Surveying the field: Primary school teachers’ conceptions of the literacy capabilities of recently graduated primary school teachers

In 2015, ALEA National Council provided funds to support the implementation of a research project which was undertaken by a group of teacher educators and researchers from a range of universities across three Australian states. Stage one of the project, which is reported on here, examined primary school teachers’ perceptions of the personal and professional literacy capabilities of recently graduated primary school teachers. This stage of the project also examined primary school teachers’ perceptions of the impact of initial teacher education on the personal and professional literacy capabilities of recently graduated primary school teachers. The project team, led by Associate Professor Beryl Exley (Queensland University of Technology), included Chief Investigators Dr Eileen Honan (The University of Queensland), Associate Professor Lisa Kervin (University of Wollongong), Associate Professor Alyson Simpson (University of Sydney) and Dr Muriel Wells (Deakin University), with Dr Sandy Muspratt as the Statistical Analyst and Lesley Friend as the Research Assistant with primary responsibility for the publication of the online survey.

Dynamics of nitrate-nitrogen removal in experimental stormwater biofilters under intermittent wetting and drying

High concentrations of nitrate-nitrogen degrade the quality of aquatic environments. The primary mechanism by which nitrate-nitrogen is removed (denitrification) requires anoxic conditions and electron donors. While removal of total and ammonium-nitrogen is often high in stormwater biofilters, poor removal or even the release of nitrate-nitrogen in the outflow has often been observed. Five Perspex biofilter columns (94 mm internal diameter) were fabricated with a filter layer that contained 8% organic material. Columns were operated at 875  mm/h 875  mm/h and fed with simulated stormwater with different antecedent dry days (ADDs) and concentrations of nitrate-nitrogen. Samples were collected from the outflow at different time intervals between 2 and 150 min and were tested for nitrate-nitrogen. The removal of nitrate-nitrogen varied during an event from a high removal percentage (60–90%) in the initial outflow that gradually decreased in the first 30 min and settled at 0–15% removal thereafter. This remained consistent during all simulated events independent of the number of ADDs or inflow concentrations. ADDs and previous event feed concentrations affected the outflow nitrate-nitrogen concentration in the first 30 min of the current event. Therefore, from this study it is concluded that denitrification within stormwater biofilters occurs mainly during drying periods rather than wetting periods.

Building a flexible, voluntary donation panel: An exploration of donor willingness

BACKGROUND As blood collection agencies (BCAs) face recurrent shortages of varying blood products, developing a panel comprising donors who are flexible in the product they donate based on same-time inventory demand could be an efficient, cost-effective inventory management strategy. Accounting for prior whole blood (WB) and plasmapheresis donation experience, this article explores current donors’ willingness to change their donation product and identifies the type of information required for such donation flexibility. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Telephone interviews (mean, 34 min; SD, 11 min) were conducted with 60 donors recruited via stratified purposive sampling representing six donor groups: no plasma, new to both WB and plasma, new to plasma, plasma, flexible (i.e., alternating between WB and plasma), and maximum (i.e., high frequency alternating between WB and plasma) donors. Participants responded to hypothetical scenarios and open-ended questions relating to their and other donors’ willingness to be flexible. Responses were transcribed and content was analyzed. RESULTS The most frequently endorsed categories varied between donor groups with more prominent differences emerging between the information and support that donors desired for themselves versus that for others. Most donors were willing to change donations but sought improved donation logistics and information regarding inventory levels to encourage flexibility. The factors perceived to facilitate the flexibility of other donors included providing donor-specific information and information regarding different donation types. CONCLUSION Regardless of donation history, donors are willing to be flexible with their donations. To foster a flexible donor panel, BCAs should continue to streamline the donation process and provide information relevant to donors’ experience.

Making decisions about antibiotic use in the Australian primary healthcare sector

Background Australia has one of the highest rates of antibiotic use amongst OECD countries. Data from the Australian primary healthcare sector suggests unnecessary antibiotics were prescribed for self-resolving conditions. We need to better understand what drives general practitioners (GPs) to prescribe antibiotics, consumers to seek antibiotics, and pharmacists to fill repeat antibiotic prescriptions. It is also not clear how these individuals trade-off between the possible benefits that antibiotics may provide in the immediate/short term, against the longer term societal risk of antimicrobial resistance. This project investigates what factors drive decisions to use antibiotics for GPs, pharmacists and consumers, and how these individuals discount the future. Methods Factors will be gleaned from published literature and from semi-structured interviews, to inform the development of Discrete Choice Experiments (DCEs). Three DCEs will be constructed – one for each group of interest – to allow investigation of which factors are more important in influencing (a) GPs to prescribe antibiotics, (b) consumers to seek antibiotics, and (c) pharmacists to fill legally valid but old or repeat prescriptions of antibiotics. Regression analysis will be conducted to understand the relative importance of these factors. A Time Trade Off exercise will be developed to investigate how these individuals discount the future. Results Findings from the DCEs will provide an insight into which factors are more important in driving decision making in antibiotic use for GPs, pharmacists and consumers. Findings from the Time Trade Off exercise will show what individuals are willing to trade for preserving the miracle of antibiotics. Conclusion Research findings will contribute to existing national programs to bring about a reduction in inappropriate use of antibiotic in Australia. Specifically, influencing how key messages and public health campaigns are crafted, and clinical education and empowerment of GPs and pharmacists to play a more responsive role as stewards of antibiotic use in the community.