Sustainable relationship : an Australian case study

Successful construction project managers often stress the importance of team working, relationship management, project environment and senior management commitment as being key determinants of project success. However, it is generally accepted that the construction industry has stronger preference for displaying distrust rather than emancipating the full benefits of cooperation. In the research domain, the impact of culture and organisation on project performance is becoming an increasingly important topic for the establishment of a sound relational approach to projects. Relational procurement strategies emphasise the importance of sustainable relationships. However, the efficacy of relational contracting is, so far, unproven. This study examines the organisational factors that facilitates sustainable relationship between project organisations and hence, lead to long-term business success. Initial findings captured from a survey undertaken with construction contracting organisations in Australia, where the perceptions of professional personnel and supply chain relationships are reported in this paper. A four-level project performance effectiveness model developed in this research is also presented.

Identifying parents' perceptions about physical activity : a qualitative exploration of salient behavioural, normative and control beliefs among mothers and fathers of young children

Drawing on the belief-based framework of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, this study employs qualitative methodology involving individual and group interviews to examine the beliefs associated with regular physical activity performance among parents of young children (N = 40). The data were analysed using thematic content analysis. A range of advantages (e.g. improves parenting practices), disadvantages (e.g. interferes with commitments), barriers (e.g. time), and facilitators (e.g. social support) to performing physical activity are identified. Normative pressures are also identified as affecting parents’ activity behaviour. These identified beliefs can be used to inform interventions to challenge inactivity among this at-risk group.

Knowledge and attitudes about Vitamin D and impact on sun protection practices among urban office workers in Brisbane, Australia

Background: Sun exposure is the main source of vitamin D. Increasing scientific and media attention to the potential health benefits of sun exposure may lead to changes in sun exposure behaviors. Methods: To provide data that might help frame public health messages, we conducted an online survey among office workers in Brisbane, Australia, to determine knowledge and attitudes about vitamin D and associations of these with sun protection practices. Of the 4,709 people invited to participate, 2,867 (61%) completed the questionnaire. This analysis included 1,971 (69%) participants who indicated that they had heard about vitamin D. Results: Lack of knowledge about vitamin D was apparent. Eighteen percent of people were unaware of the bone benefits of vitamin D but 40% listed currently unconfirmed benefits. Over half of the participants indicated that more than 10 minutes in the sun was needed to attain enough vitamin D in summer, and 28% indicated more than 20 minutes in winter. This was significantly associated with increased time outdoors and decreased sunscreen use. People believing sun protection might cause vitamin D deficiency (11%) were less likely to be frequent sunscreen users (summer odds ratio, 0.63; 95% confidence interval, 0.52-0.75). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that there is some confusion about sun exposure and vitamin D, and that this may result in reduced sun-protective behavior. Impact: More information is needed about vitamin D production in the skin. In the interim, education campaigns need to specifically address the vitamin D issue to ensure that skin cancer incidence does not increase.

Working time arrangements and recreation : making time for weekends when working long hours

Work time spread across the entire week, rather than the conventional five day working week, has meant that workers are now less able to utilise longer stretches of recreation time especially in gaining access to a full two-day break over a weekend. This paper explores the issues contributing to workers' acquisition of longer recreation time. It seeks to determine the effects of this acquisition on the quality of working and non-working time for the employee through a study of work-life balance in the construction industry. It finds that weekends are more important to achieving work-life balance than shorter days over a six-day week when working long hours. Further, 'personal time' is a key element in achieving satisfactory work-life balance for employees, and this type of 'time' is often forgone in trying to integrate the necessary and desired non-work activities in the shorter time available to workers.

Talking the talk and walking the walk : how managers can influence the quality of work-life balance in a construction project

Purpose – The construction industry in Australia is characterised by a long work-hours culture, with conditions that make it difficult for staff to balance their work and non-work lives. The objective of this paper is to measure the success of a work-place intervention designed to improve work-life balance (WLB) in an alliance project in the construction industry, and the role the project manager plays in this success. Design/methodology/approach – The paper focuses on an alliance case study. Interviews were conducted at two points in time, several months apart, after the interventions were implemented. Findings – Results showed that staff on the whole were more satisfied with their work experience after the interventions, and indicated the important role that managers' attitudes and behaviours played. Originality/value – Managerial support for work-life initiatives is a critical element in achieving WLB and satisfaction with working arrangements. The fact that the manager “talked the talk and walked the walk” was a major contributing success factor, which has not previously been demonstrated.

