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"Revealing Secrets: An Unofficial History of Australian Signals Intelligence and the Advent of Cyber" by John Blaxland and Clare Birgin is a book that explores the history of Australian signals intelligence and surveillance technology. The authors aim to shed light on the role of signals intelligence in Australian history, which has often been hidden due to its secretive nature. The book covers various topics, including the origins of cryptology, the development of radio signals, and the contributions of signals intelligence during World War I and II. However, the post-1945 chapters are based on publicly available material, indicating a lack of cooperation from the Australian Signals Directorate. The book also addresses themes such as technological advancements, Australia's relationship with the US and UK, and the growing demand for accountability in intelligence agencies. [Extracted from the article]

The book "British India, White Australia: Overseas Indians, Intercolonial Relations and the Empire" by Kama Maclean explores the historical relationship between Australia, India, and Britain in the post-Federation era. The author examines how the White Australia Policy influenced and was influenced by racial constructs, Australian self-interest, and British pragmatism. Drawing on archival resources from India, Australia, and the UK, the book provides a pre-history of the current bilateral relationship between Australia and India. It also highlights alternative viewpoints and counter-narratives of agency and equality, shedding light on the experiences of the Indian diaspora in Australia. [Extracted from the article]

"Reaching Through Time: Finding My Family's Stories" by Shauna Bostock is a highly acclaimed book that aims to educate non-Aboriginal Australians about the historical injustices faced by Aboriginal Australians. Bostock, a Bundjalung historian, writes as an academically trained historian with a strong connection to her family and community. The book tells the compelling stories of her ancestors, connecting them to broader events in Australian history. It also serves as a guide for Indigenous Australians researching their own family histories and advocates for truth-telling and understanding between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. [Extracted from the article]

"Elizabeth and John: The Macarthurs of Elizabeth Farm" by Alan Atkinson explores the dynamic partnership between Elizabeth and John Macarthur, challenging the traditional narrative that focuses solely on John's public role in Australian settler colonial history. Atkinson examines how Elizabeth's education and intellectual curiosity contributed to their success as a couple, allowing John to establish new relationships and networks in the colony. The book delves into their emotional bonds and the complexities of their interactions with indigenous peoples. Atkinson's work is a comprehensive and engaging account that offers new insights into the lives of the Macarthurs and their place in Australian history. [Extracted from the article]

The changing social, cultural and physical characteristics and uses of public spaces by migrants are of longstanding interest to social scientists. Often embedded in uses of public spaces are splinters, resonances and connections to home and migration. This paper examines the religious spaces that Sri Lankan migrants engage with in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia. To untangle the complexities associated with these spaces, we integrate a framework of belonging that encompasses rituals, relationships and restrictions. A multilayered dataset, which includes interviews with the Sri Lankan diaspora, (auto)ethnography, field observations and photography, revealed that within the Sri Lankan diaspora, individuals often used religious spaces to maintain rituals and identities. The data uncovered that some participants in the diaspora used religious spaces to gather and socialise with other diaspora members while others had dynamic relationships with these spaces – that is, the meanings attributed to religious spaces were at times fraught with tensions and hostilities towards religious practice and feelings of welcome. In this paper, we offer a snapshot of a growing diaspora in Australia and their negotiations to belong (or not). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vocational decisions made at school have significant long term impacts on young people's life chances, their opportunities for securing decent jobs and economic growth for themselves, their families and communities. In the short term, their aspirations dictate the decisions they make about educational pathways in post-compulsory years of schooling and vocational and higher education. For young people from already marginalised backgrounds, the quality of support they have in making these decisions is crucially important. This paper examines a rapidly expanding vocational education program specifically designed for students with refugee backgrounds that was codeveloped between a state education authority and a community service provider in Sydney, Australia. Through an ecological understanding of individuals as nested within interrelated networks, this paper explores the perspectives of stakeholders ranging from the educators, careers teachers, employers, civic partners, and, crucially, the young people themselves in order to determine whether and through what means key program elements meet the needs of students from a refugee background and where gaps in the program ecology need to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to show how concepts and analytical methods of systemic functional linguistics can work congruently with other human practices to improve outcomes for those undergoing the suffering around loss of meaning and the absence of purposeful, self-directed experience. Based on a two-decade collaboration between linguists and psychotherapists in Sydney, Australia, and using the tools of text linguistics as developed by Michael A. K. Halliday and Ruqaiya Hasan in systemic functional theory, the paper presents an indicative selection of intense exchanges between traumatized persons and therapists (centrally the experience of 'Ruth'). The level by level linguistic descriptions of these exchanges offer opportunities for understanding how progress in the clinical interaction might be achieved. The descriptions can also be evaluated against the theoretical claims of psychotherapy in psychiatry – in particular, the emphasis of the Conversational Model of Psychotherapy developed in England and Australia by Robert Hobson and Russell Meares, whose characterization of disorders involves an emphasis on 'co-ordination' and 'cohesion' within frontal lobe activity of traumatized patients. In this way the paper also explores conceptual parallels and intellectual antecedents shared between the Conversational Model and Systemic Functional Linguistics, contributing to the broader intellectual history of the human sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite well-established Pasifika communities in Australia, there has been no examination of the English spoken by members of these communities in the sociolinguistic literature. Yet, research shows that Pasifika English may exhibit key differences from local 'mainstream' varieties. In this paper, we present a case study of members of a drill rap group with Pasifika heritage to examine whether Pasifika English features are