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1
Harrigan, Peter. "Medical “smart card” trialled in Australia." Lancet 350, no. 9075 (August 1997): 420. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(05)64153-0.
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Greenleaf, Graham, and Jim Nolan. "The Deceptive History of the 'Australia Card'." Australian Quarterly 58, no. 4 (1986): 407. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/20635401.
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Ozdowski, Sev. "Human Rights: A Report Card for Australia." Political Crossroads 12, no. 3 (January 1, 2005): 71–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.7459/pc/12.3.05.
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Packer, Tanya L., Kobie Boshoff, and Desleigh DeJonge. "Development of the Activity Card Sort - Australia." Australian Occupational Therapy Journal 55, no. 3 (September 2008): 199–206. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1630.2007.00686.x.
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Nehme, Marina. "Welfare meeting financial services: The Cashless Debit Card dichotomy." Alternative Law Journal 44, no. 2 (March 8, 2019): 121–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1037969x19830476.
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Australia has been developing and expanding its policies on compulsory income management. This has culminated in the introduction of the Cashless Debit Card. This card is intended to reduce access to discretionary cash that people may receive as part of their welfare payment. The limitation is designed to block people from accessing any services linked to alcohol and gambling. However, the introduction of this card means that welfare now falls under the Australian financial services arena. This article analyses the dichotomy that exists as a result of this intersection and focuses on highlighting inconsistencies between the two regimes.
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Schranz, Natasha, Tim Olds, Dylan Cliff, Melanie Davern, Lina Engelen, Billie Giles-Corti, Sjaan Gomersall, et al. "Results from Australia’s 2014 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth." Journal of Physical Activity and Health 11, s1 (January 2014): S21—S25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2014-0164.
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Background:Like many other countries, Australia is facing an inactivity epidemic. The purpose of the Australian 2014 Physical Activity Report Card initiative was to assess the behaviors, settings, and sources of influences and strategies and investments associated with the physical activity levels of Australian children and youth.Methods:A Research Working Group (RWG) drawn from experts around Australia collaborated to determine key indicators, assess available datasets, and the metrics which should be used to inform grades for each indicator and factors to consider when weighting the data. The RWG then met to evaluate the synthesized data to assign a grade to each indicator.Results:Overall Physical Activity Levels were assigned a grade of D-. Other physical activity behaviors were also graded as less than average (D to D-), while Organized Sport and Physical Activity Participation was assigned a grade of B-. The nation performed better for settings and sources of influence and Government Strategies and Investments (A- to a C). Four incompletes were assigned due to a lack of representative quality data.Conclusions:Evidence suggests that physical activity levels of Australian children remain very low, despite moderately supportive social, environmental and regulatory environments. There are clear gaps in the research which need to be filled and consistent data collection methods need to be put into place.
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Graham, Peter. "The Australia Card: A Burden Rather than a Relief?" Australian Quarterly 58, no. 1 (1986): 4. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/20635350.
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Gans, Joshua S., and Stephen P. King. "A Theoretical Analysis of Credit Card Reform in Australia." Economic Record 79, no. 247 (December 2003): 462–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4932.2003.00145.x.
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Klein, Elise. "Settler colonialism in Australia and the cashless debit card." Social Policy & Administration 54, no. 2 (January 29, 2020): 265–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/spol.12576.
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Schranz, Natasha K., Timothy Olds, Roslyn Boyd, John Evans, Sjaan R. Gomersall, Louise Hardy, Kylie Hesketh, et al. "Results From Australia’s 2016 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth." Journal of Physical Activity and Health 13, s2 (November 2016): S87—S94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2016-0345.
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Background:Two years on from the inaugural Active Healthy Kids Australia (AHKA) Physical Activity Report Card, there has been little to no change with the majority of Australian children still insufficiently active.Methods:The 2016 AHKA Report Card was developed using the best available national- and state-based physical activity data, which were evaluated by the AHKA Research Working Group using predetermined weighting criteria and benchmarks to assign letter grades to the 12 Report Card indicators.Results:In comparison with 2014, Overall Physical Activity Levels was again assigned a D- with Organized Sport and Physical Activity Participation increasing to a B (was B-) and Active Transport declining to a C- (was C). The settings and sources of influence again performed well (A- to a C+), however Government Strategies and Investments saw a decline (C+ to a D). The traits associated with physical activity were also graded poorly (C- to a D).Conclusions:Australian youth are insufficiently active and engage in high levels of screen-based sedentary behaviors. While a range of support structures exist, Australia lacks an overarching National Physical Activity Plan that would unify the country and encourage the cultural shift needed to face the inactivity crisis head on.
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Schoknecht, Noel. "Report card on sustainable natural-resource use in the agricultural regions of Western Australia." Soil Research 53, no. 6 (2015): 695. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/sr14267.
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A ‘Report Card’, which summarises the current knowledge of the status and trend in land condition in the agricultural areas of the south-west of Western Australia, was published in 2013 by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia. The Report Card draws on best available evidence from government and industry on the current condition and trend of 10 soil- and water-related natural resource themes relevant to agriculture, and discusses the implications of these results for the agricultural industries. The report also discusses the three main factors driving the performance of the land, namely climate, land characteristics and land management. The first two factors are largely out of the control of land managers, but in a drying and warming climate of the agricultural areas of Western Australia, land-management practices need to be able to respond to these changing conditions. The paper briefly explains the methodologies used to assess the seven soil-related themes in the Report Card and summarises the major findings. The results indicate that, for soils, the situation and outlook for our natural resources is mixed. Although there has been progress in some areas, such as managing wind and water erosion, the status and trend in many indicators of resource condition, such as soil acidity, soil compaction and water repellence, are adverse. The predicted growth in global demand for food and fibre brings many opportunities to the Western Australian agri-food sector but also challenges, especially in light of the Report Card findings. One of these challenges is our need to achieve agricultural productivity growth while ensuring our natural resources are healthy and resilient.
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Jackson, Margaret, and Julian Ligertwood. "Identity Management: Is an Identity Card the Solution for Australia?" Prometheus 24, no. 4 (December 2006): 379–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08109020601029953.
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Bomba, David, Kurt Svardsudd, and Per Kristiansson. "A comparison of patient attitudes towards the use of computerised medical records and unique identifiers in Australia and Sweden." Australian Journal of Primary Health 10, no. 2 (2004): 36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/py04024.
