Leg Clubs® : a clinically and cost-effective approach to lower limb management

Leg ulcers affect 55000-90000 people, predominantly aged over 65, in the UK at any one time. Traditional care, delivered in people’s homes by district nurses or in GP clinics, is costly and often not effective, with slow healing rates and a high incidence of recurrence. A social model of leg ulcer clinics developed by the author has been shown to improve healing and reduce recurrence within a highly cost-effective framework that delivers genuine patient empowerment, public health education and social outreach. This paper outlines the rationale for the Leg Club, its clinical and social impact, and the infrastructure behind it. It also considers the challenges to establishing and running a Leg Club.

The ecological approach to visual perception and the actor performance captured in the gaming landscape

The use of Performance Capture techniques in the creation of games that involve Motion Capture is a relatively new phenomenon. To date there is no prescribed methodology that prepares actors for the rigors of this new industry and as such there are many questions to be answered around how actors navigate these environments successfully when all available training and theoretical material is focused on performance for theatre and film. This article proposes that through a deployment of an Ecological Approach to Visual Perception we may begin to chart this territory for actors and begin to contend with the demands of performing for the motion captured gaming scenario.

Identifying relationship between skid resistance, road characteristics and crashes using probability-based risk approach

Road accidents are of great concerns for road and transport departments around world, which cause tremendous loss and dangers for public. Reducing accident rates and crash severity are imperative goals that governments, road and transport authorities, and researchers are aimed to achieve. In Australia, road crash trauma costs the nation A$ 15 billion annually. Five people are killed, and 550 are injured every day. Each fatality costs the taxpayer A$1.7 million. Serious injury cases can cost the taxpayer many times the cost of a fatality. Crashes are in general uncontrolled events and are dependent on a number of interrelated factors such as driver behaviour, traffic conditions, travel speed, road geometry and condition, and vehicle characteristics (e.g. tyre type pressure and condition, and suspension type and condition). Skid resistance is considered one of the most important surface characteristics as it has a direct impact on traffic safety. Attempts have been made worldwide to study the relationship between skid resistance and road crashes. Most of these studies used the statistical regression and correlation methods in analysing the relationships between skid resistance and road crashes. The outcomes from these studies provided mix results and not conclusive. The objective of this paper is to present a probability-based method of an ongoing study in identifying the relationship between skid resistance and road crashes. Historical skid resistance and crash data of a road network located in the tropical east coast of Queensland were analysed using the probability-based method. Analysis methodology and results of the relationships between skid resistance, road characteristics and crashes are presented.

An integrated approach to cryptographic mitigation of denial-of-service attacks

Gradual authentication is a principle proposed by Meadows as a way to tackle denial-of-service attacks on network protocols by gradually increasing the confidence in clients before the server commits resources. In this paper, we propose an efficient method that allows a defending server to authenticate its clients gradually with the help of some fast-to-verify measures. Our method integrates hash-based client puzzles along with a special class of digital signatures supporting fast verification. Our hash-based client puzzle provides finer granularity of difficulty and is proven secure in the puzzle difficulty model of Chen et al. (2009). We integrate this with the fast-verification digital signature scheme proposed by Bernstein (2000, 2008). These schemes can be up to 20 times faster for client authentication compared to RSA-based schemes. Our experimental results show that, in the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol, fast verification digital signatures can provide a 7% increase in connections per second compared to RSA signatures, and our integration of client puzzles with client authentication imposes no performance penalty on the server since puzzle verification is a part of signature verification.

Addressing sustainable living using a collaborative approach and multi-disciplinary techniques

In order to achieve meaningful reductions in individual ecological footprints, individuals must dramatically alter their day to day behaviours. Effective interventions will need to be evidence based and there is a necessity for the rapid transfer or communication of information from the point of research, into policy and practice. A number of health disciplines, including psychology and public health, share a common mission to promote health and well-being and it is becoming clear that the most practical pathway to achieving this mission is through interdisciplinary collaboration. This paper argues that an interdisciplinary collaborative approach will facilitate research that results in the rapid transfer of findings into policy and practice. The application of this approach is described in relation to the Green Living project which explored the psycho-social predictors of environmentally friendly behaviour. Following a qualitative pilot study, and in consultation with an expert panel comprising academics, industry professionals and government representatives, a self-administered mail survey was distributed to a random sample of 3000 residents of Brisbane and Moreton Bay (Queensland, Australia). The Green Living survey explored specific beliefs which included attitudes, norms, perceived control, intention and behaviour, as well as a number of other constructs such as environmental concern and altruism. This research has two beneficial outcomes. First, it will inform a practical model for predicting sustainable living behaviours and a number of local councils have already expressed an interest in making use of the results as part of their ongoing community engagement programs. Second, it provides an example of how a collaborative interdisciplinary project can provide a more comprehensive approach to research than can be accomplished by a single disciplinary project.

Employers and child workers : an institutional approach

This article explores employers' perspectives on the introduction of child employment legislation in Australia through the lens of the three pillars—regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive—of institutional theory. The study extends the traditional industrial relations (IR) focus on regulation to examine how human resource (HR) practices around child employment become legitimised, normalised and socially supported.

An investigation of the effect of individual cognitive preferences on learning through computer-based instruction

This paper reports a study investigating the effect of individual cognitive styles on learning through computer-based instruction. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design involving four groups which were presented with instructional material that either matched or mismatched with their preferred cognitive styles. Cognitive styles were measured by cognitive style assessment software (Riding, 1991). The instructional material was designed to cater for the four cognitive styles identified by Riding. Students' learning outcomes were measured by the time taken to perform test tasks and the number of marks scored. The results indicate no significant difference between the matched and mismatched groups on both time taken and scores on test tasks. However, there was significant difference between the four cognitive styles on test score. The Wholist/Verbaliser group performed better then all other groups. There was no significant difference between the other groups. An analysis of the performance on test task by each cognitive style showed significant difference between the groups on recall, labelling and explanation. Difference between the cognitive style groups did not reach significance level for problem-solving tasks. The findings of the study indicate a potential for cognitive style to influence learning outcomes measured by performance on test tasks.

