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Therapeutic tape use for lateral elbow tendinopathy: A survey of Australian healthcare practitioners
No full textHeales, LJ ORCiD: 0000-0002-4510-3324; Kean, C ORCiD: 0000-0003-0135-7178; Stanton, R ORCiD: 0000-0002-6684-5087Background: Lateral elbow tendinopathy (LET) is a common musculoskeletal condition that can be treated with therapeutic tape. However, little is known of taping practices for LET in a clinical setting. Objectives: To examine Australian healthcare practitioners’ taping techniques, clinical reasoning, and information sources regarding therapeutic tape use for LET. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Methods: An anonymous online survey was distributed between September 2018 and February 2019. Respondents answered questions about demographics, frequency of tape use, techniques, reasons for application, factors influencing clinical decision-making, and information sources, related to tape for LET. Results/findings: 188 Australian healthcare practitioners completed the survey. The majority of respondents were physiotherapists (n = 132, 70%) with the remainder of respondents being chiropractors (21%), myotherapists (3%), exercise physiologists (3%), or osteopaths (3%). 51% of respondents use tape as part of their management for LET at least half the time. The most popular taping technique used is a transverse band of rigid tape across the forearm (n = 78, 55% of respondents who use tape). The most common reasons for tape application are to reduce pain during occupational tasks (n = 123, 65%), and during sport/hobbies (n = 101, 54%). Respondents predominately rely on experience and patient preference to guide tape use. 63% of all respondents (n = 118) sought information about tape from professional development courses. Conclusion: A wide range of tape techniques are used to treat LET, despite limited evidence for efficacy. Justification for tape is largely based on experience and patient preference; with information mostly gained from professional development courses. More research is required to understand the relationship between the evidence and clinical use of tape to treat LET. © 2020 Elsevier Lt
Women, economic (in)equality and patriarchal embeddedness in Nepali tourism
No full textHillman, WJ ORCiD: 0000-0001-6671-2527; Radel, K ORCiD: 0000-0001-9754-0131Historically, females in Nepal are disregarded, subjugated and isolated by caste and class. They endure discrimination and abuse in their family situations and throughout society (Yadav, 2016). Patriarchy is entrenched in their culture and in the tourism sector. Patriarchal entrenchment is overcome by Nepali females through the use of personal accomplishment and small enterprise development (Hillman, 2019; Hillman & Radel, 2018; Radel & Hillman, 2018). Females are able to recapture influence via the sale of their labour power and empower themselves to set up entrepreneurial production within the tourism and hospitality industry.
Nepali women entrepreneurs were interviewed at their workplaces. Various participants had commenced their own enterprises so as to acquire a sustainable income for themselves, their families and communities. Of the participants, many were leaders of their family units, and many had caring roles for elderly parents and other family members as well. Many of the women also managed a number of other roles – including : child raising and household duties; managing their small farms to support their subsistence living; labouring in other agricultural smallholdings - including reaping crops, tending animals and trading any surplus where possible. When they began their tourism enterprise, they also managed all the business administration, finances and workforce for their business.
The research established several stratagems used by Nepali females to surmount the dispiriting social formations. They rose above the normalised aggression perpetrated by male co-workers (see Sharma & Tamang, 2016). At the same time, taking into account the risks, females established tourism initiatives affording affirmative prospects for themselves in order to connect with other populations and realise their voice and agency in a sphere that has essentially been suppressed. Previously, females employed in this area were more disposed towards household tasks (Sony, 2012). That inclination is shifting. Females in our research have developed as entrepreneurs, hotel proprietors, guides and porters. They grasped opportunities to partake in the production and trade of souvenirs through emergent women’s cooperatives and cottage industries. To inspire themselves and extend livelihoods to others, the women sought to hire other women from comparable situations. Women’s abilities, skills and customarily compliant positions are now conquering entrenched patriarchy
Time as a social and environmental determinant of health for rural women
No full textAmes, KR ORCiD: 0000-0002-1819-8137; Deagon, JR ORCiD: 0000-0003-2877-1125; Judd, JA ORCiD: 0000-0001-8441-5008; Madsen, WL ORCiD: 0000-0002-6136-8939; Williams, SL ORCiD: 0000-0003-4289-9248Background. Time insufficiency is frequently cited as a reason for poor dietary habits. This does not adequately explain the variations in how time is perceived as a factor in healthy eating. Aims. This study placed the eating behaviors of rural Australian women within the contexts of their stories to understand the factors that influenced healthy eating and how rural communities could enhance their health and well-being. Method. A three-phase sequential multimode narrative inquiry was used within four communities in rural Queensland, Australia. Each phase used a different mode of data collection: photo elicitation focus groups, narrative interviews, participatory workshops. Data were thematically analyzed iteratively to inform subsequent phases. Results. Nine final themes were identified. This article explored the theme of time and two contrasting perceptions of time sufficiency regarding healthy eating within a rural context during a drought. Discussion. Exploration of “time as a commodity” and “time as a duty” allowed a deeper understanding of time as a social and environmental determinant of health. Conclusion. Time’s influence on healthy eating is much more than the minutes it takes to prepare a meal. To fully appreciate its impact, time should be considered as a social and environmental determinant of health. © 2020 Society for Public Health Education
Sculpture by the sea: A visual essay
No full textEllison, ER ORCiD: 0000-0002-0865-950XSculpture by the Sea is a sculpture festival that originated in Australia over twenty years ago. Now an iconic part of the landscape in its three locations (Bondi Beach and Cottesloe in Australia; Aarhaus in Denmark), the festival is arguably the biggest example of temporary, site-specific installations in the country. The two Australian locations are beachside and the beach landscape plays an integral role in the curation, interpretation and experience of these festivals. This chapter takes the form of a visual essay in which we reflect on our experiences of two specific festivals—Bondi Beach in 2016 and Cottesloe in 2018. The text and images are integrated to represent the research process as observers, documenters and researchers within the site
Habit in exercise behavior
No full textRebar, A ORCiD: 0000-0003-3164-993XThis chapter presents the benefits of exercise benefits. Stronger exercise habit is beneficial because it should increase the likelihood of frequent exercise, as is supported by the commonly observed association between self‐reported habit and exercise frequency. Having strongly formed exercise habits makes it less likely that people will seek out or be tempted by opposing unhealthy alternative behavioral options. The formation of exercise habits also has the benefit that it is less cognitively demanding than non‐habitual exercise. The chapter explores how exercise habits are formed. Helping people to form exercise habits requires encouraging people to exercise regularly and in the same contexts, so that habit associations develop. Factors can impact habit formation in several ways: by increasing or maintaining the motivation to become physically active, by aiding the translation of motivation into repeated action, or by strengthening the reinforcing value of each repetition on the formation of cue‐behavior associations
Student reflections on doctoral learning: Challenges and breakthroughs
No full textBrien, DL ORCiD: 0000-0002-9005-3645; Ellison, ER ORCiD: 0000-0002-0865-950X; Owens, AR ORCiD: 0000-0002-0000-2132Purpose: There has been sustained interest in how to support doctoral students through the often-gruelling journey they undertake from enrolment to graduation. Although doctoral numbers and successful completions have been steadily increasing globally as well as in Australia, the quality of student progression and outcomes has been widely interrogated and criticised in the literature that is reported in this paper. The authors’ interest as experienced research higher degree supervisors and research leaders in the creative arts and humanities prompted a research project that aimed to better understand the challenges and breakthroughs involved in completing a doctorate from the perspective of candidates themselves. Design/methodology/approach: This was implemented through an action learning collaboration with 18 students from three Australian universities facilitated by four research supervisors. Findings: The main findings presented in this paper include the necessity for maintaining, brokering and supporting a range of relationships; understanding expectations of research study and embracing the need for agility in managing these; and finally, using techniques to improve personal agency and ownership of the transformative journey of research higher degree candidature. The importance of establishing an understanding of the multidimensional human experience of doing a doctorate and providing appropriate support through enhanced forms of research training emerged as a core finding from this research project. Research limitations/implications: The relatively small number of research participants in this study and the discipline-specific focus prohibits generalizability of findings; however, the collaborative, action learning method adopted represents an approach that is both productive and transferable to other contexts and disciplines. Practical implications: Further research might investigate the relevance of the findings from this research to doctoral students in other disciplines and/or institutions or apply the collaborative action learning approach to doctoral training presented here to a range of contexts and cohorts. Social implications: Improving doctoral training options to support the multidimensional needs of candidates can better assure the mental and emotional well-being of doctoral students (essential to their continuing intellectual development and sense of agency) through developing sustainable relationships and realistic expectations. This in turn has the potential to address the consistently high attrition rates in doctoral programmes. Originality/value: This research contributes new insights from doctoral students on the challenges and breakthroughs experienced by them as they pursue original research through formal study and present a novel, collaborative and empowering approach to doctoral training that can be applied in diverse setting
Back from the brink: The experience of hospital after a suicide attempt and what happens when you go home
No full textJackson, KP ORCiD: 0000-0002-2000-7803Key proponents of suicide prevention have been calling for “Lived experience” research with people who have attempted suicide. Consequently, this research uncovered people’s experience after a suicide attempt, and what they go through at this critical time. Information was obtained from interviewing eight, adult volunteers and analysed using Colaizzi’s descriptive phenomenological framework. This paper describes the experiences of being hospitalized, discharged, and returning home to struggle with suicidality and mental illness, difficulties with other people, and with medication. It contains new findings on the way patients’ help each other recover, and the experience of returning home after a suicide attempt
Encouraging gamblers to think critically using generalised analytical priming is ineffective at reducing gambling biases
No full textArmstrong, TA ORCiD: 0000-0001-9683-7371; Browne, M ORCiD: 0000-0002-2668-6229; Rockloff, M ORCiD: 0000-0002-0080-2690Gambling has been associated with an array of fallacious beliefs that foster risky gambling decisions. Research into other belief systems suggests that the endorsement of non-evidence based beliefs, such as the paranormal or conspiracy theories, can be reduced when people think more analytically. The purpose of this study was to explore whether an intervention designed to elicit analytical thinking was effective in altering the gambling beliefs and simulated gambling behaviour of 178 regular electronic gaming machine (EGM) gamblers (102 males, 76 female). Participants were randomly allocated to complete either an analytic or a neutral priming task, followed by completion of belief measures (erroneous and protective) and play on a simulated EGM game. Results failed to show that priming for analytical thinking changed betting on an EGM; including features of bet size, bet change, persistence and theoretical losses. Contrary to expectations, results suggest that priming analytical thinking using generalised interventions does not appear to be effective in altering peoples’ simulated gambling involvement or gambling beliefs. In fact, priming people to think more critically might be counterproductive by contributing to greater positive expectations about gambling outcomes. The results further suggested that the number of times a player alters their bet is a good indicator of theoretical gambling losses and is associated with irrational gambling cognitions. Interventions designed to promote safer thinking in gamblers should be implemented with care, as results from our study suggest that encouraging critical thinking in at-risk or problem gamblers may not be effective in reducing risky gambling. © 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
Anti-reflective coating materials: A holistic review from PV perspective
No full textDas, NK ORCiD: 0000-0002-3396-4194The solar photovoltaic (PV) cell is a prominent energy harvesting device that reduces the strain in the conventional energy generation approach and endorses the prospectiveness of renewable energy. Thus, the exploration in this ever-green field is worth the effort. From the power conversion efficiency standpoint of view, PVs are consistently improving, and when analyzing the potential areas that can be advanced, more and more exciting challenges are encountered. One such crucial challenge is to increase the photon availability for PV conversion. This challenge is solved using two ways. First, by suppressing the reflection at the interface of the solar cell, and the other way is to enhance the optical pathlength inside the cell for adequate absorption of the photons. Our review addresses this challenge by emphasizing the various strategies that aid in trapping the light in the solar cells. These strategies include the usage of antireflection coatings (ARCs) and light-trapping structures. The primary focus of this study is to review the ARCs from a PV application perspective based on various materials, and it highlights the development of ARCs from more than the past three decades covering the structure, fabrication techniques, optical performance, features, and research potential of ARCs reported. More importantly, various ARCs researched with different classes of PV cells, and their impact on its efficiency is given a special attention. To enhance the optical pathlength, and thus the absorption in solar PV devices, an insight about the advanced light-trapping techniques that deals with the concept of plasmonics, spectral modification, and other prevailing innovative light-trapping structures approaching the Yablonovitch limit is discussed. An extensive collection of information is presented as tables under each core review section. Further, we take a step forward to brief the effects of ageing on ARCs and their influence on the device performance. Finally, we summarize the review of ARCs on the basis of structures, materials, optical performance, multifunctionality, stability, and cost-effectiveness along with a master table comparing the selected high-performance ARCs with perfect AR coatings. Also, from the discussed significant challenges faced by ARCs and future outlook; this work directs the researchers to identify the area of expertise where further research analysis is needed in near future. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Geographies of bushfires in Australia in a changing world
No full textTurton, SM ORCiD: 0000-0001-6279-7682A review of recent research on bushfire hazards and risk by Australian geographers