Towards effective mitigation strategies for severe wind events

The need to mitigate the losses from severe wind events in Australia has been highlighted repeatedly over the last decade, paralleling that of the hurricane-prone south east United States of America. The Northern Australia Insurance Premiums Taskforce final report released in 2015 [see Related URLs], along with numerous other studies and reports, emphasised that mitigation is the only rational solution to reducing loss and improving the current insurance affordability situation. Engineering solutions exist to prevent failures, however post-event observations highlight their lack of implementation. It follows that the current level of community engagement in mitigation activities in cyclone-prone regions of Australia must be improved if losses are to be reduced. This paper discusses issues of engagement and reviews literature and existing mitigation programs as background for a smartphone mitigation tool being developed in Queensland, Australia, and Florida, USA

Towards effective mitigation strategies for severe wind events

The need to mitigate the losses from severe wind events in Australia has been highlighted repeatedly over the last decade, paralleling that of the hurricane-prone south east United States of America. The Northern Australia Insurance Premiums Taskforce final report released in 2015 [see Related URLs], along with numerous other studies and reports, emphasised that mitigation is the only rational solution to reducing loss and improving the current insurance affordability situation. Engineering solutions exist to prevent failures, however post-event observations highlight their lack of implementation. It follows that the current level of community engagement in mitigation activities in cyclone-prone regions of Australia must be improved if losses are to be reduced. This paper discusses issues of engagement and reviews literature and existing mitigation programs as background for a smartphone mitigation tool being developed in Queensland, Australia, and Florida, USA

Storm surges: Exploring the role of experience and knowledge

Damaging storm surges from tropical cyclones have not occurred frequently in northern Australia and therefore residents in this region do not have a lot of experience to draw on when assessing potential risk. Lack of experience can also impact on the knowledge an individual holds about an event, and this in turn can alter how associated risks are perceived. This study explored the role of different types of knowledge in perceiving the threat from a storm surge and how experience can impact on these perceptions. The sample consisted of 198 members of the north Queensland community. Participants were asked to indicate the different types of experience they have had with a surge and how knowledgeable they believed they were about these events. Several true/false items gave a measure of objective knowledge, while risk perception was ascertained based on measures of perceived severity, vulnerability, likelihood and potential consequences. The results demonstrated that when an individual had experience with a surge, they were more likely to rely on their subjective knowledge to inform their risk perception. In contrast, when an individual did not have experience, objective knowledge was a better predictor for risk. These findings have implications for how future risk communication can be structured, to ensure individual differences and biases in the processing of risk information are accounted for

"We all sort of feel like we're all part of the same community": exploring community social cohesion

Social cohesion and inclusion is important for the attraction and retention of residents as well as the economic development of communities. Relationships that are formed based on trust allow for greater productivity as individuals are more likely to work together. As such, the aim of this study was to identify resident perceptions of social cohesion within their community. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in two Australian mining communities. There were 20 (3 male, 17 female) residents interviewed in a remote, purpose built, mining community and 11 (4 male, 7 female) residents interviewed in a rural, agricultural community where mining was introduced. Common themes were identified within the interviews through an interpretative phenomenological analytical framework which provided an in depth examination of the lived experiences of participants. Participants from both communities reported similar perceptions of social cohesion within their community. Though communities generally reported high social cohesion, some participants reported a lack of cohesion or a divide between particular groups within the community. The main groups that participants reported were based on occupation and ethnicity. The perceived divide between groups was often the result of a reported lack of trust as well as the perception of the unjust distribution of wealth. These findings suggest that for communities where there are identifiable groups, further steps need to be taken to facilitate interactions between residents. For example, councils and/or community organisations could organise community events that target different groups within a community with the purpose of encouraging participation and interaction

Confirmatory factor analysis and examination of the psychometric properties of the eating beliefs questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: The Eating Beliefs Questionnaire (EBQ) is a 27-item self-report measure that assesses positive and negative beliefs about binge eating. It has been validated and its factor structure explored in a non-clinical sample. This study tested the psychometric properties of the EBQ in a clinical and a non-clinical sample. METHOD: A sample of 769 participants (573 participants recruited from the university and general community, 76 seeking treatment for an eating disorder and 120 participating in obesity research) completed a battery of questionnaires. A subset of clinical participants with a diagnosis of Bulimia Nervosa or Binge Eating Disorder completed the test-battery before and after receiving a psychological treatment (n = 27) or after allocation to a wait-list period (n = 28), and a subset of 35 community participants completed the test battery again after an interval of two-weeks. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed. RESULTS: CFA found a two-factor structure that provided a good fit to the data, supporting the solution presented in the development paper. Items with poor psychometric properties were removed, resulting in a 16 item measure. EBQ scores were found to correlate with binge eating episode frequency, increases in body mass index (BMI), and measures of eating disorder behaviours and related psychopathology. The EBQ was found to have excellent internal consistency (α = .94), good test-retest reliability (r = .91) and sensitivity to treatment. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that the EBQ is a psychometrically sound and clinically useful measure

