The experience of Indigenous students in a Bachelor of Nursing Program in Australia: cultural safety and decolonising nurse education

Background In Australia significant health inequalities, such as an 11year life expectancy gap, impact on the continent���s traditional owners, the Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders. Evidence suggests links between improved Indigenous health and a greater proportion of Indigenous people employed in all sectors. Achieving a greater proportion of Indigenous people in health services and in the health education workforce, requires improved higher education completion rates. Currently Indigenous people are under-represented in higher education and attrition rates amongst those who do participate are high. We argue these circumstances make health and education matters of social justice, largely related to unexamined relations of power within universities where the pedagogical and social environment revolve around the norms and common-sense of the dominant culture. Project Research at Queensland University of Technology in 2010-2012, aimed to gain insights into attrition/retention in the Bachelor of Nursing. A literature review on Indigenous participation in higher education in nursing contextualised a mixed methods study. The project examined enrolment, attrition and success by an analysis of enrolment data from 1984-2012. Using Indigenous Research Assistants we then conducted 20 in-depth interviews with Indigenous students followed by a thematic analysis seeking to gain insights into the impact of students��� university experience on retention. Our findings indicate that cultural safety, mentorship, acceptance and support are crucial in student academic success. They also indicate that inflexible systems based on ethnocentric assumptions exacerbate the structural issues that impact on the students��� everyday life and are also part of the story of attrition. The findings reinforced the assumption that educational environments and processes are inherently cultural and political. This perspective calls into question the role of the students��� cultural experience at university in attrition rates. A partnership between the School of Nursing and the Indigenous Education Unit is working to better support Indigenous students.

Re-examination of one-point methods of liquid limit determination

This Paper deals with the analysis of liquid limit of soils, an inferential parameter of universal acceptance. It has been undertaken primarily to re-examine one-point methods of determination of liquid limit water contents. It has been shown by basic characteristics of soils and associated physico-chemical factors that critical shear strengths at liquid limit water contents arise out of force field equilibrium and are independent of soil type. This leads to the formation of a scientific base for liquid limit determination by one-point methods, which hitherto was formulated purely on statistical analysis of data. Available methods (Norman, 1959; Karlsson, 1961; Clayton & Jukes, 1978) of one-point liquid limit determination have been critically re-examined. A simple one-point cone penetrometer method of computing liquid limit has been suggested and compared with other methods. Experimental data of Sherwood & Ryley (1970) have been employed for comparison of different cone penetration methods. Results indicate that, apart from mere statistical considerations, one-point methods have a strong scientific base on the uniqueness of modified flow line irrespective of soil type. Normalized flow line is obtained by normalization of water contents by liquid limit values thereby nullifying the effects of surface areas and associated physico-chemical factors that are otherwise reflected in different responses at macrolevel.Cet article traite de l'analyse de la limite de liquidit�� des sols, param��tre d��ductif universellement accept��. Cette analyse a ��t�� entreprise en premier lieu pour r��-examiner les m��thodes �� un point destin��es �� la d��termination de la teneur en eau �� la limite de liquidit��. Il a ��t�� d��montr�� par les caract��ristiques fondamentales de sols et par des facteurs physico-chimiques associ��s que les r��sistances critiques �� la rupture au cisaillement pour des teneurs en eau �� la limite de liquidit�� r��sultent de l'��quilibre des champs de forces et sont ind��pendantes du type de sol concern��. On peut donc constituer une base scientifique pour la d��termination de la limite de liquidit�� par des m��thodes �� un point lesquelles, jusqu'alors, n'avaient ��t�� formul��es que sur la base d'une analyse statistique des donn��es. Les m��thodes dont on dispose (Norman, 1959; Karlsson, 1961; Clayton & Jukes, 1978) pour la d��termination de la limite de liquidit�� �� un point font l'objet d'un r��-examen critique. Une simple m��thode d'analyse �� un point �� l'aide d'un p��n��trom��tre �� c��ne pour le calcul de la limite de liquidit�� a ��t�� sugg��r��e et compar��e �� d'autres m��thodes. Les donn��es exp��rimentales de Sherwood & Ryley (1970) ont ��t�� utilis��es en vue de comparer diff��rentes m��thodes de p��n��tration par c��ne. En plus de consid��rations d'ordre purement statistque, les r��sultats montrent que les m��thodes de d��termination �� un point constituent une base scientifique solide en raison du caract��re unique de la ligne de courant modifi��e, quel que soit le type de sol La ligne de courant normalis��e est obtenue par la normalisation de la teneur en eau en faisant appel �� des valeurs de limite de liquidit�� pour, de cette mani��re, annuler les effets des surfaces et des facteurs physico-chimiques associ��s qui sans cela se manifesteraient dans les diff��rentes r��ponses au niveau macro.

