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The vocational experiences and skills of young adolescents could be infused into formal education by identifying career competencies to be taught within the academic curriculum. Such curriculum practices that embed educational and career pathways must also include the perspectives of students and the community, particularly those from marginalised groups. Drawing on data from 111 teachers, principals, carers and students, this paper presents research undertaken to co-design career education lesson plans within an infused model of the curriculum for early Middle Year students from regional, rural, and remote Australia. The lesson plans and activities were designed to allow for meaningful self-reflection and goal-setting that could be seamlessly infused into the formal curriculum and help embed early-stage career education. The paper concludes by projecting opportunities and challenges for seamless curriculum integration, while pertinent to the Australian context, can also be read with broader relevance to other educational systems and schools.

Disparity in educational and career outcomes between rural, regional and remote (RRR) students and their metropolitan counterparts persists despite successive federal and state government initiatives. In this paper, we will present a study that highlights one important, yet overlooked, avenue to improve outcomes for RRR students: early-stage careers education. Informed by interviews conducted with RRR principals and deputy principals from Victoria and Queensland (n = 10), we present a new approach to the delivery and content of careers education in RRR contexts. The approach advocates for a purposeful programme from Year 7, which includes the engagement of key influencers such as parents/carers, peers and local industry, as well as tailoring activities to also reflect regional job trends and pathways. The broader implications of our findings to curriculum design are also presented and challenge the prevailing approach of Year 9/10 as the optimal period to immerse careers education.

Indigenous learners of English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) have historically not been the central focus of TESOL expertise here in Australia, or overseas. Despite moves towards inclusion increasing over the last two decades, there is an ongoing tendency for Indigenous EAL/D learners to remain on the periphery of current TESOL advocacy, research and practices in Australia. They are still often overlooked, as identification processes and support settings for migrant and refugee services are mismatched to Indigenous EAL/D learning contexts. Indigenous EAL/D learners, especially with un-/under-recognised contact languages (creoles and related varieties), can remain invisible in classrooms with mainstream curriculum and assessment practices (Angelo, 2013; Angelo & Hudson, 2018; Gawne et al., 2016; Macqueen et al., 2019). Hence, we argue that understanding and consideration of Indigenous EAL/D learners' needs should become a priority in TESOL initiatives. This paper aims to place Indigenous EAL/D learners at the centre by alerting the TESOL field to a recent body of research and development on new Indigenous contact languages and whole class EAL/D teaching and assessment practices. Clarifying substantial issues and providing solutions, the paper makes Indigenous EAL/D its central focus, highlighting areas that otherwise result in "forgettings" about needs particular to Indigenous EAL/D learners. Thus informed, the Australian TESOL profession will surely include First Nations EAL/D learners at the heart of future discourse and initiatives.

Supporting higher education participation across equity groups has long been a directed effort in global higher education practice and policy. However, to date, there has been little improvement in the rates of Australian higher education participation by equity groups such as regional/remote, low socioeconomic, and Indigenous Australian students. In this study, we visited four outer-regional communities in Victoria, Australia to utilise participatory design methods as an approach to explore participants' ideas on the optimal nature of early-stage higher education outreach interventions and how future resources or programmes can be designed. Our case study of four schools showcases how participatory design with students (Year 7 and 8), school staff, and carers (e.g. family, community leaders) (n = 101) helped to elicit participant feedback and ideas as well as support the subsequent co-design of future resources and outputs. Key findings included the need to address information gaps on the daily life of university students and the importance of context-specific advice and interventions.

With a focus on Australian Aboriginal students, in this article we argue that translanguaging provides a useful resource for multilingual learners. We point out that although translanguaging is a relatively recent term, in Indigenous Australia is has been used consistently throughout the ages as people from different languages communicated with each other. We argue that through the use of translanguaging in the classroom, children can be supported to draw on the wide range of linguistic resources they bring with them to school. Using data collected from an Aboriginal school in the Northern Territory and one in Western Australia, we illustrate the ways in which this perspective can inform approaches to teaching which will both enhance these learners' communication skills in Standard Australian English (SAE) in the classroom, and, importantly, at the same time demonstrate that the languages the children come to school with are valued.

