Self-reported likelihood of speeding : the effects of attitudes, personality, and perceived legitimacy of enforcement

The positive relationship between speed and crash risk and severity is robust and well-established. While excessive speeding is typically regarded by the public as a common contributing factor in road crashes, speeding remains a common traffic infringement and an arguably socially acceptable behaviour, particularly at low levels over the speed limit. This suggests that other factors potentially contribute to this disparity between crash perceptions and actual behaviours. Previous work has described associations between perceptions of the legitimacy of speed enforcement, attitudes, and how they relate to the likelihood of speeding. This study sought to more closely examine the nature of the relationships between these variables. In total, 293 Queensland drivers participated in a study that examined how demographics, personality variables, attitudes, and perceptions of the legitimacy of enforcement contributed to drivers’ self-reported likelihood of speeding. Results suggested that positive attitudes towards speeding had the greatest impact on likelihood of speeding behaviours. Being younger and higher levels of the personality trait of extraversion were also associated with greater levels of self-reported likelihood of speeding. Attitudes were found to mediate the relationship between perceived legitimacy of speed enforcement and self-reported likelihood of speeding. A subgroup analysis of participants with positive and negative attitudes towards speeding revealed that a differential set of variables were predictive of self-reported likelihood of speeding for the two subgroups. This highlights the potential importance of attitudes in understanding the influence of perceptions of legitimacy of speed enforcement on speeding behaviour, and the need for targeted rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach to changing attitudes and ultimately behaviour. The findings of the current study help to further understand why some drivers continue to speed.

Using participatory action research for heart self care amongst indigenous patients

This paper describes the initial phases of the Fluid Watchers Pacific Rim project: a participatory action research project that involves developing and trialling an iPad app to provide monitoring and self-care for Indigenous Australians with heart failure. The development phase involved working with health experts, an IT team and Indigenous heart-failure patients through three cycles of development and critical reflection. This was followed by a small pilot study to examine the app’s effectiveness. In this paper, the researchers explain why IT-supported health education can be successful in decreasing re-hospitalisation and improving self-management skills. They describe the steps they took to ensure community participation and ownership of the project and present the findings of their pilot study. This pilot project suggests that an iPad app may be a practical and successful way to provide health-care support for Indigenous Australian heart-failure patients.

The next generation health intervention tool - Can smart phone applications help young people track and moderate alcohol use and potential harms?

Whilst alcohol is a common feature of many social gatherings, there are numerous immediate and long-term health and social harms associated with its abuse. Alcohol consumption is the world’s third largest risk factor for disease and disability with almost 4% of all deaths worldwide attributed to alcohol. Not surprisingly, alcohol use and binge drinking by young people is of particular concern with Australian data reporting that 39% of young people (18-19yrs) admitted drinking at least weekly and 32% drank to levels that put them at risk of alcohol-related harm. The growing market penetration and connectivity of smartphones may be an opportunities for innovation in promoting health-related self-management of substance use. However, little is known about how best to harness and optimise this technology for health-related intervention and behaviour change. This paper explores the utility and interface of smartphone technology as a health intervention tool to monitor and moderate alcohol use. A review of the psychological health applications of this technology will be presented along with the findings of a series of focus groups, surveys and behavioural field trials of several drink-monitoring applications. Qualitative and quantitative data will be presented on the perceptions, preferences and utility of the design, usability and functionality of smartphone apps to monitoring and moderate alcohol use. How these findings have shaped the development and evolution of the OnTrack app will be specifically discussed, along with future directions and applications of this technology in health intervention, prevention and promotion.

Harnessing SD and CSR within corporate self-regulation of weak economies : a meta-regulation approach

The semantic of the terms “sustainable development” and “corporate social responsibility” have changed over time to a point where these concepts have become two interrelated processes for ensuring the far-reaching development of society. Their convergence has given dimension to the environmental and corporate regulation mechanisms in strong economies. This article deals with the question of how the ethos of this convergence could be incorporated into the self-regulation of businesses in weak economies where nonlegal drivers are either inadequate or inefficient. It proposes that the policies for this incorporation should be based on the precepts of meta-regulation that have the potential to hold force majeure, economic incentives, and assistance-related strategies to reach an objective from the perspective of weak economies.

