The prediction of disease risk in genomic medicine

In recent years, the phrase 'genomic medicine' has increasingly been used to describe a new development in medicine that holds great promise for human health. This new approach to health care uses the knowledge of an individual's genetic make-up to identify those that are at a higher risk of developing certain diseases and to intervene at an earlier stage to prevent these diseases. Identifying genes that are involved in disease aetiology will provide researchers with tools to develop better treatments and cures. A major role within this field is attributed to 'predictive genomic medicine', which proposes screening healthy individuals to identify those who carry alleles that increase their susceptibility to common diseases, such as cancers and heart disease. Physicians could then intervene even before the disease manifests and advise individuals with a higher genetic risk to change their behaviour - for instance, to exercise or to eat a healthier diet - or offer drugs or other medical treatment to reduce their chances of developing these diseases. These promises have fallen on fertile ground among politicians, health-care providers and the general public, particularly in light of the increasing costs of health care in developed societies. Various countries have established databases on the DNA and health information of whole populations as a first step towards genomic medicine. Biomedical research has also identified a large number of genes that could be used to predict someone's risk of developing a certain disorder. But it would be premature to assume that genomic medicine will soon become reality, as many problems remain to be solved. Our knowledge about most disease genes and their roles is far from sufficient to make reliable predictions about a patient’s risk of actually developing a disease. In addition, genomic medicine will create new political, social, ethical and economic challenges that will have to be addressed in the near future.

Development of a physical and genetic map of the virulent Wolbachia strain wMelPop

We report here the construction of a physical and genetic map of the virulent Wolbachia strain, wMelPop. This map was determined by ordering 28 chromosome fragments that resulted from digestion with the restriction endonucleases FseI, ApaI, SmaI, and AscI and were resolved by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Southern hybridization was done with 53 Wolbachia-specific genes as probes in order to determine the relative positions of these restriction fragments and use them to serve as markers. Comparison of the resulting map with the whole genome sequence of the closely related benign Wolbachia strain, wMel, shows that the two genomes are largely conserved in gene organization with the exception of a single inversion in the chromosome.

Workgroup emotional intelligence: Scale development and relationship to team process effectiveness and goal focus

Over the last decade, ambitious claims have been made in the management literature about the contribution of emotional intelligence to success and performance. Writers in this genre have predicted that individuals with high emotional intelligence perform better in all aspects of management. This paper outlines the development of a new emotional intelligence measure, the Workgroup Emotional Intelligence Profile, Version 3 (WEIP-3), which was designed specifically to profile the emotional intelligence of individuals in work teams. We applied the scale in a study of the link between emotional intelligence and two measures of team performance: team process effectiveness and team goal focus. The results suggest that the average level of emotional intelligence of team members, as measured by the WEIP-3, is reflected in the initial performance of teams. In our study, low emotional intelligence teams initially performed at a lower level than the high emotional intelligence teams. Over time, however, teams with low average emotional intelligence raised their performance to match that of teams with high emotional intelligence.

Spatial, temporal, and human dimensions of air pollution in Brisbane

Arriving in Brisbane some six years ago, I could not help being impressed by what may be prosaically described as its atmospheric amenity resources. Perhaps this in part was due to my recent experiences in major urban centres in North America, but since that time, that sparkling quality and the blue skies seem to have progressively diminished. Unfortunately, there is also objective evidence available to suggest that this apparent deterioration is not merely the result of habituation of the senses. Air pollution data for the city show trends of increasing concentrations of those very substances that have destroyed the attractiveness of major population centres elsewhere, with climates initially as salubrious. Indeed, present figures indicate that photochemical smog in unacceptably high concentrations is rapidly becoming endemic also over Brisbane. These regrettable developments should come as no surprise. The society at large has not been inclined to respond purposefully to warnings of impending environmental problems, despite the experiences and publicity from overseas and even from other cities within Australia. Nor, up to the present, have certain politicians and government officials displayed stances beyond those necessary for the maintenance of a decorum of concern. At this stage, there still exists the possibility for meaningful government action without the embarrassment of losing political favour with the electorate. To the contrary, there is every chance that such action may be turned to advantage with increased public enlightenment. It would be more than a pity to miss perhaps the final remaining opportunity: Queensland is one of the few remaining places in the world with sufficient resources to permit both rational development and high environmental quality. The choice appears to be one of making a relatively minor investment now for a large financial and social gain the near future, or, permitting Brisbane to degenerate gradually into just another stagnated Los Angeles or Sydney. The present monograph attempts to introduce the problem by reviewing the available research on air quality in the Brisbane area. It also tries to elucidate some seemingly obvious, but so far unapplied management approaches. By necessity, such a broad treatment needs to make inroads into extensive ranges of subject areas, including political and legal practices to public perceptions, scientific measurement and statistical analysis to dynamics of air flow. Clearly, it does not pretend to be definitive in any of these fields, but it does try to emphasize those adjustable facets of the human use system of natural resources, too often neglected in favour of air pollution control technology. The crossing of disciplinary boundaries, however, needs no apology: air quality problems are ubiquitous, touching upon space, time and human interaction.

