Perceived barriers to healthy lifestyle activities in midlife and older Australian women with type 2 diabetes

Purpose: Type 2 diabetes is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in midlife and older Australian women with known modifiable risk factors for type 2 diabetes including smoking, nutrition, physical activity and obesity. In Australia little research has been done to investigate the perceived barriers to healthy lifestyle activities in midlife and older women with type 2 diabetes. The primary aim of this study was to explore the level and type of perceived barriers to health promotion activities. The secondary aim was to explore the relationship of perceived barriers to smoking behaviour, fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, and body mass index. Methods: The study was a cross sectional survey of women, aged over 45 with type 2 diabetes, attending metropolitan community health clinics (N = 41). Data was collected from self-report questionnaire and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Women in the study had average total barriers scores similar to those reported in the literature for women with a range of physical disabilities and illnesses. The leading barriers for this group of women were: lack of interest, concern about safety, too tired, lack of money and feeling what they do does not help. There was no association between total barriers scores and body mass index, physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake or socio-demographic variables. Conclusion: This study contributes to understanding the perceptions of midlife and older women with type 2 diabetes about the level and type of barriers to healthy lifestyle activities that they experience. Evidence from this study can be applied to inform health promotion for lifestyle risk factor reduction in women with type 2 diabetes.

Gifted early adolescents’ negotiating identity : A case study of self-presentation theory

Academically gifted students are recognised as possessing considerable achievement potential. Yet many fail to perform at a level commensurate with their ability. Often gifted students in early adolescence are faced with a forced choice between fulfilment of potential and achieving stable positive relationships with peers. This choice can affect their achievement and may have far-reaching personal and social costs. This case study explored the viability of self-presentation theory to explain students' ways of negotiating their sense of self whilst developing public identity and the concomitant affects on achievement and the fulfilment of potential. It examined how gifted students moderate their images in their learning and extra-curricular environments. Further, the study identifies those self-presentation strategies adopted that either facilitate or hinder achievement. This study may assist parents, educators and school counsellors to provide greater support for gifted adolescents.

Court-provided trial presentation technology : the way of the future?

The trial in Covecorp Constructions Pty Ltd v Indigo Projects Pty Ltd (File no BS 10157 of 2001; BS 2763 of 2002) commenced on 8 October 2007 before Fryberg J, but the matter settled on 6 November 2007 before the conclusion of the trial. This case was conducted as an “electronic trial” with the use of technology developed within the court. This was the first case in Queensland to employ this technology at trial level. The Court’s aim was to find a means to capture the key benefits which are offered by the more sophisticated trial presentation software of commercial service providers, in a way that was inexpensive for the parties and would facilitate the adoption of technology at trial much more broadly than has been the case to date.

The decline in activities of daily living at discharge (DADLD) index : stratifying patients at lower and higher risk

Background: Decreased ability to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) during hospitalisation has negative consequences for patients and health service delivery. Objective: To develop an Index to stratify patients at lower and higher risk of a significant decline in ability to perform ADLs at discharge. Design: Prospective two cohort study comprising a derivation (n=389; mean age 82.3 years; SD� 7.1) and a validation cohort (n=153; mean age 81.5 years; SD� 6.1). Patients and setting: General medical patients aged = 70 years admitted to three university-affiliated acute care hospitals in Brisbane, Australia. Measurement and main results: The short ADL Scale was used to identify a significant decline in ability to perform ADLs from premorbid to discharge. In the derivation cohort, 77 patients (19.8%) experienced a significant decline. Four significant factors were identified for patients independent at baseline: 'requiring moderate assistance to being totally dependent on others with bathing'; 'difficulty understanding others (frequently or all the time)'; 'requiring moderate assistance to being totally dependent on others with performing housework'; a 'history of experiencing at least one fall in the previous 90 days prior to hospital admission' in addition to 'independent at baseline', which was protective against decline at discharge. 'Difficulty understanding others (frequently or all the time)' and 'requiring moderate assistance to being totally dependent on others with performing housework' were also predictors for patients dependent in ADLs at baseline. Sensitivity, specificity, Positive Predictive Value (PPV), and Negative Predictive Value (NPV) of the DADLD dichotomised risk scores were: 83.1% (95% CI 72.8; 90.7); 60.5% (95% CI 54.8; 65.9); 34.2% (95% CI 27.5; 41.5); 93.5% (95% CI 89.2; 96.5). In the validation cohort, 47 patients (30.7%) experienced a significant decline. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of the DADLD were: 78.7% (95% CI 64.3; 89.3); 69.8% (95% CI 60.1, 78.3); 53.6% (95% CI 41.2; 65.7); 88.1% (95% CI 79.2; 94.1). Conclusions: The DADLD Index is a useful tool for identifying patients at higher risk of decline in ability to perform ADLs at discharge.

