Mediation ethics in Australia : a case for rethinking the foundational paradigm

In contemporary Western society, including Australia, professional mediation practice has developed with a specifically defined foundational approach - a problem-solving, facilitative method, in which the mediator's intervention is centred on providing the parties with a series of formal steps to assist their communication and to steer them towards a self-determined and mutually agreeable resolution of the issues in dispute. Facilitative mediation developed, in part, as a response to the adversarial system of law and justice. In that system the parties are said to lose control of their dispute, and a decision is imposed on them which invariably puts one party in a losing position. Facilitative mediation has offered an alternative to this inevitable outcome by offering the parties a democratic, cost-effective, party-centred, empowering, interests-based and principled option for resolving their dispute.

Producing and maintaining professional identities in early childhood

This study is an inquiry into early childhood teacher professional identities. In Australia, workforce reforms in early childhood include major shifts in qualification requirements that call for a university four-year degree-qualified teacher to be employed in child care. This marks a shift in the early years workforce, where previously there was no such requirement. At the same time as these reforms to quality measures are being implemented, and requiring a substantive up skilling of the workforce, there is a growing body of evidence through recent studies that suggests these same four-year degree-qualified early childhood teachers have an aversion to working in child care. Their preferred employment option is to work in the early years of more formal schooling, not in before-school contexts. This collision of agendas warrants investigation. This inquiry is designed to investigate the site at which advocacy for higher qualification requirements meets early childhood teachers who are reluctant to choose child care as a possible career pathway. The key research question for this study is: How are early childhood teachers’ professional identities currently produced? The work of this thesis is to problematise the early childhood teacher in child care through a particular method of discourse analysis. There are two sets of data. The first was a key early childhood political document that read as a "moment of arising" (Foucault, 1984a, p. 83). It is a political document which was selected for its current influence on the early childhood field, and in particular, workforce reforms that call for four-year degree-qualified teachers to work in before-school contexts, including child care. The second data set was generated through four focus group discussions conducted with preservice early childhood teachers. The document and transcripts of the focus groups were both analysed as text, as conceptualised by Foucault (1981). Foucault’s work spans a number of years and a range of philosophical matters. This thesis draws particularly on Foucault’s writings on discourse, power/knowledge, regimes of truth and resistance. In order to consider the production of early childhood teachers’ professional identities, the study is also informed by identity theorists, who have worked on gender, performativity and investment (Davies, 2004/2006; McNay, 1992; Osgood, 2012; Walkerdine, 1990; Weedon, 1997). The ways in which discourses intersect, compete and collide produce the subject (Foucault, 1981) and, in the case of this inquiry, there are a number of competing discourses at play, which produce the early childhood teacher. These particular theories turn particular lenses on the question of professional identities in early childhood, and such a study calls for the application of particular methodologies. Discourse analysis was used as the methodological framework, and the analysis was informed by Foucauldian concepts of discourse. While Foucault did not prescribe a form of discourse analysis as a method, his writings nonetheless provide a valuable framework for illuminating discursive practices and, in turn, how people are affected, through the shifts and distribution of power (Foucault, 1980a). The treatment used with both data sets involved redescription. For the policy document, a technique for reading document-as-text applied a genealogical approach (Foucault, 1984a). For the focus groups, the process of redescription (Rorty, 1989) involved reading talk-as-text. As a method, redescription involves describing "lots and lots of things in new ways until you have created a pattern of linguistic behaviour which will tempt the new generation to adopt it" (Rorty, 1989, p. 9). The development and application of categories (Davies, 2004/2006) built on a poststructuralist theoretical framework and the literature review informed the data analysis method of discourse analysis. Irony provided a rhetorical and playful tool (Haraway, 1991; Rorty, 1989), to look to how seemingly opposing discourses are held together. This opens a space to collapse binary thinking and consider seemingly contradictory terms in a way in which both terms are possible and both are true. Irony resists the choice of one or the other being right, and holds the opposites together in tension. The thesis concludes with proposals for new, ironic categories, which work to bring together seemingly opposing terms, located at sites in the field of early childhood where discourses compete, collide and intersect to produce and maintain early childhood teacher professional identities. The process of mapping these discourses goes some way to investigating the complexities about identities and career choices of early childhood teachers. The category of "the cost of loving" captures the collision between care/love, inherent in child care, and new discourses of investment/economics. Investment/economics has not completely replaced care/love, and these apparent opposites were not read as a binary because both are necessary and both are true (Haraway, 1991). They are held together in tension to produce early childhood teacher professional identities. The policy document under scrutiny was New Directions, released in 2007 by the then opposition ALP leader, Kevin Rudd. The claim was made strongly that the "economic prosperity" of Australia relies on investment in early childhood. The arguments to invest are compelling and the neuroscience/brain research/child development together with economic/investment discourses demand that early childhood is funding is increased. The intersection of these discourses produces professional identities of early childhood teachers as a necessary part of the country’s economy, and thus, worthy of high status. The child care sector and work in child care settings are necessary, with children and the early childhood teacher playing key roles in the economy of the nation. Through New Directions it becomes sayable (Foucault, 1972/1989) that the work the early childhood teacher performs is legitimated and valued. The children are produced as "economic units". A focus on what children are able to contribute to the future economy of the nation re-positions children and produces these "smart productive citizens", making future economic contribution. The early childhood teacher is produced through this image of a child and "the cost of loving" is emphasised. A number of these categories were produced through the readings of the document-as text and the talk-as-text. Two ironic categories were read in the analysis of the transcripts of the focus group discussions, when treated as talk-as-text data: the early childhood teacher as a "heroic victim"; and the early childhood teacher as a "glorified babysitter". This thesis raises new questions about professional identities in early childhood. These new questions might go some way to prompt re-thinking of some government policy, as well as some aspects of early childhood teacher education course design. The images of children and images of child care provide provocations to consider preservice teacher education course design. In particular, how child care, as one of the early childhood contexts, is located, conceptualised and spoken throughout the course. Consideration by course designers and teacher educators of what discourses are privileged in course content —what discourses are diminished or silenced—would go some way to reconceptualising child care within preservice teacher education and challenging dominant ways of speaking child care, and work in child care. This inquiry into early childhood teachers’ professional identities has gone some way to exploring the complexities around the early childhood teacher in child care. It is anticipated that the significance of this study will thus have immediate applicably and relevance for the Australian early childhood policy landscape. The early childhood field is in a state of rapid change, and this inquiry has examined some of the disconnects between policy and practice. Awareness of the discourses that are in play in the field will continue to allow space for conversations that challenge dominant assumptions about child care, work in child care and ways of being an early childhood teacher in child care.