Flirting with Spirituality within Community Development Practice

In this paper Peter will consider some contemporary discourses of spirituality, the potential dangers of some spirituality, and then discuss how spirituality can contribute to an ‘enchanted’ framework of community development.

Personal Reflexive Instruments for Monitoring Engineering Development (PRIMED) Project

This was an early pre-Catalyst collaboration about developing reflexivity in student engineers. It was funded by (then) CUTSD.

Closing the gap in curriculum development leadership

“Closing the gap in curriculum development leadership” is a Carrick-funded University of Queensland project which is designed to address two related gaps in current knowledge and in existing professional development programs for academic staff. The first gap is in our knowledge of curriculum and pedagogical issues as they arise in relation to multi-year sequences of study, such as majors in generalist degrees, or core programs in more structured degrees. While there is considerable knowledge of curriculum and pedagogy at the course or individual unit of study level (e.g. Philosophy I), there is very little properly conceptualised, empirically informed knowledge about student learning (and teaching) over, say, a three-year major sequence in a traditional Arts or Sciences subject. The Carrick-funded project aims to (begin to) fill this gap through bottom-up curriculum development projects across the range of UQ’s offerings. The second gap is in our professional development programs and, indeed, in our recognition and support for the people who are in charge of such multi-year sequences of study. The major convener or program coordinator is not as well supported, in Australian and overseas professional development programs, as the lecturer in charge of a single course (or unit of study). Nor is her work likely to be taken account of in workload calculations or for the purposes of promotion and career advancement more generally. The Carrick-funded project aims to fill this gap by developing, in consultation with crucial stakeholders, amendments to existing university policies and practices. The attached documents provide a useful introduction to the project. For more information, please contact Fred D’Agostino at f.dagostino@uq.edu.au.

A Step-by-Step Approach to Transit Oriented Development Project Delivery

A major challenge in successfully implementing transit-oriented development (TOD) is having a robust process that ensures effective appraisal, initiation and delivery of multi-stakeholder TOD projects. A step-by step project development process can assist in the methodic design, evaluation, and initiation of TOD projects. Successful TOD requires attention to transit, mixed-use development and public space. Brisbane, Australia provides a case-study where recent planning policies and infrastructure documents have laid a foundation for TOD, but where barriers lie in precinct level planning and project implementation. In this context and perhaps in others, the research effort needs to shift toward identification of appropriate project processes and strategies. This paper presents the outcomes of research conducted to date. Drawing on the mainstream approach to project development and financial evaluation for property projects, key steps for potential use in successful delivery of TOD projects have been identified, including: establish the framework; location selection; precinct context review; preliminary precinct design; the initial financial viability study; the decision stage; establishment of project structure; land acquisition; development application; and project delivery. The appropriateness of this mainstream development and appraisal process will be tested through stakeholder research, and the proposed process will then be refined for adoption in TOD projects. It is suggested that the criteria for successful TOD should be broadened beyond financial concerns in order to deliver public sector support for project initiation.

Reconceptualising social sustainability in urban development

Although the social dimension is often cited as the third leg of triple bottom line sustainability, there is at present general agreement on the difficulty of saying just what social sustainability is and how it can be related to enivironmental sustainability. This paper proposes that a sociotechnical understanding of the relationship beween human behaviour and technical developments provides a way of making the social dimension accessible to engineers, designers and developers. We draw on early work in master planned urban developments to show how a sociotechnical model, married to a life cycle assessment approach can help us understand and design for effective and efficient implementation of sustainability systems

Language policy spread: Learning from health and social policy models

Except for a few large scale projects, language planners have tended to talk and argue among themselves rather than to see language policy development as an inherently political process. A comparison with a social policy example, taken from the United States, suggests that it is important to understand the problem and to develop solutions in the context of the political process, as this is where decisions will ultimately be made.