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Robots are increasingly appearing as a potential answer to the 'care crisis' facing a number of countries. Although it is anticipated that many positives will flow from the application of these technologies, they are also likely to generate unexpected consequences and risks. This paper explores the use of robots within disability and aged care settings in the Australian and New Zealand contexts. Informed by thirty-five semi-structured interviews with a range of stakeholders, the paper explores why this area is so difficult to govern examining areas identified as generating tensions around the use of robots in care settings. In each of these areas some respondents saw the introduction of robots to be relatively straightforward applications that do not require extensive structures of governance. Others, however, viewed these applications as having potentially greater implications and the need to govern for these over the longer term. The three areas of tension that we explore in this paper relate to independence and surveillance, the re-shaping of human interaction and who can care. These tensions illustrate some of the problems involved in governing robots in a care service context and some of the potentially difficult issues that governments will need to resolve if these technologies are to be effective. We conclude the paper arguing what is needed is a responsive regulation approach to help resolve some of the complexities and tensions in overseeing these technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the issues surrounding decolonization. This paper highlights the historiography of decolonization. It also discusses the imperial history which shaped the varied governing bodies. The processes of changing a national anthem and a national flag after a country has been freed from its colonizers are briefly discussed giving in example the oddities in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Dates and symbols become national pride and symbolizes independence from colonizing rulers.

Background Childhood cancer survivors are vulnerable to long-term treatment-related health conditions, which can lead to poor quality of life. Little data exist on the overall health of long-term Australian and New Zealand childhood cancer survivors or on survivors' motivations for attending survivorship clinics. Methods This study administers a cross-sectional questionnaire to long-term survivors ≥5 years from their primary diagnosis. We compared participant-reported number of late effects by a cancer diagnosis, and identified clinical (eg, treatment) and demographic (eg, age) factors that were associated with late effects burden and engagement in cancer survivorship care. Results A total of 634 participants completed questionnaires (48% male, mean age = 21.7 years). Most participants (79%) reported at least one cancer-related late effect, most commonly fatigue (40%) and memory/learning difficulties (34%). Brain tumor survivors reported a higher total number of late effects than survivors with other diagnoses (mean = 5.7 vs. 3.2, P  < .001). Participants' most commonly reported motivators for engaging in care were to understand problems that may occur later in life because of their cancer and/or treatment (98.5%) and to get reassurance about one's health (97.4%). The proportion of survivors endorsing each motivating factor was similar across cancer diagnoses, with the exception of learning more about insurance and pensions (highest in brain tumor survivors = 80%). In multivariable analyses, survivors were more likely to report being engaged in survivorship care if they were younger (P  < .001), less time had elapsed since their diagnosis (P  < .001), or they reported a higher number of motivating factors (P  = .016). Conclusion Survivors report a range of health problems decades after treatment completion. Understanding the burden of late effects, and motivators for seeking survivorship care to manage these health problems, is important for ensuring that tailored interventions or services are available to meet the needs of this growing population and to design effective models of survivorship care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a devastating condition and there is a lack of evidence to guide its management. We hypothesized that treatment success is independently associated with modifiable variables in surgical and antibiotic management. Methods The is a prospective, observational study at 27 hospitals across Australia and New Zealand. Newly diagnosed large joint PJIs were eligible. Data were collected at baseline and at 3, 12, and 24 months. The main outcome measures at 24 months were clinical cure (defined as all of the following: alive, absence of clinical or microbiological evidence of infection, and not requiring ongoing antibiotic therapy) and treatment success (clinical cure plus index prosthesis still in place). Results Twenty-four-month outcome data were available for 653 patients. Overall, 449 patients (69%) experienced clinical cure and 350 (54%) had treatment success. The most common treatment strategy was debridement and implant retention (DAIR), with success rates highest in early postimplant infections (119 of 160, 74%) and lower in late acute (132 of 267, 49%) and chronic (63 of 142, 44%) infections. Selected comorbidities, knee joint, and Staphylococcus aureus infections were independently associated with treatment failure, but antibiotic choice and duration (including rifampicin use) and extent of debridement were not. Conclusions Treatment success in PJI is associated with (1) selecting the appropriate treatment strategy and (2) nonmodifiable patient and infection factors. Interdisciplinary decision making that matches an individual patient to an appropriate management strategy is a critical step for PJI management. Randomized controlled trials are needed to determine the role of rifampicin in patients