Achieving supply chain sustainability : the role of relationship management, culture and procurement form

In this research we examined, by means of case studies, the mechanisms by which relationships can be managed and by which communication and cooperation can be enhanced in developing sustainable supply chains. The research was predicated on the contention that the development of a sustainable supply chain depends, in part, on the transfer of knowledge and capabilities from the larger players in the supply chain. A sustainable supply chain requires proactive relationship management and the development of an appropriate organisational culture, and trust. By legitimising individuals’ expectations of the type of culture which is appropriate to their company and empowering employees to address mismatches that may occur, a situation can be created whereby the collaborating organisations develop their competences symbiotically and so facilitate a sustainable supply chain. Effective supply chain management enhances organisation performance and competitiveness through the management of operations across organisational boundaries. Relational contracting approaches facilitate the exchange of information and knowledge and build capacity in the supply chain, thus enhancing its sustainability. Relationship management also provides the conditions necessary for the development of collaborative and cooperative relationships However, often subcontractors and suppliers are not empowered to attend project meetings or to have direct communication with project based staff. With this being a common phenomenon in the construction industry, one might ask: what are the barriers to implementation of relationship management through the supply chain? In other words, the problem addressed in this research is the engagement of the supply chain through relationship management.

External auditors' reliance on internal auditing : further evidence.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore whether internal audit’s reporting relationship with the audit committee and the client’s business risk environment impact external auditors’ reliance on the work of internal audit. Design/methodology/approach – An experiment is conducted using a 2 £ 2 between-subjects design where we manipulate the above two factors at strong and weak levels. Participants are 66 audit partners, managers and seniors, all experienced with clients having internal audit functions. Findings – The results indicate that both factors affect external auditors’ reliance on work already undertaken by internal audit and their use of internal auditors (IA) as assistants. The results also indicate that external auditors are more likely to use internal audit for control evaluation tasks than for substantive tests of balances. The study does not find any significant interaction effects between the two factors. Originality/value – No prior studies have examined the influence of reporting relationship and client business risk on external auditors’ reliance decisions in the current governance environment. Further, the paper examines the impact of these factors on reliance on work already undertaken by internal audit and on using IA as assistants, with respect to both control evaluation work and substantive testing of balances.

The relationship of meta-worry and intolerance of uncertainty with pathological worry, anxiety, and depression

This study explored how meta-worry and intolerance of uncertainty relate to pathological worry, generalised anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, social phobia, and depression. University students (n = 253) completed a questionnaire battery. A series of regression analyses were conducted. The results indicated that meta-worry was associated with GAD, social phobia, obsessive compulsive, and depressive symptoms. Intolerance of uncertainty was related to GAD, social phobia, and obsessive compulsive symptoms, but not depressive symptoms. The importance of meta-worry and intolerance of uncertainty as predictors of pathological worry, GAD, social phobia, obsessive compulsive and depressive symptoms was also examined. Even though both factors significantly predicted the aforementioned symptoms, meta-worry emerged as a stronger predictor of GAD and obsessive compulsive symptoms than did intolerance of uncertainty. Intolerance of uncertainty, compared with meta-worry, appeared as a stronger predictor of social phobia symptoms. Findings emphasise the importance of addressing meta-worry and/or intolerance of uncertainty not only for the assessment and treatment of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), but also obsessive compulsive disorder, social phobia, and depression.

Rating counselor - client behavior in online counseling: Development and preliminary psychometric properties of the Counseling Progress and Depth Rating Instrument

Although there are widely accepted and utilized models and frameworks for nondirective counseling (NDC), there is little in the way of tools or instruments designed to assist in determining whether or not a specific episode of counseling is consistent with the stated model or framework. The Counseling Progress and Depth Rating Instrument (CPDRI) was developed to evaluate counselor integrity in the use of Egan's skilled helper model in online counseling. The instrument was found to have sound internal consistency, good interrater reliability, and good face and convergent validity. The CPDRI is, therefore, proposed as a useful tool to facilitate investigation of the degree to which counselors adhere to and apply a widely used approach to NDC

