Academic literature on the topic 'Air quality management Victoria Melbourne'

Melbourne Pathology, a subsidiary of Sonic Health Care, provided a comprehensive range of pathology services as an aid in the diagnosis and treatment of patients in Melbourne and Central Victoria. In a capped funding and highly regulated market such as the pathology service market in Australia, the only way in which the sales of a provider could grow was usually at the expense of another provider. To combat this situation, Melbourne Pathology opted to compete by providing higher quality service and faster turnaround time. The recent results of Melbourne Pathology, however, indicated that although the average turnaround time was within the promised targets, significant percentage of jobs in routine category and over 10% of jobs in the urgent category failed to meet the established targets. The case is primarily intended to illustrate the impact of demand distortions in a service setting that arise due to lack of coordination among various entities in the service value chain and a failure to have an integrated perspective that aligns all departments towards a common goal. This phenomenon is similar to the bullwhip effect in supply chains of manufactured products which has received considerable attention during the past decade. The case provides opportunities for students to develop corrective actions to mitigate this problem.

Abstract A 4-day photochemical smog event in the Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, region (6–9 March 2001) is examined to assess the performance of the Australian Air Quality Forecasting System (AAQFS). Although peak ozone concentrations measured during this period did not exceed the 1-h national air quality standard of 100 ppb, elevated maximum ozone concentrations in the range of 50–80 ppb were recorded at a number of monitoring stations on all four days. These maximum values were in general very well forecast by the AAQFS. On all but the third day the system predicted the advection of ozone precursors over Port Phillip (the adjacent bay) during the morning, where, later in the day, relatively high ozone concentrations developed. The ozone was advected back inland by bay and sea breezes. On the third day, a southerly component to the background wind direction prevented the precursor drainage over the bay, and the characteristic ozone cycle was disrupted. The success of the system's ability to predict peak ozone at individual monitoring stations was largely dependent on the direction and penetration of the sea and bay breezes, which in turn were dependent on the delicate balance between these winds and the opposing synoptic flow.

The breeding biology of the bell miner (Manorina melanophrys, Meliphagidae) at a site 60 km east of Melbourne, Victoria, is described. Bell miners showed a clear seasonal pattern of nesting, moulting and development of brood patch. Increased food availability and number of helpers were not associated with increased nesting success. This is partially explained by increased predation on nests in colonies with more helpers. Growth rates of nestlings did not increase with increased number of helpers and habitat quality, although these variables may affect postfledging survival rates. Breeding females organised into neighbourhoods seemed to be able to synchronise nesting. Egg shape differed among females but egg size did not, although egg volume increased as the breeding season progressed.

Abstract ContextBird–aircraft collisions impose an economic cost and safety risk, yet ecological studies that inform bird hazard management are few, and to date no study has formally compared species’ strike profiles across airports. In response to strike risks, airports have implemented customised management on an airport-by-airport basis, based on the assumption that strike risk stems from prevailing local circumstances. We tested this assumption by comparing a decade of wildlife–aircraft strikes at three airports situated in the same bioregion (likely to have similar fauna) of Victoria, Australia. AimTo compare the assemblage of wildlife struck by aircraft at three major airports in the same bioregion. MethodStandardised wildlife strike data were analysed from three airports (Avalon, Melbourne and Essendon Airports), in the Victorian Volcanic Plains bioregion, central Victoria, Australia. Ten discrete 1-year sampling periods from each airport were compared, spanning the period 2009–19. Bird data were comparable, and data on mammals were considered less reliable, so emphasis was placed on birds in the present study. ResultsIn total, 580 bird strikes were analysed, with the most commonly struck species being Australian magpie (Cracticus tibicen; 16.7%), Eurasian skylark (Alauda arvensis; 12.2%), Australian pipit (Anthus australis; 12.1%), masked lapwing (Vanellus miles; 5.9%), nankeen kestrel (Falco cenchroides; 5.0%), house sparrow (Passer domesticus; 4.8%), welcome swallow (Hirundo neoxena; 4.3%) and tree martin (Petrochelidon nigricans; 4.0%). The assemblage of birds struck by aircraft over the decade of study differed between airports. The most commonly struck species drove the assemblage differences between airports. Conclusions and implicationsIn the present study system, airports experienced discrete strike risk profiles, even though they are in the same bioregion. The airports examined differed in terms of air traffic movement rates, aircraft types, landscape context and bird hazard management effort. Given that strike risks profiles differ among airports, customised management at each airport, as is currently the case, is supported.

