[In Press] Digital life story work : linking identity and security for young people in out-of-home care

While every young person in Out-Of-Home Care (OOHC) has their own unique story, what they do have in common is the experience of a disrupted life. As they move through placements and assigned case workers change roles, young people frequently lack access to important records and memorabilia. A disjointed personal narrative can undermine a young person’s sense of identity and, given this cohort is already at great risk of poor general outcomes when transitioning to adulthood, can put their physical and mental wellbeing at risk. This paper examines the role digital technology can play in supporting identity for young people in OOHC. It does so through consideration of a new Australian digital app called CaringLife and argues for the benefits of future Life Story Work (LSW) in a digital format in conjunction with more conventional formats. We argue that a digital format for life storying has strong potential to address the higher than usual critical issues this group face: unemployment, homelessness, and mental illness

Young Person, Parent/Carer, and School Teachers' Understanding of Periods, Period Pain, and Endometriosis

The aim of this study was to examine menstrual health education, experiences of menstruation and menstrual pain, and the impact of menstruation on various aspects of individuals' lives with the view of developing educational interventions that focus on improving the education and management of menstruation within schools

The City, the River and the Museum: Ways of Knowing the Parramatta/Burramatta River

Parramatta is the furthest navigable point inland on the Parramatta River, and also the point at which the river becomes freshwater. Aboriginal people once fished from bark canoes on the river, and the river continues to be a place of Aboriginal cultural significance. The river was also an important transport corridor between Sydney and Parramatta, and most of the Parramatta River was once swimmable. By the 1950s, however, a lack of regulation and rapid industrial development caused substantial pollution and degradation of the water quality. Today, there are growing calls and initiatives to restore Parramatta River's significance as the green heart of the city. The arrival of the Powerhouse Parramatta – scheduled to open in 2025 – is a catalyst for this development. This publication is the result of a symposium held at Western Sydney University in November 2023 which brought together researchers, scientists, policy makers, artists, activists, community members and museum workers to focus on different aspects of the Parramatta River as a central feature of Parramatta's growing role as the Central River City in Greater Sydney

Social robots for meaningful seated activities : acceptance & use by older adults

Healthy aging requires the maintenance of good physical and cognitive activity. However, as they age, older adults often experience a decline in physical and cognitive activity, leading to a more sedentary lifestyle. Some older adults may not have a choice but to become increasingly sedentary as they age due to injury or deteriorated physicality. As such, they require assistive technologies to aid in their daily lives and activities to maintain healthy cognitive function. Social Robots are a newer form of assistive technology, specifically designed for social interactions and gameplay. As with other assistive technologies, compliance barriers to their acceptance and use for meaningful, seated activities among older adults are expected. To better explore this phenomenon, improve quality of life and understand what drives older adults to accept and use newer forms of technology like social robots, this conceptual paper conjoins two theoretical frameworks: The Activity Theory of Aging (ATA) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). As social robots hold great promise for improving the quality of life for older adults, exploring what driving factors could enable their greater acceptance and use is essential to furthering this field of study within Australia

Economic determinants of child marriage : evidence from the Iranian provinces

This study investigates the economic determinants of early marriage among girls under 19, using panel data from thirty Iranian provinces between 2007 and 2015. The panel fixed effects and generalized method of moments (GMM) estimations, which control for province fixed effects such as local cultural norms or geographical conditions, show that the level of income per capita (with a negative effect), inflation, and income inequality (both with a positive effect) are significant determinants of early marriage

Molecular insights into the breast and prostate cancer cells in response to the change of extracellular zinc

Zinc dyshomeostasis is manifested in breast and prostate cancer cells. This study attempted to uncover the molecular details prodded by the change of extracellular zinc by employing a panel of normal and cancerous breast and prostate cell lines coupled with the top-down proteomics with two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The protein samples were generated from MCF-7 breast cancer cells, MCF10A normal breast cells, PC3 prostate cancer cells, and RWPE-1 normal prostate cells with or without exogenous zinc exposure in a time course (T0 and T120). By comparing the cancer cells vs respective normal epithelial cells without zinc treatment (T0), differentially expressed proteins (23 upregulated and 18 downregulated in MCF-7 cells; 14 upregulated and 30 downregulated in PC3 cells) were identified, which provides insights into the intrinsic differences of breast and prostate cancer cells. The dynamic protein landscapes in the cancer cells prodded by the extracellular zinc treatment reveal the potential roles of the identified zinc-responsive proteins (e.g., triosephosphate isomerase, S100A13, tumour proteins hD53 and hD54, and tumour suppressor prohibitin) in breast and prostate cancers. This study, for the first time, simultaneously investigated the two kinds of cancer cells related to zinc dyshomeostasis, and the findings shed light on the molecular understanding of the breast and prostate cancer cells in response to extracellular zinc variation

Translation of a diabetes remission service into Australian primary care : findings from the evaluation of DiRECT-Australia

