Career counseling people of African ancestry

One of the most important challenges facing the career counseling profession is developing effective strategies to counsel racially diverse individuals. Understanding the role of racial factors in career counseling requires an understanding of the impact of race on the development and identification of career concerns (Leong & Hartung, 1997 ). This chapter invites an understanding of career counseling with a focus on people of African ancestry. There is scant literature on the career development and career counseling of people of African ancestry including African Americans. This paucity of literature is explained, in part, by the fact that people of African ancestry have unique histories of being excluded from a broad range of human services, including career counseling. This chapter considers career counseling with people of African ancestry. First, the chapter explores how the African cultural belief of Ubuntu may influence individuals and then considers its possible influence on career counseling. Second,the chapter considers how cultural contexts may impact on the career counseling of individuals of African ancestry, specifically African Americans and African immigrants. Finally, social justice and narrative approaches to career counseling are examined as a means to address the needs of people of African ancestry in a range of cultural settings.

Meeting the Food Needs of Queensland’s Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Aged Population: A Review of the Literature

This report summarises research undertaken by Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, in partnership with Diversicare, on ‘Meeting the cultural food needs of Queensland’s Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) aged’. An earlier literature review[6] summarised the state of the evidence in relation to Australia’s CALD aged population and their less than optimal usage of Home and Community Care services (HACC), in particular, food services. This report builds on the information presented in the literature review aiming to explore the current provision of food services to CALD clients and the barriers and enablers to this service provision in Queensland.

Non-invasive identification of proteoglycans and chondrocyte differentiation state by Raman microspectroscopy

Proteoglycans (PGs) are crucial extracellular matrix (ECM) components that are present in all tissues and organs. Pathological remodeling of these macromolecules can lead to severe diseases such as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. To date, PG-associated ECM alterations are routinely diagnosed by invasive analytical methods. Here, we employed Raman microspectroscopy, a laser-based, marker-free and non-destructive technique that allows the generation of spectra with peaks originating from molecular vibrations within a sample, to identify specific Raman bands that can be assigned to PGs within human and porcine cartilage samples and chondrocytes. Based on the non-invasively acquired Raman spectra, we further revealed that a prolonged in vitro culture leads to phenotypic alterations of chondrocytes, resulting in a decreased PG synthesis rate and loss of lipid contents. Our results are the first to demonstrate the applicability of Raman microspectroscopy as an analytical and potential diagnostic tool for non-invasive cell and tissue state monitoring of cartilage in biomedical research. ((c) 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim).

‘I always look under the bed for a man’. Needs and barriers to the expression of sexuality in residential aged care: the views of residents with and without dementia

Objectives: This qualitative study canvassed residents' perceptions of the needs and barriers to the expression of sexuality in long-term care. Methods: Sixteen residents, including five with dementia, from six aged care facilities in two Australian states were interviewed. Data were analysed using a constant comparative method. Results: Four categories describe residents' views about sexuality, their needs and barriers to its expression: ‘It still matters’; ‘Reminiscence and resignation’, ‘It's personal’, and ‘It's an unconducive environment’. Discussion: Residents, including those with dementia, saw themselves as sexual beings and with a continuing need and desire to express their sexuality. The manner in which it was expressed varied. Many barriers to sexual expression were noted, including negative attitudes of staff, lack of privacy and limited opportunities for the establishment of new relationships or the continuation of old ones. Interviewees agreed that how a resident expressed their sexuality was their business and no one else's.

A multivariate approach to the identification of surrogate parameters for heavy metals in stormwater

Stormwater is a potential and readily available alternative source for potable water in urban areas. However, its direct use is severely constrained by the presence of toxic pollutants, such as heavy metals (HMs). The presence of HMs in stormwater is of concern because of their chronic toxicity and persistent nature. In addition to human health impacts, metals can contribute to adverse ecosystem health impact on receiving waters. Therefore, the ability to predict the levels of HMs in stormwater is crucial for monitoring stormwater quality and for the design of effective treatment systems. Unfortunately, the current laboratory methods for determining HM concentrations are resource intensive and time consuming. In this paper, applications of multivariate data analysis techniques are presented to identify potential surrogate parameters which can be used to determine HM concentrations in stormwater. Accordingly, partial least squares was applied to identify a suite of physicochemical parameters which can serve as indicators of HMs. Datasets having varied characteristics, such as land use and particle size distribution of solids, were analyzed to validate the efficacy of the influencing parameters. Iron, manganese, total organic carbon, and inorganic carbon were identified as the predominant parameters that correlate with the HM concentrations. The practical extension of the study outcomes to urban stormwater management is also discussed.

