Showing items 1 - 20 of 14693

Your selections:

"Resisting Social Identity Threat and Maintaining Resilience" : A Qualitative Study of Chinese Parents Following the Loss of an Only Child

  • Authors: Wang, Anni , Guo, Yufang , Cross, Wendy , Lam, Louisa , Plummer, Virginia , Zhang, Wen , Zhang, Jingping
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Psychol Trauma Vol. 16, no. 2 (2024), p. 167-175
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Objective: Parents who lose an only child in China are stressed and traumatized due to social identity threat (SIT). This qualitative study aimed to interpret their experience to inform culturally and socially sensitive intervention strategies. Methods: Using a phenomenological approach, 17 bereaved parents who lost an only child were interviewed. The transcripts were analyzed using Colaizzi's method. Results: Three themes were identified, namely, "assuming a new social identity," "triggering social identity threat," and "resisting social identity threat and maintaining resilience." The study showed that SIT initially began with identity reconstruction, where self-identity and social identity occurred 1 after another. Once labeled with such social identity, the bereaved parents suffered social identity threat triggered by inner inferiority and external stigmatization. The bereaved parents undertook a variety of coping strategies to resist the threat and to maintain resilience of these strategies, 4 patterns depicting resilience and threat were interpreted. Conclusion: The findings offer an understanding of the multifaceted bereavement dilemma and lay a foundation for developing intervention strategies. Promoting or maintaining resilience and alleviating SIT are 2 important ways that help parents move on. To help them with identity reconstruction, the development of culturally sensitive resilience-based programs and the linking of social resources to solve practical problems are recommended. Community health professionals should encourage parents to maintain good health management to prevent their predicament from worsening. Raising economic assistance, building an elderly care support system, and promoting social acceptance are strategies that could be considered by policymakers. Clinical Impact StatementThe bereaved parents who have lost an only child in China is facing a multifaceted dilemma, which involves psychological, economic and cultural issues. This study applies the construct of social identity threat to interpretive lived experience of parents in China who have lost their only child. The study contributes to better understanding of their multifaceted bereavement dilemma, and lay the foundation for developing psycho-behavioural intervention strategies, which potentially also benefit other marginalized or traumatized bereaved groups. Results in this study offered several recommendations for psychological counselors, community workers, community health professionals, and government policymakers.

A new systemic disease mouse model for glioblastoma capable of single-tumour-cell detection

  • Authors: Ware, Thomas , Luwor, Rodney , Zhu, Hong-Jian
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Cells Vol. 13, no. 2 (2024), p.
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Background: Glioblastoma is characterised by extensive infiltration into the brain parenchyma, leading to inevitable tumor recurrence and therapeutic failure. Future treatments will need to target the specific biology of tumour recurrence, but our current understanding of the underlying mechanisms is limited. Significantly, there is a lack of available methods and models that are tailored to the examination of tumour recurrence. Methods: NOD-SCID mice were orthotopically implanted with luciferase-labelled donor U87MG or MU20 glioblastoma cells. Four days later, an unlabelled recipient tumor was implanted on the contralateral side. The mice were euthanised at a humane end-point and tissue and blood samples were collected for ex vivo analyses. Results: The ex vivo analyses of the firefly-labelled MU20 tumours displayed extensive invasion at the primary tumour margins, whereas the firefly-labelled U87MG tumours exhibited expansive phenotypes with no evident invasions at the tumour margins. Luciferase signals were detected in the contralateral unlabelled recipient tumours for both the U87MG and MU20 tumours compared to the non-implanted control brain. Remarkably, tumour cells were uniformly detected in all tissue samples of the supratentorial brain region compared to the control tissue, with single tumour cells detected in some tissue samples. Circulating tumour cells were also detected in the blood samples of most of the xenografted mice. Moreover, tumour cells were detected in the lungs of all of the mice, a probable event related to haematogenous dissemination. Similar results were obtained when the U87MG cells were alternatively labelled with gaussian luciferase. Conclusions: These findings describe a systemic disease model for glioblastoma which can be used to investigate recurrence biology and therapeutic efficacy towards recurrence. © 2024 by the authors.

