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Background: Onset of psychosis commonly occurs in adolescence, and long-term prognosis can be poor. There is growing evidence, largely from adult cohorts, that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp) and Family Interventions (FI) can play a role in managing symptoms and difficulties associated with psychosis. However, adolescents have distinct developmental needs that likely impact their engagement and response to talking therapy. There is limited guidance on adapting CBTp to meet the clinical needs of under-eighteens experiencing psychosis. Method: This educational clinical practice article details learnings from therapists and supervisors working with young people (aged 14–18 years) with psychosis during the Managing Adolescent first-episode Psychosis: a feasibility Study (MAPS) randomised clinical treatment trial, supplemented by findings from nested qualitative interviews with young people receiving CBTp. Results: Suggested are given for tailoring CBTp assessment, formulation and interventions to meet the developmental and clinical needs of adolescents with psychosis. Developmentally appropriate techniques and resources described. Conclusions: Early indications from MAPS study indicate this developmentally tailored approach is an acceptable, safe and helpful treatment for young people with psychosis. Further research is needed to develop empirically grounded and evaluated CBTp for adolescents.

Background: Onset of psychosis commonly occurs in adolescence, and long-term prognosis can be poor. There is growing evidence, largely from adult cohorts, that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp) and Family Interventions (FI) can play a role in managing symptoms and difficulties associated with psychosis. However, adolescents have distinct developmental needs that likely impact their engagement and response to talking therapy. There is limited guidance on adapting CBTp to meet the clinical needs of under-eighteens experiencing psychosis. Method: This educational clinical practice article details learnings from therapists and supervisors working with young people (aged 14–18 years) with psychosis during the Managing Adolescent first-episode Psychosis: a feasibility Study (MAPS) randomised clinical treatment trial, supplemented by findings from nested qualitative interviews with young people receiving CBTp. Results: Suggested are given for tailoring CBTp assessment, formulation and interventions to meet the developmental and clinical needs of adolescents with psychosis. Developmentally appropriate techniques and resources described. Conclusions: Early indications from MAPS study indicate this developmentally tailored approach is an acceptable, safe and helpful treatment for young people with psychosis. Further research is needed to develop empirically grounded and evaluated CBTp for adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Injection drug use (IDU) is a well-recognized risk factor for infective endocarditis (IE). Associated complications from IDU result in significant morbidity and mortality with substantial cost implications. The aim of this study was to determine the cost burden associated with the management of IE due to IDU (IE-IDU). METHODS: We used data collected prospectively on patients with a diagnosis of IE-IDU as part of the international collaboration on endocarditis (ICE). The cost of medical treatment was estimated based on diagnosis-related groups (DRG) and weighted inlier equivalent separation (WIES). RESULTS: There were 23 episodes from 21 patients in 12 years (2002 to 2014). The costing was done for 22 episodes due to data missing on 1 patient. The median age was 39 years. The gender distribution was equal. Heroin (71%) and methamphetamine (33%) were the most frequently used. 74% (17/23) required intensive care unit (ICU) admission. The median ICU length of stay (LOS) was 4 days (IQR (Interquartile range); 2 to 40 days) whilst median total hospital LOS was 40 days (IQR; 1 to 119 days). Twelve patients (52%) underwent valve replacement surgery. Mortality was 13% (3/23). The total medical cost for the 22 episodes is estimated at $1,628,359 Australian dollars (AUD). The median cost per episode was a median cost of $ 61363 AUD (IQR: $2806 to $266,357 AUD). We did not account for lost productivity and collateral costs attributed to concurrent morbidity. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of this small retrospective study, we report that the management of infective endocarditis caused by injection drug use can be associated with significant financial cost.

