38869 research outputs found
Sort by
Australian beach soccer: Tracing paradoxical narratives
No full textEllison, ER ORCiD: 0000-0002-0865-950X; Lastella, AM ORCiD: 0000-0003-1793-3811For many Australians, the beach is key to leisure and pleasure, an integral part of their culture, and a symbol of their national sporting identity. There is ample evidence across a history of iconic sporting competitions, including, for instance, the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Football, or soccer, is the world’s most popular game. It has a simplicity that allows it to be played almost anywhere, even on the beach. In a country where recreational and professional sporting activities thrived, the story of beach soccer is an anomaly. This chapter considers the sport’s rapid growth outside Australia and seeks to understand why the local version has not realised a greater presence on the beaches of a self-proclaimed sporting nation’s landscape
Validity and reliability of the Australian Therapy Outcome Measures: Physiotherapy, for podiatry (AusTOMs-PT for use in podiatry)
No full textUnsworth, CA ORCiD: 0000-0001-6430-2823Background: Valid and reliable outcome measure enable measurement of health care service impact. There are limited valid and reliable outcome measures for use in podiatry practice to measure the impact of treatment. This research aimed to test the face validity of the AusTOMs for Physiotherapy (AusTOMs-PT), it's adaptability to podiatry clinical practice and the reliability of its use with podiatrists. Methods: Stage 1 used a nominal group technique with podiatrists who worked in public and/or private settings. All podiatrists underwent self-directed training in the AusTOMs framework and measures prior to interviews or focus group discussion. Discussion was centred about transferability of the core scales of the AusTOMs-PT and an adjunct measure, AusTOMs for Occupational Therapy (AusTOMs-OT) to podiatry practice. Stage 2 used 10 case studies representative of people who had foot or ankle concerns. Podiatrists were recruited and trained in the use of the relevant AusTOMs-PT scales. Podiatrists individually scored the cases at two timepoints (1 month apart) using the six scales from the AusTOMs-PT deemed by stage 1 as relevant to podiatry. Intra and inter-rater reliability of scales were determined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Results: Thirteen podiatrists participated in individual or focus group interviews in Stage 1. Consensus was gained on six of the nine core scales adopted from the AusTOMs-PT. These were 1. Balance and Postural Control, 3. Musculoskeletal Movement Related Functions, 4. Neurological Movement Related Functions, 5. Pain, 7. Sensory Functions, 8. Skin Functions. Each core scale rated the functional domains of Impairment, Activity Limitation, Participation Restriction and Wellbeing/Distress relating to that presentation of goals of the person in the case study. There were 22 podiatrists complete training and scored two rounds of case studies using the six scales in Stage 2. There were 91%(n = 20) participants with an intra-rater ICC > 0.5 (moderate or greater). Each domain had an inter-rater reliability of > 0.9 (excellent) during the first round. Conclusions: The AusTOMs-PT for use in podiatry may be implemented to record change in impairment, function, participation and wellbeing of people receiving podiatry treatment. Podiatry specific training and mentoring, together with repeated use could be expected to improve intra-reliability. © 2020 The Author(s)
Convergence of evidence supports a Chuska Mountains origin for the Plaza Tree of Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon
No full textBrooks-English, NT ORCiD: 0000-0002-6936-8079© 2020 by the Society for American Archaeology. The iconic Plaza Tree of Pueblo Bonito is widely believed to have been a majestic pine standing in the west courtyard of the monumental great house during the peak of the Chaco Phenomenon (AD 850-1140). The ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) log was discovered in 1924, and since then, it has been included in birth and life narratives of Pueblo Bonito, although these ideas have not been rigorously tested. We evaluate three potential growth origins of the tree (JPB-99): Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, or a distant mountain range. Based on converging lines of evidence-documentary records, strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr), and tree-ring provenance testing-we present a new origin for the Plaza Tree. It did not grow in Pueblo Bonito or even nearby in Chaco Canyon. Rather, JPB-99 originated from the Chuska Mountains, over 50 km west of Chaco Canyon. The tree was likely carried to Pueblo Bonito sometime between AD 1100 and 1130, although why it was left in the west courtyard, what it meant, and how it might have been used remain mysteries. The origin of the Plaza Tree of Pueblo Bonito underscores deep cultural and material ties between the Chaco Canyon great houses and the Chuska landscape
Illuminating nursing's shadow side through a Jungian analysis of the film Fog in August
