Preliminary reliability and validity testing of a self-efficacy questionnaire for Chinese family caregivers

Objectives: To develop and test preliminary reliability and validity of a Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Chinese Family Caregivers (SEQCFC). Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 196 family caregivers (CGs) of people with dementia (CGs) was conducted to determine the factor structure of a SEQCFC of people with dementia. Following factor analyses, preliminary testing was performed, including internal consistency, 4-week test retest reliability, and construct and convergent validity. Results: Factor analyses with direct oblimin rotation were performed. Eight items were removed and five subscales(selfefficacy for gathering information about treatment, symptoms and health care; obtaining support; responding to behaviour disturbances; managing household, personal and medical care; and managing distress associated with caregiving) were identified. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the whole scale and for each subscale were all over 0.80. The 4-week testretest reliabilities for the whole scale and for each subscale ranged from 0.64 to 0.85. The convergent validity was acceptable. Conclusions: Evidence for the preliminary testing of the SEQCFC was encouraging. A future follow-up study using confirmatory factor analysis with a new sample from different recruitment centres in Shanghai will be conducted. Future psychometric property testings of the questionnaire will be required for CGs from other regions of mainland China.

Legal practitioners’ negligence liability for claim investigation and advice

Nigam v Harm (No 2) [2011] WASCA 221, Western Australia Court of Appeal, 18 October 2011

ICT in vocational education and training: a view of information and communication technology in vocational education in New Zealand

This report looks at opportunities in relation to what is either already available or starting to take off in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). ICT focuses on the entire system of information, communication, processes and knowledge within an organisation. It focuses on how technology can be implemented to serve the information and communication needs of people and organisations. An ICT system involves a combination of work practices, information, people and a range of technologies and applications organised to make the business or organisation fully functional and efficient, and to accomplish goals in an organisation. Our focus is on vocational, workbased education in New Zealand. It is not about eLearning, although we briefly touch on the topic. We provide a background on vocational education in New Zealand, cover what we consider to be key trends impacting workbased, vocational education and training (VET), and offer practical suggestions for leveraging better value from ICT initiatives across the main activities of an Industry Training Organisation (ITO). We use a learning value chain approach to demonstrate the main functions ITOs engage in and also use this approach as the basis for developing and prioritising an ICT strategy. Much of what we consider in this report is applicable to the wider tertiary education sector as it relates to life-long learning. We consider ICT as an enabler that: a) connects education businesses (all types including tertiary education institutions) to learners, their career decisions and their learning, and as well, b) enables those same businesses to run more efficiently. We suggest that these two sets of activities are considered as interconnected parts of the same education or training business ICT strategy.

An evaluation of corpus-driven measures of medical concept similarity for information retrieval

Measures of semantic similarity between medical concepts are central to a number of techniques in medical informatics, including query expansion in medical information retrieval. Previous work has mainly considered thesaurus-based path measures of semantic similarity and has not compared different corpus-driven approaches in depth. We evaluate the effectiveness of eight common corpus-driven measures in capturing semantic relatedness and compare these against human judged concept pairs assessed by medical professionals. Our results show that certain corpus-driven measures correlate strongly (approx 0.8) with human judgements. An important finding is that performance was significantly affected by the choice of corpus used in priming the measure, i.e., used as evidence from which corpus-driven similarities are drawn. This paper provides guidelines for the implementation of semantic similarity measures for medical informatics and concludes with implications for medical information retrieval.

Measurement of environmental constructs in disability assessment instruments

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) assumes a biopsychosocial basis for disability and provides a framework for understanding how environmental factors contribute to the experience of disability. To determine the utility of prevalent disability assessment instruments, the authors examined the extent to which a range of such instruments addressed the impact of environmental factors on the individual and whether the instruments designed for different disability groups focused differentially on the environment. Items from 20 widely used disability assessment instruments were linked to the five chapters of the ICF environment component using standardized classification rules. Nineteen of the 20 instruments reviewed measured the environment to varying degrees. It was determined that environmental factors from the Natural Environment and Attitudes chapters were not well accommodated by the majority of instruments. Instruments developed for people with intellectual disabilities had the greatest environmental coverage. Only one instrument provided a relatively comprehensive and economical account of environmental barriers. The authors conclude that ICF classification of environmental factors provides a valuable resource for evaluating the environmental content of existing disability-related instruments, and that it may also provide a useful framework for revising instruments in use and for developing future disability assessment instruments.

