A Submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011 (# ACTA)

“If Hollywood could order intellectual property laws for Christmas, what would they look like? This is pretty close.” David Fewer “While European and American IP maximalists have pushed for TRIPS-Plus provisions in FTAs and bilateral agreements, they are now pushing for TRIPS-Plus-Plus protections in these various forums.” Susan Sell “ACTA is a threat to the future of a free and open Internet.” Alexander Furnas “Implementing the agreement could open a Pandora's box of potential human rights violations.” Amnesty International. “I will not take part in this masquerade.” Kader Arif, Rapporteur for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011 in the European Parliament Executive Summary As an independent scholar and expert in intellectual property, I am of the view that the Australian Parliament should reject the adoption of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011. I would take issue with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s rather partisan account of the negotiations, the consultations, and the outcomes associated with the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011. In my view, the negotiations were secretive and biased; the local consultations were sometimes farcical because of the lack of information about the draft texts of the agreement; and the final text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011 is not in the best interests of Australia, particularly given that it is a net importer of copyright works and trade mark goods and services. I would also express grave reservations about the quality of the rather pitiful National Interest Analysis – and the lack of any regulatory impact statement – associated with the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011. The assertion that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011 does not require legislative measures is questionable – especially given the United States Trade Representative has called the agreement ‘the highest-standard plurilateral agreement ever achieved concerning the enforcement of intellectual property rights.’ It is worthwhile reiterating that there has been much criticism of the secretive and partisan nature of the negotiations surrounding the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011. Sean Flynn summarizes these concerns: "The negotiation process for ACTA has been a case study in establishing the conditions for effective industry capture of a lawmaking process. Instead of using the relatively transparent and inclusive multilateral processes, ACTA was launched through a closed and secretive “‘club approach’ in which like-minded jurisdictions define enforcement ‘membership’ rules and then invite other countries to join, presumably via other trade agreements.” The most influential developing countries, including Brazil, India, China and Russia, were excluded. Likewise, a series of manoeuvres ensured that public knowledge about the specifics of the agreement and opportunities for input into the process were severely limited. Negotiations were held with mere hours notice to the public as to when and where they would be convened, often in countries half away around the world from where public interest groups are housed. Once there, all negotiation processes were closed to the public. Draft texts were not released before or after most negotiating rounds, and meetings with stakeholders took place only behind closed doors and off the record. A public release of draft text, in April 2010, was followed by no public or on-the-record meetings with negotiators." Moreover, it is disturbing that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011 has been driven by ideology and faith, rather than by any evidence-based policy making Professor Duncan Matthews has raised significant questions about the quality of empirical evidence used to support the proposal of Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011: ‘There are concerns that statements about levels of counterfeiting and piracy are based either on customs seizures, with the actual quantities of infringing goods in free circulation in any particular market largely unknown, or on estimated losses derived from industry surveys.’ It is particularly disturbing that, in spite of past criticism, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has supported the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011, without engaging the Productivity Commission or the Treasury to do a proper economic analysis of the proposed treaty. Kader Arif, Rapporteur for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011 in the European Parliament, quit his position, and said of the process: "I want to denounce in the strongest possible manner the entire process that led to the signature of this agreement: no inclusion of civil society organisations, a lack of transparency from the start of the negotiations, repeated postponing of the signature of the text without an explanation being ever given, exclusion of the EU Parliament's demands that were expressed on several occasions in our assembly. As rapporteur of this text, I have faced never-before-seen manoeuvres from the right wing of this Parliament to impose a rushed calendar before public opinion could be alerted, thus depriving the