evident in their speech. We first analyze their monophthong productions and compare these to those of mainstream Australian English speakers. We also analyze their dental fricative realizations to examine whether there is evidence of th-stopping and dh-stopping, commonly described as markers of Pasifika English. Finally, we investigate whether their speech is more syllable-timed than mainstream Australian English. The results show that these speakers produce monophthongs generally consistent with mainstream Australian English vowels, despite some small differences. We also show consistent th-fronting and dh-stopping in their speech, which serves as a marker of their Pasifika heritage. We find a tendency towards more syllable-timed speech; however, this occurs to a lesser extent than has been reported for other Pasifika varieties of English. The results suggest that these speakers index their Pasifika identities by employing indicators/markers of Pasifika English that diverge from mainstream Australian English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: There is a major research gap relating to the impact of intravenous (IV) fluids administration during labor on maternal and neonatal outcomes. It is biologically plausible that a relationship between volume of IV fluids and primary postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) exists. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate whether the administration of high‐volume IV fluids during labor (≥ 2500 mL) increases the risk of primary PPH and other adverse outcomes for women with a term, singleton pregnancy, in comparison to low‐volume IV fluids during labor (<2500 mL). Material and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at a tertiary referral hospital in Sydney, Australia between 1st September 2021 and 31st October 2022. Inclusion criteria were: women with a live singleton fetus in a cephalic presentation; planning a vaginal birth; and admitted for labor and birth care between 37 and 42 week gestation. The study factor was IV fluids during labor and the primary outcome was primary PPH ≥500 mL. Secondary outcomes included cesarean section and major perineal injury. Pregnancy, birth, and postnatal data were obtained from the hospital's electronic clinical database, electronic medical records, and paper fluid order documentation. Multivariable logistic regression and multiple imputation were used to explore the relationship between volume of IV fluids in labor and PPH. Results: A total of 1023 participants were included of which 339 had a primary PPH (33.1%). There was no association between high‐volume IV fluids and PPH after adjusting for demographic and clinical factors (adjusted odds ratio [ORadj]1.02 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 0.72, 1.44). However, there was a positive association between high‐volume IV fluids and cesarean section (ORadj 1.99; 95%CI 1.4, 2.8). Conclusions: The findings of this research are important to further knowledge relating to the administration of IV fluids during labor. The findings emphasize the importance of accurately documenting IV fluids administration and identifies research priorities to enable us to better understand the broader implications of IV fluids administration on pregnancy and perinatal outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores human, soil, compost and food waste interactions in a community composting initiative in Australia. Drawing on an ethnographic study in 2 Australian cities – Sydney and Canberra, this paper identifies the emergence of a “composting ethic” among participants that is animated by three forms of learning and doing: (1) noticing and attending, (2) embodying and (3) experimentation. Fieldwork analysis is contextualised in relation to literature from the environmental humanities, discard studies and learnings from First Nations Australians and their ontologies. By bringing these empirics, key literature and ontologies together, this paper aims to deepen understanding of the opportunities and challenges of community composting to reduce negative environmental impacts and support anti-colonial practices of discard. It does this by identifying the characteristics of a composting ethic and the contexts and skills capable of nurturing its emergence. Attention is also paid to what may limit realisation of such an ethic. Overall, this paper aims to generate further applied academic understanding about the unique role – and possibilities – of efforts to revitalise and grow city soils and advance anti-colonial food waste management through community composting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Electronic medical record (EMR) systems provide timely access to clinical information and have been shown to improve medication safety. However, EMRs can also create opportunities for error, including system-related errors or errors that were unlikely or not possible with the use of paper medication charts. This study aimed to determine the detection and mitigation strategies adopted by a health district in Australia to target system-related errors and to explore stakeholder views on strategies needed to curb future system-related errors from emerging. Methods: A qualitative descriptive study design was used comprising semi-structured interviews. Data were collected from three hospitals within a health district in Sydney, Australia, between September 2020 and May 2021. Interviews were conducted with EMR users and other key stakeholders (e.g. clinical informatics team members). Participants were asked to reflect on how system-related errors changed over time, and to describe approaches taken by their organisation to detect and mitigate these errors. Thematic analysis was conducted iteratively using a general inductive approach, where codes were assigned as themes emerged from the data. Results: Interviews were conducted with 25 stakeholders. Participants reported that most system-related errors were detected by front-line clinicians. Following error detection, clinicians either reported system-related errors directly to the clinical informatics team or submitted reports to the incident information management system. System-related errors were also reported to be detected via reports run within the EMR, or during organisational processes such as incident investigations or system enhancement projects. EMR redesign was the main approach described by participants for mitigating system-related errors, however other strategies, like regular user education and minimising the use of hybrid systems, were also reported. Conclusions: Initial detection of system-related errors relies heavily on front-line clinicians, however other organisational strategies that are proactive and layered can improve the systemic detection, investigation, and management of errors. Together with EMR design changes, complementary error mitigation strategies, including targeted staff education, can support safe EMR use and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia's major cities the new apartment approvals and number of apartment residents has increased over recent years. However, there remain concerns regarding the poor design quality of apartments and the living experiences of families with children. This paper examines the floor plan of 368 apartments in Sydney, including floor areas and number of bedrooms. Different typologies of spatial layout were determined using space syntax. Separate interviews were undertaken with (1) architects and developers to explore their