Mediators of the relationship between person-organisation fit and individual outcomes

To date, research on P-O fit has focused heavily on the effect of P-O fit on individual and organisational outcomes. Few studies have attempted to explain how or why P-O fit leads to these outcomes. Meglino, Ravlin, and Adkins (1989) and Schein (1985) identified several intervening mechanisms for explaining fit-outcome relationships but only few of these explanations have been tested empirically (Cable & Edwards, 2004; Edwards & Cable, 2009; Kalliath, Bluedorn, & Strube, 1999). This thesis investigates role conflict, cognitive style and organisational justice as three potential mediating mechanisms in the relationship between P-O fit (defined as fit between personal and organisational values – value congruence or value fit) and outcomes including job satisfaction, job performance, service performance, affective commitment and continuance commitment. The study operationalised P-O fit using three measures: subjective fit, perceived fit and objective fit. The mediation model of subjective fit was tested using a Mplus analytical technique, while the mediation models of both perceived and objective fit were tested by modeling the difference between two scores (that is, between personal values and organisational values) using a polynomial regression and response surface analysis (Edwards, 1993). A survey of 558 mid-level managers from seven Brunei public sector organisations provided the data. Our results showed that the relationship between P-O fit and outcomes was partially mediated by organisational justice and cognitive style - for all the three measures of fit, while role conflict had no mediating effects. The findings from this research therefore have both theoretical and practical implications. This research contributes to the literature by combining these theoretical explanations for value congruence effects into one integrated model, and by providing evidence on the partial mediating effects of organisational justice and cognitive style. Future research needs to address and investigate other potential mechanisms by which value congruence affects individual and organisational outcomes. In addition, the study is considered to be the first to test these mediating roles for a value fit-outcomes relationship using three different measures of fit in a non-Western context.

Relationship to the bereaved and perceptions of severity of trauma differentiate elements of posttraumatic growth

The field of bereavement and grief has been expanding to recognise the potential for growth following the loss of a loved one. This study sought to examine the effect of the relationship to the deceased and perceptions of the severity of the trauma on dimensions of posttraumatic growth. Participants were 146 people who had lost either: a) a first degree relative, b) a second degree relative, or c) a non-related friend. Results demonstrated that both severity and the relationship to the bereaved differentiate posttraumatic growth outcomes. For example, participants who had lost a first degree relative reported higher levels of growth than those who had lost a second degree relative. Consistent with previous research in general trauma populations, the more severe the loss was rated, the higher the levels of growth. Implications for practice are discussed.

The development and evaluation of a culturally affirmative counselling model for deaf clients in Australia