Aboriginal community control and decolonizing health policy : a yarn from Australia

This chapter outlines: a brief history of Australian Aboriginal health and health policy and then moves on to demonstrate how the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) undertakes its work and is an example of 'decolonizing policy in action'. Moreover, it highlights how Aboriginal participation in the development of policy and in the planning, delivery, management and evaluation of health programs enables policies and programs to respond effectively to the needs of Aboriginal people and to change future health outcomes for them. It showcases how Aboriginal decision-making has gone some way to decolonizing policymaking and has addressed the power imbalance - both of which have been critical in the improvement in Aboriginal health outcomes.

How I became the first Aboriginal person in Australia to lead a national education organisation

In this paper, Bronwyn Fredericks reflects on how, in 1997, she became the National President of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations Inc. (CAPA). The paper describes the election process faced by Fredericks, and identifies some of her key achievements during her time as National President. In becoming the National President, Bronwyn became the first Aboriginal person in Australia to lead a national education organisation. The story within this paper is told from the author’s autobiographical memory, drawing on the cultural, social and political context in which the story and the author were (and are) situated (Wojecki 2007). In this way the story teller reveals story lines which have not previously been articulated (Wojecki 2007). Throughout this paper, Fredericks ‘re-stories’ her experiences of leadership.

Teaching to the middle in Australia : four teachers tell their stories

This chapter explores the perceptions of middle years specialist teachers in the contemporary Australian schools context. Written narratives were obtained from 4 Australian teachers. Each has followed distinctly different paths to teaching in the middle years. However, each has a high leadership profile in the general schooling sector assumed relatively early in their professional careers. These teachers were asked about their entry into teaching, the pathways they pursued to teaching at the middle level, opportunities and limitations experienced for them in schools, and their conceptions of the future of middle years reforms in Australia.

Paediatric spinal deformity research at the Mater Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia.

The Paediatric Spine Research group was formed in 2002 to perform high quality research into the prevention and management of spinal deformity, with an emphasis on scoliosis. The group has successfully built collaborative bridges between the scientific and research expertise at QUT, and the clinical skills and experience of the spinal orthopaedic surgeons at the Mater Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. Clinical and biomechanical research is now possible as a result of the development of detailed databases of patients who have innovative and unique surgical interventions for spinal deformity such as thoracoscopic scoliosis correction, thoracoscopic staple insertion for juvenile idiopathic scoliosis and minimally invasive growing rods. The Mater in Brisbane provides these unique datasets of spinal deformity surgery patients, whose procedures are not being performed anywhere else in the Southern Hemisphere. The most detailed is a database of thoracoscopic scoliosis correction surgery which now contains 180 patients with electronic collections of X-Rays, photographs and patient questionnaires. With ethics approval, a subset of these patients has had CT scans, and a further subset have had MRI scans with and without a compressive load to simulate the erect standing position. This database has to date contributed to 17 international refereed journal papers, a further 7 journal papers either under review or in final preparation, 53 national conference presentations and 35 international conference presentations. Major findings from selected journal publications will be presented. It is anticipated that as the surgical databases grow they will continue to provide invaluable clinical data which will feed into clinically relevant projects driven by both medical and engineering researchers whose findings will benefit spinal deformity patients and scientific knowledge worldwide.

A policy case study of blood in Australia

In 2008 the Australian government decided to remove white blood cells from all blood products. This policy of universal leucodepletion was a change to the existing policy of supplying leucodepleted products to high risk patients only. The decision was made without strong information about the cost-effectiveness of universal leucodepletion. The aims for this policy analysis are to generate cost-effectiveness data about universal leucodepletion, and to add to our understanding of the role of evidence and the political reality of healthcare decision-making in Australia. The cost-effectiveness analysis revealed universal leucodepletion costs $398,943 to save one year of life. This exceeds the normal maximum threshold for Australia. We discuss this result within the context of how policy decisions are made about blood, and how it relates to the theory and process of policy making. We conclude that the absence of a strong voice for cost-effectiveness was an important omission in this decision.

