A large scale quantitative study of pedestrian railway level crossing behaviour : deliberate violations, errors and deterrence

Every year a number of pedestrians are struck by trains resulting in death and serious injury. While much research has been conducted on train-vehicle collisions, very little is currently known about the aetiology of train-pedestrian collisions. To date, scant research has been undertaken to investigate the demographics of rule breakers, the frequency of deliberate violation versus error making and the influence of the classic deterrence approach on subsequent behaviours. Aim This study aimed to to identify pedestrians’ self-reported reasons for engaging in violations at crossing, the frequency and nature of rule breaking and whether the threat of sanctions influence such events. Method A questionnaire was administered to 511 participants of all ages. Results Analysis revealed that pedestrians (particularly younger groups) were more likely to commit deliberate violations rather than make crossing errors e.g., mistakes. The most frequent reasons given for deliberate violations were participants were running late and did not want to miss their train or participants believed that the gate was taking too long to open so may be malfunctioning. In regards to classical deterrence, an examination of the perceived threat of being apprehended and fined for a crossing violation revealed participants reported the highest mean scores for swiftness of punishment, which suggests they were generally aware that they would receive an “on the spot” fine. However, the overall mean scores for certainty and severity of sanctions (for violating the rules) indicate that the participants did not perceive the certainty and severity of sanctions as very high. This paper will further discuss the research findings in regards to the development of interventions designed to improve pedestrian crossing safety.