Parliament of its right to expression and of the tools at its disposal to convey citizens' legitimate demands.” Everyone knows the ACTA agreement is problematic, whether it is its impact on civil liberties, the way it makes Internet access providers liable, its consequences on generic drugs manufacturing, or how little protection it gives to our geographical indications. This agreement might have major consequences on citizens' lives, and still, everything is being done to prevent the European Parliament from having its say in this matter. That is why today, as I release this report for which I was in charge, I want to send a strong signal and alert the public opinion about this unacceptable situation. I will not take part in this masquerade." There have been parallel concerns about the process and substance of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011 in the context of Australia. I have a number of concerns about the substance of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011. First, I am concerned that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011 fails to provide appropriate safeguards in respect of human rights, consumer protection, competition, and privacy laws. It is recommended that the new Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights investigate this treaty. Second, I argue that there is a lack of balance to the copyright measures in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011 – the definition of piracy is overbroad; the suite of civil remedies, criminal offences, and border measures is excessive; and there is a lack of suitable protection for copyright exceptions, limitations, and remedies. Third, I discuss trade mark law, intermediary liability, and counterfeiting. I express my concerns, in this context, that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011 could have an adverse impact upon consumer interests, competition policy, and innovation in the digital economy. I also note, with concern, the lobbying by tobacco industries for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011 – and the lack of any recognition in the treaty for the capacity of countries to take measures of tobacco control under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Fourth, I note that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011 provides no positive obligations to promote access to essential medicines. It is particularly lamentable that Australia and the United States of America have failed to implement the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health 2001 and the WTO General Council Decision 2003. Fifth, I express concerns about the border measures in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011. Such measures lack balance – and unduly favour the interests of intellectual property owners over consumers, importers, and exporters. Moreover, such measures will be costly, as they involve shifting the burden of intellectual property enforcement to customs and border authorities. Interdicting, seizing, and destroying goods may also raise significant trade issues. Finally, I express concern that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011 undermines the role of existing international organisations, such as the United Nations, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Trade Organization, and subverts international initiatives such as the WIPO Development Agenda 2007. I also question the raison d'être, independence, transparency, and accountability of the proposed new ‘ACTA Committee’. In this context, I am concerned by the shift in the position of the Labor Party in its approach to international treaty-making in relation to intellectual property. The Australian Parliament adopted the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement 2004, which included a large Chapter on intellectual property. The treaty was a ‘TRIPs-Plus’ agreement, because the obligations were much more extensive and prescriptive than those required under the multilateral framework established by the TRIPS Agreement 1994. During the debate over the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement 2004, the Labor Party expressed the view that it would seek to mitigate the effects of the TRIPS-Plus Agreement, when at such time it gained power. Far from seeking to ameliorate the effects of the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement 2004, the Labor Government would seek to lock Australia into a TRIPS-Double Plus Agreement – the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011. There has not been a clear political explanation for this change in approach to international intellectual property. For both reasons of process and substance, I conclude that the Australian Parliament and the Australian Government should reject the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011. The Australian Government would do better to endorse the Washington Declaration on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest 2011, and implement its outstanding obligations in respect of access to knowledge, access to essential medicines, and the WIPO Development Agenda 2007. The case study of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011 highlights the need for further reforms to the process by which Australia engages in international treaty-making.

