Showing papers by "Edith Cowan University published in 1999"

A genomic screen of autism: evidence for a multilocus etiology.

Abstract: Summary We have conducted a genome screen of autism, by linkage analysis in an initial set of 90 multiplex sibships, with parents, containing 97 independent affected sib pairs (ASPs), with follow-up in 49 additional multiplex sibships, containing 50 ASPs. In total, 519 markers were genotyped, including 362 for the initial screen, and an additional 157 were genotyped in the follow-up. As a control, we also included in the analysis unaffected sibs, which provided 51 discordant sib pairs (DSPs) for the initial screen and 29 for the follow-up. In the initial phase of the work, we observed increased identity by descent (IBD) in the ASPs (sharing of 51.6%) compared with the DSPs (sharing of 50.8%). The excess sharing in the ASPs could not be attributed to the effect of a small number of loci but, rather, was due to the modest increase in the entire distribution of IBD. These results are most compatible with a model specifying a large number of loci (perhaps ⩾15) and are less compatible with models specifying ≤10 loci. The largest LOD score obtained in the initial scan was for a marker on chromosome 1p; this region also showed positive sharing in the replication family set, giving a maximum multipoint LOD score of 2.15 for both sets combined. Thus, there may exist a gene of moderate effect in this region. We had only modestly positive or negative linkage evidence in candidate regions identified in other studies. Our results suggest that positional cloning of susceptibility loci by linkage analysis may be a formidable task and that other approaches may be necessary.

Are Asian stock market fluctuations due mainly to intra-regional contagion effects? Evidence based on Asian emerging stock markets

Abstract: The main purpose of the study is: (i) to examine the long- and short-term dynamic linkages among international and Asian emerging stock markets and then (ii) try to quantify the extent of the Asian stock market fluctuations which are explained by intra-regional contagion effect. The study, therefore, proceeds first by examining the dynamic causal linkages among eight national daily stock price indices (four major established markets and four Asian emerging markets) and then quantifying the extent of their dynamic interdependencies through the application of recent time-series econometric techniques (a) vector error-correction model (Toda and Phillips, 1993) and (b) level VAR model containing integrated and cointegrated processes of arbitrary orders (Toda and Yamamoto, 1995). At the global level, the findings tend to confirm the widely-held view of the leadership of the US over both the short- and long-term and the existence of a significant short- and long-term relationship between the established OECD and the emerging Asian markets. At the regional level in Southeast Asia, the results tend to confirm, as expected, the leading role of Hong Kong. And consistent with the `contagion effect' hypothesis, the results tend to lend strong support to the view that the stock market fluctuations in all these Asian markets are explained mostly by their regional markets (rather than the advanced markets). Finally, at a methodological level, this analysis also provides a primer for the wealth of applied financial econometric research focusing on dynamic causal inference which involves systems containing possibly integrated and cointegrated processes.

AusRivAS: using macroinvertebrates to assess ecological condition of rivers in Western Australia

Abstract: Summary 1. AusRivAS (Australian River Assessment Scheme) models were developed, using macroinvertebrates as indicators, to assess the ecological condition of rivers in Western Australia as part of an Australia-wide program. The models were based on data from 188 minimally disturbed reference sites and are similar to RIVPACS models used in Britain. The major habitats in the rivers (macrophyte, channel) were sampled separately and macroinvertebrates collected were identified to family level. 2. Laboratory sorting of preserved macroinvertebrate samples recovered about 90% of families present when 150 animals were collected, whereas live picking in the field recovered only 76%. 3. Reference sites clustered into five groups on the basis of macroinvertebrate families present. Using seven physical variables, a discriminant function allocated 73% of sites to the correct classification group. A discriminant function based on seven physical and two chemical variables allocated 81% of sites to the correct group. However, when the same reference sites were re-sampled the following year, the nine variable discriminant function misallocated more sites than the seven variable function, owing to annual fluctuations in water chemistry that were not accompanied by changes in fauna. 4. In preliminary testing, the wet season channel model correctly assessed 80% of reference sites as undisturbed in the year subsequent to model building (10% of sites were expected to rate as disturbed because the 10th percentile was used as the threshold for disturbance). Nine sites from an independent data set, all thought to be disturbed, were assessed as such by the model. Results from twenty test sites, chosen because they represented a wide range of ecological condition, were less clear-cut. In its current state the model reliably distinguishes undisturbed and severely disturbed sites. Subtle impacts are either detected inconsistently or do not affect ecological condition.

