Search

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

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

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

This paper explores the effects of union involvement in enterprise bargaining agreements (EBAs) on non‐wage outcomes. My research is carried out through using a dataset of all federal EBAs in Australia from 1997 to 2021 and utilises fixed effects regressions. An index was constructed of 10 variables to capture a comprehensive overview of non‐wage outcomes. This paper finds that union involvement in an EBA, on average, is associated with a 0.494 unit increase in the index, or a 13.5% increase on the average index score. Overall, these results provide further insight into union impacts on the labour market within the enterprise bargaining framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the scale and intensity of disasters and crises continue to increase, planning and managing crises have become a critical policy and governance issue. Of particular importance to this topic is crisis coordination, as effective response and recovery support the continuity of operations of governments and businesses, and are essential to the economy, health, and public safety. This paper applies a network governance perspective to explore the practical application of intergovernmental crisis coordination in Australia with reference to the COVID‐19 crisis contributing to a better understanding of the role of governing bodies in dealing with major crises in a coordinated manner. This paper also highlights the need to leverage collaborative leadership, organizational capacity, and a culture of collaboration to develop robust and connected networks in addressing crisis coordination within Australia's complex federal system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a methodology for defining the spot price of temporary water allocation rights for trading zones within the water market in the southern Murray–Darling Basin situated in Australia. The historical spot price is then used to calibrate a stochastic process depicting the dynamics of the water price, allowing the computation of prices of options on the underlying water price with the aim of producing reference prices to catalyse an options trading market. The most suitable stochastic model representing the water price dynamics is selected through comparing the option prices generated from four different models. Using the selected stochastic model, the most liquid trading zone in the Murray–Darling Basin water market (Zone 7) is used to demonstrate how the methodologies developed in the paper are used to calibrate the log‐mean stochastic model representing the stochastic spot price dynamics and compute prices for call and put options on the underlying water spot prices. Sensitivities of the water options prices to market input data can be calculated from the formulae provided in the paper. The results presented in this work can serve as a reference tool by industry practitioners and the farming community in using options for effective risk management of water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Crowdsourcing methods facilitate the production of scientific information by non‐experts. This form of citizen science (CS) is becoming a key source of complementary data in many fields to inform data‐driven decisions and study challenging problems. However, concerns about the validity of these data often constrain their utility. In this paper, we focus on the use of citizen science data in addressing complex challenges in environmental conservation. We consider this issue from three perspectives. First, we present a literature scan of papers that have employed Bayesian models with citizen science in ecology. Second, we compare several popular majority vote algorithms and introduce a Bayesian item response model that estimates and accounts for participants' abilities after adjusting for the difficulty of the images they have classified. The model also enables participants to be clustered into groups based on ability. Third, we apply the model in a case study involving the classification of corals from underwater images from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. We show that the model achieved superior results in general and, for difficult tasks, a weighted consensus method that uses only groups of experts and experienced participants produced better performance measures. Moreover, we found that participants learn as they have more classification opportunities, which substantially increases their abilities over time. Overall, the paper demonstrates the feasibility of CS for answering complex and challenging ecological questions when these data are appropriately analysed. This serves as motivation for future work to increase the efficacy and trustworthiness of this emerging source of data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Tracking the state of biodiversity over time is critical to successful conservation, but conventional monitoring schemes tend to be insufficient to adequately quantify how species' abundances and distributions are changing. One solution to this issue is to leverage data generated by citizen scientists, who collect vast quantities of data at temporal and spatial scales that cannot be matched by most traditional monitoring methods. However, the quality of citizen science data can vary greatly. In this paper, we develop three metrics (inventory completeness, range completeness, spatial bias) to assess the adequacy of spatial observation data. We explore the adequacy of citizen science data at the species level for Australia's terrestrial native birds and then model these metrics against a suite of seven species traits (threat status, taxonomic uniqueness, body mass, average count, range size, species density, and human population density) to identify predictors of data adequacy. We find that citizen science data adequacy for Australian birds is increasing across two of our metrics (inventory completeness and range completeness), but not spatial bias, which has worsened over time. Relationships between the three metrics and seven traits we modelled were variable, with only two traits having consistently significant relationships across the three metrics. Our results suggest that although citizen science data adequacy has generally increased over time, there are still gaps in the spatial adequacy of citizen science for monitoring many Australian birds. Despite these gaps, citizen science can play an important role in biodiversity monitoring by providing valuable baseline data that may be supplemented by information collected through other methods. We believe the metrics presented here constitute an easily applied approach to assessing the utility of citizen science datasets for biodiversity analyses, allowing researchers to identify and prioritise regions or species with lower data adequacy that will benefit most from targeted monitoring efforts. Citizen science data are increasingly being used to monitor biodiversity, but datasets produced by citizen scientists come with a number of well‐recognised challenges. In this paper, we develop several metrics to assess the adequacy of spatial observation data from citizen science projects and explore these metrics at the species level for Australia's terrestrial birds. We find that data adequacy for most Australian birds is increasing, but several gaps still remain in the spatial coverage of citizen science data across the Australian continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

In this paper, we study the following fractional Choquard equation with weight (−Δ)su=1|x|N−α∗h(x)|u|ph(x)|u|p−2uinℝN,$$ {\left(-\Delta \right)}&#x0005E;su&#x0003D;\left(\frac{1}{{\left&#x0007C;x\right&#x0007C;}&#x0005E;{N-\alpha }}\ast h(x){\left&#x0007C;u\right&#x0007C;}&#x0005E;p\right)h(x){\left&#x0007C;u\right&#x0007C;}&#x0005E;{p-2}u\kern0.5em \mathrm{in}\kern0.5em {\mathrm{\mathbb{R}}}&#x0005E;N, $$where 02s,p>2,α>0$$ 02s,p>2,\alpha >0 $$ and h$$ h $$ is a positive weight function satisfying h(x)≥C|x|a$$ h(x)\ge C{\left&#x0007C;x\right&#x0007C;}&#x0005E;a $$ at infinity, for some a≥0$$ a\ge 0 $$. We establish, in this paper, a Liouville type theorem saying that if maxN−4s−2a,0<α