Regional characteristics, opportunity perception and entrepreneurial activities

This paper seeks to better understand the link between regional characteristics and individual entrepreneurship. We combine individual-level GEM data for Western Germany with regional-level data, using multi-level analysis to test our hypotheses. We find no direct link between regional knowledge creation, the economic context and an entrepreneurial culture on the one side and individual business start-up intentions and start-up activity on the other side. However our findings point to the importance of an indirect effect of regional characteristics as knowledge creation, the economic context and an entrepreneurial culture have an effect on the individual perception of founding opportunities which in turn predicted start-up intentions and activity.

Empirical analysis of knowledge management activities in construction organisations

Knowledge is a commodity. It is a by-product of learning that involves the creation, sharing, processing and possible use of information in the mind of an individual. Knowledge management (KM) is, therefore, concerned with the effective implementation of such activities within the organisation. It is simply the process of leveraging organisational knowledge to deliver a long-term competitive advantage. This paper presents the results of an empirical research investigation into the interaction between different KM activities within the context of construction contracting organisations. The different KM activities include: responsiveness to the knowledge of business environment, knowledge acquisition, knowledge dissemination, and knowledge application. A questionnaire survey was administered to investigate the opinions of construction professionals regarding the intensity of activities currently implemented by their organisations to facilitate knowledge capturing, sharing and application. A total of 149 responses were then used to statistically examine the inter-relationships between the different KM activities as practised by contracting organisations in Hong Kong. The paper presents and discusses the survey findings and proposes recommendations for improving the effectiveness of current KM practices.

Development of a practical design guide for balcony acoustic treatments

Balcony acoustic treatments can be demonstrated to provide important benefits in reducing road traffic noise within the balcony space and consequently internally for any adjacent room. The actual effect on road traffic noise is derived from a multitude of variables that can be broadly categorized into (a) acoustical and (b) geometrical for two distinct propagation volumes being (i) the street space, and (ii) the balcony space. A series of recent research activities in this area has incorporated the use of a combined image and diffuse source model, which can be used to predict the effect of balconies on road traffic noise for large number of scenarios. This paper investigates and presents a method and capability to summarize predictive data into user friendly guidelines aimed for use by acoustical professionals and architects and possible implementation in building design policies for environmental noise. The paper concludes with a presentation of the likely format of a potential design guide.

Activities for Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley by Aaron Blabey Puffin Books 2007 Target group: Upper Primary

An upper primary multiliteracies project based on the children’s book “Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley” by Aaron Blabey. The main theme explored is same and different.

Iris based identity verification robust to sample presentation security attacks

Iris based identity verification is highly reliable but it can also be subject to attacks. Pupil dilation or constriction stimulated by the application of drugs are examples of sample presentation security attacks which can lead to higher false rejection rates. Suspects on a watch list can potentially circumvent the iris based system using such methods. This paper investigates a new approach using multiple parts of the iris (instances) and multiple iris samples in a sequential decision fusion framework that can yield robust performance. Results are presented and compared with the standard full iris based approach for a number of iris degradations. An advantage of the proposed fusion scheme is that the trade-off between detection errors can be controlled by setting parameters such as the number of instances and the number of samples used in the system. The system can then be operated to match security threat levels. It is shown that for optimal values of these parameters, the fused system also has a lower total error rate.

Gamifying everyday activities using mobile sensing

The addition of game design elements to non-game contexts has become known as gamification. Previous research has suggested that framing tedious and non-motivating tasks as game-like can make them enjoyable and motivating (e.g., de Oliveira, et al., 2010; Fujiki, et al., 2007; Chiu, et al., 2009). Smartphone applications lend themselves to being gamified as the underlying mobile technology has the ability to sense user activities and their surrounding environment. These sensed activities can be used to implement and enforce game-like rules based around many physical activities (e.g., exercise, travel, or eating). If researchers wish to investigate this area, they first need an existing gamified application to study. However if an appropriate application does not exist then the researcher may need to create their own gamified prototype to study. Unfortunately, there is little previous research that details or explains the design and integration of game elements to non-game mobile applications. This chapter explores this gap and shares a framework that was used to add videogame-like achievements to an orientation mobile application developed for new university students. The framework proved useful and initial results are discussed from two studies. However, further development of the framework is needed, including further consideration of what makes an effective gamified experience.

