Longley Building: Reuse and Rehabilitation Feasibility Report

The southern, eastern, and northern façades (the principal façades) have a great amount of decorative masonry including granite, slate coursing, brownstone coursing, and brick veneer (Photo 2). All of these materials are in good condition, except for the brownstone, which is deteriorating in areas that are connected to a wrought iron balustrade. The surface of the brownstone is face-beded, and the corrosion of the iron in contact with the stone has caused oxide jacking. All of the masonry has environmental staining

Where is the ‘social’ in constructions of ‘liveability’?:exploring community, social interaction and social cohesion in changing urban environments

Ongoing changes in the urban environment have renewed interest in the transformation of cities and suburbs as liveable places. This article examines the limitations inherent in a functional (objective) notion of liveability that commonly underpins government policy directions. Through an examination of key debates in the literature we consider how the delivery of the social (subjective) dimension of liveability, linked to community, social interaction and social cohesion, poses unique challenges for policy makers, urban planners and developers. We argue for a deeper understanding of the social constructs of liveability that acknowledges the complexity of changing urban environments in contemporary society

Humoral immune responding of the albino rat during phases of the estrous cycle

The relationship between estrous phase and immune response in female rats was studied using two designs. In the between subjects design, groups of five rats were tested for antigen binding capacity and estrous phase on each of the ten days following secondary exposure to an HSA antigen. In the within subjects design, fourteen rats were tested for estrous phase at time of antigen exposure and for antigen binding capacity on each of the ten days following secondary exposure. Estrous phase was determined from microscopic examination of vaginal smears and phases were categorized according to high or low levels of estrogen and progesterone. Both designs showed a significant increase in immune response over the ten days. The within subjects design showed that higher estrogen levels at the time of antigen exposure were accompanied by elevated immune response. This finding shows that naturally occurring fluctuations in estrogen level at the time of a challenge to the immune system have an influence on the immune response

Seeking help for depression from family and friends: A qualitative analysis of perceived advantages and disadvantages

BACKGROUND People with depression often seek help from family and friends and public health campaigns frequently encourage such help seeking behaviours. However, there has been little systematically collected empirical data concerning the effects of such informal help seeking. The current study sought to investigate the views of consumers about the advantages and disadvantages of seeking support from family and friends for depression. METHODS Participants were the subset of 417 respondents to a survey, sent to 7000 randomly selected members of an Australian electoral community, who indicated that they had sought help for depression from family or friends. One item on the survey asked participants to indicate the advantages or disadvantages of seeking help from family or friends. A coding system was developed based on a content analysis of the responses to the item. Each of the responses was then coded by two raters. RESULTS Respondents identified both advantages and disadvantages of seeking support from friends. The most commonly cited advantage was social support (n = 282) including emotional support (n = 154), informational support (n = 93), companionship support (n = 36) and instrumental support (n = 23). Other advantages related to family's or friend's background knowledge of the person and their circumstances (n = 72), the opportunity to offload the burden associated with depression (n = 62), the personal attributes of family and friends (n = 49), their accessibility (n = 36), and the opportunity to educate family and friends and increase their awareness about the respondent's depression (n = 30). The most commonly cited disadvantages were stigma (n = 53), inappropriate support (n = 45), the family member's lack of knowledge, training and expertise (n = 32) and the adverse impact of the help seeking on the family/friend (n = 20) and the relationship (n = 18). CONCLUSIONS Family and friends are well placed to provide support which consumers perceive to be positive and which can assist them in obtaining formal mental health treatment. However, the input of some family members may be unhelpful or toxic. There may be benefits in undertaking community education and destigmatisation programs which target carers.Kathleen Griffiths is supported by NHMRC Fellowship 525413. Lisa Barney is supported by NHMRC Capacity Building Grant No. 41802

A cross-sectional study on tobacco use and dependence among women: Does menthol matter?

