A decade of Taiwanese migration in Australia: Comparisons with Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong settlers

The arrival of Taiwanese migrants to Australia represents the second major wave of Chinese immigration to this nation. Many who entered Australia did so as business migrants. They were typically well educated, affluent professionals, managers, &/or entrepreneurs who were looking for new business opportunities as well as a lifestyle characterized by open space, clean air, a good education for their children, & personal & political safety. Yet, the settlement experiences of many Taiwanese migrants, despite their affluence & (business) skills, have been typified by stress & hardship, particularly in making adjustments in social, business, & economic relationships. A review of statistical data compiled from census & government reports in Australia has revealed that after a decade Down Under, the Taiwanese settler group was still characterized by high unemployment, even when compared to other Chinese migrant groups from Hong Kong & Mainland China. It is suggested that the Taiwanese migrants' persistent high nonparticipation in Australia's labor force is indicative & poignant of their highly distinctive, albeit not exclusive in the broader Chinese migrant terms, experience of migration settlement. There seems to be an increasing number of Taiwanese settlers returning to resettle in Taiwan in recent years, because of perceived better employment & business opportunities or for family & personal reasons. Recent interviews with Taiwanese settlers have also suggested that the most recent arrivals, being more aware of the obstacles in achieving work or business satisfaction during settlement, seem less likely to commit themselves to lifelong settlement in Australia. 16 Tables, 1 Figure, 37 References. Adapted from the source document.

Alcoholic liver disease: A clinical series in an Australian private practice

Background and Aim: The published literature on alcoholic liver disease (ALD) in Australia lacks a large clinical series out of private practice as distinct from hospital-based hepatology referral units. This series describes the presentation and clinical features of ALD in a consecutive series out of metropolitan private practice in Australia. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study by case-note review found 297 cases of ALD at a Brisbane practice over 20 years. The main outcome measures were: clinical features and stage at presentation, reasons for referral, and the predictive value of aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio. Results: Most patients (57.9%) had no symptoms of liver disease and 29 patients (9.8%) had neither symptoms nor signs. Cirrhosis was found in 41% of patients and hepatitis-fibrosis was found in 26% of patients. The male to female (M: F) ratio was 4.7:1. The AST/ALT ratio was not reliably predictive of ALD stage. The average reported daily alcohol intake was 131 g. Females drank less on average and presented a more vigorous clinical picture. Conclusions: This series presents the spectrum of ALD in a metropolitan Australian private practice. Many patients are asymptomatic on presentation. All heavy drinkers should be targeted for early investigation without waiting for volunteered symptoms or abnormal physical signs. The male to female ratio in ALD is higher than hitherto reported. The AST/ALT ratio is not generally applicable in the staging of ALD. The differences from hospital series data suggest the demography and epidemiology of ALD in Australia are incomplete, and further study is warranted. (C) 2001 Blackwell Science Asia Pty Ltd.

Safety and efficacy of low anterior en bloc resection as part of cytoreductive surgery for patients with ovarian cancer

Objective. To examine the feasibility and safety of a low anterior resection of the rectosigmoid plus adjacent pelvic tumour as part of primary cytoreduction for ovarian cancer. Methods. This study included 65 consecutive patients with primary ovarian cancer who had debulking surgery from 1996 through 2000. All patients underwent an en bloc resection of ovarian cancer and a rectosigmoid resection followed by an end-to-end anastomosis. Parameters for safety and efficacy were considered as primary statistical endpoints for the aim of this analysis. Results. Postoperative residual tumour was nil, 1 cm in 14, 34, and 14 patients, respectively. The median postoperative hospital stay was 11 days (range, 6 to 50 days). Intraoperative complications included an injury to the urinary bladder in one patient. Postoperative complications included wound complications (n=14, 21.5%), septicemia (n=9, 13.8%), cardiac complications (n=7, 10.8%), thromboembolic complications (n=5, 7.7%) ileus (n=2, 3.1%) anastomotic leak (n=2, 3.1%) and fistula (n=1, 1.5%). Reasons for a reoperation during the same admission included repair of an anastomotic leak (n=1), postoperative hemorrhage (n=1), and wound debridement (n=1). Wound complications, septicemia, and anastomotic leak formation were more frequent in patients who had a serum albumin level of less than or equal to 30 g/L preoperatively. There was one surgically related mortality in a patient who died from a cerebral vascular accident 2 days postoperatively. Conclusions. An en bloc resection as part of primary cytoreductive surgery for ovarian cancer is effective and its morbidity is acceptably low. (C) 2001 Academic Press.

