La Trobe University

About: La Trobe University is a education organization based out in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 13370 authors who have published 41291 publications receiving 1138269 citations. The organization is also known as: LaTrobe University & LTU.

Psychosocial predictors of failure to return to work in non-chronic non-specific low back pain: a systematic review

Abstract: Objectives: To identify psychosocial predictors of failure to return to work in non-chronic (lasting less than 3 months) non-specific low back pain (NSLBP). Methods: A systematic review of prognostic studies was carried out. Medline, Embase, PsychINFO, CINAHL and PEDro electronic bibliographic databases up to April 2006 were searched. Included studies took baseline measures in the non-chronic phase of NSLBP (ie, within 3 months of onset), included at least one psychosocial variable and studied a sample in which at least 75% of participants had NSLBP. Baseline measures had to be used to predict at least one work-specific outcome. Results: The search identified 24 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. From these studies there is strong evidence that recovery expectation is predictive of work outcome and that depression, job satisfaction and stress/ psychological strain are not predictive of work outcome. There is moderate evidence that fear avoidance beliefs are predictive of work outcome and that anxiety is not predictive of work outcome. There is insufficient evidence to determine whether compensation or locus of control are predictive of work outcome. Conclusions: To predict work outcome in non-chronic NSLBP, psychosocial assessment should focus on recovery expectation and fear avoidance. More research is needed to determine the best method of measuring these constructs and to determine how to intervene when a worker has low recovery expectations.

Cloud Computing Security: From Single to Multi-clouds

Abstract: The use of cloud computing has increased rapidly in many organizations. Cloud computing provides many benefits in terms of low cost and accessibility of data. Ensuring the security of cloud computing is a major factor in the cloud computing environment, as users often store sensitive information with cloud storage providers but these providers may be untrusted. Dealing with "single cloud" providers is predicted to become less popular with customers due to risks of service availability failure and the possibility of malicious insiders in the single cloud. A movement towards "multi-clouds", or in other words, "interclouds" or "cloud-of-clouds" has emerged recently. This paper surveys recent research related to single and multi-cloud security and addresses possible solutions. It is found that the research into the use of multi-cloud providers to maintain security has received less attention from the research community than has the use of single clouds. This work aims to promote the use of multi-clouds due to its ability to reduce security risks that affect the cloud computing user.

Causes and consequences of eastern Australia's 2019-20 season of mega-fires.

Abstract: The 2019-20 fire season in eastern Australia is attracting considerable national and international attention. At the time of writing c. 3.8 million ha of mainly temperate forest have burnt in the state of New South Wales (NSW; NSW Rural Fire Service, 29/12/2019; Fig. 1a). Major blazes are also occurring in other states, including over 0.5 million ha in the state of Victoria (situated on the southern border of NSW).

The Effects of Board Composition and Board Size on the Informativeness of Annual Accounting Earnings

Abstract: This study extends earlier research on corporate governance by examining whether the information-usefulness of annual accounting earnings varies with the fraction of outside directors serving on the board and board size. Using panel data from New Zealand (NZ) firms for the financial years 1991-97, we find that earnings informativeness is negatively related to board size but is not related to the fraction of outside directors serving on the board. Our results are robust to controlling for various firm-specific factors that are known to be associated with earnings informativeness.

The sleep/wake rhythm in children with autism

Abstract: The sleep patterns of two groups of children with autism, one with moderate to severe intellectual handicap, and one with mild handicap to normal IQ level, were compared with those of children without autism. Parents completed 14 day sleep diaries and questionnaires. Results suggested that at some stage during childhood, particularly under 8 years of age, the majority of children with autism will experience sleep problems. These problems are likely to be severe in many cases and will generally include one or more of: extreme sleep latencies; lengthy periods of night waking; shortened night sleep; and early morning waking. Such problems may have some specificity for autism as they appear to be rare in non-handicapped children and in children with mild degrees of intellectual handicap. It is likely that sleep problems in early childhood are related to the severe social difficulties present in autism and the consequent inability of these children to use social cues to synchronise their sleep/wake cycle. Continued sleep difficulties at older ages and with higher IQ may also be related to arousal and anxiety factors.