Evaluating the use of ambient and tangible interaction approaches for personal indoor climate preferences [Extended Abstract]

In this paper we describe the preliminary results of a field study which evaluated the use of MiniOrb, a system that employs ambient and tangible interaction mechanisms to allow inhabitants of office environments to report on subjectively perceived office comfort levels. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of ubiquitous computing in the individual control of indoor climate and specifically answer the question to what extent ambient and tangible interaction mechanisms are suited for the task of capturing individual comfort preferences in a non-obtrusive manner. We outline the preliminary results of an in-situ trial of the system.

Salaries, recruitment, and retention for CRNA faculty - Part 1

The nature of differences in salaries between academic faculty and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) working in clinical positions using recently collected data are explored. The differences in median salaries among program directors, assistant program directors, academic faculty, and clinical faculty are large. Furthermore, survey results imply that the most important barrier to recruiting teaching faculty is salary differentials. Part 1 of this 2-part column discusses salaries, recruitment, and retention of CRNA faculty; Part 2, to be published in the June 2008 issue, will focus on clinical faculty contributions to the education of CRNAs.

Clinical faculty : major contributors to the education of new CRNAs - Part 2

This study examines the important contributions of clinical faculty toward the education of the future workforce of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). Differences in workload, work activities and income among clinical faculty, academic faculty and nonfaculty are examined. This is Part 2 of a 2-part column. Part 1, published in the April 2008 AANA Journal discussed salaries, recruitment, and retention of CRNA faculty.

Enhancing paramedics procedural skills using a cadaveric model

Background Paramedic education has evolved in recent times from vocational post-employment to tertiary pre-employment supplemented by clinical placement. Simulation is advocated as a means of transferring learned skills to clinical practice. Sole reliance of simulation learning using mannequin-based models may not be sufficient to prepare students for variance in human anatomy. In 2012, we trialled the use of fresh frozen human cadavers to supplement undergraduate paramedic procedural skill training. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether cadaveric training is an effective adjunct to mannequin simulation and clinical placement. Methods A multi-method approach was adopted. The first step involved a Delphi methodology to formulate and validate the evaluation instrument. The instrument comprised of knowledge-based MCQs, Likert for self-evaluation of procedural skills and behaviours, and open answer. The second step involved a pre-post evaluation of the 2013 cadaveric training. Results One hundred and fourteen students attended the workshop and 96 evaluations were included in the analysis, representing a return rate of 84%. There was statistically significant improved anatomical knowledge after the workshop. Students' self-rated confidence in performing procedural skills on real patients improved significantly after the workshop: inserting laryngeal mask (MD 0.667), oropharyngeal (MD 0.198) and nasopharyngeal (MD 0.600) airways, performing Bag-Valve-Mask (MD 0.379), double (MD 0.344) and triple (MD 0.326,) airway manoeuvre, doing 12-lead electrocardiography (MD 0.729), using McGrath(R) laryngoscope (MD 0.726), using McGrath(R) forceps to remove foreign body (MD 0.632), attempting thoracocentesis (MD 1.240), and putting on a traction splint (MD 0.865). The students commented that the workshop provided context to their theoretical knowledge and that they gained an appreciation of the differences in normal tissue variation. Following engagement in/ completion of the workshop, students were more aware of their own clinical and non-clinical competencies. Conclusions The paramedic profession has evolved beyond patient transport with minimal intervention to providing comprehensive both emergency and non-emergency medical care. With limited availability of clinical placements for undergraduate paramedic training, there is an increasing demand on universities to provide suitable alternatives. Our findings suggested that cadaveric training using fresh frozen cadavers provides an effective adjunct to simulated learning and clinical placements.

Visions and values : the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s prizing of picture books in the twenty-first century

