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Moshi, Magdalena, Rebecca Tooher, and Tracy Merlin. "OP144 mHealth App Evaluation Framework For Reimbursement Decision-making." International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care 35, S1 (2019): 33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266462319001703.
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IntroductionMobile health (mHealth) applications (app) are being integrated into healthcare by patients and practitioners in Australia. However, there are currently no policies or frameworks available that can be used to conduct a health technology assessment (HTA) on mHealth apps for reimbursement purposes. The aim of the study was to determine what policy changes and assessment criteria are needed to facilitate the development of a system that evaluates mobile medical apps for regulatory and reimbursement purposes in Australia.MethodsTo obtain the information to determine what policy changes are needed and create an evidence-based framework that can evaluate mHealth apps for reimbursement decision-making, four studies were conducted. This research included (i) a policy analysis on international mHealth app regulation; (ii) a case study on American and Australian app regulation; (iii) a methodological systematic review on the suitability of current mHealth evaluation frameworks for reimbursement purposes; and (iv) the identification of HTA pathways and impediments to app reimbursement through stakeholder interviews. An evaluation framework for apps was created by combining and synthesizing the results.ResultsSoftware changes, connectivity, and cybersecurity need to be considered when evaluating mHealth apps for reimbursement purposes. Additionally, the potential dangers of apps providing misinformation, and poor software reliability in current regulation must be considered. Stakeholders indicated that they trust how traditional medical devices are currently appraised for reimbursement in Australia. They expressed caution around the lack of clarity regarding who is responsible for app quality as well as concerns about the digital literacy of medical practitioners and their patients.ConclusionsSince stakeholder trust in the current HTA process for medical devices in Australia is high, the process was adapted to create an evaluation framework for mHealth apps. The adaptations included making provisions for cybersecurity, software updates, and compatibility issues. Provisions to address concerns around practitioner responsibility and misinformation were incorporated into the framework.
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Hartz-Karp, Janette, and Dora Marinova. "Using Deliberative Democracy for Better Urban Decision-Making through Integrative Thinking." Urban Science 5, no. 1 (December 27, 2020): 3. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/urbansci5010003.
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This article expands the evidence about integrative thinking by analyzing two case studies that applied the collaborative decision-making method of deliberative democracy which encourages representative, deliberative and influential public participation. The four-year case studies took place in Western Australia, (1) in the capital city Perth and surrounds, and (2) in the city-region of Greater Geraldton. Both aimed at resolving complex and wicked urban sustainability challenges as they arose. The analysis suggests that a new way of thinking, namely integrative thinking, emerged during the deliberations to produce operative outcomes for decision-makers. Building on theory and research demonstrating that deliberative designs lead to improved reasoning about complex issues, the two case studies show that through discourse based on deliberative norms, participants developed different mindsets, remaining open-minded, intuitive and representative of ordinary people’s basic common sense. This spontaneous appearance of integrative thinking enabled sound decision-making about complex and wicked sustainability-related urban issues. In both case studies, the participants exhibited all characteristics of integrative thinking to produce outcomes for decision-makers: salience—grasping the problems’ multiple aspects; causality—identifying multiple sources of impacts; sequencing—keeping the whole in view while focusing on specific aspects; and resolution—discovering novel ways that avoided bad choice trade-offs.
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Kimmel, Lara A., Anne E. Holland, Natasha Lannin, Elton R. Edwards, Richard S. Page, Andrew Bucknill, Raphael Hau, and Belinda J. Gabbe. "Clinicians’ perceptions of decision making regarding discharge from public hospitals to in-patient rehabilitation following trauma." Australian Health Review 41, no. 2 (2017): 192. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ah16031.
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Objective The aim of the present study was to investigate the perceptions of consultant surgeons, allied health clinicians and rehabilitation consultants regarding discharge destination decision making from the acute hospital following trauma. Methods A qualitative study was performed using individual in-depth interviews of clinicians in Victoria (Australia) between April 2013 and September 2014. Thematic analysis was used to derive important themes. Case studies provided quantitative information to enhance the information gained via interviews. Results Thirteen rehabilitation consultants, eight consultant surgeons and 13 allied health clinicians were interviewed. Key themes that emerged included the importance of financial considerations as drivers of decision making and the perceived lack of involvement of medical staff in decisions regarding discharge destination following trauma. Other themes included the lack of consistency of factors thought to be important drivers of discharge and the difficulty in acting on trauma patients’ requests in terms of discharge destination. Importantly, as the complexity of the patient increases in terms of acquired brain injury, the options for rehabilitation become scarcer. Conclusions The information gained in the present study highlights the large variation in discharge practises between and within clinical groups. Further consultation with stakeholders involved in the care of trauma patients, as well as government bodies involved in hospital funding, is needed to derive a more consistent approach to discharge destination decision making. What is known about the topic? Little is known about the drivers for referral to, or acceptance at, in-patient rehabilitation following acute hospital care for traumatic injury in Victoria, Australia, including who makes these decisions of behalf of patients and how these decisions are made. What does this paper add? This paper provides information regarding the perceptions of acute hospital consultant surgeons and allied health, as well as rehabilitation clinicians, in terms of discharge destination decision making from the acute hospital following trauma. The use of case studies further highlights differences between, and within, these specialities with regard to this decision making. This research also highlights the importance of financial considerations as drivers of decision making, and the lack of consistency of the factors thought to be important drivers of discharge between these different clinical groupings. What are the implications for practitioners? This research shows that financial factors are significant drivers of discharge destination decision making for trauma patients. The present study highlights opportunities to engage with stakeholders (acute care, rehabilitation, administration, government and patients) to develop more consistent discharge processes that optimise the use of rehabilitation resources for those patients who could benefit from in-patient rehabilitation.
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Chipman, Nick, and Rob Gray. "Oil and gas investment decision making—what's at risk?" APPEA Journal 52, no. 2 (2012): 679. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/aj11093.
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When considering oil and gas developments in Australia, it is worthwhile to consider what's at risk. This extended abstract considers oil and gas investment decision-making from a first-principles basis, introducing case studies and learnings from past projects. Additionally, investment decisions can examined from the following perspectives: Setting the mould—decisions crystalise risk; therefore, decision quality is paramount. How do investment decisions serve as expression of corporate risk appetite? What is observable at the time versus what may lay silent? Too big to fail—can the organisation withstand the risk profile of its chosen investment slate? Is the owner or joint-venture structure sufficiently resilient to undertake the set of activities in question (e.g. deep-water drilling or LNG project developments)? Management charge—leadership and management motivations may drive projects into risky territory; are the appropriate feedback mechanisms in place? Dealing with complexity—project execution plans, layers and sub-contracting require formal and informal communication and governance to ensure successful delivery. Has complexity been dealt with? Or does structure mask hidden risk? Addressing human factors—human interaction and project organisational structures may drive perverse outcomes. What allowance and process reviews and assures against human motivation and influence? This extended abstract frames investment decision-making and project execution using practical examples, and shows how investment-decision quality is a primary driver of shareholder wealth creation. This has implications for the stage-gate capital processes, governance structures, and investment review practices presently in place in the industry.
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Mikelionyte, M., and A. Lezgovko. "HOW FEMALE DIFFER IN DECISION MAKING FOR PERSONAL INVESTMENT STRATEGY." Financial and credit activity problems of theory and practice 5, no. 40 (November 8, 2021): 92–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.18371/fcaptp.v5i40.244902.
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Abstract. This study investigates Lithuanian females’ personal investment peculiarities in line with Australia’s case analysis and application as a good practice method. Based on many publicly available research females tend to have less knowledge about finances in general and particularly investment processes; hence, it leads to their lack of interest into investing and the possibility of poor money management. This issue might be solved by investigating why it appears first and adopting the practical example from countries with developed investment market. In the case of comparison of personal investment strategies among Lithuanian and Australian females the two sets of questionnaires have been used to collect the data for further analysis. The main findings revealed by the survey were, that women in Australia had a higher financial literacy level, invested more often, and chose broader variety of investment instruments compared to Lithuanian females. Moreover, the significant discovery of the article disclosed that Lithuanian females chose not to invest due to the lack of additional funds and the shortage of financial knowledge. The main limitation occurred during the research was the lack of the available data on personal investment topic in Lithuania’s official statistic sources such as The Lithuanian Department of Statistics. The results of the research contribute towards improving Lithuanian female personal finance and investment areas and could be applied to further studies or used for the education program dedicated to financial literacy among women in Lithuania creation. Furthermore, this article creates an original value to personal finance, investment, and financial literacy areas in Lithuania by introducing an idea to not only conduct more studies in these fields, but also to use comparative analysis and good practice method from the countries that demonstrates high achievements in personal finance and gender equality areas. Keywords: personal investment management, female investment, financial literacy, investor’s profile, investing, investment options, investment strategies. JEL Classification G51, G53 Formulas: 1; fig.: 5; tabl.: 1; bibl.: 15.
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Travers, Max. "Business as Usual? Bail Decision Making and “Micro Politics” in an Australian Magistrates Court." Law & Social Inquiry 42, no. 02 (2017): 325–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/lsi.12264.
