Spatial governance: The metalanguage of spatiotemporal information and its infrastructure

‘Spatial governance’ involves a large number of situations where knowledge of place and time is important in achieving acceptable organisational outcomes. This paper argues that spatial governance calls for information-intensive activity in three main areas. The first establishes ‘authority’ in a legal entity to decide issues regarding resources within a territorial jurisdiction. The second involves planning the future use of resources. It engages a language of design, purpose, modeling, visualization, expectations and risk. The third involves monitoring of outcomes to see if expectations are met; and whether changes to authority and planning regimes need to be made in the light of experience. This engages a language of observing, recording, accounting, auditing, statistical indicators and accountability. ‘Authority’, ‘planning’ and ‘monitoring’ regimes can be constructed using a relatively small number of elements, in much the same way that a large number of words with recognisable meanings can be created using a relatively few standardised letters of the alphabet. Words can combine in a similar process of combinatorial explosion to create any message that can be imagined. Similarly, combining authority, planning and monitoring regimes can create a metalanguage of ‘spatial governance’ to give purpose, meaning and value to any spatiotemporal information system that can be imagined, described, interpreted and understood.

Genetic risk score analysis indicates migraine with and without comorbid depression are genetically different disorders

Migraine and major depressive disorder (MDD) are comorbid, moderately heritable and to some extent influenced by the same genes. In a previous paper, we suggested the possibility of causality (one trait causing the other) underlying this comorbidity. We present a new application of polygenic (genetic risk) score analysis to investigate the mechanisms underlying the genetic overlap of migraine and MDD. Genetic risk scores were constructed based on data from two discovery samples in which genome-wide association analyses (GWA) were performed for migraine and MDD, respectively. The Australian Twin Migraine GWA study (N = 6,350) included 2,825 migraine cases and 3,525 controls, 805 of whom met the diagnostic criteria for MDD. The RADIANT GWA study (N = 3,230) included 1,636 MDD cases and 1,594 controls. Genetic risk scores for migraine and for MDD were used to predict pure and comorbid forms of migraine and MDD in an independent Dutch target sample (NTR-NESDA, N = 2,966), which included 1,476 MDD cases and 1,058 migraine cases (723 of these individuals had both disorders concurrently). The observed patterns of prediction suggest that the 'pure' forms of migraine and MDD are genetically distinct disorders. The subgroup of individuals with comorbid MDD and migraine were genetically most similar to MDD patients. These results indicate that in at least a subset of migraine patients with MDD, migraine may be a symptom or consequence of MDD. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Comparing the effect of inadequate documentation to the cost management and tendering processes in managing contractor and fixed lump sum contracts in Australia

Purpose of this paper This research aims to examine the effects of inadequate documentation to the cost management & tendering processes in Managing Contractor Contracts using Fixed Lump Sum as a benchmark. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was conducted with industry practitioners to solicit their views on documentation quality issues associated with the construction industry. This is followed by a series of semi-structured interviews with a purpose of validating survey findings. Findings and value The results showed that documentation quality remains a significant issue, contributing to the industries inefficiency and poor reputation. The level of satisfaction for individual attributes of documentation quality varies. Attributes that do appear to be affected by the choice of procurement method include coordination, build ability, efficiency, completeness and delivery time. Similarly the use and effectiveness of risk mitigation techniques appears to vary between the methods, based on a number of factors such as documentation completeness, early involvement, fast tracking etc. Originality/value of paper This research fills the gap of existing body of knowledge in terms of limited studies on the choice of a project procurement system has an influence on the documentation quality and the level of impact. Conclusions Ultimately research concludes that the entire project team including the client and designers should carefully consider the individual projects requirements and compare those to the trade-offs associated with documentation quality and the procurement method. While documentation quality is definitely an issue to be improved upon, by identifying the projects performance requirements a procurement method can be chosen to maximise the likelihood that those requirements will be met. This allows the aspects of documentation quality considered most important to the individual project to be managed appropriately.

