Digital Commons Network^™

Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating The Effect Of Physical Activity On Delaying The Progression Of White Matter Changes On Mri In Older Adults With Memory Complaints And Mild Cognitive Impairment: The Aibl Active Trial, E V Cyarto, N T Lautenschlager, P M Desmond, D Ames, C Szoeke, O Salvado, Matthew Sharman, Kathryn A Ellis, P M Phal, C L Masters, C C Rowe, Ralph Martins, Kay L Cox

Research outputs 2012

Background: Older adults free of dementia but with subjective memory complaints (SMC) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are considered at increased risk of cognitive decline. Vascular risk factors (VRF), including hypertension, heart disease, smoking, hypercholesterolemia and lack of physical activity (PA) have been identified as modifiable risk factors contributing to cognitive decline, and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) are associated with VRF, SMC and cognitive impairment. Findings from a growing number of clinical trials with older adults are providing strong evidence for the benefits of physical activity for maintaining cognitive function, but few studies are investigating these benefits in high-risk populations. …

Aboriginal Research And Study Protocols, Dan Mcaullay, Colleen Hayward

Research outputs 2012

The Aboriginal Research and Study Protocols have been developed as a guide for ECU staff and students undertaking research, projects or fieldwork that involve Indigenous Australian issues, people or knowledge or that impact on Indigenous people or communities.

These protocols fulfil a strategic priority of ECU’s Reconciliation Action Plan: Develop clear and agreed protocols around Indigenous Australian research to ensure that research activity is informed by thorough cultural awareness and respect.

They also reflect the requirements of key documents that must be addressed by applicants as required by the ECU Human Research Ethics Committee. If the proposed project relates to …

The Influence Of Sample Volume Applied To The Makler Sperm Counting Chamber Upon The Measured Concentration Of Latex Beads: A Multi-Centre Study, Melanie Walls, Emily Zuvela, Cheryl Ayres, Deborah Sherrin, Asma Chhotani, Liz Butler, Kelli Peirce, Jenny Krapez, Renae Parker, Cherise Mooy, Patrick Mohan, Sally Catt, Matthew Wiltshire, Hassan W. Bakos, Mary Whyte, Phillip Matson

Research outputs 2012

Objective: To undertake a multi-centre study to maximize the number of Makler chambers used.

Methods: A total of 15 laboratories participated with 31 Makler chambers. A suspension of latex beads was prepared to a concentration of 20 millions per milliliter, and 0.5 mL aliquots distributed to each participating laboratory. They measured the concentration on their Makler chamber(s) used for routine semen analysis by adding 3, 4, 5, 7 and 10 μL volumes of bead suspension to the chamber.

Results: There was no difference in within-chamber analysis of the bead concentration according to the volume of bead suspension …

Viability Of Healthcare Service Delivery Alternatives For The Australian Mining Sector, Patricia Williams, Margaret Giles

Research outputs 2012

The changing and demanding nature of the mining workforce in rural and remote Australia brings unique challenges to the delivery of healthcare services. In an attempt to control costs whilst delivering cost effective and quality healthcare, new models of delivery must be considered. For a workforce that is fly-in/fly-out, the provision of healthcare is problematic given the lack of consistency in location. A cost-benefit framework is analysed comparing three models of service provision using travel to a major location, locum services and remote health monitoring. Ultimately, new models of care must be considered to address the issues of increasing workforce …

A Technical Guide To Designing And Implementing Effective Web Surveys, Gregory Baatard

Research outputs 2012

: The Internet is becoming an increasingly prominent medium for the administration of surveys. Although individual findings vary, the major‐ ity of the literature agrees that the appropriateness and response rates of web surveys is expected to rise in the future as we enter a generation of “digital natives” and mail‐based communication becomes increasingly an‐ tiquated. Just about every aspect and tenet of traditional survey metho‐ dology has received attention in academic literature, positioning it as one of the most mature data collection techniques and a mainstay in all areas of research. While much of this accumulated knowledge is applicable …

An Exploratory Study Of The Implementation Of Electronic Health Records: A Two Country Comparison, Helen Cripps, Craig Standing, Vesna Prijatelj

Research outputs 2012

The adoption of electronic health records has been significantly slower in Australia than many European countries. This paper compares the implementation process in Australia with Slovenia, looking at the benefits, drawbacks and success factors of e-health implementation. The authors use case studies collected in each country to discuss issues around e-health implementation. Though Slovenia has progressed much further down the road of e-health the commonality of the experiences between both cases was striking.

