http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/services/Feed ${session.getAttribute("locale")} 5 http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25620 This chapter will commence with an overview of the literature on social functioning in Down syndrome (DS). The overview is structured according to Tager-Flusberg and Sullivan's (2000) model of social functioning, which differentiates social perceptual and social cognitive skills. Compared to the literature available for other developmental syndromes, there has been very little research exploring social abilities in DS, and studies have produced mixed· findings. Following the overview, research limitations are discussed, then a research study is introduced which addresses some of the limitations and assesses social attribution in DS (N=l7), Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS, N=l7), and in typically developing mental age matched controls (N=l7, MAC) and chronological age matched controls (N=l7, CAC). The research study compares individuals with DS, individuals with WBS, and MAC and CAC on the Social Attribution Task (SAT, Klin, 2000), which uses the Heider and Simmel (1944) silent cartoon animation in which geometric shapes enact a social plot. The SAT measures social abilities which are a fundamental basis of human social interaction (Klin, 2000). Findings indicated a comparable performance between DS, WBS, and MAC on all social cognitive indices from the SAT, but the DS group displayed reduced paralinguistic skills compared to MAC. All groups performed significantly below the level of CAC, except for their ability to attribute cognitive and affective mental states, which was comparable across the four groups. Findings are discussed in relation to Tager-Flusberg and Sullivan's model of social functioning and in relation to amygdala and frontal lobe brain impairments in DS. 2013-05-17T04:49:34.197Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25616 19 pages(s) 2013-05-17T04:05:15.728Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25408 1 page(s) 2013-05-09T09:35:49.324Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25409 1 page(s) 2013-05-09T09:35:47.453Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25410 1 page(s) 2013-05-09T09:35:46.453Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25412 1 page(s) 2013-05-09T09:35:43.453Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25411 1 page(s) 2013-05-09T09:35:43.037Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25413 1 page(s) 2013-05-09T09:35:38.603Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25424 Previous research suggests that the process through which information is acquired during decision-making influences the accuracy and the efficiency with which decisions are made subsequently. The present study was designed to extend this research and examine the relationship between information acquisition strategies and decisionmaking amongst experienced and inexperienced practitioners. For the purposes of the research, the aviation context was selected, since it provided a naturalistic decision context, and it was possible to assess operator experience reasonably accurately. Fifty pilots, of whom 39 were classified as inexperienced, engaged in a series of scenarios involving an in-flight diversion. The scenarios were computerbased, and were counterbalanced both in terms of the context for the flight and in the type of information acquisition strategy involved. The three information acquisition strategies were consistent with either the frequency, majority of confirming decisions, or elimination by aspects of decision heuristics. A fourth scenario enabled participants to select the strategy of their choice, once they had completed the preceding scenarios. The results revealed differences between experienced and inexperienced operators in both the accuracy and the efficiency with which decisions were made. The results have important implications for decisionmaking in advanced technology environments. 2013-05-09T09:35:20.517Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25423 1 page(s) 2013-05-09T09:35:16.658Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25460 This study investigated the effect of filmed peer modeling on fear beliefs and approach–avoidance behaviors towards animals in 8- to 10-year-old typically developing children. Ninety-seven children randomly received either a positive or negative modeling film in which they saw peers interact with a novel animal. Before and after this film, children’s fear beliefs and avoidance tendencies towards the modeled and non-modeled control animal were measured. A behavioral approach task was also administered post-modeling. Following positive peer modeling, children’s fear beliefs and avoidance tendencies towards the modeled but also towards the non-modeled animal decreased significantly. After negative modeling, children’s fear beliefs towards the modeled animal increased significantly, but did not change for the non-modeled animal. Negative modeling did not change avoidance tendencies for the modeled animal, while it decreased children’s avoidance of the non-modeled animal. No significant effects were observed on the behavioral approach task. These results support Rachman’s indirect pathway of modeling/vicarious learning as a plausible mechanism by which children can acquire fears of novel stimuli and stresses the important fear-reducing effects of positive peer modeling. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed. 2013-05-09T09:33:45.376Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25465 Clinician-guided Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) programs are clinically effective at treating specific anxiety disorders. The present study examined the efficacy of a transdiagnostic Internet-based cognitive behavioural treatment (iCBT) program to treat more than one anxiety disorder within the same program (the Anxiety Program). Eighty six individuals meeting diagnostic criteria for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, and/or social phobia were randomly assigned to a treatment group, or to a waitlist control group. Treatment consisted of CBT based online educational lessons and homework assignments, weekly email or telephone contact from a clinical psychologist, access to a moderated online discussion forum, and automated emails. An intention-to-treat model using the baseline-observation-carried-forward principle was employed for data analyses. Seventy-five percent of treatment group participants completed all 6 lessons within the 8 week program. Post-treatment data was collected from 38/40 treatment group and 38/38 control group participants, and 3-month follow-up data was collected from 32/40 treatment group participants. Relative to controls, treatment group participants reported significantly reduced symptoms of anxiety as measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder – 7 Item, Social Phobia Screening Questionnaire, and the Panic Disorder Severity Rating Scale – Self Report Scale, but not on the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, with corresponding between-groups effect sizes (Cohen’s d) at post-treatment of 0.78, 0.43, 0.43, and 0.20, respectively. The clinician spent a total mean time of 46 min per person over the program, participants rated the procedure as moderately acceptable, and gains were sustained at follow-up. Modifications to the Anxiety program, based on post-treatment feedback from treatment group participants, were associated with improved outcomes in the control group. These results indicate that transdiagnostic programs for anxiety disorders may be successfully administered via the Internet. 2013-05-09T09:33:11.061Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24060 The aim of this study was to determine if duration-related stress in speech and music is processed in a similar way in the brain. To this end, we tested 20 adults for their abstract mismatch negativity (MMN) event-related potentials to two duration-related stress patterns: stress on the first syllable or note (long-short), and stress on the second syllable or note (short-long). A significant MMN was elicited for both speech and music except for the short-long speech stimulus. The long-short stimuli elicited larger MMN amplitudes for speech and music compared to short-long stimuli. An extra negativity-the late discriminative negativity (LDN)-was observed only for music. The larger MMN amplitude for long-short stimuli might be due to the familiarity of the stress pattern in speech and music. The presence of LDN for music may reflect greater long-term memory transfer for music stimuli. 2013-05-02T01:49:32.718Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25360 In April 2009, the Australian Government announced plans to roll-out the National Broadband Network (NBN) Company Open Access Network in Australia. Australia's NBN will bring high speed internet access to areas and people that otherwise would have been without. Predicting consequences (both positive and negative) arising from the NBN, as well as risks and opportunities that it will generate differentially between places, groups and sectors, is inherently uncertain. With little reliable data available on social impacts of NBN-style access at the household and community level, policy-making and regulation risks responding to optimistic speculation and commercially motivated spin rather than carefully weighed evidence. The research reported in this paper aimed to address this gap with a preliminary assessment of the social impacts of the NBN-like broadband roll-out at one New South Wales test site in southwest Sydney. The paper discusses the research methods and findings and frames recommendations for further research to address both limitations that arose in the research reported here, and broader gaps in understanding the social impacts of new forms of broadband access and associated applications. 2013-05-02T01:31:31.946Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25331 Two studies were conducted to measure expertise in aeronautical weather-related risk perception using the Cochran–Weiss–Shanteau (CWS) index. In the first study, qualified pilots, student pilots, and geography students were presented with weather-related scenarios, and rated the risk involved in each scenario. There was no relationship between flight experience and the CWS scores. The 3 groups of participants did not significantly differ in their CWS scores, although the qualified pilots were the most discriminating, and the geography students were the most consistent. To decrease reliance on memory, the CWS procedure was modified to involve a blocking task and a second study was carried out with qualified pilots. In contrast to Study 1, there was a relationship between flight experience and the CWS scores, suggesting that the adapted CWS procedure was a more valid measure of expertise in weather-related risk perception than the CWS task used in Study 1. The CWS procedure could be a useful tool in assessing expertise in aeronautical judgment and decision making. 2013-04-26T05:20:23.080Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25330 Exhibition held at the Maquarie University Art Gallery, NSW, 7 November - 15 December 2012 2013-04-24T09:31:02.894Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25300 19 pages(s) 2013-04-24T04:51:36.154Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25310 This article examines the existing confusion over the multiple leadership styles related to successful implementation of corporate social responsibility/sustainability in organisations. The researchers find that the problem is the complex nature of sustainability itself. We posit that organisations are complex adaptive systems operating within wider complex adaptive systems, making the problem of interpreting just in what way an organisation is to be sustainable, an extraordinary demand on leaders. Hence, leadership for sustainability requires leaders of extraordinary abilities. These are leaders who can read and predict through complexity, think through complex problems, engage groups in dynamic adaptive organisational change and have the emotional intelligence to adaptively engage with their own emotions associated with complex problem solving. Leaders and leadership is a key interpreter of how sustainability of the organisation 'links' to the wider systems in which the organisation sits, and executing that link well requires unusual leaders and leadership systems. 