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Proximal and distal risk factors for gambling problems specifically associated with electronic gaming machines
No full textHing, N ORCiD: 0000-0002-2150-9784; Russell, AM ORCiD: 0000-0002-3685-7220Electronic gaming machines (EGMs) are widely used and the gambling product most commonly associated with harmful gambling. Understanding factors that increase the risk of problematic EGM play is therefore important. Previous studies into risk factors for EGM gambling have used measures of problem gambling based on an individual's total gambling activity, which therefore do not distinguish harmful gambling specifically associated with EGMs. This study used an EGM-specific measure (PGSI-EGM) to achieve its aim of identifying risk factors specifically associated with problematic EGM play. By removing nuisance effects from other gambling forms that higher-risk gamblers typically engage in, this approach provides a more accurate assessment of the determinants of EGM-related problems. An online survey was completed by 1932 at-least monthly EGM players in Australia. It measured demographics, EGM gambling behaviour, motivations, gambling urges, gambling fallacies, trait self-control, alcohol misuse, and the PGSI-EGM. A penalised regression model identified the most important proximal predictors of higher-risk EGM gambling as: higher gambling urges, higher levels of erroneous cognitions, playing EGMs more frequently, higher session expenditure, longer sessions, usually playing EGMs alone, and playing EGMs in more venues. Lower trait self control was the strongest distal determinant. Higher-risk EGM players tended to be younger, male, more educated, never married, to have higher (although still modest) incomes, and be more likely to have alcohol problems. These findings can inform interventions such as treatment, consumer education and venue interventions
Railway vehicle dynamics glossary
No full textMcsweeney, TC ORCiD: 0000-0003-3098-2423There appears to be as much national and regional variation in the technical and operational terminology used by different railway systems as there is in the multitude of track gauges that have been utilised around the globe. One prominent difference is in the use of the word ‘railway’ by those whose systems originated from British-backed development versus the use of the word ‘railroad’ for most systems using American-based technology. There are many similar British/American equivalent terms that an internationally engaged railway/railroad person will need to be aware of. Prominent examples of these include driver/ engineer, wagon/car, bogie/truck, sleeper/tie, turnout/switch, vee/frog and fishplate/joint bar. However, every railroad company seems to have its own peculiarities in the way it refers to items of hardware, safeworking systems, etc. In addition to the following glossary, readers may find the Railway Technical Website at http://www.railway-technical.com useful in searching out the appropriate terminology relevant to an issue of interest
Low redundancy and complementarity shape ecosystem functioning in a low-diversity ecosystem
No full textFlint, N ORCiD: 0000-0003-4331-4109Ecosystem functioning is positively linked to biodiversity on land and in the sea. In high-diversity systems (e.g. coral reefs), species coexist by sharing resources and providing similar functions at different temporal or spatial scales. How species combine to deliver the ecological function they provide is pivotal for maintaining the structure, functioning and resilience of some ecosystems, but the significance of this is rarely examined in low-diversity systems such as estuaries. We tested whether an ecological function is shaped by biodiversity in a low-diversity ecosystem by measuring the consumption of carrion by estuarine scavengers. Carrion (e.g. decaying animal flesh) is opportunistically fed on by a large number of species across numerous ecosystems. Estuaries were chosen as the model system because carrion consumption is a pivotal ecological function in coastal seascapes, and estuaries are thought to support diverse scavenger assemblages, which are modified by changes in water quality and the urbanization of estuarine shorelines. We used baited underwater video arrays to record scavengers and measure the rate at which carrion was consumed by fish in 39 estuaries across 1,000 km of coastline in eastern Australia. Carrion consumption was positively correlated with the abundance of only one species, yellowfin bream Acanthopagrus australis, which consumed 58% of all deployed carrion. The consumption of carrion by yellowfin bream was greatest in urban estuaries with moderately hardened shorelines (20%–60%) and relatively large subtidal rock bars (>0.1 km2). Our findings demonstrate that an ecological function can be maintained across estuarine seascapes despite both limited redundancy (i.e. dominated by one species) and complementarity (i.e. there is no spatial context where the function is delivered significantly when yellowfin bream are not present) in the functional traits of animal assemblages. The continued functioning of estuaries, and other low-diversity ecosystems, might therefore not be tightly linked to biodiversity, and we suggest that the preservation of functionally dominant species that maintain functions in these systems could help to improve conservation outcomes for coastal seascapes.© 2019 British Ecological Societ
A critical review of the concept of value in the international marketing context
