Bollywood’s Australian yarn

 It’s 101 years since the birth of Bollywood, the world’s largest and most vibrant movie industry and, of course, that’s more than enough time to mature and alter, to grow arms and legs. For some time, but since the 1990s particularly, the connections between Australia and Bollywood have really taken hold. So sit back and enjoy a cinematic journey that’s sure to entertain. As a genre Bollywood has grown and developed over a period of 100 years, coloured by India’s history, politics, socio-economic conditions, culture, sensibilities, dreams, fantasies, hopes and expectations. The ever-increasing presence of the Indian diaspora in different parts of the world has helped to realise what we might think of as Bollywood’s cultural diplomacy project. Various Australian state tourism bodies have since supported Indian productions and used Bollywood stars as ambassadors to promote Australia as a welcoming nation. The 1996 film Indian has been credited for featuring the first appearance of kangaroos in Indian cinema. But I have noticed that as early as 1974, a Hindi film Majboor made first reference to Australia and its iconic boxing kangaroo. It featured Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan with a poster captioned: ‘Just hop, skip and jump every Thursday to Perth Sydney’. Australia is now a hot destination for Bollywood as well as regional language film-makers, with a successful foray of films from Soldier (1998) to Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013). Over the past two decades, Australian films such as Holy Smoke! (1999), The Waiting City (2009), Save Your Legs! (2012), feature India, not just as a background location but as an integral part of the plot. Bollywood’s influence on Australia can be gauged by the direction of Australian film careers. Be it the Indian-Australian actress Pallavi Sharda (Besharam) or Australia’s bowling sensation Brett Lee (Asha and Friends), Mary Ann Evans – AKA Fearless Nadia, Louise Lightfoot, Tom Cowan, Bob Christo, Tania Zaetta (Salaam Namaste), Nicholas Brown (Kites), Tabrett Bethell (Dhoom 3), Rebecca Breeds (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag), Kristina Akheeva (Yamla Pagla Deewana 2), Emma Brown Garett (Yamala Pagla Deewana), Vimala Raman (Mumbai Mirror), Anusha Dandekar (Delhi Belly), and Maheep Sandhu (Shivam). In this paper I would focus on the journeys and stories of actors, chiefly Fearless Nadia, Bob Christo, and Pallavi Sharda; and also compare a few Bollywood films, particularly Kya Kehna (2000) and Salaam Namaste (2005) made on same theme but set in India and Australia respectively, to show how Australia as has been presented as sexually liberating, visually romantic, and fantastical land of beaches and beauties.

Thinking with the body: Mind and movement in the work of Wayne McGregor | Random Dance

Thinking with the Body was an exhibition at London's Wellcome Collection, offering a glimpse into Wayne McGregor | Random Dance's interdisciplinary research and the impact it has in the rehearsal studio. Staged in the run-up to the first performances of Atomos at Sadler's Wells (Oct 2013), the exhibition featured the results of over a decade of interdisciplinary research into choreographic creativity which has been applied in the studio, in dance education, and to increase public understanding.

Wellcome Collection is a free visitor destination exploring the connections between medicine, life and art in the past, present and future. Wellcome Collection is part of the Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving improvements in human and animal health.

The exhibition finished on 27 October 2013, but the film exhibits are still available to view online.

Consumer socialization agency: implications for family decision-making about holidays

This paper investigates the influence young adult children living at home have over parents' holiday decisions. "Consumer socialization agency" (CSA) was developed as a measure to capture the intercession or mediation one person accepts from another person about consumption issues. The analysis was conducted through a dyadic method, which involves collecting data from and analyzing data about pairs of people (dyads); in this case, parents and their children. CSA was related to family size and gender+ but more closely related to family communication style. Families fostering an open, issue-based communication style seem to have the highest likelihood of children socializing parents. © 2014 © 2014 Taylor & Francis.