There is a growing interest in how policy processes can better incorporate the values of the communities they serve, yet policymakers face numerous challenges when they seek to embed values into policies. This paper builds on existing values research to develop a bespoke policy values framework for Australia, based on the popular notion of a 'fair go'. While the fair go is often associated with a narrow set of equality and procedural justice values, we show that it has a much wider range of historical and contemporary meanings, which taken together provide a useful starting point for understanding policy values important to Australians. We apply our framework to two policy domains—housing and immigration—to show that it offers an effective heuristic to help policymakers understand key value priorities and conflicts in these policy areas. The paper provides theoretical insights regarding the role of values in policymaking and offers a practical tool for use when designing, implementing, and evaluating policies. Points for practitioners: Community values should inform public policy decision‐making in a democracy. However, incorporating values into policy is difficult because of the wide range of different values to consider, the need to manage tensions and conflicts between values, and the time pressures often faced by policymakers.The popular and enduring notion of the 'fair go' embodies multiple value positions, which cover a range of different values that matter to Australians, making it a good basis for an Australian policy values framework.Our fair go values framework is designed to serve as a heuristic for policymakers when designing and evaluating public policies. It is not intended as a comprehensive guide to value debates in all policy areas, but offers a starting point for quickly appreciating the key value priorities and conflicts in relation to a policy issue. Policymakers should wherever possible follow up with detailed research to understand the complex value debates of different policy issue areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People with an acquired brain injury (ABI) find it challenging to use social media due to changes in their cognition and communication skills. Using social media can provide opportunities for positive connection, but there is a lack of interventions specifically designed to support safe and successful social media use after ABI. Aims: To investigate the outcomes of completing a social media skills intervention and identify barriers and facilitators for future implementation. Methods & Procedures: The study used a mixed‐methods, pre‐post‐intervention design. A total of 17 adults with an ABI were recruited. Participants completed an intervention that included a short self‐guided course about social media skills (social‐ABI‐lity course), and then participated in a private, moderated Facebook group over a 12‐week period (social‐ABI‐lity Facebook group). Data were collected over this period through observation of group activity and weekly surveys. They were also collected on social media use and quality of life at pre‐intervention, post‐intervention and after 3 months. Participants provided feedback on the experience of participating in the programme via a post‐intervention interview. Outcomes & Results: At post‐intervention, there were significant improvements in confidence in using Facebook (p = 0.002) and enjoyment of using Facebook to connect with others (p = 0.013). There was no significant change in reported quality of life, although participants described the multiple benefits of connection they perceived from involvement in the group. Observational data and feedback interviews were informative about the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Conclusions & Implications: This pilot study provided preliminary evidence that an intervention comprising a short, self‐guided training course and a private, moderated Facebook group improved outcomes for people with ABI. Key recommendations for future implementation include embedding active peer moderators within groups and taking an individualized approach to delivery of the intervention. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: Research has documented the challenges that people with ABI experience in using social media, and the difficulty for rehabilitation clinicians in providing appropriate support in this field. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This pilot study reports the outcomes of people with ABI completing a short, self‐guided social media skills course and participating in a private, moderated Facebook group. After the intervention, participants reported significantly increased confidence and enjoyment in using Facebook, described the benefits of connection found in the groups, and suggested potential improvements for future implementation. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: With the growing use of social media for connection and participation, there is a professional obligation to address social media communication skills in cognitive–communication rehabilitation for people with ABI. The findings of this study will inform interventions and future research to assist people with ABI to build their social media skills for communication, social support and a sense of connection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Spoken discourse impairments post‐traumatic brain injury (TBI) are well‐documented and heterogeneous in nature. These impairments have chronic implications for adults in terms of employment, socializing and community involvement. Intervention delivered by a speech–language pathologist (SLP) is recommended for adults with discourse impairments post‐TBI, with an emphasis on context‐sensitive treatment. The developing evidence base indicates a wide array of treatment components for SLPs to evaluate and implement within their clinical practice. However, there is limited insight into how SLPs are currently treating discourse impairments and the rationales informing clinical practice. Aims: To explore the under‐researched area of clinical practice for spoken discourse interventions with adults post‐TBI, including treatment components and clinician rationales, and to contribute towards a shared knowledge base. Methods & Procedures: Participants were recruited via purposeful sampling strategies. Six SLPs participated from Australia, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US). Semi‐structured interviews were conducted via Zoom. Interviews were manually transcribed, coded and analysed via a qualitative content analysis approach. Outcomes & Results: :Participants described discourse treatment practices across various settings and TBI recovery stages. Results indicated that SLPs used numerous treatment activities, resources and outcome measures. Intervention approaches primarily targeted social communication skills, strategy development/utilization and insight‐building. Clinical practice conformed to available guidelines where possible, reflected best practice and incorporated components of the research literature. Participants reported using individualized treatment activities aimed at addressing client‐specific factors and rationales prioritized tailored, context‐sensitive and goal‐directed treatment. Conclusions & Implications: This study provided insight into a previously under‐researched area. It highlighted a wide range of treatment activities and factors informing current SLPs' treatment of spoken discourse impairment post‐TBI. Overall, clinical practice and rationales discussed in this study were aligned with best practice and emphasized a contextualized, individualized approach to discourse treatment across service settings and stages of recovery. Participants identified areas requiring further support, including access to training, resources and research, and the challenge of finding suitable outcome measures. Further investigation into discourse management post‐TBI, from initial assessment to outcome measurement, may help inform clinical decision‐making and the transfer of research to practice. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: Spoken discourse impairments occur in dialogic and monologic productions post‐TBI. Interventions targeting both genres are detailed within the research literature; however, studies exploring clinical practice and decision‐making for discourse interventions post‐TBI are limited. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This study provides new insight into the current treatment targets, activities, resources and outcome measures employed by clinicians supporting adults with discourse impairment post‐TBI. It details the factors that influence clinical decision‐making for this caseload and identifies an emphasis on client priorities and the value of clinician experience. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: This study identifies the broad and complex considerations required to deliver context‐sensitive discourse intervention post‐TBI. It indicates the need for an in‐depth review from assessment to treatment outcomes to better understand and support this area of practice and to direct future research. This study also highlighted the role of clinician experience in discourse intervention and the value of sharing clinical knowledge and resources within and across the profession to support all levels of clinician experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we assess the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the Australian visual arts sector. We base our analysis on the responses of over 1500 visual artists and arts workers to a survey conducted by the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA), the national peak body for the visual and media arts, craft and design sector in September 2021. NAVA employed this online survey to study the relationship between the pandemic and both the incomes and mental health of artists and arts workers. Using regression analysis, we find that there has been a significant impact for both artists and arts workers, with the severity of the impacts varying by gender, age and the availability of state‐based and Australian Government support programmes. Reduced hours and loss of contracted work and commissions due to the pandemic were both related to declines in income and mental health outcomes for artists and for arts workers. Housing stress was associated with a higher likelihood of a significant or extreme mental health impact for artists and arts workers. In addition, artists' incomes and mental health outcomes were impacted when faced with a reduced ability to sell, although some artists were able to