Polster and Ross " Maths Masters" articles

Burkard Polster and Marty Ross's 'Maths Masters' articles (previously reviewed in Vinculum) now linked with the 'Education Supplement' in The Age online are recommended to readers. Polster and Ross will be sending out e-mail alerts with a short summary of the latest article plus a link to where it is sitting on The Age online. E-mail alerts can be requested via Polster and Ross's website mathsmasters@qedcat.com

Up to a quarter of the Australian population may have suboptimal health literacy depending upon the measurement tool : results from a population-based survey

The objective of this paper is to measure health literacy in a representative sample of the Australian general population using three health literacy tools; to consider the congruency of results; and to determine whether these assessments were associated with socio-demographic characteristics. Face-to-face interviews were conducted in a stratified random sample of the adult Victorian population identified from the 2004 Australian Government Electoral Roll. Participants were invited to participate by mail and follow-up telephone call. Health literacy was measured using the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM), Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA) and Newest Vital Sign (NVS). Of 1680 people invited to participate, 89 (5.3%) were ineligible, 750 (44.6%) were not contactable by phone, 531 (32%) refused and 310 (response rate 310/1591, 19.5%) agreed to participate. Compared with the general population, participants were slightly older, better educated and had a higher annual income. The proportion of participants with less than adequate health literacy levels varied: 26.0% (80/308) for the NVS, 10.6% (51 33/310) for the REALM and 6.8% (21/309) for the TOFHLA. A varying but significant proportion of the general population was found to have limited health literacy. The health literacy measures we used, while moderately correlated, appear to measure different but related constructs and use different cut offs to indicate poor health literacy.

Filipino women in Tasmania : negotiating gender ideologies

This paper investigates the experiences of Filipino women who have migrated from the Philippines to Tasmania, Australia. Commonly referred to as 'mail-order brides,' the women have migrated to Tasmania for the purpose of marriage, usually after a long process of letter writing and friendship. This paper argues that Filipino women in Tasmania do not always regard themselves as 'victims' as suggested in many scholarly and media representations of 'mail-order brides.' Instead, based on their accounts, this paper provides insights into the phenomenon of Filipino migration for marriage, questioning and challenging the many assumptions that are made about their migration and settlement.

Spam filtering using classification algorithms

This thesis proposes an innovative adaptive multi-classifier spam filtering model, with a grey-list analyser and a dynamic feature selection method, to overcome false-positive problems in email classification. It also presents additional techniques to minimize the added complexity. Empirical evidence indicates the success of this model over existing approaches.

Spam filtering for network traffic security on a multi-core environment

This paper presents an innovative fusion-based multi-classifier e-mail classification on a ubiquitous multicore architecture. Many previous approaches used text-based single classifiers to identify spam messages from a large e-mail corpus with some amount of false positive tradeoffs. Researchers are trying to prevent false positive in their filtering methods, but so far none of the current research has claimed zero false positive results. In e-mail classification false positive can potentially cause serious problems for the user. In this paper, we use fusion-based multi-classifier classification technique in a multi-core framework. By running each classifier process in parallel within their dedicated core, we greatly improve the performance of our multi-classifier-based filtering system in terms of running time, false positive rate, and filtering accuracy. Our proposed architecture also provides a safeguard of user mailbox from different malicious attacks. Our experimental results show that we achieved an average of 30% speedup at an average cost of 1.4 ms. We also reduced the instances of false positives, which are one of the key challenges in a spam filtering system, and increases e-mail classification accuracy substantially compared with single classification techniques.

Information communication technologies (ICTs) an knowledge sharing : the case of professional accountants in Malaysia

Based on the knowledge sharing model by Nonaka (1994), this study examines the relative efficacy of various Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) applications in facilitating sharing of explicit and tacit knowledge among professional accountants in Malaysia. The results of this study indicate that ICTs, generally, facilitate all modes of knowledge sharing. Best-Practice Repositories are effective for sharing of both explicit and tacit knowledge, while internet/e-mail facilities are effective for tacit knowledge sharing. Data warehousing /mining, on the other hand, is effective in facilitating self learning through tacit-to-tacit mode and explicit-to-explicit mode. ICT facilities used mainly for office administration are ineffective for knowledge sharing purpose. The implications of the findings are
discussed.

Internet-based treatment for panic disorder : does frequency of therapist contact make a difference?

Internet-based interventions with therapist support have proven effective for treating a range of mental health conditions. This study examined whether frequency of therapist contact affected treatment outcomes. Fifty-seven people with panic disorder (including 32 with agoraphobia) were randomly allocated to an 8-week Internet-based cognitive behavioural treatment intervention (Panic Online) with either frequent (three e-mails per week) or infrequent (one e-mail per week) support from a psychologist. Posttreatment, intention-to-treat analyses revealed that both treatments were effective at improving panic disorder and agoraphobia severity ratings, panicrelated cognitions, negative affect, and psychological and physical quality of life domains, with no differences between conditions. High end-state functioning was achieved by 28.6% of the frequent and infrequent participants, respectively. Therapist alliance, treatment credibility, and satisfaction also did not differ between groups, despite significantly greater therapist time invested in the frequent contact condition. The results provide evidence that the effectiveness of Internet-based mental health interventions may be independent of the frequency of therapist support and may, therefore, be more cost-effective than previously reported.