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Between the 1970s and 1990s, political scientists in the United States pursued a distinctive research program that employed ethnographic methods to study micro politics in criminal courts. This article considers the relevance of this concept for court researchers today through a case study about bail decision making in a lower criminal court in Australia. It describes business as usual in how decisions are made and the provision of pretrial services. It also looks at how traditionalists and reformers understood business as usual, and uses this as a critical concept to make visible micro politics in this court. The case study raises issues about organizational change in criminal courts since the 1990s, since there are fewer studies about plea bargaining and more about specialist or problem-solving courts. It is suggested that we need a new international agenda that can address change and continuity in criminal courts.
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Foster, Michele. "Professional Claims, Uncertainty and the Politics of Care: Impact on Referral and Equitable Care in Traumatic Brain Injury." Brain Impairment 5, no. 1 (May 1, 2004): 3–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1375/brim.5.1.3.35405.
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AbstractRising healthcare expenditure and more explicit rationing of healthcare resources is a central feature of healthcare systems globally. In Australia, reform efforts have targeted the high cost areas such as the public hospital system. This has increased the demands on professionals to reduce length of stay and complicated post-hospital referral of people with complex and severe injury. In the area of traumatic brain injury (TBI), pressures on existing rehabilitation resources and a changing healthcare environment, with greater emphasis on efficiency and evidence-based practice, confront professionals' efforts to provide equitable care. In this paper, some of the key issues important in understanding patterns of referral in TBI are presented. It is argued that referral decisions exemplify a negotiation of professional claims and value judgements that not only conceal the uncertainty in decision-making, but also more notably, reflect the lack of attention to equity in the broader politics of care. Case studies are used to illustrate these issues and to discuss the implications for equitable care in the contemporary healthcare environment in Australia. The paper concludes by outlining the challenges and opportunities in applying evidence-based decision-making in TBI and some future directions for attaining more equitable patterns of referral.
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TILSE, CHERYL, JILL WILSON, LINDA ROSENMAN, DAVID MORRISON, and ANNE-LOUISE MCCAWLEY. "Managing older people's money: assisted and substitute decision making in residential aged-care." Ageing and Society 31, no. 1 (September 17, 2010): 93–109. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x10000747.
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ABSTRACTCurrent approaches to the assessment of cognitive capacity in many jurisdictions seek to balance older people's empowerment with their protection. These approaches incorporate a presumption of capacity, a decision-specific rather than global assessment of that capacity, and an obligation to provide the support needed for adults to make or communicate their own decisions. The implication is that older people are assisted to make decisions where possible, rather than using substitute decision makers. For older people, decision making about financial matters is a contentious domain because of competing interests in their assets and concerns about risk, misuse and abuse. In residential-care settings, older people risk being characterised as dependent and vulnerable, especially in relation to decisions about financial assets. This paper reports an Australian study of the factors that facilitate and constrain residents' involvement in financial decision making in residential settings. Case studies of four aged-care facilities explored how staff interpreted the legislative and policy requirements for assisted and substitute decision making, and the factors that facilitated and constrained residents' inclusion in decisions about their finances. The observed practices reveal considerable variation in the ways that current legislation is understood and implemented, that there are limited resources for this area of practice, and that policies and practices prioritise managing risk and protecting assets rather than promoting assisted decision making.
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Murray, Zoë. "Community representation in hospital decision making: a literature review." Australian Health Review 39, no. 3 (2015): 323. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ah14016.
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Objective Advancing quality in health services requires structures and processes that are informed by consumer input. Although this agenda is well recognised, few researchers have focussed on the establishment and maintenance of customer input throughout the structures and processes used to produce high-quality, safe care. We present an analysis of literature outlining the barriers and enablers involved in community representation in hospital governance. The review aimed to explore how community representation in hospital governance is achieved. Methods Studies spanning 1997–2012 were analysed using Donabedian’s model of quality systems as a guide for categories of interest: structure, in relation to administration of quality; process, which is particularly concerned with cooperation and culture; and outcome, considered, in this case, to be the achievement of effective community representation on quality of care. Results There are limited published studies on community representation in hospital governance in Australia. What can be gleaned from the literature is: 1) quality subcommittees set up to assist Hospital Boards are a key structure for involving community representation in decision making around quality of care, and 2) there are a number of challenges to effectively developing the process of community representation in hospital governance: ambiguity and the potential for escalated indecision; inadequate value and consideration given to it by decision makers resulting in a lack of time and resources needed to support the community engagement strategy (time, facilitation, budgets); poor support and attitude amongst staff; and consumer issues, such as feeling isolated and intimidated by expert opinion. Conclusions The analysis indicates that: quality subcommittees set up to assist boards are a key structure for involving community representation in decision making around quality of care. There are clearly a number of challenges to effectively developing the process of community representation in hospital governance, associated with ambiguity, organisational and consumer issues. For an inclusive agenda to real life, work must be done on understanding the representatives’ role and the decision making process, adequately supporting the representational process, and developing organisational cooperation and culture regarding community representation. What is known about the topic? Partnering community is recognised as a fundamental element of hospital quality improvement strategies and the implementation of the Australian agenda for advancing the quality of health service standards. It is also known that developing collaborative environments and partnerships can be a challenging process, and that it is good practice to consider the factors that will influence their success and develop an approach built on the identification of potential challenges and the incorporation of facilitators. What does this paper add? This paper draws out key obstacles that can challenge the process of involving community representation into hospital governance structures. What are the implications for practitioners? There is little published on the challenges to community engagement in the hospital governance setting. By doing this, this paper encourages the recognition that although partnering with the community is an essential aspect of achieving quality of care, it requires significant effort and support to be an effective aspect. The paper highlights challenges and facilitators that practitioners should consider if planning for successful community representation on hospital committees.
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Moshi, Magdalena Ruth, Jacqueline Parsons, Rebecca Tooher, and Tracy Merlin. "Evaluation of Mobile Health Applications: Is Regulatory Policy Up to the Challenge?" International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care 35, no. 4 (2019): 351–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266462319000461.
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AbstractObjectivesThe aim of this study is to determine whether the approach used in Australia to regulate mobile medical applications (MMA) is consistent with international standards and is suitable to address the unique challenges of these technologies.MethodsThe policies of members of the International Medical Device Regulator's Forum (IMDRF) were analyzed, to determine whether these regulatory bodies address IMDRF recommendations for the clinical evaluation of software as a medical device (SaMD). Case-studies of varying types of regulated MMAs in Australia and the United States were also reviewed to determine how well the guidance in the IMDRF's SaMD: Clinical Evaluation (2017) document was operationalized.ResultsAll included jurisdictions evaluated the effectiveness of MMAs and addressed the majority of the key sub-categories recommended in the IMDRF guidance document. However, safety principles concerning information security (cybersecurity) and potential dangers of misinformation (risk-classification) were generally not addressed in either the case-studies or in the policy documents of international regulatory bodies. Australia's approach was consistent with MMA regulation conducted internationally. None of the approaches used by global regulatory bodies adequately addressed the risk of misinformation from apps and the potential for adverse clinical consequences.ConclusionsThe risks posed by MMAs are mainly through the information they provide and how this is used in clinical decision-making. Policy in Australia and elsewhere should be adjusted to follow the IMDRF risk-classification criteria to address potential harms from misinformation. Australian regulatory information should also be updated so the harm posed by cybersecurity and connectivity can be comprehensively evaluated.
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Woolaston, Katie. "A voice for wild animals: Collaborative governance and human–wildlife conflict." Alternative Law Journal 43, no. 4 (November 6, 2018): 257–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1037969x18792960.
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Animal lawyers in Australia and around the world often struggle to find room in law to participate in decision-making and give animals a voice. Collaborative governance is a regulatory mechanism that has the potential to overcome this struggle. This ‘new governance’ is of growing importance in environmental and natural resource management, premised on decentralised decision-making and removal of permanent hierarchies. This article will utilise two case studies to outline the benefits of legally integrated collaborative processes for wild animal welfare, including the allocation of a permanent voice in regulation for animal advocates and the ability to promote internalisation of animal-friendly norms.
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Upadhyaya, Jyoti Kumari, and Graham Moore. "Sustainability indicators for wastewater reuse systems and their application to two small systems in rural Victoria, Australia." Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering 39, no. 6 (June 2012): 674–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/l2012-057.
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Currently there is no tool to assess the sustainability performance of reuse systems in Australia. This research fulfills that gap by developing a set of sustainability indicators (SIs). A unique methodology was developed based on understanding of the reuse systems, reviewing and examining the issues related to reuse, and Australian policy and guidelines in terms of sustainability. It was established that a sustainable reuse system should be based beyond the triple bottom line approach, and involve consumers in decision making, address institutional issues, and focus on the outcomes rather than the output, with a system approach. Twenty seven SIs were identified under five categories: environmental, technical, social, economical, and institutional. The case studies demonstrated the application of the SIs in sustainability assessment of two reuse systems: (1) tree plantation and (2) lake discharge for augmenting environmental flow. The evaluation was done based on multi criteria decision assessment.
