The crash involvement of older drivers is associated with their hazard perception latencies

Hazard perception in driving is the one of the few driving-specific skills associated with crash involvement. However, this relationship has only been examined in studies where the majority of individuals were younger than 65. We present the first data revealing an association between hazard perception and self-reported crash involvement in drivers aged 65 and over. In a sample of 271 drivers, we found that individuals whose mean response time to traffic hazards was slower than 6.68 seconds (the ROC-curve derived pass mark for the test) were 2.32 times (95% CI 1.46, 3.22) more likely to have been involved in a self-reported crash within the previous five years than those with faster response times. This likelihood ratio became 2.37 (95% CI 1.49, 3.28) when driving exposure was controlled for. As a comparison, individuals who failed a test of useful field of view were 2.70 (95% CI 1.44, 4.44) times more likely to crash than those who passed. The hazard perception test and the useful field of view measure accounted for separate variance in crash involvement. These findings indicate that hazard perception testing and training could be potentially useful for road safety interventions for this age group.

Entertainment industries at university : designing a curriculum

Universities have not traditionally trained students to work as producers in the entertainment industries. This key entertainment role involves balancing creativity, business and legal skills in order to generate and run entertainment projects. Queensland University of Technology has recently introduced a program to train students for these jobs. The program is interdisciplinary, drawing on expertise from the Creative Industries, Law and Business faculties. This Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) article details the course learning outcomes developed from extensive industry and academic consultation, and addresses some of the difficulties involved in developing such an interdisciplinary teaching program.

Microblogging as a literacy practice for educational communities

Microblogging is an emergent adolescent and adult literacy practice that has become popularized through platforms such as Twitter, Plurk and Jaiku, in the rise of Web 2.0 – “the social web”. Yet the potentials of microblogging for literacy learning in educational contexts is currently underexplored in the research and literature. This article draws on new research with 150 adolescent and adult participants in school and university contexts, which was made possible through cross-disciplinary collaboration between specialists English and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) educators. Strategies are provided for teachers to establish their own microblogging networks, with suggested activities to enhance the literacy learning of adolescents in educational contexts.

Towards making a difference through a university-TAFE partnership : mentoring potential teacher aides

Universities promote partnerships as an investment of social capital that may benefit communities. Mentoring of university students in schools has become key to induction of education workplace practices. One such arrangement is the mentoring of students from TAFE who endeavour to become teacher aides. However, there is no theoretical model for mentoring teacher aides and, similar to mentoring preservice teachers, such practices vary in quality and quantity. What are mentors’ perceptions of mentoring potential teacher aides within school settings? This mixed-method research involves a survey with extended responses. The aim is to determine practices and strategies for mentoring potential teacher aides (PTAs). Results indicated that PTAs require induction about the school culture and infrastructure, which includes ethics, values, operational plans, awareness of facilities and a range of other inductions that would aid the PTA’s work practices. Findings also revealed that many of the mentoring practices employed for preservice teachers may be used for mentoring PTAs in school settings. Indeed, mentors require personal attributes to facilitate the mentoring process. They also indicated outlining the education system requirements as fundamental to workplace operations. In addition, as most PTAs work with students in the classroom, the mentor’s pedagogical knowledge can further assist PTAs to develop an understanding of effective pedagogical practices, particularly for small groups or one-on-one sessions. Finally, a mentor’s modelling of practices and providing constructive feedback about the PTA’s practices can assist the development of workplace operations. In conclusion, the survey employed in this study may assist organisations to develop protocols of practice for workplace mentors. PTAs require mentors who are versed in effective mentoring practices that can more readily guide them towards success.

Changing perceptions of preservice teachers : innovations in middle schooling teacher education

For the past twenty years, the disengagement of early adolescents has been the focus of much of the literature related to middle schooling. In response, some universities in Australia have introduced teacher education programs that focus upon graduating specialised middle schooling teachers. Constructing such programs is at the centre of much debate and discussion, however, it is advocated that positive futures for early adolescents can be enhanced through quality middle schooling teacher education programs (Education Queensland, 2004). At a Queensland university campus, middle schooling elective units were introduced as part of the Bachelor of Education (primary) degree. The design of the units was to support preservice teachers to gain the theoretical and pedagogical knowledge to engage and promote early adolescent learning. An innovative approach to the delivery of the units was promoted by a partnership agreement between local schools and the campus. The partnership allowed preservice teachers to combine university classes with opportunities to visit exemplary classrooms to observe, participate and reflect upon middle school teaching practices. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the 38 first-year preservice teachers’ perceptions of their first middle schooling elective unit and to ascertain whether the combination of university classes and school-based experiences assisted their development of middle schooling concepts and approaches. Data were gathered using pre-test and post-test questionnaires combined with guided written reflections to record their views before, after and during the unit delivery. Results indicated that initially 34 preservice teachers had little understanding of middle schooling concepts and pedagogical practices, however, 11 participants recognised that bullying and peer pressure were issues experienced by early adolescents. The collation of the written reflections supported the combined delivery of the middle years unit further supporting the inclusion of school experiences with university delivered units.

