Marking the liminal for true blue Aussies : the generic placement of Aboriginality in Australian soap operas.

This paper addresses a previously unconsidered history — that of Aboriginal characters in Australian soap operas. Rejecting critical approaches which have obtained even into the 1990s, it refuses to judge these characters as 'good' or 'bad' manifestations of indigeneity. Rather, using the idea that genre is a way of closing down interpretive possibilities, the paper looks at the manner in which generic expectations around soap operas produce particular valences for these representations of Aboriginality. It points to the many ways in which these indigenous characters are insistently constructed as liminal in soap operas' structural communities - simultaneously inside and outside of the group. This is seen to accord with the suggestions of Jakubowicz et al about the ways in which Aboriginal people are positioned by wider social discourses.

Getting more than the judgment debtor can give?

Prior to the decision of the High Court in Black v Garnock (2007) 230 CLR 438 it was an established principle in Queensland that a judgment creditor acting under an enforcement warrant could take no interest beyond what the judgment debtor could give. However, the decision of the High Court called this principle into question. This article examines the current position in the context of s 120 of the Land Title Act 1994 (Qld) , Queensland Titles Office practice and standard contractual provisions. This examination is further informed by the recent decision of Martin J in Secure Funding Pty Ltd v Doneley [2010] QSC 91.

Commercial vulnerability of tenant : a special disadvantage?

The Full Federal Court has once again been called upon to explore the limits of s51AA of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) in the context of a retail tenancy between commercially experienced parties. The decision is Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Samton Holdings Pty Ltd [2002] FCA 62.

Outcomes and implications of one teacher's approach to context-based science in the middle years

In Australia, there is a crisis in science education with students becoming disengaged with canonical science in the middle years of schooling. One recent initiative that aims to improve student interest and motivation without diminishing conceptual understanding is the context-based approach. Contextual units that connect the canonical science with the students’ real world of their local community have been used in the senior years but are new in the middle years. This ethnographic study explored the learning transactions that occurred in one 9th grade science class studying a context-based Environmental Science unit for 11 weeks. Outcomes of the study and implications are discussed in this paper.

Air quality and its impact on health: focus on particulate matter

Inadequate air quality and the inhalation of airborne pollutants pose many risks to human health and wellbeing, and are listed among the top environmental risks worldwide. The importance of outdoor air quality was recognised in the 1950s and indoor air quality emerged as an issue some time later and was soon recognised as having an equal, if not greater importance than outdoor air quality. Identification of ambient air pollution as a health hazard was followed by steps, undertaken by a broad range of national and international professional and government organisations, aimed at reduction or elimination of the hazard. However, the process of achieving better air quality is still in progress. The last 10 years or so have seen an unprecedented increase in the interest in, and attention to, airborne particles, with a special focus on their finer size fractions, including ultrafine (< 0.1 m) and their subset, nano particles (< 0.05 m). This paper discusses the current status of scientific knowledge on the links between air quality and health, with a particular focus on airborne particulate matter, and the directions taken by national and international bodies to improve air quality.

Occupational health nurses’ roles, credentials, and continuing education in Ontario, Canada

The role of the occupational health nurse is broad and includes health care provider, manager/coordinator, educator/advisor, and case manager and consultant, depending on the type of industry and the country in which the nurse practices. Regardless of the type of role, the occupational health nurse must participate in continuing nursing education (CNE) activities. This study describes the roles, credentials, and number of CNE activities undertaken by occupational health nurses working in Ontario, Canada. Using a non-experimental descriptive design, a questionnaire was mailed to all practicing occupational health nurses who are members (n = 900) of a local nursing association. Three hundred fifty-four questionnaires were returned. Nurses reported a variety of roles in the following categories: case management, health promotion, policy development, infection control/travel health, ergonomics, education, research, health and safety, direct care, consultation, disaster preparedness, and industrial hygiene. Sixty-five percent of nurses held an occupational health nurse credential, and 19% of nurses attended more than 100 hours of CNE annually. Occupational health nurses have multiple workplace roles. Many attend CNE activities and they often prepare for credentialing.

A Multifaceted Strategy for Implementation of the Ottawa Ankle Rules in Two Emergency Departments

Problem Despite widespread acceptance of the Ottawa ankle rules for assessment of acute ankle injuries, their application varies considerably. Design Before and after study. Background and setting Emergency departments of a tertiary teaching hospital and a community hospital in Australia. Key measures for improvement Documentation of the Ottawa ankle rules, proportion of patients referred for radiography, proportion of radiographs showing a fracture. Strategies for change Education, a problem specific radiography request form, reminders, audit and feedback, and using radiographers as “gatekeepers.” Effects of change Documentation of the Ottawa ankle rules improved from 57.5% to 94.7% at the tertiary hospital, and 51.6% to 80.8% at the community hospital (P<0.001 for both). The proportion of patients undergoing radiography fell from 95.8% to 87.2% at the tertiary hospital, and from 91.4% to 78.9% at the community hospital (P<0.001 for both). The proportion of radiographs showing a fracture increased from 20.4% to 27.1% at the tertiary hospital (P=0.069), and 15.2% to 27.2% (P=0.002) at the community hospital. The missed fracture rate increased from 0% to 2.9% at the tertiary hospital and from 0% to 1.6% at the community hospital compared with baseline (P=0.783 and P=0.747). Lessons learnt Assessment of case note documentation has limitations. Clinician groups seem to differ in their capacity and willingness to change their practice. A multifaceted change strategy including a problem specific radiography request form can improve the selection of patients for radiography.

Association between polymorphisms in the progesterone receptor gene and endometriosis

The progesterone receptor (PR) is a candidate gene for the development of endometriosis, a complex disease with strong hormonal features, common in women of reproductive age. We typed the 306 base pair Alu insertion (AluIns) polymorphism in intron G of PR in 101 individuals, estimated linkage disequilibrium (LD) between five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the PR locus in 980 Australian triads (endometriosis case and two parents) and used transmission disequilibrium testing (TDT) for association with endometriosis. The five SNPs showed strong pairwise LD, and the AluIns was highly correlated with proximal SNPs rs1042839 (Δ2 = 0.877, D9 = 1.00, P < 0.0001) and rs500760 (Δ2 = 0.438, D9 = 0.942, P < 0.0001). TDT showed weak evidence of allelic association between endometriosis and rs500760 (P = 0.027) but not in the expected direction. We identified a common susceptibility haplotype GGGCA across the five SNPs (P = 0.0167) in the whole sample, but likelihood ratio testing of haplotype transmission and non-transmission of the AluIns and flanking SNPs showed no significant pattern. Further, analysis of our results pooled with those from two previous studies suggested that neither the T2 allele of the AluIns nor the T1/T2 genotype was associated with endometriosis.