Male body image in real and virtual environments

My research investigated the relevance of men’s online avatars to their body image concerns in real life. The results revealed that the size and muscle of avatars are of clinical significance for certain men, particularly those who value and identify with the aesthetic properties of their avatars.

Collaboration in 3D shared spaces using X3D and VRML

We propose a framework for visual and haptic collaboration in 3D shared virtual spaces. Virtual objects can de declared as shared objects which visual and physical properties are rendered synchronously on each client computer. We introduce virtual tools which are shared objects associated with interactive and haptic devices. We implement the proposed ideas as new pilot versions of BS Collaborate server and BS Contact VRML/X3D viewer. In our collaborative framework, two pipelines-visual and haptic-complement each other to provide a simple and efficient solution to problem requiring collaboration in shared virtual spaces on the Web. We discuss two implementation frameworks based on the strong and thin server concepts.

Physical prototypes in cross-functional team collaboration : a study of the Model-T2 concept car project

Virtual and physical prototypes play a significant role in the design of artifacts. This is particularly true in cross-functional team collaboration, where diverse disciplines come together to contribute to the concept, design and development of an artifact. While the role of prototyping in design and cross-functional collaboration has been widely studied independently, little is known of the role that physical prototypes play during cross-functional team collaboration. This paper reports on a study of virtual and physical prototyping strategies used by a cross-functional team comprising engineers and designers working on a concept car project. The paper provides a background of the collaborative design process and details the role of physical prototyping methods during the design of the concept car.

Enhancing collaboration in building modeling: team working principles

Enhancing collaboration in building information modelling (BIM) teams has attracted considerable attention. Current research studies have almost entirely focused on the technical aspects of BIM overlooking the significant effects of team configurations and working procedures on collaboration in BIM teams. Against this backdrop, the present study is driven by the objective of enhancing awareness of the challenges that face teams in developing BIM models and propose a number of effective measures modifying team configurations and adjusting working processes to enhance collaboration. To this end, the study draws upon a case-study and ethnographic theory building research approach through which the development of the BIM model was explored and its major challenges with corresponding applied solutions in a high profile infrastructure project backdrop. The study set out to contribute to the field by providing evidence and opening a window for conceptualisation of the problems and modifications for enhancing collaboration in BIM through the lens of team working principles. The discussion presented outlines practical implications and provides insight into how issues of collaboration in BIM could be dealt with armed with a heightened awareness of principles of team working.

Collaboration Down Under : investigating team learning in Australia in architecture and related design contexts

This position paper reports on an Australian Learning Teaching Council (ALTC) funded project – “Enhancing and Assessing Group and Team Learning in Architecture and Related Design Contexts.” This is a two-year project, commencing in November 2011, which is investigating best practice in Australian higher education for the teaching of teamwork in the design disciplines, with a focus on Architecture. At the time of the conference presentation, data on current practices will be reported on that has been collected and analysed from four universities in Australia. The project aims to: highlight and develop innovative approaches to collaborative studio-based learning; structure team learning within curricula; develop graduate attributes for teamwork; and inform assessment of team design that supports team-working skills and increased learner confidence.

Project team trust in leadership and leader values

This international research showed that when senior leaders' values and behaviours were perceived as being congruent by project teams, there was enrichment of interpersonal relationships and a reinforcement of relational trust. Conversely, when leaders' values and behaviours were perceived as not congruent, they were considered to lack integrity and trustworthiness.

The dance of trust in high risk multi-partner collaborations : an exploration of the antecedents of trust in cross-sector R&D projects

This paper explores the dance of trust in cross-sector R&D collaborations, and does so by drawing on a multi-method study (involving qualitative research, case studies and a survey of project leaders) of the Australian Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) Program. R&D collaborations formed under this Program involve two main types of risk, venture or performance-related and relational, and these are problematic given power, information and risk impact asymmetries among the partners. Within the CRCs these risks are addressed through formalisation, employing the “right people”, and through relationship building. Trust (theorised following Sako as a multi-dimensional construct) is central to these processes. Where trust is formed among CRC participants, and is reinforced over repeated interactions, then relational and performance risks cease to become a major concern for CRC managers. In the CRCs, trust is formed and sustained as a multi-level process. Engagement and relationship commitment is achieved at an organizational level, and partner reputation, credible commitments and the institutional context are important factors here. At the project level, trust, in conjunction with a task focus, leads to a positive collaboration experience and this is associated with positive project outcomes. Within CRC projects, capabilities for communication and cross-sector management are important for the formation and maintenance of trust. The paper concludes by discussing the managerial implications of the study’s findings and by identifying areas for further research and conceptual development.

