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This study quantitatively analyzed the structure of Reading Recovery lessons for children with hearing loss by examining and comparing the supportive interactions of three Reading Recovery teachers of 12 children with hearing loss and three Reading Recovery teachers of 12 hearing children. All of the children were in the second year of primary school and were having difficulties with literacy learning. Codes were developed to represent the teacher interactions, categories of teaching focus, and teaching events that occur during Reading Recovery lessons. For each child, videotaped lessons from the third, middle and final weeks of Reading Recovery were coded, and the resulting data (types and numbers of teacher interactions, number of instances, and time spent on four categories of teaching focus and numbers of each type of teaching event) were analyzed and compared. Reading Recovery was shown to be a successful literacy intervention for the children with hearing loss in this study. Although the teachers of the children with hearing loss used teaching procedures similar to those used with the hearing children, they also used different communication behaviors and additional supportive techniques. Like the teachers of the hearing children, the teachers of the children with hearing loss successfully taught the children how to use strategic activities necessary for message construction. The teachers of the deaf also supported the children through brief instructional detours focusing on world knowledge and language throughout the time spent reading and writing. The nature of these teaching interactions has implications not only for Reading Recovery, but also for the literacy teaching of all children with hearing loss in the early years of schooling. (Contains 11 tables and 1 figure.)

Paid work promises pathways to financial security and wellbeing for families, yet variable scheduling and low pay can interfere with the routines and rhythms of family life, and contribute to caregiving challenges and stress. Using qualitative data from a survey of retail workers, this article shows how Australian employment policies have enabled flexibility practices to be strongly oriented around the needs of employers, reducing employees' resources for care. We develop the concept of 'care theft' from employees' accounts of the ways flexible scheduling and low pay converge to transform and deplete their temporal, financial and ethical resources for care. As an extension of 'time theft' and alternative to individualised notions of 'work-family balance', care theft helps make visible the ways employment practices strip resources for care from working people, and shift risk to low-income families and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms in semi-elite Australian footballers is unknown. The primary objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and depressive symptoms in semi-elite Australian Football players. Our secondary objective was to explore the association between demographic and football-specific factors with GAD and depressive symptoms. A cross-sectional epidemiological study including 369 semi-elite Western Australian Football League (WAFL) players from the Men and Women's 2022 season (n = 337 men, 91%) was conducted. Symptoms of depression were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 scale (PHQ-9) and symptoms of GAD with the GAD-7 scale. Results: Our response rate was 82.9%. Thirteen players had missing data. The prevalence of GAD symptoms was 8.5% in men and 28.6% in women (10% overall). The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 20% in men and 57% in women (23% overall). Being a woman (gender) was associated with a sevenfold increased risk of GAD and/or depression symptoms [odds ratio (OR): 7.33, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.18–16.92; p < 0.001]. Players of 'Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander' ethnicity were two times more likely to report GAD and/or depression symptoms in comparison to players of 'Australian' ethnicity (OR: 2.13; 95% CI: 1.01–4.49; p = 0.048). Concussion history was not a significant risk factor for GAD or depression symptoms. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that approximately 1 in 10 WAFL players met the diagnostic cut-off criteria for probable GAD, and 1 in 5 for probable depression. The prevalence for depression symptoms in this study were far higher than the national average in the comparative age bracket. WAFL women's players also reported a substantially higher prevalence of GAD and depressive symptoms than men, and should be further investigated as a priority by the WAFL. Key points: The prevalence of anxiety and depression in semi-elite Australian footballers is unknown, as are those players most at risk. The prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms in semi-elite Australian footballers appears higher than national averages. Women as well as players identifying as of 'Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander' ethnicity are at the highest risk for anxiety and depression symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Anterior shoulder dislocation is a common injury in many sports, resulting in extended time lost from play with an extremely high recurrence rate in young athletes playing a high-risk sport. Latarjet