ADCS reaches adulthood : an analysis of the conference and its community over the last eighteen years

How influential is the Australian Document Computing Symposium (ADCS)? What do ADCS articles speak about and who cites them? Who is the ADCS community and how has it evolved? This paper considers eighteen years of ADCS, investigating both the conference and its community. A content analysis of the proceedings uncovers the diversity of topics covered in ADCS and how these have changed over the years. Citation analysis reveals the impact of the papers. The number of authors and where they originate from reveal who has contributed to the conference. Finally, we generate co-author networks which reveal the collaborations within the community. These networks show how clusters of researchers form, the effect geographic location has on collaboration, and how these have evolved over time.

Friendships in the early years

Having a best friend or close friend is closely connected to children’s health and well being in the early years. Having friends safeguards children from social isolation and is associated with academic attainment and social success. In early childhood, children often make friends through play or other shared activities. This chapter investigates friendships and children’s well being in the early years of schooling. Drawing on direct accounts and representations from interviews with young children about friendships, the chapter outlines characteristics of friendship and strategies children use to make friends and manage disputes as they negotiate roles in play and shared spaces. Three key dimensions of friendship are evident in the children’s accounts: friendship is enduring, friendship is mutual and friendship involves an emotional investment. This chapter provides educators with an understanding of the important role that friendships have for happiness and wellbeing in the early years.

The impact of temperature variability on years of life lost

The relationship between temperature and mortality is generally found to be bathtub shaped (rising at both extremes). However, there are limited data on the potential health effects of temperature variability and on temperature itself...

Pathway to sustainability : the Lady Elliot Island hybrid solar power station

The Lady Elliot Island eco-resort, on the Great Barrier Reef, operates with a strong sustainability ethic, and has broken away from its reliance on diesel generators, an initiative which has ongoing and substantial economic benefit. The first step was an energy audit that led to a 35% reduction in energy usage, to an average of 575 kWh per day. The eco-resort then commissioned a hybrid solar power station, in 2008, with energy storage in battery banks. Solar power is currently (2013) providing about 160 kWh of energy per day, and the eco-resort’s diesel fuel usage has decreased from 550 to 100 litres per day, enabling the power station to pay for itself in 3 years. The eco-resort plans to complete its transition to renewable energy by 2015, by installing additional solar panels, and a 10-15 kW wind turbine. This paper starts by discussing why the eco-resort chose a hybrid solar power station to transition to renewable energy, and the barriers to change. It then describes the power station, upgrades through to 2013, the power control system, the problems that were solved to realise the potential of a facility operating in a harsh and remote environment, and its performance. The paper concludes by outlining other eco-resort sustainability practices, including education and knowledge-sharing initiatives, and monitoring the island’s environmental and ecological condition.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices to reduce exposure among residents living near Danang dioxin hot spot : 2.5 years after a preventative intervention

Da Nang Airbase in Viet Nam served as a bulk storage and supply facility for Agent Orange and other herbicides during Operation Ranch Hand 1961-1971[1]. Studies have shown that environmental and biological samples taken around the airbase site have elevated levels of dioxin [1-3]. Residents living in the vicinity of the airbase are at risk of exposure to dioxin in soil, water and mud and particularly through the consumption of local contaminated food. In 2009, a pre-intervention cross sectional survey was undertaken. This survey examined the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of householders living near Da Nang Airbase, relevent to reducing dioxin exposure through contaminated food. The results showed that despite living near a severe dioxin hot spot, the residents had very limited knowledge of both exposure risk and measures to reduce exposure to dioxin[4]. In response, the Vietnam Public Health Association (VPHA) and Da Nang Public Health Association implemented a risk reduction program at four residential wards in the vicinities of the Da Nang Airbase in 2010. A post intervention KAP survey was under taken in 2011, and the results showed that knowledge of the existence of dioxin in food, dioxin exposure pathways, potential high risk foods, and preventive measures was significantly enhanced. This new study monitored KAP 2.5 years after the intervention through a 2013 survey of food handlers from 400 households that were randomly selected from the four intervention wards. The results show that most of the positive outcomes remained stable or had increased; some KAP indicators decreased compared to those in the post-intervention survey, but were still significantly higher than the pre-intervention levels. In 2014, these findings will be incorporated with qualitative assessments and the results of laboratory analysis of dioxin concentrations in foods in Da Nang and Bien Hoa dioxin hot spots to comprehensively assess the sustained effects of the intervention.