No full textBrien, DL ORCiD: 0000-0002-9005-3645; Mcallister, MM ORCiD: 0000-0003-1181-1610Fog in August is a German film based on Robert Domes' historical novel of the same name. The film provides a fictionalized account of the institutionalization and eventual killing of children and adults labelled as a burden on the State and unworthy of life. On one level, this is a story of good versus evil, where innocent patients are manipulated by callous doctors and nurses. At a deeper level, however, it is possible to read the characters as more complex and such a reading gives an insight into the paradox of how a genocidal policy was able to be systematically implemented by health care professionals who had previously taken an oath to provide care to all people. Carl Jung argued that powerful stories, told across generations, contain mythical archetypes that help drive the plot and convey beliefs about humanity. The aims of this paper are to explore Jungian ideas within Fog in August that help the historical story it is based on resonate with viewers today, and demonstrate how the application of these insights can help health care professionals more fully understand morally distressing events and, as a result, support and improve the safety of patients. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Lt
Negotiating identity and belonging in a new space: Opportunities and experiences of African youths in South Australia
No full textMude, WW ORCiD: 0000-0003-1961-5681This paper explores how African youths negotiate and form an identity in Australia. A qualitative inquiry was undertaken with 31 African youths using a focus group and individual interviews. Data analysis was guided by a framework for qualitative research. These youths negotiated multiple identities, including that of race, gender, ethnicity and origin. 'Freedom and opportunity', 'family relationships', 'neither belonging here nor there' and the ability to cope against the paradox of resourcefulness in Australia' appeared to be important themes in negotiating individual identities. An opportunity was used to acknowledge privileges available in Australia relative to Africa. However, the extent to which individuals acted on these opportunities varied, affecting a person's sense of purpose, identity formation and belonging in Australia. The loss of social networks following migration and cultural differences between African and Australian societies shaped the experience of belonging and identity formation. These findings are crucial as they indicate the need for policies and practices that consider experiences of youths as they form their identity in Australia. Further studies with a large number of participants are needed to explore these issues further among African youths in Australia
Mapping of land-use/land-cover changes and its dynamics in Awash River Basin using remote sensing and GIS
No full textKoech, RK ORCiD: 0000-0002-0563-6687Understanding the dynamics of land-use and land-cover change at a basin scale, including its driving causes, is vital for the development and planning of appropriate environmental management policies and strategies. The aim of this research was to analyse and understand the long-term dynamics of land-use/land-cover changes and population growth in the Awash River Basin (ARB) using remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS). Landsat images for 1988, 2002, and 2018 were processed, classified and analysed. The accuracy assess-ment showed that the classification was relatively acceptable and effective in detecting the long-term land-use changes in ARB. Cropland increased by 12% between 1988 and 2002, and by 2018 it had increased by 15%. Similarly, the built-up area expanded by 52 km2 (184%) between 1988 and 2002, and by 2018 it had reached 225%. The analysis showed that the cropland and built-up area expanded at the expense of forest and shrubland, with shrubland and forest reducing by 4% and 25% respectively over the 30 year study period. Higher levels of deforestation, combined with population growth, urbanization and cropland expansion, have impacted on the available water resources and runoff in the area. The findings from this study can help in the design of sus-tainable environmental management strategies and practices to ensure the sustainability of the ecosystem and natural resources. The results can also be used to address food security issues in the ARB since we see an increasing trend in population growth with a commensurate decrease in agricultural land, thereby increasing food security concerns
Optimal desired trajectories for local area networks of drones
No full textRajasinghege, S ORCiD: 0000-0002-6718-4348Mini and micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can provide a better service in commercial applications if they are used in networks. Flying Ad hoc Networks (FANETs) and Internet of Drones (IoD) are UAV networks where many UAVs belonging to different users coexist, and there are several routing protocols which have been developed to maintain communication in such networks. However, in application scenarios where only a limited number of UAV nodes are available, some communication paths cannot be established if an existing neighbour UAV node moves away and a new neighbour is not within reach. As response to this problem, LANs of Drones (LoDs) have been recently introduced to be used in these scenarios. A LoD is a star-connected relay network where the UAVs are connected serially in branches, in contrast to FANETs and IoDs.
