Complex cognitive interactions in a badly designed world : Investigating the underlying causes of collisions between distinct road users

Collisions between distinct road users (e.g. drivers and riders, drivers and cyclists) make a substantial contribution to the road trauma burden. Although evidence suggests different road users interpret the same road situations contrarily, it is not clear how their situation awareness differs, nor is it clear which differences might lead to conflicts. This article presents the findings from an on-road study which was conducted to examine driver, cyclist and motorcyclist situation awareness in different road environments. The findings suggest that drivers, motorcyclists, and cyclists develop markedly different situational understandings even when operating in the same road environments. Examination of these differences indicate that they are likely to be compatible along arterial roads, shopping strips and at roundabouts, but that they may create conflicts between the different road users at intersections. The key role of road design in supporting compatible situation awareness and behaviour across different road users is discussed.

Surrogacy : competing interests or a tangled web?

Overseas commercial surrogacy is a legally challenging but commonly utilised form of assisted reproductive technology. Not only does it raise complex and competing policy issues, but it tests the relevant Family Law legislation which underpins parenting orders. Decisions handed down by the judiciary are inconsistent. Legislation is inadequate. But still the surge in surrogacy continues as surrogacy destinations such as India and Thailand continue to increase in popularity. Part one of this article addresses the competing interests of the illegality of overseas commercial surrogacy arrangements with the welfare of the child born as a result of such arrangements, and the inconsistent approaches taken by the judiciary. Part two concerns the interpretation of Family Law legislation by the courts in an attempt to provide intended couples and their children with certainty and finality, again resulting in inconsistent judicial decisions. Overseas commercial surrogacy is legally problematic, and intended parents need to be aware of its limitations.

Interactions between cars and motorcycles testing underlying concepts through integration of on-road and simulator studies

We conducted on-road and simulator studies to explore the mechanisms underpinning driver-rider crashes. In Study 1 the verbal protocols of 40 drivers and riders were assessed at intersections as part of a 15km on-road route in Melbourne. Network analysis of the verbal transcripts highlighted key differences in the situation awareness of drivers and riders at intersections. In a further study using a driving simulator we examined in car drivers the influence of acute exposure to motorcyclists. In a 15 min simulated drive, 40 drivers saw either no motorcycles or a high number of motorcycles in the surrounding traffic. In a subsequent 45-60 min drive, drivers were asked to detect motorcycles in traffic. The proportion of motorcycles was manipulated so that there was either a high (120) or low (6) number of motorcycles during the drive. Those drivers exposed to a high number of motorcycles were significantly faster at detecting motorcycles. Fundamentally, the incompatible situation awareness at intersections by drivers and riders underpins the conflicts. Study 2 offers some suggestion for a countermeasure here, although more research around schema and exposure training to support safer interactions is needed.

Board age and gender diversity : a test of competing linear and curvilinear predictions

The inconsistent findings of past board diversity research demand a test of competing linear and curvilinear diversity–performance predictions. This research focuses on board age and gender diversity, and presents a positive linear prediction based on resource dependence theory, a negative linear prediction based on social identity theory, and an inverted U-shaped curvilinear prediction based on the integration of resource dependence theory with social identity theory. The predictions were tested using archival data on 288 large organizations listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, with a 1-year time lag between diversity (age and gender) and performance (employee productivity and return on assets). The results indicate a positive linear relationship between gender diversity and employee productivity, a negative linear relationship between age diversity and return on assets, and an inverted U-shaped curvilinear relationship between age diversity and return on assets. The findings provide additional evidence on the business case for board gender diversity and refine the business case for board age diversity.

Group interactions in science practical work

This study explored the interactions of a highly motivated group of students doing traditional practical work in science. Interest focussed on the social construction of understanding and how this could be described. Despite considerable collaboration in constructing an understanding of the task the students rarely focussed on the concepts the practical work was intended to illustrate. Collaboration was described in terms of social behaviours and discourse moves which supported the use of cognitive strategies.