International survey of rigid contact lens fitting

Purpose To determine the extent of rigid contact lens fitting worldwide and to characterize the associated demographics and fitting patterns. Methods Survey forms were sent to contact lens fitters in up to 40 countries between January and March every year for five consecutive years (2007 to 2011). Practitioners were asked to record data relating to the first 10 contact lens fits or refits performed after receiving the survey form. Survey data collected between 1996 and 2011 were also analyzed to assess rigid lens fitting trends in seven nations during this period. Results Data were obtained for 12,230 rigid and 100,670 soft lens fits between 2007 and 2011. Overall, rigid lenses represented 10.8% of all contact lens fits, ranging from 0.2% in Lithuania to 37% in Malaysia. Compared with soft lens fits, rigid lens fits can be characterized as follows: older age (rigid, 37.3 ± 15.0 years; soft, 29.8 ± 12.4 years); fewer spherical and toric fits; more bifocal/multifocal fits; less frequent replacement (rigid, 7%; soft, 85%); and less part-time wear (rigid, 4%; soft, 10%). High-Dk (contact lens oxygen permeability) (36%) and mid-Dk (42%) materials are predominantly used for rigid lens fitting. Orthokeratology represents 11.5% of rigid contact lens fits. There has been a steady decline in rigid lens fitting between 1996 and 2011. Conclusions Rigid contact lens prescribing is in decline but still represents approximately 10% of all contact lenses fitted worldwide. It is likely that rigid lenses will remain as a viable, albeit increasingly specialized, form of vision correction.

The power of percent

Which statistic would you use if you were writing the newspaper headline for the following media release: "Tassie’s death rate of deaths arising from transport-related injuries was 13 per 100,000 people, or 50% higher than the national average”? (Martain, 2007). The rate “13 per 100,000” sounds very small whereas “50% higher” sounds quite large. Most people are aware of the tendency to choose between reporting data as actual numbers or using percents in order to gain attention. Looking at examples like this one can help students develop a critical quantitative literacy viewpoint when dealing with “authentic contexts” (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2013a, p. 37, 67). The importance of the distinction between reporting information in raw numbers or percents is not explicitly mentioned in the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics (ACARA, 2013b, p. 42). Although the document specifically mentions making “connections between equivalent fractions, decimals and percentages” [ACMNA131] in Year 6, there is no mention of the fundamental relationship between percent and the raw numbers represented in a part-whole fashion. Such understanding, however, is fundamental to the problem solving that is the focus of the curriculum in Years 6 to 9. The purpose of this article is to raise awareness of the opportunities to distinguish between the use of raw numbers and percents when comparisons are being made in contexts other than the media. It begins with the authors’ experiences in the classroom, which motivated a search in the literature, followed by a suggestion for a follow-up activity.

Visual analog scale and pressure pain threshold for delayed onset muscle soreness assessment

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between two assessments to quantify delayed onset muscle soreness [DOMS]: visual analog scale [VAS] and pressure pain threshold [PPT]. Methods: Thirty-one healthy young men [25.8 ± 5.5 years] performed 10 sets of six maximal eccentric contractions of the elbow flexors with their non-dominant arm. Before and one to four days after the exercise, muscle pain perceived upon palpation of the biceps brachii at three sites [5, 9 and 13 cm above the elbow crease] was assessed by VAS with a 100 mm line [0 = no pain, 100 = extremely painful], and PPT of the same sites was determined by an algometer. Changes in VAS and PPT over time were compared amongst three sites by a two-way repeated measures analysis of variance, and the relationship between VAS and PPT was analyzed using a Pearson product-moment correlation. Results: The VAS increased one to four days after exercise and peaked two days post-exercise, while the PPT decreased most one day post-exercise and remained below baseline for four days following exercise [p < 0.05]. No significant difference among the three sites was found for VAS [p = 0.62] or PPT [p = 0.45]. The magnitude of change in VAS did not significantly correlate with that of PPT [r = −0.20, p = 0.28]. Conclusion: These results suggest that the level of muscle pain is not region-specific, at least among the three sites investigated in the study, and VAS and PPT provide different information about DOMS, indicating that VAS and PPT represent different aspects of pain.

