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Background: Lone parents and their children experience higher than average levels of adverse health and social outcomes, much of which are explained by high rates of poverty. Many high income countries have attempted to address high poverty rates by introducing employment requirements for lone parents in receipt of welfare benefits. However, there is evidence that employment may not reduce poverty or improve the health of lone parents and their children.Methods: We conducted a systematic review of qualitative studies reporting lone parents' accounts of participation in welfare to work (WtW), to identify explanations and possible mechanisms for the impacts of WtW on health and wellbeing. Twenty one bibliographic databases were searched. Two reviewers independently screened references and assessed study quality. Studies from any high income country that met the criteria of focussing on lone parents, mandatory WtW interventions, and health or wellbeing were included. Thematic synthesis was used to investigate analytic themes between studies.Results: Screening of the 4703 identified papers and quality assessment resulted in the inclusion of 16 qualitative studies of WtW in five high income countries, USA, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand, covering a variety of welfare regimes. Our synthesis found that WtW requirements often conflicted with child care responsibilities. Available employment was often poorly paid and precarious. Adverse health impacts, such as increased stress, fatigue, and depression were commonly reported, though employment and appropriate training was linked to increased self-worth for some. WtW appeared to influence health through the pathways of conflict and control, analytical themes which emerged during synthesis. WtW reduced control over the nature of employment and care of children. Access to social support allowed some lone parents to manage the conflict associated with employment, and to increase control over their circumstances, with potentially beneficial health impacts.Conclusion: WtW can result in increased conflict and reduced control, which may lead to negative impacts on mental health. Availability of social support may mediate the negative health impacts of WtW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Midlife, beginning at 40 years and extending to 65 years, a range that encompasses the late reproductive to late menopausal stages, is a unique time in women's lives, when hormonal and physical changes are often accompanied by psychological and social evolution. Access to sexual health and sexual well-being (SHSW) services, which include the prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, contraception and the support of sexual function, pleasure and safety, is important for the health of midlife women, their relationships and community cohesion. The objective was to use the socio-ecological model to synthesise the barriers and enablers to SHSW services for midlife women in high-income countries. A systematic review of the enablers and barriers to women (including trans-gender and non-binary people) aged 40–65 years accessing SHSW services in high-income countries was undertaken. Four databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Google Scholar) were searched for peer-reviewed publications. Findings were thematically extracted and reported in a narrative synthesis. Eighty-one studies were included; a minority specifically set out to study SHSW care for midlife women. The key barriers that emerged were the intersecting disadvantage of under-served groups, poor knowledge, about SHSW, and SHSW services, among women and their healthcare professionals (HCPs), and the over-arching effect of stigma, social connections and psychological factors on access to care. Enablers included intergenerational learning, interdisciplinary and one-stop women-only services, integration of SHSW into other services, peer support programmes, representation of minoritised midlife women working in SHSW, local and free facilities and financial incentives to access services for under-served groups. Efforts are needed to enhance education about SHSW and related services among midlife women and their healthcare providers. This increased education should be leveraged to improve research, public health messaging, interventions, policy development and access to comprehensive services, especially for midlife women from underserved groups. Plain language summary: Sexual health and sexual wellbeing services for midlife women in high income countries Midlife, beginning at 40 years and extending to 65 years, a range that encompasses the late reproductive to late menopausal stages, is a unique time in women's lives. Access to Sexual Health and Sexual Wellbeing (SHSW) services, which include the prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, contraception and the support of sexual function, pleasure and safety, is important for the health of midlife women, their relationships and community cohesion. The objective of this systematic review was to use the socio-ecological model to synthesise the barriers and enablers to SHSW services for midlife women in high income countries. Eighty-one studies were included; a minority specifically set out to study SHSW care for midlife women. The key barriers that emerged were the intersecting disadvantage of under-served groups, poor knowledge, about SHSW, and SHSW services, among women and their HealthCare Professionals (HCPs), and the over-arching effect of stigma, social connections, and psychological factors on access to care. Enablers included intergenerational learning, interdisciplinary and one-stop women-only services, integration of SHSW into other services, peer support programmes, representation of minoritised midlife women working in SHSW, local and free facilities, and financial incentives for under-served groups to access services. The appetite for education about SHSW and SHSW services among midlife women and their HCPs should be capitalised upon, and utilised to improve research, public health messaging, interventions and access to holistic services, particularly for midlife women from under-served groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching and learning research in higher education, often referred to as the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), is still relatively novel in many academic contexts compared to the mainstay of disciplinary research. One indication of this is the challenges those who engage in SoTL report in terms of how this work is valued or considered credible amongst disciplinary colleagues and in the face of institutional policies and practices. This paper moves beyond the literature that describes these specific challenges to investigate how 23 experienced SoTL researchers from five different countries understood the notion of credibility in relationship to their SoTL research and how they went about developing credibility for their work. Semistructured interviews were facilitated and analyzed using inductive analysis. Findings indicate that notions of credibility encompassed putting SoTL research into action and building capacity and community around research findings, as well as gaining external validation through traditional indicators such as publishing. SoTL researchers reported a variety of strategies and approaches they were using, both formal and informal, to develop credibility for their work. The direct focus of this paper on "credibility" of SoTL work as perceived by experienced SoTL researchers, and how they go about developing credibility, is a distinct contribution to the discussions about the valuing of SoTL work.