In a LoD, the movements of UAVs should be controlled in order to maintain the communication links. This thesis mainly focusses on the determination of desired trajectories of UAV nodes in a LoD when the leading UAV has to move to a given target. The trajectories were optimized to minimise the task completion time or the total energy consumed. Mathematical constraints were applied to the optimization problem in order to maintain the distances between the UAV nodes and between the closest UAV and the Ground Station (GS) so that they were less than the Wi-Fi communication distance. MATLAB simulations were used to verify the desired trajectory optimization method. Additional constraints were introduced to the optimization problem to derive the desired trajectories of UAVs in the presence of obstacles and image processing techniques were used to derive constraints of a realistic obstacle using an image of an obstacle.
In addition, a secondary outcome of this research study was the determination of the minimum number of UAVs required to perform a given task and the minimum number of UAVs was determined for four categories of tasks.
Finally, a purpose of this research was to determine the number of branches required in a LoD to obtain a given level of reliability. The reliability of a LoD was estimated by varying the number of branches and number of UAVs in each branch
An overview of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for the detection of insect pests in stored grains
No full textJohnson, JB ORCiD: 0000-0002-9172-8587Applications of near-infrared spectroscopy for measuring various aspects of grain quality have expanded rapidly in recent years. One application that could be of particular use to growers and industry is the detection of insect pests across a range of stored grains. This prospect was first reported over 20 years ago, but the accuracy of this technique does not currently meet FDA standards for the quantification of insect fragments in bulk wheat and flour samples. When considering bulk samples, near-infrared spectroscopy may be suitable for identifying the presence of infestation in samples, followed by flotation testing to provide an accurate quantitative value. Much higher accuracy has been found for the detection of pest species at the single-kernel level. With faster spectrophotometers and kernel sorting systems, single-kernel analysis is likely to be utilised more in the future and could even render bulk analysis of samples redundant. This technology could allow for the detection and identification of pest species in every single kernel of a representative grain sample. The development and application of more sensitive spectrophotometers, such as FT-NIR (Fourier transform near infrared) and more powerful chemometric data analysis techniques are also likely to provide significant improvements, through allowing the minute chemical differences present in bulk infested grains to be accurately detected and quantified
A cross-cultural study of weekly sports bettors in Australia and Spain
No full textHing, N ORCiD: 0000-0002-2150-9784; Russell, AM ORCiD: 0000-0002-3685-7220Betting on sport is one of the fastest developing forms of gambling internationally. Sports betting is attracting considerable scholarly, media, and regulatory attention due to the cultural salience of sport, and the rising public health concerns about the rapid proliferation and penetration of betting products in everyday life. Despite its global expansion, little is known regarding the comparative impact sports betting is having in different territories. This study aims to examine a sample of Australian (n = 738) and Spanish (n = 361) weekly sports bettors to assess their similarities and differences concerning sociodemographic characteristics, channels (i.e., online vs. offline) and devices used, in-play betting, and problem gambling severity. The findings showed high problem gambling scores among sports bettors in both countries, and consistent similarities in the association between problem gambling, in-play betting, and offline betting. Also, clear trends were observed between problem gambling, higher educational level, and female sport betting, particularly in the Australian sample. These results suggest a common pattern of risk factors for problematic sports betting and can help to inform worldwide regulatory efforts to tackle harmful sports betting-specific features such as in-play betting
Exploring stakeholders perceived risk and trust towards their intention to adopt cloud computing: A theoretical framework
No full textWibowo, S ORCiD: 0000-0002-5318-8428The purpose of this proposed research is to identify how human, organization, technology, environment, and information quality factors impact on the perceived risk and trust of the stakeholders towards their intention to adopt cloud computing. To accomplish this goal, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) and the Human-Organization-Technology (HOT) frameworks are adopted into the main research framework. This research will be conducted using an online survey questionnaire for collecting the required data. The findings of this study will be useful for consumers, practitioners, and policy makers who are involved in utilizing and promoting the adoption of cloud computing among organizations