This article seeks to review the Australian healthcare system and compare it to similar systems in other countries to highlight the main issues and problems. A literature search for articles relating to the Australian and other developed countries’ healthcare systems was conducted by using Google and the library of Victoria University, Melbourne. Data from the websites of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the Australian Productivity Commission, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Bank have also been used. Although care within the Australian healthcare system is among the best in the world, there is a need to change the paradigm currently being used to measure the outcomes and allocate resources. The Australian healthcare system is potentially dealing with two main problems: (a) resource allocation, and (b) performance and patient outcomes improvements. An interdisciplinary research approach in the areas of performance measurement, quality and patient outcomes improvement could be adopted to discover new insights, by using the policy implementation error/efficiency and bureaucratic capacity. Hospital managers, executives and healthcare management practitioners could use an interdisciplinary approach to design new performance measurement models, in which financial performance, quality, healthcare and patient outcomes are blended in, for resource allocation and performance improvement. This article recommends that public policy implementation error and the bureaucratic capacity models be applied to healthcare to optimise the outcomes for the healthcare system in Australia. In addition, it highlights the need for evaluation of the current reimbursement method, freedom of choice to patients and a regular scrutiny of the appropriateness of care.

ObjectiveTo codesign an electronic chronic disease quality improvement tool for use in general practice.DesignService design employing codesign strategies.SettingGeneral practice.ParticipantsSeventeen staff (general practitioners, nurses and practice managers) from general practice in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria and five patients from metropolitan Melbourne.InterventionsCodesign sessions with general practice staff, using a service design approach, were conducted to explore key design criteria and functionality of the audit and feedback and clinical decision support tools. Think aloud interviews were conducted in which participants articulated their thoughts of the resulting Future Health Today (FHT) prototype as they used it. One codesign session was held with patients. Using inductive and deductive coding, content and thematic analyses explored the development of a new technological platform and factors influencing implementation of the platform.ResultsParticipants identified that the prototype needed to work within their existing workflow to facilitate automated patient recall and track patients with or at-risk of specific conditions. It needed to be simple, provide visual snapshots of information and easy access to relevant guidelines and facilitate quality improvement activities. Successful implementation may be supported by: accuracy of the algorithms in FHT and data held in the practice; the platform supporting planned and spontaneous interactions with patients; the ability to hide tools; links to Medicare Benefits Schedule; and prefilled management plans. Participating patients supported the use of the platform in general practice. They suggested that use of the platform demonstrates a high level of patient care and could increase patient confidence in health practitioners.ConclusionStudy participants worked together to design a platform that is clear, simple, accurate and useful and that sits within any given general practice setting. The resulting FHT platform is currently being piloted in general practices and will continue to be refined based on user feedback.

At South East Water wastewater treatment plants (WwTPs) in Victoria, Australia, biosolids are stockpiled for three years in compliance with the State guidelines to achieve the highest pathogen reduction grade (T1), suitable for unrestricted use in agriculture and landscaping. However, extended stockpiling is costly, may increase odour nuisance and greenhouse gas emissions, and reduces the fertiliser value of the biosolids. A verification programme of sampling and analysis for enteric pathogens was conducted at two WwTPs where sludge is treated by aerobic and anaerobic digestion, air drying (in drying pans or solar drying sheds) and stockpiling, to enumerate and, if present, monitor the decay of a range of enteric pathogens and parasites. The sludge treatment processes at both WwTPs achieved T1 grade biosolids with respect to prescribed pathogenic bacterial numbers (<1 Salmonella spp. 50 g−1 dry solids (DS) and <100 Escherichia coli g−1 DS) and >3 log10 enteric virus reduction after a storage period of one year. No Ascaris eggs were detected in the influent to the WwTPs, confirming previous studies that the presence of helminth infections in Victoria is extremely low and that Ascaris is not applicable as a control criterion for the microbiological quality of biosolids in the region.