A survey of commercial and industrial demand response flexibility with energy storage systems and renewable energy

  • Authors: Yasmin, Roksana , Amin, B.M. Ruhu , Shah, Rakibuzzaman , Barton, Andrew
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 16, no. 2 (2024), p.
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: The transition from traditional fuel-dependent energy systems to renewable energy-based systems has been extensively embraced worldwide. Demand-side flexibility is essential to support the power grid with carbon-free generation (e.g., solar, wind.) in an intermittent nature. As extensive energy consumers, commercial and industrial (C&I) consumers can play a key role by extending their flexibility and participating in demand response. Onsite renewable generation by consumers can reduce the consumption from the grid, while energy storage systems (ESSs) can support variable generation and shift demand by storing energy for later use. Both technologies can increase the flexibility and benefit by integrating with the demand response. However, a lack of knowledge about the applicability of increasing flexibility hinders the active participation of C&I consumers in demand response programs. This survey paper provides an overview of demand response and energy storage systems in this context following a methodology of a step-by-step literature review covering the period from 2013 to 2023. The literature review focuses on the application of energy storage systems and onsite renewable generation integrated with demand response for C&I consumers and is presented with an extensive analysis. This survey also examines the demand response participation and potential of wastewater treatment plants. The extended research on the wastewater treatment plant identifies the potential opportunities of coupling biogas with PV, extracting the thermal energy and onsite hydrogen production. Finally, the survey analysis is summarised, followed by critical recommendations for future research. © 2024 by the authors.

An analysis of the nature of young students’ STEM learning in 3D technology-enhanced makerspaces

  • Authors: Forbes, Anne , Falloon, Garry , Stevenson, Michael , Hatzigianni, Maria , Bower, Matt
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Developing culturally and developmentally appropriate early STEM learning experiences Chapter 11 p. 172-187
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Research Findings: This study was undertaken to investigate learning processes and outcomes from using 3D design and printing technologies with children aged 5–8 years, in three schools in a metropolitan city in Australia. Data were collected from five sources (teacher interviews, surveys, journals; student interviews; and iPad screen recordings) and analyzed to identify themes responding to the question: What is the nature of students’ learning and learning processes in technology-enhanced Makerspaces? Findings report the perspectives of teachers and students, supplemented by screen recordings from the iPads. Students were found to have significant engagement in learning through involvement in these technology-enhanced Makerspaces, and to have developed skills and understanding in a number of areas including: digital technical proficiency, design thinking, problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. Findings are conceptualized using a research-informed Maker Literacies Framework, to better understand the nature of students’ learning and work processes while engaged in these environments. Practice or Policy: Findings imply that Makerspaces with 3D design and printing could be used to promote young children’s STEM literacies although teachers need to be mindful of the need to explicitly plan for and teach important STEM concepts, if learning in these disciplines is a goal. © 2020, © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Assessing the validity and reliability of a baseball pitch discrimination online task

  • Authors: Grieve, Georgia , Besler, Zachary , Müller, Sean , Spering, Miriam , Hodges, Nicola
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology Vol. 22, no. 2 (2024), p. 481-505
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: There has been an increasing interest in training perceptual skills in sports through online video-based methods, particularly in baseball. However, there is little empirical evidence related to the reliability and validity of such online methods for the assessment of these skill. Here we developed an online task to assess pitch discrimination and evaluated (a) inter-item reliability, (b) reliability in assessment compared to an in-person task, also tapping into external validity and (c) discriminability across different skill groups. We also compared performance on a non-sport specific Dynamic Visual Acuity task (DVA), thought to tap into underlying visual skills comprising pitch discrimination. Skilled, Varsity-level baseball players (n = 17) were compared to novices (n = 14) when discriminating pitches thrown by two different pitchers, across three pitch types, edited to progressively remove sections of ball flight (3 time points). The online task discriminated across skill groups, showed good reliability across repeated viewings and from the online task to an in-person assessment of skilled athletes (n = 8). There were, however, differences in reliability and discriminant validity based on the type of pitcher, with one pitcher being responded to more accurately and reliably. Skilled participants showed good discriminability between fastballs and change-ups. There were no group differences for DVA, nor did it correlate with pitch discrimination for the skilled group. These data illustrate the reliability of online video assessments, but raise issues concerning discriminability across different pitchers and when standing ready to swing. Greater sensitivity testing of such assessments is still needed, within and across skill groups. © 2024 International Society of Sport Psychology.

