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The goal of this position paper on ventilatory support at home for children is to provide expert consensus from Australia and New Zealand on optimal care for children requiring ventilatory support at home, both non-invasive and invasive. It was compiled by members of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) and the Australasian Sleep Association (ASA). This document provides recommendations to support the development of improved services for Australian and New Zealand children who require long-term ventilatory support. Issues relevant to providers of equipment and areas of research need are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, older adults have received little attention in the newly emerging technological narratives of transnational religion. This is surprising, given the strong association of later life with spiritual and religious engagement, but it likely reflects the ongoing assumption that older adults are technophobic or technologically incompetent. Drawing on ethnographic interviews with older Sinhalese Buddhist migrants from Sri Lanka, living in Melbourne, this paper explores the digital articulations of transnational religion that arise from older migrants' uses of digital media. We focus on how engagements with digital media enable older Sinhalese to respond to an urgent need to accumulate merit in later life, facilitating their temporal strategies for ageing as migrants. We argue that these digital articulations transform both the religious imaginary and the religious practices that validate and legitimize a life well‐lived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perinatal depression can have enduring adverse effects on women and their children and families, incurring substantial ongoing economic and personal costs. A significant proportion of the cost of perinatal depression relates to adverse impacts on the child, most likely mediated through impairment to the mother‐infant relationship. In recognition of this problem, Australia has invested in routine perinatal depression screening. Our previous research produced convergent findings suggesting that expected benefits for children have not yet been realised through perinatal depression screening. We question the potential of including a measure of personality in current perinatal depression screening for identifying maternal mental health problems and suboptimal mother‐infant relationships. This paper reviews our previous research findings within the broader context of perinatal depression screening. We propose a position, that perinatal depression screening in Australia should be redesigned to more precisely detect vulnerable mother‐infant relationships, parenting, maternal mental health, and infant psychosocial and psychological development. Practice change to appropriately target antenatal interventions may more efficiently improve both maternal and child outcomes, thereby contributing to greater efficiency and cost savings for the health system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore the health beliefs of clinical and academic nurses from Japan, Australia and China regarding wearing paper masks to protect themselves and others, and to identify differences in participants' health beliefs regarding masks. Background: The correct use of face masks and consensus among health professionals across the globe is essential for containing pandemics, and nurses need to act according to policy to protect themselves, educate the public and preserve resources for frontline health workers. Paper masks are worn by health professionals and the general public to avoid the transmission of respiratory infections, such as COVID‐19, but there appear to be differences in health beliefs of nurses within and between countries regarding these. Methods: This qualitative descriptive study used content analysis with a framework approach. Findings: There were major differences in nurse participants' beliefs between and within countries, including how nurses use paper masks and their understanding of their efficacy. In addition, there were cultural differences in the way that nurses use masks in their daily lives and nursing practice contexts. Conclusion: Nurses from different working environments, countries and areas of practice hold a variety of health beliefs about mask wearing at the personal and professional level. Implications for nursing policy and health policy: The COVID‐19 pandemic has sparked much discussion about the critical importance of masks for the safety of health professionals, and there has been considerable discussion and disagreement about health policies regarding mask use by the general public. Improper use of masks may have a role in creating mask shortages or transmitting infections. An evidence‐based global policy on mask use for respiratory illnesses for health professionals, including nurses, and the general public needs to be adopted and supported by a wide‐reaching education campaign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a brief summary of the Society of Obstetric Medicine of Australia and New Zealand (SOMANZ) evidence-based guideline for the management of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) and hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). The full guideline and executive summary including auditable outcomes are freely available on the SOMANZ website [https://www.somanz.org/guidelines.asp]. The guideline includes a proposed SOMANZ definition of NVP and HG and evidence-based practical advice regarding the investigation and management of NVP, HG and associated conditions including thyroid dysfunction. A practical algorithm for assessment and management as well as an individual patient management plan and self-assessment tools are included., (© 2019 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.)