2013-04-24T04:50:59.250Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25313 This paper explores the interaction between the decisions of shareholders and leaders of socially responsible companies during the global financial crisis between 2008 to the end of 2011. Qualitative data analysis of 23 interviews revealed these groups felt that the organisations they were contributing to, either as leaders or shareholders, reflected the participants’ own personal values. The researchers propose that this personal identification with the organisation is likely to provide some competitive advantage to organisations that choose to be socially responsible. In addition, it indicates a potential mechanism for developing an emergent critical mass of behaviour and attitudes for planet and human sustainability which could be further explored. 2013-04-24T04:50:52.487Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25268 Background: Child anxiety disorder is a chronic debilitating condition. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is successful in approximately 60 % of cases, with poor response associated with greater severity, comorbidity and parental psychopathology, implicating genetic influence. The twin literature has shown that genetic influences interact with both negative and positive environmental influences, thus genes may predispose individuals to respond well or poorly to a psychological treatment. The Serotonin Transporter Promoter Polymorphism (5HTTLPR) has been associated with responsivity to the environment. Specifically, the short (S) allele has been associated with increased depression in the presence of stress, and with better outcomes in the absence of stress, and may thus be a marker of environmental responsivity. Methods: We examined the role of the SS genotype in predicting anxiety diagnosis and response to CBT in child anxiety disorders, using a gene–environment interaction approach. Children aged 6–13 years with a primary diagnosis of anxiety disorder undergoing CBT provided DNA (N = 559, 357 from white European ancestry). Results: There was an association between the 5HTTLPR and treatment response at follow-up. Individuals with the SS genotype were 20 % more likely than the SL/LL group, to be free of their primary or all anxiety diagnoses by follow-up. This finding was independent of significant influences of pre-treatment symptom severity, and comorbid mood disorder on treatment response. Children with the SS genotype also showed a significantly greater reduction in symptom severity by follow-up than those with the other genotypes. Discussion: Treatment offers the ideal opportunity to test for gene–environment interaction with a positive environment, and as the timing can be predicted this design allows for pre-treatment assessment. If replicated, these findings suggest that in time it could be possible to predict which children are least likely to benefit from CBT alone and would benefit from an enhanced treatment package. 2013-04-22T20:12:27.652Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25274 Most people communicate emotion through their voice, facial expressions, and gestures. However, it is assumed that only "experts" can communicate emotions in music. The authors have developed a computer-based system that enables musically untrained users to select relevant acoustic attributes to compose emotional melodies. Nonmusicians (Experiment 1) and musicians (Experiment 3) were progressively presented with pairs of melodies that each differed in an acoustic attribute (e.g., intensity - loud vs. soft). For each pair, participants chose the melody that most strongly conveyed a target emotion (anger, fear, happiness, sadness or tenderness). Once all decisions were made, a final melody containing all choices was generated. The system allowed both untrained and trained participants to compose a range of emotional melodies. New listeners successfully decoded the emotional melodies of nonmusicians (Experiment 2) and musicians (Experiment 4). Results indicate that human-computer interaction can facilitate the composition of emotional music by musically untrained and trained individuals. 2013-04-22T20:11:44.167Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25251 Aim: The exponential number of breast cancer survivors (BCS) provides opportunity to develop novel e-health systems that facilitate efficient follow-up care. A pilot study aimed to test the utilisation and acceptability of an on-line programme designed for BCS called Healthy Me (HM). Methods: HM design included registration data input (patient demographics, pathology results), tailored information (‘journeys’) regarding common survivorship issues (hot flushes, sexual health etc.); moderated forums, modifiable medication lists and on-line diaries; and email/scheduling functions with their healthcare team. From November 2011 to June 2012, fifty female English-speaking early BCS, aged 18–70 years with internet access were prospectively recruited from Liverpool and Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centres after cancer treatment completion. BC Nurses aided registration and instructed on HM use/functionalities. Participants completed an on-line baseline Profile Question- naire (PQ1), Usability Questionnaire (UQ1) via telephone at one month, then PQ2 and UQ2 at 4 months. PQ and UQ results were analysed qualitatively, as was face-to-face feedback from 7 patients. Results: PQ1 and UQ1 completion rates were 68% and 95% respectively; for PQ2–50% and UQ2–90%. HM usage declined from 32/50 (64%) at 1 month to 16/46 (30%) at 4 months. 44% at 1 month and 37% at 4 months found HM useful in their survivorship care, particularly peer forums, scheduling and email functions to access healthcare professionals. All active users at 4 months would recommend HM to other BCS. Barriers to HM use included lack of time (52%) and technical factors (20%). User feedback included preference for earlier introduction of HM at initial diagnosis, continued content updates and development of a HM phone application. Conclusions: Pilot data in BCS supports Healthy Me’s potential to facilitate tailored on-line information, peer support and improved connectivity to healthcare teams. Ongoing feedback will assist with refinement of the system. This is a preliminary step to developing a robust personally controlled health management system for any given population of cancer survivors. 2013-04-17T19:44:05.524Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25165 Introduction and Aims: In Singapore, where opiate substitution therapy is unavailable, the treatment for opiate use disorders adopts a predominantly cognitive-behavioural therapy abstinence-orientated approach with random urine testing. There is a paucity of evidence on the effectiveness of psychological therapies without opiate substitution therapy and on the treatment outcomes of opiate users in Asia more generally. Design and Methods: Using data from a treatment outcome monitoring program we explored demographic and clinical predictors of outcome among 399 opiate use disorder patients undergoing treatment in Singapore between 2009–2011. 97.7% fulfi lled DSM-IV criteria for opiate dependence, predominantly (81%) heroin and 24.3% injected opiates. Results: Among the 209 (52.4%) followed-up at 12-weeks, 159 (76.1%) reported abstinence from opiates and 169 (80.9%) demonstrated reliable change (improvement) in their Addiction Severity Index (ASI) score. Frequency of use (days) and ASI score reduced significantly ( P < 0.001), and Personal Well-being score increased significantly (P<0.001). Among the variables entered into the regression model: age, gender, race, age of onset, co-morbidity, employment status, treatment satisfaction score and total number of sessions attended, only age (Exp(B) = 1.07, 95% CI = [1.02, 1.12]) and being educated to secondary level or above (Exp(B) = 2.66, 95% CI = [1.14, 6.21]) were significant predictors of a reliable improvement in ASI score. Discussion and Conclusions: Over three-quarters of opiate patients report abstinence or reliable improvement in addiction severity after only 3 months of psychological intervention, although more intensive approaches may be required for younger and less educated patients. Future research will determine whether these initial positive outcomes are sustained throughout and beyond the one-year treatment program. 2013-04-11T11:22:02.885Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:21972 Negative emotions are linked with a local, rather than global, visual processing style, which may preferentially facilitate feature-based, relative to holistic, processing mechanisms. Because faces are typically processed holistically, and because social contexts are prime elicitors of emotions, we examined whether negative emotions decrease holistic processing of faces. We induced positive, negative, or neutral emotions via film clips and measured holistic processing before and after the induction: participants made judgements about cued parts of chimeric faces, and holistic processing was indexed by the interference caused by task-irrelevant face parts. Emotional state significantly modulated face-processing style, with the negative emotion induction leading to decreased holistic processing. Furthermore, self-reported change in emotional state correlated with changes in holistic processing. These results contrast with general assumptions that holistic processing of faces is automatic and immune to outside influences, and they illustrate emotion's power to modulate socially relevant aspects of visual perception. 2013-04-09T06:20:35.140Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25094 30 page(s) 2013-04-08T13:25:10.340Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25100 Two experiments investigated deaf individuals' ability to distinguish speakers based on vibrotactile stimulation. Nineteen participants made same/different judgments on pairs of utterances presented to the lower back through voice coils embedded in a conforming chair. Discrimination of stimuli matched for F0, duration, and loudness was above chance for spoken sentences (Experiment 1) and vowel sounds (Experiment 2). Spectral measures of "different" stimulus pairs predicted their discriminability in both experiments. Beyond their application to assistive technology, these findings support the hypothesis that vibrotactile discrimination of spectral information involves cortical integration of filtered output from frequency-tuned skin receptors. 2013-04-08T13:24:37.855Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25103 Aim: Adjustment to bodily changes after breast cancer treatment can lead to long term distress. Self-compassion, the ability to be kind to one self, is an internal resource that may enhance a woman’s ability to adjust to cancer-related bodily changes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of body image disturbance, self-compassion and psychological distress among breast cancer survivors. Method: Members of a nationwide breast cancer consumer network were invited to participate. A total of 279 women who had completed active cancer treatment completed the online survey. Assessments included the Body Image Scale (BIS), Self Compassion Scale (SCS) and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress scales (DASS). Possible mediating effects of self-compassion on the body image-distress relationship were assessed. Results: Clinical levels of depression (28%), anxiety (20%) and stress (17%) were evident in a subset of women sampled. Pearson’s correlations indicated a positive association between body image disturbance and distress, and negative associations between self-compassion and body image disturbance and self compassion and distress. Self-compassion was found to partially mediate the association between body image and depression and body image and anxiety, and to fully mediate the body image-stress association. Conclusions: Body image disturbance and lower self-compassion were associated with increased psychological distress among these breast cancer survivors. This study found preliminary evidence for a mediating role of self-compassion, between body image disturbance and psychological distress, suggesting a potential buffering effect of higher levels of self compassion for women at risk of experiencing body image disturbance. 