Showing papers by "Auckland University of Technology published in 2006"

Effects of Different Modes of Exercise Training on Glucose Control and Risk Factors for Complications in Type 2 Diabetic Patients: A meta-analysis

Abstract: OBJECTIVE —We sought to meta-analyze the effects of different modes of exercise training on measures of glucose control and other risk factors for complications of diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS —The 27 qualifying studies were controlled trials providing, for each measure, 4–18 estimates for the effect of aerobic training, 2–7 for resistance training, and 1–5 for combined training, with 1,003 type 2 diabetic patients (age 55 ± 7 years [mean ± between-study SD]) over 5–104 weeks. The meta-analytic mixed model included main-effect covariates to control for between-study differences in disease severity, sex, total training time, training intensity, and dietary cointervention (13 studies). To interpret magnitudes, effects were standardized after meta-analysis using composite baseline between-subject SD. RESULTS —Differences among the effects of aerobic, resistance, and combined training on HbA1c (A1C) were trivial; for training lasting ≥12 weeks, the overall effect was a small beneficial reduction (A1C 0.8 ± 0.3% [mean ± 90% confidence limit]). There were generally small to moderate benefits for other measures of glucose control. For other risk factors, there were either small benefits or effects were trivial or unclear, although combined training was generally superior to aerobic and resistance training. Effects of covariates were generally trivial or unclear, but there were small additional benefits of exercise on glucose control with increased disease severity. CONCLUSIONS —All forms of exercise training produce small benefits in the main measure of glucose control: A1C. The effects are similar to those of dietary, drug, and insulin treatments. The clinical importance of combining these treatments needs further research.

Prejudice and schizophrenia: a review of the 'mental illness is an illness like any other' approach.

Abstract: Objective: Many anti-stigma programmes use the ‘mental illness is an illness like any other’ approach. This review evaluates the effectiveness of this approach in relation to schizophrenia. Method: The academic literature was searched, via PsycINFO and MEDLINE, to identify peer-reviewed studies addressing whether public espousal of a biogenetic paradigm has increased over time, and whether biogenetic causal beliefs and diagnostic labelling are associated with less negative attitudes. Results: The public, internationally, continues to prefer psychosocial to biogenetic explanations and treatments for schizophrenia. Biogenetic causal theories and diagnostic labelling as ‘illness’, are both positively related to perceptions of dangerousness and unpredictability, and to fear and desire for social distance. Conclusion: An evidence-based approach to reducing discrimination would seek a range of alternatives to the ‘mental illness is an illness like any other’ approach, based on enhanced understanding, from multi-disciplinary research, of the causes of prejudice.

Physiological response to water immersion: a method for sport recovery?

Abstract: Recovery from exercise can be an important factor in performance during repeated bouts of exercise. In a tournament situation, where athletes may compete numerous times over a few days, enhancing recovery may provide a competitive advantage. One method that is gaining popularity as a means to enhance post-game or post-training recovery is immersion in water. Much of the literature on the ability of water immersion as a means to improve athletic recovery appears to be based on anecdotal information, with limited research on actual performance change. Water immersion may cause physiological changes within the body that could improve recovery from exercise. These physiological changes include intracellular-intravascular fluid shifts, reduction of muscle oedema and increased cardiac output (without increasing energy expenditure), which increases blood flow and possible nutrient and waste transportation through the body. Also, there may be a psychological benefit to athletes with a reduced cessation of fatigue during immersion. Water temperature alters the physiological response to immersion and cool to thermoneutral temperatures may provide the best range for recovery. Further performance-orientated research is required to determine whether water immersion is beneficial to athletes.

Lactic acid and exercise performance : culprit or friend?