MATLAB/Simulink simulation and C2000 code generation model for a grid-interactive 3-phase 4-wire inverter

This work is a MATLAB/Simulink model of a controller for a three-phase, four-wire, grid-interactive inverter. The model provides capacity for simulating the performance of power electroinic hardware, as well as code generation for an embedded controller. The implemented hardware topology is a three-leg bridge with a neutral connection to the centre-tap of the DC bus. An LQR-based current controller and MAF-based phase detector are implemented. The model is configured for code generation for a Texas Instruments TMS320F28335 Digital Signal Processor (DSP).

A systematic review of interventions to enhance medication adherence in children and adolescents with chronic illness

Introduction Poor medication adherence is common in children and adolescents with chronic illness, but there is uncertainty about the best way to enhance medication adherence in this group. The authors conducted a systematic review of controlled trials examining interventions that aim to improve medication adherence. Method A comprehensive literature search was undertaken to locate controlled trials that described specific interventions aiming to improve adherence to long-term medication, where participants were aged 18 years and under, medication adherence was reported as an outcome measure, and which could be implemented by individual health practitioners. Studies were reviewed for quality and outcome. Results 17 studies met inclusion criteria: seven studies examined educational strategies, seven studies examined behavioural interventions and three studies examined educational intervention combined with other forms of psychological therapies. Only two of seven studies reported a clear benefit for education on medication adherence, whereas four of seven trials indicated a benefit of behavioural approaches on medication adherence. One trial reported that combining education with behavioural management may be more effective than education alone. Studies which combined education with other non-medication specific psychological interventions failed to demonstrate a beneficial effect on medication adherence. Only two studies examined adherence-promoting interventions in young people with established adherence problems. Conclusion These findings suggest that education interventions alone are insufficient to promote adherence in children and adolescents, and that incorporating a behavioural component to adherence interventions may increase potential efficacy. Future research should examine interventions in high-risk groups.

Perceived safety, quality and cultural competency of maternity care for culturally and linguistically diverse women in Queensland

Various policies, plans, and initiatives have been implemented to provide safe, quality, and culturally competent care to patients within Queensland’s healthcare system. A series of models of maternity care are available in Queensland that range from standard public care to private midwifery care. The current study aimed to determine whether identifying as Culturally or Linguistically Diverse (CALD) was associated with the perceived safety, quality, and cultural competency of maternity care from a consumer perspective, and to identify specific needs and preferences of CALD maternity care consumers. Secondary analysis of data collected in the Having a Baby in Queensland Survey 2012 was used to compare the experiences of 655 CALD women to those of 4049 non-CALD women in Queensland, Australia, across three stages of maternity care: pregnancy, labour and birth, and after birth. After adjustment for model of maternity care received and socio-demographic characteristics, CALD women were significantly more likely than non-CALD women to experience suboptimal staff technical competence in pregnancy, overall perceived safety in pregnancy and labour/birth, and interpersonal sensitivity in pregnancy and labour/birth. Approximately 50% of CALD women did not have the choice to use a translator or interpreter, or the gender of their care provider, during labour and birth. Thirteen themes of preferences and needs of CALD maternity care consumers based on ethnicity, cultural beliefs, or traditions were identified, however, these were rarely met. Findings imply that CALD women in Queensland experience disadvantageous maternity care with regards to perceived staff technical competence, safety, and interpersonal sensitivity, and receive care that lacks cultural competence. Improved access to support persons, continuity and choice of carer, and staff availability and training is recommended.

Identifying relationships between symptom clusters and quality of life in adults with chronic mixed venous and arterial leg ulcers

The objective of this study was to identify symptom clusters and their effect on quality of life (QOL) of adults with chronic leg ulcers of mixed venous and arterial aetiology. A secondary analysis of data from four existing prospective longitudinal studies conducted by a wound healing research group in Australia was undertaken. A total of 110 patients who met the inclusion criteria were selected for this study. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to identify symptom clusters and correlational analyses to examine relationships between the identified symptom clusters and QOL. The EFA identified two distinct symptom clusters: a 'systemic symptom cluster' consisting of pain, fatigue and depressive symptoms; and a 'localised-leg symptom cluster' including pain, fatigue, oedema, lower limb inflammation and exudate. Physical QOL correlated significantly with the systemic symptom cluster (r = -0·055, P < 0·0001) and the localised-leg symptom cluster (r = -0·054, P < 0·0001), whereas mental QOL was associated only with the systemic symptom cluster (r = -0·038, P = 0·01). The results suggest that appropriate intervention strategies targeting specific symptom clusters should be developed. Targeting patients with symptom clusters is particularly important because they are at high risk and the most vulnerable for reduced QOL.

