Safer construction : the development of a voluntary code of practice to improve safety performance in the Australian construction industry

In Australia, between 1994 and 2000, 50 construction workers were killed each year as a result of their work, the industry fatality rate, at 10.4 per 100,000 persons, is similar to the national road toll fatality rate and the rate of serious injury is 50% higher than the all industries average. This poor performance represents a significant threat to the industry’s social sustainability. Despite the best efforts of regulators and policy makers at both State and Federal levels, the incidence of death, injury and illness in the Australian construction industry has remained intransigently high, prompting an industry-led initiative to improve the occupational health and safety (OHS) performance of the Australian construction industry. The ‘Safer Construction’ project involves the development of an evidence-based Voluntary Code of Practice for OHS in the industry.

Phylogenetic placement of the sugarcane orange rust pathogen Puccinia kuehnii in a historical and regional context

Sugarcane orange rust, caused by Puccinia kuehnii, was once considered a minor disease in the Australian sugar industry. However, in 2000 a new race of the pathogen devastated the high-performing sugarcane cultivar Q124, and caused the industry Aus$150–210 million in yield losses. At the time of the epidemic, very little was known about the genetic and pathogenic diversity of the fungus in Australia and neighbouring sugar industries. DNA sequence data from three rDNA regions were used to determine the genetic relationships between isolates within two P. kuehnii collections. The first collection comprised only recent Australian field isolates and limited sequence variation was detected within this population. In the second study, Australian isolates were compared with isolates from Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, China and historical herbarium collections. Greater sequence variation was detected in this collection and phylogenetic analyses grouped the isolates into three clades. All isolates from commercial cane fields clustered together including the recent Australianfield isolates and the Australian historical isolate from 1898.The other two clades included rust isolates from wild and garden canes in Indonesia and PNG. These rusts appeared morphologically similar to P. kuehnii and could potentially pose a quarantine threat to the Australian sugar industry. The results have revealed greater diversity in sugarcane rusts than previously thought.

Is implementing criterion-referenced assessment worth the effort with gen Y?

Well implemented criterion-referenced assessment (CRA) requires dedicated time and effort, especially in describing realistic expectations of evidence of achievement to students in the form of criteria sheets (or grading rubrics). It is also takes time out of delivering content to teach students how to judge their own work using criteria sheets. In 2007, to engage third year Microbiology students in using criteria sheets for the first time in their degree, we devised an innovative assessment tutorial supported by online resources. We were sceptical of much of the literature that reported ‘agreed’ characteristics of our predominantly gen Y cohort, because of the older ages of the majority of authors. These authors claim gen Y has a propensity for digital media, overconfidence in their own abilities and a collaborative orientation. We rejected this stereotype when developing the tutorial. Evaluations by students were positive and there was no dramatic change to grades for the unit. These results are similar to those in the literature for non gen Y cohorts. This lends support to our claim that giving students control over their own learning, irrespective of their generational label, is worth the time and effort.

The new lows : representing Asian-Australians on television

This project utilises creative practice as research, and involves writing and discussing four sample episodes of a proposed six-part dramatic, black-comedy1 television mini-series titled The New Lows. Combined, the creative project and accompanying exegesis seeks to illuminate and interrogate some of the inherent concerns, pitfalls and politics encountered in writing original Asian-Australian characters for television. Moreover, this thesis seeks to develop and deliberate on characters that would expand, shift and extend concepts of stereotyping and authenticity as they are used in creative writing for television. The protagonists of The New Lows are the contemporary and dysfunctional Asian-Australian Lo family: the Hong Kong immigrants John and Dorothy, and their Australian-born children Wendy, Simon and Tommy. Collectively, they struggle to manage the family business: a decaying suburban Chinese restaurant called Sunny Days, which is stumbling towards imminent commercial death. At the same time, each of the characters must negotiate their own personal catastrophes, which they hide from fellow family members out of shame and fear. Although there is a narrative arc to the series, I have also endeavoured to write each episode as a selfcontained story. Written alongside the creative works is an exegetical component. Through the paradigm of Asian-Australian studies, the exegesis examines the writing process and narrative content of The New Lows, alongside previous representations of Asians on Australian and international television and screen. Concepts discussed include stereotype, ethnicity, otherness, hybridity and authenticity. However, the exegesis also seeks to question the dominant cultural paradigms through which these issues are predominantly discussed. These investigations are particularly relevant, since The New Lows draws upon a suite of characters commonly considered to be stereotypical in Asian-Australian representations.