managed with DAIR and the optimal surgical strategy for late-acute PJI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims The limited existing research on drinking games and predrinking among university students in Argentina, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand suggests that participation in these risky drinking practices is relatively widespread among this population. Drinking norms and alcohol use can vary across countries and in different regions of the globe. The measurement of drinking games and predrinking participation between studies also differs, making cross-country comparisons difficult. The present study explored differences in past month participation in drinking games and predrinking among university students from a large public university in Argentina, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Methods The data analytic sample consisted of 1134 university students (ages 18–25, M age = 20.2 years; 72.6% women) from Argentina (n  = 349), Australia (n  = 280), Canada (n  = 262), and New Zealand (n  = 243) who reported weekly alcohol consumption. Students completed a confidential survey on drinking attitudes and behaviors. Results Controlling for age, gender, and weekly drink consumption, there were no cross-country differences in past month participation in predrinking. In contrast, university students from Canada and New Zealand were more likely to have played a drinking game in the past month than students from Australia and Argentina. Conclusions The present finding suggest that university students from Argentina, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand are equally likely to participate in predrinking regardless of country; however, the likelihood of playing drinking games differs as a function of country site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore differences in position emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) service provision internationally to further understand the impact variation may have upon cancer services. To identify areas of further exploration for researchers and policymakers to optimize PET-CT services and improve the quality of cancer services.Design: Comparative analysis using data based on pre-defined PET-CT service metrics from PET-CT stakeholders across seven countries. This was further informed via document analysis of clinical indication guidance and expert consensus through round-table discussions of relevant PET-CT stakeholders. Descriptive comparative analyses were produced on use, capacity and indication guidance for PET-CT services between jurisdictions.Setting: PET-CT services across 21 jurisdictions in seven countries (Australia, Denmark, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and the UK).Participants: None.Intervention(s): None.Main Outcome Measure(s): None.Results: PET-CT service provision has grown over the period 2006-2017, but scale of increase in capacity and demand is variable. Clinical indication guidance varied across countries, particularly for small-cell lung cancer staging and the specific acknowledgement of gastric cancer within oesophagogastric cancers. There is limited and inconsistent data capture, coding, accessibility and availability of PET-CT activity across countries studied.Conclusions: Variation in PET-CT scanner quantity, acquisition over time and guidance upon use exists internationally. There is a lack of routinely captured and accessible PET-CT data across the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership countries due to inconsistent data definitions, data linkage issues, uncertain coverage of data and lack of specific coding. This is a barrier in improving the quality of PET-CT services globally. There needs to be greater, richer data capture of diagnostic and staging tools to facilitate learning of best practice and optimize cancer services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of who should own the copyright of a creative work by an artificial intelligence (Al) is as yet largely unanswered. Due to the author's increased distance from the works being created, the granting of copyright protection to AI has not been forthcoming. This article assesses the prevalence of AI- and computer-generated works in which, beyond the initial input, the works produced involve more artificial than human contribution, and the impact this has on authorship. While the main geographical focus of this article is Australia, it makes comparisons with the UK and New Zealand (NZ) to explore how Australian copyright law can be adapted to incorporate positive aspects of UK and NZ law. This article explains how the statutory provisions in both the UK and NZ are undeniably far-sighted in the modern world, in which computer-generated programmes are increasingly used. This article argues that the case-by-case basis is most suitable when deciding the human entity who is the fortunate receiver of copyright protection in works that are essentially made by an advanced non-human entity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Question: To what extent do infertility clinic patients, fertility industry professionals and members of the public support different forms of payment and recognition for egg and sperm donation?Summary Answer: While participants expressed support for reimbursement of expenses for both egg and sperm donation, payment constituting explicit financial advantage was regarded less favourably although potentially necessary to address donor gamete shortages.What Is Known Already: In both New Zealand and Australia, commercial inducement for the supply of gametes is prohibited. This prohibition has been argued to contribute to limited availability of donor gametes with the effect of increasing waiting lists and/or the pursuit of potentially unregulated cross-border reproductive care by domestic patients requiring donor gametes.Study Design, Size, Duration: The study was a mixed methods study drawing on data from a questionnaire completed by 434 participants from across New Zealand and Australia between November 2018 and March 2019.Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: Stakeholders involved in donor-assisted conception (past and present infertility patients, gamete recipients and donors), fertility industry professionals and members of the public were recruited following online advertisement of the study. All participants spoke English and primarily identified as Caucasian. Participants anonymously completed an online questionnaire gauging their support for a range of recognition and payment options. Dependent samples t-tests were used to probe for differences in support of recognition and payment options in relation to egg and sperm donation. Linear regression models were used to determine factors predicting support for the different options for both egg and sperm donation. Thematic analysis was used to identify main themes in free text question responses.Main Results and the Role Of Chance: Broadly, there was agreement that donors be reimbursed for medical expenses, travel time, unpaid time away from work relating to treatments and out-of-pocket expenses directly related to the gamete donation process, with greater support suggested for egg versus sperm donors. Items gauging support for non-material recognition and tokens of thanks for donations were not significantly different between egg and sperm donation programmes (P > 0.05) nor rated as highly as reimbursement alternatives. Lowest ratings of support were indicated for the outright payment or reward of donors for the supply of their gametes, options that would leave donors in better financial positions. Qualitatively, themes valuing gamete donation as ideally relating to gifting were identified, although counterbalanced in opinion by concepts of fairness in reimbursing gamete donors for their costs. Where payment over and above the reimbursement of costs was supported, this was related to pragmatic considerations of limited supply of donor gametes.Limitations, Reasons For Caution: This study used a cross-sectional design and consequently causal inferences cannot be made. Additionally, participants particularly professional fertility staff, were required to self-report on politically sensitive and legal issues with the potential for social desirability response bias. Snowball sampling may have led to participation of like-minded individuals, thus limiting generalizations of findings.Wider Implications Of the Findings: In a climate of global commercialization of reproductive medicine, limited donor gamete availability and rising incidences of cross-border reproductive care, the findings of this study can be used as a basis for further discussion between regulators and professional industry stakeholders with respect to shaping ethical policy and practice relating to donor conception.Study Funding/competing Interest(s): No external funds were sought for this work. None of the authors have any competing interests to declare.Trial Registration Number: N/A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the paper "Prices, Wages and Industrial Productivity in Australia and New Zealand," by E. Lerdau and J. Rowe published in the February 1956 issue of "The Quarterly Journal of Economics." The paper discusses the association between productivity and size of establishment. The authors find a very close association, and in the case of a "test industry" a significant correlation. High output and high productivity are obviously positively associated. If one measures the size of a firm by the volume of its output, one will get a positive correlation between productivity and size of firm. When such spurious correlation is presented as significant, it may create the impression that high productivity is possible only in large firms. The article also makes use of several mathematical formulas to examine between productivity and size of establishment.

Knowledge about reproductive movements can be of important conservation value for over-exploited species that are vulnerable when moving between and within key reproductive habitats. Lack of knowledge persists around such movements in the overfished school shark Galeorhinus galeus in Australia. Management assumes all pregnant females migrate between adult aggregations in the Great Australian Bight, South Australia, and nursery areas around Bass Strait and Tasmania. We tracked 14 late-term pregnant females tagged in South Australia using satellite-linked pop-up archival tags to investigate extent, timing, and routes of migrations. We found partial migration, with some females (n  = 7) remaining near aggregating areas throughout the pupping season, some migrating to known nursery areas (n  = 3), and one migrating ∼3 000 km to New Zealand. We conclude female movements and pupping habitats are less spatially constrained than assumed and propose females use cool-water routes along the shelf break to reduce energy costs of migration. Migrating females using these routes faced greater fishing pressure than sharks in inshore areas and were not protected by inshore shark fishing closures designed to protect them. This study demonstrates the complexity of reproductive movements that can occur in wide-ranging species and highlights the value of explicit movement data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background A number of peritoneal dialysis (PD) systems are available but there have been few studies comparing them. The aim of this study was to examine technique failure and patient survival between different PD company systems. Methods The study included all patients who commenced PD between 1995 and 2014 in Australia and New Zealand. Groups were compared according to the initial PD company system that they received. The primary outcome was a composite of PD technique failure and death. Results A total of 16 575 patients commenced PD using systems manufactured by Baxter [ n  = 13 