Submission to KPMG review of the Federal Government Initiative to “analyse dementia program and services funded by the Department of Social Services"

The comments I make are based on my nearly twenty years involvement in the dementia cause at both a national and international level. In preparation, I read two papers namely the Ministerial Dementia Forum – Option Paper produced by KPMG Management Consultants (2014) and Analysis of Dementia Programmes and Services Funded by the Department of Social Services: Conversation Starter prepared by KPMG as a preparation document for those attending a workshop in Brisbane on April 22nd 2015. Dementia is a complex “syndrome” and as is often said, “when you meet one person with dementia, you have met one” meaning that no two persons with dementia are the same. Even in dementia care, Australia is a “lucky country” and there is much to be said for the quality and diversity of dementia care available for people living with dementia. Despite this, I agree with the many views expressed in the material I read that there is scope for improvement, especially in the way that services are coordinated. In saying that, I do not purport to have all the solutions nor claim to have the knowledge required to comment on all the programs covered by this review. If I appear to be a “biased” advocate for Alzheimer’s Australia across the States and Territories, it is because I have seen constant evidence of ordinary people doing extraordinary things with inadequate resources. Dementia care is not cheap and if those funding dementia services are primarily only interested in economic outcomes and benefits, the real purpose of this consultation will be defeated. In addition, nowhere in the material I have read is there any recognition that in many instances program funding is a complex mix of government (at all levels) and private funding. This makes reviewing those programs more complex and less able to be coordinated at a Departmental level. It goes without saying therefore that the Federal Government is not” the only player in this game”. Of all those participating in this review, Alzheimer’s Australia is best placed to comment on programs as it is more connected to people living with dementia and has probably the best record of consulting with them. It would appear however that their role has been reduced to that of a “bit player”. Without wanting to be critical, the Forum Report which deals with the comments made at a gathering of 70 individuals and organisations, only three (3) or 4.28% were actual carers of people living with dementia. Even if it is argued that a number of organisations present represented consumers, the percentage goes up only marginally to 8.57% which is hardly an endorsement of the forum being “consumer driven”. The predominance of those present were service providers, each with their own agenda and each seeking advantage for their “business”. The final point I want to make before commenting on more specific, program related issues, is that many programs being reviewed have a much longer history than is reflected in the material I have read. Their growth and development was pioneered by Alzheimer’s Australia organisations across the country often with no government funding. Attempts to bring about better coordination of programs were often at the behest of Alzheimer’s Australia but in the main were ignored. The opportunity to now put this right is long overdue.

Hertzian Tales: Electronic Products, Aesthetic Experience, and Critical Design

Anthony Dunne’s Hertzian Tales is an exploration of the aesthetic and conceptual aspects of industrial design and its potential to bring about social change for the users of electronic objects. It is a provoking and – to first-time readers – positively alarming social commentary on the interrelationship between electronic product design and culture, and the powerful but largely under-explored potential of electronic innovation to trigger social awareness. Hertzian Tales proposes an innovative approach to critical design and therefore serves as a reflection on and a critique of the commercial design practices at large. In this second edition, Dunne reiterates the original rationale for his project: a concern that the majority of industrial designers have unwittingly joined a treadmill culture of post-industrial mass-production – turning out electronic goods that have long simply met the brief of an optimally functioning and eagerly consumable technology.

