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Factors affecting fertilizer decisions made by grain growers are changing in the context of changing climatic conditions and growing volatility in global fertilizer and grain markets. To ensure sustainable development of grain industries in light of this uncertainty, research, development, extension, and adoption activities associated with growers' fertilizer decisions need to be focused on factors to which they are most sensitive. The aim of this paper is to understand the factors that have the greatest influence on grain producer's fertilizer strategies, how these factors have changed over recent years, and what is the relative importance of agronomic, socioeconomic, and logistical factors affecting these strategies. A telephone survey of 425 grain-growing businesses in Western Australia was conducted, and survey results were analyzed statistically. We show for the first time that grain growers' fertilizer decisions are most sensitive to agronomic factors (especially the amount and distribution of rainfall). Logistic factors (such as difficulties fertilizing increasing areas in short periods of time) are growing in influence as farm size, cropping areas, and the number of fertilizer applications within seasons increase. Fertilizer decisions have become less sensitive to socioeconomic factors over the last 10 to 15 years. To ensure sustainable development of grain production, research through to adoption activities should focus on agronomic issues (such as seasonal forecasting) and logistic issues (such as improving planning, organizational, and technical capacity for developing and implementing fertilizer strategies). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Australian government funding for Residential Medication Management Reviews and Home Medicines Reviews commenced in 1997 and 2001 respectively. Limited data are available on their provision in Australia. Objective To investigate the extent and characteristics of Home Medicines Review and Residential Medication Management Review services provided by accredited pharmacists practising in Western Australia. Setting Pharmacists in Western Australia accredited by the Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacy or Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia. Method A paper questionnaire was developed and sent to 198 accredited pharmacists in Western Australia in June 2017. Simple descriptive statistics summarised demographic information and other responses. Logistic regression evaluated factors associated with the frequency of provision of Home Medicines Reviews. Main outcome measure Frequency and factors influencing services provided. Results Of 102 (51.5%) questionnaires returned, 67 (65.7%) respondents were female. Many were aged between 31 and 40 years (53; 52.0%). Most were accredited by the Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacy (101; 99.0%) and mainly offered Home Medicines Reviews (70; 68.6%). Home Medicines Reviews provided over the previous 12 months were limited in frequency with one quarter providing either 1-10 (27; 26.5%) or 21-50 (28; 27.5%) reviews. The median "average" preparation, interview and report writing times, plus communication with other health professionals aggregated to 175.0 min (interquartile range: 140.0-235.0 min) for Home Medicine Reviews and 110.0 min (90.0-140.0) for Residential Medication Management Reviews. Pharmacists born overseas and those who were accredited for a longer time were associated with performing 51 or more Home Medicines Reviews annually. Only one-third (36/101; 35.6%) agreed the current payment was appropriate. Most agreed their Home Medicines Reviews (92/96; 95.8%) and Residential Medication Management Reviews (26/28; 92.9%) provided improved patient outcomes. Over 97% of accredited pharmacists intended to continue to remain accredited. Conclusions Wide variations were evident in the times taken for tasks associated with performing reviews. Most respondents considered their medication reviews contributed to improved patient outcomes. The wide variation in times taken for the reviews suggests a tiered structure for service provision, with appropriate payment within each tier, since most consider current remuneration inadequate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on teacher formation emphasises the need for teachers in Catholic schools to be involved in ongoing, purposeful, professional and spiritual formation (Franchi and Rymarz 2017). Contextually, Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA) requires teachers of Religious Education (RE) in Catholic schools to participate in ongoing professional development, including opportunities for spiritual and faith formation. This paper presents initial findings from a project that engaged twelve Catholic early childhood RE teachers from one Western Australian school in a series of formative sessions. The project was named The T.I.T.U.S. (Testament In Teachers Using Scripture) Project and comprised four sessions that offered teachers opportunities for spiritual and faith formation through the use of Scripture. A qualitative approach to the research design was employed and data gathered included survey, journaling and semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed through a process of thematic coding. The initial findings provide insight into early childhood RE teachers' perspectives