In Australia, there is only one, newly established, dedicated mental health service catering specifically for the signing *Deaf community. It is staffed by four part-time hearing professionals and based in Brisbane. There are currently no Deaf psychologists or psychiatrists and there is no valid or reliable empirical evidence on outcomes for Deaf people accessing specialised or mainstream mental health services. Further compounding these issues, is the fact that there are no sign language versions of the most common standardised mental health or psychological instruments available to clinicians in Australia. Contemporary counselling literature is acknowledging the role of the therapeutic alliance and the impact of 'common factors' on therapeutic outcomes. However, these issues are complicated by the relationship between the Deaf client and the hearing therapist being a cross-cultural exchange. The disability model of deafness is contentious and few professionals in Australia have the requisite knowledge and understanding of deafness from a cultural perspective to attend to the therapeutic relationship with this in mind. Consequently, Deaf people are severely disadvantaged by the current lack of services, resources and skilled professionals in the field of deafness and psychology in this country. The primary aim of the following program of research has been to propose a model for culturally affirmative service delivery and to provide clinicians with tools to evaluate the effect of their therapeutic work with Deaf people seeking mental health treatment. The research document is presented as a thesis by publication and comprises four specific objectives formulated in response to the lack of existing services and resources. The first objective was to explore the use of social constructionist counselling techniques and a reflecting team with Deaf clients, hearing therapists and an interpreter. Following the establishment of a pilot counselling clinic, indepth semi-structured interviews were conducted with two long-term clients following the one year pilot of this service. These interviews generated recommendations for the development of a new 'enriched' model of counselling to be implemented and evaluated in later stages of the research program. The second objective was to identify appropriate psychometric measures that could be translated into Australian Sign Language (Auslan) for research into efficacy, effectiveness and counselling outcomes. Two instruments were identified as potentially suitable; the Outcome Rating Scale (ORS), a measure of global functioning, and the Session Rating Scale (SRS), a measure of therapeutic alliance. A specialised team of bi-lingual and bi-cultural interpreters, native signers and the primary researcher for this thesis, produced the ORS-Auslan and the SRS-Auslan in DVD format, using the translation and back-translation process. The third objective was to establish the validity and reliability of these new Auslan measures based on normative data from the Deaf community. Data from the ORS-Auslan was collected from one clinical and one non-clinical sample of Deaf people. Statistical analyses revealed that the ORS-Auslan is reliable, valid and adequately distinguishes between clinical and non-clinical presentations. Furthermore, construct validity has been established using a yet to be validated sign language version of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 items (DASS-21), providing a platform for further research using the DASS-21 with Deaf people. The fourth objective was to evaluate counselling outcomes following the implementation of an enriched counselling service, based on the findings generated by the first objective, and using the newly translated Auslan measures. A second university counselling clinic was established and implemented over the course of one year. Practice-based evidence guided the research and the ORS-Auslan and the SRS-Auslan were administered at every session and provided outcome data on Deaf clients' global functioning. Data from six clients over the course of ten months indicated that this culturally affirmative model was an effective approach for these six clients. This is the first time that outcome data have been collected in Australia using valid and reliable Auslan measures to establish preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of any therapeutic intervention for clinical work with adult, signing Deaf clients. The research generated by this thesis contributes theoretical knowledge, professional development and practical resources that can be used by a variety of mental health clinicians in the context of mental health service delivery to Deaf clients in Australia.

Investigating relationships between relationship quality, customer loyalty and cooperation : an empirical study of convenience stores' franchise chain systems

Small business has been shown to contribute significantly to a nation’s economic development. Small business owners typically confront challenges, uncertainty, and risks while operating new businesses. Franchising has become a way to minimize the risks of small business management (Chiou et al., 2004); however, a franchise system is not a guarantee of business success (Lee and Karkovista, 2001). A poor franchising relationship between franchisors and franchisees can result in franchise failure, such as termination and closure, or franchisee exit (Frazer and Winzar, 2005).

The relationship between abdominal obesity and depression in the general population : a systematic review and meta-analysis

Obesity has been widely regarded as a public health concern because of its adverse impact on individuals’ health. Systematic reviews have been published in examining the effect of obesity on depression, but with major emphasis on general obesity as measured by the body mass index. Despite a stronger effect of abdominal obesity on individuals’ physical health outcomes, to our best knowledge, no systematic review was undertaken with regard to the relationship between abdominal obesity and depression. This paper reports the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies examining the relationship between abdominal obesity and depression in a general population. Multiple electronic databases were searched until the end of September 2009. 15 articles were systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed. The analysis showed that the odds ratio of having depression for individuals with abdominal obesity was 1.38 (95% CI, 1.22–1.57) as compared to those who are not obese. Furthermore, it was found that this relationship did not vary with potential confounders including gender, age, measurement of depression and abdominal obesity, and study quality.