Introduction. The global prevalence of diabetes is a pressing public health concern. Over 400 million individuals live with the effects of the disease, predominantly in low- and middleincome countries. In Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), over 300 000 people have diabetes, resulting in a population rate of 43.1 per 1000. Enabling nurses to prescribe diabetes medications enhances accessibility and improves health outcomes for large sections of the population. Aim. This rapid review was undertaken to investigate the influence of nurse prescribing on health care delivery for individuals with diabetes in NZ, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada, countries sharing comparable health care systems and multicultural backgrounds. Methods. The review protocol was published on PROSPERO. In November 2022, a search was conducted across multiple databases to locate relevant literature and resources constrained to the last decade (from January 2012 to November 2022). Utilising the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses framework, data extraction was systematically structured, while rigorous appraisal processes upheld selection quality. Results. Fifteen publications were identified as meeting predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The review of these articles revealed four main themes: the impact of nurse prescribing on clinical outcomes, levels of patient satisfaction, implications for health care service provisions, and identification of barriers and facilitators associated with nurse prescribing. Discussion. This report identifies outcomes of nurse prescribing, concluding it provides a potential avenue for enhancing access to and alleviating the burden on health care systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to provide a cogent outline of the current policies that six separate countries have on Individual Education Plans (IEPs), identifying the key features in each system. The chosen countries are Australia (Queen Island), Canada (British Columbia), New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Saudi Arabia. The aim of the paper was to have greater insights of the globalisation of IEPs at public schools in these above countries. It looked into a set of factors closely associated with each other; such as, to enable the exploration of how IEP policy is implemented at public schools in the same countries. The findings from the literature review showed a number of gaps in the current frameworks. Therefore, this has led the researcher to work further on these frameworks for the purpose of this paper.

While ChatGPT has recently become very popular, AI has a long history and philosophy. This paper intends to explore the promises and pitfalls of the Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) AI and potentially future technologies by adopting a speculative methodology. Speculative future narratives with a specific focus on educational contexts are provided in an attempt to identify emerging themes and discuss their implications for education in the 21st century. Affordances of (using) AI in Education (AIEd) and possible adverse effects are identified and discussed which emerge from the narratives. It is argued that now is the best of times to define human vs AI contribution to education because AI can accomplish more and more educational activities that used to be the prerogative of human educators. Therefore, it is imperative to rethink the respective roles of technology and human educators in education with a future-oriented mindset.

An increasing number of Chinese students pursue their higher education degree in an overseas university. This research paper sets out to raise a discussion about some of the major challenges that such Chinese postgraduates might experience when studying at universities in English speaking countries drawing from ethnographic and sociological perspectives. The paper seeks to enhance understanding of a growing phenomenon amongst student communities in Higher Education institutions in English speaking countries. The challenges faced by Chinese students can be disorientating and stressful but overcoming them can lead to opening up of a range of opportunities from which the students can benefit particularly after they have graduated from their study. As many HE institutions come to depend upon the growing number of Chinese students enrolling with them the paper touches upon an issue of cross national concern. Both authors have experience of students seeking to study in English-speaking countries. They are currently pursuing research at the Institute of Education, University College London. The present paper is drawn from a wider programme of research into student exchanges and flows.

