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In Australia professional registration for qualified medical physicists should be mandated through the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
No full textValidation of the Apnealink Air for diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in pregnant women in early-mid gestation
No full textPurpose: The detection of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in pregnant women in early-mid gestation is logistically difficult. Accurate alternates to polysomnography (PSG) in early pregnancy are not well identified. We compared the agreement between Apnealink Air (AL) and existing screening questionnaires to PSG in pregnant women ≤ 24-week gestation. Methods: Pregnant women (≤ 24-week gestation) underwent AL at home plus attended PSG in any order, completed within 7 days where practicable. AL was manually scored (AL(M)) and automatically scored (AL(A)). An apnoea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 5 was considered diagnostic of OSA and an AHI ≥ 15 considered at least moderate OSA. Diagnostic analysis was undertaken (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV)) by generating receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and an area under the curve (AUC) (95% CI). Bland–Altman plots were used to plot agreement. Screening questionnaires (Epworth sleepiness score (ESS), STOP-BANG, calculated pregnancy-specific screening tool) were compared to PSG. Results: A total of 49 participants successfully completed both tests at around 14-weeks gestation (IQR 12.9, 17.1). The time interval between AL and PSG was a median of 2 days (IQR 1, 5 (range 1–11)). A total of 14 (29%) participants had OSA. The median AHI of AL(A) (3.1(IQR 0.85,4.6)) and AL(M) (IQR2.4(0.65,4.8)) did not differ from PSG (1.7(IQR1.0,6.1)). AL(A) and AL(M) compared to PSG demonstrated diagnostic test accuracy (area under curve (ROC)) of 0.94(95% CI 0.87–1.0) and 0.92(95% CI 0.85–1.0) respectively. Apnealink Air outperformed screening questionnaires tested. Conclusion: The findings suggest that Apnealink may provide a substitute to attended PSG identification of OSA in pregnant women in early-mid gestation using both manual and auto-scoring methods
Visual periodicity reveals distinct attentional signatures for face and non-face categories
No full textObservers can selectively deploy attention to regions of space, moments in time, specific visual features, individual objects, and even specific high-level categories—for example, when keeping an eye out for dogs while jogging. Here, we exploited visual periodicity to examine how category-based attention differentially modulates selective neural processing of face and non-face categories. We combined electroencephalography with a novel frequency-tagging paradigm capable of capturing selective neural responses for multiple visual categories contained within the same rapid image stream (faces/birds in Exp 1; houses/birds in Exp 2). We found that the pattern of attentional enhancement and suppression for face-selective processing is unique compared to other object categories: Where attending to non-face objects strongly enhances their selective neural signals during a later stage of processing (300–500 ms), attentional enhancement of face-selective processing is both earlier and comparatively more modest. Moreover, only the selective neural response for faces appears to be actively suppressed by attending towards an alternate visual category. These results underscore the special status that faces hold within the human visual system, and highlight the utility of visual periodicity as a powerful tool for indexing selective neural processing of multiple visual categories contained within the same image sequence
Gaining a foothold : attachment theory and the ethical evaluation of religion
No full textI was born into a church and a family governed by dichotomous frameworks of right/wrong, God/devil, truth/falsehood. Justifying the impulse to ask questions in such contexts was difficult, because Christian faith was perceived in an authoritarian manner as ‘the truth’. But during my undergraduate study, studying attachment theory gave me an existential foothold. The existing literature on attachment theory, particularly the compassionate writings of John Bowlby, facilitated a complete reconstruction of my understanding of the needs and dynamics of human life, both generally and in relation to myself. These alterations then drew into question many of the theological beliefs shaping my religious outlook. Based on these experiences, I explore both the ways in which attachment theory has been brought into dialogue with religious studies and theology, and how it might enable us to develop an axiological and relational hermeneutic that directs attention to the ethical dimensions of theological belief and praxis, and even to a reconfiguration of absolutist approaches to the nature of truth
Primitivism now, primitivism again : introduction
No full textThis essay revisits critical issues in the scholarship on primitivism in the light of recent theoretical and historical developments. Particularly, it considers whether the expansion of primitivism studies to take in a range of contexts and cultures beyond the western European and North American ones with which it has so long been associated calls for new theorizations and historicizations. Along the way, it assesses why primitivism’s purview had previously been so narrow by tracing the development of scholarship associated with primitivism in modernist visual arts, and it weighs up the risks and opportunities in using the term to consider a broader spectrum of cultures and artistic media. It concludes that primitivism’s breadth reflects the magnitude of the crises that it has attempted to negate: a world facing multiple and overlapping extinction crises
[In Press] Accrual quality, cost of debt, and credit spread and loss
No full textOur study presents a method to dissect bond excess returns into components influenced by credit spreads and credit losses. Analyzing data spanning 48 years, we find that companies with higher accrual quality experience greater shocks from credit spreads and lesser shocks from credit losses. Conversely, firms with lower accrual quality face reduced credit spread shocks but heightened credit loss shocks. This indicates that high accrual quality firms benefit more from credit spread shocks, while those with lower accrual quality profit more from credit loss shocks. Notably, excluding credit spread shocks, future realized returns have a negative correlation with accrual quality. These accrual quality premiums are significant both statistically and economically, especially when credit spread shocks are not considered. Additionally, accrual quality has improved over the past 48 years due to enhanced accounting standards. Our findings reveal the importance of a reliable accrual quality metric and underscore the need to factor in credit spread shocks in asset pricing evaluations