DCCGAN based intrusion detection for detecting security threats in IoT

  • Authors: Cyriac, Robin , Balasubaramanian, Sundaravadivazhagn , Balamurugan, Venkatachalam , Karthikeyan, R.
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Bio-Inspired Computation Vol. 23, no. 2 (2024), p. 111-124
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Internet of things (IoT) consists of wired/wireless network, sensor, and actuator, where security is more important when more devices are connected to IoT. To increase more security in IoT devices, this manuscript proposes a dual-channel capsule generation adversarial network (DCCGAN) espoused intrusion detection scheme for detecting security threats in IoT network (DCCGAN-IDF-DST-IoT). Data are collected from MQTT-IoT-IDS2020 dataset and Bot-IoT dataset. Then, the data are fed to local least squares, which eradicate the redundancy and replace the missing value. The pre-processed dataset is supplied to fertile field optimisation algorithm (FFOA), which selects the relevant features. Then DCCGAN is used for classifying the data as normal or anomalous. The proposed technique is activated in Python language. The performance of proposed technique for MQTT-IoT-IDS2020 dataset attains 16.55%, 21.37%, 32.99%, 27.66%, 26.45%, 21.47% and 22.86% higher accuracy compared with the existing methods. Copyright © 2024 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

DQN approach for adaptive self-healing of VNFs in cloud-native network

  • Authors: Arulappan, Arunkumar , Mahanti, Aniket , Passi, Kalpdrum , Srinivasan, Thiruvenkadam , Naha, Ranesh , Raja, Gunasekaran
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: IEEE Access Vol. 12, no. (2024), p. 34489-34504
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: The transformation from physical network function to Virtual Network Function (VNF) requires a fundamental design change in how applications and services are tested and assured in a hybrid virtual network. Once the VNFs are onboarded in a cloud network infrastructure, operators need to test VNFs in real-time at the time of instantiation automatically. This paper explicitly analyses the problem of adaptive self-healing of a Virtual Machine (VM) allocated by the VNF with the Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) approach. The DRL-based big data collection and analytics engine performs aggregation to probe and analyze data for troubleshooting and performance management. This engine helps to determine corrective actions (self-healing), such as scaling or migrating VNFs. Hence, we proposed a Deep Queue Learning (DQL) based Deep Queue Networks (DQN) mechanism for self-healing VNFs in the virtualized infrastructure manager. Virtual network probes of closed-loop orchestration perform the automation of the VNF and provide analytics for real-time, policy-driven orchestration in an open networking automation platform through the stochastic gradient descent method for VNF service assurance and network reliability. The proposed DQN/DDQN mechanism optimizes the price and lowers the cost by 18% for resource usage without disrupting the Quality of Service (QoS) provided by the VNF. The outcome of adaptive self-healing of the VNFs enhances the computational performance by 27% compared to other state-of-the-art algorithms. © 2013 IEEE.

Ecological and statistical models to configure flow regime for environment benefit in highly engineered rivers : a case study in the MacKenzie River, Southeast Australia