Unpacking the impact of attachment to project teams on boundary-spanning behaviors

As business environments become even more competitive, project teams are required to make an effort to operate external linkages from within an organization or across organizational boundaries. Nevertheless, some members boundary-span less extensively, isolating themselves and their project teams from external environments. Our study examines why some members boundary-span more or less through the framework of group attachment theory. Data from 521 project-team members in construction and engineering industries revealed that the more individuals worry about their project team���s acceptance (group attachment anxiety), the more likely they are to perceive intergroup competition, and thus put more efforts into operating external linkages and resources to help their own teams outperform competitors. In contrast, a tendency to distrust their project teams (group attachment avoidance) generates members��� negative construal of their team���s external image, and thus fewer efforts are made at operating external linkages. Thus, project leaders and members with high group-attachment-anxiety may be best qualified for external tasks.

Exploring elements for innovation in the Australian water sector

This thesis explores innovation as a means to achieving an enhanced level of sustainability in the Australian water sector. A modified Delphi study uncovered sixteen key elements centred around themes of 'community acceptance' and 'innovator effectiveness', that provide insights for immediate application within the sector to address impacts of climate change, population increases and resource scarcity. This exploratory research builds a foundational understanding of the components for change and innovation within the Australian water sector, and forms the underpinning for more specific lines of enquiry.

A Decentralized Session Management Framework for Heterogeneous Ad-Hoc and Fixed Networks

Wireless technologies are continuously evolving. Second generation cellular networks have gained worldwide acceptance. Wireless LANs are commonly deployed in corporations or university campuses, and their diffusion in public hotspots is growing. Third generation cellular systems are yet to affirm everywhere; still, there is an impressive amount of research ongoing for deploying beyond 3G systems. These new wireless technologies combine the characteristics of WLAN based and cellular networks to provide increased bandwidth. The common direction where all the efforts in wireless technologies are headed is towards an IP-based communication. Telephony services have been the killer application for cellular systems; their evolution to packet-switched networks is a natural path. Effective IP telephony signaling protocols, such as the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and the H 323 protocol are needed to establish IP-based telephony sessions. However, IP telephony is just one service example of IP-based communication. IP-based multimedia sessions are expected to become popular and offer a wider range of communication capabilities than pure telephony. In order to conjoin the advances of the future wireless technologies with the potential of IP-based multimedia communication, the next step would be to obtain ubiquitous communication capabilities. According to this vision, people must be able to communicate also when no support from an infrastructured network is available, needed or desired. In order to achieve ubiquitous communication, end devices must integrate all the capabilities necessary for IP-based distributed and decentralized communication. Such capabilities are currently missing. For example, it is not possible to utilize native IP telephony signaling protocols in a totally decentralized way. This dissertation presents a solution for deploying the SIP protocol in a decentralized fashion without support of infrastructure servers. The proposed solution is mainly designed to fit the needs of decentralized mobile environments, and can be applied to small scale ad-hoc networks or also bigger networks with hundreds of nodes. A framework allowing discovery of SIP users in ad-hoc networks and the establishment of SIP sessions among them, in a fully distributed and secure way, is described and evaluated. Security support allows ad-hoc users to authenticate the sender of a message, and to verify the integrity of a received message. The distributed session management framework has been extended in order to achieve interoperability with the Internet, and the native Internet applications. With limited extensions to the SIP protocol, we have designed and experimentally validated a SIP gateway allowing SIP signaling between ad-hoc networks with private addressing space and native SIP applications in the Internet. The design is completed by an application level relay that permits instant messaging sessions to be established in heterogeneous environments. The resulting framework constitutes a flexible and effective approach for the pervasive deployment of real time applications.

