Australian Catholic University

Cowley, N, Nicholson, V, Timmins, R, Munteanu, G, Wood, T, García-Ramos, A, Owen, C, and Weakley, J. The effects of percentage-based, rating of perceived exertion, repetitions in reserve, and velocity-based training on performance and fatigue responses. J Strength Cond Res - This study assessed the effects of percentage-based training (% 1RM), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), repetitions in reserve (RIR), and velocity-based training (VBT) on (a) acute kinematic outputs, perceptions of effort, and changes in neuromuscular function during resistance training; and (b) neuromuscular fatigue and perceptions of soreness 24 hours after exercise. In a randomized crossover design, 15 subjects completed a %1RM, RPE, RIR, and VBT training condition involving a fatiguing protocol followed by 5 sets of the free-weight back squat and bench press at 70% of 1 repetition maximum. Subjects returned at 24 hours to assess neuromuscular fatigue and perceived soreness. Percentage-based training and RPE allowed the smallest volume loads, with %1RM prescription causing sets to be regularly taken to failure. Alternatively, RIR and VBT allowed greater maintenance of training volume. Velocity-based training had the most accurate training prescription, with all sets being within 5% of the intended starting velocity, while the RPE and %1RM prescriptive methods caused subjects to train with loads that were increasingly inaccurate. The RPE prescriptive method had the lowest reported values for differential RPE while the %1RM had the greatest change across the session. At no point were there between-group differences in measures of neuromuscular fatigue or perceived soreness. These findings demonstrate that autoregulatory prescriptive methods can be used to mitigate the risk of training to failure, ensure accurate training prescription that can maintain training volume, and enhance within-training kinematic outputs without altering neuromuscular fatigue or perceptions of soreness.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic was highly devastating, particularly for disadvantaged segments of societies, it helped unmask the apparent ongoing ‘pandemic’ of ‘externalities’ wrought by elite few—mostly wealthy—individuals (e.g., financiers) and groups (e.g., corporations, governments & transnational organizations) who have routinely orchestrated most people, other living and non-living things and symbolic capital towards serving their interests over most others and environments. Key instruments of such wealth and wellbeing concentration often are fields of science and technology/engineering and their educational counterparts. Transforming them in ways prioritizing social justice and environmental vitality is essential, therefore, in thwarting the ‘elitism pandemic.’ In this chapter, after Lyn Carter provides a forthright review of disorienting ‘polycrises’ associated with global geopolitical struggles, Isabel Martins describes how deeply ingrained social injustice mechanisms, paired with disinformation, were instrumental in pandemic mismanagement during Brazil’s former right-wing populist government and then Larry Bencze reports on ongoing work to prepare secondary school students for critical and activist civic engagements in contexts of ‘progressive’ neoliberalism. These diverse accounts may contribute to political turns that appear needed in school science, with supportive acts by people in government, diverse private sector and labour contexts and many more.

Background The investigation of digital information sources and technologies specifically used by men with prostate cancer is scarce. This study seeks to address current gaps in the literature by investigating prostate cancer–specific internet and technology use by men with prostate cancer and factors associated with this use. Methods Cross-sectional surveys were conducted in three Australian urology clinics (local in Sydney, Western Sydney and Murrumbidgee) in 2023. Data analysis included descriptive and bivariate analysis. Chi square tests of independence, Mann–Whitney U tests and Fischer exact tests were used to assess demographic, prostate cancer-specific and psychometric variables with prostate cancer-specific usage of each website, social media and technology type. Results A total of 349 men responded. Mean age of respondents was 69.6 years (SD 7.8). 74.5% (n = 260) had undergone radical prostatectomy, while 10% (n = 35) reported locally advanced/metastatic disease. Information websites were used by 77.7% (n = 271) of men. Social media was used by 37% (n = 129), and total internet use was 79.1% (n = 276). Younger age, higher education and higher income were commonly associated with a greater extent of use of information source and technology types. High variability in usage and factor association was demonstrated between and within analysed group categories. Conclusions Men with prostate cancer use a broad variety of digital information sources and technologies to access prostate cancer information at a higher rate than ever before. This work stresses the significant variability in the extent of use which men demonstrate among these resources and the factors which may play a role in this behaviour.

