18624 research outputs found
Sort by
Adopting a systems-thinking approach to optimise dietary and exercise referral practices for cancer survivors
Get PDFPurpose: Service referrals are required for cancer survivors to access specialist dietary and exercise support. Many system-level factors influence referral practices within the healthcare system. Hence, the aim of this study was to identify system-level factors and their interconnectedness, as well as strategies for optimising dietary and exercise referral practices in Australia. Methods: A full-day workshop involving national multidisciplinary key stakeholders explored system-level factors impacting dietary and exercise referral practices. Facilitated group discussions using the nominal group technique identified barriers and facilitators to referral practices based on the six World Health Organisation (WHO) building blocks. The systems-thinking approach generated six cognitive maps, each representing a building block. A causal loop diagram was developed to visualise factors that influence referral practices. Additionally, each group identified their top five strategies by leveraging facilitators and addressing barriers relevant to their WHO building block. Results: Twenty-seven stakeholders participated in the workshop, including consumers (n = 2), cancer specialists (n = 4), nursing (n = 6) and allied health professionals (n = 10), and researchers, representatives of peak bodies, not-for-profit organisations, and government agencies (n = 5). Common system-level factors impacting on referral practices included funding, accessibility, knowledge and education, workforce capacity, and infrastructure. Fifteen system-level strategies were identified to improve referral practices. Conclusion: This study identified system-level factors and strategies that can be applied to policy planning and practice in Australia. © Crown 2024
Aboriginal people in the Northern Mallee Backcountry seasonal visitors? Active land managers?
Get PDFThis research uses previously unexamined sources and original methodologies to propose a new paradigm for Aboriginal peoples’ occupation of the Victorian Mallee backcountry. It refutes an historiography which saw Aboriginal people as simply ephemeral visitors to this area. In its place it demonstrates that Aboriginal people regularly occupied parts of the backcountry and posits that in those areas they practiced a unique Mallee Economy. In 1878 Robert Brough Smyth proposed that Aboriginal people were simply brief seasonal visitors to the backcountry and hence that the area was not permanently occupied. This has remained the dominant historical understanding and though it has been recently challenged, there is no agreement that it has been discredited. This thesis reviews that proposition and two research questions were formulated from the historiography as the basis for this investigation: 1. To what extent were Aboriginal people in the Northern Mallee ‘seasonal visitors’ and to what extent were they ‘permanent occupiers’? 2. What evidence is there that Aboriginal people in the Northern Mallee were ‘active land managers’? In the absence of an adequate written archive, this research adopted an original and relatively untested strategy of collecting evidence of Indigenous occupation and management of the land from cartographic sources. In the Northern Mallee this meant placing a heavy reliance on maps made to facilitate agricultural settlement, which occurred at least half a century after colonial occupation of the land. Information that was, or might be, indicative of Indigenous land use was gathered from over two hundred maps and archaeological sources and entered into a Geographic Information System (GIS) to allow its interpretation and analysis. Analysis in the GIS was supported by layers of already available data. The boundaries of major bioregional areas, vegetation groups, water features, colonial land-ownership, modern roads and towns, parish boundaries and the mapping of Indigenous land- ownership in North-Western Victoria were all added into the GIS. This research process produced varied but powerful findings that contradicted the conventional historiography. Hundreds of pieces of ‘track’ were collected from maps and when these were analysed a picture of extensive use of the backcountry was constructed. Long pathways provided avenues for trade and communication between the riverine corridors of the Murray, Darling, Murrumbidgee and Wimmera rivers. Other pathways provided connections into South Australia, whilst Wirrengren emerged as a major focus of travel into the Mallee. These ‘highways’ across the land were joined by ‘local roads’ reaching out from the numerous campsites along the densely settled Murray River. The second group of findings centred on the issue of seasonal visiting. The historiography of this understanding was subject to critical review. Brough Smyth’s proposition was placed in the context of ‘pastoral gentlemen’ seeking a rationale to remove Aboriginal people from desirable land, and the absence of early evidence of occupation was related to mapping conventions that afforded no recognition to perceived primitive hunter-gatherers. More recent pressures to conceal Indigenous heritage are also discussed. Demonstrating occupation was predicated on showing the presence of intermittently but regularly used campsites on estates similar to those occupied by Aboriginal people in arid areas. Cartographic sources proved of little value, but information