2013-04-08T13:24:28.750Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25107 Aim. Undergoing genetic testing for breast cancer risk can be stressful and women who have testing frequently rely on their spouses for support. Unfortunately support partners often experience considerable distress themselves, feeling under-informed about the genetic testing process and unsure about how best to support the woman concerned. In this study we describe the development of a theoretically-driven web-based information and support resource for male support partners of women undergoing genetic testing. Method: Development of the Supporting Men, Supporting Women website entailed: 1) A needs analysis by interviewing genetics health professionals and male support partners; 2) Module and content development informed by theory, the needs analysis and expert consultation; 3) Video-recording and editing of interviews depicting experiences of male support partners and modelled stress management techniques; 4) Website ‘look-and-feel’ piloting; and, 5) Final website production. Results: Interviews with health professionals and support partners highlighted the need for a resource to provide men with information about the genetic testing process as well as guidance on managing their own and the woman’s distress, and improving communications with the tested woman. Website modules developed for this resource reflect information about these topics, as well as descriptions of typical reactions of women and their spouses to the testing process, and guidance to enhance coping and communication. Additionally, videotaped interviews depicting the experiences of spouses who have supported women through genetic testing were included. Conclusion: Supporting Men, Supporting Women is the first resource to specifically target the support needs of partners of women undergoing genetic testing for breast cancer susceptibility. By providing an accessible web-based supportive resource for male partners, this resource is likely to provide benefits both to supportive spouses, as well as the tested women themselves. The efficacy of this web-based resource will be assessed in a randomised controlled trial. 2013-04-08T13:24:24.064Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25108 The issue of conducting ethical research that considers the wider impact on the participant is not a new idea in academia. It is the constant 'elephant in the room' that exists for any researcher who works with people and this is accentuated when working with vulnerable populations. This article is written as a cautionary note and offers an ethical and moral means of conducting research in the moral quagmire of honoring people's stories, words, behaviors and thoughts. The purpose is for the researcher to note the possible impact that the telling of such stories may have not just on the storyteller, but also on the listener. It is meant to serve as one of the ways to minimize harm to participants and researchers, and maximize the potential of the widely used qualitative research tool and the CIT (critical incident technique). Following in the footsteps of the pilot study by Butterfield, Borgen, Maglio, and Amundsen (2009) regarding the impact of a qualitative research interview on participants, combined with previous post-modern analyses, it is clear that any type of research can have an impact on participants. This article positions itself as a means of advocating that a researcher working with potentially vulnerable populations should wear 'dual hats' when conducting research and, at all times, should be aware of the impact upon participants during the research process. Further, it explores the need to the potential impact first and foremost in the mind of the researcher prior to embarking upon any research with vulnerable and special populations. 2013-04-08T13:24:06.805Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24913 Much attention has been paid recently to the role of anomalous experiences in the aetiology of certain types of psychopathology, e.g. in the formation of delusions. We examine, instead, the top-down influence of pre-existing beliefs and affective factors in shaping an individual’s characterisation of anomalous sensory experiences. Specifically we investigated the effects of paranormal beliefs and alexithymia in determining the intensity and quality of an altered state of consciousness (ASC). Fifty five participants took part in a sweat lodge ceremony, a traditional shamanic ritual which was unfamiliar to them. Participants reported significant alterations in their state of consciousness, quantified using the ‘APZ’ questionnaire, a standardized measure of ASC experience. Participants endorsing paranormal beliefs compatible with shamanic mythology, and those showing difficulty identifying feelings scored higher on positive dimensions of ASC experience. Our findings demonstrate that variation in an individual’s characterisation of anomalous experiences is nuanced by pre-existing beliefs and affective factors. 2013-03-28T02:24:54.026Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24917 The work of airline pilots is demanding and must be followed by rest periods (slips) so that pilots recover sufficiently well to keep flying safely. When slips occur away from home base, pilots are usually accommodated in a hotel. This paper reviews the phenomenon of psychological detachment from work (i.e., not thinking about work) and its implications for pilot accommodation and recovery. The review suggests that pilots accommodated in hotels located in or close to airports may be less able to psychologically detach from work during slips, with implications for recovery, fatigue, and ultimately safety. The paper presents a rationale for considering psychological detachment from work when evaluating the quality of hotels chosen for pilots. 2013-03-28T02:24:42.872Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24922 Several studies have demonstrated reliable cross-modal associations between odours and various visual, auditory, taste, and somatosensory attributes. How these associations arise is not well understood. We examined whether cross-modal associations to odours themselves form distinct groups, and whether these groupings relate to semantic (nameability, familiarity) and perceptual (intensity, irritancy, and hedonics) olfactory attributes. Participants evaluated 20 odours, varying in all of the latter attributes, and reported their visual, auditory, gustatory, and somatosensory associations for each. Significant inter-rater agreement was observed for all modalities except audition, and responses in all modalities were consistent with those obtained on a repeat test session 2 weeks later. Two groups of cross-modal odour associates emerged: one of which was related to the semantic attributes of odours and another which related to their perceptual attributes. The exception was taste, which was significantly associated with both. While these results suggest that both semantic and perceptual mechanisms underpin odour cross-modal matches, the data also point to the importance of hedonics as a further contributing mechanism. 2013-03-28T02:24:29.647Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24923 Executive functions are amongst the most heritable cognitive traits with twin studies indicating a strong genetic origin. However genes associated with this domain are unknown. Our research into the neurodevelopmental disorder Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) has identified a gene within the causative recurrent 1.5/1.6 Mb heterozygous microdeletion on chromosome 7q11.23, which may be involved in executive functioning. Comparative genome array screening of 55 WBS patients revealed a larger ~1.8 Mb microdeletion in 18% of cases, which results in the loss of an additional gene, the transcription factor GTF2IRD2. The GTF gene family of transcription factors (GTF2I, GTF2IRD1 and GTF2IRD2) are all highly expressed in the brain, and GTF2I and GTF2IRD1 are involved in the pathogenesis of the cognitive and behavioural phenotypes associated with WBS. A multi-level analysis of cognitive, behavioural and psychological functioning in WBS patients showed that those with slightly larger deletions encompassing GTF2IRD2 were significantly more cognitively impaired in the areas of spatial functioning, social reasoning, and cognitive flexibility (a form of executive functioning). They also displayed significantly more obsessions and externalizing behaviours, a likely manifestation of poor cognitive flexibility and executive dysfunction. We provide the first evidence for a role for GTF2IRD2 in higher-level (executive functioning) abilities and highlight the importance of integrating detailed molecular characterisation of patients with comprehensive neuropsychological profiling to uncover additional genotype-phenotype correlations. The identification of specific genes which contribute to executive function has important neuropsychological implications in the treatment of patients with conditions like WBS, and will allow further studies into their mechanism of action. 2013-03-28T02:24:24.779Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24929 Motion and binocular disparity are two features in our environment that share a common correspondence problem. Decades of psychophysical research dedicated to understanding stereopsis suggest that these features interact early in human visual processing to disambiguate depth. Single-unit recordings in the monkey also provide evidence for the joint encoding of motion and disparity across much of the dorsal visual stream. Here, we used functional MRI and multivariate pattern analysis to examine where in the human brain conjunctions of motion and disparity are encoded. Subjects sequentially viewed two stimuli that could be distinguished only by their conjunctions of motion and disparity. Specifically, each stimulus contained the same feature information (leftward and rightward motion and crossed and uncrossed disparity) but differed exclusively in the way these features were paired. Our results revealed that a linear classifier could accurately decode which stimulus a subject was viewing based on voxel activation patterns throughout the dorsal visual areas and as early as V2. This decoding success was conditional on some voxels being individually sensitive to the unique conjunctions comprising each stimulus, thus a classifier could not rely on independent information about motion and binocular disparity to distinguish these conjunctions. This study expands on evidence that disparity and motion interact at many levels of human visual processing, particularly within the dorsal stream. It also lends support to the idea that stereopsis is subserved by early mechanisms also tuned to direction of motion. 2013-03-28T02:24:11.002Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24933 The processing of color and form is largely segregated within the visual brain. But there is also evidence to suggest that these features are coded in combination early in visual processing. Here, we combined high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) together with multivariate pattern classification to examine where in the visual cortex specific color form "conjunctions" are represented. Human subjects viewed visual displays containing colored spiral patterns. The spiral patterns could be red or green, and oriented either clockwise or counterclockwise, leading to 4 possible stimulus configurations. Two additional displays combined 2 of the above single color-form pairings, leading to double conjunctions. We applied linear classifiers to voxel activation patterns obtained while subjects viewed such displays. Our findings not only show that color and form information is coded across retinotopically defined visual areas, but also that the 2 double-conjunction stimuli can be distinguished. The voxels most informative about conjunctions were distinct from those most informative about color or form alone. Our results indicate that conjunctions of form and color may be coded by separate functional units as early as primary visual cortex. The results of this study have implications for theories concerning the segregation and binding of color and form information. 2013-03-28T02:23:57.971Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24936 We used identification at threshold to systematically measure binding costs in two visual modalities. We presented a conjunction of two features as a signal stimulus and concurrently measured detection and identification performance as a function of three threshold variables: duration, contrast and coherence. Discrepancies between detection and identification sensitivity functions demonstrated a consistent processing cost to visual feature binding. Our findings suggest that feature binding is indeed a genuine problem for the brain to solve. This simple paradigm can transfer across arbitrary feature combinations and is therefore suitable to use in experiments addressing mechanisms of sensory integration. 