Kava Anxiety Depression Spectrum Study (KADSS): a mixed methods RCT using an aqueous extract of Piper methysticum

Objectives: To report on the design, significance and potential impacts of the first documented human clinical trial assessing the anxiolytic and thymoleptic efficacy of an aqueous monoextract of Piper methysticum (kava). The significance of the qualitative element of our clinical trial is also explored. The Kava Anxiety Depression Spectrum Study (KADSS) is a 3-week placebocontrolled, double-blind, cross-over trial involving 60 adult participants (18—65) with elevated stable anxiety and varying levels of depressive symptoms. Aims: The aims of KADSS are: (1) to determine whether an aqueous standardised extract of kava is effective for the treatment of anxiety; (2) to assess the effects of kava on differing levels of depression; and (3) to explore participants’ experience of taking kava via qualitative research. The study also provides preliminary assessment of the safety of an aqueous extract of kava in humans. Conclusion: If results reveal that the aqueous kava preparation exerts significant anxiolytic effects and appears safe, potentially beneficial impacts may occur. Data supporting a safe and effective kava extract may encourage a re-introduction of kava to Europe, UK and Canada. This may provide a major socioeconomic benefit to Pacific Island nations, and to sufferers of anxiety disorders.

Torres Strait Island parents' involvement in their children's mathematics learning : a discussion paper

This paper is a beginning point for discussing what the literature states about parents’ involvement in their children’s mathematics education. Where possible it will focus on Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Little is known about how Torres Strait Islander parents approach their children’s learning of mathematics and how important early mathematics is to mothers. What is known is that is they are keen for their children to receive an education that provides them with opportunities for their present and future lives. However, gaining access to education is challenging given that the language of instruction in schools is written to English conventions, decontextualised and disconnected from the students’ culture, community and home language. This paper discusses some of the issues raised in the literature about what parents are confronted with when making decisions about their children’s education.

Socio-environmental factors and suicide in Queensland, Australia

Suicide has drawn much attention from both the scientific community and the public. Examining the impact of socio-environmental factors on suicide is essential in developing suicide prevention strategies and interventions, because it will provide health authorities with important information for their decision-making. However, previous studies did not examine the impact of socio-environmental factors on suicide using a spatial analysis approach. The purpose of this study was to identify the patterns of suicide and to examine how socio-environmental factors impact on suicide over time and space at the Local Governmental Area (LGA) level in Queensland. The suicide data between 1999 and 2003 were collected from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Socio-environmental variables at the LGA level included climate (rainfall, maximum and minimum temperature), Socioeconomic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) and demographic variables (proportion of Indigenous population, unemployment rate, proportion of population with low income and low education level). Climate data were obtained from Australian Bureau of Meteorology. SEIFA and demographic variables were acquired from ABS. A series of statistical and geographical information system (GIS) approaches were applied in the analysis. This study included two stages. The first stage used average annual data to view the spatial pattern of suicide and to examine the association between socio-environmental factors and suicide over space. The second stage examined the spatiotemporal pattern of suicide and assessed the socio-environmental determinants of suicide, using more detailed seasonal data. In this research, 2,445 suicide cases were included, with 1,957 males (80.0%) and 488 females (20.0%). In the first stage, we examined the spatial pattern and the determinants of suicide using 5-year aggregated data. Spearman correlations were used to assess associations between variables. Then a Poisson regression model was applied in the multivariable analysis, as the occurrence of suicide is a small probability event and this model fitted the data quite well. Suicide mortality varied across LGAs and was associated with a range of socio-environmental factors. The multivariable analysis showed that maximum temperature was significantly and positively associated with male suicide (relative risk [RR] = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.07). Higher proportion of Indigenous population was accompanied with more suicide in male population (male: RR = 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.03). There was a positive association between unemployment rate and suicide in both genders (male: RR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.06; female: RR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.16). No significant association was observed for rainfall, minimum temperature, SEIFA, proportion of population with low individual income and low educational attainment. In the second stage of this study, we undertook a preliminary spatiotemporal analysis of suicide using seasonal data. Firstly, we assessed the interrelations between variables. Secondly, a generalised estimating equations (GEE) model was used to examine the socio-environmental impact on suicide over time and space, as this model is well suited to analyze repeated longitudinal data (e.g., seasonal suicide mortality in a certain LGA) and it fitted the data better than other models (e.g., Poisson model). The suicide pattern varied with season and LGA. The north of Queensland had the highest suicide mortality rate in all the seasons, while there was no suicide case occurred in the southwest. Northwest had consistently higher suicide mortality in spring, autumn and winter. In other areas, suicide mortality varied between seasons. This analysis showed that maximum temperature was positively associated with suicide among male population (RR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.47) and total population (RR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.32). Higher proportion of Indigenous population was accompanied with more suicide among total population (RR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.13 to 1.19) and by gender (male: RR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.13; female: RR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.48). Unemployment rate was positively associated with total (RR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.24 to 1.59) and female (RR=1.09, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.18) suicide. There was also a positive association between proportion of population with low individual income and suicide in total (RR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.48) and male (RR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.23 to 1.72) population. Rainfall was only positively associated with suicide in total population (RR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.19). There was no significant association for rainfall, minimum temperature, SEIFA, proportion of population with low educational attainment. The second stage is the extension of the first stage. Different spatial scales of dataset were used between the two stages (i.e., mean yearly data in the first stage, and seasonal data in the second stage), but the results are generally consistent with each other. Compared with other studies, this research explored the variety of the impact of a wide range of socio-environmental factors on suicide in different geographical units. Maximum temperature, proportion of Indigenous population, unemployment rate and proportion of population with low individual income were among the major determinants of suicide in Queensland. However, the influence from other factors (e.g. socio-culture background, alcohol and drug use) influencing suicide cannot be ignored. An in-depth understanding of these factors is vital in planning and implementing suicide prevention strategies. Five recommendations for future research are derived from this study: (1) It is vital to acquire detailed personal information on each suicide case and relevant information among the population in assessing the key socio-environmental determinants of suicide; (2) Bayesian model could be applied to compare mortality rates and their socio-environmental determinants across LGAs in future research; (3) In the LGAs with warm weather, high proportion of Indigenous population and/or unemployment rate, concerted efforts need to be made to control and prevent suicide and other mental health problems; (4) The current surveillance, forecasting and early warning system needs to be strengthened, to trace the climate and socioeconomic change over time and space and its impact on population health; (5) It is necessary to evaluate and improve the facilities of mental health care, psychological consultation, suicide prevention and control programs; especially in the areas with low socio-economic status, high unemployment rate, extreme weather events and natural disasters.