The relationship between parents’ self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, child behaviour, and management of atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition, characterized by intense pruritis, with a complex aetiology comprising multiple genetic and environmental factors. It is a common chronic health problem among children, and along with other allergic conditions, is increasing in prevalence within Australia and in many countries worldwide. Successful management of childhood AD poses a significant and ongoing challenge to parents of affected children. Episodic and unpredictable, AD can have profound effects on children’s physical and psychosocial wellbeing and quality of life, and that of their caregivers and families. Where concurrent child behavioural problems and parenting difficulties exist, parents may have particular difficulty achieving adequate and consistent performance of the routine management tasks that promote the child’s health and wellbeing. Despite frequent reports of behaviour problems in children with AD, past research has neglected the importance of child behaviour to parenting confidence and competence with treatment. Parents of children with AD are also at risk of experiencing depression, anxiety, parenting stress, and parenting difficulties. Although these factors have been associated with difficulty in managing other childhood chronic health conditions, the nature of these relationships in the context of child AD management has not been reported. This study therefore examined relationships between child, parent, and family variables, and parents’ management of child AD and difficult child behaviour, using social cognitive and self-efficacy theory as a guiding framework. The study was conducted in three phases. It employed a quantitative, cross-sectional study design, accessing a community sample of 120 parents of children with AD, and a sample of 64 child-parent dyads recruited from a metropolitan paediatric tertiary referral centre. In Phase One, instruments designed to measure parents’ self-reported performance of AD management tasks (Parents’ Eczema Management Scale – PEMS) and parents’ outcome expectations of task performance (Parents’ Outcome Expectations of Eczema Management Scale – POEEMS) were adapted from the Parental Self-Efficacy with Eczema Care Index (PASECI). In Phase Two, these instruments were used to examine relationships between child, parent, and family variables, and parents’ self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and self-reported performance of AD management tasks. Relationships between child, parent, and family variables, parents’ self-efficacy for managing problem behaviours, and reported parenting practices, were also examined. This latter focus was explored further in Phase Three, in which relationships between observed child and parent behaviour, and parent-reported self-efficacy for managing both child AD and problem behaviours, were explored. Phase One demonstrated the reliability of both PEMS and POEEMS, and confirmed that PASECI was reliable and valid with modification as detailed. Factor analyses revealed two-factor structures for PEMS and PASECI alike, with both scales containing factors related to performing routine management tasks, and managing the child’s symptoms and behaviour. Factor analysis was also applied to POEEMS resulting in a three-factor structure. Factors relating to independent management of AD by the parent, involving healthcare professionals in management, and involving the child in management of AD were found. Parents’ self-efficacy and outcome expectations had a significant influence on self-reported task performance. In Phase Two, relationships emerged between parents’ self-efficacy and self-reported performance of AD management tasks, and AD severity, child behaviour difficulties, parent depression and stress, conflict over parenting issues, and parents’ relationship satisfaction. Using multiple linear regressions, significant proportions of variation in parents’ self-efficacy and self-reported performance of AD management tasks were explained by child behaviour difficulties and parents’ formal education, and self-efficacy emerged as a likely mediator for the relationships between both child behaviour and parents’ education, and performance of AD management tasks. Relationships were also found between parents’ self-efficacy for managing difficult child behaviour and use of dysfunctional parenting strategies, and child behaviour difficulties, parents’ depression and stress, conflict over parenting issues, and relationship satisfaction. While significant proportions of variation in self-efficacy for managing child behaviour were explained by both child behaviour and family income, family income was the only variable to explain a significant proportion of variation in parent-reported use of dysfunctional parenting strategies. Greater use of dysfunctional parenting strategies (both lax and authoritarian parenting) was associated with more severe AD. Parents reporting lower self-efficacy for managing AD also reported lower self-efficacy for managing difficult child behaviour; likewise, less successful self-reported performance of AD management tasks was associated with greater use of dysfunctional parenting strategies. When child and parent behaviour was directly observed in Phase Three, more aversive child behaviour was associated with lower self-efficacy, less positive outcome expectations, and poorer self-reported performance of AD management tasks by parents. Importantly, there were strong positive relationships between these variables (self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and self-reported task performance) and parents’ observed competence when providing treatment to their child. Less competent performance was also associated with greater parent-reported child behaviour difficulties, parent depression and stress, parenting conflict, and relationship dissatisfaction. Overall, this study revealed the importance of child behaviour to parents’ confidence and practices in the contexts of child AD and child behaviour management. Parents of children with concurrent AD and behavioural problems are at particular risk of having low self-efficacy for managing their child’s AD and difficult behaviour. Children with more severe AD are also at higher risk of behaviour problems, and thus represent a high-risk group of children whose parents may struggle to manage the disease successfully. As one of the first studies to examine the role and correlates of parents’ self-efficacy in child AD management, this study identified a number of potentially modifiable factors that can be targeted to enhance parents’ self-efficacy, and improve parent management of child AD. In particular, interventions should focus on child behaviour and parenting issues to support parents caring for children with AD and improve child health outcomes. In future, findings from this research will assist healthcare teams to identify parents most in need of support and intervention, and inform the development and testing of targeted multidisciplinary strategies to support parents caring for children with AD.