Gaseous air pollution and emergency hospital visits for hypertension in Beijing, China : a time-stratified case-crossover study

Background: A number of epidemiological studies have been conducted to research the adverse effects of air pollution on mortality and morbidity. Hypertension is the most important risk factor for cardiovascular mortality. However, few previous studies have examined the relationship between gaseous air pollution and morbidity for hypertension. ---------- Methods: Daily data on emergency hospital visits (EHVs) for hypertension were collected from the Peking University Third Hospital. Daily data on gaseous air pollutants (sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)) and particulate matter less than 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10) were collected from the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center. A time-stratified case-crossover design was conducted to evaluate the relationship between urban gaseous air pollution and EHVs for hypertension. Temperature and relative humidity were controlled for. ---------- Results: In the single air pollutant models, a 10 μg/m3 increase in SO2 and NO2 were significantly associated with EHVs for hypertension. The odds ratios (ORs) were 1.037 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.004-1.071) for SO2 at lag 0 day, and 1.101 (95% CI: 1.038-1.168) for NO2 at lag 3 day. After controlling for PM10, the ORs associated with SO2 and NO2 were 1.025 (95% CI: 0.987-1.065) and 1.114 (95% CI: 1.037-1.195), respectively.---------- Conclusion: Elevated urban gaseous air pollution was associated with increased EHVs for hypertension in Beijing, China.

Creating Active Futures : Edited Proceedings of the 26th ACHPER International Conference

Physical inactivity has become a major cause of the global increase in non-communicable disease (World Health Organisation, 2009}. In 2008, the World Economic Forum called for employers to be proactive in the prevention of non-communicable diseases in the workforce. A significant contributor to the development of a healthy workforce is a reliable pool of employees who are receptive to and aware of healthy lifestyle practices even before becoming employed. Health and Physical Education (HPE) is often stereotyped as 'doing sport'. However, if HPE is to play a part in the development of a healthy workforce, then the HPE learning environment must be about creating meaningful learning for all, which is clearly more than the creation of elite athletes. The ultimate aim of health and physical educators must be about 1) developing lifelong and habitual physical activity; 2) developing generic physical skills; 3) inspiring holistic and positive emotional attitudes and 4) instilling a focus on evidence based knowledge as a framework for inspiring active citizenship. As a response to the worldwide move to the development of healthier people, Australia currently has a strong momentum for an expanded and more unified role for HPE within a potential National curriculum. Other countries have engaged in such a process and much can be learned from their experiences of the process. The 2009 Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (ACHPER) conference was a landmark conference that included an International group of experts from all continents and twenty three countries. Creating Active Futures: Edited Proceedings of the 26th ACHPER International Conference is an amalgamation of research and professional perspectives presented at the conference. The papers in this volume emerged from those presented for peer review, rather than through seeking specific articles. This volume is divided into sections based on the five conference themes: 1) Issues in Health and Physical Education (HPE) Pedagogy; 2) Practical Application of Science in HPE; 3) Lifestyle Enhancement; 4) Developing Sporting Excellence; 5) Contemporary Games Teaching. The 'Issues in HPE Pedagogy' section provides a diverse set of perspectives on teaching HPE with papers from a range of topics that include first aid, philosophy, access, cultural characteristics, methods and teaching styles, curriculum, qualifications and emotional development. The second section links science to teaching HPE and provides a range of valuable information on injury prevention, information technology, personality and skill development. Section 3 is a collection of writings and research about Lifestyle Enhancement. Topics include the important role of adventure, the natural world, curriculum, migrant viewpoints, beliefs and globally focused programs in the development of active citizens. The section on sporting excellence contains papers that undertake to explain an aspect of excellence in sport. The last section of this volume highlights some contemporary views on teaching games.

Resorbable composite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

Bone loss associated with trauma osteo-degenerative diseases and tumors has tremendous socioeconomic impact related to personal and occupation disability and health care costs. Bone grafting is often critical to surgical therapies. Autogenous bone is presently the preferred grafting material; however, this holds several disadvantages such as donor site morbidity. In the present climate of increasing life expectancy with an ensuing increase in bone-related injuries, orthopaedic surgery is undergoing a paradigm shift from bone-grafting to bone engineering, where a scaffold is implanted to provide adequate load bearing and enhance tissue regeneration. Our group at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have developed, characterised and tested polycaprolactone/ tricalcium phosphate (PCL/TCP) composite scaffolds for low load-bearing bone defects. These scaffolds are being further developed for application in higher load bearing sites. Our approach emphasizes the importance of the biomaterials’ structural design, the scaffold architecture and structural and nutritional requirements for cell culture. These first-generation scaffolds made from medical grade PCL (mPCL) have been studied for more than 5 years within a clinical setting 1. This paper describes the application of second-generation scaffolds in small and large animal bone defect models and the ensuing bone regeneration as shown by histology and µCT.

