Rethinking Youth Prostitution: National Provision at the Margins of Child Protection and Youth Justice

In March 2000, the Department of Health and the Home Office issued guidance fundamentally altering policy and practice with regard to young people in prostitution. 1 Instead of being arrested and punished for prostitution-related offences, those under 18 years old were to be thought of as children ‘in need’ and offered welfare-based interventions. The practice that has developed in the last three years has offered interventions that are located within both child protection and youth justice work. This article examines these changes in order to generate insights about the changing nature of youth justice. In particular, it is argued that the drive to manage the risks posed by young people in prostitution to specific organisations, takes precedence over either the desire to care for, or the demand to punish them. Through an analysis of how practitioners and policy makers responsible for implementing this new approach to youth prostitution talk about ‘risk’ and ‘responsibility’, ‘liability’, ‘protection’ and ‘punishment’, the article argues that the contradiction between care and control has been re-interpreted, such that there is noticeable blurring of the boundaries between welfare and punishment at the margins of youth justice work.

On the oscillatory behavior of transient Rayleigh Benard convection of air for 2D channel flow at moderate Rayleigh numbers

Unsteady numerical simulation of Rayleigh Benard convection heat transfer from a 2D channel is performed. The oscillatory behavior is attributed to recirculation of ascending and descending flows towards the core of the channel producing organized rolled motions. Variation of the parameters such as Reynolds number, channel outlet flow area and inclination of the channel are considered. Increasing Reynolds number (for a fixed Rayleigh number), delays the generation of vortices. The reduction in the outflow area leads to the later and the less vortex generation. As the time progresses, more vortices are generated, but the reinforced mean velocity does not let the eddies to enter the core of the channel. Therefore, they attach to the wall and reduce the heat transfer area. The inclination of the channel (both positive and negative) induces the generated vortices to get closer to each other and make an enlarged vortex.

ACE research briefing paper 005: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) - Australia 2011 National Report

This report maps the current state of entrepreneurship in Australia using data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) for the year 2011. Entrepreneurship is regarded as a crucial driver for economic well-being. Entrepreneurial activity in new and established firms drives innovation and creates jobs. Entrepreneurs also fuel competition thereby contributing indirectly to market and productivity growth along with improving competitiveness of the national economy. Given the economic landscape that exists as a result of the global financial crisis (GFC), it is probably more important than ever for us to understand the effects and drivers of entrepreneurial activity and attitudes in Australia. The central finding of this report is that entrepreneurship is certainly alive and well in Australia. With 10.5 per cent of the adult population involved in setting up a new business or owning a newly founded business as measured by the total entrepreneurial activity rate (TEA) in 2011, Australia ranks second only to the United States among the innovation-driven (developed) economies. Compared with 2010 the TEA rate has increased by 2.7 percentage points. Furthermore, in regard to employee entrepreneurial activity (EEA) rate in established firms, Australia ranks above average. According to GEM data, 5 per cent of the adult population is engaged in developing or launching new products, a new business unit or subsidiary for their employer. Further analysis of the GEM data also clearly shows that Australia compares well with other major economies in terms of the ‘quality’ of entrepreneurial activities being pursued. Indeed, it is not only the quantity of entrepreneurs but also the level of their aspirations and business goals that are important drivers for economic growth. On average, for each business started in Australia driven by the lack of alternatives for the founder to generate income from any other source, there are five other businesses started where the founders specifically want to take advantage of a business opportunity that they believe will increase their personal income or independence. With respect to innovativeness, 31 per cent of Australian new businesses offer products or services which they consider to be new to customers or where very few, or in some cases no, other businesses offer the same product or service. Both these indicators are higher than the average for innovation-driven economies. Somewhat below average is the international orientation of Australian entrepreneurs whereby only 12 per cent aim at having a substantial share of customers from international markets. So what drives this high quantity and quality of entrepreneurship in Australia? The analysis of the data suggests it is a combination of both business opportunities and entrepreneurial skills. It seems that around 50 per cent of the Australian population identify opportunities for a start-up venture and believe that they have the necessary skills to start a business. Furthermore, a large majority of the Australian population report that high media attention for entrepreneurship provides successful role models for prospective entrepreneurs. As a result, 12 per cent of our respondents have expressed the intention to start a business within the next three years. These numbers are all well above average when compared to the other major economies. With regard to gender, the GEM survey shows a high proportion of female entrepreneurs. Approximately 8.4 per cent of adult females are actually involved in setting up a business or have recently done so. Although this female TEA rate is slightly down from 2010, Australia ranks second among the innovation-driven economies. This paints a healthy picture of access to entrepreneurial opportunities for Australian women.