Describing and validating functional requirements as use cases

Requirements engineering is an important phase in software development where customer's needs and expectations are transformed into a software requirements specification. The requirements specification can be considered as an agreement between the customer and the developer where both parties agree on the expected system features and behaviour. However, requirements engineers must deal with a variety of issues that complicate the requirements process. The communication gap between the customer and the developers is among typical reasons for unsatisfactory requirements. In this thesis we study how the use case technique could be used in requirements engineering in bridging the communication gap between the customer and development team. We also discuss how a use case description can be use cases can be used as a basis for acceptance test cases.

Holistic Spirituality in the Thinking of Ellen White

Spiritualiteetti viittaa syv��lliseen, inhimilliseen ulottuvuuteen ja ominaisuuteen, jonka tarkka m����ritteleminen on haasteellista, ellei mahdotonta. Sit�� vastaa yht����lt�� uskonnollisuuden kautta toteutuva, el��m��n tarkoitukseen ja syvemm��n olemuksen etsint����n liittyv�� hengellisyys, mutta toisaalta my��s kaikkea muuta hengen viljely�� ja mielekk����n olemisen tavoittelua tarkoittava henkisyys. John Swintonin mukaan hengen ulottuvuus on se inhimilliseen olemukseen kuuluva, dynaaminen elinvoima, joka virkist���� ja el��v��itt���� ihmist�� ja motivoi h��nt�� etsim����n Jumalaa, arvoja, merkityst��, tarkoitusta ja toivoa. T��m�� tutkimus nostaa tarkastelun kohteeksi kokonaisvaltaisen hengellisyyden, jolloin huomio kiinnitet����n niihin sidoksiin, joiden kautta hengen ulottuvuus liittyy muihin inhimillisen el��m��n olennaisiin toimintoihin ja n��k��kulmiin. T��llaisia ovat 1) ajattelu 2) teot ja k��yt��nn��n toiminta 3) suhteet ja vuorovaikutusverkostot 4) tunteet ja kanssak��ymist�� ohjaavat asenteet 5) olemassaolon ja olemisen ulottuvuudet. Kokemusten merkitys, arvo ja mielekkyys hahmottuvat juuri hengen alueella, toisin sanoen sis��isesti, hengellisen�� ja henkisen�� asiana. Tutkimusmateriaalina t��ss�� tutkimuksessa on amerikkalaisen vuosina 1827 1915 el��neen Ellen Whiten kuusi my��h��iskauden teosta vuosilta 1892 1905 ja tutkimusmenetelm��n�� on k��ytetty systemaattista analyysi��. Olennaista Whiten tavassa k��sitell�� uskonnon harjoitukseen liittyvi�� aiheita on h��nen k��yt��nn��llinen ja el��m��n arkeen kiinte��sti niveltyv�� otteensa. Tutkimus paljastaa, ett�� Martti Lutherin k��sitykset ovat merkitt��v��sti vaikuttaneet Whiten ajatteluun. L��hteist�� paljastuu samankaltaisuutta h��nen n��kemystens�� ja uusimman suomalaisen Luther-tutkimuksen Martti Lutherin tuotannosta esiin nostaman ajattelutavan v��lill��. Vaikka teologisen oppineisuuden kannalta White ja Luther ovat eri tasoilla, kummankin k��sitys ihmisen ja Jumalan v��lisen suhteen perusolemuksesta on samankaltainen: L��ht��kohtana sille on Jumalan rakkaus ja h��nen armostaan l��htenyt toiminta. Toiseksi, ihmisen ja Kristuksen v��linen, olemuksellinen yhteys, unio , on perustana sille, ett�� Jumala hyv��ksyy ihmisen ja huolehtii h��nest�� nyt ja ikuisesti. Kolmanneksi, t��m�� ihmisen ja Kristuksen liittoutuminen ja yhdistyminen ilmenee yhteistoimintana ja kumppanuutena yhteisten tavoitteiden saavuttamiseksi maailmassa. White korostaa ihmisen ja Kristuksen v��lisen hengellisen suhteen vuorovaikutteista ja toiminnallista luonnetta, joka tulee ilmi ep��itsekkyyten��, toisten ihmisten ja heid��n tarpeittensa huomioimisena sek�� my��t��tuntona ja kykyn�� asettua toisen asemaan. Terveellist�� el��m��ntapaa ja kasvatusta koskevat ajatuksensa White liitt���� siihen laaja-alaiseen n��kemykseen hengellisyydest��, jonka tavoitteena on ihmisen kokonaisvaltainen hyvinvointi. H��n ei n��e spiritualiteettia el��m��n arjesta irrallisena tai erillisen�� saarekkeena, vaan ihmist�� kaikessa ohjaavana, voimaannuttavana ja mielekkyytt�� tuottavana, ensisijaisena ulottuvuutena. Tutkimuksen kuluessa my��s Whiten usein k��ytt��m��t Jumalalle antautumisen ja luonteen k��sitteet nousevat tarkastelun kohteiksi. H��nen mukaansa ihminen ei tahdonponnistuksillaan yksin pysty tavoittamaan Jumalaa vaan h��nen on lakattava Jumalan rakastavan kutsun edess�� itse tahtomasta ja suostuttava liittym����n Jumalan tahtoon ja tarkoitukseen. T��m�� liittyy siihen sis��iseen muutokseen, jota White kuvaa luonteen k��sitteen avulla. Jumalan armon vaikuttama tahdon uudelleen suuntaaminen muuttaa ihmisen olemusta, arvoja, asennoitumisen tapaa ja my��t��tuntoisen vuorovaikutuksen kyky�� niin ettei ihminen ole en���� aivan sama kuin ennen. Kysymys on toisaalta yht��kkisest�� ja kertakaikkisesta olemuksellisesta muuttumisesta, mutta samalla my��s hiljaisesta, el��m��nmittaisesta kasvusta ja kypsymisest��. Juuri luonteen k��sitteen avulla White kuvaa hengellisyytt�� ja siihen kuuluvaa sis��st�� matkaa. T��ss�� tutkimuksessa spiritualiteettia l��hestyt����n yleisinhimillisen�� piirteen�� ja ominaisuutena, jolloin huomio ei ole ensisijaisesti yksitt��isiss�� opillisissa k��sityksiss�� tai uskonnollisuuden harjoittamisen muodoissa. Tarkoituksena on luoda kokoava rakenne, jonka puitteissa holistinen spiritualiteetti voidaan selke��mmin hahmottaa ja yksil��idymmin ymm��rt����.