Introduction: Learning through international experience has been well documented in USA literature, yet not well explored in Australia. The aim of this study is to understand Australian dental students' experiences and perceptions of international dental experience by: (i) capturing past participation; (ii) identifying potential interests for participants who have not been on a trip and (iii) ascertaining perceived benefits of the trip/s. Materials and Methods: A 19 question paper survey was distributed to 310 eligible undergraduate dental students of The University of Queensland (UQ). An online counterpart survey was created via Google Forms and promoted on relevant Facebook groups targeted at current dental students of UQ. Results: A total of 203 of the 310 eligible UQ undergraduate dental students responded to the distributed paper and electronic surveys making the response rate 65.5%. A total of 13 undergraduate respondents participated in an international experience trip. The majority of respondents who had not participated in an international dental experience trip were interested in participating in one. Education (84.6%) and improved dental skills (84.6%) were the most reported perceived benefits by the students who had participated in an international dental experience. Conclusion: A majority of respondents were interested in participating in international dental experiences. Despite this, only 1 in 15 respondents had participated in an international dental experience. Further exploration of this concept is needed; however, dental schools within Australia could potentially explore integration of international short‐term dental experiences into formal curricula in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spirometry has been established as an essential test for diagnosing and monitoring respiratory disease, particularly asthma and COPD, as well as in occupational health surveillance. In Australia and New Zealand, there is currently no pathway for spirometry operators in community‐based healthcare settings to demonstrate spirometry competence. The Australia and New Zealand Society of Respiratory Science (ANZSRS) has identified a need for developing a pathway for operators working in community‐based practices in Australia and New Zealand to demonstrate spirometry competence and certification. Spirometry certification provides evidence to patients, clients, employers and organizations that an individual has participated in an assessment process that qualifies them to perform spirometry to current international spirometry standards set out by the American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society (ATS/ERS). This document describes a competence assessment pathway that incorporates a portfolio and practical assessment. The completion of this pathway and the award of certification confer an individual is competent to perform spirometry for 3 years, after which re‐certification is required. The adoption of this competency assessment and certification process by specialist organizations, and the commitment of operators performing spirometry to undergo this process, will enhance spirometry quality and practice in community‐based healthcare settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the first observations of early-season colony development of Ropalidia plebeiana in Canberra, Australia. The growth pattern of three R. plebeiana nests was measured during weekly observations from October 2006 to January 2007 and showed that nests steadily increase in size over the early summer to approximately 50 cells when the nest is newly established and to approximately 170 cells when nests from the previous season are re-used. A first generation of adult females is produced by December, and the bimodality of the curves of egg, larval and pupal numbers indicates that these three developmental stages last approximately 2–3 weeks each. The nesting cycle of R. plebeiana in Canberra commences approximately 2 weeks later than in coastal Australia, the shorter summers in this inland region restricting the length of the active season. R. plebeiana did not form dense nesting aggregations in Canberra as described elsewhere, with only small colonies consisting of a single or just a few nests. Characteristic comb-cutting behavior of the species was observed but this did not result in complete nest division as recorded from coastal populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is an executive summary of the Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society (ADIPS) 2020 guideline for pre‐existing diabetes and pregnancy. The summary focuses on the main clinical practice points for the management of women with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes in relation to pregnancy, including preconception, antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum care. The full guideline is available at https://doi.org/10.1111/ajo.13265. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Work‐related asthma (WRA) is one of the most common occupational respiratory conditions, and includes asthma specifically caused by occupational exposures (OA) and asthma that is worsened by conditions at work (WEA). WRA should be considered in all adults with asthma, but especially those with new‐onset or difficult to control asthma. Improvement in asthma symptoms when away from work is suggestive of WRA. Clinical history alone is insufficient to diagnose WRA; therefore, objective investigations are required to confirm the presence of asthma and the association of asthma with work activities. Management of WRA requires pharmacotherapy similar to that of non‐WRA, however, also needs to take into account control of the causative workplace exposure. Ongoing exposure will likely lead to decline in lung function and worsening asthma control. WRA is a preventable condition but this does rely on increased awareness of WRA and thorough identification and control of all potential occupational respiratory hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Open Dialogue is a resource‐oriented approach to mental health care that originated in Finland. As Open Dialogue has been adopted across diverse international healthcare settings, it has been adapted according to contextual factors. One important development in Open Dialogue has been the incorporation of paid, formal peer work. Peer work draws on the knowledge and wisdom gained through lived experience of distress and hardship to establish mutual, reciprocal, and supportive relationships with service users. As Open Dialogue is now being implemented across mental health services in Australia, stakeholders are beginning to consider the role that peer workers might have in this model of care. Open Dialogue was not, initially, conceived to include a specific role for peers, and there is little available literature, and even less empirical research, in this area. This discussion paper aims to surface some of the current debates and ideas about peer work in Open Dialogue. Examples and models of peer work in Open Dialogue are examined, and the potential benefits and challenges of adopting this approach in health services are discussed. Peer work in Open Dialogue could potentially foster democracy and disrupt clinical hierarchies, but could also move peer work from reciprocal to a less symmetrical relationship of ‘giver’ and ‘receiver’ of care. Other models of care, such as lived experience practitioners in Open Dialogue, can be conceived. However, it remains uncertain whether the hierarchical structures in healthcare and current models of funding would support any such models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Irrigation & Drainage is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Naturalistic plantings, such as meadow‐style plantings, can improve the quality of urban green spaces through aesthetic, biodiversity and low maintenance features. Species selection for, and maintenance