Habitual active transport moderates the association of tv viewing time with body mass index

Background: Television viewing time is associated with obesity risk independent of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA). However,
it is unknown whether the relationship of TV viewing time with body mass index (BMI) is moderated by other domains of physical activity. Methods: A mail survey collected height;weight; TV viewing time; physical activity for transportation (habitual transport behavior; past week walking and bicycling), for recreation (LTPA), and in workplace; and sociodemographic variables in Adelaide, Australia. General linear models examined whether physical activity domains moderate the association between BMI and TV viewing time. Results: Analysis of the sample (N = 1408) found that TV time, habitual transport, and LTPA were independently associated with participant’s BMI. The interaction between TV time and habitual transport with BMI was significant, while that between TV time and LTPA was not. Subgroup analyses found that adjusted mean BMI was significantly higher for the high TV viewing category, compared with the low category,
among participants who were inactive and occasionally active in transport, but not among those who were regularly active. Conclusions: Habitual active transport appeared to moderate the relationship between TV viewing time and BMI. Obesity risk associated with prolonged TV viewing may be mitigated by regular active transport.

On- and off-campus computer usage in engineering education

Computers and information technology play an important role in engineering education at the School of Engineering and Technology, Deakin University, Australia. Experience has shown that there are significant demographic differences between on- and off-campus engineering student groups. It was thought that the differences in the student groups might also lead to differences in computer usage patterns between the groups. A survey on computer usage was undertaken to determine the computer usage patterns of students at the commencement of their studies. The survey revealed differences between on- and off-campus students in whether students indicated they were regular computer users (on-campus = 77.2%, off-campus = 94.7%), the average reported hours per week usage of computers (on-campus = 6.0 h, off-campus = 23.3 h), the reported source of computer access, whether students indicated they were regular users of e-mail (on-campus = 29.8%, off-campus = 73.7%), whether students indicated they were regular users of the World Wide Web (on-campus = 38.6%, off-campus = 68.4%), and the reported source of World Wide Web access. It is proposed that the differing personal circumstances of the two student groups may contribute to the difference in survey responses.

Identifying subgroups of U.S. adults at risk for prolonged television viewing to inform program development

Background
Although adverse health effects of prolonged TV viewing have been increasingly recognized, little population-wide information is available concerning subgroups at greatest risk for this behavior.

Purpose
This study sought to identify, in a U.S. population–derived sample, combinations of variables that defined subgroups with higher versus lower levels of usual TV-viewing time.

Methods
A total of 5556 adults from a national consumer panel participated in the mail survey in 2001 (55% women, 71% white, 13% black, and 11% Hispanic). Nonparametric risk classification analyses were conducted in 2008.

Results
Subgroups with the highest proportions of people watching >14 hours/week of TV were identified and described using a combination of demographic (i.e., lower household incomes, divorced/separated); health and mental health (i.e., poorer rated overall health, higher BMI, more depression); and behavioral (i.e., eating dinner in front of the TV, smoking, less physical activity) variables. The subgroup with the highest rates of TV viewing routinely ate dinner while watching TV and had lower income and poorer health. Prolonged TV viewing also was associated with perceived aspects of the neighborhood environment (i.e., heavy traffic and crime, lack of neighborhood lighting, and poor scenery).

Conclusions
The results can help inform intervention development in this increasingly important behavioral health area.

A family-based intervention to increase fruit and vegetable consumption in adolescents : a pilot study

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a pilot family-based newsletter intervention to increase fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption among adolescents.
Design: Family-based, two-group randomised control trial with baseline, postintervention and follow-up measures. The intervention group received two FV newsletter packs over a 1 month period by postal mail. Social cognitive and behavioural choice theories provide the theoretical framework for the design and development of intervention materials. Control families were provided with all intervention materials at the end of the study. Adolescent FV consumption was assessed by an FFQ. Adolescent-reported barriers to eating FV, FV habits and preferences were the secondary outcomes, along with parent FV consumption, and parents reported knowledge, encouragement, home availability and accessibility of FV. Repeated-measures ANOVA was used to detect differences in behavioural and psychosocial outcomes between groups, time and group-by-time.
Setting: East Midlands, UK.
Subjects: Forty-nine parents and adolescents aged 12–14 years.
Results: Process evaluation indicated high reach, dose acceptability and fidelity of the intervention. At post-intervention and 6 weeks later at follow-up, adolescents in the intervention group had significantly higher fruit: (P0<·01) and vegetable (P<0·05) consumption and higher preferences for vegetables (P<0·01), compared with the control group. At post-intervention and follow-up, parents in the intervention group had significantly higher fruit (P<0·001) and vegetable (P<0·01) consumption and reported higher accessibility of fruit and vegetables (P<0·001), compared with those in the control group.
Conclusions: Family-based, newsletter interventions promoting FV consumption to adolescents appear to be feasible and effective at increasing FV consumption.

