Associations of body mass index and waist circumference with: energy intake and percentage energy from macronutrients, in a cohort of Australian children

Background It is evident from previous research that the role of dietary composition in relation to the development of childhood obesity remains inconclusive. Several studies investigating the relationship between body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and/or skin fold measurements with energy intake have suggested that the macronutrient composition of the diet (protein, carbohydrate, fat) may play an important contributing role to obesity in childhood as it does in adults. This study investigated the possible relationship between BMI and WC with energy intake and percentage energy intake from macronutrients in Australian children and adolescents. Methods Height, weight and WC measurements, along with 24 h food and drink records (FDR) intake data were collected from 2460 boys and girls aged 5-17 years living in the state of Queensland, Australia. Results Statistically significant, yet weak correlations between BMI z-score and WC with total energy intake were observed in grades 1, 5 and 10, with only 55% of subjects having a physiologically plausible 24 hr FDR. Using Pearson correlations to examine the relationship between BMI and WC with energy intake and percentage macronutrient intake, no significant correlations were observed between BMI z-score or WC and percentage energy intake from protein, carbohydrate or fat. One way ANOVAs showed that although those with a higher BMI z-score or WC consumed significantly more energy than their lean counterparts. Conclusion No evidence of an association between percentage macronutrient intake and BMI or WC was found. Evidently, more robust longitudinal studies are needed to elucidate the relationship linking obesity and dietary intake.

Queensland diabetic foot hospitalisations (2005-10) : in what state is our foot hospital problem?

Background Diabetes foot complications are a leading cause of overall avoidable hospital admissions. Since 2006, the Queensland Diabetes Clinical Network has implemented programs aimed at reducing diabetes-related hospitalisation. The aim of this retrospective observational study was to determine the incidence of diabetes foot-related hospital admissions in Queensland from 2005 to 2010. Methods Data on all primary diabetes foot-related admissions in Queensland from 2005-2010 was obtained using diabetes foot-related ICD-10-AM (hospital discharge) codes. Queensland diabetes foot-related admission incidences were calculated using general population data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Furthermore, diabetes foot-related sub-group admissions were analysed. Chi-squared tests were used to assess changes in admissions over time. Results Overall, 24,917 diabetes foot-related admissions occurred, resulting in the use of 260,085 bed days or 1.4% of all available Queensland hospital bed days (18,352,152). The primary reasons for these admissions were foot ulcers (49.8%), cellulitis (20.7%), peripheral vascular disease (17.8%) and osteomyelitis (3.8%). The diabetes foot-related admission incidence among the general population (per 100,000) reduced by 22% (103.0 in 2005, to 80.7 in 2010, p < 0.001); bed days decreased by 18% (1,099 to 904, p < 0.001). Conclusion Diabetes foot complications appear to be the primary reason for 1.4 out of every 100 hospital beds used in Queensland. There has been a significant reduction in the incidence of diabetes foot-related admissions in Queensland between 2005 and 2010. This decrease has coincided with a corresponding decrease in amputations and the implementation of several diabetes foot clinical programs throughout Queensland.

Is the clinical Queensland High Risk Foot Form valid or reliable for research?

Background High-risk foot complications such as neuropathy, ischaemia, deformity, infections, ulcers and amputations consume considerable health care resources and typically result from chronic diseases. This study aimed to develop and test the validity and reliability of a Queensland High Risk Foot Form (QHRFF) tool. Methods Phase one involved developing a QHRFF using an existing diabetes high-risk foot tool, literature search, expert panel and several state-wide stakeholder groups. Phase two tested the criterion-related validity along with inter- and intra-rater reliability of the final QHRFF. Three cohorts of patients (n = 94) and four clinicians, representing different levels of expertise, were recruited. Validity was determined by calculating sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive values (PPV). Kappa and intra-class correlation (ICC) statistics were used to establish reliability. Results A QHRFF tool containing 46-items across seven domains was developed and endorsed. The majority of QHRFF items achieved moderate-to-perfect validity (PPV = 0.71 – 1) and reliability (Kappa/ICC = 0.41 – 1). Items with weak validity and/or reliability included those identifying health professionals previously attending the patient, other (non-listed) co-morbidity, previous foot ulcer, foot deformity, optimum offloading and optimum footwear. Conclusions The QHRFF had moderate-to-perfect validity and reliability across the majority of items, particularly identifying individual co-morbidities and foot complications. Items with weak validity or reliability need to be re-defined or removed. Overall, the QHRFF appears to be a valid and reliable tool to assess, collect and measure clinical data pertaining to high-risk foot complications for clinical or research purposes.

Flag state responsibility for maritime terrorism

Modern international shipping is largely a flag state-based system. Only the flag state has complete authority over the vessels that fly its flag, and as a result, other states’ jurisdiction over these vessels is very limited. Against this backdrop, this article examines the flag state’s responsibility for maritime terrorism, a major security issue and vulnerability in the global supply chain. It is not an exaggeration that the global community’s repeated statements regarding the illegality of terrorism have created a customary international law obligation for states to take all possible steps for the prevention of terrorism. This article argues that providing flags to suspicious entities in an obscure registration system is not compatible with this obligation.