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This article compares the attitudes of Australian and Swedish patients towards the use of computerised medical records and unique identifiers in medical practices in Australia and Sweden. A Swedish translation of an Australian survey was conducted and results were compared. Surveys were distributed to patients at a medical practice in Sweden in 2003 and compared to the results of an Australian study by Bomba and Land (2003). Results: Based on the survey samples (Australia N=271 and Sweden N=55), 91% of Swedish respondents and 78% of Australian respondents gave a positive appraisal of the use of computers in health care. Of the Swedish respondents, 93% agreed that the computer-based patient record is an essential technology for health care in the future, while 86% of the Australian respondents agreed. Overwhelmingly, 95% of Swedish respondents and 91% of Australian respondents stated that the use of computers did not interfere with the doctor-patient consultation. Both groups preferred biometric identification as the method for uniquely identifying patients but differed in their preferred method to store medical information - a combination of central database and smart card for Australian respondents and central database for Swedish respondents. This analysis indicates that patient attitudes towards the use of computerised medical records and unique identifiers in Australia and Sweden are positive; however, there are concerns over information privacy and security. These concerns need to be taken into account in any future development of a national computer health network.
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Kjosavik, Svein Reidar, Marianne Hansen Gillam, and Elisabeth E. Roughead. "Average duration of treatment with antidepressants among concession card holders in Australia." Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 50, no. 12 (July 20, 2016): 1180–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867415621392.
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Objective: To analyse the average treatment duration with antidepressants that are reimbursed for concession card holders under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme in Australia. Method: This pharmacoepidemiological study was based on a representative 10% sample of patients receiving Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme prescriptions. Antidepressants redeemed by concession card holders in the period from 2010 to 2013 were analysed. A 5-year baseline period was used to exclude prevalent users from incident users. Estimation of treatment duration was based on the epidemiological equation: prevalence/incidence = average duration. The mean value for prevalence and incidence over the studied period was used in the equation. Results: The number of prevalent and incident users increased from 90,475 to 103,305 and from 25,006 to 26,289, respectively. The epidemiological average treatment duration in the period was about 4 years. When considered by age-bands, average treatment duration was 2 years in patients under 24 years, 3 years in patients 35 to 44 years and up to 5 years in the 55 to 64 year age group. Of new users of antidepressants reimbursed under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, 86% received their first prescription from general practitioners, 4.3% from psychiatrists and 9.7% from other physicians. Conclusion: While recommendations have underlined the importance of giving antidepressants for a sufficient period of time, the results from this study show that it is as important to remind general practitioners to review patients on antidepressant treatment regularly, and try to cease drug treatment when timely.
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Kjosavik, Svein R., Marianne H. Gillam, and Elisabeth E. Roughead. "Average duration of treatment with antipsychotics among concession card holders in Australia." Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 51, no. 7 (February 14, 2017): 719–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867417691851.
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Objective: To analyse average treatment duration with antipsychotics reimbursed for concession card holders under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme; the proportion of initial prescribing by general practitioners, psychiatrists and other physician; and the trend in drug choice in Australia. Method: Based on a representative 10% sample of patients receiving Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme prescriptions since 2005, antipsychotics redeemed by concession card holders in the period from 2010 to 2013 were analysed. A 5-year baseline period was used to exclude prevalent users from incident users. Treatment duration was estimated using the epidemiological equation: prevalence/incidence = average duration. Results: The overall average treatment duration was 3.0 years, ranging from 1.5 years in patients aged 75 years and older to more than 4 years among patients aged 25–64 years. The most commonly used antipsychotics were olanzapine, risperidone and quetiapine, with average duration of 2.9, 2.1 and 1.7 years, respectively. Amisulpride was used longest with an average duration of 3.7 years. Quetiapine is currently the most prescribed antipsychotic and the main antipsychotic prescribed by psychiatrists to new users. The increased prescribing of quetiapine among general practitioners explains the rapid increase in the overall use of quetiapine. General practitioners initiated therapy in about 70% of cases, while psychiatrists and other physicians in about 15% each. In children younger than 15 years of age, paediatricians initiated such treatment in 47%. Conclusion: General practitioners both initiate and maintain treatment with antipsychotics for most adults, while paediatricians mainly begin such treatment in children. The substantial increase in use of quetiapine among general practitioners, along with the short treatment duration for quetiapine, strengthens a concern about antipsychotics increasingly used for less severe disorders. Increased collaboration between paediatricians and psychiatrists regarding the youngest and between general practitioners and psychiatrists or geriatricians regarding adults and older patients seems required.
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Cradduck, L., and A. Mccullagh. "Identifying the Identity Thief: Is it time for a (smart) Australia Card?" International Journal of Law and Information Technology 16, no. 2 (September 28, 2007): 125–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ijlit/eam008.
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Clarke, Roger. "JUST ANOTHER PIECE OF PLASTIC FOR YOUR WALLET: THE ‘AUSTRALIA CARD’ SCHEME." Prometheus 5, no. 1 (June 1987): 29–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08109028708629411.
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Gustafsson, Louise, Inez Hui Min Hung, and Jacki Liddle. "Test–Retest Reliability and Internal Consistency of the Activity Card Sort–Australia (18-64)." OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health 37, no. 1 (December 15, 2016): 50–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1539449216681277.
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The Activity Card Sort (ACS) measures activity engagement levels. The Activity Card Sort–Australian version for adults aged 18 to 64 (ACS-Aus (18-64)) was recently developed, and psychometric properties have not yet been determined. This study was established to determine the test–retest reliability and internal consistency of the ACS-Aus (18-64) and describe activity engagement trends for healthy adults. Fifty-four adults aged 18 to 64 participated in this descriptive study. The ACS-Aus (18-64) demonstrated excellent test–retest reliability ( r = .92, p < .001) and acceptable internal consistency (α = .83). Adults aged 18 to 40 retained a lower percentage of activities than adults aged 41 to 64 for personal care, daily life, home maintenance activities ( t = −2.22, p = .03), and recreation and relaxation activities ( t = −2.38, p = .02). The ACS-Aus (18-64) may be used to explore the activity engagement patterns of community-dwelling Australian adults aged 18 to 64. Further research will determine validity for clinical populations.
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Straker, Leon, Erin Kaye Howie, Dylan Paul Cliff, Melanie T. Davern, Lina Engelen, Sjaan R. Gomersall, Jenny Ziviani, Natasha K. Schranz, Tim Olds, and Grant Ryan Tomkinson. "Australia and Other Nations Are Failing to Meet Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for Children: Implications and a Way Forward." Journal of Physical Activity and Health 13, no. 2 (February 2016): 177–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2015-0026.