An examination of learning design in elite springboard diving

The overarching aim of this programme of work was to evaluate the effectiveness of the existing learning environment within the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) elite springboard diving programme. Unique to the current research programme, is the application of ideas from an established theory of motor learning, specifically ecological dynamics, to an applied high performance training environment. In this research programme springboard diving is examined as a complex system, where individual, task, and environmental constraints are continually interacting to shape performance. As a consequence, this thesis presents some necessary and unique insights into representative learning design and movement adaptations in a sample of elite athletes. The questions examined in this programme of work relate to how best to structure practice, which is central to developing an effective learning environment in a high performance setting. Specifically, the series of studies reported in the chapters of this doctoral thesis: (i) provide evidence for the importance of designing representative practice tasks in training; (ii) establish that completed and baulked (prematurely terminated) take-offs are not different enough to justify the abortion of a planned dive; and (iii), confirm that elite athletes performing complex skills are able to adapt their movement patterns to achieve consistent performance outcomes from variable dive take-off conditions. Chapters One and Two of the thesis provide an overview of the theoretical ideas framing the programme of work, and include a review of literature pertinent to the research aims and subsequent empirical chapters. Chapter Three examined the representativeness of take-off tasks completed in the two AIS diving training facilities routinely used in springboard diving. Results highlighted differences in the preparatory phase of reverse dive take-offs completed by elite divers during normal training tasks in the dry-land and aquatic training environments. The most noticeable differences in dive take-off between environments began during the hurdle (step, jump, height and flight) where the diver generates the necessary momentum to complete the dive. Consequently, greater step lengths, jump heights and flight times, resulted in greater board depression prior to take-off in the aquatic environment where the dives required greater amounts of rotation. The differences observed between the preparatory phases of reverse dive take-offs completed in the dry-land and aquatic training environments are arguably a consequence of the constraints of the training environment. Specifically, differences in the environmental information available to the athletes, and the need to alter the landing (feet first vs. wrist first landing) from the take-off, resulted in a decoupling of important perception and action information and a decomposition of the dive take-off task. In attempting to only practise high quality dives, many athletes have followed a traditional motor learning approach (Schmidt, 1975) and tried to eliminate take-off variations during training. Chapter Four examined whether observable differences existed between the movement kinematics of elite divers in the preparation phases of baulked (prematurely terminated) and completed take-offs that might justify this approach to training. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of variability within conditions revealed greater consistency and less variability when dives were completed, and greater variability amongst baulked take-offs for all participants. Based on these findings, it is probable that athletes choose to abort a planned take-off when they detect small variations from the movement patterns (e.g., step lengths, jump height, springboard depression) of highly practiced comfortable dives. However, with no major differences in coordination patterns (topology of the angle-angle plots), and the potential for negative performance outcomes in competition, there appears to be no training advantage in baulking on unsatisfactory take-offs during training, except when a threat of injury is perceived by the athlete. Instead, it was considered that enhancing the athletes' movement adaptability would be a more functional motor learning strategy. In Chapter Five, a twelve-week training programme was conducted to determine whether a sample of elite divers were able to adapt their movement patterns and complete dives successfully, regardless of the perceived quality of their preparatory movements on the springboard. The data indeed suggested that elite divers were able to adapt their movements during the preparatory phase of the take-off and complete good quality dives under more varied take-off conditions; displaying greater consistency and stability in the key performance outcome (dive entry). These findings are in line with previous research findings from other sports (e.g., shooting, triple jump and basketball) and demonstrate how functional or compensatory movement variability can afford greater flexibility in task execution. By previously only practising dives with good quality take-offs, it can be argued that divers only developed strong couplings between information and movement under very specific performance circumstances. As a result, this sample was sometimes characterised by poor performance in competition when the athletes experienced a suboptimal take-off. Throughout this training programme, where divers were encouraged to minimise baulking and attempt to complete every dive, they demonstrated that it was possible to strengthen the information and movement coupling in a variety of performance circumstances, widening of the basin of performance solutions and providing alternative couplings to solve a performance problem even when the take-off was not ideal. The results of this programme of research provide theoretical and experimental implications for understanding representative learning design and movement pattern variability in applied sports science research. Theoretically, this PhD programme contributes empirical evidence to demonstrate the importance of representative design in the training environments of high performance sports programmes. Specifically, this thesis advocates for the design of learning environments that effectively capture and enhance functional and flexible movement responses representative of performance contexts. Further, data from this thesis showed that elite athletes performing complex tasks were able to adapt their movements in the preparatory phase and complete good quality dives under more varied take-off conditions. This finding signals some significant practical implications for athletes, coaches and sports scientists. As such, it is recommended that care should be taken by coaches when designing practice tasks since the clear implication is that athletes need to practice adapting movement patterns during ongoing regulation of multi-articular coordination tasks. For example, volleyball servers can adapt to small variations in the ball toss phase, long jumpers can visually regulate gait as they prepare for the take-off, and springboard divers need to continue to practice adapting their take-off from the hurdle step. In summary, the studies of this programme of work have confirmed that the task constraints of training environments in elite sport performance programmes need to provide a faithful simulation of a competitive performance environment in order that performance outcomes may be stabilised with practice. Further, it is apparent that training environments can be enhanced by ensuring the representative design of task constraints, which have high action fidelity with the performance context. Ultimately, this study recommends that the traditional coaching adage 'perfect practice makes perfect", be reconsidered; instead advocating that practice should be, as Bernstein (1967) suggested, "repetition without repetition".

The development of a kinematic model to quantify in-shoe foot motion

A multi-segment foot model was used to develop an accurate and reliable kinematic model to describe in-shoe foot kinematics during gait.

Financial Markets, Institutions and Money [3rd ed.]

"The financial system is a key influencer of the health and efficiency of an economy. The role of the financial system is to gather money from people and businesses that currently have more money than they need and transfer it to those that can use it for either business or consumer expenditures. This flow of funds through financial markets and institutions in the Australian economy is huge (in the billions of dollars), affecting business profits, the rate of inflation, interest rates and the production of goods and services. In general, the larger the flow of funds and the more efficient the financial system, the greater the economic output and welfare in the economy. It is not possible to have a modern, complex economy such as that in Australia, without an efficient and sound financial system. The global financial crisis (GFC) of late 2007–09 (and the ensuing European debt crisis), where the global financial market was on the brink of collapse with only significant government intervention stopping a catastrophic global failure of the market, illustrated the importance of the financial system. Financial Markets, Institutions and Money 3rd edition introduces students to the financial system, its operations, and participants. The text offers a fresh, succinct analysis of the financial markets and discusses how the many participants in the financial system interrelate. This includes coverage of regulators, regulations and the role of the Reserve Bank of Australia, that ensure the system’s smooth running, which is essential to a modern economy. The text has been significantly revised to take into account changes in the financial world."---publisher website Table of Contents 1. The financial system - an overview 2. The Monetary Authorities 3. The Reserve Bank of Australia and interest rates 4. The level of interest rates 5. Mathematics of finance 6. Bond Prices and interest rate risk 7. The Structure of Interest Rates 8. Money Markets 9. Bond Markets 10. Equity Markets