  • Authors: Atazadeh, Ehsan , Gell, Peter , Mills, Keely , Barton, Andrew , Newall, Peter
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Environmental Science and Pollution Research Vol. 31, no. 5 (2024), p. 7408-7427
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Ecological and statistical models were developed using freshwater algal assemblages to assess water quality and ecological health of a regulated river. These models were used to inform configuration of flows to maintain or improve environmental conditions of the waterway whilst meeting consumptive water supply commitments. The flow regime of the MacKenzie River, western Victoria, Australia, has been substantially modified since the construction of a water supply reservoir on its upper reach in 1887. Water is withdrawn at several locations downstream of the reservoir, creating a substantially modified flow regime, impacting key environmental values of the river. To assess the impact of the different flow regimes on river health and ecosystem function, ten sites were repeatedly sampled along the river between February 2012 and April 2014. Physical and chemical characteristics of water, including pH, temperature, turbidity, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, total nitrogen, total phosphorous, cations, and anions, were measured. Biological properties of the algal periphyton communities, including dry mass, ash-free dry mass, chlorophyll-a concentration, and species composition, were also measured. Exploration of the algal assemblage and water chemistry data using the computationally unconstrained ordination technique such as principal component analysis principal component analysis (PCA), correspondence analysis (CA), detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated two strong gradients in the data sets. Furthermore, the quantitative ecosystem response models have been developed as the prototype tool to assist in the future configuration of flows in this river. The empirical data and models showed the lower reaches of the river to be in poor condition under low flows, but this condition improved under flows of 35 ML/day, as indicated by the reduction in green algae and cyanobacteria and improvement. Finally, the results are presented to tailor discharge and duration of water volume by amalgamation of consumptive and environmental flows to improve the condition of the stream thereby supplementing the flows dedicated to environmental outcomes. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Fuzzy multiplier, sum and intersection rules in non-Lipschitzian settings : decoupling approach revisited

  • Authors: Fabian, Marian , Kruger, Alexander , Mehlitz, Patrick
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications Vol. 532, no. 2 (2024), p.
  • Relation: https://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160100854
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: We revisit the decoupling approach widely used (often intuitively) in nonlinear analysis and optimization and initially formalized about a quarter of a century ago by Borwein & Zhu, Borwein & Ioffe and Lassonde. It allows one to streamline proofs of necessary optimality conditions and calculus relations, unify and simplify the respective statements, clarify and in many cases weaken the assumptions. In this paper we study weaker concepts of quasiuniform infimum, quasiuniform lower semicontinuity and quasiuniform minimum, putting them into the context of the general theory developed by the aforementioned authors. Along the way, we unify the terminology and notation and fill in some gaps in the general theory. We establish rather general primal and dual necessary conditions characterizing quasiuniform

Guideline for the decommissioning/abandonment of subsea pipelines

  • Authors: Reda, Ahmed , Amaechi, Chiemela , Diaz Jimenez, Luis , Sultan, Ibrahim , Rawlinson, Andrew
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering Vol. 12, no. 1 (2024), p.
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: The operating lifespan of pipelines is limited, defined by their specific design codes and specifications, with the economic justification for this being determined primarily by the pipeline owner. During its operational lifespan, a pipeline’s integrity is affected mainly by the quality of the hydrocarbons being transported. The integrity of a pipeline can be maintained with regular inspections and maintenance/cleaning programmes followed from installation to commissioning. As production matures and declines, operators face several decisions concerning the pipeline’s future. There are several potential scenarios, and each should be assessed on a case-by-case basis for any specific pipeline in question. The industry best practices outline the minimum requirements for the safe decommissioning of pipelines. However, there currently need to be international specifications to be followed for the decommissioning of disused offshore pipelines. This paper aims to provide insight into the decommissioning and abandonment of offshore pipelines. Also, this article provides case studies for the decommissioning of subsea pipelines. © 2023 by the authors.

How lived experience mediated my gold, ribbons, puzzles and morals research motivations : a reflective introspection

  • Authors: Stranieri, Andrew
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Research partners with lived experience : stories from patients and survivors Chapter 15 p. 183-191
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Studies on factors that motivate researchers conclude that financial rewards, recognition, curiosity and a desire to contribute; the so-called, Gold, Ribbons, Puzzle and Morals motivating factors, combine to explain why individuals start and continue to be researchers. Lived experience with significant, often life-changing events as a patient, carer, victim, or bystander has motivated many, directly or indirectly, including me, to become researchers. In this chapter, I draw on introspection to examine my journey through 25 years of research experience in university settings. I use concepts from dual systems theories that identify intuition and cognition as two processes that come together to explain how key events and situations in life have influenced my decisions. This illustrates how critical events have mediated the Gold, Ribbon, Puzzle and Morals factors that were motivating my research efforts.