Why do Indigenous Australians drink and drive? A qualitative exploration of self-reported influences on drink driving behaviours of Indigenous peoples from remote communities

Drink driving contributes towards high injury rates for Indigenous populations in Canada and Australia, particularly in more isolated regions. At present there is limited research on the cultural and psychosocial factors that underpin Indigenous peoples’ drink driving. This study is part of a broader project aiming to inform a culturally sensitive program. Qualitative interviews with 29 convicted Indigenous drink drivers (aged 20-51 years) from a remote region of Queensland, Australia were used to explore their cognitions about, and underlying motivation for, drink driving as well as the factors that might facilitate or impede it. Although a number of themes were identified, this paper will focus on the first theme, respondents’ self-perceived rationale for their behaviour. Two subthemes were identified: ‘being the hero’ referred to situations where respondents were motivated by a bravado mentality to drive after drinking despite having, on some occasions, the opportunity to avoid this (e.g. another person offering to drive); and ‘family obligations’ which referred to situations where respondents described pressure from members of their extended families to drive after drinking. The underlying responsibility for transporting family members appeared to be difficult to avoid and related to cultural values. Findings indicate the social and individual characteristics for younger drink drivers are similar to mainstream populations. However, the reinforcers for Indigenous drink drivers may be different for this population, consistent with findings on other Indigenous populations outside Australia. Specific programs should contain a family-centred approach and explore the kinship value system to build strategies around these strong relationships.

Predictors of mental health in post-menopausal women : results from the Australian healthy aging of women study

Objective: To examine the extent to which socio-demographics, modifiable lifestyle, and physical health status influence the mental health of post-menopausal Australian women. Methods: Cross-sectional data on health status, chronic disease and modifiable lifestyle factors were collected from a random cross-section of 340 women aged 60-70 years, residing in Queensland, Australia. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to measure the effect of a range of socio-demographic characteristics, modifiable lifestyle factors, and health markers (self-reported physical health, history of chronic illness) on the latent construct of mental health status. Mental health was evaluated using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 12 (SF-12®) which examined and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Results: The model was a good fit for the data (χ2=4.582, df=3, p=0.205) suggesting that mental health is negatively correlated with sleep disturbance (β = -0.612, p <0.001), and a history of depression (β = -0.141, p = 0.024).While mental health was associated with poor sleep, it was not correlated with most lifestyle factors (BMI, alcohol consumption, or cigarette smoking) or socio-demographics like age, income or employment category and they were removed from the final model. Conclusion: Research suggests that it is important to engage in a range of health promoting behaviours to preserve good health. We found that predictors of current mental health status included sleep disturbance, and past mental health problems, while socio-demographics and modifiable lifestyle had little impact. It may be however, that these factors influenced other variables associated with the mental health of post-menopausal women, and these relationships warrant further investigation.

The remediation of the personal photograph and the politics of self-representation in digital storytelling

Over the past couple of decades, the cultural field formerly known as ‘domestic’, and later ‘personal’ photography has been remediated and transformed as part of the social web, with its convergence of personal expression, interpersonal communication, and online social networks (most recently via platforms like Flickr, Facebook and Twitter). Meanwhile, the Digital Storytelling movement (involving the workshop-based production of short autobiographical videos) from its beginnings in the mid 1990s relied heavily on the narrative power of the personal photograph, often sourced from family albums, and later from online archives. This paper addresses the new issues arising for the politics of self-representation and personal photography in the era of social media, focusing particularly on the consequences of online image-sharing. It discusses in detail the practices of selection, curation, manipulation and editing of personal photographic images among a group of activist-oriented queer digital storytellers who have in common a stated desire to share their personal stories in pursuit of social change, and whose stories often aim to address both intimate and antagonistic publics.

Impact of a school-based food garden on attitudes and identification skills regarding vegetables and fruit : a 12-month intervention trial

Objective To determine changes in ability to identify specific vegetables and fruits, and attitudes towards vegetables and fruit, associated with the introduction of a school-based food garden. Design A 12-month intervention trial using a historical control (control n 132, intervention n 120), class-based, self-administered questionnaires requiring one-word answers and 3-point Likert scale responses. Setting A state primary school (grades 4 to 7) in a low socio-economic area of Brisbane, Australia. Intervention The introduction of a school-based food garden, including the funding of a teacher coordinator for 11 h/week to facilitate integration of garden activities into the curriculum. Main outcome measures Ability to identify a series of vegetables and fruits, attitudes towards vegetables and fruit. Analysis Frequency distributions for each item were generated and χ2 analyses were used to determine statistical significance. Exploratory factor analysis was employed to detect major trends in data. Results The intervention led to enhanced ability to identify individual vegetables and fruits, greater attention to origins of produce (garden-grown and fresh), changes to perceived consumption of vegetables and fruits, and enhanced confidence in preparing fruit and vegetable snacks, but decreased interest in trying new fruits. Conclusions The introduction of this school-based food garden was associated with skill and attitudinal changes conducive to enhancing vegetable and fruit consumption. The ways in which such changes might impact on dietary behaviours and intake require further analysis.

