ORCID Profile
0000-0002-8032-4579
Current Organisations
Edith Cowan University
,
University of South Australia
,
Murdoch University
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Publications
Effects of pH Buffering on Horizontal and Ganglion Cell Light Responses in Primate Retina: Evidence for the Proton Hypothesis of Surround Formation
Publisher: Society for Neuroscience
Date: 09-01-2008
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2735-07.2008
Abstract: Negative feedback from horizontal cells to cone photoreceptors is regarded as the critical pathway for the formation of the antagonistic surround of retinal neurons, yet the mechanism by which horizontal cells accomplish negative feedback has been difficult to determine. Recent evidence suggests that feedback uses a novel, non-GABAergic pathway that directly modulates the calcium current in cones. In non-mammalian vertebrates, enrichment of retinal pH buffering capacity attenuates horizontal cell feedback, supporting one model in which feedback occurs by horizontal cell modulation of the extracellular pH in the cone synaptic cleft. Here we test the effect of exogenous pH buffering on the response dynamics of H1 horizontal cells and the center-surround receptive field structure of parasol ganglion cells in the macaque monkey retina. Enrichment of the extracellular buffering capacity with HEPES selectively attenuates surround antagonism in parasol ganglion cells. The H1 horizontal cell light response includes a slow, depolarizing component that is attributed to negative feedback to cones. This part of the response is attenuated by HEPES and other pH buffers in a dose-dependent manner that is correlated with predicted buffering capacity. The selective effects of pH buffering on the parasol cell surround and H1 cell light response suggests that, in primate retina, horizontal cell feedback to cones is mediated via a pH-dependent mechanism and is a major determinant of the ganglion cell receptive field surround.
Determining a Fair Outcome: The Role of the Review Process in Ensuring the Accreditation Decision Accurately Reflects the Practices of the Childcare Centre
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-2007
Abstract: Standards of quality can influence the way childcare is both implemented and viewed by families. In Australia, childcare services are required to participate in a process of accreditation in order for their families to be eligible to receive Commonwealth government Childcare Benefit payments that assist them with the cost of childcare. The accreditation process determines if the practices the services implement are in line with agreed elements of quality care practices and such practices protect the rights of the child. Of equal interest however, are the strategies the nation has in place to protect the child care service itself from potential unfair/unjust assessment of its practices. The concepts of procedural fairness, if the service considers an unjust/unfair assessment of their practices has been made, are rightly addressed in the Australian Child Care Accreditation System (CCAS). This final step within CCAS is one which is quite unique in the international context. This paper addresses the framework, implementation, and issues that need to be faced in delivering a fair and just review of a service’s Accreditation Decision, along with the role the review process plays in the nation’s accreditation system for childcare. Data from review applications submitted by services over a nine year period was analysed to determine if childcare services who considered the assessment of their practices was unfair/unjust, was supported following an evidence based review of its practices by the review agency. Conclusions highlighted a range of issues such as assessment practices, subjectivity of assessment and relevance of assessment to context that require further research. Such findings can be utilized to inform policy development on the ongoing development of holistic accreditation systems internationally.
Integration experiences of former afghan refugees in australia; what challenges still remain after becoming citizens?
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 08-10-2021
Abstract: This paper explores, analyses, and documents the experiences of Afghan-Australians who arrived in Australia as refugees and were granted citizenship after living in Australia for several years. This research adopted a mixed method of qualitative and quantitative approaches and surveyed 102 people, interviewed 13 participants, and conducted two focus-groups within its research design. Analysis of data indicates that former Afghan refugees gradually settled down and integrated within Australian society. They value safety and security, open democracy and orderly society of Australia, as well as accessing to education and healthcare services and opportunity for social mobility. However, since the integration is a long process, they are also facing some challenges in this area. Findings of this study show that Afghan-Australians require more support from Australian governments to overcome some of these challenges particularly securing employment within their area of interests and professional occupations that they have qualifications and experiences from Afghanistan. They are also experiencing broader challenges in the area of socio-cultural issues within Australian society. Since the Afghan community is an emerging community in Western Australia, they require more support from local government to enhance their ethnic cohesion and solidarity.
The Professionalisation of Mothering: Family Day Care
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 12-1994
DOI: 10.1177/144078339403000303
Abstract: In family day care, licensed providers care for small groups of children in the carer's own home. The service was established as a low-cost, ideologically acceptable alternative to centre-based care. This article reports on research among family day care providers in Western Australia, specifically the knowledge and skills they use in their work, and their perceptions of their roles as mothers and workers. Results to date indicate that the women believe themselves to be highly skilled child carers whose work is undervalued by society. Although family day care has been seen as supportive of traditional notions of mothering, providers draw upon both this dominant discourse of the always- available mother, and a resistant discourse allowing even mothers the right to fair recognition of their work.
Acknowledging Children’s Voice and Participation in Family Courts: Criteria that Guide Western Australian Court Consultants
Publisher: Cogitatio
Date: 26-09-2017
DOI: 10.17645/SI.V5I3.964
Abstract: The Australian family courts introduced Child Inclusive Conferencing after the country adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The legislation governing these conferences is minimalistic but the Family Court Consultants in the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court have well-developed and documented guidelines. The Family Court of Western Australia is, however, a separate entity and in the absence of regulatory guidelines its Family Consultants developed their own process and criteria. This model is unique, in Australia at least, because it has been organically developed by the practitioners providing the Child Inclusive Conferences with very little, if any, statutory and regulatory guidance. This model therefore serves as an ex le of how practitioners think child inclusive services should be offered. The model is, however, not documented and the aim of this study was to understand and document Family Consultants’ decision making regarding if and when they will conduct a Child Inclusive Conference in the Family Court of Western Australia. Ten Family Consultants were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis was conducted on the transcripts of the interviews identifying 12 themes. Overall the data suggested that Family Consultants take into account a range of criteria and although they were very cognisant of the importance for the child to be engaged in decision making they noted specific challenges regarding how they could use Child Inclusive Conferencing to do this. These findings provide a basis for the development of regulations that ensure that Child Inclusive Conferences are used optimally to improve the inclusion of children in the family court procedures in Western Australia and potentially elsewhere. Further research is, however, necessary before such regulations can be finalised.