Submission to the draft Migration Assurance Policy - Improving the transition to the fixed-line national broadband network review

The rights of individuals to self-determination and participation in social, political and economic life are recognised and supported by Articles 1, 3 and 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966.4 Article 1 of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council’s Resolution on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights on the Internet of July 2012 confirms individuals have the same rights online as offline. Access to the internet is essential and as such the UN: Calls upon all States to promote and facilitate access to the Internet and international cooperation aimed at the development of media and information and communications facilities in all countries (Article 3) Accordingly, access to the internet per se is a fundamental human right, which requires direct State recognition and support.5 The obligations of the State to ensure its citizens are able, and are enabled, to access the internet, are not matters that should be delegated to commercial parties. Quite simply – access to the internet, and high-speed broadband, by whatever means are “essential services” and therefore “should be treated as any other utility service”...

“Success in (Surviving) Bioscience and Pharmacology” – an eBook to improve the retention of diploma nurses transitioning to a Bachelor of Nursing course

Diploma students transitioning into the NS40 BNursing (BN) course at QUT withdraw from the bioscience and pharmacology units, and leave the university at higher rates than traditional students. The diploma students, entering in second year, have missed out on 2 units of bioscience taught to the traditional students in their first year, and miss out on a 3rd unit of bioscience taught to the traditional students in their 2nd year. Instead the diploma students receive one specialized unit in bioscience only i.e. a bridging unit. As a consequence, the diploma students may not have the depth of bioscience knowledge to be able to successfully study the bridging unit (LSB111) or the pharmacology unit (LSB384). Our plan was to write an eBook which refreshed and reinforced diploma students’ knowledge of bioscience aiming to prepare them with the concepts and terminology, and to build a level of confidence to support their transition to the BN. We have previously developed an intervention associated with reduced attrition of diploma nursing students, and this was our starting point. The study skills part of the initial intervention was addressed in the eBook, by links to the specialist services and resources available from our liaison librarian and academic skills adviser. The introductory bioscience/pharmacology information provided by the previous intervention involved material from standard textbooks. However, we considered this material too difficult for diploma students. Thus, we created simplified diagrams to go with text as part of our eBook. The outcome is an eBook, created and made available to the diploma students via the Community Website: “Surviving Bioscience and Pharmacology”. Using simplified diagrams to illustrate the concise text, definition to explain the concepts, the focus has been on encouraging self-awareness and help-seeking strategies and building students who take responsibility for their learning. All the nursing students in the second semester LSB384 Pharmacology Unit have been surveyed face-to-face to get feedback on their engagement with the eBook resource. The data has not been analysed to date. An important consideration is that the website be evaluated by the diploma students as they come into bioscience in first semester (LSB111), the student population for whom the eBook is primarily intended. To get a good response rate we need to do a face-to-face survey. However, we have not been able to do this, as the co-ordinator of the unit has changed since we started the project, and the present co-ordinator will not allow us access to these students.

Medicines information sources and services for consumers : A special focus on the Internet and people with depression

The range of consumer health and medicines information sources has diversified along with the increased use of the Internet. This has led to a drive to develop medicines information services and to better incorporate the Internet and e-mail into routine practice in health care and in community pharmacies. To support the development of such services more information is needed about the use of online information by consumers, particularly of those who may be the most likely to use and to benefit from the new sources and modes of medicines communication. This study explored the role and utilization of the Internet-based medicines information and information services in the context of a wider network of information sources accessible to the public in Finland. The overall aim was to gather information to develop better and more accessible sources of information for consumers and services to better meet the needs of consumers. Special focus was on the needs and information behavior among people with depression and using antidepressant medicines. This study applied both qualitative and quantitative methods. Consumer medicines information needs and sources were identified by analyzing the utilization of the University Pharmacy operated national drug information call center (Study I) and surveying Finnish adults (n=2348) use of the different medicines information sources (Study II). The utilization of the Internet as a source of antidepressant information among people with depression was explored by focus group discussions among people with depression and with current or past use of the antidepressant(s) (n=29, Studies III & IV). Pharmacy response to the needs of consumers in term of providing e-mail counseling was assessed by conducting a virtual pseudo customer study among the Finnish community pharmacies (n=161, Study V). Physicians and pharmacists were the primary sources of medicines information. People with mental disorders were more frequent users of telephone- and Internet-based medicines information sources and patient information leaflets than people without mental disorders. These sources were used to complement rather than replace information provided face-to-face by health professionals. People with depression used the Internet to seek facts about antidepressants, to share experiences with peers, and for the curiosity. They described that the access to online drug information was empowering. Some people reported lacking the skills necessary to assess the quality of online information. E-mail medication counseling services provided by community pharmacies were rare and varied in quality. Study results suggest that rather than discouraging the use of the Internet, health professionals should direct patients to use accurate and reliable sources of online medicines information. Health care providers, including community pharmacies should also seek to develop new ways of communicating information about medicines with consumers. This study determined that people with depression and using antidepressants need services enabling interactive communication not only with health care professionals, but also with peers. Further research should be focused on developing medicines information service facilitating communication among different patient and consumer groups.

The right to a voice and the fight to be heard: The experience of being an ESL user in Australia