increase their online profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Telepractice service delivery of allied health interventions to people with disability can potentially reduce access barriers and improve service equity. However, questions remain regarding telepractice functionality for people with disability. This study addressed questions related to how allied health clinicians and managers perceive telepractice as functioning in the provision of therapy services to people with disability. Methods: Thirteen interviews of allied health clinicians and managers from across Australia were conducted between 21 November and 22 February via MS teams. Qualitative methodology and critical realist theoretical paradigm underpin the study. Data analysis was completed using a reflective thematic analysis method and five themes were generated and described utilising an analytic metaphor. Results: The study themes were described in relation to a shopping for shoes analytic metaphor and the five themes included (1) a shoe for every foot, (2) planned purchases, (3) shoe on the other foot, (4) you need both shoes and (5) help choosing their shoes. In summary, the function of telepractice fits differently for each individual, similar to pairs of shoes. Conclusions: Telepractice has its own strengths and weaknesses and isn't a direct substitute for in‐person sessions, much like left and right shoes are similar but not the same. The results support participant perceptions that telepractice functions best as an adjunct to in‐person sessions through a flexible hybrid delivery model in the provision of therapy services to people with a disability. A strategy for improving perceived usefulness may involve positioning telepractice as unique with strengths and weaknesses, not replacing in‐person care. Patient or Public Contribution: The paper forms part of a larger codesign process which included customer and carer participants throughout the design and planning of the project, inclusion of a peer researcher, and the selection of the analytic metaphor including in the findings of this article production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Governments use vaccination mandates, of different degrees of coerciveness, to encourage or require childhood vaccination. We elicited the views of well‐informed community members on the public acceptability of using childhood vaccination mandates in Australia. Methods: Four community juries were conducted in Canberra, Launceston, Cairns and Melbourne, Australia between 2021 and 2022. We recruited 51 participants from diverse backgrounds, genders and ages through random digit dialling and social media. Two juries were held in metropolitan areas, and two in regional/rural settings. Outcome measures included jury verdicts and reasons in response to structured questions. Results: All juries were concerned about collective protection and individual rights but prioritised the former over the latter. A majority in all juries supported mandates but juries disagreed with respect to the appropriate mandate types. All juries endorsed using the least restrictive or coercive means to encourage vaccination (providing incentives or education, e.g.) before imposing penalties such as financial losses and school exclusions. The overriding view was that it is fairer to place a direct burden on parents rather than children and that mandates should be designed to avoid inequitable impacts on less advantaged groups in society. Many jurors found conscientious objection acceptable as a controlled option for resolute refusers, provided that overall vaccination coverage remains high. Conclusion: This paper gives policymakers access to the reasons that Australians have for supporting or opposing different mandates under conditions of high knowledge, understanding and deliberation regarding policy options. Sustaining high rates of vaccination requires high levels of co‐operation between governments, public health actors and the public. Our findings highlight the importance of considering public values in the design and implementation of vaccination mandates. Patient and Public Involvement: We sought input from individuals who did and did not vaccinate during the study design. The views and perspectives of nonvaccinating parents were presented in the evidence to juries. We deliberately excluded nonvaccinating individuals from participating, as the divisive and often hostile nature of the topic, and their minority status, made it difficult to ensure they would feel safe as members of the jury without overrepresenting their perspective in the sample. Two related projects engaged directly with these parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The global population is ageing rapidly and there is a need for strategies to promote health and wellbeing among older adults. Nutrition knowledge is a key predictor of dietary intake; therefore, effective educational programmes are urgently required to rectify poor dietary patterns. Digital health technologies provide a viable option for delivering nutrition education that is cost‐effective and widely accessible. However, few technologies have been developed to meet the unique needs and preferences of older adults. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore technology use among older adults and qualitatively determine the content needs and design preferences for an online nutrition education resource tailored to older adult consumers in Australia. Methods: Twenty adult participants aged 55 years and older (95% female) participated in one of four 2‐h participatory design workshops. In each workshop, prompted discussion questions were used to explore participants' technology use and preferences and to explore content needs and design preferences for an online nutrition education resource specific to older adults. Results: All participants were regularly using a range of different devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets and computers) and reported being comfortable doing so. Participants wanted a website that provided general nutrition information, practical advice and recipes. To enhance engagement, they sought a personalised resource that could be adjusted to suit their needs, included up‐to‐date information and allowed for easy sharing with others by exporting information as a PDF. Conclusions: Participatory design methods generate new knowledge for designing and tailoring digital health technologies to be appropriate and useful for the target audience. Specifically, older adults seek an online resource that has large and simple fonts with clear categories, providing them with practical advice and general nutrition information that can be personalised to suit their own needs and health concerns, with the option to export and print information into a paper‐based format. Patient or Public Contribution: Older adults actively participated in the development and evaluation process to generate ideas about potential features, functionalities, uses and practicalities of an online nutrition education resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper starts from the point that our current political‐economic‐climate conjuncture demands new engagements at the dynamic interface of climate capitalism. Using two cases of climate capitalist responses to climate challenges, I demonstrate the reparative potentials that emerge from the tensions and ambiguities that typify that conjuncture. In the first case, I examine financialised climate infrastructure in Jakarta, Indonesia, that promises to protect the city from flooding while enriching city elites, but against which diverse social movements and collectives have organised. The second case is about a cooperative energy provider in Australia, operating on the terrain of a neoliberalised electricity market and climate change, and working towards multifaceted repair by collectivising and redistributing surplus and modelling democratic engagement. Those involved in these vastly different cases both pursue repair and reparations through climate capitalist projects by reckoning with historical and present climate debts while constructing forward‐looking programs. As such, they chart the first steps towards reparative climate futures. This paper identifies the political and socioecological potentials from two key climate capitalist projects: flood protection infrastructures in Jakarta and cooperative energy in Australia. From this, it builds a framework of repair and reparations for engaging with climate capitalism and argues that the emerging tensions and ambiguities facilitate steps towards reparative climate futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Developmental language disorder (DLD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions. Due to variable rates of language growth in children under 5 years, the early identification of children with DLD is challenging. Early indicators are often outlined by speech pathology regulatory bodies and other developmental services as evidence to empower caregivers in the early identification of DLD. Aims: To test the predictive relationship between parent‐reported early indicators and the likelihood of children meeting diagnostic criteria for DLD at 10 years of age as determined by standardized assessment measures in a population‐based sample. Methods: Data were leveraged from the prospective Raine Study (n = 1626 second‐generation children: n = 104 with DLD; n = 1522 without