What influences a patients decision to use custom-made orthopaedic shoes?

Background Despite potential benefits, some patients decide not to use their custom-made orthopaedic shoes (OS). Factors are known in the domains ���usability���, ���communication and service���, and ���opinion of others��� that influence a patient���s decision to use OS. However, the interplay between these factors has never been investigated. The aim of this study was to explore the interplay between factors concerning OS, and the influences thereof on a patient���s decision to use OS. Methods A mixed-methods design was used, combining qualitative and quantitative data by means of sequential data analysis and triangulation. Priority was given to the qualitative part. Qualitative data was gathered with a semi-structured interview covering the three domains. Data was analysed using the framework approach. Quantitative data concerned the interplay between factors and determining a rank-order for the importance of factors of ���usability���. Results A patient���s decision to use OS was influenced by various factors indicated as being important and by acceptance of their OS. Factors of ���usability��� were more important than factors of ���communication���; the ���opinion of others��� was of limited importance. An improvement of walking was indicated as the most important factor of ���usability���. The importance of other factors (cosmetic appearance and ease of use) was determined by reaching a compromise between these factors and an improvement of walking. Conclusions A patient���s decision to use OS is influenced by various factors indicated as being important and by acceptance of their OS. An improvement of walking is the most important factor of ���usability���, the importance of other factors (cosmetic appearance and ease of use) is determined by reaching compromises between these factors and an improvement of walking. Communication is essential to gain insight in a patient���s acceptance and in the compromises they are willing to reach. This makes communication the key for clinicians to influence a patient���s decision to use OS.

