Long-term effect of calcium-vitamin D3 fortified milk on blood pressure and serum lipid concenstrations in healthy older men

<b>Background/Objectives</b>:<br />Some epidemiological and clinical studies have shown that increased dairy consumption or calcium and/or vitamin D supplementation can have a beneficial effect on blood pressure, and lipid and lipoprotein concentrations. The aim of this study was to assess the long-term effects of calcium-vitamin D3 fortified milk on blood pressure and lipid-lipoprotein concentrations in community-dwelling older men.<br /><br /><b>Subjects/Methods</b>:<br />This is a substudy of a 2-year randomized controlled trial in which 167 men aged &gt;50 years were assigned to receive either 400 ml per day of reduced fat (approx1%) milk fortified with approximately 1000 mg of calcium and 800 IU of vitamin D3 or to a control group receiving no additional fortified milk. Weight, blood pressure, lipid and lipoprotein concentrations were measured every 6 months. Participants on lipid-lowering (n=32) or antihypertensive medication (n=39) were included, but those who commenced, increased or decreased their medication throughout the intervention were excluded (n=27).<br /><br /><b>Results</b>:<br />In the 140 men included in this study (milk, n=73; control, n=67), there were no significant effects of the calcium-vitamin D3 fortified milk on weight, systolic or diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol or triglyceride concentrations at any time throughout the intervention. Similar results were observed after excluding men taking antihypertensive or lipid-lowering medication or limiting the analysis to those with baseline calcium intakes &lt;1000 mg per day and/or with hypovitaminosis D (25(OH)D &lt;75 nmol/l).<br /><br /><b>Conclusions</b>:<br />Supplementation with reduced-fat calcium-vitamin D3 fortified milk did not have a beneficial (nor detrimental) effect on blood pressure, lipid or lipoprotein concentrations in healthy community-dwelling older men.<br />

Family influences on children's physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption

<b>Background :</b> There is evidence of a clustering of healthy dietary patterns and physical activity among young people and also of unhealthy behaviours. The identification of influences on children's health behaviors, particularly clustered health behaviors, at the time at which they develop is imperative for the design of interventions. This study examines associations between parental modelling and support and children's physical activity (PA) and consumption of fruit and vegetables (FV), and combinations of these behaviours.<br /><b><br />Methods :</b> In 2002/3 parents of 775 Australian children aged 10&ndash;12 years reported how frequently their child ate a variety of fruits and vegetables in the last week. Children wore accelerometers for eight days during waking hours. Parental modelling and parental support (financial and transport) were self-reported. Binary logistic and multinomial logistic regression analyses examined the likelihood of achieving &ge; 2 hours of PA per day (high PA) and of consuming &ge; 5 portions of FV per day (high FV) and combinations of these behaviors (e.g. high PA/low FV), according to parental modelling and support.<br /><b><br />Results :</b> Items of parental modelling and support were differentially associated with child behaviours. For example, girls whose parents reported high PA modelling had higher odds of consuming &ge; 5 portions of FV/day (OR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.32&ndash;2.87, p &lt; 0.001). Boys whose parents reported high financial support for snacks/fast foods had higher odds of having 'high PA/low FV' (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.1&ndash;3.7).<br /><b><br />Conclusion : </b>Parental modelling of and support for physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption were differentially associated with these behaviours in children across behavioural domains and with combinations of these behaviours. Promoting parents' own healthy eating and physical activity behaviours as well encouraging parental modelling and support of these behaviours in their children may be important strategies to test in future research.<br />

The employers' perspective of the impact of RICS education reform on building surveying

<b>Purpose</b>: This paper seeks to present the second part of research funded by the RICS Education Trust to investigate the impact of the 2001 education reforms on Building Surveying. The first part of the research involved the collection of data from university course leaders.<br /><br /><b>Design/methodology/approach</b>: This research involved the collection of data from large national, mainly London-based, employers of building surveyors at a focus group meeting.<br /><br /><b>Findings</b>: The paper finds that issues of concern to these employers include the extent of construction technology knowledge of graduates, the delivery of contract administration, the placement year, post-graduate conversion courses and the high referral rate for the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC). Recommendations include advice to universities on the design of building surveying undergraduate and conversion courses, a call for further research on the high APC referral rate, and greater liaison between industry and universities.<br /><b><br />Research limitations/implications</b>: The main limitation of the research is that the employers from whom data were collected were mainly large, national firms. Further research would be required to elicit the views of smaller regional organisations.<br /><br /><b>Practical implications</b>: Both parts of this RICS Education Trust funded research provides a foundation for the Building Surveying Faculty of the RICS to complete their review of the education and training of building surveyors.<br /><br /><b>Originality/value</b>: The research provides useful data on the impact of RICS education reform on building surveying, but mainly large, national firms.<br />