was drawn from archaeological research and local histories, sufficient to show that parts of the backcountry were, within these criteria, permanently occupied. The research methodology proved more suited to the second research question, exploring Indigenous land management. Over 150 small ‘grassy plains’ were mapped in the study area and the GIS showed the location of these plains was apparently not random but appeared weighted towards a specific bioregional area. When these plains were seen in relationship to other non-grassy plains and patches of mallee eucalypts a sense of parts of the mallee as a mosaic of grassed areas and old mallee emerged. It was then posited that this mosaic created the conditions for a distinctive Mallee Economy. The small grassy plains were ideally suited to medium size mammals such as the boodie, bilby and bettongs, and also provided grain, murnong and other tuberous vegetables. The old mallee was, amongst other resources, the home to an iconic food source, Mallee Fowl eggs. Other food sources, some reptiles and the eggs of emus, were probably generally available across the mosaic. Due to the limitations in dating archaeological evidence no relationship could automatically be assumed to exist between the regularly used campsites and the Mallee Economy. But there were suggestions to support this. Most powerfully the GIS showed a strong geographical relationship between the campsites and the grassy plains. In another instance ethnohistorical evidence connected the two. Unable to be definitively answered was the question of whether the unique mosaic of grass and old mallee which allowed the Mallee Economy arose from ‘active land management’. Was the landscape created or maintained by the practice of ‘fire’ and ‘no fire’? There is only very limited direct evidence of landscape management in the backcountry, but the inference is compelling. Inference of active land management is strengthened by emerging evidence that if a regime of ‘fire’ and ‘no fire’ was not practiced the grasslands would have become senescent, if not totally overrun by mallee, and the productivity of the Mallee Economy seriously compromised. The broad findings of the research were that Aboriginal people permanently occupied parts of the Northern Mallee and may have used active land management to practice a unique Mallee Economy. The more specific finding was a map detailing the areas in which it is posited a Mallee Economy was being practiced, those areas in which it is clear it was not being practiced and other areas about which conclusions were not able to be made.Doctor of Philosoph
Assessing the post-fire recovery of mined-under temperate highland peat swamps on sandstone
No full textThe Temperate Highland Peat Swamps on Sandstone (TPHSS) in the Sydney Basin of Australia provide critical ecological and hydrological services but are increasingly threatened by wildfires and human activities such as underground mining. The 2019–2020 wildfires severely impacted these swamps, raising concerns about their resilience and recovery. This study assessed the post-fire recovery of swamps and evaluated the ability of remote sensing techniques to determine recovery patterns. Specifically, it investigated differences in post-fire recovery patterns between swamps where groundwater levels and soil moisture contents were impacted by underground mining and those unimpacted by mining. Two mined and one non-mined swamp were studied. Soil moisture contents were monitored at five sites, and previously performed vegetation field surveys (2016–2022) were utilized. Remote sensing indices, including the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Soil Moisture Index (SMI), were calculated and compared with ground data to map post-fire responses. The results showed that hydrological conditions directly affect post-fire recovery, with slower recovery in mined swamps compared to non-mined ones. This study demonstrated that NDVI and SMI indices can effectively determine recovery patterns in terms of vegetation and hydrology. However, evaluating the recovery pattern of specific vegetation species requires more frequent field surveys. © 2024 by the authors
Analogical classifier as a surrogate for explanations
No full textThis paper offers a unified, model-agnostic, analogy-based framework for extracting relevant attributes and building contrastive explanations for a given classification. Analogical reasoning relies on the idea of comparing items by pairs to discern their similarities and differences, based on an observable sample S of data. First, adhering to this principle, we propose a pair-based approach to extract relevant attributes via an analogical relevance index (ARI) from Boolean or nominal datasets. We prove properties establishing the behavior of ARI with respect to available samples S. When comparing ARI against established methods such a
The intersection of geography, topography and mindset : a nuanced understanding of regional, rural and remote students’ tertiary education participation in Australia
