We need to talk (Performance Space)

'We need to talk (Performace Space)' is a 3 channel audio work with round table and custom cushions, examining the discursive framework of LEVEL as a feminist art collective. It was included in the exhibition 'Sexes', curated by Bec Dean, Jeff Khan and Deborah Kelly, at Performance Space. The audio works feature recontextualised excerpts from a series of dinner party conversations, which focused on the role of women and feminism in the 21st century. Placed in a specially constructed ‘lazy susan’, this audio installation speaks of the experience of sharing information, ideas and experiences ‘around the table’. The fabric patterns on the floor cushions have been designed from banners created in collective workshops with women in Brisbane and Melbourne, Australia, as a way of translating personal statements and political ideas into the everyday.

Did Brisbane grow smartly? Drivers of city growth 1991-2001 and lessons for current policies

Urban areas are growing unsustainably around the world; however, the growth patterns and their associated drivers vary between contexts. As a result, research has highlighted the need to adopt case study based approaches to stimulate the development of new theoretic understandings. Using land-cover data sets derived from Landsat images (30 m × 30 m), this research identifies both patterns and drivers of urban growth in a period (1991-2001) when a number of policy acts were enacted aimed at fostering smart growth in Brisbane, Australia. A linear multiple regression model was estimated using the proportion of lands that were converted from non-built-up (1991) to built-up usage (2001) within a suburb as a dependent variable to identify significant drivers of land-cover changes. In addition, the hot spot analysis was conducted to identify spatial biases of land-cover changes, if any. Results show that the built-up areas increased by 1.34% every year. About 19.56% of the non-built-up lands in 1991 were converted into built-up lands in 2001. This conversion pattern was significantly biased in the northernmost and southernmost suburbs in the city. This is due to the fact that, as evident from the regression analysis, these suburbs experienced a higher rate of population growth, and had the availability of habitable green field sites in relatively flat lands. The above findings suggest that the policy interventions undertaken between the periods were not as effective in promoting sustainable changes in the environment as they were aimed for.

Evaluation of legal capacity by doctors and lawyers : the need for collaborative assessment

• Balancing the interests of individual autonomy and protection is an escalating challenge confronting an ageing Australian society. • One way this is manifested is in the current ad hoc and unsatisfactory way that capacity is assessed in the context of wills, enduring powers of attorney and advance health directives. • The absence of nationally accepted assessment guidelines results in terminological and methodological miscommunication and misunderstanding between legal and medical professionals. • Expectations between legal and medical professionals can be clarified to provide satisfactory capacity assessments based upon the development of a sound assessment paradigm

The need for internal social marketing (ISM): extending the people focus to service employees

BreastScreen Queensland (BSQ) is a government-based health service that provides free breast cancer screening services to eligible women using digital mammography technology.' In 2007, BSQ launched its first social marketing campaign' aimed at achieving a 30 per cent increase in women's programme participation by addressing the barriers to regular screening and by dispelling myths about breast cancer (Tornabene 2010). 'The Facts' mass media social marketing campaign used a credible spokesperson, Australian journalist]ana Wendt, to deliver the call to action' Don't make excuses. Make an appointment'.

Do not-for-profits need their own conceptual framework?

This paper raises the issue of whether not-for-profit (NFP) organisations require a conceptual framework that acknowledges their mission imperative and enables them to discharge their broader accountability. Relying on publicly available documentation and literature, it suggests that current conceptaul Frameworks for the for-profit and public sectors are inadequate in meeting the accountability needs of broader NFP-specific accountability and the formulation of NFP-appropriate reporting practice, including the provision of financial and non-financial reporting. The paper thus theoretically challenges existing financial reporting arrangements and investes debate on their future direction.