DLD). These data were transformed into 11 predictor variables that reflect well‐established early indicators of DLD from birth to 3 years, including if the child does not smile or interact with others, does not babble, makes only a few sounds, does not understand what others say, says only a few words, says words that are not easily understood, and does not combine words or put words together to make sentences. Family history (mother and father) of speech and language difficulties were also included as variables. Regression analyses were planned to explore the predictive relationship between this set of early indicator variables and likelihood of meeting DLD diagnostic criteria at 10 years. Results: No single parent‐reported indicator uniquely accounted for a significant proportion of children with DLD at 10 years of age. Further analyses, including bivariate analyses testing the predictive power of a cumulative risk index of combined predictors (odds ratio (OR) = 0.95, confidence interval (CI) = 0.85–1.09, p = 0.447) and the moderating effect of sex (OR = 0.89, CI = 0.59–1.32, p = 0.563) were also non‐significant. Conclusions: Parent reports of early indicators of DLD are well‐intentioned and widely used. However, data from the Raine Study cohort suggest potential retrospective reporting bias in previous studies. We note that missing data for some indicators may have influenced the results. Implications for the impact of using early indicators as evidence to inform early identification of DLD are discussed. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: DLD is a relatively common childhood condition; however, children with DLD are under‐identified and under‐served. Individual variability in early childhood makes identification of children at risk of DLD challenging. A range of 'red flags' in communication development are promoted through speech pathology regulatory bodies and developmental services to assist parents to identify if their child should access services. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge: No one parent‐reported early indicator, family history or a cumulation of indicators predicted DLD at 10 years in the Raine study. Sex (specifically, being male) did not moderate an increased risk of DLD at 10 years in the Raine study. Previous studies reporting on clinical samples may be at risk of retrospective reporting bias. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: The broad dissemination and use of 'red flags' is well‐intentioned; however, demonstrating 'red flags' alone may not reliably identify those who are at later risk of DLD. Findings from the literature suggest that parent concern may be complemented with assessment of linguistic behaviours to increase the likelihood of identifying those who at risk of DLD. Approaches to identification and assessment should be considered alongside evaluation of functional impact to inform participation‐based interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early identification and intervention for hearing loss is important for supporting language development. Despite this, parents are required to overcome barriers to access hearing assessments for their children. Aims: To identify the enablers and barriers to accessing hearing assessments for Australian children identified by their parents, and to compare between metropolitan, regional and rural areas. Methods & Procedures: This sequential, explanatory mixed‐methods study was undertaken online and included participants in metropolitan, regional and rural area of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. A total of 56 participants participated in the surveys, and 10 participated in semi‐structured interviews. Outcomes & Results: Participants in metropolitan areas were more likely to have services in their area; however, access to hearing assessment was related more to individual circumstances (including health literacy skills) rather than geographical location. Many participants experienced long wait times, reduced flexibility, and a lack of audiologists experienced in working with children. Conclusions & Implications: Barriers to hearing assessments (which assist with early identification and intervention for hearing loss) should be addressed so that children have access to clear auditory information to assist with their speech and language development. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: Poor audiological input can lead to poor speech, language and literacy outcomes for children. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge: Although previous research indicates that people in regional and remote locations experience difficulty accessing health services within a reasonable timeframe, in this study barriers were experienced regardless of geographical location, and were dependent on individual circumstances. Many parents are unaware of the impact of hearing on speech and language. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: Further research might examine how health literacy affects access to hearing assessment. Parents shared several potential solutions to these access barriers which should be considered by service providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses whether liquid migration, a framework developed to theorise recent patterns of intra‐European migration, is a suitable lens to analyse contemporary migration in other regions of the Western world. It does so by drawing on findings from ethnographic research conducted on the Brazilian migration to Australia, a recent migration wave whose patterns are embedded in a transformed migration context and paradigm. The reflections suggest that, notwithstanding a few differences and nuances inherent to the migration regime in question, the original framing of liquid migration is helpful to analyse and understand contemporary patterns of Brazilian migration to Australia. The contributions of this paper include a reframing of the original dimensions of liquid migration based on contemporary migration patterns to Australia. Based on the Australian case, this paper proposes a new dimension of liquid migration—namely, fluid visa journeys—which addresses some of the critiques of the original formulation of the concept. Finally, this paper argues that the fluidity of contemporary migration patterns to Australia is not a condition migrants pursue willingly, but rather one they are 'trapped into'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

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

Background: The implementation science literature acknowledges a need for engagement of key stakeholders when designing, delivering and evaluating implementation work. To date, the literature reports minimal or focused stakeholder engagement, where stakeholders are engaged in either barrier identification and/or barrier prioritisation. This paper begins to answer calls from the literature for the development of tools and guidance to support comprehensive stakeholder engagement in implementation research and practice. The paper describes the systematic development of the Implementation‐STakeholder Engagement Model (I‐STEM) in the context of an international, large‐scale empirical implementation study (ImpleMentAll) aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of a tailored implementation toolkit. The I‐STEM is a sensitising tool that defines key considerations and activities for undertaking stakeholder engagement activities across an implementation process. Methods: In‐depth, semistructured interviews and observations were conducted with implementers who were tailoring implementation strategies to integrate and embed internet‐based cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) services in 12 routine mental health care organisations in nine countries in Europe and Australia. The analytical process was informed by principles of first‐ and third‐generation Grounded Theory, including constant comparative method. Results: We conducted 55 interviews and observed 19 implementation‐related activities (e.g., team meetings and technical support calls). The final outcome of our analysis is expressed in an initial version of the I‐STEM, consisting of five interrelated concepts: engagement objectives, stakeholder mapping, engagement approaches, engagement qualities and engagement outcomes. Engagement objectives are goals that implementers plan to achieve by working with stakeholders in the implementation process. Stakeholder mapping involves identifying a range of organisations, groups or people who may be instrumental in achieving the engagement objectives. Engagement approaches define the type of work that is undertaken with stakeholders to achieve the engagement objectives. Engagement qualities define the logistics of the engagement approach. Lastly, every engagement activity may result in a range of engagement outcomes. Conclusion: The I‐STEM represents potential avenues for substantial stakeholder engagement activity across key phases of an implementation process. It provides a conceptual model for the planning, delivery, evaluation and reporting of stakeholder engagement activities. The I‐STEM is nonprescriptive and highlights the importance of a flexible, iterative approach to stakeholder engagement. It is developmental and will require application and validation across a range of implementation activities. Patient or Public Contribution: Patient contribution to ImpleMentAll trial was facilitated by GAMIAN‐Europe at all stages—from grant development to dissemination. GAMIAN‐Europe brings together a wide variety of patient representation organisations (local, regional and national) from almost all European countries. GAMIAN‐Europe was involved in pilot testing the ItFits‐toolkit and provided their views on the various aspects, including stakeholder engagement. Patients were also represented in the external advisory board providing support and advice on the design, conduct and interpretation of the wider project, including the development of the ItFits‐toolkit. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03652883. Retrospectively registered on 29 August 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Summary: Isolated rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behaviour disorder (iRBD) is a sleep disorder that is characterised by dream enactment episodes during REM sleep. It is the strongest known predictor of α‐synuclein‐related neurodegenerative disease (αNDD), such that >80% of people with iRBD will eventually develop Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, or multiple system atrophy in later life. More research is needed to understand the trajectory of phenoconversion to each αNDD. Only five 'gold standard' prevalence studies of iRBD in older adults have been undertaken previously, with estimates ranging from 0.74% to 2.01%. The diagnostic recommendations for video‐polysomnography (vPSG) to confirm iRBD makes prevalence studies challenging, as vPSG is often unavailable to large cohorts. In Australia, there have been no iRBD prevalence studies, and little is known about the cognitive and motor profiles of Australian people with iRBD. The Island Study Linking Ageing and Neurodegenerative Disease (ISLAND) Sleep Study will investigate the prevalence of iRBD in Tasmania, an island state of Australia, using validated questionnaires and home‐based vPSG. It will also explore several cognitive, motor, olfactory, autonomic, visual, tactile, and sleep profiles in people with iRBD to better understand which characteristics influence the progression of iRBD to αNDD. This paper details the ISLAND Sleep Study protocol and presents preliminary baseline results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Non‐communicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases, now constitute a major proportion of ill‐health across most adult and older populations including in people with intellectual disability. The current paper is a comparative analysis of prevalence of NCDs across mid‐aged and older‐aged people with mild intellectual disability. Method: Comparative data comes from two cross‐sectional surveys using similar methodology and timeframes. The analysis sample comprises mid‐aged group (30–50 years, N = 291) and older‐aged group (≥60 years, N = 391). Results: People with mild intellectual disability start developing NCDs in early to mid‐adulthood and increases with age. The mean number of NCDs in mid‐aged group was 0.86 (SD, 0.84) compared to 3.82 in older group (SD, 2.67). Conclusion: There needs to be early identification and management of NCDs using relevant health promotion and preventative measures at optimal intervention points. The training of healthcare professionals needs improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that the number of children and young people needing care keeps rising and fewer people are becoming foster carers, efforts to support carers and workers in foster caring are essential. This paper considers the experiences of carers and foster care agency workers involved in Australia's piloting of the Mockingbird Family. With a view understanding experience, data were collected via focus groups with carers and agency workers (n = 20) involved in piloting, implementation and evaluation. Deductive analysis applied the theory of experience to generate understanding of experience, as both intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions to capture strengths in the Mockingbird Family's foster caring networks. These dimensions of experience included collective passions of carers and workers; experiential change over time; collective experiences as a moving force; and experiences as transformational. Understanding of experience associated with the perceived strengths of the Mockingbird Family, including strategies to promote strong professional relationships between carers and workers, is an important element in strengthening environments of children and young people in care. Safe and stable environments are crucial for wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Current strategies to address shortages of rural doctors focus on developing a pipeline for rural generalist practice. Limited research has explored how doctors' professional journey engenders the skills required to practice rurally. Objective: This paper analyses how rural general practitioners' clinical pathway informs their scope of practice and future retention. Design: Qualitative thematic analysis using semi‐structured telephone interviews. Twenty‐one general practitioners appointed in their local health district of Murrumbidgee and Southern New South Wales, Australia, within the past 10 years. Participants comprised 10 Australian medical graduates (AMG) and 11 international medical graduates (IMG). Findings: AMGs and IMGs contrasted how their pathway into rural practice, and capacity to work rurally, informed their scope of practice. Australian medical graduates' familiarity with rural areas was consolidated through congruous experiences, including at rural clinical schools. Paradoxically, the fluency of their training limited the amount of unsupervised experience and confidence AMGs gained. Together with a focus on work‐life balance, this limited many to providing mainstream general practice, precluding extending their scope of practice. International medical graduates described disseminated experiences, often unsupervised in high‐volume contexts. However, a lack of professional opportunities prevented them from extending their scope of practice. Discussion: IMG and AMG motivation and pathway for working rurally differ. Respective cohorts have concerns regarding requisite skills and knowledge for rural practice, which incorporates opportunity and recognition. Entry points for training should be variable to allow consideration of life stage, prior skill development and extension of scope of practice. Conclusion: Doctors' scope of practice is informed by their pathways into rural practice. Australian medical graduates may not gain adequate competence during expedited training programs to confidently undertake extended clinical activities. International medical graduates, however lacked the opportunities and support, to utilise their expertise in rural practice. Complementarily utilising the expertise and commitment of both AMGs and IMGs may synergistically address workforce shortages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Commercial tobacco use was systematically embedded as a valuable commodity through colonisation that continues to be exploited for profit by the Tobacco Industry. There have been significant declines in current smoking prevalence among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples 18 years and over, from 55% in 1994 to 43% in 2018–2019. This paper seeks to better understand smoke‐free behaviours, and to systematically quantify associations between a range of SDOH and non‐smoking/never‐smoking among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults (≥18) living in regional Australia. Objective: To explore the social determinants of health (SDOH) related to non‐ and never‐smoking among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in regional Australia. Design: Cross‐sectional analysis of the NATSIHS, weighted to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adult population living in regional Australia, was conducted. Participants were characterised as people who were current smokers, never‐smokers and non‐smokers (ex‐ and never‐smokers). The social determinants of health exposures related to socioeconomic position, well‐being and access to healthcare. Setting: Regional Australia is distinct from urban and remote areas, based on the ASGS Remoteness Structure (ABS) 2018–2019. Participants: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults (≥18 years) who were selected, consented and asked questions about smoking in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS 2018/19). Results: High income was associated with non‐smoking (Prevalence Ratio [PR] = 2.07; 95% CI: 1.66–2.57) and never‐smoking (PR = 2.02; 1.46–2.79), as was completing year 10 (non‐smoking PR = 1.34; 1.12–1.61 and never‐smoking PR = 1.56; 1.20–2.03). Better food security was associated with a higher prevalence of never‐smoking (PR = 2.42; 1.48–3.98). Lower psychological distress scores were associated with non‐smoking (PR = 1.30; 1.10–1.53) and never‐smoking (PR = 1.56; 1.21–2.01). Never‐smoking was more frequent in participants reporting no experiences of unfair treatment (PR = 1.59; 1.22–2.06). Having a usual healthcare provider was associated with non‐smoking (PR = 1.38; 1.02–1.86). Positive exposure to the SDOH were associated with non‐ and never‐smoking among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults in regional Australia. Structural and systemic changes to address the SDOH, including discrimination and racism, are expected to accelerate non‐smoking behaviours and improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an examination of identity narratives of a small group of trans‐national transpeople in Australia. We reveal the complex identity journey undertaken by this group. Transpeople of Sub‐continental origin consume a temporarily transformational journey negotiating, resisting and subverting the dominant discourses that construct heterosexuality, gayness, whiteness and femininity. They carve out temporary liminal spaces of resistance within which to perform as "weekend women." We identify transforming, transitioning, transcending across gender and ethnic boundaries, and see being enabled by specific transnational consumption imaginaries in liminal spaces meshed by intersectional of race/ethnicity and gender. We follow intertwined discourses that forms a "matrix of domination" and the way liminal thirdspaces create temporarily decolonized spaces that enable them to escape this matrix and perform a (trans)formative, movement back and forth between their weekday/weekend differently gendered/cultured selves. Ultimately, these decolonized thirdspaces bring only temporary release with inevitable return to their weekday male identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue Addressed: Supporting healthy behaviours (quality diet, physical activity, sleep) through home‐based interventions is feasible to improve postnatal mental health. Involving stakeholders in developing interventions is essential for maximising accessibility, implementation and scale‐up. This study aimed to identify factors affecting the sustainable implementation and scalability of the Food, Move, Sleep (FOMOS) for Postnatal Mental Health program, including strategies to enhance research‐practice translation. Methods: Stakeholders (n = 13) involved in promoting physical activity, healthy eating, postnatal and mental health, public health and/or policy participated in semi‐structured interviews. Interviews, based on PRACTIS Guide recommendations for implementation and scale‐up, explored perceptions of program design, implementation and scalability. Reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken. Identified implementation and scale‐up strategies were mapped against the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change compendium and PRACTIS Guide. Results: Individual‐level: Targeting multiple systems (primary, tertiary, community‐based care) and entry points (early, mid‐postpartum) for uptake was important. For equity, screening women in public hospitals, engaging with community agencies and targeting most at‐risk women, was suggested. Provider‐level: Stakeholders identified strategies to enhance future roll‐out (organisations assisting with recruitment). Factors impacting sustainability included high demand for the FOMOS program, and governance around screening and funding; online delivery, connecting with partners and providers and integration into existing services may enhance sustainability. Systems‐level: Political support and community champions were perceived important for program dissemination. Nine strategies addressing program uptake, reach, implementation, potential scalability and sustainability were identified. Conclusions: For sustainable implementation and potential scalability of a home‐based multi‐behaviour postnatal intervention, multi‐level implementation and scale‐up strategies, aligned with existing health systems, policies and initiatives to support postnatal mental health should be considered. So What?: This paper provides a comprehensive list of strategies that can be used to enhance sustainable implementation and scalability of healthy behaviour programs targeting postnatal mental health. Further, the interview schedule, systematically developed and aligned with the PRACTIS Guide, may serve as a useful resource for researchers conducting similar studies in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Western democracies are experiencing a widespread shift towards greater recognition of transgender rights in public policy, yet the timing of change differs across states. To explain this variation, I present a novel theoretical framework called "policy momentum." Unlike existing work on policy diffusion, which typically emphasizes domestic or international processes, I theorize how the combined pressure from each level creates the conditions for policy change to occur. Empirically, I contrast the creation of national human rights policies to protect transgender individuals in Canada (2017) and Australia (2013). Using process‐tracing and within‐case analyses, and drawing on elite interviews, primary documents, and Hansard records, I demonstrate the decisive interaction of subnational legislative changes with an emerging global norm to produce transgender policy change. This paper thus contributes to our understanding of LGBTQ+ public policy while also providing a framework for explaining the conditions for cross‐national policy change more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The centralisation of trauma services in western countries has led to an improvement in patient outcomes. Effective trauma systems include a pre‐hospital trauma system. Delivery of high‐level pre‐hospital trauma care must include identification of potential major trauma patients, access and correct application of lifesaving interventions (LSIs) and timely transport to definitive care. Globally, many nations endorse nationwide pre‐hospital major trauma triage guidelines, to ensure a universal approach to patient care. This paper examined clinical guidelines from all 10 EMS in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand. All relevant trauma guidelines were included, and key information was extracted. Authors compared major trauma triage criteria, all LSI included in guidelines, and guidelines for transport to definitive care. The identification of major trauma patients varied between all 10 EMS, with no universal criteria. The most common approach to trauma triage included a three‐step assessment process: physiological criteria, identified injuries and mechanism of injury. Disparity between physiological criteria, injuries and mechanism was found when comparing guidelines. All 10 EMS had fundamental LSI included in their trauma guidelines. Fundamental LSI included haemorrhage control (arterial tourniquets, pelvic binders), non‐invasive airway management (face mask ventilation, supraglottic airway devices) and pleural wall needle decompression. Variation in more advanced LSI was evident between EMS. Optimising trauma triage guidelines is an important aspect of a robust and evidence driven trauma system. The lack of consensus in trauma triage identified in the present study makes benchmarking and comparison of trauma systems difficult. Effective trauma systems include a pre‐hospital trauma system. Delivery of high‐level pre‐hospital trauma care must include identification of potential major trauma patients, access and correct application of lifesaving interventions (LSIs), and timely transport to definitive care. Authors compared major trauma triage criteria, all LSI included in guidelines, and guidelines for transport to definitive care, and identified variations between all systems included in the present study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

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

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

Nearly a decade ago, the Australian Federal Government introduced a Digital Service Standard (DSS) for new and redesigned government services. This was an opportunity to encourage digital services and disruptive innovations to help the government improve citizens outcomes, and indeed there was a significant uptake in the digital services assessments offered by the program with key government agencies across health, human services, taxation, and education on board. However, by the 2020s the number of publicly visible assessments had significantly reduced. The initial broad adoption and recent reduction in numbers present an opportunity to explore the effectiveness of this government innovation management program that was ahead of its time. This paper reviews the impact of the DSS in fostering public service innovation and presents lessons learnt from the program. To perform this analysis, this research evaluates to what extent the DSS applied common private sector innovation management approaches of Innovation Process Management and Innovation Portfolio Management in the public sector. It also looks at the impact of these programs in encouraging specific types of modern digital innovations. The analysis draws on DSS assessments from 2015 to 2021 and considers how the program demonstrated public sector innovation leadership. This paper proposes a framework to improve the DSS by tailoring its approach for new and existing services, adopting specific standards to encourage incremental and disruptive innovations, and promoting more transparent reporting and funding of innovation management programs. This evaluation found that the DSS exemplifies Innovation Process Management in its use of stages and gates, and Innovation Portfolio Management in its use of targeted assessment criteria across innovation portfolios of various government agencies. The analysis also identified design limitations in the DSS as a whole of government innovation management approach due to its limited uptake in multiple large agencies and lack of specific standards