Environments For Healthy Living (EFHL) Griffith birth cohort study : characteristics of sample and profile of antenatal exposures

Background The Environments for Healthy Living (EFHL) study is a repeated sample, longitudinal birth cohort in South East Queensland, Australia. We describe the sample characteristics and profile of maternal, household, and antenatal exposures. Variation and data stability over recruitment years were examined. Methods Four months each year from 2006, pregnant women were recruited to EFHL at routine antenatal visits on or after 24 weeks gestation, from three public maternity hospitals. Participating mothers completed a baseline questionnaire on individual, familial, social and community exposure factors. Perinatal data were extracted from hospital birth records. Descriptive statistics and measures of association were calculated comparing the EFHL birth sample with regional and national reference populations. Data stability of antenatal exposure factors was assessed across five recruitment years (2006–2010 inclusive) using the Gamma statistic for ordinal data and chi-squared for nominal data. Results Across five recruitment years 2,879 pregnant women were recruited which resulted in 2904 live births with 29 sets of twins. EFHL has a lower representation of early gestational babies, fewer still births and a lower percentage of low birth weight babies, when compared to regional data. The majority of women (65%) took a multivitamin supplement during pregnancy, 47% consumed alcohol, and 26% reported having smoked cigarettes. There were no differences in rates of a range of antenatal exposures across five years of recruitment, with the exception of increasing maternal pre-pregnancy weight (p=0.0349), decreasing rates of high maternal distress (p=0.0191) and decreasing alcohol consumption (p<0.0001). Conclusions The study sample is broadly representative of births in the region and almost all factors showed data stability over time. This study, with repeated sampling of birth cohorts over multiple years, has the potential to make important contributions to population health through evaluating longitudinal follow-up and within cohort temporal effects.

Capturing opportunities for business and innovation in knowledge intensive services

Research on opportunity has been extensively studied in contexts of new firm or new venture creation (Choi & Shepherd, 2004; Mullins & Forlani, 2005; Ozgen & Baron, 2007) where start-ups and new ventures use both opportunity discovery and opportunity creation (Alvarez & Barney 2005, 2007). Less research is found on examining the relationship between opportunity and innovation in existing firms (with Drucker (1985) an exception). In large firms, opportunity recognition has been analysed in terms of antecedent conditions, elements and outcomes (Ireland, Covin & Kuratko, 2009), but to date less attention has been given to how small and medium enterprises capture and use opportunities to remain competitive. Little research has been carried out regarding how smaller firms use opportunities to create new business with existing customers or use technological advances with new customers to create new economic activity, growth and competitive advantage. This study presents findings from a comparative case analysis of 20 diverse firms in the spatial information industry and identifies constructs associated with identifying opportunities that lead to better business performance and firm level innovation.

A case study analysis of Israeli Organised Crime (IOC) (1990-2005) : applying the Crime Business Analysis Matrix (CBAM)

Israeli Organised Crime (IOC) gained prominence in the 1990s for its involvement in the manufacturing and wholesale distribution of MDMA through traditional trafficking networks across Europe. Equipped with astute business acumen and an entrepreneurial spirit, IOC dominated MDMA trafficking in Europe for more than a decade and remains as a major participant in this drug market. The paper analyses the entrepreneurial activities of IOC within the context of the MDMA market in Europe between 1990 and 2005 using the Crime Business Analysis Matrix (CBAM) as proffered by Dean, et al (2010). The study is in two parts. Part A provides a review of the literature as it pertains to IOC and its involvement in the European drug market, while Part B provides a qualitative analysis of their criminal business practices and entrepreneurialism of IOC within this context.

Stakeholder engagement and asset management : a case study of the Gold Coast airport, Queensland

One of the fastest growing industries – aviation – faces serious and compounding challenges in maintaining healthy relationships with community stakeholders. One area in aviation creating community conflict is noise pollution. However, current understandings of the factors that affect noise annoyance of the community are poorly conceptualized. More importantly, the way community needs and expectations could be incorporated in airport governance has been inadequately framed to address the issue of aircraft noise. This paper proposes the util-ity of adopting an integrated strategic asset management (ISAM) framework [1] to explore the dynamic nature of relationships between and airport and its surrounding area. The case of the Gold Coast Airport (OOL) operator and community stakeholders is used. This paper begins with an overview of the ISAM framework in the context of airport governance and sustainable development – as a way to find a balance between economic opportunities and societal concerns through stakeholder engagement. Next, an exploratory case study is adopted as a method to explore the noise-related complaints, complainants, and possible causes. Fol-lowing this, the paper reviews three approaches to community stakeholder engagement in Australia, Japan, and UK and discusses their implications in the con-text of OOL. The paper concludes with a contention that airport governance is likely to be much more effective with the adoption of ISAM framework than without it.