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Background:Australia has joined a growing number of nations that have evaluated the physical activity and sedentary behavior status of their children. Australia received a “D minus” in the first Active Healthy Kids Australia Physical Activity Report Card.Methods:An expert subgroup of the Australian Report Card Research Working Group iteratively reviewed available evidence to answer 3 questions: (a) What are the main sedentary behaviors of children? (b) What are the potential mechanisms for sedentary behavior to impact child health and development? and (c) What are the effects of different types of sedentary behaviors on child health and development?Results:Neither sedentary time nor screen time is a homogeneous activity likely to result in homogenous effects. There are several mechanisms by which various sedentary behaviors may positively or negatively affect cardiometabolic, neuromusculoskeletal, and psychosocial health, though the strength of evidence varies. National surveillance systems and mechanistic, longitudinal, and experimental studies are needed for Australia and other nations to improve their grade.Conclusions:Despite limitations, available evidence is sufficiently convincing that the total exposure and pattern of exposure to sedentary behaviors are critical to the healthy growth, development, and wellbeing of children. Nations therefore need strategies to address these common behaviors.
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Gurung, Juni, Marcell Wijaya, and Asha Rao. "AMLCTF compliance and SMEs in Australia: a case study of the prepaid card industry." Journal of Money Laundering Control 13, no. 3 (July 20, 2010): 184–201. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13685201011057109.
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Mutze, G. J. "The 1993 strychnine baiting program for mouse control in South Australian grain crops. I. Efficacy." Wildlife Research 25, no. 5 (1998): 533. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr96009.
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The grain-growing areas of South Australia were affected by a severe mouse plague during the winter and spring of 1993. Damage to recently sown and maturing crops was minimised by broadcasting 0.3% strychnine-treated wheat across affected crops, at a rate of 1 kg ha-1. Three indices were used to measure relative mouse abundance before and after treatment: counts of active mouse holes, bait card consumption, and live-trapping. Hole counts and live-trapping both underestimated treatment effects. Bait card consumption provided the most accurate indication of treatment effects. In crops treated across their entire area, treatment reduced bait card consumption by 87%, with 95% reduction in 18 of 28 crops monitored. In most cases, baiting stopped damage by mice and allowed farmers to establish healthy crops where previously mice had removed all the seed sown, and resown, prior to treatment. Perimeter baiting was less successful owing to rapid reinvasion of treated areas, and reduced average bait card consumption by only 16%. Strychnine baiting in crop stubbles was ineffective where weed seeds were abundant.
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Doney, Robyn M., and Tanya L. Packer. "Measuring changes in activity participation of older Australians: Validation of the Activity Card Sort – Australia." Australasian Journal on Ageing 27, no. 1 (March 2008): 33–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6612.2007.00265.x.
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Goddard, Chris. "Point and Counterpoint not the last word: Child Statistical Abuse: 80,000 Child Prostitutes in Australia." Children Australia 13, no. 1 (1988): 18–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0312897000001776.
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It was the beleaguered Sydney Morning Herald that started my concern about child statistical abuse in Australia A small paragraph in “Column 8” pointed out that a program on the similarly beleaguered ABC had claimed that 38 percent of Australians die of heart disease each year. Then “Column 8” discovered something called the cholesterol check card, issued by the Better Health Screening Service, which claimed that 50 percent of us die from cardiovascular disease each year. What, asked “Column 8”, will the Better Health Screening Service do after two years when there is no-one left in Australia’?
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Carlberg, Ulf. "Review: Insects - a World of Diversity." Entomologica Fennica 6, no. 1 (January 1, 1995): 42. http://dx.doi.org/10.33338/ef.83838.
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Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization (Ed.) 1994: Insects- a World of Diversity. - C.S.I.R.O., Information Services, 314 Albert Street, East Melbourne, Victoria 3002, Australia. CDROM Version 1.0 and printed Teachers' Guide, 104 pp (A4 size, alternatively spiralbound 17.5 x 24.5 em). CD-ROM available for both Windows and Macintosh versions. System requirements: Windows: IBM-compatibel computer 386-33 or faster, super VGA video card and monitor; 4Mb of RAM, Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later, Microsoft Windows compatible digital audio card and CD-ROM drive. Macintosh: Apple Macintosh computer, 13 inch colour monitor (or larger), 4Mb of RAM, CD-ROM drive and Quicktime 1.6 or later(providedonCD).Price: CD-ROM: AUD 109.-,CD-ROMandTeachers' GuideAUD 129.-.
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Tawfik, H., R. Huang, M. Samy, and A. K. Nagar. "On the Use of Intelligent Systems for the Modelling of Financial Literacy Parameters." Journal of Information Technology Research 2, no. 4 (October 2009): 17–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/jitr.2009062902.
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Research has shown that more young people lack good financial literacy and make poor financial decisions. Financial literacy is not only important for individuals, but also for families, financial institutions, and the entire economy. In this paper, artificial neural networks (ANNs) and support vector machines (SVMs) are used as tools to model the financial literacy levels of young university students across Australia and three Western European countries. The goal was to ascertain the students’ level of financial knowledge in relation to the use of credit card and loan facilities based on a number of input parameters such as age, gender and educational level. Sensitivity analysis is applied to determine the relative contribution of each input parameter to the overall financial literacy model. The experiments show that ANNs and SVMs exhibit promising results and capabilities for effectively modeling financial literacy. Our findings indicate that the main determinants of young people’s level of financial literacy include educational level, length of employment, age, and credit card status – in terms of the use of credit card facilities, and gender, living status and credit card status – in terms of the use of loan facilities.
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Lea, T. "National Report Card on Hospital Care Provided to Indigenous Patients with Coronary Heart Disease in Australia." Heart, Lung and Circulation 16 (January 2007): S89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hlc.2007.06.227.
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Whitehead, PJ, P. Bayliss, and RE Fox. "Recreational Waterfowl Hunting Activity and Harvests in Northern-Territory, Australia." Wildlife Research 15, no. 6 (1988): 625. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr9880625.
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Results of mail-card surveys of registered shotgun owners in the Northern Territory during 1984 and 1985 are reported. Responses were used to generate estimates of seasonal and daily bags of waterfowl, the level of hunter activity, and a crude estimate of hunter numbers. In 1984 the mean seasonal bag was 73.2 birds taken over 10.3 hunter-days, which fell to 21.4 birds taken in 6.3 hunter-days during the 1985 season. The magpie goose was taken most frequently, constituting 84% of 1984 and 79% of 1985 bags. Hunting activity was concentrated in the Darwin area at small, readily accessible sites. Estimates of total seasonal harvests are derived to provide an indication of the scale of hunting mortality. All estimates are based on relatively low returns and improved targeting of surveys is desirable to increase sample size and reliability.
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Faroqi, Hamed, Mahmoud Mesbah, and Jiwon Kim. "Spatial-Temporal Similarity Correlation between Public Transit Passengers Using Smart Card Data." Journal of Advanced Transportation 2017 (2017): 1–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/1318945.