of their own spiritual and faith formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anticyclones are one of the main synoptic features of the global midlatitudes, where they are associated with dry, settled conditions. Previous studies have identified southern Australia as a region where significant long-term changes have occurred in recent decades, including a decline in cool season rainfall and an increase in the frequency of anticyclones. This paper uses several reanalyses to assess the climatology, variability, trends and impacts of anticyclones in southern Australia and several subregions. A robust increase in the frequency of anticyclones in southern Australia is demonstrated between 1960–1979 and 1997–2014, particularly in southeast Australia and the Tasman Sea during the cool months of the year. At least 30% of the recent cool season rainfall decline in southeast Australia can be associated with an increased frequency of anticyclones in this region. However, there are no clear trends in anticyclone frequency near southwestern Western Australia, where long-term rainfall declines are due to changes in other weather systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing awareness that in the light of increased threats, Australia's freshwater ecosystems of highest value need to be protected. This implies that a consistent and comprehensive system for the classification of freshwater systems in terms of their ecological values is required for conservation planning. Despite earlier steps taken to develop appropriate methodologies for prioritising Australian waterways for protection, there is, as yet, no nationally agreed method for prioritising waterways in Australia based on their ecological values. Using the core criteria of naturalness, representativeness, diversity, rarity and special features, this paper describes the development of a framework of criteria, indicators and measures for the identification of high conservation value aquatic ecosystems, and trials this system by undertaking a comparative assessment of the ecological values of river systems in the South Coast region, Western Australia. A total of 33 river systems located in two aquatic bioregions were successfully ranked according to their ecological value, confirming that the development and implementation of a relatively simple system for assessing ecological values of Australian rivers shows promise, and that core criteria identified previously in the literature provide a good starting point for assessing ecological values of Australian aquatic ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on current initiation and prevalence rates, in Western Australia, differentiating 'any' breastfeeding with 'exclusive' breastfeeding whilst exploring patterns and reasons for stopping breastfeeding. The results presented are part of a larger study examining women's perceptions of care and wellbeing in the early postnatal period. A cross sectional survey was used to examine infant feeding practices during the hospital stay and at 9 weeks post birth from Western Australian women with a registered live birth between February and June 2006. Data obtained from 2,669 women revealed a 93% ( n = 2,472) initiation rate of any breastfeeding. More multiparous women (73.5%) were exclusively breastfeeding in hospital compared to primiparous women (65.2%), which decreased to 57.1 and 49.2%, respectively at 9 weeks. Of those who had ceased by 9 weeks, more multiparous women (71.1%) ceased before 3 weeks. Reasons cited for ceasing in order of frequency were insufficient milk supply, infant related reasons, pain and discomfort and emotional reasons. Younger maternal age, primiparous women, lower maternal education levels, offering a combination of breast milk and formula in hospital and caesarean birth were significant independent predictors of early cessation. Although initiation rates including 'any' breast milk are meeting NHMRC dietary guidelines of 90%, the 60% target of exclusive breastfeeding is not being achieved for 3 months or in fact at 9 weeks. Targeted support for at risk groups such as younger, less well-educated, primiparous women must continue. Evidence based policies to protect breastfeeding must address the practice of offering formula to breastfed infants in hospital and the impact of increasing interventions such as caesarean births. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To quantify the hazard or risks associated with severe convective wind gusts, it is necessary to have a reliable and spatially complete climatology of these events. The coupling of observational and global reanalysis (ERA-Interim) data over the period 2005–2015 is used here to facilitate the development of a spatially complete convective wind gust climatology for Australia. This is done through the development of Bayesian Hierarchical models that use both weather station-based wind gust observations and seasonally averaged severe weather indices (SWI), calculated using reanalysis data, to estimate seasonal gust frequencies across the country while correcting for observational biases specifically, the sparse observational network to record events. Different SWI combinations were found to explain event counts for different seasons. For example, combinations of Lifted Index and low level wind shear were found to generate the best results for autumn and winter. While for spring and summer, the