The importance of religious questioning in establishing and maintaining religious affiliation is well recognised. Questions and how teachers respond to them is also a critical aspect of strong pedagogy and is an important part of teacher training and formation. Many curriculum documents in religious education assume that student questions are an important part of the teaching and learning process. This study seeks to examine the questions that students in Catholic schools raise in religious education class. This has been overlooked in the research literature and it is hoped that work will generate further interest in the topic. The study utilises a mixed methodology incorporating interviews with religious education coordinators as well as focus groups of experienced teachers. Results are discussed for infants (K-grade 2), primary (grades 3-6) and for secondary students (grades 7-12). For secondary and primary students, questions are categorised under three descriptive headings; metacognitive; thematic content; 'Why does the Church … ?' Infant questions are described using different categories. A range of implications are drawn from the findings including how to better prepare teachers to facilitate, encourage and respond to questions and the demands the student questions place on those involved in teacher formation and in the ongoing support of teachers.

Young Indigenous students with a language background of emergent, unrecognised, and/or non-prestigious contact languages are commonly by-passed as English language learners (ELLs). Consequently, they are taught and assessed via undifferentiated mainstream pedagogy and testing, generally characterised by reported underachievement. Long-term social and linguistic minoritisation has effectively created this inequitable situation, excluding this cohort from standard school ELL processes such as on-entry identification, and specialist ELL services of assessment and needs-based support. In these challenging social-educational contexts, where, furthermore, knowledge about the varieties resulting from language contact and shift is still developing, initiating language assessment for these young Language Minority ELLs pivots on the discernment of non-specialist classroom teachers. This is clearly a high stakes assessment exercise for this otherwise invisible ELL cohort, as this evidence makes the case for language-informed responses, such as differentiated delivery of classroom curriculum. Prioritising the social context in language assessment use and drawing on exploratory practice principles, the study investigates teachers' views on their use of the state mandated classroom-based proficiency tool (adapted to be inclusive of this Indigenous ELL sub-group). This serves to illuminate the kind of support teachers need to conduct identification and assessment for these Indigenous ELLs and to highlight the broad gaps in basic research. An analysis of the interviews elicits the "puzzles" facing classroom teachers. Findings include that direct elucidation of tool puzzles for L2 pathways in contact language contexts would be most useful, not a proliferation of extra tools nor a complexification of the current tool.

This article is a qualitative study of the practice of leadership in Catholic schools in Australia. Within an interpretivist framework, a multiple case study of six lay principals was employed. Findings suggest that successful leadership in Catholic schools is highly influenced by the cultural and spiritual capital that a principal brings to a school, signifying a fundamental importance of appointing principals who are not only professionally competent, but who are spiritually competent as well. The relationship between the lay Catholic principal in the parish and the parish priest emerged as a challenging issue in many contexts. Indeed, it was highly problematic for some principals. (Contains 2 figures, 1 table, and 1 footnote.)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are facing growing levels of scrutiny to prove their identity to access Indigenous-specific government services designed to mitigate the impacts of past government policies. Yet, it is those who have been most severely impacted by past government policies of forcible removal from Country and separation of families who often face challenges obtaining evidence to prove their Indigeneity. Employing narrative inquiry and collaborative autoethnography, this article draws on the personal reflections and experiences of the Aboriginal authors to explore the health and wellbeing impacts of deficit discourses, perceptions, and judgements about Indigeneity in Australia. Our personal stories are shared to enliven discussion on how proof of Indigeneity requirements may systemically compound ongoing intergenerational trauma. These stories and perspectives are shared to stimulate review of proof of Indigeneity policies and procedures by government agencies and education institutions across Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linguistic research with Indigenous communities over several decades has shown that Indigenous contact languages have a large presence in the contemporary Indigenous landscapes of Australia, but this is not reflected in an equitable presence in policy or programs. Policy has not taken up or responded to the available language research and recommendations, nor is policy reliably informed by solid government language data. As a response to such issues, the Indigenous Language Ecologies framework has been developed. It is designed as a tool to assist policy makers to see and include the needs of contact language-speaking communities. The simple framework differentiates the main configurations of multilingualism in Indigenous communities in Australia today, comparing and contrasting the typical repertoires of speakers of contact languages, of Englishes and of traditional languages. It is intended to function as a useful heuristic and, as such, represents an example of translational research where specialist linguistic knowledge has been distilled for a non-specialist policy audience. The paper lays out the rationale for, and design of, this language ecologies approach, and its impact on policy and research to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on Indigenous contact languages in Australia, examining their emergence, structures, linguistic creativity, and current challenges faced by speakers. It discusses the historical contexts of colonial expansion and social disruption, which led to the development of new Indigenous contact languages. It highlights the resilience of Indigenous communities in maintaining their languages despite pressures from English dominance.

