Tracking the magmatic evolution of island arc volcanism : insights from a high-precision Pb isotope record of Montserrat, Lesser Antilles

The volcanic succession on Montserrat provides an opportunity to examine the magmatic evolution of island arc volcanism over a ∼2.5 Ma period, extending from the andesites of the Silver Hills center, to the currently active Soufrière Hills volcano (February 2010). Here we present high-precision double-spike Pb isotope data, combined with trace element and Sr-Nd isotope data throughout this period of Montserrat's volcanic evolution. We demonstrate that each volcanic center; South Soufrière Hills, Soufrière Hills, Centre Hills and Silver Hills, can be clearly discriminated using trace element and isotopic parameters. Variations in these parameters suggest there have been systematic and episodic changes in the subduction input. The SSH center, in particular, has a greater slab fluid signature, as indicated by low Ce/Pb, but less sediment addition than the other volcanic centers, which have higher Th/Ce. Pb isotope data from Montserrat fall along two trends, the Silver Hills, Centre Hills and Soufrière Hills lie on a general trend of the Lesser Antilles volcanics, whereas SSH volcanics define a separate trend. The Soufrière Hills and SSH volcanic centers were erupted at approximately the same time, but retain distinctive isotopic signatures, suggesting that the SSH magmas have a different source to the other volcanic centers. We hypothesize that this rapid magmatic source change is controlled by the regional transtensional regime, which allowed the SSH magma to be extracted from a shallower source. The Pb isotopes indicate an interplay between subduction derived components and a MORB-like mantle wedge influenced by a Galapagos plume-like source.

The Working After Cancer Study (WACS): a population-based study of middle-aged workers diagnosed with colorectal cancer and their return to work experiences

Background The number of middle-aged working individuals being diagnosed with cancer is increasing and so too will disruptions to their employment. The aim of the Working After Cancer Study is to examine the changes to work participation in the 12 months following a diagnosis of primary colorectal cancer. The study will identify barriers to work resumption, describe limitations on workforce participation, and evaluate the influence of these factors on health-related quality of life. Methods/Design An observational population-based study has been designed involving 260 adults newly-diagnosed with colorectal cancer between January 2010 and September 2011 and who were in paid employment at the time they were diagnosed. These cancer cases will be compared to a nationally representative comparison group of 520 adults with no history of cancer from the general population. Eligible cases will have a histologically confirmed diagnosis of colorectal cancer and will be identified through the Queensland Cancer Registry. Data on the comparison group will be drawn from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. Data collection for the cancer group will occur at 6 and 12 months after diagnosis, with work questions also asked about the time of diagnosis, while retrospective data on the comparison group will be come from HILDA Waves 2009 and 2010. Using validated instruments administered via telephone and postal surveys, data will be collected on socio-demographic factors, work status and circumstances, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for both groups while the cases will have additional data collected on cancer treatment and symptoms, work productivity and cancer-related HRQoL. Primary outcomes include change in work participation at 12 months, time to work re-entry, work limitations and change in HRQoL status. Discussion This study will address the reasons for work cessation after cancer, the mechanisms people use to remain working and existing workplace support structures and the implications for individuals, families and workplaces. It may also provide key information for governments on productivity losses.

Validation of scales measuring self-efficacy and outcome expectancy in evidence-based practice

Background: Evidence-based practice (EBP) is embraced internationally as an ideal approach to improve patient outcomes and provide cost-effective care. However, despite the support for and apparent benefits of evidence-based practice, it has been shown to be complex and difficult to incorporate into the clinical setting. Research exploring implementation of evidence-based practice has highlighted many internal and external barriers including clinicians’ lack of knowledge and confidence to integrate EBP into their day-to-day work. Nurses in particular often feel ill-equipped with little confidence to find, appraise and implement evidence. Aims: The following study aimed to undertake preliminary testing of the psychometric properties of tools that measure nurses’ self-efficacy and outcome expectancy in regard to evidence-based practice. Methods: A survey design was utilised in which nurses who had either completed an EBP unit or were randomly selected from a major tertiary referral hospital in Brisbane, Australia were sent two newly developed tools: 1) Self-efficacy in Evidence-Based Practice (SE-EBP) scale and 2) Outcome Expectancy for Evidence-Based Practice (OE-EBP) scale. Results: Principal Axis Factoring found three factors with eigenvalues above one for the SE-EBP explaining 73% of the variance and one factor for the OE-EBP scale explaining 82% of the variance. Cronbach’s alpha for SE-EBP, three SE-EBP factors and OE-EBP were all >.91 suggesting some item redundancy. The SE-EBP was able to distinguish between those with no prior exposure to EBP and those who completed an introductory EBP unit. Conclusions: While further investigation of the validity of these tools is needed, preliminary testing indicates that the SE-EBP and OE-EBP scales are valid and reliable instruments for measuring health professionals’ confidence in the process and the outcomes of basing their practice on evidence.