Risky business : mapping ethical landscapes and negotiating governance tensions when researching female offending

Whilst there is an excellent and growing body of literature around female criminality underpinned by feminist methodologies, the nitty gritty of the methodological journey is nowhere as well detailed as it is in the context of the Higher Degree Research (HDR) thesis. Thus the purpose of this paper is threefold: i) to explore a range of feminist methodologies underpinning 20 Australian HDR theses focussing on female criminality; ii) to identify and map the governance/ethics tensions experienced by these researchers whilst undertaking high risk research in the area of female offending; and iii) to document strategies drawn from negotiations, resolutions and outcomes to a range of gate-keeping issues. By exploring the strategies used by these researchers, this paper aims to: promote discussion on feminist methodologies; highlight pathways that may be created when negotiating the challenging process of accessing data pertinent to this relatively understudied area; contribute to a community of practice; and provide useful insights into what Mason & Stubbs (2010:16) refer to as “the open and honest reflexivity through the research process by describing the assumptions, and hiccups” for future researchers navigating governance landscapes.

Building Healthy Communities : GP Network, Medicare Local and Primary Health Care in the Wheatbelt Region of Western Australia

• Government reports consistently recognise the importance of Primary Health Care to an efficient health system. Barriers identified in Australia’s Primary Health Care include workforce pressures, increase rate of chronic disease, and equitable access to Primary Health Care services. • General Practitioners (GPs) are the key to the successful delivery of Primary Health Care especially in rural and remote regions such as the Wheatbelt region in Western Australia (WA). • The Wheatbelt region of WA is vast: some 72,500 residents spread across 150,000km2 in 43 Local Government Authorities catchments. Majority of the Wheatbelt residents live in small towns. There is a higher reported rates of chronic disease, more at risk of chronic diseases and less utilisation of Primary Health Care services in this region. • General practice patients in the Wheatbelt are among those most in need of Primary Health Care services. • Wheatbelt GP Network (the “Network”) was established in 1998. It is a key health service delivery stakeholder in the Wheatbelt. • The Network has responded to the health needs of the community by creating a mobile Allied Health Team that works closely with GPs and is adaptive to ensure priority needs are met. • The Medicare Local model introduced by the Australian Government in 2011 aimed to improve the delivery of Primary Health Care services by improved health planning and coordinating service delivery. • Little if any recognition has been given to the outstanding work that many Divisions of General Practice have done in improving the delivery of Primary Health Care services such as the Network. • The Network has continued to support GPs and general practices and created a complementary system that integrated general practice with the work of an Allied Health Team. Its program mix is extensive. • The Network has consistently delivered on-required contract outputs and has a fifteen (15) years history of operating successfully in a large geographical area comprising in the main smaller communities that cannot support the traditional health services model. • The complexity of supporting International Medical Graduates in the region requires special attention. • The introduction of the Medicare Local in the South West of WA and their intention to take over the delivery of health services, thus effectively shutting the Network will have catastrophic consequences and cannot be supported economically. • The Network proposes to create a new model, built on its past work that increases the delivery of Primary Health Care services through its current Allied Health Team. • The proposal uses the Wheatbelt GP Super Clinic currently under construction in Northam, part of the Network and funded by the Australian Government is a key to the proposed new model. • Wheatbelt GP Super Clinic is different from existing models of GP Super Clinics around Australia which focus predominately on co-location of services. Wheatbelt GP Super Clinic utilises a hub and spoke model of service outreach to small rural towns to ensure equitable Primary Health Care coverage and continuum of care in a financially responsible and viable manner. In particular, the Wheatbelt GP Super Clinic recognises the importance of Allied Health Professionals and will involve them in a collaborative model with rural general practice. • The proposed model advocated by the Network aims to substitute the South West WA Medicare Local direct service delivery proposed for the Wheatbelt. The Network’s proposed model is to expand on the current hub and spoke model of Primary Health Care delivery to otherwise small unviable Wheatbelt towns. A flexible and adaptive skill mix of Allied Health Professionals, Nurse Practitioners and GPs ensure equitable access to service. Expanded scope of practices are utilised to reduce duplication of service and concentration of services in major towns. This involves a partnership approach. • If the proposed model not funded, the Network and the Wheatbelt region will stand to lose 16 Allied Health Professionals and defeats the purpose of Australian Government current funding for the construction of the Wheatbelt GP Super Clinic. • The Network has considered how its model can best be funded. It proposes a re-allocation of funds made available to the South West WA Medicare Local. • This submission argues that the proposal for the South West WA Medicare Local to take over the service delivery of Primary Health Care services in the Wheatbelt makes no economic sense when an existing agency (the Network) has the infrastructure in place, is experienced in working in this geographical area that has special needs and is capable to expand its programs to meet demand.