It is important that educators understand learning styles as an evolving individual characteristic. We investigate the changes in learning styles and preferences of first-year undergraduate nursing/midwifery students after six months of preliminary testing. Curry's 'onion ring model' proposes a stable inner 'Information processing' style (assessed by instruments such as Kolb Learning Style Inventory) compared to the outer 'Instructional preference' style (assessed by the VARK (Visual/Aural/Read--Write/Kinaesthetic) questionnaire), which is more easily influenced by external factors. Therefore, re-examining students after one semester of teaching should result in an increase in multimodal VARK learning with lesser changes to the LSI [Learning Style Inventory] results. A cross-sectional survey with pre-post design (n = 96) showed 45% of students remaining in the same VARK mode, 30% becoming more multimodal and 25% showing changes. Surprisingly, the LSI questionnaire showed similar results with 45% of students remaining in the same learning modality and 55% of students changing. This research highlights the dynamic changes within students' information processing and instructional preferences.

Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is the most prevalent chronic liver disease worldwide, affecting 25% of people globally and up to 80% of people with obesity. MAFLD is characterised by fat accumulation in the liver (hepatic steatosis) with varying degrees of inflammation and fibrosis. MAFLD is strongly linked with cardiometabolic disease and lifestyle-related cancers, in addition to heightened liver-related morbidity and mortality. This position statement examines evidence for exercise in the management of MAFLD and describes the role of the exercise professional in the context of the multi-disciplinary care team. The purpose of these guidelines is to equip the exercise professional with a broad understanding of the pathophysiological underpinnings of MAFLD, how it is diagnosed and managed in clinical practice, and to provide evidence- and consensus-based recommendations for exercise therapy in MAFLD management. The majority of research evidence indicates that 150–240 min per week of at least moderate-intensity aerobic exercise can reduce hepatic steatosis by ~ 2–4% (absolute reduction), but as little as 135 min/week has been shown to be effective. While emerging evidence shows that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) approaches may provide comparable benefit on hepatic steatosis, there does not appear to be an intensity-dependent benefit, as long as the recommended exercise volume is achieved. This dose of exercise is likely to also reduce central adiposity, increase cardiorespiratory fitness and improve cardiometabolic health, irrespective of weight loss. Resistance training should be considered in addition to, and not instead of, aerobic exercise targets. The information in this statement is relevant and appropriate for people living with the condition historically termed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), regardless of terminology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prior trials suggest that intravenous racemic ketamine is a highly effective for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), but phase 3 trials of racemic ketamine are needed. Aims: To assess the acute efficacy and safety of a 4-week course of subcutaneous racemic ketamine in participants with TRD. Trial registration: ACTRN12616001096448 at www.anzctr.org.au. Method: This phase 3, double-blind, randomised, active-controlled multicentre trial was conducted at seven mood disorders centres in Australia and New Zealand. Participants received twice-weekly subcutaneous racemic ketamine or midazolam for 4 weeks. Initially, the trial tested fixed-dose ketamine 0.5 mg/kg versus midazolam 0.025 mg/kg (cohort 1). Dosing was revised, after a Data Safety Monitoring Board recommendation, to flexible-dose ketamine 0.5–0.9 mg/kg or midazolam 0.025–0.045 mg/kg, with response-guided dosing increments (cohort 2). The primary outcome was remission (Montgomery-Åsberg Rating Scale for Depression score ≤10) at the end of week 4. Results: The final analysis (those who received at least one treatment) comprised 68 in cohort 1 (fixed-dose), 106 in cohort 2 (flexible-dose). Ketamine was more efficacious than midazolam in cohort 2 (remission rate 19.6% v. 2.0%; OR = 12.1, 95% CI 2.1–69.2, P = 0.005), but not different in cohort 1 (remission rate 6.3% v. 8.8%; OR = 1.3, 95% CI 0.2–8.2, P = 0.76). Ketamine was well tolerated. Acute adverse effects (psychotomimetic, blood pressure increases) resolved within 2 h. Conclusions: Adequately dosed subcutaneous racemic ketamine was efficacious and safe in treating TRD over a 4-week treatment period. The subcutaneous route is practical and feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fine‐grained, siliciclastic units of the >1642 ± 3.9 Ma late