No full textThis paper explores the notion of rurality in Australian tertiary education as part of an investigation into the subtle but distinct differences in participation thinking and patterns among young people in regional, rural and remote communities. Drawing on qualitative data gathered as part of a wider research project for the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, the paper examines whether student participation in tertiary education is shaped by factors more deeply related to a sense of connection to community, the relationality and reflexivity as related to the context, as well as proximity to major tertiary education infrastructure, such as campuses. This analysis of place challenges traditional geographical lenses that emphasise regional, rural and remote—or ‘RRR’—location in and of itself. Hence, the paper contributes to a more nuanced understanding of language in relation to RRR location as used in Australian policy, providing insights into the contested nature of the Australian term RRR, the concept of rurality in the wider literature, and concomitantly, investigating the impact of the same on youth participation in Australian tertiary education. © The Author's, 2024
The diverse roles of unconventional T cells in humans
No full textMany studies have focused on the conventional subset of T cells which recognises complexes of peptides and major histocompatability (MHC) proteins. However, there are other types of T cells that do not fit this template called unconventional T cells and include, natural killer T (NKT) cells, γδ T cells, and mucosal-associated invariant T cells (MAIT). These unconventional T cells recognise lipids, small molecules metabolites and specially modified peptides and unlike conventional T cells they typically have simplified patterns of T cell antigen receptor (TCR) expression, rapid effector responses and ‘public’ antigen specificities. Unconventional T cells have been investigated in a broad range of diseases including bacterial infections, cancer, and autoimmunity. In many diseases, their frequency and function are abnormal, and although the reason for this is not well understood, it has been suggested that their dysregulalation can contribute to disease pathogenesis and progression. In this thesis, we investigated their role in several human settings. In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), we found that both MAIT cells and the Vδ2 subset of γδ T cells were decreased in frequency, however, they remained largely functionally intact, with some alterations in MAIT cells being observed in their function following chronic simulation. Given the emerging evidence that exercise can have positive impacts on both immune cell frequency and function, we investigated the effects of exercise more thoroughly focusing on the effects on unconventional T cells in cancer patients. Existing research has primarily focused on the short-term effects of exercise. To address this, we investigated the frequency and function of immune cells in cancer patients undergoing a prehabilitation exercise program with the focus on unconventional T cell subsets. We showed that this program of exercise did not cause any significant changes in the frequency or function of the immune cells of cancer patients. Unconventional T cells have also been suggested to be implicated in other diseases, including the viral disease leading to a pandemic in 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This led to the rapid development of vaccines against COVID-19 which induced high protection against the disease mediated by serum antibodies and the generation of antigen-specific B cells and T cells. Previous reports have indicated the importance of unconventional T cells in the efficacy of vaccination. Therefore, we set out to investigate if donors with increased proportions of unconventional T cells had a better response to vaccination. We showed that the proportionof unconventional T cells did not correlate with increased protection of vaccination based on antibody tires and antigen-specific B cell proportions. Building on our findings on the importance of unconventional T cells in disease, we set out to investigate their development to potentially lead to the ability to manipulate their frequency. We focused on Vγ9Vδ2 γδ T cells which are the largest population of gd T cells in adults and have been shown to provide effective immunity against cancer and infection. It has been previously suggested that the adult pool of Vγ9Vδ2 γδ T cells derived from the fetal liver and thymus and that the γδ T cells postnatal thymus has little to no role in their development. However, more recent data has disputed this, although the evidence was indirect. Studying the thymus of infant humans, we defined a three-stage pathway for the development of Vγ9Vδ2 γδ T cells in the postnatal thymus. Distinct developmental stages could be defined by the progressive acquisition of functional potential and major changes in the expression of transcription factors, chemokines, and other surface markers. Analysis of donor-matched thymus and blood samples revealed the molecular requirements for the development of functional Vγ9Vδ2 γδ T cells were delivered predominantly in the postnatal thymus and not in the periphery. Our findings provide a greater understanding of howVγ9Vδ2 T cells develop in humans and may lead to opportuni@es to manipulate these cells to treat human diseases. Unconventional T cells demonstrate diverse roles in human disease, potentially protective, but also potentially contributing to disease onset and progression. This versatility underscores the importance of exploring their development and functions to further explore the possibility of targeting them therapeutically.Doctor of Philosoph
Effectiveness of protection motivation theory on clinical factors, behavior change, and cardiovascular disease : an integrative review