Background: The value of a life is regularly monetised by government departments for informing resource allocation. Guidance documents indicate how economic evaluation should be conducted, often specifying precise values for different impacts. However, we find different values of life and health are used in analyses by departments within the same government despite commonality in desired outcomes. This creates potential inconsistencies in considering trade-offs within a broader public sector spending budget. We provide evidence to better inform the political process and to raise important issues in assessing the value of public expenditure across different sectors. Methods: Our document analysis identifies thresholds, explicitly or implicitly, as observed in government-related publications in the following public sectors: health, social care, transport, and environment. We include both demand-side and supply-side thresholds, understood as societies' and governments' willingness to pay for health gains. We look at key countries that introduced formal economic evaluation processes early on and have impacted other countries' policy development: Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. We also present a framework to consider how governments allocate resources across different public services. Results: Our analysis supports that identifying and describing the Value of a Life from disparate public sector activities in a manner that facilitates comparison is theoretically meaningful. The optimal allocation of resources across sectors depends on the relative position of benefits across different attributes, weighted by the social value that society puts on them. The value of a Quality-Adjusted Life Year is generally used as a demand-side threshold by Departments of transport and environment. It exceeds those used in health, often by a large enough proportion to be a multiple thereof. Decisions made across departments are generally based on an unspecified rationing rule. Conclusions: Comparing government expenditure across different public sector departments, in terms of the value of each department outcome, is not only possible but also desirable. It is essential for an optimal resource allocation to identify the relevant social attributes and to quantify the value of these attributes for each department. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of internationalization in higher education is understood as the recruitment of international students, marketing of academic programs and courses, and teaching English as a Second Language to student cohorts from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Various models of internationalization (Knight, 2004, 2006; Leask, 2009; Pimpa, 2009; Welikala, 2011) have been explored and promoted in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Often, as noted in the literature, these models emphasize the acculturation of international students into the host country culture rather than a respectful exchange of academic and cultural knowledge and ideas. The central thesis of this critical reflective discussion paper is that "glocalization" in higher education is an appropriate alternative to internationalization. Glocalization advocates a positive learning experience and encourages the enhancement of learners' "glocal" experience through a critical academic and cultural exchange of global and local socio-economic and political issues. Instructional strategies supporting glocalized learning curricula are recommended. The glocalization pedagogical framework for higher education, introduced in this paper, embraces the principles of social responsibility and justice with a firm commitment to sustainable futures for local and global societies.

This paper discusses the noticeable nervousness of many US-based financial statement issuers in adopting IFRS. For contextual purposes, the paper provides an overview of the FASB/IFRS convergence so far and its probable future. A detailed review of convergence in accounting standards is explained through the respective standards for "Pensions and Other Post-Employment Benefits". The paper concludes by suggesting that, while one set of global steps is a noble goal, it might not achieve the desired goal of comparability.

Objective This paper examines how negative experiences with the health-care system create a lack of confidence in receiving medical care in seven countries: Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Methods The empirical analysis is based on data from the Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey 2007, with nationally representative samples of adults aged 18 and over. For the analysis of the experience of cost barriers and confidence in receiving medical care, we conducted pairwise comparisons of group percentages as well as country-wise multivariate logistic regression models. Results Individuals who have experienced cost barriers show a significantly lower level of confidence in receiving safe and quality medical care than those who have not. This effect is most pronounced in the United States, where people who have foregone necessary treatment because of costs are four times as likely to lack confidence as individuals without the experience of cost barriers (adjusted odds ratio 4.00). In New Zealand, Germany, and Canada, individuals with the experience of cost barriers are twice as likely to report low confidence compared with those without this experience (adjusted odds ratios of 1.95, 2.19 and 2.24, respectively). In the Netherlands and UK, cost barriers are only a marginal phenomenon. Conclusions The fact that the experience of financial barriers considerably lowers confidence indicates that financial incentives, such as private co-payments, have a negative effect on overall public support and therefore on the legitimacy of health-care systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we review fifty years of articles published in Australian Journal of Adult Learning in its various iterations. We examine the different roles of the journal: to illuminate the history and trends of adult education authors; to be the flagship of the adult education profession in Australia; to reflect on significant national events; and to mirror the changing knowledge base of the discipline. We analyse the authorship of the articles over fifty years, and determine patterns in contribution to the journal by gender, location, institutional affiliation and author numbers. We also examine key themes that have surfaced in the writings on adult education. The articles published in the journal are significant because they are primary sources of the day, unfettered by the perspectives, viewpoints and standards of later periods. Our paper serves as a useful looking glass through which we might be able to view more clearly the shifting research interests of the past and the challenges in the future for the adult and community learning sector. (Contains 11 figures and 6 tables.)