Fundamental solution and discrete random walk model for time-space fractional diffusion equation

In this paper, we consider a time-space fractional diffusion equation of distributed order (TSFDEDO). The TSFDEDO is obtained from the standard advection-dispersion equation by replacing the first-order time derivative by the Caputo fractional derivative of order α∈(0,1], the first-order and second-order space derivatives by the Riesz fractional derivatives of orders β 1∈(0,1) and β 2∈(1,2], respectively. We derive the fundamental solution for the TSFDEDO with an initial condition (TSFDEDO-IC). The fundamental solution can be interpreted as a spatial probability density function evolving in time. We also investigate a discrete random walk model based on an explicit finite difference approximation for the TSFDEDO-IC.

Necessary but not sufficient : accelerating progress and looking beyond the MDGs

The MDG deadline is fast approaching and the climate within the United Nations remains positive but skeptical. A common feeling is that a great deal of work and headway has been made, but the MDG goals will not be achieved in full by 2015. The largest problem facing the success of the MDGs is, and unless mitigated may remain, mismanaged governance. This argument is confirmed by a strong line of publications stemming from the United Nations and targeting methods (depending on a region or country context) such as improving governance via combating corruption, instituting accountability, peace and stability, as well as transparency. Furthermore, a logical assessment of the framework which MDGs operate in (i.e. international pressure and local civil socio-economic and/or political initiatives pushing governments to progress with MDGs) identifies the State's governing apparatus as the key to the success of MDGs. It is argued that a new analytic framework and grounded theory of democracy (the Element of Democracy) is needed in order to improve governance and enhance democracy. By looking beyond the confines of the MDGs and focusing on properly rectifying poor governance, the progress of MDGs can be accelerated as societies and their governments will be - at minimum - held more accountable to the success of programs in their respective countries. The paper demonstrates the logic of this argument - especially highlighting a new way of viewing democracy - and certain early practices which can accelerate MDGs in the short to medium term.