Enhancing teacher education : the School-Community Intergrated Learning (SCIL) pathway

National Australian reviews advocate exploring new models for preservice teacher education. This study investigates the outcomes of the School-Community Integrated Learning (SCIL) pathway as a model for advancing preservice teachers’ understandings of teaching. Thirty-two final-year preservice teachers were surveyed with extended written responses on how the SCIL pathway advanced their understandings of teaching. Results indicated 100% agreement on 6 of the 27 survey items. Indeed, 78% or more preservice teachers agreed that they had a range of experiences across the five categories (i.e., personal-professional skill development, understandings of system requirements, teaching practices, student behaviour and reflective practices). Extended responses suggested they had developed understandings around setting up classrooms, whole school planning processes with professional development, the allocation of teacher responsibilities (e.g., playground duties), parent-teacher interviews, diagnostic testing for literacy and numeracy, commencing running records of students’ assessment results, and the development of relationships (students, teachers and parents). Although a longitudinal study is required to determine long-term effects, the SCIL pathway may be viewed as a positive step towards preparing final-year preservice teachers for their first year as fully-fledged teachers.

The seventh 48 hour game making challenge (2013)

The 48 hour game making challenge has been running since 2007. In recent years, we have not only been running a 'game jam' for the local community but we have also been exploring the way in which the event itself and the place of the event has the potential to create its own stories. Game jams are the creative festivals of the game development community and a game jam is very much an event or performance; its stories are those of subjective experience. Participants return year after year and recount personal stories from previous challenges; arrival in the 48hr location typically inspires instances of individual memory and narration more in keeping with those of a music festival or an oft frequented holiday destination. Since its inception, the 48hr has been heavily documented, from the photo-blogging of our first jam and the twitter streams of more recent events to more formal interviews and documentaries (see Anderson, 2012). We have even had our own moments of Gonzo journalism with an on-site press room one year and an ‘embedded’ journalist another year (Keogh, 2011). In the last two years of the 48hr we have started to explore ways and means to collect more abstract data during the event, that is, empirical data about movement and activity. The intent behind this form of data collection was to explore graphic and computer generated visualisations of the event, not for the purpose of formal analysis but in the service of further story telling. [exerpt from truna aka j.turner, Thomas & Owen, 2013) See: truna aka j.turner, Thomas & Owen (2013) Living the indie life: mapping creative teams in a 48 hour game jam and playing with data, Proceedings of the 9th Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment, IE'2013, September 30 - October 01 2013, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