of naturalistic plantings are key to their success. While herbaceous and grassy meadows can be mowed, naturalistic plantings with woody plants require more intense maintenance to remove biomass and promote resprouting. We aim to understand woody plant responses to diverse disturbance regimes to potentially inform the selection and management of woody species in urban plantings. We conducted a quantitative systematic literature review of 72 papers and investigated what main external (climate, disturbance regime) and internal (buds, life stage, storage reserves) factors influence the resprouting response of woody plants. We found resprouting literature is geographically widespread for woody plants, but studies are skewed towards Temperate climates in USA and Australia, with a focus on high severity and high frequency fire disturbance. Resprouting response was mostly defined as a continuous response to disturbance dependent on disturbance regime, climate and plant traits. Maintenance and management of naturalistic woody plantings, through hard pruning techniques such as coppicing, may be informed by analogous high severity and high frequency disturbance studies. However, the literature on woody plant resprouting has several knowledge gaps for lower severity and lower frequency disturbance regimes and in more arid climates. Future research should evaluate the response of naturalistic woody plantings to disturbance in specific urban contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale A multidisciplinary primary care clinic in Sydney, Australia, was planning to use electronic questionnaires to measure patient-reported outcomes. Methods Semi-structured interviews with 20 patients were undertaken to explore, among other things, practical issues regarding different questionnaire formats. The response rates and costs of email versus postal invitations were also evaluated. Results Compared with postal invitations, email invitations offered a cost-effective and practical alternative, with a greater proportion of patients volunteering for an interview. Assuming the interface is well-designed and user-friendly, many patients were happy to use the Internet to answer questionnaires. Most patients thought alternate formats should also be offered. Patients discussed advantages and disadvantages of the Internet format. Although more younger patients and females had given the clinic an email address; both sexes, and young and old patients, expressed strong preferences for either wanting or not wanting to use the Internet. Conclusion Researchers should consider using email invitations as a cost-effective first-line strategy to recruit patients to participate in health services research. Internet questionnaires are potentially cheaper than paper questionnaires, and the format is acceptable to many patients. However, for the time being, concurrent alternate formats need to be offered to ensure wider acceptability and to maximize response rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) was launched in 2013 to provide financial support packages for people with disability to purchase supports and services to enhance independence. People with disability are required to develop a plan with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), the government department responsible for managing the NDIS. This scoping review aims to ascertain the level of research into people's experience of the NDIS planning process in these geographic areas. Methodology: Research publication databases were searched using a specific search string to identify research about people with disability and their families/carer's experiences of the NDIS planning process in regional, rural and remote regions of Australia. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was adopted to appraise the quality of the research publications. Research publications focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were additionally appraised using the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Quality Appraisal Tool developed by the Centre for Excellence in Aboriginal Chronic Disease Knowledge Translation and Exchange. A thematic synthesis of the publications' contents was undertaken to ascertain people with disabilities and carers experience of the NDIS planning process. Results: Ten (N = 10) research papers were found that met the inclusion criteria. Two papers were policy reviews and reported on the improvements of the NDIS planning process since its conception. The analysis found the research archive focused on five themes: (1) healthcare workforce and NDIA staff; (2) NDIS package holders and carers lack of awareness of the NDIS; (3) cultural/socio‐economic barriers; (4) travel funding; and (5) emotional burden of the NDIS planning process. Conclusion: There are limited papers available that explore people's experiences of the NDIS planning process in regional, rural and remote regions of Australia. This systematic review illuminates the difficulties, barriers and concerns of people with disability and their carers about the planning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This summary paper for the symposium provides a brief overview of the papers by Craig Veitch, John Beard and Max Kamien that deal with the environmental, socioeconomic and political descriptors of ‘rurality’. Those three papers deal with a number of fundamental truths about rural and remote health, including the fact that internal migration is an important and poorly understood factor in determining community and health outcomes. A brief treatment of the issue suggests that selective internal migration is likely to mean that the burden of illness in rural and remote areas is even higher than that suggested by the published figures. The paper then asserts that thinking in the rural and remote health sector in Australia focuses largely on the negative aspects of the current characteristics of rural areas. A self-evident definition of ‘rurality’ is offered that has it defined by the set of factors that currently characterise places, communities and individuals outside the major cities. The paper suggests that each of these characteristics has an upside or benefit, as well as a downside or risk, and that giving greater attention to the former will provide a better basis for informing rural health policy and practice than the deficit view alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of which type of computer science (CS) publication-0conference or journal-0is likely to result in more citations for a published paper is addressed. A series of data sets are examined and joined in order to analyze the citations of over 195,000 conference papers and 108,000 journal papers. Two means of evaluating the citations of journals and conferences are explored: h5 and average citations per paper; it was found that h5 has certain biases that make it a difficult measure to use (despite it being the main measure used by Google Scholar). Results from the analysis show that CS, as a discipline, values conferences as a publication venue more highly than any other academic field of study. The analysis also shows that a small number of elite CS conferences have the highest average paper citation rate of any publication type, although overall, citation rates in conferences are no higher than in journals. It is also shown that the length of a paper is correlated with citation rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the Australian Association of Gerontology position paper summary of lesbian, gay, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) ageing research in Australia. Topics inlcude the LGBTI ageing research that has been published in Australia and overseas and other relevant literature reviews, the survey of LGBTI ageing researchers in Australia and identified some priority future research areas, and the LGBTI ageing policy context in Australia found there have been significant developments.