The impact of Cool Roof applications on energy performance : results from Australian sub-tropical and tropical field studies

Cool roof coatings are identified by their solar reflectance index. They have been reported to have multiple benefits, the extent of which are strongly dependent on the peculiarities of the local climate, building stock and electricity network. This paper presents measured and simulated data from residential, educational and commercial buildings involved in recent field trials in Australia. The purpose of the field trials was to evaluate the impact of such coatings on electricity demand and load and to assess their potential application to improve comfort whilst avoiding the need for air conditioners. Measured reductions in temperature, power (kW) and energy (kWh) were used to develop a predictive model that correlates ambient temperature distribution profiles, building demand reduction profiles and electricity network peak demand times. Combined with simulated data, the study indicates the types of buildings that could be targeted in Demand Management programs for the mutual benefit of electricity networks and building occupants.

Dapagliflozin – do we need it registered for type 2 diabetes?

INTRODUCTION: Inhibitors of the sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) promote the excretion of glucose to reduce glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels. Canagliflozin was the first SGLT2 inhibitor to be approved by the US FDA for use in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, and recently dapagliflozin has also been approved. AREAS COVERED: We evaluated a recent Phase III clinical trial with dapagliflozin. EXPERT OPINION: Dapagliflozin was studied as add-on therapy to sitagliptin with or without metformin, and was shown to lower HbA1c levels and body weight. The incidence of hypoglycaemia was low with dapagliflozin, but it did increase the incidence of urogenital infections. As no clear benefits have been identified for dapagliflozin over canagliflozin, which was the first gliflozin registered by the FDA, we do not fully understand why it was necessary to register dapagliflozin. Given that there are no completed cardiovascular/clinical outcome studies with dapagliflozin, and therefore no evidence of beneficial effect, it also seems premature to be using it extensively or considering it as an alternative to the clinically proven metformin.

Fostering digital participation in regional and rural Australia

The deployment of high speed broadband around Australia offers opportunities to extend digital participation among and between regional and rural communities. Full realisation of these opportunities requires a greater understanding about community members’ current digital participation and development needs, to underpin innovative community-driven initiatives. This paper outlines the Fostering Digital Participation Project’s initial undertakings to determine current digital participation and the future digital aspirations of a number of regional and rural communities.

“This is not a burning issue for me”: How citizens justify their use of wood heaters in a city with a severe air pollution problem

Although wood smoke pollution has been linked to health problems, wood burning remains a popular form of domestic heating in many countries across the world. In this paper, we describe the rhetoric of resistance to wood heater regulation amongst citizens in the regional Australian town of Armidale, where wood smoke levels regularly exceed national health advisory limits. We discuss how this is related to particular sources of resistance, such as affective attachment to wood heating and socio-cultural norms. The research draws on six focus groups with participants from households with and without wood heating. With reference to practice theory, we argue that citizen discourses favouring wood burning draw upon a rich suite of justifications and present this activity as a natural and traditional activity promoting comfort and cohesion. Such discourses also emphasise the identity of the town as a rural community and the supposed gemeinschaft qualities of such places. We show that, in this domain of energy policy, it is not enough to present ‘facts’ which have little emotional association or meaning for the populace. Rather, we need understand how social scripts, often localised, inform identity and practice.

Tamworth Regional Council Social Plan 2006

The Tamworth Regional Social Plan is a document for collaborative planning involving the three spheres of government, the community and commercial sectors, with the aim of enhancing the quality and fairness of life in Tamworth. The Plan is a way of identifying needs and priorities for community facilities and services for Tamworth. The Social Plan reflects Council’s ongoing commitment to the people of the Tamworth Region and, in particular, the social needs and aspirations of our community. The Local Government (General) Amendment (Community and Social Plans) Regulation 1998 grew out of the 1996 NSW Social Justice Directions Statement “Fair Go, Fair Share, Fair Say” which committed the Department of Local Government to ensuring government services are responsive to community needs and diversity. The regulation is designed to:- • Improve Councils’ ability to take account of community needs when formulating their management plans; • Assist Councils to provide or advocate for appropriate and accessible services/facilities; and • Increase the community’s ability to monitor Council efforts in addressing community needs over time. The Local Government (General) Regulation 1999 requires that all councils develop a community/social plan and that all plans be prepared in accordance with guidelines issued by the Department. While Council has a broad function of providing leadership for Tamworth, it is not the only group responsible for providing community services. Developing the Social Plan has required cooperation with various State and Federal agencies as well as with Tamworth’s community groups and agencies.

