludes by commenting on the potential of such relationships to contribute to economic and cultural development in regional Australia.

Reducing yarn hairiness with a modified yarn path in worsted ring spinning

The spinning geometry of a ring frame plays an important role, and the twist triangle is the critical region in ring spinning. Changes in the spinning geometry may affect yarn properties. This paper examines the idea of ring spinning with a "diagonal" yarn path, and the effect of such a path on yam properties, particularly hairiness. Both "left diagonal" and "right diagonal" yam arrangements are tried on a 24-spindle Cognetex FLC worsted ring frame. The hairiness results obtained from the Zweigle hairiness meter show that the right diagonal yam path produces yams of lower hairiness than the conventional ring spun yarn in almost all the hair length groups. Yam evenness and tenacity are not as sensitive to the change in yarn path. The mean spindle speed at break is also tested, and there is some deterioration in spinning efficiency with the right diagonal yarn path, particularly at higher spinning speeds. Results from this study may help explain variations in yarns spun on poorly aligned ring frames.

'They don't associate it with feminism' : in-service educators' conceptions of gender-inclusive curriculu

This article seeks to address significant gaps in educational policy discourses. Namely, to respond to professional development discourses that lack significant engagement with feminist perspectives, as well as to feminist discourses that fail to consider the significance of in-service education. The data reported here are drawn from a broader case study of Australian primary practitioners from 1975 who were interviewed about their enactment of gender-inclusive reform in the state of Victoria. This discussion takes as its focus the standpoint of 17 in-service educators in terms of their conceptualisation of gender inclusiveness. Three distinctive conceptions emerged in data analysis, which may be represented as three amalgams on a continuum according to a feminist perspective. Implications of this plurality of meaning for professional development are concluded.[2]

Starring in the intimate space: picture book narratives and performance semiotics

This article examines the impact of narratological pragmatics as applicable to both theatre and children picture book performances. The premise is interdisciplinary in that it negotiates points of intersection between performance semiotics and theoretical approaches to Children's Literature. Employing a comparative case study of Samuel Beckett's Happy Days and John Burningham's picture book Aldo, the research assesses the narratological outcomes of intersecting semiotic codes in relation to these specific texts.

A conceptual model for recruitment and retention : allied health workforce enhancement in Western Victoria, Australia

Attracting and retaining allied health professionals in rural areas is a recognised problem in both Australia and overseas. Predicted increases in health needs will require strategic actions to enhance the rural workforce and its ability to deliver the required services. A range of factors in different domains has been associated with recruitment and retention in the allied health workforce. For example, factors can be related to the nature of the work, the personal needs, or the way an organisation is led. Some factors cannot be changed (eg geographical location of extended family) whereas others can be influenced (eg education, support, management styles). Recruitment and retention of allied health professionals is a challenging problem that deserves attention in all domains and preparedness to actively change established work practices, both individually as well as collectively, in order to cater for current and predicted health needs. Changes to enhance workforce outcomes can be implemented and evaluated using a cyclic model. The Allied Health Workforce Enhancement Project of the Greater Green Triangle University Department of Rural Health (GGT UDRH) is working towards increasing the number of allied health professionals in the south west of Victoria. Based on themes identified in the literature, an interactive model is being developed that addresses recruitment and retention factors in three domains: (1) personal or individual; (2) organisation; and (3) community.