Comparison Of Ohs Course Accreditation Procedures In Australia, Sue Reed, Jane Whitelaw

Research outputs 2012

As OHS professional bodies have moved or are moving towards professional certification of their members, the need for accredited programs of study has developed. This move has been prompted by the requirement of the certification boards for the applicant to demonstrate that they have the minimum knowledge required to work at a professional level. The AIOH has had a course accreditation procedure for over 20 years as discussed by Whitelaw and Reed (2011) which has been well recognised by the profession, but until 2009 only one course had been accredited. In the last two years the AIOH has revised its …

Dust And Noise Levels In A Teaching Podiatry Laboratory, Sue Reed, Sue Cusbert, Melanie Reed, Verona Du Toit

Research outputs 2012

The use of Podiatry services is increasing and the exposure to dust and noise in Podiatry facilities has not been well documented in the literature. Concern for exposure to dust and noise has been raised due to the amount of particles seen when grinding and sanding custom moulded shoe inserts. Shoe inserts are made from a range of materials including polypropylene, polyurethane foams, ethylene/acetate copolymers, vinyl acetate and aluminina trihydrate. Monitoring for PM2.5, PM10 and noise was undertaken in a teaching podiatry laboratory on two days to ascertain if they were at a level hazardous to health. In addition the …

Polymer Hot Embossing With Soft Stamps, Devendra Maurya, Sasikaran Kandasamy, F Lapierre, Kamal Alameh, Y Zhu

Research outputs 2012

Microfluidic channels are fabricated in thick polycarbonate (PC) substrates by hot embossing using soft poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) stamps. The embossing force is in the range of 2.5-3 kN for a 4-inch diameter substrate, and the embossed microchannel is 70 μm deep. We investigate the influence of soft stamp precursor and curing agent mix ratio, and post thermal treatment on embossing conditions. Experimental results show that a soft stamp fabricated with 5:1 mix ratio and post-annealed at 150c results in better embossing properties than conventional un-annealed stamps.

User Reaction Towards End User License Agreements On Android Smartphones, Hamish Cotton, Christopher Bolan

Research outputs 2012

Smartphones are increasingly recognized as the most popular computing platform, forming an integral part of the way users interact with the online world. Accompanied with the advent of user-installed content, End User License Agreements have surfaced mirroring issues previously arising on more traditional platforms. This survey conducted in Perth, Western Australia looked at user behavior when viewing and accepting EULAs on smartphone devices. The results show that a majority of users do not read such agreements citing issues of readability and length.

Power Relationships Shaping Organisational Learning For Volatility And Instability: Authentic Or Compliant?, Lindsay Garratt, Paul Jackson

Research outputs 2012

We live in times of great economic and social volatility, where higher levels of innovation and improvement are demanded of business and individuals than ever before. Emancipatory organisational learning offers great potential for freeing people’s minds to truly imagine for the future, but as a reality it proves elusive. This paper presents a model of three power relationships which create learning spaces that are either ‘liberated’ or ‘managed’ and subsequently organisational learning that is ‘authentic’ or ‘compliant’. ‘Authentic’ learning is important if the creative energies and resources within organisations are to be fully engaged and mobilised in times of volatility …

Digital Adaptions Of The Scores For Cage Variations I, Ii And Iii, Lindsay Vickery, Catherine Hope, Stuart James

Research outputs 2012

Western Australian new music ensemble Decibel have devised a software-based tool for creating realisations of the score for John Cage's Variations I and II. In these works Cage had used multiple transparent plastic sheets with various forms of graphical notation, that were capable of independent positioning in respect to one another, to create specifications for the multiple unique instantiation of these works. The digital versions allow for real-time generation of the specifications of each work, quasi-infinite exploration of diverse realisations of the works and transcription of the data created using Cage's methodologies into proportionally notated scrolling graphical scores.

Riverine Breach And Subsequent Decant Of An Acidic Pit Lake: Evaluating The Effects Of Riverine Flow-Through On Lake Stratification And Chemistry, Clinton Mccullough, Naresh Radhakrishnan, Mark Lund, Michelle Newport, Elmien Ballot, Digby Short

Research outputs 2012

Breach and subsequent decant of an acidic brackish pit lake in the Collie Coal region in south-western Australia occurred during flooding of a pre-mining diverted eutrophic river. Inflowing fresher river water with high alkalinity and nutrient concentrations settled over more saline and acidic pit lake water. This created a halocline with better mixoliminion water quality and monimolimnion water quality typical of the pre-breach lake. Flow-through may represent the best long-term mine closure option for this and other pit lakes in the state and internationally where pit lake water quality degrades over time when excised from regional water systems.