This paper focuses on the fundamental right to be heard, that is, the right to have one’s voice heard and listened to – to impose reception (Bourdieu, 1977). It focuses on the ways that non-mainstream English is heard and received in Australia, where despite public policy initiatives around equal opportunity, language continues to socially disadvantage people (Burridge & Mulder, 1998). English is the language of the mainstream and most people are monolingually English (Ozolins, 1993). English has no official status yet it remains dominant and its centrality is rarely challenged (Smolicz, 1995). This paper takes the position that the lack of language engagement in mainstream Australia leads to linguistic desensitisation. Writing in the US context where English is also the unofficial norm, Lippi-Green (1997) maintains that discrimination based on speech features or accent is commonly accepted and widely perceived as appropriate. In Australia, non-standard forms of English are often disparaged or devalued because they do not conform to the ‘standard’ (Burridge & Mulder, 1998). This paper argues that talk cannot be taken for granted: ‘spoken voices’ are critical tools for representing the self and negotiating and manifesting legitimacy within social groups (Miller, 2003). In multicultural, multilingual countries like Australia, the impact of the spoken voice, its message and how it is heard are critical tools for people seeking settlement, inclusion and access to facilities and services. Too often these rights are denied because of the way a person sounds. This paper reports a study conducted with a group that has been particularly vulnerable to ongoing ‘panics’ about language – international students. International education is the third largest revenue source for Australia (AEI, 2010) but has been beset by concerns from academics (Auditor-General, 2002) and the media about student language levels and falling work standards (e.g. Livingstone, 2004). Much of the focus has been high-stakes writing but with the ascendancy of project work in university assessment and the increasing emphasis on oracy, there is a call to recognise the salience of talk, especially among students using English as a second language (ESL) (Kettle & May, 2012). The study investigated the experiences of six international students in a Master of Education course at a large metropolitan university. It utilised data from student interviews, classroom observations, course materials, university policy documents and media reports to examine the ways that speaking and being heard impacted on the students’ learning and legitimacy in the course. The analysis drew on Fairclough’s (2003) model of the dialectical-relational Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to analyse the linguistic, discursive and social relations between the data texts and their conditions of production and interpretation, including the wider socio-political discourses on English, language difference, and second language use. The interests of the study were if and how discourses of marginalisation and discrimination manifested and if and how students recognised and responded to them pragmatically. Also how they juxtaposed with and/or contradicted the official rhetoric about diversity and inclusion. The underpinning rationale was that international students’ experiences can provide insights into the hidden politics and practices of being heard and afforded speaking rights as a second language speaker in Australia.

Motivation or demotivation of health workers providing maternal health services in rural areas in Vietnam: findings from a mixed-methods study

Background Motivation is an important driver for health professionals to maintain professional competencies, continue in a workforce and contribute to work tasks. While there is some research about motivation in health workers in low to middle income countries, maternal morbidity and mortality remains high in many low and middle income countries and this can be improved by improving the quality of maternal services and the training and skills maintenance of maternal health workers. This study examines the impact of motivation on maintenance of professional competence among maternal health workers in Vietnam using mixed methods. Methods The study consisted of a survey using a self-administered questionnaire of 240 health workers in 5 districts across two Vietnamese provinces and in-depth interviews with 43 health workers and health managers at the commune, district and provincial level to explore external factors that influenced motivation. The questionnaire includes a 23 item motivation instrument based on Kenyan health context, modified for Vietnamese language and culture. Results The 240 responses represented an estimated 95% of the target sample. Multivariate analysis showed that three factors contributed to the motivation of health workers: access to training (β = -0.14, p=0.03), ability to perform key tasks (β = 0.22, p=0.001), and shift schedule (β = -0.13, p=0.05). Motivation was higher in health workers self-identifying as competent or enabled to provide more care activities. Motivation was lower in those who worked more frequent night shifts and those who had received training in the last 12 months. The interviews identified that the latter was because they felt the training was irrelevant to them, and in some cases, they do not have opportunity to practice their learnt skills. The qualitative data also showed other factors relating to service context and organisational management practices contributed to motivation. Conclusions The study demonstrates the importance of understanding the motivations of health workers and the factors that contribute to this and may contribute to more effective management of the health workforce in low and middle income countries.

Developing a best practice pathway to support improvements in Indigenous Australians' mental health and well-being: A qualitative study

Objective: There is a need to adapt pathways to care to promote access to mental health services for Indigenous people in Australia. This study explored Indigenous community and service provider perspectives of well-being and ways to promote access to care for Indigenous people at risk of depressive illness. Design: A participatory action research framework was used to inform the development of an agreed early intervention pathway; thematic analysis Setting: 2 remote communities in the Northern Territory. Participants: Using snowball and purposive sampling, 27 service providers and community members with knowledge of the local context and the diverse needs of those at risk of depression were interviewed. 30% of participants were Indigenous. The proposed pathway to care was adapted in response to participant feedback. Results: The study found that Indigenous mental health and well-being is perceived as multifaceted and strongly linked to cultural identity. It also confirms that there is broad support for promotion of a clear pathway to early intervention. Key identified components of this pathway were the health centre, visiting and community-based services, and local community resources including elders, cultural activities and families. Enablers to early intervention were reported. Significant barriers to the detection and treatment of those at risk of depression were identified, including insufficient resources, negative attitudes and stigma, and limited awareness of support options. Conclusions: Successful early intervention for wellbeing concerns requires improved understanding of Indigenous well-being perspectives and a systematic change in service delivery that promotes integration, flexibility and collaboration between services and the community, and recognises the importance of social determinants in health promotion and the healing process. Such changes require policy support, targeted training and education, and ongoing promotion.