Management control systems use, organisational capabilities and performance in universities: application of the resource-based view

Invoking the resource-based view (RBV), this study investigates relationships between management control systems (MCSs) use, including information use from performance measurement systems (PMSs), and organisational capabilities in the context of academic units of Australian universities. Increased competition and attention to distinctive capabilities amongst universities, particularly at their strategic operating unit level of Schools 1, provides the setting for application of this theoretic perspective. The objective of this study is to model various relationships between diagnostic and interactive use of MCSs, attention given to centrally-imposed and discretionary types of PMS information, the strength of capabilities of the academic unit and, in turn, performance of the academic units. This objective is investigated using a field survey in which a mail survey instrument is administered to a census of all Heads of Schools in all 39 universities in Australia. Valid responses were received from 166 Heads. Principal components factor analysis finds that Heads conceived capabilities of their unit in functional dimensions, not in generic dimensions as found in prior literature; Heads also considered performance measures in terms of their importance (critical or discretionary) rather than type (financial versus non-financial). Partial least-squares analysis is then used for path modelling, and several significant results are obtained. Highlights are that diagnostic MCS use and centrally-imposed performance measures, i.e., key performance indicators, but not interactive MCS use or discretionary performance measures, significantly relate to some or all of the strength of capabilities in the fields of teaching, research and networking, and in turn indirectly relate to performance of the academic units. The findings have practical implications for styles of control systems use; focus on selected key performance measures; and development of organisational capabilities for achievement of superior performance by academic schools in universities.

Use of management control systems in university faculties : evidence of diagnostic versus interactive approaches by the upper echelons

Drawing on upper echelon theory and focusing on the context of higher education reforms in Australia within new public management in university faculties/colleges, this study investigates the diagnostic versus interactive uses of management control systems by Deans/Pro-Vice Chancellors of Faculties/Colleges (hereafter called Faculty PVCs). It seeks to identify how the professional and experiential characteristics of these senior academic executives and the structure of their Faculty, impact on their managerial and collegial orientation as reflected in their approach to using management controls. A mail survey of Faculty PVCs is conducted amongst a census of all Faculties/Colleges of all universities in Australia. Supplementing this survey are semi-structured interviews with the PVC of the business and science Faculty at a large Australian university. Results reveal that PVCs who have had a longer career in higher education tend to use MCSs more interactively (or collegially). There is also evidence that as PVCs hold their current position for longer periods, they tend to move from an early diagnostic use of MCSs to a subsequent interactive use. Further, the higher the complexity of a Faculty the more a PVC will adopt an interactive approach to MCS use. Other PVC and Faculty characteristics did not reveal patterns of significant influence on the interactive or diagnostic use of MCSs. A key revelation from interviews is that PVCs will give over-riding importance to meeting centrally-set diagnostically-focused KPI, but still take a collegial approach within their Faculty to the broader use of MCSs. The findings lend limited support to upper echelons theory, but provide a grounding for further research into the impact that a managerial versus a collegial approach by PVCs/Deans may have on their Faculty’s growth in innovative capacities, teaching qualities or financial strength.

From despotism to democracy : reporting Iraq's January 2005 election in the Australian and Middle Eastern print media

It is only in recent times that the magnitude of Ancient Mesopotamia’s contribution to language, agriculture, modern thought and urbane society has begun to be understood. Most relevant to this study is the governance of Mesopotamia’s early city-states by a political system that Jacobsen has termed ‘Primitive Democracy’ where “…ultimate political power rested with a general assembly of all adult freemen” (Jacobsen, 1977; 128). Yet, despite this, the coverage of Iraq in the Western media since its creation at the end of the First World War and particularly since the first Gulf War, has tended towards Orientalism (Said, 1978) by trivialising this nation and thereby reinforcing the hegemony of the West over the ‘backward, barbaric’ East.

This paper examines this issue further by comparing and contrasting the representations of the Iraqi election of January 30, 2005 in four of Australia’s leading daily newspapers (The Australian, The Courier-Mail, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald) with four Middle Eastern English language papers (The Daily Star from Lebanon, Andolu Agency and Dunya both based in Turkey, and the eponymous Kuwait Times). In essence, it finds that while the Australian media posits democracy as a Western concept and asserts a discourse of US hegemony, the Middle Eastern papers are more contemplative, focusing on the impact that this election could have throughout the region.

Reporting Iraq's cosmopolitan society in the Australian print media : The case of the Assyrian church bombings

A series of bomb blasts that targeted a number of Assyrian churches in Baghdad and Mosul last year were reported in the Australian media and seemed to hint at the complexity of Iraq’s cosmopolitan society. This paper seeks to compare and contrast the representation of these events in four of Australia’s leading newspapers (The Australian, The Courier-Mail, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald) by using a multi-methodological approach. The analysis reveals that Australian print coverage falls short of detailing the complexities of Iraq’s cosmopolitan society and therefore engenders an Orientalist (Said, 1978) discourse that constructs the Assyrians as powerless and anonymous victims.