The assessment of mental health in children with intellectual disability

Aim: Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) have higher rates of mental health problems than the general population. Assessment tends to rely heavily on self-report, but persons with ID often have difficulties in identifying and describing their own thoughts and feelings. Measures that are psychometrically sound with typically developing populations may not be as robust in samples with ID. The aim of the current study was to examine a range of self-report measures for assessing the mental health of children with ID, and to consider the appropriateness of minor modifications to those instruments. Method: The participants were 58 children with ID (mean 11.7 years) attending Year 6 in mainstream primary schools. At the first time point they completed four established measures of depression, anxiety and mood. Minor modifications were made to wording and format at re-administration six months later. Results: Internal consistency varied considerably across measures. Modifications resulted in small or no improvements, but the results were relatively consistent over time and across similar measures. Some gender differences were evident. Conclusions: The findings confirm the difficulties that children with ID may have when responding to self-report measures of mental health, and suggest that care should be taken in choice of instruments. While modifications can produce small improvements, it is clear that more robust measures of mental health are needed for persons with ID.

An ingenious decision support system for remote health monitoring of pregnant women

Maternal deaths have been a critical issue for women living in rural and remote areas. The need to travel long distances, the shortage of primary care providers such as physicians, specialists and nurses, and the closing of small hospitals have been problems identified in many rural areas. Some research work has been undertaken and a few techniques have been developed to remotely measure the physiological condition of pregnant women through sophisticated ultrasound equipment. There are numerous ways to reduce maternal deaths, and an important step is to select the right approaches to achieving this reduction. One such approach is the provision of decision support systems in rural and remote areas. Decision support systems (DSSs) have already shown a great potential in many health fields. This thesis proposes an ingenious decision support system (iDSS) based on the methodology of survey instruments and identification of significant variables to be used in iDSS using statistical analysis. A survey was undertaken with pregnant women and factorial experimental design was chosen to acquire sample size. Variables with good reliability in any one of the statistical techniques such as Chi-square, Cronbach’s á and Classification Tree were incorporated in the iDSS. The decision support system was developed with significant variables such as: Place of residence, Seeing the same doctor, Education, Tetanus injection, Baby weight, Previous baby born, Place of birth, Assisted delivery, Pregnancy parity, Doctor visits and Occupation. The ingenious decision support system was implemented with Visual Basic as front end and Microsoft SQL server management as backend. Outcomes of the ingenious decision support system include advice on Symptoms, Diet and Exercise to pregnant women. On conditional system was sent and validated by the gynaecologist. Another outcome of ingenious decision support system was to provide better pregnancy health awareness and reduce long distance travel, especially for women in rural areas. The proposed system has qualities such as usefulness, accuracy and accessibility.

