Finding My Way: Protocol of a randomised controlled trial evaluating an internet self-help program for cancer-related distress

Background A cancer diagnosis elicits greater distress than any other medical diagnosis, and yet very few studies have evaluated the efficacy of structured online self-help therapeutic programs to alleviate this distress. This study aims to assess the efficacy over time of an internet Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (iCBT) intervention (‘Finding My Way’) in improving distress, coping and quality of life for individuals with a recent diagnosis of early stage cancer of any type. Methods/Design The study is a multi-site Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) seeking to enrol 188 participants who will be randomised to either the Finding My Way Intervention or an attention-control condition. Both conditions are delivered online; with 6 modules released once per week, and an additional booster module released one month after program-completion. Participants complete online questionnaires on 4 occasions: at baseline (immediately prior to accessing the modules); post-treatment (immediately after program-completion); then three and six months later. Primary outcomes are general distress and cancer-specific distress, with secondary outcomes including Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL), coping, health service utilisation, intervention adherence, and user satisfaction. A range of baseline measures will be assessed as potential moderators of outcomes. Eligible participants are individuals recently diagnosed with any type of cancer, being treated with curative intent, aged over 18 years with sufficient English language literacy, internet access and an active email account and phone number. Participants are blinded to treatment group allocation. Randomisation is computer generated and stratified by gender. Discussion Compared to the few prior published studies, Finding My Way will be the first adequately powered trial to offer an iCBT intervention to curatively treated patients of heterogeneous cancer types in the immediate post-diagnosis/treatment period. If found efficacious, Finding My Way will assist with overcoming common barriers to face-to-face therapy in a cost-effective and accessible way, thus helping to reduce distress after cancer diagnosis and consequently decrease the cancer burden for individuals and the health system. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12613000001​796 16.10.13

Constrained linear minimax filter for systems with large plant uncertainties

This paper presents a method of designing a minimax filter in the presence of large plant uncertainties and constraints on the mean squared values of the estimates. The minimax filtering problem is reformulated in the framework of a deterministic optimal control problem and the method of solution employed, invokes the matrix Minimum Principle. The constrained linear filter and its relation to singular control problems has been illustrated. For the class of problems considered here it is shown that the filter can he constrained separately after carrying out the mini maximization. Numorieal examples are presented to illustrate the results.

A new approach for fixed point smoothing in linear distributed parameter systems

In this paper, we solve the distributed parameter fixed point smoothing problem by formulating it as an extended linear filtering problem and show that these results coincide with those obtained in the literature using the forward innovations method.

Recommendation of Multimedia Objects Using Metadata and Link Analysis

We investigate methods for recommending multimedia items suitable for an online multimedia sharing community and introduce a novel algorithm called UserRank for ranking multimedia items based on link analysis. We also take the initiative of applying EigenRumor from the domain of blogosphere to multimedia. Furthermore, we present a strategy for making personalized recommendation that combines UserRank with collaborative filtering. We evaluate our method with an informal user study and show that results obtained are promising.

Using Web2.0 applications to close the digital divide in Western Australia

The research reported in this paper documents the use of Web2.0 applications with six Western Australian schools that are considered to be regional and/or remote. With a population of two million people within an area of 2,525,500 square kilometres Western Australia has a number of towns that are classified as regional and remote. Each of the three education systems have set up telecommunications networks to improve learning opportunities for students and administrative services for staff through a virtual private network (VPN) with access from anywhere, anytime and ultimately reduce the feeling of professional and social dislocation experienced by many teachers and students in the isolated communities. By using Web2.0 applications including video conferencing there are enormous opportunities to close the digital divide within the broad directives of the Networking the Nation plan. The Networking the Nation plan aims to connect all Australians regardless of where they are hence closing the digital divide between city and regional living. Email and Internet facilities have greatly improved in rural, regional and remote areas supporting every day school use of the Internet. This study highlights the possibilities and issues for advanced telecommunications usage of Web2.0 applications discussing the research undertaken with these schools. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)

A heterogeneous computing approach to simulation of the Heston Stochastic Volatility Model

Stochastic volatility models are of fundamental importance to the pricing of derivatives. One of the most commonly used models of stochastic volatility is the Heston Model in which the price and volatility of an asset evolve as a pair of coupled stochastic differential equations. The computation of asset prices and volatilities involves the simulation of many sample trajectories with conditioning. The problem is treated using the method of particle filtering. While the simulation of a shower of particles is computationally expensive, each particle behaves independently making such simulations ideal for massively parallel heterogeneous computing platforms. In this paper, we present our portable Opencl implementation of the Heston model and discuss its performance and efficiency characteristics on a range of architectures including Intel cpus, Nvidia gpus, and Intel Many-Integrated-Core (mic) accelerators.

