Monitoring and management of a landslide on the main motorway between Sydney and Wollongong, NSW Australia

The Mount Ousley Road section of the M1 Princes Motorway is one of the main transportation links between the cities of Sydney and Wollongong, New South Wales (NSW), on the east coast of Australia. The road was originally constructed during World War II as an alternative defense route and now supports approximately 50,000 vehicle movements per day. The road negotiates 4.4km of the Illawarra escarpment at grades up to 1:8. A section of the road traverses the largest landslide in the Wollongong Landslide Inventory, Site 141. The surface area of the landslide is 67,000m2, which includes a 350m section of Mount Ousley Road affecting all six lanes. The landslide is a deep seated, episodically active translational debris slide with a maximum depth of sliding of 20.5m. The landslide is managed by a continuous real-time monitoring system and is dewatered by nine 30m deep pumping wells to maintain lower ground water levels. The dewatering system was installed in 1988, but has been upgraded three times to enhance serviceability and most recently to provide a further 10 years of landslide management. This paper presents some analysis of data collected from the continuous real-time monitoring system established by the University of Wollongong Landslide Research Team, in partnership with NSW Government organizations including Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) and NSW Public Works and highlights the troubleshooting work associated. Periodic and continuous monitoring has been successful in identifying needs for the dewatering system upgrades, assessing thresholds for slope movement and evaluating the overall effectiveness of the remedial measures installed

The Digestive Tract of Cephalopods: Toward Non-invasive In vivo Monitoring of Its Physiology

Ensuring the health and welfare of animals in research is paramount, and the normal functioning of the digestive tract is essential for both. Here we critically assess non- or minimally-invasive techniques which may be used to assess a cephalopod’s digestive tract functionality to inform health monitoring. We focus on: (i) predatory response as an indication of appetitive drive; (ii) body weight assessment and interpretation of deviations (e.g., digestive gland weight loss is disproportionate to body weight loss in starvation); (iii) oro-anal transit time requiring novel, standardized techniques to facilitate comparative studies of species and diets; (iv) defecation frequency and analysis of fecal color (diet dependent) and composition (parasites, biomarkers, and cytology); (v) digestive tract endoscopy, but passage of the esophagus through the brain is a technical challenge; (vi) high resolution ultrasound that offers the possibility of imaging the morphology of the digestive tract (e.g., food distribution, indigestible residues, obstruction) and recording contractile activity; (vii) needle biopsy (with ultrasound guidance) as a technique for investigating digestive gland biochemistry and pathology without the death of the animal. These techniques will inform the development of physiologically based assessments of health and the impact of experimental procedures. Although intended for use in the laboratory they are equally applicable to cephalopods in public display and aquaculture.En prens

Influence of psychological factors in food risk assessment - A review

Background: Typically, food-related risk assessments are carried out within a four step, technical framework, as detailed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (World Health Organization/ Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, 2015). However, the technical framework presumes a level of ‘objective risk’ and does not take into account that risk is complex and psychologically constructed, something which is rarely acknowledged within risk analysis as a whole. It is well documented that people's perceptions of risk are based on more than merely probability of occurrence, but reflect other non-technical psychological factors (e.g., risk origin, severity, controllability, familiarity). Moreover, the basis of these risk perceptions is largely similar for experts and non-experts. Scope and approach: In this review, we consider each stage of the risk assessment process from a psychological perspective, reviewing research on non-technical factors which could affect assessments of risk and subsequent risk management decisions, with a particular focus on food safety. Key Findings and Conclusions: We identify 12 factors from the psychological literature which could potentially influence how risks are assessed and characterised. Drawing on insights from this research, we propose a number of recommendations to standardise approaches in risk assessment. Acknowledging and working with the subjectivity of risk is key to ensuring the efficacy of the wider risk analysis process

Building a Career in Finland : Experiences of International Women in the Business Sector

Work is a central element of modern individuals’ lives. Beyond being just a means to secure income, work gives meaning to a person’s life, it affects how the individual is perceived by the rest of the society, how they perceive who they are and define who they want to be. The continuous evolution of our modern societies affects also how individuals approach and experience their career building. In addition, the topic of internationalization is particularly relevant for Finland, considering the country’s needs for a foreign workforce due to the growing economy and ageing domestic workforce. In recent years Finland has experienced an increased influx of skilled migrants, but the research show immigrant women remain particularly vulnerable, including skilled and highly educated female internationals. Until recently, career development has been focused on the individual, neglecting the importance of the context, societal values, norms and structures in which individuals build and live their careers. Furthermore, despite the number of skilled female migrants has been on a rise, there is limited insight into their subjective career development experiences. This research responds to those two needs and explores how gender, foreignness and professional identity come together and shape the career building experiences of skilled international women in Finland. The main aim is to provide a better understanding of the totality of their experiences, career challenges and opportunities they experience, resources and strategies they use to navigate their career development in Finland. This research was conducted using a biographical narrative interview method. Twelve international women living and working in Finland were interviewed, coming from diverse backgrounds, countries of origin, professions, and industries. At the beginning of the interview, the interviewee was asked a very broad question: to tell her career story – the past, the present and the future hopes. After the uninterrupted storytelling part, follow-up questions were asked to ensure the clarity and richness of the data collected. Insights about interviewees’ careers before moving to Finland, motivations to come and stay in Finland, challenges to kick off their careers and their experience of adjusting to the Finnish working culture were collected. This study suggests that all three factors – gender, foreignness, and professional identity – are relevant to understand the career building experiences of international women. In addition, the study points out the interplay between those factors and highlights their intertwined nature. Overall findings suggest that building a career in Finland brings both challenges and opportunities for skilled international women. Challenges are mainly associated with the lack of career capital, language skills, and pressure to demonstrate their commitment to staying in Finland. In addition, findings suggest gender equal nature of the Finnish society can create challenges for women coming from less gender equal backgrounds. Career development opportunities are associated with identified features of the Finnish working culture. Those features include low vertical hierarchy, access to top management, high level of trust, freedom and autonomy, knowledge sharing, organizational openness to exploring different career paths within the organization and learning in all phases of a career

Mindfulness-Integrated CBT (MiCBT) for Reducing Distress in Parents of Children with Intellectual Disability (ID): a Case Series

© 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Caring for a child with an intellectual disability (ID) is associated with significant psychological distress. Interventions include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Mindfulness-integrated CBT (MiCBT) may offer a balance between CBT’s change focus and MBSR’s acceptance focus for these parents. Five participants were recruited and provided one to one MiCBT tailored to parental carers of children with ID. Four participants completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 (DASS-21) pre-treatment and post-treatment. Reliable change analysis was used to identify clinically reliable change. One participant dropped out after four sessions, four completed eight of the available eight sessions. Two participants reported reductions in depressive and stress symptoms, and one of these, additionally reported a reduction in anxiety symptoms. All four participants who completed treatment rated the treatment as acceptable. MiCBT shows promise as an intervention to assist parental carers of children with ID