Background: Evidence for the effectiveness of treatments in early-onset psychosis is sparse. Current guidance for the treatment of early-onset psychosis is mostly extrapolated from trials in adult populations. The UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has recommended evaluation of the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs versus psychological intervention (cognitive behavioural therapy [CBT] and family intervention) versus the combination of these treatments for early-onset psychosis. The aim of this study was to establish the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial of antipsychotic monotherapy, psychological intervention monotherapy, and antipsychotics plus psychological intervention in adolescents with first-episode psychosis. Methods: We did a multicentre pilot and feasibility trial according to a randomised, single-blind, three-arm, controlled design. We recruited participants from seven UK National Health Service Trust sites. Participants were aged 14–18 years; help-seeking; had presented with first-episode psychosis in the past year; were under the care of a psychiatrist; were showing current psychotic symptoms; and met ICD-10 criteria for schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or delusional disorder, or met the entry criteria for an early intervention for psychosis service. Participants were assigned (1:1:1) to antipsychotics, psychological intervention (CBT with optional family intervention), or antipsychotics plus psychological intervention. Randomisation was via a web-based randomisation system, with permuted blocks of random size, stratified by centre and family contact. CBT incorporated up to 26 sessions over 6 months plus up to four booster sessions, and family intervention incorporated up to six sessions over 6 months. Choice and dose of antipsychotic were at the discretion of the treating consultant psychiatrist. Participants were followed up for a maximum of 12 months. The primary outcome was

BACKGROUND: Unmet need is the gap between women's need and their practice of using contraception. Unmet need for contraception in female adolescents and women in Cambodia is a public health concern which may lead to unintended pregnancies or abortions that can contribute to maternal morbidity and mortality. METHODS: Bronfenbrenner's Social Ecological Model was used as a theoretical framework to analyze data from the 2014 Cambodian Demographic and Health Survey to ascertain demographic and social factors potentially associated with unmet need for contraception. Bivariate and weighted multiple logistic regression analyses with adjusted odds ratios (AOR) were conducted for 4,823 Cambodian, sexually active females aged 15-29 years. RESULTS: The percentage of unmet need for contraception was 11.7%. At the individual level of the Social Ecological Model, there was an increased likelihood of unmet need in adolescent girls 15-19 years and women 20-24 years. Unmet need was decreased in currently employed women. At the microenvironment level, there was an increased likelihood of unmet need with the husband's desire for more children and when the decision for a woman's access to healthcare was made by someone else in the household. At the macroenvironment level, unmet need was decreased in women who could access a health facility near their residence to obtain medical care. There were no urban rural differences found in the Cambodian sample population. CONCLUSION: Unmet need for contraception in Cambodian females adolescents and women is associated with younger age, unemployment and low personal autonomy for accessing healthcare but not with education or wealth status. There is a need to implement culturally appropriate reproductive and sexual health literacy programs to increase access to modern contraception and to raise women's autonomy.

Background: Sharing anonymised ED data with community agencies to reduce alcohol-related injury and assaults has been found effective in the UK. This protocol document outlines the design of an Australian multi-site trial using shared, anonymised ED data to reduce alcohol-related harm. Design and Method: Nine hospitals will participate in a 36 month stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial. After a 9 month baseline period, EDs will be randomised in five groups, clustered on geographic proximity, to commence the intervention at 3 monthly intervals. 'Last-drinks' data regarding alcohol use in the preceding 12 h, typical alcohol consumption amount, and location of alcohol purchase and consumption, are to be prospectively collected by ED triage nurses and clinicians at all nine EDs as a part of standard clinical process. Brief information flyers will be delivered to all ED patients who self-report risky alcohol consumption. Public Health Interventions to be conducted are: (i) information sharing with venues (via letter), and (ii) with police and other community agencies, and (iii) the option for public release of 'Top 5' venue lists. Outcome(s): Primary outcomes will be: (i) the number and proportion of ED attendances among patients reporting recent alcohol use; and (ii) the number and proportion of ED attendances during high-alcohol hours (Friday and Saturday nights, 20.00-06.00 hours) assigned an injury diagnosis. Process measures will assess logistical and feasibility concerns, and clinical impacts of implementing this systems-change model in an Australian context. An economic cost-benefit analysis will evaluate the economic impact, or return on investment.Copyright © 2019 Australasian College for Emergency Medicine