strategies for apartment development and (2) families with children to examine their needs and whether these are met in recently delivered apartment layouts. Results show that two-bedroom apartments dominate the Sydney market, as do layouts without a hall/corridor. The reason is developers are focussed on meeting the needs of investor-purchasers, as opposed to the desires of families with children. This results in developers preferring one-and-two-bedroom apartments and standardised layouts. In contrast, parents desired a more diverse range of apartment layouts, in terms of privacy, supervision and shared spaces, notably influenced by the age of children. The paper concludes by examining the opportunities for flexible layouts as a mechanism to both meet developers' needs, whilst also addressing the diverse desires of families with children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) is not only disrupting industries and businesses, particularly the ones have fallen behind the adoption, but also significantly impacting public life as well. This calls for government authorities pay attention to public opinions and sentiments towards AI. Nonetheless, there is limited knowledge on what the drivers behind the public perception of AI are. Bridging this gap is the rationale of this paper. As the methodological approach, the study conducts an online public perception survey with the residents of Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, and explores the collected survey data through statistical analysis. The analysis reveals that: (a) the public is concerned of AI invading their privacy, but not much concerned of AI becoming more intelligent than humans; (b) the public trusts AI in their lifestyle, but the trust is lower for companies and government deploying AI; (c) the public appreciates the benefits of AI in urban services and disaster management; (d) depending on the local context, public perceptions vary; and (e) the drivers behind the public perception include gender, age, AI knowledge, and AI experience. The findings inform authorities in developing policies to minimise public concerns and maximise AI awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the benefits in terms of air quality from the decommissioning of the coal-fired Liddell Power Station (LPS) in the Greater Metropolitan Region of Sydney (GMR). The impact on air quality (NO, NO2, O3 and PM2.5) are modelled using CCAM-CTM air quality model and the results show that the difference in annual average concentration is small. For NO, the maximum difference is 1 ppb, while for NO2 the value is 0.75 ppb. These are annual average decrease of NO, NO2 concentration over the GMR. The most significant decrease of NO and NO2 occurs in the Upper Hunter near the LPS. For ozone (O3), the reduction of NOx emissions from LPS decommission resulted in a slight increase of O3 over a narrow area near the facility but this increase is gradually decreasing further away from the facility. The increase in O3 is about 0.65 ppb max around LPS. For PM2.5, the annual average decreases in most of the domain. The maximum change is at LPS (about 0.19 µg/m³). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Climate change generates multiple negative impacts for cities, such as the urban heat island effect. Social stresses, including social disadvantage and housing unaffordability, compound the poor living conditions of urban residents and make our cities less resilient. This paper considers a climate event (urban heat) and social stresses (housing affordability and urban disadvantage) to explore urban resilience in Sydney. We draw on a framework for building urban climate resilience, incorporating facets of urban resilience, social stresses that amplify crises, and solutions that strengthen individuals and communities with coping abilities to withstand climate events. The study diverges from aggregate city-level analyses that hide small-area differences in climate impacts and vulnerability. The findings reveal the spatiality of these natural and social impacts, identifying 11 critical areas in Sydney impacted by the highest levels of urban heat and urban disadvantage, and two critical areas impacted by the highest levels of urban heat and housing unaffordability. We highlight the importance of context-based approaches and place-based policies to address climate risks and social vulnerabilities on the path toward creating more resilient cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although an ever-increasing number of social interactions are taking place virtually, people's relationships with their neighbors remain important. Apartment residents make up a growing proportion of the population in cities worldwide, but there is evidence that many find it challenging to form and maintain local social connections, especially those renting their home. This can negatively impact physical and mental health, and have implications for the management of apartment complexes and local area social sustainability. In this paper, we draw on interviews (n = 41) with renters of four large case study condominium complexes in Sydney, Australia, to investigate their local social interactions. The findings reveal that while many renters desire greater local connection, their opportunities and motivations are limited by factors relating to mobility, tenure security, prejudice, and exclusion from building-related governance. The paper concludes by considering the scope for interventions in design, management and governance to enhance opportunities for social connection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing urbanization is driving rapid growth in residential multi-owned properties (RMOPs) worldwide. Concerns about the quality of these buildings are also growing in many countries. Yet research into the quality of RMOPs (particularly apartments) remains scant and under-theorized. Addressing this knowledge gap, this paper reports the results of research which employed information asymmetry theory to provide new insights into the prevalence and risks of building defects in the Australian RMOP construction market. Using data about defects in 635 RMOPs built in Sydney between 2008 and 2017 and semi-structured interviews with sixty-six experienced practitioners, the results highlight the severity of the defects crisis. The research identified two types of information asymmetries which exacerbate the risk of buying into a defective building for RMOP customers: data fragmentation and data robustness. From a policy and practical perspective, this highlights the challenges faced by consumers in undertaking 'due diligence' and the need for reforms that address these information asymmetries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractEstate renewal has come to be touted as a means of improving social housing supply both qualitatively and quantitatively, replacing ageing and under-maintained dwellings and increasing the total stock of social housing. In this paper, we examine the latter claim. We develop novel measures and methods for calculating the social housing supply impacts of estate renewal, taking account of the reduction in supply caused by tenant relocations and dwelling demolitions prior to the delivery of new social housing. Using administrative data on tenant relocations and dwelling completions for three projects in Sydney, we calculate the social housing accommodation deficit caused by the renewal process, subsequently, the time required for each project to deliver more