Improving Mobile Color 2d-Barcode Jpeg Image Readability Using Dct Coefficient Distributions, Keng Tiong (Alf) Tan, Douglas Chai

Research outputs 2012

Two dimensional (2D) barcodes are becoming a pervasive interface for mobile devices, such as camera smartphones. Often, only monochrome 2D-barcodes are used due to their robustness in an uncontrolled operating environment of smartphones. Nonetheless, we are seeing an emerging use of color 2D-barcodes for camera smartphones. Most smartphones capture and store such 2D-barcode images in the baseline JPEG format. As a lossy compression technique, JPEG does introduce a fair amount of error in the captured 2D-barcode images. In this paper, we analyzed the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) coefficient distributions of generalized 2D-barcodes using colored data cells, each comprising of 4, …

Experimental Demonstration Of High-Speed Full-Duplex Reconfigurable Free-Space Card-To-Card Optical Interconnects, Ke Wang, Ampalavanapillai Nirmalathas, Christina Lim, Efstratios Skafidas, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs 2012

A high-speed full-duplex free space based card-to-card optical interconnect architecture with flexibility and reconfigurablity is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. 3×3 10Gb/s data transmission for up to 30cm is achieved with receiver sensitivity better than -11.5dBm.

New Class Of Garnet Nanocomposites For Use In Magnetic Photonic Crystals Prepared By Rf Magnetron Co-Sputtering, Mohammad Nur E Alam, Mikhail Vasiliev, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs 2012

A new class of magneto-optic garnet nanocomposite materials is prepared using two Bi-substituted iron garnet materials of composition types (Bi,Dy) 3(Fe,Ga)5O12 and Bi3Fe 5O12. A composition adjustment approach is applied by varying the radio frequency (RF) powers driving each sputtering target during the deposition process. This new class of nanocomposite materials exhibits simultaneously high specific Faraday rotation, MO figure of merit, and effective uniaxial magnetic anisotropy after being crystallized through optimized annealing processes. We demonstrate experimentally that the excellent combination of materials' properties obtained in this garnet nanocomposite is particularly advantageous for developing magneto-photonic crystals as well as optical sensors …

Cca3101/4101 Environmental Humanities: The History Of A Unit Through An Ecopedagogical Lens, John Ryan

Research outputs 2012

In 2011 the author taught, for the first time, the well-established unit CCA3101/4101 Environmental Humanities in the School of Communications and Arts at ECU (Edith Cowan University) in Western Australia. The unit has a 20-year history through associate professor Rod Giblett and parallels the development of the environmental humanities as a field in Australia, advanced since the 1990s by environmental scholars Deborah Bird Rose, Val Plumwood, Libby Robin, and Rod Giblett. The interdisciplinary field represents growing scholarly interest in the ecological aspects of humanities disciplinesincluding literature, visual arts, theology, philosophy, and cultural studies—and the development of humanities-based approaches for addressing …

Factors Associated With Myopia In School Children In China: The Beijing Childhood Eye Study, Qi Sheng You, Li Juan Wu, Jia Li Duan, Yan Xia Luo, Li Juan Liu, Xia Li, Qi Gao, Wei Wang, Liang Xu, Jost Jonas, Xiu Hua Guo

Research outputs 2012

Purpose: To assess factors associated with myopia in school children in rural and urban parts of Greater Beijing. Methods: The Beijing Pedriatic Eye Study was a population-based cross-sectional study, in which one school of each level (primary, junior high, senior high) was randomly selected from nine randomly selected districts out of 18 districts of Greater Beijing. The children underwent non-cylcoplegic refractometry and their parents an interview. Results: Of 16,771 eligible students, 15,066 (89.8%) children (7,769 (51.6%) girls) participated, with 8,860 (58.8%) participants living in the rural region. Mean age was 13.263.4 years (range:7–18 years). In multivariate analysis, prevalence of myopia …