Development of sustainable engineered cementitious composites with enhanced compressive performance at elevated temperatures using high-volume GGBFS
No full textThis study presents the development of an environmentally sustainable hybrid polyethylene (PE)-steel fibre reinforced engineered cementitious composites (ECC) to achieve enhanced compressive performance at elevated temperature. Utilizing a unique blend of industry by-products—ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), dolomite powder, and fly ash, with supplementary cementitious materials exceeding 50% replacement level, the developed ECC achieves remarkable improvement in compressive strength, both at ambient and elevated temperature conditions. A total of 340-cylinder specimens were tested to analyse the compressive properties after exposure to 20–800 °C, and the effect of different binders, fibre ratio on the residual compressive behaviour was investigated. Additionally, effects of the critical fire test parameters such as pre-drying and cooling treatment were also studied. The research findings indicate that incorporating high-volume GGBFS blends significantly improved the compressive performance of the ECC irrespective of the type of test parameters. Notably, a specific blend comprising of GGBFS, fly ash (GGBFS:fly ash = 1:0.2) and dolomite (15% by binder weight) demonstrated 138 MPa strength at room temperature and at least 75% and 45% strength retention at 600 °C and 800 °C, respectively. This was significantly higher than the values reported in literatures (∼48% at 600 °C and ∼12% at 800 °C) for similar type of ECC. The study also highlights the impact of sudden cooling in water and confirms the occurrence of both thermal shock and rehydration through microstructural analysis. Environmental impact analysis was also conducted to demonstrate the low carbon emission of the developed ECC
[In Press] Impact of AEC project organizational design on the mental health of project management practitioners (PMPs) in Australia
No full textPurpose – Design of architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) project organizations expose project management practitioners (PMPs) to poor mental health due to the influence of project organization designs on project management activities assigned to the PMPs. The AEC project organization design comprises the integration of permanent organization, project organization and external environment layers. In spite of the link between project organization design and mental health, limited studies have examined the impact of permanent organization factors, project organization factors and external environmental factors on mental health management practices. Therefore, this study aims to examine the interactive relationships between permanent organization factors, project organization factors, external environment factors and mental health management indicators. Design/methodology/approach – Four organizational theories: institutional theory, agency theory and resource-based theory were integrated to develop a theoretical model guiding the aim of the study. Eighty-two survey data were collected from PMPs in AEC firms in Australia. Structural equation modelling was used to test the relationships between the constructs. Findings – The study found that mental health management indicators are predicted by the interactive and direct effects of permanent organizational factors, project organizational factors and external environmental factors. The results of the interactive effects of the factors and mental health management indicators revealed that 20 of 26 proposed hypotheses were supported. Based on the established hypotheses, economic factors, technological factors, environmental factors, legal factors and organizational culture positively correlated with mental health management indicators. Likewise, human resources management (HRM), corporate governance, project governance and integrated project delivery (IPD) positively impact mental health management indicators. However, political factors, social factors, knowledge management and project management skills negatively impact mental health management indicators. Moreover, political factors, economic factors, technological factors, environmental factors, legal factors and organizational culture are positively related to corporate governance. Additionally, organizational culture positively impacts corporate governance, project governance and HRM, whereas project governance positively correlated with IPD and knowledge management. Originality/value – The findings provide guidelines to AEC firms on achieving positive mental health management indicators through concentration on project organization design
[In Press] Does tourism development spur export product diversification?
No full textThe growing interest in tourism has motivated scholars to explore the macroeconomic effects of its development. However, there remains an unexplored gap in the literature, which is the impact of tourism development on export product diversification (EPD). Using data from 150 countries and applying a system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator, this study tests the effect of tourism development on EPD and its two dimensions, namely the extensive and intensive margin. The results are compared in groups of countries with different income levels. The findings suggest that international tourist arrivals and receipts spur EPD. We also find that the pro-diversification impact
of tourism development in low-income economies is greater than in high-income economies. In addition, when the sub-dimensions of EPD are considered, we observe that the effect of tourism development on the extensive margin is greater than the intensive margin. These results have important implications for policymakers
Robotics and sensing for condition assessment of wastewater pipes
No full textConcrete wastewater pipe networks are crucial for any country's underground infrastructure. Such pipe assets deteriorate over time and may suffer structural failures, mainly as a consequence of microbial-induced corrosion, resulting in losses estimated to be in the billions of dollars per year worldwide. For more than a century, water utilities have been struggling with wastewater pipe inspections due to harsh pipe environments inherent with disease-causing pathogens, toxic gasses, biological materials, and chemical substances. The majority of current inspection technologies have significant limitations as they can be destructive, labor-intensive, and costly, or they may require field inspectors to traverse inside pipes for manual inspections that can pose serious occupational health and safety risks. Therefore, water utilities around the world are looking for innovative technologies that can provide comprehensive condition assessment while being safer, more cost effective, and more efficient. This chapter describes the development of an in-pipe robotic sensing system for inspecting and assessing the condition of concrete wastewater pipe walls