In Australia, tariffs and bounties form the major instruments of protection of manufacturing industries (IAC 1985). In the recent past, both tariffs and bounties were applied to the printing and writing paper industry. Recently, the bounties have been withdrawn. The main objective of the present study is to identify and quantify the factors which influence the size and growth of imports of printing and writing paper in the short run. More specifically, the factors determining the short run demand for and supply of printing and writing papers are considered, with emphasis on the relationship between domestic supply and imports. Domestic production of printing and writing paper is dominated by one producer, Associated Pulp and Paper Mills (APPM). However, two other local producers, who previously specialised in other types of paper, have recently increased their production of printing and writing paper as a result of the favourable outlook for these types of paper. Imports are a major competitive force in this market. The domestic market share of the printing and writing paper segment held by local producers was 58 per cent in 1975-76 and 50 per cent in 1984-85, but was as low as 58 per cent in 1981-82. Some of the imports, however, face no competition from domestic products. The identification of products which can and cannot be directly substituted for domestically produced papers is a difficult task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The selective publication of articles based on factors, such as positive outcome, statistical significance and study size is known as publication bias. If publication bias is present, any clinical decision based on a review of the published work will also be biased. Publication bias has been shown in various specialties, based on review of publication rates for abstracts presented at major scientific meetings. This study was conducted to investigate publication bias in orthopaedics. Methods: Abstracts presented at the 1998 Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting were reviewed independently by two reviewers. Details of sample size, study setting, country of origin, outcome and study type were recorded for each abstract. Publication within 5 years was ascertained by electronic searching of Medline and Embase databases and direct author contact. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of publication. Results: The overall publication rate was 31%. Publication was more likely if the study was a laboratory study, rather than a clinical study (odds ratio (OR), 3.45; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.69–7.01, P < 0.001). Sample size, country of origin, study type, statistical significance and positive outcome were not significantly associated with publication. Conclusion: According to this study, laboratory studies were significantly more likely to be published than clinical studies. In contrast to previous studies, publication bias due to the selective publication of papers with a positive outcome or those reporting statistical significance was not found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the prevalence of dieting behaviours and correlates with physical and mental health in young Australian women who are participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women's Health. A total of 14 686 women aged 18–23 years, randomly selected from the National Medicare database, with over-sampling from rural and remote areas, responded to a questionnaire seeking dieting and health information. The results showed that 66.5 percent of the women had a BMI within the healthy weight range (18– < 25 kg/m[sup 2] ). However only 21.6 percent of these women were happy with their weight and almost half (46 percent) had dieted to lose weight in the last year (also one in five who had a BMI < 18.5 kg/m[sup 2] ). High frequency of dieting (rather than dieting per se) and earlier dieting onset were associated with poorer physical and mental health (including depression), more disordered eating (bingeing and purging), extreme weight and shape dissatisfaction and more frequent general health problems. The results suggest that there is a need for programmes that will enhance self esteem and weight/shape acceptance and promote more appropriate strategies for maintenance of healthy weight. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts on nutritional topics which include the competition faced by the Accredited Practising Dietitians (APDs), challenges for public health nutrition and nutrition support strategies in dementia care.

This paper involves an examination of skilled manual work in the modern paper industry. The data were collected at five mills in three countries -- the UK, Australia and the USA. The questions were formulated in order to probe four theories of skilled work. The results suggest that the distinction between skilled and nonskilled work is a fundamental feature of occupational differentiation in all five plants. They also reveal that there are intra-skilled conflicts over relative pay and demarcation lines and that these are affected by the wider socio-political environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents concurrent session abstracts which include benefits of medical nutrition therapy in improving intake in patients who eat poorly in hospitals, shortfalls in malnutrition coding, and challenges of achieving patient and carer involvement in clinical handover.

Invasive plants are a growing ecological problem worldwide, but biases and patterns within invasive plant research may affect our understanding of invasive plant ecology. In this study, we analyzed 458 invasive plant papers sampled from the two journals dedicated entirely to the field of invasion biology, i.e., Biological Invasions and Neobiota. From these papers, we collected information on geographic coverage, climate, habitat, taxonomic coverage, plant functional type, and research topic to examine trends across a 21‐year time period from 1999 to 2020. Our analysis found that invasive plant research was consistently biased toward temperate grassland and forest ecosystems particularly within the Americas, Europe, and Australia, and toward smaller, herbaceous invasive plant species (i.e., forbs, grasses, and shrubs), with an increase in interest in invasive nitrogen‐fixing legumes over time. Our analysis also identified "hot" research topics in invasive plant research at specific time periods, such as a peak in the use of genetic analysis methods in 2014–2015 and a more recent focus on plant physiological and functional traits. While current models, concepts, and understanding of plant invasion ecology are still driven by such biases, this has been partially offset by recent increased research in understudied systems, as well as increasing awareness that plant invasion is heavily affected by their growth types, physiological traits, and soil interactions. As the field of invasion biology becomes ever increasingly important over time, focusing invasive plant research on understudied ecosystems and plant groups will allow us to develop a more holistic understanding of the ecology of invasive plants. In particular, given the outsized importance of the tropics to global biodiversity, the threats they face, and the dearth of studies, it is of critical importance that more invasive plant research is conducted within the tropics to develop a more globally representative understanding of invasive plant ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a paper which brought together a range of frameworks to categorize and differentiate the various nutrition service domains in Australia. Reason why defining and conceptualizing public health and community nutrition in an Australian context are important; Differences in conceptual frameworks.