The increasing importance of sustainability for building ownership

<b>Purpose </b>&mdash; This study seeks to investigate the degree to which energy efficiency is incorporated into office building refurbishment and capital expenditure with the emphasis placed on a cost-benefit analysis from the owner&rsquo;s perspective. <b><br />Design/methodology/approach</b> &ndash; In order to develop a research framework, a thorough literature review was conducted of three disciplines being construction technology, building refurbishment and property management. The study identifies differences between varying levels of capital expenditure to ensure an existing building is more energy efficient, with the emphasis placed on the cost of implementation and the potential for tenants to acknowledge the increased energy efficiency via higher rents. <b><br />Findings</b> &ndash; Office buildings have been identified as a contributor to global warming during the construction phase, however during the building lifecycle there is a greater contribution to CO2 omissions. Whilst various building designs and construction techniques have evolved to improve energy efficiency, the focus has largely been placed on new buildings where it is easier to incorporate change and innovative approaches. However, the proportion of new buildings constructed each year is relatively small in comparison to existing building stock, which requires regular capital expenditure to maintain and attract new tenants within a competitive marketplace. <b><br />Practical implications</b> &ndash; The increasing importance of energy efficiency affects the office market in a variety of different ways. <br /><b>Originality/value </b>&ndash; This paper identifies important links between the environment and the built environment, and the implications for office building owners.

Office building characteristics and the links with carbon emissions

<b>Purpose &ndash;</b> The purpose of this paper is to present research which analysed energy consumption in the Melbourne central business district (CBD) office stock and examined all buildings to identify CO2 emissions in 2005. The rationale was that, by profiling a large group of buildings, it would be possible to identify characteristics of the stock. For example, do older buildings typically emit more CO2 per square metre than newer buildings?<br /><b>Design/methodology/approach &ndash;</b> This research conducted a detailed analysis of all Melbourne CBD office stock to identify which patterns and trends emerged regarding building characteristics and carbon emissions. The study examined variables such as building size, number of employees, occupancy levels, physical characteristics and building age.<br /><b>Findings &ndash; </b>By examining all office stock and aggregating data, the results confirm that it is possible to identify general physical building characteristics and carbon emissions. This research confirmed that clear relationships existed within the Melbourne CBD office stock in terms of building size, age and the density of occupation in relation to CO2 emissions.<br /><b>Originality/value &ndash; </b>Practitioners can apply this knowledge to the professional advice they give to clients to assist in achieving increased energy efficiency in the office stock, for example in refurbishment being conscious that smaller buildings will be generally less energy-efficient than larger ones.<br />

Closing the gap? Building surveyors in Oceania

<b>Purpose &ndash;</b> The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has implemented a policy to expand its influence around the world. Quantity or construction surveyors had an established presence and history of working overseas, offering their services particularly in the Middle- and Far-East. Property surveyors found the transition to working in European Union (EU) countries relatively straightforward and numerous UK property consultancies have European, Asian, North American and Oceanic offices. Furthermore UK-based firms establishing partnerships with overseas real estate firms expanded significantly over the past decade. Building surveying (BS) is a different case. Small numbers work in commonwealth countries but it is limited and in many countries professional and academic qualifications are not recognised. This paper aims to consider the extent of the barriers and opportunities facing RICS chartered building surveyors (CBS) in Oceania (taken as Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji) and whether the gap is closing.<br /><b>Design/methodology/approach &ndash;</b> A desktop study reviewed the political, economic and sociological issues that affect the employment opportunities and professional services CBS offer throughout the world. Six opportunities and ten barriers were put to the RICS Oceania Building Surveying Faculty to ascertain their perceptions of these barriers and opportunities. No previous study had identified barriers and opportunities in Oceania for the BS and this research adopted a census survey of RICS practitioners currently employed in the region and the results form the most comprehensive picture of the current position.<br /><b>Findings &ndash;</b> Many respondents felt that stronger links and/or mergers with the different Oceania professional property and surveying bodies would open a large field of opportunities to the CBS. Some provided comments on future business opportunities, for example &ldquo;leaky buildings,&rdquo;&quot;dilapidations/&lsquo; make good&rsquo; work&rdquo;, and seemed to be in general agreement that, as businesses came to know the benefits of protecting themselves from rogue tenants (and landlords) by using the services of a CBS, then opportunities would continue to rise. The principal barrier is communicating those skills and the value they add.<br /><b>Research limitations/implications &ndash;</b> The limitations that affected this research were time constraints and communicating with surveyors in Oceania, to whom the authors were not permitted direct access. The research methodology methods were, with hindsight, not ideal for the type and range of data that the researchers sought.<br /><b>Originality/value &ndash; </b>The research will be of use to building surveyors and providers of building-surveying education in Oceania.<br />