2013-03-28T02:23:53.904Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24937 The responses of orientation-selective neurons in primate visual cortex can be profoundly affected by the presence and orientation of stimuli falling outside the classical receptive field. Our perception of the orientation of a line or grating also depends upon the context in which it is presented. For example, the perceived orientation of a grating embedded in a surround tends to be repelled from the predominant orientation of the surround. Here, we used fMRI to investigate the basis of orientation-specific surround effects in five functionally-defined regions of visual cortex: V1, V2, V3, V3A/LO1 and hV4. Test stimuli were luminance-modulated and isoluminant gratings that produced responses similar in magnitude. Less BOLD activation was evident in response to gratings with parallel versus orthogonal surrounds across all the regions of visual cortex investigated. When an isoluminant test grating was surrounded by a luminance-modulated inducer, the degree of orientation-specific contextual modulation was no larger for extrastriate areas than for V1, suggesting that the observed effects might originate entirely in V1. However, more orientation-specific modulation was evident in extrastriate cortex when both test and inducer were luminance-modulated gratings than when the test was isoluminant; this difference was significant in area V3. We suggest that the pattern of results in extrastriate cortex may reflect a refinement of the orientation-selectivity of surround suppression specific to the colour of the surround or, alternatively, processes underlying the segmentation of test and inducer by spatial phase or orientation when no colour cue is available. 2013-03-28T02:23:52.302Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24942 Background: Color and motion serve as the prime examples of segregated processing in the visual brain, giving rise to the question how color-motion conjunctions are represented. This problem is also known as the "binding problem.". Results: Human volunteers viewed visual displays containing colored dots rotating around the center. The dots could be red or green and rotate clockwise or counterclockwise, leading to four possible stimulus displays. Superimposed pairs of such stimuli provided two additional displays, each containing both colors and both directions of motion but differing in their feature conjunctions. We applied multivariate classifiers to voxel-activation patterns obtained while subjects viewed such displays. Our analyses confirm the presence of directional-motion information across visual cortex and provide evidence of hue coding in all early visual areas except V5/MT +. Within each cortical area, information on color and motion appeared to be coded in distinct sets of voxels. Furthermore, our results demonstrate the explicit representation of feature conjunctions in the primary visual cortex and beyond. Conclusions: The results show that conjunctions can be decoded from spatial activation patterns already in V1, indicating an explicit coding of conjunctions at early stages of visual processing. Our findings raise the possibility that the solution of what has been taken as the prime example of the binding problem engages neural mechanisms as early as V1. 2013-03-28T02:23:46.902Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25027 Simultaneous and sequential combinations of pitches are highly meaningful in music. Simultaneous intervals are the basis of harmony; sequential intervals are the basis of melody. Sensory factors constrain preferences for musical intervals, but learning also plays a crucial role. Music illustrates the potential for harmonic and melodic intervals to interact. The capacity to extract changes in pitch direction may be a general property of the auditory system that underlies the perception of both music and speech intonation; whether interval perception is a music-specific skill remains unclear. Our perceptions of the size of pitch intervals are susceptible to a range of extraneous influences such as timbre, pitch register, direction of pitch change, tonal context, and visual signals arising from performers. Knowledge of scales permits precise distinctions between interval sizes. Because scale development depends on instrument timbres, there is no one ideal scale or tuning system. However, most scales throughout history and across cultures are predictable from the harmonic series, reflecting the prevalence of harmonic spectra in musical instruments, including the human voice. 2013-03-28T02:21:00.882Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:25041 14 pages(s) 2013-03-28T02:20:18.633Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24857 The present study examines parental attitudes toward bilingual and peace-promoting education at a school in Israel, and how these affect the behaviors and perceptions of their children studying there. The questions of interest were: (a) what are the parents' perceptions of and attitudes toward the bilingual and peace-promoting education? (b) Are these attitudes in line with the school's ideological framework? (c) How might parental perceptions and attitudes affect the success of the educational endeavor and the children's experiences at this school? Twenty-one Jewish and Palestinian Israeli parents of children attending a bilingual school in Israel partook in this study. A semi-structured interview was used to investigate the perceptions and attitudes of the parents, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that the majority of the parents sent their children to the school for reasons other than the peace-promoting and ideological framework it offers. Essentially, parents were looking to provide their children with a better education than the one available in their immediate residential area. Concurrently, it was found that the parental attitudes appeared to influence children's behavior negatively. The implications of these attitudes and the impact of the school towards peace promotion are discussed. 2013-03-20T11:12:25.691Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24878 19 pages(s) 2013-03-20T11:11:02.265Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24891 This paper reports a study of the performance of in-vehicle navigation devices to assess speed-related functionality and the provision of speed information to drivers. There are currently no standards or assessments protocols for navigation devices that are complete and that are directly relevant to the assessment of commercially available intelligent speed adaptation (ISA) devices. Human factors research is not conclusive about the best ways to convey speed limit information and speeding alerts to drivers, and a review of the literature indicated that there are some human- machine-interface methods that should be avoided in the driving task. Protocols for the assessment of navigation devices should avoid being design restrictive, but should discourage poor interface design concerning speed limit information and speeding alerts to drivers. A protocol was developed to evaluate in-vehicle navigation devices offering an ISA capability. The intended outcome from the use of this protocol is to assist consumers in decisions to purchase these devices. Four ISA devices currently available on the Australian market were tested on-road in a scenario incorporating freeway, commercial and residential environments, similar to how the devices would be commonly used. The results indicated that the protocol was very robust, being repeatable, relevant and objective, and can be used as the basis for the development and promulgation of a standard for the assessment of the safety of in-vehicle navigation devices with an ISA capability. 2013-03-20T11:10:21.067Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24821 Face perception is widely believed to involve integration of facial features into a holistic perceptual unit, but the mechanisms underlying this integration are relatively unknown. We examined whether perceptual grouping cues influence a classic marker of holistic face perception, the "composite-face effect." Participants made same-different judgments about a cued part of sequentially presented chimeric faces, and holistic processing was indexed as the degree to which the task-irrelevant face halves impacted performance. Grouping was encouraged or discouraged by adjusting the backgrounds behind the face halves: Although the face halves were always aligned, their respective backgrounds could be misaligned and of different colors. Holistic processing of face, but not of nonface, stimuli was significantly reduced when the backgrounds were misaligned and of different colors, cues that discouraged grouping of the face halves into a cohesive unit (Exp. 1). This effect was sensitive to stimulus orientation at short (200 ms) but not at long (2,500 ms) encoding durations, consistent with the previously documented temporal properties of the holistic processing of upright and inverted faces (Exps. 2 and 3). These results suggest that grouping mechanisms, typically involved in the perception of objecthood more generally, might contribute in important ways to the holistic perception of faces. 2013-03-18T04:01:02.126Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24838 When the magnitude 9 quake hit the Tohoku Plain on the east coast of Japan on 11 March 2011, a very human wave of shock and fear ran through many, including Australian-based artists Julia and Ken Yonetani. Their current exhibition deals with nuclear danger. Still radioactive but contained - the exhibition, with uranium glass beads wired into luminous chandeliers "challenges the viewer in a direct way with the presence of radioactivity". 2013-03-18T04:00:28.255Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24783 The aim of the study was to survey a group of clinicians who identify themselves as experienced in treating social anxiety disorder using cognitive behavioural treatment (CBT) with regard to the characteristics of clients which they think, based on their experience, are predictive of poor or good CBT outcome. Fifty-four practising clinicians responded to an email inviting participation in a research study of clinicians' opinions about client characteristics that may be important in CBT outcome for social anxiety. Participants completed open-ended questions about, and made ratings of the importance of, client characteristics that they believed impact upon the outcome of CBT for social anxiety disorder. Motivation for seeking treatment, comorbidity, and intellect or reasoning ability were nominated most frequently by clinicians as having an effect on CBT outcome. Acceptance of the CBT rationale/model, ability to take responsibility for change, motivation/reason for seeking treatment, and ability to develop an alliance were all rated by participants as being important in contributing to CBT outcome. The results provide direction for future empirical research on client characteristics as predictors of CBT outcome. 2013-03-13T09:50:21.507Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24647 For the past several years students in accounting at Macquarie University in Sydney have been offered the chance to participate in a peer-assisted learning program. This paper conducts a statistical analysis of the relationship between participation in peer-assisted learning and student performance, as measured by the final mark achieved in the unit offering peer-assisted learning. The paper presents a methodology for conducting the analysis that represents an advance on that found in the extant literature on this topic. Using this superior methodology, the paper finds that participation in peer-assisted learning has a statistically and numerically significant effect on student marks. 2013-03-11T21:11:19.365Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24658 Traffic policing is about changing driver behaviour through guiding, enforcing and promoting safe road use within the road transport system. Typically, when we think of traffic policing, we think of enforcement alone : the detection, the ticketing, and the penalties. But traffic policing has traditionally been much more than that, partly as a consequence of not having technologies and methods to effectively enforce illegal driver behaviour. Prior to the 1980s and 1990s, interventions with erring drivers were mostly unplanned and arose from observations of an illegal act. Police intervened in person, which allowed for discussion about the illegal behaviour, its causes and consequences, and corrective actions to avoid re- offending. Since then, the availability of enforcement technologies and procedures targeting drink driving, drug driving and speed detection have seen a predominant focus on detection and punishment of drivers on a community-wide basis. As a consequence, traffic policing strategies became less focused on individual guidance and safety promotion. The safe system approach provides perhaps the strongest direction for several decades in highlighting that guiding, enforcing and promoting safe driver behaviour comprise three core taskings for effective traffic policing. Examples from Australian, New Zealand and overseas projects will be presented to illustrate the application of safe system principles to meet traffic policing challenges in guidance and promotion of safer individual behaviour. 