© Queen’s Printer and Controller of HMSO 2019. Background: Clozapine (clozaril, Mylan Products Ltd) is a first-choice treatment for people with schizophrenia who have a poor response to standard antipsychotic medication. However, a significant number of patients who trial clozapine have an inadequate response and experience persistent symptoms, called clozapine-resistant schizophrenia (CRS). There is little evidence regarding the clinical effectiveness of pharmacological or psychological interventions for this population. Objectives: To evaluate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for people with CRS and to identify factors predicting outcome. Design: The Focusing on Clozapine Unresponsive Symptoms (FOCUS) trial was a parallel-group, randomised, outcome-blinded evaluation trial. Randomisation was undertaken using permuted blocks of random size via a web-based platform. Data were analysed on an intention-to-treat (ITT) basis, using random-effects regression adjusted for site, age, sex and baseline symptoms. Cost-effectiveness analyses were carried out to determine whether or not CBT was associated with a greater number of quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and higher costs than treatment as usual (TAU). Setting: Secondary care mental health services in five cities in the UK. Participants: People with CRS aged = 16 years, with an International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) schizophrenia spectrum diagnoses and who are experiencing psychotic symptoms. Interventions: Individual CBT included up to 30 hours of therapy delivered over 9 months. The comparator was TAU, which included care co-ordination from secondary care mental health services. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score at 21 months and the primary secondary outcome was PANSS total score at the end of treatment (9 months post randomisation). The health benefit measure f

BACKGROUND: The primary objective of this randomised controlled trial (RCT) is to establish the effectiveness of a novel online quality of life (QoL) intervention tailored for people with late stage (≥ 10 episodes) bipolar disorder (BD) compared with psychoeducation. Relative to early stage individuals, this late stage group may not benefit as much from existing psychosocial treatments. The intervention is a guided self-help, mindfulness based intervention (MBI) developed in consultation with consumers, designed specifically for web-based delivery, with email coaching support. METHODS/DESIGN: This international RCT will involve a comparison of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of two 5-week adjunctive online self-management interventions: Mindfulness for Bipolar 2.0 and an active control (Psychoeducation for Bipolar). A total of 300 participants will be recruited primarily via social media channels. Main inclusion criteria are: a diagnosis of BD (confirmed via a phone-administered structured diagnostic interview), no current mood episode, history of 10 or more mood episodes, no current psychotic features or active suicidality, under the care of a medical practitioner. Block randomisation will be used for allocation to the interventions, and participants will retain access to the program for 6 months. Evaluations will be conducted at pre- and post- treatment, and at 3- and 6- months follow-up. The primary outcome measure will be the Brief Quality of Life in Bipolar Disorder Scale (Brief QoL.BD), collected immediately post-intervention at 5 weeks (T1). Secondary measures include BD-related symptoms (mania, depression, anxiety, stress), time to first relapse, functioning, sleep quality, social rhythm stability and resource use. Measurements will be collected online and via telephone assessments at baseline (T0), 5 weeks (T1), three months (T2) and six months (T3). Candidate moderators (diagnosis, anxiety or substance comorbidities, demographics and current treat

Background In higher income countries, social disadvantage is associated with higher arthritis prevalence; however, less is known about arthritis prevalence or determinants in low to middle income countries (LMICs). We assessed arthritis prevalence by age and sex, and marital status and occupation, as two key parameters of socioeconomic position (SEP), using data from the World Health Organization Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE). Methods SAGE Wave 1 (2007–10) includes nationally-representative samples of older adults (≥50 yrs), plus smaller samples of adults aged 18-49 yrs., from China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa (n = 44,747). Arthritis was defined by self-reported healthcare professional diagnosis, and a symptom-based algorithm. Marital status and education were self-reported. Arthritis prevalence data were extracted for each country by 10-year age strata, sex and SEP. Country-specific survey weightings were applied and weighted prevalences calculated. Results Self-reported (lifetime) diagnosed arthritis was reported by 5003 women and 2664 men (19.9% and 14.1%, respectively), whilst 1220 women and 594 men had current symptom-based arthritis (4.8% and 3.1%, respectively). For men, standardised arthritis rates were approximately two- to three-fold greater than for women. The highest rates were observed in Russia: 38% (95% CI 36%–39%) for men, and 17% (95% CI 14%–20%) for women. For both sexes and in all LMICs, arthritis was more prevalent among those with least education, and in separated/divorced/widowed women. Conclusions High arthritis prevalence in LMICs is concerning and may worsen poverty by impacting the ability to work and fulfil community roles. These findings have implications for national efforts to prioritise arthritis prevention and management, and improve healthcare access in LMICs.