nights of accommodation than this deficit. These measures illuminate the significant impacts of estate renewal on the social housing system and problematize its justification based on gross or net social housing supply. They constitute a valuable method for examining estate renewal, wherever it may occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Veganism is becoming more popular as the social, environmental, and ethical impacts of animal agriculture become better known. This is creating new opportunities and challenges as an array of economic actors seek to profit from and contribute to the movement. In this paper, we analyse how small plant-based food businesses are engaging with and influencing vegan politics through a case study of Sydney, Australia. Through interviews and an online audit, we analyse the motivations, goals and practices of small businesses; their geographies, inclusions and exclusions; and the benefits and tensions that arise from the merging of business with politics. We find evidence that small businesses are actively and creatively engaged in quiet, collaborative, affirmative and visceral forms of activism that prefigure the skills, ingredients, tastes and knowledge required to transition away from animal agriculture. However, we also find that plant-based businesses avoid the term vegan, are becoming whiter, and are producing more masculine and expensive foods, such as meat analogues, in response to market pressures. We conclude that small businesses are important but overlooked actors within vegan politics that are contributing to race, gender and class biases, and should be engaged with in the pursuit of less exploitative food systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In honouring the legacy of Jude Byrne's life‐long advocacy for women and mothers who use drugs, this paper presents a case study of a group of women about whom we know little about and hear even less from: women who inject drugs in relatively affluent suburbs. Methods: Based on a 2020 qualitative study of people who inject drugs in an affluent area of Sydney known as 'The Beaches', we use in‐depth interview data to thematically explore the lived experiences of gendered stigma among women who inject drugs. Results: Even when women occupy the 'ideal' social position in terms of class (middle‐class) and race (White) they remain subject to harmful forms of gendered stigma related to injecting drug use. Participants had internalised negative attitudes around injection drug use as a form of failed femininity and, despite being part of 'good' families and neighbourhoods, participants experienced forced child removal. Discussion and Conclusions: Taking the lead from feminist intersectionality scholarship, our data illustrate how stigma and discrimination act as a form of structural violence against women who inject drugs in affluent communities. While the social relations of gender provide some degree of protection by 'performing proximity to Whiteness', gendered stigma and violence persist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the strategies used by Aboriginal young people to build positive relationships and sexual wellbeing. It does so to counter the risk-focussed narratives present in much existing research and to showcase the resourcefulness of Aboriginal young people. We used peer-interview methods to collect qualitative data from 52 Aboriginal young people living in western Sydney, Australia. Participants reported a strong desire to stay safe and healthy in their sexual relationships and to achieve this they relied heavily on oral communication and yarning strategies. Participants viewed communication as a way to gain or give advice (about bodies, infections, pregnancy, relationships); to assess the acceptability and safety of potential partners; to negotiate consent with partners; to build positive relationships; and to get themselves out of unhealthy relationships. Participants also discussed 'self-talk' as a strategy for building sexual wellbeing, referring to narratives of self-respect and pride in culture as important in establishing Aboriginal young people's positive views of self and as deserving of respectful and safe sexual relationships. These findings suggest that future programmes and interventions based on yarning could be well-regarded, given it is a cultural form of pedagogy and a strategy Aboriginal young people already use to build positive relationships and identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1894, three Sydney members of the British Astronomical Association - John Tebbutt, Walter Gale and Robert Innes, all well-known astronomers-recruited 10 others to join them in appealing to the Council in London to form a local branch. This was granted on 1894 November 28, and the New South Wales Branch held its inaugural meeting on 1895 ]anuary 30. This paper looks at the 18 people from Sydney who were members of the BAA prior to the first meeting. That meeting created much local interest and many people joined immediately afterwards. The next cohort of 48 members admitted on 1895 March 1 is also discussed, with three people of note emphasised. A wide range of knowledge and expertise is found among the early members of the Branch, ranging from highly capable amateurs like the three founders, augmented by a small number of professionals, to those who made little or no contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Limited evidence exists regarding medication administration errors (MAEs) on general paediatric wards or associated risk factors exists. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify nurse, medication, and work-environment factors associated with MAEs among paediatric inpatients. Methods: This was a prospective, direct observational study of 298 nurses in a paediatric referral hospital in Sydney, Australia. Trained observers recorded details of 5137 doses prepared and administered to 1530 children between 07:00 h and 22:00 h on weekdays and weekends. Observation data were compared with medication charts to identify errors. Clinical errors, potential severity and actual harm were assessed. Nurse characteristics (e.g. age, sex, experience), medication type (route, high-risk medications, use of solvent/diluent), and work variables (e.g. time of administration, weekday/weekend, use of an electronic medication management system [eMM], presence of a parent/carer) were collected. Multivariable models assessed MAE risk factors for any error, errors by route, potentially serious errors, and errors involving high-risk medication or causing actual harm. Results: Errors occurred in 37.0% (n = 1899; 95% confidence interval [CI] 35.7–38.3) of administrations, 25.8% (n = 489; 95% CI 23.8–27.9) of which were rated as potentially serious. Intravenous infusions and injections had high error rates (64.7% [n = 514], 95% CI 61.3–68.0; and 77.4% [n = 188], 95% CI 71.7–82.2, respectively). For intravenous injections, 59.7% (95% CI 53.4–65.6) had potentially serious errors. No nurse characteristics were associated with MAEs. Intravenous route, early morning and weekend administrations, patient age ≥ 11 years, oral medications requiring solvents/diluents and eMM use were all significant risk factors. MAEs causing actual harm were 45% lower using an eMM compared with paper charts. Conclusion: Medication error prevention strategies should target intravenous administrations and not neglect older children in hospital. Attention to nurses' work environments, including improved design and