Yhteis��n ja yhteiskunnan ehdoilla : Seurakuntien ja kuntien yhteisty�� vuorovaikutuksen n��k��kulmasta

In this research, the cooperation between Finnish municipalities and Evangelical Lutheran parishes is studied from the standpoint of institutional interaction. The most essential theoretical background for the study is the differentiation thesis of the secularization theory. Cooperation from the viewpoints of both organizations is examined using the functional approach. Furthermore, the market theory and other theories are applied in order to place the studied phenomenon in the wider context of the theories of the sociology of religion. Sacralization in modern society and its relationship with the differentiation thesis of the secularization theory are in the theoretical foci. In addition, along with a descriptive examination of cooperation, the normative sides of the phenomenon are discussed. The survey was conducted among all municipalities and parishes in continental Finland. The questionnaires were sent to all municipal managers of youth work and afternoon activities and to all managers of child, youth and social work in the parishes. The response rate for the municipalities was 73.9 % and for the parishes 69.5 %. In addition, two qualitative data were utilized. The aim of the study is to scrutinize what kind of limitations of differentiation can be caused by the interaction between the secular and the religious. In order to solve the problem, an empirical study of sacralization in the modern context is required. For this purpose, the survey was carried out to determine the effects of the religious on the secular and the impact of the secular on the religious. In the articles of the study the following relationships are discussed: the positions of municipalities and parishes in relation to the state and civil society; cooperation in relation to differentiation; sacralization in relation to the differentiation thesis and cooperation in relation to pluralism. The results of the study highlighted the significance of the cooperation, which was contrary to the secularization theory connected to religious sacralization. The acceptance of the appearance of religion in cooperation and parishes support for municipal function was high in municipalities. Religious cooperation was more active than secular cooperation within all fields. This was also true between fields: religiously orientated child work was more active than the societally orientated social work of the church. Religious cooperation in modern fields of activity underlined sacralization. However, the acceptance of sacralization was weaker in cities than rural areas. Positive relationships between the welfare function of municipalities and the religious function of parishes emphasized the incompleteness of differentiation and the importance of sacralization. The relationship of the function of municipalities with parishes was neither negative nor neutral. Thus, in the most active fields, that is, child work and the traditional social work of the church, the orientation of parishes in cooperation supported the functions of both organizations. In more passive fields, that is, youth work and the societal social work of the church, parishes were orientated towards supporting the municipal function. The orientation of municipalities to religion underlined the perception that religious function is necessary for cooperation. However, the official character of cooperation supported accommodation to the requirements of societal pluralism. According to the results, sacralization can be effective also at the institutional level. The religious effect of voluntary cooperation means that religious sacralization can also readjust to modern society. At the same time, the results of the study stressed the importance of institutional autonomy. Thus, the public sector has a central role in successful cooperation. The conditions of cooperation are weakened if there is no official support of cooperation or adjustment to the individual rights of modern society. The results called into question the one-directional assumptions in the secularization paradigm and the modernization theory in the background. In these assumptions, religion that represents the traditional is seen to give way to the modern, especially at the institutional level. Lack of an interactional view was identified as a central weakness of the secularization paradigm. In the theoretical approach created in the study, an interactional view between religious and secular institutions was made possible by limiting the core of the differentiation thesis to autonomy. The counter forces of differentiation are despecialization and sacralization. These changes in the secularization theory bring about new interactivity on the institutional level. In addition to the interactional approach, that is, the secularization and sacralization theory created as a synthesis of the study, interaction between the religious and the secular is discussed from the standpoint of multiple modernities. The spiritual welfare role of religion is seen as a potential supporter of secular institutions. Religion is set theoretically amongst other ideologies and agents, which can create communal bonds in modern society. Key words: cooperation, municipalities, parishes, sacralization, secularization, modernization, multiple modernities, differentiation, interaction, democracy, secularism, pluralism, civil society