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The increasing availability of public transit smart card data has enabled several studies to focus on identifying passengers with similar spatial and/or temporal trip characteristics. However, this paper goes one step further by investigating the relationship between passengers’ spatial and temporal characteristics. For the first time, this paper investigates the correlation of the spatial similarity with the temporal similarity between public transit passengers by developing spatial similarity and temporal similarity measures for the public transit network with a novel passenger-based perspective. The perspective considers the passengers as agents who can make multiple trips in the network. The spatial similarity measure takes into account direction as well as the distance between the trips of the passengers. The temporal similarity measure considers both the boarding and alighting time in a continuous linear space. The spatial-temporal similarity correlation between passengers is analysed using histograms, Pearson correlation coefficients, and hexagonal binning. Also, relations between the spatial and temporal similarity values with the trip time and length are examined. The proposed methodology is implemented for four-day smart card data including 80,000 passengers in Brisbane, Australia. The results show a nonlinear spatial-temporal similarity correlation among the passengers.
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Kelly, Veronica. "Beauty and the Market: Actress Postcards and their Senders in Early Twentieth-Century Australia." New Theatre Quarterly 20, no. 2 (April 21, 2004): 99–116. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266464x04000016.
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A hundred years ago the international craze for picture postcards distributed millions of images of popular stage actresses around the world. The cards were bought, sent, and collected by many whose contact with live theatre was sometimes minimal. Veronica Kelly's study of some of these cards sent in Australia indicates the increasing reach of theatrical images and celebrity brought about by the distribution mechanisms of industrial mass modernity. The specific social purposes and contexts of the senders are revealed by cross-reading the images themselves with the private messages on the backs, suggesting that, once outside the industrial framing of theatre or the dramatic one of specific roles, the actress operated as a multiply signifying icon within mass culture – with the desires and consumer power of women major factors in the consumption of the glamour actress card. A study of the typical visual rhetoric of these postcards indicates the authorized modes of femininity being constructed by the major postcard publishers whose products were distributed to theatre fans and non-theatregoers alike through the post. Veronica Kelly is working on a project dealing with commercial managements and stars in early twentieth-century Australian theatre. She teaches in the School of English, Media Studies, and Art History at the University of Queensland, is co-editor of Australasian Drama Studies, and author of databases and articles dealing with colonial and contemporary Australian theatre history and dramatic criticism. Her books include The Theatre of Louis Nowra (1998) and the collection Our Australian Theatre in the 1990s (1998).
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Sawynok, Bill, Bill Venables, and Uthpala Pinto. "Incorporating a fish recruitment indicator into a health report card: A case study from Gladstone Harbour, Australia." Ecological Indicators 115 (August 2020): 106329. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106329.
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Wilkinson, Anna L., James McMahon, Yik-Siang Cheah, Catriona S. Bradshaw, Carol El-Hayek, and Mark Stoové. "Paying the price in an era of HIV treatment as prevention: a retrospective study of the cost burden of HIV treatment for people living with HIV in Victoria, Australia." Sexual Health 12, no. 1 (2015): 34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/sh14144.
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Background An estimated 25 700 people live with diagnosed HIV (PLWH) in Australia and ~1200 newly diagnosed cases were notified in 2012. New HIV prevention strategies focus on individual uptake of treatment; however, a potential barrier is the financial burden of antiretroviral treatment (ART). We describe HIV ART dispensed and the estimated associated costs for PLWH in Victoria. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study of pharmacy data on ART dispensed between January 2012 and November 2013 from a hospital network, including Victoria’s largest sexual health clinic was conducted. Estimated annual patient costs of ART were calculated by the number of items dispensed per year, concession status, dispensing site and applicable co-payment. Results: A total of 60 225 dispensing records from 3903 individuals were included; this represented 83.8% of pharmaceutical benefits scheme-recorded ART dispensed in Victoria over this period. The estimated annual co-payment costs for patients without a concession card and who were collecting two medications was $433.20. One-fifth of patients (21.3%) collected four or more items, equating to an estimated annual cost of at least $866.40 without a concession card and $141.60 with a concession card. Of those dispensed four or more items, 40.4% were concession card holders. Conclusions: There may be meaningful patient costs associated with accessing ART for some PLWH. New HIV treatment-based prevention strategies need to consider financial vulnerabilities and appropriately targeted initiatives to alleviate patient costs associated with ART, ensuring they do not act as a barrier to commencement of and adherence to HIV treatment.
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Dyer, Adrian G., Jair E. Garcia, Mani Shrestha, and Klaus Lunau. "Seeing in colour: a hundred years of studies on bee vision since the work of the Nobel laureate Karl von Frisch." Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 127, no. 1 (2015): 66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/rs15006.
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One hundred years ago it was often assumed that the capacity to perceive colour required a human brain. Then in 1914 a young Austrian researcher working at Munich University in Germany published evidence that honeybees could be trained to collect sugar water from a ‘blue’ coloured card, and find the colour among a number of different shades of achromatic grey. Von Frisch thus established honeybees as an important model of sensory processing in animals, and for work including his demonstration that bees used a symbolic dance language, won a Nobel Prize in 1973. This work led to the establishment of several research groups in Germany that developed a rich understanding of how bee vision has shaped flower colour evolution in the Northern Hemisphere. Applying these insights to Australian native bees offers great insights due to the long-term geological isolation of the continent. Australian bees have a phylogenetically ancient colour visual system and similar colour perception to honeybees. In Australia similar patterns of flower colour evolution have resulted and provide important evidence of parallel evolution, thanks to the pioneering work of Karl von Frisch 100 years ago.
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van den Hurk, Andrew F., Sonja Hall-Mendelin, Cheryl A. Johansen, David Warrilow, and Scott A. Ritchie. "Evolution of Mosquito-Based Arbovirus Surveillance Systems in Australia." Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology 2012 (2012): 1–8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/325659.
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Control of arboviral disease is dependent on the sensitive and timely detection of elevated virus activity or the identification of emergent or exotic viruses. The emergence of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) in northern Australia revealed numerous problems with performing arbovirus surveillance in remote locations. A sentinel pig programme detected JEV activity, although there were a number of financial, logistical, diagnostic and ethical limitations. A system was developed which detected viral RNA in mosquitoes collected by solar or propane powered CO2-baited traps. However, this method was hampered by trap-component malfunction, microbial contamination and large mosquito numbers which overwhelmed diagnostic capabilities. A novel approach involves allowing mosquitoes within a box trap to probe a sugar-baited nucleic-acid preservation card that is processed for expectorated arboviruses. In a longitudinal field trial, both Ross River and Barmah Forest viruses were detected numerous times from multiple traps over different weeks. Further refinements, including the development of unpowered traps and use of yeast-generated CO2, could enhance the applicability of this system to remote locations. New diagnostic technology, such as next generation sequencing and biosensors, will increase the capacity for recognizing emergent or exotic viruses, while cloud computing platforms will facilitate rapid dissemination of data.
