School-based drug prevention programs: a review of what works

This article examines the effectiveness of school-based drug prevention programs in preventing illicit drug use. Our article reports the results of a systematic review of the evaluation literature to answer three fundamental questions: (1) do school-based drug prevention programs reduce rates of illicit drug use? (2) what features are characteristic of effective programs? and (3) do these effective program characteristics differ from those identified as effective in reviews of school-based drug prevention of licit substance use (such as alcohol and tobacco)? Using systematic review and meta-analytic techniques, we identify the characteristics of schoolbased drug prevention programs that have a significant and beneficial impact on ameliorating illicit substance use (i.e., narcotics) among young people. Successful intervention programs typically involve high levels of interactivity, time-intensity, and universal approaches that are delivered in the middle school years. These program characteristics aligned with many of the effective program elements found in previous reviews exploring the impact of school-based drug prevention on licit drug use. Contrary to these past reviews, however, our analysis suggests that the inclusion of booster sessions and multifaceted drug prevention programs have little impact on preventing illicit drug use among school-aged children. Limitations of the current review and policy implications are discussed.

Exploiting the 1,2,3-triazolium motif in anion-templated formation of a bromide-selective rotaxane host assembly

Stimulated by the efficacy of copper (I) catalysed Huisgen-type 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of terminal alkynes and organic azides to generate 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazole derivatives, the importance of ‘click’ chemistry in the synthesis of organic and biological molecular systems is ever increasing.[1] The mild reaction conditions have also led to this reaction gaining favour in the construction of interlocked molecular architectures.[2-4] In the majority of cases however, the triazole group simply serves as a covalent linkage with no function in the resulting organic molecular framework. More recently a renewed interest has been shown in the transition metal coordination chemistry of triazole ligands.[3, 5, 6] In addition novel aryl macrocyclic and acyclic triazole based oligomers have been shown to recognise halide anions via cooperative triazole C5-H….anion hydrogen bonds.[7] In light of this it is surprising the potential anion binding affinity of the positively charged triazolium motif has not, with one notable exception,[8] been investigated. With the objective of manipulating the unique topological cavities of mechanically bonded molecules for anion recognition purposes, we have developed general methods of using anions to template the formation of interpenetrated and interlocked structures.[9-13] Herein we report the first examples of exploiting the 1,2,3-triazolium group in the anion templated formation of pseudorotaxane and rotaxane assemblies. In an unprecedented discovery the bromide anion is shown to be a superior templating reagent to chloride in the synthesis of a novel triazolium axle containing [2]rotaxane. Furthermore the resulting rotaxane interlocked host system exhibits the rare selectivity preference for bromide over chloride...

Pre-Admission and Post-Hospital Management of Heart Failure in Patients not Enrolled in Specialist Programs

Aim: To review the management of heart failure in patients not enrolled in specialist multidisciplinary programs. Method: A prospective clinical audit of patients admitted to hospital with either a current or past diagnosis of heart failure and not enrolled in a specialist heart failure program or under the direct care of the cardiology unit. Results: 81 eligible patients were enrolled (1 August to 1 October 2008). The median age was 81 9.4 years and 48% were male. Most patients (63%) were in New York Heart Association Class II or Class III heart failure. On discharge, 59% of patients were prescribed angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and 43% were prescribed beta-blockers. During hospitalisation, 8.6% of patients with a past diagnosis of heart failure were started on an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor and 4.9% on a beta-blocker. There was evidence of suboptimal dosage on admission and discharge for angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (19% and 7.4%) and beta-blockers (29% and 17%). The results compared well with international reports regarding the under-treatment of heart failure. Conclusion: The demonstrated practice gap provides excellent opportunities for the involvement of pharmacists to improve the continuation of care for heart failure patients discharged from hospital in the areas of medication management review, dose titration and monitoring.

Drug law enforcement : a review of the evaluation literature

This article describes the results of a systematic review of drug law enforcement evaluations. The authors describe the search procedures and document the results in five main categories: international/national interventions (e.g., interdiction and drug seizure), reactive/ directed interventions (e.g., crackdowns, raids, buy-busts, saturation patrol, etc.), proactive/ partnership interventions (e.g., third-party policing, problem-oriented policing, community policing, drug nuisance abatement, etc.), individualized interventions (e.g., arrest referral and diversion), or interventions that used a combination of reactive/directed and proactive/ partnership strategies. Results indicate that proactive interventions involving partnerships between the police and third parties and/or community entities appear to be more effective at reducing both drug and nondrug problems in drug problem places than are reactive/ directed approaches. But the general quality of research in drug law enforcement is poor, the range of interventions that have been evaluated is limited, and more high-quality research is needed across a greater variety of drug interventions.

Good faith in contractual performance and enforcement : Australian doctrinal hurdles

In the ongoing and spirited debate about the relative merits of an obligation of good faith in contractual performance and enforcement, widely divergent views have been expressed about the appropriateness and content of the putative obligation. However, relatively less time has been devoted to discussion of the sparseness of tools available to facilitate doctrinal development and the hurdles necessarily imposed by such limited doctrinal resources. This article seeks to examine the Australian doctrinal position against the backdrop of good faith as it finds application in the wider global context.