Pyh�� Teresa ja keskiajan mystiikan teoriat

In my dissertation I have studied St Teresa (1515-1582) in the light of medieval mystical theories. I have two main levels in my research: historical and theological. On the historical level I study St Teresa s personal history in the context of her family and the Spanish society. On the theological level I study both St Teresa s mysticism and her religious experience in the light of medieval mysticism. St Teresa wrote a book called Life , which is her narrative autobiography and story about her mystical spiritual formation. She reflected herself through biblical texts interpreting them in the course of the biblical hermeneutics like allegory, typology, tropology and anagogy. In addition to that she read others life stories from her period of time, but reflected herself only slightly through the sociological point of view. She used irony as a means to gain acceptance to her authority and motive to write. Her position has been described as a double bind because of writing at the request of educated men and to the non-educated women as she herself was uneducated. She used irony as a means to achieve valuation to women, to gain negative attributes connected to them and to gain authority to teach them mystical spirituality, the Bible and prayer. In this ironic tendency she was a feminist writer. In order to understand medieval mysticism I have written in the first chapter a review of the main trends in medieval mysticism in connection with the classical emotional theories. Two medieval mystical theories show an important role in St Teresa s mysticism. One is love mysticism and the other is the three partite way of mysticism (purification, illumination and union). The classic-philosophical emotional theories play a role in both patterns. The theory of love mysticism St Teresa interpreted in the traditional way stressing the spiritual meaning of love in connexion with God and neighbors. Love is an emotion, which is bound with other emotions, but all objects of love don t strengthen spiritual love. In the three partite way of mysticism purification means to find biblical values in life and to practice meditative self-knowledge theologically interpreted. In illumination human understanding has to be illuminated by God and united to mystical knowledge from God. St Teresa considered illumination a way to learn things. Illumination has also psychological aspects like recognition of many trials and pains, which come from life on earth. Theologically interpreted in illumination one should die to oneself, let oneself be transformed and renewed by God. I have also written a review of the modern philosophical discussion on personal identity where memory and mental experiences are important creators of personal identity. St Teresa bound medieval mystical teaching together with her personal religious experience. Her personal identity is by its character based on her narrative life story where mental experiences play important role. Previous researchers have labelled St Teresa as an ecstatic person whose experiences produced ecstatic phenomena to the mysticism. These phenomena combined with visions have in one respect made of her a person who has brought physical and visionary tendencies to theology. In spite of that she also represents a modern tendency trying to give words to experiences, which at first seem to be exceptional and extreme and which are easily interpreted as one-sided either physical or sexual or unsaid. In other respect I have stressed the personality of St Teresa that was represented as both strong and weak. The strong personality for her is demonstrated by religious faith and in its practice. The weak personality was for her a natural personal identity. St Teresa saw a unifying aspect in almost all. Firstly, her mysticism was aimed towards union with God and secondly, the unifying aspects and common rules in human relations in community life were central. Union with God is based on the fact that in a soul God is living in its centre, where God is present in the Trinitarian way. The picture of God in ourselves is a mirror but to get to know God better is to recognize his/her presence in us. When the soul recognizes itself as a dwelling place of God, it knows itself as God knows him/herself. There is equality between God and the soul. To be a Christian means to participate in God in his Trinitarian being. The participation to God is a process of divinization that puts a person into transformation, change and renewal. The unitive aspect concludes also knowledge of opposites between experience of community and solitude as well as community and separateness. As a founder of monasteries St Teresa practiced theology of poverty. She renewed the monastic life founding a rule called discalced that stressed ascetic tendencies. Supporters of her work were after the difficulties in the beginning both society and churchly leaders. She wrote about the monasteries including in her description at times seriousness at times humor and irony. Her stories are said to be picaresque histories that contain stories of ordinary laymen and many unexpected occasions. She exercised a kind of Bakhtinian dialogue in her letters. St Teresa stressed the virtues like sacrifice, determination and courage in the monastic life. Most of what she taught of virtues is based on biblical spirituality but there are also psychological tendencies in her writings. The theological pedagogical advice is mixed with psychology, but she herself made no distinction between different aspects in her teaching. To understand St Teresa and her mysticism is to recognize that she mixes her personal religious experience and mysticism, which widens mysticism to religious experience in a new way, although this corresponds also the very definition of mysticism. St Teresa concentrated on mental-spiritual experiences and the aim of her mystical teaching was to produce a human mind well cured like a garden that has God as its gardener.

