An intervention to discourage Australian mothers from unnecessarily exposing their babies to the sun for therapeutic reasons

Parents play a key role in children’s sun-protective behaviour, with good sun-protective habits established early tending to be sustained. We designed a maternity hospital-based educational intervention to reduce myths that could result in mothers intentionally sunning their babies. Interviews were conducted with two cross-sections of healthy post-partum inpatients in the maternity ward of a large regional public hospital. The first group (n¼106) was recruited before the commencement of educational in-services for maternity nursing staff; the second group (n¼203) was interviewed after the last staff in-service session. More pre-intervention than post-intervention women reported they would expose their baby to sunlight to: treat suspected jaundice (28.8% vs. 13.3%; p<0.001) or help their baby’s skin adapt to sunlight (10.5% vs. 2.5%; p¼0.003). Fewer post-intervention women indicated they would sun themselves to treat breastfeeding-associated sore/cracked nipples (7.6% vs. 2%; p¼0.026). This educational intervention should be used to educate parents, health professionals and students

Curse or cure? Revisiting state, capital and resources

WA’s experience, as portrayed in this volume, not only highlights the changeable nature of the mining industry, the volatility of global commodity markets and the impact of global capital on people and place, it also draws into question the promise of lasting value derived from resource development as currently practiced. It is in this context that Chapter 18 revisits WA's resource boom and assesses the sustainability of resource-led development in the state, to arrive at an answer to the question of ‘curse or cure?’. Opening up the discourse beyond the dominant developmentalist narrative invites discussion on new perspectives of economic sustainability that include well-being, equity and the protection of people, culture and place.

Low-cost railway level crossings - breaking down the barriers

Level crossing risk continues to be a significant safety concern for the security of rail operations around the world. Over the last decade or so, a third of railway related fatalities occurred as a direct result of collisions between road and rail vehicles in Australia. Importantly, nearly half of these collisions occurred at railway level crossings with no active protection, such as flashing lights or boom barriers. Current practice is to upgrade level crossings that have no active protection. However, the total number of level crossings found across Australia exceed 23,500, and targeting the proportion of these that are considered high risk (e.g. public crossings with passive controls) would cost in excess of AU$3.25 billion based on equipment, installation and commissioning costs of warning devices that are currently type approved. Level crossing warning devices that are low-cost provide a potentially effective control for reducing risk; however, over the last decade, there have been significant barriers and legal issues in both Australia and the US that have foreshadowed their adoption. These devices are designed to have significantly lower lifecycle costs compared with traditional warning devices. They often make use of use of alternative technologies for train detection, wireless connectivity and solar energy supply. This paper describes the barriers that have been encountered for the adoption of these devices in Australia, including the challenges associated with: (1) determining requisite safety levels for such devices; (2) legal issues relating to duty of care obligations of railway operators; and (3) issues of Tort liability around the use of less than fail-safe equipment. This paper provides an overview of a comprehensive safety justification that was developed as part of a project funded by a collaborative rail research initiative established by the Australian government, and describes the conceptual framework and processes being used to justify its adoption. The paper provides a summary of key points from peer review and discusses prospective barriers that may need to be overcome for future adoption. A successful outcome from this process would result in the development of a guideline for decision-making, providing a precedence for adopting low-cost level crossing warning devices in other parts of the world. The framework described in this paper also provides relevance to the review and adoption of analogous technologies in rail and other safety critical industries.

In-vehicle railway level crossing warning systems : can intelligent transport systems deliver?

Intelligent Transport System (ITS) technology is seen as a cost-effective way to increase the conspicuity of approaching trains and the effectiveness of train warnings at level crossings by providing an in-vehicle warning of an approaching train. The technology is often seen as a potential low-cost alternative to upgrading passive level crossings with traditional active warning systems (flashing lights and boom barriers). ITS platforms provide sensor, localization and dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) technologies to support cooperative applications such as collision avoidance for road vehicles. In recent years, in-vehicle warning systems based on ITS technology have been trialed at numerous locations around Australia, at level crossing sites with active and passive controls. While significant research has been conducted on the benefits of the technology in nominal operating modes, little research has focused on the effects of the failure modes, the human factors implications of unreliable warnings and the technology adoption process from the railway industry’s perspective. Many ITS technology suppliers originate from the road industry and often have limited awareness of the safety assurance requirements, operational requirements and legal obligations of railway operators. This paper aims to raise awareness of these issues and start a discussion on how such technology could be adopted. This paper will describe several ITS implementation cenarios and discuss failure modes, human factors considerations and the impact these scenarios are likely to have in terms of safety, railway safety assurance requirements and the practicability of meeting these requirements. The paper will identify the key obstacles impeding the adoption of ITS systems for the different implementation scenarios and a possible path forward towards the adoption of ITS technology.