Evaluating effects of eco-driving at traffic intersections based on traffic micro-simulation

Eco-driving is an initiative driving behavior which aims to reduce fuel consumption and emissions from automobiles. Recently, it has attracted increasing interests and has been adopted by many drivers in Australia. Although many of the studies have revealed considerable benefits in terms of fuel consumption and emissions after utilising eco-driving, most of the literature investigated eco-driving effects on individual driver but not traffic flow. The driving behavior of eco-drivers will potentially affect other drivers and thereby affects the entire traffic flow. To comprehensively assess and understand how effectively eco-driving can perform, therefore, measurement on traffic flow is necessary. In this paper, we proposed and demonstrated an evaluation method based on a microscopic traffic simulator (Aimsun). We focus on one particular eco-driving style which involves moderate and smooth acceleration. We evaluated both traffic performance (travel time) and environmental performance (fuel consumption and CO2 emission) at traffic intersection level in a simple simulation model. The before-and-after comparisons indicated potentially negative impacts when using eco-driving, which highlighted the necessity to carefully evaluate and improve eco-driving before wide promotion and implementation.

Street-level drug law enforcement : a meta-analytical review

Our paper presents the results of a meta-analytical review of street level drug law enforcement. We conducted a series of meta-analyses to compare and contrast the effectiveness of four types of drug law enforcement approaches, including community-wide policing, problem-oriented/ partnership approaches that were geographically focused, hotspots policing and standard, unfocused law enforcement efforts. We examined the relative impact of these different crime control tactics on streetlevel drug problems as well as associated problems such as property crime, disorder and violent crime. The results of the meta-analyses, together with examination of forest plots, reveal that problem-oriented policing and geographically-focused interventions involving cooperative partnerships between police and third parties tend to be more effective at controlling drug problems than community-wide policing efforts that are unfocused and spread out across a community. But geographically focused and community-wide drug law enforcement interventions that leverage partnerships are more effective at dealing with drug problems than traditional, law enforcement-only interventions. Our results suggest that the key to successful drug law enforcement lies in the capacity of the police to forge productive partnerships with third parties rather than simply increasing police presence or intervention (e.g., arrests) at drug hotspots.

Peer state assessment of TxDOT maintenance program and practices : workshop and road rally findings

In an effort to evaluate and improve their practices to ensure the future excellence of the Texas highway system, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) sought a forum in which experts from other state departments of transportation could share their expertise. Thus, the Peer State Review of TxDOT Maintenance Practices project was organized and conducted for TxDOT by the Center for Transportation Research (CTR) at The University of Texas at Austin. The goal of the project was to conduct a workshop at CTR and in the Austin District that would educate the visiting peers on TxDOT’s maintenance practices and invite their feedback. CTR and TxDOT arranged the participation of the following directors of maintenance: Steve Takigawa, CA; Roy Rissky, KS; Eric Pitts, GA; Jim Carney, MO; Jennifer Brandenburg, NC; and David Bierschbach, WA. One of the means used to capture the peer reviewers’ opinions was a carefully designed booklet of 15 questions. The peers provided TxDOT with written responses to these questions, and the oral comments made during the workshop were also captured. This information was then compiled and summarized in the following report. An examination of the peers’ comments suggests that TxDOT should use a more holistic, statewide approach to funding and planning rather than funding and planning for each district separately. Additionally, the peers stressed the importance of allocating funds based on the actual conditions of the roadways instead of on inventory. The visiting directors of maintenance also recommended continuing and proliferating programs that enhance communication, such as peer review workshops.

Arterial traffic congestion analysis using Bluetooth duration data

The aim of this study is to assess the potential use of Bluetooth data for traffic monitoring of arterial road networks. Bluetooth data provides the direct measurement of travel time between pairs of scanners, and intensive research has been reported on this topic. Bluetooth data includes “Duration” data, which represents the time spent by Bluetooth devices to pass through the detection range of Bluetooth scanners. If the scanners are located at signalised intersections, this Duration can be related to intersection performance, and hence represents valuable information for traffic monitoring. However the use of Duration has been ignored in previous analyses. In this study, the Duration data as well as travel time data is analysed to capture the traffic condition of a main arterial route in Brisbane. The data consists of one week of Bluetooth data provided by Brisbane City Council. As well, micro simulation analysis is conducted to further investigate the properties of Duration. The results reveal characteristics of Duration, and address future research needs to utilise this valuable data source.

A traffic simulation standard based on data marts

Traffic Simulation models tend to have their own data input and output formats. In an effort to standardise the input for traffic simulations, we introduce in this paper a set of data marts that aim to serve as a common interface between the necessaary data, stored in dedicated databases, and the swoftware packages, that require the input in a certain format. The data marts are developed based on real world objects (e.g. roads, traffic lights, controllers) rather than abstract models and hence contain all necessary information that can be transformed by the importing software package to their needs. The paper contains a full description of the data marts for network coding, simulation results, and scenario management, which have been discussed with industry partners to ensure sustainability.