to encourage different types of innovation. The impact of this research is to increase the adoption of the DSS and increase the innovation outcomes delivered by this government program. We conclude by reflecting some of the unique considerations in applying private sector innovation management practices in the public sector. Points for practitioners: Innovation management techniques are emerging but remain immature in the public sector.Australia has shown leadership in Government Innovation Process and Portfolio Management.Government must remain committed to innovation management programs and sharing the outputs of these programs.Government Innovation Management Programs should build in flexibility to encourage different types of innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Quality training and mentoring are crucial components of successful career development for early mid career researchers (EMCRs). This paper describes the overarching framework of novel ongoing national Training and Mentoring Programme Melbourne University Sydney Queensland:Impact (MUSQ:Impact) for musculoskeletal researchers, including a description of how it was set up and established, and lessons learned from its implementation. Results: The MUSQ:Impact programme spans four multidisciplinary musculoskeletal research teams across three universities in Australia, comprising 40–60 EMCR members. It was established to provide EMCRs with a unique learning environment and opportunities to gain exposure to, and network with, other national musculoskeletal research teams. Specific goals are to focus on core research competencies (e.g. writing skills, managing grant budgets, public speaking and media engagement, research translation), provide career mentoring, fund development activities (e.g. conference attendance, laboratory visits, skill development courses), and share training resources (e.g. data dictionaries, project summaries). A Steering Committee of 10–12 EMCR members, co‐chaired by a senior researcher and one EMCR, is responsible for overseeing MUSQ:Impact and organising regular activities, including a monthly webinar series, a mentor/mentee scheme, annual group research retreats, annual infographic competition, and funding awards. An evaluation survey found that most participants perceived each activity to be beneficial and of value to their research career and development. Conclusion: This paper presents the structure of national training and mentoring programme that serves as a potential template for other research teams to adapt within their own contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The 2019 Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety highlighted the need for First Nations peoples to have improved, culturally safe care. This paper is a call to action for First Nations peoples to be involved in developing culturally safe care and services to be embedded within Australian aged care services. Methods: The first screening examined the Australian literature (peer‐reviewed articles published since 2010 in English) detailing key aspects relevant to Cultural Safety for First Nations peoples supported by aged care services in Australia. The second screening assessed whether the findings of these studies aligned with the key aspects of Cultural Safety of First Nations peoples in aged care. Results: The initial literature search yielded 198 papers, of which 13 met the inclusion criteria for the final review. Topics that required further interrogation included barriers to communication, racism and discrimination, impacts on health outcomes, health‐care workforce education needs and the importance of cultural connections to Country and kin. These topics influenced the perception of First Nations peoples feeling culturally safe when supported by aged care services. Conclusions: The literature identified a need to recruit more First Nations peoples into the aged care workforce, involve more First Nations family and community members in aged care and retain a consistent workforce overall. Together these strategies were seen to address the barriers that continue to affect aged care provision for First Nations peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Older carers or 'care partners' of older people experiencing care needs often provide essential support, at times while neglecting their own health and well‐being. This is an increasingly frequent scenario due to both demographic changes and policy shifts towards ageing in place. Multiple community stakeholders within the care and support ecosystem hold valuable expertise about the needs of older care partners, and the programme and policy responses that may better support their health and well‐being. The aim of this study was to identify the perspectives of stakeholders obtained through the codesign phase of a multicomponent research project investigating new models of care and support for older care partners suitable for the Australian context. Methods: Principles of codesign were used to engage a purposeful sample of older care partners, health professionals, researchers, policy makers and health service administrators. Participants took part in a series of three codesign workshops conducted remotely via video conferencing. The workshops were supported with briefing material and generated consensus‐based summaries, arriving at a preferred service model. Findings: This paper reports the research design and structure of the codesign panels, the range of findings identified as important to support the health and well‐being of older carers of older people, and the resulting service model principles. The codesigned and preferred model of care is currently being prepared for implementation and evaluation in Australia. Public Contribution: This study was conducted using codesign methodology, whereby stakeholders including older care partners and others involved in supporting older carers, were integrally involved with design, development, results and conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Facilitators to implement shared cancer follow‐up care into clinical practice include mechanisms to allow the oncologist to continue overseeing the care of their patient, two‐way information sharing and clear follow‐up protocols for general practitioners (GPs). This paper aimed to evaluate patients, GPs and radiation oncologists (ROs) acceptance of a shared care intervention. Methods: Semi‐structured interviews were conducted pre‐ and post intervention with patients that were 3 years post radiotherapy treatment for breast, colorectal or prostate cancer, their RO, and their GP. Inductive and deductive thematical analysis was employed. Results: Thirty‐two participants were interviewed (19 patients, 9 GPs, and 4 ROs). Pre intervention, there was support for GPs to play a greater role in cancer follow‐up care, however, patients were concerned about the GPs cancer‐specific skills. Patients, GPs and ROs were concerned about increasing the GPs workload. Post intervention, participants were satisfied that the GPs had specific skills and that the impact on GP workload was comparable to writing a referral. However, GPs expressed concern about remuneration. GPs and ROs felt the model provided patient choice and were suitable for low‐risk, stable patients around 2–3 years post treatment. Patients emphasised that they trusted their RO to advise them on the most appropriate follow‐up model suited to their individual situation. The overall acceptance of shared care depended on successful health technology to connect the GP and RO. There were no differences in patient acceptance between rural, regional, and cancer types. ROs presented differences in acceptance for the different cancer types, with breast cancer strongly supported. Conclusion: Patients, GPs and ROs felt this shared cancer follow‐up model of care was acceptable, but only if the RO remained directly involved and the health technology worked. There is a need to review funding and advocate for health technology advances to support integration. Patient or Public Contribution: Patients treated with curative radiotherapy for breast, colorectal and prostate cancer, their RO and their GPs were actively involved in this study by giving their consent to be interviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers alternative measures of a country's trading gains, i.e., the extra income that it earns (or loses) as the result of changes in the relative prices relevant for international trade, and which makes up the difference between real gross domestic product (GDP) and real gross domestic income (GDI). Looking at both the Laspeyres and the Törnqvist aggregation, we show that the trading gains really consist of two components, a terms‐of‐trade effect and a real‐exchange‐rate effect. Nearly all national statistical agencies, receiving no firm guidance from international organizations in this matter, merely consider the first effect, which suggests that the so‐called trading‐gain estimates they publish are incomplete and misnamed. Even more seriously, it implies that the corresponding measures of real GDI they derive are conceptually flawed. A straightforward way to circumvent these difficulties is to use the gross domestic final expenditure price index as deflator when computing real GDI and the trading gains. Some numerical estimates for Australia are provided as an illustration. The paper also identifies the underlying linear and Translog real GDI functions for which the Laspeyres and Törnqvist terms‐of‐trade and real‐exchange‐rate effects are exact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a compilation of research papers and case studies that explore the impact of climate change on habitat restoration in Australia. It discusses various strategies to make restoration efforts more resilient, including altering planting timing, using older/deeper-rooted individuals, and direct seeding. The papers also cover topics such as the use of non-native species in restoration projects, the impacts of climate change on native and non-native species, and the importance of considering climate change in restoration planning. The document emphasizes the need for a national model of seed collection and storage and encourages ecologists and practitioners to be innovative in their approaches. The author acknowledges the traditional owners of the land and expresses gratitude to individuals who provided feedback on the manuscript. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) can have severe impacts on function and quality of life. Up to one third of patients will have an inadequate response to their first line of treatment, with subsequent lines of therapy associated with lower remission rates and higher relapse rates. Recently esketamine has become available for Australian patients, and this agent provides an additional treatment option for those with MDD who have had an inadequate response to two or more antidepressant therapies during the current moderate to severe depressive episode. This paper provides an expert panel's practical recommendations and clinical guidance for establishing esketamine clinics in Australia. Methods: An expert panel (n = 11) comprising psychiatrists, mental health care nurses, pharmacists, and individuals with experience establishing esketamine clinics was convened in Sydney. The panel developed practical recommendations and clinical guidance, which were then further refined. Results: Five key areas were identified: practical considerations for esketamine clinic set‐up, including multidisciplinary care considerations; patient selection; administering esketamine; adverse event management and long‐term follow‐up. Conclusions: Guidance presented in this paper should assist Australian clinicians to set up an esketamine clinic, and provide practical advice on the infrastructure and clinical requirements for treatment of patients with this agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amid a global war for accounting talent, this paper extends our understanding of early career accountants' (ECAs) career values and the alignment between their career expectations and experiences when entering the profession. Drawing on survey data from 305 ECAs and 165 managers/recruiters of ECAs in Australia, the paper uses social cognitive career theory and person–organisation fit theory to explore the dynamic interplay between individual and contextual factors and career values, career choices and subsequent career satisfaction. The findings emphasise the importance of both intrinsic, and to a lesser extent extrinsic, career values for ECAs, with variations by gender and organisation setting. ECAs and managers identified different perceptions of attractors to diverse organisational settings. While ECAs were generally satisfied with their careers, satisfaction varied by organisation type. Intrinsic career values were positively associated with ECAs' career satisfaction, along with age and closer alignment between career expectations and experiences. Our analyses suggest implications for the recruitment and retention of new accounting talent and calls to engage with individual and contextual influences on career values, experiences and satisfaction. Specifically, the paper highlights how different organisations can tailor their strategies to better attract and retain early career accountants to support more sustainable careers. The study surveys 305 early career accountants (ECAs) and 165 managers/recruiters. It uses social cognitive career theory and person–organisation fit theory to understand how job attractors and work context affect career values, choices and satisfaction. Intrinsic and extrinsic career values were important to ECAs and career satisfaction varied according to organisational setting. The study recommends tailoring recruitment and retention strategies amid talent shortages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Student‐led clinics can provide health services to marginalised groups where service offerings are sparse or difficult to access, such as rural areas. Offering these services to children and young people can promote health and well‐being by addressing the individual challenges and the social determinants of health. There is uncertainty, however, as to whether student‐led clinics can meet Australian accreditation standards for health professionals completing degree programs. Objective: This study aims to determine the capacity for health student placements in school‐based student‐led clinics to meet accreditation standards. Design: A systematic scoping review was conducted based on Arksey and O'Malley's framework and the PRISMA‐ScR statement. Setting: Several databases were examined, including Ebsco (Academic Source and CINAHL), ProQuest (PsycINFO, ERIC) and grey literature sources along with a desktop review of accreditation standards across seven health disciplines. Two independent reviewers screened eligible studies. Findings: The search retrieved 1037 records with 65 full‐text papers assessed for eligibility. Eleven papers met the inclusion criteria. Based on the evidence, both nursing and exercise and sports science accreditation standards were best suited to student‐led clinics. Discussion: Although broad categories of work‐integrated learning activities were applied, it appears feasible to expect accreditation standards for health disciplines at an Australian university to be a good fit for health student‐led school‐based clinics. Conclusion: Increasing health student placement opportunities within student‐led clinics can improve the health and well‐being of children and young people in regional, rural and remote (RRR) areas of Australia who may otherwise have limited access to allied health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terrorism and climate change debates are often characterized by worst‐case thinking, cost neglect, probability neglect, and avoidance of the notion of acceptable risk. This is not unexpected when dealing with extreme events. However, it can result in a frightened public, costly policy outcomes, and wasteful expenditures. The paper will describe how risk‐based approaches are well suited to infrastructure decision‐making for extreme events. Risk management concepts will be illustrated with current research of risk‐based assessment of climate adaptation engineering strategies including designing new houses in Australia subject to cyclones and extreme wind events. It will be shown that small improvements to house designs at a one‐off cost of several thousand dollars per house can reduce damage risks by 70%–80% and achieve billions of dollars of net benefit for community resilience—this helps offset some the predicted adverse effects of climate change for a modest cost. The effect of risk perceptions, insurance, and economic incentives is explored for another climate adaption measure. The paper will also highlight that there is much to be optimistic about the future, and in the ability of risk‐based thinking to meet many challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Melbourne Study of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy examined the implementation, lived experience, and perceived therapeutic gains of psychoanalytic psychotherapy in a low‐cost, private‐sector community clinic. A first in Australia, this 8‐year demonstration project allowed naturalistic study of the impact and process of intensive, long‐term, time‐limited psychoanalytic psychotherapy delivered to self‐referred adults by clinicians with a common theoretical frame of practice. Presented in three papers, the research employed the RE‐AIM planning and evaluation framework, using complementary quantitative and qualitative methods, to study the psychotherapy service in terms of Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance. This first paper reports the Reach of the program to be 67% for those presenting for assessment for psychoanalytic psychotherapy, with Adoption of the full 2‐year treatment program being 60%. Improvements in mental health and life functioning provided quantitative evidence of Effectiveness for those completing the 2‐year treatment program, with Maintenance at 8‐month follow‐up. Patient age, gender and personality characteristics did not modify these improvements. In‐depth qualitative exploration of patient and psychotherapist perspectives regarding the psychotherapy is reported in the second paper highlighting expectations, experience and benefits of the psychotherapy. The third companion paper presents the qualitative findings concerning factors experienced as facilitating or challenging therapeutic progress. Each of the three related papers amplifies understandings of how low‐cost, long‐term but time‐limited psychoanalytic psychotherapy can be implemented in the community with adults otherwise unable to afford such treatment, and discusses lessons learned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]