Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando, Hollywood's best known Method actor, revolutionised stage and screen performance.

Indigenous Voice : a work-integrated learning case study in journalism education

The continuing stereotypical coverage of Inigenous affairs in the Australian media suggests that journalists are still finding it difficult to come to terms with more effective ways ofm reporting such issues. The many hundreds of students who graduate from journalism programs across Australia represent an opportunity to at least challenge the predominant methods and strategies. But how prepared are journalism graduates for working with Indigenous issues? This paper explores the processas involved in an intensive reporting practices course held at the University of Queensland mid-2009. The course aimed to raise journalism student's awareness of some of the issues involved as well as enabling them to interact and work with personnel from the Brisbane Indigenous Media Community, 98.9 fm, the National Indigenous Radio Service, SBS and the ABC. The findings suggest that such structured programs have a significant impact on changing student's perceptions of, and approaches to, their role and journalists.

Teaching new dogs old tricks. How the move to 24/7 interactive, integrated multimedia, multi-platform news and feature delivery is not really changing the skills employers demand of graduates

The journalism revolution is upon us. In a world where we are constantly being told that everyone can be a publisher and challenges are emerging from bloggers, Twitterers and podcasters, journalism educators are inevitably reassessing what skills we now need to teach to keep our graduates ahead of the game. QUT this year tackled that question head-on as a curriculum review and program restructure resulted in a greater emphasis on online journalism. The author spent a week in the online newsrooms of each of two of the major players – ABC online news and thecouriermail.com to watch, listen and interview some of the key players. This, in addition to interviews with industry leaders from Fairfax and news.com, lead to the conclusion that while there are some new skills involved in new media much of what the industry is demanding is in fact good old fashioned journalism. Themes of good spelling, grammar, accuracy and writing skills and a nose for news recurred when industry players were asked what it was that they would like to see in new graduates. While speed was cited as one of the big attributes needed in online journalism, the conclusion of many of the players was that the skills of a good down-table sub or a journalist working for wire service were not unlike those most used in online newsrooms.

A comparison of the effects of a chlamydial vaccine administered during or after a C. muridarum urogenital infection of female mice

There are approximately 92 million new chlamydial infections of the genital tract in humans diagnosed each year, costing health care systems billions of dollars in treatment not only of acute infections, but also of associated inflammatory sequelae, such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and ectopic pregnancy. These numbers are increasing at a steady rate and, due to the asymptomatic nature of infections, the incidence may be underestimated and the costs of treatment therefore higher. Over the previous few decades there has been a large amount of research into the development of an efficacious vaccine against genital tract chlamydial infections. The majority of this research has focused on females, due to the high rate of development of associated diseases, including PID, which can lead to ectopic pregnancy and infertility. In light of the increasing infection rates that have occurred despite the availability of antibiotics, and the asymptomatic nature of chlamydial infections, it is imperative that an efficacious vaccine that protects against infection and associated pathology be developed.

An approximate Bayesian computation approach for estimating parameters of complex environmental processes in a cellular automata

Modelling an environmental process involves creating a model structure and parameterising the model with appropriate values to accurately represent the process. Determining accurate parameter values for environmental systems can be challenging. Existing methods for parameter estimation typically make assumptions regarding the form of the Likelihood, and will often ignore any uncertainty around estimated values. This can be problematic, however, particularly in complex problems where Likelihoods may be intractable. In this paper we demonstrate an Approximate Bayesian Computational method for the estimation of parameters of a stochastic CA. We use as an example a CA constructed to simulate a range expansion such as might occur after a biological invasion, making parameter estimates using only count data such as could be gathered from field observations. We demonstrate ABC is a highly useful method for parameter estimation, with accurate estimates of parameters that are important for the management of invasive species such as the intrinsic rate of increase and the point in a landscape where a species has invaded. We also show that the method is capable of estimating the probability of long distance dispersal, a characteristic of biological invasions that is very influential in determining spread rates but has until now proved difficult to estimate accurately.