Reflections on chemistry sessions at the 2012 Healthy Buildings Conference

Scores of well-researched individual papers and posters specifically or indirectly addressing the occurrence, measurement or exposure impacts of chemicals in buildings were presented at 2012 Healthy Buildings Conference. Many of these presentations offered advances in sampling and characterisation of chemical pollutants while others extended the frontiers of knowledge on the emission, adsorption, risk, fate and compositional levels of chemicals in indoor and outdoor microenvironments. Several modelled or monitored indoor chemistry, including processes that generated secondary pollutants. This article provides an overview of the state of knowledge on healthy buildings based on papers presented in chemistry sessions at Healthy Buildings 2012 (HB2012) Conference. It also suggests future directions in healthy buildings research.

Dynamic weaving in aspect oriented business process management

Reducing complexity in Information Systems is an important topic in both research and industry. One strategy to deal with complexity is separation of concerns, which results in less complex, easily maintainable and more reusable systems. Separation of concerns can be addressed through the Aspect Oriented paradigm. Although this paradigm has been well researched in programming, it is still at the preliminary stage in the area of Business Process Management. While some efforts have been made to extend business process modelling with aspect oriented capability, it has not yet been investigated how aspect oriented business process models should be executed at runtime. In this paper, we propose a generic solution to support execution of aspect oriented business process models based on the principle behind dynamic weaving of aspects. This solution is formally specified using Coloured Petri Nets. The resulting formal specification serves as the blueprint to the implementation of a service module in the framework of a state-of-the-art Business Process Management System. Using this developed artefact, a case study is performed in which two simplified processes from real business in the domain of banking are modelled and executed in an aspect oriented manner. Through this case study, we also demonstrate that adoption of aspect oriented modularization increases the reusability while reducing the complexity of business process models in practice.

Enterprise social networks : a business model perspective

Enterprise Social Networks continue to be adopted by organisations looking to increase collaboration between employees, customers and industry partners. Offering a varied range of features and functionality, this technology can be distinguished by the underlying business models that providers of this software deploy. This study identifies and describes the different business models through an analysis of leading Enterprise Social Networks: Yammer, Chatter, SharePoint, Connections, Jive, Facebook and Twitter. A key contribution of this research is the identification of consumer and corporate models as extreme approaches. These findings align well with research on the adoption of Enterprise Social Networks that has discussed bottom-up and top-down approaches. Of specific interest are hybrid models that wrap a corporate model within a consumer model and may, therefore, provide synergies on both models. From a broader perspective, this can be seen as the merging of the corporate and consumer markets for IT products and services.

Retaining the thin blue line : What shapes workers' intentions not to quit the current work environment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between workplace factors and the intentions of police officers to quit their current department. Design/methodology/approach – Data from a survey of Baltimore officers, designed to examine the relationship between police stress and domestic violence in police families were used. Using multivariate regression analysis, the authors focus on the officers' stated intentions to look for alternative employment, with proxies for social and workplace factors. Findings – Higher levels of cooperation (trust), interactional justice and work-life-balance reduce police officers' intentions to quit. While high levels of physical and psychological strain and trauma are not correlated with intentions to quit. Research limitations/implications – A discernible limitation of this study is the age of the data analyzed and that many changes have occurred in recent times (policing and social). It would be of great interest to repeat this study to gauge the true effect. Practical implications – There are policy implications for retention and recruitment: it may possible to decrease the ethnic and gender gaps, through identifying officers at risk and creating programs to hold existing minorities, recruit more, whilst maintaining a strong, happy and healthy department. Originality/value – This study examines the impact of workplace factors on quitting intention for police officers. It is demonstrated that social capital, fairness and work-life balance are moderators for quitting, adding to the literature on worker retention, as little research has been done using multivariate analysis on quitting intentions.

How international entrepreneurship characteristics influence Internet capabilities for the international business processes of the firm

This research explores the relationship between international entrepreneurship characteristics and the use of Internet capabilities for the international business processes of the firm. It has been suggested, that the accumulation of a firms Internet capability can assist international operations, especially when operating in fast changing dynamic Internet environments. However, international entrepreneurship characteristics which are seen as a precursor to leveraging Internet capabilities are still vague. Given this finding, eight case studies of small and medium sized travel and tourism firms were selected to investigate the influence of international entrepreneurship characteristics, and Internet capabilities for international business processes. Based on the eight in-depth case studies, the results signify that successful international entrepreneurial firms which encompass high levels of international innovativeness and proactiveness behaviour integrate Internet capabilities to a greater degree. Our findings also indicate that the prior international business experience, international risk-taking propensity and international networking characteristics are not necessarily precursors to successful integration of Internet capabilities for international business processes. On the contrary, international business experience and international networks actually lead to a reliance on traditional mechanisms of internationalisation and can dilute the development of Internet capabilities for international business processes.