This paper focuses on competitive funding models for public schools, drawing on interviews with public school principals serving disadvantaged student cohorts in Australia. Public schools receive the majority of their funding from state governments, and we examine these principals’ experiences in competing for additional funding via government-initiated high-stakes competitive grants, for capital projects and sporting infrastructure within their schools. These competitive grants occur in the context of both recurrent and capital under-funding of public schools. As the competitive grant applications required expenditure and ‘investment’ to apply, the interviewed principals felt they were ‘gambling’ with their limited funding. We argue that the funding applications demand and compel responsibilisation of tasks traditionally assigned to the state, resulting in perverse systemic outcomes, fabrications and performativities as principals of disadvantaged public schools enter into a type of funding lottery. The paper seeks to illuminate how the government has adopted commercial logics in public school funding models, but rather than true ‘risk-taking’ or entrepreneurialism, principals instead take up risk-aversion strategies. As principals experience intensifying marketisation of school funding, the process engenders a radical distortion of their traditional role as school leader, superseding their fundamental position as a professional educator.

Although dietary guidelines concerning carbohydrate intake for athletes are well established, these do not include recommendations for daily fibre intake. However, there are many scenarios in sports nutrition in which common practice involves the manipulation of fibre intake to address gastrointestinal comfort around exercise, or acute or chronic goals around the management of body mass or composition. The effect of fibre intake in overall health is also important, particularly in combination with other dietary considerations such as the elevated protein requirements in this population. An athlete’s habitual intake of dietary fibre should be assessed. If less than 20 g a day, athletes may consider dietary interventions to gradually increase intake. It is proposed that a ramp phase is adopted to gradually increase fibre ingestion to ~ 30 g of fibre a day (which includes ~ 2 g of beta-glucan) over a duration of 6 weeks. The outcomes of achieving a daily fibre intake are to help preserve athlete gut microbiome diversity and stability, intestinal barrier function as well as the downstream effects of short-chain fatty acids produced following the fermentation of microbiome accessible carbohydrates. Nevertheless, there are scenarios in which daily manipulation of fibre intake, either to reduce or increase intake, may be valuable in assisting the athlete to maintain gastrointestinal comfort during exercise or to contribute to body mass/composition goals. Although further research is required, the aim of this current opinion paper is to ensure that fibre is not forgotten as a nutrient in the athlete’s diet.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the e-learning demand among in tertiary education sector has surged, which has produced prolific research on factors influencing students’ and faculties e-learning adoption. Anchored in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) framework, this study employed a meta-analytic approach to investigate the effects of seven key antecedents (i.e., Performance Expectation, Effort Expectation, Social Influence, Facilitating Conditions, Hedonic Motivation, Price Value, and Habit) and possible moderators on Behavioral Intention (BI) towards using e-learning. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, the study identified 91 empirical studies involving 37,910 participants including both university faculties and students. The results show that Habit was the most influential antecedent on BI. Apart from Habit, Hedonic Motivation, Price Value, Performance Expectation, and Facilitating Conditions were strongly correlated with BI towards using e-learning, whereas Effort Expectation, Social Influence, and BI had moderate relations with BI. The moderation analyses demonstrate that the variables of gender, user type, region, cultural orientation, and income level all significantly moderated the relations between various antecedents and BI. The study results provide some practical implications on how e-learning providers or institutions may more effectively improve e-learning adoption among faculties and students. Possible strategies may include designing strategies to enhance habit formation of users, leveraging hedonic motivation by incorporating interactive and engaging contents, and offering technical support and cost-effective e-learning platforms. Furthermore, strategies which are designed to foster positive e-learning adoption should also be tailored to accommodate diverse learner profiles by taking the moderating factors of gender, cultural backgrounds, and economic disparities, ultimately leading to more equitable and inclusive e-learning in higher education.

Pediatric cerebellar tumor survivors may present with spontaneous language impairments following treatment, but the nature of these impairments is still largely unclear. A recent study by Svaldi et al. (Cerebellum. 23:523-44, 2023) found a broad spectrum of spontaneous language impairments irrespective of postoperative cerebellar mutism syndrome (pCMS) diagnosis in long-term pediatric cerebellar tumor survivors. Several patients presented with reduced grammatical or lexical accuracy, but a detailed error analysis was lacking. The present study builds on this study by 1) investigating the error types in spontaneous language across three language processing levels in the same participant group and 2) by evaluating the possible association between pCMS and the processing nature of the language impairments. Spontaneous language was evaluated in 12 long-term survivors of pediatric cerebellar tumors (M(SD) = 4;8(3;8) years), of whom five were diagnosed with pCMS. The proportion of occurrence of each error type was compared between each patient and five matched controls using individual case statistics, reflecting (lexico-)phonological (i.e., phonemic paraphasias), lexical-semantic (e.g., empty speech) and morphosyntactic processing (e.g., verb inflection errors). Each patient showed a significantly higher proportion of at least one of the included error types across all language processing levels. A higher proportion of general-all-purpose verbs and inaccurate verb inflection were the most common errors and respectively reflected lexical-semantic and morphosyntactic processing. Additional language impairments were identified using the error analysis that were not identified with standard language measures and psycholinguistic analysis, suggesting the added diagnostic value of error analyses.