The radiologist is likely to be the first medical practitioner on the scene for contrast reactions, anaphylaxis and other common medical emergencies that occur in radiology departments and stand-alone practices. Until 2007, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) did not provide resuscitation training as a CPD service for fellows, and the need for such a service has not been gauged. In 2007, the authors ran the first RANZCR large-group resuscitation refresher training workshop at the Melbourne 2007 annual scientific meeting. The workshop maximized audience participation and knowledge transfer in a constrained time, disseminated guidelines, and collected feedback on the need for further resuscitation training for radiologists. Of the 100 feedback forms, 82 were returned. All the 82 responses wanted the workshop repeated at future annual scientific meetings, and 71 wanted RANZCR to provide hands-on refresher training. Sixty-six responders indicated when they had their most recent resuscitation training: six in the past 12 months, 25 in the past 3 years and 35 longer than 3 years. Sixty-nine responded on availability of resuscitation training at their workplace: 33 indicated ‘Yes’ and 36 ‘No’. There is a definite need to provide resuscitation training for radiologists in Australia. At the end of this article, we reproduce the currently applicable guidelines as a service to our readers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major progress in understanding biological invasions has recently been made by quantitatively comparing successful and unsuccessful invasions. We used such an approach to test hypotheses about the role of climatic suitability, life history, and historical factors in the establishment and subsequent spread of 40 species of mammal that have been introduced to mainland Australia. Relative to failed species, the 23 species that became established had a greater area of climatically suitable habitat available in Australia, had previously become established elsewhere, had a larger overseas range, and were introduced more times. These relationships held after phylogeny was controlled for, but successful species were also significantly more likely to be nonmigratory. A forward-selection model included only two of the nine variables for which we had data for all species: climatic suitability and introduction effort. When the model was adjusted for phylogeny, those same two variables were included, along with previous establishment success. Of the established species, those with a larger geographic range size in Australia had a greater area of climatically suitable habitat, had traits associated with a faster population growth rate (small body size, shorter life span, lower weaning age, more offspring per year), were nonherbivorous, and had a larger overseas range size. When the model was adjusted for phylogeny, the importance of climatic suitability and the life-history traits remained significant, but overseas range size was no longer important and species with greater introduction effort had a larger geographic range size. Two variables explained variation in geographic range size in a forward-selection model: species with smaller body mass and greater longevity tended to have larger range sizes in Australia. These results mirror those from a recent analysis of exotic-bird introductions into Australia, suggesting that, at least among vertebrate taxa, similar factors predict establishment and spread. Our approach and results are being used to assess the risks of exotic vertebrates becoming established and spreading in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2000 the Howard government formed a consultative committee to review defence policy and gauge public opinion on defence issues. It concentrated on the impact of budgetary stringency and dramatic strategic change and supported increased defence spending on equipment to cater for high-level threats. Was there a thorough review? Inconsistencies occurred in the reports developed from the review and statements made by senior policy-makers while it was being conducted. The way the review was undertaken points to conceptual tensions in Australia's strategic culture and serious problems with entrenched interests in the services. Unless these challenges are addressed, a thorough review of defence policy cannot be undertaken. The review process itself needs to be reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2001, a study into issues of concern to assistant-in-nursing, registered and enrolled nurse members of the Queensland Nurses Union was undertaken. Approximately equal numbers of nurses from each of the aged care, acute private and acute public sectors were surveyed. Overall, 1477 nurses responded, representing a response rate of 53%. This article focuses on one aspect of the study—the perceived adequacy of support offered to new nursing graduates as they exit university and begin their transition into the workplace. In particular, responses from nurses are compared with professional level or current role designation, age, time spent in the workplace and health sector. Considerable divergence of opinion among the respondents, particularly across designation, age and years of experience, was found within the three sectors. For example, in the public and private employment sectors, older and more experienced nurses were more likely to perceive the support for new nurses as adequate compared to younger and less experienced nurses. Additionally, in the acute private sector, the more senior the nurse the more likely the perception that there was adequate preparation for new graduates entering the workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has documented the immediate negative impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on household and business consumption, but there is still limited investigation into the medium‐term effects in specific consumption categories. This paper addresses this gap using a vector autoregression analysis of a system of aggregated consumer final demand across Australia. We highlight the importance of studying a demand system, as opposed to investigating independent consumption categories, due to the interactive evolution of consumption during the pandemic. Modelling the paths of various consumption categories in response to shocks from one another, we find that, despite the large and abrupt shocks to consumption during the first two quarters of 2020, most categories reverted to pre‐COVID levels when restrictions were lifted. Importantly, transportation had the largest and most persistent decline. Overall, shocks to sectors other than food, alcohol and education were outside the counterfactual forecast confidence intervals estimated based on pre‐COVID information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prime Minister Julia Gillard released the 'Australia in the Asian Century' White Paper in October 2012, describing it as 'a roadmap showing how Australia can be a winner in the Asian Century'. This article provides a review of Australia's progress on engagement with Asia 2 years after the White Paper. It covers the political and performance status of key Asia- related initiatives following the election of the Abbott government. It finds a high level of continuity and support for individual policies and objectives in the White Paper. However, there have been some significant changes in