Impact of a data warehouse model for improved decision-making process in healthcare

The health system is one sector dealing with a deluge of complex data. Many healthcare organisations struggle to utilise these volumes of health data effectively and efficiently. Also, there are many healthcare organisations, which still have stand-alone systems, not integrated for management of information and decision-making. This shows, there is a need for an effective system to capture, collate and distribute this health data. Therefore, implementing the data warehouse concept in healthcare is potentially one of the solutions to integrate health data. Data warehousing has been used to support business intelligence and decision-making in many other sectors such as the engineering, defence and retail sectors. The research problem that is going to be addressed is, "how can data warehousing assist the decision-making process in healthcare". To address this problem the researcher has narrowed an investigation focusing on a cardiac surgery unit. This research used the cardiac surgery unit at the Prince Charles Hospital (TPCH) as the case study. The cardiac surgery unit at TPCH uses a stand-alone database of patient clinical data, which supports clinical audit, service management and research functions. However, much of the time, the interaction between the cardiac surgery unit information system with other units is minimal. There is a limited and basic two-way interaction with other clinical and administrative databases at TPCH which support decision-making processes. The aims of this research are to investigate what decision-making issues are faced by the healthcare professionals with the current information systems and how decision-making might be improved within this healthcare setting by implementing an aligned data warehouse model or models. As a part of the research the researcher will propose and develop a suitable data warehouse prototype based on the cardiac surgery unit needs and integrating the Intensive Care Unit database, Clinical Costing unit database (Transition II) and Quality and Safety unit database [electronic discharge summary (e-DS)]. The goal is to improve the current decision-making processes. The main objectives of this research are to improve access to integrated clinical and financial data, providing potentially better information for decision-making for both improved from the questionnaire and by referring to the literature, the results indicate a centralised data warehouse model for the cardiac surgery unit at this stage. A centralised data warehouse model addresses current needs and can also be upgraded to an enterprise wide warehouse model or federated data warehouse model as discussed in the many consulted publications. The data warehouse prototype was able to be developed using SAS enterprise data integration studio 4.2 and the data was analysed using SAS enterprise edition 4.3. In the final stage, the data warehouse prototype was evaluated by collecting feedback from the end users. This was achieved by using output created from the data warehouse prototype as examples of the data desired and possible in a data warehouse environment. According to the feedback collected from the end users, implementation of a data warehouse was seen to be a useful tool to inform management options, provide a more complete representation of factors related to a decision scenario and potentially reduce information product development time. However, there are many constraints exist in this research. For example the technical issues such as data incompatibilities, integration of the cardiac surgery database and e-DS database servers and also, Queensland Health information restrictions (Queensland Health information related policies, patient data confidentiality and ethics requirements), limited availability of support from IT technical staff and time restrictions. These factors have influenced the process for the warehouse model development, necessitating an incremental approach. This highlights the presence of many practical barriers to data warehousing and integration at the clinical service level. Limitations included the use of a small convenience sample of survey respondents, and a single site case report study design. As mentioned previously, the proposed data warehouse is a prototype and was developed using only four database repositories. Despite this constraint, the research demonstrates that by implementing a data warehouse at the service level, decision-making is supported and data quality issues related to access and availability can be reduced, providing many benefits. Output reports produced from the data warehouse prototype demonstrated usefulness for the improvement of decision-making in the management of clinical services, and quality and safety monitoring for better clinical care. However, in the future, the centralised model selected can be upgraded to an enterprise wide architecture by integrating with additional hospital units’ databases.

Laying the Groundwork for the Successful Deployment of Communication Interception Technology (CIT) in Modern Policing

With the growth and development of communication technology there is an increasing need for the use of interception technologies in modern policing. Law enforcement agencies are faced with increasingly sophisticated and complex criminal networks that utilise modern communication technology as a basis for their criminal success. In particular, transnational organised crime (TOC) is a diverse and complicated arena, costing global society in excess of $3 trillion annually, a figure that continues to grow (Borger, 2007) as crime groups take advantage of disappearing borders and greater profit markets. However, whilst communication can be a critical success factor for criminal enterprise it is also a key vulnerability. It is this vulnerability that the use of CIT, such as phone taps or email interception, can exploit. As such, law enforcement agencies now need a method and framework that allows them to utilise CIT to combat these crimes efficiently and successfully. This paper provides a review of current literature with the specific purpose of considering the effectiveness of CIT in the fight against TOC and the groundwork that must be laid in order for it to be fully exploited. In doing so, it fills an important gap in current research, focusing on the practical implementation of CIT as opposed to the traditional area of privacy concerns that arise with intrusive methods of investigation. The findings support the notion that CIT is an essential intelligence gathering tool that has a strong place within the modern policing arena. It identifies that the most effective use of CIT is grounded within a proactive, intelligence‐led framework and concludes that in order for this to happen Australian authorities and law enforcement agencies must re‐evaluate and address the current legislative and operational constraints placed on the use of CIT and the culture that surrounds intelligence in policing.