composite Microburst Index and the combination of most unstable CAPE and 0–1 km wind shear were found to be most successful. Results from these models showed a minimum in event counts during the winter months, with events that do occur mainly doing so along the southwest coast of Western Australia or along the coasts of Tasmania and Victoria. Summer is shown to have the largest event counts across the country, with the largest number of gusts occurring in northern Western Australia extending east into the Northern Territory with another maximum over northeast New South Wales. Similar trends were found with an extended application of the models to the period 1979–2015 when utilizing only reanalysis data as input. This implementation of the models highlights the versatility of the Bayesian hierarchical modelling approach and its ability, when trained, to be used in the absence of observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines Australian and West Australian trends in robbery, assault, and burglary. Police figures are contrasted with the results of Australian victimization surveys. The limitations of Australian victimization surveys are discussed. The results of Australian victimization surveys are contrasted with the results of the National Crime Survey in the United States and the International Crime Victim Survey. When all the qualifications are considered, it is concluded that there has been a trend upward in burglary and robbery prevalence and that this upward trend occurred mainly in the 1980s. However, because there is little evidence of a concomitant rise in the assault rate, the increasing prevalence of robbery and burglary is interpreted as reflecting social phenomena that are associated with "acquisitiveness" rather than "aggressiveness." Other evidence pertaining to the level of violence in Australia is considered and it is concluded that this is insufficient to allow a conclusion that we are, as a nation, becoming more violent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the experiences of students from refugee backgrounds (SfRBs) as they transitioned from Intensive English Centres (IECs) based at metropolitan high schools in Western Australia (WA) into higher education. Focus group discussions revealed that SfRBs were highly motivated and held aspirations for completion of tertiary study. Enabling factors included a supportive IEC environment, social and family support and tailored university enabling courses. However, students also faced barriers such as competing priorities, learning difficulties remaining undiagnosed and standardised testing. Individual in-depth interviews with key informants provided context and policy perspectives, such as the impact of settlement service policy changes on the provision of adequate services. There is limited literature on the experiences of students transitioning from IECs through the Australian education system. The findings of this study help to critically understand the unique experiences of young people from refugee backgrounds navigating the WA education system and reiterate the need for inclusive and supportive policies. Recommendations for universities and future research include the development of culturally appropriate tools to identify learning difficulties in SfRBs, and capturing the knowledge and capacity of IEC educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Vegetation patterns in hummock grasslands of Australia's arid interior can be very complex. Additionally, the grasslands are interspersed with variable amounts of trees and shrubs. Objectives: To better understand the spatial arrangement of this vegetation structure, and in particular the unvegetated bare-soil gaps, we analyzed the scale-dependent patterns of gaps, trees, and shrubs. Methods: We focused on two size categories of grassland gaps, large gaps ≥ 4 m2 known as fairy circles (FCs) and small gaps 1 to < 4 m2, and on trees and shrubs. We mapped four 200 m × 200 m study plots located east of the town of Newman in Western Australia, using drone-based aerial images and LiDAR. The RGB images were converted into binary images and the gaps and woody plants were automatically segmented. The spatial patterns of the four vegetation components were analyzed, as well as the shape properties of the vegetation gaps. Results: The most striking result was that small gaps appeared consistently at about 5 m distance away from the FCs, which are known as the most water-depleted locations in the grassland. The FCs were also rounder than the small gaps and this symmetry underlines their function as an extra source of water for the surrounding matrix vegetation. Trees and shrubs had spatial patterns that were unrelated to FCs, which likely results from their water uptake in deeper sub-soil layers. Conclusions: The consistent distance of small gaps to FCs is further support that the Australian fairy circles are a self-organized vegetation pattern that results from ecohydrological feedbacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applications of complex networks-based concepts in hydrology are gaining momentum at the current time. One of the most critical limitations in such studies is the use of linear correlation between the nodes (e.g. rainfall stations) for some assumed threshold levels to identify possible relationships/links. In this regard, entropy theory can be useful to better identify the information flow