Pragmatics, perceptions and strategies in Chinese college English learning

This study investigated Chinese College English students. perceptions of pragmatics, their pragmatic competence in selected speech acts, strategies they employed in acquiring pragmatic knowledge, as well as their general approach to learning English as a foreign language. The research was triggered by a national curriculum initiative that prioritizes the need for College English students to enhance their ability to use English effectively in different social interactions (Chinese College English Education and Supervisory Committee, 2007). The traditional "grammar-translation" and "examination-oriented" method is believed to have reduced Chinese College English students to what is dubbed "mute" and "deaf" language learners (Zhang, 2008; Zhao, 2009). Many students lack pragmatic knowledge on how to interpret discourse by relating utterances to their meanings, understanding the intention of language users, and how language is used in specific settings (Bachman & Palmer, 1996, 2010). There is an increasing body of literature on awareness-raising of the importance of pragmatic knowledge and strategies for classroom instruction. However, to date, researchers have tended to focus largely on the teaching of pragmatics, rather than on how students acquire pragmatic competence (Bardovi-Harlig & Dornyei, 1998; Du, 2004; Hou, 2007; Ruan, 2007; Schauer, 2009). It is this gap in the research that this study fills, with a focus on different types of pragmatic knowledge, learner perceptions of such knowledge, and learning strategies that College English students employ in the process of learning English in general, and pragmatics in particular. Three strands of theories of second language acquisition (Ellis, 1985, 1994): pragmatics (Levinson, 1983; Mey, 2001; Yule, 1996), intercultural communications (Kramsch, 1998; Samovar & Porter, 1997; Samovar, Porter & McDaniel, 2009) and English as a lingua franca (ELF) (Canagarajah, 2006; Firth, 1996; Pennycook, 2010) were employed to establish a conceptual framework for data collection and analyses. Key constructs derived from the three related theories helped to form a typology for a detailed examination and theorization of the empirical evidence gathered from different sources. Four research instruments: a questionnaire (N=237), Discourse Completion Tasks (DCTs) (N=55), focus group interviews (N=18), and a textbook tasks analysis were employed to collect data for this systematic inquiry. Data collected by different instruments were analyzed and compared by way of a triangulation to enhance its validity and reliability. Major findings derived from different sources highlighted that, although College English students were grammatically advanced language learners, they displayed limited pragmatic knowledge and a highly restricted repertoire of language learning strategies. The majority of the respondents, however, believed that pragmatic knowledge was as important as linguistic knowledge in the process of developing communicative competence for interaction in different contexts. It was argued that a combination of a less than sufficient English proficiency, limited knowledge of pragmatics, inadequate language materials and tasks, and a small stock of language learning strategies, were a major hindrance to effective learning and communication, resulting in pragmatic failures in many intercultural communication situations. As the first systematic study of how Chinese College English students learned pragmatics, the research provided a solid empirical base for developing a tentative model for the learning of pragmatics in a College English classroom in China and similar educational contexts. The model was strengthened by a unique combination of theories of pragmatics, intercultural communication and ELF. Findings from this research provided insights into how Chinese College English students perceived pragmatics in the English as foreign language (EFL) curriculum, the processes of learning, as well as strategies they utilized in developing linguistic and pragmatic knowledge and competence.

Undrained sediment loading key to long-runout submarine mass movements : evidence from the Caribbean Volcanic Arc

Long undersea debris runout can be facilitated by a boundary layer formed by weak marine sediments under a moving slide mass. Undrained loading of such offshore sediment results in a profound drop of basal shear resistance, compared to subaerial shear resistance, enabling long undersea runout. Thus large long-runout submarine landslides are not truly enigmatic (Voight and Elsworth 1992, 1997), but are understandable in terms of conventional geotechnical principles. A corollary is that remoulded undrained strength, and not friction angle, should be used for basal resistance in numerical simulations. This hypothesis is testable via drilling and examining the structure at the soles of undersea debris avalanches for indications of incorporation of sheared marine sediments, by tests of soil properties, and by simulations. Such considerations of emplacement process are an aim of ongoing research in the Lesser Antilles (Caribbean Sea), where multiple offshore debris avalanche and dome-collapse debris deposits have been identified since 1999 on swath bathymetric surveys collected in five oceanographic cruises. This paper reviews the prehistoric and historic collapses that have occurred offshore of Antilles arc islands and summarizes ongoing research on emplacement processes.