Indigenous Voice Closing The Gap And Putting Communication For Social Change Into Practice, Trevor Cullen, Michael Williams, Heather Stewart, Michelle Johnston, Gail Phillips, Pauline Mulligan, Leo Bowman, Michael Meadows

Research outputs 2012

Australian journalism schools are full of students who have never met an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and who do not know their history. Journalism educators are illequipped to redress this imbalance as the large majority are themselves non-Indigenous and many have had little or no experience with the coverage of Indigenous issues. Such a situation calls for educational approaches that can overcome these disadvantages and empower journalism graduates to move beyond the stereotypes that characterise the representation of Indigenous people in the mainstream media. This paper will explore three different courses in three Australian Tertiary Journalism Education Institutions who …

A Proposed Method For Examining Wireless Device Vulnerability To Brute Force Attacks Via Wps External Registrar Pin Authentication Design Vulnerability, Symon Aked, Christopher Bolan, Murray Brand

Research outputs 2012

Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) is a certification scheme introduced in 2007 to ensure that wireless SOHO (Small Office, Home Office) and home networks could be connected to in a trusted, yet user friendly manner. Recently, WPS was shown to have a design and implementation flaw which makes the feature highly susceptible to attack. Although open-source tools have been written and released, no formal testing methodology has been developed. This research presents a proposed method for the testing of this vulnerability in a measured and systematic way.

Differences In Risk Factors Between Early And Late Trauma Death After Road Traffic Accidents, Hideo Tohira, Ian Jacobs, David Mountain, Nicholas Gibson, Allen Yeo

Research outputs 2012

We aimed to determine the differences in risk factors between early and late trauma death after road traffic accidents. We identified road traffic accident victims from our trauma registry. We defined death that occurred within five days after an accident and death that occurred between 6 and 30 days as early and late trauma death, respectively. We derived two logistic regression models by using early or late trauma death as an outcome measure. We considered a variable significant at the 5% level; significant variables were considered risk factors for early and/or late trauma death. Overall, there were 1,201 victims; 134 …

Harmonised Health And Safety Legislation In Australia: Confusion And Complexity For Training Remains, Susanne Bahn, Llandis Barratt-Pugh

Research outputs 2012

This paper presents findings from a study that examined the impact of the national Work Health and Safety Act 2011 on training delivery for safety professionals and their perceptions of what assisted in reducing industrial accidents. The study identified an increased uptake of safety training including high risk licensing and post-graduate degrees and the inclusion of safety elements across many courses in TAFE and universities. In addition industry is calling for safety professionals with a formal tertiary qualification in the discipline. However, national and state regulators are limited in their understanding of the complex training framework. The paper concludes by …

The Relevance Of Attribution Theory To It Project Management, Craig Standing, Eric Kordt, Oliver Standing

Research outputs 2012

Internet related projects are often complex because of the need to work with a range of stakeholders and satisfy a range of expectations. These projects are consequently difficult to manage as projects. Attribution theory enables us to examine how individuals and groups attribute success and failure in relation to projects so that we can better prepare workers for their roles in teams. This paper explores how attribution theory impacts on projects management and makes recommendations on how to develop effective project teams and team members.

Multigene Interactions And The Prediction Of Depression In The Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, N S Roetker, J A Yonker, C. Lee, V Chang, J J Basson, C L Roan, T S Hauser, R M Hauser, Craig Atwood

Research outputs 2012

Objectives: Single genetic loci offer little predictive power for the identification of depression. This study examined whether an analysis of gene-gene (G x G) interactions of 78 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes associated with depression and agerelated diseases would identify significant interactions with increased predictive power for depression. Design: A retrospective cohort study. Setting: A survey of participants in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. Participants: A total of 4811 persons (2464 women and 2347 men) who provided saliva for genotyping; the group comes from a randomly selected sample of Wisconsin high school graduates from the class of 1957 as well …

Prevalence And Factors Associated With Hepatitis B Immunization And Infection Among Men Who Have Sex With Men In Beijing, China, Chao Wang, You Xin Wang, Xiao Jie Huang, Xia Li, Tong Zhang, Manshu Song, Li Juan Wu, Juan Du, Xiao Qin Lu, Shuang Shao, Fei Fei Zhao, Michele Ball, Hao Wu, Wei Wang