Developing financial decision support for highway infrastructure sustainability

The development of highway infrastructure typically requires major capital input over a long period. This often causes serious financial constraints for investors. The push for sustainability has added new dimensions to the complexity in the evaluation of highway projects, particularly on the cost front. This makes the determination of long-term viability even more a precarious exercise. Life-cycle costing analysis (LCCA) is generally recognised as a valuable tool for the assessment of financial decisions on construction works. However to date, existing LCCA models are deficient in dealing with sustainability factors, particularly for infrastructure projects due to their inherent focus on the economic issues alone. This research probed into the major challenges of implementing sustainability in highway infrastructure development in terms of financial concerns and obligations. Using results of research through literature review, questionnaire survey of industry stakeholders and semi-structured interview of senior practitioners involved in highway infrastructure development, the research identified the relative importance of cost components relating to sustainability measures and on such basis, developed ways of improving existing LCCA models to incorporate sustainability commitments into long-term financial management. On such a platform, a decision support model incorporated Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process and LCCA for the evaluation of the specific cost components most concerned by infrastructure stakeholders. Two real highway infrastructure projects in Australia were then used for testing, application and validation, before the decision support model was finalised. Improved industry understanding and tools such as the developed model will lead to positive sustainability deliverables while ensuring financial viability over the lifecycle of highway infrastructure projects.

Rare chicken rescue

Sound design for documentary is an under-researched field. The specific context of representation of emotional or mental states is particularly open to clichéd treatment. Such treatment in the media often ‘perpetuates inaccurate or negative assumptions about mental health issues in the wider community’ (Francis et al 2005: 11) by employing, for example, either jarring sound/music combinations to signify ‘madness’ or overtly saccharine music to educe sympathy. This project adopted a practice-based approach to discovering a considered aesthetic treatment designed to elicit a more empathetic audience response. A more discriminating engagement with the intentions of the film was cultivated by abandoning both the ‘representational naturalism’ and the ‘distilled, evocative realism’ of documentary sound design (Davies 2007: 18) in favour of a more lyrical or musical approach. To achieve this we manipulated perspective, tonal character and perceptions of space in the final mixing stage. The project was funded by the Film Australia National Interest Program, ABC TV and the Pacific Film and Television Commission. As a crucial contributor to the aesthetic of the project I was nominated in the funding application, and ultimately received an AFI Award for Best Sound in a Documentary in 2008. The film was honoured by The Film Critics Circle of Australia, The Slamdance Film Festival in Utah and The Sydney Film Festival. It has been favourably reviewed in national and international print media (The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, among others) as well as online film/culture zines and blogs.

Development of novel vaccine strategies to prevent genital tract chlamydial infections

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most prevalent bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the developed world and the leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide. As reported by the World Health Organization in 2001, there are approximately 92 million new infections detected annually, costing health systems billions of dollars to treat not only the acute infection, but also to treat infection-associated sequelae. The majority of genital infections are asymptomatic, with 50-70% going undetected. Genital tract infections can be easily treated with antibiotics when detected. Lack of treatment can lead to the development of pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancies and tubal factor infertility in women and epididymitis and prostatitis in men. With infection rates on the continual rise and the large number of infections going undetected, there is a need to develop an efficacious vaccine which prevents not only infection, but also the development of infection-associated pathology. Before a vaccine can be developed and administered, the pathogenesis of chlamydial infections needs to be fully understood. This includes the kinetics of ascending infection and the effects of inoculating dose on ascension and development of pathology. The first aim in this study was to examine these factors in a murine model. Female BALB/c mice were infected intravaginally with varying doses of C. muridarum, the mouse variant of human C. trachomatis, and the ascension of infection along the reproductive tract and the time-course of infection-associated pathology development, including inflammatory cell infiltration, pyosalpinx and hydrosalpinx, were determined. It was found that while the inoculating dose did affect the rate and degree of infection, it did not affect any of the pathological parameters examined. This highlighted that the sexual transmission dose may have minimal effect on the development of reproductive sequelae. The results of the first section enabled further studies presented here to use an optimal inoculating dose that would ascend the reproductive tract and cause pathology development, so that vaccine efficacy could be determined. There has been a large amount of research into the development of an efficacious vaccine against genital tract chlamydial infections, with little success. However, there have been no studies examining the effects of the timing of vaccination, including the effects of vaccination during an active genital infection, or after clearance of a previous infection. These are important factors that need to be examined, as it is not yet known whether immunization will enhance not only the individual's immune response, but also pathology development. It is also unknown whether any enhancement of the immune responses will cause the Chlamydia to enter a dormant, persistent state, and possibly further enhance any pathology development. The second section of this study aimed to determine if vaccination during an active genital tract infection, or after clearance of a primary infection, enhanced the murine immune responses and whether any enhanced or reduced pathology occurred. Naïve, actively infected, or previously infected animals were immunized intranasally or transcutaneously with the adjuvants cholera toxin and CpG-ODN in combination with either the major outer membrane protein (MOMP) of C. muridarum, or MOMP and ribonucleotide reductase small chain protein (NrdB) of C. muridarum. It was found that the systemic immune responses in actively or previously infected mice were altered in comparison to animals immunized naïve with the same combinations, however mucosal antibodies were not enhanced. It was also found that there was no difference in pathology development between any of the groups. This suggests that immunization of individuals who may have an asymptomatic infection, or may have been previously exposed to a genital infection, may not benefit from vaccination in terms of enhanced immune responses against re-exposure. The final section of this study aimed to determine if the vaccination regimes mentioned above caused in vivo persistence of C. muridarum in the upper reproductive tracts of mice. As there has been no characterization of C. muridarum persistence in vitro, either ultrastructurally or via transcriptome analysis, this was the first aim of this section. Once it had been shown that C. muridarum could be induced into a persistent state, the gene transcriptional profiles of the selected persistent marker genes were used to determine if persistent infections were indeed present in the upper reproductive tracts of the mice. We found that intranasal immunization during an active infection induced persistent infections in the oviducts, but not the uterine horns, and that intranasal immunization after clearance of infection, caused persistent infections in both the uterine horns and the oviducts of the mice. This is a significant finding, not only because it is the first time that C. muridarum persistence has been characterized in vitro, but also due to the fact that there is minimal characterization of in vivo persistence of any chlamydial species. It is possible that the induction of persistent infections in the reproductive tract might enhance the development of pathology and thereby enhance the risk of infertility, factors that need to be prevented by vaccination, not enhanced. Overall, this study has shown that the inoculating dose does not affect pathology development in the female reproductive tract of infected mice, but does alter the degree and rate of ascending infection. It has also been shown that intranasal immunization during an active genital infection, or after clearance of one, induces persistent infections in the uterine horns and oviducts of mice. This suggests that potential vaccine candidates will need to have these factors closely examined before progressing to clinical trials. This is significant, because if the same situation occurs in humans, a vaccine administered to an asymptomatic, or previously exposed individual may not afford any extra protection and may in fact enhance the risk of development of infection-associated sequelae. This suggests that a vaccine may serve the community better if administered before the commencement of sexual activity.