Preferential invasion by Plasmodium merozoites and the self-regulation of parasite burden

The preferential invasion of particular red blood cell (RBC) age classes may offer a mechanism by which certain species of Plasmodia regulate their population growth. Asexual reproduction of the parasite within RBCs exponentially increases the number of circulating parasites; limiting this explosion in parasite density may be key to providing sufficient time for the parasite to reproduce, and for the host to develop a specific immune response. It is critical that the role of preferential invasion in infection is properly understood to model the within-host dynamics of different Plasmodia species. We develop a simulation model to show that limiting the range of RBC age classes available for invasion is a credible mechanism for restricting parasite density, one which is equally as important as the maximum parasite replication rate and the duration of the erythrocytic cycle. Different species of Plasmodia that regularly infect humans exhibit different preferences for RBC invasion, with all species except P. falciparum appearing to exhibit a combination of characteristics which are able to selfregulate parasite density.

Student self-assessment of performance : a useful learning tool for students and instructors?

Assurance of Learning is a focus for many Business Schools to meet AACSB requirements. Prior research has examined student self-assessment as a measure of learning in this context, but we propose instead that this is a useful ‘learning tool’ for students and instructors that can help improve student performance and curricula. We examined self-assessment in a third year undergraduate e-marketing course and found a positive, though weak relationship between student self-assessment and instructor ratings on intended learning goals and criteria for a written assignment. Students who self-assessed tended to perform better in the assessment item and course than those who did not self-assess. But less competent students were more inaccurate in their self-assessment, suggesting a need to enhance understanding of marking criteria and performance standards within this group. Implications for educators are discussed.

Local development planning and community empowerment in decentralised Indonesia : the role of local planning in improving self organising capabilities of local communities in Takalar, Indonesia

This study investigates the role of development planning in empowering rural communities in Indonesia’s decentralised era. Evidence is produced that the combination of procedural justice in planning development and social learning in its implementation can assist self-organisation and help empower local communities. Significant benefits are shown to result in: the acquisition and use of collective resources; the development of shared knowledge, skills, values and trust; community leadership; and the development of social networks. Two features of this empowerment model are community-based planning, utilising participatory rural appraisal at the level of the natural village, and the organisation of collective action. These are shown to be effective ways of incorporating procedural justice and social learning in self organisation and community empowerment.

The effectiveness of health education using the teach-back method on adherence and self-management in chronic disease: A systematic review protocol

Review question/objective What is the effect of using the teach-back method for health education to improve adherence to treatment regimen and self-management in chronic disease? Inclusion criteria Types of participants This review will consider all studies that include adult patients (aged 18 years and over) in any healthcare setting, either as inpatients (eg acute care, medical and surgical wards) or those who attend primary health care, family medical practice, general medical practice, clinics, outpatient departments, rehabilitation or community settings. Participants need to have been diagnosed as having one or more chronic diseases including heart failure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, arthritis, epilepsy or a mental health condition. Studies that include seriously ill patients, and/or those who have impairments in verbal communication and cognitive function will be excluded. Types of intervention This review will consider studies that investigate the use of the teach-back method alone or in combination with other supporting education, either in routine or research intervention education programs; regardless of how long the programs were and whether or not a follow-up was conducted. The intervention could be delivered by any healthcare professional. The comparator will be any health education for chronic disease that does not include the teach-back method. Types of outcomes Primary outcomes of interest are disease-specific knowledge, adherence, and self-management knowledge, behavior and skills measured using patient report, nursing observation or validated measurement scales. Secondary outcomes include knowledge retention, self-efficacy, hospital readmission, hospitalization, and quality of life, also measured using patient report, nursing observation, hospital records or validated measurement scales.

Self management of haemodialysis for end stage renal disease : a systematic review

Background Exploring self management in End Stage Renal Disease is extremely important for patients as they encounter several challenges including ongoing symptoms, complex treatments and restrictions, uncertainty about life and a dependency on technology, all of which impact upon their autonomy particularly after commencement of haemodialysis. Objective To summarise the effects of nursing interventions which effect selfmanagement of haemodialysis for patients with End Stage Renal Disease. Search strategy Search terms were chosen after reviewing text words and MeSH terms in relevant articles and databases. An extensive search of the literature from 1966 to June 2009 was conducted across a range of health databases including Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Web of Science. Further studies were identified from reference lists of all retrieved studies. Selection criteria We considered randomised controlled trials that compared interventions to improve self management of haemodialysis in patients with ESRD. In the absence of RCTs, comparative studies without randomisation as well as before and after studies were considered for inclusion. Methodological quality Study reports selected for retrieval were assessed by two independent reviewers for methodological quality prior to inclusion in the review using the standardised critical appraisal instruments for the Joanna Briggs Institute System for the Unified Management, Assessment and Review of Information package (SUMARI). Data collection and analysis Data was extracted using the JBI data extraction tool for evidence of effectiveness independently by pairs of review authors. The evidence was reported in narrative summaries due to heterogeneity of the interventions of the studies. Results and conclusions Five randomised controlled trials were included in the review. Overall, the evidence found that psychosocial and educational interventions influenced self management of haemodialysis in this patient population.