The cultural economy in recession : Examining the US experience

Over the last two decades we have witnessed the global rise and spread of urban development policies aimed at stimulating the cultural economy. However, with the onset of the global financial crisis and recession, the cultural economy may experience a dramatic reorganization and even decline. Given the attention many cities place on the cultural sectors it is important to examine how they fare following this major economic event. To do so, this article examines the occupational distribution and geographic structure of the cultural economy in the 30 largest US metropolitan areas during recession and captures the changes that have occurred over the last decade. Based on this analysis, we identify a set of key trends, which highlight that while the boom period is generally characterized by widespread and, in some places, extreme growth in the cultural sectors, the recession is a period of selective growth and not a period of total decline. These findings have implications for determining the relevance of the arts and cultural sectors as targets of urban economic development policy in the post-recession era.

Economic development and construction productivity in Malaysia

The productivity of the construction industry has a significant effect on national economic growth. Gains from higher construction productivity flow through the economy, as all industries rely on construction to some extent as part of their business investment. Contractions and expansions of economic activity are common phenomena in an economy. Three construction cycles occurred between the years 1970 and 2011 in Malaysia. The relationships between construction productivity and economic development are examined by the partial correlation method to establish the underlying factors driving the change in construction productivity. Construction productivity is statistically significantly correlated with gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in a positive direction for the 1985–98 and 1998–2009 cycles, but not the 1970–85 cycle. Fluctuations in construction activities and the influx of foreign workers underlie the changes of construction productivity in the 1985–98 cycle. There was less fluctuation in construction activities in the 1998–2009 cycle, with changes being mainly due to the fiscal stimulation policies of the government in attempting to stabilize the economy. The intensive construction of mega-projects resulted in resource constraints and cost pressures during the 1980s and 1990s. A better management of the ‘boom-bust’ nature of the construction business cycle is required to maintain the capability and capacity of the industry.

The role of the Saudi government and the Saudi building code in implementing sustainable housing construction in Saudi Arabia

The housing construction industry in Saudi Arabia has been booming rapidly in the past two decades. This boom has faced multiple downfalls in relation to government regulations and building codes, one of which is the application of sustainable methods to the housing construction. This paper sheds some light on the current role of the Saudi government and the role of the Saudi Building Code (SBC) in the housing construction industry. The methodology utilised in this paper was a Delphi survey that was distributed to twenty-five key stakeholders in the housing construction industry in Saudi Arabia. The results indicate that there is a lack of integration between the Saudi Building Code and the current construction methods used in the current construction industry. Some factors and elements are recommended to be incorporated into the Saudi Building Code and to be adopted as regulations in the Saudi housing construction industry.

Postpartum sleepiness and sleepy driving in Australian mothers

This paper reports on a prospective study investigating the prevalence of maternal postpartum fatigue and sleepiness and highlights the potential increased crash risk faced by mothers when driving in the postpartum period. Twenty-four mothers from across Australia completed a sleep and driving diary for seven consecutive days at three time points; when their baby was 6, 12 and 18 weeks old. The results showed that the mothers’ sleep varied within the sample, however on average sleep disruption and lack of sleep consolidation was experienced. A high proportion of the mothers reported fatigue and sleepiness impacting their functioning early in the postpartum period, with sleepiness being more enduring throughout the period. Of concern, a high proportion of driving journeys undertaken by the mothers were during high levels of sleepiness, particularly early in the postpartum period and during late night and early hours of the day. These findings have highlighted the need to educate mothers about the potential increased safety risk of driving during the postpartum period and identified key information that should be conveyed.

