Tuwhera Research Repository

The Tuwhera Research Repository provides sustainable open access and archiving to a broad range of AUT produced research - theses, research outputs and datasets.

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Access status: Open Access ,
Enablers and Barriers for Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus to Achieve Optimal Glycaemic Control - a Qualitative Study Using the Theoretical Domains Framework
(BMC, 2018-04-11) Martis, Ruth; Brown, Julie; McAra-Couper, Judith; Crowther, Caroline
Background: Glycaemic target recommendations vary widely between international professional organisations for women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Some studies have reported women's experiences of having GDM, but little is known how this relates to their glycaemic targets. The aim of this study was to identify enablers and barriers for women with GDM to achieve optimal glycaemic control. Methods: Women with GDM were recruited from two large, geographically different, hospitals in New Zealand to participate in a semi-structured interview to explore their views and experiences focusing on enablers and barriers to achieving optimal glycaemic control. Final thematic analysis was performed using the Theoretical Domains Framework. Results: Sixty women participated in the study. Women reported a shift from their initial negative response to accepting their diagnosis but disliked the constant focus on numbers. Enablers and barriers were categorised into ten domains across the three study questions. Enablers included: the ability to attend group teaching sessions with family and hear from women who have had GDM; easy access to a diabetes dietitian with diet recommendations tailored to a woman's context including ethnic food and financial considerations; free capillary blood glucose (CBG) monitoring equipment, health shuttles to take women to appointments; child care when attending clinic appointments; and being taught CBG testing by a community pharmacist. Barriers included: lack of health information, teaching sessions, consultations, and food diaries in a woman's first language; long waiting times at clinic appointments; seeing a different health professional every clinic visit; inconsistent advice; no tailored physical activities assessments; not knowing where to access appropriate information on the internet; unsupportive partners, families, and workplaces; and unavailability of social media or support groups for women with GDM. Perceived judgement by others led some women only to share their GDM diagnosis with their partners. This created social isolation. Conclusion: Women with GDM report multiple enablers and barriers to achieving optimal glycaemic control. The findings of this study may assist health professionals and diabetes in pregnancy services to improve their care for women with GDM and support them to achieve optimal glycaemic control.
Access status: Open Access ,
Dimensionality and Scaling Properties of the Patient Categorisation Tool in Patients With Complex Rehabilitation Needs Following Acquired Brain Injury
(Foundation of Rehabilitation Information, 2018-03-27) Siegert, Richard J.; Medvedev, Oleg; Turner-Stokes, Lynne
Objective: To investigate the scaling properties of the Patient Categorisation Tool (PCAT) as an instrument to measure complexity of rehabilitation needs. Design: Psychometric analysis in a multicentre cohort from the UK national clinical database. Patients: A total of 8,222 patents admitted for specialist inpatient rehabilitation following acquired brain injury. Methods: Dimensionality was explored using principal components analysis with Varimax rotation, followed by Rasch analysis on a random sample of n = 500. Results: Principal components analysis identified 3 components explaining 50% of variance. The partial credit Rasch model was applied for the 17-item PCAT scale using a "super-items" methodology based on the principal components analysis results. Two out of 5 initially created super-items displayed signs of local dependency, which significantly affected the estimates. They were combined into a single superitem resulting in satisfactory model fit and unidimensionality. Differential item functioning (DIF) of 2 super-items was addressed by splitting between age groups (< 65 and ≥ 65 years) to produce the best model fit (?2/df = 54.72, p = 0.235) and reliability (Person Separation Index (PSI) = 0.79). Ordinal-tointerval conversion tables were produced. Conclusion: The PCAT has satisfied expectations of the unidimensional Rasch model in the current sample after minor modifications, and demonstrated acceptable reliability for individual assessment of rehabilitation complexity.
