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Sustainability in ground improvement : the case of Xanthan Gum Biopolymer
No full textSustainable soil stabilization solutions aim to maintain a perfect balance between infrastructure performance and the social, economic and ecological processes required to sustain human equity, diversity, and the functionality of natural systems. To this end, biopolymers, either chemically synthesized from biological matter or biosynthesized by living organisms, are exhibiting great promise as a financially competitive and green alternative for conventional calcium-based binders. Recent experimental studies have shown that soils stabilized by polysaccharide-type biopolymers, such as xanthan gum (XG), exhibit a variety of promising physical and mechanical treatments, including improved water-retention capacity, reduced compressibility and hydraulic conductivity, enhanced shear strength, and improved resistance against wind/water erosion. Despite these advancements, the existing literature reveals numerous inconsistencies, and a thorough understanding of the behaviour/properties of XG-treated soils under diverse loading and environmental conditions remains somewhat elusive. More importantly, there remains a notable gap in understanding how different factors affect the interactions between XG and various soil types throughout the processes of mixing, curing, and later environmental exposure. This book represents the first of its kind, offering a comprehensive, fundamental overview of the current state of XG usage for sustainable ground improvement, while also identifying future research directions towards addressing existing gaps in knowledge and application. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024
The role of parenting- and employment-related variables on fathers' involvement in their children's education
Get PDFBackground: Parent involvement strongly correlates with children's educational attainment. Sociocultural shifts in parenting roles and shared responsibilities have driven an increase in the need for involvement of fathers in activities to support their children's educational development. Several factors are thought to influence father involvement in children's education; however, the most salient factors remain unclear. Aims: To examine which variables correlate with father involvement in their children's education using a combination of demographic, parent-related and employment-related variance. Sample: A total of 166 fathers of at least one child aged 6–17 years and residing across five industrialized Western countries participated in an online survey. Method: Hierarchical multiple regression analysis (HMRA) was performed to examine the total and incremental variance using regression models including demographic, parenting- and employment-related variables linked to educational involvement. Results and Conclusions: The variables included in the current study could explain a large and statistically significant 34% of the variability in fathers' educational involvement. Of these variables, only four were statistically significant in the final model. Specifically, fathers were more likely to be engaged in their children's education when their children were younger, and when parent self-efficacy, positive work-to-family interface and financial anxiety were high. The study's findings indicate that a positive work environment can help fathers better support their children's education, offering a new focus for future interventions and policies. This includes those focused on targeting work-related constructs to optimize family functioning. © 2024 The Author(s). British Journal of Educational Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society
Graduate pathways following nursing education during COVID-19
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic has exerted many effects on populations worldwide. Due to the nature of the pandemic, health and specifically nursing sectors have been particularly impacted. While the nursing sector had to grapple with the impact of the pandemic as well as associated government interventions, nursing students have experienced changes in their job prospects, satisfaction with their training and their propensity to engage in further studies, all impinging on the sustainability of nursing education. This study aims to analyze educational outcomes for nursing graduates undertaking VET (vocational education and training) programs in Australia. Impacts assessed include employment, satisfaction, and further study after completion. The paper is based on analysis of five large waves of a comprehensive survey of Australian vocational education completers, from 2018 to 2022 inclusive. We develop three separate logistic regression models for the outcomes of employment, satisfaction, and enrollment in further study in order to estimate the predictive margins for the interactions between year and field of education, including the Diploma of Nursing, all other health qualifications, and all other qualifications. Our results show that these graduates saw significantly improved employment outcomes and heightened satisfaction during and after the pandemic, pointing to the sector meeting sustainability challenges. Interestingly, enrolment in further studies, after a notable increase earlier in the pandemic, returned to pre-pandemic levels as the crises abated. © 2024 The Author
Exploring drivers of women’s well-being in hospitals : mapping the landscape