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Leggat, Sandra G. "Australian Health Review call for papers." Australian Health Review 31, no. 3 (2007): 331. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ah070331.
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Models of care: do they make the difference? Australian Health Review invites contributions for the models of care section of the journal. This is a regular section and we welcome ongoing article submissions. Health care is delivered in countless ways for those who have debilitating illnesses or conditions. Stakeholders boast that it is the particular ?model of care? that makes the positive difference to patients and clients ? but, it has been difficult to ascertain the true impact of models of care on patient/client or system outcomes. To assist in clarifying this important area for health service management and policy decision making, we are looking for articles on case studies or research projects that suggest either positive or negative outcomes for specific models of care. Australian Health Review is looking to publish feature articles, research papers, case studies and commentaries related to your experience with specific models of care. We are particularly interested in papers that measure the model's effectiveness at a system, organisation and/or client level. Australian and New Zealand submissions are welcome, as well as international initiatives with lessons for Australia and New Zealand. Submissions can be short commentaries of 1000 to 2000 words, or more comprehensive reviews of 2000 to 4000 words. Please consult the AHR Guidelines for Authors for information on formatting and submission.
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Leggat, Sandra G. "Australian Health Review call for papers." Australian Health Review 32, no. 1 (2008): 3. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ah080003.
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Models of care: do they make the difference? Australian Health Review invites contributions for the Models of Care section of the journal. This is a regular section and we welcome ongoing article submissions. Health care is delivered in countless ways for those who have debilitating illnesses or conditions. Stakeholders boast that it is the particular ?model of care? that makes the positive difference to patients and clients ? but, it has been difficult to ascertain the true impact of models of care on patient/client or system outcomes. To assist in clarifying this important area for health service management and policy decision making, we are looking for articles on case studies or research projects that suggest either positive or negative outcomes for specific models of care. Australian Health Review is looking to publish feature articles, research papers, case studies and commentaries related to your experience with specific models of care. We are particularly interested in papers that measure the model's effectiveness at a system, organisation and/or client level. Australian and New Zealand submissions are welcome, as well as international initiatives with lessons for Australia and New Zealand. Submissions can be short commentaries of 1000 to 2000 words, or more comprehensive reviews of 2000 to 4000 words. Please consult the AHR Guidelines for Authors for information on formatting and submission.
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Goggin, Gerard. "Making the Australian Mobile in the 1990s: Creating Markets, Choosing Technologies." Media International Australia 129, no. 1 (November 2008): 80–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1329878x0812900109.
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In thinking about convergent media and new digital technologies, the place of mobile services and technologies in the broader media policy field has not been addressed satisfactorily. This article reviews the beginnings of cellular mobiles in Australia to see what this piece of history can tell us about today's policy challenges. My case study revolves around the technology choices made by the federal government in the 1980s, especially the decision to essentially mandate the second-generation Global Standard for Mobiles (GSM) digital standard. I examine the structuring of the mobiles market with three initial licence-holders, and look at the implications of this as mobiles developed through the 1990s. The article offers a brief comparison with the New Zealand mobiles market, and also the promising yet ultimately ‘failed’ technology of the public-access cordless telephone. I conclude with some observations about how such critical examination of history can help to open up policy vistas about mobile media.
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Moore, Nadia, Karen M. Detering, Tessa Low, Linda Nolte, Scott Fraser, and Marcus Sellars. "Doctors’ perspectives on adhering to advance care directives when making medical decisions for patients: an Australian interview study." BMJ Open 9, no. 10 (October 2019): e032638. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032638.
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ObjectiveAdvance care planning (ACP) assists people to identify their goals, values and treatment preferences for future care. Ideally, preferences are documented in an advance care directive (ACD) and used by doctors to guide medical decision-making should the patient subsequently lose their decision-making capacity. However, studies demonstrate that ACDs are not always adhered to by doctors in clinical practice. We aim to describe the attitudes and perspectives of doctors regarding ACD adherence and the utility of ACDs in clinical practice.DesignFace-to-face semistructured interviews were conducted using three case-based vignettes to explore doctors’ decision-making and attitudes towards ACDs. Transcripts were analysed using a thematic analysis.SettingDoctors from a variety of medical specialties and with varying experience levels were recruited from a large tertiary hospital in Melbourne, Australia.ParticipantsA total of 21 doctors were interviewed, 48% female (10/21). Most (19/21) reported having experience using ACDs.ResultsFour themes were identified: aligning with patient preferences (avoiding unwanted care, prioritising autonomy and anticipating family opposition), advocating best interests (defining futile care, relying on clinical judgement, rejecting unreasonable decisions and disregarding legal consequences), establishing validity (doubting rigour of the decision-making process, questioning patients’ ability to understand treatment decisions, distrusting outdated preferences and seeking confirmation) and translating written preferences into practice (contextualising patient preferences, applying subjective terminology and prioritising emergency medical treatment).ConclusionsACDs provide doctors with opportunities to align patient preferences with treatment and uphold patient autonomy. However, doctors experience decisional conflict when attempting to adhere to ACDs in practice, especially when they believe that adhering to the ACD is not in the patients’ best interests, or if they doubt the validity of the ACD. Future ACP programmes should consider approaches to improve the validity and applicability of ACDs. In addition, there is a need for ethical and legal education to support doctors’ knowledge and confidence in ACP and enacting ACDs.
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Tsatsaros, Julie, Jennifer Wellman, Iris Bohnet, Jon Brodie, and Peter Valentine. "Indigenous Water Governance in Australia: Comparisons with the United States and Canada." Water 10, no. 11 (November 13, 2018): 1639. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w10111639.
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Aboriginal participation in water resources decision making in Australia is similar when compared with Indigenous peoples’ experiences in other common law countries such as the United States and Canada; however, this process has taken different paths. This paper provides a review of the literature detailing current legislative policies and practices and offers case studies to highlight and contrast Indigenous peoples’ involvement in water resources planning and management in Australia and North America. Progress towards Aboriginal governance in water resources management in Australia has been slow and patchy. The U.S. and Canada have not developed consistent approaches in honoring water resources agreements or resolving Indigenous water rights issues either. Improving co-management opportunities may advance approaches to improve interjurisdictional watershed management and honor Indigenous participation. Lessons learned from this review and from case studies presented provide useful guidance for environmental managers aiming to develop collaborative approaches and co-management opportunities with Indigenous people for effective water resources management.
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Toupin-April, Karine, Jennifer Barton, Liana Fraenkel, Linda Li, Viviane Grandpierre, Francis Guillemin, Tamara Rader, et al. "Development of a Draft Core Set of Domains for Measuring Shared Decision Making in Osteoarthritis: An OMERACT Working Group on Shared Decision Making." Journal of Rheumatology 42, no. 12 (April 15, 2015): 2442–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.141205.
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Objective.Despite the importance of shared decision making for delivering patient-centered care in rheumatology, there is no consensus on how to measure its process and outcomes. The aim of this Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) working group is to determine the core set of domains for measuring shared decision making in intervention studies in adults with osteoarthritis (OA), from the perspectives of patients, health professionals, and researchers.Methods.We followed the OMERACT Filter 2.0 method to develop a draft core domain set by (1) forming an OMERACT working group; (2) conducting a review of domains of shared decision making; and (3) obtaining opinions of all those involved using a modified nominal group process held at a session activity at the OMERACT 12 meeting.Results.In all, 26 people from Europe, North America, and Australia, including 5 patient research partners, participated in the session activity. Participants identified the following domains for measuring shared decision making to be included as part of the draft core set: (1) identifying the decision, (2) exchanging information, (3) clarifying views, (4) deliberating, (5) making the decision, (6) putting the decision into practice, and (7) assessing the effect of the decision. Contextual factors were also suggested.Conclusion.We proposed a draft core set of shared decision-making domains for OA intervention research studies. Next steps include a workshop at OMERACT 13 to reach consensus on these proposed domains in the wider OMERACT group, as well as to detail subdomains and assess instruments to develop a core outcome measurement set.
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Khalil, H., A. Downie, and E. Ristevski. "Mapping palliative and end of care research in Australia (2000–2018)." Palliative and Supportive Care 18, no. 6 (January 20, 2020): 713–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1478951519001111.
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AbstractObjectiveThe objective of this study is to map the existent research undertaken in Australia into broad thematic areas and identify the characteristics of the studies and areas of future research in the literature.MethodsA scoping review methodology was employed to map the current areas of research undertaken in Australia since January 2000 until the end of December 2018 according to years of publications, types of studies, populations studied, research themes, and areas of focus.ResultsOur review identified 1,405 Australian palliative care research publications between January 2000 and December 2018. Nearly 40% of the studies were quantitative (39%) and a third were qualitative studies (31%). The remainder of the studies were reviews, mixed methods, quality improvement projects, and others. One-third (30%) of the research was done with carers' participants followed by nurses (22%) and doctors and physicians (18%). The most frequently reported diagnosis in the studies was cancer with 42% of the publication total. The most frequently explored theme was physical symptoms (such as pain, breathlessness, nausea, delirium, and dyspnea) with a total of 16% of all articles followed by communication (15%). There was a large gap to the next most frequently explored theme with service delivery (9%) and coordination of care (8%). Assessment of patients (7%), end-of-life decision-making (6%), and rural/regional (6%) all produced a similar number of publications. Very few studies addressed topics such as quality of life, E-Health, after-hours care, spirituality, and health economics. Moreover, there were only 15 (1%) studies focused on the last days of life.Significance of the resultsThe current review presented a comprehensive search of the literature across almost two decades in Australia in the palliative care setting. It has covered a breadth of research topics and highlighted urgent areas for further research.