shoulder reconstruction is a common surgical procedure used to prevent subsequent dislocation with an expected rehabilitation time frame of between 4 and 6 months before return to play. Case Description: A 21-year-old male Australian football player experienced 2 left-sided shoulder dislocations before undergoing a left Latarjet shoulder reconstruction. He was assessed clinically and with magnetic resonance imaging, which revealed significant tearing of the anterior labrum. The authors theorized that maximal glenohumeral stability occurs after bony healing of the coracoid onto the glenoid at 6 weeks. The patient then underwent an 8-week structured and graduated rehabilitation program aimed at preventing loss of shoulder range of motion, muscle, and functional capacity and returned to play at 8 weeks postinjury with no complications or recurrence at 12-month follow-up. Discussion: This is the first time an 8-week rehabilitation following Latarjet shoulder reconstruction has been reported. In athletes with anterior glenohumeral dislocation who require accelerated return to play, a Latarjet reconstruction with an 8-week rehabilitation protocol may be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migrants make up a significant and growing proportion of the aged-care workforce in Australia. Using data from the 2016 National Aged Care Workforce Census and Survey, we investigate employment conditions for Australian-born and overseas-born frontline workers working in residential and home-based aged care, focusing on two key poor job quality indicators. We find that migrant home care workers from non-English-speaking background (NESB) countries are the most likely to be employed on a casual basis and to report hours-related underemployment. Migrant residential care workers from English-speaking background (ESB) countries are more likely to be casual while NESB migrants are more likely to be underemployed. Controlling for a range of employment and socio-demographic characteristics, we find that being an NESB migrant is significantly associated with both casual status and underemployment. Generally, while this association lessens with years spent in Australia, exposure to casual employment is amplified over time for NESB migrants in the residential sector. Holding a temporary visa increased the likelihood of casual employment for residential care workers and underemployment for home care workers. Working for a for-profit employer was also associated with poorer job quality. Further policy shifts in Australia towards temporary migration and increased marketisation of aged care may impact on the working conditions of migrant aged-care workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recurring theme in both Andrew Byrnes and Andrea (Andy) Durbach's research and activism is the uncertain status of the international human rights system in Australian law, and they have worked in many different capacities to encourage Australian lawmakers to take international standards seriously. Overall, Australia seems to assume that the international human rights system is designed to bring pressure on other countries to improve their protection of human rights, notably those outside the fold of Western democracies, and that the system has little to offer Australia itself. In this paper, guided by the critical insights of Andrew and Andy's work, I review Australia's response to the third cycle of the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review in 2021. It provides a case study of the techniques Australia has developed to deflect human rights scrutiny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The visit to Australia by Dr David Pencheon, Founding Director of the National Health Service (NHS) Sustainable Development Unit, in April–May 2018 generated considerable interest and engagement. Dr Pencheon's overarching messages were that climate change is a health issue and that doctors and health systems have an opportunity, and responsibility, to lead climate action. This article distils Dr Pencheon's presentations into three themes: (i) carbon accounting; (ii) transformational change in our systems of healthcare; and (iii) a health system fit for the future. For each theme, we highlight promising initiatives that are already underway in Australia that are starting to transform our health system into one fit for a future environmentally sustainable world. We suggest practical ways in which doctors can lead the transformation through personal action and influence broader systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The climate crisis necessitates urgent decarbonisation. The health sector must address its large carbon footprint. In the present study, we sought healthcare thought leaders' views about a future environmentally sustainable health system. Methods: The present study was a qualitative exploratory study consisting of semistructured, in-depth interviews with 15 healthcare thought leaders from Australia, the UK, the US and New Zealand. Audio recordings of the interviews were transcribed and analysed by matrix display and thematic analysis. Results: Overall, healthcare thought leaders believe that to reduce the carbon footprint of healthcare we need to look beyond traditional 'green' initiatives towards a more fundamental and longer-term redesign. Five main themes and one 'key enabler' (information communication