Culturally Responsive Technology Use: Developing an On-line Community of Learners.

Abstract: In tertiary contexts, Web-based instruction often appears to be tailored to the needs of a particular cultural group, recognising the specific learning needs, preferences and styles of a single, perhaps homogeneous, group of learners. However, in designing instruction, there is typically a tension between the need to ensure flexibility and access to learners of “multiple cultures”, while at the same time taking into account the need for localisation and a requirement to accommodate a particular set of learners' cognitive styles and preferences (Collis and Remmers, 1997; Damarin, 1998). Considering both the micro- and macro-cultural levels of design is therefore essential if culturally appropriate design is to be achieved in Web-based instruction. One of the limitations that has been recognised in striving towards culturally appropriate design is that current instructional design models do not fully contextualise the learning experience, and are themselves the product of a particular culture (Henderson, 1996). A proposed solution is the adoption of a multiple cultures model of design, which is not culturally exclusive. This paper traces the development of an on-line unit for Indigenous Australian learners, and accounts for the cultural issues that impacted on the design of learning tasks and the associated avenues for communication provided to learners. In this context, culturally responsive design was ensured by the adoption of an epistemology and pedagogy based on Lave's (1991) community of practice model. Adapting the model to on-line delivery required incorporation of culture specific values, styles of learning and cognitive preferences, and tasks that were designed to go beyond surface level comprehension to achieve deep learning. The micro cultural level of the virtual community is considered in relation to participatory structures, task design, goal orientation and development of communicative processes that were intended to support the learning needs of a much wider group of Indigenous Australian students.

Registration of stereo and temporal images of the retina

Abstract: The registration of retinal images is required to facilitate the study of the optic nerve head and the retina. The method the authors propose combines the use of mutual information as the similarity measure and simulated annealing as the search technique. It is robust toward large transformations between the images and significant changes in light intensity. By using a pyramid sampling approach combined with simulated reannealing the authors find that registration can be achieved to predetermined precision, subject to choice of interpolation and the constraint of time. The algorithm was tested on 49 pairs of stereo images and 48 pairs of temporal images with success.

Using situated learning and multimedia to investigate higher-order thinking

Abstract: This paper describes a qualitative study into students’ use of higher-order thinking as they use an interactive multimedia program based on a situated learning framework The analysis of types of talk used by students as they worked with the program clearly shows that the majority of their thinking was higher order, as defined by Resnick (1987) and other theorists Social, procedural and lower-order talk was less evident but present in their talk in reduced proportions These findings suggest that a multimedia program based on a situated learning approach can provide a learning environment capable of supporting and maintaining substantial levels of higher-order thinking Many educators and researchers discuss the importance of engaging students in activities which require more than the simple application of rules and procedures Collins, Brown, and Newman (1989) contend that few educational resources (including interactive multimedia) are devoted to higherorder problem solving activities, and few activities require students to use cognitive and metacognitive strategies and processes While higher-order thinking might most simply be described as “all intellectual tasks that call for more than information retrieval” (Baker, 1990), Lewis and Smith (1993) give a more comprehensive definition: “Higher-order thinking occurs when a person takes new information and information stored in memory and interrelates and/or rearranges and extends this information to achieve a purpose or find possible answers in perplexing situations” (p 136)

Loss and degradation of wetlands in southwestern Australia: Underlying causes, consequences and solutions