Palaeoproterozoic Limbunya Group, Birrindudu Basin host rich, well‐preserved organic‐walled microfossil assemblages that include members of total‐group eukaryotes. These assemblages include taxa characteristic of this interval such as Tappania plana and Satka favosa, as well as less common taxa such as Gigantosphaeridium fibratum, Gigantosphaeridium floccosum, Kamolineata elongata (= Valeria elongata; new combination), and four new species. The new taxa include Limbunyasphaera operculata gen et sp. nov., the oldest known operculate taxon; the large septate filaments of Siphonoseptum bombycinum gen. et sp. nov.; the platy tubular form Birrindudutuba brigandinia gen. et sp. nov.; and Filinexum torsivum gen. et sp. nov., which bears a spirally twisted wall constructed of bound fibres. Our data show that eukaryotic fossils are particularly abundant in marginal marine environments such as tidal flats and back‐barrier lagoonal settings. This is exemplified by the Blue Hole Formation, which features an especially diverse and complex assemblage. We also present a new within‐formation eukaryotic species richness estimate for the Palaeoproterozoic to Tonian. This estimate indicates that the oldest eukaryote‐bearing units already show species richness levels similar to those of the much younger and more heavily sampled Tonian period. Additionally, these oldest eukaryotic assemblages show significant morphological disparity, particularly in vesicle construction. These high levels of eukaryotic species richness and morphological disparity suggest that although late Palaeoproterozoic units preserve our oldest record of eukaryotes, the eukaryotic clade has a much deeper history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe the frequency of hospitalisation and in‐hospital death following moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Australia, both overall and by patient demographic characteristics and the nature and severity of the injury. Design, setting: Cross‐sectional study; analysis of Australia New Zealand Trauma Registry data. Participants: People with moderate to severe TBI (Abbreviated Injury Score [head] greater than 2) who were admitted to or died in one of the twenty‐three major Australian trauma services that contributed data to the ATR throughout the study period, 1 July 2015 – 30 June 2020. Major outcome measures: Primary outcome: number of hospitalisations with moderate to severe TBI; secondary outcome: number of deaths in hospital following moderate to severe TBI. Results: During 2015–20, 16 350 people were hospitalised with moderate to severe TBI (mean, 3270 per year), of whom 2437 died in hospital (14.9%; mean, 487 per year). The mean age at admission was 50.5 years (standard deviation [SD], 26.1 years), and 11 644 patients were male (71.2%); the mean age of people who died in hospital was 60.4 years (SD, 25.2 years), and 1686 deaths were of male patients (69.2%). The overall number of hospitalisations did not change during 2015–20 (per year: incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.00; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.99–1.02) and death (IRR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.97–1.03). Conclusion: Injury prevention and trauma care interventions for people with moderate to severe TBI in Australia reduced neither the incidence of the condition nor the associated in‐hospital mortality during 2015–20. More effective care strategies are required to reduce the burden of TBI, particularly among younger men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the "Bridging the Language Gap" project undertaken with 86 State and Catholic schools across Queensland, the language competencies of Indigenous students have been found to be "invisible" in several key and self-reinforcing ways in school system data. A proliferation of inaccurate, illogical and incomplete data exists about students' home languages and their status as English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D) learners in schools. This is strongly suggestive of the fact that "language" is not perceived by school systems as a significant operative variable in student performance, not even in the current education climate of data-driven improvement. Moreover, the National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), the annual standardised testing regime, does not collect relevant information on students' language repertoires and levels of proficiency in Standard Australian English (SAE). Indigenous students who are over-represented in NAPLAN under-performance data are targeted through "Closing the Gap" for interventions to raise their literacy and numeracy achievements (in SAE). However, Indigenous students who are EAL/D learners cannot be disaggregated by system data from their counterparts already fluent in SAE. Reasons behind such profound language invisibility are discussed, as well as the implications for social inclusion of Indigenous students in education.

