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.

A token to the future : a digital ‘archive’ of early Australian children’s literature

This essay considers a specific digital ‘archive’ of early Australian children’s literature, known as the Children’s Literature Digital Resources (CLDR), which is located in AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource ( http://www.austlit.edu.au ). We examine what the CLDR collection can tell us about Australia’s history. To narrow the scope, we focus on how Australia was constructing itself as a nation with its own character, or national identity, in texts written for children from the latter part of the nineteenth century up until the end of World War II. Our approach is to consider how early Australian children’s literature included in the CLDR collection rhetorically constructs nation and place, and in so doing constructs an Australian identity for its implied readers.

Repeat speeding offenders from an Australian perspective

Overview -Speeding and crash involvement in Australia -Speeding recidivist research in Queensland -Implications for future speed management

Brand loyalty in the Australian wine industry

Consumers are increasingly exposed to a wider range of wine brands as the industry is becoming vastly competitive. Using data from Australian wine consumers, the authors empirically test a model of antecedents of wine brand loyalty. The findings of this study show that wine knowledge and wine experience influence wine brand loyalty indirectly through wine brand trust and wine brand satisfaction. In addition, it is demonstrated that consumer satisfaction with a wine brand is the strongest driver of wine brand loyalty.

Pandemic (H1N1) Influenza 2009 and Australian emergency departments : implications for policy, practice and pandemic preparedness

Objective: To describe the reported impact of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 on EDs, so as to inform future pandemic policy, planning and response management. Methods: This study comprised an issue and theme analysis of publicly accessible literature, data from jurisdictional health departments, and data obtained from two electronic surveys of ED directors and ED staff. The issues identified formed the basis of policy analysis and evaluation. Results: Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 had a significant impact on EDs with presentation for patients with ‘influenza-like illness’ up to three times that of the same time in previous years. Staff reported a range of issues, including poor awareness of pandemic plans, patient and family aggression, chaotic information flow to themselves and the public, heightened stress related to increased workloads and lower levels of staffing due to illness, family care duties and redeployment of staff to flu clinics. Staff identified considerable discomfort associated with prolonged times wearing personal protective equipment. Staff believed that the care of non-flu patients was compromised during the pandemic as a result of overwork, distraction from core business and the difficulties associated with accommodating infectious patients in an environment that was not conducive. Conclusions: This paper describes the breadth of the impact of pandemics on ED operations. It identifies a need to address a range of industrial, management and procedural issues. In particular, there is a need for a single authoritative source of information, the re-engineering of EDs to accommodate infectious patients and organizational changes to enable rapid deployment of alternative sources of care.

A comparison of submicrometer particle dose between Australian and Italian people

Alveolar and tracheobronchial-deposited submicrometer particle number and surface area data received by different age groups in Australia are shown. Activity patterns were combined with microenvironmental data through a Monte-Carlo method. Particle number distributions for the most significant microenvironments were obtained from our measurement survey data and people activity pattern data from the Australian Human Activity Pattern Survey were used. Daily alveolar particle number (surface area) dose received by all age groups was equal to 3.0×1010 particles (4.5×102 mm2), varying slightly between males and females. In contrast to gender, the lifestyle was found to significantly affect the daily dose, with highest depositions characterizing adults. The main contribution was due to indoor microenvironments. Finally a comparison between Italian and Australian people in terms of received particle dose was reported; it shows that different cooking styles can affect dose levels: higher doses were received by Italians, mainly due to their particular cooking activity.

Supervising freedom : the English profile : English curriculum; English pedagogy

This paper reflects on the development of the Profile - English as the first attempt in Australia to provide national guidelines for this subject area. It attempts to unpack the divided positions that inevitably accompany attempts to develop national curricula in a country where schooling is ruled by state and territory jurisdictions. The paper argues that English as a subject area promotes a particular understanding of schooling as either a failed attempt to achieve emancipatory goals on behalf of individuals or as a too-successful attempt to inequitably train individuals for the routines of labour. The attempt to produce a nationally consistent (English) curriculum appears to confront this understanding of schooling. The paper draws on the work of Ian Hunter (1988, 1994a) to suggest some alternative ways of thinking about the relationship between schooling and English curriculum

The Australian curriculum : implications for teaching and assessment

Teachers will be aware of the raft of educational changes introduced recently and also of the associated challenges and opportunities that such educational reforms present. This PETAA Paper commences with an overview of the major educational changes and how they impinge on teachers’ classroom practice in the teaching of English and makes explicit the implications for policy support. This article aims to provide teachers with some insight into how they might respond in their teaching to develop their own assessment and pedagogic practices and in so doing support students to improve in their learning and to achieve higher standards. A group of teachers’ classroom practice, which has applicability to both Upper Primary and Middle School English teaching, is analysed to demonstrate how these teachers have pedagogically incorporated some of the ‘general capabilities’ and a cross-curriculum priority of ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures’ into their classroom practice.