policy, emphasis and approach and emerging areas of underperformance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel combinations of global conditions, issues under investigation and research alliances require constant reassessment of how to conduct cross‐cultural research. Here we recount an exploratory investigation considering cross‐cultural research between Australian and Indonesian researchers. This paper sets out a range of considerations for practitioners of cross‐cultural research between our two countries. This investigation supports intentions to develop trans‐disciplinary climate change adaptation research but is applicable across multiple research topics and disciplines. We engaged a small multi‐disciplinary mix of researchers, from both countries, conducted two initial focus groups, and subsequently involved participants in drafting of this paper as an exploration of how being cross cultural could manifest. We highlight that cross‐cultural collaborations occur in environments of both cultural differences and power differences. Four main strategies emerged for dealing with the challenges (or opportunities): working respectfully, being reflective of cross‐cultural research practice, being flexible, and learning about culture. Overarching these strategies, we found cross‐cultural research requires considerable extra (long term) effort to tackle and that this is sustained by researchers' intrinsic motives to care for people and place, making this type of research a distinctive labour of love. Finally, we found similarities between cross‐cultural research and climate change adaptation research (even when conducted within one country) where both endeavours call for boundaries of places, cultures and disciplines to be crossed in order to effectively engage with complex topics and environments. Negotiating the liminalities here often defies set formulas and requires a willingness to engage with and 'muddle through' the messiness. Our findings will be of value to those undertaking cross‐cultural research across a wide range of issues. This paper addresses research collaboration between Australia and Indonesia and considers challenges and strategies for working at the intersection of cross cultural research collaboration and climate chance adaptation science. Analysis of focus group data from a multi‐disciplinary mix of researchers from these two countries highlighted four strategies for dealing with challenges: working respectfully, being reflective of cross‐cultural research practice, being flexible, and learning about culture. Overarching these strategies, we found cross‐cultural research requires extra effort and that this is sustained by a researcher's intrinsic motivations of care for people and place – a labour of love. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elevated soil nitrogen (N) resulting from pollution, fertilizer and woody encroachment in grasslands enhances invasion pressures from weedy plant species. Sawdust, sucrose and other labile carbon (C) sources can be used as a soil amendment to combat the growth of fast‐growing, invasive non‐native plants by immobilizing soil N.Here, we present a systematic review of 83 publications, and a meta‐analysis from 48 publications. Using hierarchical mixed‐effects meta‐analytic models, we synthesized 655 responses from native plants and 486 responses from non‐native weeds to quantify the overall effect of C addition. We explored the possible explanations for variation in effect, such as differences in study conditions and how C was applied.Carbon addition studies were almost exclusively reported from the United States, Australia and Canada (93%). The majority of papers (63%) did not include any cost information.Overall, C addition significantly decreased non‐native weed abundance, but did not significantly affect native plant abundance. A C application rate of at least 210 g C m−2 year−1 (5 Mg sucrose ha−1 year−1 or 4.6 Mg sawdust ha−1 year−1) decreased non‐native weed abundance, but a rate of 2110–3000 g C m−2 year−1 (50–71 Mg sucrose ha−1 year−1 or 46–65 Mg sawdust ha−1 year−1) was required to significantly increase native plant abundance. Carbon addition was most effective in the western USA and southeastern Australia, and when used to suppress non‐native grasses (annual or perennial) and annual forbs. Simultaneous seeding of native species prevented an overall decrease in native plant abundance.Synthesis and application. When there is a nearby and inexpensive source of C available, we recommend C addition with simultaneous seeding of native species to control invasive non‐native grasses and annual forbs in semi‐arid and arid regions of the western USA and southeast Australia. In contrast to other weed control measures, especially herbicide, C addition does not significantly harm native perennial plants. Future studies should implement longer‐term monitoring, establish larger plots and include cost analysis to improve guidance for land managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous employment has been the subject of numerous policies in Australia, with governments aiming to increase the workforce participation rate amongst Indigenous people in recent years. Indigenous‐owned businesses, formally defined as businesses that are at least 50% Indigenous‐owned, have been demonstrated in previous research to maintain substantially higher levels of proportional Indigenous employment than non‐Indigenous businesses. This suggests that Indigenous‐owned businesses maintain work environments that are more supportive of and conducive to Indigenous employment, meriting the influence of Indigenous‐owned businesses' workplace practices in future Indigenous employment policy design. Using administrative data from two Indigenous business registries (Black Business Finder and Supply Nation), this paper provides an updated empirical analysis of the Indigenous business sector. This paper demonstrates that Indigenous‐owned businesses of all sizes, industries, locations and profit statuses consistently average proportional Indigenous employment rates higher than the Indigenous proportional population. Of all the people employed in Supply Nation‐listed businesses, over 35% are Indigenous. The potential impact of the Indigenous Procurement Policy is illustrated by differentials in the size of businesses and their capacity to employ Indigenous staff. This paper provides analysis of the Indigenous business sector that can inform future policy direction for both Indigenous employment and Indigenous business policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia's international relations (IR) discipline has a deep colonial history, but has never been through a conscious process of decolonisation. Although discussions of decolonising IR have taken place elsewhere, the discussion in Australia is in its infancy. This collection examines the possibilities for decolonising Australia's IR in the present moment, looking at its teaching practice, its research, its styles of analysis, and its relationship with Australian foreign policy. We consider what is particular to Australia's settler colonial context, what is achievable, and what is not. The collection also seeks to develop a new style of anti‐colonial foreign policy analysis in Australia, looking at the relationship between colonisation, settlement, and foreign policy. In this introduction, we first look over debates on decolonisation