integration of medication technologies, is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia has a hidden but growing problem with household food insecurity, revealing the failure of conventional food infrastructures to support human flourishing. Disruptions to employment and livelihoods due to pandemic lockdowns have exacerbated household food insecurity, evincing the uneven geography of food access in countries globally, including Australia. Increasing demand for food relief had been observed prior to the COVID‐19 pandemic and has been met by food relief providers, which we consider as infrastructures of care addressing growing levels of hunger. This paper reveals COVID‐19's many impacts on the food relief sector across Metropolitan Sydney, New South Wales. It analyses both a questionnaire of food relief providers in 2022 and media articles, social media posts, reports, and websites. It provides much‐needed insights into the impacts of pandemic lockdowns on the demand for food, interruptions to food provisioning, changes to food supply, and alterations made to suppliers' ways of operating. Those insights show how infrastructures of care are place‐based, responsive, dynamic, and constrained by caring capacities. Such insights are increasingly important for understanding infrastructural failures, documenting the real extent of household food insecurity, and challenging dominant discourses of Australia as a food‐secure nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing diversity, which refers to the existence of a variety of housing options tailored to accommodate diverse lifestyles, cultural backgrounds and financial capacities, remains conspicuously deficient in Australian cities. In recognition of the imperative to investigate the housing needs of various family types, this study undertakes a qualitative analysis of the housing experiences within multigenerational Lebanese Australian families. The paper analyses data collected through in-depth interviews and household tours of 20 participants from 15 different households situated in Western Sydney's and Greater Brisbane's metropolitan areas. The study documents the housing experiences of four sub-types of multigenerational families and elucidates the processes by which domestic architectural configurations are adapted and formulated to meet the needs of diverse multigenerational family arrangements. The study reveals that housing designs play a central role in shaping both positive and negative experiences for Lebanese Australian families, many of which parallel the experiences encountered by broader mainstream Australian society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition required to remove coal from the global energy mix will have major implications across coal producing regions. There is limited work, however, that explores how this transition is being received by communities with multi-generational connections to the industry. This paper explores understandings and responses to transition in the Australian community of Singleton. Located 145 km north of Sydney in the Upper Hunter Valley, the local area has been a site of coal mining activity since the 1850s – helping foster a strong connection between industry and place. Using an emotional geographies framework, we uncover various local feelings associated with the prospect of a future without coal. While these emotional responses can stem from the anticipated material losses of mines and jobs, they have also been found to stem from the mutually imbricated threats posed by a 'hidden dimension of loss'. This dimension of loss positions mining as much more than an emotionless economic activity. Instead, it is uncovered as an activity – a tradition – that can define understandings of place. Whilst set in Australia, this study holds relevance for mining communities internationally faced with the disruption of existing ways of life, identities, and understandings of place as the energy transition unfolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban regeneration has emerged as a policy response to disadvantage which characterises social housing estates across Australian cities. This paper explores the regeneration of the Ivanhoe social housing estate, focusing on forced tenant relocations. We argue that the State Housing Authority (SHA) utilised existing care networks to facilitate relocation. We investigate how The Salvation Army (TSA), a local service provider on the estate since 2001, were used to enable relocation. Adopting a conceptual framework centred on the idea of 'care', we reveal three interconnected themes. First, we argue that presence of TSA on the estate is a form of local service provision based on a foundation of long-term 'caring with' tenants to build community and address disadvantage. Second, these long-term 'caring with' relationships transitioned into a form of 'caring for' within the context estate regeneration and forced tenant relocation. Third, the efforts by TSA to care for tenants were mobilised by the SHA to expediate relocation, enabling regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic and consequent health regulations compelled office‐based knowledge workers to work from home (WFH) en masse. Government and employer directives to WFH disrupted common norms of commuting to city office spaces and reshaped the geographies of office‐based knowledge work, with potentially lasting implications. Pandemic‐induced cohabitation of work‐space and home‐space saw more workers navigating the performance of paid labour in the home to produce new relational geographies of home, work, and worker. This paper provides a window on the lived experiences of the sizeable cohort of office‐based knowledge workers displaced from Sydney's CBD to undertake WFH in the Illawarra region during the pandemic. We explore the unfolding pandemic geographies of work and home by drawing together feminist economic geography and geographies of home literatures. Our analysis reveals the emergent and variegated time‐spaces of WFH that emerged as the rhythms and routines of WFH shaped the home and vice versa. The analysis also reveals the differentiated agency of embodied workers to orchestrate emergent configurations of WFH, shaped by gender and by the socio‐materialities of home shaped by size, tenure, and life‐cycle stage. We conclude by drawing out important lines of analysis for further research as "hybrid work" evidently becomes entrenched post‐COVID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The substantial burden of low back pain on patients and healthcare systems is exacerbated by unclear pathology and ineffective diagnostic methods, hindering effective management. The painDETECT questionnaire (PD-Q) has been used to facilitate the evaluation and categorization of low back pain. While preliminary validation and translations of the paper-based format of PD-Q into languages such as Spanish and Dutch have been accomplished, the underlying factor model inherent to the electronic format of the PD-Q remains to be established. The objective of this study was to utilise confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to investigate the factor structure of an electronic format PD-Q among patients with neuropathic low back pain. This cross-sectional study was conducted at a Spinal Clinic in Sydney between November 2020 and October 2022. Eligible participants were adults over 18 with low back pain and no history of lumbar surgery or systemic co-morbidities. Participants completed the electronic