2 Hour game jam at SLQ Garage Gamer - Live performance with crowd participation

The 2 hour game jam was performed as part of the State Library of Queensland 'Garage Gamer' series of events, summer 2013, at the SLQ exhibition. An aspect of the exhibition was the series of 'Level Up' game nights. We hosted the first of these - under the auspices of brIGDA, Game On. It was a party - but the focal point of the event was a live streamed 2 hour game jam. Game jams have become popular amongst the game development and design community in recent years, particularly with the growth of the Global Game Jam, a yearly event which brings thousands of game makers together across different sites in different countries. Other established jams take place on-line, for example the Ludum Dare challenge which as been running since 2002. Other challenges follow the same model in more intimate circumstances and it is now common to find institutions and groups holding their own small local game making jams. There are variations around the format, some jams are more competitive than others for example, but a common aspect is the creation of an intense creative crucible centred around team work and ‘accelerated game development’. Works (games) produced during these intense events often display more experimental qualities than those undertaken as commercial projects. In part this is because the typical jam is started with a conceptual design brief, perhaps a single word, or in the case of the specific game jam described in this paper, three words. Teams have to envision the challenge key word/s as a game design using whatever skills and technologies they can and produce a finished working game in the time given. Game jams thus provide design researchers with extraordinary fodder and recent years have also seen a number of projects which seek to illuminate the design process as seen in these events. For example, Gaydos, Harris and Martinez discuss the opportunity of the jam to expose students to principles of design process and design spaces (2011). Rouse muses on the game jam ‘as radical practice’ and a ‘corrective to game creation as it is normally practiced’. His observations about his own experience in a jam emphasise the same artistic endeavour forefronted earlier, where the experience is about creation that is divorced from the instrumental motivations of commercial game design (Rouse 2011) and where the focus is on process over product. Other participants remark on the social milieu of the event as a critical factor and the collaborative opportunity as a rich site to engage participants in design processes (Shin et al, 2012). Shin et al are particularly interested in the notion of the site of the process and the ramifications of participants being in the same location. They applaud the more localized event where there is an emphasis on local participation and collaboration. For other commentators, it is specifically the social experience in the place of the jam is the most important aspect (See Keogh 2011), not the material site but rather the physical embodied experience of ‘being there’ and being part of the event. Participants talk about game jams they have attended in a similar manner to those observations made by Dourish where the experience is layered on top of the physical space of the event (Dourish 2006). It is as if the event has taken on qualities of place where we find echoes of Tuan’s description of a particular site having an aura of history that makes it a very different place, redolent and evocative (Tuan 1977). The 2 hour game jam held during the SLQ Garage Gamer program was all about social experience.

Intrusion detection in distributed systems, an approach based on taint marking

This paper presents a new framework for distributed intrusion detection based on taint marking. Our system tracks information flows between applications of multiple hosts gathered in groups (i.e., sets of hosts sharing the same distributed information flow policy) by attaching taint labels to system objects such as files, sockets, Inter Process Communication (IPC) abstractions, and memory mappings. Labels are carried over the network by tainting network packets. A distributed information flow policy is defined for each group at the host level by labeling information and defining how users and applications can legally access, alter or transfer information towards other trusted or untrusted hosts. As opposed to existing approaches, where information is most often represented by two security levels (low/high, public/private, etc.), our model identifies each piece of information within a distributed system, and defines their legal interaction in a fine-grained manner. Hosts store and exchange security labels in a peer to peer fashion, and there is no central monitor. Our IDS is implemented in the Linux kernel as a Linux Security Module (LSM) and runs standard software on commodity hardware with no required modification. The only trusted code is our modified operating system kernel. We finally present a scenario of intrusion in a web service running on multiple hosts, and show how our distributed IDS is able to report security violations at each host level.

Shoes that restrict metatarsophalangeal dorsiflexion cause proximal joint compensations

To describe barefoot, shod and in-shoe kinematics during stance phase of walking gait in a normal arched adult population. An equal sample of males and females (n = 24) was recruited. In order to quantify the effect of footwear independent of technical design features, an ASICS shoe (Onitsuka Tiger-Mexico 66, Japan) was used in this study. Markers were applied to three conditions; barefoot, shod, and in-shoe. The calibration markers were used to define static pose. The order of testing was randomised. Participants completed five trials in each condition. Kinematic data were captured using a 12 camera VICON MX40 motion capture system at 100 Hz and processed in Visual3D. A previously developed model was used to describe joint angles [1]. A univariate two-way ANOVA was used to identify any differences between the pairs of conditions. Post-hoc Sheffé tests were used to further interrogate the data for differences. At peak hallux dorsiflexion (Figure 1), during propulsion, the metatarsophalangeal joint (MPTJ) was significantly more dorsiflexed in the barefoot condition compared to the shod condition (p = 0.004). At the same gait event, the tibiocalcaneal joint (TCJ) was significantly more plantarflexed than both the shod and in-shoe conditions (p < 0.001), and the tarsometatarsal joint (TMTJ) was significantly less dorsiflexed in the barefoot condition compared to the shod and in-shoe conditions (p < 0.001). The findings of the current study demonstrate that footwear has significant effects on sagittal plane MPTJ joint dorsiflexion at peak hallux dorsiflexion, which results in compensations at proximal foot joints.