Leveraging R&D Investment for the Australian Built Environment : Industry Report

The overarching goal of this project is to better match funding strategies to industry needs to maximise the benefits of R&D to Australia’s infrastructure and building industry. Project partners are: Queensland Department of Public Works; Queensland Transport and Main Roads; Western Australian Department of Treasury and Finance; John Holland; Queensland University of Technology; Swinburne University of Technology; and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (Prof Göran Roos). This project has been endorsed by the Australian Built Environment Industry Innovation Council (BEIIC) with Council member Prof Catherin Bull serving on this project’s Steering Committee. This project seeks to: (i) maximise the value of R&D investment in this sector through improved understanding of future industry research needs; and (ii) address the perceived problem of a disproportionately low R&D investment in this sector, relative to the size and national importance of the sector. This research will develop new theory built on open innovation, dynamic capabilities and absorptive capacity theories in the context of strategic foresighting and roadmapping activities. Four project phases have been designed to address this research: 1: Audit and analysis of R&D investment in the Australian built environment since 1990 - access publically available data relating to R&D investments across Australia from public and private organisations to understand past trends. 2: Examine diffusion mechanisms of research and innovation and its impact on public and private organisations – investigate specific R&D investments to determine the process of realising research support, direction-setting, project engagement, impacts and pathways to adoption. 3: Develop a strategic roadmap for the future of this critical Australian industry - assess the likely future landscapes that R&D investment will both respond to and anticipate. 4: Develop policy to maximise the value of R&D investments to public and private organisations – through translating project learnings into policy guidelines.

Building essential BPM capabilities to assist successful ICT deployment in the developing context : observations and recommendations from Sri Lanka

The role of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has been identified as an important factor by the United Nations in achieving the millennium development goals (UNAPCICT, 2012)1. The potential for ICT has been identified as a means to reducing poverty, creating global communities by providing access to the internet and mobile networks to rural communities, improving education services, medical services, and information availability. As of today, significant amounts of funds have been invested by the governments and donor organizations in ‘Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D)’projects by establishing telecenters, e-villages, e-health, electronic and mobile banking, and egovernment systems for citizens in general, and more specifically, rural communities to bridge the digital divide (Heeks & Molla, 2009).

Support for patients with hepatitis C : An exploratory qualitative study of medical specialists’ perceptions

Objective: To explore the range of meanings about the role of support for patients with hepatitis C by examining medical specialists' perceptions. Method: The study employed a qualitative, open-ended interview design and was conducted in four major teaching hospitals in Adelaide, South Australia. Eight participants (three infectious disease physicians, four gastroenterologists, one hepatologist), selected through purposive sampling, were interviewed about general patient support, their role in support provision, the role of non-medical support and their reasons for not using support services. Results: Main themes included a focus on support as information provision and that patient education is best carried out by a medical specialist. The use of support services was defined as the patient's decision. Participants identified four key periods when patients would benefit from support; during diagnosis, failure to meet treatment criteria, during interferon treatment and following treatment failure. Conclusions: It was concluded that while barriers exist to the establishment of partnerships between specialists and other support services, this study has identified clear points at which future partnerships could be established. Implications: A partnership approach to developing support for patients with hepatitis C offers a systematic framework to facilitate the participation of health professionals and the community in an important area of public health.

Australia's disabling income support system : tracing the history of the Australian disability income support system 1908 to 2007 : disablism, citizenship and the basic income proposal

The present study examined the historical basis of the Australian disability income support system from 1908 to 2007. Although designed as a safety net for people with a disability, the disability income support system within Australia has been highly targeted. The original eligibility criteria of "permanently incapacitated for work", medical criteria and later "partially capacitated for work" potentially contained ideological inferences that permeated across the time period. This represents an important area for study given the potential consequence for disability income support to marginalise people with a disability. Social policy and disability policy theorists, including Saunders (2007, Social Policy Research Centre [SPRC]) and Gibilisco (2003) have provided valuable insight into some of the effects of disability policy and poverty. Yet while these theorists argued for some form of income support they did not propose a specific form of income security for further exploration. Few studies have undertaken a comprehensive review of the history of disability income support within the Australian context. This thesis sought to redress these gaps by examining disability income support policy within Australia. The research design consisted of an in-depth critical historical-comparative policy analysis methodology. The use of critical historical-comparative policy analysis allowed the researcher to trace the construction of disability within the Australian disability income support policy across four major historical epochs. A framework was developed specifically to guide analysis of the data. The critical discourse analysis method helped to understand the underlying ideological dimensions that led to the predominance of one particular approach over another. Given this, the research purpose of the study centred on: i. Tracing the history of the Australian disability income support system. ii. Examining the historical patterns and ideological assumptions over time. iii. Exploring the historical patterns and ideological assumptions underpinning an alternative model (Basic Income) and the extent to which each model promotes the social citizenship of people with a disability. The research commitment to a social-relational ontology and the quest for social change centred on the idea that "there has to be a better way" in the provision of disability income support. This theme of searching for an alternative reality in disability income support policy resonated throughout the thesis. This thesis found that the Australian disability income support system is disabling in nature and generates categories of disability on the basis of ableness. From the study, ableness became a condition for citizenship. This study acknowledged that, in reality, income support provision reflects only one aspect of the disabling nature of society which requires redressing. Although there are inherent tensions in any redistributive strategy, the Basic Income model potentially provides an alternative to the Australian disability income support system, given its grounding in social citizenship. The thesis findings have implications for academics, policy-makers and practitioners in terms of developing better ways to understand disability constructs in disability income support policy. The thesis also makes a contribution in terms of promoting income support policies based on the rights of all people, not just a few.