And the winner is...? : Thinking about Australian book awards in the library

Among their many duties, librarians occupy and must negotiate a space between the dreamed-of library and the all-too-real culture industries. This is perhaps most visible in the competition between pragmatism and idealism in text selection and collection development, and in one commonly-used tool thereof: the book award. This paper considers the possibilities and problematics of Australian book awards in libraries and librarianship.

Australian journalism studies after ‘Journalism’: breaking down the disciplinary boundaries (for good)

This paper argues that if journalism is to remain a relevant and dynamic academic discipline, it must urgently reconsider the constrained, heavily-policed boundaries traditionally placed around it (particularly in Australia). A simple way of achieving this is to redefine its primary object of study: away from specific, rigid, professional inputs, towards an ever-growing range of media outputs. Such a shift may allow the discipline to freely re-assess its pedagogical and epistemological relationships to contemporary newsmaking practices (or, the ‘new’ news).

Impacts of invasive plants on Australian rangelands

In Australia, the spread and dominance of non-native plant species has been identified as a serious threat to rangeland biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Rangelands extend over 70% of Australia’s land mass or more than 6 million km2. These rangelands consist of a diverse set of ecosystems including grasslands, shrub-lands, and woodlands spanning numerous climatic zones, ranging from arid to mesic. Because of the high economic, social, and environmental values, sustainable management of these vast landscapes is critical for Australia’s future. More than 2 million people live in these areas and major industries are ranching, mining, and tourism. In terms of biodiversity values, 53 of 85 of Australia’s biogeographical regions and 5 of 15 identified biodiversity hotspots are found in rangelands.

Journalists and Twitter : how Australian news organisations adapt to a new medium

Twitter has developed an increasingly visible presence in Australian journalism, and in the discussion of news. Many journalists have begun to explore manageable approaches to incorporating Twitter into their work practices, and for some – like the ABC’s ‘star recruits’ Annabel Crabb and Latika Bourke – it has already become a career driver. This article examines the positioning of journalists as ‘personal brands’ on Twitter, by documenting the visibility of leading personal and institutional accounts during two major political events in Australia: the Rudd/Gillard leadership spill on 23 June 2010, and the day of the subsequent federal election on 21 August 2010. It highlights the fact that in third-party networks such as Twitter, journalists and news organisations no longer operate solely on their own terms, as they do on their own Websites, but gain and maintain prominence in the network and reach for their messages only in concert with other users. It places these observations in a wider context of journalist/audience relations, a decade after the emergence of the first citizen journalism Websites.

Convergence and Australian content : the importance of access

In the light of new and complex challenges to media policy and regulation, the Austrlaian government commissioned the Convergence Review in late 2010 to assess the continuing applicability and utility of the principles and objectives that have shaped the policy framework to this point. It proposed a range of options for policy change and identified three enduring priorities for continued media regulation: media ownership and control; content standards; and Australian content production and distribution. The purpose of this article is to highlight an area where we feel there are opportunities for further discussion and research: the question of how the accessibility and visibility of Australian and local content may be assured in the future media policy framework via a combination of regulation and incentives to encourage innovation in content distribution.

The Convergence Review and the future of Australian content regulation

This article examines the place of Australian and local content regulation in the new media policy framework proposed by the Convergence Review. It outlines the history of Australian content regulation and the existing policy framework, before going on to detail some of the debates around Australian content during the Review. The final section analyses the relevant recommendations in the Convergence Review Final Report, and highlights some issues and problems that may arise in the new framework.

Paramedic empathy levels : results from seven Australian universities

Purpose Evidence suggests that improved empathy behaviours among healthcare professionals directly impacts on healthcare outcomes. However, the ‘nebulous’ properties of empathic behaviour often means that healthcare profession educators fail to incorporate the explicit teaching and assessment of empathy within the curriculum. This represents a potential mismatch between what is taught by universities and what is actually needed in the healthcare industry. The objective of this study was to assess the extent of empathy in paramedic students across seven Australian universities. Methods A cross-sectional study using a paper-based questionnaire employing a convenience sample of first, second, and third year undergraduate paramedic students. Student empathy levels were measured using a standardised self-reporting instrument: Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy – Health Profession Students (JSPE-HPS). Findings A total of 783 students participated in the study of which 57% were females. The overall JSPE-HPS mean score was 106.74 (SD=14.8). Females had greater mean empathy scores than males 108.69 v 103.58 (p=0.042). First year undergraduate paramedic mean empathy levels were the lowest, 106.29 (SD=15.40) with second years the highest at 107.17 (SD=14.90). Value The overall findings provide a framework for educators to begin constructing guidelines focusing on the need to incorporate, promote and instil empathy into paramedic students in order to better prepare them for future out-of-hospital healthcare practice.