Critique of "cultural fit" in relation to the recruitment of Indian information technologists for the Y2K project in Australia

In this study of intercultural communication, I investigate the multi-faceted meaning of the expression " cultural fit " in the sense that it is used by recruiters when shortlisting Indian information technologists to fill skills shortages for the Y2K project in Australia. The data is in the form of ten videotaped interviews in Bangalore and the recruiter commentary on those tapes in Melbourne. A crucial decision to be made by recruiters in any shortlisting process is " How will the candidate fit into the workplace?" This question becomes more problematical when applied to overseas-trained professionals. I take a critical approach, drawing principally on the research traditions of linguistics where studies of intercultural communication and workplace interaction intersect, employing chiefly the tools of Critical Discourse Analysis and Interactional Sociolinguistics and the more abstract notions of Bourdieu. A bridge between these different discourse approaches is provided by Sarangi & Roberts < 1999 < who show the connection between the larger institutional order and interactional routines, through an elaboration of frontstage talk and backstage talk following Goffman < 1959 < . An analysis of the interviews < frontstage talk < reveals "cultural fit" to involve a knowledge of institutional talk, in particular, directness. The recruiter commentary < backstage talk < draws attention to issues of intelligibility, body language, technical expertise and workplace values. the study shows that Indian Information Technologists have "partial fit" in that they possess technical fit but do not demonstrate, or lack the opportunity to demonstrate in the interview, Australian workplace values such as small talk, humour and informality. The recruiter judgments were fleeting and apart from checking for intelligibility, were made on the basis of candidates' body language thus highlighting its importance and its relative absence from the discourse approaches mentioned above. This study shows clearly that there is room for more communicative flexibility on the part of all the stakeholders.

The Pacific OPIC project (Obesity Prevention in Communities) - objectives and designs

<b>Background:</b> Evidence on how to reduce the increasing prevalence of youth obesity is urgently needed in many countries.The Pacific OPIC Project (Obesity Prevention In Communities) is a series of linked studies in four countries (Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia) which is designed to address this important problem.<br /><b>Objectives:</b> The studies aim to: 1) determine the overall impact of comprehensive, community-based intervention programs on overweight/obesity prevalence in youth; 2) assess the feasibility of the specific intervention components and their impacts on eating and physical activity patterns; 3) understand the socio-cultural factors that promote obesity and how they can be infl uenced; 4) identify the effects of food-related policies in Fiji and Tonga and how they might be changed; 5) estimate the overall burden of childhood obesity (including loss of quality of life); 6) estimate the costs (and cost-effectiveness) of the intervention programs, and; 7) increase the capacity for obesity prevention research and action in Pacific populations.<br /><b>Design:</b> The community studies use quasi-experimental designs with impact and outcome assessments being measured in over 14,000 youth across the intervention and control communities in the four sites. The multi-strategy, multi-setting interventions will run for 3 years before fi nal follow up data are collected in 2008. The interventions are being informed by socio-cultural studies that will determine the family and societal infl uences on food intake, physical activity and body size perception.<br /><b>Progress and conclusions</b>: Baseline studies have been completed and interventions are underway. Despite the many challenges in implementing and evaluating community-based interventions, especially in the Pacifi c, the OPIC Project will provide rich evidence about what works and what does not work for obesity prevention in youth from European and Pacific backgrounds.<br />

Technical developments for building demolition management

Environmentally friendly demolition methods such as deconstruction are currently not widely accepted due to a lack of economic motivation for demolition contractors. This research aims to economically analyse demolition techniques, and to adopt E-commerce into demolition project management in order to enable a higher level of material reuse and recycling.

