University of the Sunshine Coast
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Prevalence of risk factors for sudden infant death among Indigenous and non‐Indigenous people in Australia
No full textAim:
To examine differences in the prevalence of risk factors for sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non‐Indigenous infants.
Methods:
A retrospective cohort study of SUDI in Queensland during 2010‐2014 examined exposure to SUDI risk factors, to identify factors accounting for higher SUDI mortality among Indigenous infants. A multistage algorithm was applied to linked data to determine Indigenous status.
Results:
There were 228 SUDI, of which Indigenous infants comprised 26.8%. The Indigenous SUDI rate was 2.13/1000 live births compared to 0.72/1000 for non‐Indigenous. The disparity between Indigenous and non‐Indigenous SUDI was accounted for by surface‐sharing (OR = 2.93 95% CI = 1.41, 6.07), smoking (OR = 2.49, 95% CI = 1.13, 5.52), and a combination of background antenatal and sociodemographic factors (inadequate antenatal care (OR = 6.93, 95% CI = 2.20, 21.86), young maternal age at first birth (OR = 4.02, 95% CI = 1.49, 10.80) and outer‐regional (OR = 3.03, 95% CI = 1.37, 6.72) and remote locations (OR = 11.31, 95% CI = 3.47, 36.83)).
Conclusion:
Culturally responsive prevention efforts, including wrap‐around maternity care and strategies that reduce maternal smoking and promote safer yet culturally acceptable ways of surface sharing, may reduce Indigenous SUDI mortality
The impact of photographs on the online marketing for tourism: The case of Japanese-style inns
No full textThis article examines the impact of the use of photographs in online marketing for tourism through a case study based on Japanese-style inns. Nowadays, most Japanese-style inns present photographs of what they think are their key appealing elements on their own social networking and/or video/photo-sharing websites, while guests upload their photographs and write comments on travel or social networking websites and/or on the websites of e-travel agents. Through the medium of ‘netnography’, this research has identified that the photographs presented online by Japanese-style inns can affect decision-making processes of guests and/or expectations in both a positive and a negative way, and e-word of mouth can work together with the photographs to influence prospective guests
A Multidisciplinary Analysis of the Rugby Union Pass
No full textRugby Union is one of the fastest growing team sports in the world. In 2016, there was 8.5m people across 121 countries playing Rugby. One of the most fundamental skills in Rugby Union is passing. Passing in both Rugby codes is unique due to the ball having to be passed backwards. There is an average of 282 passes in an international Rugby match, with 47% of passes made by the halfback. This study uses a multidisciplinary approach to analyse both the clearing pass (from the ground) and lateral pass in Rugby Union. The study used performance analysis to determine how the 1st pass off a lineout affect the outcome of the first phase, and what characteristics of the pass influenced a positive outcome. Flat, long passes off the lineout were biggest predictors of a positive first phase outcome and short, deep passes were associated more negative 1st phase outcomes.Submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of the Sunshine Coast, 2020
Learning designers as capacity builders in Australian universities
No full textCentral teaching and learning centres are responsible for translating new sectoral and institutional strategic priorities into practice. In response, directors look to recruit, employ and retain learning designers (also called educational designers or similar) to increase existing capacity. Learning designers play a vital role in building institutional capacity through sustained technological and pedagogical innovation, to meet these sector demands and the continually changing academic and professional practices. More research is needed about how best to attract and retain new learning designers both from an institutional and employee perspective. The researchers designed two separate surveys to target the following stakeholder groups: 1) directors of central teaching and learning centres, and 2) learning designers employed under the auspices of these centres. After gaining human ethics approval, the researchers used online surveys for data collection. Potential participants were contacted through publicly available professional email addresses and professional networks which directed members to the project webpage, containing links to both surveys. Twenty-one directors and 103 learning designers responded. Data were coded and analysed using descriptive statistics and NVivo Pro 11. The results provide new empirical data for directors and learning designers to understand the roles and responsibilities of learning designers and the importance of identity and agency within this emerging cohort of professionals who contribute to institutional and sectoral capacity
General Productivity Predicting Model for Skidder Working in Eucalypt Plantations