State responsibility for maritime terrorism

Maritime terrorism is one of the main maritime security issues in the contemporary world. The threat of maritime terrorism is more apparent than ever in the post-September 11 era. Although maritime terrorism is an old issue, the disastrous events of 11 September 2001 brought this issue again onto the global agenda. This incident brought to the forefront the longstanding concerns that terrorists could severely disrupt the global maritime supply chain by using shipping containers or vessels to attack major business centres, port facilities and offshore installations. A number of international criminal law studies have been conducted to identify international legal challenges in maritime security. Some of these works have critically examined the international legal framework for maritime security and identified the lacunas in the existing system. Some of these writings have also identified that emerging maritime terrorism issues are prompting States to introduce some stringent measures. Although the international legal regime related to maritime terrorism is a well-researched area, very little research work has explored the legal issues related to State responsibility for maritime terrorism. This article argues that, although the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) provisions related to maritime piracy may not be applicable for some dimensions of maritime violence, different provisions of UNCLOS may relevant in identifying State responsibility for maritime terrorism.

The Australian welfare state : who benefits now?

This text outlines the links between Australian's conceptions about welfare and the redistributive outcomes of the welfare state, canvassing theoretical explanations about why many Australians develop and maintain misconceptions of the broad disyributive mechanisms of the Ayustralian welfare state and hold negative attitudes towards its social welfare element. The book is an indispensable resource for students undertaking studies in sociology, social policy, public administrion and social work.

Work and the Welfare State : Street-Level Organizations and Workfare Politics

Work and the Welfare State places street-level organizations at the analytic center of welfare state politics, policy and management. This volume offers a critical examination of efforts to change the welfare state to a workfare state by looking at on-the-ground issues in six countries: the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.

Evaluation framework for green procurement in road construction

Purpose Most barriers and enablers of sustainable projects are related to procurement. This study proposes a framework for evaluating green procurement practices throughout the lifecycle of road construction projects and demonstrates its application through an Australian case study. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on linking the phases of road construction with incentive mechanisms for proactively motivating behavioural change. A holistic view on utilised and potential incentives is attempted with a literature review and a state-of-practice review. The latter is based on interviews and 90 policy and procurement documents across five Australian states. Findings An evaluation framework with seven procurement stages is suggested to describe current state green procurement incentives throughout the delivery lifecycle of road construction projects. The Australian case study was found to provide useful data to identify gaps and strong points of the different states regarding their level of integration of sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions GHG) reduction elements in their procurement practices. This understanding was used to draw recommendations on future advancement of green procurement. Originality/value: Government entities across the globe can impact considerably the achievement of sustainability and GHG targets, by using their procurement practices and requirements to create incentives for contractors and suppliers to engage in more GHG conscious practices. The present study provides a systematic account of how green procurement practices can be underpinned using the Australian road construction industry as a case study, and distinguish between strong and weak links in the green procurement chain to draw recommendations for future initiatives.

Secure stream cipher initialisation processes

Stream ciphers are symmetric key cryptosystems that are used commonly to provide confidentiality for a wide range of applications; such as mobile phone, pay TV and Internet data transmissions. This research examines the features and properties of the initialisation processes of existing stream ciphers to identify flaws and weaknesses, then presents recommendations to improve the security of future cipher designs. This research investigates well-known stream ciphers: A5/1, Sfinks and the Common Scrambling Algorithm Stream Cipher (CSA-SC). This research focused on the security of the initialisation process. The recommendations given are based on both the results in the literature and the work in this thesis.

Traffic state estimation from partial Bluetooth and volume observations : case study in the Brisbane metropolitan area

The application of the Bluetooth (BT) technology to transportation has been enabling researchers to make accurate travel time observations, in freeway and arterial roads. The Bluetooth traffic data are generally incomplete, for they only relate to those vehicles that are equipped with Bluetooth devices, and that are detected by the Bluetooth sensors of the road network. The fraction of detected vehicles versus the total number of transiting vehicles is often referred to as Bluetooth Penetration Rate (BTPR). The aim of this study is to precisely define the spatio-temporal relationship between the quantities that become available through the partial, noisy BT observations; and the hidden variables that describe the actual dynamics of vehicular traffic. To do so, we propose to incorporate a multi- class traffic model into a Sequential Montecarlo Estimation algorithm. Our framework has been applied for the empirical travel time investigations into the Brisbane Metropolitan region.

A state-wide systems approach to embedding the learning and teaching of sustainability in teacher education

Education systems have a key role to play in preparing future citizens to engage in sustainable living practices and help create a more sustainable world. Many schools throughout Australia have begun to develop whole-school approaches to sustainability education that are supported by national and state policies and curriculum frameworks. Preservice teacher education, however, lags behind in building the capacity of new teachers to initiate and implement such approaches (ARIES, 2010). This proposed project seeks to develop a state-wide systems approach to embedding Education for Sustainability (EfS) in teacher education that is aligned with the Australian National Curriculum and the aspirations for EfS in the Melbourne Declaration and other national documents. Representatives from all teacher education institutions and other agents of change in the Queensland education system will be engaged in a multilevel systems approach, involving collaboration at the state, institutional and course levels, to develop curriculum practices that reflect a shared vision of EfS.