Children exposure assessment to ultrafine particles and black carbon: The role of transport and cooking activities

An accurate evaluation of the airborne particle dose-response relationship requires detailed measurements of the actual particle concentration levels that people are exposed to, in every microenvironment in which they reside. The aim of this work was to perform an exposure assessment of children in relation to two different aerosol species: ultrafine particles (UFPs) and black carbon (BC). To this purpose, personal exposure measurements, in terms of UFP and BC concentrations, were performed on 103 children aged 8-11 years (10.1 ± 1.1 years) using hand-held particle counters and aethalometers. Simultaneously, a time-activity diary and a portable GPS were used to determine the children’s daily time-activity pattern and estimate their inhaled dose of UFPs and BC. The median concentration to which the study population was exposed was found to be comparable to the high levels typically detected in urban traffic microenvironments, in terms of both particle number (2.2×104 part. cm-3) and BC (3.8 μg m-3) concentrations. Daily inhaled doses were also found to be relatively high and were equal to 3.35×1011 part. day-1 and 3.92×101 μg day-1 for UFPs and BC, respectively. Cooking and using transportation were recognized as the main activities contributing to overall daily exposure, when normalized according to their corresponding time contribution for UFPs and BC, respectively. Therefore, UFPs and BC could represent tracers of children exposure to particulate pollution from indoor cooking activities and transportation microenvironments, respectively.

Effects of soluble dietary cellulose on specific growth rate, survival and digestive enzyme activities in three freshwater crayfish (Cherax) species

The current study evaluated the effect of soluble dietary cellulose on growth, survival and digestive enzyme activity in three endemic, Australian freshwater crayfish species (redclaw: Cherax quadricarinatus, marron: C. tenuimanus, yabby: C. destructor). Separate individual feeding trials were conducted for late-stage juveniles from each species in an automated recirculating freshwater, culture system. Animals were fed either a test diet (TD) that contained 20% soluble cellulose or a reference diet (RD) substituted with the same amount of corn starch, over a 12 week period. Redclaw fed with RD showed significantly higher (p<0.05) specific growth rates (SGR) compared with animals fed the TD, while SGR of marron and yabby fed the two diets were not significantly different. Expressed cellulase activity levels in redclaw were not significantly different between diets. Marron and yabby showed significantly higher cellulase activity when fed the RD (p<0.05). Amylase and protease activity in all three species were significantly higher in the animals fed with RD (p<0.05). These results indicate that test animals of all three species appear to utilize starch more efficiently than soluble dietary cellulose in their diet. The inclusion of 20% soluble cellulose in diets did not appear, however, to have a significant negative effect on growth rates.

Impact of recent coastal development and human activities on Nha Trang Bay, Vietnam : evidence from a Porites lutea geochemical record

Nha Trang Bay (NTB) is located on the Central Vietnam coast, western South China Sea. Recent coastal development of Nha Trang City has raised public concern over an increasing level of pollution within the bay and degradation of nearby coral reefs. In this study, multiple proxies (e.g., trace metals, rare earth elements (REEs), and Y/Ho) recorded in a massive Porites lutea coral colony were used to reconstruct changes in seawater conditions in the NTB from 1995 to 2009. A 14-year record of REEs and other trace metals revealed that the concentrations of terrestrial trace metals have increased dramatically in response to an increase in coastal development projects such as road, port, and resort constructions, port and river dredging, and dumping activities since 2000. The effects of such developmental processes are also evident in changes in REE patterns and Y/Ho ratios through time, suggesting that both parameters are critical proxies for marine pollution.

Network governance in US airport taxicab planning activities

This thesis examines the use of network governance in US airport transportation planning activities involving taxicab services for airport patrons. The research provides US airports with new insights whereby they can successfully engage with both transportation regulatory agencies and taxicab service providers in developing mutually agreeable policies that foster the development of supply-side taxicab service improvements. A mix of quantitative and qualitative research methods is used to unearth how US airports interact with these actors, and to identify attitudes held by airport staff in their engagements involving airport taxicab planning matters. The research may ultimately lead to the achievement of sustainable increases in the air passenger ground transportation modal share at US airports, resulting in both desirable long-term operational and environmental benefits for airport management, those involved with the provision of airport taxicab services, and the traveling public.