Sentencing and public confidence : results from a national Australian survey on public opinions towards sentencing

This paper examines the critical issue of public confidence in sentencing, and presents findings from Phase I of an Australia-wide sentencing and public confidence project. Phase I comprised a nationally representative telephone survey of 6005 participants. The majority of respondents expressed high levels of punitiveness and were dissatisfied with sentences imposed by the courts. Despite this, many were strongly supportive of the use of alternatives to imprisonment for a range of offences. These nuanced views raise questions regarding the efficacy of gauging public opinion using opinion poll style questions; indeed the expected outcome from this first phase of the four phase sentencing and public confidence project. The following phases of this project, reported on elsewhere, examined the effects of various interventions on the robustness and nature of these views initially expressed in a standard ‘top of the head’ opinion poll.

A survey to evaluate the implementation of a national clinical assessment form

Purpose: The Australian Universities Radiation Therapy Student Clinical Assessment Form (AURTSCAF) was designed to assess the clinical skills of radiation therapy (RT) students from the six universities that offer entry level RT programs. Given the AURTSCAF has now been in use for over two years, the Radiation Therapy Program Coordinators (RTPC) group initiated a post implementation evaluation survey. This formed the final phase of the AURTSCAF project and was funded by the Radiation Oncology Division of the Department of Health and Ageing. Methods: A cross-sectional designed survey using purposive sampling was distributed via email to all RT clinical sites. The survey asked questions about the requirements of a pass grade for students at different stages of their program, and the addition of a new category of assessment related to fitness to practise. Response types included both forced choice closed ended responses and open ended responses. There was also a section for open comments about the AURTSCAF. Results: There were 100 responses (55%) from clinicians who had utilised the assessment form over the previous 12 month period. Responses highlighted several positives with regard to the utility and implementation of the form. Comments regarding areas for improvement with the standardisation of the grading of students and consensus for the addition of a new domain in fitness for practise have informed the recommended changes proposed for 2012. Conclusion: This evaluation has provided a representative sample of the views of clinicians involved in assessing students on clinical placement. Recommendations include the addition of the sixth domain of assessment: Fitness for practise, the addition of descriptors and prompts for this domain in the user guide, the addition of a consensus statement about the use of the rating scale and dissemination of the proposed changes nationally.

Particulate air pollution and cardiorespiratory hospital admissions in a temperate Australian city: A case-crossover analysis

Although ambient air pollution exposure has been linked with poor health in many parts of the world, no previous study has investigated the effect on morbidity in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. To explore the association between particulate matter (PM) and hospitalisations, including respiratory and cardiovascular admissions in Adelaide, South Australia. Methods: For the study period September 2001 to October 2007, daily counts of all-cause, cardiovascular and respiratory hospital admissions were collected, as well as daily air quality data including concentrations of particulates, ozone and nitrogen dioxide. Visibility codes for presentweather conditions identified dayswhen airborne dust or smoke was observed. The associations between PM and hospitalisations were estimated using timestratified case-crossover analyses controlling for covariates including temperature, relative humidity, other pollutants, day of the week and public holidays. Mean PM10 concentrations were higher in the warm season, whereas PM2.5 concentrations were higher in the cool season. Hospital admissions were associated with PM10 in the cool season and with PM2.5 in both seasons. No significant effect of PM on all-age respiratory admissions was detected, however cardiovascular admissions were associated with both PM2.5 and PM10 in the cool season with the highest effects for PM2.5 (4.48%, 95% CI: 0.74%, 8.36% increase per 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5). These findings suggest that despite the city's relatively low levels of air pollution, PMconcentrations are associated with increases in morbidity in Adelaide. Further studies are needed to investigate the sources of PM which may be contributing to the higher cool season effects.

The effect of very small air gaps on small field dosimetry

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of very small air gaps (less than 1 mm) on the dosimetry of small photon fields used for stereotactic treatments. Measurements were performed with optically stimulated luminescent dosimeters (OSLDs) for 6 MV photons on a Varian 21iX linear accelerator with a Brainlab μMLC attachment for square field sizes down to 6 mm × 6 mm. Monte Carlo simulations were performed using EGSnrc C++ user code cavity. It was found that the Monte Carlo model used in this study accurately simulated the OSLD measurements on the linear accelerator. For the 6 mm field size, the 0.5 mm air gap upstream to the active area of the OSLD caused a 5.3 % dose reduction relative to a Monte Carlo simulation with no air gap. A hypothetical 0.2 mm air gap caused a dose reduction > 2 %, emphasizing the fact that even the tiniest air gaps can cause a large reduction in measured dose. The negligible effect on an 18 mm field size illustrated that the electronic disequilibrium caused by such small air gaps only affects the dosimetry of the very small fields. When performing small field dosimetry, care must be taken to avoid any air gaps, as can be often present when inserting detectors into solid phantoms. It is recommended that very small field dosimetry is performed in liquid water. When using small photon fields, sub-millimetre air gaps can also affect patient dosimetry if they cannot be spatially resolved on a CT scan. However the effect on the patient is debatable as the dose reduction caused by a 1 mm air gap, starting out at 19% in the first 0.1 mm behind the air gap, decreases to < 5 % after just 2 mm, and electronic equilibrium is fully re-established after just 5 mm.