Report of the mid-term review of Victoria's maternity services program

Substantial State Government funding has bun committed in Victoria for the enhancement of maternity services. The funding is intended to improve the quality of care for women and meet consumer expectations for choice and continuity of care in maternity services. This paper reports on a mid-term review (the 'review') of the Victorian Maternity services Program. which was conducted by the authors on behalf of the Victorian Department of Human Services. Documentary analysis was conducted for the review, and workshops and key informant interviews were held throughout Victoria with midwives, medical staff and Department of Human Services staff. The review found that there had been many gains as a result of the Maternity services Program and identified directions for further development. Issues of change and facilitators of change processes in maternity services are highlighted in this article.

From video recordings to whisker stable isotopes: a critical evaluation of timescale in assessing individual foraging specialisation in Australian fur seals

Estimating the degree of individual specialisation is likely to be sensitive to the methods used, as they record individuals' resource use over different time-periods. We combined animal-borne video cameras, GPS/TDR loggers and stable isotope values of plasma, red cells and sub-sampled whiskers to investigate individual foraging specialisation in female Australian fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus) over various timescales. Combining these methods enabled us to (1) provide quantitative information on individuals' diet, allowing the identification of prey, (2) infer the temporal consistency of individual specialisation, and (3) assess how different methods and timescales affect our estimation of the degree of specialisation. Short-term inter-individual variation in diet was observed in the video data (mean pairwise overlap = 0.60), with the sampled population being composed of both generalist and specialist individuals (nested network). However, the brevity of the temporal window is likely to artificially increase the level of specialisation by not recording the entire diet of seals. Indeed, the correlation in isotopic values was tighter between the red cells and whiskers (mid- to long-term foraging ecology) than between plasma and red cells (short- to mid-term) (R (2) = 0.93-0.73 vs. 0.55-0.41). δ(13)C and δ(15)N values of whiskers confirmed the temporal consistency of individual specialisation. Variation in isotopic niche was consistent across seasons and years, indicating long-term habitat (WIC/TNW = 0.28) and dietary (WIC/TNW = 0.39) specialisation. The results also highlight time-averaging issues (under-estimation of the degree of specialisation) when calculating individual specialisation indices over long time-periods, so that no single timescale may provide a complete and accurate picture, emphasising the benefits of using complementary methods.

Maximising intercultural learning in short term international placements: Findings associated with orientation programs, guided reflection and immersion

Short-term international practicum experience is now a feature of many university education programs in Australia in an attempt to engage students with the growing multi-cultural aspects of Australian life. The stated purposes of such practicum experiences generally highlight intercultural learning, which is associated with the development of intercultural sensitivity, cultural identity, global citizenship and global competence. This paper tracks and documents the early and developing attitudes and dispositions of a group of pre-service teachers (PSTs) and academic staffwho were engaged with the pilot project of a pre-service placement in Malaysian secondary schools. The behaviours associated with intercultural learning are observed in association with the students' responses to changing circumstances. The paper draws attention to lessons learnt about orientation for intercultural exchanges in the development of intercultural learning and suggests ways to enhance the development of intercultural understandings and minimize cultural difference through more targeted interventions.

Underwater swarm robotics review

Underwater robotics is a growing field in which more research is required. A literature review has been conducted on underwater robotics, focusing on the swarm problem with this type of robotics to help overcome this gap. Consensus control of robotic swarms is focused on, with a brief description of formation control and how it can be applied in the underwater setting. The basic concepts behind Particle Swarm Optimization, Ant Colony Optimization, Bees Algorithm and Heterogeneous Swarms has also been presented. The problems that are associated with communicating underwater are shown, with some possible solutions to this problem also being presented. Possible future work is described to conclude the paper.

Prognostic value of fat mass and skeletal muscle mass determined by computed tomography in patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation

Body composition (fat mass [FM] and skeletal muscle mass [SMM]) predicts clinical outcomes. In particular, loss of SMM (sarcopenia) is associated with frailty and mortality. There are no data on the prevalence and impact of FM and SMM in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). The objective of this study is to determine body composition from pre-TAVI computed tomography (CT) and evaluate its association with clinical outcomes in patients who underwent TAVI. A total of 460 patients (mean age 81 ± 8 years, men: 51%) were included. Pre-TAVI CTs of the aorto-ilio-femoral axis were analyzed for FM and SMM cross-sectional area at the level of the third lumbar vertebrae (L3). Regression equations correlating cross-sectional area at L3 to total body FM and SMM were used to determine prevalence of sarcopenia, obesity, and sarcopenic obesity in patients (64%, 65%, and 46%, respectively). Most TAVI procedures were performed through a transfemoral approach (59%) using a balloon-expandable valve (94%). The 30-day and mid-term (median 12 months [interquartile range 6 to 27]) mortality rates were 6.1% and 29.6%, respectively. FM had no association with clinical outcomes, but sarcopenia predicted cumulative mortality (hazard ratio 1.55, 95% confidence interval 1.02 to 2.36, p = 0.04). In conclusion, body composition analysis from pre-TAVI CT is feasible. Sarcopenia, obesity, and sarcopenic obesity are prevalent in the TAVI population, with sarcopenia predictive of cumulative mortality.

Review: 'Collaborative projects: An interdisciplinary study'

When I was asked to review this book, I was immediately intrigued by the title. As someone influenced by the philosophical legacy of phenomenology and existential humanism through Husserl, Heidegger and Sartre, I have always understood the project as a life-project of which I am the author seeking to overcome the facticity, or the inescapable conditions of my existence, in order to realise myself in the world. Such a project takes courage: in pro - jecting myself into the world I simultaneously find and lose myself, but without this attempt I do not exist at all. In recent years I have come to increasingly question this account of the human project. Could the idea of ‘collaborative projects’ be a more positive way of seeing the social world in which I live, as a world where other people are not simply an obstacle to my self-realisation?