The effects of vitamin supplementation and MTHFR (C677T) genotype on homocysteine-lowering and migraine disability

BACKGROUND: Migraine is a prevalent and debilitating disease that may, in part, arise because of disruption in neurovascular endothelia caused by elevated homocysteine. This study examined the homocysteine-lowering effects of vitamin supplementation on migraine disability, frequency and severity and whether MTHFRC677T genotype influenced treatment response. METHODS: This was a randomized, double-blind placebo, controlled trial of 6 months of daily vitamin supplementation (i.e. 2 mg of folic acid, 25 mg vitamin B6, and 400 microg of vitamin B12) in 52 patients diagnosed with migraine with aura. FINDINGS: Vitamin supplementation reduced homocysteine by 39% (approximately 4 mumol/l) compared with baseline, a reduction that was greater then placebo (P=0.001). Vitamin supplementation also reduced the prevalence of migraine disability from 60% at baseline to 30% after 6 months (P=0.01), whereas no reduction was observed for the placebo group (P>0.1). Headache frequency and pain severity were also reduced (P<0.05), whereas there was no reduction in the placebo group (P>0.1). In this patient group the treatment effect on both homocysteine levels and migraine disability was associated with MTHFRC677T genotype whereby carriers of the C allele experienced a greater response compared with TT genotypes (P<0.05). INTERPRETATION: This study provides some early evidence that lowering homocysteine through vitamin supplementation reduces migraine disability in a subgroup of patients. Larger trials are now warranted to establish whether vitamin therapy is a safe, inexpensive and effective prophylactic option for treatment of migraine and whether efficacy is dependant on MTHFRC677T genotype.

A Kansei approach to passenger terminal design

Current approaches to passenger terminal design are based on a direct relationship between the number of travelers and the size of the passenger terminal building: as one increases, so does the other. Over the next several decades, it is believed that the number of travelers worldwide will increase significantly. It follows, therefore, that in order to process these additional passengers, airports will need to build larger terminal facilities. Unfortunately, this is not a viable option for many airports due to financial, economic, operational and general space constraints. In this paper, we explore a new way of approaching terminal design based on a passenger oriented perspective. In doing so, we extend an interpretation of the Kansei design concept and show how it may be applicable towards the creation of new design paradigms in aviation. Our results are based on data collected in-situ at a major international terminal during 2012.