elsewhere in the field. We then examine the historical background of Australia's IR discipline, and look at Australian Indigenous diplomacy, to consider what is specific to Australia's context. We conclude by looking over the contributions of the papers in this collection, and consider what a decolonised Australian IR might look like. Ultimately, we argue that any process of decolonisation will be extremely difficult, and that decolonisation in Australian IR should be perceived as an ongoing struggle, rather than an endpoint in itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relationship‐based practice refers to approaches within human services which centralise inter‐personal relationships—either those between clients and workers or between clients and their own network—as a way to achieve positive service outcomes. Relationship‐based practice is increasingly recognised as a critical component in many areas of human services, particularly youth services. Despite increasing policy intentions for programs to adopt a relationship‐based approach, it is not always clear how services can implement this in practice. While relationship‐based skill training can be offered to individual workers, a question remains as to what can be done at an organisational and policy level to cultivate relationship‐based practice. Within this context, this paper explores how programs can be designed to foster relationship‐based practice. The paper draws on the evaluation of an intensive and tailored service for addressing long‐term youth unemployment in Australia: the your job your way pilot program run by yourtown. A key success of the program was strong relationship‐based practice, and this paper explores five features of the program's design that enabled this: (1) small caseloads, (2) intensive support, (3) staff with complementary skills and a professional and 'youth friendly' demeanour, (4) staff discretion about some aspects of program implementation, and (5) support delivered through social and group activities. The paper draws implications for how service provider organisations and governments can cultivate relationship‐based practice in human services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Australia's population is ageing, resulting in more older adults living in residential aged care facilities. Occupational therapy scope of practice in Australian residential aged care facilities is significantly influenced by the government funding instrument. As the current government funding instrument is administratively inefficient, insufficiently discriminates between residents' care needs and provides perverse incentives, a new funding model is set to be implemented. This creates an opportunity for a review of the current evidence base to support the lobbying of national associations to shape occupational therapy practice. The research question that guided this systematic mapping review was as follows: What is the current state of scholarship about occupational therapy in Australian residential aged care facilities? Methods: A search of four databases (CINAHL, Medline, Embase and Scopus) was conducted and 1,617 papers were identified. All papers were screened through a two‐phase process: (i) title and abstract review and (ii) full text review, using pre‐determined inclusion and exclusion criteria to identify papers relevant to this review. A data extraction tool was designed in Microsoft Excel® and was used to extract data from the included papers. Results: Twelve Australian articles were published between 1986 and 2020, most frequently authored by an occupational therapist. Included articles were classified into four groups: articles including occupational therapists as participants, articles about occupational therapy practice, articles exploring an occupational perspective of residents and articles with limited exploration of occupational therapy. Conclusion: This review identified that there is a dearth of Australian occupational therapy literature. This creates challenges for occupational therapists seeking evidence to guide their practice to optimise resident health and well‐being and for national associations seeking to lobby for the profession. Consequently, there is a crucial need to develop the evidence base to support the profession within this practice setting and, ultimately, residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents results of an analysis of 1060 academic articles published in the Australian Journal of Agricultural Economics and the Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics from 1957 to 2015. Trends in research topics over time identified by the study include a decline in research on agricultural topics offset by growth in publications related to natural resources, the environment, trade, food and international development. Other trends include an increase in the average number of co-authors on each paper, a gradual increase in authorship by females, changes in the shares of top contributing institutions, increases in collaboration between institutions and a steady increase in the number of authors from outside Australia or New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industry diversity thesis of economic resilience to economic shocks is embedded in community development policy across Australia. The idea being that in the event of an economic shock some industries will prove more recession‐proof than others. The greater the industry diversity, the greater the likelihood of off‐setting industry effects, resulting in greater economic resilience. The COVID‐19 pandemic and the associated restrictions created a unique natural experiment to explore whether the industry diversity thesis holds true under the conditions of a global health pandemic. In this policy paper, we use JobKeeper applications as a proxy for decreased economic resilience. We explore if Australian local government areas (LGAs) with higher industry diversity had less necessity for JobKeeper. We also briefly consider if concentrations of certain industries acted as a better economic buffer to the COVID‐19 economic shock. We observe that as diversity increases, economic resilience strengthens except for Victoria (where the association is inverted). This observation has important implications for current and future policy formation and implementation across all layers of government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The taxonomy of the Australian species of twoRopalidiaspecies groups, theR. stigmagroup andR. variegatagroup, is revised and their distribution patterns are discussed. Two species in theR. stigmagroup (R. darwiniandR. elegantula), and four species in theR. variegatagroup (R. flavinoda,R. gregaria,R. mutabilisandR. revolutionalis) are recognized in Australia, with a new synonymy ofR. mutabilis torresianaRichards, 1978, underR. gregaria(de Saussure, 1854).Icaria torridaSmith, 1863, from Seram Island is synonymized withR. unicolor(Smith, 1859). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents conference papers related to medical studies presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine to be held in Cairns, Queensland from June 1-3, 2016. Topics include a study on benefits of advance care planning on nursing home residents, other on associations between markers of cellular senescence and chronological age and a study on complications of carotid endarterectomy from lower cranial nerve injuries.