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Lane, Haylee, Tamica Sturgess, Kathleen Philip, Donna Markham, Jill Walsh, Wendy Hubbard, Jennifer Martin, and Terry Haines. "How Do Allied Health Professionals Define and Apply Equity When Making Resource Allocation Decisions?" International Journal of Health Services 48, no. 2 (March 26, 2018): 349–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0020731418762721.
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An ethnographic study was conducted in 2 stages to understand how allied health professionals define and apply equity when making resource allocation decisions. Participants were allied health managers and clinicians from Victoria, Australia. Stage 1 included 4 semi-structured forums that incorporated real-life case studies, group discussions, and hypothetical scenarios. The project’s steering committee began a thematic analysis during post-forum discussions. Stage 2 included a key stakeholder working party that further discussed the concept of equity. The forum recordings were transcribed verbatim, and a detailed thematic analysis ensured the initial thematic analysis was complete. Several domains of equity were discussed. Participants would readily identify that equity was a consideration when making resource decisions but were generally silent for a prolonged period when prompted to identify what they meant when using this term. The findings indicate that asking allied health professionals to directly state how they define and apply equity to their decision-making could be too difficult a task, as this did not elicit rich and meaningful discussions. Future research should examine individual domains of equity when applied to resource allocation decisions.
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Kohn, Eli. "The Student Voice in Designing a Jewish Studies High School Curriculum: A Case Study." Journal of Curriculum and Teaching 6, no. 2 (August 21, 2017): 18. http://dx.doi.org/10.5430/jct.v6n2p18.
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In January 2012, a team of curriculum specialists based at Bar Ilan University in Israel were approached by a Jewishday school in Australia to design a new Jewish Studies curriculum for its school. The mandate was to design acurriculum model from first-steps that would form the basis for the new curriculum.This article demonstrates how combining elements of Fullan's ideas about school partnerships with Schwab's'commonplaces' concepts can best meet the needs of the school's specific population and ethos. The role of studentvoice is shown to be critical in curriculum deliberations and decision making. Assumptions made by teachers aboutwhat students would want to learn proved, in a number of instances, inaccurate. Our research seems to indicate that thestudent "commonplace" voice within the design of a new curriculum should be given more consideration in thecurriculum design process.While the research was conducted in a particular school context, the principles learned, specifically re: the place ofstudent-voice, can be applied to school contexts internationally.
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Wortley, Sally, Kathy Flitcroft, and Kirsten Howard. "WHAT IS THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY PREFERENCE INFORMATION IN HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT DECISION MAKING? A CASE STUDY OF COLORECTAL CANCER SCREENING." International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care 31, no. 4 (2015): 241–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266462315000367.
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Objectives:The aim of this study was to determine the role of community preference information from discrete choice studies of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in health technology assessment (HTA) reports and subsequent policy decisions.Methods:We undertook a systematic review of discrete choice studies of CRC screening. Included studies were reviewed to assess the policy context of the research. For those studies that cited a recent or pending review of CRC screening, further searches were undertaken to determine the extent to which community preference information was incorporated into the HTA decision-making process.Results:Eight discrete choice studies that evaluated preferences for CRC screening were identified. Four of these studies referred to a national or local review of CRC screening in three countries: Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands. Our review of subsequently released health policy documents showed that while consideration was given to community views on CRC, policy was not informed by discrete choice evidence.Conclusions:Preferences and values of patients are increasingly being considered “evidence” to be incorporated into HTA reports. Discrete choice methodology is a rigorous quantitative method for eliciting preferences and while as a methodology it is growing in profile, it would appear that the results of such research are not being systematically translated or integrated into HTA reports. A formalized approach is needed to incorporate preference literature into the HTA decision-making process.
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Parkinson, Bonny, and Henry Cutler. "Application of an economic evaluation approach to making regulatory decisions regarding access to medicines: advantages, challenges and recommendations." Australian Health Review 46, no. 2 (December 14, 2021): 143–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ah20208.
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Initially patients require a prescription to access most new medicines. Some medicines may later be reclassified, allowing patients to access them without a prescription. Currently, Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration guidelines regarding reclassification decisions focus on patient risk rather than on potential benefits to patient health and the healthcare system. We conducted two extensive case studies demonstrating an economic evaluation approach to medicine reclassification in Australia, which were presented at various conferences and to key stakeholders. This article discusses the advantages and challenges of using an economic evaluation approach to inform medicine reclassification decisions. Advantages identified include systematically and transparently synthesising evidence from multiple sources; predicting the overall expected impact of reclassification on health outcomes and costs before it occurs; considering a broader range of risks and benefits; aggregation of health impacts into a single measure (quality-adjusted life years); identification of drivers of uncertainty; insight into the effects of different regulatory decisions; and improved consistency of evidence. Challenges include data availability and quality, estimating behavioural changes, model complexity, the lack of an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio threshold, and funding of economic analyses. We recommend that regulatory decision makers use an economic evaluation approach to help inform reclassification decisions, although economic evaluation results should be considered as part of the broader body of evidence. Ultimately, the use of an economic evaluation approach will contribute to helping decision makers maximise population health outcomes in an efficient way. What is known about the topic? In the past, decisions regarding medicine reclassification have generally been made using a deliberative approach focusing on patient risk. However, there are also potential benefits to patient health and effects on the healthcare system. Increasing awareness of these benefits have led to the development of alternative approaches to decision making, including an economic evaluation approach. What does this paper add? This article discusses the advantages and challenges of using an economic evaluation approach to inform medicine reclassification decisions compared with alternative approaches. What are the implications for practitioners? Economic evaluation results should be considered as part of the broader body of evidence regarding the types of health impacts, the extent of the available evidence, who will be affected, and the role of medical practitioners and pharmacists in mitigating any risks. However, awareness of the advantages and challenges of this approach in advance will help mitigate some of the challenges and increase acceptance of the economic evaluation results by decision makers and stakeholders.
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Nolan, Michael. "Economic cost benefit analysis of climate change adaptation for infrastructure." APPEA Journal 51, no. 2 (2011): 687. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/aj10067.
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This paper explores the lessons learnt from the Optimising Adaptation Investment projects for the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency–it includes coastal settlements, water supply and rail infrastructure case studies. These projects are the first of their kind in Australia and are considered internationally as a leading example of economic cost benefit analysis. They have been used effectively to inform decision making on specific adaptation responses to climate change risks to existing and new infrastructure. The lessons learnt will be explored for offshore platforms, ports, rail, road, drainage, tailings dams, mine facilities, water, and power supply, which includes the following elements: What decision makers require to make informed decisions under the uncertainty of climate change impacts. Reducing the uncertainty through economic modelling and cost benefit analysis. Optimising the right timing and scale of various adaptation options. Benefiting from oil and gas infrastructure adaptation opportunities. To further support the elements above, the applied process for integrating climate adaptation into infrastructure planning, design and operation will be illustrated by AECOM project experiences. AECOM has completed more than 60 significant climate change risk and adaptation projects for mines, ports, water supply and treatment, energy generation, transmission and distribution, rail, road, and coastal settlements in Australia, including the report: Climate Change Impacts to Infrastructure in Australia for the Garnaut Climate Change Review.
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Taylor, Nicola, Robyn Fitzgerald, Tamar Morag, Asha Bajpai, and Anne Graham. "International Models of Child Participation in Family Law Proceedings following Parental Separation / Divorce." International Journal of Children’s Rights 20, no. 4 (2012): 645–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15718182-55680006.
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This article reports on the findings of a 2009 survey conducted under the auspices of the Childwatch International Research Network about how children’s participation rights, as set out in Articles 12 and 13 of the UNCRC, are respected in private family law proceedings internationally. Court-based and alternative dispute resolution processes and the roles of relevant professionals engaged in child-inclusive practices are considered, as well as religious, indigenous and customary law methods of engaging with children. The findings from the 13 participating countries confirm an increasing international commitment to enhancing children’s participation in family law decision-making, but depict a wide variety of approaches being used to achieve this. Case studies from Australia, India, Israel and New Zealand are included to illustrate differing models of children’s participation currently in use in decision-making processes following parental separation.
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Williams, Peter John, and Angelique Mary Williams. "Sustainability and planning law in Australia: achievements and challenges." International Journal of Law in the Built Environment 8, no. 3 (October 10, 2016): 226–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijlbe-06-2016-0008.