Cognitive load and assembly tasks : effect of instructional formats on learning assembly procedures

The study investigated the effect on learning of four different instructional formats used to teach assembly procedures. Cognitive load and spatial information processing theories were used to generate the instructional material. The first group received a physical model to study, the second an isometric drawing, the third an isometric drawing plus a model and the fourth an orthographic drawing. Forty secondary school students were presented with the four different instructional formats and subsequently tested on an assembly task. The findings indicated that there may be evidence to argue that the model format which only required encoding of an already constructed three dimensional representation, caused less extraneous cognitive load compared to the isometric and the orthographic formats. No significant difference was found between the model and the isometric-plus-model formats on all measures because 80% of the students in the isometric-plus-model format chose to use the model format only. The model format also did not differ significantly from other groups in total time taken to complete the assembly, in number of correctly assembled pieces and in time spent on studying the tasks. However, the model group had significantly more correctly completed models and required fewer extra looks than the other groups.

Cognitive load and mental rotation : structuring orthographic projection for learning and problem solving

Cognitive load theory was used to generate a series of three experiments to investigate the effects of various worked example formats on learning orthographic projection. Experiments 1 and 2 investigated the benefits of presenting problems, conventional worked examples incorporating the final 2-D and 3-D representations only, and modified worked examples with several intermediate stages of rotation between the 2-D and 3-D representations. Modified worked examples proved superior to conventional worked examples without intermediate stages while conventional worked examples were, in turn, superior to problems. Experiment 3 investigated the consequences of varying the number and location of intermediate stages in the rotation trajectory and found three stages to be superior to one. A single intermediate stage was superior when nearer the 2-D than the 3-D end of the trajectory. It was concluded that (a) orthographic projection is learned best using worked examples with several intermediate stages and that (b) a linear relation between angle of rotation and problem difficulty did not hold for orthographic projection material. Cognitive load theory could be used to suggest the ideal location of the intermediate stages.

Computer assisted instruction and individual cognitive style preferences in learning : does it matter?

This paper reports the findings of a pilot study aimed at improving learning outcomes from Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI). The study involved second year nursing students at the Queensland University of Technology. Students were assessed for their preferred cognitive style and presented with either matched or mismatched instructional material. The instructional material was developed in accordance with four cognitive styles (Riding & Cheema, 1991). The findings indicate groups that received instructional material which matched their preferred cognitive style, possibly, performed better than groups that received mismatched instructional material. The matched group was particularly better in the explanation and problem solving tasks.

The Canadian ‘Model Forest’ approach : a way forward for Tasmania?

Forest policy and forestry management in Tasmania have undergone a number of changes in the last thirty years, many explicitly aimed at improving industry sustainability, job security, and forest biodiversity conservation. Yet forestry remains a contentious issue in Tasmania, due to a number of interacting factors, most significant of which is the prevalence of a ‘command and control’ governance approach by policymakers and managers. New approaches such as multiple-stakeholder decision-making, adaptive management, and direct public participation in policymaking are needed. Such an approach has been attempted in Canada in the last decade, through the Canadian Model Forest Program, and may be suitable for Tasmania. This paper seeks to describe what the Canadian Model Forest approach is, how it may be implemented in Tasmania, and what role it may play in the shift to a new forestry paradigm. Until such a paradigm shift occurs contentions and confrontations are likely to continue.

Deliberation and collaboration in the policy process : a Web 2.0 approach

This paper is a summary of a PhD thesis proposal. It will explore how the Web 2.0 platform could be applied to enable and facilitate the large-scale participation, deliberation and collaboration of both governmental and non-governmental actors in an ICT supported policy process. The paper will introduce a new democratic theory and a Web 2.0 based e-democracy platform, and demonstrate how different actors would use the platform to develop and justify policy issues.

Motivational Interviewing changes the treatment trajectory of group Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy for anxiety

Anxiety disorders have been viewed as manifestations of broad underlying predisposing personality constructs such as neuroticism combined with more specific individual differences of unhelpful information processing styles. Given the high prevalence of anxiety and the significant impairment that it causes, there is an important need to continue to explore successful treatments for this disorder. Research indicates that there is still room for significantly improving attrition rates and treatment adherence. Traditionally Motivational Interviewing (MI) has been used to facilitate health behaviour change. Recently MI has been applied to psychotherapy and has been shown to improve the outcome of CBT. However, these studies have been limited to only considering pre- and post-treatment measures and neglected to consider when changes occur along the course of therapy. This leaves the unanswered question of what is the impact of pre-treatment MI on the treatment trajectory of therapy. This study provides preliminary research into answering this question by tracking changes on a weekly basis along the course of group CBT. Prior to group CBT, 40 individuals with a principal anxiety disorder diagnosis were randomly assigned to receive either 3 individual sessions of MI or placed on a waitlist control group. All participants then received the same dosage of 10 weekly 2 hour sessions of group CBT. Tracking treatment outcome trajectory over the course of CBT, the pre-treatment MI group, compared to the control group, experienced a greater improvement early on in the course of therapy in their symptom distress, interpersonal relationships and quality of life. This early advantage over the control group was then maintained throughout therapy. These results not only demonstrate the value of adding MI to CBT, but also highlight the immediacy of MI effects. Further research is needed to determine the robustness of these effects to inform clinical implications of how to best apply MI to improve treatment adherence to CBT for anxiety disorders.