2013-03-11T21:10:58.102Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24528 15 pages(s) 2013-03-06T08:03:08.156Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24464 24 page(s) 2013-02-28T09:40:30.146Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24320 Eleven mothers of gifted children were interviewed, with questions focused around maternal problems as they related to children’s attachment, socio-emotional adjustment, and perhaps even their IQs. The interviews were transcribed and NVivo 9 qualitative software was used to help manage the data and coding process. Findings indicate that children were more likely to have clinical or borderline internalising problems if their mothers had been depressed, and if the children had been serially misunderstood in a variety of primary social contexts - at home, by peers, and in those educational settings that failed to provide appropriately for their advanced and different educational needs. A model is included of the primary social contexts and causes involved in misunderstanding gifted children. The article concludes with recommendations for successful preventative strategies based on information gained from the narratives of participating mothers. 2013-02-27T05:27:16.510Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24371 2 page(s) 2013-02-27T05:24:41.573Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24391 Background and objectives: Evidence from the depression literature suggests that an analytical processing mode adopted during repetitive thinking leads to maladaptive outcomes relative to an experiential processing mode. To date, in socially anxious individuals, the impact of processing mode during repetitive thinking related to an actual social-evaluative situation has not been investigated. We thus tested whether an analytical processing mode would be maladaptive relative to an experiential processing mode during anticipatory processing and post-event rumination. Methods: High and low socially anxious participants were induced to engage in either an analytical or experiential processing mode during: (a) anticipatory processing before performing a speech (Experiment 1; N = 94), or (b) post-event rumination after performing a speech (Experiment 2; N = 74). Mood, cognition, and behavioural measures were employed to examine the effects of processing mode. Results: For high socially anxious participants, the modes had a similar effect on self-reported anxiety during both anticipatory processing and post-event rumination. Unexpectedly, relative to the analytical mode, the experiential mode led to stronger high standard and conditional beliefs during anticipatory processing, and stronger unconditional beliefs during post-event rumination. Limitations: These experiments are the first to investigate processing mode during anticipatory processing and post-event rumination. Hence, these results are novel and will need to be replicated. Conclusions: These findings suggest that an experiential processing mode is maladaptive relative to an analytical processing mode during repetitive thinking characteristic of socially anxious individuals. 2013-02-27T05:23:34.638Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24416 Background: In an initial validation study, the Unhelpful Thoughts and Beliefs About Stuttering (UTBAS I) scale, demonstrated excellent psychometric properties as a self-report measure of the frequency of unhelpful cognitions associated with social anxiety for adults who stutter. Aims: The aim was to further validate the original UTBAS I scale, and to develop two additional scales to assess beliefs (UTBAS II) and anxiety (UTBAS III) associated with negative thoughts. Methods & Procedures: A total of 140 adults seeking speech-restructuring treatment for stuttering completed the original UTBAS I scale, the newly developed UTBAS II and III scales, and self-report measures of psychological functioning. Participants also completed a first-stage screener for the presence of anxious personality disorder, and a diagnostic assessment to evaluate the presence of social phobia, according to criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). Outcomes & Results: The mean UTBAS I score for the present sample did not differ significantly from the mean score reported in the original UTBAS I validation study. Convergent validity was confirmed by significant correlations between the UTBAS Total score and all anxiety-related measures. Discriminant validity was established by the absence of strong correlations between the UTBAS Total score and some of the self-report measures of unrelated constructs, although it was found to tap into the negative cognitions associated with depression and life problems. Approximately one-quarter of participants met criteria for a diagnosis of DSM-IV or ICD-10 social phobia (23.5% and 27.2% respectively), and nearly one-third met first-stage screening criteria for anxious personality disorder (30%). The mean UTBAS scores for participants who met criteria for these disorders were significantly higher than scores for participants who did not, confirming known-groups validity. Conclusions & Implications: The present study demonstrates the validity and utility of the UTBAS scales in assessing negative cognitions associated with speech-related anxiety among adults who stutter. Results also confirm previous evidence of a high rate of social phobia among adults who stutter, and reveal that the UTBAS discriminates between adults with and without social phobia. In terms of clinical applications, the UTBAS scales could be used to screen for indicators of social phobia among adults who stutter, and may prove useful in identifying negative cognitions which have the potential to impact treatment outcomes. 2013-02-27T05:22:39.197Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24419 Purpose: The relationship between anxiety and stuttering has been widely studied. However, a review conducted more than 10 years ago (Menzies, Onslow, & Packman, 1999) identified 5 methodological issues thought to preclude consistent research findings regarding the nature of this relationship. The purpose of the present review was to determine whether methodological improvements have occurred since the Menzies et al. (1999) review. Method: Literature published since the Menzies et al. review was evaluated with regard to the 5 methodological issues identified in that review: (a) the construct of anxiety, (b) trait anxiety measures, (c) participant numbers, (d) treatment status of participants, and (e) speaking tasks. Results: Despite some remaining ambiguous findings, research published since the Menzies et al. review has provided far stronger evidence of a relationship between stuttering and anxiety, and has focused more on social anxiety, expectancies of social harm, and fear of negative evaluation. Conclusion: The aims of future research should be to improve research design, increase statistical power, employ multidimensional measures of anxiety, and further develop anxiolytic treatment options for people who stutter. 2013-02-27T05:22:35.594Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24421 Objectives: During speech pathology professional preparation there is a need for adequate student instruction with speech-restructuring treatments for adults. An important part of that clinical educational experience is to participate in a clinical setting that produces outcomes equivalent to those attained during clinical trials. A previous report showed that this is possible with a traditional, intensive speech-restructuring treatment. Considering the treatment process advantages and time efficiency of the Camperdown Program, it is arguably a compelling prospect for clinician education. Therefore, the present study is a Phase I trial of the treatment at a student university clinic, with a similar design to a previous report. Background: During speech pathology professional preparation there is a need for adequate student instruction with speech-restructuring treatments for adults. An important part of that clinical educational experience is to participate in a clinical setting that produces outcomes equivalent to those attained during clinical trials. A previous report showed that this is possible with a traditional, intensive speech-restructuring treatment. Considering the treatment process advantages and time efficiency of the Camperdown Program, it is arguably a compelling prospect for clinician education. Aims: The present study is a Phase I trial of the treatment at a student university clinic, with a similar design to a previous report. Methods & Procedures: The design was a non-randomized Phase I clinical trial with 12 adult participants. Primary outcomes were per cent syllables stuttered (%SS) within and beyond the clinic, and speech naturalness scores from pre- and post-treatment stutter-free speech samples. Outcomes & Results: Pooled %SS scores pre-treatment were 5.7, at immediate post-treatment were 1.0, and at 12 months post-treatment were 2.4. The group speech naturalness scores post-treatment did not increase to a clinically significant extent. Conclusion & Implications: Results essentially replicate the previous study by producing similar outcomes to those attained with clinical trials. The Camperdown Program is recommended as a clinical environment for speech-restructuring speech pathology student training. 2013-02-27T05:21:14.813Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24428 The role of two binocular cues to motion in depth - changing disparity (CD) and interocular velocity difference (IOVD) - was investigated by measuring stereomotion speed discrimination and static disparity discrimination performance (stereoacuity). Speed discrimination thresholds were assessed both for random dot stereograms (RDS), and for their temporally uncorrelated equivalents, dynamic random dot stereograms (DRDS), at relative disparity pedestals of -19, 0, and +19 arcmin. While RDS stimuli contain both CD and IOVD cues, DRDS stimuli carry only CD information. On average, thresholds were a factor of 1.7 higher for DRDS than for RDS stimuli with no clear effect of relative disparity pedestal. Results were similar for approaching and receding targets. Variations in stimulus duration had no significant effect on thresholds, and there was no observed correlation between stimulus displacement and perceived speed, confirming that subjects responded to stimulus speed in each condition. Stereoacuity was equally good for our RDS and DRDS stimuli, showing that the difference in stereomotion speed discrimination performance for these stimuli was not due to any difference in the precision of the disparity cue. In addition, when we altered stereomotion stimulus trajectory by independently manipulating the speeds and directions of its monocular half-images, perceived stereomotion speed remained accurate. This finding is inconsistent with response strategies based on properties of either monocular half-image motion, or any ad hoc combination of the monocular speeds. We conclude that although subjects are able to discriminate stereomotion speed reliably on the basis of CD information alone, IOVD provides a precise additional cue to stereomotion speed perception. 2013-02-27T05:20:58.366Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24430 It has long been known that ocular pursuit of a moving target has a major influence on its perceived speed (Aubert, 1886; Fleischl, 1882). However, little is known about the effect of smooth pursuit on the perception of target direction. Here we compare the precision of human visual-direction judgments under two oculomotor conditions (pursuit vs. fixation). We also examine the impact of stimulus duration (200 ms vs. ∼800 ms) and absolute direction (cardinal vs. oblique). Our main finding is that direction discrimination thresholds in the fixation and pursuit conditions are indistinguishable. Furthermore, the two oculomotor conditions showed oblique effects of similar magnitudes. These data suggest that the neural direction signals supporting perception are the same with or without pursuit, despite remarkably different retinal stimulation. During fixation, the stimulus information is restricted to large, purely peripheral retinal motion, while during steady-state pursuit, the stimulus information consists of small, unreliable foveal retinal motion and a large efference-copy signal. A parsimonious explanation of our findings is that the signal limiting the precision of direction judgments is a neural estimate of target motion in head-centered (or world-centered) coordinates (i.e., a combined retinal and eye motion signal) as found in the medial superior temporal area (MST), and not simply an estimate of retinal motion as found in the middle temporal area (MT). 