Primary to secondary LOTE articulation: A local case in Australia

In this study of articulation issues related to languages other than English (LOTE), "articulation" is defined and the challenges surrounding it are overviewed. Data taken from an independent school's admission documents over a 4-year period provide insights and reveal trends concerning students' preferences for language study, LOTE study continuity, and reasons for LOTE selection. The data also provides an accounting of some multiple LOTE learning experiences. The analysis indicates that many students who begin a LOTE in the early grades are thwarted in becoming proficient, because (1) continuation in the language is impossible due to unavailability of instruction; (2) expanded learning is hampered by teachers' inability to deal with a range of learners, (3) extended learning is hampered by administrative decisions or policies, or (4) students lose interest in the first LOTE and switch to another. Finally, a call is made for data gathering and research in local contexts to gain a better understanding of LOTE articulation challenges at the local, state, national, and international levels.

A cluster of melioidosis cases from an endemic region is clonal and is linked to the water supply using molecular typing of Burkholderia pseudomallei isolates

Nine cases of melioidosis with four deaths occurred over a 28-month period in members of a small remote Aboriginal community in the top end of the Northern Territory of Australia. Typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis showed isolates of Burkholderia pseudomallei from six of the cases to be clonal and also identical to an isolate from the community water supply, but not to soil isolates. The clonality of the isolates found in this cluster contrasts with the marked genetic diversity of human and environmental isolates found in this region which is hyperendemic for B. pseudomallei. It is possible that the clonal bacteria persisted and were propagated in biofilm in the water supply system. While the exact mode of transmission to humans and the reasons for cessation of the outbreak remain uncertain, contamination of the unchlorinated community water supply is a likely explanation.

Ecotourism for the survival of sea turtles and other wildlife

This paper discusses generally why humans should bother to conserve sea turtles. In doing so, it considers both economic and non-economic reasons and outlines threats to the existence of sea turtles and ways in which tourism may either contribute to the conservation or decline of their populations. Turtle-based ecotourism at Mon Repos in southern Queensland is described. As a result of a survey conducted by the authors, it is shown that turtle-based ecotourism at Mon Repos has positive social (indirect) consequences for the conservation of sea turtles. Furthermore, it is argued that ecotourism operations at Mon Repos have positive direct impacts on the sustainability of populations of sea turtles. However, using a simple model, it is emphasised that this impact is limited because turtles are migratory. A model is also developed to capture the possible relationship between turtle populations and the sustainability of ecotourism dependent on turtle populations, and is extended to other wildlife species. Significant interdependence exists between the sustainability of these two variables. The theory is related to Ciriacy-Wantrup's social safe minimum conservation standard for species' survival.

The paradox of commercialising public sector intellectual property

The juxtapositioning of government providing a public good through research and development investment on one hand and engaging in commercialisation of the research outcome on the other is a paradox. Using agricultural research as an example, we examine the nature of the paradox to determine if commercialisation potentially leads to a conflict in the role of public research institutions set up to fulfil public good responsibilities. We identify the reasons for the shift in policy towards commercialisation and greater exploitation of public sector intellectual property and how this has contributed to the emergence of the apparent inconsistency. We argue that the belief in working for public good is inherent and embedded in an organisation's history and its wider operating environment. We propose that the creation of public sector intellectual property and its commercialisation are influenced by the political, social and economic environment in which the public institutions operate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diversity in the Monogenea and Digenea: does lifestyle matter?

