Rediscovering law students as citizens: Critical thinking and the public value of legal education

In a series of publications over the last decade, Australian National University Professor Margaret Thornton has documented a disturbing change in the nature of legal education. This body of work culminates in a recently published book based on interviews with 145 legal academics in Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada. In it, Thornton describes a feeling of widespread unease among legal academics that society, government, university administrators and students themselves are moving away from viewing legal education as a public good which benefits both students and society. Instead, legal education is increasingly being viewed as a purely private good, for consumption by the student in the quest for individual career enhancement.

Open access spatial data and collaboration

On 19 June 2015, representatives from over 40 Australian research institutions gathered in Canberra to launch their Open Data Collections. The one day event, hosted by the Australian National Data Service (ANDS), showcased to government and a range of national stakeholders the rich variety of data collections that have been generated through the Major Open Data Collections (MODC) project. Colin Eustace attended the showcase for QUT Library and presented a poster that reflected the work that he and Jodie Vaughan generated through the project. QUT’s Blueprint 4, the University’s five-year institutional strategic plan, outlines the key priorities of developing a commitment to working in partnership with industry, as well as combining disciplinary strengths with interdisciplinary application. The Division of Technology, Information and Learning Support (TILS) has undertaken a number of Australian National Data Service (ANDS) funded projects since 2009 with the aim of developing improved research data management services within the University to support these strategic aims. By leveraging existing tools and systems developed during these projects, the Major Open Data Collection (MODC) project delivered support to multi-disciplinary collaborative research activities through partnership building between QUT researchers and Queensland government agencies, in order to add to and promote the discovery and reuse of a collection of spatially referenced datasets. The MODC project built upon existing Research Data Finder infrastructure (which uses VIVO open source software, developed by Cornell University) to develop a separate collection, Spatial Data Finder (https://researchdatafinder.qut.edu.au/spatial) as the interface to display the spatial data collection. During the course of the project, 62 dataset descriptions were added to Spatial Data Finder, 7 added to Research Data Finder and two added to Software Finder, another separate collection. The project team met with 116 individual researchers and attended 13 school and faculty meetings to promote the MODC project and raise awareness of the Library’s services and resources for research data management.

Using competences and competence tools in workforce development

The NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) has been a driving force in the move to competence-based workforce development in the NHS. Skills for Health has developed national workforce competences that aim to improve behavioural performance, and in turn increase productivity. This article describes five projects established to test Skills for Health national workforce competences, electronic tools and products in different settings in the NHS. Competences and competence tools were used to redesign services, develop job roles, identify skills gaps and develop learning programmes. Reported benefits of the projects included increased clarity and a structured, consistent and standardized approach to workforce development. Findings from the evaluation of the tools were positive in terms of their overall usefulness and provision of related training/support. Reported constraints of using the competences and tools included issues relating to their availability, content and organization. It is recognized that a highly skilled and flexible workforce is important to the delivery of high-quality health care. These projects suggest that Skills for Health competences can be used as a 'common currency' in workforce development in the UK health sector. This would support the need to adapt rapidly to changing service needs.

Water transformed: Sustainable water solutions for climate change adaptation

This online textbook provides free access to a comprehensive education and training package that brings together the knowledge of how countries, specifically Australia, can adapt to climate change. This resource has been developed formally as part of the Federal Government’s Department of Climate Change’s Climate Change Adaptation Professional Skills program.

The culture wars of climate change

Of late, there has been a growth in cultural expression about climate change – with the rise of climate fiction (‘cli-fi’); art and photography responding to changes in nature; musical anthems about climate change; plays and dramas about climate change; and environmental documentaries, and climate cinema. Drawing comparisons to past controversies over cultural funding, this paper considers the cultural wars over climate change. This article considers a number of cultural fields. Margaret Atwood made an important creative and critical contribution to the debate over climate change. The work examines Ian McEwan's novel, Solar, a tragi-comedy about authorship, invention, intellectual property, and climate science. After writing a history of Merchants of Doubt, Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway have experimented with fiction – as well as history. This article focuses upon artistic works about climate change. It analyses James Balog’s work with the Extreme Ice Survey, which involved photography of glaciers under retreat in a warming world. The work was turned into a documentary called Chasing Ice. It also considers the artistic project of 350.org 'to transform the human rights and environmental issues connected to climate change into powerful art that gets people to stop, think and act.' The paper examines musical storytelling in respect of climate change. The paper explores dramatic works about climate change including Steve Waters' The Contingency Plan, Stephen Emmott's Ten Billion, and Andrew Bovell's When the Rain Stops Falling and Hannie Rayson’s Extinction. The paper also examines the role of documentary film-making. It also considers the cinematographic film, Beasts of the Southern Wild. Such a survey will enable a consideration of the larger question of whether creative art about climate change matters; and whether it is deserving of public funding.