No full textKhan, SI ORCiD: 0000-0001-8807-3121; Sultan, P ORCiD: 0000-0003-3856-4592This paper attempts to explore the scattered knowledge in the literature to identify various schools of thought related to the concept of value in the international marketing discipline. The extant literature have addressed different products, contexts or relationships of perceived value with various factors or outcomes. It is challenging to connect the dots between these scattered knowledge developed in the contemporary international marketing literature on value. This paper attempts to fill the literature gap in the International Marketing discipline by identifying four schools of thoughts on the concept of value. These schools of thought include cost leadership school of thought, superior product school of thought, relationship school of thought, and culture school of thought. Moreover, an integrative value framework has been proposed for the international marketing practitioners and future researchers, including a comprehensive list of factors and activities creating ‘value’ for the consumers and the firm in the international marketing context
Characterisation of channel morphological pattern changes and flood corridor dynamics of the tropical Tana River fluvial systems, Kenya
No full textKoech, RK ORCiD: 0000-0002-0563-6687Historical morphological changes are useful tools for understanding river evolutionary trends and condition.This study characterised planform changes and floodplain dynamics of the Tana River fluvial systems, Kenya,between 1975 and 2017 using an integrated remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) methodological framework. The river has witnessed significant alterations in channel morphology over a period of 42 years, indicating a highly active and meandering nature with a generally rising sinuosity in the downstream direction. The annual lateral river movement rate reduced significantly after the river regulation, which occurred between 1981 and 1988. Land cover change detection of the study reaches revealed tremendous spatial and temporal progressive disappearance of the riparian vegetation and dynamic channel morphological characteristics, trends that may continue in the coming years. The approach adopted in this study can be applied to other river reaches within study area with similar protocols or modifications according channel type and reach condition to provide water managers with evidence on the dynamic fluvial channel plan morphology for sustainable planning management and restoration activities
Evaluation of a patient and family activated escalation system: Ryan's Rule
No full textDwyer, TA ORCiD: 0000-0001-8408-7956; Flenady, TM ORCiD: 0000-0002-5286-4789Introduction: Patients experience physiological changes in the hours preceding adverse medical events, and patients or their family can be the first to identify ominous signs of clinical deterioration that have gone undetected by health professionals. Patient and family activated escalation systems provide consumers access to a referral system that can address their concerns. In Queensland, this escalation system is called Ryan's Rule and once activated, triggers an independent clinical review. This study aimed to access clinicians’ and activators’ experiences to develop an understanding of the incidence, contributing factors, and outcomes surrounding Ryan's Rule activations. Method: The study involved a retrospective chart review of Ryan's Rule (n = 57) activations in a regional hospital, over a 24-month period. Results: On average, there were 2.4 activations a month. There are three major findings: first, communication issues were central to more than half the activations, 35% of cases required no clinical intervention, with communication alone sufficient to achieve resolution. Second, this initiative was valued with 65% of activators stating that they would be comfortable calling again and having access to the escalation process was reassuring and improved communication between clinicians and patients. While clinicians doubted the appropriateness of activators use of the escalation tool, 15% of patients were transferred to receive a higher level of care. Lastly, clinicians labelled activations as a ‘complaints’ as opposed to a ‘concern’ and reasoned that a ‘complaint’ did not justify a full review of the consumer's perspective for the activation. Conclusion: Consumers who activated a Ryan's Rule were satisfied and valued the process. It provides a reassuring safety net, empowering them to speak up and initiate a clinical review. Clear communication among clinicians and between clinicians and consumers is essential. Clinicians are hesitant to fully embrace Ryan's Rule, and this discordance contributes to the failure to fully evaluate reasons for call activation. © 2019 Australian College of Critical Care Nurses Lt
Spillover trends of child labor during the coronavirus crisis: An unnoticed wake-up call
No full textWillis, EM ORCiD: 0000-0001-7576-971XThe worldwide surge of Covid-19 pandemic threatens the lives of impoverished and vulnerable segments of society. Children, particularly, are at greater risk of maltreatment and neglect rather than disease contamination. Children in labor are the highly overlooked topic in research and national plans than other aspects of child abuse provoked by the Covid-19 outbreak
Unintended pregnancy prevention and care education: Are we adequately preparing entry-to-practice nursing and midwifery students?