Intelligent feature selection algorithm using SA-SVM classification for skin cancer diagnosis

  • Authors: Hoshyar, Azadeh , Al-Jumaily, Adel
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Non-Invasive Health Systems based on Advanced Biomedical Signal and Image Processing Chapter 15 p. 372-395
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: In recent decades, the incidence of malignant melanoma as a deadly skin cancer has increased worldwide. With its high medical costs and death rates, this cancer has prioritized the need for early diagnosis. Computer-based detection systems can improve the diagnosis rate of melanoma by 5%-30% compared to the naked eye and reduce human error. Although much effort has been made to advance the detection of skin cancers, there are still serious concerns about it. This chapter introduces automatic skin cancer diagnosis and an overview of methods in each step toward detection. A novel algorithm in feature selection and classification stages of automatic skin cancer diagnosis is designed and implemented to identify malignant and benign lesions. A smart algorithm is proposed based on inertia-based particle swarm optimization (IPSO) and the self-advising SVM (SA-SVM). This algorithm optimizes the feature selection stage. Additionally, SA-SVM, known as a new classifier in skin cancer detection systems, is employed along with the proposed algorithm. The statistical and performance measurement analyses of algorithms are presented to prove the superiority of the proposed algorithms. © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Adel Al-Jumaily, Paolo Crippa, Ali Mansour, and Claudio Turchetti; individual chapters, the contributors.

Is doctor google our best choice for healthcare information recommendations? A duty of care to improve processes

  • Authors: Burstein, Frada , Meredith, Grant
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Research partners with lived experience : stories from patients and survivors Chapter 7 p. 91-102
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Living with a life-long medical condition or a serious disease requires a lot of research skills on how to access the best quality information to inform better decision-making of healthcare consumers. Relatives, friends, and carers are often sharing the stress and responsibility of looking after the healthcare of consumers. They feel personally responsible for meeting not only physical, but also information needs of people they care for. With the internet being almost a default source of a wide variety of information, and health information in particular, this interview-based chapter reflects on what are the opportunities and challenges for information and communication technology (ICT) researchers who aim to address the personalized needs for quality healthcare information provision. Professor Frada Burstein is a leading information technology researcher specializing in smart information portals in health care. Her research has contributed to the transformations in web-based information systems architecture to empower patients. She was named the ICT Educator of the Year for her pioneering work in knowledge management and ICT education. In this interview with Grant Meredith, she reveals how her intense experiences caring for her father led her to focus her intelligent systems research toward health care.

Lifestyle management of hypertension : International Society of Hypertension position paper endorsed by the World Hypertension League and European Society of Hypertension

  • Authors: Charchar, Fadi , Prestes, Priscilla , Mills, Charlotte , Ching, Siew , Neupane, Dinesh , Marques, Francine , Sharman, James , Vogt, Liffert , Burrell, Louise , Korostovtseva, Lyudmila , Zec, Manja , Patil, Mansi , Schultz, Martin , Wallen, Matthew , Renna, Nicolás , Islam, Sheikh , Hiremath, Swapnil , Gyeltshen, Tshewang , Chia, Yook-Chin , Gupta, Abhinav , Schutte, Aletta , Klein, Britt , Borghi, Claudio , Browning, Colette , Czesnikiewicz-Guzik, Marta , Lee, Hae-Young , Itoh, Hiroshi , Miura, Katsuyuki , Akinnibosun, Olutope , Shane Thomas
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of hypertension Vol. 42, no. 1 (2024), p. 23-49
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Hypertension, defined as persistently elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP) >140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) at least 90 mmHg (International Society of Hypertension guidelines), affects over 1.5 billion people worldwide. Hypertension is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events (e.g. coronary heart disease, heart failure and stroke) and death. An international panel of experts convened by the International Society of Hypertension College of Experts compiled lifestyle management recommendations as first-line strategy to prevent and control hypertension in adulthood. We also recommend that lifestyle changes be continued even when blood pressure-lowering medications are prescribed. Specific recommendations based on literature evidence are summarized with advice to start these measures early in life, including maintaining a healthy body weight, increased levels of different types of physical activity, healthy eating and drinking, avoidance and cessation of smoking and alcohol use, management of stress and sleep levels. We also discuss the relevance of specific approaches including consumption of sodium, potassium, sugar, fibre, coffee, tea, intermittent fasting as well as integrated strategies to implement these recommendations using, for example, behaviour change-related technologies and digital tools. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 30 including Federation University Australia affiliates “Fadi Charchar, Priscilla Prestes, Britt Klein, Colette Browning, Olutope Akinnibosun and Shane Thomas” are provided in this record**
  • Description: Hypertension, defined as persistently elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP) >140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) at least 90 mmHg (International Society of Hypertension guidelines), affects over 1.5 billion people worldwide. Hypertension is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events (e.g. coronary heart disease, heart failure and stroke) and death. An international panel of experts convened by the International Society of Hypertension College of Experts compiled lifestyle management recommendations as first-line strategy to prevent and control hypertension in adulthood. We also recommend that lifestyle changes be continued even when blood pressure-lowering medications are prescribed. Specific recommendations based on literature evidence are summarized with advice to start these measures early in life, including maintaining a healthy body weight, increased levels of different types of physical activity, healthy eating and drinking, avoidance and cessation of smoking and alcohol use, management of stress and sleep levels. We also discuss the relevance of specific approaches including consumption of sodium, potassium, sugar, fibre, coffee, tea, intermittent fasting as well as integrated strategies to implement these recommendations using, for example, behaviour change-related technologies and digital tools. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 30 including Federation University Australia affiliates “Fadi Charchar, Priscilla Prestes, Britt Klein, Colette Browning, Olutope Akinnibossun and Shane Thomas” are provided in this record**