BoP and MNCs: where is the market and where the source of innovation?

ln 2004 Prahalad made managers aware of the great economic opportunity that the population at the BoP (Base of the Pyramid) could represent for business in the tom of new potential consumers. However, MNCs (Multi-National Corporations) have continued to fail in penetrating low income markets, arguably because applied strategies are often the same adopted at the top of the pyramid. Even in those few cases where products get re-envisioned, theie introduction in contexts of extreme poverty only induces new needs and develops new dependencies. At best the rearrangement of business models by MNCs has meant the realization of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibly) schemes that have validity from a marketing perspective, but still lack the crucial element of social embeddedness (London & Hart, 2004). Today the challenge is lo reach the lowest population tier with reinvented business models based on principles of value co-creation. Starting from a view of the potential consumer at the BoP as a ring of continuity in the value chain process – a resource that can itself produce value - this paper concludes proposing an alternative innovative approach to operate in developing markets that overturns the roles of MNCs and the BoP. The proposed perspective of ‘reversed' source of innovation and primary target market builds on two fundamental tenets: traditional knowledge is rich and greatly unexploded, and markets at the lop of the pyramid are saturated with unnecessary products / practices that have lost contact with the natural environment.

Self excitation in equity indices

A "self-exciting" market is one in which the probability of observing a crash increases in response to the occurrence of a crash. It essentially describes cases where the initial crash serves to weaken the system to some extent, making subsequent crashes more likely. This thesis investigates if equity markets possess this property. A self-exciting extension of the well-known jump-based Bates (1996) model is used as the workhorse model for this thesis, and a particle-filtering algorithm is used to facilitate estimation by means of maximum likelihood. The estimation method is developed so that option prices are easily included in the dataset, leading to higher quality estimates. Equilibrium arguments are used to price the risks associated with the time-varying crash probability, and in turn to motivate a risk-neutral system for use in option pricing. The option pricing function for the model is obtained via the application of widely-used Fourier techniques. An application to S&P500 index returns and a panel of S&P500 index option prices reveals evidence of self excitation.

Multiple sclerosis and continence issues : an exploratory study

The study described in this article aimed to identify issues relating to incontinence and assess the impact of referral to a continence adviser on the lives of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The study design used an in-depth, two-phase anonymous mail survey within a general community as nominated by the participants. Fifty-six people participated in phase 1 and eleven people completed phase 2. The results indicated that incontinence is a problem for the vast majority of participants — people with MS. One-third of the eligible participants took up the option of a consultation, assessment and treatment from a continence nurse. Reasons for not taking up the visit from the continence nurse included ‘managing OK’, ‘didn’t think it would help’, ‘embarrassed’ and ‘too busy’. Increasing awareness of urinary incontinence in the community is important and education needs to focus on at-risk groups in presenting the range of options available to assist people experiencing incontinence.

The role of nurse educators in student clinical education in Saudi Arabia

Introduction: Clinical education is considered a significant part of the learning process for nursing students. There is, however, no research that has explored this area of learning in Saudi Arabia. Theoretical Framework: Informed by a symbolic interactionist framework, this research explored the role of nurse educators in student clinical education in Saudi Arabia. Method: Using Glaserian grounded theory methods the data were derived from 14 face-to-face interviews with nurse educators from both hospital and faculty settings in King Abdu-Aziz University (KAU) and King Abdu-Aziz University Hospital (KAUH). Findings: The findings of the research are represented in the core category Redefining Identity Work and its two constituent categories Questioning the Situation and Creating Role Identity. The core and sub- categories were generated through a theoretical exploration of the identity work of nurse educators in Saudi Arabia. Conclusion: The social identity of the nurse educators was mediated culturally and socially within the hospital and university contexts and Saudi Arabian culture. In light of an increased understanding of the identity and role of nurse educators in clinical education in Saudi Arabia, the research presents implications and recommendations that may contribute to the development of nursing education as a coherent health care profession that is perceived as a desirable career option for Saudi women and men.

Efficacy of proxy definitions for identification of fatigue/sleep-related crashes : an Australian evaluation