Undergraduate nursing students' performance in recognising and responding to sudden patient deterioration in high psychological fidelity simulated environments: an Australian multi-centre study

Objectives
This paper reports the quantitative findings of the first phase of a larger program of ongoing research: Feedback Incorporating Review and Simulation Techniques to Act on Clinical Trends (FIRST2ACTTM). It specifically aims to identify the characteristics that may predict primary outcome measures of clinical performance, teamwork and situation awareness in the management of deteriorating patients.

Design
Mixed-method multi-centre study.

Setting
High fidelity simulated acute clinical environment in three Australian universities.

Participants
A convenience sample of 97 final year nursing students enrolled in an undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing or combined Bachelor of Nursing degree were included in the study.

Method
In groups of three, participants proceeded through three phases: (i) pre-briefing and completion of a multi-choice question test, (ii) three video-recorded simulated clinical scenarios where actors substituted real patients with deteriorating conditions, and (iii) post-scenario debriefing. Clinical performance, teamwork and situation awareness were evaluated, using a validated standard checklist (OSCE), Team Emergency Assessment Measure (TEAM) score sheet and Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT). A Modified Angoff technique was used to establish cut points for clinical performance.

Results
Student teams engaged in 97 simulation experiences across the three scenarios and achieved a level of clinical performance consistent with the experts' identified pass level point in only 9 (1%) of the simulation experiences. Knowledge was significantly associated with overall teamwork (p = .034), overall situation awareness (p = .05) and clinical performance in two of the three scenarios (p = .032 cardiac and p = .006 shock). Situation awareness scores of scenario team leaders were low overall, with an average total score of 41%.

Conclusions
Final year undergraduate nursing students may have difficulty recognising and responding appropriately to patient deterioration. Improving pre-requisite knowledge, rehearsal of first response and team management strategies need to be a key component of undergraduate nursing students' education and ought to specifically address clinical performance, teamwork and situation awareness.

Enhancing and assessing group and team learning in architecture and related design contexts

