Getting in the door : the voluntary provision of accessible housing in Australia

This paper outlines the methodology used in a PhD qualitative research study on the agency of the housing industry in Australia in the provision of accessible housing. Previous studies have identified the need for an increased supply of accessible housing to optimise the inclusion and participation of all people, yet the demand for accessible housing by new home buyers is minimal and voluntary strategies to increase supply have typically failed. In 2010, housing industry leaders agreed to adopt a national voluntary access guideline for housing (Livable Housing Design) and a strategy to provide minimum access features in all new housing by 2020. This study explores the “escaped” phenomenon; how individual agents within the housing industry respond to such initiatives. As the paper is written mid-study it uses a preliminary theme in the findings, that is, minimal demand, to illustrate the methodology of the research.

The effect of exercise repetition on the frequency characteristics of motor output force : Implications for Achilles tendinopathy rehabilitation

Objectives: To investigate the frequency characteristics of the ground reaction force (GRF) recorded throughout the eccentric Achilles tendon rehabilitation programme described by Alfredson. Design: Controlled laboratory study, longitudinal. Methods: Nine healthy adult males performed six sets (15 repetitions per set) of eccentric ankle exercise. Ground reaction force was recorded throughout the exercise protocol. For each exercise repetition the frequency power spectrum of the resultant ground reaction force was calculated and normalised to total power. The magnitude of peak relative power within the 8-12 Hz bandwidth and the frequency at which this peak occurred was determined. Results: The magnitude of peak relative power within the 8-12 Hz bandwidth increased with each successive exercise set and following the 4th set (60 repetitions) of exercise the frequency at which peak relative power occurred shifted from 9 to 10 Hz. Conclusions: The increase in magnitude and frequency of ground reaction force vibrations with an increasing number of exercise repetitions is likely connected to changes in muscle activation with fatigue and tendon conditioning. This research illustrates the potential for the number of exercise repetitions performed to influence the tendons' mechanical environment, with implications for tendon remodelling and the clinical efficacy of eccentric rehabilitation programmes for Achilles tendinopathy.

How much is enough? The effect of exercise repetition on the force frequency characteristics of eccentric exercise used for tendinopathy rehabilitation

Introduction: Eccentric exercise (EE) is a commonly used treatment for Achilles tendinopathy. While vibrations in the 8–12 Hz frequency range generated during eccentric muscle actions have been put forward as a potential mechanism for the beneficial effect of EE, optimal loading parameters required to expedite recovery are currently unknown. Alfredson's original protocol employed 90 repetitions of eccentric loading, however abbreviated protocols consisting of fewer repetitions (typically 45) have been developed, albeit with less beneficial effect. Given that 8–12 Hz vibrations generated during isometric muscle actions have been previously shown to increase with fatigue, this research evaluated the effect of exercise repetition on motor output vibrations generated during EE by investigating the frequency characteristics of ground reaction force (GRF) recorded throughout the 90 repetitions of Alfredson's protocol. Methods: Nine healthy adult males performed six sets (15 repetitions per set) of eccentric ankle exercise. GRF was recorded at a frequency of 1000 Hz throughout the exercise protocol. The frequency power spectrum of the resultant GRF was calculated and normalized to total power. Relative spectral power was summed over 1 Hz widows within the frequency rage 7.5–11.5 Hz. The effect of each additional exercise set (15 repetitions) on the relative power within each widow was investigated using a general linear modelling approach. Results: The magnitude of peak relative power within the 7.5–11.5 Hz bandwidth increased across the six exercise sets from 0.03 in exercise set one to 0.12 in exercise set six (P < 0.05). Following the 4th set of exercise the frequency at which peak relative power occurred shifted from 9 to 10 Hz. Discussion: This study has demonstrated that successive repetitions of eccentric loading over six exercise sets results in an increase in the amplitude of motor output vibrations in the 7.5–11.5 Hz bandwidth, with an increase in the frequency of these vibrations occurring after the 4th set (60th repetition). These findings are consistent with findings from previous studies of muscle fatigue. Assuming that the magnitude and frequency of these vibrations represent important stimuli for tendon remodelling as hypothesized within the literature, the findings of this study question the role of abbreviated EE protocols and raise the question; can EE protocols for tendinopathy be optimized by performing eccentric loading to fatigue?