Body composition and its relationship to metabolic risk factors in Asian children

Obesity is a major public health problem in both developed and developing countries. The body mass index (BMI) is the most common index used to define obesity. The universal application of the same BMI classification across different ethnic groups is being challenged due to the inability of the index to differentiate fat mass (FM) and fat�]free mass (FFM) and the recognized ethnic differences in body composition. A better understanding of the body composition of Asian children from different backgrounds would help to better understand the obesity�]related health risks of people in this region. Moreover, the limitations of the BMI underscore the necessity to use where possible, more accurate measures of body fat assessment in research and clinical settings in addition to BMI, particularly in relation to the monitoring of prevention and treatment efforts. The aim of the first study was to determine the ethnic difference in the relationship between BMI and percent body fat (%BF) in pre�]pubertal Asian children from China, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. A total of 1039 children aged 8�]10 y were recruited using a non�]random purposive sampling approach aiming to encompass a wide BMI range from the five countries. Percent body fat (%BF) was determined using the deuterium dilution technique to quantify total body water (TBW) and subsequently derive proportions of FM and FFM. The study highlighted the sex and ethnic differences between BMI and %BF in Asian children from different countries. Girls had approximately 4.0% higher %BF compared with boys at a given BMI. Filipino boys tended to have a lower %BF than their Chinese, Lebanese, Malay and Thai counterparts at the same age and BMI level (corrected mean %BF was 25.7�}0.8%, 27.4�}0.4%, 27.1�}0.6%, 27.7�}0.5%, 28.1�}0.5% for Filipino, Chinese, Lebanese, Malay and Thai boys, respectively), although they differed significantly from Thai and Malay boys. Thai girls had approximately 2.0% higher %BF values than Chinese, Lebanese, Filipino and Malay counterparts (however no significant difference was seen among the four ethnic groups) at a given BMI (corrected mean %BF was 31.1�}0.5%, 28.6�}0.4%, 29.2�}0.6%, 29.5�}0.6%, 29.5�}0.5% for Thai, Chinese, Lebanese, Malay and Filipino girls, respectively). However, the ethnic difference in BMI�]%BF relationship varied by BMI. Compared with Caucasians, Asian children had a BMI 3�]6 units lower for a given %BF. More than one third of obese Asian children in the study were not identified using the WHO classification and more than half were not identified using the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) classification. However, use of the Chinese classification increased the sensitivity by 19.7%, 18.1%, 2.3%, 2.3%, and 11.3% for Chinese, Lebanese, Malay, Filipino and Thai girls, respectively. A further aim of the first study was to determine the ethnic difference in body fat distribution in pre�]pubertal Asian children from China, Lebanon, Malaysia, and Thailand. The skin fold thicknesses, height, weight, waist circumference (WC) and total adiposity (as determined by deuterium dilution technique) of 922 children from the four countries was assessed. Chinese boys and girls had a similar trunk�]to�]extremity skin fold thickness ratio to Thai counterparts and both groups had higher ratios than the Malays and Lebanese at a given total FM. At a given BMI, both Chinese and Thai boys and girls had a higher WC than Malays and Lebanese (corrected mean WC was 68.1�}0.2 cm, 67.8�}0.3 cm, 65.8�}0.4 cm, 64.1�}0.3 cm for Chinese, Thai, Lebanese and Malay boys, respectively; 64.2�}0.2 cm, 65.0�}0.3 cm, 62.9�}0.4 cm, 60.6�}0.3 cm for Chinese, Thai, Lebanese and Malay girls, respectively). Chinese boys and girls had lower trunk fat adjusted subscapular/suprailiac skinfold ratio compared with Lebanese and Malay counterparts. The second study aimed to develop and cross�]validate bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) prediction equations of TBW and FFM for Asian pre�]pubertal children from China, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Data on height, weight, age, gender, resistance and reactance measured by BIA were collected from 948 Asian children (492 boys and 456 girls) aged 8�]10 y from the five countries. The deuterium dilution technique was used as the criterion method for the estimation of TBW and FFM. The BIA equations were developed from the validation group (630 children randomly selected from the total sample) using stepwise multiple regression analysis and cross�]validated in a separate group (318 children) using the Bland�]Altman approach. Age, gender and ethnicity influenced the relationship between the resistance index (RI = height2/resistance), TBW and FFM. The BIA prediction equation for the estimation of TBW was: TBW (kg) = 0.231�~Height2 (cm)/resistance (ƒ¶) + 0.066�~Height (cm) + 0.188�~Weight (kg) + 0.128�~Age (yr) + 0.500�~Sex (male=1, female=0) . 0.316�~Ethnicity (Thai ethnicity=1, others=0) �] 4.574, and for the estimation of FFM: FFM (kg) = 0.299�~Height2 (cm)/resistance (ƒ¶) + 0.086�~Height (cm) + 0.245�~Weight (kg) + 0.260�~Age (yr) + 0.901�~Sex (male=1, female=0) �] 0.415�~Ethnicity (Thai ethnicity=1, others=0) �] 6.952. The R2 was 88.0% (root mean square error, RSME = 1.3 kg), 88.3% (RSME = 1.7 kg) for TBW and FFM equation, respectively. No significant difference between measured and predicted TBW and between measured and predicted FFM for the whole cross�]validation sample was found (bias = �]0.1�}1.4 kg, pure error = 1.4�}2.0 kg for TBW and bias = �]0.2�}1.9 kg, pure error = 1.8�}2.6 kg for FFM). However, the prediction equation for estimation of TBW/FFM tended to overestimate TBW/FFM at lower levels while underestimate at higher levels of TBW/FFM. Accuracy of the general equation for TBW and FFM compared favorably with both BMI�]specific and ethnic�]specific equations. There were significant differences between predicted TBW and FFM from external BIA equations derived from Caucasian populations and measured values in Asian children. There were three specific aims of the third study. The first was to explore the relationship between obesity and metabolic syndrome and abnormalities in Chinese children. A total of 608 boys and 800 girls aged 6�]12 y were recruited from four cities in China. Three definitions of pediatric metabolic syndrome and abnormalities were used, including the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) definition for adults modified by Cook et al. and de Ferranti et al. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome varied with different definitions, was highest using the de Ferranti definition (5.4%, 24.6% and 42.0%, respectively for normal�]weight, overweight and obese children), followed by the Cook definition (1.5%, 8.1%, and 25.1%, respectively), and the IDF definition (0.5%, 1.8% and 8.3%, respectively). Overweight and obese children had a higher risk of developing the metabolic syndrome compared to normal�]weight children (odds ratio varied with different definitions from 3.958 to 6.866 for overweight children, and 12.640�]26.007 for obese children). Overweight and obesity also increased the risk of developing metabolic abnormalities. Central obesity and high triglycerides (TG) were the most common while hyperglycemia was the least frequent in Chinese children regardless of different definitions. The second purpose was to determine the best obesity index for the prediction of cardiovascular (CV) risk factor clustering across a 2�]y follow�]up among BMI, %BF, WC and waist�]to�]height ratio (WHtR) in Chinese children. Height, weight, WC, %BF as determined by BIA, blood pressure, TG, high�]density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL�]C), and fasting glucose were collected at baseline and 2 years later in 292 boys and 277 girls aged 8�]10 y. The results showed the percentage of children who remained