Abstract: Many wetlands (estimated to be about 70%) have been lost in the coastal plain region of southwestern Australia since British settlement (in 1829), primarily as a result of infilling or drainage to create land for agricultural use or urban development. While further loss is almost universally acknowledged as undesirable, wetland degradation continues with little overt public recognition of the causes or consequences. Obvious and direct causes include nutrient enrichment, salinization, pollution with pesticides and heavy metals, the invasion of exotic flora and flora, loss of fringing vegetation and altered hydrological regimes occurring as a result of urbanization and agricultural practices. Underlying causes include a lack of understanding of wetland hydrology and ecology on behalf of both planning agencies and the private sector, and poor coordination of the many different agencies responsible for wetland management. Public and political awareness of wetland values continues to increase, but sectoral organization and responsibilities for wetland management lag behind. Sufficient scientific information now exists for improved management, protection and restoration of wetlands in southwestern Australia. However, this improvement cannot occur without the necessary political will and corresponding sectoral responses needed to implement coordinated wetland management policies and actions.

Critical Success Factors for Wine Tourism

Abstract: Generic factors influencing the development and marketing of wine tourism, both in destinations and at wineries, are examined. Results of surveys of wine and tourism industry professionals in Australia and in Washington State, USA, are presented, enabling identification of critical success factors. These are grouped as quality (of wine, service and experiences), wine country appeal, winery appeal, and developmental and marketing factors. Agreement on certain critical success factors did emerge, with quality considered to be the most important success factor, but some significant differences existed between respondents from the two countries examined. Recommendations for ongoing research on wine tourism are made.

Using online technologies to support problem based learning: Learners' responses and perceptions

Abstract: This paper reports a study in which a form of online problem based learning was employed with a group of on campus students in an undergraduate university course. The paper explores the practical issues associated with teaching and learning in this fashion and describes the responses and perceptions of the learners. In the main, the students responded very positively to the changed learning environment despite the fact that it caused them to spend more time in these courses doing different things to which they were accustomed. In particular the students' perceived that the various problem based activities contributed substantially to their learning and enjoyment in the course. The results do, however, suggest some caution is necessary in the use of this approach. While the environment seems readily transferable to flexible and open learning settings, the students frequently indicated that they valued the input of the teacher and saw this component as a valuable part of teaching and learning. The results suggest the need to remember the important place of the teacher in any learning process and the need to ensure students have adequate access to, and lines of, communication with their teachers.

The state of Australia's avifauna: a personal opinion and prediction for the new millennium

Abstract: A consequence of the European colonization of Australia has been a significant loss of biodiversity: one in four mammal species is either extinct or threatened. In contrast, only one species of bird has been lost from the Australian continent and there is less concern for the survival of the Australian avifauna than for mammals. This is despite the fact that nearly one in five bird species is listed as threatened or of "special concern". Moreover, a review of the status of Australian birds at local, regional, state and continental scales shows that the impact of Europeans on the avifauna is much greater than acknowledged. Over most of southern Australia entire avifaunas are threatened with extinction. When allowance is made for habitat loss and degradation, 30 to 90% of bird species across the continent have declined in abundance. The extent of this decline is that the survival of many bird species in the 21st Century is threatened. While a majority of birds in southern Australia has declined in abundance and/or distribution, others have increased. Parallel changes are proceeding in northern Australia. In terms of evaluating impact on the avifauna, an increase in numbers and a change in the composition of avian communities are as significant as the loss of populations and species. Both adversely affect patterns of continental biodiversity and are ecologically dysfunctional. Assuming that current trends continue, over the next century, significant components of the avifauna will be lost as populations proceed to extinction and the composition of avifaunas change at scales ranging from the local to the continental. The pattern of change in avian abundances, and the failure to anticipate or acknowledge the major losses of birds on the Australian continent, shows that conservation emphasis needs to shift from a species by species approach to the conservation of communities and entire avifaunas. Taken together, the scale of the changes in the distribution and abundance of Australian birds is an affirmation that present and projected patterns of human use of the Australian continent are not sustainable. Much needs to be done to reverse the decline of the terrestrial avifauna and achieve ecological sustainability in land use. The most urgent actions are to end the clearing of native vegetation, reduce grazing pressure, remove inappropriate fire regimes, control feral and native animals whose abundance threatens native species, and restore functional ecosystems, with an emphasis on native vegetation, to a minimum of 30% of the landscape. These need to be accompanied by an aggressive programme to improve water quality in fresh water habitats and restore environmental water flows, and the creation of a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system across the continent irrespective of land tenure. In the absence of such action, I predict that Australia will lose half of its terrestrial bird species in the next century.