Get PDFBackground and purpose: The workplace plays a key role in impacting the health and well-being of employees at various levels, including physical, psychological, and social aspects of health. This study aims to identify the drivers of a healthy environment that promotes the well-being of women employed in hospitals. Materials & methods: This qualitative study used purposive sampling to recruit a total of 48 working women across a diverse range of participants with different job categories and socio-demographic statuses. These include clinical health (e.g., nurse, head nurse, practical nurse, supervisor, physicians); allied health (e.g., diagnostic services); public health (e.g., health promotion specialists); and administrative (e.g., hospital managers). Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and were analyzed using content analysis by creating codes, sub-themes, and themes. Results: Content analysis resulted in 31 key codes, that generated 12 sub-themes and 4 key themes. These include Advancing women’s health through collaborative leadership; a Psychologically safe environment for women; Thriving for positive social connections; and Advancing holistic health for women. Discussion and Conclusion: Hospital managers and leaders play a pivotal role in creating supportive workplaces for women. They can significantly assist in prioritizing their psychological and social health through personalized approaches tailored to women’s needs, positioning them as co-designers of their health and well-being. © The Author(s) 2024
'A meaningful difference, but not ultimately the difference I would want’ : a mixed-methods approach to explore and benchmark clinically meaningful changes in aphasia recovery
Get PDFIntroduction: Outcome measurement instruments (OMIs) are used to gauge the effects of treatment. In post-stroke aphasia rehabilitation, benchmarks for meaningful change are needed to support the interpretation of patient outcomes. This study is part of a research programme to establish minimal important change (MIC) values (the smallest change above which patients perceive themselves as importantly changed) for core OMIs. As a first step in this process, the views of people with aphasia and clinicians were explored, and consensus was sought on a threshold for clinically meaningful change. Methods: Sequential mixed-methods design was employed. Participants included people with post-stroke aphasia and speech pathologists. People with aphasia were purposively sampled based on time post-stroke, age and gender, whereas speech pathologists were sampled according to their work setting (hospital or community). Each participant attended a focus group followed by a consensus workshop with a survey component. Within the focus groups, experiences and methods for measuring meaningful change during aphasia recovery were explored. Qualitative data were transcribed and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. In the consensus workshop, participants voted on thresholds for meaningful change in core outcome constructs of language, communication, emotional well-being and quality of life, using a six-point rating scale (much worse, slightly worse, no change, slightly improved, much improved and completely recovered). Consensus was defined a priori as 70% agreement. Voting results were reported using descriptive statistics. Results: Five people with aphasia (n = 4, > 6 months after stroke; n = 5, < 65 years; n = 3, males) and eight speech pathologists (n = 4, hospital setting; n = 4, community setting) participated in one of four focus groups (duration: 92–112 min). Four themes were identified describing meaningful change as follows: (1) different for every single person; (2) small continuous improvements; (3) measured by progress towards personally relevant goals; and (4) influenced by personal factors. ‘Slightly improved’ was agreed as the threshold of MIC on the anchor-rating scale (75%–92%) within 6 months of stroke, whereas after 6 months there was a trend towards supporting ‘much improved’ (36%–66%). Conclusion: Our mixed-methods research with people with aphasia and speech pathologists provides novel evidence to inform the definition of MIC in aphasia rehabilitation. Future research will aim to establish MIC values for core OMIs. Patient or Public Contribution: This work is the result of engagement between people with lived experience of post-stroke aphasia, including people with aphasia, family members, clinicians and researchers. Engagement across the research cycle was sought to ensure that the research tasks were acceptable and easily understood by participants and that the outcomes of the study were relevant to the aphasia community. This engagement included the co-development of a plain English summary of the results. Advisors were remunerated in accordance with Health Consumers Queensland guidelines. Interview guides for clinicians were piloted by speech pathologists working in aphasia rehabilitation. © 2024 The Author(s). Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
'Relaxed restriction': 'What i eat in a day' videos and the persistence of diet culture
No full textThis chapter considers the evolution of diet culture in the digital age, particularly focussing on the proliferation of anti-diet and holistic wellness sentiments, which paradoxically work to conceal the ongoing persistence of diet culture. A discourse analysis approach was conducted on 'What I Eat In A Day' (WIEIAD) YouTube videos to examine the ways in which diet choices are narrated and rationalised to achieve the illusion of the 'disappearance' of diet culture. The author explores how this has produced the pressure to have (or more accurately perform) a 'healthy' relationship with food. This is ambiguously defined and embodied online, but some recurring themes have been observed through my analysis. The author argues that these WIEIAD videos often risk obscuring the persistence of diet culture by positioning it in the past when, as this chapter will attempt to demonstrate, it is very much embedded in the current diet discourse. Weight loss and appearance are downplayed as motivations for engaging in health and wellness. However, they are very much still beneath the surface. While the conversation around dieting might be less overtly problematic than it was in the past, there continues to be a significant amount of vigilance and effort required for women to meet conventional beauty standards. In addition to the material practice of dieting, there is now the pressure to perform the emotional labour of 'talking away' accusations of disordered eating, upholding the premature ideal of a post-diet culture era. © 2024 by Justine Topham. All rights reserved
Contribution of mangrove forest carbon stocks on climate change mitigation: a case study at Tuntang Estuary, Central Java