2013-02-27T05:20:53.234Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24431 Perceived stereomotion trajectory was measured before and after adaptation to lateral motion in the dominant or nondominant eye to assess the relative contributions of 2 cues: changing disparity and interocular velocity difference. Perceived speed for monocular lateral motion and perceived binocular visual direction (BVD) was also assessed. Unlike stereomotion trajectory perception, the BVD of static targets showed an ocular dominance bias, even without adaptation. Adaptation caused equivalent biases in perceived trajectory and monocular motion speed, without significantly affecting perceived BVD. Predictions from monocular motion data closely match trajectory perception data, unlike those from BVD sources. The results suggest that the interocular velocity differences make a significant contribution to stereomotion trajectory perception. 2013-02-27T05:20:45.670Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24433 Two experiments are presented assessing the contributions of the rate of change of disparity (CD) and interocular velocity difference (IOVD) cues to stereomotion speed perception. Using a two-interval forced-choice paradigm, the perceived speed of directly approaching and receding stereomotion and of monocular lateral motion in random dot stereogram (RDS) targets was measured. Prior adaptation using dysjunctively moving random dot stimuli induced a velocity aftereffect (VAE). The degree of interocular correlation in the adapting images was manipulated to assess the effectiveness of each cue. While correlated adaptation involved a conventional RDS stimulus, containing both IOVD and CD cues, uncorrelated adaptation featured an independent dot array in each monocular half-image, and hence lacked a coherent disparity signal. Adaptation produced a larger VAE for stereomotion than for monocular lateral motion, implying effects at neural sites beyond that of binocular combination. For motion passing through the horopter, correlated and uncorrelated adaptation stimuli produced equivalent stereomotion VAEs. The possibility that these results were due to the adaptation of a CD mechanism through random matches in the uncorrelated stimulus was discounted in a control experiment. Here both simultaneous and sequential adaptation of left and right eyes produced similar stereomotion VAEs. Motion at uncrossed disparities was also affected by both correlated and uncorrelated adaptation stimuli, but showed a significantly greater VAE in response to the former. These results show that (1) there are two separate, specialised mechanisms for encoding stereomotion: one through IOVD, the other through CD; (2) the IOVD cue dominates the perception of stereomotion speed for stimuli passing through the horopter; and (3) at a disparity pedestal both the IOVD and the CD cues have a significant influence. 2013-02-27T05:20:37.306Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24436 The effect of contrast on the perception of stimulus speed for stereomotion and monocular lateral motion was investigated for successive matches in random-dot stimuli. The familiar 'Thompson effect' - that a reduction in contrast leads to a reduction in perceived speed - was found in similar proportions for both binocular images moving in depth, and for monocular images translating laterally. This result is consistent with the idea that the monocular motion system has a significant input to the stereomotion system, and dominates the speed percept for approaching motion. 2013-02-27T05:20:28.994Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24437 The perceived speed of motion in depth (MID) for a monocularly visible target was measured in central and peripheral vision using a 2AFC speed discrimination task. Only binocular cues to MID were available: changing disparity and interocular velocity difference (IOVD). Perceived speed for monocular lateral motion and perceived depth for static disparity were also assessed, again in both central and peripheral vision. The purpose of the experiment was to assess the relative contributions of changing disparity and IOVD cues to the perceived speed of stereomotion. Although peripheral stimuli appeared to lie at approximately the same depth as their central counterparts, their apparent speed was reduced. Monocular/lateral and binocular/MID speeds were reduced to a similar extent. It seems that reduced apparent monocular speed leads to reduced perceived MID speed, despite the fact that the disparity system appears to be unaffected. These results suggest that the IOVD cue makes a significant contribution to MID speed perception. 2013-02-27T05:20:23.247Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24186 This study aimed to determine if regular self-hearing tests would be useful as a predictor of vertigo in patients with Meniere’s syndrome. The study group consisted of patients who had a clinical diagnosis of definite Meniere’s syndrome according to the AAO-HNS criteria, a score on the Gibson scale of 7 or over and an enhanced negative summating potential on transtympanic electrocochleography. These patients were supplied with a programmable hearing aid and a portable programmer that allowed them to measure their own hearing in-situ. They were asked to measure their audiometric thresholds daily and if possible during the attacks of vertigo. Hearing fluctuation occurred more often than expected but did not usually correlate with vertigo episodes. Statistical analysis showed that it would not be possible to predict an attack based on changes in hearing thresholds in this group of patients with Meneire’s disease. 2013-02-18T06:33:14.683Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24232 Presence, the impression of being existent in artificially created places, is an important factor for achieving maximum experience in virtual environments (VEs) and hence in their use for experiments or therapy. To date, most clinical studies have used selfreport questionnaires or physiological measures to appraise the degree of presence. Some studies that have tested behavioral scales have used a single VE, required additional equipment, or did not test psychometric properties during immersion in the VR. The current study described and tested an operationalized, easy-to-use scale of presence, the Behavior Presence Test in Threatening VEs (BPTT), through the observation of overt behavior exhibited by a sample of 40 participants during immersion in five different threatening virtual situations. The BPTT was compared with standard subjective and physiological measures of presence and anxiety. The VEs resulted in clear increases in anxiety and arousal. Most importantly, findings demonstrated the consistency, reliability and validity of the BPTT. Video game experience did not seem to have any impact on presence or on participants' behavior. The test is a step forward in creating an objective assessment of presence during the virtual reality experience and without the need for additional equipment. Future work should focus on developing broader tests suitable for use in any threatening or nonthreatening VEs. 2013-02-18T06:32:02.770Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24278 Objectives: We aim to evaluate the psychological impact and risk factors associated with new onset FI over 12 years in adults over 18 years for the first time in a population-based study. Methods: Participants (n = 1775) were a random population sample from Penrith. Australia who responded to a survey in 1997 and completed a 12-year follow-up survey (response rate = 60%). FI was defined as having leakage of stool over the past 12 months. The original and follow-up surveys contained valid questions on demographic, gastrointestinal and psychological symptoms. Results: 114 (11.4%) reported new onset FI at the 12 year follow-up. People who reported FI at the 12 year follow-up were significantly more anxious and depressed. In terms of baseline risk factors only bloating (OR = 1.3; 95%CI 1.0-1.6, P = 0.026) was an independent predictor of developing new onset FI. However, current bowel symptoms measured at follow-up including less likelihood of <3 bowel motions a week, increased urgency and mucus were independently associated with having FI at follow-up. Conclusion: FI is associated with anxiety and depression. Baseline GI symptoms do not appear to be as important as current bowel symptoms in determining who develops FI. 2013-02-18T06:30:18.772Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24159 13 page(s) 2013-02-12T04:40:35.237Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24140 Olfactory processing is known to involve the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). The OFC is also believed to function less effectively in individuals scoring higher in psychopathic personality traits. In this study, we examined whether poorer olfactory discrimination and identification - taken as an indicator of OFC integrity - was associated with the degree of presence of psychopathic traits in a community sample. Seventy-nine non-criminal participants completed the Self-Report Psychopathy scale and a standardized measure of olfactory ability, the Sniffin' Sticks, measuring odor threshold, identification, and discrimination. Consistent with predictions, we found a relationship between psychopathy and olfactory discrimination and identification but not odor threshold, even after controlling for gender, age, empathy, smoking status, and craniofacial surgery/injury. These findings suggest that brain areas subserving higher olfactory processes - identification and discrimination - are somehow less efficient in individuals who score higher on psychopathic traits. In particular, we suggest that this relates to processing within the orbitofrontal cortex. 2013-02-11T03:20:47.520Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24148 Duncker (1929/1955, Source Book of Gestalt Psychology, pp 161-172) demonstrated a laboratory version of induced motion. He showed that, when a stationary spot of light in a dark laboratory is enclosed in an oscillating rectangular frame, the frame is perceived as stationary and the dot appears to move in the direction opposite the true motion of the frame. Zivotofsky (2004, Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 45 2867-2872) studied a more complex variant of the Duncker illusion, in which both the inducing and the test stimuli moved: a single red test dot moved horizontally left or right while a dense background set of black dots on a white background moved vertically up or down. When the background inducing dots moved up (down), the truly horizontally translating test dot appeared to drift at an angle down (up) from the horizontal. In experiment 1, we used two methods to measure the complete angular function of the Zivotofsky effect and found it to peak with an inducer-test direction separation of approximately 30°, similar to the inducing angle that has been found to maximise other direction illusions. Experiment 2 tested and confirmed predictions regarding the effects of relative test and inducer speeds based on the vectorial subtraction of the inducing velocity from the test velocity. 2013-02-11T03:20:30.635Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24153 We can use the characteristic way a person moves their face and head ("dynamic facial signatures") as a cue to identity. Theoretically, we should have pre-existing representations of the way a familiar face moves, making it easier to match the movement of familiar than unfamiliar faces. However, few studies have directly compared the benefits of movement for familiar and unfamiliar faces. It is also unclear whether the use of dynamic facial signatures depends on the type of movement, or a particular face area. In this study, we investigated the movement advantage for famous and unfamiliar faces using a sorting task. Participants sorted groups of moving or static shape-normalized point-light-displays (PLDs), using either rigid head movement (e.g. nodding, tilting), non-rigid face movement (e.g. smiling, talking) or combined rigid and non-rigid movement. In Experiment 1, standard PLDs were used. In Experiment 2, the PLDs included eyes, while in Experiment 3, they included the teeth and tongue. Accuracy scores were divided by the average number of times clips were viewed. Famous and unfamiliar faces were sorted equally well overall. Famous faces showed a movement advantage for combined and non-rigid clips, but not rigid clips. The results suggest that participants were using mouth information: famous face PLDs with mouths were sorted better than standard PLDs or PLDs with eyes. Like famous faces, unfamiliar faces also showed a movement advantage for combined motion. Unlike famous faces, unfamiliar faces were sorted equally well from standard PLDs and those with mouths or eyes. Overall, these results show that both famous and unfamiliar faces can be sorted based on dynamic facial signatures. Sorting famous faces may rely more on non-rigid movements of the mouth region than on the eyes or rigid motion, whereas sorting unfamiliar faces is best when both rigid and non-rigid movement are present. 