Q&A our people in focus : Dr Gunther Paul

Born in Germany, Dr Paul moved to Australia in 2009 to join UniSA’s Mawson Institute. He is currently the Director of ErgoLab, a research facility dedicated to enhancing the field of ergonomics – where products are designed to better fit the people that use them. Dr Paul plays a major role in ergonomic studies from automotive design, to assistive technologies for the elderly and disabled. He currently supervises several PhD students and regularly consults to industry.

Intraurban rail access : Policy implications of five revealed perspectives from a Q-sorting exercise in three Australian cities

This project advances current understanding of intra-urban rail passengers and their travel experiences in order to help rail industry leaders tailor policy approaches to fit specific, relevant segments of their target population. Using a Q sorting technique and cluster analysis, our preliminary research identified five perspectives occurring in a small sample of rail passengers, who varied in their frequency and location of rail travel as well as certain socio-demographic characteristics. Revealed perspectives (named to capture the gist of their content) included: ‘Rail Travel is About the Destination, Not the Journey’; ‘Despite Challenges, Public Transport is Still the Best Option’; ‘Rail Travel is Fine’; ‘Rail Travel? So Far, So Good’; and ‘Bad Taste for Rail Travel’. This paper discusses each of the perspectives in detail, and considers them in terms of tailored policy implications. An overarching finding from this study is that improving railway travel ‘access’ requires attention to physical, psychological, financial, and social facets of accessibility. For example, designing waiting areas to be more socially functional and comfortable has the potential to increase ridership by addressing social forms of access, decreasing perceived wait times, and making time at the station feel like time well spent. Even at this preliminary stage, the Q sorting technique promises to provide a valuable, holistic albeit fine-grained analysis of passenger attitudes and experiences that will assist industry efforts to increase ridership.

Mobile Q&A for enhancing online discussion

In this study, we explore the design and evaluation of a mobile online discussion system for motivating students to share their learning experiences. The system supports interaction with peers and academic staff anytime and anywhere using mobile devices. The application introduces a set of features that enables customisation for different purposes. This paper describes the application and explains the motivation for developing the application. We describe the methods and results of a case study that explores usage of the application among a small group of localised participants. Finally, we discuss the implications of this work and outline future areas of research and development.

Analysis of the constituents in the rat plasma after oral administration of Yin Chen Hao Tang by UPLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS

A UPLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS method for analyzing the constituents in rat plasma after oral administration of Yin Chen Hao Tang (YCHT), a traditional Chinese medical formula, has been established. The UPLC/MS fingerprints of the samples were established first in vitro and in vivo, with 45 compounds in YCHT and 21 compounds in rat plasma after oral administration of YCHT were detected. Of the 45 detected compounds in vitro, 30 were identified, and all of the 21 compounds detected in rat plasma were identified either by comparing the retention time and mass spectrometry data with that of reference compounds or by mass spectrometry analysis and retrieving the reference literatures. Of the identified 21 compounds in rat plasma, 19 were the original form of compounds absorbed from the 45 detected compounds in vitro, 2 were the metabolites of the compounds existed in YCHT. It is concluded that a rapid and validated method has been developed based on UPLC-MS/MS, which shows high sensitivity and resolution that is more suitable for identifying the bioactive constituents in plasma after oral administration of Chinese herbal medicines, and provides helpful chemical information for further pharmacology and active mechanism research on the Chinese medical formula.

An examination of MS candidate genes identified as differentially regulated in multiple sclerosis plaque tissue, using absolute and comparative real-time Q-PCR analysis