Perceptions of audio feedback in higher education assessment

The aim of this paper is to present results of research investigating the effectiveness of audio feedback in a third year undergraduate unit. While there is a large and growing body of literature about providing assessment feedback, there is little focussing on the use of audio media. This study employs a mixed method approach, involving semi-structured interviews with academic staff and a survey of students. Analysis of the interview data suggests that there are a number of issues surrounding acceptance of using audio feedback by lecturers. The next stage of the study is to examine the extent to which lecturers change their perceptions as they use audio feedback and to analyse the perceptions of the students (n=120), including the perceived importance of feedback, the ways in which they used the audio feedback and the extent to which they believe they control events that affect them. Ultimately, this study seeks to provide recommendations appropriate to the implementation of audio feedback in higher education.

The PerCues framework and its application for sustainable mobility

This paper presents a framework, design and study of an ambient persuasive interface. We introduce a novel framework of persua sive Cues in Ambient Intelligence (perCues). Based on this framework we designed an application for mobile devices. The application aims to persuade people to abstain from using their cars and to use public mass transportation instead in order to reduce emissions. It contains a bus schedule and information about the pollution status. We evaluated the application in two successive studies regarding user acceptance, oppor tune moments of use and persuasive effects. The perCues received a high acceptance due to its benefit for the users. The results confirm the im portance of opportune moment and user acceptance for persuasion. The findings also indicate the persuasive potential of perCues.

An engineering or behavioural approach? A study into employee���s perceptions regarding the effectiveness of occupational road safety initiatives

Background and Aims Considerable variation has been documented with fleet safety interventions��� abilities to create lasting behavioural change, and research has neglected to consider employees��� perceptions regarding the effectiveness of fleet interventions. This is a critical oversight as employees��� beliefs and acceptance levels (as well as the perceived organisational commitment to safety) can ultimately influence levels of effectiveness, and this study aimed to examine such perceptions in Australian fleet settings. Method 679 employees sourced from four Australian organisations completed a safety climate questionnaire as well as provided perspectives about the effectiveness of 35 different safety initiatives. Results Countermeasures that were perceived as most effective were a mix of human and engineering-based approaches: - (a) purchasing safer vehicles; - (b) investigating serious vehicle incidents, and; - (c) practical driver skills training. In contrast, least effective countermeasures were considered to be: - (a) signing a promise card; - (b) advertising a company���s phone number on the back of cars for complaints and compliments, and; - (c) communicating cost benefits of road safety to employees. No significant differences in employee perceptions were identified based on age, gender, employees��� self-reported crash involvement or employees��� self-reported traffic infringement history. Perceptions of safety climate were identified to be ���moderate��� but were not linked to self-reported crash or traffic infringement history. However, higher levels of safety climate were positively correlated with perceived effectiveness of some interventions. Conclusion Taken together, employees believed occupational road safety risks could best be managed by the employer by implementing a combination of engineering and human resource initiatives to enhance road safety. This paper will further outline the key findings in regards to practice as well as provide direction for future research.

Luonnonsuojelu arjessa : Maanomistajien n��kemyksi�� ja kokemuksia yksityismaiden tilap��isest�� luonnonsuojelusta ja sen uudistumisen prosessista