Healthy minds for country youth : help-seeking for depression among rural adolescents

<b>Objective:</b> To assess depression recognition, barriers to accessing help from health professionals and potential sources of help for depression among rural adolescents. <br /><b><br />Design:</b> Cross-sectional survey. <br /><br /><b>Setting:</b> Two rural secondary schools in south-east South Australia. <br /><b><br />Participants:</b> Seventy-four secondary school students aged 14 to 16 years. <br /><br /><b>Main outcome measure(s):</b> Depression recognition was measured using a depression vignette. Helpfulness of professionals, barriers to seeking help and help-seeking behaviours for depression were assessed by self-report questionnaire. <br /><br /><b>Results:</b> Depression was identified in the vignette by 73% (n = 54) of participants. Participants indicated that it would be more helpful for the vignette character to see other health professionals (98.6%, 95% CI, 92.0&ndash;100.0%) than a doctor (82.4%, 72.1&ndash;89.6%). Barriers to seeking help from doctors and other health professionals were categorised into logistical and personal barriers. Participants agreed more strongly to personal (mean = 2.86) than logistical barriers (mean = 2.67, P &lt; 0.05) for seeing a doctor. Boys and girls responded differently overall, and to personal barriers to seeing an other health professional. Sources of help were divided into three categories: formal, informal and external. Informal sources of help (mean = 4.02) were identified as more helpful than both formal (mean = 3.66) and external sources (mean = 3.72, P &lt; 0.001). Gender differences were observed within and between the three sources of help categories.<br /><br /><b>Conclusions:</b> Recognising symptoms of depression was demonstrated in this study. Helpfulness of professionals, barriers to seeking help and potential sources of help for depression were identified. More work is required for improving depression literacy and providing effective interventions specifically for rural adolescents.<br />

The importance of family management, closeness with father and family structure in early adolescent alcohol use

<b>Aims </b> To examine the importance of family management, family structure and father&ndash;adolescent relationships on early adolescent alcohol use.<br /><br /><b>Design</b> Cross-sectional data was collected across 30 randomly selected Australian communities stratified to represent a range of socio-economic and regional variation.<br /><br /><b>Setting</b> Data were collected during school time from adolescents attending a broad range of schools.<br /><br /><b>Participants</b> The sample consisted of a combined 8256 students (aged 10&ndash;14 years).<br /><br /><b>Measurements </b> Students completed a web-based survey as part of the Healthy Neighbourhoods project.<br /><br /><b>Findings</b> Family management&mdash;which included practices such as parental monitoring and family rules about alcohol use&mdash;had the strongest and most consistent relationship with alcohol use in early adolescence. Adolescents reporting higher family management were less likely to have drunk alcohol in their life-time, less likely to drink alcohol in the preceding 30 days and less likely to have had an alcohol binge. Adolescents reporting emotionally close relationships with their fathers were less likely to have drunk alcohol in their life-time and less likely to have had an alcohol binge in the preceding fortnight.<br /><br /><b>Conclusions</b> Findings indicate that family management practices may contribute to alcohol abstinence in adolescents. Furthermore, emotionally close father&ndash;adolescent relationships may also foster abstinence; however, fathers&rsquo; drinking behaviours need to be considered.<br />

Monitoring the corrosion of concrete reinforcement using control curves

Corrosion testing (half-cell and LPR) was carried out on a number reinforced concrete panels which had been taken from the fascia of a twenty five year old high rise building in Melbourne, Australia. Corrosion, predominantly as a result of carbonation of the concrete, was associated with a limited amount of cracking. A monitoring technique was established in which probe electrodes (reference and counter) were retro-fitted into the concrete. The probe electrode setup was identical for all panels tested. It was found that the corrosion behaviour of all panels tested closely fitted a family of results when the corrosion potential is plotted against the polarisation resistance (Rp). This enabled the development of a so-called 'control curve' relating the corrosion potential to the Rp for all of the panels under investigation. This relationship was also confirmed on laboratory samples, indicating that for a fixed geometry and experimental conditions a relationship between the potential and polarisation resistance of steel can be established for the steel-concrete system. Experimental results will be presented which indicate that for a given monitoring cell geometry, it may be possible to propose criteria for the point at which remediation measures should be considered. The establishment of such a control curve has enabled the development of a powerful monitoring tool for the assessment of a number of proposed corrosion remediation techniques. The actual effect of any corrosion remediation technique becomes clearly apparent via the type and magnitude of deviation of post remediation data from the original (preremediation) control curve. <br />