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) administers the oldest national prize for children’s literature in Australia. Each year, the CBCA confers “Book of the Year” awards to literature for young people in five categories. In 2001, the establishment of an “Early Childhood” category opened up the venerable “Picture Book” category (first awarded in 1955) to books with an implied readership up to 18 years of age. As a result, this category has emerged in recent years as a highly visible space within which the CBCA can contest discourses of cultural marginalisation insofar as Australian (“colonial”) literature is constructed as inferior or adjunct to the major Anglophone literary traditions, and the consistent identification of children’s literature (and, indeed, of children) as lesser than its ‘adult’ counterparts. The CBCA is engaged in defining, evaluating, and legitimising a tradition of Australian children’s literature which is underpinned by a canonical impulse, and is a reflexive practice of self-definition, self-evaluation and self-legitimisation for the CBCA itself. While it is obviously problematic to identify award winners as a canon, it is equally obvious that literary prizing is a cultural practice derived from the logic of canonicity. In his discussion of the United States’s Newbery Medal, Kenneth Kidd notes that “Medal books are instant classics, the selection process an ostensible simulation of the test of time” (169) and that “the Medal is part of the canonical architecture of children's literature” (169). Thus, it is instructive to consider the visions and values of the national, of the social, and of the literary-aesthetic, in the picture books chosen by the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) as the “best” of the early twenty-first century. These books not only constitute a kind of canon for contemporary Australian children’s literature, but may well come to define what contemporary Australian children’s literature means in the wider literary field. The Book of the Year: Picture Book awards given by the CBCA since 2001 demonstrate that it is not only true of the Booker Prize that, “The choices of winning books reflect not only on the books themselves, then, but also back on the Prize, affecting its reputation and creating journalistic capital which is vital for the Prize to achieve its prominence and impact.” (81). Many of the twenty-first century CBCA award-winning picture books complicate traditional or comfortable understanding of Australianness, children’s literature, or “appropriate” modes of form and content, reminding us that “moments when texts resist or complicate recuperation into national discourses offer fruitful points for exploring the relationships between text and celebratory context” (Roberts 6). The CBCA has taken the opportunities offered by the liberation of the Picture Book category from an implied readership to challenge dominant constructions of children’s literature in Australia, and in so doing, are engaged in overt practices of canonicity with potentially long-lasting effects. Works Cited: Kidd, Kenneth. “Prizing Children’s Literature: The Case of Newbery Gold.” Children's Literature 35 (2007): 166-190. Roberts, Gillian. Prizing Literature: The Celebration and Circulation of National Culture. Toronto: U Toronto P, 2011. Squires, Claire. “Book Marketing and the Booker Prize.” Judging a Book by Its Cover: Fans, Publishers, Designers, and the Marketing of Fiction. Eds. Nicole Matthews and Nickianne Moody. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007. 71-82.

Insomnia : A Self Help Handbook

This book is a practical and useful tool for getting your sleep back on track. Even if you have suffered from insomnia for many years, this book contains simple, easy to learn strategies to manage your sleep loss through evidence-based techniques such as cognitive therapy and stimulus control. Dr. Sacre will guide you through these approaches and explain how they work and why they are recommended above other approaches. There is a chapter on special populations that tells you what to do if you are a shift worker, long distance traveller, parent, older adult, woman (including pregnancy and menopause) or an elite athlete. If you want to enjoy natural, healthy and satisfying sleep again, this handbook gives you all the tools you need to achieve it. You only need to have the motivation and discipline to apply the strategies and stick to them over time. This handbook first explains what normal sleep is all about and challenges some myths about sleep and insomnia. Then you will be guided through a thorough sleep assessment. Insomnia is then described in detail including different types of insomnia and the kinds of factors that contribute to sleep loss. Through the following chapters, you will be shown step-by-step what to do to bring about change in your sleeping patterns and habits, through addressing the factors that perpetuate poor sleep. These factors mainly revolve around unhelpful thinking, compensatory behaviors, poor sleep hygiene and environmental influences. These are all things that are within your control and Dr. Sacre will show you how. Dr. Sacre has worked in the fields of sleep health, mental health and addictive disorders for 25 years and over that time, she has encountered hundreds of people who have struggled with insomnia and sleep loss due to other causes. She currently heads the Therapy Programs department at Belmont Private Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, where there is an emphasis on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, including a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i) program. A psychologist and nurse, Dr. Sacre is a long-time member of the Australasian Sleep Association and the Australian Psychological Society. She has conducted research into the function of dreaming, online sleep surveys and the usefulness of sleep self-help guides for students, older adults and carers of people with dementia. She has also published on diverse topics, including the management of nightmares in war veterans. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane and lectures professionals, including psychologists, school counselors and psychiatrists, on sleep disorders and their management as well as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Natural history of corneal nerve morphology in mild neuropathy associated with type 1 diabetes : Development of a potential measure of diabetic peripheral neuropathy

Purpose To investigate longitudinal changes of subbasal nerve plexus (SNP) morphology and its relationship with conventional measures of neuropathy in individuals with diabetes. Methods A cohort of 147 individuals with type 1 diabetes and 60 age-balanced controls underwent detailed assessment of clinical and metabolic factors, neurologic deficits, quantitative sensory testing, nerve conduction studies and corneal confocal microscopy at baseline and four subsequent annual visits. The SNP parameters included corneal nerve fiber density (CNFD), branch density (CNBD) and fiber length (CNFL) and were quantified using a fully-automated algorithm. Linear mixed models were fitted to examine the changes in corneal nerve parameters over time. Results At baseline, 27% of the participants had mild diabetic neuropathy. All SNP parameters were significantly lower in the neuropathy group compared to controls (P<0.05). Overall, 89% of participants examined at baseline also completed the final visit. There was no clinically significant change to health and metabolic parameters and neuropathy measures from baseline to the final visit. Linear mixed model revealed a significant linear decline of CNFD (annual change rate, -0.9 nerve/mm2, P=0.01) in the neuropathy group compared to controls, which was associated with age (β=-0.06, P=0.04) and duration of diabetes (β=-0.08, P=0.03). In the neuropathy group, absolute changes of CNBD and CNFL showed moderate correlations with peroneal conduction velocity and cold sensation threshold, respectively (rs, 0.38 and 0.40, P<0.05). Conclusion This study demonstrates dynamic small fiber damage at the SNP, thus providing justification for our ongoing efforts to establish corneal nerve morphology as an appropriate adjunct to conventional measures of DPN.