Abstract: This article critically discusses whether accumulation of lactic acid, or in reality lactate and/or hydrogen (H+) ions, is a major cause of skeletal muscle fatigue, i.e. decline of muscle force or power output leading to impaired exercise performance. There exists a long history of studies on the effects of increased lactate/H+ concentrations in muscle or plasma on contractile performance of skeletal muscle. Evidence suggesting that lactate/H+ is a culprit has been based on correlation-type studies, which reveal close temporal relationships between intramuscular lactate or H+ accumulation and the decline of force during fatiguing stimulation in frog, rodent or human muscle. In addition, an induced acidosis can impair muscle contractility in non-fatigued humans or in isolated muscle preparations, and several mechanisms to explain such effects have been provided. However, a number of recent high-profile papers have seriously challenged the 'lactic acid hypothesis'. In the 1990s, these findings mainly involved diminished negative effects of an induced acidosis in skinned or intact muscle fibres, at higher more physiological experimental temperatures. In the early 2000s, it was conclusively shown that lactate has little detrimental effect on mechanically skinned fibres activated by artificial stimulation. Perhaps more remarkably, there are now several reports of protective effects of lactate exposure or induced acidosis on potassium-depressed muscle contractions in isolated rodent muscles. In addition, sodium-lactate exposure can attenuate severe fatigue in rat muscle stimulated in situ, and sodium lactate ingestion can increase time to exhaustion during sprinting in humans. Taken together, these latest findings have led to the idea that lactate/H+ is ergogenic during exercise. It should not be taken as fact that lactic acid is the deviant that impairs exercise performance. Experiments on isolated muscle suggest that acidosis has little detrimental effect or may even improve muscle performance during high-intensity exercise. In contrast, induced acidosis can exacerbate fatigue during whole-body dynamic exercise and alkalosis can improve exercise performance in events lasting 1-10 minutes. To reconcile the findings from isolated muscle fibres through to whole-body exercise, it is hypothesised that a severe plasma acidosis in humans might impair exercise performance by causing a reduced CNS drive to muscle.

Creating Adventures in Wonderland: The Journey Metaphor and Environmental Sustainability

Abstract: This paper provides a critical exploration of the journey metaphor promoted in much business discourse on sustainability—in corporate reports and advertisements, and in commentaries by business and professional associations. The portrayal of ‘sustainability as a journey’ evokes images of organizational adaptation, learning, progress, and a movement away from business-as-usual practices. The journey metaphor, however, masks the issue of towards what it is that businesses are actually, or even supposedly, moving. It is argued that in constructing ‘sustainability as a journey’, business commentators and other purveyors of corporate rhetoric can avoid becoming embroiled in debates about future desirable and sustainable states of affairs—states of affairs, perhaps, which would question the very raison d’etre for some organizations and their outputs. ‘Sustainability as a journey’ invokes a subtle and powerful use of language that appears to seriously engage with elements of the discourse around sustainable deve...

Possible stimuli for strength and power adaptation: acute hormonal responses

Abstract: A great deal of literature has investigated the effects of various resistance training programmes on strength and power changes. Surprisingly, however, our understanding of the stimuli that affect adaptation still remains relatively unexplained. It is thought that strength and power adaptation is mediated by mechanical stimuli, that is the kinematics and kinetics associated with resistance exercise (e.g. forces, contraction duration, power and work), and their interaction with other hormonal and metabolic factors. However, the effect of different combinations of kinematic and kinetic variables and their contribution to adaptation is unclear. The mechanical response to single repetitions has been investigated by a number of researchers; however, it seems problematic to extrapolate the findings of this type of research to the responses associated with a typical resistance training session. That is, resistance training is typified by multiple repetitions, sets and exercises, rest periods of varying durations and different movement techniques (e.g. controlled and explosive). Understanding the mechanical stimuli afforded by such loading schemes would intuitively lead to a better appreciation of how various mechanical stimuli affect adaptation. It will be evident throughout this article that very little research has adopted such an approach; hence our understanding in this area remains rudimentary at best. One should therefore remain cognizant of the limitations that exist in the interpretation of research in this field. We contend that strength and power research needs to adopt a set kinematic and kinetic analysis to improve our understanding of how to optimise strength and power.