Unionization : a necessary strategy to arrest professional decline?

This article examines contemporary social work and why it is under serious threat, ideologically and economically, in a rapidly changing world that no longer highly values its social mandate, methods, and outcomes. Within this hostile environment we investigate the low salaries and high student debt that beginning social workers experience, which might otherwise drive them into unions. Instead, the profession resists unionization, preferring to remain focused on its ideals rather than the disquieting marketplace realities. We then examine the general elements of a hybrid union model that can assist social workers to organize and thus arrest their long-standing professional and fiscal decline.

"There's no way in hell I would pull up" : Deterrent and other effects of vehicle impoundment laws for hooning

Traffic law enforcement is based on deterrence principles, whereby drivers control their behaviour in order to avoid an undesirable sanction. For “hooning”-related driving behaviours in Queensland, the driver’s vehicle can be impounded for 48 hours, 3 months, or permanently depending on the number of previous hooning offences. It is assumed that the threat of losing something of value, their vehicle, will discourage drivers from hooning. While official data shows that the rate of repeat offending is low, an in-depth understanding of the deterrent effects of these laws should involve qualitative research with targeted drivers. A sample of 22 drivers who reported engaging in hooning behaviours participated in focus group discussions about the vehicle impoundment laws as applied to hooning offences in Queensland. The findings suggested that deterrence theory alone cannot fully explain hooning behaviour, as participants reported hooning frequently, and intended to continue doing so, despite reporting that it is likely that they will be caught, and perceiving the vehicle impoundment laws to be extremely severe. The punishment avoidance aspect of deterrence theory appears important, as well as factors over and above legal issues, particularly social influences. A concerning finding was drivers’ willingness to flee from police in order to avoid losing their vehicle permanently for a third offence, despite acknowledging risks to their own safety and that of others. This paper discusses the study findings in terms of the implications for future research directions, enforcement practices and policy development for hooning and other traffic offences for which vehicle impoundment is applied.

Environmental rights, justice and climate change

The human rights implications of climate change are increasingly gaining attention, with wider international acknowledgement that climate change poses a real threat to human rights. This paper considers the impact of climate change on human rights, looking particularly at the experiences of Torres Strait Islanders in northern Australia. It argues that human rights law offers a guiding set of principles which can help in developing appropriate strategies to combat climate change. In particular, the normative principles embodied in environmental rights can be useful in setting priorities and evaluating policies in response to climate change. The paper also argues that a human rights perspective can help address the underlying injustice of climate change: that it is the people who have contributed least to the problem who will bear the heaviest burden of its effects.

Relationship over time between psychological distress and physical activity in colorectal cancer survivors