Violence Profiles on International TV News

Journalism has achieved a crucial importance as a social institution linked with the notion of the public interest. It is still doing so but is nevertheless increasingly challenged by getting networked with the interested publics. This becomes more apparent in times when the media repertoires and audiences as such are changing, when the public relies on more than one news source for the transmission and formulation of world events, but when the importance of TV news nevertheless remains relatively stable. Against this backdrop we may ask what publics contribute to or take away from the new plethora of images and stories saturating the media? This article gives an approximate answer by drawing on a comparative analysis of the present-day presentations of violence on British, German, and Russian television news. Violence in the media is not a new phenomenon, as age-old literary masterpieces like Homer’s Odyssey show, but it is still a very popular one, especially in the news. This article highlights trans-national and national elements in the reporting of violence in three different news cultures. At first glance, both the substantial cross-national violence news flow and the cross-national visual violence flow (key visuals) may be interpreted as distinctly trans-national elements. Event-related textual analysis, however, reveals how the historical rootedness of nations and their specific symbols of power are still very much manifested in respective television mediations of violence. In conclusion, this study recommends the pursuit of conscientious comparisons in journalist research and practice in order to understand what violence news convey in the different arenas of present-day newsmaking.

Asia and the Commons : case studies 2008

A collection of case studies of individuals and organisations utilising open models in the Asia Pacific and associated regions. The case studies represent activities in nine countries, broader regions such as the Arab nations, and global efforts towards sustainability and social justice, revealing creative ways of participating in the commons. Featured are remix artists, performers, open source software programmers, film makers, collecting institutions and publishing houses focused on democracy and change, who demonstrate a diverse set of motivations to engage with the shared ideals of openness and community collaboration.

Combining Cartesian and polar coordinates in IBVS

Image-based visual servo (IBVS) is a simple, efficient and robust technique for vision-based control. Although technically a local method in practice it demonstrates almost global convergence. However IBVS performs very poorly for cases that involve large rotations about the optical axis. It is well known that re-parameterizing the problem by using polar, instead of Cartesian coordinates, of feature points overcomes this limitation. First, simulation and experimental results are presented to show the complementarity of these two parameter-izations. We then describe a new hybrid visual servo strategy based on combining polar and Cartesian image Jacobians. © 2009 IEEE.

Part 2. Chemical and physical restraints in the management of mechanically ventilated patients in the ICU: A patient perspective

An important goal of the care for the mechanically ventilated patient is to minimize patient discomfort and anxiety. This is partly achieved by frequent use of chemical and physical restraints. The majority of patients in intensive care will receive some form of sedation. The goal and use of sedation has changed considerably over the past few decades with literature evidencing trends toward overall lighter sedation levels and daily interruption of sedation. Conversely, the use of physical restraint for the ventilated patient in ICU differs considerably between nations and continents. A large portion of the literature on the use of physical restraint is from general hospital wards and residential homes, and not from the ICU environment. Recent literature suggests minimal use of physical restraint in the ICU, and that reduction programmes have been initiated. However, very few papers illuminate the patient's experience of physical and chemical restraints as a treatment strategy. In Part 1 of this two-part review, the evidence on chemical and physical restraints was explored with specific focus on definitions of terms, unplanned extubation, agitation, delirium as well as the impact of nurse–patient ratios in the ICU on these issues. This paper, Part 2, examines the evidence related to chemical and physical restraints from the mechanically ventilated patient's perspective.

Compliance with international financial reporting standards (IFRS) and the value relevance of accounting information in emerging stock markets : evidence from Kuwait