If the cestodes are excluded, then the parasitic platyhelminths of fishes divide neatly into the external and monoxenous Monogenea and the internal and heteroxenous Digenea. Both groups have apparently had long associations of coevolution, host switching and adaptation with fishes and have become highly successful in their respective habitats. Current estimates of species richness for the two groups suggest that they may be remarkably similar. Here we consider the nature of the diversity of the Monogenea. and Digenea of fishes in terms of richness of species and higher taxa to determine what processes may be responsible for observed differences. The Monogenea includes at least two super-genera (Dactylogyrus and Gyrodactylus) each of which has hundreds of species, no comparable genera are found in the Digenea. Possible reasons for this difference include the higher host specificity of monogeneans and their shorter generation Lime. If allowance is made for the vagaries of taxonomic 'lumping' and 'splitting', then there are probably comparable numbers of families of monogeneans and digeneans in fishes. However, the nature of the families differ profoundly. Richness in higher taxa (families) in the Digenea is explicable in terms of processes that appear to have been unimportant in the Monogenea. Readily identifiable sources of diversity in the Digenea are: recolonisation of fishes by taxa that arose in association with tetrapods; adoption of new sites within hosts; adoption of new diets and feeding mechanisms; adaptations relating to the exploitation of ecologically similar groups of fishes and second intermediate hosts; and adaptations relating to the exploitation of phylogenetic lineages of molluscs. In contrast, most higher- level monogenean diversity (other than that associated with the subclasses) relates principally to morphological specialisation for attachment by the haptor. (C) 2002 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Productivity growth in pre-1990 Mongolian agriculture: Spiralling disaster or emerging success?

The reasons for the spectacular collapse of so many centrally-planned economies are a source of ongoing debate. In this paper, we use detailed farm-level data to measure total factor productivity (TFP) changes in Mongolian grain and potato farming during the 14-year period immediately preceding the 1990 economic reforms. We measure TFP growth using stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) methods. Our results indicate quite poor overall performance, with an average annual TFP change of - 1.7% in grain and 0.8% in potatoes, over the 14-year period. However, the pattern of TFP growth changed substantially during this period, with TFP growth exceeding 7% per year in the latter half of this period. This suggests that the new policies of improved education, greater management autonomy, and improved incentives, which were introduced in final two planning periods in the 1980s, were beginning to have a significant influence upon the performance of Mongolian crop farming. Crown Copyright (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Longitudinal study of veterinarians from entry to the veterinary course to 10 years after graduation: attitudes to work, career and profession

Objective To describe the attitudes of veterinarians to their work, career and profession during the 10 years after graduation. Design Longitudinal study of students who started their course at The University of Queensland in 1985 and 1986, and who completed questionnaires in their first and fifth year as students, and after one, five and 10 years as veterinarians. Methods Data from 129 (96%) questionnaires completed after 10 years as a veterinarian were coded numerically then analysed, together with data from previous questionnaires, with SAS System 7 for Windows 95. Results After 10 years, almost all respondents were either very glad they had done the veterinary course (57%) or generally glad, though with some misgivings (37%). Despite this, only 55% would definitely become a veterinarian if they 'had to do it over again'. The responses for about one-third were different from those given five years earlier. The views of many were related to the level of support and encouragement received in their first job after graduation. There were 42% who were working less than half-time as veterinarians, and their main reasons were, in order, raising children, long hours of work, attitudes of bosses and clients, and poor pay. A majority was concerned about the ethics and competence of some colleagues, and almost all believed that consideration of costs must influence the type of treatment animals receive. Conclusions Most veterinarians were glad to have done the veterinary course, but for about one-quarter their career had not lived up to expectations and almost half would not do it again in another incarnation. Stress, hours of work, difficulties in balancing personal life with career and low income were important concerns for many. Low income may contribute to the low number of males entering the veterinary profession.

'The utility of human security': Which humans? What security? A reply to Thomas & Tow

Thomas & Tow's evaluation of the utility of human security is an important contribution to an ongoing debate about what security is and for whom security should be provided. In particular, the authors' engagement with the human security agenda is important given the centrality of this approach to recent attempts to rethink security. This article argues, however, that Thomas & Tow's approach to the human security agenda is problematic for two central reasons. First, their attempt to narrow security to make this approach amenable to state policymakers risks reifying the sources of insecurity for individuals everywhere. Second, the conception of human security they put forward appears largely inconsistent with the normative concerns inherent in the human security agenda.

Paid employment of mothers and fathers of an adult child with multiple disabilities

Background Paid employment is increasingly undertaken by mothers as their children age, with the majority of women being in employment by the time their offspring are adult. Opportunities to engage in employment appear to be reduced for mothers of children with disabilities; however, little is known about the employment of mothers or fathers of adults with disabilities. Method Data were collected regarding the employment decisions of parents of a young adult with multiple disabilities and contrasted with those of parents whose children were all developing normally. Twenty-five mothers and 12 fathers of a young adult with multiple disabilities were interviewed, as were 25 comparison mothers and 19 comparison fathers. Data collected included hours of work, reasons for employment status, attitudes towards work and child care, and psychological well-being. Results Clear differences were found between the two groups. Mothers and fathers of a child with multiple disabilities showed different engagement patterns with the paid workforce from comparison parents. Hours of work for fathers of a young adult with multiple disabilities showed a bi-modal distribution, with some fathers working fewer hours than usual and others working very long hours. For mothers in both groups, the number of hours in paid employment was negatively associated with reports of psychological problems. Conclusions Increased attention needs to be given to the employment opportunities of parents of children with disabilities since employment appears to play a protective role for mothers, in particular. Services provided to adults with disabilities will need to change if parents are to have the same life chances as parents without adult offspring with a disability.