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Purpose Since 1992, all levels of government in Australia have pursued a policy of ecologically sustainable development (ESD). Crafted in response to the World Commission on Environment and Development 1987 report Our Common Future (the Brundtland Report), the principles contained in the Australian Government’s National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development have been progressively implemented at the national, state and local levels of government. The purpose of this paper is not only to track the implementation of these principles, through both policy and law in Australia, but also to highlight recent challenges to the concept of ESD using the state of New South Wales (NSW) as a case study. Design/methodology/approach Beginning with a description of the Australian concept of ESD, this paper first examines the implementation of ESD through both policy and legislation at the national level. The state of NSW is then selected for more detailed assessment, with examples of key State government legislation and court decisions considered. Equal emphasis is placed on both the achievements in ESD policy development and implementation through legislation, statutory planning procedures and litigation, as well as the challenges that have confronted the pursuit of ESD in NSW. Findings Since its introduction in 1992, the concept of ESD has matured into a key guiding principle for development and environmental decision-making in Australia. However, in recent years, ESD has been the target of significant challenge by some areas of government. Noteworthy among these challenges has been a failed attempt by the NSW Government to introduce new planning legislation which sought to replace ESD with the arguably weaker concept of “sustainable development”. Apparent from this episode is strong community and institutional support for robust sustainability provisions “manifested through ESD” within that State’s statutory planning system. Originality/value This paper provides an overview of the implementation of ESD in Australia within both a broader international context of sustainable development and specific instances of domestic interpretation and application. It extends this analysis by examining recent public policy attempts to reposition sustainability in the context of statutory planning system reform in NSW.
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Abbasgholizadeh Rahimi, Samira, Michelle Cwintal, Yuhui Huang, Pooria Ghadiri, Roland Grad, Dan Poenaru, Genevieve Gore, Hervé Tchala Vignon Zomahoun, France Légaré, and Pierre Pluye. "Application of Artificial Intelligence in Shared Decision Making: Scoping Review." JMIR Medical Informatics 10, no. 8 (August 9, 2022): e36199. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/36199.
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Background Artificial intelligence (AI) has shown promising results in various fields of medicine. It has the potential to facilitate shared decision making (SDM). However, there is no comprehensive mapping of how AI may be used for SDM. Objective We aimed to identify and evaluate published studies that have tested or implemented AI to facilitate SDM. Methods We performed a scoping review informed by the methodological framework proposed by Levac et al, modifications to the original Arksey and O'Malley framework of a scoping review, and the Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review framework. We reported our results based on the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) reporting guideline. At the identification stage, an information specialist performed a comprehensive search of 6 electronic databases from their inception to May 2021. The inclusion criteria were: all populations; all AI interventions that were used to facilitate SDM, and if the AI intervention was not used for the decision-making point in SDM, it was excluded; any outcome related to patients, health care providers, or health care systems; studies in any health care setting, only studies published in the English language, and all study types. Overall, 2 reviewers independently performed the study selection process and extracted data. Any disagreements were resolved by a third reviewer. A descriptive analysis was performed. Results The search process yielded 1445 records. After removing duplicates, 894 documents were screened, and 6 peer-reviewed publications met our inclusion criteria. Overall, 2 of them were conducted in North America, 2 in Europe, 1 in Australia, and 1 in Asia. Most articles were published after 2017. Overall, 3 articles focused on primary care, and 3 articles focused on secondary care. All studies used machine learning methods. Moreover, 3 articles included health care providers in the validation stage of the AI intervention, and 1 article included both health care providers and patients in clinical validation, but none of the articles included health care providers or patients in the design and development of the AI intervention. All used AI to support SDM by providing clinical recommendations or predictions. Conclusions Evidence of the use of AI in SDM is in its infancy. We found AI supporting SDM in similar ways across the included articles. We observed a lack of emphasis on patients’ values and preferences, as well as poor reporting of AI interventions, resulting in a lack of clarity about different aspects. Little effort was made to address the topics of explainability of AI interventions and to include end-users in the design and development of the interventions. Further efforts are required to strengthen and standardize the use of AI in different steps of SDM and to evaluate its impact on various decisions, populations, and settings.
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de Silva, Andrea M., Jacqueline M. Martin-Kerry, Katherine McKee, and Deborah Cole. "Caries and periodontal disease in Indigenous adults in Australia: a case of limited and non-contemporary data." Australian Health Review 41, no. 4 (2017): 469. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ah15229.
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Objective The aim of the present study was to identify all evidence about the prevalence and severity of clinically measured caries and periodontal disease in Indigenous adults in Australia published in peer-reviewed journals and to summarise trends over time. In addition, we examined whether the studies investigated associations between putative risk factors and levels of caries and periodontal disease. Methods PubMed was searched in September 2014, with no date limitations, for published peer-reviewed articles reporting the prevalence rates and/or severity of caries and periodontal disease in Indigenous adults living in Australia. Articles were excluded if measurement was not based on clinical assessment and if oral disease was reported only in a specific or targeted sample, and not the general population. Results The search identified 18 papers (reporting on 10 primary studies) that met the inclusion criteria. The studies published clinical data about dental caries and/or periodontal disease in Australian Indigenous adults. The studies reported on oral health for Indigenous adults living in rural (40%), urban (10%) and both urban and rural (50%) locations. Included studies showed that virtually all Indigenous adults living in rural locations had periodontal disease. The data also showed caries prevalence ranged from 46% to 93%. Although 10 studies were identified, the peer-reviewed literature was extremely limited and no published studies were identified that provided statistics for a significant proportion of Australia (Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland or the Australian Capital Territory). There were also inconsistencies in how the data were reported between studies, making comparisons difficult. Conclusions This review highlights a lack of robust and contemporary data to inform the development of policies and programs to address the disparities in oral health in Indigenous populations living in many parts of Australia. What is known about the topic? Many studies report that Indigenous people in Australia have poorer general health compared with non-Indigenous people. What does this paper add? This paper documents the available caries and periodontal disease prevalence and experience for Indigenous adults in Australia published in peer-reviewed journals. It demonstrates significant limitations in the data, including no data in several large Australian jurisdictions, inconsistency with reporting methods and most data available being for Indigenous adults living in rural locations. Therefore, the oral health data available in the peer-reviewed literature do not reflect the situation of all Indigenous people living in Australia. What are the implications for practitioners? It is important for oral health practitioners to have access to current and relevant statistics on the oral health of Indigenous Australians. However, we have highlighted significant evidence gaps for this population group within the peer-reviewed literature and identified the limitations of the available data upon which decisions are currently being made. This paper also identifies ways to capture and report oral health data in the future to enable more meaningful comparisons and relevance for use in policy development.
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Bourne, Lynda, and Derek H. T. Walker. "Visualizing Stakeholder Influence — Two Australian Examples." Project Management Journal 37, no. 1 (March 2006): 5–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/875697280603700102.
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This paper introduces and illustrates a tool, the Stakeholder Circle™, for measuring and visualizing stakeholder influence on managing projects drawing upon two case study examples. Development of the tool was based upon stakeholder and project management theory and it extends our appreciation of the potential impact that stakeholders may exert that unearths vital risk management and customer relationship implications for the project management profession. Using a case study and action learning approach, this paper draws upon emerging project management and wider strands of management decision-making literature. The paper is exploratory in nature and the case studies used provide a useful vehicle for reflection and sense making.
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Lovell, Heather. "Are policy failures mobile? An investigation of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure Program in the State of Victoria, Australia." Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space 49, no. 2 (September 28, 2016): 314–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0308518x16668170.
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This article is about a case of policy failure and negative lesson drawing, namely the implementation of a mandatory smart metering programme – the Advanced Metering Infrastructure Program – in the State of Victoria, Australia, in the period 2009–2013. The article explores the framing of policy failure, and the ways in which failed polices might be mobile. The Advanced Metering Infrastructure Program provides an important empirical counterbalance to existing scholarship on policy learning, transfer and mobility, which is for the most part about positive best practice case studies, emulation and the travelling of ‘fast’ and (by implication) successful policy. There is evidence that the Victorian Advanced Metering Infrastructure Program circulated domestically within Australia and was influential in policy decision making, but that its international mobility was limited. The case is used to explore what gets left behind – or is immobile – in the telling of policy stories about failure. Science and Technology Studies scholarship on the inherent fragility of sociotechnical networks is drawn upon to consider how the concept of assemblage – a popular conceptual lens within policy mobility scholarship – might be applied to better understand instances of policy failure.
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Shafapourtehrany, Mahyat. "Geospatial Wildfire Risk Assessment from Social, Infrastructural and Environmental Perspectives: A Case Study in Queensland Australia." Fire 6, no. 1 (January 9, 2023): 22. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/fire6010022.