‘A contributing life’: Living a contributing life as ‘a person’, ‘an artist’ and ‘an artist with a mental illness’

The Australian National Mental Health Commission, recently adopted a focus on ‘a contributing life’ to acknowledge the importance of full and meaningful participation in community life. This concept compels new conversations about the complex nature of every day and whole of life experiences for people with lived experience of mental illness. This article reflects on narratives by eight artists with lived experience of mental illness, in Australia to understand how opportunities are available through art for people with lived experience of mental illness to lead a contributing life. A twelve month study gained insight of how participants saw themselves, made meaning and sense of their experiences, and how each person asserted their choice to be an artist. This article shares a common premise held by the participants to choose a “way of life as ‘who I am’”. This declaration emphasised the relevance of living a contributing life as ‘a person’, ‘an artist’ and ‘an artist with a mental illness’. A number of conceptual issues are raised in light of the findings, not least how opportunities for participation are framed and available, or otherwise, to live a contributing life.

Moral rights and their application in Australia: a book review

In Moral Rights and Their Application in Australia, Maree Sainsbury offers a summary of the new moral rights regime established in Australia in 2000. It is a decent guide and handbook to moral rights for legal practitioners, the authors of copyright work, and the users of copyright material. As the author notes: "The Australian moral rights legislation impacts on the rights and obligations of many people in diverse circumstances, from the creator of a highly unique work of art to the designer of a web site incorporating factual information or graphics which someone else has created. Any person creating or dealing with copyright material should be aware of the moral rights implications. This book provides a detailed analysis of the moral rights legislation, while stressing the fundamental provisions. It also provides some useful practical guidance for those who are affected, both in general terms and with respect to the more specific situations outlined above." Maree Sainsbury provides an enjoyable account of the history and nature of moral rights. She charts the romantic, Continental origins of moral rights, and explains their translation to countries, such as Australia and the United States.

Modelling interregional links in electricity price spikes

Abnormally high price spikes in spot electricity markets represent a significant risk to market participants. As such, a literature has developed that focuses on forecasting the probability of such spike events, moving beyond simply forecasting the level of price. Many univariate time series models have been proposed to dealwith spikes within an individual market region. This paper is the first to develop a multivariate self-exciting point process model for dealing with price spikes across connected regions in the Australian National Electricity Market. The importance of the physical infrastructure connecting the regions on the transmission of spikes is examined. It is found that spikes are transmitted between the regions, and the size of spikes is influenced by the available transmission capacity. It is also found that improved risk estimates are obtained when inter-regional linkages are taken into account.

Are dietetics educators' attitudes to assessment a barrier to expanding placement opportunities? Results of a Delphi study

Aim Assessment of entry-level health professionals is complex, especially in the work-based setting, placing additional pressures on these learning environments. The present study aims to gain understanding and ideally consensus regarding the setting for assessment of all elements of competence for entry-level dietitians across Australia. Methods Seventy-five experienced academic and practitioner assessors were invited to participate in an online Delphi survey. The 166 entry-level performance criteria of the competency standards for dietitians formed the basis of the questions in the survey, with rating on which ones could be assessed in the practice setting, those which could be assessed in a classroom/university setting and which could be assessed in either setting. Forty-three of 75 invited assessors responded to the first round of the Delphi. A second modified survey was sent to the 43 participants with 34 responding. Results Consensus was achieved for the assessment setting for 86 (52%) of the performance criteria after two rounds of surveying. The majority of these performance criteria achieved consensus at round one (n = 44) and were deemed to be best assessed in the practice setting (n = 55). This study highlighted the perspectives of assessors and their preference for the work-based setting for assessment. Conclusions To reduce the focus on work-based settings as the only place for competence-based assessment of health professionals, there is a need to support individual and organisational change through challenging existing norms around assessment.

Uncanny Intimacy

Summary: Uncanny Intimacy charts an artists’ journeys towards ecological understanding. Use the mysterious inorganic ‘telescope’, to peer deep within a contemporary 'cabinet of {research} curiosities’, witnessing diverse moments of insight and inspiration animated by the darkly compelling worlds of Australia’s iconic flying foxes. Exhibition Statement: Uncanny Intimacy charts an artists’ journeys towards ecological understanding. Use the mysterious inorganic ‘telescope’ to peer deep within a contemporary 'cabinet of {research} curiosities’, witnessing diverse moments of insight and inspiration, animated by the darkly compelling worlds of Australia’s iconic flying foxes. Uncanny Intimacy calls us to imagine a radical rethinking of ecological ethics. By understanding existence as innately coexistence, we are asked to contemplate how ecologies might be better understood, better conserved and made flourish.