iTunes U has become the main worldwide provider of educational podcasts but, despite its popularity, little is known about the type of user who downloads iTunes U language resources, or how those resources are used. This paper presents the results of the first major survey (1891 responses) of users of one of the most successful iTunes U content providers in terms of downloads. It presents a profile of the iTunes U language learner, their listening habits, and their opinion of the resources they download. Comparisons are drawn between language learners and learners of other subjects. The results show that in contrast with profiles of learners in other contexts--such as virtual learning environment-delivered podcasts, identified in previous research (mostly carried out with young university students who download podcasts for instrumental reasons)--iTunes U language learners are different. Respondents in this study are mostly middle-aged and employed, and they download resources for personal interest. Users have a high opinion of the quality of the materials, and they believe the materials help them to learn. The results also show that users listen to language podcasts on mobile devices, in sharp contrast with previous research. Finally, the paper discusses implications for further research.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered how breastfeeding support is provided, resulting in mixed breastfeeding outcomes and experiences for mothers. The World Health Organization has consistently supported breastfeeding from the beginning of the pandemic. However, recommendations from obstetrical and gynaecological societies within individual countries have varied in their alignment with this guidance, resulting in inconsistent recommendations. It is unknown how breastfeeding guidelines, maternal breastfeeding experiences, and breastfeeding initiation and duration compared across five Western countries. The current study is comprised of two parts, each with a different objective. Part One objective: to review pandemic-related changes in professional society guidelines on breastfeeding support in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States; and Part Two objective: to conduct a narrative review to summarize the evidence of how the pandemic has changed breastfeeding initiation, duration, and mothers' breastfeeding experiences during the pandemic in these five countries and provide recommendations for clinical lactation support. Methods: We searched for indicators that are impactful on breastfeeding outcomes: skin-to-skin contact, rooming in, direct breastfeeding and breast washing, in the five countries mentioned above and compared these to the recommendations from the World Health Organization. Next, we conducted a narrative review of the literature from these five countries to explore how the pandemic altered breastfeeding outcomes and used this information to provide suggestions for clinical practice moving forward. Results: Recommendations on the four practices above differed by country and were not always in alignment with the World Health Organization recommendations. Mother-infant separation after birth in the United States was associated with a lower prevalence of breastfeeding initiation and duration. While some mothers reported positive breastfeeding experiences during the pandemic, many mothers indicated negative experiences related to decreased social and professional support. Conclusions: The pandemic can inform practice recommendations and can be viewed as an opportunity to permanently modify existing methods to support breastfeeding families. The use of virtual care increased during the pandemic and should continue with specific considerations for prioritizing in-person care. This will help to provide more timely and accessible support for breastfeeding mothers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student learning outcomes assessment examines whether programs cover the material stated in their learning goals, whether students are learning the material, and the impact on student retention, graduation, post-graduation outcomes, and institutional accreditation, with the aim of providing faculty with data that can be used to help programs evolve or improve. While there is a plethora of research regarding effective methods of assessment used in the United States, little has been written regarding cross-national comparisons of assessment methodologies. This paper examines the current state of assessment in several nations and regions, and draws parallels in practices across countries. A literature search using the term "outcomes assessment" yielded 228 articles, of which, only 35 described practices outside the United States. Generally, searches on the terms "outcomes assessment" and "global" tend to return studies of outcomes assessment of teaching about global issues as it is practiced in the United States, rather than results about outcomes assessment practices used in other countries.

