Sydney 1998 - lessons from a drinking water crisis

From July to September 1998, high concentrations of Cryptosporidium and Giardia were detected episodically in the water supply and distribution systems of Sydney, Australia. The resulting drinking water crisis triggered three consecutive boil-water advisories and a government inquiry into the management of the water supply. The episodic nature of the detections focused attention on the veracity of the laboratory results and triggered an investigation of the transport of these pathogens in Sydney's water supply system. This article provides information submitted to the Sydney Water Inquiry that explains the episodic occurrence of pathogens in the reticulated water supply, attributing it to rapid fluctuations in the quality of the water reaching the water treatment plant

The use of drug detection dogs in Sydney, Australia

Introduction and Aims. At present there is little research into the use of drug detection dogs. The present study sought to explore the use of detection dogs in Sydney, Australia, utilising multiple data sources.

Design and Methods. Data were taken from interviews with 100 regular ecstasy users and 20 key experts as part of the 2006 New South Wales arm of the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System, and secondary data sources.

Results. The majority of regular ecstasy users reported taking some form of precaution if made aware that dogs would be at an event they were attending. A small proportion of the sample reported consuming their drugs when coming into contact with detection dogs. One group of key experts viewed the use of detection dogs as useful; one group disliked the use of detection dogs though cooperated with law enforcement when dogs were used; and one group considered that detection dogs contribute to greater harm. Secondary data sources further suggested that the use of detection dogs do not significantly assist police in identifying and apprehending drug suppliers.

Discussion and Conclusions. The present study suggests that regular ecstasy users do not see detection dogs as an obstacle to their drug use. Future research is necessary to explore in greater depth the experiences that drug users have with detection dogs; the effect detection dogs may have on deterring drug consumption; whether encounters with detection dogs contribute to drug-related harm; and the cost–benefit analysis of this law enforcement exercise.

Cosmopolitanism : religion and kinship among young people in south-western Sydney

Debates about globalization have been accompanied by considerable critical assessment of the notion of cosmopolitanism. The upsurge in travel, trade, communication, and resettlement among non-elite individuals and groups has raised questions about the nature and form of ‘bottom-up’ or ‘vernacular’ cosmopolitanism. This article explores the ways in which the experiences of a group of young people (12–15 years of age) in south-western Sydney contribute to shared practices of membership in a culturally differentiated society. On one level, these young people display a de facto vernacular cosmopolitanism through familial experiences of migration. However, the article shows how these young people often move within socially and culturally bounded communities defined by ethnicity, language, socio-economic status, shaped by desires for safety, support and belonging, and maintained by propinquity, religion and the persistence of traditional expectations and patterns around gender and inter-marriage.

The use of complementary and alternative medicine among people living with diabetes in Sydney

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is common in patients with chronic disease such as diabetes mellitus. The primary objective of the study was to determine the overall prevalence and type of CAM use in individuals with diabetes mellitus (DM) in Western Sydney and to compare the prevalence and factors associated with CAM use with the literature.

Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional study was undertaken using a self-completed questionnaire distributed to patients with DM attending a public hospital and specialist endocrinology clinics in the region. The type of DM and pattern of CAM utilisation were analyzed.

Results: Sixty nine people responded to the questionnaire: age range of 18-75 years during a twelve week collection period. Overall, 32 respondents with diabetes were using some form of CAM, resulting in a utilisation rate of 46.3%. Twenty of the 32 CAM users used CAM specifically to treat their diabetes accounting for 28.9% of the respondent sample population. Multivitamins (40%), cinnamon, Co-enzyme q10 and prayer were the most frequently used CAM modalities. There was no significant difference between males and females, age range, income or diabetes complications between CAM and non-CAM users. (p values each > 0.05) The factor most significantly associated with CAM usage was being born overseas (p = 0.044).

Conclusions: Almost half the respondents (46.3%) used CAM: 28% used CAM specifically to treat their diabetes. Individuals born overseas were significantly more likely to use CAM than those born in Australia. Other factors such as age, gender, wealth and duration of living with diabetes were not associated with higher rate of CAM usage.

The Sydney front recalled

This chapter provides a critical account of the Sydney Front performance group's 1987 production of John Laws/Sade.

Factors influencing participant enrolment in a diabetes prevention program in general practice: lessons from the Sydney diabetes prevention program

Background: The effectiveness of lifestyle interventions in reducing diabetes incidence has been well established. Little is known, however, about factors influencing the reach of diabetes prevention programs. This study examines the predictors of enrolment in the Sydney Diabetes Prevention Program (SDPP), a community-based diabetes prevention program conducted in general practice, New South Wales, Australia from 2008–2011.