Clinicians are often sceptical about offering cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to individuals experiencing thought disorder. This view may result from perceived difficulties in clients being able to learn and better understand their experiences through verbal dialogue. However, it may also partly be due to the lack of clear guidance on how to address and work with these difficulties within therapy. This paper provides recommendations for delivering CBT in individuals experiencing thought disorder. It considers how clinicians might conduct their cognitive behavioural assessment, formulation, and intervention, targeting unhelpful appraisals and behaviour, and generating insight. The aim is to better disseminate the techniques sometimes applied in clinical practice.

© 2017 The Author(s). Background: Harmful gambling is a significant public health issue. There has been widespread discussion in the Australian media about the extent and impact of sports betting on the Australian community, particularly relating to young men and children. Given the role th at the media plays in influencing policy change and political agendas, and the acknowledgement that media based advocacy is a fundamental component of successful advocacy campaigns, this research aimed to investigate how different stakeholder groups discuss sports betting within the Australian print media. The study uses this information to provide recommendations to guide public health media advocacy approaches. Methods: A quantitative content analysis of print media articles was conducted during two significant Parliamentary Inquiries about sports betting - (1) The Joint Select Committee Inquiry into the Advertising and Promotion of Gambling Services in Sport (2012/2013), and (2) 'The Review of Illegal Offshore Wagering (2015/2016). A total of 241 articles from 12 daily Australian newspapers were analysed. Statistical analysis was used to compare frequency of, and changes in, themes, voices and perspectives over time. Results: Discussions about the marketing and communication of sports betting was a main theme in media reporting (n = 165, 68.5%), while discussions about gambling reform decreased significantly across the two time periods (p < 0.0001). The presence of sports betting industry (p < 0.0001), sporting code (p < 0.0001) and public health expert (p = 0.001) voices all increased significantly across the two time periods. There were very few (n = 11, 4.6%) voices from those who had experienced gambling harm. Finally, while there were significantly fewer articles taking the perspective that regulation changes were needed to protect vulnerable sub-populations (p < 0.0001), articles that had a neutral perspective about the need for regulation change increased si

Background: Gambling has quickly emerged as an important global public health issue. With new technologies used to develop high intensity gambling products and promotions aimed at driving consumption, public health organisations and researchers, community groups, and politicians have argued for a range of regulatory and education measures aimed at reducing gambling harm. However, there has been limited research seeking to understand community perceptions of the harms associated with gambling products and environments, and the level of community support for strategies designed to prevent and reduce gambling harm. Methods: An online study of 500 adolescents and adults (aged 16 and over) was conducted with a representative sample (by age and gender) of individuals who were current residents in the state of Victoria, Australia. Participants were asked a range of questions about their own gambling behaviours, with the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) used as a measure of problem gambling. Participants were asked about their perceptions of harms associated with electronic gambling machines (EGMs), sports betting, horse betting, and casino gambling. They were also asked about the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with gambling harm reduction strategies related to marketing and promotions, restrictions on gambling products and venues, and public education campaigns. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and paired t tests, with thematic analysis used to interpret qualitative responses to open-ended questionnaire items. Results: More than one third (n = 201, 40.2%) of participants were at risk of experiencing some level of harm from gambling (PGSI = 1), with 83 participants (16.6%) recording scores that indicated problem gambling (PGSI = 8). One in five participants gambled on EGMs at least monthly (n = 100, 20.0%). Those who gambled on sports did so frequently, with nearly 1 in 5 gambling on sport at least once a month (n = 87, 17.4%). Ov