technology) were identified. In this paper we draw on other relevant findings, but chiefly focus on the fifth theme about reshaping the role of healthcare within society and using the size and influence of the health sector to leverage wider health, environmental and societal benefits. Conclusions: These ideas represent potentially low-carbon models of care. The next step would be to pilot and measure the outcomes (health, environmental, financial) of these models. What is known about the topic?: The health sector needs to reduce its large carbon footprint. Traditional 'green' initiatives, such as recycling and improving energy efficiency, are insufficient to achieve the scale of decarbonisation required. What does this paper add?: Healthcare thought leaders surveyed in the present study suggested that we also consider other, non-traditional ways to achieve environmental sustainability. In this paper we discuss their ideas about adopting an anticipatory approach to healthcare using predictive analytics, and using the size and influence of the health sector to effect wider health and environmental benefits. What are the implications for practitioners?: Achieving an environmentally sustainable healthcare system is likely to require broad and fundamental (i.e. transformational) change to the current service model. Health practitioners throughout the sector must be closely engaged in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workplace and industrial relations regulations are key sites for policy intervention to address Australia's gender pay gap, which, at 15.3 per cent, is almost as large as it was in 1997. In both the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Cth) the goal of equal pay has a more central place than it did in predecessor legislation. In particular, the Fair Work Act has the potential to deliver more gender-equitable wage structures through addressing systemic gender-based undervaluation at the industry level. Adopting a feminist institutional approach this article examines equal pay policy in the operations of workplace and industrial relations regulation to ask why, despite some recent successes, this potential appears unlikely to be realised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enforcement of minimum labour standards in Australia has undergone a significant transformation over the last decade with the Fair Work Ombudsman's (FWO's) adoption of a 'strategic' enforcement model. Nevertheless, there are areas of the labour market where both employment standards and their enforcement are inadequate, particularly for precarious or vulnerable workers. This paper explores the challenges to effective employment standard enforce0m0e0n0t0 0i0n0 0a0g0e0d0 0c0a0r0e0,0 0a0 0g0e0n0d0ered industry characterized by restricted government funding, low wages, non-standard employment and low unionization. There has been some limited enforcement activity by both unions and the FWO, mainly in residential aged care. However, the gendered nature of the work in an industry in which the government is in effect the lead organization coupled with the invisibility of home-based aged care present significant enforcement challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical testing to determine the presence of a cam morphology is becoming more common however the correlation between hip range of motion and the degree of cam morphology remains controversial in the literature. The prevalence of a cam morphology in athletes has been reported as higher than in the general population but the prevalence of cam morphology has not been reported in Australian Football (AF). Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between hip range of motion and hip alpha angle and report the proportion of players with a cam morphology in a sample of AF players. Design: Cross-sectional Study. Methods: Twenty-one semi-elite AF players (42 hips) from the Peel Thunder Football Club were included in this study. A hip Flexion Internal Rotation (IR) test and a modified maximal squat test using the difference in depth of squat in hip internal and external rotation were used. These measures were then compared to alpha angles on 90 degree Dunn view x-rays. Results: Four of the 42 hips (9.5%) had a cam morphology (alpha angle >60 degrees). There was no significant correlation between alpha angle and ROM in a Flexion IR test or the difference in modified maximal squat test depth within this sample of players. Conclusions: The proportion of cam morphology seems to be lower in this sample than the previously reported prevalence in other sports. The lack of correlations between hip range and hip alpha angle in players means that screening hips using clinical measures to detect cam morphology associated with poor hip range of motion may be inaccurate. Level of Evidence: Level 3a [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The progress in Australia towards the full industrial recognition of home care work as ‘work’ has stalled. This paper draws on International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers 2011 to argue for a re-imaging of decent minimum standards for home care workers in Australia. While to date Australia has not ratified ILO 189, home care workers, who are employed to work in the homes of the aged or with people with disabilities, fall within the scope of this Convention. Drawing on the scholarship and