Technologies for the automated collection of heat stress data in sheep

The automated collection of phenotypic measurements in livestock is becoming increasingly important to both researchers and farmers. The capacity to non-invasively collect real-time data, provides the opportunity to better understand livestock behaviour and physiology and improve animal management decisions. Current climate models project that temperatures will increase across the world, influencing both local and global agriculture. Sheep that are exposed to high ambient temperatures experience heat stress and their physiology, reproductive function and performance are compromised. Body temperature is a reliable measure of heat stress and hence a good indicator of an animals’ health and well-being. Non-invasive temperature-sensing technologies have made substantial progress over the past decade. Here, we review the different technologies available and assess their suitability for inferring ovine heat stress. Specifically, the use of indwelling probes, intra-ruminal bolus insertion, thermal imaging and implantable devices are investigated. We further evaluate the capacity of behavioural tracking technology, such as global positioning systems, to identify heat stressed individuals based on the exhibition of specific behaviours. Although there are challenges associated with using real-time thermosensing data to make informed management decisions, these technologies provide new opportunities to manage heat stress in sheep. In order to obtain accurate real-time information of individual animals and facilitate prompt intervention, data collection should be entirely automated. Additionally, for accurate interpretation on-farm, the development of software which can effectively collect, manage and integrate data for sheep producer’s needs to be prioritised. Lastly, understanding known physiological thresholds will allow farmers to determine individual heat stress risk and facilitate early intervention to reduce the effects in both current and subsequent generations

Obesity Treatment/Outcomes Does severe dietary energy restriction increase binge eating in overweight or obese individuals? A systematic review

Summary Severe dietary energy restriction is often used for overweight or obese individuals to achieve rapid weight loss and related health improvements. However, the extent of putative adverse effects on eating behaviour is unknown. We thus systematically searched seven databases for studies that assessed binge eating before and after severe dietary energy restriction (low or very low energy diets) in overweight or obese individuals. Fifteen clinically supervised interventions from 10 publications (nine of which involved only women) were included. Among individuals with clinically relevant pre-treatment binge eating disorder, severe dietary energy restriction significantly decreased binge eating in all four interventions involving this population, at least during the weight loss programme. In contrast, no consistent association between severe dietary energy restriction and the onset of bingeing was found in 11 interventions involving individuals without pretreatment binge eating disorder, with four such interventions showing significant increases, two showing no change, and five showing significant decreases in binge eating. We conclude that clinically supervised severe dietary energy restriction appears safe and beneficial for overweight or obese individuals with pre-treatment binge eating disorder, and does not necessarily trigger binge eating in those without binge eating disorder

The relationship between physical and wellness measures and injury in amateur rugby union players

peer-reviewedObjectives To investigate factors associated with injury in amateur male and female rugby union players. Design A prospective cohort study. Setting Amateur rugby clubs in Ireland. Participants Male (n = 113) and female (n = 24) amateur rugby union players from 5 of the top 58 amateur clubs in Ireland. Main outcome measures Pre-season testing included physical tests assessing hamstring flexibility, dorsiflexion range of movement, adductor muscle strength and foot position. Wellness questionnaires assessed sleep quality (PSQI), coping skills (ACSI-28) and support levels (PASS-Q). Players were monitored throughout the season for injury. Results The time-loss match injury incidence rate was 48.2/1000 player hours for males and 45.2/1000 player hours for females. Two risk profiles emerged involving; ‘age + navicular drop + training pitch surface’ (53%) and ‘age + navicular drop + groin strength’ (16%). An inverse relationship between groin strength and groin injury was found for the ‘backs’ players (−0.307, p < 0.05). Using the PSQI, 61% of players had poor sleep quality, however no relationship between the wellness questionnaires and injury was found. Conclusion Two injury risk profiles emerged, associated with subsequent injury occurrence. Using these risk profiles, individualized prevention strategies may be designed regarding deficits in groin muscle strength and identifying foot alignment.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe

Watched over or over-watched? Open street CCTV in Australia

Most developed countries, Australia included, are witnessing increased government and public concerns about crime and security. Amid these anxieties, closed circuit television (CCTV) systems to monitor public spaces are increasingly being touted as a solution to problems of crime and disorder. The city of Perth established Australia’s first open street closed circuit television system in July 1991. Subsequently, there has been significant expansion. At the end of 2002 Australia had 33 “open street” CCTV schemes. Based on site inspections, extensive reviews of documentation and interviews with 22 Australian administrators, this article discusses issues relating to system implementation, management and accountability.We also suggest ways relevant authorities might ensure that current and future schemes are appropriately audited and evaluated. We argue that rigorous independent assessment of both the intended and unintended consequences of open street CCTV is essential to ensure this measure is not deployed inappropriately. Finally, this article suggests any potential crime prevention benefits must be carefully weighed against the potential of CCTV to exacerbate social division and exclusion