Background: Adequate dementia care knowledge of graduate nurses is essential for the wellbeing of both people living with dementia as well as the graduate nurses caring for them. Little is known about the dementia care knowledge, experience or confidence of graduate nurses caring for people living with dementia. This paper aims to review the available literature on graduate nurses caring for people living with dementia. Design: A scoping review of literature based on the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. Methods: From April 2023 to August 2023, searches were conducted in databases which included CINAHL, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Trove and Google search. All articles related to the question “what literature is available on graduate nurses caring for people living with dementia” published in English were included in this scoping review.

Using a Virtual Reality (VR) game-based application represents an innovative approach to falls prevention in community aged care service. The study investigated the effects of VR training on falls prevention among community-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairment. A pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare the effects of full-immersive VR training with group-based exercise (Baduanjin) training on falls prevention. Eighteen participants were recruited through convenience sampling and were randomly assigned to either the VR group or the non-VR exercise group. Both groups participated in 16 falls prevention training sessions over eight weeks. Participants, identified with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), underwent three fall risk measurements. They had been screened using Montreal Cognitive Assessment (HK-MoCA). The primary outcomes assessed included changes in physical risk factors of falls (i.e. functional mobility, walk speed and postural balance), and the secondary outcomes assessed included changes in executive function and fall efficacy. The measurement of physical outcomes was Time Up and Go test (TUG), Berg balance scale (BBS) and Six-minute Walk Test (6MWT). The participants’ executive function and fear of falling were assessed through the Trail marking test (TMTA and TMTB) and the Fall Efficacy International scale (FES-I). The results showed that the VR group had significantly greater improvement than the non-VR group on measures of cognitive-motor performance, such as global cognition, functional mobility, balance and walk speed over time. However, no significant differences were observed between the two groups in executive functions and the fall efficacy. The study provides potential evidence that VR game-based cognitive-motor training can be effective for fall prevention in community dwelling older adults with MCI. However, the findings do not support significant improvements in secondary outcomes. Despite this, the growing trend of VR research suggests increasing interest and potential for future applications in aged care and rehabilitation services.

Young adults with early psychosis often disengage from essential early intervention services (i.e., Coordinated Specialty Care or CSC in the United States). While decision support interventions improve service engagement, their use in this population is underexplored. This study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, fidelity, and potential impact of a decision coaching intervention for young adults with early psychosis in CSC services. Using a mixed-method, longitudinal, collective case study design, we assessed the intervention's impact on decision-making needs through the Decisional Conflict Scale and qualitative interviews. We also evaluated feasibility, fidelity, and acceptability through observations and feedback from interventionists and participants. Eight young adults from three CSC programs participated, showing variable engagement, with generally favorable fidelity and acceptability ratings. The Decisional Conflict Scale revealed mixed findings, while four themes from qualitative interviews emerged: Perspective and Information Seeking, Motivation and Prioritization, Empowerment and Confidence, and Critical Thinking and Evaluation. The findings suggest that training CSC providers—including peer specialists and clinicians—to deliver decision coaching with fidelity is feasible, well-received by young adults, and potentially impactful on decision-making. Replication in a larger controlled trial, addressing observed study limitations, is warranted. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT04532034) on August 28, 2020, as Temple University Protocol Record 261047, Facilitating Engagement in Evidence-Based Treatment for Early Psychosis (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04532034?term=NCT04532034&draw=2&rank=1).

This study aimed to establish consensus on injury risk factors in netball via a combined systematic review and Delphi method approach. A systematic search of databases (PubMed, Scopus, MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus and CINAHL) was conducted from inception until June 2023. Twenty-four risk factors were extracted from 17 studies and combined with a three-round Delphi approach to achieve consensus. In round one, experts listed perceived risk factors for injury in netball which were combined with the risk factors identified via the systematic review. In round two and round three, experts rated their level of agreement with each risk factor on a 5-point Likert scale (1, strongly disagree to 5, strongly agree). Consensus was defined as ≥80% agreement (with<10% in disagreement). In round three, experts also rated the priority for mitigating the risk factor (1, very low to 5, very high). Nineteen experts participated in round one and round two, and 16 participated in round three (response rate 84%). One-hundred and nine risk factors for injury were identified by the systematic review and experts combined. Sixty-one risk factors reached consensus, categorised into five groups: ‘individual characteristics’ (n=22), ‘lifestyle’ (n=11), ‘training and competition’ (n=14), ‘sport science and medical provision’ (n=6) and ‘facilities and equipment’ (n=8). ‘Poor landing technique/mechanics’ had a median (IQR) mitigation priority rating of 5 (1), while all others had median ratings of 3–4.5. This study identifies a range of risk factors for injury, provides focus areas for injury prevention and highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to injury mitigation in netball.