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Although it is hard to predict wildfires, risky areas can be systematically assessed and managed. Some of the factors for decision-making are hazard, vulnerability, and risk maps, which are the end product of wildfire mapping. This study deals with wildfire risk analysis in Queensland, Australia. A review of the previous studies focusing on each aspect has been done and used with wildfire records from 2011 to 2019 in Queensland, Australia, to compile the required input models to detect risky wildfire regions. Machine learning (ML) methods of Decision Tree (DT) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) were used to perform hazard assessment. The reason was to select the most accurate outcomes for the rest of the analysis. Among accuracy assessment techniques, the Area Under Curvature (AUC) method was used to evaluate the hazard maps. Prediction rates of 89.21% and 83.78% were obtained for DT and SVM, respectively. The DT prediction value showed that the DT-hazard map was more accurate than the SVM-hazard map. Vulnerability analysis was implemented by assigning weights to each factor according to the literature. Lastly, in order to create the wildfire risk map, the hazard and vulnerability indices were combined. The risk map showed that particularly dense urbanization regions are under future wildfire risk. To perform preliminary land use planning, this output can be used by local governmental authorities.
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Plant, Roel, Spike Boydell, Jason Prior, Joanne Chong, and Aleta Lederwasch. "From liability to opportunity: An institutional approach towards value-based land remediation." Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space 35, no. 2 (July 26, 2016): 197–220. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0263774x16646772.
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The remediation of contaminated sites impacts on stakeholders in potentially beneficial ways, yet stakeholder dialogue has historically been focussed on costs, risk, liability, stigma, and other negatives. Shedding light on stakeholders’ remediation values can help reform remediation policy towards more positive outcomes of site clean-up. We adopt institutional theory to elicit plural motivations and cognitive assumptions as embedded in stakeholders’ expressions of remediation values, objectives, and outcomes. We explore in four case studies with varying size, complexity, cultural diversity, and geographical location (three in Australia, one in Fiji) how remediation values operate within remediation decisions. Our findings suggest that more than economic costs, liability, and risks are at play in decision-making on contaminated land. Our research confirmed that different socio-ethical, environmental and sustainability values are evaluated differently by different types of actors (site owners, regulators, auditors, residents, local government, consultants). We found that remediation values often shift in the course of a remediation decision-making process, suggesting learning and improved understanding. Remediation policy that better facilitates and aligns stakeholders’ articulations of initial and emergent outcomes sought from site clean-up is likely to enhance both economic and social value outcomes of remediation. Further research is needed on how remediation policy could better incorporate remediation value dynamics in stakeholder consultation and engagement.
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Aryanfar, Amin, Aslan Gholami, Payam Ghorbannezhad, Bijan Yeganeh, Mahdi Pourgholi, Majid Zandi, and Svetlana Stevanovic. "Multi-criteria prioritization of the renewable power plants in Australia using the fuzzy logic in decision-making method (FMCDM)." Clean Energy 6, no. 1 (December 21, 2021): 780–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ce/zkab048.
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Abstract The presented study focused on developing an innovative decision-making framework to select the best renewable-power-plant technologies, considering comprehensive techno-economic and environmental variables. Due to the favourable conditions, Australia was selected as the case study. A fuzzy-logic method and analytical hierarchy process were applied to prioritize different renewable-energy power plants. The techno-economic factors included levelized cost of energy, initial cost, simple payback time, and operation and maintenance costs along with environmental factors including carbon payback time, energy payback time and greenhouse-gas emissions were used to rank the power plants. The results showed that the capital cost and simple payback time had the highest priority from an economic point of view. In comparison, greenhouse-gas emissions and carbon payback time were the dominant environmental factors. The analysis results provided economic and environmental priority tables for developing different power plants in the current state and a future scenario by 2030. The fuzzy results and pairwise composite matrix of alternatives indicated that the onshore wind, offshore wind, single-axis tracker polycrystalline photovoltaic, single-axis tracker monocrystalline photovoltaic, fix-tilted polycrystalline photovoltaic and fix-tilted monocrystalline photovoltaic scored the highest in the current state. In contrast, by 2030, the single-axis tracker photovoltaic power plants will be the best choice in the future scenario in Australia. Finally, the results were used and analysed to recommend and suggest several policy implementations and future research studies.
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Forster, Daniella J., Amy McPherson, and Samuel Douglas. "Interview with Professor Meira Levinson: Democracy, dilemmas and educational ethics." Global Studies of Childhood 9, no. 2 (May 27, 2019): 109–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2043610619846080.
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In the following interview, Meira Levinson (Harvard Graduate School) discusses the field of educational ethics and how it can enhance justifiable youth activism to enact citizenship education and recover democracy. She introduces readers to her philosophical approach for developing normative case studies that aim to be inclusive of divergent views on knowledge and value in schooling. Professor Levinson visited the School of Education at the University of Newcastle, Australia, in August 2018, to advise the Educational Ethics: Dilemmas of Diversity Network project team. During her visit she discussed with local teachers and school leaders about how educational practices can ethically address differences, diversities and decision-making in pluralist democracies.
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Furlong, Casey, Saman De Silva, and Lachlan Guthrie. "Planning scales and approval processes for IUWM projects; lessons from Melbourne, Australia." Water Policy 18, no. 3 (December 22, 2015): 783–802. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wp.2015.118.
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In the Australian context integrated urban water management (IUWM) processes consistently recommend the implementation of recycled water and stormwater harvesting projects. These projects are typically decentralised and planned by a variety of organisational types. Major international research programmes have thus far focused on how IUWM should be operationalised as a single-tier, city scale planning system. This study investigates IUWM in relation to two under researched aspects: planning scales and approval processes, by investigating eight project case studies from Melbourne, Australia. Results reveal that IUWM projects are often planned at the sub-regional and local scales, without coordination from metro scale strategies, and that many of these projects are experiencing issues achieving final approvals. Major barriers to approval include a lack of communication between regulators and planners, and the absence of consistent financial evaluation methods. A multi-tier water planning system has been proposed to lessen these barriers through effective division of decision making responsibilities across scales, and setting of consistent frameworks, methods, and objectives at the metro scale. It is considered that this multi-tier planning system may help facilitate the implementation of decentralised IUWM projects.
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Pascal, Luz Valerie, Marianne Akian, Sam Nicol, and Iadine Chades. "A Universal 2-state n-action Adaptive Management Solver." Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence 35, no. 17 (May 18, 2021): 14884–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1609/aaai.v35i17.17747.
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In poor data and urgent decision-making applications, managers need to make decisions without complete knowledge of the system dynamics. In biodiversity conservation, adaptive management (AM) is the principal tool for decision-making under uncertainty. AM can be solved using simplified Mixed Observable Markov Decision Processes called hidden model MDPs (hmMDPs) when the unknown dynamics are assumed stationary. hmMDPs provide optimal policies to AM problems by augmenting the MDP state space with an unobservable state variable representing a finite set of predefined models. A drawback in formalising an AM problem is that experts are often solicited to provide this predefined set of models by specifying the transition matrices. Expert elicitation is a challenging and time-consuming process that is prone to biases, and a key assumption of hmMDPs is that the true transition matrix will be included in the candidate model set. We propose an original approach to build a hmMDP with a universal set of predefined models that is capable of solving any 2-state n-action AM problem. Our approach uses properties of the transition matrices to build the model set and is independent of expert input, removing the potential for expert error in the optimal solution. We provide analytical formulations to derive the minimum set of models to include into an hmMDP to solve any AM problems with 2 states and n actions. We assess our universal AM algorithm on two species conservation case studies from Australia and randomly generated problems.
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Lee, Chyi Lin. "An examination of the risk-return relation in the Australian housing market." International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis 10, no. 3 (June 5, 2017): 431–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijhma-07-2016-0052.
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Purpose Extensive studies have investigated the relation between risk and return in the stock and major asset markets, whereas little studies have been done for housing, particularly the Australian housing market. This study aims to determine the relationship between housing risk and housing return in Australia. Design/methodology/approach The analysis of this study involves two stages. The first stage is to estimate the presence of volatility clustering effects. Thereafter, the relation between risk and return in the Australian housing market is assessed by using a component generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity-in-mean (C-CARCH-M) model. Findings The empirical results show that there is a strong positive risk-return relationship in all Australian housing markets. Specifically, comparable results are also evident in all housing markets in various Australian capital cities, reflecting that Australian home buyers, in general, are risk reverse and require a premium for higher risk level. This could be attributed the unique characteristics of the Australian housing market. In addition, there is evidence to suggest that a stronger volatility clustering effect than previously documented in the daily case. Practical implications The findings enable more informed and practical investment decision-making regarding the relation between housing return and housing risk. Originality/value This paper is the first study to offer empirical evidence of the risk-return relationship in the Australian housing market. Besides, this is the first housing price volatility study that utilizes daily data.
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McLeod, S. R., G. Saunders, L. E. Twigg, A. D. Arthur, D. Ramsey, and L. A. Hinds. "Prospects for the future: is there a role for virally vectored immunocontraception in vertebrate pest management?" Wildlife Research 34, no. 7 (2007): 555. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr07050.