Purpose Increased physical activity in colorectal cancer patients is related to improved recurrence free and overall survival. Psychological distress after cancer may place patients at risk of reduced physical activity; but paradoxically also act as a motivator for positive lifestyle change. The relationship between psychological distress and physical activity after cancer over time has not been described. Methods A prospective survey of 1966 (57% response) colorectal cancer survivors assessed the psychological distress variables of anxiety, depression, somatisation, cancer threat appraisal as predictors of physical activity five, 12, 24 and 36 months post-diagnosis 978 respondents had valid data for all time points. Results Higher somatisation was associated with greater physical inactivity (Relative risk ratio (RRR) =1.12; 95% CI=[1.1, 1.2]) and insufficient physical activity (RRR=1.05; [0.90, 1.0]). Respondents with a more positive appraisal of their cancer were significantly (p=0.031) less likely to be inactive (RRR=0.95; [0.90, 1.0]) or insufficiently active (RRR=0.96). Fatigued and obese respondents and current smokers were more inactive. Respondents whose somatisation increased between two time periods were less likely to increase their physical activity over the same period (p<0.001). Respondents with higher anxiety at one time period were less likely to have increased their activity at the next assessment (p=0.004). There was no association between depression and physical activity. Conclusions Cancer survivors who experience somatisation and anxiety are at greater risk of physical inactivity. The lack of a clear relationship between higher psychological distress and increasing physical activity argues against distress as a motivator to exercise in these patients.

Safeguarding Rural Australia : Data Report No. 2 - Intentional Violence

This report focuses on our examination of extant data which have been sourced with respect to intentional violence perpetrated or experienced by males in regional and remote Australia. The nature of intentional violent acts can be physical, sexual or psychological or involve deprivation or neglect. We have presented under the headings of: self-harm including suicide; homicide; assault, sexual assault and the threat of assault; child abuse; other family and intimate partner violence; harassment, stalking and bullying; alcohol related social violence; and animal abuse. State variations in interpersonal violence are also presented. Additional commentary resulting from exploration, examination and analyses of secondary data is published online in complementary reports in this series.

Same-sex intimate partner violence : exploring the parameters

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is not only a problem for heterosexual couples. Although research in the area is beset by methodological and definitional problems, studies generally demonstrate that IPV also affects those who identify as non-heterosexual; that is, those sexualities that are typically categorized as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex (LGBTI). IPV appears to be at least as prevalent in LGBTI relationships as it is in heterosexual couples, and follows similar patterns (e.g. Australian Research Centre on Sex, Health and Society 2006; Donovan et al. 2006; Chan 2005; Craft and Serovich 2005; Burke et al. 2002; Jeffries and Ball 2008; Kelly and Warshafsky 1987; Letellier 1994; Turrell 2000; Ristock 2003; Vickers 1996). There is, however, little in the way of specific community or social services support available to either victims or perpetrators of violence in same-sex relationships (see Vickers 1996). In addition, there are important differences in the experience of IPV between LGBTI and non-LGBTI victims, and even among LGBTI individuals; for example, among transgender populations (Chan 2005), and those who are HIV sero-positive (Craft and Serovich 2005). These different experiences of IPV include the use of HIV and the threat of “outing” a partner as tools of control, as just two examples (Jeffries and Ball 2008; Salyer 1999; WA Government 2008b). Such differences impact on how LGBTI victims respond to the violence, including whether or not and how they seek help, what services they are able to avail themselves of, and how likely they are to remain with, or return to, their violent partners (Burke et al. 2002). This chapter explores the prevalent heteronormative discourses that surround IPV, both within the academic literature, and in general social and government discourses. It seeks to understand how same-sex IPV remains largely invisible, and suggests that these dominant discourses play a major role in maintaining this invisibility. In many respects, it builds on work by a number of scholars who have begun to interrogate the criminal justice and social discourses surrounding violent crime, primarily sexual violence, and who problematize these discourses (see for example Carmody 2003; Carmody and Carrington 2000; Marcus 1992). It will begin by outlining these dominant discourses, and then problematize these by identifying some of the important differences between LGBTI IPV and IPV in heterosexual relationships. In doing so, this chapter will suggest some possible reasons for the silence regarding IPV in LGBTI relationships, and the effects that this can have on victims. Although an equally important area of research, and another point at which the limitations of dominant social discourses surrounding IPV can be brought to light, this chapter will not examine violence experienced by heterosexual men at the hands of their intimate female partners. Instead, it will restrict itself to IPV perpetrated within same-sex relationships.