between the nodes. This study demonstrates the concept of transfer entropy for the directed–weighted complex network to study rainfall dynamics, especially to establish the statistically significant information flow between the nodes. The methodology is applied to a rainfall network of 218 stations across Australia, and total monthly rainfall data observed over the period 1981–2006 are analysed. The nature of the network is studied by determining the in-clustering, out-clustering, and cyclic-clustering coefficients. The highest number of in-clustering values are obtained for the northern parts of Northern Territory and Queensland in addition to the eastern parts of Queensland and New South Wales. Further, the highest number of out-clustering values are also obtained for the northern parts of Northern Territory and Queensland. It can be concluded that while the stations in the northern parts of Australia affect other stations, they are also influenced by others in a reciprocal relationship as shown by the high cyclic-clustering values for these regions. The stations in Western Australia and Victoria have relatively lower in- and out-clustering values, indicating that these stations have lower tendency to make a cluster with other stations. However, while the stations in Western Australia have the lowest clustering coefficients, they have also the highest out-strength values among the stations. These stations constitute a low number of triangles (or groups) with other stations but are significantly influential over other stations, especially located in Victoria (in the southeast). Therefore, the proposed methodology can be useful for determining the tendencies of the nodes in a network to make a cluster with strong or weak relationships with other nodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Australian population data regarding the number and sociodemographic characteristics of children affected by a parent's cancer are not currently available. Moreover, predictions that this population is increasing have not been tested. This study provides data on the number and sociodemographic characteristics of parents with cancer and their young children (aged 0-11 years) in the state of Western Australia, and investigates whether long-term trends in this population have increased over time.Methods: Linked administrative data were used to describe parents with malignant cancer and their children aged 0-11 years at the time of diagnosis between 1982 and 2015 in Western Australia. Parents and children were described overall and by year of diagnosis and sociodemographic characteristics. A Poisson regression was used to investigate trends in the number of children affected, accounting for population growth. Incidence counts of parental cancer characteristics were included.Results: Between 1982 and 2015, 15,938 parents were diagnosed with a malignant cancer, affecting 25,901 children. In 2015, 0.28% of children in Western Australia experienced a parent's diagnosis. The number of children affected increased over time; however, this was accounted for by population growth. The majority of families lived in regional areas and were of high socioeconomic status. Older children and older parents most frequently experienced parental cancer. Skin and breast cancer were the most common diagnoses.Conclusions: A substantial number of families are affected by parental cancer. Results can guide intervention development and delivery to children of different developmental stages, and inform decisions regarding resource allocation and health service accessibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Burn injuries are associated with significant changes to physical and psychological function. Little is known regarding the impact that burn injuries have on females' sexuality and how this in turn affects their relationships and body image. This qualitative study aims to add narratives of the lived experiences of female burn survivors to provide evidence that sexuality and body image changes are important indicators of post burn adjustment and quality of life, which should be included as important components of post burn rehabilitation. This study included a phenomenological approach incorporating semistructured interviews of five women with varying size of burn. The data collection and analysis was guided by Kvale's seven stages of interview inquiry. Burn injuries are life changing events that result in behavioural changes that impact engagement in sexual and social participation for females. These changes result in alterations to ones internalized concept of body image and attractiveness that have the potential to impact all facets of life. Findings from the thematic analysis in this study lead to the development of the Adjustment to Sexuality and Body Image Changes Post Burn Injury Model. This model conceptualizes potential body image and sexuality changes post traumatic injury and identifies possible areas for targeted interventions that could be incorporated into rehabilitation services. Burn injuries are correlated with behavioral changes that have a potential adverse impact on sexual and social engagement for female burn survivors. Further research investigating treatment strategies for post burn adjustment is required to translate to improvements in clinical service provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In recent years, the concept of 'animism' has gained