Not seeing the forest for the trees: novice programmers and the SOLO taxonomy

Abstract: This paper reports on the authors use of the SOLO taxonomy to describe differences in the way students and educators solve small code reading exercises. SOLO is a general educational taxonomy, and has not previously been applied to the study of how novice programmers manifest their understanding of code. Data was collected in the form of written and think-aloud responses from students (novices) and educators (experts), using exam questions. During analysis, the responses were mapped to the different levels of the SOLO taxonomy. From think-aloud responses, the authors found that educators tended to manifest a SOLO relational response on small reading problems, whereas students tended to manifest a multistructural response. These results are consistent with the literature on the psychology of programming, but the work in this paper extends on these findings by analyzing the design of exam questions.

The influence of productivity on the species richness of plants: a critical assessment

Abstract: Despite much scrutiny the relationship between productivity and species richness remains controversial, and there is little agreement about causal processes. We present the results of a survey of 159 productivity-plant species richness (P-PSR) relationships from 131 published studies. We critically assessed each study with respect to experimental design and for the appropriateness of the surrogates used for productivity. We were able to accept only 60 of the reported relationships as robust tests of the P-PSR relationship and a further 18 as robust tests of the biomass-species richness relationship. Previous analyses have found that unimodal P-PSR relationships predominate. In contrast, we found that, in studies that used data of continental to global extent, all P-PSR relationships were positive regardless of grain, that almost all were also positive in data sets of regional extent, and that unimodal relationships were not dominant even in studies of fine grain or small spatial extent. Our results differ substantially from previous meta-analyses because previous studies have included a large number of studies that do not meet basic experimental design criteria for objectively testing P-PSR relationships. These results have important implications for theory that attempts to explain species richness patterns. We critically review four dominant theories in light of our results and develop new falsifiable predictions of relationship from these theories at both small and large spatial scales.

Identification of trophic interactions within an estuarine food web (northern New Zealand) using fatty acid biomarkers and stable isotopes

Abstract: Fatty acid biomarkers and stable isotope signatures were used to identify the trophic dynamics of a mangrove/seagrass estuarine food web at Matapouri, northern New Zealand. Specific fatty acids were used to identify the preferred food sources (i.e., mangroves, seagrass, phytoplankton, macroalgae, bacteria, and zooplankton) of dominant fauna (i.e., filter feeders, grazing snails, scavenger/predatory snails, shrimp, crabs, and fish), and their presence in water and sediment samples throughout the estuary. The diets of filter feeders were found to be dominated by dinoflagellates, whereas grazers showed a higher diatom contribution. Bacteria associated with organic debris on surface sediments and brown algal (Hormosira banksii) material in the form of suspended organic matter also accounted for a high proportion of most animal diets. Animals within higher trophic levels had diverse fatty acid profiles, revealing their varied feeding strategies and carbon sources. The stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) analyses of major primary producers and consumers/predators revealed a trend of 15N enrichment with increasing trophic level, while δ13C values provided a generally good description of carbon flow through the food web. Overall results from both fatty acid profiles and stable isotopes indicate that a variety of carbon sources with a range of trophic pathways typify this food web. Moreover, none of the animals studied was dependent on a single food source. This study is the first to use a comprehensive fatty acid biomarker and stable isotope approach to investigate the food web dynamics within a New Zealand temperate mangrove/seagrass estuary. This quantitative research may contribute to the currently developing management strategies for estuaries in northern New Zealand, especially for those perceived to have expanding mangrove fringes.

Mixed Methods Research: Positivism Dressed in Drag?

Abstract: The claim that mixed methods is the third methodological movement of the twentieth century could have unexpected consequences for the future of research in the social sciences and health discipline...

The service brand and the service-dominant logic: missing fundamental premise or the need for stronger theory?

