The IHR (2005), disease surveillance, and the individual in global health politics

Since the revisions to the International Health Regulations (IHR) in 2005, much attention has turned to two concerns relating to infectious disease control. The first is how to assist states to strengthen their capacity to identify and verify public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC). The second is the question of how the World Health Organization (WHO) will operate its expanded mandate under the revised IHR. Very little attention has been paid to the potential individual power that has been afforded under the IHR revisions – primarily through the first inclusion of human rights principles into the instrument and the allowance for the WHO to receive non-state surveillance intelligence and informal reports of health emergencies. These inclusions mark the individual as a powerful actor, but also recognise the vulnerability of the individual to the whim of the state in outbreak response and containment. In this paper we examine why these changes to the IHR occurred and explore the consequence of expanding the sovereignty-as-responsibility concept to disease outbreak response. To this end our paper considers both the strengths and weaknesses of incorporating reports from non-official sources and including human rights principles in the IHR framework.

Nowhere to hide: informal disease surveillance networks tracing state behaviour

Since the revisions to the International Health Regulations (IHR) in 2005, much attention has turned to how states, particularly developing states, will address core capacity requirements attached to the revised IHR. Primarily, how will states strengthen their capacity to identify and verify public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC)? Another important but under-examined aspect of the revised IHR is the empowerment of the World Health Organization (WHO) to act upon non-governmental reports of disease outbreaks. The revised IHR potentially marks a new chapter in the powers of ‘disease intelligence’ and how the WHO may press states to verify an outbreak event. This article seeks to understand whether internet surveillance response programs (ISRPs) are effective in ‘naming and shaming’ states into reporting disease outbreaks.

The duty to report disease outbreaks : of interest or value? Lessons from H5N1

Since the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2003, it has been argued that there has been a substantial revision to the norm dictating the behaviour of states in the event of a disease outbreak. This article examines the evolution of the norm to ‘report and verify’ disease outbreaks and evaluates the extent to which this revised norm has begun to guide state behaviour. Examination of select East Asian countries affected by human infections of the H5N1 (avian influenza) virus strain reveals the need to further understand the mutually constitutive relationship between the value attached to prompt reporting against the capacity to report, and how states manage both in fulfilling their duty to report.

What does it mean to 'securitize' infectious diseases?

This paper seeks to explain how the selective securitization of infectious disease arose, and to analyze the policy successes from this move. It is argued that despite some success, such as the revised International Health Regulations (IHR) in 2005, there remain serious deficiencies in the political outputs from the securitization of infectious disease.

Relationship between expectation management and client retention in online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Background Engaging clients from the outset of psychotherapy is important for therapeutic success. However, there is little research evaluating therapists’ initial attempts to engage clients. This article reports retrospective analysis of data from a trial of online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for depression. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to evaluate how therapists manage clients’ expectations at the outset of therapy and its relationship with client retention in the therapeutic intervention. Aims To develop a system to codify expectation management in initial sessions of online CBT and evaluate its relationship with retention. Method Initial qualitative research using conversation analysis identified three different communication practices used by therapists at the start of first sessions: no expectation management, some expectation management, and comprehensive expectation management. These findings were developed into a coding scheme that enabled substantial inter-rater agreement (weighted Kappa = 0.78; 95% CI: 0.52 to 0.94) and was applied to all trial data. Results Adjusting for a range of client variables, primary analysis of data from 147 clients found comprehensive expectation management was associated with clients remaining in therapy for 1.4 sessions longer than those who received no expectation management (95% CI: -0.2 to 3.0). This finding was supported by a sensitivity analysis including an additional 21 clients (1.6 sessions, 95% CI: 0.2 to 3.1). Conclusions Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, this study suggests a relationship between expectation management and client retention in online CBT for depression, which has implications for professional practice. A larger prospective study would enable a more precise estimate of retention.

Cryptology and network security

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Cryptology and Network Security, CANS 2012, held in Darmstadt, Germany, in December 2012. The 22 revised full papers, presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 99 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on cryptanalysis; network security; cryptographic protocols; encryption; and s-box theory.

Revisiting the adoption of innovative products on Australian road infrastructure projects

Construction product innovation can exert a positive influence on project and industry performance. However, guidance is scarce on product innovation diffusion for road infrastructure, in contrast to the large body of literature on the manufacturing industry. A conceptual framework is proposed to understand these processes. Advice is given to managers based on the framework and a large quantitative survey. The framework focuses on contextual characteristics that influence the decision to adopt new-to-industry product innovation, as part of a diffusion process. Case study data are interpreted within the revised framework to test its value and disaggregate the broad obstacles to innovation. A large quantitative survey was then conducted to rank the relative importance of the obstacles constraining the adoption of innovative products on road construction projects. The three most important obstacles were found to be: (1) overemphasis on up-front project costs during tender stage; (2) disagreement over who carries the risk of new product failure; and (3) adversarial contract relations. The results suggest refinements to the conceptual framework to make it a more powerful tool for categorizing and analysing construction innovation obstacles. Results also suggest well-resourced repeat interactions within complementary procurement and regulatory systems will enhance the project teams’ ability to recognize and address innovation obstacles. Further, improved relationships are expected to decrease the need for an overly conservative approach to product approval and prescriptive specifications.