Packet faking attack: a novel attack and detection mechanism in OppNets

 Security is a major challenge in Opportunistic Networks (OppNets) due to its characteristics of being an open medium with dynamic topology, there is neither a centralized management nor clear lines of defence. A packet dropping attack is one of the major security threats in OppNets as neither source nodes nor destination nodes have any knowledge of when or where a packet will be dropped. In this paper, we present a novel attack and detection mechanism against a special type of packet dropping where the malicious node drops one packet or more and injects a new fake packet instead. Our novel detection mechanism is very powerful and has very high accuracy. It relies on a very simple yet powerful idea; the creation time of each packet. Significant results show this robust mechanism achieves a very high accuracy and detection rate.

Defense against packet dropping attacks in opportunistic networks

Opportunistic networks (OppNets) are an interesting topic that are seen to have a promising future. Many protocols have been developed to accommodate the features of OppNets such as frequent partitions, long delays, and no end-to-end path between the source and destination nodes. Embedding security into these protocols is challenging and has taken a lot of attention in research. One of the attacks that OppNets are exposed to is the packet dropping attack, where the malicious node attempts to drop some packets and forwards an incomplete number of packets which results in the distortion of the message. To increase the security levels in OppNets, this paper presents an algorithm developed to detect packet dropping attacks, and finds the malicious node that attempted the attack. The algorithm detects the attack by using an indicative field in the header section of each packet; the indicative field has 3 sub fields - the identification field, the flag field, and the offset field. These 3 fields are used to find if a node receives the complete original number of packets from the previous node. The algorithm will have the advantage of detecting packets dropped by each intermediate node, this helps solve the difficulties of finding malicious nodes by the destination node only.

Current state of China tourism research

Along with the tremendous growth of tourism development in China after its successful hosting of two international mega-events (i.e. the 2010 Shanghai World Expo and the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games), a modest body of academic research on tourism in China has been developed since the start of the second decade of the new millennium. To supplement the continuous development of China's tourism industry, this study presents a review of 147 research articles from tourism journals during the period 2010-2012. Through content analysis, the empirical findings indicate that tourist behaviour and experience was the most researched theme, followed by culture and heritage studies. The trend of research collaboration, particularly international collaboration, was evident among the analysed studies. This study also presents the diversity in recent research in the realm of tourism in China in terms of research context, geographical coverage, data collection and analysis method, and institutional contribution.

Blind estimation of MIMO relay channels

In this paper, we integrate two blind source separation (BSS) methods to estimate the individual channel state information (CSI) for the source-relay and relay-destination links of three-node two-hop multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) relay systems. In particular, we propose a first-order Z-domain precoding technique for the blind estimation of the relay-destination channel matrix, while an algorithm based on the constant modulus and mutual information properties is developed to estimate the source-relay channel matrix. Compared with training-based MIMO relay channel estimation approaches, our algorithm has a better bandwidth efficiency as no bandwidth is wasted for sending the training sequences. Numerical examples are shown to demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithm. © 2014 IEEE.

Scalable hierarchical rings based routing to a mobile robot in wireless sensor networks

Location service provides location information of robots to sensors, to enable event reporting. Existing protocols apply partial flooding to trace robots, leading to poor scalability. We propose a novel scalable location service, which applies hierarchical rings to update robot location and guide routing toward it. Each mobile robot creates a set of hierarchical update rings of doubling radii. Whenever the robot leaves its k-th ring, it updates its new location to sensors along its newly defined k-th ring, and re-defines all smaller rings for future decisions. When a sensor needs to route to the mobile robot, it starts searching from its smallest ring and sends location query to the sensors along the ring. If the query fails, the search then extends to the next larger ring, until it intersects an existing update ring, from which the search can be directed towards reported center. The location of destination is updated whenever another more recent ring is intersected. Our scheme guarantees message delivery if robot remains connected to sensors during its move. The theoretical analysis and simulation results demonstrate better scalability than previous protocols for the similar goal. © 2014 IEEE.

