Search

This paper addresses the ontological differences between modern water, the dominant way of thinking about water in the industrialised West, and Living Waters, a concept used by Aboriginal Australians to talk about water(s) and water bodies. Working collaboratively with Aboriginal experts and state government water planners in the Kimberley region of Western Australia we developed two social-ecological conceptual models to compare propositions about the ontological character of water. One model represents a modern water paradigm, upon which state systems of water management are based, and the other represents a customary system of management: a Living Waters paradigm that depicts the relationships between people, other beings, and the waters of the Martuwarra/Fitzroy River catchment. The models are intended to inform water governance processes and influence negotiations between State and customary institutions. We use the models here to analyse water policy tools and their ability to support the relationships particular groups have with their waters. We identify gaps in existing policy for the sustainability of Living Waters. We discuss the implications of the differences between these two conceptual models for water justice, as well as for sustainability research and socio-ecological modelling as it applies to rivers and their waters in Australia and elsewhere, or to other human-environment relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study investigated the link between socioeconomic status and unplanned dental presentations at the Perth Children's Hospital (PCH), as well as the link between the socioeconomic status of unplanned dental patients and any previous admissions to the PCH. Methods: Records of 351 unplanned visits to the PCH were collected, including reason for attendance (infection, trauma, other), the patient's residential location (suburb) and the history of any previous presentations at the PCH. The socioeconomic status of each patient was based on the Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage, divided into quintiles. Geographic information systems (GIS) were used to spatially map the residential locations of the patients with unplanned dental presentations. QGIS was used to map and geocode the data. Analysis of variance and Chi-squared tests were used to determine associations between subgroups and other variables. Results: 'Unplanned dental presentation' in this study refers to patients who present without an appointment, including by referral from the emergency department of the PCH or outside the PCH. Approximately two-thirds of unplanned dental presentation among patients from low socioeconomic groups were for dental infection, whereas the major reason for presentation among patients from higher socioeconomic groups was trauma. More than half the patients in low socioeconomic groups had at least one previous presentation at the PCH due to other medical issues. Conclusion: Children from low socioeconomic groups, or from outside of Perth, were more likely to present with dental infections, which are mostly preventable at the primary care level; these patients often presented a more significant burden to the health system. Public health interventions should aim to promote preventive oral health care, especially for children from low socioeconomic groups. What is known about the topic?: In Western Australia, the most common dental problems requiring hospitalisation among children is dental caries, and children from the lowest socioeconomic backgrounds have the highest prevalence of dental hospitalisations. What does this paper add?: Children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to have an unplanned presentation at the only tertiary children's hospital in Western Australia due to dental infection. What are the implications for practitioners?: Improved access to public dental services, especially in low socioeconomic areas, and the development of more strategies to reduce unplanned dental presentations at a tertiary hospital are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To address the gap in the literature and using a novel open-source intelligence web-scraping approach, this paper investigates the longitudinal relationships between availability, value, and disposability, and stealing counts of specific makes and models of gaming consoles. Methods: Using data from Western Australia (2012–2019) and focusing on specific makes/models of gaming consoles, the relationships between product-specific stealing counts, availability, value, and disposability were examined using time series and cross-sectional analyses. Results: Support was found for a positive relationship between the changing disposability of specific makes/models of gaming consoles over their lifecycle with corresponding stealing counts, above and beyond changes in availability and value. However, when these attributes were analysed statically, both disposability and value were important. Conclusions: The results highlight the importance of measuring correlates of 'hot products' longitudinally to better understand offenders' target selection preferences over time—with important implications for theft risk assessment and crime prevention policy and practice. These findings also provide support for the use of similar open-source intelligence web-scraping strategies as a suitable technique for capturing time-specific proxies for product-specific value and disposability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a method to probabilistically quantify the moments (mean and variance) of excavated material during excavation by aggregating the prior moments of the grade blocks around the given bucket dig location. By modelling the moments as random probability density functions (pdf) at sampled locations, a formulation of the sums of Gaussian-based uncertainty estimation is presented that jointly estimates the location pdfs, as well as the prior values for uncertainty coming from ore body knowledge (obk) sub-block models. The method was tested in a region situated in the Brockman Iron Formation of the Hamersley Province, Western Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most developed countries, intervention in regional development is declining due to non-interventionist policies and increasing local responsibility for development. Western Australia, however, has embarked on a different route – a unique version of the 'new' paradigm, or place-based development – that departs from these broader neo-liberal trends. This paper examines Australian and Western Australian policies and compares them with those of Canada and British Columbia, jurisdictions similar to Australia and Western Australia, respectively. The Western Australian approach is investigated in the context of the 'new' paradigm, how it manifests in the case studies and, finally, which lessons emerge from these approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This, his final paper, examines the story behind the naming of the Aga Kahn Emerald Mine in Western Australia, to trace any links, if any to that fabulously wealthy personality. The trials and tribulations of the development of the mine from the early twentieth century to more recent times is examined, with details of the individuals and companies involved in the process of extracting and marketing the emeralds. As with the involvement of the Aga Kahn, the paper concludes by querying the participation of Durlabhji Tribovan, the patriarch of a family of wealthy gem merchants based in Jaipur, India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of ongoing physical health monitoring for Indigenous Australians with mental health issues in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.Method: This longitudinal, within-groups investigation assessed physical health parameters such as blood pressure and blood glucose levels at baseline and at 18 months for the same cohort. No standardised intervention was in place, but action was taken if results were found to be abnormal.Results: Most measures of physical health remained stable, with mean lipid and fasting glucose levels remaining abnormal over the entire assessment period. Systolic blood pressure showed a significant improvement.Conclusions: More needs to be done to improve the physical health of Indigenous mental health patients - culturally appropriate and secure interventions incorporating holistic models of care are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Error-correction codes (ECC) and redundant array of independent disks (RAID) are commonly used to protect NAND-based solid state drives (SSD) from serious noise/disturb. In order to tolerate more errors, common solutions are more complex ECCs and RAIDs. Meanwhile, due to the error-correction mechanisms and flash translation layer, NAND-based SSDs inevitably generate abundant redundant information. The theme of this paper is to show that instead of designing new error correction mechanisms from scratch, the NAND-based SSD reliability can be greatly improved by utilizing current decoders to explore the inherent information between redundant pages. We first propose a joint decoder to recover multiple pages by utilizing redundant pages within a stripe of ECC/RAID, and then we consider a joint decoder to recover multiple pages by utilizing write-amplified (WA) pages. The simulation results show that with the