13361 research outputs found
Sort by
Regulating Australian complementary medicine practitioners to protect the public: analyses and recommendations
No full textFlamenco deterritorialised: encountering intangible cultural heritage in the liminal space
No full textA Double-Edged Sword Perspective on Young Australians' Use of Social Media: A Structured Narrative Review
Get PDFIssue Addressed: Social media's potential use has been underestimated in preventive interventions targeting young people despite its importance in psychosocial development. This structured narrative review examined both the positive and negative use of social media by young Australians and its health impacts with a focus on social media-based interventions. Method:Following a narrative review approach, 34 papers were analysed from four databases (Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Embase) from 2010 to 2025 to provide indications for leveraging the positive aspects. Thematic analysis was used for analysing data. Results: Three key themes emerged as outcomes of young Australians' social media use: (1) the engagement paradox; (2) motivations for social media use (information seeking, identity exploration and social connections); and (3) social media interventions. The positive use of social media by young Australians included using social media for information seeking, social connection and support, as well as finding identity and positive relationships. The negative use of social media included engagement and exposure to harmful content (e.g., substance use), addictive and distractive use of social media, and engaging with body image content. Although a few social media interventions were found, they were identified to be effective through facilitating peer support groups and online discussions on difficult topics. Conclusion: Understanding the dual impact and use of social media by young Australians will help policymakers and researchers develop interventions that empower young people to effectively navigate social media and maximise its benefits for health and wellbeing. These findings highlight the importance of balancing the benefits and risks of social media. Interventions should focus on fostering safe online spaces and developing resources to address the social and informational needs of young individuals
Pushing limits: The acute effects of a heavy-load resistance protocol and supine exercise on fetal well-being
Get PDFObjectives:To explore the acute effects of a heavy-load resistance protocol and exercise in the supine position on fetal heart rate (FHR) and uteroplacental blood flow. Method:In this experimental laboratory study, 48 healthy pregnant athletes (elite: n=7; recreational: n=41) completed 3×8 repetitions with one repetition in reserve in sumo deadlift, bench press and incline bench press. FHR and umbilical and uterine artery pulsatility index (PI) were assessed before and after exercise. Symptoms of vena cava syndrome were recorded following the supine exercise. Results:Pre- and post-exercise FHR remained within the normal range (110-160 bpm), but there were statistically significant increases after sumo deadlifts (p=0.002) and incline bench press (p=0.008), with no significant change after bench press (p=0.122). Umbilical artery PI did not change, while uterine artery PI significantly decreased after the sumo deadlift (p=0.005), bench press (p<0.001) and incline bench press (p<0.001). No fetal bradycardia was observed after the sumo deadlift or incline bench press, but one case occurred after bench press, resolving shortly after 3 min. Fetal tachycardia (>160 bpm) occurred in four cases after sumo deadlift, five after bench press and three after incline bench press, though none exceeded pathological levels (>180 bpm). One recreational athlete experienced symptoms of vena cava syndrome after the supine exercise, coinciding with a slight decrease in umbilical artery PI, but with stable FHR. Conclusion:The results indicate that highly active women, especially those with resistance training experience, can safely engage in a heavy-load resistance protocol, including supine exercise, without jeopardising fetal well-being
Benchmarking deep reinforcement learning approaches to trade execution
No full textTrade execution is an ongoing optimisation problem in finance, focussed on attaining the best prices through forecasting future price movements and liquidity. This is particularly relevant to institutional investors transacting large positions.Deep reinforcement learning is particularly well-suited to this problem given its ability to capture highly non-linear relationships within a sequential decision-making context. However, research that employs deep reinforcement learning for this task is limited, with most focussed on established mathematical methods. Numerous reinforcement learning formulations have been explored, but progress has been hindered by the lack of comparisons between studies. To address this, we develop a framework that allows comparisons to be made on a consistent basis, so that advances can be made in determining more effective deep reinforcement learning formulations. To facilitate this comparison, a comprehensive suite of benchmarks, diagnostics and analytics is implemented into the framework.The deep reinforcement learning approaches consistently outperform the benchmark strategies on a median basis and do so with a lower standard deviation. The most effective reinforcement learning approach was the one which had the most degrees of freedom in the action space. This finding highlights the ability of deep reinforcement learning techniques to learn effective execution strategies, even when relatively unconstrained. To assess robustness, strategies are evaluated across two trading horizons of varying lengths and the behaviour of the reinforcement learning agents is analysed.<br/
Can I Trust You? A Critical Review of the Perceptual, Social and Cognitive Influences on Trust