Nursing educator perspectives of overseas qualified nurses' intercultural clinical communication: barriers, enablers and engagement strategies

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To understand the intercultural communication experiences and associated communication training needs of overseas qualified nurses in the Australian healthcare system from the unique perspectives of nurse educators teaching in accredited bridging programmes. BACKGROUND: Overseas qualified nurses are an integral part of the nursing workforce in migration destination countries. Communication training needs are more complex when there are cultural, ethnic and language differences between nurses, other health professionals and patients. DESIGN: A qualitative, exploratory research design using semi-structured interviews. METHODS: All (nine) organisations involved in conducting the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency approved preregistration bridging programmes for overseas qualified nurses within the state of Victoria, Australia, were involved in the study. Participants were 12 nurse educators employed in these organisations. Thematic analysis was undertaken. RESULTS: Three macro themes emerged about the overseas qualified nurses' intercultural communication: (1) pre-existing barriers and enablers to intercultural communication, for example, nurses' reluctance to engage in communicative strategies that build rapport with patients, (2) transitional behaviours and impact on communication, including maintenance of perceived cultural hierarchies between health professionals and (3) development of communicative competence, including expanding one's repertoire of conversational gambits. CONCLUSIONS: The findings point to the domains and causes of communication challenges facing overseas qualified nurses in new healthcare settings as well as strategies that the nurse educators and nurses can adopt. Communication cannot be merely regarded as a skill that can be taught in a didactic programme. Comprehensive understanding is needed about the sociocultural dimensions of these nurses' orientation, which can impact on how they communicate in their new healthcare settings. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The findings can act as triggers for discussion with overseas qualified nurses and other health professionals to raise awareness about the aspects of intercultural communication and to debate alternative viewpoints and explanations. They can also inform changes in the structure and content of the bridging programmes.

Restorative care for palliative patients: a retrospective clinical audit of outcomes for patients admitted to an inpatient palliative care unit

BACKGROUND: Restorative care in palliative care is a subset of rehabilitation that aims to improve quality of life through restoration or maintenance of physical functions. Outcomes for restorative care programmes delivered by palliative care units have not adequately been assessed. OBJECTIVES: The objectives are to examine the outcomes of a restorative care programme in an inpatient palliative care unit, including discharge destination, performance status changes and length of stay. METHODS: Retrospective clinical audit of consecutive patients admitted to Calvary Health Care Bethlehem in Melbourne, Australia, principally for restorative care from July 2010 to December 2011. RESULTS: 79 admissions met inclusion criteria. Mean age was 76.5 years (SD=11.14) and 43 (54%) were men. 75 (95%) patients had a malignant diagnosis; of these, the majority had lung cancer (24%). 16 patients (20%) were discharged home, 51 (65%) died and 12 (15%) were transferred. Of the patients discharged home, only 6 (38% of those discharged home) improved their performance status. Those discharged home had a significantly shorter length of stay (17 days compared to 39 days; p<0.05). Patients discharged home also had significantly better Australia-modified Karnofsky Performance Status (AKPS) and Resource Utilisation Groups-Activities of Daily Living (RUG-ADL) scores on admission than others (both p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of patients referred for restorative care died during admission, with only a minority discharged home. Patients discharged most commonly experienced maintenance and not improvement in performance status. A successful discharge home following restorative care was associated with a shorter length of stay. Implications and recommendations for successful restorative care will be discussed.

Do birdwatchers care about bird disturbance?