2013-02-11T03:20:19.694Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24154 The focus of this paper is on the assessment of the two main processes that children must acquire at the single word reading level: word recognition (lexical) and decoding (nonlexical) skills. Guided by the framework of the dual route model, this study aimed to (1) investigate the impact of item characteristics on test performance, and (2) determine to what extent widely used reading measures vary in their detection of lexical and nonlexical reading difficulties. Thirty children with reading difficulties were administered selected reading subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson III, the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test - Second Edition, the Castles and Coltheart Reading Test 2(CC2), as well as a measure of nonverbal IQ. Both within-subjects analyses and descriptive data are presented. Results suggest that in comparison to a pure measure of irregular word reading, children with reading difficulties perform better on word identification subtests containing both regular and irregular word items. Furthermore, certain characteristics (e.g., length, similarity to real words) appear to influence the level of difficulty of nonword items and tests. The CC2 subscales identified the largest proportions of children with reading difficulties. Differences between all test scores were of statistical and clinical significance. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed. 2013-02-11T03:20:19.267Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24053 Background: Previous work indicated that psychosocial factors (depression and somatization) are more strongly associated with symptom severity and weight loss in functional dyspepsia (FD) than gastric sensorimotor function. However, there is conflicting evidence regarding the association of these etiopathogenetic factors with Rome III symptom-based subgroups in FD [epigastric pain syndrome (EPS), postprandial distress syndrome (PDS)]. We aimed to test whether gastric sensitivity and emptying, depression, and somatization are differentially associated with empirically derived functional gastroduodenal disorders (FGD) symptom factors in one comprehensive model. Methods: In 259 tertiary care FD patients, we studied gastric sensorimotor function with barostat and gastric emptying breath test. Depression, somatization, and FGD symptoms were measured using self-report questionnaires. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on 7 FGD symptoms was used to determine the fit of a latent variable structure based on Rome III symptom-based subgroups. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the putative relationships of the symptom factors with gastric sensorimotor function, depression, and somatization. Key Results: The results of the CFA show a good fit [C min/DF=1.54, CFI(comparative fit index)=0.97] for the three-factor solution based on Rome III subgroups. The SEM also fitted the data well (C min/DF=1.24, CFI=0.98) and demonstrated that gastric sensitivity and depression are associated with PDS and nausea and vomiting. Gastric emptying is uniquely associated with EPS and somatization is strongly associated with all three symptom factors. Conclusions & Inferences: Confirmatory factor analysis confirms the existence of three FGD symptom factors, corresponding to Rome III symptom-based subgroups. The SEM results suggest that different psychobiological mechanisms may play a role in these subgroups. 2013-02-06T03:41:59.080Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24061 22 pages(s) 2013-02-06T03:41:49.140Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24082 Material-specific memory impairment can be observed in patients with unilateral temporal lobe dysfunction. Measures of verbal memory appear to predict memory loss with left temporal lobe damage, but nonverbal measures are poor predictors of memory impairment with right temporal lobe damage. Typically, cognitive neuroscience models of right hemisphere processing have not informed test development. Putatively "nonverbal" tasks are also frequently verbalisable, confounding their specificity to the right hemisphere. We measured event-related EEG during recognition memory in 24 healthy subjects. These measures were taken during learning of visually presented nonwords, auditorily presented (different) nonwords, and then cross-modal paired associations of the two. Similarly, measures were taken during learning of dot patterns, novel melodies, and then pairings. It was found that learning dot patterns was related to greater event-related desynchronisation in the right hemisphere, while auditory nonwords demonstrated a left hemisphere bias. Surprisingly, hemispheric biases to the right were shown by visual nonwords and to the left by melodies, suggesting that the modality (visual or auditory) of novel materials has a stronger effect on hemispheric lateralisation than the material (verbal or nonverbal). Consistent with this view, crossmodal tasks lacked lateralisation. Findings from this study will guide development of clinical test materials. 2013-02-06T03:41:14.393Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24063 In two experiments, we examined the effect of intensity and intensity change on judgements of pitch differences or interval size. In Experiment 1, 39 musically untrained participants rated the size of the interval spanned by two pitches within individual gliding tones. Tones were presented at high intensity, low intensity, looming intensity (up-ramp), and fading intensity (down-ramp) and glided between two pitches spanning either 6 or 7 semitones (a tritone or a perfect fifth interval). The pitch shift occurred in either ascending or descending directions. Experiment 2 repeated the conditions of Experiment 1 but the shifts in pitch and intensity occurred across two discrete tones (i.e., a melodic interval). Results indicated that participants were sensitive to the differences in interval size presented: Ratings were significantly higher when two pitches differed by 7 semitones than when they differed by 6 semitones. However, ratings were also dependent on whether the interval was high or low in intensity, whether it increased or decreased in intensity across the two pitches, and whether the interval was ascending or descending in pitch. Such influences illustrate that the perception of pitch relations does not always adhere to a logarithmic function as implied by their musical labels, but that identical intervals are perceived as substantially different in size depending on other attributes of the sound source. 2013-02-03T22:20:26.494Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:24027 The behavioral avoidance of people with facial disfigurement is well documented, but its psychological basis is poorly understood. Based upon a disease avoidance account of stigmatization, we conducted the first empirical test of whether facial disfigurement-naevus flammeus (a port wine stain) here-can trigger the same set of emotional and behavioral responses as a contagious disease (influenza). Ninety-eight participants contacted props, which they had seen used either by a healthy confederate or by a confederate simulating medical conditions affecting the face-birthmark and influenza. Behavioral avoidance (e.g., willingness to handle the prop) and facial display of disgust were recorded across five levels of prop contact varying from no contact to contact with the mouth. Behavioral avoidance and disgust displays, especially with oral contact, were equivalent in the birthmark and influenza conditions, with both significantly exceeding reactions to the healthy confederate. These results support the theory that humans have an evolved predisposition to avoid individuals with disease signs, which is mediated by the emotion of disgust. This implicit avoidance occurs even when they know explicitly that such signs-the birthmark here-result from a noncontagious condition. 2013-01-31T23:20:30.191Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23994 This article presents normative data for the Rey Auditory and Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). A representative sample of 390 healthy young adults aged between 18 and 34 living within the Sydney metropolitan area, Australia, completed Form AB of the RAVLT as part of the Macquarie University Neurological Normative Study. Retest data were collected from a subsample of 98 participants after an interval of 1 year. Norms were derived for commonly used measures of the RAVLT and are presented for the whole sample as well as separately for males and females with different levels of education. Age was not found to impact significantly on test performance for this group of young adults, and therefore age-adjusted norms are not provided. An excel program to calculate RAVLT standard scores (mean of 10 and standard deviation of 3) can be downloaded from http://www.psy.mq.edu.au/RAVLT. Poor test-retest reliability raises concerns about the use of the RAVLT in clinical diagnosis. 2013-01-31T04:51:20.886Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23928 17 pages(s) 2013-01-29T16:22:16.269Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23830 13 pages(s) 2013-01-24T03:21:32.910Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23841 This study aimed to extend research exploring proactivity and its antecedents using novel experimental methods to address notable limitations in self-report designs. Fifty-three psychology students performed a simulated in-basket memo task requiring proactive problem-solving, and the proactivity of participants’ solutions were evaluated by judges following pre-determined criteria. The relationship between motivation and proactivity was also explored, as it has been speculated that only autonomous motivations should affect proactivity (Parker, Bindl, & Strauss, 2010). Manipulation of task accountability was also investigated. Interesting trends were found with respect to intrinsic motivation and proactivity in particular. Implications for workplace proactivity are discussed. Additional research is currently extending this study with a broader population group, the results of which may be available for presentation. 2013-01-24T03:21:12.544Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23849 This cross-sectional study aimed to compare dietary intake in people living with HIV (PLHIV) experiencing symptoms of depression with those not reporting depression. The Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D10) was used to classify the risk of depression. Dietary nutrient intake was determined using the diet history and food frequency questionnaire. Depressed (n = 21) compared with non-depressed (n = 37) subjects had significantly lower mean intake of fibre (16.1 versus 25.4 g/day), vitamin A (801.5 versus 1524.8 mg/day), magnesium (299.8 versus 380.0 mg/day) and folate (264.8 versus 402.9 μg/day). The proportion of subjects achieving the recommended intake of these nutrients, with the exception of folate was also found to be lower in the depressed group compared with non-depressed group. The study found that depressive symptomatology in PLHIV was associated with poorer dietary nutrient intake. A multidisciplinary model of care that includes a nutrition assessment is recommended for the management of PLHIV with depression to reduce the risk of associated nutritional problems. 2013-01-24T03:20:57.758Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23073 11 pages(s) 2013-01-23T21:45:58.632Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23797 We examined the effect of background music on reading comprehension. Because the emotional consequences of music listening are affected by changes in tempo and intensity, we manipulated these variables to create four repeated-measures conditions: slow/low, slow/high, fast/low, fast/high. Tempo and intensity manipulations were selected to be psychologically equivalent in magnitude (pilot study 1). In each condition, 25 participants were given four minutes to read a passage, followed by three minutes to answer six multiple-choice questions. Baseline performance was established by having control participants complete the reading task in silence (pilot study 2). A significant tempo by intensity interaction was observed, with comprehension in the fast/high condition falling significantly below baseline. These findings reveal that listening to background instrumental music is most likely to disrupt reading comprehension when the music is fast and loud. 2013-01-17T07:30:17.756Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:22664 1 page(s) 2013-01-14T02:50:13.938Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23722 Appeared in edition 2 (2004) and edition 3 (2009) of this book 2013-01-13T22:00:34.055Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23683 The readback/hearback procedure is a radio protocol implemented in many technical environments to minimize communication errors. This protocol requires the receiver of a verbal instruction to repeat or read back the instruction to the sender, allowing the sender to monitor and remedy any inaccuracies if required. Although this protocol ensures that the receiver has accurately heard the instruction, it does not ensure that the receiver has necessarily understood the instruction. Using a sample of Australian power control operators, the present research investigated whether the prosodic cues that listeners attend to when judging levels of uncertainty, are also used by power control operators when judging the degree to which a receiver has understood an instruction during a simulated readback/hearback radio exchange. Intonation, inter-turn delays and fillers were identified as important prosodic cues that allow listeners to detect different levels of understanding of a receiver during a readback response. The practical and theoretical implications of the outcomes are discussed. 