Retinal photography screening programs to prevent vision loss from diabetic retinopathy in rural and urban Australia: A review

Purpose This review assessed the effectiveness of diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening programs, using retinal photography in Australian urban and rural settings, and considered implications for public health strategy and policy. Methods An electronic search of MEDLINE, PubMed, and Embase for studies published between 1 January 1996 and the 30 June 2013 was undertaken. Key search terms were “diabetic retinopathy,” “screening,” “retinal photography” and “Australia.” Results Twelve peer-reviewed publications were identified. The 14 DR screening programs identified from the 12 publications were successfully undertaken in urban, rural and remote communities across Australia. Locations included a pathology collection center, and Indigenous primary health care and Aboriginal community controlled organizations. Each intervention using retinal photography was highly effective at increasing the number of people who underwent screening for DR. The review identified that prior to commencement of the screening programs a median of 48% (range 16–85%) of those screened had not undergone a retinal examination within the recommended time frame (every year for Indigenous people and every 2 years for non-Indigenous people in Australia). A median of 16% (range 0–45%) of study participants had evidence of DR. Conclusions This review has shown there have been many pilot and demonstration projects in rural and urban Australia that confirm the effectiveness of retinal photography-based screening for DR

Online student portfolios for demonstration of engineering graduate attributes

Engineers Australia is the Australian professional body that accredits undergraduate engineering programs. It espouses an ‘outcomes-based’ program accreditation philosophy, but imposes mandatory ‘process’ requirements for off-campus programs that are in addition to the requirements for conventional on-campus programs. The focus on off-campus engineering study raises the question: how can learning outcomes, regardless of mode of study, be effectively measured? The current answer appears to be ‘graduate attributes’. The literature reveals a range of sophistication in approach to graduate attributes from identifying desirable graduate attributes, through to evidence-based certification of individual student attainment of graduate attributes. Many engineering accrediting bodies around the world identify student portfolios as a strategy for demonstrating student attainment of graduate attributes. The increasing use of online technology by students and educators alike, including as part of assessment, means that many of the reported applications of student portfolios are online portfolios. The effectiveness of online student portfolios will depend on them being embedded in day-to-day educational practice, rather than being an optional extra given a low priority by busy students. This paper presents a survey of the related literature and briefly outlines a project in progress at Deakin University to trial an online student portfolio.

Policy and practice impacts of applied research: a case study analysis of the New South Wales Health Promotion Demonstration Research Grants Scheme 2000-2006

Background
Intervention research provides important information regarding feasible and effective interventions for health policy makers, but few empirical studies have explored the mechanisms by which these studies influence policy and practice. This study provides an exploratory case series analysis of the policy, practice and other related impacts of the 15 research projects funded through the New South Wales Health Promotion Demonstration Research Grants Scheme during the period 2000 to 2006, and explored the factors mediating impacts.

Methods
Data collection included semi-structured interviews with the chief investigators (n = 17) and end-users (n = 29) of each of the 15 projects to explore if, how and under what circumstances the findings had been used, as well as bibliometric analysis and verification using documentary evidence. Data analysis involved thematic coding of interview data and triangulation with other data sources to produce case summaries of impacts for each project. Case summaries were then individually assessed against four impact criteria and discussed at a verification panel meeting where final group assessments of the impact of research projects were made and key influences of research impact identified.

Results
Funded projects had variable impacts on policy and practice. Project findings were used for agenda setting (raising awareness of issues), identifying areas and target groups for interventions, informing new policies, and supporting and justifying existing policies and programs across sectors. Reported factors influencing the use of findings were: i) nature of the intervention; ii) leadership and champions; iii) research quality; iv) effective partnerships; v) dissemination strategies used; and, vi) contextual factors.

Conclusions
The case series analysis provides new insights into how and under what circumstances intervention research is used to influence real world policy and practice. The findings highlight that intervention research projects can achieve the greatest policy and practice impacts if they address proximal needs of the policy context by engaging end-users from the inception of projects and utilizing existing policy networks and structures, and using a range of strategies to disseminate findings that go beond traditional peer review publications.

Chemometrics in fuel science: demonstration of the feasibility of chemometrics analyses applied to physicochemical parameters to screen solvent tracers in Brazilian commercial gasoline

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Beef Cow Feeding Demonstration

Pregnant mature beef cows were fed one of five rations: tub ground hay, low corn supplementation plus hay, high corn plus hay, low corn gluten feed (CGF) pellets plus hay, and high CGF plus hay. All treatments resulted in weight gains and limited body condition score changes. The hay and high CGF pellet diet resulted in statistically different weight gains compared with the other supplementation programs.

First steps toward harmonized human biomonitoring in Europe : demonstration project to perform human biomonitoring on a European scale

'Reproduced with permission from Environmental Health Perspectives'

Safe Performance Secondary School Driver Education Curriculum Demonstration Project. Annual report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Driver and Pedestrian Programs, Washington, D.C.

Emergency care systems demonstration projects. Volume 3: operational plans. Final report.

National Highway Safety Bureau, Washington, D.C.

A safety demonstration program for Oakland County, Michigan. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Management summary of the Idaho ASAP demonstration project, July 1972-June 1975. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Subsidized taxi programs for elderly and handicapped persons in the San Francisco Bay Area. Final report.

Transportation Systems Center, Cambridge, Mass.

Advanced education and training : interim report on the career advancement voucher demonstration /

Mode of access: Internet.

Recovering resources from solid waste using wet-processing : EPA's Franklin, Ohio Demonstration Project /

"An environmental protection publication (SW-47d) in the solid waste management series."

Activity programming for geriatric residents of Illinois nursing homes : an analysis of quality in QUIP and non-QUIP activity programs /

Cover title: Long term care research and demonstration projects, final reports, 1986.

Improving job opportunities for youth : a review of prime sponsor experience in implementing the Youth employment and demonstration projects act /

Cover title.