Get PDFObjective: To identify and synthesize the primary evidence on the effectiveness of Protection Motivation Theory on and cardiovascular disease and diseases that are risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Method: An integrative review was conducted using the Whittemore and Knafl method (2005). Results: Eleven articles met the inclusion and quality assessment criteria. The integration of evidence was abundant in three themes 1) Physical activity 2) Weight and Body Mass Index, and 3) Food consumption and each theme having the same six sub-themes of self-efficacy, response-efficacy, response cost, severity, vulnerability and reward. No studies have addressed all clinical factors and behavioral changes associated with cardiovascular disease. Conclusion: Due to the limited literature on the effectiveness of Protection Motivation Theory on behavioral changes in patients with cardiovascular diseases, generalizations and practice recommendations are limited. Further research is required to evaluate the effectiveness of this theory in patient outcomes. © 202
An exploration of management perspectives on wellbeing outcomes in the aquatic and recreation industry
Get PDFPublic aquatic and recreation centres are a cornerstone of leisure infrastructure within Australia. However, the extent to which these facilities set community well-being as a specific strategic goal or measurable outcome is unknown. This paper adopts a qualitative exploratory approach with the aim of understanding key issues and challenges within these centres relating to obtaining well-being outcomes. Findings highlight a unique and challenging industry due to competing pressures and the often difficult relationships between these facilities and local government. Critical factors impacting the focus on wellbeing include employee engagement, technology, the built environment, and diversity and inclusion. Further, wellbeing benefits vary for different user groups and commercial/financial pressures can impact wellbeing outcomes. In conclusion, this paper provides an important contribution to the leisure literature but also establishes a research agenda for further investigation that will both contribute to scholarly understanding and provide industry with new insights for evidence-based decision making. © 2022 Australia and New Zealand Association of Leisure Studies
Mining project value optimization
No full textThis book provides a holistic approach of integrated mine planning and scheduling to optimize mining projects using the discounted cash flow rate of return (DCF-ROR) method. There are nine chapters in the book. Chapter 1 is the Introduction, which provides overviews of mineral assets, minerals in Australia, mineral exploration, mining methods, and significance of valuation, optimization, and integrated mine planning. Chapter 2 is the Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves Estimation, including grade composition method, inverse distance weighting method, ordinary Kriging method and block model. Chapter 3 is the Feasibility Study that delves into three phased feasibility study, namely scoping, prefeasibility and feasibility studies, data requirements, risk identification and mitigation in the feasibility study, and mining project cost estimation. Chapter 4 is the Valuation of Mineral Projects. It starts with the time value of money; followed by methods to calculate cash flow, discounted cash flow (DCF), net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR) and payback period; valuation methods, including market-, income-, and cost-based approaches; and finally the sensitivity study of key factors influencing the valuation of mining projects. Chapter 5 is the Mine Planning and Open Pit Optimization that covers different types of mine planning, block model valuation, Lerchs-Grossmann and floating cone techniques for pit optimization. Chapter 6 is the Life of Mine Optimization that details a case study of strip mining optimization using the DCF-ROR method and integrated LOM optimization of open pit mining. Chapter 7 is the Production Schedule Optimization of Surface Mining, covering production schedule optimization, equipment availability and utilization, and loading and hauling equipment match optimization. Chapter 8 is the Optimization of Underground Mine Planning and Scheduling that delves to a case study of room and pillar mining optimization using the DCF-ROR method and mathematical programs for underground stope layout and production schedule optimization. Chapter 9 is the Conclusion of the book. The book can benefit students and professionals in multiple ways. Firstly, divisions and confusions may arise from different contexts of technical frameworks, taxation, and relevant legislations in literature. Having quality contents in one book will improve the efficiency of study. Secondly, the inclusion of plentiful hands-on examples and calculation tables underscores the practical application of the concepts, bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world scenarios. Thirdly, the book adopts an integrated approach to evaluate and optimize mineral projects, utilizing methodologies such as DCF-ROR for optimization, ordinary Kriging for ore reserve estimation, and multi-level optimization including strategic planning, pit optimization, life of mine optimization, and production schedule optimization. Finally, the content is fully aligned with internationally recognized standards such as the VALMIN and JORC codes, ensuring compliance with industry best practices and guidelines