Abstract: It is increasingly being recognized that brands play a major role in contributing to the value of service businesses (e.g. Berry, 2000; de Chernatony, 2003). However, in their award-winning article about the emerging service-dominant logic, Vargo and Lusch (2004) pay little attention to branding. This article explores the case for integrating branding into the service-dominant logic (S-D logic). We review how diverse perspectives of brands relate to the S-D logic and then examine Rust, Zeithaml and Lemon's (2000) claim that brand equity is a component of the concept of customer equity. Next we review some recent research about brands in relationships and then examine whether there is a missing fundamental premise in the S-D logic about the service brand. Finally we consider the development of stronger underlying theory that integrates the concepts of brand equity, customer equity and network equity into the S-D logic.

Is goal planning in rehabilitation effective? A systematic review

Abstract: Objective: To determine the evidence regarding the effectiveness of goal planning in clinical rehabilitation.Design: Systematic review.Method: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, AMED, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, American College of Physicians (ACP) Journal Club, and the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) were searched for randomized controlled trials on the therapeutic effectiveness of goal planning in the rehabilitation of adults with acquired disability. Studies were categorized by patient population and the clinical context of the study. Data were analysed using best-research synthesis, based on methodological quality determined by Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale scores.Results: Nineteen studies were included in this review. Study populations in these papers included patients with neurological disorders, psychiatric disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular disorders, respiratory disorders and dietary/...

Ethical investing in Australia: is there a financial penalty?

Abstract: This study provides new evidence on the performance and investment style of retail ethical funds in Australia. By applying a conditional multi-factor model and after controlling for investment style, time-variation in betas and home bias, we observe no evidence of significant differences in riskadjusted returns between ethical and conventional funds during 1992–2003. This result however is sensitive to the chosen time period. During 1992–1996 domestic ethical funds under-performed their conventional counterparts significantly, whereas during 1996–2003 ethical funds matched the performance of conventional funds more closely. This suggests that ethical mutual funds underwent a catching up phase, before delivering returns similar to those of conventional mutual funds. D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The road from Santa Rosalia: A faster tempo of evolution in tropical climates

Abstract: Using an appropriately designed and replicated study of a latitudinal influence on rates of evolution, we test the prediction by K. Rohde [(1992) Oikos 65, 514–527] that the tempo of molecular evolution in the tropics is greater than at higher latitudes. Consistent with this prediction we found tropical plant species had more than twice the rate of molecular evolution as closely related temperate congeners. Rohde’s climate-speciation hypothesis constitutes one explanation for the cause of that relationship. This hypothesis suggests that mutagenesis occurs more frequently as productivity and metabolic rates increase toward the equator. More rapid mutagenesis was then proposed as the mechanism that increases evolutionary tempo and rates of speciation. A second possible explanation is that faster rates of molecular evolution result from higher tropical speciation rates [e.g., Bromham, L. & Cardillo, M. (2003) J. Evol. Biol. 16, 200–207]. However, we found the relationship continued to hold for genera with the same number of, or more, species in temperate latitudes. This finding suggests that greater rates of speciation in the tropics do not cause higher rates of molecular evolution. A third explanation is that more rapid genetic drift might have occurred in smaller tropical species populations [Stevens, G. C. (1989) Am. Nat. 133, 240–256]. However, we targeted common species to limit the influence of genetic drift, and many of the tropical species we used, despite occurring in abundant populations, had much higher rates of molecular evolution. Nonetheless, this issue is not completely resolved by that precaution and requires further examination.