© 2016 The Author(s). Background: For around a third of people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, the condition proves to respond poorly to treatment with many typical and atypical antipsychotics. This is commonly referred to as treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Clozapine is the only antipsychotic with convincing efficacy for people whose symptoms are considered treatment-resistant to antipsychotic medication. However, 30-40 % of such conditions will have an insufficient response to the drug. Cognitive behavioural therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment for schizophrenia when delivered in combination with antipsychotic medication, with several meta-analyses showing robust support for this approach. However, the evidence for the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy for people with a schizophrenia diagnosis whose symptoms are treatment-resistant to antipsychotic medication is limited. There is a clinical and economic need to evaluate treatments to improve outcomes for people with such conditions. Methods/design: A parallel group, prospective randomised, open, blinded evaluation of outcomes design will be used to compare a standardised cognitive behavioural therapy intervention added to treatment as usual versus treatment as usual alone (the comparator group) for individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia for whom an adequate trial of clozapine has either not been possible due to tolerability problems or was not associated with a sufficient therapeutic response. The trial will be conducted across five sites in the United Kingdom. Discussion: The recruitment target of 485 was achieved, with a final recruitment total of 487. This trial is the largest definitive, pragmatic clinical and cost-effectiveness trial of cognitive behavioural therapy for people with schizophrenia whose symptoms have failed to show an adequate response to clozapine treatment. Using a prognostic risk model, baseline information will be used to explore whether there are ide

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is increasingly popular amongst general populations around the world with women constituting substantial CAM users. However, self-prescribed CAM use does raise potential safety concerns and so it is important to identify those risk factors associated with self-prescribed CAM use. Methods: Data was obtained from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH). Longitudinal data analyses were conducted on questionnaire data from the 1973-78 cohort (. n=. 9,145) and the 1946-51 cohort (. n=. 10,638), collected over the period 2006-2010. Results: In the 1973-78 cohort, use of self-prescribed CAM was 73.2% in 2006 and 75.3% in 2009. For the 1946-51 cohort, use of self-prescribed CAM was 73.9% in 2007 and 74.7% in 2010. There were similar levels of use of individual self-prescribed CAM, with the exception that the use of herbal medicine was much higher among the 1946-51 cohort (20% vs. 27%). There was a substantial increase over three years in the use of vitamins/minerals in both cohorts (21% and 19%, respectively). In contrast, there was a considerable decline over three years in use of aromatherapy oils in both cohorts (34% and 28%, respectively). Conclusion: Self-prescribed CAM use is popular amongst women in Australia and it is important that conventional practitioners providing women's health care be cognizant of such use amongst their patients. In order to ensure effective practice, there is a need for further research to explore women's decision-making and experiences around self-prescribed CAM use.

Background: University students drink more heavily than their nonstudent peers and are often unaware that their drinking is risky and exceeds normative levels. We tested the efficacy of a proactive Web-based alcohol screening and brief intervention program. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted at an Australian university in 2007. Invitations were sent to 13 000 undergraduates (age range, 17-24 years) to complete a Web-based Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Of 7237 students who responded, 2435 scored in the hazardous/harmful range (≥8) and were randomized, and 2050 (84%) completed at least 1 follow-up assessment. Intervention was 10 minutes of Web-based motivational assessment and personalized feedback. Controls received only screening. Follow-up assessments were conducted at 1 and 6 months with observers and participants blinded to allocation. Outcome measures were drinking frequency, typical occasion quantity, overall volume, number of personal problems, an academic problems score, prevalence of binge drinking, and prevalence of heavy drinking. Results: Mean (SD) baseline Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test scores for control and intervention groups were 14.3 (5.1) and 14.2 (5.1), respectively. After 1 month, participants receiving intervention drank less often (rate ratio [RR], 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83-0.94), smaller quantities per occasion (RR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.88-0.98), and less alcohol overall (RR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.78-0.90) than did controls. Differences in alcohol-related harms were nonsignificant. At 6 months, intervention effects persisted for drinking frequency (RR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.85-0.97) and overall volume (RR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.82-0.96) but not for other variables. Conclusion: Proactive Web-based screening and intervention reduces drinking in undergraduates, and such a program could be implemented widely.