Smoke pollution from wildfires can adversely affect human health, and there is uncertainty about the amount of smoke pollution caused by prescribed v. wildfires, a problem demanding a landscape perspective given that air quality monitoring is sparse outside of urban airsheds. The primary objective was to assess differences in fire intensity and smoke plume area between prescribed fires and wildfires around Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. We matched thermal anomaly satellite data to databases of fires in forests surrounding both cities. For each matched fire we determined hotspot count and quantified their intensity using the fire radiative power (FRP) measurement. Smoke plumes were mapped using MODIS true colour images. Wildfires had more extreme fire intensity values than did prescribed burns and the mean size of wildfire plumes was six times greater than of prescribed fire plumes for both cities. Statistical modelling showed that the horizontal area covered by smoke plumes could be predicted by hotspot count and sum of FRP, with differences between cities and fire type. Smoke plumes from both fire types reached both urban areas, and particulate pollution was higher on days affected by smoke plumes. Our results suggested that prescribed fires produced smaller smoke plume areas than did wildfires in two different flammable landscapes. Smoke plume and FRP data, combined with air pollution data from static monitors, can be used to improve smoke management for human health.

Public transport requires constant feedback to improve and satisfy daily users. Twitter offers monitoring of user messages, discussion and emoticons addressed to official transport provider accounts. This information can be particularly useful in delicate situations such as management of transit operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The behaviour of Twitter users in Madrid, London and Prague is analysed with the goal of recognising similar patterns and detecting differences in traffic related topics and temporal cycles. Topics in transit tweets were identified using the bag of words approach and pre-processing in R. COVID-19 is a dominant topic for both London and Madrid but a minor one for Prague, where Twitter serves mainly to deliver messages from politicians and stakeholders. COVID-19 interferes with the meaning of other topics, such as overcrowding or staff. Additionally, specific topics were discovered, such as air quality in Victoria Station, London, or racism in Madrid. For all cities, transit-related tweeting activity declines over weekends. However, London shows much less decline than Prague or Madrid. Weekday daily rhythms show major tweeting activity during the morning in all cities but with different start times. The spatial distribution of tweets for the busiest stations shows that the best-balanced tweeting activity is found in Madrid metro stations.

Higher Education Studies wishes to acknowledge the following individuals for their assistance with peer review of manuscripts for this issue. Their help and contributions in maintaining the quality of the journal are greatly appreciated. Higher Education Studies is recruiting reviewers for the journal. If you are interested in becoming a reviewer, we welcome you to join us. Please find the application form and details at http://recruitment.ccsenet.org and e-mail the completed application form to hes@ccsenet.org. Reviewers for Volume 8, Number 4 Abdelaziz Mohammed, Albaha University, Saudi Arabia Anna Liduma, University of Latvia, Latvia Arbabisarjou Azizollah, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Iran Bahar Gün, İzmir University of Economics, Turkey Barba Patton, University of Houston-Victoria, USA Edward Lehner, Bronx Community College, City University of New York, USA Evrim Ustunluoglu, Izmir University of Economics, Turkey Gerard Hoyne, University of Notre Dame Australia, Australia Gregory S. Ching, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan John Cowan, Edinburgh Napier University, United Kingdom John Rafferty, Charles Sturt University, Australia Kartheek R. Balapala, University Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia Laid Fekih, University of Tlemcen Algeria, Algeria Mehmet Ersoy, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Turkey Meric Ozgeldi, Mersin University, Turkey Michael John Maxel Okoche, Uganda Management Institute, Uganda Mirosław Kowalski, University of Zielona Góra, Poland Najia Sabir, Indiana University Bloomington, USA Nancy Maynes, Nipissing University, Schulich School of Education, Canada, Canada Philip Denton, Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom Qing Xie, Jiangnan University, China Sahar Ahadi, Islamic Azad University of Mashhad, Iran Savitri Bevinakoppa, Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia Suat Capuk, Adiyaman University, Turkey Teguh Budiharso, Center of Language and Culture Studies, Indonesia Tuija A. Turunen, University of Lapland, Finland Zahra Shahsavar, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran

The Australian Catholic University (ACU National at www.acu.edu.au) is a public university funded by the Australian Government. There are six campuses across the country, located in Brisbane, Queensland; North Sydney, New South Wales; Strathfield, New South Wales; Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT); Ballarat, Victoria; and Melbourne, Victoria. The university serves a total of approximately 27,000 students, including both full- and part-time students, and those enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Through fostering and advancing knowledge in education, health, commerce, the humanities, science and technology, and the creative arts, ACU National seeks to make specific and targeted contributions to its local, national, and international communities. The university explicitly engages the social, ethical, and religious dimensions of the questions it faces in teaching, research, and service. In its endeavors, it is guided by a fundamental concern for social justice, equity, and inclusivity. The university is open to all, irrespective of religious belief or background. ACU National opened its doors in 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia. The institutions that merged to form the university had their origins in the mid-17th century when religious orders and institutes became involved in the preparation of teachers for Catholic schools and, later, nurses for Catholic hospitals. As a result of a series of amalgamations, relocations, transfers of responsibilities, and diocesan initiatives, more than twenty historical entities have contributed to the creation of ACU National. Today, ACU National operates within a rapidly changing educational and industrial context. Student numbers are increasing, areas of teaching and learning have changed and expanded, e-learning plays an important role, and there is greater emphasis on research. In its 2005–2009 Strategic Plan, the university commits to the adoption of quality teaching, an internationalized curriculum, as well as the cultivation of generic skills in students, to meet the challenges of the dynamic university and information environment (ACU National, 2008). The Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) Program at ACU Canberra Situated in Australia’s capital city, the Canberra campus is one of the smallest campuses of ACU National, where there are approximately 800 undergraduate and 200 postgraduate students studying to be primary or secondary school teachers through the School of Education (ACT). Other programs offered at this campus include nursing, theology, social work, arts, and religious education. A new model of pre-service secondary teacher education commenced with the introduction of the Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) program at this campus in 2005. It marked an innovative collaboration between the university and a cohort of experienced secondary school teachers in the ACT and its surrounding region. This partnership was forged to allow student teachers undertaking the program to be inducted into the teaching profession with the cooperation of leading practitioners from schools in and around the ACT. In the preparation of novices for the teaching profession, an enduring challenge is to create learning experiences capable of transforming practice, and to instill in the novices an array of professional skills, attributes, and competencies (Putnam & Borko, 2000). Another dimension of the beginning teacher experience is the need to bridge theory and practice, and to apply pedagogical content knowledge in real-life classroom practice. During the one-year Graduate Diploma program, the student teachers undertake two four-week block practicum placements, during which they have the opportunity to observe exemplary lessons, as well as to commence teaching. The goals of the practicum include improving participants’ access to innovative pedagogy and educational theory, helping them situate their own prior knowledge regarding pedagogy, and assisting them in reflecting on and evaluating their own practice. Each student teacher is paired with a more experienced teacher based at the school where he/she is placed, who serves as a supervisor and mentor. In 2007, a new dimension to the teaching practicum was added to facilitate online peer mentoring among the pre-service teachers at the Canberra campus of ACU National, and provide them with opportunities to reflect on teaching prior to entering full-time employment at a school. The creation of an online community to facilitate this mentorship and professional development process forms the context for the present case study. While on their practicum, students used social software in the form of collaborative web logging (blogging) and threaded voice discussion tools that were integrated into the university’s course management system (CMS), to share and reflect on their experiences, identify critical incidents, and invite comment on their responses and reactions from peers.