Since the 1960s, the value relevance of accounting information has been an important topic in accounting research. The value relevance research provides evidence as to whether accounting numbers relate to corporate value in a predicted manner (Beaver, 2002). Such research is not only important for investors but also provides useful insights into accounting reporting effectiveness for standard setters and other users. Both the quality of accounting standards used and the effectiveness associated with implementing these standards are fundamental prerequisites for high value relevance (Hellstrom, 2006). However, while the literature comprehensively documents the value relevance of accounting information in developed markets, little attention has been given to emerging markets where the quality of accounting standards and their enforcement are questionable. Moreover, there is currently no known research that explores the association between level of compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the value relevance of accounting information. Motivated by the lack of research on the value relevance of accounting information in emerging markets and the unique institutional setting in Kuwait, this study has three objectives. First, it investigates the extent of compliance with IFRS with respect to firms listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE). Second, it examines the value relevance of accounting information produced by KSE-listed firms over the 1995 to 2006 period. The third objective links the first two and explores the association between the level of compliance with IFRS and the value relevance of accounting information to market participants. Since it is among the first countries to adopt IFRS, Kuwait provides an ideal setting in which to explore these objectives. In addition, the Kuwaiti accounting environment provides an interesting regulatory context in which each KSE-listed firm is required to appoint at least two external auditors from separate auditing firms. Based on the research objectives, five research questions (RQs) are addressed. RQ1 and RQ2 aim to determine the extent to which KSE-listed firms comply with IFRS and factors contributing to variations in compliance levels. These factors include firm attributes (firm age, leverage, size, profitability, liquidity), the number of brand name (Big-4) auditing firms auditing a firm’s financial statements, and industry categorization. RQ3 and RQ4 address the value relevance of IFRS-based financial statements to investors. RQ5 addresses whether the level of compliance with IFRS contributes to the value relevance of accounting information provided to investors. Based on the potential improvement in value relevance from adopting and complying with IFRS, it is predicted that the higher the level of compliance with IFRS, the greater the value relevance of book values and earnings. The research design of the study consists of two parts. First, in accordance with prior disclosure research, the level of compliance with mandatory IFRS is examined using a disclosure index. Second, the value relevance of financial statement information, specifically, earnings and book value, is examined empirically using two valuation models: price and returns models. The combined empirical evidence that results from the application of both models provides comprehensive insights into value relevance of accounting information in an emerging market setting. Consistent with expectations, the results show the average level of compliance with IFRS mandatory disclosures for all KSE-listed firms in 2006 was 72.6 percent; thus, indicating KSE-listed firms generally did not fully comply with all requirements. Significant variations in the extent of compliance are observed among firms and across accounting standards. As predicted, older, highly leveraged, larger, and profitable KSE-listed firms are more likely to comply with IFRS required disclosures. Interestingly, significant differences in the level of compliance are observed across the three possible auditor combinations of two Big-4, two non-Big 4, and mixed audit firm types. The results for the price and returns models provide evidence that earnings and book values are significant factors in the valuation of KSE-listed firms during the 1995 to 2006 period. However, the results show that the value relevance of earnings and book values decreased significantly during that period, suggesting that investors rely less on financial statements, possibly due to the increase in the available non-financial statement sources. Notwithstanding this decline, a significant association is observed between the level of compliance with IFRS and the value relevance of earnings and book value to KSE investors. The findings make several important contributions. First, they raise concerns about the effectiveness of the regulatory body that oversees compliance with IFRS in Kuwait. Second, they challenge the effectiveness of the two-auditor requirement in promoting compliance with regulations as well as the associated cost-benefit of this requirement for firms. Third, they provide the first known empirical evidence linking the level of IFRS compliance with the value relevance of financial statement information. Finally, the findings are relevant for standard setters and for their current review of KSE regulations. In particular, they highlight the importance of establishing and maintaining adequate monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance with accounting standards. In addition, the finding that stricter compliance with IFRS improves the value relevance of accounting information highlights the importance of full compliance with IFRS and not just mere adoption.

Dust emissions from a tunnel-ventilated broiler poultry shed with fresh and partially reused litter

Dust emissions from large-scale, tunnel-ventilated poultry sheds could have negative health and environmental impacts. Despite this fact, the literature concerning dust emissions from tunnel-ventilated poultry sheds in Australia and overseas is relatively scarce. Dust measurements were conducted during two consecutive production cycles at a single broiler shed on a poultry farm near Ipswich, Queensland. Fresh litter was employed during the first cycle and partially reused litter was employed during the second cycle. This provided an opportunity to study the effect that partial litter reuse has on dust emissions. Dust levels were characterised by the number concentration of suspended particles having diameter between 0.5–20 μm and by the mass concentration of dust particles below 10 μm diameter (PM10) and 2.5 μm diameter (PM2.5). In addition, we measured the number size distributions of dust particles. The average concentration and emission rate of dust was higher when partially reused litter was used in the shed than when fresh litter was used. In addition we found that dust particles emitted from the shed with partially reused litter were finer than the particles emitted with fresh litter. Although the change in litter properties is certainly contributing to this observed variability, other factors such as ventilation rate and litter moisture content are also likely to be involved.

Pondering policy and parental perspectives : how parents view their role in shaping early childhood public policy

The focus of this paper is the role of Australian parents in early childhood education and care (ECEC), in particular, their role in shaping ECEC public policy. The paper reports the findings of a study investigating the different ways in which a group of parents viewed and experienced this role. Set against a policy backdrop where parents are positioned as 'consumers' and 'participants' in ECEC, the study employed a phenomenographic research approach to describe this role as viewed and experienced by parents. The study identified four logically related, qualitatively different ways of constituting this role among this group of parents, ranging from 'no role in shaping public policy' (the no role conception) to 'participating in policy decision-making, particularly where policy was likely to affect their child and family (the participating in policy decision-making conception). The study provides an insider-perspective on the role of parents in shaping policy and highlights variation in how this role is constituted by parents. The study also identifies factors perceived by parents as influencing their participation and discusses their implications for both policy and practice.