proposed algorithm, a performance gain of as much as 1.8 dB can be obtained. The theoretical study reveals that the joint decoding model can be studied from the perspective of relay channel model, and this helps to explore how much information can be reliably stored with the RAID/WA system in SSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance and efficiency of A* search algorithm heavily depends on the quality of the heuristic function. Therefore, designing an optimal heuristic function becomes the primary goal of developing a search algorithm for specific domains in artificial intelligence. However, it is difficult to design a well-constructed heuristic function without careful consideration and trial-and-error, especially for complex pathfinding problems. The complexity of a heuristic function increases and becomes unmanageable to design when an increasing number of parameters are involved. Existing approaches often avoid complex heuristic function design: they either trade-off the accuracy for faster computation or taking advantage of the parallelism for better performance. The objective of this paper is to reduce the difficulty of complex heuristic function design for A* search algorithm. We aim to design an algorithm that can be automatically optimized to achieve rapid search with high accuracy and low computational cost. In this paper, we present a novel design and optimization method for a Multi-Weighted-Heuristics function (MWH) named Evolutionary Heuristic A* search (EHA*) to: (1) minimize the effort on heuristic function design via Genetic Algorithm (GA), (2) optimize the performance of A* search and its variants including but not limited to WA* and MHA*, and (3) guarantee the completeness and optimality. EHA* algorithm enables high performance searches and significantly simplifies the processing of heuristic design. We apply EHA* to multiple grid-based pathfinding benchmarks to evaluate the performance. Our experiment result shows that EHA* (1) is capable of choosing an accurate heuristic function that provides an optimal solution, (2) can identify and eliminate inefficient heuristics, (3) is able to automatically design multi-heuristics function, and (4) minimizes both the time and space complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the presence of bladder and bowel symptoms in women recently imprisoned in Western Australian prisons, specifically; stress, urge and mixed urinary incontinence, faecal incontinence, nocturia, nocturnal enuresis and constipation and the impact on the quality of life (QOL).Design/methodology/approach: Over a 12-month period 29 women, recently released from Western Australia's female prisons, were surveyed using a questionnaire previously validated for the prison population. The Short Form King's Health Questionnaire and a modified version of the Manchester Health Questionnaire were used to assess the effects of these symptoms on QOL.Findings: Of those surveyed only one respondent reported having no bladder or bowel symptoms following release from prison. Trends assessed by Chi-square analysis suggest women imprisoned for any period of time are more likely to develop both bladder and bowel symptoms which persist after release back into the community. A history of substance or alcohol abuse is often concurrent with the presence of symptoms. QOL scores are also lower for those reporting either bladder or bowel symptoms affecting total scores and the domains of both activities of daily living and mental health.Originality/value: Women imprisoned for any length of time developed bladder and bowel symptoms which had a negative impact on their QOL. Larger studies need to be conducted to investigate these trends and whether small changes in conservative measures can influence outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A modern web application is plagued by a jungle of heterogeneous aspects and web technologies. Web frameworks or web application frameworks are examples of these technologies. These technologies have made it conceivable to confront verifiable issues of this WA development, for example, code automation and rapid prototyping. As the main factor for their features, both methods suggest the automation for redundant development tasks. A great analogy of a competitive and repetitive task that can be automated is the implementation of Create Read Update Delete (CRUD) operations. However, although the web application frameworks have provided a mechanism for CRUD operations, there are still many challenges that exist in integrating the other important aspects for modern data-driven WA such as searching, archiving, sharing, reporting and audit trail. So automation has not been properly faced yet. Further enhancement and manual code modification are required to improvise the halfbaked generated CRUD especially in the functional integration which is timeconsuming and comprise repetitive coding for each of the CRUD output. This paper presents Re-CRUD that integrates electronic records aspects into CRUD operation. Our approach is illustrated by combining a complete and robust methodology for dynamic code automation, electronic record management important aspects and Model View Controller (MVC) metaphor. A proof of concept study is carried out to demonstrate and validate the electronic record important aspect integration into CRUD operation for web application development. With the integrated important aspects in Re-CRUD, the development process is faster and able to automatically generate more features to support modern web applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, the second of two parts comprising this volume, outlines the distribution and biology of the Western Australian ant fauna addressed in part one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the Wormhole Attack (WA) affects the Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). So far, there are '2' solutions to trounce WA, that is, utilizing specialized hardware or capturing a specific pattern extra overhead over the network. Some prevailing solutions for detectingWAneed special hardware or firmly synchronized clocks or longer processing time in addition to that some solutions can't even locate the WormHole (WH) and also have low security.This paper proposed an efficient WH detection as well as Optimal Path (OP) selection for safe Data Transmission (DT) in WSN. The proposed workencompasses a '2' phase: i) training, and ii) testing. Here, the WSN values are considered and chosen secure node utilizing the Fit Factor (FF). After selecting the secure nodes, the routes are discovered aimed at the optimal assortment of the optimal routes. Next, the gathered data is tested with a trained system in which feature reduction and classification are performed. Lastly, the MCSC securely transfers the non-attack data. The proposed method's outcomes are examined and weighed against the other prevailing techniques and the outcomesexhibited the proposed method's efficiency for attack detection along withdata security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we describe porosity variations in Miocene to Holocene carbonates off the west coast of Australia and assess their compaction trends. The porosity values were measured using discrete samples of Sites U1459–U1464 obtained by the International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 356. The carbonate deposits have been influenced by a range of textures and diagenetic conditions throughout a nearly continuous sequence of geological ages from the Miocene to Holocene and at core depths from 0 to 1100 m below the seafloor. The collected samples were mostly grainstone, packstone, wackestone and mudstone textures. Dolostones and dolomitic carbonates were described at the Miocene intervals. Compaction trends were estimated exponentially and linearly based on cored sites, carbonate textures and dominant mineralogies (dolomite, calcite/aragonite). At all six sites, porosity distribution and reduction were generally depth-dependent. The porosity converged to about 30% between 750 and 1100 m, which suggests that the carbonates were close to the densest packing by mechanical compaction at a burial depth of ∼750 m. The porosity deviations are associated with textures and dominant mineralogies. Increasing mud content from grainstone to mudstone is a controlling factor for initial porosity and porosity reduction rate. Dolomitisation, dolomitic cementation, aragonite needle-rich mud and non-skeletal grains cause deviations from the depth-dependent compaction trends. Reflux-related cementation generally decreases porosity in Miocene dolomitic intervals. Higher porosity values of the Quaternary wackestone and mudstone at Site U1461 resulted from the presence of aragonite needle-rich mud hosting abundant micropores and from a high sedimentation rate. The occurrence of non-skeletal grains, such as ooids and peloids, as well as occasional meteoric exposure led to porosity inversion, occluding interparticle permeability and the creation of moldic pores. Porosity variations of Miocene–Holocene carbonates off the west Australian coast are primarily depth-dependent. Mechanical compaction affected porosity reduction down to a value of ∼30% at a burial depth of ∼750 m. Differences in texture-based compaction trends were affected by increasing mud content. Major porosity deviations are associated with