Background. The Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT) study demonstrated that an intensive and structured weight management program in UK primary care resulted in high rates of diabetes remission in adults with recent onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study was aimed at evaluating the translation of the DiRECT intervention into an Australian primary care setting. Methods. All patients enrolled in the DiRECT-Australia Type 2 Diabetes Remission Service in a region of Sydney (Macarthur region, South Western Sydney, Australia) were included. Eligible participants were aged 20-70 years, noninsulin treated, with T2DM of = 27 kg/m2. Total diet replacement of 825-853 kcal/day using meal replacements was implemented for 12 weeks, followed by an ongoing structured program until 52 weeks, with regular follow-up with a general practitioner, dietitian, and/or practice nurse. Results. Of 39 recruited participants, 32 (82.1%) and 27 (69.2%) completed 12 weeks and 52 weeks of the structured program, respectively. Decrease in weight by -12.0 kg (95% CI: -9.6, -14.4; p<0.001) and -9.1 kg (95% CI: -5.2, -12.9; p<0.001) and decrease in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) by -1.1% (95% CI: -0.6, -1.6; p<0.001) and -0.6% (95% CI: -0.1, -1.1; p=0.013) were observed at 12 and 52 weeks, respectively. At the end of 12 and 52 weeks, 93.8% (30/32) and 55.6% (15/27) of those with follow-up data met the criteria for diabetes remission, respectively. Quality of life and wellbeing scores increased over the course of 12 weeks, remaining significantly higher at 52 weeks. Participants reported they would be willing to pay A$92.50 (95$75.80, A$109.30) per fortnight for the low-calorie meal replacement shakes. Conclusions. These findings support the feasibility of a structured diabetes remission service in an Australian primary care setting to achieve improvements in glycaemia, weight, and quality of life and wellbeing, and suggest a substantial willingness to pay for diet replacement products among participants

Upcycling of end-of-life-vehicle (ELV) plastics as a replacement for natural fine aggregate in concrete

End-of-life vehicle (ELV) plastics pose technical challenges in conventional recycling due to their diverse polymer compositions. Consequently, landfilling remains the prevailing disposal method. This study explores an innovative approach by upcycling ELV plastics as a substitute for natural sand in concrete. The study investigates the physical, mechanical and economic performance of ELV plastic-containing concrete. Plastic aggregates were prepared from real-world ELV plastics, featuring particle sizes below 4.75 mm, with over 90 % falling within the range of 1.18–4.75 mm. The research involves replacing natural sand with ELV plastics at varying volumes (0 %, 15 %, 25 %, 35 %, and 40 %) and examines the effect of sand replacement on various concrete properties. The results suggest that as the replacement ratio increases, the workability, density, and strength of concrete decrease. However, the 28-day compressive strength of concrete at the maximum replacement rate of 40 % was found to be 39 MPa, which suffices for certain non-structural strength applications, such as traffic routes, shared-use paths, local streets and curbs. In addition, compared to previous studies using mixed commodity plastics, ELV plastics lead to significantly lower strength reductions at high replacement ratios. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis reveals a distinctive rough and fibrous aggregate morphology, which enhances physical binding and provides bridging effects within the concrete matrix, potentially mitigating strength loss. Moreover, the economic analysis highlights a significant potential to commercialize ELV plastics for concrete applications. This study demonstrates that ELV plastics can be effectively used at high replacement rates (up to 40 % by volume) in non-structural applications

Evaluation of alternate image capturing devices for recording fingermarks at crime scenes

This project evaluated the fingermark imaging ability of several alternate image capturing devices selected for their potential to assist with the recording of fingermarks in difficult-to-reach locations commonly encountered at crime scenes, e.g. the inside surface of door handles. Four small form-factor non-DSLR camera systems — intraoral camera, borescope, fibre-optic camera and an iPhone — were evaluated under controlled conditions for their ability to image fingermarks with sufficient detail for identification. Evaluation was conducted using black powdered fingermarks and standard photographic test targets. A qualitative visual evaluation approach was also developed to gauge whether image quality was appropriate for fingermark identification. The results obtained indicated that most of the systems were capable of capturing fingermark details suitable for identification in controlled environments; however, the inherent contrast of the fingermark had an impact on the success of various imaging devices. The practicality and capability of alternate camera devices for fingermark recovery in pseudo-operational conditions is part of ongoing research

[In Press] Cognitive and emotional factors influencing the incorporation of advice into decision-making across the adult lifespan

Objectives: The present study sought to investigate the influence of advice on decisionmaking in older age, as well as the potential influence of depressive symptoms and agerelated differences in the cognitively demanding emotion regulation on advice-taking. Method: A non-clinical sample (N = 156; 50% female; 47 young: M age = 29.87, SD = 5.58; 54 middle-aged: M age = 50.91, SD = 7.13; 55 older: M age = 72.51, SD = 5.33) completed a judge-advisor task to measure degree of advice-taking, as well as measures of fluid intelligence, depressive symptoms, confidence, perceived advice accuracy, and emotion regulation. Results: Age did not influence degree of advice-taking. Greater depressive symptoms were associated with more reliance on advice, but only among individuals who identified as emotion regulators. Interestingly, older age was associated with perceiving advice to be less accurate. Discussion: The study contributes to the sparse literature on advice-taking in older age. Cognitive and emotional factors influence the degree to which advice is incorporated into decision-making in consistent ways across the adult lifespan. A key difference is that older adults take as much advice as younger adults despite perceiving the advice to be less accurate