Analysis of moderation practices in a large STEM-focused faculty

Moderation of assessment constitutes a crucial element of the learning and teaching process at the university. Yet, despite its importance, many academics have confusing beliefs and attitudes towards moderation practices, processes and procedures. This paper reports on a qualitative study conducted in a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-focused faculty at a large Australian higher education institution. The findings of the study revealed a strong need for further investigation on the ways moderation is understood and enacted by academics within a STEM-specific context and informed redevelopment of the faculty’s internal moderation policy.

Longitudinal assessment of corneal subbasal nerve morphology as a potential measure of diabetic peripheral neuropathy

This thesis represents a significant step forward in developing a validated measure for diabetic peripheral neuropathy – a debilitating and prevalent complication of diabetes. The candidate investigated corneal nerve structure in healthy people as well as in type 1 diabetic individuals in a 4-year longitudinal study. The outcomes of stability of the corneal small nerve fibre in healthy people and evidence of significant decline in diabetic individuals with peripheral neuropathy over time provide justification for the ongoing efforts to establish corneal nerve structure as an objective and appropriate adjunct to conventional measures of peripheral neuropathy.

The benefits of a self-management telephone based intervention for promoting exercise and healing rates for venous leg ulcer patients

Venous leg ulcers are a significant cause of chronic ill-health, whilst patients often experience reduced mobility and poor quality of life. This research investigated exercise as a tool for improving outcomes for adults with venous leg ulcers. The results showed that patients who adhere to an exercise program as an adjunct treatment to standard care are more likely to heal than those who do not adhere to an exercise program. This research has the potential to improve the health of venous leg ulcer patients and decrease health care costs.

Disciplining the screen through education: The Royal Commission into the moving picture industry in Australia

In this article, we investigate the complex relationship between concerns about children and young people’s exposure to cinema in 1920s Australia and the use of film in education. In part, the Royal Commission into the Moving Picture Industry in Australia aimed to ‘ascertain the effect and the extent of the power of film upon juveniles’ and Commissioners spoke to educationalists, psychologists, medical professions, police officers and parents to gain insight into the impacts of movies on children. Numerous issues were canvassed in the Commission hearings such as exposure to sexual content, ‘excesses’ in film content, children’s inability to concentrate at school following cinema attendance and the influence of cinema on youth crime. While the Commission ultimately suggested it was parents’ role to police children’s engagements with cinema, it did make recommendations for restricting children’s access to films with inappropriate themes. Meanwhile, the Commission was very positive about film’s educational role stating that ‘the advantage to be gained by the use of the cinematograph as an adjunct to educational methods should be assisted in every possible way by the Commonwealth’. We draw on the Commission’s minutes of evidence, the Commission report and newspaper articles form the 1920s to the 1940s to argue that the Commission provides valuable insight into the beginnings of the use of screen content in formal schooling, both as a resource across the curriculum and as a specific focus of education through film appreciation and, later, broader forms of media education. The article argues debates about screen entertainment and education rehearsed in the Commission are reflected today as parents, concerned citizens and educators ponder the dangers and potential of new media technologies and media content used by children and young people such as video games, social media and interactive content.

Acute inflammatory response to low-, moderate- and high-load resistance exercise in women with breast cancer-related lymphoedema