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYTeamwork skills are essential in the design industry where practitioners negotiate often-conflicting design options in multi-disciplinary teams. Indeed, many of the bodies that accredit design courses explicitly list teamwork skills as essential attributes of design graduates e.g., the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA), Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) of the United States and the Institution of Engineers, Australia (IEAust). In addition to the need to meet the demands of the accrediting bodies, there are many reasons for the ubiquitous use of teamwork assignments in design schools. For instance, teamwork learning is seen as being representative of work in practice where design is nearly always a collaborative activity. Learning and teaching in teamwork contexts in design education are not without particular challenges. In particular, two broad issues have been identified: first, many students leave academia without having been taught the knowledge and skills of how to design in teams; second, teaching, assessment and assignment design need to be better informed by a clear understanding of what leads to effective teamwork and the learning of teamwork skills. In recognition of the lack of a structured approach to integrating teamwork learning into the curricula of design programs, this project set out to answer three primary research questions: • How do we teach teamwork skills in the context of design? • How do we assess teamwork skills?• How do design students best learn teamwork skills?In addition, four more specific questions were investigated:1. Is there a common range of learning objectives for group-and-team-work in architecture and related design disciplines that will enable the teaching of consistent and measurable outcomes?2. Do group and team formation methods, learning styles and team-role preferences impact students’ academic and course satisfaction outcomes?3. What combinations of group-and-team formation methods, teaching and assessment models significantly improve learning outcomes?4. For design students across different disciplines with different learning styles and cultural origins, are there significant differences in performance, student satisfaction (as measured through questionnaires and unit evaluations), group-and-team working abilities and student participation?To elucidate these questions, a design-based research methodology was followed comprising an iterative series of enquiries: (a) A literature review was completed to investigate: what constitutes effective teamwork, what contributes to effectiveness in teams, what leads to positive design outcomes for teams, and what leads to effective learning in teams. The review encompassed a range of contexts: from work-teams in corporate settings, to professional design teams, to education outside of and within the design disciplines. The review informed a theoretical framework for understanding what factors impact the effectiveness of student design teams. (b) The validity of this multi-factorial Framework of Effectiveness in Student Design Teams was tested via surveys of educators’ teaching practices and attitudes, and of students’ learning experiences. 638 students and 68 teachers completed surveys: two pilot surveys for participants at the four partner institutions, which then informed two national surveys completed by participants from the majority of design schools across Australia. (c) The data collected provided evidence for 22 teamwork factors impacting team effectiveness in student design teams. Pedagogic responses and strategies to these 22 teamwork factors were devised, tested and refined via case studies, focus groups and workshops. (d) In addition, 35 educators from a wide range of design schools and disciplines across Australia attended two National Teaching Symposiums. The first symposium investigated the wider conceptualisation of teamwork within the design disciplines, and the second focused on curriculum level approaches to structuring the teaching of teamwork skills identified in the Framework.The Framework of Effectiveness in Student Design Teams identifies 22 factors impacting effective teamwork, along with teaching responses and strategies that design educators might use to better support student learning. The teamwork factors and teaching strategies are categorised according to three groups of input (Task Characteristics, Individual Level Factors and Team Level Factors), two groups of processes (Teaching Practice & Support Structures and Team Processes), and three categories of output (Task Performance, Teamwork Skills, and Attitudinal Outcomes). Eight of the 22 teamwork factors directly relate to the skills that need to be developed in students, one factor relates to design outputs, and the other thirteen factors inform pedagogies that can be designed for better learning outcomes. In Table 10 of Section 4, we outline which of the 22 teamwork factors pertain to each of five stakeholder groups (curriculum leaders, teachers, students, employers and the professional bodies); thus establishing who will make best use the information and recommendations we make. In the body of this report we summarise the 22 teamwork factors and teaching strategies informed by the Framework of Effectiveness in Student Design Teams, and give succinct recommendations arising from them. This material is covered in depth by the project outputs. For instance, the teaching and assessment strategies will be expanded upon in a projected book on Teaching Teamwork in Design. The strategies are also elucidated by examples of good practice presented in our case studies, and by Manuals on Teamwork for Teachers and Students. Moreover, the project website (ing-teamwork-in-design.com index.html=""> visited by representatives of stakeholder groups in Australia and Canada), is seeding a burgeoning community of practice that promises dissemination, critical evaluation and the subsequent refinement of our materials, tools, strategies and recommendations. The following three primary outputs have been produced by the project in answer to the primary research questions:1. A theoretical Framework of Effectiveness in Student Design Teams;2. Manuals on Teamwork for Teachers and Students (available from the website);3. Case studies of good/innovative practices in teaching and assessing teamwork in design;In addition, five secondary outputs/outcomes have been produced that provide more nuanced responses:4. Detailed recommendations for the professional accrediting bodies and curriculum leaders;5. Online survey data (from over 700 participants), plus Team Effectiveness Scale to determine the factors influencing effective learning and successful outputs for student design teams;6. A community of practice in policy, programs, practice and dialogue;7. A detailed book proposal (with sample chapter), submitted to prospective publishers, on Teaching Teamwork in Design; 8. An annotated bibliography (accessed via the project website) on learning, teaching and assessing teamwork.The project has already had an international impact. As well as papers presented in Canada and New Zealand, the surveys were participated in by six Canadian schools of architecture, whose teaching leaders also provided early feedback on the project aims and objectives during visits made to them by the project leader. In addition, design schools in Vancouver, Canada, and San Diego in the USA have already utilised the Teacher’s Manual, and in February 2014 the project findings were discussed at Tel Aviv University in a forum focusing on the challenges for sustainability in architectural education.ing-teamwork-in-design.com>

Enhancing collaboration in BIM-based construction networks through organisational discontinuity theory: a case study of the new Royal Adelaide Hospital

This paper discusses a case study of Australia’s most technologically advanced health facility to address an identified gap in the body of the knowledge. That is, no comprehensive study has hitherto attempted to draw upon virtual team working theories to enhance collaboration in BIM-based construction networks (BbCNs). In response to this, the present study seeks to raise awareness of organisational discontinuity theory (ODT) as a recent theory for virtual teams, which enables BbCNs to embrace collaboration. To this end, the major challenges encountered and corresponding solutions adopted on a mega-project have been closely monitored and investigated. The study contributes to the field through the conceptualisation of typical barriers to collaboration in BbCNs from the perspective of ODT. Additionally, the discussions presented outline practical implications by demonstrating how the identified issues of collaboration in BbCNs could be effectively dealt with.