dolomitisation, dolomitic cementation, aragonite needle-rich mud and non-skeletal grains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research indicates that partnerships between libraries and schools have potential to enhance early literacy. However, few studies have investigated the nature and outcomes of such collaborations. This paper reports on the findings from a qualitative study of a partnership between librarians and kindergarten teachers to implement a family literacy programme, developed by the State Library of Western Australia. The programme aims to facilitate connections between libraries, families and schools, to support early literacy. Using an interpretive paradigm, interviews were undertaken with 38 participants including State, branch, local and school librarians, kindergarten teachers and school principals in seven schools, to explore the effectiveness of the partnership model. The partnerships were highly valued, and participants reported confidence in the success of the co-operative model of programme delivery. However, there was little evidence of deep engagement across service sectors or sharing of expertise and resources. Four key factors that influenced the development and sustainability of partnerships are identified and discussed. Implications of the research are identified, which include the development of a library–school partnership framework and a literacy-text messaging programme. We conclude by suggesting that the partnership model could be replicated across other countries, maximising opportunities for cost efficiency while supporting better outcomes for families and children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Translocations to closed systems such as fenced reserves are commonly used for conservation of threatened fauna species worldwide; however, resources are limited in these areas, and natural processes that regulate populations in response to resource availability are unable to occur. This can result in overabundance followed by overuse of resources, potentially resulting in extreme declines or local extinctions. Resource exhaustion can negatively impact other fauna in the closed environment that exploit similar resources, through inter‐specific competition. This paper discusses the reintroduction of Boodie (Bettongia lesueur) and Mala (Lagorchestes hirsutus) to a fenced reserve on the Matuwa Indigenous Protected Area, Western Australia, and raises the concern of potential competition between the two threatened species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the experiences of close family members when another family member is using methamphetamine and how the family member responds over time. Background: Methamphetamine use has widespread implications and harms for both people who use the drug and those that live with them. While there is a significant representation in the literature relating to family members of people who use drugs or alcohol, there are limited studies specifically considering family members experiences of methamphetamine use. Families have been shown to have both positive and negative impacts on people using drugs, but less is known on the impact on the family members themselves. Study design and methods: Multiple semi- structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 11 families (17 individual participants) from regional and metropolitan Western Australia over a 12-month period. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used in data collection and analysis. Results: Four main themes were identified: 1. the New Lifeguard describes family members' unplanned insertion into a new role and their rapidly changing experience of the person using methamphetamine. 2. Hit by the Wave demonstrates participants' experience of repeated and unpredictable impacts on their lives. 3. Life in the Ocean describes the groundlessness associated with changes to goals and family structure. 4. Learning to Surf illuminates the changing strategies employed over time, moving away from trying to fix the person, to participants managing their own wellbeing. Discussion: This study identified common aspects within the lived experience of close family members of people using methamphetamine and ascertained a commonality in the process of this experience. Significant impacts to all areas of life were reported, and distress was fluctuating and unpredictable in line with the cyclical nature of the drug use. Participant responses to these changes varied over time between resentment and trying to fix things, and acceptance and resilience, while gaining or maintaining like-minded supports. Conclusion: Understanding the issues faced by families around this unique drug is vital in providing informed interventions for this group. Family members experience a broad range of financial, social and health impacts and harms over a protracted length of time. They are often not the focus of available support and in adapting to these issues, will themselves seek support away from treatment services for the person using methamphetamine. Implications for practice Understanding the complex journey of families has a broad range of implications (and opportunities) for a variety of areas such as criminal justice, family support and child protection. There is an opportunity for these areas to consider broader and more specific supports and approaches, and to develop more appropriate, bespoke, and inclusive treatment for families of people using methamphetamine. What is already known about the topic? • Methamphetamine is recognised worldwide as a harmful drug with few effective treatments for methamphetamine dependence. • Few studies exist exploring the specific impact of methamphetamine on family members. • Fewer studies explore the experiences over time. What this paper adds: • Family members with a relative who is using methamphetamine experience a range of harms in many areas of their lives. • The impact of methamphetamine use is unpredictable and takes place over long periods of time, affecting both individual family members and impacting on the overall structure of the family unit. • Families and family members adapt their approach over time, from attempting to fix the situation, to stepping back and seeking support from others who they perceive to be in similar circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1935, a Joint Parliamentary Committee at Westminster reported on 'The Petition from the State of Western Australia in Relation to Secession'. The culmination of a process triggered by a 1933 referendum, when two-thirds of West Australians voted to secede from the Australian Commonwealth, the Joint Committee famously resolved that Western Australia's petition was 'not proper to be received'. Not for the last time in British history, a referendum result promising sweeping constitutional change collided with the practicalities of its implementation. But while Western Australia's secession movement foundered, it nonetheless sparked a series of debates around London's obligations to overseas Britons, Britannic identity, and the future of imperial relations. While previous scholarship has for the most part focused on the local and national dimensions of Western Australian secession, this article examines it as a window onto the complex political partnerships that comprised Britain's interwar empire. It makes the case for the movement's imperial significance and offers the first substantive investigation of its influence on interwar imperial affairs. It argues that West Australian secession deserves more serious consideration than it has traditionally been awarded, not only as a local and national question, but above all as an imperial issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Journal of Cell Science, helping early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Lizbeth de la Cruz is first author on 'Plasma membrane processes are differentially regulated by type I phosphatidylinositol phosphate 5-kinases and RASSF4', published in JCS. Lizbeth is a Postdoc in the lab of Bertil Hille at the University of Washington, School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, where they investigate signaling by membrane phosphoinositide lipids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a region, Western Australia is the largest and most isolated state in Australia, and supports a community of vibrant arts organizations. The arts is widely recognized for its creativity and innovation, but what about the managers of these organizations, are they equally innovative, or entrepreneurial? Rusak (2016) explored this question and found that their Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) matched the three core dimensions of Innovativeness, Proactiveness, and Risk-taking, but the study did not include the other two EO dimensions of Autonomy and Competitive Aggressiveness. It did however observe that "arts companies don't generally try to take offensive postures or aggressive responses to competitive threats and rather work collaboratively". There are at least two possibilities here: it could be a passive aversion to competitive aggression, or a more deliberate counterbehavior of collaboration. Either of these would appear to contradict the EO construct, in particular the expectation that all EO dimensions covary, which makes it interesting from a theory perspective. This paper explores this challenge