Cyanobacterial lipopolysaccharides and human health – a review

Abstract: Cyanobacterial lipopolysaccharide/s (LPS) are frequently cited in the cyanobacteria literature as toxins responsible for a variety of heath effects in humans, from skin rashes to gastrointestinal, respiratory and allergic reactions. The attribution of toxic properties to cyanobacterial LPS dates from the 1970s, when it was thought that lipid A, the toxic moiety of LPS, was structurally and functionally conserved across all Gram-negative bacteria. However, more recent research has shown that this is not the case, and lipid A structures are now known to be very different, expressing properties ranging from LPS agonists, through weak endotoxicity to LPS antagonists. Although cyanobacterial LPS is widely cited as a putative toxin, most of the small number of formal research reports describe cyanobacterial LPS as weakly toxic compared to LPS from the Enterobacteriaceae. We systematically reviewed the literature on cyanobacterial LPS, and also examined the much lager body of literature relating to heterotrophic bacterial LPS and the atypical lipid A structures of some photosynthetic bacteria. While the literature on the biological activity of heterotrophic bacterial LPS is overwhelmingly large and therefore difficult to review for the purposes of exclusion, we were unable to find a convincing body of evidence to suggest that heterotrophic bacterial LPS, in the absence of other virulence factors, is responsible for acute gastrointestinal, dermatological or allergic reactions via natural exposure routes in humans. There is a danger that initial speculation about cyanobacterial LPS may evolve into orthodoxy without basis in research findings. No cyanobacterial lipid A structures have been described and published to date, so a recommendation is made that cyanobacteriologists should not continue to attribute such a diverse range of clinical symptoms to cyanobacterial LPS without research confirmation.

An Australasian study of reading and comprehension skills in novice programmers, using the bloom and SOLO taxonomies

Abstract: In this paper we report on a multiinstitutional investigation into the reading and comprehension skills of novice programmers. This work extends previous studies (Lister 2004, McCracken 2001) by developing a question set within two key pedagogical frameworks: the Bloom and SOLO taxonomies. From this framework of analysis some interesting emergent patterns relating the cognitive level of the questions to student performance have been identified.

Movement Models from Sports Provide Representative Task Constraints for Studying Adaptive Behavior in Human Movement Systems

Abstract: Researchers studying adaptive behavior in human movement systems have traditionally employed simplified, laboratory-based movement models in an effort to conserve experimental rigor. Brunswikian psychology raises questions over the representativeness of many of these popular experimental models for studying how movements are coordinated with events, objects, and surfaces of dynamic environments. In this article we argue that sports provide rich ecological constraints for representative task design in modeling the complex interactions of human performers with their environments. Adopting a functionalist perspective enriched by ideas from ecological psychology and nonlinear dynamics, we consider data from exemplar movement models in basketball and boxing to support this contention. We show that this preference for movement models from sports, although not completely novel, has accelerated over recent years, mainly due to the theoretical re-emphasis on studying the interaction of individual and task constraints. The implications of using such applied models of move ment behavior in studying the design of natural and artificial systems are also discussed.

Recreational and occupational field exposure to freshwater cyanobacteria - a review of anecdotal and case reports, epidemiological studies and the challenges for epidemiologic assessment

Abstract: Cyanobacteria are common inhabitants of freshwater lakes and reservoirs throughout the world. Under favourable conditions, certain cyanobacteria can dominate the phytoplankton within a waterbody and form nuisance blooms. Case reports and anecdotal references dating from 1949 describe a range of illnesses associated with recreational exposure to cyanobacteria: hay fever-like symptoms, pruritic skin rashes and gastro-intestinal symptoms are most frequently reported. Some papers give convincing descriptions of allergic reactions while others describe more serious acute illnesses, with symptoms such as severe headache, pneumonia, fever, myalgia, vertigo and blistering in the mouth. A coroner in the United States found that a teenage boy died as a result of accidentally ingesting a neurotoxic cyanotoxin from a golf course pond. This death is the first recorded human fatality attributed to recreational exposure to cyanobacteria, although uncertainties surround the forensic identification of the suspected cyanotoxin in this case.