Seeking continuity: Educational strategy in and for mobile ADF families

This report shares findings and insights from an interview study conducted in 2009, with 34 ADF families. These families were identified in the communities of primary schools in both state and Catholic systems with high ADF family enrolments in 3 towns across 2 states, with the assistance of the DCO and their embedded Defence School Transition Aides (DSTAs). In the interviews the parents were invited to describe their history of ADF relocations, and how they managed transitions for each member in terms of school choice, child care arrangements, spouse employment, and educational transitions. Parallel interviews were conducted with 12 teachers and 6 DSTAs across the identified schools to describe how schools cater for mobile ADF families flowing through their classes. Parents were invited to tell the story of their family’s sequence of moves and how each member made the transition, then reflect more generally on what advice they’d give other mobile families. Teachers were asked to describe how they respond to the mobile families in their school community, and to illustrate some of the issues and challenges from the institutional perspective. By offering perspectives from both parents and teachers, the report hopes to facilitate a dialogue between parties to address their common goal – promoting productive continuities in education for children in mobile families.

A Generalized Approach to Multiresolution Complex SAR Signal Processing

Multiresolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image formation has been proven to be beneficial in a variety of applications such as improved imaging and target detection as well as speckle reduction. SAR signal processing traditionally carried out in the Fourier domain has inherent limitations in the context of image formation at hierarchical scales. We present a generalized approach to the formation of multiresolution SAR images using biorthogonal shift-invariant discrete wavelet transform (SIDWT) in both range and azimuth directions. Particularly in azimuth, the inherent subband decomposition property of wavelet packet transform is introduced to produce multiscale complex matched filtering without involving any approximations. This generalized approach also includes the formulation of multilook processing within the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) paradigm. The efficiency of the algorithm in parallel form of execution to generate hierarchical scale SAR images is shown. Analytical results and sample imagery of diffuse backscatter are presented to validate the method.

The impact of Indigenous Community sports programs: The case of surfing

The objective of this research project was to consider the social impact of sport and physical activity on the lives of Indigenous Australians and their communities. There has been strong research interest in the links between sport and recreation programs and various health and social outcomes and a well-established body of literature exists on the use of sport to address social issues in mainstream society (A Thomson, Darcy and Pearce 2010). The consensus is that physical activity is an important contributor to health for all people (Nelson, Abbott and Macdonald 2010). While there is strong research interest, what remains unclear is the value and impact of sport and physical activity on Indigenous communities (Cairnduff 2001). Nelson (2009) drawing on the work of Jonas and Langton (1994) indicates that an ‘Aboriginal person is a descendant of an Indigenous inhabitant of Australia, identifi es as an Aboriginal, and is recognised as Aboriginal by members of the community in which he or she lives’ (p. 97). Even this defi nition has the potential to be politically charged. At a general level, the collective terms ‘Indigenous’ (capitalised) and ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’ people (title capitalised) appear to be broadly acceptable terms. Indigenous groups cannot be considered to be homogenous as there is much diversity between and within groups (Nelson et al. 2010; Parker et al. 2006). It is therefore important this report is not viewed as taking an essentialist view of who Indigenous people are and how they develop. Rather, this paper attempts to describe and discuss the experiences of some individuals and their communities in site-specifi c surfi ng programs.

A semi-analytical particle filter for identification of nonlinear oscillators

Particle filters find important applications in the problems of state and parameter estimations of dynamical systems of engineering interest. Since a typical filtering algorithm involves Monte Carlo simulations of the process equations, sample variance of the estimator is inversely proportional to the number of particles. The sample variance may be reduced if one uses a Rao-Blackwell marginalization of states and performs analytical computations as much as possible. In this work, we propose a semi-analytical particle filter, requiring no Rao-Blackwell marginalization, for state and parameter estimations of nonlinear dynamical systems with additively Gaussian process/observation noises. Through local linearizations of the nonlinear drift fields in the process/observation equations via explicit Ito-Taylor expansions, the given nonlinear system is transformed into an ensemble of locally linearized systems. Using the most recent observation, conditionally Gaussian posterior density functions of the linearized systems are analytically obtained through the Kalman filter. This information is further exploited within the particle filter algorithm for obtaining samples from the optimal posterior density of the states. The potential of the method in state/parameter estimations is demonstrated through numerical illustrations for a few nonlinear oscillators. The proposed filter is found to yield estimates with reduced sample variance and improved accuracy vis-a-vis results from a form of sequential importance sampling filter.