No full textMainey, LJ ORCiD: 0000-0003-1438-8061Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) demands an optimised workforce where nurses and midwives are able to provide the best quality care in accordance with their full scope of practice (World Health Organization 2020; Bender et al. 2016).
However, political, legi slat ive , and educational barriers prevent nurses and m id wiv es from working to their full scope in the area of unintended pregnancy prevention and care (UPPC) ( Mainey et al. 2020).
One important contributing factor is the inadequate coverage of the subject in nursing and midwifery curricula (Mainey et al. 2020).
With un i ntend ed pregnancy and abortion affecting one-quarter of Australian wom en (Taft et al. 2018; Sch ei! et al. 2017), nursing and midwifery educators must seriously consider matching the scope of practice of graduating students to health needs of this population
A study on volatile metabolites screening by HS-SPME-GC-MS and HS-GC-IMS for discrimination and characterization of white and yellowed rice
No full textStrappe, P ORCiD: 0000-0003-0100-0558Background and objectives: Yellowed rice results in serious economic losses to grain industry. This study attempted to profile the volatile metabolites in before- and after-yellowing rice of five Chinese common rice cultivars. Application untargeted metabolomics approach to discover the biomarkers in yellowed rice. Findings: The volatile metabolites were detected by headspace-gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) and headspace solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS). Yellowed rice emitted more aldehydes, alcohols, furan, and less ester than white rice. Partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) based on GC-MS and GC-IMS data was revealed a good classifying tool for white and yellowed rice. Hexanal, nonanal, octanal, 1-pentanol, and 2-pentyl-furan were selected as the potential markers by the variable importance in projection (VIP) variable selection method. All of these markers were associated with fatty acid oxygenation. Conclusions: Comparative analysis and biomarker identification of the volatile metabolites of different cultivars of Chinese yellowed rice lay a foundation for research on yellowing mechanism. Significance and novelty: The results of the current study provide a useful basis in the rice yellowing mechanism study. Additionally, a rapid rice aroma analysis method using GC-IMS was developed. So in the future, yellowed rapid reorganization GC-IMS technology could be a preferred choice. © 2020 Cereals & Grains Associatio
Eating and physical activity behaviours among ethnic groups in Queensland, Australia
No full textTo, GQ ORCiD: 0000-0002-3355-6326© Objective: To examine differences in eating and physical activity behaviours among ethnic groups in Queensland, Australia, and differences in those behaviours due to the duration of residency in Australia.Design: Cross-sectional study using baseline data collected for the Living Well Multicultural-Lifestyle Modification Program between October 2014 and June 2017.Setting: Culturally and linguistically diverse communities (CALD), including Afghani, Somali, Burmese, Pacific and South Sea Islander, Sri Lankan, Sudanese and Vietnamese, living in Queensland, Australia.Participants: People were recruited if they were =18 years old and living in the targeted CALD communities.Results: Burmese/Vietnamese, on average, had better eating scores in line with Australian dietary guidelines, compared with Afghani/Arabic-speaking (difference = 2·05 points, 95 % CI 1·39, 2·72), Somali/Sudanese (difference = 1·53 points, 95 % CI 0·79, 2·28) and Pacific Islander (difference = 1·46 points, 95 % CI 0·79, 2·13). Association between ethnicity and meeting the physical activity guideline was not significant. Those who stayed in Australia longer than a year were less likely to meet the physical activity guideline than those staying <1 year (OR = 0·51, 95 % CI 0·31, 0·84). There was no significant association between duration of residency in Australia and eating scores.Conclusions: Eating behaviours were significantly different among the ethnic groups in Queensland with Burmese/Vietnamese and Sri Lankan/Bhutanese having the healthiest diets. All ethnic groups were less likely to meet the physical activity guideline compared with the general Australian population. People with duration of residency of at least 1 year in Australia were less likely to meet the physical activity guideline compared with those who had shorter stays