Background: A woman and girl centred, rights-based approach to health care is critical to achieving sexual and reproductive health. However, women with female genital mutilation in high-income countries have been found to receive sub-optimal care. This study examined documents guiding clinicians in health and community service settings in English-speaking high-income countries to identify approaches to ensure quality women and girl-centred care for those with or at risk of female genital mutilation. Method: We undertook a scoping review using the integrative model of patient-centredness to identify principles, enablers, and activities to facilitate woman and girl-centred care interactions. We developed an inclusion criterion to identify documents such as guidance statements and tools and technical guidelines, procedural documents and clinical practice guidelines. We searched the databases and websites of health professional associations, ministries of health, hospitals, national, state and local government and non-government organisations working in female genital mutilation in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, The United States, New Zealand, and Australia. The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation tool was used to appraise screened documents. Findings: One-hundred and twenty-four documents were included in this scoping review; 88 were developed in the United Kingdom, 20 in Australia, nine in the United States, three in Canada, two in New Zealand and two in Ireland. The focus of documents from the United Kingdom on multi-professional safeguarding (62), while those retrieved from Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the US focused on clinical practice. Twelve percent of the included documents contained references to all principles of patient-centred care, and only one document spoke to all principles, enablers and activities. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the need to improve the female genital mutilation-related guidance provided to professionals to care for and protect women and girls. Professionals need to involve women and girls with or at risk of female genital mutilation in the co-design of guidelines and tools and evaluation of them and the co-production of health care. Plain Language Summary: High-quality health care for women and girls should be provided by health workers who are respectful and caring. Health workers should also work with others as a team and help women and girls make their own decisions about their health care. This approach is called patient-centred care. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a cultural practice associated with poor health outcomes. Women who have experienced FGM have not always received quality health care. We studied the guidance and tools to help health workers provide care to women and girls with or at risk of FGM. This study aimed to understand how health workers are supported to provide woman and girl-centred health care in these documents. We searched for these documents on the websites of health professional associations, government health departments and organisations working in FGM in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, The United States, New Zealand, and Australia. The documents were analysed using a tool that described all the important areas needed to provide patient-centred health care. Of the 124 documents, we found that only 12% contained information about all aspects of patient-centred care. Only one document had details about all the areas that are part of patient-centred care. This study shows that we need to improve the FGM-related guidance provided to health workers to care for and protect women and girls. There is a need for health workers to involve women and girls with or at risk of FGM in designing guidelines and tools and evaluating them to these documents best fit their needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant efforts have now been made to identify the generic competencies required to succeed across different workplace contexts. The aims of this paper were to: (i) outline factors that contributed to the increased demand for generic competencies seen over the last three decades; and (ii) review the early generic competency frameworks developed in Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, the UK, and other European countries. It is concluded that whilst there were significant areas of commonality amongst the frameworks, regional differences were also apparent. The paper provides a historical context for more recent research into the generic competencies that should be emphasized within tertiary-level education and training curricula. (Contains 1 table.)

This paper is targeted primarily at doctoral students and others considering hermeneutics as a research strategy. Research using hermeneutics was carried out with occupational therapy educators and clinicians in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the UK. A total of 53 participants engaged in focus groups and individual interviews over a one-year. The paper explores hermeneutics as a credible, rigorous and creative strategy to address aspects of professional practice that similarly need to be flexible, adaptable to particular needs, and justifiable in the contexts of evidence-based as well as client-centred practice. The hermeneutic study produced A Model of Professional Practice Judgment Artistry (Paterson, 2003) which is briefly described and the connections. (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures, and 1 footnote.)

This paper examines the usage frequency of phonetically reduced modals (i.e. "gonna," "wanna," "gotta") in Present-day English. It is assumed that in distinct sociolinguistic and discourse contexts, the use of reduced modals is dynamic. To collect the data, there are five corpora used in this study, "Corpus of Contemporary American English" and "Global Web-Based English" as the representatives of Present-day English, Brown and LOB corpus as the representative of earlier years of Present-day English, and "A Representative Corpus of Historical English" to provide language data from Early Modern English to Present-day English. The analysis focuses on usage frequency of phonetically reduced modals over period of time, in different regions or countries, different medium of language use, and different text categories. The frequencies were further interpreted based on sociolinguistics and text category perspective to reveal the factors triggering the dynamic of use. The results of this study show the use of reduced modals is dramatically escalating in the last decades. According to regional observation, the use of reduced modals is more frequent in the United States than in other English-speaking countries. In relation to medium of language use, reduced modals are more commonly used in spoken language than in written language. As for text category, the usage frequency of reduced modal in fiction texts is the highest compared to academic texts and news texts. Academic texts seem to avoid these linguistic units since this sort of text must obey the use of standard language in which reduced forms are less standard and more colloquial. This phonetic reduction is plausible to occur since language system and language use apply economy principle. The use of phonetically reduced modals, however, varies in different context and is influenced by colloquialization: the more colloquial the context, the more frequent the use of reduced modals. In general, language use is phonetically simplified and sociolinguistically colloquialized.

