University of the Sunshine Coast
USC Research Bank - University of the Sunshine CoastNot a member yet
28663 research outputs found
Sort by
Ability to predict flexural properties of Douglas-fir crossarms
No full textCrossarms are heavy timbers used to support electrical lines on utility poles. The requirements for crossarm material are fairly strict especially with respect to limitations on the presence of knots, which represent a gap or hole in the timber and also result in grain deviations that can affect properties. The strict grading rules can sometimes result in shortages of acceptable material. The potential for accepting arms with minor, but currently unacceptable defects was explored on a population of 200 rejected Douglas-fir crossarms and 50 arms that met current standards. Knot diameter and location on the arms were mapped and the arms were tested to failure in a specially designed apparatus that simulated an actual line load. The resulting data were used to calculate Modulus of Rupture (MOR) and Modulus of Elasticity (MOE). Nearly all arms failed above the minimum American National Standards assumed MOR value of 53.78 MPa and many of the rejected arms had higher MOR values than acceptable arms. While there was more variability in properties for the rejected arm population, correlations between knot diameter or knot location and MOR were all exceeding poor (r2 ≤ 0.25). The results suggest the need for further evaluation of the emphasis on knots in grading rules
Care in the contested geographies of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy
No full textScholarship recognizes the co-construction of space by humans and non-human animals (hence, animals), but the complex geographies of some animals whose lives depend upon human care remain under-studied. This article explores human–dolphin relations within the context of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy (DAT), a practice in which most dolphins are in human care. We trace a genealogy of dolphin–human relations in built environments, and draw on a DAT case study in Curacao, to understand how the entangled agencies of humans, dolphins and other actants have co-constructed spaces of mutual therapy and care. Our research highlights the circumstances of ‘legacy dolphins’ in DAT, dolphins whose lives depend on human care. We suggest that, while the services of dolphins are recommodified through DAT, the legacy dolphin is de-commodified through ‘relations of obligation’ built on mutual ‘caring for’ as both companion species and work colleague. © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Grou
Current practice in dialysis central venous catheter management: multi-disciplinary renal team perspectives
No full textAim:
To explore the current practices related to the insertion, management and removal of dialysis central venous catheters used in patients with chronic kidney disease requiring haemodialysis.
Methods:
This qualitative descriptive study involved semi‐structured interviews with surgeons, interventional radiologists, renal physicians, dialysis nurses, renal access nurses and renal researchers involved in the care of patients with chronic kidney disease requiring haemodialysis. Data were collected from staff at eight hospitals in six States and Territories of Australia. Thirty‐eight face‐to‐face interviews were conducted. A modified five‐step qualitative content analysis approach was used to analyse the data.
Results:
Improved visualisation technology and its use by interventional radiologists has steered insertions to specialist teams in specialist locations. This is thought to have decreased risk and improved patient outcomes. Nurses were identified as the professional group responsible for maintaining catheter access integrity, preventing access failure and reducing access related complications. While best practice was considered important, justifications for variations in practice related to local patient and environment challenges, were identified.
Conclusions:
The interdisciplinary team is central in the insertion, maintenance, removal and education of patients regarding dialysis central venous catheters. Clinicians temper research‐based decision‐making about central dialysis access catheter management with knowledge of individual, environmental and patient factors. Strategies to ensure guidelines are appropriately translated for use in a wide variety of settings are necessary for patient safety
Insights into the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to investigate the behavior of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga
No full textVertical take‐off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are becoming invaluable data collection platforms for cetacean research. In particular, multi‐rotors can be used to measure whales and investigate their behavior. Moreover, VTOL UAVs are increasingly accessible for recreational and commercial pilots, and close encounters with whales are widely documented. Unfortunately, quantitative assessments of potential disturbance for the targeted animals are not yet published and guidelines for responsible use of UAVs around cetaceans are still under development. We conducted VTOL UAV surveys on humpback whales in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga. Interestingly, whale behaviors such as socializing and nurturing were not detected by trained observers on board the research vessel, but were evident from the UAV. Nevertheless, no significant differences were detected in diving and swim parameters between absence and presence of UAV flying at 30 m altitude. These results suggest that VTOL UAVs can be a noninvasive tool to gather morphometric and behavioral data on baleen whales. However, further research is necessary to establish whether applications that require flight altitudes lower than 30 m and targeting different species may elicit behavioral responses
Teen Lives in Indonesia
No full textThis two-volume encyclopedia looks at the lives of teenagers around the world, examining topics from a typical school day to major issues that teens face today, including bullying, violence, sexuality, and social and financial pressures. Teenagers are living in a rapidly changing and increasingly interconnected yet unequal world. Whether they live in Australia or Zimbabwe, they have in common that they are between childhood and adulthood and increasingly aware of how inequality is affecting their lives and futures. This encyclopedia gives a different perspective based on the experiences of teens in 60 countries.
