Bushfire responsive design : reconciling biodiversity conservation and bushfire safety with daily life

30 minute invited presentation on design-led bushfire risk mitigatition stategies for reconciling the two (otherwise) opposing managment goals of bushfire safety and biodiversity conservation. Targeted at the S E Queensland national audience participants.

Children living in HIV families : a review

This review article summarizes the current knowledge about children born or living in families affected by HIV, a topic of recent interest in the HIV field. It also presents a case study of a child's narrative about the implications of living with a HIV parent. The case study is part of a larger study involving both parents and children living with HIV in Bangladesh. The paper discusses the implications of HIV for children, their families, and social services to gain a better understanding of some of the social issues, such as stigma, associated with this illness. The paper recommends that the development of effective social and service interventions using appropriate language, information, and access to social support services are urgently needed to reduce the concerns and increases the life opportunities of children living in HIV families.

The Healthy Living after Cancer Partnership Project [Conference Abstract]

There is considerable evidence for the efficacy of physical activity, diet and weight loss interventions in improving health outcomes for cancer survivors, but limited uptake into practice. Healthy Living after Cancer (HLaC) is an evidence-based, telephone-delivered lifestyle intervention targeting cancer survivors. This paper describes the translation of HLaC into practice in partnership with Australian state-based Cancer Councils.

Experimental and numerical investigation of strain-rate dependent mechanical properties of single living cells

The objective of this project is to investigate the strain-rate dependent mechanical behaviour of single living cells using both experimental and numerical techniques. The results revealed that living cells behave as porohyperlastic materials and that both solid and fluid phases within the cells play important roles in their mechanical responses. The research reported in this thesis provides a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the cellular responses to external mechanical loadings and of the process of mechanical signal transduction in living cells. It would help us to enhance knowledge of and insight into the role of mechanical forces in supporting tissue regeneration or degeneration.

Microscale consolidation analysis of relaxation behavior of single living chondrocytes subjected to varying strain-rates

Besides the elastic stiffness, the relaxation behavior of single living cells is also of interest of various researchers when studying cell mechanics. It is hypothesized that the relaxation response of the cells is governed by both intrinsic viscoelasticity of the solid phase and fluid-solid interactions mechanisms. There are a number of mechanical models have been developed to investigate the relaxation behavior of single cells. However, there is lack of model enable to accurately capture both of the mechanisms. Therefore, in this study, the porohyperelastic (PHE) model, which is an extension of the consolidation theory, combined with inverse Finite Element Analysis (FEA) technique was used at the first time to investigate the relaxation response of living chondrocytes. This model was also utilized to study the dependence of relaxation behavior of the cells on strain-rates. The stress-relaxation experiments under the various strain-rates were conducted with the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The results have demonstrated that the PHE model could effectively capture the stress-relaxation behavior of the living chondrocytes, especially at intermediate to high strain-rates. Although this model gave some errors at lower strain-rates, its performance was acceptable. Therefore, the PHE model is properly a promising model for single cell mechanics studies. Moreover, it has been found that the hydraulic permeability of living chondrocytes reduced with decreasing of strain-rates. It might be due to the intracellular fluid volume fraction and the fluid pore pressure gradients of chondrocytes were higher when higher strain-rates applied.

Walking and talking with living texts: Breathing life against static standardisation

Current educational reform, policy and public discourse emphasise standardisation of testing, curricula and professional practice, yet the landscape of literacy practices today is fluid, interactive, multimodal, ever-changing, adaptive and collaborative. How then can English and literacy educators negotiate these conflicting terrains? The nature of today’s literacy practices is reflected in a concept of living texts which refers to experienced events and encounters that offer meaning-making that is fluid, interactive and changing. Literacy learning possibilities with living texts are described and discussed by the authors who independently investigated the place of living texts across two distinctly different learning contexts: a young people’s community arts project and a co-taught multiliteracies project in a high school. In the community arts project, young people created living texts as guided walks of urban spaces that adapt and change to varying audiences. In the multiliteracies project, two parents and a teacher created interactive spaces through co-teaching and cogenerative dialoguing. These spaces generate living texts that yield a purposefully connected curriculum rich in community-relevant and culturally significant texts. These two studies are shared with a view of bringing living texts into literacy education to loosen rigidity in standardisation.

Influencers on quality of life as reported by people living with dementia in long-term care: A descriptive exploratory approach

Background Over half of the residents in long-term care have a diagnosis of dementia. Maintaining quality of life is important, as there is no cure for dementia. Quality of life may be used as a benchmark for caregiving, and can help to enhance respect for the person with dementia and to improve care provision. The purpose of this study was to describe quality of life as reported by people living with dementia in long-term care in terms of the influencers of, as well as the strategies needed, to improve quality of life. Methods A descriptive exploratory approach. A subsample of twelve residents across two Australian states from a national quantitative study on quality of life was interviewed. Data were analysed thematically from a realist perspective. The approach to the thematic analysis was inductive and data-driven. Results Three themes emerged in relation to influencers and strategies related to quality of life: (a) maintaining independence; (b) having something to do, and; (c) the importance of social interaction. Conclusions The findings highlight the importance of understanding individual resident needs and consideration of the complexity of living in large group living situations, in particular in regard to resident decision-making.