Leadership for socially just schooling: more substance and less style in high-risk, low-trust times?

This article argues that radical shifts in school governance arising from wider social, political, and economic relations toward what are described as high-risk and low-trust societies challenge past notions of leadership. I explore the tensions between the pluralism of postmodernist thinking and modernist notions of social justice that produce "predicaments" for school leaders through a series of paradoxes of educational management around centralized decentralization, markets and management, new educational professionalism, parental choice and community participation, and between the substance and style of leadership. The values underpinning the corporatization of public and private life most evident in education do not provide a satisfactory grounding for effective school leadership.

Amplification of multiple copies of mitochondrial Cytochrome b gene fragments in the Australian freshwater crayfish, Cherax destructor Clark (Parastacidae: Decapoda)

Non-coding copies of fragments of the mitochondrial genome translocated to the nucleus or pseudogenes are being found with increasing frequency in a diversity of organisms. As part of a study to evaluate the utility of a range of mitochondrial gene regions for population genetic and systematic studies of the Australian freshwater crayfish, Cherax destructor (the yabby), we report the first detection of Cytochrome b (Cyt b) pseudogenes in crustaceans. We amplified and sequenced fragments of the mitochondrial Cyt b gene from 14 individuals of C. destructor using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with primers designed from conserved regions of Penaeus monodon and Drosophila melanogaster mitochondrial genomes. The phylogenetic tree produced from the amplified fragments using these primers showed a very different topology to the trees obtained from sequences from three other mitochondrial genes, suggesting one or more nuclear pseudogenes have been amplified. Supporting this conclusion, two highly divergent sequences were isolated from each of two single individuals, and a 2 base pair (bp) deletion in one sequence was observed. There was no evidence to support inadvertent amplification of parasite DNA or contamination of samples from other sources. These results add to other recent observations of pseudogenes suggesting the frequent transfer of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes to the nucleus and reinforces the necessity of great care in interpreting PCR-generated Cyt b sequences used in population or evolutionary studies in freshwater crayfish and crustaceans more generally.

Trends in children`s physical activity and weight status in high and low socio-economic status areas of Melbourne, Victoria, 1985-2001

Objective:
To examine trends in active transport to and from school, in school sport and physical education (PE), and in weight status among children from high and low socio-economic status (SES) areas in Melbourne, Victoria, between 1985 and 2001.

Methods:
Cross-sectional survey data and measured height and weight from 1985 (n=557) and 2001 (n=926) were compared for children aged between 9–13 years within high and low SES areas.

Results:
From 1985 to 2001, the frequency of walking to or from school declined (4.38±4.3 vs. 3.61 ± 3.8 trips/wk, p<0.001), cycling to or from school also declined (1.22±2.9 vs. 0.36±1.5 trips/wk, p<0.001), and the frequency of PE lessons declined (1.64±1.1 vs. 1.18±0.9 lessons/wk, p<0.001). However, the frequency of school sport increased (0.9±1.22 vs. 1.24±0.8 sessions/wk, p<0.001). In 1985, 11.7% of children were overweight or obese compared with 28.7% in 2001 (p<0.001). Apart from walking to school and school sport, there were greater relative declines in cycling to school and PE, and increases in overweight and obesity among children attending schools in low SES areas compared with those attending schools in high SES areas.

Conclusions:
Declines in active school transport and PE have occurred at the same time as increases in overweight and obesity among Australian children.

Implications:
Promoting active school transport and maintaining school sport and PE should be important public health priorities in Australia. Current inequities in school sport and PE and in prevalence of overweight and obesity by area-level SES also need to be addressed.