Our neighbour's view : Australian media cover of PNG

This chapter reviews the incidence of coverage of Papua New Guinea affairs in the Australian press and in Australian broadcast media. It presents the findings of a formal monitoring of selected newspaper coverage and news broadcasts of the leading Australian television and radio outlets. The study also includes news stories published on ABC Online. The findings for print media suggest that coverage of PNG is inadequate and may be contributing towards negative images of that country in Australia. The broadcast monitoring found also that beyond the ABC's regular and balanced coverage, there was very little mention of PNG on Australian airwaves. The deployment of resources by the ABC was seen as a potential model for increased quantity and quality of coverage, with its maintenance of a correspondent and office in the country, and use of reports from PNG across a wide range of programs. The investigation noted some early indications of a shift in media attention, following the election of a new government in Australia in 2007, which gave some priority attention to PNG including a visit by the then Prime Minister.

Strengthening the Foundations: Mutuality and the Performing Arts

Following the positive response by governments to the report of Helen Nugent's major performing arts inquiry, urgent attention needs to be given to the seedbed companies where so often audiences are introduced to the performing arts and practitioners are launched on their professional careers. Doing so calls for lateral thinking such as will enable the widest possible range of stakeholders to become involved. One solution may be to develop multi-stakeholder arts mutuals from the simpler arts mutuals such as co-operatives which are already widespread in many spheres of arts activity. Relevant models include the multi-stakeholder mutuals of the Mondragon Co-operative Corporation and the employee mutuals which are being trialled currently in Britain. Possible stakeholders in an arts mutual could include employed, unemployed and trainee practitioners, professional, quasi-professional and amateur theatre bodies, community groups, municipal councils and statutory bodies such as the ABC. Mutualist models may also be helpful to major performing arts companies facing erosion of their subscription incomes or incurring higher support services costs.

Alternative primary sources for studying Australian television history : an annotated list of online private collections

It is possible to write many different histories of Australian television, and these different histories draw on different primary sources. The ABC of Drama, for example, draws on the ABC Document Archives (Jacka 1991). Most of the information for Images and Industry: television drama production in Australia is taken from original interviews with television production staff (Moran 1985). Ending the Affair, as well as archival work, draws on ‘over ten years of watching … Australian television current affairs’ (Turner 2005, xiii). Moran’s Guide to Australian TV Series draws exhaustively on extant archives: the ABC Document Archives, material sourced through the ABC Drama department, the Australian Film Commission, the library of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, and the Australian Film Institute (Moran 1993, xi)...