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Virally vectored immunocontraception (VVIC) has been studied and promoted as an alternative to lethal methods for vertebrate pest control in Australia and New Zealand. Virally vectored immunocontraception offers a potentially humane and species-specific control method with potential for a good benefit–cost outcome, but its applicability for broad-scale management remains unknown. We present case studies for the house mouse, European rabbit, red fox and common brushtail possum and describe the current status of research into the use of VVIC as a broad-scale pest-management tool. All case studies indicated that there are significant problems with delivery and efficacy. The current state of development suggests that VVIC is not presently a viable alternative for the management of these vertebrate pests, and it is highly unlikely that this will change in the foreseeable future. An absence of benefit–cost data also hinders decision-making, and until benefit–cost data become available it will not be clear if there are short- or long-term benefits resulting from the use of VVIC for broad-scale pest management.
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Rouwette, Rob. "Life-cycle assessment: use and application in the Australian energy context." APPEA Journal 52, no. 2 (2012): 661. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/aj11075.
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Australia is experiencing a time of major change in its energy sector. First, there is record investment in developing new fossil fuel resources—such as coal, LNG and coal seam methane gas—for export. Second, there is an ever-increasing attention to renewable energy generation for the domestic market. The looming introduction of a price on carbon (greenhouse gas emissions) in 2012 has fuelled the debate about how clean various energy sources are, and how any/all emissions associated with their development and the generation of energy should be treated. As a market reponse, a significant increase in using life-cycle assessment (LCA) results to communicate environmental performance, particularly about greenhouse gas emissions, have been witnessed. When undertaken appropriately, a full life-cycle approach is the only acceptable methodology to compare disparate technologies or products; however, given the often technical nature of LCA studies, the results are not always conveyed accurately in the non-technical mainstream media. This extended abstract discusses case studies related to the energy sector using LCA results—their benefits and shortcomings—in Australian media; suggestions for better communication and decision making in the coming period are also discussed.
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Siriwardana, Amanda, Nicholas A. Gray, Angela Makris, Chenlei Kelly Li, Kenneth Yong, Yachna Mehta, Jannel Ramos, et al. "Treatment decision-making and care among older adults with kidney failure: protocol for a multicentre, prospective observational cohort study with nested substudies and linked qualitative research (the Elderly Advanced CKD Programme)." BMJ Open 12, no. 12 (December 2022): e066156. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-066156.
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IntroductionShared treatment decision-making and planning of care are fundamental in advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) management. There are limited data on several key outcomes for the elderly population including survival, quality of life, symptom burden, changes in physical functioning and experienced burden of healthcare. Patients, caregivers and clinicians consequently face significant uncertainty when making life-impacting treatment decisions. The Elderly Advanced CKD Programme includes quantitative and qualitative studies to better address challenges in treatment decision-making and planning of care among this increasingly prevalent elderly cohort.Methods and analysisThe primary component is OUTcomes of Older patients with Kidney failure (OUTLOOK), a multicentre prospective observational cohort study that will enrol 800 patients ≥75 years with kidney failure (estimated glomerular filtration rate ≤15 mL/min/1.73 m2) across a minimum of six sites in Australia. Patients entered are in the decision-making phase or have recently made a decision on preferred treatment (dialysis, conservative kidney management or undecided). Patients will be prospectively followed until death or a maximum of 4 years, with the primary outcome being survival. Secondary outcomes are receipt of short-term acute dialysis, receipt of long-term maintenance dialysis, changes in biochemistry and end-of-life care characteristics. Data will be used to formulate a risk prediction tool applicable for use in the decision-making phase. The nested substudies Treatment modalities for the InfirM ElderLY with end stage kidney disease (TIMELY) and Caregivers of The InfirM ElderLY with end stage kidney disease (Co-TIMELY) will longitudinally assess quality of life, symptom burden and caregiver burden among 150 patients and 100 caregivers, respectively. CONsumer views of Treatment options for Elderly patieNts with kiDney failure (CONTEND) is an additional qualitative study that will enrol a minimum of 20 patients and 20 caregivers to explore experiences of treatment decision-making and care.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval was obtained through Sydney Local Health District Human Research Ethics Committee (2019/ETH07718, 2020/ETH02226, 2021/ETH01020, 2019/ETH07783). OUTLOOK is approved to have waiver of individual patient consent. TIMELY, Co-TIMELY and CONTEND participants will provide written informed consent. Final results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and presented at scientific meetings.
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Ghafournia, Nafiseh. "Muslim Women’s Religious Leadership: The Case of Australian Mosques." Religions 13, no. 6 (June 10, 2022): 534. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel13060534.
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In the history of all religions, there has been a male monopoly over religious leadership. In most Muslim societies in particular, men have enjoyed indisputable authority over religious leadership roles in the spaces of worship and communal gatherings. However, in recent decades, some Muslim women have contested this ownership and have taken up space in mosques and other religious spaces to teach and lead prayer for other women or for both genders. Yet, women’s religious leadership roles in contemporary mosques in both Muslim and Western countries are contested. Research on this topic in the Australian context is limited to very few studies. In this article, I will review the historic debate around female religious authority—particularly women’s leadership roles in the mosque. The relationship between Islam, gender and religious authority, as well as the initiation of female Imams, will also be explored. Online written interviews were conducted with twenty Muslim women drawn from three Australian Muslim online Facebook groups to determine how these women perceive female religious authority and, in particular, how they view female Imams leading prayer in the mosque. Building on the participants’ narratives, the paper investigates the didactic potential and challenges that Australian Muslim women may have with regard to greater inclusion in religious authority and decision-making positions.
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Xiong, Hanxiang, Yafei Sun, and Xingwei Ren. "Comprehensive Assessment of Water Sensitive Urban Design Practices based on Multi-criteria Decision Analysis via a Case Study of the University of Melbourne, Australia." Water 12, no. 10 (October 16, 2020): 2885. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w12102885.
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Water sensitive urban design (WSUD), as a typical green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), contains various facilities to decrease the urbanization impacts and enhance the values of amenity, ecosystem, and livability in Australia. Although WSUD has developed over 30 years, existing studies for WSUD performances have sometimes ignored its economic and social benefits, and there is still a lack of an integrated framework to optimize the GSI combinations based on various criteria in a site. This paper aims to utilize “score-rank-select” strategy to comprehensively assess WSUD combination scenarios from functional, economic, social, and environmental aspects, by taking the University of Melbourne (Parkville campus) as a case study. In detail, multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) was used for weight determination and scenario comparison. The results showed that scenario 4 with 52% green WSUD facilities had the highest assessment score (0.771) among the five scenarios, while the final score (0.758) of scenario 5 was lower than scenario 4 although its green facility proportion reached 69%. The trade-off relation between the proportion of grey and green WSUD facilities was further demonstrated. Additionally, this paper strongly recommends that the MCDA-based comprehensive assessment framework described here can be generally promoted for the water sector to solve the decision-making problems. The use of such a framework can further promote sustainable development by helping water managers to make informed and inclusive decisions involving a variety of factors.
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Nikkels, Guillaume, Leith, and Hellegers. "Sharing Reasoning Behind Individual Decisions to Invest in Joint Infrastructure." Water 11, no. 4 (April 17, 2019): 798. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w11040798.
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Development of joint irrigation infrastructure increasingly depends on investment decisions made by individual farmers. Farmers base their decisions to invest on their current knowledge and understanding. As irrigation infrastructure development is ultimately a group decision, it is beneficial if individuals have a common understanding of the various values at stake. Sharing the personal reasoning behind individual decisions is a promising approach to build such common understanding. This study demonstrates application of participatory crossover analysis at a workshop in Tasmania, Australia. The workshop gave farmers the opportunity to discuss their broader considerations in investment decisions, beyond just financial or monetary factors. It centered on the question, “In what conditions would you—the individual farmer—invest?” The participants’ willingness to pay, in the form of crossover points, was presented as a set of scenarios to start an explorative discussion between irrigators and non-irrigators. Evaluation feedback indicates that the workshop enabled participants to share new information, improved understanding of differences between neighbors, and generated more respect for others and their decisions. As expected, reasoning went beyond economic concerns, and changed over time. Lifestyle choices, long-term intergenerational planning, perceived risks, and intrinsic motivations emerged as factors influencing water valuation. Simply having a facilitated discussion about the reasons underlying individuals’ willingness to pay seems to be a useful tool for better informed decision-making about joint irrigation infrastructure, and is worth testing in further case studies.
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Kamall Khan, Yasmin, Jati Kasuma, and Azrin Ali. "The Challenges of Small and Medium Businesses in Managing Human Capital towards SMEs Performance – A Qualitative Study." Asian Journal of Business and Accounting 15, no. 1 (June 30, 2022): 311–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.22452/ajba.vol15no1.10.