China's "Responsible Protection" concept : re-interpreting the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and military intervention for humanitarian purposes

This article assesses the extent to which the recently formulated Chinese concept of “Responsible Protection” (RP) offers a valuable contribution to the normative debate over R2P’s third pillar following the controversy over military intervention in Libya. While RP draws heavily on previous proposals such as the original 2001 ICISS report and Brazil’s “Responsibility while Protecting” (RwP), by amalgamating and re-packaging these earlier ideas in a more restrictive form the initiative represents a new and distinctive interpretation of R2P. However, some aspects of RP are framed too narrowly to provide workable guidelines for determining the permissibility of military intervention for civilian protection purposes, and should therefore be clarified and refined. Nevertheless, the Chinese proposal remains significant because it offers important insights into Beijing’s current stance on R2P. More broadly, China’s RP and Brazil’s RwP initiatives illustrate the growing willingness of rising, non-Western powers to assert their own normative preferences on sovereignty, intervention and global governance.

What is the apparent angle of a Kelvin ship wave pattern?

While the half-angle which encloses a Kelvin ship wave pattern is commonly accepted to be 19.47 degrees, recent observations and calculations for sufficiently fast-moving ships suggest that the apparent wake angle decreases with ship speed. One explanation for this decrease in angle relies on the assumption that a ship cannot generate wavelengths much greater than its hull length. An alternative interpretation is that the wave pattern that is observed in practice is defined by the location of the highest peaks; for wakes created by sufficiently fast-moving objects, these highest peaks no longer lie on the outermost divergent waves, resulting in a smaller apparent angle. In this paper, we focus on the problems of free surface flow past a single submerged point source and past a submerged source doublet. In the linear version of these problems, we measure the apparent wake angle formed by the highest peaks, and observe the following three regimes: a small Froude number pattern, in which the divergent waves are not visible; standard wave patterns for which the maximum peaks occur on the outermost divergent waves; and a third regime in which the highest peaks form a V-shape with an angle much less than the Kelvin angle. For nonlinear flows, we demonstrate that nonlinearity has the effect of increasing the apparent wake angle so that some highly nonlinear solutions have apparent wake angles that are greater than Kelvin's angle. For large Froude numbers, the effect on apparent wake angle can be more dramatic, with the possibility of strong nonlinearity shifting the wave pattern from the third regime to the second. We expect our nonlinear results will translate to other more complicated flow configurations, such as flow due to a steadily moving closed body such as a submarine.

Public policy on corporate audit committees : case study evidence of current practice

Corporate failures and malpractices have led to an increasing emphasis on the governance role of audit committees. The Smith report Audit Committee Combined Code Guidance and the Higgs Review of the Role and Effectiveness of Non-Executive Directors (now incorporated in a Revised Combined Code) represent further attempts to strengthen corporate accountability in the UK. Although the regulatory focus on audit committees indicates confidence in their role as part of the solution to governance failures, questions remain about their efficacy in practice. Against the background of the publication of the Smith report and the wider reliance on audit committees in several countries to help improve corporate accountability, this paper provides research evidence, drawn from an ACCA-sponsored project, on the processes and effects of the audit committees in three UK companies. This study complements other research on audit committees by adopting a case study approach, in order to reflect the importance of investigating audit committee operations from within the organisation and to develop a closer understanding of audit committee impact than is available from generally observable data. The empirical evidence for the case studies was obtained from semi-structured interviews with personnel involved in the audit committee process, internal documents made available by the companies, and publicly available information, including annual reports.

Molecular phylogeny, biogeography, and habitat preference evolution of marsupials

Marsupials exhibit great diversity in ecology and morphology. However, compared to their sister group, the placental mammals, our understanding of many aspects of marsupial evolution remains limited. We use 101 mitochondrial genomes and data from 26 nuclear loci to reconstruct a dated phylogeny including 97% of extant genera and 58% of modern marsupial species. This tree allows us to analyze the evolution of habitat preference and geographic distributions of marsupial species through time. We found a pattern of mesic-adapted lineages evolving to use more arid and open habitats, which is broadly consistent with regional climate and environmental change. However, contrary to the general trend, several lineages subsequently appear to have reverted from drier to more mesic habitats. Biogeographic reconstructions suggest that current views on the connectivity between Australia and New Guinea/Wallacea during the Miocene and Pliocene need to be revised. The antiquity of several endemic New Guinean clades strongly suggests a substantially older period of connection stretching back to the Middle Miocene, and implies that New Guinea was colonized by multiple clades almost immediately after its principal formation.