Methods: SDPP was an effectiveness trial. Participating general practitioners (GPs) from three Divisions of General Practice invited individuals aged 50–65 years without known diabetes to complete the Australian Type 2 Diabetes Risk Assessment tool. Individuals at high risk of diabetes were invited to participate in a lifestyle modification program. A multivariate model using generalized estimating equations to control for clustering of enrolment outcomes by GPs was used to examine independent predictors of enrolment in the program. Predictors included age, gender, indigenous status, region of birth, socio-economic status, family history of diabetes, history of high glucose, use of anti-hypertensive medication, smoking status, fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity level and waist measurement.

Results: Of the 1821 eligible people identified as high risk, one third chose not to enrol in the lifestyle program. In multivariant analysis, physically inactive individuals (OR: 1.48, P = 0.004) and those with a family history of diabetes (OR: 1.67, P = 0.000) and history of high blood glucose levels (OR: 1.48, P = 0.001) were significantly more likely to enrol in the program. However, high risk individuals who smoked (OR: 0.52, P = 0.000), were born in a country with high diabetes risk (OR: 0.52, P = 0.000), were taking blood pressure lowering medications (OR: 0.80, P = 0.040) and consumed little fruit and vegetables (OR: 0.76, P = 0.047) were significantly less likely to take up the program.

Conclusions: Targeted strategies are likely to be needed to engage groups such as smokers and high risk ethnic groups. Further research is required to better understand factors influencing enrolment in diabetes prevention programs in the primary health care setting, both at the GP and individual level.

Liberating Asia : strikes and protest in Sydney and Shanghai, 1920–39

On 30 May 1925 British officers opened fire on Chinese union protesters in Shanghai’s International Settlement, sparking a series of anti-imperialist protests now known as the ‘May 30th Movement’. This article traces the response of the Australian Labor movement to these events. It examines connections between Chinese and Australian unions and shows how Asian anti-colonial nationalism affected Australian perceptions of class-based inequality in the 1920s and 1930s. Orthodox histories of the Australian Labor movement emphasize its inward-looking and xenophobic nature but these national historiographies have been too quick to assume the isolation of Australia from pan-Asian anti-colonialism. Rather than arguing that Australian unionists supported decolonization in the inter-war period this article explores how class relationships mediated Australian encounters with colonized people in Asia. Treating Shanghai and Sydney as entangled outposts of Empire suggests we need to re-evaluate interpretations of Australian class dissent that regard it either as part of a solely European tradition or as a motivated only by local conditions.

Students' assessment of their neighbourhood socio-physical environment : difference between Sydney and Beijing

This study compared children's assessments of their neighbourhood environments in Sydney and Beijing.Students from nine high schools in Sydney ( N = 166) and two high schools in Beijing ( N = 234) participated in a survey study. Exploratory factor analysis, AN OVA, and structural equation modeling were used to analyse data. Items in the CNE Scale were clustered into four factors: Route to School, Vegetation & Facilities, Neighbours and Convenience. Significant national difference was found on one factor of neighbourhood environment: Rout to School. Structural equation modeling revealed a significant correlation between the constructs" country" and "neighbourhood socio-physical environment" , implying a relationship between the two. In sum, the findings suggested that children in Sydney were more satisfied with their overall neighbourhood socio-physical environment, especially regarding their routes to school.

Peanuts and publicists : 'letting Australian friends know the Chinese side of the story' in interwar Sydney

In the wake of an Australian government embargo on Chinese peanuts, a group of Sydney Chinese merchants launched a pro-Chinese publicity campaign in late 1927. To do so, they hired a newspaper editor previously employed by the anti-Chinese Labor Daily and Beckett’s Budget. The campaign was an act of minority resistance to the White Australia Policy, a shrewd business strategy, and a sophisticated example of cross-cultural public relations. By tracing two historical actors in this ‘drama of spin’, the peanut and the publicist, this article reveals unexpected links between the Chinese-Australian and Anglo-Australian communities. In seeking ‘the Chinese side of the story’, we find an alternative history of race, representation and citizenship in interwar Sydney.

Reading in brown paper : Beckett's budget and the sensationalist press in interwar Sydney

This article addresses the audience reception of sensationalist newspapers in interwar Australia through a case study of Sydney weekly Beckett's Budget. During a libel trial brought against Beckett's in 1928, readers came to its defence and their testimony reveals overlaps between reading and political allegiances: reading Beckett's equated with voting Labor. While histories of sensationalist media in Australia have rightly emphasised illicit sexuality and public outcry, connections between sensationalism and working-class political movements remain on the margins of academic interest. Responding to the question 'Do you read Beckett's?' readers' evidence at the trial constitutes an audience response and invites debate over the ways gender and class could inform political engagement in the 1920s. Viewing Beckett's Budget outside of 'brown paper' and beyond the sensationalist genre reveals a shift in Australian political culture as party strategists embraced a broader electorate, using Beckett's Budget to tap into the culture and concerns of interwar society.