Each entry gives the reader a brief sketch of a country to helps readers to understand how geography, history, economics, and politics shape teen life. The entries include a country overview and cover the following topics: Schooling and Education; Extracurricular Activities: Art, Music, and Sports; Family and Social Life; Religions and Cultural Rites of Passage; Rights and Legal Status; and Issues Today. Special sidebars, called Teen Voices, appear throughout the text, and include a description of a typical day in the life of a teen in various countries. Students will be able to gain a better understanding of what life is like around the world for their peers and will be able to easily make cross-cultural comparisons between different countries. [Book Synopsis
Review of stone mastic asphalt as a high-performance ungrooved runway surfacing
No full textAustralian runways are typically surfaced with grooved Marshall-designed dense graded asphalt (DGA). Grooving is undertaken to avoid aircraft skidding incidents during wet weather, as well as satisfying regulatory requirements. Closure of these grooves is a common distress at Australian airports and increases the risk of aircraft hydroplaning. However, there are alternative surface materials to grooved DGA that are employed internationally on runways. Of these, stone mastic asphalt (SMA) has demonstrated comparable or better performance characteristics than DGA, and can satisfy regulated surface texture requirements without the need for grooving. Locally, SMA has been implemented successfully for heavy-duty roads, but use as an airport surface in Australia has been limited, with only two trials undertaken on taxiways and aprons. Further research is required to develop an SMA specification, based on experience on Australian roads, and the international experience on airfields. Verification is also required to confirm that SMA mixtures achieve the Australian airport asphalt performance requirements, as well as the regulated surface texture limits, to confirm suitability as an ungrooved runway surface for Australian airports
Safety culture and power: Interactions between perceptions of safety culture, organisational hierarchy, and national culture
No full textPractices that involve power dynamics are integral to maintaining organisational safety (e.g. speaking-up, challenging poor behaviour, admitting error, communicating on safety), and staff engagement in these is assumed to be shaped by perceptions of safety culture. These perceptions, in-turn, are associated with (1) positions within an organisational hierarchy (which makes power-related acts more or less threatening), and (2) societal values for power distance (e.g. challenging authority). With a sample of 13,573 of air traffic control staff (controllers, engineers, administrative, and management) from 21 national air traffic providers, we reconfirm the observation that managers perceive safety culture more positively than frontline staff (hypothesis 1), and that workers in countries with established values for hierarchy and power report safety culture as less positive than those from countries with low power distance (hypothesis 2). We then, for the first time, examine the interaction between these two factors, and establish that differences in safety culture perceptions between those higher in the hierarchy (management) and those lower in the hierarchy (air traffic controllers and administrative staff) are exacerbated by national contexts for large power distance (hypothesis 3). The study contributes to the literature by theorising the role of power in safety culture theory, and its influence upon safety culture perceptions. Moving forward, safety culture research and interventions may benefit from considering how power exists and manifests at the level of superior-subordinate dynamics
Short-term application of mulch, roundup and organic herbicides did not affect soil microbial biomass or bacterial and fungal diversity
No full textApplication of synthetic herbicides is currently the most widely used and cost-effective methods to assist with revegetation programs. However, the effects of short-term application of herbicides such as Roundup®, acetic acid, BioWeed™ and Slasher® as compared with mulch, on soil microbial biomass and microbial diversity remain unknown. This study examined the effects of short-term herbicide application on soil microbial biomass, C:N ratio, and fungal and bacterial communities at months 2 and 8 following initiation of treatment application. No effects of treatments on soil pH, C:N and microbial biomass were found. No segregation among treatments in the community structure of bacteria and fungi was observed. However, the fungal phylum Basiodiomycota had one unidentified