overweight/obese defined on the basis of BMI, WC, WHtR and %BF was 89.7%, 93.5%, 84.5%, and 80.4%, respectively after 2 years. Obesity indices at baseline significantly correlated with TG, HDL�]C, and blood pressure at both baseline and 2 years later with a similar strength of correlations. BMI at baseline explained the greatest variance of later blood pressure. WC at baseline explained the greatest variance of later HDL�]C and glucose, while WHtR at baseline was the main predictor of later TG. Receiver�]operating characteristic (ROC) analysis explored the ability of the four indices to identify the later presence of CV risk. The overweight/obese children defined on the basis of BMI, WC, WHtR or %BF were more likely to develop CV risk 2 years later with relative risk (RR) scores of 3.670, 3.762, 2.767, and 2.804, respectively. The final purpose of the third study was to develop age�] and gender�]specific percentiles of WC and WHtR and cut�]off points of WC and WHtR for the prediction of CV risk in Chinese children. Smoothed percentile curves of WC and WHtR were produced in 2830 boys and 2699 girls aged 6�]12 y randomly selected from southern and northern China using the LMS method. The optimal age�] and gender�]specific thresholds of WC and WHtR for the prediction of cardiovascular risk factors clustering were derived in a sub�]sample (n=1845) by ROC analysis. Age�] and gender�]specific WC and WHtR percentiles were constructed. The WC thresholds were at the 90th and 84th percentiles for Chinese boys and girls, respectively, with sensitivity and specificity ranging from 67.2% to 83.3%. The WHtR thresholds were at the 91st and 94th percentiles for Chinese boys and girls, respectively, with sensitivity and specificity ranging from 78.6% to 88.9%. The cut�]offs of both WC and WHtR were age�] and gender�]dependent. In conclusion, the current thesis quantifies the ethnic differences in the BMI�]%BF relationship and body fat distribution between Asian children from different origins and confirms the necessity to consider ethnic differences in body composition when developing BMI and other obesity index criteria for obesity in Asian children. Moreover, ethnicity is also important in BIA prediction equations. In addition, WC and WHtR percentiles and thresholds for the prediction of CV risk in Chinese children differ from other populations. Although there was no advantage of WC or WHtR over BMI or %BF in the prediction of CV risk, obese children had a higher risk of developing the metabolic syndrome and abnormalities than normal�]weight children regardless of the obesity index used.

Chongqing International Circus City

The design grows out of the rich culture of circus and the rugged dynamic topography of Chongqing. The site for this project is nestled on the banks of the mighty Yangzte, China's longest river: a vast sweeping watery ribbon carving its way through the mountainous terrain. This swirling sinuous environmental thread replicates in nature the tweisting ribbons circling the gyrating circus gymnast. The project grows from intertwining these swirling parallel conceptions of 'ribbon'. A multi-layered envelope of glass and steel ribbons creates a dome like enclosure that wraps itself around the dynamic performing heart of the circus. The main auditorium and stage area are accommodated in this space. Key public elements and facilities are located adjacent to the new riverfront boulevard maximising the positive relationship with this attractive landscape zone. Service and support areas are located along the southern boundary. Key Statistics; Client: Chongqing Broadcast Bureau Developer: Chongqing Real Estate Site: 3.3 Ha Development: Total G.F.A.: 36,800m2 Project Cost: Total Investment: RMB 300 Million (A$48 million) Other competition participants were BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group (Denmark)/arquitectonica (USA)/Beijing Architectural Design Institute/East China Architectural Design Institute/China Architectural Design Academy.