No full textMangroves are an important coastal ecosystem in the global cycle of carbon and climate change mitigation. Unfortunately, a significant loss of mangrove forests has significantly increased carbon emissions over recent years. This research aims to measure the carbon stocks and potential carbon storage of the Tuntang Estuary mangrove forest. Sixteen quadrant plots at six sites were used to collect data on above- and below-ground carbon (roots and sediment). Several published allometric formulas were used for estimating the above and below-ground (root) carbon, while the Walkley and Black method was used to analyze sediment organic carbon. This study showed that the potential of total carbon stocks in this mangrove forest was approximately 0.08 × 106 (± 0.02) Mg C or equivalent to 0.29 × 106 (± 0.05) Mg CO2e. The largest average percentage of carbon stocks (62%) was stored in sediment, 24.57% in mangrove tree biomass, and 13.43% in root biomass. This study discovered that coastal abrasion has a natural effect on mangrove forests and that human activities, particularly aquacultures, also contribute to the low total stock of carbon. The ecotourism site had the highest overall stock of carbon due to the extensive conservation efforts of all stakeholders, including visitors. This study highlights the crucial role of conserving mangroves as a strategy for achieving sustainable development goals, particularly in the context of climate change mitigation. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2024
Occurrence and trends of historical tropical cyclone rainfall on near-coastal regions of Australia
Get PDFExtreme rainfall driven by tropical cyclones (TCs) has profound effects on Australian coastlines at both local and regional scales. Here, we develop methods for comparing TC-driven widespread and localised rainfall on three broad coastal regions of tropical Australia (west, north and east). Trends, average recurrence intervals (ARIs) and the fractional contribution of TC rainfall are explored in three historical datasets: Australian Gridded Climate Data (AGCD), ECMWF Reanalysis (ver. 5, ERA5) and the Bureau of Meteorology Atmospheric high resolution Regional Reanalysis for Australia (ver. 1, BARRA1). Results for trends and ARIs between the different datasets are generally inconsistent and also differ between regions, partially owing to the short-term temporal records of some of the data as well as inconsistencies in extreme values between datasets. By contrast, there is a general agreement between all datasets on the fractional contribution of TC rainfall, signalling an increase in recent years. This result is considered together with the trend towards fewer TCs occurring in this region over recent decades, indicating a trend towards increased rainfall intensity per TC on average, assuming steady landfall rates. The methods developed here can be applied easily to other data types such as regional climate model experiments, facilitating a multiple lines of evidence approach that incorporates both observational-based and model-based data. This research is intended to help provide new methods and guidance for identifying trends in TC-driven extreme rainfall, relevant for enhanced planning and adaptation to the impacts of these extreme weather systems. © 2024 The Author(s
Decreasing global tropical cyclone frequency in CMIP6 historical simulations
Get PDFThe impact of anthropogenic global warming on tropical cyclone (TC) frequency remains a challenging issue, partly due to a relatively short period of reliable observational TC records and inconsistencies in climate model simulations. Using TC detection from 20 CMIP6 historical simulations, we show that the majority (75%) of these models show a decrease in global-scale TC frequency from 1850 to 2014. We demonstrated that this result is largely explained by weakened mid-tropospheric upward motion in CMIP6 models over the Pacific and Atlantic main development regions. The reduced upward motion is due to a zonal circulation adjustment and shifts in Intertropical Convergence Zone in response to global warming. In the South Indian Ocean, reduced TC frequency is mainly due to the decreased survival rate of TC seeds because of an increased saturation deficit in a warming climate. Our analysis highlights global warming's potential impact on the historical decrease in global TC frequency. © 2024 The Authors
Infant sleep and anxiety disorders in early childhood : findings from an Australian pregnancy cohort study
Get PDFEmphasis on continuous infant sleep overnight may be driven by parental concern of risk to child mental health outcomes. The Mercy Pregnancy and Emotional Wellbeing Study (MPEWS) examined whether infant sleep at 6 and 12 months postpartum predicts anxiety disorders at 2–4 years, and whether this is moderated by maternal depression, active physical comforting (APC) or maternal cognitions about infant sleep. Data included 349 women and infants. Infant sleep was measured using the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire and child anxiety disorders by the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment. The risk of developing generalised anxiety or social phobia disorders at 3–4 years was reduced by 42% (p = 0.001) and 31% (p = 0.001), respectively, for a one standard deviation increase in total sleep at 12 months. No other infant sleep outcomes were associated. Maternal depression, APC and cognitions about infant sleep did not significantly moderate these relationships. Focus may need to be on total infant sleep, rather than when sleep is achieved. Highlights: To assess whether infant sleep outcomes (i.e., frequency of nocturnal wakes; nocturnal wakefulness and total sleep per day) at 6 and 12 months predict early childhood anxiety disorders at 3–4 years of age. Maternally reported infant sleep outcomes were not associated with the risk of developing early childhood anxiety disorders at 3–4 years. It may be total infant sleep, irrespective of when sleep occurs or night waking and, independently, active physical comforting that requires further investigation. © 2024 The Authors. Infant and Child Development published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd