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Analysis of Motivations of Developing Underground Pedestrian Systems - Decisive Effect of Weather Conditions
No full textDominant modes of transport in city centres have a significant influence on urban morphology, land usage, the character of the urban environment and people’s life style. Cities are currently faced with potentially severe environmental impacts from global warming and other detrimental side effects resulting from a high dependence on motor vehicles. Many metropolises are now beginning to realize the importance of planning and developing walking as a primary travel mode in the city. Improving accessibility, continuity, safety, availability and connectivity for pedestrians has crucial significance as a means of decreasing vehicle usage and increasing public transport usage. In some places, underground pedestrian networks have been used to integrate pedestrian traffic in transport systems, at the same time, as a strategy to provide additional space resources for multiple functions (such as commercial and public activities) for urban redevelopment. Underground pedestrian systems can contribute to building walkable cities, accelerating the harmonious development of pedestrian spaces on the street level and underground to provide convenience for pedestrians. The research focuses on the interrelationship between underground pedestrian systems and urban environment. The research conducts a secondary data collection from 51 cases of underground pedestrian systems worldwide to generalize influences of environmental factor on developing underground pedestrian systems in city centres. Influencing factor, namely climate condition is considered for response to the hypothesis regarding its influence on deciding underground pedestrian systems utilization. The analysis is the basis for further research considering more influencing factors such as city scale and economic level. All of the outcomes from the secondary data will paves the way for primary data collection on the interaction between urban environment and underground pedestrian.
Remembering Judith Hoffberg
No full textJudith Hoffberg wrote of her last visit to Adelaide in 2002 as one of 'Paradise regained’ after nursing her dying sister and subsequent exhaustion immediately following 9/11 which she witnessed at first hand. This extraordinary woman; a distinguished scholar, librarian, archivist - and activist - lecturer, curator, as well as editor and publisher of Umbrella magazine, which created ‘a new chapter in art history’ from 1978 -2008,, was a dynamic and tireless connector of people, politics and alternative art over five decades. The phenomenal international development of artists’ books was largely due to Judith’s efforts. An expert on the work of Len Lye, Judith fell in love with Australia and New Zealand during an initial lecture tour in 1982 and after a number of return visits, she unhesitatingly accepted a keynote invitation at the 2002 Adelaide Festival Artists Week talkfest. That year, the event was unfunded, appropriately titled elastic and remarkably successful, due in large part to Judith’s participation. In a typically generous response, she offered her air mile credits, stayed with friends, including myself, and set about catalysing art world responses to 9/11 throughout the Antipodes.
What works in falls prevention after stroke? A systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textFalls are common after stroke. Despite evidence that single and multifactorial interventions can reduce falls in older people, this issue remains relatively underexplored in stroke survivors. Effective fall prevention in this population has the potential to prevent injury, improve quality of life, and decrease the likelihood of subsequent fear of falling and activity restriction. The aim of this article was to review and integrate the research evidence relating to interventions that reduce falls after stroke. Published studies evaluating interventions to reduce falls in stroke survivors were retrieved and screened according to predetermined criteria. Included studies were independently assessed. Quality of trials was assessed using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database score. Pooling of results was undertaken for similar interventions with comparable outcomes using the inverse variance method. Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria, with pooling of results possible for only 2 types of intervention. Methodological quality of the included studies was variable with the main bias because of lack of blinding of participants and those administering the intervention. Variability in falls data reporting was seen across the studies. The only intervention shown to be effective in reducing falls was vitamin D for female stroke survivors in an institutional setting. Other interventions were no more effective than usual care. Fall risk is high in stroke survivors; however, the only intervention shown to be effective in reducing falls in this review was vitamin D supplementation. Consistency in outcome measurement would enable comparisons across studies. Additionally, further research evaluating a range of single and multifactorial interventions for fall prevention in the stroke population is required.
A comparison of four methods to quantify the cumulative effect of taking multiple drugs with sedative properties
No full textBackground: Older people (ie, those aged >65 years) often use multiple drugs with sedative properties. These include drugs for intentional sedation and drugs that have sedation as an adverse reaction. Recent pharmacoepidemiologic studies have investigated the risks of multiple or combined sedative drug use. Objective: The purpose of this commentary was to describe, compare, and discuss 4 previously published pharmacoepidemiologic methods used to quantify the cumulative effect of taking multiple drugs with sedative properties. Methods: A MEDLINE literature search was conducted in January 2010 using Medical Subject Headings and the following search terms: hypnotics, sedatives, benzodiazepines, GAGA-A receptors, model, load, measurement, index, burden, system, and aged. The search was limited to English language, humans, and the year 2000 until present. Reports of methods that involved simply counting the number of sedative or psychotropic drugs, or described sedative drug use in anesthesia, were excluded. The search identified 4 methods. Research articles that have cited the descriptions of the 4 methods were retrieved using MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Scopus, and the Web of Science. Results: The literature search identified 14 studies describing the use of 4 different methods to quantify the cumulative effect of taking multiple drugs with sedative properties. The 4 methods are the sedative load model, the Sloane model, the Drug Burden Index, and the central nervous system drug model. The methods differed with respect to the specific drugs or drug classes considered, the sedative ratings assigned to each drug, the inclusion or exclusion of drug dose in the model, and each model's likely ease of use in clinical practice. Adverse outcomes associated with taking multiple drugs with sedative properties included impaired physical and cognitive function, and an increased risk of falls. Conclusions: Evidence is accumulating in relation to a range of adverse outcomes associated with using multiple drugs with sedative properties. However, no studies have been conducted using>1 method to quantify the cumulative effect of taking multiple drugs with sedative properties. Each method has likely advantages and disadvantages. The usefulness of each method in clinical practice remains to be determined. The models must be validated in different populations of older people and may subsequently need to be refined.
Thriving, not just surviving, in emotionally demanding fields of practice
No full textResearch within the disciplines of Social Work and Education has for sometime acknowledged the tragedy, trauma, conflict and misery that can be experienced by workers in their associated professions. More recently, there has been an aligned interest in the role of passion, emotion and energy in sustaining these professionals through such experiences. This paper contributes to the growing literature in this area by reporting on a study conducted with five social workers and six teachers who work in Australian lower socioeconomic, urban-fringe and communities. It also engages the concept of the ‘personal domain’ to explore how these social workers and teachers cannot only survive, but can actually thrive in demanding work contexts. The methodology adopted for the study was an appreciative enquiry approach, where these professionals, each with over a decade of experience in urban-fringe communities, were recruited via non-probability, purposive, snowballing techniques and interviewed about what sustained them in their work during November 2008–February 2009. Thematic analysis of the interviews found that participants not only identified specific survival strategies, but could also articulate how their life experiences, ideologies, beliefs, values and other life resources informed their work in ways that aided their flourishing as professionals. The paper concludes by calling for further research into the work of social work and teaching professionals from a ‘personal domain’ perspective and considering the potential implications of such research for these professions, particularly in terms of promoting professional trajectories characterised first by endurance, and then by development and triumph.
The nature and incidence of private label rejection
No full textThis paper examines the incidence of consumers’ rejection of private labels (PLs) of different price-quality tiers and the underlying reasons for this rejection. The rejection of PLs is compared to the rejection of national brands (NBs) in five food product categories across the UK and Australia. The findings indicate that only 8% of PL non-users in the UK market, and 20% in the Australian market, actively reject PLs. This rejection incidence is higher for PLs than for NBs in three of the five categories. The reasons for brand rejection differ between PLs and NBs. PLs are rejected due to a perception of low quality inferred from extrinsic product cues. In contrast, NBs are rejected primarily because of a negative past experience with a brand. The findings highlight the importance of extrinsic cues for PLs to minimise the incidence of consumer rejection. The generally low rejection of PLs implies that PLs are a real threat to NBs. This paper extends the rejection literature to PLs and quantifies the rejection levels and reasons.