format of the PD-Q, and CFA was employed to assess the validity of the suggested two-factor, nine-item structure. Recommended cut-offs for goodness-of-fit indices were used to evaluate the model fit. Of the 236 patients that visited the clinic during the data collection period, 142 (71, 50% female, mean age 51.26 ± 15.28 years) participated in the study. Median pain severity was 9/10 over 4 weeks. CFA indicated strong model fit, with goodness-of-fit and comparative fit indices over 0.9, and overall internal consistency was 0.77. Construct validity analysis demonstrated the PD-Q's effectiveness in distinguishing neuropathic, mixed, and nociceptive LBP, aiding neuropathic pain evaluation in low back pain patients. This study confirms the reliability and two-factor structure of the electronic PD-Q for neuropathic pain assessment in low back pain patients. To enhance comprehension of the clinical applicability of the electronic format PD-Q, future research should conduct clinimetric evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The outcomes of information behaviours have traditionally been conceptualised as use or effects. The adoption of a sociological stance, based on a practices approach, provides the opportunity to challenge these understandings. The non-Western setting further enhances the possibilities for conceptualising the outcomes of information practices as forms of capital. Design/methodology/approach: This ethnographic study uses a Bourdieusian approach to investigate the information practices of diasporic devotees and monks of a Theravada Buddhist Temple in Sydney, Australia. The insider position of one researcher brought strong insights into the data, while the theoretical approach shared with the other researchers reinforced an outsider perspective. Findings: The Temple's online sources and personal communication with other devotees provide a diverse range of sources that devotees use in information-based cultural practices and everyday life information practices. These practices lead to outcomes that can be identified as economic, social and cultural capital. Pin or merit emerges as an important outcome of practices which is not easily accommodated by the concept of outcome, nor by Bourdieu's categories of capital. Originality/value: Adding to the small number of studies concerned with information practices in a spiritual context, this study shows the value of a Bourdieusian approach in identifying the outcomes of information practices as capital, but highlights the shortcomings of applying Western concepts in non-Western settings. It proposes the possibility of a new form of capital, which will need to be tested rigorously in studies in other spiritual settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pursuing Sustainable Development Goal 4 has led to more children and youth accessing schooling than at any point in history. However, this expansion of provision has not been without workforce challenges. UNESCO modelling indicates a global shortfall of 44 million teachers by 2030. The challenge of having a sufficiently qualified school education workforce where it is needed is amplified in locations where affordable quality stock of housing is limited. With most of the world's population urbanising, cities represent a new frontier in understanding the complexity of current and forthcoming teacher shortages, with significant public policy implications. Interventions aimed at individual workers, schools, or administrative boundaries have failed to arrest staff shortages as they are frequently applied too late or based on potential rather than realised data. This paper develops a novel measure, the Workforce Catchment Area (WFCA), and tests its applicability in the Australian city of Sydney. Analysis demonstrates that when integrated with housing and transportation costs it is possible to identify workforce distribution as a contributor to teacher shortages, and generate the data and evidence required by policy makers to set explicit policy goals and markers of success. • Housing the school education workforce is an under-studied issue in seeking to address teacher shortages. • Introduces a novel measure, Workforce Catchment Area (WFCA), and tests its applicability in the Australian city of Sydney. • Overcomes limitations of supply and demand ratios, closest workplace, and is based on realised rather than modelled flows. • Provides data on workforce distribution and a basis for targeted and tailored solutions by identifying areas under stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased loneliness associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has been widely reported, with healthcare workers at increased risk compared to the general population. Pre-pandemic research indicates that loneliness has long-term detrimental effects on mental well-being, but the effect of loneliness in the context of COVID-19 is not clear. We conducted an online survey of healthcare workers (HCWs) at a large teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia after the peak of the first wave of the pandemic in 2020. Over one-third experienced loneliness at the peak of the first wave. An observed association with high psychological distress in subsequent months was attenuated after adjusting for status of mental well-being during the peak and before the pandemic. Mental well-being during the peak of the pandemic and, to a lesser extent, mental well-being before the pandemic were the strongest predictors of later distress. Increased conflict at home was also predictive of later distress. The mental health of HCWs is an important consideration at any time and is especially so in the face of crises such as the current global pandemic. Strategies to enhance baseline mental well-being and bolster well-being during crisis situations should assist HCWs cope with unexpected stressors and reduce the associated detrimental psychological consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E -commerce's rapid expansion has transformed consumer shopping habits and business operations. While it offers the potential to reduce customer trips, it has also contributed to increased vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) by delivery vehicles, resulting in elevated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, especially in last-mile deliveries. This paper proposes a spatial approach to address the uncapacitated single allocation hub covering problem (USAHCP) to reduce the VKT by optimising the number and location of logistics hub. In this approach, the spatial features and strategic legislation of metropolitan areas are analysed. Integrating existing models, this location-based approach aims to design a collaborative last mile distribution network by locating micro-consolidation centres (MCCs) in metropolitan areas to service parcel lockers where end customers pick up their parcels. The method is applied to Sydney, Australia, using data provided by the largest courier companies in Australia. The results show that incorporating MCCs in the network reduces VKT due to their proximity to final destinations. Sensitivity analyses are conducted by differentiating maximum driving time constraints and specific times of day reflecting traffic patterns. The results provide significant advantages for logistics stakeholders, notably Transport for NSW, by reducing VKT and GHG emissions. Moreover, the developed method can be utilised by carriers and shippers in their strategic and operational decisions to enhance overall