Eruption of Soufrière Hills (1995–2009) from an offshore perspective : insights from repeated swath bathymetry surveys

This contribution provides an analysis of the 1995–2009 eruptive period of Soufrière Hills volcano (Montserrat) from a unique offshore perspective. The methodology is based on five repeated swath bathymetric surveys. The difference between the 2009 and 1999 bathymetry suggests that at least 395 Mm3 of material has entered the sea. This proximal deposit reaches 95 m thick and extends ∼7km from shore. However, the difference map does not include either the finer distal part of the submarine deposit or the submarine part of the delta close to the shoreline. We took both contributions into account by using additional information such as that from marine sediment cores. By March 2009, at least 65% of the material erupted throughout the eruption has been deposited into the sea. This work provides an excellent basis for assessing the future activity of the Soufrière Hills volcano (including potential collapse), and other volcanoes on small islands.

Examination of relationships and mediating effects of self-efficacy, locus of control, coping and the practice environment on caring efficacy and job satisfaction in Australian registered nurses

Background to the Problem: Improving nurses' self-efficacy and job satisfaction may improve the quality of nursing care to patients. Moreover, to work effectively and consistently with professional nursing standards, nurses have to believe they are able to make decisions about their practice. In order to identify what strategies and professional development programmes should be developed and implemented for registered nurses in the Australian context, a comprehensive profile of registered nurses and factors that affect nursing care in Australia needs to be available. However, at present, there is limited information available on a) the perceived caring efficacy and job satisfaction of registered nurses in Australia, and b) the relationships between the demographic variables general self-efficacy, work locus of control, coping styles, the professional nursing practice environment and caring efficacy and job satisfaction of registered nurses in Australia. This is the first study to 1) investigate relationships between caring efficacy and job satisfaction with factors such as general self-efficacy, locus of control and coping, 2) the nursing practice environment in the Australian context and 3) conceptualise a model of caring efficacy and job satisfaction in the Australian context. Research Design and Methods: This study used a two-phase cross-sectional survey design. A pilot study was conducted in order to determine the validity and reliability of the survey instruments and to assess the effectiveness of the participant recruitment process. The second study of the research involved investigating the relationships between the socio-demographic, dependent and independent variables. Socio-demographic variables included age, gender, level of education, years of experience, years in current job, employment status, geographical location, specialty area, health sector, state and marital status. Other independent variables in this study included general self-efficacy, work locus of control, coping styles and the professional nursing practice environment. The dependent variables were job satisfaction and caring efficacy. Results: A confirmatory factor analysis of the Brisbane Practice Environment Measure (B-PEM) was conducted. A five-factor structure of the B-PEM was confirmed. Relationships between socio-demographic variables, caring efficacy and job satisfaction, were identified at the bivariate and multivariable levels. Further, examination using structural equation modelling revealed general self-efficacy, work locus of control, coping style and the professional nursing practice environment contributed to caring efficacy and job satisfaction of registered nurses in Australia. Conclusion: This research contributes to the literature on how socio-demographic, personal and environmental variables (work locus of control, general self-efficacy and the nursing practice environment) influence caring efficacy and job satisfaction in registered nurses in Australia. Caring efficacy and job satisfaction may be improved if general self-efficacy is high in those that have an internal work locus of control. The study has also shown that practice environments that provide the necessary resources improve job satisfaction in nurses. The results have identified that the development and implementation of strategies for professional development and orientation programmes that enhance self-efficacy and work locus of control may contribute to better quality nursing practice and job satisfaction. This may further assist registered nurses towards focusing on improving their practice abilities. These strategies along with practice environments that provide the necessary resources for nurses to practice effectively may lead to better job satisfaction. This information is important for nursing leaders, healthcare organisations and policymakers, as the development and implementation of these strategies may lead to better recruitment and retention of nurses. The study results will contribute to the national and international literature on self-efficacy, job satisfaction and nursing practice.

Case study of Queensland state taxation

1. Like the Commonwealth Tax regime, state taxation legislation has now ballooned in size from the good old days when life and tax were relatively simple issues. 2. This case study of Queensland state taxation will examine the following taxes affecting churches and charities in this state: (a) Stamp Duty (b) Land Tax; and (c) Local Authority Rates 3. Each type of tax will be considered in turn. A brief legislative history of the statutory instruments governing these taxes will be given with a closer examination of the present schemes. Relevant judicial pronouncements will be considered and some open discussion of real life examples. 4. It is submitted that the regular donors to our worthy charities and the dedicated weekly churchgoers would have absolutely no idea: (a) that indirectly the value of their donations and weekly offerings are increasingly being eroded by the imposts of Government not only in terms of the amounts of those imposts but the enormous administrative burden of coping with the legislation; (b) of the complexity of the taxation legislation affecting their churches and charities; or (c) that their churches and charities are even paying taxes.