Public participation, values and interests in the procurement of infrastructure projects in Australia : a review and future research direction

In many countries, the main providers for major infrastructure projects are government or public agencies. Public infrastructure projects includes economic and social infrastructure such as transportation, education and health facilities. Most decision-making models for delivery of public infrastructure projects are heavily weighted towards financial/economic factors. In Australia, public participation is an essential instrument in the procurement of infrastructure and development within Australia. This study reviews the public participation, values and interests in the procurement of infrastructure projects in Australia, and identifies the research direction in this research area in order to improve the decision-making models that capture stakeholder social, economical and environmental concerns in infrastructure projects.

Geographical information systems : an effective planning and decision-making platform for community health coalitions in Australia

The development of locally-based healthcare initiatives, such as community health coalitions that focus on capacity building programs and multi-faceted responses to long-term health problems, have become an increasingly important part of the public health landscape. As a result of their complexity and the level of investment, it has become necessary to develop innovative ways to help manage these new healthcare approaches. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have been suggested as one of the innovative approaches that will allow community health coalitions to better manage and plan their activities. The focus of this paper is to provide a commentary on the use of GIS as a tool for community coalitions and discuss some of the potential benefits and issues surrounding the development of these tools.

Workers’ UV exposure and the subsequent impact on skin

Introduction: Excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight is a causative factor in the development of skin damage and skin cancer. Little research has been undertaken into assessing the sun exposure linking to skin damage inside buildings or behind window glass. This project directly addressed this issue by aiming to assess the role that UV exposure has on skin damage for indoor workers and drivers. Methods: Measurements of personal UV exposure using UV sensitive polymer dosimeters were undertaken of 41 indoor workers and 3 professional drivers. Physical measurements of skin characteristics including skin pigmentation and UV induced skin photoaging were also determined. In addition, demographic information along with phenotypic characteristics, sun exposure and sun protection practice history, and history of skin damage were assessed through a questionnaire. Results: Indoor workers typically received low doses of UV radiation. However, one driver received a high dose (13J/cm2 UVA and 4.99 MED UVB on the arm). Age and years residing in Australia had a positive correlation with UV induced skin pigmentation. The number of major sunburns before 18 years was a risk factor for skin damage in adults. Those participants with fair skin, non-black hair and blue/green /blue-grey eye were more likely to have skin damage related to sun exposure. Conclusions: A person’s age, years residing in Australia, numbers of major sunburn, skin colour, hair colour and eye colour are important factors associated with the development of sun-related skin damage in workers. ‘Real World’ implications: 1. The number of major sunburns before 18 years was a risk factor for skin damage in adults. This clearly confirms the importance of early prevention. To protect the skin from extensive sun exposure for your generation should have significance for further prevention of skin damage. 2. It is unsurprising that age and years residing in Australia were associated with skin damage related UV radiation. Therefore, the general public should reinforce their sun protective measures and check skin regularly. 3. Drivers should take sun protective measures during their working hours between sunrise and sunset.

Biomass burning influenced particles characteristics in Northern Territory Australia based on airborne measurements

Airborne measurements of particle number concentrations from biomass burning were conducted in the Northern Territory, Australia, during June and September campaigns in 2003, which is the early and the late dry season in that region. The airborne measurements were performed along horizontal flight tracks, at several heights in order to gain insight into the particle concentration levels and their variation with height within the lower boundary layer (LBL), upper boundary layer (UBL), and also in the free troposphere (FT). The measurements found that the concentration of particles during the early dry season was lower than that for the late dry season. For the June campaign, the concentration of particles in LBL, UBL, and FT were (685 ± 245) particles/cm3, (365 ± 183) particles/cm3, and (495 ± 45) particle/cm3 respectively. For the September campaign, the concentration of particles were found to be (1233 ± 274) particles/cm3 in the LBL, (651 ± 68) particles/cm3 in the UBL, and (568 ± 70) particles/cm3 in the FT. The particle size distribution measurements indicate that during the late dry season there was no change in the particle size distribution below (LBL) and above the boundary layer (UBL). This indicates that there was possibly some penetration of biomass burning particles into the upper boundary layer. In the free troposphere the particle concentration and size measured during both campaigns were approximately the same.