438 (81%)], Fresenius Medical Care [ n  = 2848 (17%)] or Gambro [ n  = 289 (2%)]. Of these, 11 870 (72%) developed technique failure, including 5421 (33%) who died. The median time to technique failure or death for all patients was 625 [interquartile range (IQR) 318–1114] days: 629.5 (IQR 321–1121) days with Baxter, 620.5 (IQR 311–1069) days with Fresenius Medical Care and 538 (IQR 272–1001) days with Gambro systems (P = 0.023). There was a statistically significant increase in technique failure or mortality rates in patients on Gambro {adjusted incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.46 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.33–1.62]} and Fresenius [adjusted IRR 1.10 (95% CI 1.01–1.19)] systems compared with Baxter systems. No difference in patient survival was observed between the three PD systems. Conclusions PD systems manufactured by different companies may be associated with important differences in PD technique survival. This needs to be confirmed with adequately powered, prospective randomized controlled clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background It is unclear if haemodiafiltration improves patient survival compared with standard haemodialysis. Observational studies have tended to show benefit with haemodiafiltration, while meta-analyses have not provided definitive proof of superiority. Methods Using data from the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry, this binational inception cohort study compared all adult patients who commenced haemodialysis in Australia and New Zealand between 2000 and 2014. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Cardiovascular mortality was the secondary outcome. Outcomes were measured from the first haemodialysis treatment and were examined using multivariable Cox regression analyses. Patients were censored at permanent discontinuation of haemodialysis or at 31 December 2014. Analyses were stratified by country. Results The study included 26 961 patients (4110 haemodiafiltration, 22 851 standard haemodialysis; 22 774 Australia, 4187 New Zealand) with a median follow-up of 5.31 (interquartile range 2.87–8.36) years. Median age was 62 years, 61% were male, 71% were Caucasian. Compared with standard haemodialysis, haemodiafiltration was associated with a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for Australia 0.79, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.72–0.87; adjusted HR for New Zealand 0.88, 95% CI 0.78–1.00]. In Australian patients, there was also an association between haemodiafiltration and reduced cardiovascular mortality (adjusted HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.64–0.95). Conclusion Haemodiafiltration was associated with superior survival across patient subgroups of age, sex and comorbidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Question: What is the impact of law and policy upon the experience of embryo donation for reproductive use?Summary Answer: Access to, and experience of, embryo donation are influenced by a number of external factors including laws that impose embryo storage limits, those that frame counselling and approval requirements and allow for, or mandate, donor identity disclosure.What Is Known Already: To date only three qualitative studies in Australia and New Zealand have been completed on the experience of embryo donation for reproductive purposes, each with a small cohort of interviewees and divergent findings.Study Design, Size, Duration: Embryo donors, recipients, and would-be donors were interviewed between July 2010 and July 2012, with three additional interviews between September 2015 and September 2016, on their experiences of embryo donation. The sampling protocol had the advantage of addressing donation practices across multiple clinical sites under distinct legal frameworks.Participants/materials, Settings, Methods: Participants were recruited from five Australian jurisdictions and across 11 clinical sites. Twenty-six participants were interviewed, comprising: 11 people who had donated embryos for the reproductive use of others (nine individuals and one couple), six recipients of donated embryos (four individuals and one couple) and nine individuals who had attempted to donate, or had a strong desire to donate, but had been prevented from doing so. In total, participants reported on 15 completed donation experiences; of which nine had resulted in offspring to the knowledge of the donor.Main Results and the Role Of Chance: Donors positively desired donation and did not find the decision difficult. Neither donors nor recipients saw the donation process as akin to adoption . The process and practice of donation varied considerably across different jurisdictions and clinical sites.Limitations, Reasons For Caution: Because the pool of donors and recipients is small, caution must be exercised over drawing general conclusions. Saturation was not reached on themes of counselling models and future contact.Wider Implications Of the Findings: The differences between our findings and those of a previous study are attributable to varied legal and counselling regimes. Therefore, law and policy governing embryo storage limits, counselling protocols and identity disclosure shape the donation experience and how it is described.Study Funding/competing Interests: This research was supported by Discovery Project Grants DP 0986213 and 15010157 from the Australian Research Council and additional funding from UTS: Law. There are no conflicts of interest to declare.Trial Registration Number: Not applicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Aims: To conduct a systematic review of studies exploring the relationship between exposure to Internet-based alcohol-related content and alcohol use among young people. Methods: Searches of electronic databases and reference lists of relevant articles were conducted to retrieve studies of relevance up until December 2015. Full texts of the studies that met