class, which was only found in the mulch treatment, suggesting the C quality in the mulch treatment may differ compared with the other treatments. The dry and hot conditions experienced throughout the study period may have resulted in fast degradation of the herbicides and may have minimised the impacts of the herbicides on microbial diversity and community structure. Given that the research was undertaken at a single site and over only a short time frame, the results should be extrapolated with caution. Herbicides may have greater impact with long-term use. Future research will need to assess the revegetation success of each treatment and determine if the observed change in Basidiomycota profile and C quality identified in this study becomes significant over the long-term. We hypothesise that mulching may be a preferred treatment to facilitate weed control in riparian zone revegetation
Not all urban landscapes are the same: interactions between urban land use and stress in a large herbivorous mammal
No full textUrbanisation significantly impacts the health and viability of wildlife populations yet it is not well understood how urban landscapes differ from non‐urban landscapes with regard to their effects on wildlife. This study investigated the physiologsical response of eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) to land use at a landscape scale. Using faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) we compared stress levels of kangaroo populations in urban and non‐urban environments. We modelled FGM concentrations from 24 kangaroo populations against land use (urban or non‐urban) and other anthropogenic and environmental factors, using a linear modelling approach. We found that land‐use was a significant predictor of FGM concentrations in eastern grey kangaroos with significant differences in concentrations between urban and non‐urban populations. However, the direction of the relationship differed between northern and southern regions of Australia. In the northern study sites, kangaroos in urban areas had significantly higher FGM levels than their non‐urban counterparts. In contrast, in southern sites, where kangaroos occur in high densities in many urban areas, urban kangaroos had lower FGM concentrations than non‐urban kangaroos. Rainfall and temperature were also significant predictors of FGM and the direction of the relationship was consistent across both regions. These results are consistent with the contrasting abundance and persistence of kangaroo populations within the urban matrix between the two study regions. In the northern region many populations have declined over the last two decades and are fragmented, also occurring at lower densities than in southern sites. Our study indicates that it is the characteristics of urban environments, rather than the urban environment per se, which determines the extent of impacts of urbanisation on kangaroos. This research provides insights into how the design of urban landscapes can influence large mammal populations
Resilience and workplace stress in Australian and New Zealand obstetrics and gynaecology trainees: A cross‐sectional survey
No full textBackground:
Obstetrics and gynaecology training is a demanding vocation; there is a paucity of data on trainee resilience and well‐being in this field.
Aim:
To investigate resilience, support and perceived levels of stress and burnout in Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) trainees.
Materials and Methods:
A cross‐sectional survey of RANZCOG trainees in Australia and New Zealand (n = 638) was distributed electronically in May 2018.
Results:
Two‐hundred and thirty‐one (36%) valid responses were received. The mean resilience score was moderate (mean = 77; SD = 11). Resilience was significantly associated with general health (F = 7.5, P = 0.007), depression in the last two weeks (F = 4.4, P = 0.013) and seriously considering leaving the program at some point (F = 15.4, P < 0.001). Most participants (204; 88%) stated improvements could be made to the level of trainee support; with over half identifying the support they received from RANZCOG to be low or very low (132; 57%). One‐third of participants (76; 33%) rated the support from their direct supervisor as low to very low. Over half of all participants identified high to very high responses to: burnout (127; 55%); personal stress (134; 58%); workplace stress (143; 62%) and depression (103; 45%).
Conclusion:
RANZCOG trainees exhibit moderate resilience levels, yet they report high levels of perceived stress, depression and burnout and low‐level support from direct supervisors. This may highlight the need for enhanced support and working conditions to allow trainees to remain resilient and thrive in their careers