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It is time to reassess reporting of electroconvulsive therapy data in New Zealand: A 17-year retrospective analysis of treatment data from Waikato
Get PDFObjective: The New Zealand Government has provided brief annual reports on electroconvulsive therapy treatment since 2004. Despite this, only limited information is made available to clinicians to guide clinical improvement and refine guidelines. Beyond an audit from Otago detailing 10 years of electroconvulsive therapy treatments, limited information is available about electroconvulsive therapy treatments in New Zealand. This paper reports on the use of electroconvulsive therapy over the past 17 years in one New Zealand District Health Board. Methods: It covers 7126 treatments for 333 patients between 2004 and 2020. Results: Despite an increasing number of treatments, there has been no per capita growth when corrected for the population. Despite criticism for the disproportionate use of electroconvulsive therapy in women, treatment equity for men and women has been evidenced over the latter 3 years. The majority of treatments were given under voluntary consent, even among patients admitted under the Mental Health Act. Clinical practice is moving towards bifrontal treatment over other electrode placements in response to clinical guidance. Conclusion: While COVID-19 had broad impacts across healthcare services, it has not led to an overall change in treatments. There was, however, a noticeable shift towards more psychotic disorders treated during the pandemic. This study also provides data that Māori and Pacific Islanders are accessing electroconvulsive therapy, though rates of electroconvulsive therapy usage are still lesser on a proportional population basis. Conclusions are provided to improve national data collection and reporting standards
Design and Implementation of a Radiatively Pre-heated Aerothermoelastic Experiment
Get PDFThis thesis studies the aerothermoelastic response of a pre-heated canonical geometry: a clamped-free-clamped-free rectangular (120 mm x 60 mm x 1 mm) compliant AL6061-T6 panel. This includes the design, supporting simulation, and validation of HyRAD, a new experimental model. It provides a novel method for the study of high-temperature aerothermoelastic in test facilities that are affordable for university research groups.
Panels were placed in Mach 5.9 flow for 220 ms in the TUSQ Ludwieg Tube facility. This was done at 0° and 5° inclinations relative to flow. The HyRAD model was tested with panels at room temperature, 395 K, and 538 K. These temperatures were achieved by the novel use of a thermo-resistively heated carbon-carbon radiative heater. The heater achieved temperatures above 1200 K, enabling it to be placed far from the panel while providing sufficient heating. This reduced its aerodynamic effects on the compliant panel. The flow was relatively cold for the Mach number, with a total temperature of 571 K, eliminating calorically non-perfect and flow chemistry effects.
On the HyRAD model, point measurements of surface pressure and structural accelerations were performed. Distributed data of panel and model deflection were collected with laser profilometery, schlieren imaging, and digital image correlation. Flow structures were identified and characterized with schlieren imaging. Panel and model temperature distributions were assessed with infrared cameras. The collected data were processed and assessed to generate temporally resolved physical measurements.
In addition to compliant panel frequency analysis, other frequency content were characterized. This included the bulk motion of supporting structure, the wind tunnel test section, and frequency content inherent to the measurement methods themselves.
The compliant panel mode frequencies shifted between room and high temperature. Panel-to-panel variation in frequency response was similar in scale to shifts caused by temperature change. Therefore, temperature-based frequency shifts were assessed for each panel, rather than comparing across panels. The dominant bending mode frequency shifts were similar to those expected from one-way coupled simulations, ∼28 Hz. The measured 1st torsional mode shifts were smaller than expected from simulation, ∼46 Hz, but similar in scale. Additionally, aerodynamic stiffening at 5° inclination caused frequency shifts that were less pronounced than at 0° inclination
Counter-imaging Australia’s agricultural landscapes for digital sustainability communication
Get PDFIndustrial agriculture exerts significant ecological pressures, leading to biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, and biocapacity drawdown. Environmental impacts are often concealed due to physical (remoteness from city centers) and conceptual distancing (romanticized portrayals through advertising), hindering agricultural transparency. This article documents a creative digital methodology developed to communicate the scale and environmental impacts of industrial agriculture and to link consumers’ food choices with their sources. Research centers on the creation of “Food Landscapes Australia,” an interactive digital dissensus archive designed to expose the environmental consequences of the country’s agri-food system. The methodology integrates systematic spatial-statistical analysis, typological classification, continental-scale field research, a visual method for drone-image capture, and the immersive online dissemination archive. The archive includes 881 curated cinematographic drone videos, distilled from over 10,000 images captured across 38,000 kilometers of field research, systematically framing Australia’s agricultural activities and environmental impacts. Findings reveal the potential of these digital methodologies to produce high-resolution, incisive visual evidence that challenges dominant agri-food sustainability narratives, exposing often-concealed practices. The methodology, therefore, offers a contextually adaptable approach for sustainability researchers, educators, and policymakers to enhance environmental communication of agricultural impacts. Outcomes foster public awareness and critical reflection on sustainability issues and, by bridging the gap between production landscapes and food consumers, demonstrate the potential of digital tools for encouraging informed discourse and decision-making around sustainable food systems