Colonising Shakespeare? : agency and authority in Gregory Rogers's Shakespearean picture books

“You need to be able to tell stories. Illustration is a literature, not a pure fine art. It’s the fine art of writing with pictures.” – Gregory Rogers. This paper reads two recent wordless picture books by Australian illustrator Gregory Rogers in order to consider how “Shakespeare” is produced as a complex object of consumption for the implied child reader: The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard (2004) and Midsummer Knight (2006). In these books other worlds are constructed via time-travel and travel to a fantasy world, and clearly presume reader competence in narrative temporality and structure, and cultural literacy (particularly in reference to Elizabethan London and William Shakespeare), even as they challenge normative concepts via use of the fantastic. Exploring both narrative sequences and individual images reveals a tension in the books between past and present, and real and imagined. Where children’s texts tend to privilege Shakespeare, the man and his works, as inherently valuable, Rogers’s work complicates any sense of cultural value. Even as these picture books depend on a lexicon of Shakespearean images for meaning and coherence, they represent William Shakespeare as both an enemy to children (The Boy), and a national traitor (Midsummer). The protagonists, a boy in the first book and the bear he rescues in the second, effect political change by defeating Shakespeare. However, where these texts might seem to be activating a postcolonial cultural critique, this is complicated both by presumed readerly competence in authorized cultural discourses and by repeated affirmation of monarchies as ideal political systems. Power, then, in these picture books is at once rewarded and withheld, in a dialectic of (possibly postcolonial) agency, and (arguably colonial) subjection, even as they challenge dominant valuations of “Shakespeare” they do not challenge understandings of the “Child”.

Reflections from Senior Women Academics

The Tiddas Showin’ Up, Talkin’ Up and Puttin’ Up: Indigenous Women and Educational Leadership project was led by Flinders University in partnership with the Australian Catholic University through the Indigenous Higher Education Centres located in Adelaide (Yunggorendi First Nations Centre) and Brisbane (Weemala Indigenous Unit) (Bunda and White 2009). At the beginning of the project, two levels of governance were established: a Circle of Senior Indigenous Women from the higher education sector, and a Steering Committee of Senior Executive Women from partner universities. The Circle of Senior Indigenous Women included experts in the fields of learning and teaching, scholarship, administration and management, and community engagement. The Circle’s members were: • Professor Wendy Brady, Charles Darwin University • Dr Jackie Huggins, University of Queensland • Ms Angela Leitch, Education Queensland • Professor Aileen Moreton-Robinson, Queensland University of Technology • Dr Bronwyn Fredericks, Queensland University of Technology and Monash University The Steering Committee members were: • Professor Gabrielle McMullen, Australian Catholic University • Professor Marie Emmit, Australian Catholic University • Professor Faith Trent, Flinders University • Dr Jane Robbins, Flinders University The two levels of governance provided advice to the project leaders throughout the project. Three of these women share their reflections in this paper.

The 3D model of l(IT)eracy and the English curriculum

The field of literacy studies has always been challenged by the changing technologies that humans have used to express, represent and communicate their feelings, ideas, understandings and knowledge. However, while the written word has remained central to literacy processes over a long period, it is generally accepted that there have been significant changes to what constitutes ‘literate’ practice. In particular, the status of the printed word has been challenged by the increasing dominance of the image, along with the multimodal meaning-making systems facilitated by digital media. For example, Gunther Kress and other members of the New London Group have argued that the second half of the twentieth century saw a significant cultural shift from the linguistic to the visual as the dominant semiotic mode. This in turn, they suggest, was accompanied by a cultural shift ‘from page to screen’ as a dominant space of representation (e.g. Cope & Kalantzis, 2000; Kress, 2003; New London Group, 1996). In a similar vein, Bill Green has noted that we have witnessed a shift from the regime of the print apparatus to a regime of the digital electronic apparatus (Lankshear, Snyder and Green, 2000). For these reasons, the field of literacy education has been challenged to find new ways to conceptualise what is meant by ‘literacy’ in the twenty first century and to rethink the conditions under which children might best be taught to be fully literate so that they can operate with agency in today’s world.