Differences in grass pollen allergen exposure across Australia

Objective Allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma are important chronic diseases posing serious public health issues in Australia with associated medical, economic, and societal burdens. Pollen are significant sources of clinically relevant outdoor aeroallergens, recognised as both a major trigger for, and cause of, allergic respiratory diseases. This study aimed to provide a national, and indeed international, perspective on the state of Australian pollen data using a large representative sample. Methods Atmospheric grass pollen concentration is examined over a number of years within the period 1995 to 2013 for Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, and Sydney, including determination of the clinical' grass pollen season and grass pollen peak. Results The results of this study describe, for the first time, a striking spatial and temporal variability in grass pollen seasons in Australia, with important implications for clinicians and public health professionals, and the Australian grass pollen-allergic community. Conclusions These results demonstrate that static pollen calendars are of limited utility and in some cases misleading. This study also highlights significant deficiencies and limitations in the existing Australian pollen monitoring and data. Implications: Establishment of an Australian national pollen monitoring network would help facilitate advances in the clinical and public health management of the millions of Australians with asthma and allergic rhinitis.

Chronicling the patient journey: Co-creating value with digital health ecosystems

With the introduction of the PCEHR (Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record), the Australian public is being asked to accept greater responsibility for the management of their health information. However, the implementation of the PCEHR has occasioned poor adoption rates underscored by criticism from stakeholders with concerns about transparency, accountability, privacy, confidentiality, governance, and limited capabilities. This study adopts an ethnographic lens to observe how information is created and used during the patient journey and the social factors impacting on the adoption of the PCEHR at the micro-level in order to develop a conceptual model that will encourage the sharing of patient information within the cycle of care. Objective: This study aims to firstly, establish a basic understanding of healthcare professional attitudes toward a national platform for sharing patient summary information in the form of a PCEHR. Secondly, the studies aims to map the flow of patient related information as it traverses a patient’s personal cycle of care. Thus, an ethnographic approach was used to bring a “real world” lens to information flow in a series of case studies in the Australian healthcare system to discover themes and issues that are important from the patient’s perspective. Design: Qualitative study utilising ethnographic case studies. Setting: Case studies were conducted at primary and allied healthcare professionals located in Brisbane Queensland between October 2013 and July 2014. Results: In the first dimension, it was identified that healthcare professionals’ concerns about trust and medico-legal issues related to patient control and information quality, and the lack of clinical value available with the PCEHR emerged as significant barriers to use. The second dimension of the study which attempted to map patient information flow identified information quality issues, clinical workflow inefficiencies and interoperability misconceptions resulting in duplication of effort, unnecessary manual processes, data quality and integrity issues and an over reliance on the understanding and communication skills of the patient. Conclusion: Opportunities for process efficiencies, improved data quality and increased patient safety emerge with the adoption of an appropriate information sharing platform. More importantly, large scale eHealth initiatives must be aligned with the value proposition of individual stakeholders in order to achieve widespread adoption. Leveraging an Australian national eHealth infrastructure and the PCEHR we offer a practical example of a service driven digital ecosystem suitable for co-creating value in healthcare.

Automated topometric graph generation from floor plan analysis

The world is rich with information such as signage and maps to assist humans to navigate. We present a method to extract topological spatial information from a generic bitmap floor plan and build a topometric graph that can be used by a mobile robot for tasks such as path planning and guided exploration. The algorithm first detects and extracts text in an image of the floor plan. Using the locations of the extracted text, flood fill is used to find the rooms and hallways. Doors are found by matching SURF features and these form the connections between rooms, which are the edges of the topological graph. Our system is able to automatically detect doors and differentiate between hallways and rooms, which is important for effective navigation. We show that our method can extract a topometric graph from a floor plan and is robust against ambiguous cases most commonly seen in floor plans including elevators and stairwells.

Investigation of movement and factors influencing post-release survival of line-caught coral reef fish using recreational tag-recapture data

Six species of line-caught coral reef fish (Plectropomus spp., Lethrinus miniatus, Lethrinus laticaudis, Lutjanus sebae, Lutjanus malabaricus and Lutjanus erythropterus) were tagged by members of the Australian National Sportsfishing Association (ANSA) in Queensland between 1986 and 2003. Of the 14,757 fish tagged, 1607 were recaptured and we analysed these data to describe movement and determine factors likely to impact release survival. All species were classified as residents since over 80% of recaptures for each species occurred within 1 km of the release site. Few individuals (range 0.8-5%) were recaptured more than 20 km from their release point. L. sebae had a higher recapture rate (19.9%) than the other species studied (range 2.1-11.7%). Venting swimbladder gases, regardless of whether or not fish appeared to be suffering from barotrauma, significantly enhanced (P < 0.05) the survival of L. sebae and L. malabaricus but had no significant effect (P > 0.05) on L. erythropterus. The condition of fish on release, subjectively assessed by anglers, was only a significant effect on recapture rate for L. sebae where fish in "fair" condition had less than half the recapture rate of those assessed as in "excellent" or "good" condition. The recapture rate of L. sebae and L. laticaudis was significantly (P < 0.05) affected by depth with recapture rate declining in depths exceeding 30 m. Overall, the results showed that depth of capture, release condition and treatment for barotrauma influenced recapture rate for some species but these effects were not consistent across all species studied. Recommendations were made to the ANSA tagging clubs to record additional information such as injury, hooking location and hook type to enable a more comprehensive future assessment of the factors influencing release survival.