Hush-a-by mummy : interactions between co-sleeping and maternal sleep disturbance

Childbirth is an extraordinary, everyday experience; in 2011, 301 617 infants were born in Australia [1], resulting in countless potential occurrences of sleep disturbance and subsequent daytime sleepiness. While the relationship between sleep and sleepiness has been heavily investigated in the vulnerable sub-populations of shift workers and patients with sleep disorders, comparatively postpartum women have been overlooked. Previous research has reported slower reaction times to the Psychomotor Vigilance Task [2] and shorter sleep onset in the multiple sleep latency test [3] in new mothers compared with control women. However little is known about change in sleep and sleepiness over time or potential interactions with infant care behaviour choices, such as co-sleeping (mother and infant sharing a bed). This study aims to investigate change in new mothers sleep quantity, sleep quality and resulting daytime sleepiness over postpartum weeks 6, 12 and 18, while evaluating the impact of co-sleeping.

Defining mega project success in Australian defence : a relation-based framework for value co-creation with project stakeholders

Defining success in mega projects has been a challenging exercise for Australian Defence. The inherent conflict between nation capability building and cost efficiency raises questions about how to appropriately define mega project success. Contrary to the traditional output-focused project methodology, the value creation perspective argues for the importance of creating new knowledge, processes, and systems for suppliers and customers. Stakeholder involvement is important in this new perspective, as the balancing of competing needs of stakeholders in mega projects becomes a major challenge in managing the value co-creation process. In our earlier study reported interview data from three Australian defence mega projects and reported that those senior executives have a more complex understanding of project success than traditional iron triangle measures. In these mega defence projects, customers and other stakeholders actively engage in the value creation process, and over time both content and process value are created to increase defence and national capability. Value created and captured during and post projects are the key to true success. We aim to develop a comprehensive theoretical model the capture the value co-creation process as a way of re-conceptualising success in mega projects. We propose a new framework redefine project value as multi-dimensional, contextual and temporal construct that emerges from the interactions among multiple stake holders over the complete project life cycle. The framework distinguishes between exploitation and exploration types of projects, and takes into consideration the requisite governance structures.

The effects and interactions of GABAergic and dopaminergic agents in the prevention of form deprivation myopia by brief periods of normal vision

Intravitreal injections of GABA antagonists, dopamine agonists and brief periods of normal vision have been shown separately to inhibit form-deprivation myopia (FDM). Our study had three aims: (i) establish whether GABAergic agents modify the myopia protective effect of normal vision, (ii) investigate the receptor sub-type specificity of any observed effect, and (iii) consider an interaction with the dopamine (DA) system. Prior to the period of normal vision GABAergic agents were applied either (i) individually, (ii) in combination with other GABAergic agents (an agonist with an antagonist), or (iii) in combination with DA agonists and antagonists. Water injections were given to groups not receiving drug treatments so that all experimental eyes received intravitreal injections. As shown previously, constant form-deprivation resulted in high myopia and when diffusers were removed for 2 h per day the period of normal vision greatly reduced the FDM that developed. GABA agonists inhibited the protective effect of normal vision whereas antagonists had the opposite effect. GABAA/C agonists and D2 DA antagonists when used in combination were additive in suppressing the protective effect of normal vision. A D2 DA agonist restored some of the protective effect of normal vision that was inhibited by a GABA agonist (muscimol). The protective effect of normal vision against form-deprivation is modifiable by both the GABAergic and DAergic pathways.

“We’re not like these weird feather boa-covered AIDS-spreading monsters” : How LGBT young people and service providers think riskiness informs LGBT youth–police interactions

Research has suggested that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) young people are “at-risk” of victimization and/or legally “risky.” Relatively few studies have examined the social construction of risk in “risk factor” research and whether risk as a concept influences the everyday lives of LGBT young people. This article reports how 35 LGBT young people and seven service provider staff in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia perceived LGBT youth–police interactions as reflecting discourses about LGBT riskiness and danger. The participants specifically note how they thought looking at-risk and/or looking risky informed their policing experiences. The article concludes with recommendations for improving future policing practice.