Living with family violence and the great escape

  • Authors: Zentveld, Elisa
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Research partners with lived experience : stories from patients and survivors Chapter 5 p. 57-71
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Lived experience can add an important dimension to research. Whilst acceptance of lived experience in research has not exactly taken hold yet, there is a movement towards valuing the contribution lived experience can provide, especially in some research areas. This book chapter explains how lived experience drew me, as a researcher in one discipline, to move into another research area—family violence. It is not living with family violence per se that resulted in the discipline change, but more so the systems that keep victims bound to perpetrators of family violence. I realised through my experiences that living with family violence can feel like a one-way ticket where there is no return journey; no escape route. I use my lived experience with navigating systems (namely legal systems) to contribute to family violence research. This chapter explains my three court journeys and how those outcomes and experiences led me to turn my research attention to family violence. This chapter also explains how the research gaps I uncovered could best be found through lived experience. This chapter, therefore, provides an important perspective on both the value of lived experiences with research, as well as the field of family violence (focusing on legal systems).

Mentors supporting nurses transitioning to primary healthcare roles : a practice improvement initiative

  • Authors: Rossiter, Rachel , Robinson, Tracy , Cox, Rebekah , Collison, Lisa , Hills, Danny
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: SAGE Open Nursing Vol. 10, no. (2024), p.
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Introduction: Effective primary healthcare services have been identified by the World Health Organization as the most equitable approach to enhancing universal healthcare. Robust models of mentoring for registered nurses (RNs) transitioning to primary healthcare roles have yet to be described in the Australian context. A robust mentoring model can support RNs to fulfill their potential, bridging the gap between theory and practice. In 2015, the peak body for nurses in primary health care (PHC) began developing a transition to practice program, including embedded mentoring to support newly graduated and more experienced registered and enrolled nurses. This quality improvement study reports the experiences and perspectives of nurses participating as mentors in two separate offerings of the program delivered between 2019 and 2021. Method: A two-phase concurrent mixed methods evaluation utilized data from pre- and post online surveys and post program meetings. Quantitative items underwent descriptive analyses. Thematic analysis of free-text responses and comments was conducted independently by two researchers. Mentors voluntarily provided self-report data and were informed that data is routinely collected to support continuous quality improvement processes for all programs. An Information Sheet informed mentors of data usage, confidentiality, and options to withdraw without penalty from the program at any time. Results: Seventy-nine mentors were recruited to support two groups of nurses (N = 111). Mentor self-rated overall satisfaction with program participation was 86.67% (very or extremely satisfied). Mentors described being “witness to mentee growth,” “having facilitated access to learning” and receiving “unexpected benefits” including personal and professional growth and enhanced enthusiasm for their role in PHC. Conclusion: The embedded mentoring reported in this article combined a focus on skills acquisition and professional identity with the provision of a range of resources and support activities. Sustainable mentoring programs will be an important mechanism for supporting the expanding roles required of nurses working in primary health. © The Author(s) 2024.