Research outputs 2012

Background: Among the Chinese population of 1.3 billion, there are an estimated 93 million carriers of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at increased risk for HBV infection; however, the prevalence of HBV immunization and infection among Chinese MSM remains undetermined. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 1,114 eligible participants was conducted in Beijing, China. Multiple methods were used to recruit study participants. Demographic information and potential correlated factors were collected by questionnaire. Additionally, blood specimens were collected and tested for sexually transmitted infections and serologic markers of hepatitis B immunization and infection. Results: Laboratory …

The Australian Baby Bonus Maternity Payment And Birth Characteristics In Western Australia, Kristjana Einarsdottir, Amanda Langridge, Geoffrey Hammond, Anthony Gunnell, Fatima Haggar, Fiona Stanley

Research outputs 2012

Background: The Australian baby bonus maternity payment introduced in 2004 has been reported to have successfully increased fertility rates in Australia. We aimed to investigate the influence of the baby bonus on maternal demographics and birth characteristics in Western Australia (WA). Methods and Findings: This study included 200,659 birth admissions from WA during 2001–2008, identified from administrative birth and hospital data-systems held by the WA Department of Health. We estimated average quarterly birth rates after the baby bonus introduction and compared them with expected rates had the policy not occurred. Rate and percentage differences (including 95% confidence intervals) were estimated …

Increase In Caesarean Deliveries After The Australian Private Health Insurance Incentive Policy Reforms, Kristjana Einarsdottir, Anna Kemp, Fatima Haggar, Rachael Moorin, Anthony Gunnell, David Preen, Fiona Stanley, C. D'Arcy Holman

Research outputs 2012

Background: The Australian Private Health Insurance Incentive (PHII) policy reforms implemented in 1997–2000 increased PHI membership in Australia by 50%. Given the higher rate of obstetric interventions in privately insured patients, the reforms may have led to an increase in surgical deliveries and deliveries with longer hospital stays. We aimed to investigate the effect of the PHII policy introduction on birth characteristics in Western Australia (WA). Methods and Findings: All 230,276 birth admissions from January 1995 to March 2004 were identified from administrative birth and hospital data-systems held by the WA Department of Health. Average quarterly birth rates after the …

Profiling Plasma Peptides For The Identification Of Potential Ageing Biomarkers In Chinese Han Adults, Jiapeng Lu, Yuqing Huang, Youxin Wang, Yan Li, Youjun Zhang, Jingjing Wu, Feifei Zhao, Shijiao Meng, Xinwei Yu, Qingwei Ma, Manshu Song, Naibai Chang, Alan H. Bittles, Wei Wang

Research outputs 2012

Advancing age is associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and cancer, and shows significant inter-individual variability. To identify ageing-related biomarkers we performed a proteomic analysis on 1890 Chinese Han individuals, 1136 males and 754 females, aged 18 to 82 years, using weak cation exchange magnetic bead based MALDI-TOF-MS analysis. The study identified 44 peptides which varied in concentration in different age groups. In particular, apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA1) concentration gradually increased between 18 to 50 years of age, the levels of fibrinogen alpha (FGA) decreased over the same age span, while albumin (ALB) was significantly degraded in middle-aged individuals. In addition, …

Diversity Among Macroalgae-Consuming Fishes On Coral Reefs: A Transcontinental Comparison, Adriana Verges, Scott Bennett, David R. Bellwood

Research outputs 2012

Despite high diversity and abundance of nominally herbivorous fishes on coral reefs, recent studies indicate that only a small subset of taxa are capable of removing dominant macroalgae once these become established. This limited functional redundancy highlights the potential vulnerability of coral reefs to disturbance and stresses the need to assess the functional role of individual species of herbivores. However, our knowledge of species-specific patterns in macroalgal consumption is limited geographically, and there is a need to determine the extent to which patterns observed in specific reefs can be generalised at larger spatial scales. In this study, video cameras were …

Testing A Model Of Undergraduate Competence In Employability Skills And Its Implications For Stakeholders, Denise Jackson

Research outputs 2012

Despite the development of employability skills being firmly entrenched in higher education’s strategic agenda worldwide; recent graduates’ standards in certain skills are not meeting industry expectations. This paper presents and tests a model of undergraduate competence in employability skills. It highlights those factors which impact on competence in employability skills and identify ways in which stakeholders can adjust curricula and pedagogy to enhance graduate skill outcomes. Data was gathered from an online survey of 1008 business undergraduates who self-rated their competence against a framework of employability skills typically considered essential in graduates. The data was analysed using multiple regression techniques. …