'Homophobia' in the university classroom : law and justice students' conceptualizations of queer identity

Heteronormative discourses provide the most common lens through which sexuality is understood within university curricula. This means that sexuality is discussed in terms of categories of identity, with heterosexuality accorded primacy and all ‘others’ indeed ‘othered.’ This paper reports on research carried out by the authors in a core first year university justice class, in which students of law and/or justice were required to engage with, discuss, and reflect on discourses on sexuality. It uses a poststructural framework to identify how students understand non-heterosexualities and how they personally relate to queer identities, in the sense that it asks questions about gender and sexual identity, and the discourses surrounding them. It was found that strongly negative attitudes to non-heterosexualities are quite resistant to challenge, and that some students express being confronted with queerness as a deep-seated fear of being drawn into otherness against their will. The result was that, while many students were able to unpack their attitudes towards queerness and engage in critical reflection and re-evaluation of their attitudes, students with strongly negative views towards non-heterosexualities conversely refused to engage at all, typically perceiving even the engagement itself as a threat to their core heterosexual identity. However, the authors caution against relying on the idea that students are simply “homophobic” to explain this reluctance, as this term does not necessarily account for the complexity of the discourses that inform students’ reactions in this context. This “homophobia” may simply be related to a way of performing gender and sexual identity as opposed to overt discrimination and fear.

A role mining inspired approach to representing user behaviour in ERP systems

Despite all attempts to prevent fraud, it continues to be a major threat to industry and government. Traditionally, organizations have focused on fraud prevention rather than detection, to combat fraud. In this paper we present a role mining inspired approach to represent user behaviour in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, primarily aimed at detecting opportunities to commit fraud or potentially suspicious activities. We have adapted an approach which uses set theory to create transaction profiles based on analysis of user activity records. Based on these transaction profiles, we propose a set of (1) anomaly types to detect potentially suspicious user behaviour and (2) scenarios to identify inadequate segregation of duties in an ERP environment. In addition, we present two algorithms to construct a directed acyclic graph to represent relationships between transaction profiles. Experiments were conducted using a real dataset obtained from a teaching environment and a demonstration dataset, both using SAP R/3, presently the most predominant ERP system. The results of this empirical research demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Evidence that human chlamydia pneumoniae was zoonotically acquired

Zoonotic infections are a growing threat to global health. Chlamydia pneumoniae is a major human pathogen that is widespread in human populations, causing acute respiratory disease, and has been associated with chronic disease. C. pneumoniae was first identified solely in human populations; however, its host range now includes other mammals, marsupials, amphibians, and reptiles. Australian koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) are widely infected with two species of Chlamydia, C. pecorum and C. pneumoniae. Transmission of C. pneumoniae between animals and humans has not been reported; however, two other chlamydial species, C. psittaci and C. abortus, are known zoonotic pathogens. We have sequenced the 1,241,024-bp chromosome and a 7.5-kb cryptic chlamydial plasmid of the koala strain of C. pneumoniae (LPCoLN) using the whole-genome shotgun method. Comparative genomic analysis, including pseudogene and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) distribution, and phylogenetic analysis of conserved genes and SNPs against the human isolates of C. pneumoniae show that the LPCoLN isolate is basal to human isolates. Thus, we propose based on compelling genomic and phylogenetic evidence that humans were originally infected zoonotically by an animal isolate(s) of C. pneumoniae which adapted to humans primarily through the processes of gene decay and plasmid loss, to the point where the animal reservoir is no longer required for transmission.