Alternative models of cardiac rehabilitation : a systematic review

The traditional hospital-based model of cardiac rehabilitation faces substantial challenges, such as cost and accessibility. These challenges have led to the development of alternative models of cardiac rehabilitation in recent years. The aim of this study was to identify and critique evidence for the effectiveness of these alternative models. A total of 22 databases were searched to identify quantitative studies or systematic reviews of quantitative studies regarding the effectiveness of alternative models of cardiac rehabilitation. Included studies were appraised using a Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool and the National Health and Medical Research Council's designations for Level of Evidence. The 83 included articles described interventions in the following broad categories of alternative models of care: multifactorial individualized telehealth, internet based, telehealth focused on exercise, telehealth focused on recovery, community- or home-based, and complementary therapies. Multifactorial individualized telehealth and community- or home-based cardiac rehabilitation are effective alternative models of cardiac rehabilitation, as they have produced similar reductions in cardiovascular disease risk factors compared with hospital-based programmes. While further research is required to address the paucity of data available regarding the effectiveness of alternative models of cardiac rehabilitation in rural, remote, and culturally and linguistically diverse populations, our review indicates there is no need to rely on hospital-based strategies alone to deliver effective cardiac rehabilitation. Local healthcare systems should strive to integrate alternative models of cardiac rehabilitation, such as brief telehealth interventions tailored to individual's risk factor profiles as well as community- or home-based programmes, in order to ensure there are choices available for patients that best fit their needs, risk factor profile, and preferences.

Sustainable and affordable housing : a myth or reality

The Australian government has released a draft National Building Framework that will likely tighten the building standard for new houses to meet higher sustainability requirements. There are uncertainties about the impact this could have on the cost of housing and the supply of affordable housing. This paper aims to provide evidence-based conclusions on the possibility of delivering sustainable and affordable housing for low income people. The case studies are gathered from Brisbane and Gold Coast. Case studies are analysed by unpacking the features that were included to meet sustainability and affordability goals for housing. This paper outlines the key factors for their success and also challenges for replication of the projects. The study shows that the key success drivers for delivering sustainable and affordable housing are providing planning incentives, subsidies for increased energy efficiency, supportive regulatory frameworks and appropriate allocation of infrastructure charges. It shows that government can prioritise their resources to support affordable and sustainable housing for low income people.

Integration of Saudi Arabia’s conservative Islamic culture in sustainable housing design

The cities of Saudi Arabia have perhaps the largest growth rates of cities in the Middle East, such that it has become a cause in shortage of housing for mid and low-income families, as is the case in other developing countries. Even when housing is found, it is not sustainable nor is it providing the cultural needs of those families. The aim of this paper is to integrate the unique conservative Islamic Saudi culture into the design of sustainable housing. This paper is part of a preliminary study of an on-going PhD thesis, which utilises a semistructured interview of a panel of nine experts in collecting the data. The interviews consisted of ten questions ranging from general questions such as stating their expertise and work position to more specific question such as listing the critical success factors and/or barriers for applying sustainability to housing in Saudi Arabia. Since the participants were selected according to their experience, the answers to the interview questions were satisfactory where the generation of the survey questions for the second stage in the PhD thesis took place after analysing the participant’s answers to the interview questions. This paper recommends design requirements for accommodating the conservative Islamic Saudi Culture in low cost sustainable houses. Such requirements include achieving privacy through the use of various types of traditional Saudi architectural elements, such as the method of decorative screening of windows, called Mashrabiya, and having an inner courtyard where the house looks inward rather than outward. Other requirements include educating firms on how to design sustainable housing, educating the public on the advantages of sustainable housing and implementing new laws that enforce the utilisation of sustainable methods to housing construction. This paper contributes towards the body of knowledge by proposing initial findings on how to integrate the conservative Islamic culture of Saudi Arabia into the design of a sustainable house specifically for mid and low-income families. This contribution can be implemented on developing countries in the region that are faced with housing shortage for mid and low-income families.

Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation for the 21st century

Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is efficacious in reducing mortality and hospital admissions; however it remains inaccessible to large proportions of the patient population. Removal of attendance barriers for hospital or centre-based CR has seen the promotion of home-based CR. Delivery of safe and appropriately prescribed exercise in the home was first documented 25 years ago, with the utilisation of fixed land-line telecommunications to monitor ECG. The advent of miniature ECG sensors, in conjunction with smartphones, now enables CR to be delivered with greater flexibility with regard to location, time and format, while retaining the capacity for real-time patient monitoring. A range of new systems allow other signals including speed, location, pulse oximetry, and respiration to be monitored and these may have application in CR. There is compelling evidence that telemonitored-based CR is an effective alternative to traditional CR practice. The long-standing barrier of access to centre-based CR, combined with new delivery platforms, raises the question of when telemonitored-based CR could replace conventional approaches as the standard practice.