An analytical tool that quantifies cellular morphology changes from three-dimensional fluorescence images

The most common software analysis tools available for measuring fluorescence images are for two-dimensional (2D) data that rely on manual settings for inclusion and exclusion of data points, and computer-aided pattern recognition to support the interpretation and findings of the analysis. It has become increasingly important to be able to measure fluorescence images constructed from three-dimensional (3D) datasets in order to be able to capture the complexity of cellular dynamics and understand the basis of cellular plasticity within biological systems. Sophisticated microscopy instruments have permitted the visualization of 3D fluorescence images through the acquisition of multispectral fluorescence images and powerful analytical software that reconstructs the images from confocal stacks that then provide a 3D representation of the collected 2D images. Advanced design-based stereology methods have progressed from the approximation and assumptions of the original model-based stereology(1) even in complex tissue sections(2). Despite these scientific advances in microscopy, a need remains for an automated analytic method that fully exploits the intrinsic 3D data to allow for the analysis and quantification of the complex changes in cell morphology, protein localization and receptor trafficking. Current techniques available to quantify fluorescence images include Meta-Morph (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, CA) and Image J (NIH) which provide manual analysis. Imaris (Andor Technology, Belfast, Northern Ireland) software provides the feature MeasurementPro, which allows the manual creation of measurement points that can be placed in a volume image or drawn on a series of 2D slices to create a 3D object. This method is useful for single-click point measurements to measure a line distance between two objects or to create a polygon that encloses a region of interest, but it is difficult to apply to complex cellular network structures. Filament Tracer (Andor) allows automatic detection of the 3D neuronal filament-like however, this module has been developed to measure defined structures such as neurons, which are comprised of dendrites, axons and spines (tree-like structure). This module has been ingeniously utilized to make morphological measurements to non-neuronal cells(3), however, the output data provide information of an extended cellular network by using a software that depends on a defined cell shape rather than being an amorphous-shaped cellular model. To overcome the issue of analyzing amorphous-shaped cells and making the software more suitable to a biological application, Imaris developed Imaris Cell. This was a scientific project with the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, which has been developed to calculate the relationship between cells and organelles. While the software enables the detection of biological constraints, by forcing one nucleus per cell and using cell membranes to segment cells, it cannot be utilized to analyze fluorescence data that are not continuous because ideally it builds cell surface without void spaces. To our knowledge, at present no user-modifiable automated approach that provides morphometric information from 3D fluorescence images has been developed that achieves cellular spatial information of an undefined shape (Figure 1). We have developed an analytical platform using the Imaris core software module and Imaris XT interfaced to MATLAB (Mat Works, Inc.). These tools allow the 3D measurement of cells without a pre-defined shape and with inconsistent fluorescence network components. Furthermore, this method will allow researchers who have extended expertise in biological systems, but not familiarity to computer applications, to perform quantification of morphological changes in cell dynamics.

Exploratory factor analysis and psychometric evaluation of the Teachers Reporting Attitude Scale for Child Sexual Abuse

This paper presents an evaluation of an instrument to measure teachers’ attitudes towards reporting child sexual abuse and discusses the instrument’s merit for research into reporting practice. Based on responses from 444 Australian teachers, the Teachers’ Reporting Attitude Scale for Child Sexual Abuse (TRAS - CSA) was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis. The scale isolated three dimensions: commitment to the reporting role; confidence in the system’s response to reports; and concerns about reporting. These three factors accounted for 37.5% of the variance in the 14-item measure. Alpha coefficients for the subscales were 0.769 (commitment), 0.617 (confidence), and 0.661 (concerns). The findings provide insights into the complexity of studying teachers’ attitudes towards reporting of child sexual abuse, and have implications for future research.