Maternal concern about her toddler undereating and becoming underweight and use of feeding practices - analysis of the NOURISH and SAIDI cohorts using structural equation modeling

The chubby baby who eats well is desirable in our culture. Perceived low weight gains and feeding concerns are common reasons mothers seek advice in the early years. In contrast, childhood obesity is a global public health concern. Use of coercive feeding practices, prompted by maternal concern about weight, may disrupt a child’s innate self regulation of energy intake, promoting overeating and overweight. This study describes predictors of maternal concern about her child undereating/becoming underweight and feeding practices. Mothers in the control group of the NOURISH and South Australian Infants Dietary Intake studies (n = 332) completed a self-administered questionnaire when the child was aged 12–16 months. Weight-for-age z-score (WAZ)was derived from weight measured by study staff. Mean age (SD) was 13.8 (1.3) months, mean WAZ (SD), 0.58 (0.86) and 49% were male. WAZ and two questions describing food refusal were combined in a structural equation model with four items from the Infant feeding Questionnaire (IFQ) to form the factor ‘Concern about undereating/weight’. Structural relationships were drawn between concern and IFQ factors ‘awareness of infant’s hunger and satiety cues’, ‘use of food to calm infant’s fussiness’ and ‘feeding infant on a schedule’, resulting in a model of acceptable fit. Lower WAZ and higher frequency of food refusal predicted higher maternal concern. Higher maternal concern was associated with lower awareness of infant cues (r = −.17, p = .01) and greater use of food to calm (r = .13, p = .03). In a cohort of healthy children, maternal concern about undereating and underweight was associated with practices that have the potential to disrupt self-regulation.

What women want : qualitative analysis of consumer evaluations of maternity care in Queensland, Australia

Background Maternity care reform plans have been proposed at state and national levels in Australia, but the extent to which these respond to maternity care consumers’ expressed needs is unclear. This study examines open-text survey comments to identify women’s unmet needs and priorities for maternity care. It is then considered whether these needs and priorities are addressed in current reform plans. Methods Women who had a live single or multiple birth in Queensland, Australia, in 2010 (n 3,635) were invited to complete a retrospective self-report survey. In addition to questions about clinical and interpersonal maternity care experiences from pregnancy to postpartum, women were asked an open-ended question “Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about having your baby?” This paper describes a detailed thematic analysis of open-ended responses from a random selection of 150 women (10% of 1,510 who responded to the question). Results Four broad themes emerged relevant to improving women’s experiences of maternity care: quality of care (interpersonal and technical); access to choices and involvement in decision-making; unmet information needs; and dissatisfaction with the care environment. Some of these topics are reflected in current reform goals, while others provide evidence of the need for further reforms. Conclusions The findings reinforce the importance of some existing maternity reform objectives, and describe how these might best be met. Findings affirm the importance of information provision to enable informed choices; a goal of Queensland and national reform agendas. Improvement opportunities not currently specified in reform agendas were also identified, including the quality of interpersonal relationships between women and staff, particular unmet information needs (e.g., breastfeeding), and concerns regarding the care environment (e.g., crowding and long waiting times).

Flood victim’s heartbreak : ‘don’t be complacent about the risk’

"No one had higher stakes in the findings of the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry than Grantham father Matthew Keep, whose mother, mother-in-law and baby daughter, Jessica, died at Grantham that terrible day in January. For seven months he has read every statement, submission, running log, disaster management plan and media article available. As he has comforted his grieving wife, Stacy, helped care for his two young children Madison, 5, and Jacob, 4, who amazingly survived the flood, and welcomed a new baby into the family, Matthew has searched for answers for himself and his community. Why were authorities not able to warn people in seven towns in Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley that the worst flash flooding in at least a century was about to strike, killing 22 people? How could such a sudden and catastrophic flood claim three members of his family within minutes?"

Mining, sex work and STIs: why force a connection?

Can the mining boom be blamed for the rising rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in some states? The Australian Medical Association thinks so, with its Queensland president Dr Richard Kidd attributing rising rates of gonorrhoea, syphilis and chlamydia in Queensland and Western Australia to bored and cashed-up miners.

Restraint in the age of speed: Protecting vulnerable news sources in the 24/7 global news cycle

As news communication speeds up, investigative journalists have an increasing responsibility to minimise the risk of harm to vulnerable news sources. In addition, the increased longevity and instant global search-ability of news coverage and investigative journalism outputs such as documentaries, places upon journalists an increased responsibility for accuracy since online coverage cannot be easily corrected or retracted. This paper will examine how the risks to a news source and her family were considered and mitigated during the production of a radio documentary and newspaper story about an intended victim of child sacrifice. Pre-publication considerations included the possible risks to the mental health of the news source, the potential physical risk to her children and the risk to future family relationships. To hear the ABC Radio National documentary, A living sacrifice, on 360 Documentaries prior to the conference, see http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/360/a-living-sacrifice/5359744. To read the Sunday Mail newspaper coverage of the story see http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/susannah-birch-talks-about-her-throat-being-slit-by-her-mother-when-she-was-a-baby/story-fnihsrf2-1226881911465.