Rach’s endometriosis story

Temporal samples of visual information guides skilled interception

  • Authors: Müller, Sean , Beseler, Bradley , Morris-Binelli, Khaya , Mesagno, Christopher
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Frontiers in Psychology Vol. 15, no. (2024), p.
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: This study investigated whether performance of an interceptive skill requires an intact visual-perception-action cycle. Eleven skilled male Australian rules football athletes (Mage = 17.54, SD = 0.15) were recruited from an elite developmental pathway squad for a within-subject study. Participants were required to kick a ball directly at a goal from a 20-meter distance while wearing a pair of stroboscopic glasses. The glasses were used to create four vision conditions. Condition one kept intact the visual-perception-action cycle with uninterrupted vision of the motor skill. Three other conditions included stroboscopic vision that presented temporal samples of vision, which interrupted the perception-action cycle through progressive increases to intermittent vision occlusion of the motor skill. Goal kick error of ball position relative to a central target line within the goal and number of successful goals kicked were measured. Written report of internal and external focus of attention was also measured after each vision condition. Generalized estimating equation analysis did not reveal a significant decrement in kick target error, nor accuracy of goals scored, across normal to stroboscopic vision conditions. Performance was maintained despite a shift in attention focus from external to internal across normal to stroboscopic vision conditions. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for the visual regulation of skilled interceptive actions. Copyright © 2024 Müller, Beseler, Morris-Binelli and Mesagno.

The linkedness of cubical polytopes : beyond the cube

  • Authors: Bui, Hoa , Pineda-Villavicencio, Guillermo , Ugon, Julien
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Discrete Mathematics Vol. 347, no. 3 (2024), p.
  • Relation: https://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP180100602
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: A cubical polytope is a polytope with all its facets being combinatorially equivalent to cubes. The paper is concerned with the linkedness of the graphs of cubical polytopes. A graph with at least 2k vertices is k-linked if, for every set of k disjoint pairs of vertices, there are k vertex-disjoint paths joining the vertices in the pairs. We say that a polytope is k-linked if its graph is k-linked. In a previous paper [3] we proved that every cubical d-polytope is ⌊d/2⌋-linked. Here we strengthen this result by establishing the ⌊(d+1)/2⌋-linkedness of cubical d-polytopes, for every d≠3. A graph G is strongly k-linked if it has at least 2k+1 vertices and, for every vertex v of G, the subgraph G−v is k-linked. We say that a polytope is (strongly) k-linked if its graph is (strongly) k-linked. In this paper, we also prove that every cubical d-polytope is strongly ⌊d/2⌋-linked, for every d≠3. These results are best possible for this class of polytopes.
  • Description: A cubical polytope is a polytope with all its facets being combinatorially equivalent to cubes. The paper is concerned with the linkedness of the graphs of cubical polytopes. A graph with at least 2k vertices is k-linked if, for every set of k disjoint pairs of vertices, there are k vertex-disjoint paths joining the vertices in the pairs. We say that a polytope is k-linked if its graph is k-linked. In a previous paper [3] we proved that every cubical d-polytope is

To be, or not to be, that is the question : stuttering into academia

  • Authors: Meredith, Grant
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Research partners with lived experience : stories from patients and survivors Chapter 4 p. 43-56
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: In this chapter Grant Meredith, the discipline leader of Information Technology for the Global Professional School at Federation University (Australia) outlines his journey as a person who stutters from his rural Australian upbringing through to being an Information Technology academic. This passage to academia is a reflection on an unconventional odyssey that has meandered from blue collar careers to a university education and beyond. The author discusses what it means to him to have vocal difference and how it may have influenced his research path. Along the way he questions his identity as a person who stutters and find his own “community” to engage within.