Analysis of the design-construction supply chain in the thermal performance of sub-tropical and tropical housing

Background: In sub-tropical and tropical Queensland, a legacy of poor housing design,minimal building regulations with few compliance measures, an absence of post-construction performance evaluation and various social and market factors has led to a high and growing penetration of, and reliance on, air conditioners to provide thermal comfort for occupants. The pervasive reliance on air conditioners has arguably impacted on building forms, changed cultural expectations of comfort and social practices for achieving comfort, and may have resulted in a loss of skills in designing and constructing high performance building envelopes. Aim: The aim of this paper is to report on initial outcomes of a project that sought to determine how the predicted building thermal performance of twenty-five houses in subtropical and tropical Queensland compared with objective performance measures and comfort performance as perceived by occupants. The purpose of the project was to shed light on the role of various supply chain agents in the realisation of thermal performance outcomes. Methodology: The case study methodology embraced a socio-technical approach incorporating building science and sociology. Building simulation was used to model thermal performance under controlled comfort assumptions and adaptive comfort conditions. Actual indoor climate conditions were measured by temperature and relative humidity sensors placed throughout each house, whilst occupants’ expectations of thermal comfort and their self-reported behaviours were gathered through semi-structured interviews and periodic comfort surveys. Thermal imaging and air infiltration tests, along with building design documents, were analysed to evaluate the influence of various supply chain agents on the actual performance outcomes. Results: The results clearly show that in the housing supply chain – from designer to constructor to occupant – there is limited understanding from each agent of their role in contributing to, or inhibiting, occupants’ comfort.

Factors influencing sustainability outcomes of housing in subtropical Australia

Purpose: The challenges of providing housing that sustains its inhabitants socially, economically and environmentally, and is inherently sustainable for the planet as a whole, requires a holistic systems approach that considers the product, the supply chain and the market, as well as the inter-dependencies within and between each of these process points. The purpose of the research is to identify factors that impact the sustainability performance outcomes of residential dwellings and the diffusion of sustainable housing into the mainstream housing market. Design/methodology/approach: This research represents a snapshot in time: a recording of the experiences of seven Australian families who are “early adopters” of leading edge sustainable homes within a specific sustainable urban development in subtropical Queensland. The research adopts a qualitative approach to compare the goals and expectations of these families with the actual sustainability aspects incorporated into their homes and lifestyles. Findings: The results show that the “product” – a sustainable house – is difficult to define; that sustainability outcomes were strongly influenced by individual concerns and the contextual urban environment; and that economic comparisons with “standard” housing are challenging. Research limitations/implications: This qualitative study is based on seven families (13 individuals) in an Ecovillage in southeast Queensland. Although the findings make a significant contribution to knowledge, they may not be generalisable to the wider population. Originality/value: The experiences of these early adopter families suggest that the housing market and regulators play critical roles, through actions and language, in limiting or enhancing the diffusion of sustainable housing into the market.

The acute response of tendon to loading: implications for rehabilitation

Achilles tendinopathy is a common disorder involving physically active and sedentary individuals alike. Although the processes underlying its development are poorly understood, tendinopathy is widely regarded as an ‘overuse’ injury in which the tendon fails to adapt to prevalent loading conditions. Paradoxically, there is emerging evidence that heavy eccentric loading of the Achilles tendon may be an effective conservative approach for treatment of tendinopathy, with success rates of 60–80% reported. Interestingly, loading exercises involving other forms of muscle action, such as concentric activation, have been shown to be less effective treatment options. However, little is known about the acute response of tendon to exercise at present, and there are few plausible explanatory mechanisms for the observed beneficial effects of eccentric exercise, as opposed to other forms of strain stimuli. This paper presents the findings from a series of experiments undertaken to evaluate the effect of various strain stimuli on the time-dependent response of human Achilles tendon in vivo. It was shown for the first time, that heavy resistive ankle plantarflexion/ dorsiflexion exercises induced an immediate and significant decrease in Achilles tendon thickness (~15%). While thickness returned to pre-exercise levels within 24 hours, the recovery was exponential, with primary recovery occurring in less than 6 hours post-exercise. We proposed that such a diametral strain response with tensile loading reflects collagen realignment, Poison’s effects and radial extrusion of water from the tendon core. With unloading, the recovery of tendon dimensions likely reflects the re-diffusion of water via osmotic and/or inflammatory driven processes. Interestingly, prolonged walking was found to induce a similar diametral strain response. In subsequent studies, we demonstrated that eccentric exercise resulted in a greater reduction (-21%) in Achilles tendon thickness than isolated concentric exercise alone (-5%), despite a similar loading impulse. These novel findings, coupled with observations of a reduced diametral strain response with tendon pathology, highlight the importance of fluid movement to tendon function, nutrition and health. They also provide new insights into potential mechanisms underlying Achilles tendinopathy that impact rehabilitation strategies.