We investigate the role of lithographically-induced strain relaxation in a micron-scaled device fabricated from epitaxial thin films of the magnetostrictive alloy Fe81Ga19. The strain relaxation due to lithographic patterning induces a magnetic anisotropy that competes with the magnetocrystalline and shape induced anisotropy to play a crucial role in stabilising a flux-closing domain pattern. We use magnetic imaging, micromagnetic calculations and linear elastic modelling to investigate a region close to the edges of an etched structure. This highly-strained edge region has a significant influence on the magnetic domain configuration due to an induced magnetic anisotropy resulting from the inverse magnetostriction effect. We investigate the competition between the strain-induced and shape-induced anisotropy energies, and the resultant stable domain configurations, as the width of the bar is reduced to the nanoscale range. Understanding this behaviour will be important when designing hybrid magneto-electric spintronic devices based on highly magnetostrictive materials.

Spin torque oscillator devices have presented themselves as an energy efficient method of generating microwave frequencies in recent years. These are devices which rely on giant magnetoresistance to create a device resistance which oscillates at microwave frequencies due to the microwave oscillation of a magnetically free layer in the device. A spin torque oscillator can be improved by using a vortex core oscillator as the magnetically free layer offering a narrower linewidth and greater synchronisation possibilities, at the expense of a lower power output. The desire to tune the frequency of oscillation of these devices has been the focus of a great deal of research in recent years and one promising avenue of investigation is to alter the frequency of oscillation by inducing a strain anisotropy in such a device by the use of a piezoelectric transducer. In order for the induced anisotropy to be large a material must be used which exhibits a strong magnetostrictive effect such as Fe1−xGax, a material which exhibits strong magnetostrictive properties without the need for rare earth elements. This thesis describes investigations into the magnetisation dynamics of nanostructures fabricated from magnetostrictive thin films of Fe1−xGax under conditions of in-plane uniaxial anisotropy induced by an applied stress. Chapter 4 describes investigations into the effects of altering the thickness of sputter grown Fe1-xGax films on the crystalline anisotropy of the films. It was found that the intrinsic magnetocrystalline uniaxial anisotropy within the films increased with film thickness. The cubic anisotropy was shown to be roughly constant with respect to film thickness except when the film was 20nm thick when the cubic anisotropy of the sample was anomalously high. Investigations of the magnetostrictive properties of these materials revealed sputter grown thin films to exhibit similar magnetostrictive properties as bulk material and thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy.

We investigate the role of lithographically-induced strain relaxation in a micron-scaled device fabricated from epitaxial thin films of the magnetostrictive alloy Fe81Ga19. The strain relaxation due to lithographic patterning induces a magnetic anisotropy that competes with the magnetocrystalline and shape induced anisotropy to play a crucial role in stabilising a flux-closing domain pattern. We use magnetic imaging, micromagnetic calculations and linear elastic modelling to investigate a region close to the edges of an etched structure. This highly-strained edge region has a significant influence on the magnetic domain configuration due to an induced magnetic anisotropy resulting from the inverse magnetostriction effect. We investigate the competition between the strain-induced and shape-induced anisotropy energies, and the resultant stable domain configurations, as the width of the bar is reduced to the nanoscale range. Understanding this behaviour will be important when designing hybrid magneto-electric spintronic devices based on highly magnetostrictive materials.

Spin torque oscillator devices have presented themselves as an energy efficient method of generating microwave frequencies in recent years. These are devices which rely on giant magnetoresistance to create a device resistance which oscillates at microwave frequencies due to the microwave oscillation of a magnetically free layer in the device. A spin torque oscillator can be improved by using a vortex core oscillator as the magnetically free layer offering a narrower linewidth and greater synchronisation possibilities, at the expense of a lower power output. The desire to tune the frequency of oscillation of these devices has been the focus of a great deal of research in recent years and one promising avenue of investigation is to alter the frequency of oscillation by inducing a strain anisotropy in such a device by the use of a piezoelectric transducer. In order for the induced anisotropy to be large a material must be used which exhibits a strong magnetostrictive effect such as Fe1−xGax, a material which exhibits strong magnetostrictive properties without the need for rare earth elements. This thesis describes investigations into the magnetisation dynamics of nanostructures fabricated from magnetostrictive thin films of Fe1−xGax under conditions of in-plane uniaxial anisotropy induced by an applied stress. Chapter 4 describes investigations into the effects of altering the thickness of sputter grown Fe1-xGax films on the crystalline anisotropy of the films. It was found that the intrinsic magnetocrystalline uniaxial anisotropy within the films increased with film thickness. The cubic anisotropy was shown to be roughly constant with respect to film thickness except when the film was 20nm thick when the cubic anisotropy of the sample was anomalously high. Investigations of the magnetostrictive properties of these materials revealed sputter grown thin films to exhibit similar magnetostrictive properties as bulk material and thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy.