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Gustafsson, Louise, Aleysha Martin, Liane Buijsman, Soemitro Poerbodipoero, Jacki Liddle, and David Ireland. "Parallel-Forms Reliability and Clinical Utility of an Application Version of the Activity Card Sort Australia (18–64)." American Journal of Occupational Therapy 72, no. 6 (November 12, 2018): 7206205070p1. http://dx.doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2018.028688.
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Schranz, N., T. Olds, and G. Tomkinson. "Active Healthy Kids Australia 2014 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Young People “Is Sport Enough?”." Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 18 (December 2014): e123-e124. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2014.11.095.
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Doran, Evan, Jane Robertson, and Glenn Salkeld. "Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme cost sharing, patient cost consciousness and prescription affordability." Australian Health Review 35, no. 1 (2011): 37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ah10902.
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Objective. To assess patients’ prescription medicine cost consciousness and explore the implications of further cost sharing increases for affordability. Design and participants. A telephone interview survey of 818 randomly selected prescription medicine users (408 concession card holders, 410 general beneficiaries) resident in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Australia. Main outcome measures. Degree of prescription cost consciousness; attitudes towards prescription use and cost sharing; self-rated capacity to manage further co-payment increases and differences between concession card holders and general beneficiaries in these measures. Results. The majority of participants were cost conscious medicine users who act responsibly towards medicine use and believe that cost sharing is appropriate. Although there were no differences in cost consciousness scores, card holders appeared more sensitive to prescription costs and increases. Conversely, general beneficiaries were more likely to report difficulties with cost (avoiding seeing a doctor, not collecting prescription medicines, stopping or reducing the dose of a prescribed medicine). Although almost 75% of respondents reported that a co-payment increase would cause financial difficulty, only 28% indicated this would change their medicine use. Conclusions. These results suggest that most Australian patients are cost conscious but many are also close to facing difficulties with prescription costs. Further increases in PBS cost sharing could compromise prescription affordability, particularly for general beneficiaries. What is known about the topic? Increased PBS cost sharing is intended to minimise unnecessary demand for prescription medicines while maintaining affordability. The key mechanism to achieve this – ‘cost consciousness’ – has not been investigated. What does this paper add? The paper provides patient level data on cost consciousness, attitudes to cost sharing and patient capacity to manage future increases in PBS cost sharing. What are the implications for practitioners? Australians are cost conscious. Further increases in PBS cost sharing make some patients even more cost conscious but may also erode affordability, particularly for general beneficiaries. A review of cost sharing is important and long overdue.
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Wu, Shuenn-Jue L., Helene Paxton, Barbara Hanson, Cheryl G. Kung, Timothy B. Chen, Cindy Rossi, David W. Vaughn, Gerald S. Murphy, and Curtis G. Hayes. "Comparison of Two Rapid Diagnostic Assays for Detection of Immunoglobulin M Antibodies to Dengue Virus." Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology 7, no. 1 (January 1, 2000): 106–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/cdli.7.1.106-110.2000.
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ABSTRACT Two easy-to-use commercial diagnostic assays, a dipstick enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Integrated Diagnostics, Baltimore, Md.) and an immunochromatographic card assay (PanBio, Brisbane, Australia) were evaluated for detection of immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody to dengue virus with an in-house IgM antibody capture microplate ELISA as a reference assay. The dipstick ELISA was based on the indirect-ELISA format using dengue 2 virus as the only antigen and enzyme-labeled goat anti-human IgM antibody as the detector. The total assay time was 75 min. The immunochromatographic card assay was based on the antibody capture format and separately measured both anti-dengue virus IgM and IgG in the same test. Colloidal-gold-labeled anti-dengue virus monoclonal antibody bound with dengue virus 1 to 4 antigen cocktail was the detector, and anti-human IgM and IgG were the capture antibodies. The total assay time was <10 min. Sera from 164 individuals classified as either anti-dengue virus IgM positive (94) or anti-dengue virus IgM negative (70) in the reference microplate ELISA with a dengue virus 1 to 4 antigen cocktail were tested in the two commercial assays. The dipstick ELISA missed 7 of 94 positive samples, for a sensitivity of 92.6%, while the immunochromatographic card assay missed two positive samples, for a sensitivity of 97.9%. Of the 70 negative samples, four were false positive by the dipstick ELISA and two were false positive in the immunochromatographic card assay, resulting in specificities of 94.3 and 97.1%, respectively. Both commercial assays provide sensitive and specific detection of anti-dengue virus IgM antibody and could prove useful in settings where the microplate ELISA is impractical.
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Free, C. L., and L. K.-P. Leung. "How effective are grid trapping, oil cards and track boards in monitoring bush rat populations?" Australian Mammalogy 29, no. 2 (2007): 149. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/am07019.
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Monitoring populations is a key component of wildlife conservation and management. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of abundance indices used for estimating populations of the bush rat Rattus fuscipes. The study was conducted on Fraser Island, Queensland, Australia. A trapping grid consisting of 5 x 5 trap stations, 20 m apart, was used because this configuration was typical of those used for small mammal trapping in Australia. Capture-recapture data were collected from trapping 18 grids over four consecutive nights, immediately followed by two consecutive nights of conducting oil card and track indices. On 11 grids, model Mb was selected by the CAPTURE model selection procedure, indicating increased capture probability after first capture (trap-happy). The estimated trappable population size (�) on these grids was not precise with the standard error on average being 28% of �. On the other seven grids, the number of animals caught was too small (<3) to estimate model parameters.. The main problem of the grid trapping was that some grids caught too few animals to estimate �. Our data suggest that the minimum grid area for estimating useful � is one that would catch more than 8 individuals. The minimum grid area varies depending on the density of rats and should be determined by a pilot trapping study. The number of trapping occasions can be increased until a specific precision of � is reached. The correlation between track index and � was near the 0.05 significance level indicating tracks are potentially a reliable index for monitoring bush rat populations. The oil card index was not significantly correlated with �.
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Chiang, Frances, Angeline Low, and Jock Collins. "Two Sets of Business Cards: Responses of Chinese Immigrant Women Entrepreneurs in Canada and Australia to Sexism and Racism." Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal 5, no. 2 (August 5, 2013): 63–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.5130/ccs.v5i2.3117.
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Existing entrepreneurial discourses have been dominated by white middle-class androcentric approach, giving little space to the discussions of racism and sexism experienced by minority women entrepreneurs. This paper aims to fill this gap through an examination of the experiences of Asian immigrant women entrepreneurs in Canada and Australia using an intersectional approach. The key research question addressed in the paper is to what extent, and in what ways, do racism and sexism impact on the entrepreneurial experiences of Asian immigrant women entrepreneurs and what strategies do they use in managing discrimination to protect themselves and their businesses? Four main strategies were derived from our findings, namely, creating a comfortable niche, playing the mainstream card, swallowing the pain, and resisting.