Background Resistance exercise is emerging as a potential adjunct therapy to aid in the management of breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL). However, the mechanisms underlying the relationships between the acute and long-term benefits of resistance exercise on BCRL are not well understood. Purpose. To examine the acute inflammatory response to upper-body resistance exercise in women with BCRL and to compare these effects between resistance exercises involving low-, moderate- and high-loads. The impact on lymphoedema status and associated symptoms was also compared. Methods Twenty-one women aged 62 ± 10 years with mild to severe BCRL participated in the study. Participants completed a low-load (15-20 repetition maximum), moderate-load (10-12 repetition maximum) and high-load (6-8 repetition maximum) exercise sessions consisting of three sets of six upper-body resistance exercises. Sessions were completed in a randomized order separated by a seven to 10 day wash-out period. Venous blood samples were obtained to assess markers of exercise-induced muscle damage and inflammation (creatine kinase [CK], C-reactive protein [CRP], interleukin-6 [IL-6] and tumour necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-α]). Lymphoedema status was assessed using bioimpedance spectroscopy and arm circumferences, and associated symptoms were assessed using visual analogue scales (VAS) for pain, heaviness and tightness. Measurements were conducted before and 24 hours after the exercise sessions. Results No significant changes in CK, CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α were observed following the low-, moderate- or high-load resistance exercise sessions. There were no significant changes in arm swelling or symptom severity scores across the three resistance exercise conditions. Conclusions The magnitude of acute exercise-induced inflammation following upper-body resistance exercise in women with BCRL does not vary between resistance exercise loads. Given these observations, moderate- to high-load resistance training is recommended for this patient population as these loads prompt superior physiological and functional benefits.

Ultrasound of paediatric appendicitis and its secondary sonographic signs: Providing a more meaningful finding

Sonography is an important clinical tool in diagnosing appendicitis in children as it can obviate both exposure to potentially harmful ionising radiation from computed tomography scans and the need for unnecessary appendicectomies. This review examines the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound in the identification of acute appendicitis, with a particular focus on the the utility of secondary sonographic signs as an adjunct or corollary to traditionally examined criteria. These secondary signs can be important in cases where the appendix cannot be identified with ultrasound and a more meaningful finding may be made by incorporating the presence or absence of secondary sonographic signs. There is evidence that integrating these secondary signs into the final ultrasound diagnosis can improve the utility of ultrasound in cases where appendicitis is expected, though there remains some conjecture about whether they play a more important role in negative or positive prediction in the absence of an identifiable appendix.

Sonography of paediatric appendicitis and its secondary signs

Sonographic diagnosis of appendicitis in children is an important clinical tool, often obviating the need for potentially harmful ionising radiation from computed tomography (CT) scans and unnecessary appendectomies. Established criteria do not commonly account for the sonographic secondary signs of acute appendicitis as an adjunct or corollary to an identifiably inflamed appendix. If one of, or combinations of these secondary signs are a reliable positive and/or negative indicator of the condition, diagnostic accuracy may be improved. This will be of particular importance in cases where the appendix cannot be easily identified, possibly providing referring clinicians with a less equivocal diagnosis. Acute appendicitis (AA) is the most common emergency presentation requiring surgical intervention among both adults and children. During 2010-11 in Australia 25000 appendicectomies were performed on adults and children, more than double the number of the next most common surgical procedure [1]. Ultrasound has been commonly used to diagnose AA since the 1980s, however the best imaging modality or combination of modalities to accurately and cost-effectively diagnose the condition is still debated. A study by Puylaert advocated ultrasound in all presentations [2], whereas others suggested it only as a first line modality [3–5]. Conversely, York et al state that it is not appropriate as it delays treatment [6]. CT has been shown to more accurately diagnose AA than ultrasound, however its inherent radiation risks warrant cautionary use in children [7]. Improved accuracy in the diagnosis of suspected AA using ultrasound would enable surgeons to make a decision without the need to expose children to the potentially harmful effects of CT. Secondary signs of appendicitis are well established [8], although research into their predictive values has only recently been undertaken [9,10] indicating their potential diagnostic benefit in the absence of an identifiable appendix. The purpose of this review is to examine the history of appendiceal sonography, established sonographic criteria, paediatric specific techniques and the predictive value of secondary signs.

Evaluation of haemoglobin in blister fluid as an indicator of paediatric burn wound depth

The early and accurate assessment of burns is essential to inform patient treatment regimens; however, this first critical step in clinical practice remains a challenge for specialist burns clinicians worldwide. In this regard, protein biomarkers are a potential adjunct diagnostic tool to assist experienced clinical judgement. Free circulating haemoglobin has previously shown some promise as an indicator of burn depth in a murine animal model. Using blister fluid collected from paediatric burn patients, haemoglobin abundance was measured using semi-quantitative Western blot and immunoassays. Although a trend was observed in which haemoglobin abundance increased with burn wound severity, several patient samples deviated significantly from this trend. Further, it was found that haemoglobin concentration decreased significantly when whole cells, cell debris and fibrinous matrix was removed from the blister fluid by centrifugation; although the relationship to depth was still present. Statistical analyses showed that haemoglobin abundance in the fluid was more strongly related to the time between injury and sample collection and the time taken for spontaneous re-epithelialisation. We hypothesise that prolonged exposure to the blister fluid microenvironment may result in an increased haemoglobin abundance due to erythrocyte lysis, and delayed wound healing