No full textTimber extraction from forest to the roadside/landing can be operated using cut-to-length, whole stem and whole tree. Skidding is one of the options for wood extraction. This paper aimed to review the available studies on work productivity of skidders in Eucalypt plantations. Reviewing the machine productivity information indicated that skidding productivity in Eucalypt plantations may be impacted by tree volume, load size, skid distance, slope of skid trail and power of the machine. Based on the reviewed literatures the machine productivity varied from 11.20 green tons per PMH0 (Caterpillar 528 operating in skidding distance of 251 m tested in USA) to 80.25 green tons per PMH0 (Timberjack 1710D operating in skidding distance of 241 m in Brazil). General productivity model was developed including variables such as skidding distance, tree size and power of machine. Future research could verify the impact of harvesting intensity/yield per ha, plantation layout (landing locations and block shape), operator experience, terrain conditions and availability of chippers/or processors at the landing in the case of hot decking on the productivity of the skidders in Eucalypt plantations
Five days of swirling fury: Emotion and memory in newspaper anniversary reports of the 1974 Queensland floods
No full textThe news media has an important role to play in constructing and maintaining memories of disasters. This paper examines newspaper reporting on the anniversaries of significant disaster events. In particular, the article focusses on the role of emotions in reporting of a devastating flood in the Queensland cities of Brisbane and Ipswich in 1974. The paper traces anniversary reporting in newspapers from 1975 until 2010, the year before another substantial flood hit both cities. We argue that, by ascribing particular emotions to various actors within the floods, the media set boundaries around possible responses to future disasters and failed to address changing social, environmental and political contexts. Given the likelihood of increased flood risk due to a changing climate, and in the context of government policies which define disaster management as a shared responsibility across the public and private sectors, the paper calls for more active forms of media memory-making which more effectively increase community resilience
Use of Bacteriophages to Control Vibrio Contamination of Microalgae Used as a Food Source for Oyster Larvae During Hatchery Culture
No full textCultured microalgae are the primary food source for oyster larvae during hatchery culture and are a potential vector for Vibrio spp. infection of larval cultures. Bacteriophages have shown potential for controlling contamination of Vibrio spp. in aquaculture systems and their application could be an effective biological control method to eliminate such bacterial contamination of microalgae. This study investigated whether Vibrio-free microalgae sources could be ensured via the application of Vibrio specific phages. As a first step, four different Vibrio bacteriophages (belonging to the Myoviridae viral family) were isolated from marine waters in Queensland, Australia and used in challenge tests against a Vibrio host species, previously isolated from New South Wales oyster hatchery and found to be closely related to V. alginolyticus (ATCC 17749). The genome sequence of one of the four isolated bacteriophages, Vibrio Φ-2, that displayed strongest virulence against the host was determined. The 242446 bp genome of this bacteriophage was predicted to encode 217 proteins with an average GC content of 43.91%, containing putative thymidine kinases and a lysin enzyme. Application of these bacteriophages to pathogenic Vibrio spp. contaminating microalgae suspensions resulted in significant decreases in their numbers within 2 h. Findings indicated that direct application of bacteriophages to microalgae suspensions could be an effective method of reducing the occurrence of vibriosis in oyster hatcheries
Lifetime Costs of Surviving Cancer—A Queensland Study (COS-Q): Protocol of a Large Healthcare Data Linkage Study
No full textAustralia-wide, there are currently more than one million cancer survivors. There are over 32 million world-wide. A trend of increasing cancer incidence, medical innovations and extended survival places growing pressure on healthcare systems to manage the ongoing and late effects of cancer treatment. There are no published studies of the long-term health service use and cost of cancer survivorship on a population basis in Australia. All residents of the state of Queensland, Australia, diagnosed with a first primary malignancy from 1997–2015 formed the cohort of interest. State and national healthcare databases are linked with cancer registry records to capture all health service utilization and healthcare costs for 20 years (or death, if this occurs first), starting from the date of cancer diagnosis, including hospital admissions, emergency presentations, healthcare costing data, Medicare services and pharmaceuticals. Data analyses include regression and economic modeling. We capture the whole journey of health service contact and estimate long-term costs of all cancer patients diagnosed and treated in Queensland by linking routinely collected state and national healthcare data. Our results may improve the understanding of lifetime health effects faced by cancer survivors and estimate related healthcare costs. Research outcomes may inform policy and facilitate future planning for the allocation of healthcare resources according to the burden of disease