Psycho-educational assessment of specific learning disabilities: Views and practices of Australian psychologists and guidance counsellors

This paper reports an investigation of the views and practices of 203 Australian psychologists and guidance counsellors with respect to psycho-educational assessment of students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLDs). Results from an online survey indicated that practitioners draw upon a wide-range of theoretical perspectives when conceptualising and identifying SLDs, including both response to intervention and IQ – achievement discrepancy models. Intelligence tests (particularly the Wechsler scales) are commonly employed, with the main stated reasons for their use being ‘traditional’ perspectives (including IQ-achievement discrepancy-based definitions of SLDs), to exclude a diagnosis of intellectual disability, and to guide further assessment and intervention. In contrast participants reported using measures of academic achievement and tests of specific cognitive deficits known to predict SLDs (e.g., phonological awareness) relatively infrequently.

Modelling attitudes to climate change : an order effect and a test between alternatives

Quantum-like models can be fruitfully used to model attitude change in a social context. Next steps require data, and higher dimensional models. Here, we discuss an exploratory study that demonstrates an order effect when three question sets about Climate Beliefs, Political Affiliation and Attitudes Towards Science are presented in different orders within a larger study of n=533 subjects. A quantum-like model seems possible, and we propose a new experiment which could be used to test between three possible models for this scenario.

Exploring the internal dimensions of work stress : evidence from construction cost estimators in China

A recurring feature of modern practice is the stress placed on project professionals, with both debilitating effects on the people concerned and indirectly affecting project success. Cost estimation, for example, is an essential task for successful project management involving a high level of uncertainty. It is not surprising, therefore, that young cost estimators especially can become stressful at work due to a lack of experience and the heavy responsibilities involved. However, the concept of work stress and the associated underlying dimensions has not been clearly defined in extant studies in the construction management field. To redress this situation, an updated psychology perceived stress questionnaire (PSQ) , first developed by Levenstein et al (1993) and revised by Fliege et al (2005), is used to explore the dimensions of work stress with empirical evidence from the construction industry in China. With 145 reliable responses from young (less than 5 years’ experience) Chinese cost estimators, this study explores the internal dimensions of work stress, identifying four dimensions of tension, demands, lack of joy and worries. It is suggested that this four-dimensional structure may also be applicable in a more general context.

How can partnerships between the universities and schools exploit new opportunities for pedagogies at the intersection of the arts/design and the sciences?

Driven by information accessibility-on-demand provided by the internet, education modes are changing from a teacher-led approach focused on content delivery and assessible outcomes, to a learner-based approach encouraging self-directed, peer-tutored, and cooperative learning. New pedagogies are required to extend learning beyond the classroom and traditional subject areas such as contemporary arts, in alignment with the cross disciplinary priorities of the Australian Curriculum and values of the International Baccalaureate Organisation. This research explores how partnerships with universities and cultural organisations are implicated in the generation of these new forms of pedagogy and contribute to the field of educational research within the context of Education Queensland’s Framework For Gifted Education. In particular, this paper explores a new pedagogical framework for highly capable year five to nine Queensland state school students at the intersection of arts, design and the sciences, which has arisen from an explicit secondary/ tertiary partnership between the Queensland University of Technology Creative Industries Faculty and Precincts and the Queensland Academies Young Scholars Program. The Young Scholars Program offers experiences in the International Baccalaureate and Australian Curriculum contexts to enhance outcomes via global understanding, unique industry partnerships and 21st century pedagogical innovation based not on 'content' but tacit/experiential learning concepts including immersive, creative, intellectual and social strategies. These strategies for highly capable students are centred around authentic opportunities, primary resources, transdisciplinary learning and relationships with likeminded peers including tertiary arts, design and STEM educators and students, professionals and researchers. The presentation details case studies which are hands-on real time workshops involving inquiry based challenges in the arts, design and sciences, mathematics, history, creative writing and other disciplines, with content drawn from collections from public institutions, academic research and tertiary pedagogy. Both programs implicate student collaboration and creative production as methodology/data capture for ongoing action research, in alignment with the Framework For Gifted Education’s emphasis on evidence-based practices. They also challenge gifted students “to continue their development through curricular activities that require depth of study, complexity of thinking, fast pace of learning, high-level skills development and/or creative and critical thinking (e.g. through independent investigations, tiered tasks, diverse real-world applications, mentors)”(Education Queensland, 2011:3). This presentation highlights the strengths of the ongoing collaboration between QUT Creative industries Faculty and Queensland Academies, which not only provides successful extra curricular activities for gifted students towards a place in the International Baccalaureate Program, but also provides mentoring opportunities for tertiary students in their field of endeavor to assist with their own learning, and unique research opportunities for the Faculty as it focuses on excellence in arts, design and creative education and research. Education Queensland.(2011). Framework For Gifted Education Revised Edition 2011 (accessed Nov 19 2011)