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Manuscript type: Research paper Research aims: Currently, machinery is replacing most human capital to save cost, but the value of human capital that contributes to the performance of SMEs is invaluable. SMEs were used to explain the connection between human capital and SMEs performance in South Australia. Design/Methodology/Approach: Five case studies on SMEs in South Australia were used in this study. The analysis of qualitative data entailed data coding, within-case analysis, and cross-case analysis. Research findings: The cross-case analysis result is unsurprising considering that all five firms depend on their employees to work and keep the firm in operation. The cross-case analysis results are mixed in respect to the connection between human capital and the several types of performance measurement. The results, therefore, need to be interpreted with caution. SMEs perform solely through the skills, experience, and knowledge of their employees. This distinction occurs when the knowledge and information that employees gain are focused directly on the employee’s initiative, decision-making and critical thinking skills. Investment in human capital should be done carefully based on the limited resources of SMEs. Theoretical contribution/Originality: Most research has shown the link between human capital and firm performance. However, the degree to which investment in human capital contributes to the type of performance is yet to be explored based on qualitative data especially regarding SMEs in South Australia. Practitioner/policy implication: The sustainable development goal (SDG) entails a steady improvement in people’s well-being in a good environment. Thus, decisions about investment in human capital and the use of temporary workers should be taken jointly by personnel managers, in accordance with the size of the firm. If this holistic view is ignored, a full understanding of the impact of human capital on the firm’s performance will be obscured. On the other hand, a common feature that large and small firms share is an incompatibility between human capital and temporary employment. Research limitation/implications: The main limitation of this study was the sample of the study that comprised solely of South Australia SMEs. Thus, this study outcome may not be generalisable to the whole Australia as a country. Further investigation across different states would expand knowledge of the complicated patterns of HC. Keywords: Human capital, SME, Productivity, Profitability, South Australia JEL Classification: M12
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Stewart, Jenny, and Shirley Lithgow. "Problems and prospects in community engagement in urban planning and decision-making: three case studies from the Australian Capital Territory." Policy Studies 36, no. 1 (January 2, 2015): 18–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01442872.2014.981061.
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Keating, Barry, and Maryann Keating. "Private firms, public entities, and microeconomic incentives." International Journal of Organizational Analysis 21, no. 2 (May 16, 2013): 176–97. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijoa-08-2011-0499.
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PurposePublic private partnerships (PPPs) centralize decision making into a hybrid type of firm, consisting of a government entity with a private firm, that is either a profit‐seeking or non‐profit entity, that initiates, constructs, maintains, or provides a service. The PPP model recognizes that both the public and the private sectors have certain comparative advantages in the performance of specific tasks. PPPs, grounded in cost/benefit analysis, have been used in Australia for decades and are presently being introduced in the USA as a form of innovate contracting. This paper aims to evaluate PPPs as a potentially transferable model for the delivery of public services. PPP firms are evaluated in terms of capital asset management, productive and allocative efficiency, transfer of risk between the public and private sectors, rights to the residual, and the public interest. A case study comparison of Fremantle Ports (Australia) and the Indiana Toll Road (USA) is employed to demonstrate PPP design and function.Design/methodology/approachA description and evaluation of public private partnerships (PPP) is presented and two original and primary case studies are reviewed.FindingsA PPP functioning as a monopoly provider of a common pool public asset approximates economic efficiency when user fees cover virtually full cost. Identifying optimal output and quality assessment is more challenging in the case of social goods in which the public goal is subsidy minimization and clients cannot assess quality. Best practices are helpful; they guarantee the PPP process, but not the outcome. All PPPs, in whatever country or industry, are vulnerable to bureaucratic expansion whenever they are given access to subsidized loans underwritten by taxpayers.Originality/valueThe two case studies in this paper are 100 percent original; they were examined in person by the authors, and the managers of the two entities were interviewed in Indiana (USA) and Fremantle, Western Australia.
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Turner, A., P. Mukheibir, C. Mitchell, J. Chong, M. Retamal, J. Murta, N. Carrard, and C. Delaney. "Recycled water – lessons from Australia on dealing with risk and uncertainty." Water Practice and Technology 11, no. 1 (March 1, 2016): 127–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wpt.2016.015.
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Much can be learned from the numerous water recycling schemes currently in operation in Australia, especially with respect to making investment decisions based on uncertain assumptions. This paper illustrates through a number of case studies, that by considering the contextual and project related risks, a range of business related risks become apparent. Shifts in the contextual landscape and the various players’ objectives can occur over the life of a project, often leading to unforeseen risk and uncertainty. Through a thorough consideration of the potential risks presented in this paper, proponents as well as owners and managers might make better recycled water investment decisions, enhancing the benefits and minimizing the costs of water recycling schemes. This paper presents an overview and discussion of seven key factors to consider when planning a recycling scheme.
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Novaes, Priscila, Karina Camasmie Abe, Letícia Ayumi Wada, and Simone Georges El Khouri Miraglia. "Avaliação de Impacto à Saúde: o que aprender da Experiência da Austrália e Nova Zelândia e perspectivas para o Brasil." REVISTA PLURI 1, no. 2 (November 5, 2019): 53. http://dx.doi.org/10.26843/rpv122019p53-64.
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Descrever e analisar os principais pontos dos estudos sobre Avaliação de Impacto na Saúde (AIS) realizados na Austrália e obter contribuições para a implantação da AIS no Brasil. Foi realizada uma revisão bibliográfica extensa sobre os artigos publicados e indexados entre 1990 e 2014, nas bases de dados Pubmed, Web of Knowledge, Science Direct e Portal Periódicos da CAPES. Os textos completos dos artigos sobre AIS na Austrália foram classificados como analíticos ou estudos de caso (EC), e analisados. Do total de 37 artigos, 26 foram analíticos e 11 EC. Os principais aspectos teóricos da AIS como ferramenta e da sua aplicação na Austrália foram abordados, mostrando como e por que a atividade de AIS tem crescido em diversidade e profundidade. A maioria dos EC descrevem a aplicação prática da AIS na área de planejamento urbano e abordam seus benefícios e sua influência no processo de tomada de decisão. 91% das AIS foram prospectivas e 45% completas. No Brasil a prática da AIS é incipiente, mas existe movimentação política no sentido de integrá-la ao estudo de impacto ambiental, e de inserir questões de saúde no licenciamento ambiental de projetos. A experiência australiana mostra que a implantação da AIS é viável, e que sua incorporação influencia no processo de tomada de decisão.Palavras-Chave: Saúde ambiental. Impacto Ambiental. Avaliação em Saúde.AbstractTo describe and analyze the focal points of the studies about Health Impact Assessment conducted in Australia and obtain elements to aid in the implementation of HIA in Brazil. We conducted an extense literature review of articles about HIA in Australia, published and indexed in the period between 1990 and 2014, in Pubmed, Web of Knowledge, Science Direct e Portal Periódicos da CAPES. The complete texts were read and classified in analytical or case studies (CS), and then analyzed. Out of a total of 37 articles, 26 were analytical and 11 CS. The main theoretical aspects of HIA as a tool and its application in Australia were described, highlighting why and how HIA has been successful and has grown in diversity and depth in this setting. Most CS described the use of HIA in urban planning, its benefits and its influence in the decision-making process. 91% of the HIAs were prospective and 45% complete. The practice of HIA is incipient in Brazil, however there is political urge to integrate HIA to ElA, and to include health issues in the environmental licensing process. The australian experience is a successful example of the practical use of HIA and shows how it influences the decision-making process.Keywords: Health Impact Assessment. Environmental Health. Environmental Impact.
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HEIKKILÄ, J. "A review of risk prioritisation schemes of pathogens, pests and weeds: principles and practices." Agricultural and Food Science 20, no. 1 (December 4, 2008): 15. http://dx.doi.org/10.2137/145960611795163088.
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Societys resources are scarce, and biosecurity actions need to be targeted and prioritised. Various models have been developed that prioritise and rank pests and diseases according to the risks they represent. A prioritisation model allows utilisation of scientific, ecological and economic information in decision-making related to biological hazards. This study discusses such models and the properties associated with them based on a review of 78 prioritisation studies. The scope of the models includes all aspects of biosecurity (human, animal and plant diseases, and invasive alien species), but with an emphasis on plant health. The geographical locations of the studies are primarily North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Half of the studies were conducted during the past five years. The review finds that there generally seems to be several prioritisation models, especially in the case of invasive plants, but only a select few models are used extensively. Impacts are often accounted for in the model, but the extent and economic sophistication of their inclusion varies. Treatment of uncertainty and feasibility of control was lacking from many studies.;
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Zedan, Sherif, and Wendy Miller. "Using social network analysis to identify stakeholders’ influence on energy efficiency of housing." International Journal of Engineering Business Management 9 (January 1, 2017): 184797901771262. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1847979017712629.
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Energy-efficient housing is a product that integrates various stakeholders’ tasks throughout the different stages of its life cycle. The relationships between these stakeholders impact on the degree of knowledge sharing and informed decision-making and can potentially enhance or lower the energy efficiency of the product – the house. This article uses a social network analysis (SNA) approach to visualize the social networks of the stakeholders of a number of owner-occupied housing case studies in Australia. The aim is to analyse, contrast and quantify the degrees of connectivity and centrality of the housing stakeholders to identify which groups have more connectivity in the stakeholders’ network of energy-efficiency housing and consequently more potential to influence the energy efficiency outcomes and which practices are more likely to enhance transparency and information sharing that is essential for producing energy-efficient housing.