Nature conservation in everyday life: Private landowners perceptions of and experiences on temporary nature conservation and its renewing process This study explores the legitimacy of official nature conservation of private lands. It describes how temporary nature conservation became a part of Finnish nature conservation policy and how forest owners perceived this tool and its usage. In addition, the study analyses forest owners' attitudes on official nature conservation. The study combines individual and official perspectives, and presents a nature conservation politics of everyday life. The theoretical background of the study is learning processes of environmentally responsible participation, and especially empowerment. Main methods in gathering the material for the study have been interviews and a survey. In the 1990 s, Finnish landowners opposed the implementation of nature conservation, especially conservation of shores and the establishment of the European-wide network of conservation areas (Natura 2000). After negative experiences on these conservation efforts, some private landowners were disempowered and some even rejected conservation completely. The Nature Conservation Act of 1996 launched an option to conserve nature officially for fixed time-periods. Use of such a policy tool did not immediately become a widely-used and appreciated conservation practice. During the following decade, however, it attracted remarkable attention within Finnish nature conservation policy discussions. The perspective of landowners began to be emphasised when local and regional organisations for nature conservation and forestry together defined the ideas of natural values trading. Later, the national governance process of the committee defining the Forest Biodiversity Programme for Southern Finland (METSO) institutionalised these ideas in one of its pilot projects. Landowners participated in the project of natural values trading by offering their forests for conservation, which reflects the increased acceptance and legitimacy of nature conservation on private forests. The central elements producing the legitimacy of natural values trading have been voluntariness, temporariness, and dialogue between nature conservation and forestry. Natural values trading analysed in the study is an example of new environmental policy instruments and its creation process represents governance in the implementation of nature conservation. It has increased the legitimacy of nature conservation policy of private forests in Finland. The results reveal the importance of participation and learning processes in the implementation of nature conservation policy, and the need to also pay attention to these processes in the future.

Cooperation and conflict in conspecific brood parasitism : an alternative reproductive tactic

Interactions among individuals give rise to both cooperation and conflict. Individuals will behave selfishly or altruistically depending on which gives the higher payoff. The reproductive strategies of many animals are flexible and several alternative tactics may be present from which the most suitable one is applied. Generally, alternative reproductive tactics may be defined as a response to competition from individuals of the same sex. These alternative reproductive tactics are means by which individuals may fine-tune their fitness to the reigning circumstances and which are shaped by the environment individuals are occupying as well as by the behaviour of other individuals sharing the environment. By employing such alternative ways of achieving reproductive output, individuals may alleviate competition from others. Conspecific brood parasitism (CBP) is an alternative reproductive strategy found in several egg laying animal groups, and it is especially common among waterfowl. Within this alternative reproductive strategy, four reproductive options can be identified. These four options represent a continuum from low reproductive effort coupled with low fitness returns, to high reproductive effort and consequently high benefits. It may not be evident how individuals should allocate reproductive effort between eggs laid in their own nest vs. in nests of others, however. Limited fecundity will constrain the number of eggs donated by a parasite, but also the tendency for hosts to accept parasitic eggs may affect the allocation decision. Furthermore, kinship, individual quality and the costs of breeding may play a role in complicating the allocation decision. In this thesis, I view the seemingly paradoxical effects of kinship on conflict resolution in the context of alternative reproductive tactics, examining the resulting features of cooperation and conflict. Conspecific brood parasitism sets the stage for investigating these questions. By using both empirical and theoretical approaches, I examine the nature of CBP in a brood parasitic duck, the Barrow's goldeneye (Bucephala islandica). The theoretical chapter of this thesis gives rise to four main conclusions. Firstly, variation in individual quality plays a central role in shaping breeding strategies. Secondly, kinship plays a central role in the evolution of CBP. Thirdly, egg recognition ability may affect the prevalence of parasitism. If egg recognition is perfect, higher relatedness between host and parasite facilitates CBP. Finally, I show that the relative costs of egg laying and post-laying care play a so far underestimated role in determining the prevalence of parasitism. The costs of breeding may outweigh possible inclusive fitness benefits accrued from receiving eggs from relatives. Several of the patterns brought out by the theoretical work are then confirmed empirically in the following chapters. Findings include confirmation of the central role of relatedness in determining the extent of parasitism as well as inducing a counterintuitive host clutch reduction. Furthermore, I demonstrate a cost of CBP inflicted on hosts, as well as results suggesting that host age reflects individual quality, affecting the ability to overcome costs inflicted by CBP. In summary, I demonstrate both theoretically and empirically the presence of cooperation and conflict in the interactions between conspecific parasites and their hosts. The field of CBP research has traditionally been divided, but the first steps have now been taken toward the acceptance of the opposite side of the divide. Especially the theoretical findings of chapter 1 offer the possibility to view seemingly contrasting results of various studies within the same framework, and may direct future research toward more general features underlying differences in the patterns of CBP between populations or species.