Privacy, modesty, hospitality and the design of Muslim homes in Australia

The home environment is conceptualised in prolific ways within the academic literature. A home is an unparalleled base for human settlement and habitation that embodies a sensorial space that is layered with personal memories and traces of history. The success of a home in providing a strong ‘sense of place’ depends on various factors such as geographical location, monetary funds or personal perceptions. A home too, is an influential medium that allows its dwellers to express, perform and continue their cultural traditions and religious faiths. Traditional Islamic teachings and practices involve guidelines that apply directly to the domestic space. The principles of privacy, modesty and hospitality are paramount to these guidelines and each has a significant influence upon the design of Muslim homes and the home owners’ or dwellers’ domestic behaviours. Despite a significant increase of Muslim population in Australia over the last decade, very little is known about their perceptions of domestic life and their use of domestic spaces within an Australian context. This research investigated on how Muslims in Brisbane live and adapt within their Australian homes and if these homes meet their personal and familial needs to perform their daily activities, as well as maintaining and practising their Islamic faiths and traditions. Specific attention has been given to their perceptions on tripartite principles of privacy, modesty, and hospitality (PMH) and how they achieve these three objectives. A qualitative case study approach was used to investigate six Muslim families living in four Brisbane suburbs, consisting of: a) Case Study 1: three Muslim families residing in one suburb of Brisbane and, b) Case Study 2: three international Muslim students living in three different Brisbane suburbs. This research indicates that apart from minor ‘design-related’ difficulties, case study participants were able to continue to perform their daily activities within their current homes through minor changes to the use of the available interior spaces. Above all, case study participants opined that their current Australian homes provide them with adequate safety and privacy for their families without any major disturbances. Insight gained from these cases suggests that greater research attention needs to be given to the potential development of Australian home designs that are adaptable to the ever-changing needs of the Australian multicultural society. Awareness of the multifactorial nature of the influences on Muslims’ perceptions of home and their use of domestic space is needed if architects, building designers, engineers and builders are to be properly equipped to meet the needs of their Muslim clients.

Relationship between vocational status and perceived stress and daily hassles in first-episode psychosis: An exploratory study

PURPOSE Vocational recovery is a primary treatment goal of young people with first-episode psychosis (FEP), yet treatment in this domain is often delayed due to concerns that it might be too stressful. This study aimed to examine whether a relationship exists between vocational status and level of perceived stress and daily hassles in FEP. METHODS Forty-seven FEP participants were recruited upon admission to the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre (EPPIC), Melbourne. Demographics, psychopathology, perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale; PSS) and daily hassles (Hassles Scale; HS) were measured. RESULTS Regarding vocational status, 19 participants were unemployed, 13 were employed, 14 were students, and 1 reported 'home duties'. ANOVAs and post hoc tests comparing the first three groups on perceived stress and daily hassles revealed that the mean PSS Total and mean PSS Distress scores of the employed group were significantly lower than those of the unemployed and student groups. Regarding hassles scores, the employed group had a significantly lower mean Hassles Intensity score than the unemployed group. Results were largely unchanged when covariates were included. There were no significant differences between the three groups in levels of anxiety, negative or positive symptoms. The employed group reported lower depression than the student group, but this finding disappeared after controlling for gender. CONCLUSIONS These results provide preliminary evidence supporting the notion that working or studying is not associated with increased perceived stress or daily hassles in FEP. The findings require replication in larger samples and in different phases of psychosis.

Ultrafine particle emission of waste incinerators and comparison to the exposure of urban citizens

On the basis of the growing interest on the impact of airborne particles on human exposure as well as the strong debate in Western countries on the emissions of waste incinerators, this work reviewed existing literature to: (i) show the emission factors of ultrafine particles (particles with a diameter less than 100 nm) of waste incinerators, and; (ii) assess the contribution of waste incinerators in terms of ultrafine particles to exposure and dose of people living in the surrounding areas of the plants in order to estimate eventual risks. The review identified only a limited number of studies measuring ultrafine particle emissions, and in general they report low particle number concentrations at the stack (the median value was equal to 5.5×103 part cm-3), in most cases higher than the outdoor background value. The lowest emissions were achieved by utilization of the bag-house filter which has an overall number-based filtration efficiency higher than 99%. Referring to reference case, the corresponding emission factor is equal to 9.1×1012 part min-1, that is lower than one single high-duty vehicle. Since the higher particle number concentrations found in the most contributing microenvironments to the exposure (indoor home, transportation, urban outdoor), the contribution of the waste incinerators to the daily dose can be considered as negligible.