Fatigue/sleepiness is recognised as an important contributory factor in fatal and serious injury road traffic incidents (RTIs), however, identifying fatigue/sleepiness as a causal factor remains an uncertain science. Within Australia attending police officers at a RTI report the causal factors; one option is fatigue/sleepiness. In some Australian jurisdictions police incident databases are subject to post hoc analysis using a proxy definition for fatigue/sleepiness. This secondary analysis identifies further RTIs caused by fatigue/sleepiness not initially identified by attending officers. The current study investigates the efficacy of such proxy definitions for attributing fatigue/sleepiness as a RTI causal factor. Over 1600 Australian drivers were surveyed regarding their experience and involvement in fatigue/sleep-related RTIs and near-misses during the past five years. Driving while fatigued/sleepy had been experienced by the majority of participants (66.0% of participants). Fatigue/sleep-related near misses were reported by 19.1% of participants, with 2.4% being involved in a fatigue/sleep-related RTI. Examination of the characteristics for the most recent event (either a near miss or crash) found that the largest proportion of incidents (28.0%) occurred when commuting to or from work, followed by social activities (25.1%), holiday travel (19.8%), or for work purposes (10.1%). The fatigue/sleep related RTI and near-miss experience of a representative sample of Australian drivers does not reflect the proxy definitions used for fatigue/sleepiness identification. In particular those RTIs that occur in urban areas and at slow speeds may not be identified. While important to have a strategy for identifying fatigue/sleepiness related RTIs proxy measures appear best suited to identifying specific subsets of such RTIs.

The role of nurse educators in student clinical education in Saudi Arabia

Background Clinical education is considered a significant part of the learning process for nursing students. There is, however, no research that has explored this area of learning in Saudi Arabia. Theoretical Framework Informed by a symbolic interactionist framework, this research explored the role of nurse educators in student clinical education in Saudi Arabia. Method Using Glaserian grounded theory methods the data were derived from 14 face-to-face interviews with nurse educators from both hospital and faculty settings in King Abdu-Aziz University (KAU) and King Abdu-Aziz University Hospital (KAUH). Findings The findings of the research are represented in the core category Redefining Identity Work and its two constituent categories Questioning the Situation and Creating Role Identity. The core and sub- categories were generated through a theoretical exploration of the identity work of nurse educators in Saudi Arabia. Conclusion The social identity of the nurse educators was mediated culturally and socially within the hospital and university contexts and Saudi Arabian culture. In light of an increased understanding of the identity and role of nurse educators in clinical education in Saudi Arabia, the research presents implications and recommendations that may contribute to the development of nursing education as a coherent health care profession that is perceived as a desirable career option for Saudi women and men.

A Sustainable Community for Older People : Case Studies of Green Retirement Villages in Australia

In Australia, the proportion of the population aged 65 years and over reached 13.5% in 2010 and is expected to increase steadily to around 20% by the year 2056 [Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2010], creating what has been regarded as a looming crisis in how to house and care for older people. As a viable accommodation option, the retirement village is widely accepted as a means of promoting and enhancing independence, choice and quality of life for older people. Recent research by Barker (2010) indicates that the current and potential residents of retirement villages are generally very conscious of resource consumption and would like their residences and community to be more sustainable. The aim of this study was to understand the perception of older people toward sustainability ideas and identify the sustainable practices involved in retirement villages to improve the wellbeing of residents. Multiple research methods, including content analysis, questionnaire survey, interviews and case studies were conducted for the research purpose. The results indicate that most retirement village residents understand and recognize the importance of sustainability in their lifestyle. However, their sustainability requirements need to be supported and enhanced by the provision of affordable sustainability features. Additionally, many retirement village developers and operators realize the importance of providing a sustainable retirement community for their residents, and that a sustainable retirement village (that is environmental-friendly, affordable, and improves social engagement) can be achieved through the consideration of project planning, design, construction, and operations throughout the project life cycle. The clear shift from healthcare to lifestyle-focused services in the recent development of retirement villages together with the increasing number of aged people moving into retirement villages (Simpson and Cheney, 2007) has raised awareness of the need for the retirement village industry to provide a sustainable community for older people to improve their life quality after retirement. This is the first critical study of sustainable development in the retirement village industry and its potential in addressing the housing needs of older people, providing a contribution towards improving the life quality of older people and with direct and immediate significance to the community as a whole.

IL-20 is epigenetically regulated in NSCLC and down regulates the expression of VEGF

Background IL-20 is a pleiotrophic member of the IL-10 family and plays a role in skin biology and the development of haematopoietic cells. Recently, IL-20 has been demonstrated to have potential anti-angiogenic effects in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by down regulating COX-2. Methods The expression of IL-20 and its cognate receptors (IL-20RA/B and IL-22R1) was examined in a series of resected fresh frozen NSCLC tumours. Additionally, the expression and epigenetic regulation of this family was examined in normal bronchial epithelial and NSCLC cell lines. Furthermore, the effect of IL-20 on VEGF family members was examined. Results The expression of IL-20 and its receptors are frequently dysregulated in NSCLC. IL-20RB mRNA was significantly elevated in NSCLC tumours (p < 0.01). Protein levels of the receptors, IL-20RB and IL-22R1, were significantly increased (p < 0.01) in the tumours of NSCLC patients. IL-20 and its receptors were found to be epigenetically regulated through histone post-translational modifications and DNA CpG residue methylation. In addition, treatment with recombinant IL-20 resulted in decreased expression of the VEGF family members at the mRNA level. Conclusions This family of genes are dysregulated in NSCLC and are subject to epigenetic regulation. Whilst the anti-angiogenic properties of IL-20 require further clarification, targeting this family via epigenetic means may be a viable therapeutic option in lung cancer treatment. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Epigenetics underpinning the regulation of the CXC (ELR+) chemokines in non-small cell lung cancer