the inclusion criteria were read, appraised for quality using the Kmet forms and guidelines, and included in this review. Results: Fifteen relevant studies were identified. The included studies were a mix of cross-sectional, longitudinal, experimental and qualitative studies conducted in the USA, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The age range of the participants involved in these studies was 12–25 years. Included studies employed a variety of study designs and a range of different exposure variables and outcome measures. Studies demonstrated significant associations between exposure to Internet-based alcohol-related content and intentions to drink and positive attitudes towards alcohol drinking among young people. Conclusion: Exposure to alcohol-related content on the Internet might predispose young people to patterns of alcohol use by promoting alcohol as a natural and vital part of life. However, the research exploring the influence of this novel form of advertising on young people’s alcohol use is emergent, and comprised primarily of cross-sectional studies. To evaluate the direction of the association between exposure to online alcohol-related content and alcohol use, we call for further research based on longitudinal designs. Short summary: From 15 relevant studies identified, this review reports significant associations between exposure to Internet-based alcohol-related content and intentions to drink and positive attitudes towards alcohol drinking among young people, with different influences found at different stages of alcohol use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Concerns have been raised about the impact of alcohol sports sponsorship on harmful consumption, with some countries banning this practice or considering a ban. We review evidence on the relationship between exposure to alcohol sports sponsorship and alcohol consumption. Methods: Search of electronic databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar and International Alcohol Information Database) supplemented by hand searches of references and conference proceedings to locate studies providing data on the impact of exposure to alcohol sports sponsorship and outcomes relating to alcohol consumption. Results: Seven studies met inclusion criteria, presenting data on 12,760 participants from Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Poland. All studies report positive associations between exposure to alcohol sports sponsorship and self-reported alcohol consumption, but the statistical significance of results varies. Two studies found indirect exposure to alcohol sports sponsorship was associated with increased levels of drinking amongst schoolchildren, and five studies found a positive association between direct alcohol sports sponsorship and hazardous drinking amongst adult sportspeople. Conclusion: These findings corroborate the results of previous systematic reviews that reported a positive association between exposure to alcohol marketing and alcohol consumption. The relationship between alcohol sports sponsorship and increased drinking amongst schoolchildren will concern policymakers. Further research into the effectiveness of restrictions on alcohol sports sponsorship in reducing harmful drinking is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright's exceptions are being taken seriously: a number of jurisdictions have expanded their exceptions by granting new broad user rights, some going so far as to enact fair use. The Australian Copyright Law Review Commission (ALRC), when tasked with determining whether copyright exceptions were fit for purpose, concluded that the expansion of copyright exceptions was necessary if copyright was to remain as a central driver of creation and innovation in Australia. The ALRC found that creativity and innovation was being stifled by unnecessarily and unjustified narrow and antiquated exceptions and people were unwittingly infringing copyright simply by engaging in reasonable everyday activities. The ALRC recommended fair use as the way of remedying copyright's ills. The article argues that New Zealand should adopt a broad fair use right as that proposed by the ALRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Part of the visits to emergency departments (EDs) is related to complaints that may well be treated in primary care.Objectives: (i) To investigate how the likelihood of attending an ED is related to accessibility and continuity of primary care. (ii) To investigate the reasons for patients to visit EDs in different countries.Methods: Data were collected within the EU Seventh Framework project Quality and Costs in Primary Care (QUALICOPC) in 31 European countries, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The data were collected between 2011 and 2013 and contain survey data from 60991 patients and 7005 GPs, within 7005 general practices.Outcome Measure: whether the patient visited the ED in the previous year (yes/no). Multilevel logistic regression analyses were carried out to analyse the data.Results: Some 29.4% had visited the ED in the past year. Between countries, the percentages varied between 18% and 40%. ED visits show a significant and negative relation with better accessibility of primary care. Patients with a regular doctor who knows them personally were less likely to attend EDs. Only one-third of all patients who visited an ED indicated that the main reason for this was that their complaint could not be treated by a GP.Conclusions: Good accessibility and continuity of primary care may well reduce ED use. In some countries, it may be worthwhile to invest in more continuous relationships between patients and GPs or to eliminate factors that hamper people to use primary care (e.g. for costs or travelling). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal for Quality in Health Care is the property of Oxford University Press / USA 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.)