delivery speed and reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of remote sensing image captioning (RSIC), mainstream methods typically adopt an encoder–decoder framework. Methods based on this framework often use only simple feature fusion strategies, failing to fully mine the fine-grained features of the remote sensing image. Moreover, the lack of context information introduction in the decoder results in less accurate generated sentences. To address these problems, we propose a two-stage feature enhancement model (TSFE) for remote sensing image captioning. In the first stage, we adopt an adaptive feature fusion strategy to acquire multi-scale features. In the second stage, we further mine fine-grained features based on multi-scale features by establishing associations between different regions of the image. In addition, we introduce global features with scene information in the decoder to help generate descriptions. Experimental results on the RSICD, UCM-Captions, and Sydney-Captions datasets demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms existing state-of-the-art approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In January 2021, Australia initiated a national COVID-19 vaccine rollout strategy but faced setbacks, leading to negative press and media controversy, which may have diminished vaccine confidence. This study aimed to assess the factors influencing vaccine confidence in Australian adults (≥18 years of age) following the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine. Conducted at Blacktown Hospital, Sydney, a cross-sectional survey with 1053 respondents gauged vaccine confidence and influencing factors. The results showed overall high confidence (mean score 33/40). Trusted sources included the Australian Department of Health (77.8%), NSW Health (76.7%), and general practitioners (53.7%), while social media was distrusted (5.9%). The motivations for vaccination varied: university-educated individuals prioritised personal health (X2 = 17.81; p < 0.001), while religious and/or older respondents (≥50 years of age) emphasised community (X2 = 11.69; p < 0.001) and family protection (X2 = 17.314; p < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression revealed use of the Australian Department of Health website as a trusted source of COVID-19 information as the strongest predictor of high confidence (>30; OR 1.43; p = 0.041), while exposure to fake news decreased confidence (OR 0.71; p = 0.025). The study underscores the importance of reliable health information sources in bolstering vaccine confidence and highlights the detrimental effects of misinformation. Promoting awareness of trustworthy health channels is crucial to combat vaccine hesitancy in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Urban Studies (Sage Publications, Ltd.) is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. 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.)

Purpose: Difficult temperament coupled with other risk factors may lead to mental health problems in childhood and have long-lasting effects in adolescence and adulthood. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of parental perception of difficult temperament in toddlers and identify significant factors associated with individual and family-level sociodemographic risk factors. Patients and Methods: The prevalence of parental perception of difficult temperament was derived from items in the 18-month follow-up questionnaire within the Watch Me Grow (WMG) longitudinal birth cohort study in a multicultural and socioeconomically disadvantaged community in Sydney, Australia. Data was available for 500 children and their parents. Descriptive analysis was used to calculate the participant characteristics and the prevalence of parental perception of difficult temperament, whereas multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to assess significant risk factors associated with a difficult temperament. Results: Parental perception of difficult temperament in the cohort was 7.3% (n = 492). Findings of the multivariable logistic regression showed that screen time > 2 hours a day (AOR 2.43, 95% CI: 1.2, 4.9), child not being read to (AOR 3.92, 95% CI: 1.8, 8.5), and family history of mental health problems (AOR 2.69, 95% CI: 1.1, 6.5) significantly increased the odds of having a difficult temperament. Conclusion: Toddlers with difficult temperament were less likely to have received stimulatory experiences, and their families were more likely to be under greater stress. The findings emphasize the importance of parental support and anticipatory guidance in promoting nurturing care to facilitate child health and development, particularly in disadvantaged communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extensive set of experiments were conducted in this study to evaluate the impacts of different levels of loading and unloading on compressibility characteristics of landfill waste materials. To achieve this purpose, a large undisturbed waste sample with a diameter of 250 mm was collected from a landfill site, in Sydney. The collected sample was composed of mainly construction waste, decayed organic material, wood, metal, plastic, glass, paper, and cardboard. A large diameter Rowe cell setup was utilised to saturate the undisturbed sample followed by multi-stage unloading and reloading consolidation and creep tests, lasting approximately 330 days. The testing data on the landfill waste were used to determine the compression and recompression indices, as well as the coefficient of consolidation and creep index. These experimental results demonstrate that the compressibility parameters of the collected landfill material significantly depend on the loading history, and in particular, the over consolidation ratio. The findings revealed that the stress history of the waste material has a significant effect on the primary settlement and its rate as well as the long-term creep rate. Thus, it is inferred that the application of the preloading method can improve the compressibility parameters and significantly reduce the post-construction consolidation and creep settlement of landfills. • Rowe cell was utilised for unloading and reloading consolidation and creep tests on landfill waste from Sydney for 330 days. • Correlations were established forvariations of coefficient of consolidation and creep index with over consolidation ratio. • Preloading for closed landfill sites can significantly reduce the post-construction settlement of the waste including creep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Active engagement in leisure activities has positive effects on individuals' health outcomes and social functioning; however, there is limited understanding of the link between participation in leisure activities, particularly non-exercise activities, and falls in older adults. This study aimed to determine the relationship between participation in leisure activities and the incidence of falls, and the variation of this relationship by dementia status in residential aged care facilities (RACFs). Methods: A retrospective longitudinal cohort study utilising routinely collected data (January 2021-August 2022) from 25 RACFs in Sydney, Australia, was conducted. The cohort included 3,024 older permanent residents (1,493 with dementia and 1,531 without) aged ≥65 and with a stay of ≥1 week. The level of participation in leisure activities was measured using the number of leisure activities per 1,000 resident days and divided into quartiles. Outcome