Time course-dependent changes in the transcriptome of human skeletal muscle during recovery from endurance exercise: From inflammation to adaptive remodeling

Re-programming of gene expression is fundamental for skeletal muscle adaptations in response to endurance exercise. This study investigated the time-course dependent changes in the muscular transcriptome following an endurance exercise trial consisting of 1 h of intense cycling immediately followed by 1 h of intense running. Skeletal muscle samples were taken at baseline, 3 h, 48 h, and 96 h post-exercise from eight healthy, endurance-trained, male individuals. RNA was extracted from muscle. Differential gene expression was evaluated using Illumina microarrays and validated with qPCR. Gene set enrichment analysis identified enriched molecular signatures chosen from the Molecular Signatures Database. Three h post-exercise, 102 gene sets were up-regulated [family wise error rate (FWER), P < 0.05]; including groups of genes related with leukocyte migration, immune and chaperone activation, and cyclic AMP responsive element binding protein (CREB) 1-signaling. Forty-eight h post-exercise, among 19 enriched gene sets (FWER, P < 0.05), two gene sets related to actin cytoskeleton remodeling were up-regulated. Ninety-six h post-exercise, 83 gene sets were enriched (FWER, P < 0.05), 80 of which were up-regulated; including gene groups related to chemokine signaling, cell stress management, and extracellular matrix remodeling. These data provide comprehensive insights into the molecular pathways involved in acute stress, recovery, and adaptive muscular responses to endurance exercise. The novel 96 h post-exercise transcriptome indicates substantial transcriptional activity, potentially associated with the prolonged presence of leukocytes in the muscles. This suggests that muscular recovery, from a transcriptional perspective, is incomplete 96 h after endurance exercise involving muscle damage.

Biomechanical characteristics of peripheral diabetic neuropathy : a systematic review and meta-analysis of findings from the gait cycle, muscle activity and dynamic barefoot plantar pressure

Background: Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is an important cause of foot ulceration and limb loss. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the effect of diabetic peripheral neuropathy on gait, dynamic electromyography and dynamic plantar pressures. Methods: Electronic databases were searched systematically for articles reporting the effect of diabetic peripheral neuropathy on gait, dynamic electromyography and plantar pressures. Searches were restricted to articles published between January 2000 and April 2012. Outcome measures assessed included spatiotemporal parameters, lower limb kinematics, kinetics, muscle activation and plantar pressure. Meta-analyses were carried out on all outcome measures reported by ≥3 studies. Findings: Sixteen studies were included consisting of 382 neuropathy participants, 216 diabetes controls without neuropathy and 207 healthy controls. Meta-analysis was performed on 11 gait variables. A high level of heterogeneity was noted between studies. Meta-analysis results suggested a longer stance time and moderately higher plantar pressures in diabetic peripheral neuropathy patients at the rearfoot, midfoot and forefoot compared to controls. Systematic review of studies suggested potential differences in the biomechanical characteristics (kinematics, kinetics, EMG) of diabetic neuropathy patients. However these findings were inconsistent and limited by small sample sizes.; Interpretation: Current evidence suggests that patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy have elevated plantar pressures and occupy a longer duration of time in the stance-phase during gait. Firm conclusions are hampered by the heterogeneity and small sample sizes of available studies. Interpretation: Current evidence suggests that patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy have elevated plantar pressures and occupy a longer duration of time in the stance-phase during gait. Firm conclusions are hampered by the heterogeneity and small sample sizes of available studies.

Changes in the site distribution of common melanoma subtypes in Queensland, Australia over time: implications for public health campaigns