Mood enhancement using smartphone apps

The significant physical, emotional, educational and social developmental challenges faced by adolescents and young adults are associated with high levels of emotional vulnerability. Thus, the development and use of effective emotion-regulation strategies during this period is critical. Music listening is commonly used by young people to identify, express, enhance and regulate their emotions. Modern mobile technology provides an engaging, easily accessible means of assisting young people with identifying and managing emotions through music. A systematic contextual review of iPhone applications addressing emotions through music was conducted. Their quality was evaluated by two independent raters using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS). Three participatory design workshops (PDW; N=13, 6 males, 7 females; age 15-25) were conducted, exploring young people’s use of music to enhance wellbeing. Young people were also asked to trial existing mood and music apps and to conceptualise their ultimate mood-targeting music application. Of the identified 117 music apps, 20 met inclusion criteria (to play songs, not sounds; priced below $5.00). Characteristics and overall quality of the music apps are described and key features of the five highest- rating apps are presented. Thematic analysis of the PDW content identified the following music affect- regulation strategies: relationship building, modifying cognitions, modifying emotions, and immersing in emotions (i.e. habituation or mood enhancement). The application of key learnings from the mobile app review and PDW to the design and development of the new music eScape app will be presented. Implications for future research and for applying the new app in clinical practice are discussed.

The cost and time effectiveness of osseointegration compared to the traditional socket prosthesis

Individuals with limb amputation fitted with conventional socket-suspended prostheses often experience socket related discomfort leading to a significant decrease in quality of life.[1-14] Most of these concerns can be overcome with osseointegration, a direct skeletal fixation method where the prosthetic componentry are directly attached to the fixation, resulting in the redundancy of the traditional socket system. There are two stages of osseointegration; Stage one, a titanium implant is inserted into the marrow space of residual limb bone and Stage two, a titanium extension is attached to the fixture. This surgical procedure is currently blooming worldwide, particularly within Queensland. Whilst providing improvements in quality of life, this new method also has potential to minimise the cost required for an amputee to ambulate during daily living. Thus, the aim of this project was to compare the differences in mean cost of services, cost of componentry and labour hours when using osseointegration compared to traditional socket-based prostheses. Data were extracted from Queensland Artificial Limb Services (QALS) database to determine cost of services, type of services and labour hours required to maintain a prosthetic limb. Five trans-femoral amputee male participants (age 46.4±10.1 yrs; height 175.4±16.3 cm; mass 83.8±14.0 kg; time since second stage 22.0± 8.1 mths) met inclusion criteria which was patient had to be more than 12 months post stage two osseointegration procedure. The socket and osseointegration prosthesis variables examined were the mean hours of labour, mean cost of services and mean cost of prosthetic componentry. Statistical analyses were conducted using an ANOVA. The results identified that there were only significant differences in the number of labour hours (p = 0.005) and cost of services (p = 0.021) when comparing the socket and osseointegration prosthetic type. These results identified that the cost of componentry were comparable between the two methods.

Open access spatial data and collaboration

On 19 June 2015, representatives from over 40 Australian research institutions gathered in Canberra to launch their Open Data Collections. The one day event, hosted by the Australian National Data Service (ANDS), showcased to government and a range of national stakeholders the rich variety of data collections that have been generated through the Major Open Data Collections (MODC) project. Colin Eustace attended the showcase for QUT Library and presented a poster that reflected the work that he and Jodie Vaughan generated through the project. QUT’s Blueprint 4, the University’s five-year institutional strategic plan, outlines the key priorities of developing a commitment to working in partnership with industry, as well as combining disciplinary strengths with interdisciplinary application. The Division of Technology, Information and Learning Support (TILS) has undertaken a number of Australian National Data Service (ANDS) funded projects since 2009 with the aim of developing improved research data management services within the University to support these strategic aims. By leveraging existing tools and systems developed during these projects, the Major Open Data Collection (MODC) project delivered support to multi-disciplinary collaborative research activities through partnership building between QUT researchers and Queensland government agencies, in order to add to and promote the discovery and reuse of a collection of spatially referenced datasets. The MODC project built upon existing Research Data Finder infrastructure (which uses VIVO open source software, developed by Cornell University) to develop a separate collection, Spatial Data Finder (https://researchdatafinder.qut.edu.au/spatial) as the interface to display the spatial data collection. During the course of the project, 62 dataset descriptions were added to Spatial Data Finder, 7 added to Research Data Finder and two added to Software Finder, another separate collection. The project team met with 116 individual researchers and attended 13 school and faculty meetings to promote the MODC project and raise awareness of the Library’s services and resources for research data management.