Curriculum, assessment teaching and learning for all

This chapter explores how the culture of classrooms and schools can acknowledge diversity and meet all learning needs. Classroom and school culture can and should enhance the belonging and learning of all students. Understanding of learning, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment influences the ways teachers consider their expectations of student achievement and participation in school. We revisit the theory of social constructionism to emphasise the development of shared and valued curriculum, which meets all learner needs. Decisions about what to teach, how to teach and assess, and what supports student needs are important considerations discussed in this chapter. Key messages drawn from the Australian and New Zealand curriculum reinforce the need to ensure education responds to the diversity of students in classrooms. A range of models of pedagogy that have influenced education in Australia and New Zealand are presented, with a particular focus on meeting the needs of students who have disabilities. In addition, the issues related to student and teacher identity, the importance of respectful partnerships that acknowledge family knowledge, and respectful collaboration are discussed. Belonging to a community of learners is made possible through teachers forming authentic relationships with students and their families. In turn, these relationships support teachers to understand how the students in their classrooms learn, and to know their students’ strengths and interests.

Rail incident investigator training: Is there support for a standardised Australasian training framework?

Background: Historically rail organisations have been operating in silos and devising their own training agendas. However with the harmonisation of the Australian workplace health and safety legislation and the appointment of a national rail safety regulator in 2013, rail incident investigator experts are exploring the possibility of developing a unified approach to investigator training. Objectives: The Australian CRC for Rail Innovation commissioned a training needs analysis to identify if common training needs existed between organisations and to assess support for the development of a national competency framework for rail incident investigations. Method: Fifty-two industry experts were consulted to explore the possibility of the development of a standardised training framework. These experts were sourced from within 19 Australasian organisations, comprising Rail Operators and Regulators in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and New Zealand. Results: Although some competency requirements appear to be organisation specific, the vast majority of reported training requirements were generic across the Australasian rail operators and regulators. Industry experts consistently reported strong support for the development of a national training framework. Significance: The identification of both generic training requirements across organisations and strong support for standardised training indicates that the rail industry is receptive to the development of a structured training framework. The development of an Australasian learning framework could: increase efficiency in course development and reduce costs; establish recognised career pathways; and facilitate consistency with regards to investigator training.

Craving : a research update [Editorial to a special issue]

Craving has long been associated with addictive disorders. It has received much attention over the last two decades, partly through the advent of pharmacotherapies that attempt to address it (Jonson, 2008; Yahyavi-Firouz-Abadi & See, 2009). More recently, craving for substances has attained increased prominence, with the inclusion of “Craving or a strong desire or urge” in the draft of DSM-5 (APA, 2012). Studies generally support craving as occurring on a single diagnostic dimension alongside existing dependence criteria (Hasin, et al., 2012; Keyes, et al., 2011). Some (e.g. Keyes, et al., 2011) demonstrate that the addition of craving to DSM-IV alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence criteria contributes novel variance in predicting severity, and improves discrimination above that offered by existing DSM-IV criteria. Within the current volume, the paper by Agrawal et al. confirms that craving strongly loads on a single dimension that also incorporates DSM-IV alcohol dependence criteria. Craving was a relatively severe symptom: It was least often endorsed, and did not exceed 50% endorsement until 6 of the remaining 7 criteria were present...

Whole life cycle costing for Malaysia high-rise residential building : a needs?