The health-related quality of life of overweight and obese adolescents - a study measuring body mass index and adolescent-reported perceptions

<i><b>Objective.</b></i> To determine whether the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of overweight and obese adolescents is significantly lower than that of their healthy weight counterparts, and if so, whether any demographic trends exist and the relative contribution of each HRQOL dimension. <br /><i><b><br />Methods.</b></i> Cross-sectional analysis of 2,890 students participating in the Pacific Obesity Prevention in Communities Project, Australia. HRQOL was measured using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) adolescent module. Adolescent height and weight were measured by trained field workers and weight categories assigned according to the International Obesity Task Force BMI cut-off points for adolescents. Multivariate linear regression analyses were undertaken to estimate the mean differences in HRQOL scores between (i) overweight and healthy weight, and (ii) obese and healthy weight adolescents, whilst adjusting for gender, age and socioeconomic status quartile. <br /><i><b><br />Results. </b></i>The sample had a mean age of 14.6 years (range 11&ndash;18), 56.2% boys, 20.2% overweight and 6.3% obese. Higher weight status categories were associated with lower HRQOL scores (mean PedsQL scores: healthy weight: 79.1, overweight: 77.7 and obese: 73.7). Relative to the healthy weight group, and after adjustments, overweight and obese adolescents reported 1.44 (p = 0.005) and 5.55 (p &lt; 0.001) lower HRQOL summary scores, respectively. Overweight adolescents reported significantly lower scores in physical and social functioning, whilst obese adolescents reported significantly lower scores in the same dimensions plus emotional functioning. Girls and younger (&lt; 15 years) adolescents reported greater mean negative HRQOL differences associated with excess weight. <br /><b><i><br />Conclusions. </i></b>Overweight and obesity in adolescents are associated with significantly lower HRQOL scores.<br />

The role of policy in improving diets : experiences from the Pacific obesity prevention in communities food policy project

There is global interest in using multisectoral policy approaches to improve diets, and reduce obesity and non-communicable disease. However, there has been ad hoc implementation, which in some sectors such as the economic sector has been very limited, because of the lack of quality evidence on potential costs and impacts, and the inherent challenges associated with cross-sectoral policy development and implementation. The Pacific Obesity Prevention in Communities food policy project aimed to inform relevant policy development and implementation in Pacific Island countries. The project developed an innovative participatory approach to identifying and assessing potential policy options in terms of their effectiveness and feasibility. It also used policy analysis methodology to assess three policy initiatives to reduce fatty meat availability and four soft drink taxes in the region, in order to identify strategies for supporting effective policy implementation.<br />

Evaluation of the Living 4 Life project : a youth-led, school-based obesity prevention study

The Living 4 Life study was a youth-led, school-based intervention to reduce obesity in New Zealand. The study design was quasi-experimental, with comparisons made by two cross-sectional samples within schools. Student data were collected at baseline (n = 1634) and at the end of the 3-year intervention (n = 1612). A random-effects mixed model was used to test for changes in primary outcomes (e.g. anthropometry and obesity-related behaviours) between intervention and comparison schools. There were no significant differences in changes in anthropometry or behaviours between intervention and comparison schools. The prevalence of obesity in intervention schools was 32% at baseline and 35% at follow-up and in comparison schools was 29% and 30%, respectively. Within school improvements in obesity-related behaviours were observed in three intervention schools and one comparison school. One intervention school observed several negative changes in student behaviours. In conclusion, there were no significant improvements to anthropometry; this may reflect the intervention&rsquo;s lack of intensity, insufficient duration, or that by adolescence changes in anthropometry and related behaviours are difficult to achieve. School-based obesity prevention interventions that actively involve young people in the design of interventions may result in improvements in student behaviours, but require active support from leaders within their schools.<br />