Background: Angiogenesis may play a role in the pathogenesis of Non-Small Cell Lung cancer (NSCLC). The CXC (ELR+) chemokine family are powerful promoters of the angiogenic response. Methods: The expression of the CXC (ELR+) family members (CXCL1-3/GROα-γ, CXCL8/IL-8, CXCR1/2) was examined in a series of resected fresh frozen NSCLC tumours. Additionally, the expression and epigenetic regulation of these chemokines was examined in normal bronchial epithelial and NSCLC cell lines. Results: Overall, expression of the chemokine ligands (CXCL1, 2, 8) and their receptors (CXCR1/2) were down regulated in tumour samples compared with normal, with the exception of CXCL3. CXCL8 and CXCR1/2 were found to be epigenetically regulated by histone post-translational modifications. Recombinant CXCL8 did not stimulate cell growth in either a normal bronchial epithelial or a squamous carcinoma cell line (SKMES-1). However, an increase was observed at 72 hours post treatment in an adenocarcinoma cell line. Conclusions: CXC (ELR+) chemokines are dysregulated in NSCLC. The balance of these chemokines may be critical in the tumour microenvironment and requires further elucidation. It remains to be seen if epigenetic targeting of these pathways is a viable therapeutic option in lung cancer treatment. © 2011 Baird et al.

A biological staging model for operable non-small cell lung cancer

Background Currently the best prognostic index for operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the TNM staging system. Molecular biology holds the promise of predicting outcome for the individual patient and identifying novel therapeutic targets. Angiogenesis, matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-2 and -9, and the erb/HER type I tyrosine kinase receptors are all implicated in the pathogenesis of NSCLC. Methods A retrospective analysis of 167 patients with resected stage I-IIIa NSCLC and >60 days postoperative survival with a minimum follow up of 2 years was undertaken. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on paraffin embedded sections for the microvessel marker CD34, MMP-2 and MMP-9, EGFR, and c-erbB-2 to evaluate the relationships between and impact on survival of these molecular markers. Results Tumour cell MMP-9 (HR 1.91 (1.23-2.97)), a high microvessel count (HR 1.97 (1.28-3.03)), and stage (stage II HR 1.44 (0.87-2.40), stage IIIa HR 2.21 (1.31-3.74)) were independent prognostic factors. Patients with a high microvessel count and tumour cell MMP-9 expression had a worse outcome than cases with only one (HR 1.68 (1.04-2.73)) or neither (HR 4.43 (2.29-8.57)) of these markers. EGFR expression correlated with tumour cell MMP-9 expression (p<0.001). Immunoreactivity for both of these factors within the same tumour was associated with a poor prognosis (HR 2.22 (1.45-3.41)). Conclusion Angiogenesis, EGFR, and MMP-9 expression provide prognostic information independent of TNM stage, allowing a more accurate outcome prediction for the individual patient. The development of novel anti-angiogenic agents, EGFR targeted therapies, and MMP inhibitors suggests that target specific adjuvant treatments may become a therapeutic option in patients with resected NSCLC.

What’s Oprah Winfrey got to do with it? The rise and rise of restorative justice

In recent years, restorative justice has become an immensely popular criminal justice option in contemporary western societies. Restorative practices have emerged in diverse parts of the world often in total isolation from one another – that is, they have emerged without knowledge of other, similar practices. This quandary prompts us to question how it is that restorative processes have come about, and what it is that has allowed restorative justice to become such a widely acceptable way of thinking about crime and criminal justice. The research project from which this pa-per stems takes this as its central problem, and aims to explore the many dis-courses which inform the field of restorative justice, or more specifically, the “conditions of emergence” of this field. This paper focuses on one of these discourses – the discourse of the therapeutic/recovery/self-help movement, famously championed by talk-show host Oprah Winfrey. It aims to investigate the ways in which the taken-for-granted nature of this discourse has permitted restorative justice to be-come an approved way of “doing justice”.