Detecting and characterising malicious executable payloads

Buffer overflow vulnerabilities continue to prevail and the sophistication of attacks targeting these vulnerabilities is continuously increasing. As a successful attack of this type has the potential to completely compromise the integrity of the targeted host, early detection is vital. This thesis examines generic approaches for detecting executable payload attacks, without prior knowledge of the implementation of the attack, in such a way that new and previously unseen attacks are detectable. Executable payloads are analysed in detail for attacks targeting the Linux and Windows operating systems executing on an Intel IA-32 architecture. The execution flow of attack payloads are analysed and a generic model of execution is examined. A novel classification scheme for executable attack payloads is presented which allows for characterisation of executable payloads and facilitates vulnerability and threat assessments, and intrusion detection capability assessments for intrusion detection systems. An intrusion detection capability assessment may be utilised to determine whether or not a deployed system is able to detect a specific attack and to identify requirements for intrusion detection functionality for the development of new detection methods. Two novel detection methods are presented capable of detecting new and previously unseen executable attack payloads. The detection methods are capable of identifying and enumerating the executable payload’s interactions with the operating system on the targeted host at the time of compromise. The detection methods are further validated using real world data including executable payload attacks.

Real time detectionof airborne fungal spores and investigations into their dynamics in indoor air

Concern regarding the health effects of indoor air quality has grown in recent years, due to the increased prevalence of many diseases, as well as the fact that many people now spend most of their time indoors. While numerous studies have reported on the dynamics of aerosols indoors, the dynamics of bioaerosols in indoor environments are still poorly understood and very few studies have focused on fungal spore dynamics in indoor environments. Consequently, this work investigated the dynamics of fungal spores in indoor air, including fungal spore release and deposition, as well as investigating the mechanisms involved in the fungal spore fragmentation process. In relation to the investigation of fungal spore dynamics, it was found that the deposition rates of the bioaerosols (fungal propagules) were in the same range as the deposition rates of nonbiological particles and that they were a function of their aerodynamic diameters. It was also found that fungal particle deposition rates increased with increasing ventilation rates. These results (which are reported for the first time) are important for developing an understanding of the dynamics of fungal spores in the air. In relation to the process of fungal spore fragmentation, important information was generated concerning the airborne dynamics of the spores, as well as the part/s of the fungi which undergo fragmentation. The results obtained from these investigations into the dynamics of fungal propagules in indoor air significantly advance knowledge about the fate of fungal propagules in indoor air, as well as their deposition in the respiratory tract. The need to develop an advanced, real-time method for monitoring bioaerosols has become increasingly important in recent years, particularly as a result of the increased threat from biological weapons and bioterrorism. However, to date, the Ultraviolet Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (UVAPS, Model 3312, TSI, St Paul, MN) is the only commercially available instrument capable of monitoring and measuring viable airborne micro-organisms in real-time. Therefore (for the first time), this work also investigated the ability of the UVAPS to measure and characterise fungal spores in indoor air. The UVAPS was found to be sufficiently sensitive for detecting and measuring fungal propagules. Based on fungal spore size distributions, together with fluorescent percentages and intensities, it was also found to be capable of discriminating between two fungal spore species, under controlled laboratory conditions. In the field, however, it would not be possible to use the UVAPS to differentiate between different fungal spore species because the different micro-organisms present in the air may not only vary in age, but may have also been subjected to different environmental conditions. In addition, while the real-time UVAPS was found to be a good tool for the investigation of fungal particles under controlled conditions, it was not found to be selective for bioaerosols only (as per design specifications). In conclusion, the UVAPS is not recommended for use in the direct measurement of airborne viable bioaerosols in the field, including fungal particles, and further investigations into the nature of the micro-organisms, the UVAPS itself and/or its use in conjunction with other conventional biosamplers, are necessary in order to obtain more realistic results. Overall, the results obtained from this work on airborne fungal particle dynamics will contribute towards improving the detection capabilities of the UVAPS, so that it is capable of selectively monitoring and measuring bioaerosols, for which it was originally designed. This work will assist in finding and/or improving other technologies capable of the real-time monitoring of bioaerosols. The knowledge obtained from this work will also be of benefit in various other bioaerosol applications, such as understanding the transport of bioaerosols indoors.