Health promotion in an Australian Aboriginal community: the Growing Strong Brains® toolkit
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.1017/S1463423622000020
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to describe the implementation and evaluation of the Growing Strong Brains® (GSB) toolkit in a remote Aboriginal community in Western Australia (WA) over a 2-year period, 2018–2019. Ngala, a community service organisation in WA, developed the GSB toolkit in 2014, a culturally appropriate and interactive resource to build knowledge of early childhood development within Aboriginal communities. This was in response to evidence that a higher percentage of children in Aboriginal communities were developmentally vulnerable compared to the rest of the population. The GSB toolkit promotes awareness and understanding of early brain development pre-birth and in the early years of a child’s life. The project was underpinned by participatory action research (PAR). Reflective PAR review cycles ( n = 5) monitored local community engagement, navigated challenges and utilised community strengths. Fifty-nine local service providers attended a 2-day formal training. Data were collected by using various methods throughout the project, including feedback following training, focus groups, surveys, one-on-one interviews using yarning techniques and reflective feedback from the Project Lead. Establishing local Aboriginal project staff was pivotal to the success of the project. When delivering services for and with Aboriginal people, it is essential that cultural competence, safety and decision-making is carried through from planning to implementation and evaluation, and involves genuine, respectful and authentic relationships. Sufficient time allocation directed towards building relationships with other service providers and local community members needs to be considered and built into future projects. The Growing Strong Brains ® project is embedded within the local community, and anticipated implementation outcomes were achieved. The support of the local people and service providers was beyond expectation, enabling the building of local capacity, and the development of a common understanding of the key messages from the GSB toolkit to allow integration throughout all levels of the community. This project has been important to build on the strategies necessary to introduce, implement and evaluate the GSB toolkit in other remote Aboriginal communities.
MAKING THE AGING EXPERIENCE WORTHWHILE: HOW SOCIAL INTERACTION CONTRIBUTES TO ACTIVE AGING
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 11-2019
DOI: 10.1093/GERONI/IGZ038.1959
Abstract: In most parts of the world, people are now living longer lives, which presents both opportunities and concerns over how to make the ageing process a worthwhile experience. The World Health Organisation’s Active Ageing model became a prominent global policy response since 2002 and has evolved into different country-level ageing policies. While a considerable volume of literature exists on active ageing – testing the validity of its various components, there is limited empirical evidence of how social interaction contributes to active ageing for older people and how it can be promoted through policy. In this paper, we examine social interaction and how it contributes to lived experiences of active ageing among a s le of 30 older Ghanaians living in Australia and Ghana. Our findings confirm the significance of social interaction for active ageing, and shows that social interaction creates a sense of purpose for living, which leads to the ability of the in idual to build resilience, which mitigates anxieties and pains associated with ill health (especially for frail older people) enhances self-motivation for play and fun empowers the in idual to explore opportunities for continuous activity including leisure, and improves the general feeling of happiness resulting in active ageing – quality of life. The paper’s main argument is that social interaction presents potentials for improving the quality of life (active ageing) for older people and needs to be carefully considered in policy, research and practice.
Socialisation and women's participation in governance: exploring important themes from Ghana
Publisher: Inderscience Publishers
Date: 2021
From Criminalisation to Individual Choice: Policy Responses to Changing Constructions of Intellectual Disability in Western Australia
Publisher: Stockholm University Press
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.16993/SJDR.571
Functional polarity of dendrites and axons of primate A1 amacrine cells
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 29-05-2007
DOI: 10.1017/S0952523807070010
Abstract: The A1 cell is an axon-bearing amacrine cell of the primate retina with a diffusely stratified, moderately branched dendritic tree (∼400 μm diameter). Axons arise from proximal dendrites forming a second concentric, larger arborization ( mm diameter) of thin processes with bouton-like swellings along their length. A1 cells are ON-OFF transient cells that fire a brief high frequency burst of action potentials in response to light (Stafford & Dacey, 1997). It has been hypothesized that A1 cells receive local input to their dendrites, with action potentials propagating output via the axons across the retina, serving a global inhibitory function. To explore this hypothesis we recorded intracellularly from A1 cells in an in vitro macaque monkey retina preparation. A1 cells have an antagonistic center-surround receptive field structure for the ON and OFF components of the light response. Blocking the ON pathway with L-AP4 eliminated ON center responses but not OFF center responses or ON or OFF surround responses. Blocking GABAergic inhibition with picrotoxin increased response litudes without affecting receptive field structure. TTX abolished action potentials, with little effect on the sub-threshold light response or basic receptive field structure. We also used multi-photon laser scanning microscopy to record light-induced calcium transients in morphologically identified dendrites and axons of A1 cells. TTX completely abolished such calcium transients in the axons but not in the dendrites. Together these results support the current model of A1 function, whereby the dendritic tree receives synaptic input that determines the center-surround receptive field and action potentials arise in the axons, which propagate away from the dendritic field across the retina.
Rights-Based Approach To Poverty Reduction: The Ghanaian Experience
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-09-2021
Related Organisations
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