Primary brain tumor patients’ supportive care needs and multidisciplinary rehabilitation, community and psychosocial support services: Awareness, referral and utilization

Primary brain tumors are associated with significant physical, cognitive and psychosocial changes. Although treatment guidelines recommend offering multidisciplinary rehabilitation and support services to address patients’ residual deficits, the extent to which patients access such services is unclear. This study aimed to assess patients’ supportive care needs early after diagnosis, and quantify service awareness, referral and utilization. A population-based sample of 40 adults recently diagnosed with primary brain tumors was recruited through the Queensland Cancer Registry, representing 18.9% of the eligible population of 203 patients. Patients or carer proxies completed surveys of supportive care needs at baseline (approximately three months after diagnosis) and three months later. Descriptive statistics summarized needs and service utilization, and linear regression identified predictors of service use. Unmet supportive care needs were highest at baseline for all domains, and highest for the physical and psychological needs domains at each time point. At follow-up, participants reported awareness of, referral to, and use of 32 informational, support, health professional or practical services. All or almost all participants were aware of at least one informational (100%), health professional (100%), support (97%) or practical service (94%). Participants were most commonly aware of speech therapists (97%), physiotherapists (94%) and diagnostic information from the internet (88%). Clinician referrals were most commonly made to physiotherapists (53%), speech therapists (50%) and diagnostic information booklets (44%), and accordingly, participants most commonly used physiotherapists (56%), diagnostic information booklets (47%), diagnostic information from the internet (47%), and speech therapists (43%). Comparatively low referral to and use of psychosocial services may limit patients’ abilities to cope with their condition and the changes they experience.

Effect of waiting time on health outcomes and service utilization : A prospective randomized study on patients admitted to hospital for hip or knee replacement

Although the principle of equal access to medically justified treatment has been promoted by official health policies in many Western health care systems, practices do not completely meet policy targets. Waiting times for elective surgery vary between patient groups and regions, and growing problems in the availability of services threaten equal access to treatment. Waiting times have come to the attention of decision-makers, and several policy initiatives have been introduced to ensure the availability of care within a reasonable time. In Finland, for example, the treatment guarantee came into force in 2005. However, no consensus exists on optimal waiting time for different patient groups. The purpose of this multi-centre randomized controlled trial was to analyse health-related quality of life, pain and physical function in total hip or knee replacement patients during the waiting time and to evaluate whether the waiting time is associated with patients health outcomes at admission. This study also assessed whether the length of waiting time is associated with social and health services utilization in patients awaiting total hip or knee replacement. In addition, patients health-related quality of life was compared with that of the general population. Consecutive patients with a need for a primary total hip or knee replacement due to osteoarthritis were placed on the waiting list between August 2002 and November 2003. Patients were randomly assigned to a short waiting time (maximum 3 months) or a non-fixed waiting time (waiting time not fixed in advance, instead the patient followed the hospitals routine practice). Patients health-related quality of life was measured upon being placed on the waiting list and again at hospital admission using the generic 15D instrument. Pain and physical function were evaluated using the self-report Harris Hip Score for hip patients and a scale modified from the Knee Society Clinical Rating System for knee patients. Utilization measures were the use of home health care, rehabilitation and social services, physician visits and inpatient care. Health and social services use was low in both waiting time groups. The most common services used while waiting were rehabilitation services and informal care, including unpaid care provided by relatives, neighbours and volunteers. Although patients suffered from clear restrictions in usual activities and physical functioning, they seemed primarily to lean on informal care and personal networks instead of professional care. While longer waiting time did not result in poorer health-related quality of life at admission and use of services during the waiting time was similar to that at the time of placement on the list, there is likely to be higher costs of waiting by people who wait longer simply because they are using services for a longer period. In economic terms, this would represent a negative impact of waiting. Only a few reports have been published of the health-related quality of life of patients awaiting total hip or knee replacement. These findings demonstrate that, in addition to physical dimensions of health, patients suffered from restrictions in psychological well-being such as depression, distress and reduced vitality. This raises the question of how to support patients who suffer from psychological distress during the waiting time and how to develop strategies to improve patients initiatives to reduce symptoms and the burden of waiting. Key words: waiting time, total hip replacement, total knee replacement, health-related quality of life, randomized controlled trial, outcome assessment, social service, utilization of health services