measures were the incidence rate of all falls and injurious falls (i.e., number of falls per 1,000 resident days). We used multilevel negative binary regression to examine the relationship between leisure participation and fall incidence. Results: For the whole sample, leisure participation was significantly inversely associated with the incidence rate of all falls and injurious falls. For example, residents in the high leisure participation group were 26% less likely to experience a fall compared to those in the low leisure participation group after controlling for confounders (incidence rate ratio = 0.74, 95% confidence interval = 0.60, 0.91). Such inverse relationship was observed in both exercise and non-exercise activities and was stronger among residents without dementia. Conclusions: Leisure participation is associated with a lower rate of falls, a key quality indicator by which RACFs are benchmarked and funded in Australia and many other countries. More recognition and attention are needed for the currently underfunded leisure activities in RACFs in future funding arrangement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nautanki Theatre Company (Nautanki) has been actively performing drama in Sydney since 2012, and it has been organising the South Asian Theatre Festival since 2016. We study their discourses, cultural politics, and practices; conduct an ethnographic observation of performances; and interview performers, organisers, and survey audiences of the 2019 theatre festival in-depth. We contend that by hosting performances and events, Nautanki creates a space for amicable, intercultural dwellings in which collective identity is forged through cross-cultural dialogue, deliberation, embodied aesthetics, and bottom-up intercultural ethics that shift state-promoted top-down multicultural ideas and policies. Nautanki also instils a sense of longing for cultural novelty, authenticity, and participation, and creates a hybrid cultural 'South Asian' community identity, in Sydney. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Existing traditional cognitive screening tools for dementia have various limitations, including overreliance on tests assessing verbal memory and, to a lesser extent, on some aspects of executive functioning. Comprehensive neuropsychological assessment is sensitive to impairment but time-intensive and expensive. Virtual reality may provide a dynamic and unique understanding of cognitive performance and increase the ecological validity of cognitive assessment. The use of virtual reality in screening for cognitive function in older persons is promising, but evidence for its use remains sparse. Objective: Our primary aim was to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a newly developed, virtual reality assessment module, 'Leaf Café', a computer-based program that assesses cognition in an engaging, efficient, and ecologically relevant way. The secondary aim was to assess the ability of the module to discriminate between performances of younger and older adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Sydney, Australia, targeting adults aged 18 years and above. Participants completed a traditional cognitive screening tool (Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status-Modified, TICS-M) and Leaf Café, a low-immersive virtual reality module designed to evaluate learning and memory, perceptual-motor function, and executive functioning. The total performance score for each participant, ranging from 0 to 180, was correlated with their cognitive performance assessed by TICS-M, using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Following module completion, participants were presented with an open and closed-question survey to capture their perceptions, attitudes, and feedback on the module, encompassing practicality, acceptability, and enjoyment. Both descriptive and content analyses were employed to interpret the obtained data. Results: A sample of 131 participants (mean age 54.9 years, SD = 20.8, range 20–85) took part. The majority were female (71.8%) and born in an English-speaking country (75.8%). The mean amount of time spent in the module was 32.8 min (SD = 13.3) with a mean module score of 107.6 (SD = 38.7). Most participants completed the highest level (5; 80.5%). There was a significant correlation between Leaf Café total scores with TICS-M cognitive scores overall, and for both younger (aged 18–64 years) and older adult (aged 65 + years) groups. No significant difference was found on performance between age groups on TICS-M performance, however, younger adults had significantly better performance on the Leaf Café module than older adults (M = 124.1 vs 95.9; p <.001). Participants had similar response proportions regarding user experience with most agreeing that the module was easy to use (84%) and to navigate (85%). Compared with younger adults, older adults had lower rates of agreement on the module's design (36.8% vs 64.3%; p =.020) and support experienced (20.5% vs 53.6%; p =.007). Participants highlighted the significance of practicality and the cognitive challenges presented by the module, in terms of memory strain and user interface concerns. Feedback encompassed different opinions on the usefulness of music, with suggestions for improvements centred around clearer instructions, varied game dynamics, and considerations for diverse user needs. Conclusions: Leaf Café is a feasible and acceptable tool to be used for screening for cognitive impairment in older adults and has real-world assessment value. Further verification on the game's utility in detecting cognitive impairment is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The number of older people experiencing homelessness in Australia is rising, yet there is a lack of specialised residential care for older people subject to homelessness with high care and palliative needs. To address this significant gap, a purpose-built care home was recently opened in Sydney, Australia. Methods: This qualitative study explores the experiences of both residents and staff who were living and working in the home over the first twelve months since its opening. Residents were interviewed at baseline (n = 32) and after six months (n = 22), while staff (n = 13) were interviewed after twelve months. Interviews were analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis approach informed by grounded theory. Results: Three main themes emerged: (1) Challenges in providing care for older people subject to homelessness with high care needs; (2) Defining a residential care service that supports older people subject to homelessness with high care needs, and (3) Perception of the impact of living and working in a purpose-built care home after six months (residents) and twelve months (staff) since its opening. A key finding was that of the complex interplay between resident dependency and behaviours, referral pathways and stakeholder engagement, government funding models and requirements, staff training and wellbeing, and the need to meet operational viability. Conclusion: This study provides novel insights into how the lives of older people subject to homelessness with high care needs are affected by living in a specifically designed care home, and on some of the challenges faced and solved by staff working in the care home. A significant gap in the healthcare system remains when it comes to the effective provision of high care for older people subject to homelessness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]