Fas and Fas Ligand Messenger Ribonucleic Acid and Protein Expression in the Rat Corpus Luteum during Apoptosis-Mediated Luteolysis

Abstract: Apoptosis has been found to occur during regression of the corpus luteum (CL) in many species. The Fas (APO-1/CD95) receptor, a transmembrane protein that induces apoptosis in the cell when bound to Fas ligand (FasL), may be involved. This study established and quantitated the presence and regulation of Fas receptor and FasL in the rat CL during pregnancy and postpartum. Using immunohistochemistry, FasL was localized in CL during pregnancy and postpartum. Fas was localized at Day 1 of pregnancy and at the time of luteolysis. Both Fas and FasL mRNA were found to be expressed throughout pregnancy and postpartum using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Relative quantitative RT-PCR established that expression of FasL mRNA increased significantly at Day 22 of pregnancy and decreased by Day 3 postpartum. Spontaneous apoptosis of rat CL placed in an in vitro culture model with serum-free medium was examined by analysis of extracted DNA using 3' end-labeling. Treatment with an anti-rat Fas monoclonal antibody demonstrated a reduction in the occurrence of spontaneous apoptosis. These data support a role for Fas receptor and FasL in rat CL apoptosis during luteolysis.

Sex knowledge and sexual attitudes among medical and nursing students

Abstract: Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between background and sociodemographic variables, attitudes toward controversial aspects of human sexuality and sex knowledge among medical and nursing students.Method: The study design was a questionnaire-based survey of medical and nursing students in Western Australia. Participants were first-through fifth-year medical students at the University of Western Australia and first-through third-year undergraduate nursing students at Edith Cowan University. Outcome measures were students' attitudes toward controversial aspects of human sexuality expressed on a five-point Likert scale and a modified version of the Kinsey Institute/Roper Organization National Sex Knowledge Test.Results: A significant relationship was found between certain background and sociodemographic variables, sexual attitudes and sex knowledge. The background variable most strongly related to both attitudes and knowledge was frequency of attendance at religious services of ...

Location of the pupil-iris border in slit-lamp images of the cornea

Abstract: We present results for an active contour that finds the pupil-iris border in slit lamp images of the eye. Preprocessing involves producing a variance image from the original image and then locating the annulus, of a given size, which has the lowest mean variance. The centre of this annulus falls inside the pupil, giving a starting position for a discrete circular active contour (DCAC). The DCAC is moved under the influence of two forces-external and internal. The external force is based on the grey-scales immediately inside and outside of the contour, at each vertex, in both the original and variance images and pushes the vertices inwards. The internal force acts to move the contour towards a perfect polygon, /spl delta/ larger than the current polygon. Repeated trials with decreasing values of /spl delta/ are performed until equilibrium is reached between the two forces and the pupil/iris border has been found.

Assessing Number Sense of Students in Australia, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United States

Abstract: This paper reports selected findings from a study of number sense proficiency of students aged 8 to 14 years in Australia, Sweden, United States, and Taiwan. It comments on the meaning and importance of number sense, the development of the assessment instruments, and student responses to the items. Some implications for classrooms of the findings are then discussed.