The paper presents analysis of market concentration in Australia's stock market and explores what this might tell us about the state of competition in the real economy. It finds that, on most measures, Australia's stock market is highly concentrated but is becoming less concentrated over time. Many studies, including leading books on competition policy, have used stock market concentration as a proxy for market concentration in the economy, usually due to data constraints. The paper warns against this. Using the stock market for competition analysis incorrectly defines markets and competition, excludes most competitors, ignores important market dynamics and leads to erroneous results. Declining stock market concentration should not be taken as a sign that competition in the economy is improving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents firm mark‐ups and competition in Australia, and their impact on productivity, using administrative data. I find that mark‐ups increased by around 5 per cent since the mid 2000s, less than previously documented for Australia and slightly less than documented for the average advanced economy. While part appears to reflect technological change, part appears to reflect an increase in market power. This increase appears to explain part of the slowdown in productivity growth observed in Australia over the past decade, by slowing the efficient reallocation of resources from low productivity to high productivity firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrogen economy is on the verge of expansion across the globe. Leading economies like Japan, South Korea, China, the United States of America, Germany, and Australia are steadily pushing for greater hydrogen integration into their energy systems. Australia's thrust on the hydrogen economy becomes prominent with clear strategic actions to enhance clean technology‐based hydrogen production. The paper critically analyses Australia's strategies and policies to expand its hydrogen economy. The paper found that Australia fixed ambitious targets to increase hydrogen penetration in the domestic market and export to Japan, China, and South Korea. Australia's national hydrogen strategy emphasized creating a strong hydrogen value chain to capitalize on abundant renewable resources. This article affirms that Australia has enormous potential for cost‐competitive green hydrogen production and export. Australia's cost‐competitive green hydrogen production with modern supply chain infrastructure will offer competitive advantages over the other exporters. States/regions are trying to align their hydrogen policies and strategies along the lines of the national strategy. However, some concerns demand timely attention from the stakeholders. Australia should address multiple challenges, including a lack of investment, lower public awareness, and insufficient infrastructure to push hydrogen adoption in the domestic market. Further, Australia must utilize its strengths to take advantage of the emerging hydrogen markets in Japan, China, and South Korea. This article is categorized under:Sustainable Energy > Other RenewablesEmerging Technologies > Hydrogen and Fuel CellsPolicy and Economics > Regional and International Strategies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the highlights of the poster presentations at the 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting Organising Committee held in Sydney, New South Wales in Australia. Topics covered include fractured neck of femur pathway, co-development of a model of care for a multidisciplinary memory clinic in South Western Sydney, and evaluation of patient and carer perceptions towards enteral tube feeding in hip fracture inpatients.

Introduces the Critically Appraised Papers department of the 'Australian Occupational Therapy Journal.' Provision of one-page summaries of quantitative and qualitative research relevant to occupational therapy clinical practice; Citing of critically appraised papers; Contact information.

Productivity growth has declined in Australia and other developed countries over the past two decades. It has been argued that reduced dynamism and the failure of competition at an economy‐wide level is to blame, leading to calls for broad competition policy reforms. In this paper we consider the theoretical and empirical evidence to support this "failure of competition" narrative. We find that the evidence, at best, is ambiguous. Competition failures in some areas support the need for reform, but the competition landscape across Australia is complex and there is no simple link between indicators of competition, such as concentration levels; indicators of reduced dynamism, such as falling business investment, and falling productivity growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Historically, researchers have been apt at conducting research on, rather than with, the people who are the focus of their efforts. Such approaches often fail to effectively support and benefit the populations they are intended to. This study aimed to explore the preferences of people with lived experience for engagement with research either as research participants within studies, or through active involvement in mental health research. Methods: Data for this paper were collected in three separate lived experience agenda‐setting studies conducted over a 9‐year period from 2013 to 2022; two group discussions and an open‐ended online survey. Data were combined and thematic analysis undertaken. Results: Participants described the inclusion of lived experience as a critical ingredient and the highest level of knowledge and expertise in mental health research that should lead to knowledge generation and research agendas. Participants discussed the importance and value of research that enables sharing experiences and stories, expressed a need for flexibility in research methods for choice and agency, and support for greater active involvement of people with lived experience across all stages of research. Participants also spoke to the need for perspective and knowledge generated from people with lived experience to have equal power in research, making space for lived experience voices across multiple aspects of research, and greater respect and recognition of the value of lived experience. Conclusion: Lived experience in mental health research is coming of age, but dedicated, cocreated development is needed to get it right. People with lived experience increasingly understand the value their experiential knowledge brings to the mental health research effort, and describe a wide range of ways that researchers can support them to be research participants, and to get actively involved. Power‐sharing, respect and recognition of lived experience as central to effective mental health research are the keys to 'keeping it real'. Patient or Public Contribution: People with lived experience of mental health problems or distress either personally, and/or as carers, family and kinship group members, were involved in the coideation and codesign of this research. All authors identify as people with lived experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]