Access status: Open Access ,
Mirrors at the Threshold: From Mirror Stage to Macrocosm
(MDPI AG, 2026-09-10) Douglas, Carl; Patel, Rafik
Mirrors were crucial elements in defining the modern concept of the architectural interior in Europe during the seventeenth century. In the first section of this article we show how mirrors supported the development of Enlightenment theory of the psycho-social subject. This theme eventually reached its apex with Jacques Lacan’s essay ‘The Mirror Stage’ and came to define the prevailing critical approach. The mirror in premodern Islam, however, is less concerned with the psycho-social subject and its interior architecture. In the second section, we consider how mirrors such as those employed in ayeneh-kari tiling are understood to situate cosmically and act poetically. Dissolving, fragmenting, and scattering effects tend to have greater importance than questions of self-image. Having established these contrasting critical positions, we then consider two more current permutations of the mirror: the advent of the mirror-glass façade in the twentieth century, and the use of mirrors in contemporary installation art. In the third and fourth sections, we explore the way mirrors can decentre the individual as a source of meaning and suggest or evoke new macrocosmic identities. Critical emphasis on the psychological subject’s interior architecture falls short of recognising the many ways the physical design and construction of spaces might contribute to a wider range of spatial experiences and practices. In our concluding reflections, we suggest (without foreclosing other meanings or uses of the mirror as threshold) that practical and critical uses of the mirror have implications for spatial politics.
Access status: Open Access ,
Detecting and Identifying Industrial Gases by a Method Based on Olfactory Machine at Different Concentrations
(Hindawi Ltd., 2018-03-01) Sun, Yunlong; Luo, Dehan; Li, Hui; Zhu, Chuchu; Xu, Ou; GholamHosseini, Hamid
Gas sensors have been widely reported for industrial gas detection and monitoring. However, the rapid detection and identification of industrial gases are still a challenge. In this work, we measure four typical industrial gases including CO2, CH4, NH3, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) based on electronic nose (EN) at different concentrations. To solve the problem of effective classification and identification of different industrial gases, we propose an algorithm based on the selective local linear embedding (SLLE) to reduce the dimensionality and extract the features of high-dimensional data. Combining the Euclidean distance (ED) formula with the proposed algorithm, we can achieve better classification and identification of four kinds of gases. We compared the classification and recognition results of classical principal component analysis (PCA), linear discriminate analysis (LDA), and PCA + LDA algorithms with the proposed SLLE algorithm after selecting the original data and performing feature extraction. The experimental results show that the recognition accuracy rate of the SLLE reaches 91.36%, which is better than the other three algorithms. In addition, the SLLE algorithm provides more efficient and accurate responses to high-dimensional industrial gas data. It can be used in real-time industrial gas detection and monitoring combined with gas sensor networks.
Access status: Open Access ,
Using a Site-Specific Technical Error to Establish Training Responsiveness: A Preliminary Explorative Study
(Dove Medical Press, 2018-03-08) Weatherwax, Ryan; Harris, Nigel; Kilding, Andrew; Dalleck, Lance
Background: Even though cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) training elicits numerous health benefits, not all individuals have positive training responses following a structured CRF intervention. It has been suggested that the technical error (TE), a combination of biological variability and measurement error, should be used to establish specific training responsiveness criteria to gain further insight on the effectiveness of the training program. To date, most training interventions use an absolute change or a TE from previous findings, which do not take into consideration the training site and equipment used to establish training outcomes or the specific cohort being evaluated. The purpose of this investigation was to retrospectively analyze training responsiveness of two CRF training interventions using two common criteria and a site-specific TE. Methods: Sixteen men and women completed two maximal graded exercise tests and verification bouts to identify maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) and establish a site-specific TE. The TE was then used to retrospectively analyze training responsiveness in comparison to commonly used criteria: percent change of >0% and >+5.6% in VO2max. Results: The TE was found to be 7.7% for relative VO2 max. χ2 testing showed significant differences in all training criteria for each intervention and pooled data from both interventions, except between %Δ >0 and %Δ >+7.7% in one of the investigations. Training nonresponsiveness ranged from 11.5% to 34.6%. Conclusion: Findings from the present study support the utility of site-specific TE criterion to quantify training responsiveness. A similar methodology of establishing a site-specific and even cohort specific TE should be considered to establish when true cardiorespiratory training adaptations occur.