to the EO theory in some detail, using software-aided analysis to tease out the finer nuances in this dimension of Competitive Aggressiveness. While the sample size and its geographical confines limit the generalizations that can be made, there is evidence that in this sample of Arts Managers, the Arts could be a powerful contextual modifier to the expectations of EO theory. In this context, the dimension of Competitive Aggressiveness has not simply been altered or toned-down, it has been replaced by a polar opposite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implicit methods for modeling geological structures such as stratigraphy and faults have been developed for more than a decade, and they have made automatic model construction feasible. The implicit potential field method is such a method that is capable of incorporating multiple types of data including contact points for geological boundaries and their measured orientations. The implicit potential field method relies on the solution of a co-kriging system. However, applying the method to 3D modeling of large-scale geological structures constrained to dense data and strict geological rules remains challenging. Due to the non-stationary and complex nature of large-scale geological structures, and difficulty in estimating an adequate variogram model, performing global interpolation with all dense data together may create geologically unrealistic artifacts. We propose a framework that uses a divide-and-conquer strategy. The core idea is to create intermediate 3D geological models that match subsets of data and then recombine them into a single large 3D geological model, while maintaining data and geological rule constraints. We also prove that linear combinations of potential fields preserve properties of conditioning. The paper presents an application of the framework in modeling the stratigraphy model of a large banded iron formation in Western Australia with dense boreholes, but scarce orientation measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the effects of industrialisation upon one of the world's most significant rock art sites, Murujuga (Burrup Peninsula), located in north-west Western Australia. Photographs of 26 petroglyphs taken prior to or early in the industrialisation of the area were compared with recent photographs to assess whether the presence of industry is accelerating degradation. Fifty per cent of the petroglyphs showed indications of changes, and two showed substantial damage. The bulk of the changes can be attributed directly to industrial activity in the area which commenced in the 1960s. All changed petroglyphs, with two exceptions, were in relative proximity to industry. A reduction in industrial emissions is considered essential if damage to the rock art is to be limited and this iconic cultural place is to remain largely intact for future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The disproportionate burden of oral disease in Aboriginal children and the issues in accessing mainstream dental services are well documented. Yet little is known about dental professionals' perspectives in providing oral care for Aboriginal children. This paper presents findings from a study exploring such perspectives. Methods: Semi‐structured interviews were carried out in Western Australia following purposive sampling of non‐Aboriginal dentists, dental clinic assistants (dental nurses) and oral health therapists/dental hygienists. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed guided by grounded theory for key themes related to the topic. Results: Findings included a service delivery model sometimes unresponsive to Aboriginal families' needs; dental professionals' limited education and training to work with confidence and cultural sensitivity with Aboriginal patients and socioeconomic influences on Aboriginal children's poor oral health considered outside dental professionals' remit of care. Discussion: Findings suggest oral health policies and practices and dental professionals' education and training need reviewing for how well such policies support dental professionals in an Aboriginal context. This includes engaging with Aboriginal stakeholders, working effectively with Aboriginal families, and developing shared understandings about what is needed to increase access to care and improve oral health outcomes for Aboriginal children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perennial pastures are the dominant feedbase in many regions of the world, and offer several advantages when compared with an annual pasture system. In Western Australia (WA) there has been a concerted effort over seven decades to develop new perennial pasture options and expand the adoption of suitable species. The agricultural region of WA (i.e. south-western Australia) is characterised by a Mediterranean climate where the 5–7 month summer drought has proved a considerable challenge with only a small number of the many promising species being adopted commercially. Research, development, and extension have covered a wide range of herbaceous perennial legumes, leguminous and native shrubs, herbs, and temperate and warm season grasses. This paper reviews the literature to determine whether a perennial pasture must satisfy the following criteria to be successful and widely adopted in south-western Australia: (i) sourced from a similar Mediterranean environment and adapted to the target soils; (ii) have a relative advantage over the annual-based system it replaces; (iii) a robust management package; and (iv) a viable seed supply. The findings of this review highlight that perennial pastures must indeed satisfy multiple criteria to be commercially successful. Notably, the requirement for the source of the germplasm to have a good match between climate and soils is less clear because some of the commercially successful species come from diverse environments. We conclude with some key learnings for future perennial pasture development as climate change intensifies the research challenge and the drive for producers to adapt. In Western Australia, there has been a concerted effort to develop new perennial pasture options. Research, development, and extension have covered a range of herbaceous perennial legumes, leguminous and native shrubs, herbs and temperate and warm season grasses. Overall, this search has proved to be a considerable challenge in a Mediterranean environment with many promising species having little or no commercial impact, and only a small number of species have had widespread commercial adoption. This review explores the key requirements for perennial species to become more than a niche pasture in a Mediterranean climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To date, there has been little research that has comprehensively analysed dental treatment under general anaesthesia (DGA) at Perth Children's Hospital (PCH) for dental emergencies (dental pain and sepsis). This cross-sectional descriptive analysis of the PCH dental department analysed the demographic of children admitted and the type of treatment used, and assessed the cost. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study analysing the dental records of patients ranging from 2 to 16 years of age at PCH in Western Australia. Of the 310 cases randomly selected from the 2018–19 study period, 202 were admitted for DGA. Two outcome measures were derived: cumulative count of treatment mix and cost analysis. Results: The mean (±s.d.) age at the time of admission was 6.2 ± 2.6 years and the mean (±s.d.) decayed (d/D), missing, (m/M) and filled (f/F) teeth (dmft/DMFT) was 2.1 ± 0.8. Of the 429 teeth affected, 282 were molars. Treatments were grouped therapeutically; of the 856 treatments performed, 465 were extractions (54%). The total cost, consisting of direct and indirect costs, was A$313 823, and equated to an approximate mean (±s.d.) of A$1554 ± 109 per case. Conclusion: Untreated dental caries was the most common cause for hospital admission. Most cases presenting at the emergency department were young children (<7 years old) who underwent extractions under DGA. What is known about the topic?: The Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) was introduced to improve access and affordability to oral health care for children without private dental insurance. However, a significant number of children are still being admitted to hospital for emergency dental treatment. What does this paper add?: Despite the availability of the CDBS, untreated dental caries remains one of the most common reasons for dental emergency in the PCH. What are the implications for practitioners?: Not only are direct costs a burden on the health budget, but indirect and intangible costs also affect children and their families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This study aims to apply confirmatory personal introspection (CPI) to illuminate the experiences of the authors as partial native-visitors to Western Australia. The native-visitor is the tourist who is able to see beyond Urry’s shallow conception of the Tourist Gaze through their lengthy immersion as “insiders” in the destination’s culture. In this paper, the experiences of two immigrants, the authors, to Western Australia illustrate the different perspectives of the Tourist Gaze 4.0. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses CPI, as this is a more reliable method of uncovering a traveler’s experiences than subjective personal introspection because CPI uses additional data sources such as written historical records and photographs for confirming the researcher’s accounts. In this study, accounts of both authors alongside photographs are used to both confirm and contrast their individual experiences. Findings – The paper demonstrates the varied forms of the tourist gaze, with an emphasis on that of the native visitor. The findings illustrate how individuals’ both maintain aspects of their original cultural identity and adopt those of the new country after an extended time living in that country. This enables individuals to see attractions and destinations from an insider perspective. Practical implications – This study shows how even after an extended period of time living in a new country, visitors may not have the cultural confidence to behave as local residents at tourist attractions and destinations, which could limit their engagement and enjoyment of these experiences. Marketers should take this into account in designing and promoting tourist experiences to visitors. Originality/value – CPI provides a valuable means for illustrating the range of perspectives within the Tourist Gaze 4.0. The method enables individuals’ rich experiences to be uncovered but at the same time uses multiple data sources to provide additional rigour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The war for talent, whereby skilled workers move between countries, continues to remain a global issue. This paper is informed by the human resource management (HRM) literature on global careers of skilled migrants and their cross-cultural adjustment and well-being. These literatures draw on human capital theory to understand skilled migration. In this paper, a case study of Western Australia's answer to addressing skills shortages by employing skilled migrant workers through temporary skilled migration schemes (employer-sponsored) situates the discussion within the role of HRM. Temporary skilled migrants are vulnerable in that they can experience a number of stressors, including long periods of separation from their loved ones, commencing a new job in an alien environment and resettlement tasks. The paper makes a contribution in utilising Al Ariss and Syed's (2011) model of human capital drawing on social, cultural, economic and symbolic forms of currency for temporary skilled migrants. This group is not homogenous in that they all draw on these aspects of human capital in varying ways. By addressing the gaps, HRM can add value in providing assimilation strategies for temporary migrant workers that supports retention and ensures improved worker well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The region-building process in Western Australia is examined using Paasi's theoretical framework of ‘regional institutionalisation’. The paper examines the formalisation of the regions in Western Australia from the 1940s with the first attempts to regionalise the State, through to the recent political and policy shifts. A particular focus is given to the pivotal legislation passed in 1993 which created nine Regional Development Commissions, and the implications of the post-2008 Royalties for Regions program. The discussion examines the trajectory of the Western Australia regions through the lens of Paasi's model. The paper shows that the Regional Development Commissions have had a critical role in fulfilling the different stages of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Capital is an essential enabler of contemporary public hospital services funding hospital buildings, medical equipment, information technology and communications. Capital investment is best understood within the context of the services it is designed and funded to facilitate. The aim of the present study was to explore the information on capital investment in Australian public hospitals and the relationship between investment and acute care service delivery in the context of efficient pricing for hospital services. Methods. This paper examines the investment in Australian public hospitals relative to the growth in recurrent hospital costs since 2000-01 drawing from the available data, the grey literature and the reports of six major reviews of hospital services in Australia since 2004. Results. Although the average annual capital investment over the decade from 2000-01 represents 7.1% of recurrent expenditure on hospitals, the most recent estimate of the cost of capital consumed delivering services is 9% per annum. Five of six major inquiries into health care delivery required increased capital funding to bring clinical service delivery to an acceptable standard. The sixth inquiry lamented the quality of information on capital for public hospitals. In 2012-13, capital investment was equivalent to 6.2% of recurrent expenditure, 31% lower than the cost of capital consumed in that year. Conclusions. Capital is a vital enabler of hospital service delivery and innovation, but there is a poor alignment between the available information on the capital investment in public hospitals and contemporary clinical requirements. The policy to have capital included in activity-based payments for hospital services necessitates an accurate value for capital at the diagnosis-related group (DRG) level relevant to contemporary clinical care, rather than the replacement value of the asset stock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, our purpose is to investigate policy informing texts and discourses referencing transgender equality and gender diversity in the Western Australian education system. Drawing on scholarship from transgender, queer and policy studies, we highlight the interplay of progressive and conservative forces affecting the Western Australian education system's commitment to supporting transgender and gender non-binary students. Based on a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) project, the paper constructs a Western Australian case study, which threads together the critical examination of policy informing texts, qualitative interview data and media discourses surrounding public narratives, such as the Safe School Coalition Australia's attempt to implement a school program, which builds awareness about gender and sexual diversity. Emerging through the material, discursive and spatial elements of locales and networks, our case study has the potential to deepen knowledge regarding the heuristic capacity of employing policyscape as an analytic category. In this vein, we draw attention to the possibilities and challenges for re-conceptualizing gender and providing trans-affirmative school spaces that promote equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how two Britons, working in Western Australia and Natal, respectively, engaged with ideas about the civilisation and education of Indigenous people. It is argued that concepts of civilisation were debated by missionaries, researchers and members of the public. Using the correspondence, publications and private journals of two educators, Dr Henry Callaway, Church of England missionary in Natal, and Ann Camfield, teacher in Western Australia, the paper draws attention to their respective approaches to education. Each contributed to broader imperial debates concerning the meaning of race in relation to educability. Education in both places, while connected to these global ideas, was also profoundly influenced by local context. 'Civilisation' and the 'civilising mission' may have been unifying goals for missionaries in different sites of Empire, but understandings of what civilisation should inculcate, or do, varied according to particular circumstances. These histories are best understood in transnational and comparative perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the website, Monument Australia, there are over 30,000 monuments currently recorded in Australia. The overwhelming majority of these are monuments to the fallen of various overseas wars in which Australians have fought. Only 96 commemorate industrial accidents, and only eight of these are in Western Australia. While the numbers killed in the two World Wars far exceed Australian work fatalities, in Western Australia significant numbers have been killed in industrial accidents. In the 21st century to date, more than 50 miners have been killed in WA, a number that exceeds the total Australian fatalities in the Afghanistan War--there are already at least ten memorials to these soldiers. Additionally, thousands (both miners and family members) have died (and will die) as a result of mining-related diseases. This paper asks why are there so many memorials to active service personnel compared with those commemorating the deaths of industrial workers? It discusses several factors which contribute to the privileging of war memorials, including the numbers of fatalities involved, memorials as a focus of commemoration and the significant resources that governments have provided for the construction of new memorials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The perspectives of the First Peoples of Australia are unravelling the dominant narratives of heroic European pioneers, peaceful settlement and accommodation. The debates about Australia's past as one of invasion and violent conflict, and often referred to as the 'history wars', have become part of a battle for the present. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Yamaji, from the mid-west of Western Australia, fought for country and family in a war of resistance against squatters, miners, settlers and police. The emotional responses of Yamaji to colonial violence and dispossession were deeply felt, but rarely acknowledged in what was then described in the press as a 'state of war' between blacks and whites.1 There are, however, numerous accounts of the fears and anxieties felt and expressed by colonial society at this time on the public record. But, although there are historical accounts of the physical impacts of the violence on Yamaji people, their emotional responses were either absent, dismissed, hinted at, or 'lost' in the translations of a form of Aboriginal English. The transgenerational effects of this historical trauma are still felt today by Yamaji. Its impacts on overall health and emotional well-being is now recognised so that processes of acknowledgement and healing may begin.2 This paper explores a history of Yamaji emotions in the context of a historical discourse on race war and the biopolitical and paramilitary responses of government towards Yamaji resistance that involved both discursive and physical violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the history of penal transportation from Britain to Australia in relation to four distinct 'phases' of operation, each signifying a different context, and a series of different features of how convictism operated in Australia - the penological thinking, the nature of the colonies, and the conditions and systems of discipline that convicts found themselves within. The first decades of convictism in New South Wales (and Tasmania) have been described in some ways as a relatively benign system, founded upon an early system of convict assignment, and a series of legal, property and wage rights for convicts. That gave way to a tougher form of convictism, as the early assignment system transformed into a tougher form, alongside the rescinding of various convict rights, and a diminution of their status. That was then replaced by a system of probation, in the face of criticism of the assignment system. Probation was in turn halted as Britain looked to end transportation. Yet another chapter in the story of transportation from Britain to Australia emerged as settlers petitioned for the use of convict labour in Western Australia. That soon ended as transportation gave way to the penitentiary as the main mode of punishmen. The purpose of exploring this history is to signal the great complexity within how penal transportation operated in practice, and to set up future work via a natural experiments approach, which will consider such differences in more detail, and crucially, the implications of those differences for the colonies and the convicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the return on investment in the skeleton weed management program in Western Australia. A bioeconomic model is used to estimate costs to broadacre cropping industries over time with and without the program. Results suggest that without the program annual crop yield losses and increased growing costs, expressed in Australian dollars ($A), could reach A$13.6 million after 30 years. With the program, these losses reduce to A$5.0 million. If annual skeleton weed program costs remain approximately A$3.4 million, the program is likely to produce an annual net benefit to grain producers of A$8.6 million after 30 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Healthcare is delivered by multidisciplinary healthcare teams who rely on communication and effective teamwork to ensure safe patient care. Teamwork builds on employee cohesion and reduces medical and nursing errors, resulting in greater patient satisfaction and improved healthcare. Effective teamwork not only improves efficiency and patient safety but leads to a healthier and happier workplace, reducing burnout among healthcare professionals. The purpose of this paper is to describe the findings of a pilot project on an acute medical ward in Western Australia. The aim was to understand the participants perceived level of teamwork to support future work practices and ultimately patient care. Methods: This study used a descriptive survey research method to measure nursing teamwork in a clinical environment. The Nursing Teamwork Survey (NTS) measures the levels of nursing teamwork in acute healthcare facilities. Items for the NTS were generated on theoretical grounds, based on teamwork behaviours, offering a practical explanation of teamwork dynamics. Results: The survey incorporated five subscales. The response rate to the survey was 90 % (n = 45) with an overall average result on the survey being (m = 2.97) on a 0–4 Likert scale. The validated NTS has provided participants the opportunity to consider nursing teamwork with regards to their position and perceived responsibilities towards patients and team members. Conclusion: The findings highlight areas for consolidation and improvement in teamwork. Introducing teambuilding strategies and acting on results of this survey may support enhanced communication and teamwork influencing nursing care and patient outcomes. Findings recommend that activities to improve teamwork and ensuring teambuilding strategies are implemented to improve effective communication in an acute medical care setting would have significant impacts on staff satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the course of one year, I photographed 95 sunrises along the east bank of the Columbia River from my home on the west bank in Richland, WA (46.3° N latitude). I then calculated the seasonal phenomena listed in the title with the intention of explaining the variation of the photographed sunrises. The calculations use a simplified model of the Sun-Earth system and employ rotation matrices to predict the path of the Sun, as observed at any location in the northern hemisphere, throughout the year. These predictions are in good agreement with those listed by NOAA and also with the photographic data. The analysis presented here provides a novel way to calculate and understand the seasonal variations of visible sunlight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: To explore whether receipt of either of two patron banning provisions currently used in Western Australia—in response to alcohol‐related disorderly and anti‐social behaviour—is associated with changes to subsequent offending. Method: Western Australia Police de‐identified the offender records and associated data for 3440 individuals who had received one or more police‐imposed barring notice/s between 2011 and 2020, and 319 individuals who had received one or more prohibition orders between 2013 and 2020. The number of offences recorded for each recipient before and after the first notice/order were examined to understand the potential effect of both provisions upon subsequent offending. Results: The low number of repeat barring notices (5% of the total) and prohibition orders (1% of the total) points to their general success. Analysis of offending records before and after receipt/expiry of either provision indicates that both have a generally positive effect on subsequent behaviours. For all barring notice recipients, 52% recorded no further offences and for all prohibition order recipients, 58% recorded no further offences. There was a less positive effect for the sub‐set of multiple ban recipients and prolific offenders. Discussion and Conclusions: Barring notices and prohibition orders appear to have a generally positive effect on subsequent behaviours for the majority of recipients. More targeted interventions are recommended for repeat offenders, for whom patron banning provisions have a more limited effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some methods for analysing mineral prospectivity, especially the weights of evidence technique, require the predictor variables to be binary values. When the original evidence data are numerical values, such as geochemical indices, they can be converted to binary values by thresholding. When the evidence layer is a spatial feature such as a geological fault system, it can be converted to a binary predictor by buffering at a suitable cut-off distance. This paper reviews methods for selecting the best threshold or cut-off value and compares their performance. The review covers techniques which are well known in prospectivity analysis as well as unfamiliar techniques borrowed from other literature. Methods include maximisation of the estimated contrast, Studentised contrast, χ 2 test statistic, Youden criterion, statistical likelihood, Akman–Raftery criterion, and curvature of the capture–efficiency curve. We identify connections between the different methods, and we highlight a common technical error in their application. Simulation experiments indicate that the Youden criterion has the best performance for selection of the threshold or cut-off value, assuming that a simple binary threshold relationship truly holds. If the relationship between predictor and prospectivity is more complicated, then the likelihood method is the most easily adaptable. The weights-of-evidence contrast performs poorly overall. These conclusions are supported by our analysis of data from the Murchison goldfields, Western Australia. We also propose a