Concepts for information storage and logical processing based on magnetic domain walls have great potential for implementation in future information and communications technologies. To date, the need to apply power hungry magnetic fields or heat dissipating spin polarized currents to manipulate magnetic domain walls has limited the development of such technologies. The possibility of controlling magnetic domain walls using voltages offers an energy efficient route to overcome these limitations. Here we show that a voltage-induced uniaxial strain induces reversible deterministic switching of the chirality of a magnetic vortex wall. We discuss how this functionality will be applicable to schemes for information storage and logical processing, making a significant step towards the practical implementation of magnetic domain walls in energy efficient computing.

We investigate the role of lithographically-induced strain relaxation in a micron-scaled device fabricated from epitaxial thin films of the magnetostrictive alloy Fe81Ga19. The strain relaxation due to lithographic patterning induces a magnetic anisotropy that competes with the magnetocrystalline and shape induced anisotropy to play a crucial role in stabilising a flux-closing domain pattern. We use magnetic imaging, micromagnetic calculations and linear elastic modelling to investigate a region close to the edges of an etched structure. This highly-strained edge region has a significant influence on the magnetic domain configuration due to an induced magnetic anisotropy resulting from the inverse magnetostriction effect. We investigate the competition between the strain-induced and shape-induced anisotropy energies, and the resultant stable domain configurations, as the width of the bar is reduced to the nanoscale range. Understanding this behaviour will be important when designing hybrid magneto-electric spintronic devices based on highly magnetostrictive materials.

Concepts for information storage and logical processing based on magnetic domain walls have great potential for implementation in future information and communications technologies. To date, the need to apply power hungry magnetic fields or heat dissipating spin polarized currents to manipulate magnetic domain walls has limited the development of such technologies. The possibility of controlling magnetic domain walls using voltages offers an energy efficient route to overcome these limitations. Here we show that a voltage-induced uniaxial strain induces reversible deterministic switching of the chirality of a magnetic vortex wall. We discuss how this functionality will be applicable to schemes for information storage and logical processing, making a significant step towards the practical implementation of magnetic domain walls in energy efficient computing.

We investigate the role of lithographically-induced strain relaxation in a micron-scaled device fabricated from epitaxial thin films of the magnetostrictive alloy Fe81Ga19. The strain relaxation due to lithographic patterning induces a magnetic anisotropy that competes with the magnetocrystalline and shape induced anisotropy to play a crucial role in stabilising a flux-closing domain pattern. We use magnetic imaging, micromagnetic calculations and linear elastic modelling to investigate a region close to the edges of an etched structure. This highly-strained edge region has a significant influence on the magnetic domain configuration due to an induced magnetic anisotropy resulting from the inverse magnetostriction effect. We investigate the competition between the strain-induced and shape-induced anisotropy energies, and the resultant stable domain configurations, as the width of the bar is reduced to the nanoscale range. Understanding this behaviour will be important when designing hybrid magneto-electric spintronic devices based on highly magnetostrictive materials.

Concepts for information storage and logical processing based on magnetic domain walls have great potential for implementation in future information and communications technologies. To date, the need to apply power hungry magnetic fields or heat dissipating spin polarized currents to manipulate magnetic domain walls has limited the development of such technologies. The possibility of controlling magnetic domain walls using voltages offers an energy efficient route to overcome these limitations. Here we show that a voltage-induced uniaxial strain induces reversible deterministic switching of the chirality of a magnetic vortex wall. We discuss how this functionality will be applicable to schemes for information storage and logical processing, making a significant step towards the practical implementation of magnetic domain walls in energy efficient computing.