The development of Lactococcus lactis as an antimicrobial agent

Non-pathogenic lactic acid bacteria are economically important Gram-positive bacteria used extensively in the food industry. Due to their “generally regarded as safe” status, certain species from the genera Lactobacillus and Lactococcus are also considered desirable as candidates for the production and secretion of recombinant proteins, particular those with therapeutic applications. The hypothesis examined by this thesis is that Lactococcus lactis can be modified to be an effective antimicrobial agent. Therefore, the aims of this thesis were to investigate the optimisation of the expression, secretion and/or activities of potential heterologous antimicrobial proteins by the model lactic acid bacterium, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris MG1363. L. lactis strains were engineered to express and secrete the recombinant CyuC surface protein from Lactobacillus reuteri BR11, and a fusion protein consisting of CyuC and lysostaphin using the Sep promoter and secretion signal. CyuC has been characterised as a cystine-binding protein, but has also been demonstrated to have fibronectin binding activity. Lysostaphin is a bacteriolytic enzyme with specific activity against the Gram-positive pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus. These modified L. lactis strains were then investigated to see if they had the ability to inhibit the adhesion of S. aureus to host extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. It was observed that the cell extracts of the L. lactis strain with the vector only (pGhost9:ISS1) was able to inhibit the adhesion of S. aureus to fibronectin, whilst the cell extracts of the L. lactis strain expressing lysostaphin was able to inhibit adhesion to keratin. Finally, this thesis has identified specific lactococcal genes that affect the secretion of lysostaphin through the use of random transposon mutagenesis. Ten mutants with higher lysostaphin activity contained insertions in four different genes encoding: (i) an uncharacterised putative transmembrane protein (llmg_0609), (ii) an enzyme catalysing the first step in peptidoglycan biosynthesis (murA2), (iii) a homolog of the oxidative defence regulator (trmA), and (iv) an uncharacterised putative enzyme involved in ubiquinone biosynthesis (llmg_2148). The higher lysostaphin activity observed in these mutants was found to be due to higher amounts of lysostaphin being secreted. The findings of this thesis contribute to the development of this organism as an antimicrobial agent and also to our understanding of L. lactis genetics.

Urban informatics

The increasing ubiquity of digital technology, internet ser-vices and social media in our everyday lives allows for a seamless transitioning between the visible and the invisible infrastructure of cities: road systems, building complexes, information and communication technology, and people networks create a buzzing environment that is alive and exciting. Driven by curiosity, initiative and interdiscipli-nary exchange, the Urban Informatics Research Lab at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Australia, is an emerging cluster of people interested in research and development at the intersection of people, place and technology with a focus on cities, locative media and mobile technology. This paper seeks to define, for the first time, what we mean by ‘urban informatics’ and outline its significance as a field of study today. It describes the relevant background and trends in each of the areas of peo-ple, place and technology, and highlights the relevance of urban informatics to the concerns and evolving challenges of CSCW. We then position our work in academia juxta-posed with related research concentrations and labels, fol-lowed by a discussion of disciplinary influences. The paper concludes with an exposé of the three current research themes of the lab around augmented urban spaces, urban narratives, and environmental sustainability in order to illustrate specific cases and methods, and to draw out distinctions that our affiliation with the Creative Industries Faculty affords.

Impacts and adaptation response of infrastructure and communities to heatwaves : the southern Australian experience of 2009

From 27 January to 8 February during the summer of 2009, southern Australia experienced one of the nation‘s most severe heatwaves. Governments, councils, utilities, hospitals and emergency response organisations and the community were largely underprepared for an extreme event of this magnitude. This case study targets the experience and challenges faced by decision makers and policy makers and focuses on the major metropolitan areas affected by the heatwave — Melbourne and Adelaide. The study examines the 2009 heatwave‘s characteristics; its impacts (on human health, infrastructure and human services); the degree of adaptive capacity (vulnerability and resilience) of various sectors, communities and individuals; and the reactive responses of government and emergency and associated services and their effectiveness. Barriers and challenges to adaptation and increasing resilience are also identified and further areas for research are suggested. This study does not include details of the heatwave‘s effects beyond Victoria and South Australia, or its economic impacts, or of Victoria‘s 'Black Saturday‘ bushfires.