activism that has emerged around ILO 189 we argue that with the slow but steady shift to more fragmented, individualised and informal employment relationships in home care services re-imagining employment protections for home care workers in Australia is crucial. Recasting minimum labour standards for work described as both ‘work like all other’ and ‘work like no other work’ could well provide a basis for a more substantial re-imagining of Australian employment regulation for all workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Due to the climate crisis, it is increasingly evident that countries will have to decarbonize. Healthcare, which has a large carbon footprint and uses vast quantities of resources, will have to undergo significant transformation. In this research, we sought the ideas of leading thinkers in the field, to address the question of how health systems can provide high-quality care in a carbon-constrained world. Methods Semi-structured, qualitative in-depth interviews with 15 healthcare thought leaders from Australia, the UK, the USA and New Zealand. The interviews were transcribed and analysed by matrix display and thematic analysis. Results 'Green' initiatives such as improving energy efficiency and implementing travel plans will be insufficient to achieve the scale of decarbonization required. According to the thought leaders in our study, it is likely that greater carbon and resource savings will come from thinking much more broadly about innovative models of care and using 'new' sources of 'value' such as 'people' and 'relationships'. Conclusions Using human resources and human interactions as low-carbon sources of value in healthcare are promising models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Due to the lack of prospective studies with longitudinal data on relapse, past genetic studies have not attempted to identify genetic factors that predict relapse risk (the primary endpoint of many pivotal clinical trials testing the efficacy of multiple sclerosis (MS) disease-modifying drugs) at a genome-wide scale.Methods: We conducted a genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) to identify genetic variants that predict MS relapse risk, using a three-stage approach. First, GWAS was conducted using the southern Tasmania MS Longitudinal Study with 141 cases followed prospectively for a mean of 2.3 years. Second, GWAS was conducted using the Ausimmune Longitudinal Study with 127 cases having a classic first demyelinating event followed for 5 years from onset. Third, the top hits with p<5.0×10-6 from the first two stages were combined with a longitudinal US paediatric MS cohort with 181 cases followed for 5 years after onset. Predictors of time to relapse were evaluated by a mixed effects Cox model. An inverse variance fixed effects model was then used to undertake a meta-analysis.Results: In the pooled results, using these three unique longitudinal MS cohorts, we discovered one novel locus (LRP2; most significant single nucleotide polymorphism rs12988804) that reached genome-wide significance in predicting relapse risk (HR=2.18, p=3.30×10-8). LRP2 is expressed on the surface of many central nervous system cells including neurons and oligodendrocytes and is a critical receptor in axonal guidance.Conclusions: The finding of a genetic locus that has extensive effects on neuronal development and repair is of interest as a potential modulator of MS disease course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia, food poisoning affects over 4.1 million people annually, with most cases occurring in domestic (i.e., household) environments. Strategies aimed at improving safe food-handling among the community have begun being implemented across Australia. Recently, the 'Play it Food Safe' mass media campaign by the Western Australian Department of Health was piloted and shown to have some effectiveness in improving safe food-handling behaviour among consumers following the campaign. However, little is known about whether these changes in safe food-handling behaviours can be maintained in the long-term. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to determine if the Western Australian 'Play it Food Safe' campaign could lead to long-term change of safe food-handling knowledge, behaviour, and related psychological constructs (i.e., habit, perceived risk, self-efficacy, and subjective norms) among consumers. Participants (N = 689) completed measures assessing their safe food-handling knowledge, behaviour, and psychological constructs, derived from psychological theories, following the conclusion of the 'Play it Food Safe' campaign that was re-run in Perth, Western Australia. Participants completed these measures again approximately eight-weeks later. Data were analysed to determine if there were any changes in these measures over time, or whether scores on these measures were maintained long-term. Results indicated that some psychological constructs improved over time, and knowledge was higher among participants who saw the campaign, however, behaviour remained the same. These findings show that the 'Play it Food Safe' campaign may be effective for increasing knowledge, and effective for improving some psychological constructs long-term, though further development of the campaign is needed for further impact on behaviour. • Eight-weeks following the campaign, safe food-handling knowledge