In our laboratory, we have developed methods in real-time detection and quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) to analyse the relative levels of gene expression in post mortem brain tissues. We have then applied this method to examine differences in gene activity between normal white matter (NWM) and plaque tissue from multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Genes were selected based on their association with pathology and through identification by previously conducted global gene expression analysis. Plaque tissue was obtained from secondary progressive (SP) patients displaying chronic active, as well as acute pathologies; while NWM from the same location was obtained from age- and sex-matched controls (normal patients). In this study, we used both SYBR Green I supplementation and commercially available mixes to assess both comparative and absolute levels of gene activity. The results of both methods compared favourably for four of the five genes examined (P < 0.05, Pearsons), while differences in gene expression between chronic active and acute pathologies were also identified. For example, a >50-fold increase in osteopontin (Spp1) and inositol 1-4-5 phosphate 3 kinase B (Itpkb) levels in acute plaques contrasted with the 5-fold or less increase in chronic active plaques (P < 0.05, unpaired t test). By contrast, there was no significant difference in the levels of the MS marker and calcium-dependent protease (Calpain, Capns1) in MS plaque tissue. In summary, Q-PCR analysis using SYBR Green I has allowed us to economically obtain what may be clinically significant information from small amounts of the CNS, providing an opportunity for further clinical investigations.

Intraurban rail access : policy implications of five revealed perspectives from a Q-sorting exercise in three Australian cities

This project advances the current understanding of intraurban rail passengers and their travel experiences to help rail industry leaders tailor policy approaches to fit specific, relevant segments of their target population. Using a Q-sorting technique and cluster analysis, preliminary research identified five perspectives occurring in a small sample of rail passengers who varied in their frequency and location of rail travel as well as certain sociodemographic characteristics. Revealed perspectives (named to capture the gist of their content) included "Rail travel is about the destination, not the journey"; "Despite challenges, public transport is still the best option"; "Rail travel is fine"; "Rail travel? So far, so good"; and "Bad taste for rail travel." This paper discusses each of the perspectives in detail and considers them in relation to tailored policy implications. An overarching finding from this study is that improving railway travel access requires attention to physical, psychological, financial, and social facets of accessibility. For example, designing waiting areas to be more socially functional and comfortable has the potential to increase ridership by addressing social forms of access, decreasing perceived wait times, and making time at the station feel like time well spent. Even at this preliminary stage, the Q-sorting technique promises to provide a valuable, holistic, albeit fine-grained, analysis of passenger attitudes and experiences that will assist industry efforts in increasing ridership.

Q-FE: QPASTT's Whole of Organisation Client Feedback Framework

This report describes the development of a whole of organization framework for obtaining client feedback for the Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma (QPASTT)

Q-RARA : a rapid and rigorous method for researching small, primary health care organisations

Understanding the organisational processes driving quality primary care is crucial to the maintaining and improving practice. Qualitative methods are increasingly popular in health services research, but this area is dominated by interview studies. Multiple qualitative methods are rarely used in a systematically integrated fashion. We developed a method to study small primary health care organizations using rapid appraisal and qualitative mixed methods: Q-RARA – Qualitative Rapid Appraisal, Rigorous Analysis

Q&A : Christy Dena

Dr. Christy Dena is a noted academic and transmedia writer, experience designer, and director whose work includes the 2011 Digital Emmy-nominated Conspiracy for Good and The Hunt for Cisco. Dena is currently working on AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS, an online comedy/drama. Q: How did you get into transmedia? Q: What would you recommend that transmedia creators learn about to improve their craft? Q: What are the most important things to keep in mind when you’re designing an interactive element...

Lead the change series: Q & A with Allan Luke

An overview of current issues in school and system reform.

The Impact of Drink Driving in Queensland - CARRS-Q Under the Limit Drink Driver Rehabiliation Program

This video was prepared as a teaching resource for CARRS-Q's Under the Limit Drink Driving Rehabilitation Program

New constraints on the pion EM form factor using Pi `(-Q(2))

We study the constraints arising on the expansion parameters c and d of the pion electromagnetic form factor from the inclusion of pure spacelike data and the phase of timelike data along with one spacelike datum, using as input the first derivative of the QCD polarization amplitude Pi'(-Q(2)). These constraints when combined with other analyses, provide a valuable check on a determination of c due to Guo et al. and on our previous work where pionic contribution to the (g - 2) of the muon was used as the input. This work further illustrates the power of analyticity techniques in form factor analysis.