The existing paradigms governing the management of personal data glo-bally are under pressure from rapid technological and social change. This article examines recent proposals for modernizing information privacy law in the USA the European Union, Australia and New Zealand. It finds significant areas of commonality and critically explores points of differ-ence, notably innovations such as the de-coupling of previously linked privacy principles, dichotomies between consumer-facing companies and third parties and new rights such as the right to be forgotten and to erasure, the right to data portability, privacy by design and default and privacy impact assessment. The article argues that the proposals ought to draw on each other's strengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In common with other countries in the developed world, Australia and New Zealand developed an array of institutions and programs from the 1950s to the 1970s to support their agricultural sectors. From the mid-1980s they dismantled these, very rapidly in the case of New Zealand, to leave farmers and rural regions largely to market forces. This article explores the transition in Australia and New Zealand from agricultural policy based on 'protected development' to broader rural policy which includes consideration of regional development and environmentalism. We argue that the ideas and values of market liberalism are more apparent in rural policy in Australia and New Zealand than in the EU and US and we propose reasons for that, including differences in economic context, cultural ideas and political institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Background. Donor and recipient age in kidney transplantation are known to affect graft and patient survival. In deceased- donor (DD) transplantation, donor and recipient age matching are being increasingly accepted as part of the kidney allocation programme. The aims of this study are to evaluate the effect of donor and recipient age on transplant outcomes and to determine the effect of changing existing allocation criteria to allocation based on age matching of donors and recipients on total graft years of function. Methods. Using the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry, all DD kidney transplant recipients in Australia and New Zealand between 1991 and 2006 were analysed (n = 4616). Outcomes analysed were overall graft failure, death with functioning graft and serum creatinine. We calculated the mean time to graft loss ('years of graft function') for donor and recipient age cutoffs as 60 and 55 years, respectively, over up to 16 years follow-up. We then examined the gain in graft years if allolder kidneys were allocated to older recipients. Results. Older donors were associated with higher risk of overall graft failure [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 1.79, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 1.45, 2.21 and HR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.09, 1.53, respectively] at 1-8 years posttransplant and higher serum creatinine at 1 and 5 years posttransplant (mean differences 32.74 μmol/L, 95% CI 27.60, 37.89 and 38.17 μmol/L, 95% CI 27.58, 48.77, respectively). Overall, young and old recipients with young donor kidneys have an additional two to three mean graft years compared to those receiving older donor kidneys. Conclusion. Donor and recipient age matching is an effective method of organ allocation to improve total graft years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical models that include pre-existing faults, elasto–visco–plastic rheology, thermal structure, realistic plate boundary conditions, and surface erosion are built to investigate alternative hypotheses of mantle flow geometry beneath central South Island, New Zealand. Bouguer gravity anomalies, teleseismic traveltime delays and seismic velocity structures are used to constrain models. Model predictions are compared with topography, uplift, magnetotelluric resistivity structure, isostatic gravity anomalies (IGAs), and seismicity. We find that the wedge model, in which the mantle lithosphere of the Australia plate is wedged between crust and mantle lithosphere of the Pacific plate, gives reasonable predictions of topography, uplift rate, IGAs, and stress and strain state in the lithosphere. Coupled erosional-tectonic models suggest that tectonic compression primarily determines the asymmetric surface relief, with erosion influencing its detail and having small effects on shallow stresses. Both 2-D and 3-D models suggest that the neotectonics of central South Island is dominated by weak faults. 3-D model results show that the Alpine fault and mantle shear zone accommodate most convergent and strike-slip plate motion, confirming non-partitioned plate motion in this region. Adding the regional strike-slip component has little effect on the convergent velocity field, and only changes the stress field by rotating the horizontal principal stresses out of the plane of the cross-section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether electromagnetic precursors exist is a contentious issue that should be considered in the context of the focal depth and epicentral distance at which earthquakes nucleate, and with due regard to externally driven changes in the electromagnetic fields recorded at the Earth's surface. If high-frequency electromagnetic signals are generated by earthquakes, then these signals may not be