Aim: To explore the health workforce responses to COVID‐19. Design: Analysis of job advertisements. Methods: We collected advertisements for healthcare jobs which were caused by and in response to COVID‐19 between 4 March–17 April 2020 for the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. We collected information on the date of the advertisement, position advertised and location. We categorized job positions into three categories: frontline, coordination and decision support. Results: We found 952 job advertisements, 72% of which were from the United States. There was a lag period between reported COVID‐19‐confirmed cases and job advertisements by several weeks. Nurses were the most advertised position in every country. Frontline workers were substantially more demanded than coordination or decision‐support roles. Job advertisements are a novel data source which leverages a readily available information about how workforces respond to a pandemic. The initial phases of the response emphasise the importance of frontline workers, especially nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper looks at part-time higher educational services for students in the educational systems of Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. A comparative examination of the nature and importance of part-time higher education is then presented. (DB)

Objective: To compare the nutritional content, serving size and taxation potential of supermarket beverages from four different Western countries.Design: Cross-sectional analysis. Multivariate regression analysis and χ 2 comparisons were used to detect differences between countries.Setting: Supermarkets in New Zealand (NZ), Australia, Canada and the UK.Subjects: Supermarket beverages in the following categories: fruit juices, fruit-based drinks, carbonated soda, waters and sports/energy drinks.Results: A total of 4157 products were analysed, including 749 from NZ, 1738 from Australia, 740 from Canada and 930 from the UK. NZ had the highest percentage of beverages with sugar added to them (52 %), while the UK had the lowest (39 %, P<0.001).Conclusions: There is substantial difference between countries in the mean energy, serving size and proportion of products eligible for fiscal sugar taxation. Current self-regulatory approaches used in these countries may not be effective to reduce the availability, marketing and consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and subsequent intake of free sugars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a period of student loan scandals and U.S. financial market instability impacting on the cost and availability of student loans, this paper looks at alternative models of higher education funding. In this context, it also considers the level of financial support that the government should provide to higher education.

When investigating the association between brain tumors and use of mobile telephones, accurate data on tumor position are essential, due to the highly localized absorption of energy in the human brain from the radio-frequency fields emitted. We used a point process model to investigate this association using information that included tumor localization data from the INTERPHONE Study (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). Our main analysis included 792 regular mobile phone users diagnosed with a glioma between 2000 and 2004. Similar to earlier results, we found a statistically significant association between the intracranial distribution of gliomas and the self-reported location of the phone. When we accounted for the preferred side of the head not being exclusively used for all mobile phone calls, the results were similar. The association was independent of the cumulative call time and cumulative number of calls. However, our model used reported side of mobile phone use, which is potentially influenced by recall bias. The point process method provides an alternative to previously used epidemiologic research designs when one is including localization in the investigation of brain tumors and mobile phone use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an abstracts of the research paper "An International Examination of Country-Specific Determinants of Audit Fees," by Michele Lecouteur Wingate. This research addresses the question of whether auditor fee functions differ across countries. Auditor fee functions have been represented as a theoretical relationship between the audit fee charged by the audit firm and characteristics of the audit environment. These characteristics may include client factors, audit firm factors and country-specific factors. Prior research in this area has found significant relationships between audit fees and client size and complexity and audit firm size. The form of the auditor fee function has previously been studied using data from Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and Great Britain. Researchers assumed that the business and audit environments in these countries were similar and therefore should not be considered as a factor in explaining any variation in audit fees. This study contributes to the existing research in this area in two ways.