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Vella, Stewart A., Natasha K. Schranz, Melanie Davern, Louise L. Hardy, Andrew P. Hills, Philip J. Morgan, Ronald C. Plotnikoff, and Grant Tomkinson. "The contribution of organised sports to physical activity in Australia: Results and directions from the Active Healthy Kids Australia 2014 Report Card on physical activity for children and young people." Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 19, no. 5 (May 2016): 407–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2015.04.011.
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Causer, Louise M., Belinda Hengel, Lisa Natoli, Annie Tangey, Steven G. Badman, Sepehr N. Tabrizi, David Whiley, James Ward, John M. Kaldor, and Rebecca J. Guy. "A field evaluation of a new molecular-based point-of-care test for chlamydia and gonorrhoea in remote Aboriginal health services in Australia." Sexual Health 12, no. 1 (2015): 27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/sh14158.
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Background Point-of-care (POC) tests could be important public health tools in settings with treatment delays and high rates of sexually transmissible infections (STIs). Use is limited due to suboptimal performance. The performance and ease-of-use of a new molecular-based POC test for simultaneous detection of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) was assessed, alongside two single-organism immunochromatographic tests (ICT). Methods: The evaluation occurred between May 2012 and March 2013 during community STI screens in two remote Aboriginal health services. Urine was tested with the GeneXpert®CT/NG and if sufficient volume, also with Diaquick CT and Gonorrhoea Card. The gold standard comparison was laboratory nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT). Operational characteristics were also assessed. Results: Among 198 samples, GeneXpert CT sensitivity and specificity was 100% [95% confidence intervals (CI): 75.9–100] and 99.5% (95% CI: 96.5–100), and NG was 100% (95% CI: 96.5–100) and 100% (95% CI: 97.5–100), respectively. Among a sample subset, Diaquick CT (n = 104) sensitivity and specificity was 27.3% (95% CI: 7.3–60.7) and 66.7% (95% CI: 12.5–98.2), and Gonorrhoea Card (n = 29), was 66.7% (95% CI: 12.5–98.2) and 76.9% (95% CI: 56.0–90.2), respectively. GeneXpert required 1 mL of urine, four steps, 1 min specimen preparation and 90 min to result. ICTs required 15 mL of urine, eight steps, 18 min preparation and 10–15 min to result. Conclusion: The accuracy and operational benefits of GeneXpert CT/NG make it very suitable in these settings where delays to treatment are encountered.
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Llewellyn, Lyndon, Richard Brinkman, Emma McIntosh, Nadine Marshall, Uthpala Pinto, John Rolfe, and Britta Schaffelke. "Gladstone Harbour: a case study of building social licence-to-operate in a multi-use area." APPEA Journal 59, no. 2 (2019): 624. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/aj18052.
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Maintaining a social licence-to-operate is a key challenge for industry and regulators. The city of Gladstone in Queensland, Australia, surrounds a highly industrialised harbour supporting major industrial activities, including alumina refineries and an aluminium smelter, other heavy industry, port facilities and, most recently, three natural gas liquefaction facilities built on nearby Curtis Island. This most recent phase of industrial and port growth coincided with the repeated capture of unhealthy fish and crabs in the harbour in 2011, generating community concern about potential cumulative environmental impacts of development. These were difficult to address at the time because of limited monitoring data and scientific knowledge, as well as some fractured relationships between stakeholders. In response to this debate the Gladstone Healthy Harbour Partnership was formed in 2013 by stakeholders from industry, community groups and all levels of government. Experts from environmental, social and economic disciplines assisted to evaluate and report on the health of the harbour. Membership required ongoing and deep participation in activities which ranged from targeted research to community engagement. Central to partnership activities was a clearly communicated annual Report Card, derived from complex environmental, socioeconomic and cultural data. A Data and Information Management System was developed that integrates data from multiple organisations after automated quality checks, tracks data treatments and calculates the Report Card scores. The Report Card is intended to be meaningful to a wide variety of stakeholders yet allow access to underlying detail. This increased transparency and robustness has contributed to building community trust. Conversations now focus on likely management scenarios, rather than all imagined possibilities, and this in turn paves the way for reducing business risk for industry.
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Bidois, Marisa. "The cost of convenience." Hospitality Insights 3, no. 1 (June 21, 2019): 1–2. http://dx.doi.org/10.24135/hi.v3i1.10.
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Hospitality businesses in New Zealand are seeing fewer and fewer payments made by cash, as customers opt for the convenience of paying their bill electronically. If customers love the convenience of paying by credit card, who should be responsible for the cost of this convenience – the business or the customer?
In a Restaurant Association survey conducted at the end of last year, members overwhelmingly (71%) indicated that the use of cash by customers is declining, with a Mastercard New Zealand survey last year backing this up. This widespread adoption of electronic payment by consumers sees merchants bearing the significant cost of the transaction through their merchant fees. New Zealand merchants pay substantially more to process credit and contactless debit card transactions than their counterparts in Australia and the UK (on average, New Zealand merchants pay merchant service fees of around 1.4%, while in Australia it is around 0.85%, according to estimates by COVEC and data from the Reserve Bank of Australia). Restaurant Association members typically pay even higher – between 1.8% and 2% in fees for each credit card transaction; members say they are charged the same rate for any card type. Forty-two percent have a ‘fixed bundled rate’, although another 26% say they are charged a split rate for credit card and debit cards. Only 5% have an ‘unbundled’ merchant fee, where different types of cards are charged different fees and merchants pay this cost plus an acquiring service fee from the bank.
There are undoubtedly advantages for businesses in accepting electronic payments, primarily in the speed of the transaction – particularly with several customers waiting to pay – and the speed in which the payment is deposited into your bank account. However, it comes at a large cost, which is challenging for an industry that runs on very small margins already. One member pointed out in the Association’s recent survey:
As the average return in New Zealand is 6% net profit, the banks are effectively charging 1/3 of the profit of the average business, which is diabolical. With technology advancements their costs have gone down but charges have gone up, clearly shown in their bottom line profits. It is a collective monopoly like a lot of big business in New Zealand. (Restaurant Association member)
Of our members, 66% say they would switch if they could receive a saving equating to an overall 2.5–5% reduction in the cost of accepting credit cards. Currently though, short of refusing to accept credit card payments, it is difficult to avoid merchant fees. Emerging payment options and growing trends via NFC (Near Field Communication) capable mobile phones (such as ApplePay, GooglePay and Digital Wallets) are now more widely available. Whilst offering convenience and arguably faster transaction speed, these payment methods offer no relief to the fee incurred by a business for acceptance.