Variation in performance of elite cyclists from race to race

Abstract: The race-to-race variation in performance of a top athlete determines the smallest change in performance affecting the athlete's chances of winning. We report here the typical variation in competition times of elite cyclists in various race series. Repeated-measures analysis of log-transformed official race times provided the typical variation in a cyclist's performance as a coefficient of variation. The typical variation of a top cyclist (and its 95% likely limits) was 0.4% (0.3–0.5%) in World Cup road races, 0.7% (0.7–0.8%) in Tour de France road races, 1.2% (0.8–2.2%) in the Kilo, 1.3% (0.9–2.4%) in road time trials, 1.7% (1.2–2.6%) in Tour de France time trials, and 2.4% (2.1–2.8%) in World Cup mountain biking. Cyclist interdependence arising from team tactics and pack riding probably accounts for the lower variability in performance of cyclists in road races and precludes estimation of the smallest worthwhile change in performance time for cyclists in these events. The substantial difference...

Aligning business and information systems thinking: a cognitive approach

Abstract: Business-information systems (IS) alignment has become an important strategic imperative for organizations competing in the global economy. Recent research (Reich and Benbasat [56]) indicates that building a shared understanding between business and IS executives is one way of strengthening this alignment. This paper describes a study that examines the cognitive basis of shared understanding between business and IS executives. Using Personal Construct Theory (Kelly [36]), this study uses cognitive mapping techniques to explore the commonalities and individualities in the cognition between these executives. Eighty business and IS executives in six companies participated in this study. The results indicate that a higher level of cognitive commonality is positively related to a higher level of business-IS alignment. This is supported by findings that greater diversity in cognitive structure and cognitive content of business and IS executives coincide with a lower level of alignment. Implications for practitioners and researchers are discussed.

Strategic capital investment decision-making: A role for emergent analysis tools?: A study of practice in large UK manufacturing companies

Abstract: The complexity surrounding strategic capital investments present challenges to managers charged with evaluating these projects. In particular over-reliance on financial appraisal tools is thought to bias decision-makers against undertaking strategic projects that are crucial to the development of business capability and innovation. In response to this concern, several emergent analysis tools have been advanced as means to integrate strategic and financial analyses of capital investment projects. This paper examines the use of both conventional financial analysis tools and selected emergent analysis approaches in the capital investment decision-making of large UK manufacturing companies. The findings update previous studies on the use of financial analysis tools, but also examine how their use varies between strategic and non-strategic investment projects and the extent to which emergent analysis tools are impacting decision-making practice. Little evidence emerges of integration between strategic and financial analysis approaches. Financial analysis techniques still dominate the appraisal of all categories of capital investment projects, while risk analysis approaches remain simplistic, even for complex strategic projects. Despite their noted potential for informing strategic investment decisions, the emergent analysis tools barely register in practice.

Pedometer-determined physical activity and body composition in New Zealand children.

Abstract: Purpose: The objectives of this study were to examine current levels of pedometer-determined physical activity in a multiethnic sample of New Zealand children and to investigate associations among weekday and weekend step counts, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and percentage body fat (%BF). Methods: A total of 1115 children (536 boys, 579 girls) aged 5-12 yr wore sealed multiday memory pedometers for three weekdays and two weekend days. The ethnic composition of the sample was 49.2% European, 30.0% Polynesian, and 16.5% Asian, with 4.3% from other ethnicities. BMI was determined from height and weight, and %BF was measured using hand-to-foot bioelectrical impedance analysis. Participants were classified as normal weight, overweight, or obese using international BMI cutoff points (4), and into normal or central fat distribution groups using national WC standards (28). The 90th percentile of %BF for each age and sex subgroup was used to identify normal and high body fatness. Results: Mean step counts for this sample were 16,133 ± 3,864 (boys) and 14,124 ± 3,286 (girls) on weekdays, and 12,702 ± 5,048 (boys) and 11,158 ± 4,309 (girls) on weekends. Significant differences in step counts were observed between weekdays and weekends, boys and girls, and among age, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. Analysis of variance revealed stronger associations between step counts and %BF category than between step counts and BMI or WC groups. Conclusion: This study provides evidence of a link between daily step counts and body fatness in children. Our results also suggest that the promotion of physical activity during the weekend is a key priority for young New Zealanders.