Little is known about how non-consumptive recreationists perceive their impacts on animals and how this relates to recreationist behavior. We surveyed attitudes and behaviors relating to bird disturbance of 179 birdwatchers who visited a world-renowned, restricted-access birdwatching destination (the Western Treatment Plant [WTP], Victoria, Australia). We distributed a 10-page, 49-question survey to birdwatchers at the WTP and posted it to a mailing list of those who held birdwatching access permits. The questionnaire explored socio-demographic profiles of respondents, and their bird- watching behaviors and attitudes to bird disturbance. Birdwatchers regarded vehicles as particularly disturbing and some bird groups, and breeding birds, as especially sensitive to disturbance. They generally disagreed with the contention that birdwatchers and plant workers disturb birds. All respondents reported using strategies to mitigate bird disturbance (e.g., keeping quiet and distant). Those who adopted more strategies to mitigate disturbance agreed more with the contention that birdwatchers and workers cause disturbance, and that breeding birds are especially sensitive to disturbance. Our results suggest that birdwatchers who perceive that their activity disturbs birds are more likely to modify their behaviors to minimize the disturbance. As such, wildlife managers and educators must clearly communicate possible impacts of birdwatching to birdwatchers to maximize the uptake of ethical birdwatching practices.

Introduction: queering regionality

To 'address' the region of the sexual is not to effortlessly attend to its boundary, but instead to address an epistle that may or may not reach its destination. At what address might the edge of sexuality be situated? And what response might be received from that address? The outstanding quartet of papers in this special issue of Transformations are written to address that limit, in four different constitutive contexts.

Does the presence and mix of destinations influence walking and physical activity?

Background: Local destinations have previously been shown to be associated with higher levels of both physical activity and walking, but little is known about how specific destinations are related to activity. This study examined associations between types and mix of destinations and both walking frequency and physical activity. Method: The sample consisted of 2349 residents of 50 urban areas in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. Using geographic information systems, seven types of destinations were examined within three network buffers (400 meters (m), 800 m and 1200 m) of respondents' homes. Multilevel logistic regression was used to estimate effects of each destination type separately, as well as destination mix (variety) on: 1) likelihood of walking for at least 10 min ≥ 4/week; 2) likelihood of being sufficiently physically active. All models were adjusted for potential confounders. Results: All destination types were positively associated with walking frequency, and physical activity sufficiency at 1200 m. For the 800 m buffer: all destinations except transport stops and sports facilities were significantly associated with physical activity, while all except sports facilities were associated with walking frequency; at 400 m, café/takeaway food stores and transport stops were associated with walking frequency and physical activity sufficiency, and sports facilities were also associated with walking frequency. Strongest associations for both outcomes were observed for community resources and small food stores at both 800 m and 1200 m. For all buffer distances: greater mix was associated with greater walking frequency. Inclusion of walking in physical activity models led to attenuation of associations. Conclusions: The results of this analysis indicate that there is an association between destinations and both walking frequency and physical activity sufficiency, and that this relationship varies by destination type. It is also clear that greater mix of destinations positively predicts walking frequency and physical activity sufficiency.

Security and trust in opportunistic networks - a survey

Opportunistic networks or OppNets refer to a number of wireless nodes opportunistically communicating with each other in a form of “Store–Carry–Forward”. This occurs when they come into contact with each other without proper network infrastructure. OppNets use wireless technologies, such as IEEE 802.11, WiMAX, Bluetooth, and other short-range radio communication. In OppNets, there is no end-to-end connection between the source and the destination nodes, and the nodes usually have high mobility, low density, limited power, short radio range, and often subject to different kinds of attacks by malicious nodes. Due to these characteristics and features, OppNets are subject to serious security challenges. OppNets strongly depend on human interaction; therefore, the success of securing such networks is based on trust between people. This survey includes the security approaches in OppNets and techniques used to increase their security levels.

Displacement and health

The health needs of displaced populations vary widely. The question as to the demands displaced populations place on health care resources and health care providers in their destination countries or regions remains the subject of great debate and contention. Internationally, health care workers are faced with complex challenges in providing care to displaced populations. This paper highlights some of the key health issues for displaced populations around the globe. Whilst 'Band Aid' solutions to existing health problems are useful in the short term, the paper describes the need for long-term public health prevention and educational strategies to enable displaced communities full access to and participation in their new 'home' communities.