considerable popularity among archaeologists in exploring non-Western expressions of material culture. This development has also influenced recent academic approaches towards the study of 'rock-art' of people living as hunter and gatherers or in a hunting and gathering tradition. We argue here that attempts in this direction so far are generally compromised, because they fail to take Indigenous philosophies and intellectual contributions seriously. Any concern with Indigenous material expressions, including so-called rock-art, has to involve a critical re-assessment of academic discourse itself and a challenge to the primacy of Western scientific and literary, academic methodologies. With reference to the 'rock-art' and the world-view of the Ngarinyin (Kimberley, Northwest Australia), we present some preliminary thoughts for the development of an alternative interpretative framework, while offering a (much needed) legitimacy to another more balanced epistemology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professor Lesley Parker's career has moved from teaching and advising graduate students at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia to leadership roles and advocacy positions in state and national governments and in international organizations. Throughout her distinguished career, she has been committed to social justice, particularly in gender equity. Indeed, that commitment infuses her professional contributions as teacher, advisor, administrator, and policy maker. In this Key Contribution, many of her colleagues describe their admiration for her as well as provide information that helps the reader place her work in a national and an international perspective. She has received many of Australia's highest honors, and she continues to contribute to her university, her state, and her nation. Her contributions form a lasting legacy in social justice, particularly in gender equity and in educational leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers commonly use long-term average production inequalities to characterize cross-cultural patterns in foraging divisions of labor, but little is known about how the strategies of individuals shape such inequalities. Here, we explore the factors that lead to daily variation in how much men produce relative to women among Martu, contemporary foragers of the Western Desert of Australia. We analyze variation in foraging decisions on temporary foraging camps and find that the percentage of total camp production provided by each gender varies primarily as a function of men’s average bout successes with large, mobile prey. When men target large prey, either their success leads to a large proportional contribution to the daily harvest, or their failure results in no contribution. When both men and women target small reliable prey, production inequalities by gender are minimized. These results suggest that production inequalities among Martu emerge from stochastic variation in men’s foraging success on large prey measured against the backdrop of women’s consistent production of small, low-variance resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diatom and micro-invertebrate communities were analyzed in 56 lentic wetlands from the wheatbelt of Western Australia. Sixteen water quality parameters were measured at each habitat and were tested as determinants of diatom and micro-invertebrate distribution. Nearly all waters were dominated by Na1+ and Cl1- and over half had low buffering capacity (<2 meq/L as TCO). Salinities ranged from <1 to > 240 mS/cm; some hypersaline habitats had pH values as low as 2.1, but most sites were alkaline. Diatoms (165 taxa) were present in all habitats, with indications that assemblages are correlated with land-use practices, i.e., historical clearing of native vegetation for dryland agriculture with resultant hydrological problems of salinization and water-logging. A non-metric multidimensional ordination showed pH, salinity, TCO, and total phosphorus to be significantly correlated with diatom community structure. Principal components analysis showed similar patterns. A salinity index was also developed for numerically important diatom taxa. Principal components analysis showed similar patterns. Certain tolerant Bacillariales, including Hantzschia amphioxys, Nitzschia hybrida, Tryblionella hungarica, and N.recta, were numerically important taxa in wetlands with visible signs of salinization. Micro-invertebrates (143 taxa) were present in habitats with salinities up to 200 mS/cm. Multidimensional ordinations showed salinity to be significantly correlated with micro-invertebrate community structure. The cladoceran Daphniopsis queenslandensis, ostracods Australocypris insularis, Mytilocypris tasmanica chapmani, and Platycypris baueri, and copepods Apocyclops dengizicus and Mesochra nr. flava were numerically important micro-invertebrates in moderate to high salinity environments, including those with signs of salinization. The diatoms, Navicula minuscula var. muralis and Pinnularia divergentissa var.subrostrata, and the copepod, Calamoecia trilobata, were common inhabitants of the extreme hypersaline (&ges;75 mS/cm), acidic (<4) habitats. Diatom communities were similar to those previously reported for other regions in Australia subjected to salinization; there were some differences in micro-invertebrate communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]