Every node in a network is said to be resolved if it can be uniquely identified by a vector of distances to a specific set of nodes. The metric dimension is equivalent to the least possible cardinal number of a resolving set. Conditional resolving sets are obtained by imposing various constraints on resolving set. It is a fundamental parameter that provides insights into the structural properties and navigability of graphs, with diverse applications across different fields. This article focuses on identifying the metric dimension for a new network, star fan graph.

Background In patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), small ventricular size has been associated with reduced functional capacity, but its impact on clinical outcomes is unclear. Objectives The goal of this study was to determine the relationship between small heart size and premature mortality within a large multicenter adult patient cohort with transthoracic echocardiographic examinations. Methods We divided 366,484 individuals with LVEF ≥50% (including a subset of 279,442 individuals with high-normal LVEF ≥60%) by sex and increasing quartiles for LV end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), LVEDV indexed to body surface area (LVEDVi), and LV end-diastolic diameter to assess associations with 5-year mortality through linkage with the National Death Index. Results During approximately 2 million person-years of follow-up, 65,241 deaths occurred. Increasing LV chamber size was associated with reduced odds of 5-year all-cause mortality, particularly for higher LVEF. As compared with the larger quartiles, the smallest cardiac size quartiles were associated with higher 5-year all-cause mortality, even after adjusting for age. The smallest LVEDVi quartile was associated with a 14% to 18% higher odds of 5-year all-cause mortality, with a greater effect with high-normal LVEF. There was a U-shaped relationship between LV chamber size and all-cause mortality. For cardiovascular-related mortality, females in the smallest LVEDVi quartile had a 17% increased odds of mortality, which increased to 30% in those with LVEF ≥60%. In men, there was no significant association between smallest cardiac size and cardiovascular-related mortality. Conclusions In individuals with normal LVEF, small ventricular size is associated with increased mortality, particularly among females and those with higher LVEF.

Education is offering evermore possibilities for generating learning analytics. However, to ensure that patterns revealed by analysing large-scale data are meaningful for education and to determine their educational implications requires educational theories. This chapter draws on a framework already having significant impact in education: Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). Like other educational theories, LCT is limited by its reliance on time-intensive manual analysis. Unlike many other theories, LCT concepts have clear empirical referents, lending themselves to automation. In this chapter we describe a pilot study to automate theoretical coding, using a concept from LCT that explores changes in the complexity of knowledge being expressed in, for example, classroom discourse and student assessments. First, we introduce LCT and why its concepts lend themselves to automation. Second, we outline how, through manual analyses and machine learning, we iteratively trained and tested an algorithm to support research using a specific concept. Third, we discuss a prototype visualization of results offered by the resulting automated analysis. Our aim is to show educational scholars how automated support for their analyses is within reach and to illustrate to learning analytics scholars how proven educational theories may offer a powerful resource to create meaningful and actionable insights.

Assessment drives what students learn and standards drive industry. In this paper we link the two and describe how we developed robust, practical standards for graduate skills that can be used to design learning tasks and rubrics to assess learning tasks. They act also as a clear statement to students about expectations for their learning as well as to industry on the standard of the graduates that universities are delivering.

Critical thinking is a crucial skill that students need to develop while at university. It is important for a well-educated person to be able to make well-informed judgements, be able to explain their reasoning and be able to solve unknown problems. This paper proposes that critical thinking can and should be developed from the first year of university in order for students to cope with their future studies and to be of most use to future employers. The paper then describes four exercises that can be used to develop critical thinking in first year students.

Mild cognitive impairment, dementia and osteoporosis are common diseases of ageing and, with the increasingly ageing global population, are increasing in prevalence. These conditions are closely associated, with shared risk factors, common underlying biological mechanisms and potential direct causal pathways. In this review, the epidemiological and mechanistic links between mild cognitive impairment, dementia and skeletal health are explored. Discussion will focus on how changes in brain and bone signalling can underly associations between these conditions, and will consider the molecular and cellular drivers in the context of inflammation and the gut microbiome. There is a complex interplay between nutritional changes, which may precede or follow the onset of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia, and bone health. Polypharmacy is common in patients with MCI or dementia, and there are difficult prescribing decisions to be made due to the elevated risk of falls associated with many drugs used for associated problems, which can consequently increase fracture risk. Some medications prescribed for cognitive impairment may directly impact bone health. In addition, patients may have difficulty remembering medication without assistance, meaning that osteoporosis drugs may be prescribed but not taken. Cognitive impairment may be improved or delayed by physical activity and exercise, and there is evidence for the additional benefits of physical activity on falls and fractures. Research gaps and priorities with the aim of reducing the burden of osteoporosis and fractures in people with MCI or dementia will also be discussed.