2013-01-11T03:51:07.858Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23691 Characteristics of hospitalized clients who were referred for counselling because of attempted suicide were compared to those of hospitalized clients who were referred for counselling for reasons other than attempted suicide in the four major hospitals in Fiji. The prevalence of warning signs in clients referred for attempted suicide was explored in order to better understand the factors associated with attempted suicide in Fiji, thus providing information to inform clinical practice in Fiji. Binary logistic regression and multivariable regression statistics were used to assess the relationships between socio-demographic characteristics and referral group. Of the 5581 hospitalized cases that were referred for general counselling 2.7% were referred for attempted suicide. Those in the attempted suicide group were more likely to be non-Indigenous Fijian race, male, younger age, unmarried and have higher education. The most predominant triggers identified by those attempting suicide were: loss, including interpersonal, identity and financial as well as family instability. Over half of the people who had attempted suicide in this sample acknowledged having low self-control, which was consist across age, race and gender. Over 10% acknowledged a previous attempt. There were significant differences in the presence of warning signs between the beginning and end of counselling. Attempted suicide is an important public health concern in Fiji. Specific demographic and clinical predictors may assist counsellors in targeting most those most at risk. 2013-01-11T03:50:54.729Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23690 This study examined the relationship between measures of cue utilization and decision selection in the context of pre-flight decision-making. Fifty one licensed pilots participated in an on-line assessment of cue utilization using the program EXPERTise. The results revealed a relationship between cue utilization and decision selection in a pre-flight decision scenario. Overall, the results suggest a role for assessments of cue utilization in the evaluation of pilots’ capacity for effective weather-related decision-making. 2013-01-11T03:50:53.272Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23699 20 page(s) 2013-01-11T03:50:39.968Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23701 22 page(s) 2013-01-11T03:50:33.792Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23707 21 page(s) 2013-01-11T03:50:30.793Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23629 People with schizophrenia who experience auditory-verbal hallucinations experience difficulty in determining the source (self vs. other) of verbal information, and those with visual hallucinations experience a conceptually similar problem with visual information. In this study, we examined whether such source monitoring deficits extend to olfaction for olfactory hallucinators and whether they are selective to the modality in which the hallucination is experienced. To test these claims, three groups were formed: normal controls (NC), people with schizophrenia who experience olfactory hallucinations (OH), and people with schizophrenia who experience auditory-verbal hallucinations (AVH). These three groups were then tested on both an olfactory and an auditory-verbal source-monitoring task. We found evidence of a modality-specific impairment. The OH group was less accurate in determining whether an odor had been imagined or smelled relative to NC and AVH groups. In contrast, the AVH group was least accurate in determining the source of a word, relative to the OH and NC groups. These findings provide the first evidence of a source-monitoring impairment in schizophrenic participants with OHs and suggest that this impairment is modality specific. 2013-01-09T18:31:32.431Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23633 D’Amico, Neilands & Zambarano (2001) showed how the SPSS MANOVA procedure can be used to conduct power calculations for research designs. This article demonstrates a simple way of entering data required for power calculations into SPSS and provides examples that supplement those given by D’Amico, Neilands & Zambarano. 2013-01-09T18:31:24.174Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23609 Objective: To examine facial emotional processing in HIV+ individuals and its relation to neurocognitive performance, neuropsychiatric symptomatology and immune status. Method: Participants included 85 HIV+ individuals (83 males, 2 females) and 25 age-comparable HIV- individuals (22 males, 3 females). Participants underwent The University of Pennsylvania computerized neuropsychological facial emotion test battery, standardized neuropsychological testing, neurobehavioral questionnaires, a semistructured psychiatric interview, and an assessment of independence in activities of daily living. Results: Relative to HIV- controls, HIV+ individuals showed a mild difference for recognition of sadness (p = .02, d = 0.43), discrimination of happiness (p = .02, d = 0.52), and speed of recognition for fear (p = .04, d = 0.37). HIV+ individuals with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND; 20%) had abnormal emotional facial recognition (p = .04; d = .59), and slower recognition of negative facial expressions (p < .01; d = .63-.83), as well as poorer discrimination of happy facial expressions (p < .003, d = .83). Apathy, depression, reduced independence in activities of daily living, and HIV biomarkers were not associated with reduced facial emotion recognition in the HIV+ group. Conclusions: Clinically stable HIV+ individuals show a mild level of emotional processing reduction that is dissociated from neuropsychiatric complaints. Individuals with HAND showed moderate to large emotional processing abnormalities, particularly for the timely recognition of negative expressions (fear, sadness, and anger). These findings warrant a more comprehensive and dynamic evaluation of emotional processing in HIV infection and an investigation of the integrity of the fronto-basal-amygdala circuits. 2013-01-07T09:53:37.030Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23596 Objective: Although the APOE ε4 allele is associated with more rapid decline in memory in healthy older adults, the significance of elevated cerebral β-amyloid (Aβ) load for longitudinal changes in cognition is unclear. Methods: Healthy and cognitively normal older adults (n = 141; mean age 76 years) underwent PET neuroimaging for cerebral Aβ, APOE genotyping, and cognitive assessment as part of their baseline assessment in the Australian Imaging Biomarkers and Lifestyle study. Cognitive function was reassessed 18 months later. Results: Linear mixed-model analyses adjusted for baseline cognitive function indicated that, relative to individuals with low cerebral Aβ, individuals with high cerebral Aβ showed significantly greater decline in working memory and verbal and visual episodic memory at 18 months. Compared with noncarriers, APOE ε4 carriers showed a greater decline in visual memory at the 18- month assessment. No interaction between APOE ε4 and cerebral Aβ load was observed for any measure of cognitive function. Conclusions: In this prospective study of healthy older adults, high cerebral Aβ load was associated with greater decline in episodic and working memory over 18 months. The APOE ε4 genotype was also associated with a decline in visual memory, although the effect was less than that observed for cerebral Aβ load. 2013-01-07T09:51:43.963Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23601 1 page(s) 2013-01-07T09:51:10.702Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23605 Predictors of effort test failure were examined in an archival sample of 555 traumatically brain-injured (TBI) adults. Logistic regression models were used to examine whether compensation-seeking, injury-related, psychological, demographic, and cultural factors predicted effort test failure (ETF). ETF was significantly associated with compensation-seeking (OR = 3.51, 95% CI [1.25, 9.79]), low education (OR:. 83 [.74, . 94]), self-reported mood disorder (OR: 5.53 [3.10, 9.85]), exaggerated displays of behavior (OR: 5.84 [2.15, 15.84]), psychotic illness (OR: 12.86 [3.21, 51.44]), being foreign-born (OR: 5.10 [2.35, 11.06]), having sustained a workplace accident (OR: 4.60 [2.40, 8.81]), and mild traumatic brain injury severity compared with very severe traumatic brain injury severity (OR: 0.37 [0.13, 0.995]). ETF was associated with a broader range of statistical predictors than has previously been identified and the relative importance of psychological and behavioral predictors of ETF was evident in the logistic regression model. Variables that might potentially extend the model of ETF are identified for future research efforts. 2013-01-07T09:50:42.259Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23473 Designed to facilitate economic development, the corporate form now threatens human survival. This article presents an argument that organisations are yet to be 'fit for purpose' and that the corporate form needs to be re-designed to reach sustainability. It suggests that organisations need to recognise their agent status amongst a much wider and highly complex array of interconnected, dynamic economic, environmental and social systems. Human Factors theory is drawn on to propose that business systems could be made sustainable through re-design. They could fit their environment more appropriately by improving: Efficiency, Adaptability and Social Cohesion. Leaders of organisations would also need to take a holistic approach to alter the organisation proactively to adapt to the systems within which it is embedded. 2013-01-01T23:22:18.747Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23513 A paucity of studies have evaluated the biopsychosocial factors contributing to quality of life (QoL) in adults with a primary brain tumor (BT). Our objective was to investigate (i) the effects of radiotherapy on the psychosocial (ie, posttraumatic stress symptoms [PTSS]) and cognitive functioning of adults with a primary BT, assessed preradiotherapy [T1] and postradiotherapy [T2], and (ii) predictors of PTSS and QoL postradiotherapy. Seventy adults with a BT were assessed at T1, and 67 patients were reassessed 3.5 months postradiotherapy. At each assessment, participants completed measures of PTSS, mood, QoL, and quality of social support and neurocognitive tests focusing on memory and executive functioning. Minimal differences in functioning were found between patients according to BT type (benign [n 45] vs malignant [n 25]) and tumor laterality (left vs right hemisphere), with 2 exceptions. Individuals with a left hemisphere benign BT experienced greater distress at T1, which declined at T2, whereas individuals with a left hemisphere malignant BT reported poorer social support at T2. The full sample performed poorly on tests of executive functioning, and 17 reported clinically elevated PTSS at T1, which reduced to 13 at T2. Younger age (<65 y), reduced QoL, and elevated anger symptoms at T1 predicted PTSS at T2, whilst having a benign BT, low PTSS, and depressive symptoms at T1 were predictive of improved QoL at T2. Findings highlight the importance of screening for psychosocial and cognitive disturbances in BT patients undergoing treatment to identify those at risk for acute and more prolonged problems. 2013-01-01T23:20:25.682Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23405 2 page(s) 2012-12-17T02:10:38.780Z ]]> http://www.researchonline.mq.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/mq:23385 2 page(s) 2012-12-14T09:20:51.439Z ]]>