Food policy, dietary intakes and chronic disease in prisons

International research on prisoners demonstrates poor health outcomes, including chronic disease, with the overall burden to the community high. Prisoners are predominantly male and young. In Australia, the average incarceration length is 3 years, sufficient to impact long term health, including nutrition. Food in prisons is highly controlled, yet gaps exist in policy. In most Western countries prisons promote healthy foods, often incongruent with prisoner expectations or wants. Few studies have been conducted on dietary intakes during incarceration in relation to food policy. In this study detailed diet histories were collected on 120/945 men (mean age = 32 years), in a high-secure prison. Intakes were verified via individual purchase records, mealtime observations, and audits of food preparation, purchasing and holdings. Physical measurements (including fasting bloods) were taken and medical records reviewed. Results showed the standard food provided consistent with current dietary guidelines, however limited in menu choice. Diet histories revealed self-funded foods contributing 1–63% of energy (mean = 30%), 0–83% sugar (mean = 38%), 1–77% saturated fats (mean = 31%) and 1–59% sodium (mean = 23%). High levels of modification to food provided was found using minimal cooking amenities and inclusion of self-funded foods and/or foods retained from previous meals. Medical records and physical measurements confirmed markers of chronic disease. This study highlights the need to establish clear guidelines on all food available in prisons if chronic disease risk reduction is a goal. This study has also supported evidenced based food and nutrition policy including menu choice, food quality, quantity and safety as well as type and access to self-funded foods.

Improved estimates of percolation and anisotropic permeability from 3-D X-ray microtomography using stochastic analyses and visualization

X-ray microtomography (micro-CT) with micron resolution enables new ways of characterizing microstructures and opens pathways for forward calculations of multiscale rock properties. A quantitative characterization of the microstructure is the first step in this challenge. We developed a new approach to extract scale-dependent characteristics of porosity, percolation, and anisotropic permeability from 3-D microstructural models of rocks. The Hoshen-Kopelman algorithm of percolation theory is employed for a standard percolation analysis. The anisotropy of permeability is calculated by means of the star volume distribution approach. The local porosity distribution and local percolation probability are obtained by using the local porosity theory. Additionally, the local anisotropy distribution is defined and analyzed through two empirical probability density functions, the isotropy index and the elongation index. For such a high-resolution data set, the typical data sizes of the CT images are on the order of gigabytes to tens of gigabytes; thus an extremely large number of calculations are required. To resolve this large memory problem parallelization in OpenMP was used to optimally harness the shared memory infrastructure on cache coherent Non-Uniform Memory Access architecture machines such as the iVEC SGI Altix 3700Bx2 Supercomputer. We see adequate visualization of the results as an important element in this first pioneering study.

Menopause as a long-term risk to health : implications of general practitioner accounts of prevention for women’s choice and decision-making

Over the past two decades medical researchers and modernist feminist researchers have contested the meaning of menopause. In this article we examine various meanings of menopause in major medical and feminist literature and the construction of menopause in a semi-structured interview study of general practitioners in rural South Australia. Three discursive themes are identified in these interviews; (i) the hormonal menopause – symptoms, risk, prevention; (ii) the informed menopausal woman; and (iii) decision-making and hormone replacement therapy. By using the discourse of prevention, general practitioners construct menopause in relation to women's health care choices, empowerment and autonomy. We argue that the ways in which these concepts are deployed by general practitioners in this study produces and constrains the options available to women. The implications of these general practitioner accounts are discussed in relation to the proposition that medical and feminist descriptions of menopause posit alternative but equally-fixed truths about menopause and their relationship with the range of responses available to women at menopause. Social and cultural explanations of disease causality (c.f.Germov 1998, Hardey 1998) are absent from the new menopause despite their being an integral part of the framework of the women's health movement and health promotion drawn on by these general practitioners. Further, the shift of responsibility for health to the individual woman reinforces practice claims to empower women, but oversimplifies power relations and constructs menopause as a site of self-surveillance. The use of concepts from the women's health movement and health promotion have nevertheless created change in both the positioning of women as having ‘choices’ and the positioning of some general practitioners in terms of greater information provision to women and an attention to the woman's autonomy. In conclusion, we propose that a new menopause has evolved from a discursive shift in medicine and that there exists within this new configuration, claiming the empowerment of women as an integral part of health care for menopause, the possibility for change in medical practice which will broaden, strengthen, and maintain this position.