The changing face of contact lens wearers over 25 years

A combination of factors has dictated patterns of prescribing to contact lens wearers in different age groups over time, such as the evolution of manufacturing technology in bringing better lens designs and replacement frequency options; the aging population demographic; and the knowledge and attitudes of practitioners. Here we explore evolving lens fitting practices at the opposite poles of the age spectrum—children and presbyopes.

Weekly cisplatin concurrently with radiotherapy in head and neck squamous cell cancer : a retrospective analysis of a tertiary institute experience

Radiotherapy combined with three weekly 100 mg/m2 of cisplatin is the accepted standard of care in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. However, this regimen is associated with severe toxicities with devastating effects on patients. Alternative protocols like weekly 40 mg/m2 have been used in an attempt to reduce toxicities. The main objective of the present study is to identify the dose intensities and toxicities of weekly cisplatin in patients treated in a tertiary centre over a 12 month period. Included patients had squamous cell carcinoma arising in the oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx, or hypopharynx. Patients were excluded if they had nasopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, distant metastasis or if they had prior treatment for head and neck cancer excluding neck dissection. During the study period, 52 patients met the inclusion criteria and their data were retrospectively obtained from the patients' database of St James hospital, Dublin. The median age of the study cohort was 54 years (range 33-73). Of the patients, 40 (76.9 %) were male and 12 (20.1 %) were female. The primary tumour sites were as follows: oral cavity and oropharynx in 38 (73 %), larynx in 10 (19 %), and hypopharynx in 4 (8 %). In total, 33 (63.5 %) patients had stage IV disease, while 19 (36.5 %) had stage III disease. Treatment was definitive in 35 (67 %) patients and adjuvant in 17 (35 %). Full-dose radiotherapy was achieved in 50 (96 %) patients. Only 22 (42.3 %) patients completed the intended six cycles of chemotherapy. Cumulative dose of 200 mg/m2 or more was reached in 37 (71 %) patients. The acute adverse effects included grades 3 and 4 mucositis, which occurred in 22 (43.3 %) and 6 patients (12 %), respectively. Grade 3 and 4 neutropenia occurred in six (11.5 %) and three (5.7 %) patients, respectively. The only other haematological toxicity was grade 3 anaemia in 20 (38.4 %) patients. There was no grade 3 or 4 renal toxicity among the study cohort, although grade 2 was observed in six (11.5 %) patients. Death occurred in one patient due to neutropenic septicaemia. In conclusion, weekly cisplatin is associated with moderate to severe toxicities and might lead to suboptimal chemotherapy delivery. More prospective clinical studies are required to determine the optimal chemoradiation regimen in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Working towards a ‘thirdspace’ in the teaching of writing to middle years students

The teaching of writing, particularly in the middle years of schooling, is impacted on by converging, and at times, contradictory pedagogical spaces. Perceptions about the way in which writing should be taught are clearly affected by standardised testing regimes in Australia. That is, much writing is taught as a genre process, yet results on standardised tests such as National Assessment Program in Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) show that the writing component consistently receives the lowest scores (ACARA, 2013. Research shows that creative and individualised approaches are necessary for quality writing (Grainger, Goouch & Lambirth, 2005). This paper investigates the writing practices of students in years 5 to 7 in two culturally and linguistically diverse schools. It shows that the writing practices of these students are greatly influenced by teachers’ perceptions about what is required by external testing bodies such as the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). The paper will then highlight how socio-spatial theory (Lefebvre, 1991) can be applied to explain these practices and offers the notion of a more productive ‘thirdspace’ (Soja, 1996) for improvement in the teaching of writing.

The Nagle Royal Commission 25 years on : gaining perspective on two and a half decades of NSW prison reform

This article attempts an audit of changes in the NSW penal system over the last nearly 30 years. Taking the 1978 Nagle Royal Commission findings and analysis as the starting point a comparison is made between the Nagle era and the contemporary scene across a range of practices including imprisonment rates, violence, drug use, deaths in custody, prison conditions, prisoners rights, legal regulation, and others. It is suggested that developments since Nagle are mixed and cannot be attributed to a single logic or force. Major changes include a doubling of imprisonment rates, significant increases in Indigenous and women's imprisonment rates, the apparent ending of institutionalised bashings and the centrality of drug use to imprisonment and to the culture, health and security practices which characterise the current prison experience. The article may constitute a useful starting point for broader attempts to relate current penal practices to far wider changes in the conditions of life under late modernity.