Background: The question of whether mentholation of cigarettes enhances tobacco dependence has generated conflicting findings. Potential mediating factors in a putative relationship between menthol use and tobacco dependence may include race and gender. While an association between menthol use and dependence is mixed, research on the role of race solely among women smokers is scarce. This study examined whether women menthol smokers have higher tobacco use and dependence than non-menthol smokers. Further, the study investigated differences between White and African American smokers. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 928 women seeking tobacco dependence treatment in Boston, Massachusetts. Measures obtained included preferred brand and menthol content, dependence markers (cigarettes per day (CPD); time to first cigarette in the morning; number of and longest previous quit attempts) and smoking history (age of initiation; years smoking; menthol or non-menthol cigarette preference). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to detect interactions between menthol preference by race for continuous variables, and Pearson’s chi-squared test was used for analyses with dichotomous variables. Results: A greater proportion of menthol smokers smoked their first cigarette within five minutes of waking (p < 0.01) and were less likely to have a previous quit attempt longer than 90 days (p < 0.01). ANOVAs revealed no main effects for menthol preferences. However, African American smokers smoked fewer CPD (p<.001), started smoking later in life (p= .04), and had been smoking the same brand for longer (p= .04). Conclusions: Women menthol smokers showed signs of greater tobacco dependence than non-menthol smokers. African Americans smoked fewer CPD but nevertheless had evidence of greater dependence

Where is the ‘social’ in constructions of ‘liveability’?:exploring community, social interaction and social cohesion in changing urban environments

Ongoing changes in the urban environment have renewed interest in the transformation of cities and suburbs as liveable places. This article examines the limitations inherent in a functional (objective) notion of liveability that commonly underpins government policy directions. Through an examination of key debates in the literature we consider how the delivery of the social (subjective) dimension of liveability, linked to community, social interaction and social cohesion, poses unique challenges for policy makers, urban planners and developers. We argue for a deeper understanding of the social constructs of liveability that acknowledges the complexity of changing urban environments in contemporary society.Griffith Business School, Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel ManagementFull Tex

Shaping the Supervision Narrative: Innovating Teaching and Leading to Improve STEM Instruction

This paper offers a model of supervisory collaboration that brings teacher and administrator programs together through a lens of formative evaluation. The roles of teacher and principal must be collaborative to sustain student success, yet the preparation models for those respective positions are often isolated from each other, as varying university departments and focus areas exist in silos. Preparation programs must maximize the clinical experiences of teacher education and administrator preparation programs, with a focus on practical teaching strategies and authentic feedback to pre-service educators and their instructors for reflection and change. This paper overviews a collaborative supervision model and incorporates case study vignettes focused on reflective supervisory practices in a STEM instructional environment

A Spatial View of How United States Cesarean Section Rates Changed from 1990-2014

The overuse of cesarean sections (c-sections) in the United States is a contested issue. The rate of c-section births in 2015 at 32% was over double the World Health Organization recommendation of 10-15%. We employed spatial statistical methods and data visualization techniques to assess the temporal and spatial trends in c-section rates by county across the US. While the national rate of c-section remained stable at the beginning and end of this study period, an increase in rates from 1997 to 2009 was reflected simultaneously in national, state, and individual county rates. Local indicators of spatial dependence did not show spatial clustering as being connected to, or driving, the change, yet the visualization methods used here show details on individual county deviance from local temporal trends. By highlighting counties which do not follow the trends of their neighbors, we identify exceptional locations which could help further the study of the determinants of changing c-section rates in the United States.</p

Keynote: The Fair Use Game

For years educators have operated under the maxim that if a copyrighted work is used for educational purposes, then it is not necessary to reimburse the holder of the copyright as one would expect to have to do for “commercial” purposes. Under current interpretations of the law, however, we are just beginning to discover that this is not necessarily the case. Using the “classroom clicker” response devices and an interactive PowerPoint quiz to elicit audience participation, we’ll be playing the Fair Use Game to see how much you really know about fair use practices in higher education! Related Links: Fair Use Check List Know Your Copy Rights (Association of Research Libraries) BSU Intellectual Property Rights & Copyrigh