“Who decides?” Security and privacy in the wild

Even though web security protocols are designed to make computer communication secure, it is widely known that there is potential for security breakdowns at the human-machine interface. This paper examines findings from a qualitative study investigating the identification of security decisions used on the web. The study was designed to uncover how security is perceived in an individual user's context. Study participants were tertiary qualified individuals, with a focus on HCI designers, security professionals and the general population. The study identifies that security frameworks for the web are inadequate from an interaction perspective, with even tertiary qualified users having a poor or partial understanding of security, of which they themselves are acutely aware. The result is that individuals feel they must protect themselves on the web. The findings contribute a significant mapping of the ways in which individuals reason and act to protect themselves on the web. We use these findings to highlight the need to design for trust at three levels, and the need to ensure that HCI design does not impact on the users' main identified protection mechanism: separation.

A Procedural Model for Ontological Analyses

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the popularity of ontological analysis of conceptual modelling techniques. To date, related research explores the ontological deficiencies of classical techniques such as ER or UML modelling, as well as business process modelling techniques such as ARIS or even Web Services standards such as BPEL4WS, BPML, ebXML, BPSS and WSCI. While the ontologies that form the basis of these analyses are reasonably mature, it is the actual process of an ontological analysis that still lacks rigour. The current procedure is prone to individual interpretations and is one reason for criticism of the entire ontological analysis. This paper presents a procedural model for ontological analysis based on the use of meta models, multiple coders and metrics. The model is supported by examples from various ontological analyses.

New strategy toward dioxin risk reduction for local residents surrounding severe dioxin hotspots in Vietnam

Background A public health intervention program with active involvement of local related stakeholders was piloted in the Bien Hoa dioxin hot spot (2007-2009), and then expanded to the Da Nang dioxin hot spot in Vietnam (2009-2011). It aimed to reduce the risk of dioxin exposure through foods for local residents. This article presents the results of the intervention in Da Nang. Methodology To assess the results of this intervention program, pre-intervention and post-intervention knowledge-attitude-practice (KAP) surveys were implemented in 400 households, randomly selected from four wards surrounding Da Nang Airbase in 2009 and 2011, respectively. Results After the intervention, the knowledge on the existence of dioxin in food, dioxin exposure pathways, potential high risk foods and preventive measures significantly increased (p < 0.05). 98% were willing to follow advice on preventing dioxin exposure. Practices to reduce the risk of dioxin exposure also statistical significantly improved (p<0.05). After intervention, 60.4% of households undertook exposure preventive measures, significantly higher than that of the pre-intervention survey (39.6%; χ2 =40.15 , P<0.001). High risk foods had quite low rates of daily consumption (from 0% to 2.5%) and were significantly reduced (p<0.05). Conclusions This is seen as an effective intervention strategy toward reducing the risk of human exposure to dioxin at dioxin hot spots. While greater efforts are needed for remediating dioxin polluted areas inside airbases, there is also evidence to suggest that, during the past four decades, pollution has been expanding to the surrounding areas. For this reason, this model should be quickly expanded to the remaining dioxin hot spots in Vietnam to further reduce the exposure risk in these areas.

Empirical facts : a rationale for expanding lawyers' methodological expertise

This article examines the importance of the social evidence base in relation to the development of the law. It argues that there is a need for those lawyers who play a part in law reform (legislators and those involved in the law reform process) and for those who play a part in formulating policy-based common law rules (judges and practitioners) to know more about how facts are established in the social sciences. It argues that lawyers need sufficient knowledge and skills in order to be able to critically assess the facts and evidence base when examining new legislation and also when preparing, arguing and determining the outcomes of legal disputes. For this reason the article argues that lawyers need enhanced training in empirical methodologies in order to function effectively in modern legal contexts.

Rural masculinities and the internalisation of violence in agricultural communities

This article is based on research we conducted in two agricultural communities as part of a broader study that included mining communities in rural Australia. The data from the agricultural locations tell a different story to that of the mining communities. In the latter, alcohol-fuelled, male-on-male assaults in public places caused considerable anxiety among informants. By contrast, people in the agricultural communities seemed more troubled by hidden violent harms which were largely privatised and individualised, including self-harm, suicide, isolation and threats to men’s general wellbeing and mental health; domestic violence; and other forms of violence largely unreported and thus unacknowledged within the wider community (including sexual assault and bullying linked to homophobia). We argue one reason for the different pattern in the agricultural communities is the decline of pub(lic) masculinity, and with this, the increasing isolation of rural men and the increasing propensity to internalise violence. We argue that the relatively high rates of suicide in agricultural communities experiencing rural decline are symptomatic of the internalisation of violence.

Is foot ulcer simulation training (FUST) really effective? Participants’ supervisors speak out

Background Foot ulcers are a common reason for diabetes-related hospitalisation. Foot ulcer simulation training (FUST) programs have increased podiatry participants self-confidence to manage foot ulcers. However, supervisors’ perspectives on their participants attending these simulation programs have not been investigated. This mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) study aimed to investigate home clinical supervisors’ perspectives on any changes to their participants’ competence and practice following FUST. Methods Clinical supervisors of fifteen podiatrists, who participated in a two-day Foot Ulcer Simulation Training (FUST) course, were recruited. Supervisors completed quantitative surveys evaluating their participants’ foot ulcer competence pre-FUST and 6-months post-FUST, via a purposed designed 21-item survey using a five-point Likert scale (1=Very limited, 5=Highly competent). Supervisors also attended a semi-structured qualitative group interview to investigate supervisors’ perspectives on FUST. Results Supervisors surveys returned were pre-FUST (n=10) and post-FUST (n=12). Significant competence improvements were observed at the 6-month survey (mean scores 2.84 cf. 3.72, p < 0.05). Five supervisors attended the group interview. Five sub-themes emerged: i) FUST provided a good foundation for future learning, ii) FUST modelled good clinical behaviour, iii) clinical practice improvement was evident in most participants, iv) clinical improvements were dependent on participant’s willingness to change and existing workplace culture, v) FUST needs to be reinforced back in the home clinic. Conclusion Overall, supervisors of FUST participants indicated that the course improved their participants’ competence and clinical practice. However, the degree of improvement appears dependant on the participants’ home workplace culture and willingness to embrace change.

Queensland diabetic foot hospitalisations (2005-10) : in what state is our foot hospital problem?

Background Diabetes foot complications are a leading cause of overall avoidable hospital admissions. Since 2006, the Queensland Diabetes Clinical Network has implemented programs aimed at reducing diabetes-related hospitalisation. The aim of this retrospective observational study was to determine the incidence of diabetes foot-related hospital admissions in Queensland from 2005 to 2010. Methods Data on all primary diabetes foot-related admissions in Queensland from 2005-2010 was obtained using diabetes foot-related ICD-10-AM (hospital discharge) codes. Queensland diabetes foot-related admission incidences were calculated using general population data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Furthermore, diabetes foot-related sub-group admissions were analysed. Chi-squared tests were used to assess changes in admissions over time. Results Overall, 24,917 diabetes foot-related admissions occurred, resulting in the use of 260,085 bed days or 1.4% of all available Queensland hospital bed days (18,352,152). The primary reasons for these admissions were foot ulcers (49.8%), cellulitis (20.7%), peripheral vascular disease (17.8%) and osteomyelitis (3.8%). The diabetes foot-related admission incidence among the general population (per 100,000) reduced by 22% (103.0 in 2005, to 80.7 in 2010, p < 0.001); bed days decreased by 18% (1,099 to 904, p < 0.001). Conclusion Diabetes foot complications appear to be the primary reason for 1.4 out of every 100 hospital beds used in Queensland. There has been a significant reduction in the incidence of diabetes foot-related admissions in Queensland between 2005 and 2010. This decrease has coincided with a corresponding decrease in amputations and the implementation of several diabetes foot clinical programs throughout Queensland.

Development of the Rapid Assessment, Prioritisation and Referral Tool (RAPaRT) for multidisciplinary teams in emergency care settings

Objective This investigation utilised the expertise of allied members of multidisciplinary teams working in emergency care settings to develop and validate a Rapid Assessment Prioritisation and Referral Tool (RAPaRT). This instrument is intended for use among patients (with non-life threatening acuity) presenting to emergency care settings to indicate when referral to an allied member of the multidisciplinary team is warranted. Method This three stage instrument development and validation study included: a Delphi panel process to determine key criteria to guide instrument development and identify potential items to be carried forward for testing (stage 1); a prospective cohort of consecutive admissions (n=153) to investigate item sensitivity and specificity and retain only the most suitable items (stage 2); then final consultation with the Delphi panel to ensure the final instrument was clinically amenable (stage 3). Results 23 potential items were identified following stage 1. At the completion of item sensitivity and specificity analysis and in consultation with the Delphi panel, seven items were retained in the instrument. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.803 for these seven items in predicting when a referral was warranted. Final consultation with the Delphi panel members also resulted in the addition of an open ended (eighth) item to allow description of any infrequent, but important, reason for referral. Conclusions The RAPaRT has demonstrated substantial promise as an efficient clinically amenable instrument to assist multidisciplinary teams in emergency care settings. Further research to investigate the wider implementation of the RAPaRT is warranted.

Local stress-strain distribution and load transfer across cartilage matrix at micro-scale using combined microscopy-based finite element method

Articular cartilage is the load-bearing tissue that consists of proteoglycan macromolecules entrapped between collagen fibrils in a three-dimensional architecture. To date, the drudgery of searching for mathematical models to represent the biomechanics of such a system continues without providing a fitting description of its functional response to load at micro-scale level. We believe that the major complication arose when cartilage was first envisaged as a multiphasic model with distinguishable components and that quantifying those and searching for the laws that govern their interaction is inadequate. To the thesis of this paper, cartilage as a bulk is as much continuum as is the response of its components to the external stimuli. For this reason, we framed the fundamental question as to what would be the mechano-structural functionality of such a system in the total absence of one of its key constituents-proteoglycans. To answer this, hydrated normal and proteoglycan depleted samples were tested under confined compression while finite element models were reproduced, for the first time, based on the structural microarchitecture of the cross-sectional profile of the matrices. These micro-porous in silico models served as virtual transducers to produce an internal noninvasive probing mechanism beyond experimental capabilities to render the matrices micromechanics and several others properties like permeability, orientation etc. The results demonstrated that load transfer was closely related to the microarchitecture of the hyperelastic models that represent solid skeleton stress and fluid response based on the state of the collagen network with and without the swollen proteoglycans. In other words, the stress gradient during deformation was a function of the structural pattern of the network and acted in concert with the position-dependent compositional state of the matrix. This reveals that the interaction between indistinguishable components in real cartilage is superimposed by its microarchitectural state which directly influences macromechanical behavior.

A novel energy efficient controllable stiffness joint

Achieving energy efficient legged locomotion is an important goal for the future of robot mobility. This paper presents a novel joint for legged locomotion that is energy efficient for two reasons. The first reason is the configuration of the elastic elements and actuator which we show analytically has lower energy losses than the typical arrangement. The second is that the joint stiffness, and hence stance duration, is controllable without requiring any energy from the actuator. Further, the joint stiffness can be changed significantly during the flight phase, from zero to highly rigid. Results obtained from a prototype hopper, demonstrate that the joint allows continuous and peak hopping via torque control. The results also demonstrate that the hopping frequency can be varied between 2.2Hz and 4.6Hz with associated stance duration of between 0.35 and 0.15 seconds.

A vibrational spectroscopic study of the phosphate mineral minyulite KAl2(OH,F)(PO4)2⋅4(H2O) and in comparison with wardite

Vibrational spectroscopy enables subtle details of the molecular structure of minyulite KAl2(OH,F)(PO4)2⋅4(H2O). Single crystals of a pure phase from a Brazilian pegmatite were used. Minyulite belongs to the orthorhombic crystal system. This indicates that it has three axes of unequal length, yet all are perpendicular to each other. The infrared and Raman spectroscopy were applied to compare the structure of minyulite with wardite. The reason for the comparison is that both are Al containing phosphate minerals. The Raman spectrum of minyulite shows an intense band at 1012 cm−1 assigned to the ν1PO43- symmetric stretching vibrations. A series of low intensity Raman bands at 1047, 1077, 1091 and 1105 cm−1 are assigned to the ν3PO43- antisymmetric stretching modes. The Raman bands at 1136, 1155, 1176 and 1190 cm−1 are assigned to AlOH deformation modes. The infrared band at 1014 cm−1 is ascribed to the PO43- ν1 symmetric stretching vibrational mode. The infrared bands at 1049, 1071, 1091 and 1123 cm−1 are attributed to the PO43- ν3 antisymmetric stretching vibrations. The infrared bands at 1123, 1146 and 1157 cm−1 are attributed to AlOH deformation modes. Raman bands at 575, 592, 606 and 628 cm−1 are assigned to the ν4 out of plane bending modes of the PO43- unit. In the 2600–3800 cm−1 spectral range, Raman bands for minyulite are found at 3661, 3669 and 3692 cm−1 are assigned to AlOH/AlF stretching vibrations. Broad infrared bands are also found at 2904, 3105, 3307, 3453 and 3523 cm−1. Raman bands at 3225, 3324 cm−1 are assigned to water stretching vibrations. A comparison is made with the vibrational spectra of wardite. Raman spectroscopy complimented with infrared spectroscopy has enabled aspects of the structure of minyulite to be ascertained and compared with that of other phosphate minerals.

Delirium knowledge and recognition : a randomized controlled trial of a web-based educational intervention for acute care nurses

Delirium is a significant problem for older hospitalized people and is associated with poor outcomes. It is poorly recognized and evidence suggests that a major reason is lack of education. Nurses, who are educated about delirium, can play a significant role in improving delirium recognition. This study evaluated the impact of a delirium specific educational website. A cluster randomized controlled trial, with a pretest/post-test time series design, was conducted to measure delirium knowledge (DK) and delirium recognition (DR) over three time-points. Statistically significant differences were found between the intervention and non-intervention group. The intervention groups' DK scores were higher and the change over time results were statistically significant [T3 and T1 (t=3.78 p=<0.001) and T2 and T1 baseline (t=5.83 p=<0.001)]. Statistically significant improvements were also seen for DR when comparing T2 and T1 results (t=2.56 p=0.011) between both groups but not for changes in DR scores between T3 and T1 (t=1.80 p=0.074). Participants rated the website highly on the visual, functional and content elements. This study supports the concept that web-based delirium learning is an effective and satisfying method of information delivery for registered nurses. Future research is required to investigate clinical outcomes as a result of this web-based education.

Social and traditional entrepreneurial intention : what is the difference?

The concept of entrepreneurship has developed during the past decades and has a long history in the business sector. Miller et al. (2009) refer that entrepreneurship is an important part of the economic scenery, providing opportunities and jobs for substantial numbers of people. Audresch et al. (2002) clarify how the positive and statistically robust link between entrepreneurship and economic growth has been indisputably verified across a wide spectrum of units and observation, spanning the establishment, the enterprise, the industry, the region and the country. In the literature there has been an evolution and intense debate about the role of entrepreneurship as a field of research and about the creation of a conceptual framework for the entrepreneurship field as a whole. Shane and Venkataraman (2000) define the field of entrepreneurship as the scholarly examination of how, by whom, and with what effects opportunities to create future goods and services are discovered, evaluated, and exploited. For this reason the field involves the study of sources of opportunities; the processes of discovery, evaluation, and exploitation of opportunities; and the set of individuals who discover, evaluate, and exploit them.

Regulating integrated advertising

This chapter approaches integrated advertising as a practice that is continuous with advertising history, rather than a phenomenon associated with new technologies. Competition for technology-enabled audiences in expanding media and entertainment markets is nonetheless an important factor in the turn to integrated advertising and marketing strategies in recent years. While integrated advertising provides solutions for advertisers, it is problematic for media consumers because it is not always distinguishable from surrounding program content and clearly identifiable as advertising. It creates opportunities for advertisers to fly below the radar of citizen and consumer awareness of commercial and political influences in media content, and for this reason has been constrained by regulation. Media regulators have come to play an important role in striking a balance between public and private interests in commercial media by setting and adjudicating the limits of integrated advertising practices. This chapter looks at how broadcasting regulators have responded to the challenges of regulating integrated advertising in commercial radio in three different territories (United States, United Kingdom and Australia). It draws attention to the ways in which integrated advertising simultaneously drives innovation in media genres and forms, as well as de-regulation of the influence exercised by advertisers in commercial media content.

Caribbean copyright showdown

The tiny Caribbean island of Antigua doesn’t make the news very often. Located 1800 kilometres east of Miami, just north of Montserrat, it is best known as a holiday destination for well-heeled Europeans and celebrities with private yachts. Now it is in the headlines for an unexpected reason...