The continuous growth of high-rise residential properties indicates that there is a need for an effective property management system to provide a sustainable high-rise residential property development. As intensive as these studies are, they do not attempt to investigate the correlation between property management systems with the trends of Malaysia high-rise residential property development. By examining the trends and scenario of Malaysia high-rise residential property development, this paper aims to gain an understanding of impacts from the effectiveness of property management in this scope area. Findings from this scoping paper will assist in providing a greater understanding and possible solutions for the current Malaysian property management systems for the expanding high-rise residential unit market.

Incident investigation training needs for the Australasian rail industry

A core component for the prevention of re-occurring incidents within the rail industry is rail safety investigations. Within the current Australasian rail industry, the nature of incident investigations varies considerably between organisations. As it stands, most of the investigations are conducted by the various State Rail Operators and Regulators, with the more major investigations in Australia being conducted or overseen by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). Because of the varying nature of these investigations, the current training methods for rail incident investigators also vary widely. While there are several commonly accepted training courses available to investigators in Australasia, none appear to offer the breadth of development needed for a comprehensive pathway. Furthermore, it appears that no single training course covers the entire breadth of competencies required by the industry. These courses range in duration between a few days to several years, and some were run in-house while others are run by external consultants or registered training organisations. Through consultations with rail operators and regulators in Australasia, this paper will identify capabilities required for rail incident investigation and explore the current training options available for rail incident investigators.

Identification of evidence-based biospecimen quality-control tools

Control of biospecimen quality that is linked to processing is one of the goals of biospecimen science. Consensus is lacking, however, regarding optimal sample quality-control (QC) tools (ie, markers and assays). The aim of this review was to identify QC tools, both for fluid and solid-tissue samples, based on a comprehensive and critical literature review. The most readily applicable tools are those with a known threshold for the preanalytical variation and a known reference range for the QC analyte. Only a few meaningful markers were identified that meet these criteria, such as CD40L for assessing serum exposure at high temperatures and VEGF for assessing serum freeze-thawing. To fully assess biospecimen quality, multiple QC markers are needed. Here we present the most promising biospecimen QC tools that were identified.

miRDeep*: an integrated application tool for miRNA identification from RNA sequencing data

miRDeep and its varieties are widely used to quantify known and novel micro RNA (miRNA) from small RNA sequencing (RNAseq). This article describes miRDeep*, our integrated miRNA identification tool, which is modeled off miRDeep, but the precision of detecting novel miRNAs is improved by introducing new strategies to identify precursor miRNAs. miRDeep* has a user-friendly graphic interface and accepts raw data in FastQ and Sequence Alignment Map (SAM) or the binary equivalent (BAM) format. Known and novel miRNA expression levels, as measured by the number of reads, are displayed in an interface, which shows each RNAseq read relative to the pre-miRNA hairpin. The secondary pre-miRNA structure and read locations for each predicted miRNA are shown and kept in a separate figure file. Moreover, the target genes of known and novel miRNAs are predicted using the TargetScan algorithm, and the targets are ranked according to the confidence score. miRDeep* is an integrated standalone application where sequence alignment, pre-miRNA secondary structure calculation and graphical display are purely Java coded. This application tool can be executed using a normal personal computer with 1.5 GB of memory. Further, we show that miRDeep* outperformed existing miRNA prediction tools using our LNCaP and other small RNAseq datasets. miRDeep* is freely available online at http://www.australianprostatecentre.org/research/software/mirdeep-star

Identification of 23 new prostate cancer susceptibility loci using the iCOGS custom genotyping

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in males in developed countries. To identify common prostate cancer susceptibility alleles, we genotyped 211,155 SNPs on a custom Illumina array (iCOGS) in blood DNA from 25,074 prostate cancer cases and 24,272 controls from the international PRACTICAL Consortium. Twenty-three new prostate cancer susceptibility loci were identified at genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10−8). More than 70 prostate cancer susceptibility loci, explaining ~30% of the familial risk for this disease, have now been identified. On the basis of combined risks conferred by the new and previously known risk loci, the top 1% of the risk distribution has a 4.7-fold higher risk than the average of the population being profiled. These results will facilitate population risk stratification for clinical studies.