Perceived safety, quality and cultural competency of maternity care for culturally and linguistically diverse women in Queensland

Various policies, plans, and initiatives have been implemented to provide safe, quality, and culturally competent care to patients within Queensland’s healthcare system. A series of models of maternity care are available in Queensland that range from standard public care to private midwifery care. The current study aimed to determine whether identifying as Culturally or Linguistically Diverse (CALD) was associated with the perceived safety, quality, and cultural competency of maternity care from a consumer perspective, and to identify specific needs and preferences of CALD maternity care consumers. Secondary analysis of data collected in the Having a Baby in Queensland Survey 2012 was used to compare the experiences of 655 CALD women to those of 4049 non-CALD women in Queensland, Australia, across three stages of maternity care: pregnancy, labour and birth, and after birth. After adjustment for model of maternity care received and socio-demographic characteristics, CALD women were significantly more likely than non-CALD women to experience suboptimal staff technical competence in pregnancy, overall perceived safety in pregnancy and labour/birth, and interpersonal sensitivity in pregnancy and labour/birth. Approximately 50% of CALD women did not have the choice to use a translator or interpreter, or the gender of their care provider, during labour and birth. Thirteen themes of preferences and needs of CALD maternity care consumers based on ethnicity, cultural beliefs, or traditions were identified, however, these were rarely met. Findings imply that CALD women in Queensland experience disadvantageous maternity care with regards to perceived staff technical competence, safety, and interpersonal sensitivity, and receive care that lacks cultural competence. Improved access to support persons, continuity and choice of carer, and staff availability and training is recommended.

Origins of Australian Football: Victoria's Early History. Volume 3: Covert 'Professionalism': The Power of the Wealthy Clubs 1886 to 1890

This volume continues the story of football in Marvellous Melbourne during the 1880s. At this time the VFA continued to expand as Melbourne’s boom continued apace. In 1886 Port Melbourne, Prahran, St Kilda, Footscray and South Williamstown joined the competition, and the Ballarat clubs Ballarat, Ballarat Imperial and South Ballarat were also contending for the VFA premiership. In 1886 matches were divided into four quarters, goal umpires waved two flags to announce a goal, and time clocks and bells were employed to mark the end of quarters. Victoria also played inter-colonial matches against New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia. VFA secretary T.S. Marshall was at the forefront of fighting the game’s turn towards professionalism, but although it was illegal to pay players, the practice continued. The period 1886 to 1890 also set the stage for the eventual formation of the Victorian Football League, for by the end of the 1880s the Victorian Football Association had become in effect a two-tier competition. The most popular clubs in the VFA, South Melbourne, Geelong, Carlton and Essendon collected the lion’s share of the gate money, which they used to build their wealth and entrench their position as the dominant Victorian teams. The lower tier clubs had to make do with paltry gate money and season fixtures that advantaged the strong clubs. In these fixtures the strong clubs elected to play each other first to increase their gate money, and only deemed to play the poorer clubs at the start of the season. This led to an increasing divide between the VFA’s rich and poor, and by 1890 South Williamstown and Prahran merged with Williamstown and St Kilda respectively, University dropped out of senior ranks, and the Ballarat clubs were excluded from competing for the VFA premiership, which left 12 senior clubs until Collingwood’s emergence in 1892. At this time, no team was as powerful as South Melbourne, which experienced the greatest success in the club’s VFA and VFL history when it collected triple premiership crowns in 1888, 1889, and 1890. South Melbourne was a most ambitious club and spearheaded the move towards professionalism, although this could not be made public. The fine teams it produced at this time contained some of the greatest players of the era, such as Peter Burns, “Sonny” Elms and “Dinny” McKay, and it looked after players with health insurance, jobs, inter-colonial trips, and other incentives. Geelong’s premiership in 1886 was perhaps its greatest triumph, but this success was followed by a premiership drought that would last for 39 years. Carlton remained one of Victorian football’s power clubs, and after securing the premiership in 1887 continued to compete for top honours. As always, the game became ever more popular and world record crowds of over 30,000 attended matches between South Melbourne, Carlton, Geelong and Essendon.