Intergenerational Family Relationships and Old-Age Volunteering: The Perspectives of Older Chinese Immigrants in Greater Sydney, Australia
No full textEmbedded in the framework of intergenerational solidarity, this paper explores the interactions between older immigrants' participation in volunteering activities and intergenerational family relationships in the Chinese community in Sydney, Australia. The study investigates the effects of volunteering on the lives of older Chinese immigrants. It draws on 57 in-depth interviews and 6 focus groups with older immigrants, the vast majority of whom were from China. The findings suggest that volunteering among older immigrant parents is shaped by intergenerational family relationships. Volunteering serves to improve the wellbeing of older people who would otherwise suffer from social isolation and often helps to mend strained family relationships. For older Chinese immigrants, volunteering provides a means to access public services, navigate social service systems and reduce dependency on their children, thereby fostering functional, normative and affective solidarity. This study also uncovers the interconnectedness of the six dimensions of intergenerational family relationships, showing that when adult children actively support their older parents' volunteering, it benefits the elderly immigrants, their families as well as the broader community. The paper calls for better preparedness for aging in the context of immigration, advocating for capacity-building initiatives for both older immigrants and their adult children
Laser for genitourinary syndrome of menopause: what we know and what we need to know
Get PDFEnergy-based treatments, including the fractional CO2 laser, have been widely used for treatment of genitourinary symptoms associated with menopause. With the availability of data from seven double-blind sham-controlled randomized trials, the evidence does not support the fractional CO2 laser as an efficacious treatment for genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM). A 2024 meta-analysis of these trials demonstrated that the symptom with greatest absolute improvement was dyspareunia at 16.3%, although not statistically significant. This improvement is far less than previously anticipated based on prospective data that suggested promising improvements of more than 90% satisfaction following laser treatment. Other data, including those from unblinded studies which are subject to a placebo effect, and outcomes that are not participant-reported including the appearance of the vagina on examination and histology, are not reliable in determining efficacy of laser treatment for GSM. While there may be a clinical effect of laser over sham treatments for GSM, the effect is unlikely to be clinically meaningful. Until we define and demonstrate a minimal clinically important difference in a robust and appropriately powered study, the laser should not be used in a clinical context for GSM
Visualizing city incompleteness: Incremental urban change in Central Sydney 1965–2020
Get PDFUrban theorists and observers have pointed towards a persistent if elusive character of incompleteness within cities. This paper responds to these ideas both theoretically and visually. Building on a definition of incompleteness as encompassing a perceptual absence or missing, the paper addresses a gap in theoretical understanding of how incompleteness can be critically understood and depicted as a temporal urban process. The focus goes beyond a singular state or built quality towards continuums of re-construction, fragmentation and re-imagination. These notions inform a practice-driven interrogation of incompleteness in graphic terms. The case study is a five decade microhistory of ongoing change in a central city block in Sydney, Australia. An approach to analytical and speculative drawing is presented to enable a conceptual and analytical investigation of incompleteness as a regenerative process of city-making
Creep behaviour of Alkali-Activated Slag and Fly ash Concrete
No full textThe material properties of alkali activated binder have been gaining significant traction due to its lower embodied carbon compared to clinker. However, only a limited number of studies have been conducted to investigate the creep behaviour of alkali activated concrete. Concerns regarding the elevated creep strain hinder its large-scale structural application.
In the first part of the dissertation, the influence of key factors affecting the basic and drying creep behaviour of Alkali Activated Slag and Fly ash concrete (AASF) such as loading age, sizes of exposed surface and aggregate size and content was investigated, along with the long-term development of mechanical properties of AASF concrete. The results showed that creep of one-part AASF concrete gradually surpassed that of OPC concrete over time, which could be attributed to the degradation of the microstructure, corroborated by the gradual reduction in the apparent elastic modulus with time. The creep behaviour of AASF was compared with predictions from different design codes. It was shown that the newly proposed data-tuned model in SA TS 199 can provide relatively accurate estimations for the creep behaviour at later stages of loading.