The psychosocial purpose of driving and its relationship with the risky driving behaviour of young novice drivers

Background The overrepresentation of young drivers in road crashes, injuries and fatalities around the world has resulted in a breadth of injury prevention efforts including education, enforcement, engineering, and exposure control. Despite multifaceted intervention, the young driver problem remains a challenge for injury prevention researchers, practitioners and policy-makers. The intractable nature of young driver crash risks suggests that a deeper understanding of their car use – that is, the purpose of their driving – is required to inform the design of more effective young driver countermeasures. Aims This research examined the driving purpose reported by young drivers, including the relationship with self-reported risky driving behaviours including offences. Methods Young drivers with a Learner or Provisional licence participated in three online surveys (N1 = 656, 17–20 years; N2 = 1051, 17–20 years; N3 = 351, 17–21 years) as part of a larger state-wide project in Queensland, Australia. Results A driving purpose scale was developed (the PsychoSocial Purpose Driving Scale, PSPDS), revealing that young drivers drove for psychosocial reasons such as for a sense of freedom and to feel independent. Drivers who reported the greatest psychosocial purpose for driving were more likely to be male and to report more risky driving behaviours such as speeding. Drivers who deliberately avoided on-road police presence and reported a prior driving-related offence had significantly greater PSPDS scores, and higher reporting of psychosocial driving purposes was found over time as drivers transitioned from the supervised Learner licence phase to the independent Provisional (intermediate) licence phase. Discussion and conclusions The psychosocial needs met by driving suggest that effective intervention to prevent young driver injury requires further consideration of their driving purpose. Enforcement, education, and engineering efforts which consider the psychosocial purpose of the driving are likely to be more efficacious than those which presently do not. Road safety countermeasures could reduce the young driver’s exposure to risk through such mechanisms as encouraging the use of public transport.

Physical activity and screen-time of childhood hematopoietic stem cell transplant survivors

Aim Reduced bone mineral density, impaired cardiovascular fitness, and increased risk of obesity are well-known late effects of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) in survivors of childhood cancer. These comorbidities can be mitigated through physical activity and limiting screen-time (ST). This study aims to increase the understanding of physical activity and ST behaviours for children following HSCT. Method Children were recruited from two oncology follow-up clinics and completed a questionnaire on their physical activity levels and screen-time. Children were classified as short (≤2yrs) and long term (>2yrs) survivors. Results Fifty-eight children were eligible, of whom forty children age 6 to 18 years (60% males) participated in the study. Less than half (47.5%) met the daily recommendations for physical activity and one third met the ST recommendations. Late survivors reported higher daily physical activity and less ST than early survivors. Among late survivors, females reported higher daily physical activity and less ST than males. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the majority of children following HSCT were not sufficiently active and had excessive screen-time; however this was comparable to healthy populations. Appropriately designed physical activity and screen-time intervention programs should be explored early following transplant for children undergoing HSCT.

Using simplified peer review processes to fund research: A prospective study

Objective: To prospectively test two simplified peer review processes, estimate the agreement between the simplified and official processes, and compare the costs of peer review. Design, participants and setting: A prospective parallel study of Project Grant proposals submitted in 2013 to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia. The official funding outcomes were compared with two simplified processes using proposals in Public Health and Basic Science. The two simplified processes were: panels of 7 reviewers who met face-to-face and reviewed only the nine-page research proposal and track record (simplified panel); and 2 reviewers who independently reviewed only the nine-page research proposal (journal panel). The official process used panels of 12 reviewers who met face-to-face and reviewed longer proposals of around 100 pages. We compared the funding outcomes of 72 proposals that were peer reviewed by the simplified and official processes. Main outcome measures: Agreement in funding outcomes; costs of peer review based on reviewers’ time and travel costs. Results: The agreement between the simplified and official panels (72%, 95% CI 61% to 82%), and the journal and official panels (74%, 62% to 83%), was just below the acceptable threshold of 75%. Using the simplified processes would save $A2.1–$A4.9 million per year in peer review costs. Conclusions: Using shorter applications and simpler peer review processes gave reasonable agreement with the more complex official process. Simplified processes save time and money that could be reallocated to actual research. Funding agencies should consider streamlining their application processes.