Get PDFTrust is a complex psychological phenomenon that is foundational to coordinated behaviour and societal function. This narrative review critically examines the perceptual, social, and cognitive indicators of trust, drawing on findings from multiple fields of behavioural science to identify theoretical and empirical gaps in our current understanding. Particular attention is paid to social identity cues, perceptual features like eye gaze, pupil dilation, and facial characteristics, and memory recall factors related to threat and reliability judgements, to highlight the potential domains of functional overlap that are ignored by narrowly focused research approaches. The review also identifies critical gaps in understanding the interplay of multimodal sensory cues, the impact of trust violations on memory encoding and retrieval, and the integration of trust cues in ecologically valid settings. To ground the importance of the dynamics of trust formation, the paper then overviews some demonstrable effects trust has on other domains of decision-making, ranging from financial to legal. Recommendations for future research emphasise the need for interdisciplinary approaches to account for these complexities. Pursuing these empirical directions could lead to significant practical advances in the understanding of the cognitive mechanisms underpinning trust, and their application to real-world decision-making settings where trust is essential
The effectiveness of linear and nonlinear pedagogical approaches in team-invasion ball sports: A systematic review
Get PDFBackground:In the sport sciences, skill development is often explained through two metatheoretical perspectives: interactionism and transactionism. Given certain assumptions, the former typically adheres to a linear pedagogical approach to learning, while the latter follows a nonlinear pedagogical approach. The aim of this systematic review is to compare the effects of linear and nonlinear pedagogical approaches on the development of technical and tactical skills in team-invasion ball sports. Methods: A systematic search of six databases (EmBase, PubMed, SPORTDiscus, OVID Medline, CINAHL, and OVID PsychInfo) was undertaken from root to 1st May 2024. Included studies were critically appraised using the ROBINS-I and RoB2 instruments. A narrative and descriptive synthesis approach was utilised. Results: From 7450 potential records, nine studies were included, which explored the effects of a nonlinear versus linear pedagogy for developing technical and tactical skills in team-invasion ball sports. While, for most outcomes, results showed there were no significant differences, nonlinear pedagogy did appear more favourable in 34% of technical outcomes. Further, descriptive synthesis of four studies revealed that nonlinear pedagogy was significantly better for developing tactical skills in 66% of outcomes.Conclusions: While based on limited studies, linear and nonlinear pedagogical approaches appear to achieve similar results with regards to technical skill development, although, nonlinear pedagogy was favoured in some studies. With regards to tactical skill development, nonlinear pedagogical approaches appear better than linear approaches. Further high-quality research is needed to confirm these findings and examine how they may be implicated by the representativeness of the assessment instruments
Generative Artificial Intelligence in Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations: A Systematic Review
Get PDFGenerative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is a tool that can be applied to virtually all aspects of business and life, including the construction industry. However, the adoption of GenAI in the construction industry, as with other innovations, is slow, and many of its applications thus far have been rather simplistic or failed to deliver a useful, credible output. There is a limited understanding of how GenAI is adopted in current practice and its potential to improve future practice in architecture, engineering, construction, and operations (AECO). Using a systematic literature review approach, this study aims to map the current issues in applying GenAI. The literature review initially identified 1013 peer-reviewed articles from ProQuest, Scopus, and Web of Science. The articles were further filtered based on specific criteria, resulting in 28 articles being retained for thematic analysis. The findings show a cluster of patterns in which GenAI is being adopted and shows promise. The core themes identified are as follows: (1) project brief, (2) architectural design, (3) building information modelling, (4) structural design, (5) construction and demolition, (6) operations, and (7) urban governance. A typical trend noted in the AECO industry has been training AI models that achieve quicker results, improve quality, and use fewer resources.</p
Changes in sequencing technology used for preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy
Get PDFThe continued development of assisted reproductive technologies has aimed to improve pregnancy outcomes through screening methods for the identification of embryos with monogenic disorders, chromosomal aneuploidy or structural abnormalities. There is an increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities for patients with advanced maternal age, recurrent implantation failure and recurrent pregnancy loss. To address this, preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy has evolved through several methods since the 1990s, when it first began through fluorescence in situ hybridisation. The limitations of these early methods were overcome with the progression in technology that enabled the screening of all 23 chromosome pairs. These methods included microarray methods and next-generation sequencing platforms. Currently, these are used for PGT-A; however, for IVF clinics to carry out PGT-A utilising these methods, samples are sent to external laboratories capable of carrying out these methods. More recently, nanopore sequencing has emerged, which may overcome these limitations and be carried out within IVF clinics to facilitate faster patient results. This review focuses on the evolution of PGT-A methods through next-generation sequencing and the current status of these methods