Alternative payment solutions now exist in New Zealand, but there are few choices. To date, most are aimed at the Chinese market, with payment methods restricted to tourist and student visitors, and immigrants retaining banking capability in their country of origin. The Restaurant Association’s survey indicated that only 24% of members currently accept other payment channels like China Union Pay, Alipay or WeChat. In reality these alternative payment solutions currently only form a small portion of the total volume of transactions a business processes, so will not affect any meaningful reduction in the total costs of cards/payment processing.
Surcharging, however, is a way for operators to offset the merchant fee imposed upon them by the banks. Surcharging simply means a charge to cover a merchant’s cost for processing a credit card. They are now being used by increasing numbers of tourism and hospitality businesses. Feedback from member businesses is that there is little reaction or negative feedback from customers. A Restaurant Association member commented on the survey:
We added a surcharge to cover the transaction fee on credit cards and have had no complaints. It’s just a matter of cents and gives us an opportunity to explain that we have always worn the cost of the surcharges but this is increasingly difficult.
Feedback from some members is that they find the practice unfriendly and others would prefer to incorporate this fee into their menu pricing structure, as this member pointed out: “I don’t care about the cost. It is added into the budgets and is picked up at menu price changes time, so it is paid for by the customer anyway.” Individual businesses need to decide if a surcharge would create tension in the business/customer relationship however, it is reassuring to know that, if a business does decide to add a surcharge, it is becoming a far more mainstream option than it used to be.
From a legal standpoint, merchants are required under the Fair Trading Act to ensure representations around their card payment fees are accurate and not misleading. This means if you are being charged a 1.8% merchant fee by your bank, it is not reasonable to apply a 3% credit card convenience fee to your customer. We’ve noticed some merchants prefer to pass on only a portion of the cost with a surcharge – say 1% – as a cost recovery practice. For a $100 bill, that is just a $1 addition to the bill for the consumer.
The payments landscape is changing rapidly, and in the future new technology will dramatically change the way we pay and receive payments. In the meantime, the Restaurant Association are developing further information for members around surcharging, with implementation and training for staff. We’ll also continue advocating on behalf of members to ensure the payment system delivers good outcomes for both consumers and our member merchants.
Corresponding author
Marisa Bidois can be contacted at: marisa@restaurantnz.co.nz
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Searles, Andrew, Evan Doran, Thomas A. Faunce, and David Henry. "The affordability of prescription medicines in Australia: are copayments and safety net thresholds too high?" Australian Health Review 37, no. 1 (2013): 32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ah11153.
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Objective. To create and report survey-based indicators of the affordability of prescription medicines for patients in Australia. Method. A cross-sectional study of 1502 randomly selected participants in the Hunter Region of NSW, were interviewed by telephone. Main outcome measure. The self-reported financial burden of obtaining prescription medicines. Results. Data collection was completed with a response rate of 59.0%. Participants who had received and filled at least one prescription medicine in the previous 3 months, and eligible for analysis (n=952), were asked to self-report the level of financial burden from obtaining these medicines. Extreme and heavy financial burdens were reported by 2.1% and 6.8% of participants, respectively. A moderate level of burden was experienced by a further 19.5%. Low burden was recorded for participants who said that their prescription medicines presented either a slight burden (29.0%) or were no burden at all (42.6%). Conclusion. A substantial minority of participants who had obtained prescription medicines in the 3 months prior to survey experienced a level of financial burden from the cost of these medicines that was reported as being moderate to extreme. What is known about the topic? The Australian National Medicines Policy aims to, amongst other things, facilitate access to medicines at a cost that is affordable to individuals and the community. Copayments combined with the safety net and brand price premium are the main determinants of the amount that patients pay for PBS listed prescription medicines. Previous surveys have reported on selected aspects of medicine affordability in Australia and have shown some groups in the population experience difficulty with the cost of their medicines. What does this paper add? This paper develops and reports on a set of indicators that can be used to periodically measure the level of self-reported financial burden experienced by Australians when obtaining prescription medicines. The analysis assesses affordability issues for both general patients and patients who are able to access prescription medicines using a concession card. What are the implications? Our research suggests that, as they stand, the copayment and safety net thresholds are not protecting nearly one-third of Australian patients from financial burden. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation is required to ensure the copayment and safety net thresholds do not jeopardise the National Medicines Policy’s principle of equitable and affordable access to medicines.
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Biro, Mary Anne, Jane S. Yelland, Stephanie J. Brown, and Georgina A. Sutherland. "Women’s experience of domiciliary postnatal care in Victoria and South Australia: a population-based survey." Australian Health Review 36, no. 4 (2012): 448. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ah11128.
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Objective. Despite the expansion of postnatal domiciliary services, we know little about the women receiving visits and how they regard their care. The aim of this study is to examine the provision of postnatal domiciliary care from a consumer perspective. Methods. All women who gave birth in September–October 2007 in South Australia and Victoria were mailed questionnaires 6 months after the birth. Women were asked if they had received a midwifery home visit, and to rate the care they received. Results. More women in South Australia reported receiving a domiciliary visit than in Victoria (88.0% v. 76.0%) and they were more likely to rate their care as ‘very good’ (69.1% v. 63.4%). Younger women, women on a lower income, who were holding a healthcare concession card or who had not completed secondary education were less likely to receive a visit. Conclusion. Although the majority of women in public maternity care in Victoria and South Australia receive domiciliary care and rate it positively, there are significant state-based differences. Those more likely to benefit from domiciliary care are less likely to receive a visit. There is a need to further explore the purpose, aims and content of domiciliary care at individual and state-wide levels. What is known about the topic? Postnatal domiciliary services have expanded dramatically over the past decade as the postpartum hospital stay has shortened. Despite its widespread introduction, there are no mechanisms in place to monitor or evaluate whether these services are meeting women’s expectations. We know little about the women who receive domiciliary postnatal visits in the first week after discharge from hospital, and how they regard their experience of care. What does the paper add? This is the first Australian population-based survey that describes the experience of domiciliary care according to the state in which women reside and to examine the sociodemographic, obstetric and organisational factors associated with the provision of services. What are the implications for practitioners? There were state-based differences in the provision of domiciliary care and whilst the majority of women received domiciliary care and rated it positively, an inverse care law seems to apply: women who were more likely to need and derive benefit from domiciliary care were less likely to receive it. There is a need to further explore the purpose, aims and content of domiciliary care at individual and state-wide levels.
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Baker, Jannah, Helena Britt, and Christopher Harrison. "GP services in Australia: presentation profiles during usual practice hours and after-hours periods." Australian Journal of Primary Health 26, no. 2 (2020): 117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/py19169.