Shift in disease burden from communicable to non-communicable diseases: Aiming to achieve Universal Health Coverage in Nepal

A major barrier to accessing healthcare services is spending, and the extended time that non-communicable diseases require treatment for means that many people around the world do not have proper access to care. Saval Khanal from Sankalpa Foundation, Nepal, Lennert Veerman and Samantha Hollingworth from the University of Queensland and Lisa Nissen from Queensland University of Technology lay out the results of their study and establish a method to forecast medicine use in Nepal.

The Europeanisation of occupational health services: A study of the impact of EU policies

This study concerns Framework Directive 89/391/EEC on health and safety at work, which encouraged improvements in occupational health services (OHS) for workers in EU member states. Framework Directive 89/391/EEC originally aimed at bringing the same level of occupational health and safety to employees in both the public and private sectors in EU member states. However, the implementation of the framework directive and OHS varies widely among EU member states. Occupational health services have generally been considered an important work-related welfare benefit in EU member states. The purpose of this study was to analyse OHS within the EU context and then analyse the impact of EU policies on OHS implementation as part of the welfare state benefit. The focus is on social, health, and industrial policies within welfare state regimes as well as EU policy-making processes affecting these policies in EU member states. The research tasks were divided into four groups related to the policy, functions, targets,and actors of OHS. The questions related to policy tried to discover the role of OHS in other policies, such as health, social, and labour market policies within the EU. The questions about functions sought to describe the changes, as well as the path dependence, of OHS in EU member states after the framework directive. The questions about targets were based on the general aims of WHO and the ILO in relation to equity, solidarity, universality, and access to OHS. The questions on actors were designed to understand the variety of stakeholders interested in OHS. The actors were supranational (EU, ILO, and WHO), national (ministries, institutes, and professional organisations), and social partners (trade unions and employers organisations). The study data were collected by interviewing 92 people in 15 EU member states, including representatives of ministries, institutions, research,trade unions, employers organisations, and occupational health organisations. Other documents were collected from the Internet,databases, libraries, and conference materials for a systematic review of the policies, strategies, organisation, financing, and monitoring of OHS in EU member states. Different analytical methods were used in the data analysis. The main findings of the study can be summarised as follows. First, occupational health services is a context-dependent phenomenon, which therefore varies according to the development of the welfare state in general, and depends on each country s culture, history, economy, and politics. The views of different stakeholders in EU member states concerning the impact and possibilities of OHS to improve health vary from evidence-based opinions to the sporadic impact of OHS on occupational health. OHS as a concept is vaguely defined by the EU, whereas the ILO defines OHS content. The tasks of OHS began as preventive and protective services for workers. However, they have moved towards multidisciplinary and organisational development as well as the workplace health promotion sphere.Since 1989 OHS has developed differently in different EU member states depending on the starting position of those states, but planning and implementation are crucial phases in the process toward better OHS coverage, equity, and access. Nevertheless, the data used for the planning and legitimisation of OHS activities are mainly based on occupational health data rather than on OHS data. This makes decisions on political or policy grounds inaccurate. OHS is still an evolving concept and benefit for workers, but the Europeanisation of OHS reflects contextual changes, such as the impact of the internal market, competition, and commercialisation on OHS. Stronger cooperation and integration with health, social, and employment services would be an asset for workers, because of new epidemics, an epidemiological shift towards new risks, an ageing labour market, and changes in the labour market. Different methods and approaches are needed in order to study the results of integrated services. In the future, more detailed information will be needed about the actual impact of EU policies on OHS and decision-making processes in order to get OHS into different policies in the EU and its member states. Further results and effects of OHS processes on occupational health need to be analysed more carefully. The adoption of a variety of research strategies and a multidisciplinary approach to understand the influence of different policies on OHS in the EU and its member states would highlight the options and opportunities to improve workers occupational health. Key subject headings: Occupational health services, EU policy, policymaking,framework directive 89/391/EEC