Nutrition screening and assessment in Parkinson's disease : a comparison of methods

Background & Aims Nutrition screening and assessment enable early identification of malnourished people and those at risk of malnutrition. Appropriate assessment tools assist with informing and monitoring nutrition interventions. Tool choice needs to be appropriate to the population and setting. Methods Community-dwelling people with Parkinson’s disease (>18 years) were recruited. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from weight and height. Participants were classified as underweight according to World Health Organisation (WHO) (≤18.5kg/m2) and age specific (<65 years,≤18.5kg/m2; ≥65 years,≤23.5kg/m2) cut-offs. The Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA) screening (MNA-SF) and total assessment scores were calculated. The Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA), including the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), was performed. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and weighted kappa statistic of each of the above compared to SGA were determined. Results Median age of the 125 participants was 70.0(35-92) years. Age-specific BMI (Sn 68.4%, Sp 84.0%) performed better than WHO (Sn 15.8%, Sp 99.1%) categories. MNA-SF performed better (Sn 94.7%, Sp 78.3%) than both BMI categorisations for screening purposes. MNA had higher specificity but lower sensitivity than PG-SGA (MNA Sn 84.2%, Sp 87.7%; PG-SGA Sn 100.0%, Sp 69.8%). Conclusions BMI lacks sensitivity to identify malnourished people with Parkinson’s disease and should be used with caution. The MNA-SF may be a better screening tool in people with Parkinson’s disease. The PG-SGA performed well and may assist with informing and monitoring nutrition interventions. Further research should be conducted to validate screening and assessment tools in Parkinson’s disease.  

The epidemiology of basal cell carcinoma

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is a skin cancer of particular importance to the Australian community. Its rate of occurrence is highest in Queensland, where 1% to 2% of people are newly affected annually. This is an order of magnitude higher than corresponding incidence estimates in European and North American populations. Individuals with a sun-sensitive complexion are particularly susceptible because sun exposure is the single most important causative agent, as shown by the anatomic distribution of BCC which is in general consistent with the levels of sun exposure across body sites. A distinguishing feature of BCC is the occurrence of multiple primary tumours within individuals, synchronously or over time, and their diagnosis and treatment costs contribute substantially to the major public health burden caused by BCC. A primary knowledge gap about BCC pathogenesis however was an understanding of the true frequency of multiple BCC occurrences and their body distribution, and why a proportion of people do develop more than one BCC in their life. This research project sought to address this gap under an overarching research aim to better understand the detailed epidemiology of BCC with the ultimate goal of reducing the burden of this skin cancer through prevention. The particular aim was to document prospectively the rate of BCC occurrence and its associations with constitutional and environmental (solar) factors, all the while paying special attention to persons affected by more than one BCC. The study built on previous findings and recent developments in the field but set out to confirm and extend these and propose more adequate theories about the complex epidemiology of this cancer. Addressing these goals required a new approach to researching basal cell carcinoma, due to the need to account for the phenomenon of multiple incident BCCs per person. This was enabled by a 20 year community-based study of skin cancer in Australians that provided the methodological foundation for this thesis. Study participants were originally randomly selected in 1986 from the electoral register of all adult residents of the subtropical township of Nambour in Queensland, Australia. On various occasions during the study, participants were fully examined by dermatologists who documented cumulative photodamage as well as skin cancers. Participants completed standard questionnaires about skin cancer-related factors, and consented to have any diagnosed skin cancers notified to the investigators by regional pathology laboratories in Queensland. These methods allowed 100% ascertainment of histologically confirmed BCCs in this study population. 1339 participants had complete follow-up to the end of 2007. Statistical analyses in this thesis were carried out using SAS and SUDAAN statistical software packages. Modelling methods, including multivariate logistic regressions, allowed for repeated measures in terms of multiple BCCs per person. This innovative approach gave new findings on two levels, presented in five chapters as scientific papers: 1. Incidence of basal cell carcinoma multiplicity and detailed anatomic distribution: longitudinal study of an Australian population The incidence of people affected multiple times by BCC was 705 per 100,000 person years compared to an incidence rate of people singly affected of 935 per 100,000 person years. Among multiply and singly affected persons alike, site-specific BCC incidence rates were far highest on facial subsites, followed by upper limbs, trunk, and then lower limbs 2. Melanocytic nevi and basal cell carcinoma: is there an association? BCC risk was significantly increased in those with forearm nevi (Odds Ratios (OR) 1.43, 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) 1.09-1.89) compared to people without forearm nevi, especially among those who spent their time mainly outdoors (OR 1.6, 95%CI 1.1-2.3) compared to those who spent their time mainly indoors. Nevi on the back were not associated with BCC. 3. Clinical signs of photodamage are associated with basal cell carcinoma multiplicity and site: a 16-year longitudinal study Over a 16-year follow-up period, 58% of people affected by BCC developed more than one BCC. Among these people 60% developed BCCs across different anatomic sites. Participants with high numbers of solar keratoses, compared to people without solar keratoses, were most likely to experience the highest BCC counts overall (OR 3.3, 95%CI 1.4-13.5). Occurrences of BCC on the trunk (OR 3.3, 95%CI 1.4-7.6) and on the limbs (OR 3.7, 95%CI 2.0-7.0) were strongly associated with high numbers of solar keratoses on these sites. 4. Occurrence and determinants of basal cell carcinoma by histological subtype in an Australian community Among 1202 BCCs, 77% had a single growth pattern and 23% were of mixed histological composition. Among all BCCs the nodular followed by the superficial growth patterns were commonest. Risk of nodular and superficial BCCs on the head was raised if 5 or more solar keratoses were present on the face (OR 1.8, 95%CI 1.2-2.7 and OR 4.5, 95%CI 2.1-9.7 respectively) and similarly on the trunk in the presence of multiple solar keratoses on the trunk (OR 4.2, 95%CI 1.5-11.9 and OR 2.2, 95%CI 1.1-4.4 respectively). 5. Basal cell carcinoma and measures of cumulative sun exposure: an Australian longitudinal community-based study Dermal elastosis was more likely to be seen adjacent to head and neck BCCs than trunk BCCs (p=0.01). Severity of dermal elastosis increased on each site with increasing clinical signs of cutaneous sun damage on that site. BCCs that occurred without perilesional elastosis per se, were always found in an anatomic region with signs of photodamage. This thesis thus has identified the magnitude of the burden of multiple BCCs. It does not support the view that people affected by more than one BCC represent a distinct group of people who are prone to BCCs on certain body sites. The results also demonstrate that BCCs regardless of site, histology or order of occurrence are strongly associated with cumulative sun exposure causing photodamage to the skin, and hence challenge the view that BCCs occurring on body sites with typically low opportunities for sun exposure or of the superficial growth pattern are different in their association with the sun from those on typically sun-exposed sites, or nodular BCCs, respectively. Through dissemination in the scientific and medical literature, and to the community at large, these findings can ultimately assist in the primary and secondary prevention of BCC, perhaps especially in high-risk populations.

Quality of life of women with lower limb swelling or lymphedema 3-5 years following endometrial cancer

Objective To quantitatively assess and compare the quality of life (QoL) of women with a self-reported diagnosis of lower limb lymphedema (LLL), to women with lower limb swelling (LLS), and to women without LLL or LLS following treatment for endometrial cancer. Methods 1399 participants in the Australian National Endometrial Cancer Study were sent a follow-up questionnaire 3–5 years after diagnosis. Women were asked if they had experienced swelling in the lower limbs and, if so, whether they had received a diagnosis of lymphedema by a health professional. The 639 women who responded were categorised as: Women with LLL (n = 68), women with LLS (n = 177) and women without LLL or LLS (n = 394). Multivariable-adjusted generalized linear models were used to compare women’s physical and mental QoL by LLL status. Results On average, women were 65 years of age and 4 years after diagnosis. Women with LLL had clinically lower physical QoL (M= 41.8, SE= 1.4) than women without LLL or LLS (M= 45.1, SE= 0.8, p = .07), however, their mental QoL was within the normative range (M= 49.6; SE= 1.1 p = 1.0). Women with LLS had significantly lower physical (M= 41.0, SE= 1.0, p = .003) and mental QoL (M= 46.8; SE= 0.8, p < .0001) than women without LLL or LLS (Mental QoL: M= 50.6, SE= 0.8). Conclusion Although LLL was associated with reductions in physical QoL, LLS was related to reductions in both physical and mental QoL 3-5 years after cancer treatment. Early referral to evidence-based lymphedema programs may prevent long-term impairments to women’s QoL.