Labour market institutions and the gender wage gap in Britain and Australia, 1973-90

The importance of wage structure is frequently interpreted as indirect evidence of the role played by labour market institutions. The current paper follows in this tradition, examining the role of wage structure in explaining the trend in the gender wage gap over the period 1973–91 for both Australia and the UK. The focus is upon whether changes in wage structure (and associated gender wage gap) both across country and over time are compatible with institutional explanations. Combining comparisons both cross‐country and over time yields a more stringent, albeit indirect, test of the role of institutions.

The Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ): An outcomes and evaluation measure for patient education and self-management interventions for people with chronic conditions

Objective: This paper describes the development and validation of the Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ). The aim was to develop a user-friendly, relevant, and psychometrically sound instrument for the comprehensive evaluation of patient education programs, which can be applied across a broad range of chronic conditions.

Methods: Item development for the heiQ was guided by a Program Logic Model, Concept Mapping, interviews with stakeholders and psychometric analyses. Construction (N = 591) and confirmatory (N = 598) samples were drawn from consumers of patient education programs and hospital outpatients. The properties of the heiQ were investigated using item response theory and structural equation modeling.

Results: Over 90 candidate items were generated, with 42 items selected for inclusion in the final scale. Eight independent dimensions were derived: Positive and Active Engagement in Life (five items, Cronbach's alpha (α) = 0.86); Health Directed Behavior (four items, α = 0.80); Skill and Technique Acquisition (five items, α = 0.81); Constructive Attitudes and Approaches (five items, α = 0.81); Self-Monitoring and Insight (seven items, α = 0.70); Health Service Navigation (five items, α = 0.82); Social Integration and Support (five items, α = 0.86); and Emotional Wellbeing (six items, α = 0.89).

Conclusion:The heiQ has high construct validity and is a reliable measure of a broad range of patient education program benefits.

Practice Implications: The heiQ will provide valuable information to clinicians, researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders about the value of patient education programs in chronic disease management.

Online scams and fraud: Australians lose over $90 million in 2014

According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Australians gave more than $90 million to scammers in 2014, which is a slight increase on the 2013 figures. And while dating and romance scams still make up a large proportion of the fraud being committed, the most complaints to the ACCC are related to advance fee fraud – those scams where you receive a message from someone who needs your help to get money out of a foreign bank account.

Limited effect of fly-wheel and spinal mobilization exercise countermeasures on lumbar spine deconditioning during 90 d bed-rest in the Toulouse LTBR study

We examined the effect of high-load fly-wheel (targeting the lower-limb musculature and concurrent loading of the spine via shoulder restraints) and spinal movement countermeasures against lumbar spine muscle atrophy, disc and spinal morphology changes and trunk isokinetic torque loss during prolonged bed-rest. Twenty-four male subjects underwent 90 d head-down tilt bed-rest and performed either fly-wheel (FW) exercises every three days, spinal movement exercises in lying five times daily (SpMob), or no exercise (Ctrl). There was no significant impact of countermeasures on losses of isokinetic trunk flexion/extension (p≥0.65). Muscle volume change by day-89 of bed-rest in the psoas, iliacus, lumbar erector spinae, lumbar multifidus and quadratus lumborum, as measured via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), was statistically similar in all three groups (p≥0.33). No significant effect on MRI-measures of lumbar intervertebral disc volume, spinal length and lordosis (p≥0.09) were seen either, but there was some impact (p≤0.048) on axial plane disc dimensions (greater reduction than in Ctrl) and disc height (greater increases than in Ctrl). MRI-data from subjects measured 13 and 90-days after bed-rest showed partial recovery of the spinal extensor musculature by day-13 after bed-rest with this process complete by day-90. Some changes in lumbar spine and disc morphology parameters were still persistent 90-days after bed-rest. The present results indicate that the countermeasures tested were not optimal to maintain integrity of the spine and trunk musculature during bed rest. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.