bootstrap method for calculating standard errors and confidence intervals for the location of the threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is one of the most diagnosed types of cancer worldwide. Volumetric ultrasound breast imaging, combined with MRI can improve lesion detection rate, reduce examination time, and improve lesion diagnosis. However, to our knowledge, there are no 3D US breast imaging systems available that facilitate 3D US – MRI image fusion. In this paper, a novel Automated Cone-based Breast Ultrasound System (ACBUS) is introduced. The system facilitates volumetric ultrasound acquisition of the breast in a prone position without deforming it by the US transducer. Quality of ACBUS images for reconstructions at different voxel sizes (0.25 and 0.50 mm isotropic) was compared to quality of the Automated Breast Volumetric Scanner (ABVS) (Siemens Ultrasound, Issaquah, WA, USA) in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and resolution using a custom made phantom. The ACBUS image data were registered to MRI image data utilizing surface matching and the registration accuracy was quantified using an internal marker. The technology was also evaluated in vivo. The phantom-based quantitative analysis demonstrated that ACBUS can deliver volumetric breast images with an image quality similar to the images delivered by a currently commercially available Siemens ABVS. We demonstrate on the phantom and in vivo that ACBUS enables adequate MRI-3D US fusion. To our conclusion, ACBUS might be a suitable candidate for a second-look breast US exam, patient follow-up, and US guided biopsy planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issues Addressed: Discussion of family violence is important but many men and boys struggle to engage with the topic. Primary prevention approaches focus on communicating with and educating the population, including men and boys, in the areas of healthy relationships, gender and violence. There can be both barriers to and also gains from these interventions. This paper describes a project implemented in Geraldton, Western Australia, and discusses what has been effective and ineffective during the project.Methods: The 'Men Against Violence' project targeted men and boys through local sporting clubs in the City of Greater Geraldton, in the Midwest region of Western Australia, through the use of face to face education, community radio and television interviews and other appropriate engagement strategies. 'Men Against Violence' events were held to connect with local male community members and address the role men can have in family violence prevention.Results: We describe the three key engagement activities, working with the local Australian Rules football league, state-league basketball team and a local high school Aboriginal football academy. These strategies provided avenues for contact with and the education of men and boys aged 12 years and older.Conclusion: Through successful partnerships with a number of local organisations, the 'Men Against Violence' project saw a high level of engagement with local men. The project also gained strong community support, with pockets of resistance encountered and managed.So What: The 'Men Against Violence' project experienced highlights and barriers throughout the pilot project that can guide and inform future family violence prevention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issues Addressed: To explore adolescents' experiences of access to and continued use of mental health services, and identify factors influencing their perceived satisfaction with their care. This paper focusses on the role of organisational and policy-level factors in the mental health system.Method: Qualitative semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 22 adolescents aged 14-18 years living in Perth, Western Australia.Results: Adolescents identified key policy, systemic and service-based factors which influenced their access to and continued use of mental health services. These were strongly related to the processes of service intake, level of orientation towards person-centred care and adequacy of service resourcing and funding. Areas of concern for adolescents included, complex service intake procedures, suboptimal mental health service environments, lack of client-centred care and the quality of mental health support provided in school settings.Conclusions: Our research has identified a wide spectrum of factors influencing mental health service access and use amongst adolescents. The findings further support the growing national consensus for major reform to address the mental health needs of this age group. The current strengths within mental health services and the system identified by adolescents need to be supported and extended. SO WHAT?: Although there have been numerous recommendations on ways to improve mental health service access and ongoing engagement for Australian adolescents, a number of the major challenges faced by this high-risk population have shown little improvement. The findings of this research indicate the importance of now moving towards implementing meaningful plans for action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper explores employment discrimination against gender diverse job applicants and employees in Western Australia (WA). Design/methodology/approach: Using grounded theory, this study draws on semi-structured interviews with respondents (n = 20) who identified as trans women, trans men, nonbinary or agender. Thematic analysis focused on the multiple dimensions of disadvantage experienced by respondents, including subtle, not so subtle and overt types of employment discrimination. Findings: The authors' results point to several reasons why gender diverse individuals (GDIs) may fear the labor market, including difficulties in concealing their stigma and acquiescence to discrimination. On the other hand, our results also point to sources of organizational support, including encouragement from direct line managers and colleagues who are also Allies. Practical implications: The results of the research have important implications for sociological frameworks surrounding dramaturgy, stigma, aesthetic labor, organizational silence and social identity. Practical implications for employers, employees, human resource (HR) professionals and trade unions are also articulated. Originality/value: Whereas previous studies have prioritized the discriminatory experiences of GDIs in the US and European labor markets, this study reports on gender diverse voices in WA. Furthermore, recent work on this topic has been experimental and largely quantitative, whereas the present study offers a compelling set of profound narratives, thereby addressing calls for qualitative research that foregrounds the complexities and nuances of lived experience for GDIs and renders their voices heard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines Western Australian (WA) public library collections and the representations of Asia in these collections. Serving the needs of the general public within a certain geographic area, public libraries collect materials in all formats and genres based on institutional priorities related to community or user needs and interests. This paper presents findings from a 2019 survey and series of interviews with librarians from WA public libraries to find out more about their collections by examining two types of materials: (1) items about Asia and, (2) items in Asian languages. The key findings are as follows: (1) relatively little attention is paid to cultural representations of the community in the development collections in WA's public libraries (2) LOTE (Languages other than English) materials make up a small percentage of WA public libraries' overall collections; and (3) representations of Asia within the collections are associated thematically with migrant support, travel destinations, cool Asia, and food cultures. This study makes a contribution to research and practice in this area by employing an interdisciplinary approach using cultural studies, library and information studies frameworks, introducing new ways of thinking about these collections and how library materials connect to cultural identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses educational insights drawn from a mixed-methods study in Religious Education (RE). The study involved 238 teachers and school leaders, working in 65 Catholic schools in Western Australia (WA). The focus of the study was the educators' perceptions of a large-scale, standardised assessment (LSA) called The Bishops' Religious Literacy Assessment (BRLA). The assessment is developed by the Catholic Education Office in WA for the purpose of measuring student learning in RE. Students enrolled in Years Three, Five and Nine in Catholic schools across WA participate in the assessment each year in August. The study revealed six themes, two of which are specific to the educators' perceptions of the administration of the BRLA. The other four themes relate to the perceived nature and role of RE and the use of LSAs in education. The themes signal complexity, based on diverse experiences about teaching and assessment practices in RE. These experiences provide empirical evidence specific to the context of RE as an academic learning area, reserved for the classroom. The evidence is new knowledge that builds on research