Content-based birdcall retrieval from environmental audio

This research investigates techniques to analyse long duration acoustic recordings to help ecologists monitor birdcall activities. It designs a generalized algorithm to identify a broad range of bird species. It allows ecologists to search for arbitrary birdcalls of interest, rather than restricting them to just a very limited number of species on which the recogniser is trained. The algorithm can help ecologists find sounds of interest more efficiently by filtering out large volumes of unwanted sounds and only focusing on birdcalls.

Bombs away: Visual thinking and students’ engagement in design studios contexts

In design studio, sketching or visual thinking is part of processes that assist students to achieve final design solutions. At QUT’s First and Third Year industrial design studio classes we engage in a variety of teaching pedagogies from which we identify ‘Concept Bombs’ as instrumental in the development of students’ visual thinking and reflective design process, and also as a vehicle to foster positive student engagement. In First year studios our Concept Bombs’ consist of 20 minute individual design tasks focusing on rapid development of initial concept designs and free-hand sketching. In Third Year studios we adopt a variety of formats and different timing, combining individual and team based tasks. Our experience and surveys tell us that students value intensive studio activities especially when combined with timely assessment and feedback. While conventional longer-duration design projects are essential for allowing students to engage with the full depth and complexity of the design process, short and intensive design activities introduce variety to the learning experience and enhance student engagement. This paper presents a comparative analysis of First and Third Year students’ Concept Bomb sketches to describe the types of design knowledge embedded in them, a discussion of limitations and opportunities of this pedagogical technique, as well as considerations for future development of studio based tasks of this kind as design pedagogies in the midst of current university education trends.

Deploying speaker verification techniques to vision-based RPA detect and avoid

Detect and Avoid (DAA) technology is widely acknowledged as a critical enabler for unsegregated Remote Piloted Aircraft (RPA) operations, particularly Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS). Image-based DAA, in the visible spectrum, is a promising technological option for addressing the challenges DAA presents. Two impediments to progress for this approach are the scarcity of available video footage to train and test algorithms, in conjunction with testing regimes and specifications which facilitate repeatable, statistically valid, performance assessment. This paper includes three key contributions undertaken to address these impediments. In the first instance, we detail our progress towards the creation of a large hybrid collision and near-collision encounter database. Second, we explore the suitability of techniques employed by the biometric research community (Speaker Verification and Language Identification), for DAA performance optimisation and assessment. These techniques include Detection Error Trade-off (DET) curves, Equal Error Rates (EER), and the Detection Cost Function (DCF). Finally, the hybrid database and the speech-based techniques are combined and employed in the assessment of a contemporary, image based DAA system. This system includes stabilisation, morphological filtering and a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) temporal filter.

An adaptive decomposition method for video

Scalable video coding (SVC) is an emerging standard built on the success of advanced video coding standard (H.264/AVC) by the Joint video team (JVT). Motion compensated temporal filtering (MCTF) and Closed loop hierarchical B pictures (CHBP) are two important coding methods proposed during initial stages of standardization. Either of the coding methods, MCTF/CHBP performs better depending upon noise content and characteristics of the sequence. This work identifies other characteristics of the sequences for which performance of MCTF is superior to that of CHBP and presents a method to adaptively select either of MCTF and CHBP coding methods at the GOP level. This method, referred as "Adaptive Decomposition" is shown to provide better R-D performance than of that by using MCTF or CRBP only. Further this method is extended to non-scalable coders.

Block Convolution Using Discrete Trigonometric Transforms and Discrete Fourier Transform

We derive expressions for convolution multiplication properties of discrete cosine transform II (DCT II) starting from equivalent discrete Fourier transform (DFT) representations. Using these expressions, a method for implementing linear filtering through block convolution in the DCT II domain is presented. For the case of nonsymmetric impulse response, additional discrete sine transform II (DST II) is required for implementing the filter in DCT II domain, where as for a symmetric impulse response, the additional transform is not required. Comparison with recently proposed circular convolution technique in DCT II domain shows that the proposed new method is computationally more efficient.