Inclusive housing in Australia : a question of responsibility and distributive justice

This thesis challenged the assumption that the Australian housing industry will voluntarily and independently transform its practices to build inclusive communities. Through its focus on perceptions of responsibility and the development of a theoretical framework for voluntary initiatives, the thesis offers key stakeholders and advocates a way to work towards the provision of inclusive housing as an instrument of distributive justice.

The significance of owner participation for a successful detached housing development in Malaysia

The detached housing scheme is a unique and exclusive segment of the residential property market in Malaysia. Generally, the product is expensive and for many Malaysians who can afford them, owning a detached house is a once in a lifetime opportunity. In spite of this, most of the owners failed to fully comprehend the specific need of this type of housing scheme, increasing the risk of it being a problematic undertaking. Unlike other types of pre-designed "mass housing" schemes, the detached housing scheme may be built specifically to cater the needs and demands of its owner. Therefore, owner participation during critical development stages is vital to guarantee the success of the development as a whole. In addition, due to its unique design the house would have to individually comply with the requirements and regulations of relevant authorities. Failure by the owner to recognise this will result in delays, penalties, disputes and ultimately cost overruns. These circumstances highlight the need for a research to guide the owner through participation during the critical development stages of a detached house. Therefore, this research aims to develop a guideline to improve owner participation for a successful detached house development in Malaysia. To achieve the aim, questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews were employed to collect the detached house owners' and consultants' & contractors' responses through their experiences in developing detached houses in Malaysia. Stratified and random sampling were utilised to gather information from both parties to represent Malaysian detached house participants. The questionnaire responses were analysed through the application of quantitative analysis such as descriptive analysis, factor analysis and structural equation modelling which were substantiated through qualitative analysis procedure such as content analysis. This research had identified that in order to produce a successful outcome detached house owners are required to participate during critical stages of the development. In the planning stage, the owner needs to provide proper specific input to the consultant regarding his/her expectations of the cost for the entire development, its detailed specification and general idea of the internal and external design of the detached house and its compound. In the contracting stage, the owner must make the appropriate choice of selecting the right contractor for the job. This decision may be taken after recommendations from the consultants or from the owner's personal contacts or experiences but it is not recommended for the owner to select a contractor primarily on the basis of the lowest bid. In the completion stage, the owner may need to attend a number of important site meetings to ensure that the progress of the works is according to what had been planned and the completion date is achievable. By having the owners undertake an active role during critical stages of the development, not only the quality and delivery of the development improved but also there is an increase in satisfaction to the owners themselves.

The importance of reporting housing and husbandry in rat research

In 1963, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) first issued guidelines for animal housing and husbandry. The most recent 2010 revision emphasizes animal care “in ways judged to be scientifically, technically, and humanely appropriate” (National Institutes of Health, 2010, p. XIII). The goal of these guidelines is to ensure humanitarian treatment of animals and to optimize the quality of research. Although these animal care guidelines cover a substantial amount of information regarding animal housing and husbandry, researchers generally do not report all these variables (see Table ​Table1).1). The importance of housing and husbandry conditions with respect to standardization across different research laboratories has been debated previously (Crabbe et al., 1999; Van Der Staay and Steckler, 2002; Wahlsten et al., 2003; Wolfer et al., 2004; Van Der Staay, 2006; Richter et al., 2010, 2011). This paper focuses on several animal husbandry and housing issues that are particularly relevant to stress responses in rats, including transportation, handling, cage changing, housing conditions, light levels and the light–dark cycle. We argue that these key animal housing and husbandry variables should be reported in greater detail in an effort to raise awareness about extraneous experimental variables, especially those that have the potential to interact with the stress response.