Interactions between hypoxia and epidermal growth factor receptor in non-small-cell-lung cancer

Tumor hypoxia has been recognized to confer resistance to anticancer therapy since the early 20th century. More recently, its fundamental role in tumorigenesis has been established. Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1 has been identified as an important transcription factor that mediates the cellular response to hypoxia, promoting both cellular survival and apoptosis under different conditions. Increased tumor cell expression of this transcription factor promotes tumor growth In vivo and is associated with a worse prognosis in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) undergoing tumor resection. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) promotes tumor cell proliferation and anglogenesis and inhibits apoptosis. Epidermal growth factor receptor expression increases in a stepwise manner during tumorigenesis and is overexpressed in > 50% of NSCLC tumors. This review discusses the reciprocal relationship between tumor cell hypoxia and EGFR. Recent studies suggest that hypoxia induces expression of EGFR and its ligands. In return, EGFR might enhance the cellular response to hypoxia by increasing expression of HIF-1α, and so act as a survival factor for hypoxic cancer cells. Immunohistochemical studies on a series of resected NSCLC tumors add weight to this contention by demonstrating a close association between expression of EGFR, HIF-1α, and:1 of HIF-1's target proteins, carbonic anhydrase IX. In this article we discuss emerging treatment strategies for NSCLC that target HIF-1, HIF-1 transcriptional targets, and EGFR.

Understanding the fabric of social interactions for ridesharing through mining social networking sites

The design of applications for dynamic ridesharing or carpooling is often formulated as a matching problem of connecting people with an aligned set of transport needs within a reasonable interval of time and space. This problem formulation relegates social connections to being secondary factors. Technology assisted ridesharing applications that put the matching problem first have revealed that they suffer from being unable to address the factor of social comfort, even after adding friend features or piggybacking on social networking sites. This research aims to understand the fabric of social interactions through which ridesharing happens. We take an online observation approach in order to understand the fabric of social interactions for ridesharing that is happening in highly subscribed online groups of local residents. This understanding will help researchers to identify design challenges and opportunities to support ridesharing in local communities. This paper contributes a fundamental understanding of how social interactions and social comfort precede rideshare requests in local communities.

Delineating breast cancer cell interactions with engineered bone microenvironments

The mechanisms leading to colonization of metastatic breast cancer cells (BCa) in the skeleton are still not fully understood. Here, we demonstrate that mineralized extracellular matrices secreted by primary human osteoblasts (hOBM) modulate cellular processes associated with BCa colonization of bone. A panel of four BCa cell lines of different bone-metastatic potential (T47D, SUM1315, MDA-MB-231, and the bone-seeking subline MDA-MB-231BO) was cultured on hOBM. After 3 days, the metastatic BCa cells had undergone morphological changes on hOBM and were aligned along the hOBM's collagen type I fibrils that were decorated with bone-specific proteins. In contrast, nonmetastatic BCa cells showed a random orientation on hOBM. Atomic force microscopy-based single-cell force spectroscopy revealed that the metastatic cell lines adhered more strongly to hOBM compared with nonmetastatic cells. Function-blocking experiments indicated that β1-integrins mediated cell adhesion to hOBM. In addition, metastatic BCa cells migrated directionally and invaded hOBM, which was accompanied by enhanced MMP-2 and -9 secretion. Furthermore, we observed gene expression changes associated with osteomimickry in BCa cultured on hOBM. As such, osteopontin mRNA levels were significantly increased in SUM1315 and MDA-MB-231BO cells in a β1-integrin-dependent manner after growing for 3 days on hOBM compared with tissue culture plastic. In conclusion, our results show that extracellular matrices derived from human osteoblasts represent a powerful experimental platform to dissect mechanisms underlying critical steps in the development of bone metastases.

The competing-complementarity of social media

This study presents the unique benevolent and malevolent nature of social media, intertwined to its capabilities, which influences its role as a benefactor and a competitor. We conceptualize this phenomenon as the competing-complementarity of social media. We explain competing-complementarity using Teece’s (1986) concept of complementary assets and Porter’s (2001) work on competitive forces shaping strategy and business on the Internet. We observe this phenomenon of competing-complementarity of social media on news firms and offer its evidence through opinionated data analysis.

The TFOS International Workshop on Contact Lens Discomfort: report of the contact lens interactions with the ocular surface and adnexa subcommittee

The report of this subcommittee concerns the impact of contact lenses (CLs) on the ocular surface, with a particular emphasis on CL discomfort (CLD). We define the ocular surface, its regional anatomy, and the physiological responses of each region to CL wear.