Hepatitis C and policy implementation : ethics as a dialogic process for resource allocation

Hepatitis C, which was first identified in 1988, has become an important issue for public health as epidemiological and clinical evidence has emerged. These disciplines have highlighted the extent of infection and its medical consequences. Now, governments at both the state and federal levels are sifting through this evidence and are attempting to create structures to deal with the problem of hepatitis C. These structures have generally taken the form of expert committees and working parties organised from established medical, scientific and public health bodies...

Conflict and communication among engineers

The trend of cultural diversity is increasing in all organizations, especially engineering ones, due to globalization, mergers, joint ventures and the movement of the workforce. The collaborative nature of projects in engineering industries requires long-term teamwork between local and international engineers. Research confirms a specific culture among engineering companies that isassumed to have a negative effect on collaboration and communication among co-workers. Multicultural workplaces have been reported as challenging environments in the engineering work culture, which calls for more research among engineering organizations. An everyday challenge for co-workers, especially in culturally diverse contexts, is handling interpersonal conflict. This perceived conflict among individuals can happen because of actual differences in tasks or relationships. Research demonstrates that task conflict at the group level has some positive effects on decision-making and innovation, while it has negative effects on employees’ work attitude and performance. However, relationship conflict at the individual level has only negative effects including frustration, tension, low job satisfaction, high employee turnover and low productivity. Outcomes of both task and relationship conflict at individual level can have long-term negative consequences like damaged organizational commitment. One of the most important sources of differences between individuals, which results in conflict, is their cultural backgrounds. First, this thesis suggests that in culturally diverse workplaces, people perceive more relationship conflict than task conflict. Second, this thesis examines interpersonal communication in culturally diverse work places. Communicating effectively in culturally diverse workplaces is crucial for today’s business. Culture has a large effect on the ways that people communicate with each other. Ineffective communication can escalate interpersonal conflict and cause frustration in the long term. Communication satisfaction, defined as enjoying the communication and feeling that the communication was appropriate and effective, has a positive effect on individuals’ psychological wellbeing. In a culturally diverse workplace, it is assumed that individuals feel less satisfied with their interpersonal communications because of their lack of knowledge about other cultures’ communication norms. To manage interpersonal interactions, many authors suggest that individuals need a specific capability, i.e., cultural intelligence (some studies use cultural competence, global intelligence or intercultural competence interchangeably). Some authors argue that cultures are synergic and convergent and the postmodernist definition of culture is just our dominant beliefs. However, other authors suggest that cultural intelligence is the strongest and most comprehensive competency for managing cross-cultural interactions, because various cultures differ so greatly at the micro level. This thesis argues that individuals with a high level of cultural intelligence perceive less interpersonal conflict and more satisfaction with their interpersonal communication. Third, this thesis also looks at individuals' perception of cultural diversity. It is suggested that level of cultural diversity plays a moderating role on all of the proposed relationships (effect of cultural intelligence on perception of relationship conflict/ communication satisfaction) This thesis examines the relationship among cultural diversity, cultural intelligence, interpersonal conflict and communication by surveying eleven companies in the oil and gas industry. The multicultural nature of companies within the oil and gas industry and the characteristics of engineering culture call for more in-depth research on interpersonal interactions. A total of 286 invitation emails were sent and 118 respondents replied to the survey, giving a 41.26 per cent response rate. All the respondents were engineers, engineering managers or practical technicians. The average age of the participants was 36.93 years and 58.82 per cent were male. Overall, 47.6 per cent of the respondents had at least a master’s degree. Totally, 42.85 per cent of the respondents were working in a country that was not their country of birth. The overall findings reveal that cultural diversity and cultural intelligence significantly influence interpersonal conflict and communication satisfaction. Further, this thesis also finds that cultural intelligence is an effective competency for dealing with the perception of interpersonal relationship conflict and communication satisfaction when the level of cultural diversity is moderate to high. This thesis suggests that cultural intelligence training is necessary to increase the level of this competency among employees in order to help them to have better understanding of other cultures. Human resource management can design these training courses with consideration for the level of cultural diversity within the organization.