detectable because of attenuation occurring between the focal depth of the earthquake and the Earth's surface. This is particularly true in seismotectonic regions (e.g. subduction zones) where saline fluids (including seawater), raised heat flow and partial melts often lead to enhanced conductivities. A technique for examining temporal variations in magnetotelluric (MT) spectra is presented, which: (i) considers both non-inductive and inductive parts of the MT transfer function; (ii) allows electromagnetic skin depths and adjustment distances to be calculated; (iii) takes account of error propagation in the transfer functions and; and (iv) acknowledges possible non-earthquake sources of observed variations in transfer functions and their errors. Data processing tends to eliminate non-stationary electromagnetic disturbances of the source field. Hence the method is more suited to detecting hypothesized changes in subsurface conductivity than short-lived electromagnetic bursts. The technique is applied to MT data from seismotectonic regions in New Zealand (Mt. Ruapehu), the Andes (western Cordillera) and the Mediterranean (Montecristo island) and to a culturally quiet, control site situated on a stable craton in central Australia. We demonstrate that the MT method can resolve apparent conductivity changes of the order of a few percent over 48 hr time intervals and give thresholds for other interval lengths. Comparison of the results obtained from seismotectonic regions with those from central Australia, and consideration of external source field effects, highlight how temporal variations of electromagnetic fields might be speciously interpreted as earthquake precursors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health of indigenous Australians remains well below that of non-indigenous Australians and indigenous peoples in Canada and New Zealand. Although recent planning has initiated many outstanding, culturally appropriate programmes with indigenous involvement, health statistics only reflect marginal improvement in recent years. It is crucial that positive programmes are sustained with appropriately directed funding. An approach that includes respect for the emotional and spiritual wellbeing of Australia's indigenous peoples will assist to redress some of the disadvantage caused by dispossession of country, language, and identity. It is clear from many programmes that are in place, that primary health care delivered locally through community controlled organisations, will minimise the impact of serious illnesses that currently threaten whole families and communities. Westernised health care systems are slow to learn from indigenous peoples in Australia and other places, that maintenance of wellness, not management of illness should be the goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic anomaly and fracture zone data on the Southeast Indian Ridge (SEIR) are analysed in order to constrain the kinematic history of the Macquarie Plate, the region of the Australian Plate roughly east of 145°E and south of 52°S. Finite rotations for Australia–Antarctic motion are determined for nine chrons (2Ay, 3Ay, 5o, 6o, 8o, 10o, 12o, 13o and 17o) using data limited to the region between 88°E and 139°E. These rotations are used to generate synthetic flowlines which are compared with the observed trends of the easternmost fracture zones on the SEIR. An analysis of the synthetic flowlines shows that the Macquarie Plate region has behaved as an independent rigid plate for roughly the last 6 Myr. Finite rotations for Macquarie–Antarctic motion are determined for chrons 2Ay and 3Ay. These rotations are summed with Australia–Antarctic rotations to determine Macquarie–Australia rotations. We find that the best-fit Macquarie–Australia rotation poles lie within the zone of diffuse intraplate seismicity in the South Tasman Sea separating the Macquarie Plate from the main part of the Australian Plate. Motion of the Macquarie Plate relative to the Pacific Plate for chrons 2Ay and 3Ay is determined by summing Macquarie–Antarctic and Antarctic–Pacific rotations. The Pacific–Macquarie rotations predict a smaller rate of convergence perpendicular to the Hjort Trench than the Pacific–Australia rotations. The onset of the deformation of the South Tasman Sea and the development of the Macquarie Plate appears to have been triggered by the subduction of young, buoyant oceanic crust near the Hjort Trench and coincided with a clockwise change in Pacific–Australia motion around 6 Ma. The revised Pacific–Australia rotations also have implications for the tectonics of the Alpine Fault Zone of New Zealand. We find that changes in relative displacement along the Alpine Fault have been small over the last 20 Myr. The average rate of convergence over the last 6 Myr is about 40 per cent smaller than in previous models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contends that researchers have made two false assumptions about the history of violence and violent crime in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. First, that judicial statistics appearing to show an accelerating decline in violent crime towards the fin de siècle actually mirror a real fall, and that violence was becoming less prevalent in society. Second, that the prosecution figures evidence a changing public attitudes towards violence in the 1880-1920 period. These assumptions have helped to shape rather inadequate and schematic theoretical