Minds, hearts and deeds: Cognitive, affective and behavioural responses to change

Abstract: When people are faced with changes to some aspect of their working lives they respond on a number of levels: cognitive, affective and behavioural. The behavioural responses are outcomes of the cognitive and emotional reactions, and are mediated and moderated by a number of variables, some of which lie in the context of the employee, some in the context of the change managers, and some in the context of the organisation. In this article a model will be presented that identifies a range of reactions to change and a series of propositions that can be tested empirically.

Option Pricing When Correlations are Stochastic: An Analytical Framework

Abstract: In this paper we develop a novel market model where asset variances-covariances evolve stochastically. In addition shocks on asset return dynamics are assumed to be linearly correlated with shocks driving the variance-covariance matrix. Analytical tractability is preserved since the model is linear-affine and the conditional characteristic function can be determined explicitly. Quite remarkably, the model provides prices of vanilla options consistent with the smile and skew effects observed, while making possible to detect and quantify the correlation risk in multiple asset derivatives like basket options. In particular it can reproduce the asymmetric conditional correlations effect documented in Ang and Chen (2002) for equity markets. We exemplify analytical tractability providing explicit pricing formulas for rainbow Best-of options.

Eustress, distress and their interpretation in primary and secondary occupational stress management interventions: which way first?

Abstract: Purpose – To develop an argument for the retention of secondary approaches to stress management (those that focus on the individual within the organization) as first interventions, prior to the employment of primary approaches (those that focus on the organization's processes and structures). This is based on a reconsideration of eustress versus distress and a review of current empirical evidence on the effectiveness of stress management interventions.Design/methodology/approach – Major empirical studies and reviews are critically reviewed and placed within a theoretical framework derived from both early and more recent work in the field.Findings – There is little empirical evidence on which to base recommendations for organization‐based stress management interventions as first or sole approaches and therefore the value of these as first or sole approaches is questioned. Instead secondary, individual‐focused, approaches are recommended as first‐line interventions prior to the adoption of organization‐base...

A systematic review of evidence about extended roles for allied health professionals.

Abstract: Objective: Extending the role of allied health professionals has been promoted as a key component of developing a flexible health workforce. This review aimed to synthesize the evidence about the i...

Benthic macro-invertebrate community composition within a mangrove/seagrass estuary in northern New Zealand

Abstract: In the tropics and sub-tropics, estuarine environments with mangrove and seagrass habitats provide important structures and resources for diverse communities of benthic organisms. However, temperate estuarine habitats, especially in mangrove areas, may differ significantly in their community associations and interactions. The community composition of benthic macro-fauna was investigated within temperate Matapouri Estuary, northern New Zealand. The density and distribution of fauna were sampled within six distinctive habitats (mangrove stands, pneumatophore zones, Zostera beds, channels, banks, and sand flats), within four sampling events between December 2002 and September 2003. Each type of habitat was replicated seven times within different locations in the estuary. Counts of all infauna and epifauna within four replicate cores were recorded from each habitat and location. Multidimensional scaling plots were used to identify differences in structure and composition of assemblages among habitats and locations within each sampling event. Results from these benthic samples indicate that Matapouri Estuary has a high overall biodiversity, with distinctive faunal assemblages found within different habitats, and some seasonal variations also apparent. In terms of both number of individuals and taxa per unit area, seagrass beds had the highest numbers and mangrove areas had the lowest numbers, with all other habitats in between. Some locations were found to support a high diversity of organisms across habitats, while other locations had high densities of a few species only. Several physical and biological differences between tropical/sub-tropical and New Zealand's temperate mangrove habitats are put forth as potential reasons for the lower density and diversity of the benthic component observed herein. Further ongoing studies aim to elucidate the structure and interactions within food webs in this estuarine ecosystem.