A systems approach to island tourism destination management

Abstract: Tourism destination management is an increasingly competitive and complex business involving the coordination of economic, social and geographic elements within a designated tourist area. Traditional research in tourism destination management has tended to use a reductionist approach in order to monitor certain flow variables (visitor numbers, expenditure) or to measure discrete relationships between variables (tourist expenditure and employment, visitor numbers and social impacts). The limitations of this approach in research are now becoming apparent, as tourism development impinges on many elements within a destination, and a new approach to research in tourism destination management is needed. This paper will provide an overview of systems approaches to tourism destination planning and management and describe a systems research approach to island tourism destination management. A systems approach to tourism management in small island tourist destinations (less than one million population) using soft systems methodology (SSM) is discussed. It is envisaged that SSM would best be applied to management of island tourism destinations because it can accommodate social and environmental processes, as well as the economic factors that have been the foci of previous research. Furthermore, it is argued that the tourism system is an open system in that it responds to changes in social, natural and economic factors and is evolving toward an increasing state of complexity. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The English Language Entry Requirements of Australian Universities for Students of Non‐English Speaking Background

Abstract: The English language proficiency of international students entering university has increasingly become a matter of concern for many academics and has also received considerable media attention. For this reason, a survey was conducted to ascertain what Australian universities require in terms of English language proficiency for non‐English Speaking background (NESB) students, whether international, permanent residents or Australian citizens. This article presents the findings of the survey and discusses the 61 pieces of evidence accepted by the universities as fulfilling their English language requirements. The general comparability and validity of the proficiency qualifications are examined and the conclusion is drawn that many of the pieces of evidence accepted are inadequate measures of language proficiency for academic study.

Absence of linkage and linkage disequilibrium to chromosome 15q11-q13 markers in 139 multiplex families with autism.

Abstract: Chromosomal region 15q11-q13 has been implicated to harbor a susceptibility gene or genes underlying autism. Evidence has been derived from the existence of cytogenetic anomalies in this region associated with autism, and the report of linkage in a modest collection of multiplex families. Most recently, linkage disequilibrium with the marker GABRB3-155CA2 in the candidate locus GABRB3, located in this region, has been reported. We searched for linkage using eight microsatellite markers located in this region of chromosome 15 in 147 affected sib-pairs from 139 multiplex autism families. We also tested for linkage disequilibrium in the same set of families with the same markers. We found no evidence for excess allele sharing (linkage) for the markers in this region. Also, we found no evidence of linkage disequilibrium, including for the locus GABRB3-155CA2. Thus, it appears that the role of this region of chromosome 15 is minor, at best, in the majority of individuals with autism.

Consumer Responses to Wine Bottle Back Labels

Abstract: This paper reports on an exploratory study of consumer responses to the information contained on wine bottle back labels. It was based on research conducted with respondents in Australia in early 1999. Its central findings were: (1) that experienced consumers have difficulty in matching the tastes of wines with their back label descriptions; (2) that 57% of the respondents claim regularly to read back labels in making their purchasing decisions; (3) that the information they found most useful in helping them to identify the wines was simple descriptions of the tastes or smells of the wines; and (4) that it is difficult to draw general conclusions about the effects of gender, age, income or occupation on such responses.

Moving from an instructivist to a constructivist multimedia learning environment

Abstract: This paper describes the transformation of a multimedia program, designed to teach research skills to business students, from one based on an 'instructivist' model to one underpinned with a constructivist philosophy. The revised program uses the theory of situated learning as a framework for the instructional design, and introduces elements such as authentic context, an authentic activity, collaboration, and opportunities for articulation and reflection, into the learning environment.

Aspiration to community: Community responses to rejection

Abstract: While people may belong to multiple psychological communities, each has a have primary community which reinforces norms, values, identities and, provide structures and social support systems that are crucial to the well-being of its members. In some situations, people aspire to membership of a community, but are rejected. This paper examines the responses of coloured South Africans and Anglo-Indians in their aspirations to membership of European communities. By the use of status borrowing, relative advantage, and social comparison, these groups tried to enhance the importance of the language and culture they shared with the Europeans, while rejecting the indigenous parts of their heritage. However, the European groups rejected them as "inferiors", while still providing them with some degree of status and privilege above that of the indigenous groups. It was found that socially constructed differences and social distances between communities, racism, and other negative outcomes associated with rejection and marginality operated at social and psychological levels to suppress the members of the aspirant groups. A proposal of immediate and longer term responses to the social stratifications and inequities are set forward in order to understand the adjustments over time that must be made by these groups. It is recommended that understandings of response to oppression and marginalization should go beyond the individual level to include community level responses.