Understanding the effects of complex seasonality on suburban daily transit ridership

Fluctuations in transit ridership pattern over the year have always concerned transport planners, operators and researchers. Predominantly, metrological elements have been specified to explain variability in ridership volume. However, the outcome of this research points to new direction to explain ridership fluctuation in Brisbane. It explored the relationship between daily bus ridership, seasonality and weather variables for a one-year period, 2012. Rather than segregating the entire year’s ridership into the four calendar seasons (summer, autumn, spring, and winter), this analysis distributed the yearly ridership into nine complex seasonality blocks. These represent calendar season, school/university (academic) period and their corresponding holidays, as well as other observant holidays such as Christmas. The dominance of complex seasonality over typical calendar season was established through analysis and using Multiple Linear Regression (MLR). This research identified a very strong association between complex seasonality and bus ridership. Furthermore, an expectation that Brisbane’s subtropical summer is unfavourable to transit usage was not supported by the findings of this study. A nil association of precipitation and temperature was observed in this region. Finally, this research developed a ridership estimation model, capable of predicting daily ridership within very limited error range. Following the application of this developed model, the estimated annual time series data of each suburb was analysed using Fourier Transformation to appreciate whether any cyclical effects remained, compared with the original data.

The effectiveness of meaningful occupation interventions for people living with dementia in residential aged care: A systematic review protocol

Review questions/objective What is the effectiveness of meaningful occupation interventions for people living with dementia in residential aged care facilities? More specifically, the objectives are to identify: The effectiveness of interventions based on engaging residents of residential aged care facilities who have dementia in meaningful occupation (activities that have meaning for the individual) on: quality of life, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (such as agitation, aggression, depression, wandering, apathy, etc.), mood, function, cognition, and sleep. Inclusion criteria Types of participants This review will consider studies that include participants with a confirmed diagnosis of any type of dementia living in residential aged care facilities / long term care/nursing homes/permanent care. Types of intervention(s)/phenomena of interest This review will consider studies that evaluate non-pharmacological interventions that are based on occupational or activity interventions considered to be meaningful to the person with dementia, and tailoring the intervention to meet their needs, abilities, interests and/or preferences will be required as part of the study’s methodology. Such interventions may include reminiscence therapy, exercise therapy, music therapy, individualized activity, behavioral interventions, recreational therapy, diversional therapy and psychosocial interventions. Trials of combinations of two or more such interventions will also be considered. Interventions may be in comparison to usual care, other meaningful occupation interventions, or any other non-pharmacological control or comparator.

Active aging: Exploration into self-ratings of "being active," out-of-home physical activity, and participation among older Australian adults living in four different settings

We examined whether self-ratings of “being active” among older people living in four different settings (major city high and lower density suburbs, a regional city, and a rural area) were associated with out-of-home participation and outdoor physical activity. A mixed-methods approach (survey, travel diary, and GPS tracking over a one-week period) was used to gather data from 48 individuals aged over 55 years. Self-ratings of “being active” were found to be positively correlated with the number of days older people spent time away from home but unrelated to time traveled by active means (walking and biking). No significant differences in active travel were found between the four study locations, despite differences in their respective built environments.The findings suggest that additional strategies to the creation of “age-friendly” environments are needed if older people are to increase their levels of outdoor physical activity. “Active aging” promotion campaigns may need to explicitly identify the benefits of walking outdoors to ambulatory older people as a means of maintaining their overall health, functional ability, and participation within society in the long-term and also encourage the development of community-based programs in order to facilitate regular walking for this group.

‘A contributing life’: Living a contributing life as ‘a person’, ‘an artist’ and ‘an artist with a mental illness’

The Australian National Mental Health Commission, recently adopted a focus on ‘a contributing life’ to acknowledge the importance of full and meaningful participation in community life. This concept compels new conversations about the complex nature of every day and whole of life experiences for people with lived experience of mental illness. This article reflects on narratives by eight artists with lived experience of mental illness, in Australia to understand how opportunities are available through art for people with lived experience of mental illness to lead a contributing life. A twelve month study gained insight of how participants saw themselves, made meaning and sense of their experiences, and how each person asserted their choice to be an artist. This article shares a common premise held by the participants to choose a “way of life as ‘who I am’”. This declaration emphasised the relevance of living a contributing life as ‘a person’, ‘an artist’ and ‘an artist with a mental illness’. A number of conceptual issues are raised in light of the findings, not least how opportunities for participation are framed and available, or otherwise, to live a contributing life.

A qualitative exploration of parental experiences of stigma while living with HIV in Bangladesh

With much of the focus on the “risk” groups, families have often been less studied in HIV research. Further, because of a focus on the aetiology and epidemiology of HIV, the social impacts associated with HIV on families and neighbours are sometimes overlooked. This study examined parental experiences of stigma and discrimination while living with HIV within a family context in Bangladesh. A qualitative research design using a grounded theory approach was used for this research. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with 19 HIV-positive parents, recruited with the support of two self-help groups of HIV-positive people, in two settings namely Khulna and Dhaka in Bangladesh. The findings indicate that HIV-positive parents held the view that they continue to experience significant stigma and their narratives clearly show how this affected them and their children. A range of informal practices were enacted in everyday contexts by extended family and community members to identify, demarcate and limit the social interaction of HIV-positive parents. Parents highlighted a number of factors including negative thoughts and behaviours, rejection, isolation and derogatory remarks as manifestations of stigma and discrimination, impacting upon them and their children because of their association with HIV.