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After-hours general practitioner (GP) services can reduce emergency department demand, which is currently increasing in Australia. Understanding GP after-hours care may assist in service planning. From April 2014 to March 2015, 986 GPs recorded 38275 consultations with start and finish times in the Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) study, a national, cross-sectional, representative study of GP activity. GP and patient characteristics and the content of encounters in usual-hours and after-hours were compared. Significantly more after-hours than usual-hours encounters were with: GPs aged 60+ years; in metropolitan practices; and practices with 10+ GPs. Patients seen after-hours were more often: male; aged 15–64 years; new to practice; and less likely to hold a Commonwealth Concession Card. They were more likely to be prescribed antibiotics and less likely to: have chronic problems managed; be referred; receive psycholeptic or psychoanaleptic prescription; and undergo a procedure. Throat symptoms, fever and injury were more common reasons for encounter, while infections and injury were more frequently managed problems after-hours. The patient mix, GP characteristics, problems managed and management actions in after-hours care differ from those in usual-hours care in Australia. This greater understanding of after-hours care is the first step to informed resource allocation to improve the delivery of after-hours primary care.
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Mol, Charlotte. "Children’s Representation in Family Law Proceedings." International Journal of Children’s Rights 27, no. 1 (February 16, 2019): 66–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15718182-02701001.
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In the debate on child participation in family law proceedings, a pertinent question is whether or not to provide children with representation and if so, how to provide it. Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (uncrc) provides minimum standards for the child’s right to express views and to do so, in judicial proceedings, through a representative. This article takes these minimum standards as a yardstick to evaluate the legal frameworks of child representation in the family law proceedings of four jurisdictions: Australia (New South Wales), France, the Netherlands and South Africa. On the basis of a systematic legal comparison and evaluation, this article presents a “compliance report card” and concludes with new insights and questions regarding children’s representation and Article 12, uncrc.
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Currow, David C., Miriam J. Johnson, Allan Pollack, Diana H. Ferreira, Slavica Kochovska, Magnus Ekström, and Christopher Harrison. "Breathlessness and opioid prescribing in COPD in general practice: a cross-sectional, observational study." ERJ Open Research 6, no. 2 (April 2020): 00299–2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00299-2019.
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Chronic breathlessness is a disabling syndrome, prevalent in people with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Regular, low-dose, oral sustained-release morphine is approved in Australia to reduce symptomatic chronic breathlessness. We aimed to determine the current prescribing patterns of opioids for chronic breathlessness in COPD in Australian general practice and to define any associated patient and practitioner characteristics.Five years (2011 to 2016) of the Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health database, an Australian national, continual, cross-sectional study of clinical care in general practice were used. The database included 100 consecutive clinical encounters from almost 1000 general practitioners annually (n=488 100 encounters). Descriptive analyses with subsequent regression models were generated.Breathlessness as a patient-defined reason for encounter was identified in 621 of 4522 encounters where COPD was managed. Opioids were prescribed in 309 of 4522 encounters where COPD was managed (6.8%; (95% CI) 6.1–7.6), of which only 17 were prescribed for breathlessness, and the rest for other conditions almost entirely related to pain. Patient age (45–64 years versus age 80+ years, OR 1.68; 1.19–2.36), Commonwealth Concession Card holders (OR 1.70; 1.23–2.34) and socioeconomic disadvantage (OR 1.30; 1.01–1.68) were associated with increased likelihood of opioid prescription at COPD encounters. The rate of opioid prescriptions rose over the 5 years of study.In primary care encounters for COPD, opioids were prescribed in 6.8% of cases, but almost never for breathlessness. These data create a baseline against which to compare changes in prescribing as the treatment of chronic breathlessness evolves.
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Ma, Zhen-Liang, Luis Ferreira, Mahmoud Mesbah, and Ahmad Tavassoli Hojati. "Modeling Bus Travel Time Reliability with Supply and Demand Data from Automatic Vehicle Location and Smart Card Systems." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2533, no. 1 (January 2015): 17–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/2533-03.
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Travel time reliability is an important aspect of bus service quality. Despite a significant body of research on private vehicle reliability, little attention has been paid to bus travel time reliability at the stop-to-stop link level on different types of roads. This study aims to identify and quantify the underlying determinants of bus travel time reliability on links of different road types with the use of supply and demand data from automatic vehicle location and smart card systems collected in Brisbane, Australia. Three general bus-related models were developed with respect to the main concerns of travelers and planners: average travel time, buffer time, and coefficient of variation of travel time. Five groups of alternative models were developed to account for variations caused by different road types, including arterial road, motorway, busway, and central business district. Seemingly unrelated regression equations estimation were applied to account for cross-equation correlations across regression models in each group. Three main categories of unreliability contributory factors were identified and tested in this study, namely, planning, operational, and environmental. Model results provided insights into these factors that affect bus travel time and its variability. The most important predictors were found to be the recurrent congestion index, traffic signals, and passenger demand at stops. Results could be used to target specific strategies aimed at reducing unreliability on different types of roads.
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Faroqi, Hamed, Mahmoud Mesbah, and Jiwon Kim. "Comparing Sequential with Combined Spatiotemporal Clustering of Passenger Trips in the Public Transit Network Using Smart Card Data." Mathematical Problems in Engineering 2019 (April 14, 2019): 1–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/5070794.
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Smart card datasets in the public transit network provide opportunities to analyse the behaviour of passengers as individuals or as groups. Studying passenger behaviour in both spatial and temporal space is important because it helps to find the pattern of mobility in the network. Also, clustering passengers based on their trips regarding both spatial and temporal similarity measures can improve group-based transit services such as Demand-Responsive Transit (DRT). Clustering passengers based on their trips can be carried out by different methods, which are investigated in this paper. This paper sheds light on differences between sequential and combined spatial and temporal clustering alternatives in the public transit network. Firstly, the spatial and temporal similarity measures between passengers are defined. Secondly, the passengers are clustered using a hierarchical agglomerative algorithm by three different methods including sequential two-step spatial-temporal (S-T), sequential two-step temporal-spatial (T-S), and combined one-step spatiotemporal (ST) clustering. Thirdly, the characteristics of the resultant clusters are described and compared using maps, numerical and statistical values, cross correlation techniques, and temporal density plots. Furthermore, some passengers are selected to show how differently the three methods put the passengers in groups. Four days of smart card data comprising 80,000 passengers in Brisbane, Australia, are selected to compare these methods. The analyses show that while the sequential methods (S-T and T-S) discover more diverse spatial and temporal patterns in the network, the ST method entails more robust groups (higher spatial and temporal similarity values inside the groups).