Monitoring and benchmarking government policies and actions to improve the healthiness of food environments : a proposed Government Healthy Food Environment Policy Index

Government action is essential to increase the healthiness of food environments and reduce obesity, diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and their related inequalities. This paper proposes a monitoring framework to assess government policies and actions for creating healthy food environments. Recommendations from relevant authoritative organizations and expert advisory groups for reducing obesity and NCDs were examined, and pertinent components were incorporated into a comprehensive framework for monitoring government policies and actions. A Government Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) was developed, which comprises a ‘policy’ component with seven domains on specific aspects of food environments, and an ‘infrastructure support’ component with seven domains to strengthen systems to prevent obesity and NCDs. These were revised through a week-long consultation process with international experts. Examples of good practice statements are proposed within each domain, and these will evolve into benchmarks established by governments at the forefront of creating and implementing food policies for good health. A rating process is proposed to assess a government's level of policy implementation towards good practice. The Food-EPI will be pre-tested and piloted in countries of varying size and income levels. The benchmarking of government policy implementation has the potential to catalyse greater action to reduce obesity and NCDs.

Implementation of a better choice healthy food and drink supply strategy for staff and visitors in government owned health facilities in Queensland, Australia

Objective The present paper reports on a quality improvement activity examining implementation of A Better Choice Healthy Food and Drink Supply Strategy for Queensland Health Facilities (A Better Choice). A Better Choice is a policy to increase supply and promotion of healthy foods and drinks and decrease supply and promotion of energy-dense, nutrient-poor choices in all food supply areas including food outlets, staff dining rooms, vending machines, tea trolleys, coffee carts, leased premises, catering, fundraising, promotion and advertising. Design An online survey targeted 278 facility managers to collect self-reported quantitative and qualitative data. Telephone interviews were sought concurrently with the twenty-five A Better Choice district contact officers to gather qualitative information. Setting Public sector-owned and -operated health facilities in Queensland, Australia. Subjects One hundred and thirty-four facility managers and twenty-four district contact officers participated with response rates of 48·2 % and 96·0 %, respectively. Results Of facility managers, 78·4 % reported implementation of more than half of the A Better Choice requirements including 24·6 % who reported full strategy implementation. Reported implementation was highest in food outlets, staff dining rooms, tea trolleys, coffee carts, internal catering and drink vending machines. Reported implementation was more problematic in snack vending machines, external catering, leased premises and fundraising. Conclusions Despite methodological challenges, the study suggests that policy approaches to improve the food and drink supply can be implemented successfully in public-sector health facilities, although results can be limited in some areas. A Better Choice may provide a model for improving food supply in other health and workplace settings.

The increasing cost of healthy food

OBJECTIVE: To assess changes in the cost and availability of a standard basket of healthy food items (the Healthy Food Access Basket [HFAB]) in Queensland. METHODS: Analysis of five cross-sectional surveys (1998, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2006) describes changes over time. Eighty-nine stores in five remoteness categories were surveyed during May 2006. For the first time a sampling framework based on randomisation of towns throughout the state was applied and the survey was conducted by Queensland Treasury. RESULTS: Compared with the costs in major cities, in 2006 the mean cost of the HFAB was $107.81 (24.2%) higher in very remote stores in Queensland, but $145.57 (32.6%) higher in stores more than 2,000 kilometres from Brisbane. Over six years the cost of the HFAB has increased by around 50% ($148.87) across Queensland and, where data was available, by more than the cost of less healthy alternatives. The Consumer Price Index for food in Brisbane increased by 32.5% over the same period. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Australians, no matter where they live, need access to affordable, healthy food. Issues of food security in the face of rising food costs are of concern particularly in the current global economic downturn. There is an urgent need to nationally monitor, but also sustainably address the factors affecting the price of healthy foods, particularly for vulnerable groups who suffer a disproportionate burden of poor health.

Modelling the salient factors influencing retired business professionals' participation in episodic skilled volunteering in rural settings

Retired business professionals represent an unexplored source of skill support for struggling rural communities. This research examined the feasibility of drawing on this valuable pool of knowledge and experience by engaging retirees in short term, project based volunteering roles in rural, not for profit agencies. Using the theory of planned behaviour and the functional approach to volunteering, the program of study generated a model comprising the key psychological and contextual factors determining the volunteers' decision to provide skill assistance in rural settings. The model provides a useful resource for creating suitable volunteering opportunities and for informing volunteer recruitment strategies.