improved. • Similarly, some psychological constructs changed. • Safe food-handling behaviour did not change, eight-weeks following the campaign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) introduces a national cash-for-care model for disability support and care. The NDIS has been hailed as a significant advance in social care provision for people with disability, bringing both additional funding and choice and control. However, little attention has been paid to how the shift to a cash-for-care system will impact on the working conditions of disability support workers. The international literature suggests three main factors shape better or poorer employment outcomes for workers in cash-for-care schemes: the extent to which cost containment underpins scheme design; the regulation and monitoring of care delivery; and the regulation of care employment. In this article, we explore these factors through an analysis of the planning, design and initial implementation of the NDIS and make a preliminary assessment of how the new scheme might shape care workers’ employment conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The genetic drivers of multiple sclerosis (MS) clinical course are essentially unknown with limited data arising from severity and clinical phenotype analyses in genome-wide association studies.Methods: Prospective cohort study of 127 first demyelinating events with genotype data, where 116 MS risk-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were assessed as predictors of conversion to MS, relapse and annualised disability progression (Expanded Disability Status Scale, EDSS) up to 5-year review (ΔEDSS). Survival analysis was used to test for predictors of MS and relapse, and linear regression for disability progression. The top 7 SNPs predicting MS/relapse and disability progression were evaluated as a cumulative genetic risk score (CGRS).Results: We identified 2 non-human leucocyte antigen (HLA; rs12599600 and rs1021156) and 1 HLA (rs9266773) SNP predicting both MS and relapse risk. Additionally, 3 non-HLA SNPs predicted only conversion to MS; 1 HLA and 2 non-HLA SNPs predicted only relapse; and 7 non-HLA SNPs predicted ΔEDSS. The CGRS significantly predicted MS and relapse in a significant, dose-dependent manner: those having ≥5 risk genotypes had a 6-fold greater risk of converting to MS and relapse compared with those with ≤2. The CGRS for ΔEDSS was also significant: those carrying ≥6 risk genotypes progressed at 0.48 EDSS points per year faster compared with those with ≤2, and the CGRS model explained 32% of the variance in disability in this study cohort.Conclusions: These data strongly suggest that MS genetic risk variants significantly influence MS clinical course and that this effect is polygenic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As people are living longer, they are being encouraged to work longer. While it is assumed that extended employment will be good for health, the evidence has been mixed. This study considers whether employment and job quality exert an influence on four indicators of health status in older workers.Methods: Data for this study came from 836 older workers (440 men and 396 women) aged 50-59 years at baseline who participated in the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. Using linear regression, we examine within-person change in self-rated, physical and mental health and one health behaviour (physical activity) at two time points over a nine year follow-up period.Results: There were minimal differences in the way health changed for older adults who continued working compared to those who retired voluntarily. However, when we decomposed employment in terms of job quality, health outcomes diverged. Compared to voluntary retirees, older workers who had worked in good quality jobs reported marginally better self-rated health (0.14,-0.02-0.29); but did not differ in their physical (2.31,-1.09-5.72) or mental health (0.51,-1.84-2.87). In contrast, older workers who held poor quality jobs for most of the follow-up period declined in their self-rated (-1.13,-0.28 - -0.02), physical (-4.90, 8.52- - 1.29) and mental health (-4.67, 7.69- - 1.66) relative to voluntary retirees. Older workers who held poor quality jobs for just some of the follow-up period did not differ from voluntary retirees in terms of their health. However there was evidence of a linear relationship between length of exposure to poor quality jobs and decline in health outcomes.Conclusion: Extended working lives mean that people will be 'exposed' to work for longer, and this exposure will occur at a life stage characterised by declining health for many. Our findings show that ensuring older workers have access to secure jobs which allow for control over work time, skill use and fair rewards will be essential if policy goals to boost participation and productivity, as well as reduce the health and care costs of the elderly, are to be met. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The movement of men into care work in the predominantly female voluntary sector appears to be an unintended impact of welfare state contracting-out, managerialism and labour market restructuring. While not uniform, our comparative, international data (New Zealand and Scotland) show that some groups of men in nonprofit care work jobs embraced managerialism and used aspects of it to reshape and advance their work, while others undertook practices exemplifying a ‘caring masculinity’ more similar to practices currently associated with femininised ways of undertaking care activities. Findings: Drawing on international comparative data collected as part of a larger study of restructuring in the nonprofit social services, this article suggests analytic clusters of masculinities operating in the voluntary sector and explores how the presence of men in care work may be changing it. The article also shows how hegemonic, masculinist-oriented practices in the workplace appear more amenable to managerialism than the expected feminine self-sacrificing, self-exploiting ethos of this highly gendered, female-majority sector. Applications: These findings provide insights into the gendered and changing work in the nonprofit social services sector, and suggest ways the gender order is changing with the influx of male workers. The findings will be of interest to social work managers, supervisors, practitioners, policy analysts, students and educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This article provides a description of a pilot telepsychology programme introduced in the Australian Men's Hockey programme in the lead-up to our gold medal World Cup and Commonwealth Games campaigns in 2014. Method This article is a case description of a novel application of videoconferencing technology and a reflective practice evaluation of our initial clinical experiences with this technology. Results Observations and feedback from players and coaches augur well for the acceptability and effectiveness of new technologies in responding to the considerable psychological demands of an increasingly globalised elite sporting context. Despite the usual array of technological challenges, not only did individual sessions become a critical part of ensuring individual well-being but group sessions also contributed to team cohesion. Coaching staff also utilised video links to access timely psychological input during tours, and to strengthen multidisciplinary assessments and treatment planning. Conclusions The successful application of telepsychology with these exceptionally high-functioning clients in a high-stakes context allayed some of the concerns about telepsychology among the coaching and sport science team. This novel application of telepsychology has provided a base from which to explore the use of communication technologies more routinely in our practice and to catch up to the digital natives that are our elite athlete clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a review of Australian policy and regulatory developments in 2014 that influence the working conditions of over 5.4 million women. After an assessment of progress against key gender equality indicators, we focus on two key components of the current gender equality ‘architecture’: employment regulation and policy and the work and care infrastructure that supports working women and gender equality more broadly. We review key developments in regulation providing minimum labour standards and anti-discrimination protections for women workers. We then turn to recent developments in the work and care infrastructure, including childcare, paid parental leave and equal pay. Despite having better regulatory and institutional arrangements than exist in some other developed economies, we conclude that without an explicit national gender equality policy framework, progress towards decent work for Australian working women is likely to be incremental at best. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since the 1980s, many social care jobs have shifted from the public to the nonprofit sector, accompanied by funding cuts, government contracts, managerialism and performance management. Qualitative data collected in Australia, New Zealand and Canada show that agency mission and immediate supervisors remain centrally important to workers’ identity and willingness to remain employed in social care. With the exception of one study site (where targets were jointly resisted by managers and staff), outcome measures were seen by workers to detract from the quality of care and erode social justice. This article argues that agency mission and supportive supervision buffer the impact of poor wages and conditions in the sector, while outcome measures undermine workers’ identities as caring people, in effect making the ‘self’ a site of struggle and discontent. Resistance strategies that agencies, workers and unions have used to challenge the hegemony of outcome-oriented funding and management models are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides a comparative exploration of New Public Management ( NPM) funding models on the non-profit sectors in the UK and Australia, and the implications for services, employment conditions, and worker commitment. A degree of convergence exists around the principles of NPM in the two case studies, creating employment regimes of low pay, casualization, and work intensification. Enhanced vulnerability to pay cuts in the UK, and insecurity in Australia are explained by national differences in exposure to recession, industrial relations institutions, and competition, leading to diminishing worker commitment and raising important concerns for policy-makers as benefits gained from outsourcing to non-profits are eroded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]