The competence of mental health occupational therapists

This research sought to investigate the self-perceived competence of mental health occupational therapists in Queensland. The research is a post-hoc analysis of survey results that formed part of the 1995 Professional Development Strategy for Adult Mental Health Services for the Queensland Health Mental Health Unit. A sample of 55 occupational therapists was compared with other professionals in relation to both general self-efficacy and efficacy in specific competencies. The devised scale for measuring self-efficacy was found to have a high level of internal reliability. The results indicated that the general self-perceived competence of occupational therapists for the whole sample was comparable to that of other professional groups, but that in the community-based sample it was significantly higher than that of social workers or nurses. In addition, occupational therapists in community settings had significantly higher general self-perceived competence than occupational therapists in hospital locations. Greater length of experience in mental health was strongly predictive of higher levels of competence for occupational therapists than for other professionals. The results suggest that occupational therapists have adapted well to the demands of multidisciplinary community practice. The possible reasons for these results, and the implications for competency-based recruitment and training, are presented.

A clinical audit of the prescribing of celecoxib and rofecoxib in Australian rural general practice

Aims The new cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) selective inhibitors, celecoxib (Celebrex®) and rofecoxib (Vioxx®), have been widely prescribed since their launch. No reviews currently appear in the literature of prescribing patterns in Australia. This paper describes a self-audit of the clinical use of selective COX-2 inhibitor therapy undertaken with rural general practitioners (GPs) in Australia. Methods A structured audit form was developed and distributed to interested GPs. The form was self-administered and focused on issues about COX-2 inhibitors and the types of patients who were receiving them, e.g. indications, patient demographics, risk factors and drug interactions. Results A total of 627 patients were recruited (569 celecoxib and 58 rofecoxib). A range of doses was prescribed. Osteoarthritis was the most common indication (68.1%). Risk factors known for the nonselective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were identified in 65.1% of patients, with the most common being advanced age, hypertension and previous peptic ulcer disease. Potential drug interactions were common. A variety of reasons for initiation of therapy was identified; these included perceived increased efficacy, safety and failure of other treatment. Conclusions These results show that COX-2 inhibitors are being prescribed for patients with multiple risk factors that may place the patient at increased risk of adverse drug reactions to a COX-2 inhibitor. The perception of improved safety and efficacy was common and is of concern. Limitations of the study include the reliance on self-reporting.

The use of ACE-inhibitors after myocardial infarction

Background: There is good evidence that angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are beneficial after myocardial infarction (MI). However, it is not known how widely this evidence is used in practice and whether all eligible patients receive this therapy. Aim: To assess the usage of ACE inhibitors in patients after MI in a large teaching hospital. Method: A one month prospective analysis, combined with a three month retrospective analysis, was conducted at the Royal Brisbane Hospital (RBH) in February-March 2000. Patients admitted with an MI or who had been diagnosed with an MI during admission from November 1999 to March 2000 were identified from the coronary care unit (CCU) records. Inpatient medication charts and outpatient records were then reviewed. Information collected included: ACE inhibitor use, doses, reasons for prescribing/not prescribing ACE inhibitors, and ACE inhibitor prescribers (cardiologists or general physicians). Results: Forty four patients with an MI were included in the study, 28 of whom were prescribed ACE-inhibitors (64%). Twenty four of the 28 patients on ACE inhibitors were prescribed perindopril. The major reason given for prescribing ACE inhibitors was signs of congestive cardiac failure. All ACE inhibitors initiated in patients after MI at RBH were ordered by cardiologists. Conclusion: ACE inhibitors were prescribed appropriately in 88% of patients who met criteria for their use. This high percentage of appropriate prescribing was encouraging. Reevaluation as part of an ongoing quality assurance activity could be used to ensure this is maintained.