To mitigate the larger total creep strain developed in AASF concrete at later age of loading, shrinkage reducing admixtures (SRA) were introduced in the mix. The results show that the addition of SRA can effectively reduce both the magnitude and rate of the total creep development of AASF concrete and can enhance the development of its elastic modulus and strength with time. A series of characterisation tests were conducted to explore the mechanism behind the different creep behaviour with and without SRA. The results indicated that the formation of shrinkage-related microcracks may be the primary cause of the increased creep strain of AASF compared to OPC concrete.
Finally, the fundamental creep mechanism of AASF paste was investigated at microscopic scale. To facilitate this, a specialised mini creep rig was developed, allowing in-situ monitoring of water redistribution over time between high- and low-density (HD, LD) gel pores via 1H NMR relaxometry. The findings indicate that in loaded AASF paste, the contraction of C (N) A S H particles is associated with a reduction in water content within HD gel. Conversely, for the loaded OPC paste, a significant decrease in water content was observed in the LD gel rather than the HD gel, suggesting a distinctly different creep mechanism. The variation of HD gel signals was then used as an indicator to reflect the aging properties, and the solidifying rheological Kelvin chain model was used to simulate the early age creep behaviour of AASF paste
Restoring Children From Out-of-Home Care: Insights From an Aboriginal-Led Community Forum
No full textRestoring children from out-of-home care (OOHC) to their families is the preferred outcome for all children removed by child protection services, yet little is known about how restoration processes are experienced by families and services supporting them. This paper provides important insights about Aboriginal child restoration from 40 practitioners and stakeholders at a community forum led by Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations in regional New South Wales (NSW), Australia. This is one component of larger Aboriginal-led research, which investigates child protection experiences and pathways to successful restoration in NSW and the data source for this paper. The community forum explored the issues for families navigating family preservation, OOHC and restoration within child protection and legal systems. Findings include the need for a continuum of support for families throughout their engagement with child protection systems and crucially following the removal of their children. Barriers to effective restoration practice included a lack of access to meaningful and ongoing preservation services, insufficient cultural care planning and family finding efforts that are often too late, the pressure on services to support families without adequate capabilities or enough resourcing, the lack of transparency and the complexities in navigating the restoration process, and the lack of culturally informed support for children and their families while children are in care. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. This paper contributes to understanding practice, processes and barriers for restoration, particularly focused on the perspectives of Aboriginal families and communities, with potential insights for practice within Australia and internationally
Fly Ash Microbubble Composites: From Micromechanics to Structural Performance
Get PDFFly ash microbubble composites (FMC) are lightweight particulate materials with high strength-to-weight ratios and sustainability benefits, making them attractive for structural applications. These composites consist of hollow cenospheres embedded in a polymeric matrix, yet their nonlinear mechanical behavior, including yield characteristics and failure mechanisms, remains inadequately explored. This research develops a multiscale modeling framework to predict the nonlinear response of FMC, bridging the gap between microscale material interactions and macroscale structural performance.
The study begins with a computational framework for periodic Representative Volume Element (RVE) generation, applicable to particulate composites with hollow or solid spherical inclusions and porous media. A stochastic and deterministic algorithm constructs periodic and random RVEs, enforces periodic boundary conditions (PBCs), and enables accurate micromechanical analysis.
This framework is then employed to characterize FMC’s nonlinear response through a damage-aware finite element model (FEM), incorporating pressure sensitivity, shear asymmetry, and tension-compression nonlinearity. A novel yield function, formulated using homogenized stress-strain data, integrates higher-order stress invariants, including the Lode parameter, to accurately capture FMC’s pressure-dependent plasticity, microscale damage, interfacial debonding, and microbubble fracture.
Building on this, the developed yield function is implemented in full-scale simulations of FMC-based sandwich panels under low-velocity impact (LVI). The FEM analysis evaluates energy dissipation, progressive damage, and failure mechanisms, providing insights into the material's structural resilience. Parametric studies explore the effects of microbubble volume fraction, resin type, and skin thickness on impact resistance, demonstrating FMC’s potential as a sustainable alternative to conventional core materials.
This research advances the understanding of FMC’s multiscale behavior by integrating computational homogenization, constitutive modeling, and impact analysis. Additionally, an open-access Abaqus plug-in is developed to facilitate RVE generation, ensuring accessibility for future studies on particulate composites and porous media