Abstract BACKGROUND: An examination of melanoma incidence according to anatomical region may be one method of monitoring the impact of public health initiatives. OBJECTIVES:   To examine melanoma incidence trends by body site, sex and age at diagnosis or body site and morphology in a population at high risk. MATERIALS AND METHODS:   Population-based data on invasive melanoma cases (n = 51473) diagnosed between 1982 and 2008 were extracted from the Queensland Cancer Registry. Age-standardized incidence rates were calculated using the direct method (2000 world standard population) and joinpoint regression models were used to fit trend lines. RESULTS:   Significantly decreasing trends for melanomas on the trunk and upper limbs/shoulders were observed during recent years for both sexes under the age of 40 years and among males aged 40-59years. However, in the 60 and over age group, the incidence of melanoma is continuing to increase at all sites (apart from the trunk) for males and on the scalp/neck and upper limbs/shoulders for females. Rates of nodular melanoma are currently decreasing on the trunk and lower limbs. In contrast, superficial spreading melanoma is significantly increasing on the scalp/neck and lower limbs, along with substantial increases in lentigo maligna melanoma since the late 1990s at all sites apart from the lower limbs. CONCLUSIONS:   In this large study we have observed significant decreases in rates of invasive melanoma in the younger age groups on less frequently exposed body sites. These results may provide some indirect evidence of the impact of long-running primary prevention campaigns.

Video analytics for the detection of near-miss incidents on approach to railway level crossings

Recent modelling of socio-economic costs by the Australian railway industry in 2010 has estimated the cost of level crossing accidents to exceed AU$116 million annually. To better understand causal factors that contribute to these accidents, the Cooperative Research Centre for Rail Innovation is running a project entitled Baseline Level Crossing Video. The project aims to improve the recording of level crossing safety data by developing an intelligent system capable of detecting near-miss incidents and capturing quantitative data around these incidents. To detect near-miss events at railway level crossings a video analytics module is being developed to analyse video footage obtained from forward-facing cameras installed on trains. This paper presents a vision base approach for the detection of these near-miss events. The video analytics module is comprised of object detectors and a rail detection algorithm, allowing the distance between a detected object and the rail to be determined. An existing publicly available Histograms of Oriented Gradients (HOG) based object detector algorithm is used to detect various types of vehicles in each video frame. As vehicles are usually seen from a sideway view from the cabin’s perspective, the results of the vehicle detector are verified using an algorithm that can detect the wheels of each detected vehicle. Rail detection is facilitated using a projective transformation of the video, such that the forward-facing view becomes a bird’s eye view. Line Segment Detector is employed as the feature extractor and a sliding window approach is developed to track a pair of rails. Localisation of the vehicles is done by projecting the results of the vehicle and rail detectors on the ground plane allowing the distance between the vehicle and rail to be calculated. The resultant vehicle positions and distance are logged to a database for further analysis. We present preliminary results regarding the performance of a prototype video analytics module on a data set of videos containing more than 30 different railway level crossings. The video data is captured from a journey of a train that has passed through these level crossings.

The optimal temperature of first aid treatment for partial thickness burn injuries

Using our porcine model of deep dermal partial thickness burn injury, various cooling techniques (15 degrees C running water, 2 degrees C running water, ice) of first aid were applied for 20 minutes compared with a control (ambient temperature). The subdermal temperatures were monitored during the treatment and wounds observed and photographed weekly for 6 weeks, observing reepithelialization, wound surface area and cosmetic appearance. Tissue histology and scar tensile strength were examined 6 weeks after burn. The 2 degrees C and ice treatments decreased the subdermal temperature the fastest and lowest, however, generally the 15 and 2 degrees C treated wounds had better outcomes in terms of reepithelialization, scar histology, and scar appearance. These findings provide evidence to support the current first aid guidelines of cold tap water (approximately 15 degrees C) for 20 minutes as being beneficial in helping to heal the burn wound. Colder water at 2 degrees C is also beneficial. Ice should not be used.

The optimal duration and delay of first aid treatment for deep partial thickness burn injuries

Using our porcine model of deep dermal partial thickness burn injury, various durations (10min, 20min, 30min or 1h) and delays (immediate, 10min, 1h, 3h) of 15 degrees C running water first aid were applied to burns and compared to untreated controls. The subdermal temperatures were monitored during the treatment and wounds observed weekly for 6 weeks, for re-epithelialisation, wound surface area and cosmetic appearance. At 6 weeks after the burn, tissue biopsies were taken of the scar for histological analysis. Results showed that immediate application of cold running water for 20min duration is associated with an improvement in re-epithelialisation over the first 2 weeks post-burn and decreased scar tissue at 6 weeks. First aid application of cold water for as little as 10min duration or up to 1h delay still provides benefit.