Sex outside the city : sex work in rural and regional New South Wales

During the last decade 'prostitution' has been characterised as a 'social problem' throughout rural and regional New South Wales. As we show here, the urban-centric nature of popular and official discourses of prostitution have inadvertently allowed for the development of regulatory positions which have negatively impacted sex workers in rural and regional communities and lead to conflict among sectors of the rural sex industry and between the sex industry and community activists. In addition to examining the problematisation of sex work in rural New South Wales, this paper sets out to understand why rural sex work has historically lacked visibility in popular and scholarly discourses. We provide an overview of the distinctive organisational aspects of the sex industry in rural contexts. Evidence for our assertions is largely derived from primary interview data collected from sex industry workers based in rural New South Wales. The paper represents the first attempt in the research literature on prostitution to understand sex work as a rural phenomenon.

Caveating a mortgagee sale - The need for a uniform approach

The ability of a mortgagor to lodge a caveat, where an allegation is raised of serious impropriety by a mortgagee in exercising power of sale, may be a critical protective tool for a mortgagor. The mortgagor’s capacity, as caveator, to lodge a caveat over the mortgagor’s own title and the nature of the interest necessary to support the caveat are contentious issues. This article examines the different judicial approaches that have been adopted to date and states a case for a uniform approach to this issue across Australia in the future.

Alarm setting for the critically ill patient : A descriptive pilot survey of nurses’ perceptions of current practice in an Australian Regional Critical Care Unit

Aim: The aim of this survey was to assess registered nurse’s perceptions of alarm setting and management in an Australian Regional Critical Care Unit. Background: The setting and management of alarms within the critical care environment is one of the key responsibilities of the nurse in this area. However, with up to 99% of alarms potentially being false-positives it is easy for the nurse to become desensitised or fatigued by incessant alarms; in some cases up to 400 per patient per day. Inadvertently ignoring, silencing or disabling alarms can have deleterious implications for the patient and nurse. Method: A total population sample of 48 nursing staff from a 13 bedded ICU/HDU/CCU within regional Australia were asked to participate. A 10 item open-ended and multiple choice questionnaire was distributed to determine their perceptions and attitudes of alarm setting and management within this clinical area. Results: Two key themes were identified from the open-ended questions: attitudes towards inappropriate alarm settings and annoyance at delayed responses to alarms. A significant number of respondents (93%) agreed that alarm fatigue can result in alarm desensitisation and the disabling of alarms, whilst 81% suggested the key factors are those associated with false-positive alarms and inappropriately set alarms.

A continent-wide study reveals clear relationships between regional abiotic conditions and post-dispersal seed predation

Aim Large-scale patterns linking energy availability, biological productivity and diversity form a central focus of ecology. Despite evidence that the activity and abundance of animals may be limited by climatic variables associated with regional biological productivity (e.g. mean annual precipitation and annual actual evapotranspiration), it is unclear whether plant–granivore interactions are themselves influenced by these climatic factors across broad spatial extents. We evaluated whether climatic conditions that are known to alter the abundance and activity of granivorous animals also affect rates of seed removal. Location Eleven sites across temperate North America. Methods We used a common protocol to assess the removal of the same seed species (Avena sativa) over a 2-day period. Model selection via the Akaike information criterion was used to determine a set of candidate binomial generalized linear mixed models that evaluated the relationship between local climatic data and post-dispersal seed predation. Results Annual actual evapotranspiration was the single best predictor of the proportion of seeds removed. Annual actual evapotranspiration and mean annual precipitation were both positively related to mean seed removal and were included in four and three of the top five models, respectively. Annual temperature range was also positively related to seed removal and was an explanatory variable in three of the top four models. Main conclusions Our work provides the first evidence that energy and precipitation, which are known to affect consumer abundance and activity, also translate to strong, predictable patterns of seed predation across a continent. More generally, these findings suggest that future changes in temperature and precipitation could have widespread consequences for plant species composition in grasslands, through impacts on plant recruitment.