in RE, identifying existing complexity and challenging, presuppositions and motivations that appear to cause misalignment between policy expectations and school-based practices. Given national interest in education about progressing student learning and the Catholic education agenda about addressing the quality of RE, the new knowledge acts as a springboard for classroom, school and system level dialogue about teaching and assessment practices in RE that can promote progress in student learning in Catholic schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the evaluation of "summer sowing," an innovative approach to increase the adoption of recently domesticated species of hard seeded annual legumes in Mediterranean and temperate Agriculture. The research revealed that several species of annual legumes whose seed can be readily harvested on‐farm and which possess natural hard seed dormancy, may be sown into dry soil in late summer without additional processing. These studies proved that the hard seed dormancy was broken down sufficiently in the soil over 4–6 weeks to produce robust legume pastures with more than 150 seedlings per m2 following the first winter rains, in replicated field sites established across wide agro‐ecological zones in Western Australia (WA) and New South Wales (NSW). Ornithopus sativus Brot., O. compressus L. and Trifolium spumosum L. were suitable for summer sowing based on both hard seed breakdown patterns and subsequent seedling survival in WA. While in NSW, in addition to these legumes, Biserrula pelecinus L., T. vesiculosum Savi. and T. glanduliferum Boiss. were also suitable for summer sowing. A 1.5‐ to 10‐fold increase in herbage production was achieved relative to conventionally sown T. subterraneum L. This development represents a step change in forage legume development for renovated pastures in these environments. Importantly, the experiments revealed differences in G x E effects on seedling establishment, total herbage production and seed yield in different climatic zones. The summer sowing approach is presented as a revolutionary method for pasture renovation that overcomes significant barriers to adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the extent of medical and non-medical out-of-pocket expenses (OOPE) among regional/rural and outer metropolitan Western Australian patients diagnosed with cancer, and the factors associated with higher costs. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from adult patients living in four regional/rural areas and two outer metropolitan regions in Western Australia who had been diagnosed with breast, prostate, colorectal or lung cancer. Consenting participants were mailed demographic and financial questionnaires, and requested to report all OOPE related to their cancer treatment. Results: The median total OOPE reported by 308 regional/rural participants and 119 outer metropolitan participants were A$1518 (interquartile range (IQR): A$581–A$3769) and A$2855 (IQR: A$958–A$7142) respectively. Participants most likely to experience higher total OOPE were younger than 65 years of age, male, resided in the outer metropolitan area, worked prior to diagnosis, had private health insurance, were in a relationship, and underwent surgery. Multivariate analysis of regional/rural participants revealed that receiving care at a rural cancer centre was associated with significantly lower non-medical OOPE (estimated mean A$805, 95% confidence interval (CI): A$735–A$875, P = 0.038; compared with other rural participants (A$1347, 95% CI: A$743–A$1951, P < 0.001)). Conclusion: The cancer patients who participated in this study experienced variation in OOPE, with outer metropolitan participants reporting higher OOPE compared with their regional/rural counterparts. There is a need for cost transparency and access to care close to home, so that patients can make informed choices about where to receive their care. What is known about the topic?: In recent years, OOPE for health care in general and cancer in particular have been widely debated by consumers and not-for-profit organisations; the topic has attracted much political attention because it affects both equity and access to care and has wider financial implications for the community. Research studies and reports from both consumer organisations and a Ministerial Advisory Committee found that cancer patients can face exorbitant out-of-pocket costs, and that individuals with private health insurance and those with prostate and breast cancer reported higher costs. In Western Australia, a cancer centre providing comprehensive cancer care was established in the second most populous region to ameliorate the high costs for travel and accommodation that regional cancer patients are known to experience. What does this paper add?: This study is unique because it collected detailed cost information from patients and reports on the OOPE of regional/rural and outer metropolitan Western Australian patients receiving care for one of the four most common cancers; it therefore offers novel insight into the experiences of these groups. This study demonstrates that outer metropolitan cancer patients are experiencing much higher OOPE compared with regional/rural cancer patients. Additionally, regional/rural study participants who accessed a Regional Cancer Centre experienced significantly lower non-medical OOPE, compared with regional/rural study participants receiving care elsewhere. What are the implications for practitioners?: First, there is a need for improved communication of OOPE to minimise costs to the patient, for example, by facilitating access to local cancer care. Health service providers and insurance companies can improve cost transparency for cancer patients by making this information more readily available, allowing patients to make informed financial choices about where to seek care. Second, the needs of working patients deserve specific attention. These patients face significant work uncertainty and additional distress following a cancer diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Studies of recorded ground motions and simulations have shown that deep sedimentary basins can greatly increase the intensity of earthquake ground motions within a period range of approximately 1–4 s, but the economic impacts of basin effects are uncertain. This paper estimates key economic indicators of seismic performance, expressed in terms of earthquake‐induced repair costs, using empirical and simulated seismic hazard characterizations that account for the effects of basins. The methodology used is general, but the estimates are made for a series of eight‐ to 24‐story residential reinforced concrete shear wall archetype buildings in Seattle, WA, whose design neglects basin effects. All buildings are designed to comply with code‐minimum requirements (i.e., reference archetypes), as well as a series of design enhancements, which include (a) increasing design forces, (b) decreasing drift limits, and (c) a combination of these strategies. As an additional reference point, a performance‐based design is also assessed. The performance of the archetype buildings is evaluated for the seismic hazard level in Seattle according to the 2018 National Seismic Hazard Model (2018 NSHM), which explicitly considers basin effects. Inclusion of basin effects results in an average threefold increase in annualized losses for all archetypes. Incorporating physics‐based ground motion simulations to represent the large‐magnitude Cascadia subduction interface earthquake contribution to the hazard results in a further increase of 22% relative to the 2018 NSHM. The most effective of the design strategies considered combines a 25% increase in strength with a reduction in drift limits to 1.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adrenocortical carcinoma is a rare but aggressive form of endocrine neoplasm that confers a poor prognosis. To date, the only Australian data published is from New South Wales. This paper describes our experience in Western Australia with a focus on surgical approach and outcomes. Methods: A retrospective study of patients treated for adrenocortical carcinoma in Western Australia over 14 years was performed. Results: Over the 14‐year period, a total of 33 patients underwent surgery for adrenocortical carcinoma. Resection outcomes were superior in an open en bloc approach with an 85% R0 margin (P = 0.007). Local recurrence rates were lowest in an open en bloc approach (11%) compared to laparoscopic (75%). Multivariate analysis showed that an en bloc resection is highly correlated with an R0 resection (P < 0.05) and significantly associated with lower (odds ratio = 0.06) local recurrence (P = 0.009). Higher volume surgeons (>5 cases) had lower operative times and blood loss. Compliance with mitotane was significantly improved with close monitoring of levels. The European Network for the Study of Adrenal Tumours (ENSAT) stage at presentation was most predictive of long‐term survival with 100% of stage I patients alive compared to 53% of stage II, 25% of stage III and 17% of stage IV patients at the end of the follow‐up period. Conclusion: An open en bloc approach with a low threshold for multi‐visceral resection performed by high volume surgeons have improved outcomes in local recurrence, operative times and blood loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]