paradigms which link changing public sensibilities towards violence with the reformation of aggressive masculinity, and the 'civilization 'of society. This article suggests that transcribed life histories can offer the researcher a greater understanding of public attitudes towards violence; and it therefore presents archival evidence from England, Australia and New Zealand to illustrate collective attitudes towards nonlethal violence/violent crime at the turn of the twentieth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curious about the geographical distribution of publications in reproductive medicine, we compared the numbers of publications in Human Reproduction (HR) and Fertility and Sterility (F&S). The annual number of publications from the individual countries was obtained by searching the Medline database using the internet provider PubMed. The data were analysed and normalized to population size, gross domestic product (GDP) and total number of Medline publications. The 8511 publications of both journals in the 1990s came from 56 countries. The number of publications per year was increasing in HR and remained constant in F&S. In absolute numbers, the UK produced the most publications in HR (21%) and the USA in F&S (45%) as well as in both journals together (28%). Relatively, Israel was the most productive country per million inhabitants (8.4 +/- 2.1 publications/year), per billion US dollars GDP (0.85 +/- 0.21 publications/year) and per 1000 Medline publications (15 +/- 4 publications/year). Europe was the most productive world region in absolute numbers (54%) and Australia/New Zealand in relative numbers per million inhabitants and per 1000 billion US dollars GDP. Almost 87% of all publications in HR and F&S came from the 18 countries with a GDP per capita of >10 000 US dollars. In conclusion, the geographical distribution of publications in HR and F&S follows the pattern of the distribution of publications in general biomedical research. Most publications come from affluent countries. Although the USA and the UK appear to be the most productive countries in absolute numbers, smaller affluent countries like Israel and Belgium are more productive when the numbers are normalized to population or GDP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors report the results of 10 years of monitoring of trends in the rates of major nonfatal and fatal coronary events and in case fataJHy in Auckland, New Zealand, and in Newcastle and Perth, Australia. Continuous surveillance of all suspected myocardial infarctions and coronary deaths in people aged 35–64 years was undertaken in the three centers as part of the World Hearth Organization's Multinational Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease (MONICA) Project. For nonfatal definite myocardial infarction, there were statistically significant declines in rates in all centers in both men and women, with estimated average changes between 2.5% and 3.7% per year during the period 1984–1993. Rates of all coronary deaths also declined significantly in all three populations for both men and women. In absolute terms, there was, in general, a greater reduction in prehosprtal deaths than in deaths after hospitalization. Although 28-day case fatality remains high at between 35% and 50%, in the Australian centers it declined significantly by between 1.0% and 2.9% per year, and in Auckland there was also a small decline. However, since most deaths occur outside the hospital in people without a previous history of coronary heart disease, an increased emphasis on primary prevention is necessary. Am J Epidemiol 1997; 145: 707–13. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Various forces have led to new thinking about approaches to intergovernmental regulation, emphasizing a shift from the heavy hand of coercive mandates to more cooperative approaches. This research examines the Implementation of cooperative policies addressing aspects of environmental management in New South Wales, Australia, and in New Zealand. Analyses are undertaken of the cooperative policy designs, government agencies `implementation efforts and styles, and local government officials `perceptions of intergovernmental cooperation. Bringing about intergovernmental cooperation is not automatic, nor does it appear to be easy. An empirical modeling shows that high levels of agency commitment and capacity are required in order to foster facilitative implementation styles. The design of policy mandates is Important in signaling cooperative desires and structuring implementation to foster appropriate agency implementation styles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses innovations in community conferences in New Zealand and Australia which are conducive to reintegrative shaming of juvenile offenders. Need to select conference participants who respect and care about the offender; Importance of confrontation with victims.

Beginning in the 19th century, governments throughout the English-speaking world established protected areas within the public domain. The United States became the first of these countries to do this when it established the Arkansas Hot Springs federal reservation in 1832. The best known of the protected lands are the national parks, and here too the United States led the way with the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand followed and these nations' policies were shaped by common cultural and political backgrounds.