Variation in the walking time to bus stop by the degree of transit captivity

Measures of transit accessibility are important in evaluating transit services, planning for future services and investment on land use development. Existing tools measure transit accessibility using averaged walking distance or walking time to public transit. Although the mode captivity may have significant implications on one’s willingness to walk to use public transit, this has not been addressed in the literature to date. Failed to distinguish transit captive users may lead to overestimated ridership and spatial coverage of transit services. The aim of this research is to integrate the concept of transit captivity into the analysis of walking access to public transit. The conventional way of defining “captive” and “choice” transit users showed no significant difference in their walking times according to a preliminary analysis. A cluster analysis technique is used to further divide “choice” users by three main factors, namely age group, labour force status and personal income. After eliminating “true captive” users, defined as those without driver’s licence or without a car in respective household, “non-true captive” users were classified into a total of eight groups having similar socio-economic characteristics. The analysis revealed significant differences in the walking times and patterns by their level of captivity to public transit. This paper challenges the rule-of-thumb of 400m walking distance to bus stops. In average, people’s willingness to walk dropped drastically at 268m and continued to drop constantly until it reached the mark of 670m, where there was another drastic drop of 17%, which left with only 10% of the total bus riders willing to walk 670m or more. This research found that mothers working part time were the ones with lowest transit captivity and thus most sensitive to the walking time, followed by high-income earners and the elderly. The level of captivity increases when public transit users earned lesser income, such as students and students working part time.

Using Web2.0 applications to close the digital divide in Western Australia

The research reported in this paper documents the use of Web2.0 applications with six Western Australian schools that are considered to be regional and/or remote. With a population of two million people within an area of 2,525,500 square kilometres Western Australia has a number of towns that are classified as regional and remote. Each of the three education systems have set up telecommunications networks to improve learning opportunities for students and administrative services for staff through a virtual private network (VPN) with access from anywhere, anytime and ultimately reduce the feeling of professional and social dislocation experienced by many teachers and students in the isolated communities. By using Web2.0 applications including video conferencing there are enormous opportunities to close the digital divide within the broad directives of the Networking the Nation plan. The Networking the Nation plan aims to connect all Australians regardless of where they are hence closing the digital divide between city and regional living. Email and Internet facilities have greatly improved in rural, regional and remote areas supporting every day school use of the Internet. This study highlights the possibilities and issues for advanced telecommunications usage of Web2.0 applications discussing the research undertaken with these schools. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)

Two Scenarios for How Scholarly Publishers Could Change Their Business Model to Open Access

The Internet has made possible the cost-effective dissemination of scientific journals in the form of electronic versions, usually in parallel with the printed versions. At the same time the electronic medium also makes possible totally new open access (OA) distribution models, funded by author charges, sponsorship, advertising, voluntary work, etc., where the end product is free in full text to the readers. Although more than 2,000 new OA journals have been founded in the last 15 years, the uptake of open access has been rather slow, with currently around 5% of all peer-reviewed articles published in OA journals. The slow growth can to a large extent be explained by the fact that open access has predominantly emerged via newly founded journals and startup publishers. Established journals and publishers have not had strong enough incentives to change their business models, and the commercial risks in doing so have been high. In this paper we outline and discuss two different scenarios for how scholarly publishers could change their operating model to open access. The first is based on an instantaneous change and the second on a gradual change. We propose a way to manage the gradual change by bundling traditional “big deal” licenses and author charges for opening access to individual articles.

Two Scenarios for How Scholarly Publishers Could Change Their Business Model to Open Access

The Internet has made possible the cost-effective dissemination of scientific journals in the form of electronic versions, usually in parallel with the printed versions. At the same time the electronic medium also makes possible totally new open access (OA) distribution models, funded by author charges, sponsorship, advertising, voluntary work, etc., where the end product is free in full text to the readers. Although more than 2,000 new OA journals have been founded in the last 15 years, the uptake of open access has been rather slow, with currently around 5% of all peer-reviewed articles published in OA journals. The slow growth can to a large extent be explained by the fact that open access has predominantly emerged via newly founded journals and startup publishers. Established journals and publishers have not had strong enough incentives to change their business models, and the commercial risks in doing so have been high. In this paper we outline and discuss two different scenarios for how scholarly publishers could change their operating model to open access. The first is based on an instantaneous change and the second on a gradual change. We propose a way to manage the gradual change by bundling traditional “big deal” licenses and author charges for opening access to individual articles.