Sense of Community: Issues and Considerations From a Cross-cultural Perspective

Abstract: Behaviour settings such as work, family, church and community are primary settings in which we participate, they provide us with meaningful roles, relationships, and social identities. In fact, these are settings that provide us with a sense of community (SOC). SOC has been heralded as the guiding value for community research and action. It reflects the integration of people into networks and structures that provide feelings of belonging, identification and meaning. The concept has received much attention since the introduction of McMillan and Chavis' initial formulation. It is argued that research into SOC has been hampered by relying on the Sense of Community Index at the expense of the SOC model. Insights are drawn from cross-cultural psychology and research to highlight conceptual issues and to encourage exploration and the utilisation of alternative modes of investigation. Contex-tualist approaches including substantive theorising and narrative psychology, which have their roots in pragmatis...

A Test of the Persistence in the Performance of UK Managed Funds

Abstract: This paper features tests of the persistence of investment trust company managers’ rates of return and risk-adjusted returns in the United Kingdom (UK), on funds from 1989‐1995 We analyse the relative performance of the funds and examine whether fund managers can maintain their inter-fund performance rankings over time (that is, whether past performance is a good predictor of future performance) We assess persistence in performance in the short-run and long-run based on four major empirical tests: contingency table analysis of winners and losers, chi-squared independence testing on these tables, Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression analysis of CAPM risk-adjusted excess returns and independent Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient (SRCC) calculations If past performance is a predictor of future performance, first half ‘superior’ managers in the first period would remain as ‘superior’ managers in the next period, second half ‘inferior’ managers in the second half and so on Overall, we find that both raw returns and riskadjusted returns exhibit strong evidence of persistence in the long-run (over one-year and two-year-intervals) but this evidence appears to reverse in the short-run (semi-annually and monthly)

Hereditary auditory, vestibular, motor, and sensory neuropathy in a Slovenian Roma (Gypsy) kindred

Abstract: Members of a Roma (Gypsy) family with hereditary motor and sensory peripheral neuropathy (HMSN) and concomitant auditory and vestibular cranial neuropathies were identified in Kocevje, Slovenia. The illness begins in childhood with a severe and progressive motor disability and the deafness is delayed until the second decade. There are no symptoms of vestibular dysfunction. The family structure is consistent with an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance and the genetic locus for the disorder is linked to the same region of chromosome 8q24 as other Roma families with HMSN and deafness from Lom, Bulgaria (HMSN-Lom). The present study shows that the deafness is caused by a neuropathy of the auditory nerve with preserved measures of cochlear outer hair cell function (otoacoustic emissions and cochlear microphonics) but absent neural components of auditory brainstem potentials. The hearing loss affects speech comprehension out of proportion to the pure tone loss. Vestibular testing showed absence of caloric responses. Physiological and neuropathological studies of peripheral nerves were compatible with the nerve disorder contemporaneously affecting Schwann cells and axons resulting in both slowed nerve conduction and axonal loss. Genetic linkage studies suggest a refinement of the 8q24 critical region containing the HMSN-Lom locus that affects peripheral motor and sensory nerves as well as the cranial auditory and vestibular nerves.

Communicating for advantage in the virtual organization

Abstract: The paper looks at the virtual organization in an electronic market environment and the different models of communication and management that may be required. The authors begin by providing some clear definitions of virtual cultures and different models of virtuality that can exist within the electronic market. Degrees of virtuality can be seriously constrained by the extent to which organizations have predefined communication linkages in the marketplace and the extent to which these can be substituted by virtual ones, but also by the intensity of virtual linkages which support the virtual model. Six virtual organizational models are proposed within a dynamic framework of change. In order to realize strategic advantage, virtual organizations must align their management models and communication processes with their virtual culture.