Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Action Research In Emerging Technologies In Health Information Systems: Creating A Mobile Information Environment In A Hospital Ward, Linda Dawson, Julie Fisher, Stephen Weeding, Liza Heslop, Andrew Howard

Associate Professor Linda Dawson

Wireless networks, mobile devices and associated applications are key emerging technologies ideal for nomadic workers such as clinicians in hospital ward settings. These mobile information environments can potentially enhance clinicians' use of patient management and clinical systems by providing decision support and clinical information at the bedside or point of care. Such technologies need to be critically assessed in a hospital environment for their wider potential and application for delivery of information at the point of care. This paper describes the use of action research methods in a project which analysed an existing clinical Information Communication Technology (ICT) environment in …

Doing Participatory Action Research And Doing A Phd: Words Of Encouragement For Prospective Students, Natascha Klocker

Natascha Klocker

No abstract provided.

Bushfire And Everyday Life: Examining The Awareness-Action 'Gap' In Changing Rural Landscapes, Christine Eriksen, Nicholas Gill

Christine Eriksen

In this paper we use the notion of 'everyday life' to critically examine an apparent 'gap' between bushfire risk awareness and preparedness amongst diverse landholders in rural landscapes affected by amenity-led in-migration in southeast Australia. Landholders were found to bring their own agency to bushfire preparedness in the relationships between everyday procedures, dilemmas, and tradeoffs. Consequently, regardless of landholders' awareness levels, attitudes towards bushfire and natural resource management influence if, how, and to what extent landowners prepare for bushfires. We argue that not only is the 'gap' complex but also paradoxical in that it is both evident in, and constituted …

A Dissociation Between Perception And Action In The Material‐Weight Illusion, Gavin Buckingham, Jonathan Cant, Kai-Ling Kao, Melvyn Goodale

Gavin Buckingham

We examined what forces are applied to objects that elicit this illusion when they are lifted.We predicted that:

(1) Forces on early trials will scale to each participant’s expectations of how much a particular block will weigh ‐ excessive force will be applied to the metal block and insufficient force applied to the polystyrene block.

(2) Forces on later trials will scale to the real weight of each block ‐ identical levels of force applied to all the blocks.

(3) MWI will persist throughout ‐ polystyrene block will feel the heaviest, metal block will feel the lightest.

The Chaperone Action Of Clusterin And Its Putative Role In Quality Control Of Extracellular Protein Folding, Amy Wyatt, Justin Yerbury, Stephen Poon, Rebecca Dabbs, Mark Wilson

Mark R Wilson

The function(s) of clusterin may depend upon its topological location. A variety of intracellular "isoforms" of clusterin have been reported but further work is required to better define their identity. The secreted form of clusterin has a potent ability to inhibit both amorphous and amyloid protein aggregation. In the case of amorphous protein aggregation, clusterin forms stable, soluble high-molecular-weight complexes with misfolded client proteins. Clusterin expression is increased during many types of physiological and pathological stresses and is thought to function as an extracellular chaperone (EC). The pathology of a variety of serious human diseases is thought to arise as …

Protease Activation Of A2-Macroglobulin Modulates A Chaperone-Like Action With Broad Specificity, Katie French, Justin Yerbury, Mark Wilson

Mark R Wilson

α2-Macroglobulin (α2M) is a major human blood glycoprotein best known for its ability to inhibit a broad spectrum of proteases by a unique trapping method. This action induces an “activated” conformation of α2M with an exposed binding site for the low density lipoprotein receptor, facilitating clearance of α2M-protease complexes from the body. This report establishes that protease activation also modulates a potent chaperone-like action of α2M which has broad specificity for proteins partly unfolded as a result of heat or oxidative stress. Protease-mediated activation of α2M abolishes its chaperone-like activity. However, native α2M is able to form soluble complexes with …

The Acute Phase Protein Haptoglobin Is A Mammalian Extracellular Chaperone With An Action Similar To Clusterin, Justin Yerbury, Mark S Rybchyn, Simon B Easterbrook-Smith, C. Henriques, Mark Wilson

Mark R Wilson

Haptoglobin (Hp) is an acidic glycoprotein present in most body fluids of humans and other mammals. Although the functions of Hp are not yet fully understood, the available evidence indicates that it is likely to play an important role in suppressing inflammatory responses. Some earlier work suggested that Hp might be a newly identified member of a small group of extracellular chaperones found at significant levels in human body fluids. Previously, the only well-characterized member of this group was clusterin, which shares functional similarities with the small heat-shock proteins. We report here that Hp specifically inhibited the precipitation of a …