The UK has long experienced a shortage of social workers and has recruited internationally to meet demand. There have been few specific data quantifying the scale of social work mobility to the UK through which such experiences can be set in context. The analysis reported in this article uses data from October 2008, relating to registered social workers working in England. As part of a wider study of migrant social care workers in England, the article reports analysis of data records of over 7,000 non-UK social workers registered to work in England and compares their characteristics to UK-qualified social workers. These analyses are supplemented by analysis of more recent application and registration data from the General Social Care Council pertaining to social workers qualified within and outside the European Union during 2008 and 2009. The findings highlight several important observations in terms of non-UK-qualified social workers' profile as well as some possible trends in migration and variations in rates of qualification verification. Over half of all international social workers in England were trained in four countries: Australia, South Africa, India and the USA. Findings are contextualised with qualitative data obtained from the wider study and policy debates. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents a study which investigated the impact of transparency reforms implemented by central banks on the financial markets. The study covers the central banks of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, Great Britain and the U.S. For models of various financial markets, official nominal policy target rates are used. The result shows that openness reduces outside lags associated with monetary policy. An analysis of the stock market responses to central bank policy changes is given.

The job description for legislators in western democracies includes constituency-focused activities such as casework and district visits. Unfortunately we have a limited theoretical and empirical understanding of the factors affecting legislators' constituency-oriented activities, in large part because most studies focus on single nations; even studies that are comparative do not span a variety of electoral systems. In this article we examine the constituency focus of MPs in six chambers that do provide such variance: the Australian House and Senate, Canadian House, Irish Dáil, New Zealand House, and the British House of Commons. We find that electoral considerations and incentives provided by different electoral systems, as well as other factors, affect the priority that MPs place on constituency service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses how the use of digital technologies may support a shift of cultural practices in teaching and learning, to better meet the needs of 21st century higher education learners. A brief discussion of the changing needs of the learners is provided, followed by a review of the overall impact of digital technologies on teaching and learning. In the final section we suggest how digital technologies may provide a more active and flexible learning experience by adopting a participatory pedagogical approach and by blending formal learning with informal learning.

Skin cancer is an increasing problem in Europe, America and Australasia, although largely preventable by avoiding excessive ultraviolet (UV) exposure. This paper presents the findings of a systematic review of qualitative research about the prevention of skin cancer attributable to UV exposure. The aim is to understand elements that may contribute to the successful or unsuccessful conveyance of skin cancer prevention messages and their uptake by the public. A systematic review was undertaken using evidence identified through searching electronic bibliographic databases and Web sites and reference list checks. Predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria were used. Sixteen study reports (relating to 15 separate studies) were included from the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Each included study was quality appraised, and the findings were extracted into an evidence table. A coding scheme, framed by the Health Belief Model, was developed by the reviewers and informed analysis and synthesis. This showed that most people perceived their susceptibility to skin cancer, and its severity, as low. While benefits of adopting changed behaviour were acknowledged, there were substantial barriers to this, including positive perceptions of a tan as healthy and attractive and the hassle of covering up or using sunscreen. Peers, parents and media may offer "cues to action" that encourage adoption of preventative behaviour and finally self-efficacy or the perceived ability to make such changes. Effective health education messages will need to address the barriers to adopting protective behaviours identified through this review.

The "Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior" was founded in 1958 by a group of male psychologists, mainly from the northeastern USA and connected with either Harvard or Columbia. Fifty years later about 20% of both editors and authors reside outside this country and almost the same proportion is women. Other changes in the journal include having its own website for more than a decade and now publishing online as well as on paper. A recent connection with PubMed Central of the National Library of Medicine has made possible the completely free electronic presentation of the entire archive of about 3,800 articles. (Contains 5 tables and 3 figures.)

In common with universities in the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand, increasing numbers of Australian universities have established offshore education partnerships, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. More than one-third of international students currently enrolled in Australian university courses study at a campus in their home country or somewhere other than in Australia (IDP 2002). Such partnerships, also assumed under the rubric of "transnational education" and "franchising", add additional challenges, complexities and risks to the roles of international education managers and administrators. Using convergent interviews and case studies, this paper identifies and examines the critical success factors for the successful establishment and development of relationships between Australian universities and their international partners. Critical among these are the development of effective communication structures and frameworks, the building of mutual trust, and the encouragement and demonstration of commitment between relationship partners.