Converse consumption : the converse blank canvas project

Research background For almost 80 years the Chuck Taylor (or Chuck T's) All Star basketball shoe has been an iconic item of fashion apparel. The Chuck T's were first designed in 1921 by Converse, an American shoe company and over the decades they became a popular item not purely for sports and athletic purposes but rather evolved into the shoe of choice for many subcultural groups as a fashion item. In some circles the Chuck Taylor is still seen as the "coolest" sneaker of all time - one which will never go out of fashion regardless of changing trends. With over 600 millions pairs sold all over the world since its release, the Converse shoe is representative of not only a fashion culture - but also of a consumption culture - that evolved as the driving force behind the massive growth of the Western economic system during the 20th Century. Artisan Gallery (Brisbane), in conjunction with the exhibition Reboot: Function, Fashion and the Sneaker, a history of the sneaker, selected 20 designers to customise and re-design the classic Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars shoe and in doing so highlighted the diversity of forms possible for creative outcomes. As Artisan Gallery Curator Kirsten Fitzpatrick states “We were expecting people to draw and paint on them. Instead, we had shoes... mounted as trophies.." referring to the presentation of "Converse Consumption". The exhibition ran from 21 June – 16 August 2012: Research question The Chuck T’s is one of many overwhelmingly commercially successful designs of the last century. Nowadays we are faced with the significant problems of overconsumption and the stress this causes on the natural ecosystem; and on people as a result. As an active member of the industrial design fraternity – a discipline that sits at the core of this problem - how can I use this opportunity to comment on the significant issue of consumption? An effective way to do this was to associate consumption of goods with consumption of sugar. There are significant similarities between our ceaseless desires to consume products and our fervent need to consume indulgent sweet foods. Artisan Statement Delicious, scrumptious, delectable... your pupils dilate, your blood pressure spikes, your liver goes into overdrive. Immediately, your brain cuts off the adenosine receptors, preventing drowsiness. Your body increases dopamine production, in-turn stimulating the pleasure receptors in your brain. Your body absorbs all the sweetness and turns it into fat – while all the nutrients that you actually require are starting to be destroyed, about to be expelled. And this is only after one bite! After some time though, your body comes crashing back to earth. You become irritable and begin to feel sluggish. Your eyelids seem heavy while your breathing pattern changes. Your body has consumed all the energy and destroyed all available nutrients. You literally begin to shut down. These are the physiological effects of sugar consumption. A perfect analogy for our modern day consumer driven world. Enjoy your dessert! Research contribution “Converse Consumption” contributes to the conversation regarding over-consumption by compelling people to reflect on their consumption behaviour through the reconceptualising of the deconstructed Chuck T’s in an attractive edible form. By doing so the viewer has to deal with the desire to consume the indulgent looking dessert with the contradictory fact that it is comprised of a pair of shoes. The fact that the shoes are Chuck T’s make the effect even more powerful due to their iconic status. These clashing motivations are what make “Converse Consumption” a bizarre yet memorable experience. Significance The exhibition was viewed by an excess of 1000 people and generated exceptional media coverage and public exposure/impact. As Artisan Gallery Curator Kirsten Fitzpatrick states “20 of Brisbane's best designers were given the opportunity to customise their own Converse Sneakers, with The Converse Blank Canvas Project.” And to be selected in this category demonstrates the calibre of importance for design prominence.

Robust vision-based underwater homing using self-similar landmarks

Next-generation autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) will be required to robustly identify underwater targets for tasks such as inspection, localization, and docking. Given their often unstructured operating environments, vision offers enormous potential in underwater navigation over more traditional methods; however, reliable target segmentation often plagues these systems. This paper addresses robust vision-based target recognition by presenting a novel scale and rotationally invariant target design and recognition routine based on self-similar landmarks that enables robust target pose estimation with respect to a single camera. These algorithms are applied to an AUV with controllers developed for vision-based docking with the target. Experimental results show that the system performs exceptionally on limited processing power and demonstrates how the combined vision and controller system enables robust target identification and docking in a variety of operating conditions.