Influence of historic land use change on the biosphere-atmosphere-exchange of C and N trace gases in the humid, subtropical region of Queensland

Increases in atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) due to human activities have been linked to climate change. GHG emissions from land use change and agriculture have been identified as significant contributors to both Australia’s and the global GHG budget. This is expected to increase over the coming decades as rates of agriculture intensification and land use change accelerate to support population growth and food production. Limited data exists on CO2, CH4 and N2O trace gas fluxes from subtropical or tropical soils and land uses. To develop effective mitigation strategies a full global warming potential (GWP) accounting methodology is required that includes emissions of the three primary greenhouse gases. Mitigation strategies that focus on one gas only can inadvertently increase emissions of another. For this reason, detailed inventories of GHGs from soils and vegetation under individual land uses are urgently required for subtropical Australia. This study aimed to quantify GHG emissions over two consecutive years from three major land uses; a well-established, unfertilized subtropical grass-legume pasture, a 30 year (lychee) orchard and a remnant subtropical Gallery rainforest, all located near Mooloolah, Queensland. GHG fluxes were measured using a combination of high resolution automated sampling, coarser spatial manual sampling and laboratory incubations. Comparison between the land uses revealed that land use change can have a substantial impact on the GWP on a landscape long after the deforestation event. The conversion of rainforest to agricultural land resulted in as much as a 17 fold increase in GWP, from 251 kg CO2 eq. ha-1 yr-1 in the rainforest to 889 kg CO2 eq. ha-1 yr-1 in the pasture to 2538 kg CO2 eq. ha-1 yr-1 in the lychee plantation. This increase resulted from altered N cycling and a reduction in the aerobic capacity of the soil in the pasture and lychee systems, enhancing denitrification and nitrification events, and reducing atmospheric CH4 uptake in the soil. High infiltration, drainage and subsequent soil aeration under the rainforest limited N2O loss, as well as promoting CH4 uptake of 11.2 g CH4-C ha-1 day-1. This was among the highest reported for rainforest systems, indicating that aerated subtropical rainforests can act as substantial sink of CH4. Interannual climatic variation resulted in significantly higher N2O emission from the pasture during 2008 (5.7 g N2O-N ha day) compared to 2007 (3.9 g N2O-N ha day), despite receiving nearly 500 mm less rainfall. Nitrous oxide emissions from the pasture were highest during the summer months and were highly episodic, related more to the magnitude and distribution of rain events rather than soil moisture alone. Mean N2O emissions from the lychee plantation increased from an average of 4.0 g N2O-N ha-1 day-1, to 19.8 g N2O-N ha-1 day-1 following a split application of N fertilizer (560 kg N ha-1, equivalent to 1 kg N tree-1). The timing of the split application was found to be critical to N2O emissions, with over twice as much lost following an application in spring (emission factor (EF): 1.79%) compared to autumn (EF: 0.91%). This was attributed to the hot and moist climatic conditions and a reduction in plant N uptake during the spring creating conditions conducive to N2O loss. These findings demonstrate that land use change in subtropical Australia can be a significant source of GHGs. Moreover, the study shows that modifying the timing of fertilizer application can be an efficient way of reducing GHG emissions from subtropical horticulture.

Research adventures in Web 2.0 : encouraging collaborative local content creation through edgeX

The intersection of current arguments about the role of creative industries in economic development, online user-generated content, and the uptake of broadband in economically disadvantaged communities provides the content for this article. From 2006 to 2008 the authors carried out a research project in Ipswich, Queensland involving local creative practitioners and community groups in their development of edgeX, a Web-based platform for content uploads and social networking. The project aimed to explore issues of local identity and community building through online networking, as well as the possibilities for creating pathways from amateur to professional practice in the creative industries through the auspices of the Website. Set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing technological environment that has problematic implications for research projects aiming to build new online platforms, we present several case studies from the project to illustrate the challenges to participation experienced by people with limited access to, and literacy with, the Internet.

The blogification of Australian journalism? Notes from the election

My overall contention is that from Mark Latham to Grogsgate, from Tony’s speedos to Julia’s treasonous lack of handbags, Australian political journalism hasn’t exactly wowed us with the quality of its coverage these past months – with ample help, it should be noted, from the two sides of politics and the respective small target strategies themselves. Tim Dunlop has gone as far as to suggest that during the election we’ve seen politics and the media locked in a death spiral (http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/35594.html) – an observation we might want to take up in the panel discussion – but even without the dramatic language the overall tendency has been that of a race to the bottom in the quality of political discourse in this country, with very few exceptions. And as a result, trust in journalism – the professional esteem in which journalists are held by their audiences – has been steadily declining for some time. Australian journalists are hardly alone in this, of course: this decline is a dynamic which has been observed in many other nations, too.