This paper seeks to gain a better understanding of religious education coordinators (RECs) in contemporary Catholic schools. This is done by using life history narratives to explore how participants came to be RECs. This study takes place in a wider cultural context that sees strong religious commitment, manifested by taking leadership positions in Catholic schools, as becoming increasing contested.

The language ecologies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Queensland are characterised by widespread language shift to contact language varieties, yet they remain largely invisible in discourses involving Indigenous languages and education. This invisibility--its various causes and its many implications--are explored through a discussion of two creoles which developed in Queensland: Yumplatok (formerly Torres Strait Creole) and Yarrie Lingo. Although both are English lexified and originate in Queensland, they represent different histories and different trajectories of awareness and recognition. The Yumplatok discussion emphasises issues arising from speakers' own attitudes, including Sellwood's own lived experiences. The Yarrie Lingo discussion highlights issues arising from its creole-lexifier relationship with (Standard Australian) English. Finally, this paper examines a recently published government language report, highlighting the ways that Indigenous creoles are marginalised: this marginalisation exacerbates their invisibility in mainstream discourse.

The introduction of long‐acting injectable buprenorphine preparations for opioid use disorder has been widely heralded as a breakthrough treatment, with several studies indicating positive results when using these medications. In many locations, nurse practitioners prescribe, administer, and monitor long‐acting injectable preparations. The objective of this paper is to explore whether a reduction in dispensed needles and syringes is attributable to increased nurse practitioner prescribing of LAIB. We used a retrospective audit of needles dispensed through the health service needle and syringe program vending machine, and individuals treated with long‐acting injectable buprenorphine by the nurse practitioner led model. In addition, we examined potential factors that may influence changes in the number of needles dispensed. Linear regression found that each individual with opioid dependence treated with long‐acting injectable buprenorphine was associated with 90 fewer needles dispensed each month (p < 0.001). The nurse practitioner led model of care for individuals with opioid dependence appears to have influenced the number of needles dispensed at the needle and syringe program. Although all confounding factors could not be discounted entirely, such as substance availability, affordability, and individuals obtaining injecting equipment elsewhere, our research indicates that a nurse practitioner led model of treating individuals with opioid use disorder influenced needle and syringe dispensing in the study setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decade, the implementation of immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors has determined a major change in the management of oncological patients. The challenges associated to the new therapeutic regimen have promoted adapted criteria for response assessment to interpret imaging findings and atypical patterns of response. Parallel to the new morphological criteria, also 18fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission/computed tomography imaging has required novel approaches and specific guidelines on how to perform, interpret, and report the scan in patients with solid tumors under immune checkpoint inhibitors therapy. A summary of the novelties related to the new joint international European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM)/Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI)/Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine (ANZSNM) guidelines on immunotherapy is provided herein to elucidate most critical aspects in image interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Primary healthcare services have principal responsibility for providing child and youth wellbeing and mental health services, but have lacked appropriate measurement instruments to assess the wellbeing of Indigenous children and youth or to evaluate the effectiveness of programs and services designed to meet their needs. This review assesses the availability and characteristics of measurement instruments that have been applied in primary healthcare services in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States (CANZUS countries) to assess the wellbeing of Indigenous children and youth. Methods: Fifteen databases and 12 websites were searched in December 2017 and again in October 2021. Pre-defined search terms pertained to Indigenous children and youth, CANZUS country names, and wellbeing or mental health measures. PRISMA guidelines were followed, with eligibility criteria guiding screening of titles and abstracts, and selected full-text papers. Results are presented based on the characteristics of documented measurement instruments assessed according to five desirability criteria: development for Indigenous youth populations, adherence to relational strength-based constructs, administration by child and or youth self-report, reliability and validity, and usefulness for identifying wellbeing or risk levels. Results: Twenty-one publications were found that described the development and or use by primary healthcare services of 14 measurement instruments, employed across 30 applications. Four of the 14 measurement instruments were developed specifically for Indigenous youth populations, four focused solely on strength-based wellbeing concepts but none included all Indigenous wellbeing domains. Conclusion: There is a diversity of measurement instruments available, but few fit our desirability criteria. Although it is possible that we missed relevant papers and reports, this review clearly supports the need for further research to develop, refine or adapt instruments cross-culturally to measure the wellbeing of Indigenous children and youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]